Students at San Benito High School will have the pleasure of
using squeaky clean bathrooms, new desks and inhaling the scent of
fresh paint Monday as they take classes on the new side of campus
for the first time.
Students at San Benito High School will have the pleasure of using squeaky clean bathrooms, new desks and inhaling the scent of fresh paint Monday as they take classes on the new side of campus for the first time.
Originally planned as a freshman-only campus, district administrators decided a few years back that the idea would isolate the ninth-graders, so they chose to move the science and math departments there instead. The 28 new classrooms are located at the corner of West Street and Nash Road. The new facilities, which have been under construction since early 2003, come complete with cross air ventilation, computer outlet drops throughout the rooms and sensored lighting.
“It’s very nice,” SBHS Director of Finance and Operations Steve Delay said. “The lights come on when you walk in the room and shut off as you leave, so it conserves energy.”
Many teachers have been commenting on how nice the new buildings are, and, Delay said the new science rooms have large preparation areas for the teachers to enjoy. The four rooms are grouped in pairs, and the two that are doubled up share a prep room, complete with a refrigerator, dishwasher and lots of chemical storage, so the teachers can have a space to prepare experiments.
“I absolutely love the new campus,” Principal Debbie Padilla said. “The rooms are open, they’re comfortable and all the little details make them a nice place to be.”
The district and the state split the cost of the $16 million project evenly, and after the new campus is complete, there will still be roughly $3 million or $4 million left for future facilities, according to Delay.
Because the campus has had to continue to sprawl across Nash Road to accommodate its growing student population, which is more than 2,700 students this year, Delay said student safety is a concern. SBHS has already completed, or is in the process of finishing: creating a no parking zone between Monterey and West streets; increasing visibility on the crosswalks at Monterey and West streets including installing slight bumps in the road, called rumble strips, before each crosswalk to warn drivers of the crossing; changing the speed limit signs from 30 mph to 25 mph and adding additional green and yellow signs warning drivers of crosswalks.
“We’re doing everything we can to keep the students safe,” Delay said.
