Dear Editor:
The familiar phrase ‘a picture is worth 1,000 words’ comes to
mind as I recently toured four Gilroy Unified School District
school sites to see first-hand the construction of facilities being
modernized or re-built this summer.
Dear Editor:
The familiar phrase ‘a picture is worth 1,000 words’ comes to mind as I recently toured four Gilroy Unified School District school sites to see first-hand the construction of facilities being modernized or re-built this summer. The magnitude of what is occurring on the school campuses is incredible to see. Following are some of the highlights I saw at each of the campuses.
Gilroy High School
The modernization of Gilroy High School is moving forward at an incredible pace. The contractor is now working six to seven days per week and 10 to 12 hours per day. As I walked around the campus, there are very obvious changes including the widening of the student parking lot entrance, repaving of the entire student parking lot, demolition of the pool building and building G.
Infrastructure improvements are not as visible to the eye but critical to the overall modernization of the campus are rewiring of the entire school, with new power, phone, data and signal lines and also a new storm drain placed for drainage. Building M is undergoing a major remodel and the demolition of the existing library and book room has started. A temporary portable office building has been set up at the front of the campus to house administrative staff and support summer activities at GHS. There are many other changes occurring on campus which are too numerous to detail. You can read about these changes or view pictures of the high school construction on the district’s Web site – www.gusd.k12.ca.us.
The current schedule calls for the GHS campus to be ready by Aug. 23 for the staff’s return. Facing staff and students upon their arrival on campus will be a large fenced area as work continues during the school year on the new student center.
El Roble and Glen View
Two of Gilroy’s oldest elementary school sites also have major improvements occurring on their campuses this summer. The long-awaited multipurpose/library/media centers are under construction at both sites. Seeing all the activity at the two sites and the planning that is being done to prepare the campuses for the students arrival this fall while construction continues is impressive. Both multipurpose centers are scheduled to be completed by summer, 2005.
Eliot Elementary School
Following the completion of the demolition of the former Eliot Elementary School, construction on the first two story school in the GUSD is moving forward. Lots of dirt is being moved on the site currently as the footprint of the new school is coming to form and the foundation started. I was amazed as I looked over the wide open campus site to see the planned increase of playground space considering the small acreage of this campus. Estimated completion of this new school is Aug. 2005.
Although I didn’t have time to visit the Rucker school campus, I was told the replacement of the old portable classrooms with a new modular classroom wing is progressing on schedule and on track for a late August completion.
Putting on my hat as chair of the GUSD Citizen Oversight Committee (CO), I asked my tour guide, Charlie Van Meter, GUSD director of facilities, about the costs incurred on the various projects. I was assured projects are staying within approved budgets with the help of new software that specifically tracks each project expenditure. As you may remember, the COC was formed in Feb. 2003 as a result of the passage of the GUSD Bond Measure to review the school district’s use of Measure I funds for facilities and to inform the public about the use of those funds. Expenditures for the above described construction projects are not exclusively from Measure I, however the Board of Trustees also requested the COC to review all expenditures for school facilities including Measure J funds and state contributions.
The COC will be meeting again on Sept. 15, 2004 at 7 p.m. in the GUSD board room. Members of the public are invited to attend these meetings. Having seen all the construction work being done on the various campuses, I look forward to reviewing updated progress reports and expenditures for these projects at our next meeting. GUSD taxpayers are entitled to a complete accounting of the dollars approved in Measure I. The COC is committed to that role of accountability and distributing the information to the general public.
Jane Howard, Gilroy
Submitted Aug. 11
