Update: The decision on the allocation of funds has been moved to the November 1 school board meeting as (district officials) need additional time to gather information to respond to questions presented at the Oct. 11 study session, according to district staff.
At a near $50 million price tag as proposed by the district’s construction craftsman, Lewis H. Britton Middle School is set to become the newest and priciest campus among Morgan Hill Unified School District schools.
During an Oct. 11 special meeting held inside the aging middle school’s library, MHUSD school board trustees listened as Director of Construction and Modernization Casino Fajardo ran through four options with varying costs for the long-awaited Britton Middle School Project.
The most extravagant of proposals for the first of four phases of construction planned for Britton includes three classroom buildings running parallel to Monterey Road (displacing the eastside campus baseball field), a state-of-the-art student union/library/kitchen at the corner of Monterey and Keystone Road (where decrepit tennis courts currently sit), and a new administration building at the shifted campus entrance adjacent to the gymnasium.
Each of the three alternative Phase I options removes a piece and lowers the price tag—which in 2014 was proposed at just under $30 million. Option B removes the administration building and drops the price to $45.3 million; Option C further removes one of the proposed classroom buildings for $37.1 million; and Option D strips away the student union/library/kitchen facility to bring the total Phase 1 cost to $33.5 million.
The massive project will be funded through the $198 million voter-approved Measure G capital improvements bond. Construction is scheduled to begin in June 2017 and Phase I completion is estimated at June 2019.
At the Oct. 11 session, the board did not take any action on the Britton plan. Instead, they asked questions regarding each option and will make a final determination at the Nov. 1 school board meeting, which is scheduled to begin open session at 6 p.m. at the district office (15600 Concord Circle).
Regardless of what option the board decides on, the Master plan, which can be viewed as attachments on the Oct. 11 agenda posted on the district’s website at mhusd.org, call for the demolition of the existing administration building, two old classroom wing buildings and the current kitchen structure.
The Britton gymnasium and auditorium will remain as part of the new campus.
After completion of the first phase, district officials have Phase II plans for an additional $6 to $8 million that includes an expansion of the parking lot on Central Avenue to include a parent dropoff area, a bus-only dropoff area, 6-foot high architectural fencing along the campus perimeter, some landscape work and a canopy. That phase is scheduled through 2020.
Phase 3 of the Britton project, coming in between $24.8 and $27.9 million with an undetermined timeline, would incorporate modernization work on the remaining old buildings, gymnasium and locker rooms. Phase 4, priced between $9-$13 million, includes new architectural gateway and signage elements, and a new campus walkway with historical signage in partnership with the City of Morgan Hill.
Britton was originally built in 1940 as a high school campus and was converted for middle school use in 1975. It sits on a 22-acre site in the heart of downtown Morgan Hill along Monterey Road and Hale avenues between Central Avenue and Keystone Road. It currently has 28 regular classrooms with 69,000 square feet of buildings. The last modernization work was done in 1993. The school currently serves approximately 900 students in grades 6-8.
