More than 8,000 local students last week returned to school at Morgan Hill Unified School District’s 13 campuses. Joining them Aug. 15 on the first day of school were 60 new teachers and two counselors for the 2019-20 school year.
Students seeing the biggest changes after the summer break were likely those returning to Britton Middle School, where construction crews spent the preceding months undertaking a $50 million campus modernization. The upgrades include two new two-story buildings for classrooms and ancillary spaces.
Construction continues at Britton, which started the school year Aug. 15 with an enrollment of 728 students. A new science building is under construction, and a new administration building and a student union are in the works.
The Britton modernization project is funded through the voter-approved $198 million Measure G capital improvements bond, which has resulted in modernization upgrades at each of the district’s 13 school sites.
“There is much enthusiasm from the students and staff setting foot onto the updated campus for their first day,” MHUSD Superintendent Steve Betando said. “Their physical environment is making a noticeable impact on the students and their excitement for learning.”
The 22-acre middle school campus, which was originally built as Live Oak High School in 1940, sits on the northwestern edge of downtown Morgan Hill, along Monterey Road and Hale Avenue between Central Avenue and Keystone Road.
As of the Aug. 15 first day of school, 8,467 students are enrolled in MHUSD schools. The district oversees three high school campus (including a continuation high school), two middle schools and eight elementary schools located from San Martin to south San Jose. MHUSD also oversees an adult education school in Morgan Hill.
