GILROY
– Larry Kent was born in a house on Ninth Street in Gilroy,
within sight of Glen View Elementary School. The year was 1960. He
attended El Roble School and graduated from Gilroy High in
1979.
This summer, Kent will return to both El Roble and Glen View.
His construction firm, Kent Construction, will replace aging
classrooms and build a state-of-the-art multipurpose room at each
school, where for years to come students will gather for
assemblies, hot lunches and to use school computers.
GILROY – Larry Kent was born in a house on Ninth Street in Gilroy, within sight of Glen View Elementary School. The year was 1960. He attended El Roble School and graduated from Gilroy High in 1979.
This summer, Kent will return to both El Roble and Glen View. His construction firm, Kent Construction, will replace aging classrooms and build a state-of-the-art multipurpose room at each school, where for years to come students will gather for assemblies, hot lunches and to use school computers.
Kent Construction is one of several local firms improving Gilroy Unified School District facilities this summer. Kent, who still lives in Gilroy with his wife, Lori, and twin sons, Sam and Max, said he gets a certain satisfaction working on his hometown schools.
“One, it’s just because it’s local and I have an invested interest in that school, but also our employees, our workers don’t have to travel out of the valley,” he said. “It’s good for the local economy because a lot of our subcontractors, our workers who are going to be working on the job – they’re money stays here.
“Obviously, (the district) can’t pick and choose who (they) use – it’s a public bid – but we’re glad we got it, glad that money stays local.”
When awarding bids, the school district must go with the “lowest responsible bidder,” said Charlie Van Meter, director of facilities, planning and construction. GUSD cannot give incentives to local firms – for example, choosing their bid over a lower one if they are within a certain percentage – but does encourage local firms to submit bids.
Local general contractors often use local subcontractors, too, Van Meter said.
When the school board recently awarded $30 million in construction bids, trustees were “pleasantly surprised” at the number of nearby firms that submitted winning bids, Board President Jaime Rosso said.
Gliroy firm Farotte Construction was awarded the $8.4 million modernization of Gilroy High and W.G. Blomquist – based in Santa Clara but owned by Gilroyans – will build a new classroom wing at Rucker Elementary for $562,701. Other projects went to firms from Salinas and South San Francisco.
“I think it’s a great thing to see happen,” Rosso said. “It’s helping the local economy: A lot of times these projects, they bring in outside contractors so it is a really great thing to see it stay here.”
GUSD advertises its construction projects in local newspapers, as well as with the local builders exchanges, Van Meter said.
“When you do that, a lot of times you do get the local builders who will look at that and see that there’s work here in town,” he said.
Kent said Van Meter’s personal interest in attracting local bids was a major reason why he chose to pursue GUSD projects.
“He wanted to try to get some local people bidding to do the school work, so we’re doing our first job for him over at the junior high,” Kent said. “But he’s really a great guy, so as long as Charlie’s involved, we want to continue to work with the school district.”
“I think that is another neat factor because we want to have more engagement with the business community, too,” Rosso said.
This is the first time Kent has worked for the GUSD, but his other Gilroy projects include the Nob Hill shopping center, work at Bonfante Gardens and, most recently, the city corporate yard. He figures the school projects represent roughly a quarter of his summer work.
This is Kent’s 20th year in construction. He majored in construction management at Cal Poly, San Luis Obisbo, and immediately started up a firm in Morgan Hill with his brother, John, now a developer.
Thursday, Kent Construction completed its first GUSD project: moving low-income medical clinic The Health Trust from Eliot, which is being re-built over the next year, to South Valley Middle School.
The El Roble and Glen View 12,000-square-foot multi-use rooms will be complete with kitchens where hot breakfasts and lunches will be served, stages, restrooms, library/media centers, computer labs and conference rooms. El Roble’s total project is costing the district $3.7 million, including the demolition and replacement of six portable classrooms this summer. Glen View will cost $4.1 million, including the demolition and replacement of eight aging portables this summer and preparing a site for three new kindergarten classrooms.
Kent’s twin 6-year-old sons are particularly excited about their dad’s projects. The boys will be moving from kindergarten to first grade at El Roble this fall.
“They’ve been pretty happy about the whole thing,” Kent said.
On bid day, though, Sam was a little nervous.
“He said, ‘What if you give them a bad number, dad? Then you don’t get the job,’ ” Kent said. “He’s my shadow, he likes to follow me around all the time.”
The boys also are excited that their dad will be hanging out at their school next year. Construction on the multipurpose rooms will continue through the school year, but GUSD does not allow workers onto campus.
“Maybe they will make an exception,” Kent said.
Lori Stuenkel covers education for The Dispatch. She can be reached at 847-7158 or ls*******@************ch.com.
