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School districts wait to hear on state money
By Genevieve Roja
Cupertino Union School District and Fremont Union High School District are two of the state's districts in the process of applying for state funds to aid in their facilities modernization program.
CUSD has been approved for a maximum of $28.4 million from the state. The district passed its own bond in 1995; coupled with the state funds, the district's total for facilities renovations could be $35.6 million.
FUHSD is eligible for $27.5 million from the state, said Bill Savidge, FUHSD facility modernization director. This money will supplement the $144 million FUHSD raised through Measure H, the local facilities bond.
School districts undergo three stages before they receive the money from the state. The first is eligibility for funds, the second is apportionment--where the state sets aside money for a particular district--and, in the third step, districts receive the money. CUSD is in the eligibility stage; FUHSD is in the apportionment stage. FUHSD must submit construction documents for approval to reach the final stage.
"We're in the middle of completing our drawings," Savidge said. "We expect to come into the state in early fall with them."
With the November passage of bond Measure 1A, the state provided $9.2 billion in funds to repair older schools in school districts like the ones in CUSD and FUHSD. Grades K-12 will receive $6.7 billion of that money, with the remainder of the funds given to the state's higher education institutions.
"All types of modernization and new construction to me are growth needs," Savidge said. "We have an increasing student population that needs new buildings."
CUSD has been able to finance its own school renovations since 1989, due to the sale of 10 sites. When district officials discovered they were out of funds to complete the renovation at four junior high schools and one elementary school, they proposed Measure A. It passed, and work began on the schools the day after, said Charles Corr, CUSD facility modernization director.
CUSD will use most of its funds to replace older intercom systems with new fiberoptic cables, replace roofs and give buildings a fresh coat of paint, Corr said.
"We'll go back and assess each site and (see) what needs to be done," Corr said. "Some have a little to do, others, a lot more."
Every classroom and building at each of FUHSD's high schools will be modernized.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
