Tiny Aromas is about to get something big. A new school gym, the
result of money approved by a 2002 bond measure, will be ready this
summer and will become the meeting point for parents, teachers and
others in the community.
Aromas – Tiny Aromas is about to get something big. A new school gym, the result of money approved by a 2002 bond measure, will be ready this summer and will become the meeting point for parents, teachers and others in the community.
Aromas School, that has students through the eighth grade, is the only school in the Aromas – San Juan School District that does not have a gym and where kids are packed into the cafeteria – in shifts – for PE on rainy days. When the $11 million new facility opens, intramural and other sports teams will have space for practice, assemblies can all be held together and plays and other events can happen without parents driving to other schools.
The new gym will be the largest building in Aromas with nearly 1,000 square feet of space for basketball and volleyball courts, grandstands and concessions. But its benefits will extend to the entire community, because the space will be available for special events, adult education classes and fundraisers, said Superintendent Jackie Muñoz.
“The school has always been the hub of the community because there aren’t a lot of facilities for gathering in Aromas,” she said.
Parents are also glad to see the new building and say Aromas badly needs a place for extracurricular activities. Cara Denny, who has two kids at Aromas School, experienced the shortage of space when she was looking around to teach a gymnastics class, but had to resign to renting out a part of a church to do so.
“It was small and definitely less than ideal,” she said. The new facility will also reduce the time parents spend shuttling their children between Aromas and San Juan Bautista, so they can participate in sports, she said.
The gym is expected to be completed in time for the graduation – June 13 – the first year graduates will stay on campus for the ceremony. That’s significant because one year rain forced the ceremony to be moved to a neighboring school, said Muñoz.
Fundraisers and other events are currently held at The Grange and some will probably be relocated to the new gym.
The construction is the result of a bond measure than passed in 2002 and allocated over $11 million to the project. It was approved by 63 percent of voters, who supported an increased tax on assessed property values.
Karina Ioffee covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at (831)637-5566 ext. 335 or [email protected].
