Long-awaited renovations at several Morgan Hill School District
elementary schools will soon get under way, as School Board
trustees approved the next step in the process.
Long-awaited renovations at several Morgan Hill School District elementary schools will soon get under way, as School Board trustees approved the next step in the process.
Three schools – Burnett Elementary, San Martin/Gwinn Elementary and Machado Elementary – qualified two years ago to receive state matching funds for renovations and improvements. If the district did not accept bids to move forward with the work by June 18, the money would have been lost.
The state match of 80/20 is one the district is not likely to see again, due to the state budget deficit. A recent round of matching grants announced was a 60/40 match.
Trustees voted unanimously to award the contract for modernization of Burnett Elementary to Valhalla Construction in the amount of $649,083. The state portion of the amount is $546,000. The district had set aside the matching funds for all the projects at the time the state awarded the funds.
The work at Burnett includes upgrades to canopies, replacement of carpeting, low-voltage system upgrades and door and hardware accessibility compliance.
A contract for work on San Martin/Gwinn was also unanimously approved, with William G. Blomquist, Inc., as the low bidder at $314,500. The state portion of the funding exceeds the $358,000 estimated cost of the project.
Original plans approved by the state included a bus turnaround, but San Martin/Gwinn Principal P.J. Foehr told trustees that the revised plans, approved by the state architect, were more suited to the needs of the school.
“I have talked to parents, to the Home and School Club, to teachers, and we agree,” he said. “We need to join the two schools.”
A street, closed to traffic, separates the two schools. Part of the revised plans is to use landscaping to “join” the schools together and give an appearance of a single campus.
Also included in the revised plans is the installation of a new playground. The school’s Home and School Club has raised funds to purchase new equipment, but has not been able to arrange for the district to install it.
Trustees also voted to approve a contract with Toeniskoetter and Breeding, Inc., for phase two of the modernization project at Los Paseos Elementary. The school, which formerly housed grades K-3, needs a new multipurpose building and more classrooms and restrooms after absorbing grade 4-6 students from Encinal Elementary after it was closed at the end of the 2002-2003 school year.
The Charter School of Morgan Hill now occupies the former Encinal campus.
The City of San Jose will help fund the multi-purpose room, as Los Paseos is in south San Jose and adjacent to a park, and will share usage.
Director of Construction and Modernization Al Solis told trustees construction should begin in July and take approximately one year to complete.
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. She can be reached by e-mail at md****@*************es.com or phoning (408) 779-4106 Ext. 202
