San Benito County taxpayers this summer might see reroofing, classroom renovations and air conditioner installations at local campuses.
Voters passed a $42.5 million general obligation facilities bond for the San Benito High School District in June 2014 and—one year later—some of those funds will go toward bringing air conditioning and renovations to classrooms this summer. In November of 2014, voters also passed a $28.5 million general obligation facilities bond for the Hollister School District and some of that money will go toward reroofing school buildings during the same months.
“I think that they would see reroofing at Hardin and they will see some fencing projects under way this summer,” said John Teliha, the Hollister School District’s director of facilities. “Other than that, everything is in the design phase.”
Designs are ongoing for new restroom buildings that will meet the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements at R.O. Hardin and Rancho San Justo Middle Schools, Teliha said. The district has also set a budget of $100,000 to develop a shade structure and tables for an additional eating area at the campus shared by Gabilan Hills and the Hollister Dual Language Academy, Teliha said. The additional eating area will help accommodate expected, additional students after the district board of trustees approved the academy to grow from K-6 classes to K-8 ones in during a meeting in late February.
The district also has a project out to bid that would make Cerra Vista School a “controlled access” campus with just one entry through the front office. Visitors can currently enter the front gates and walk through campus without stopping in the office, Teliha said. Similar work was done at Marguerite Maze Middle School, Ladd Lane School, Calaveras School and Gabilan Hills School last summer and during the school year, he explained.
In an effort to increase campus safety, the district is also installing gates with panic hardware at all the schools. These gates will keep closed campuses safe during school hours, but can be opened with a push bar instead of a key if there is an emergency, Teliha explained.
Two projects—a re-roofing job at Rancho San Justo Middle School and a district-wide perimeter fencing project—will likely be put on hold after bids came in over budget, Teliha said. The district set aside a budget of $1.6 million to re-roof buildings at Rancho but did not get a bid on that budget, the director of facilities said.
At the San Benito High School District—which had five more months than the elementary school district to make summer plans for bond projects—construction plans are also in place. Trustees approved several lease leaseback agreements in mid-June, which will allow the San Jose-based Blach Construction to install air conditioning in the 300 and 400 wings and to modernize the 300 wing classrooms.
That work will be done by Aug. 7 since students start school shortly after that, the superintendent said.
“August 7 is drop-dead week,” said John Perales, the district superintendent.
The renovation of the 300 wing will include new carpet, a fresh coat of paint, new cabinets and bookshelves, restroom upgrades that will make the rooms ADA compliant and a new tack wall where teachers can post information without ruining the sheet rock, Perales said.
Under a lease-leaseback agreement, a district leases land for a small amount—a minimum of $1, according to state education code—to a person, firm or company constructing a building for the school at that site. The private party picks its own subcontractors, delivers the project at a fixed “guaranteed maximum price” and leases the land back to the district for a period of time.
In the late August, work is scheduled to begin on two other bond projects, a parking lot off Nash Road and a set of tennis courts, explained Roseanne Lascano, the district’s director of finance and operations in an email to the Free Lance. The parking lot will have a one-way drop-off zone and an additional 97 parking spots, Perales has said.
The district is also starting summer construction on a few projects funded with general fund money. Trustees approved a lease-leaseback agreement with Blach Construction for a $698,396 renovation of Mattson Gym during a special meeting in mid-June. The work will include new LED lighting, refinished floors, a sound system that won’t need to be trucked in, and an appropriate LCD projector to display items on a wall, Perales said. The company will also replace the existing skylight with one purchased by the district, according to a meeting agenda report.
A physical education building and wrestling space—funded with general fund money—is also in the works for late summer or fall, though there was no guaranteed maximum price yet, Perales told the Free Lance in early June.
HSD BOND PROJECTS
Summer projects complete before school starts:
R.O. Hardin Re-Roof Project: $603,567
In design phase:
R.O. Hardin New Restroom Buildings: No $ amount yet
Rancho San Justo New Restroom Building: No $ amount yet
Gabilan Hills/HDLA Shade Structure: budget of $100,000
Out to bid:
Cerra Vista Controlled Access: No fixed $ amount yet
On hold:
Rancho San Justo Re-Roof Project: bids exceeded budget of $1.6 M
District-wide Perimeter Fencing/Gates: bids exceeded budget
Source: John Teliha, the Hollister School District’s director of facilities.
SBHS BOND PROJECTS
Summer projects complete before school starts:
AC for 400 wing buildings: $976,888*
AC and modernization for 300 wing buildings: $2,437,583*
Late August:
Construction starts on parking lot off Nash Road: no guaranteed maximum price yet
Construction starts on tennis courts: no guaranteed maximum price yet
November:
New Career Technical Education and Agriculture building: budget of about $12 to 14 million
Source: Superintendent John Perales
*lease leaseback agreement, which means additional lease costs
SBHS NON-BOND PROJECTS
Summer projects complete before school starts:
Mattson gym renovation: $698,396*
Late summer/fall:
PE Building + wrestling space: no guaranteed maximum price yet
Source: Superintendent John Perales
*lease leaseback agreement, which means additional lease costs
