The North County School District will consider floating a nearly
$3 million property bond next June to complete the large-scale
campus modernization project it started last summer.
Hollister – The North County School District will consider floating a nearly $3 million property bond next June to complete the large-scale campus modernization project it started last summer.
The money would be used to improve old classrooms and sports fields, along with building a new cafeteria and computer lab. Students and staff are supportive of the bond measure, but are hoping taxpayers feel the same way.
The rural district, which serves nearly 600 students at Spring Grove School, will hire a private company in January to gauge residents’ support for the property bond measure, Superintendent Howard Chase said Wednesday. The district has yet to conduct a study to see how much the bond will raise property taxes or how long it will take to pay back, but hopes to have those figures soon, Chase said.
Although the specifics haven’t been hammered out yet, Chase anticipates strong community support on the bond – which he plans to put to voters in June of 2006.
“I believe what we are asking for is what the community wants and what students deserve and need,” he said. “From the parents I’ve talked to, everyone is supportive. They understand that there is a cost, but they realize this will benefit not only their children, but the next generation’s children.”
Last summer, Chase used $3 million in state modernization funds to give Spring Grove 16 new portable classrooms, a new science building and a new administrative office. With the state funds already spent and the district ineligible for additional money for the next 20 years, floating a bond is the only way to complete the modernization project, Chase said.
“We have a track record of being able to complete a project on schedule and be successful,” he said. “But we can’t do the second half without the support of the community.”
The bond measure already has the support of the district’s teachers’ union, classified staff, parent teacher organization and Board of Trustees, Chase said.
“We need it,” board member Candice Mancino said. “Our school has been half improved and now we need to do the other half.”
But the final and most important step will be convincing the district’s taxpayers, Chase said. In order to pass, the bond would need support from 55 percent of the district’s estimated 850 to 950 registered voters, San Benito County Registrar John Hodges said. Chase will hold several townhall-type meetings at the school over the coming months to make sure parents and community members know exactly how their tax dollars will be used, he said.
County Superintendent of Schools Tim Foley is also supportive of the bond and pledged to help the district in any way he could.
“The facilities had been very run down,” he said. “Completing the second half of this project will bring the rest of the facilities up to the standards the community expects.”
The face-lift is badly needed because only half of the 35-year-old campus was modernized over the summer, Chase said.
“(The classrooms) are old and they need to be upgraded,” he said. “This will benefit the students of today, tomorrow, 10 years from now and beyond.”
Chase believes the new facilities will help, in part, to improve everything from standardized test scores to school pride.
“The biggest reflection on test scores is the hard work of the staff,” he said. “But in addition to having a dedicated staff, one must also have an environment that is conducive to learning.”
Sixth grader Jessica Vest called last summer’s improvements “awesome,” but said more needs to be done. She is looking forward to having new classrooms with more space and thicker walls to cut down on noise coming from adjacent rooms. Vest is also excited about the prospect of a new cafeteria, she said. The school’s cafeteria consists of a dozen tables covered only by a roof. Last year, Chase had to install space heaters and tarps to serve as walls.
“It would be a lot nicer than sitting on wet benches,” Vest said.
If the bond is passed, construction on the new facilities would begin in the summer of 2007, Chase said.
Brett Rowland covers education for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
