Gilroy Unified School District Measure P funds are hard at work this summer.
More than $16 million in improvements are under construction throughout the district and slated for completion for the 2014-15 school year.
Among voter-approved enhancements are a new campus for the Dr. TJ Owens Early College Academy at Gavilan College (GECA); multipurpose room renovation, parking lot, and renovation of the administration and library building at Rucker Elementary School; demolition of the administration/classroom wing and kindergarten classroom enhancements at Glen View Elementary School; and a modern track and field complex at Christopher High School. In addition, Gilroy High School will see the addition of new bathroom facilities at the gyms, new concrete paths and a modernized theater with refurbished seating and handicapped-accessible aisles.
The projects employ local contractors, providing jobs to more than 1,000 local workers—a boon for Gilroy, organizers said.
GECA
Visitors to Gavilan College may have noticed the fenced-off construction site adjacent to the campus police department.
Within the confines of chain link fencing, contractors rotated existing portables 180 degrees to create what GUSD Superintendent Deborah Flores called a “campus within a campus.” The new campus will allow GECA to increase its student body from 265 to 300 students and be ready for students beginning in the 2014-15 school year, according to Flores.
According to GUSD Director of Facilities James Bombaci, the new GECA campus will have a quad area, handicapped-accessible ramps, decorative landscaping, a breakroom, multipurpose room and administration office.
In the past, students shared facilities with Gavilan. The new, quasi-enclosed campus will boost the program’s solidarity by creating its own facilities, according
to Flores.
“This is an open college campus, so we want it to fit in with the lay of the land,” Flores said.
Contractors will complete the bulk of construction this summer, and final touches on the multipurpose room, breakroom and administration await completion next November or December, Bombaci said.
The project, budgeted at $3 million, will wrap up at the tune of roughly $2.4 million, according to Bombaci.
Gilroy High School
Several summer 2014 construction projects will improve Gilroy High School far beyond its 1970s original construction plans, according to Flores.
Projects include renovations to stadium bleachers and gym restrooms, as well as new paths throughout the campus that will offer students more efficient routes
between classrooms.
The school’s theater will also get some updates, with refurbished seating, ADA-accessible aisles and new sound and
lighting systems.
Improvements dovetail with the district’s three-year effort to bring the high school in line with the caliber of infrastructure at the roughly $150 million Christopher High School campus, according to Flores.
“We really wanted to make a huge difference in the appearance of Gilroy High School,” Flores said.
Glen View
Demolition and renovation is under way at Glen View Elementary School. According to project manager Jenny Derry, improvements will enhance school safety by providing a single point of entry. Re-organizing some of the five kindergarten classrooms will also streamline the arrangement of the campus’ classrooms beyond the original plans for the school, which was constructed in 1958.
“It will be a lot nicer entrance into the school,” Flores said.
In addition, the project includes a new administration building, computer lab and six classrooms.
Christopher High School
Athletes yearning for top-quality sports facilities will soon have them at Christopher High School, with construction well under way for the school’s new track and
field complex.
According to Derry, construction will wrap up in time for the Cougars’ Sept. 5 home football game. The complex will transform what was a hard, uneven grassy pasture into a facility with Sprint turf, a cushy track and seating for 1,500. The project’s current price tag of $3.9 million doesn’t include restrooms, concessions and visitor bleachers.
In an effort to boost sanitation, contractors will add a water cannon to rinse the artificial turf and ensure
good hygiene.
The new Cougar scoreboard—paid for by Christopher Ranch and sponsored by Pinnacle Bank and Black Bear Diner—will greet fans next fall.
“This project wouldn’t have happened without the Christopher family,” Flores said. “They have been stepping up to the plate since we started.”
Rucker
Students entering the new Rucker Elementary School administration building will be wowed when they come to school next fall. That’s because contractors are working to modernize the main building with the addition of new carpeting, paint, new ceilings/lighting and schematics. According to Bombaci, contractors pulled down several walls to open up the building and provide more modern facilities for the school nurse, principal, administration, library and computer lab. Earlier this year, the new multipurpose room and cafeteria opened, and a new parking lot will soon
be completed.
More information
Anyone interested in finding out more about the latest construction activities with Measure P funds or taking a tour of the sites can contact the district, gusd.k12.ca.us/.
