John Cimino, San Jose Unified School District's manager of facilities and construction, invited concerned parents and residents to the campus on July 29, after he received an email from resident and small business owner Jeff Senigaglia, asking for an explanation about the ongoing construction that appeared redundant.

Senigaglia had asked why the district was spending millions of dollars renovating buildings, then tearing them down and later rebuilding them. He was concerned that the same thing was being done to Schallenberger lawns and playgrounds.

"Call me silly, but as a small business owner dedicated to making money each year this seems like an unbelievable lack of oversight, vision, not to mention an incredible waste of money," Senigaglia wrote in an email to a local Willow Glen-based Listserv.

In order to clarify the use of these funds, Cimino met with Senigaglia and three other residents at Schallenberger after seeing his email on the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association elist.

Cimino gave the group a tour through the school's new building, which was constructed across from the older ones. The building was created as a centralized area where students, faculty and the community can come together. Its design is modern yet comparable to the older building and is energy-efficient.

The architects added higher ceilings; each classroom got natural light, air conditioning and ample storage. Adult restrooms specifically for teachers were also constructed.

Cimino explained in detail to Senigalia and the others why the work appeared to be a duplication of efforts and outlined the specifics of the funding mechanism.

Senigaglia said he now has a different view of the bond money and the district.

"By Cimino taking the time to meet with the community to discuss the bond allocation, he was able to dispel a number of misconceptions that I had over the past six or seven years," Senigaglia said. "While I may never understand everything that the school district does or has done, it was extremely helpful to have a meaningful dialogue."

Cimino described Measures C and F, which were approved by voters to renovate the aging campuses.

"The district did an assessment and realized it needed $500 million worth of work to bring up our district to a certain level that we felt was important to the education of our children," Cimino said, referring to an analysis done between 1995-96.

To meet these objectives, a $165 million bond--Measure C--was placed on the ballot in 1997 and approved by voters. An additional $100 million was also leveraged from the state. The funds were applied toward all the aging schools in the San Jose Unified School District. The monies covered the basics, such as new paint on the buildings' exteriors; new roofs; paving of all blacktops; and electrical upgrading to accommodate technology needs for computer labs and Internet use. The district upgraded the air conditioning and heating in all permanent classrooms. It also replaced all the furniture in the schools and added carpet to all classrooms.

When the district realized it didn't have enough money to cover the $500 million worth of needed repairs, it asked voters to approve a second bond-- Measure F. This was passed in 2003, providing another $429 million.

Cimino said this accounted for some of the redundancy. Initial money available was just enough to make basic improvements. When the voters approved more money for the schools, the opportunity presented itself to do it right from the ground up, he said.

Measure F was able to complete the process. The district built new classroom buildings, new schools and repaired its multipurpose rooms. It added new landscaping to the front of the schools. It also replaced the irrigation systems on the fields, resodded the athletic fields, improved storm sewers, made some window and casement replacements and improved drainage systems. A granite pathway was also added around the lawns at all the schools to preserve the grass.

Teachers such as Schallenberger fifth-grader instructor Donna Reyerson are grateful for the new facility and the voters' approval.

"When everything is said and done, the wait was worth it," she said. Reyerson liked the added storage, the adult restrooms and the new building's proximity to the school office and the teachers' parking. "It's spacious and accessible," she added.