San Benito High School may not be able to afford all of its
proposed expansion projects, but Trustees are hoping bids come in
lower than expected for a classroom for handicapped students, a new
auto shop, a multi-purpose room and a weight room.
Hollister – San Benito High School may not be able to afford all of its proposed expansion projects, but Trustees are hoping bids come in lower than expected for a classroom for handicapped students, a new auto shop, a multi-purpose room and a weight room.
The Board of Trustees voted to have plans drawn for all four of those projects at a special meeting Monday night. The estimates – provided by AEDIS Architecture and Planning in San Jose – for the projects add up to about $6.9 million, while the district has about $5.2 million in building funds, which include state matching funds.
“In reality it may be that we can’t build all four,” said Board President Shelley Donati. But, she added, “Projects in the past have come in underbid.”
The board will prioritize the projects and begin taking bids from contractors after it receives blueprints for the projects in August, and construction will probably begin in March of 2006, she said.
“We believe we’ll build three, though we would love to build all four,” District Superintendent Jean Burns Slater.
The proposed construction projects include an expanded 2,000 square foot auto shop; a “life skills classroom” with room for severely handicapped students to exercise their muscles; a multi-purpose/media center where students can gather and use computers; and a physical education addition which would have weight training and wrestling facilities.
The district decided to have plans created for all four projects, “to give us a maximum of options,” said Steve Delay, director of fiscal services and operations.
Also, he said, there is the hope that bids for each of the projects will be below the architect’s estimates and there will be enough money to fund all four. That’s been the case with recent high school projects.
The school’s recent site expansion, including several classrooms that were completed in 2004 and a district administration building slated to be finished this year, were built with “considerable savings” after the contractor’s bid came in well below the architect’s estimate, Delay said.
Among the most vital of the proposed projects is the life skills classroom, Burns Slater said.
“Current facilities are outdated and inadequate … it’s not right and we know that,” she said, citing a lack of bathroom space for severely handicapped students who need assistance using the facilities.
If built, the life skills classroom will have large, accessible bathrooms and plenty of room for students to exercise their muscles.
“That’s something we have to do by virtue of our responsibility to society,” she said.
The expanded auto shop would also be of great benefit to students, because Gavilan Community College does not offer auto technology courses, Burns Slater said, and it would bring computer learning into the program and create a larger environment that is less distracting to students than the current auto shop.
The proposed multi-purpose/media center would provide space for students and teachers to gather and it would contain a computer resource center for students, Burns Slater said.
The physical education addition would house weight training and wrestling facilities, but could also be used by other programs such as band and dance, according to district documents.
Luke Roney is a covers education and agriculture for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at [email protected].
