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Published on 06/12/1995 All articles from this issue

Measure D approval for five-year high school facilties overhaul

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By Bruce Barton / Town Crier Staff Writer

It took three tries, but the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District won taxpayer approval June 6 to fix and update its 40-year-old high school buildings.

Victory for Measure D, a $58 million bond measure, sets in motion a five-year construction process that began with school board approval Monday of a Construction Overview Commission. The five-member commission, which includes residents with construction and financial backgrounds, will oversee development and execution of the plans.

District officials hope to break ground on new classroom wings at Los Altos and Mountain View high schools as early as next winter, with construction of new science buildings to begin in the summer of 1996. Following that would be expansion of the libraries and renovation work to combine cafeteria and auditorium/theater space at both high schools.

Enough voters changed their minds about a school bond measure to make a difference this time around, as Measure D passed with a 74.7 percent majority. Bond measures need a two-thirds majority, or 66.7 percent, to pass.

"This is a victory for our kids," Superintendent Don Phillips told supporters at a Measure D campaign party June 6. "Our community will be all the stronger and better for it."

With provisional ballots yet to be counted last week, unofficial final tallies showed 12,626 voters in favor of the bond measure, with 4,276 against. District supporters carried 40 of 43 polling places, said to Ginny Lear, who led the campaign supporting the bond measure.

Measure D was one of three school bond measures affecting Los Altos-area students that garnered overwhelming approval. Measure A, the Cupertino Union School District's $71 million initiative for renovating facilities, passed with an 80.4 percent majority, while Measure B, a $143 million proposal for the Palo Alto Unified School District, passed with 81.4 percent in favor. The Measure D election drew 33.2 percent of the school district's 52,000 eligible voters to the polls.

Voters supported the measure with a price tag $10.5 million less than two previous initiatives narrowly defeated at the polls last year. The plan includes overhauls of heating, electrical and plumbing systems, new science buildings, expansion of the libraries and additional classroom wings. The district dropped some new construction, renovation of athletic fields and combined cafeteria and auditorium uses to lower the cost.

Phillips said the school board's next step, following the appointment of the Construction Overview Commission, is approval this summer of a construction management firm to provide technical expertise. The commission, along with district and construction officials also will work with architects to make sure the plans are functional and cost effective, Phillips said.

"The greatest savings you can find are usually early in the design process," he said.

Among the first facilities priorities will be repairs and overhauls of the electrical and heating systems, roof repairs and general classroom fixes. Also involved will be repairs to administrative offices, the hub of fire alarms and communication systems that need to be prioritized according to state guidelines, Phillips said. State architects also have to approve plans before new construction begins, he added.

"We're in a fast-go mode right now," Phillips said. "The interest rates are low right now and the construction business is soft. ... The faster we go, the better the bids. The timing is right."

Phillips said teachers, students and the general public will have the opportunity to get involved in the plans. All Construction Overview Commission meetings are open to the public.

Measure D's passage also allows the district to use $3.5 million of its $9.7 million savings from the 1986 sale of the old Mountain View High School for equipment such as new computers, classroom maps and overhead projectors.