Students return to campus amid construction projects
By Leigh Ann Maze
Los Gatos High School was ready for the first day of school Aug. 30, even though several sections of the school are fenced off for construction projects.
It has taken a lot of finesse to keep the multimillion dollar school bond project on schedule and coordinated, while at the same time disrupting the educational process as little as possible and protecting student safety, according to Richard Meyer, director of building projects for the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District.
The $79 million school bond was passed by local voters in June 1998 with an 81 percent majority.
Projects on the LGHS campus are also being funded through other sources, such as deferred maintenance funds, redevelopment funds and private donations, which are being raised to fund the construction of a new pool. Members of the community can also contribute to landscaping some of the campus, Meyer said.
School bond projects which have already been completed since construction began in May are restroom upgrades, which cost about $163,000 and the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning upgrades which cost about $164,000, according to Meyer.
In progress right now is the construction of a bond-funded two-story science and home economics building.
The building will include 12 science classrooms, faculty offices, project rooms, restrooms and a storage area. Home economics will occupy two classrooms on the ground floor, looking out onto a large courtyard where various events will be held. The building is expected to be completed by August 2001 and ready for the 2001-2002 school year.
Also in progress, although not necessarily all bond-funded, are a field house, a new wrestling and team room, locker room maintenance and the reconfiguration of the boys locker room.
The pool, for which private funds are currently being raised, has a planned construction time of spring 2001.
Work will begin next summer on locker room modernization and field restroom upgrades.
In 2002 and 2003, construction will begin on the new bond-funded classroom building. The bond will also fund the modernization of the historic main building and the business, music and history/art wings.
Last but not least the school will be given a fresh coat of paint and the gym, the industrial arts wings and the cat's studio will be modernized starting in spring and summer of 2004 and be completed by the following fall.
With so many projects funded by several different and restricted fund sources, the hard part is the timing, Meyer said. "We want to make sure we tear something up only once, rather than three or four times," he said, adding that underground utilities often have to be accessed several times for different projects if the building is not coordinated efficiently.
|
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
