 |
|
|
|
|
School board okays final construction bond sale
By Sam Scott
The Sunnyvale School District Board on Feb. 3 authorized the sale of $14.5 million in bonds earmarked for school construction and renovation.
Sunnyvale voters in 1996 approved a $34 million school construction bond initiative. The district already has sold $19.5 million of the bonds. The upcoming issuance represents the last of the approved school construction funds.
State matching funds will effectively double the bond amount, adding an additional $14 million to district coffers.
Benjamin Picard, the district's' deputy superintendent, said the money will be used to continue modernizing the district's schools, which he said average about 40 years old. The district began the modernization project in 1992.
"We're taking those old schools and making them like new facilities," he said. "Our goal is getting all facilities up to the 21st century."
Lakewood, Ellis, Cumberland, and Cherry Chase Elementary, four schools whose renovations were not completed in earlier projects, will be the main beneficiaries of the new funds. Lakewood is first on the list, officials said. "(We'll update) the heating, venting, air conditioning, plumbing, literally every thing," Picard said.
Though the money will be spent on refurbishing facilities, Picard said the improvements will enhance the overall educational atmosphere in the schools.
Frances Dampier, the principal of Bishop Elementary, which currently is in the midst of construction, agreed. The improvements, she said, have improved teacher and student morale.
"If you feel good about where you are and you want to be there, it sets an environment where you will thrive," she said.
Picard said factors including the age of the school, the type of kids served and the general condition of the buildings determined the order the schools were attended to.
Originally, the bonds weren't to be sold until several years later, but a more aggressive schedule was adopted to take advantage of Proposition 1A, a $9 billion state initiative passed in 1998.
"We changed the scheduling to get the projects done before the money dries up," said Bob Roberts, Sunnyvale school board president.
Roberts said the district was in the perfect place to access the state funds. Proposition 1A doles out money out on a matching basis, and the district already had the funds to be match.
"We're getting $2 of building for every $1 of bond money," he said.
Board member Jessica Lee congratulated the voters for their impeccable timing. By the time many other districts get the funds to match, the money will be gone, she said.
"Other districts may not get what we're enjoying," she said.
|
|
|
|
Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
