This week, the Cloverdale Unified School District is opening some of its major construction projects. The projects include a new two-story classroom building and play structure at Jefferson Elementary and a new multi-purpose room at Washington School. According to Superintendent Betha MacClain, the buildings are set to open on Jan. 5 with a more formal celebration recognizing the completion of the two projects held on Feb. 16.
Funding for the projects comes fromMeasure H, a bond measure passed by voters in 2018. Measure H authorized the sale of up to $46 million in bonds to the district to help repair, renovate and add to district facilities.
Van Pelt Construction started moving teachers into their Jefferson classrooms on Dec. 19, continuing over the past few weeks.
During the board’s Dec. 15 meeting, Kevin Little, project manager for Van Pelt Construction, said that while visiting the elementary campus in mid-December, he got a chance to meet some of the students who were outside looking at the campus’ new play structure.
“I felt something and I looked down and this little blonde girl, she was knee-high to a grasshopper and she was hugging me so tight. That’s why I do what I do. This is why we’re all here. When all this settles down, we’re here for our kids,” Little said.
District trustee Ashley Lopus White said that her young daughter called the Jefferson project “rockin’.”
Over at Washington School, the new multi-purpose room is eye-catching as you drive down Cloverdale Boulevard.
“When I get off at the Citrus Fair exit and you can see Washington Middle School, it gave me chills the first time I saw it because everyone is always like, ‘Where’s Washington School?’ and now it’s there, in your face,” Trustee Jacque Garrison said at the district’s Nov. 17 meeting.
Washington Principal Mark Lucchetti said that he’s had students knocking on his office door to see the new multi-purpose room, with one student saying that it “looks like a private school gym.”
Little applauded the district’s ability to push the construction projects over the finish line amid supply concerns, harsh weather and a pandemic. “If you call around, most of the schools within 200 miles of here, they’re not opening schools in January — they’re still doing rooftops through winter,” he said. “We managed through good management, quick decisions, to get all of our projects done in this period including a pandemic.”
Beyond these Measure H projects, more will continue into the summer — including the required demolition of some portable classrooms and the relocation of others.
Major funds from Measure H have also been used to renovate Cloverdale High School’s (CHS) John Allen Memorial Field, tearing out the old grass and putting in new synthetic turf as well as a new track. The decision to switch from sod to turf was made in October 2019 following lengthy discussions, during which community members and CHS athletes spoke about how a turf field would be beneficial to both the CHS’ football team and the community as a whole. Construction on the project began in spring 2020 and a ribbon-cutting for it was held on Sept. 20.
Additionally, funds from Measure H have been used to repaint district schools, upgrade the high school’s main bathrooms and repair and replace roofing, among other things.
