For the first time in years Gilroy High students won’t have to
step around construction
Gilroy – Last year’s high school registration wasn’t exactly pleasant. A chain-link fence encircled the under-construction student center, forcing the teens into a long line under the hot August sun.
But the scene at this summer’s event was the polar opposite. Students picked up schedules, met with counselors, sat for ID pictures and purchased gym clothes all under the roof of the completed student center.
And for the first time in the past four years, students will spend the school year on a campus that’s not undergoing major construction.
“The campus does look a lot nicer,” said Victoria Vasquez, who will begin her junior year at Gilroy High School Thursday.
A slew of renovations and new construction during the past few years turned the GHS campus into a maze of chain-link fences, dust and building materials. The first wave of restoration began with the replacement of infrastructure, such as wiring and alarm systems. Classrooms were modernized, including the upgrading of all science labs.
The administration, library and aquatics buildings were all refurbished. The new football field and track was completed last August. And in the spring the new student center opened for business.
The addition of the new student center, which houses counseling and the associated student body classrooms plus the cafeteria, made for a particularly smooth registration, Principal Jim Maxwell said.
Noelly Teran, 15, said she’s looking forward to the absence of noisy construction workers and the labyrinth of fencing she had to snake around daily just to get to class.
“It was just annoying,” the high school junior said.
Although Teran said she doesn’t plan to hang out anywhere near the cafeteria – she actually laughed when asked if she’d spend any time there saying she spends her breaks in the quad – she does appreciate the new building and thinks it adds to the overall new look of the campus.
But Teran’s preferred break-time locale also received a face-lift that quad-squatters should appreciate. The lean-to in front of the gym was removed, which really opened up the quad area, giving students a lot more room, Assistant Superintendent Steve Brinkman said.
In addition to all the new infrastructure, the campus also received a brush of new landscaping. Probably the most notable green sprouting up is the ground cover beginning to grow on the dirt hill flanking the west end of the campus.
“The seniors have dealt with it their entire career and now it’s the first year that it’s finished,” Brinkman said. (It’s) not a brand new school but it sure has the look and feel of it.”
Sara Wilman, who will begin her freshman year at GHS next week, said the campus looks much better than years ago when her sibling attended.
“It looks really nice,” said Sara Wilman, 14. “It’s a lot better than it was before. It’s fresh.”
