North County School District updates its campus
It’s become a familiar habit for students at Spring Grove
School
– enjoy summer vacation, then start the school year on a campus
with a completely different look.
North County School District updates its campus
It’s become a familiar habit for students at Spring Grove School – enjoy summer vacation, then start the school year on a campus with a completely different look.
Just two summers ago, North County School District officials pushed back the start of the 2005-06 school year so that a $3 million renovation project, which included 16 new classrooms for grades K-3 and a new science lab, could be completed.
This summer, construction is nearing completion on a new library with a computer lab, an indoor cafeteria, four new classrooms and upgrades to 15 existing upper grade classrooms.
“We had to pack up the entire library and all of the classrooms at the end of last year, so all that stuff is in the gym,” Superintendent Evelyn Muro said. “For the first time ever, we had to hold our eighth grade graduation outdoors because the gym was full of stuff. But some people said they actually liked having the ceremony outside, so that was fine.”
The second phase of Spring Grove’s renovation was made possible through the passage of Measure M, a $3.7 million bond measure approved by voters of the North County School District in 2006.
One of the primary reasons for the bond was to raise money for the construction of an indoor cafeteria; previously the school’s 550 students had to eat lunch outdoors or while standing under awnings during rainy weather.
But rather than use a large portion of the funds provided by the bond on just one building, district officials instead chose to convert the school’s existing library into a combined indoor eating area and multi-use room, and instead construct a new library, which will include a new computer lab.
“We never had an indoor eating area, and one was very much needed,” Muro said. “Also, we have not had a place to hold meetings, or conduct in-service programs, and now, with the multi-use room, we do.”
Another part of this summer’s project includes the construction of four new classrooms and the upgrade and modernization of 15 upper grade classrooms, which includes enlarging the old rooms and adding technological improvements, such as smart boards to each classroom. Smart boards are large, interactive screens that allow teachers to use laptop computers to generate lessons in a variety of subjects, including math, grammar and science. Boards are hung on a wall in the classroom; the teacher then plugs in a laptop computer, on which the day’s lesson plan has already been created. The lesson appears on the screen, which is large enough for every student to see.
Finally, a new bus turn-around and drop-off area has been installed and additional spaces have been added to the existing parking lot, Muro said.
“Our campus was originally built in the 1970s, and it had that kind of open feel to it,” she said. “We are trying to close it up a bit, make it friendlier, and of course, bring in new technology. We will also have more storage space, which we really needed.”
The first phase of the school’s major renovation project, completed over the summer months of 2005, cost approximately $3 million and included utility and ground preparation, the removal of 16 portable K-3 classrooms, a new staff room, a new science lab, new district office, a new intercom system in all classrooms, a new telephone system to provide each teacher with voice mail, two new sets of bathrooms, new asphalt and new playground equipment. An additional $30,000 donated by the Spring Grove Parent/Teacher Organization (PTO) allowed the district to purchase all new wiring and a new, upgraded network for the school’s computers.
Because the K-3 classrooms were between 30 and 35 years old, North County qualified for funds through a state modernization project. The only direct cost to the district for the renovation’s first phase was covered by a $400,000 loan from a local bank.
Knowing that other areas of the campus were also in need of renovations, district officials in 2005 began looking at the possibility of putting a bond measure on a future ballot. The process for determining whether or not a bond measure can be successful is not an easy one, according to the county’s Superintendent of Schools Tim Foley.
“Behind the scenes of a bond measure there is quite a bit of work that takes place,” Foley said. “Districts will go through and hire consultants who will figure out what people will pay, and what projects they are interested in seeing completed. It is important to know certain things, such as what type of projects can be done with tax dollars and which ones have to be done with private donations. And if it doesn’t look like a bond measure will pass, then you don’t bring it up. There is a real industry behind getting it done.”
Early surveys indicated the North County community would support a bond measure, resulting in the placement of Measure M on the June 2006 ballot. While Measure M was approved by North County voters, Measure N, a similar proposal brought forth by the Aromas-San Juan Unified School District for $23.5 million, did not pass. The money from Measure N would have been used to finish existing projects the district has had on hold for several years.
With the first phase in 2005, North County officials waited until summer school had ended to start the project, choosing instead to push back the first day of school from a traditional August date to Sept. 12 in order to give contractors enough time to complete the project.
This time around, contractors started work as soon as the school year ended, meaning summer school was held amidst the noise and chaos of the construction project.
“We wanted to keep to the same opening date for the school year as the other schools in the county, so we got started right away,” Muro said. “It’s been a little crazy trying to do this while summer school is in session, but the staff is doing just a terrific job of coordinating everything. As we encounter any problems, we are dealing with them right away.”
Muro said she is hopeful work will be completed by the district’s target date of Aug. 15.
“School starts on Aug. 20, and we are hoping to have everything done and in place earlier so that when teachers come back on Aug. 15 we are ready to go,” she said.
There is one final stage of the project left to be completed next summer – the installation of new playing fields on the school campus, Muro said.
“Next summer we will redo our fields,” she said. “We didn’t want to do it this summer with all of the construction taking place and we didn’t want to rush into it. We want to take our time, take a really good look at what we want and do it right.”
Foley said he is impressed with the North County community, which realized how important its children were to its future.
“This shows what can happen when you have the support of the community,” he said. “It takes a lot of trust on the part of the parents and families to make this type of long-term commitment. Certainly this has been a major renovation project that will bring the campus to a state-of-the-art condition, and the children can only benefit from it.”
