School District to Hold Facilities Planning Meetings

Community members will have an opportunity this week to take a sneak peek at ’s future facilities improvement plans.

Two meetings on the District Facilities Master Plan will be held this week, with the first on Tuesday, Feb. 8 at 6:30 p.m. in the student union complex. The second meeting will be held on Thursday, Feb. 10 at 6:30 p.m. at .

Recommendations for improvements throughout the district include new classroom buildings, parking lot reconfigurations and the installation of all-weather tracks and fields at both middle schools.

The meetings are being held in order to involve the community in the planning process, district spokesman Rick La Plante said.

However, these plans would not be implemented in the near future.

“We don’t even have funding identified at this point,” La Plante said.

The district’s immediate need is to weaken the blow of Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget proposal by passing a parcel tax to help preserve class sizes and extra-curricular programs, La Plante said. The tax would generate $3 million a year for the next five years.

In the last several years, the district has spent $160 million on upgrading and creating new facilities via Measure A, a 2003 facilities bond. The funds are nearly exhausted, according to a issued last December.

Every school and facility received improvements through the bond funds.

Among the largest projects were the creation of the 's Center for Performing Arts last year ($28 million) and the construction of Conley-Caraballo High School in 2005 ($11 million).

While more work needs to be done, any improvements proposed for the District Facilities Master Plan at this point are “just dreams,” La Plante said.