Hollister School District trustees directed staff to put air conditioning on the priority list for Measure M bond money—even if something else came off—after parents and educators complained about stifling classroom temperatures.
Following a special meeting Sept. 8 where community members complained about the lack of cool air at Calaveras and Cerra Vista schools, John Teliha, the district’s director of facilities, presented possible solutions during a recent board meeting.
The cost of adding air conditioning to 20 classrooms and the administration building at Calaveras plus 16 classrooms and the administration building at Cerra Vista is expected to be about $2.3 million, according to the PowerPoint presentation Teliha shared with the Hollister trustees.
Trustees were not asked to take action, but Superintendent Gary McIntire requested direction. He suggested staff officials come up with a new bond priority list that included adding air conditioning for the two schools while suggesting other projects that could move further down the list. Trustee Peter Hernandez called the lack of air conditioning a safety issue and stressed that addressing such concerns was a focus of the bond money.
“I’m in consensus with Dr. McIntire’s recommendation and moving that forward,” said Elizabeth Martinez, a trustee and the board’s clerk. “I think we’re all in consensus that air conditioning has to be set at the top and then looking at the priority list and knowing what we know now—which we didn’t know before—what does that look like moving forward.”
She also mentioned the district’s decision to expand the Hollister Dual Language Academy to a K-8 campus, a choice that will mean the district must add portable classrooms to the site to accommodate the growing student population.
