News - Local - South County

Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008

It’s a whole new look for Arroyo Grande High

Three years of work culminate in a swath of dramatic improvements to the five-decade-old campus

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When the new school year starts Monday at Arroyo Grande High School, the fences, tape, cones and dirt paths that have directed students through construction zones for the past three years will be gone.

Instead, the school’s 2,250 students will be welcomed to a refreshed and renovated campus complete with a new pool, multipurpose room and cafeteria and student services building, and more than half of the classrooms remodeled.

Work funded by a $21.3 million bond that voters in the district approved in 2004 is finishing in the next week or so, said Principal Ryan Pinkerton.

Students no longer must eat lunch on the barren blacktop — the quad is reopened with grass, trees and ample shade. And the parking lot is no longer cluttered with construction equipment.

“The last couple of years have been pretty chaotic,” said Pinkerton, who has led the high school for the past five years. “It’s something the community can be proud of.”

In total, about $24 million will have been spent on work on the 50-year-old campus.

The bond, which costs homeowners $14.70 per $100,000 of their home’s property value, was refinanced at one point, adding nearly $3 million to the total spending budget. It’s estimated the bond will take 25 years to be paid back.

Few remnants of the 1950s building and décor remain. Faded baby blue and red walls in most of the buildings are now painted over with a neutral hue that matches the Clark Center for the Performing Arts, which is on campus.

Drainage had been an ongoing issue for the campus, but much of it has been resolved after $2 million was spent to fix the flooding problems.

The biggest projects included building the 14,000- square-foot $5.5 million multi-purpose room (to be used for assemblies, dances and a cafeteria); the $3 million 10,000-square-foot student services center (which houses counselors, administration, and the career center); and the $5 million CIFapproved pool.

To build the student services, health services and multipurpose rooms, the previous administration building and pool had to be demolished. About $600,000 was spent on demolition, said Kevin Baker, executive director of facilities and maintenance and operations for the Lucia Mar district. “Renovations are always

more costly than new construction straight out of the ground,” Baker said.

The new design is more open, spacious and environmentally friendly, Baker said. Green elements such as white roofs to keep the buildings cooler, energy efficient lights and fixtures made of earth-friendly materials were used when possible, he said.

A total of 37 classrooms got new flooring, windows, doors, paint, lighting and heaters. Those classrooms make up about 60 percent of the classrooms and portables set up around campus.

In recreational areas, portables were removed to add open space. There are now six tennis courts instead of four, and both the boys and girls locker rooms have been revamped.

The 25-by 33-meter pool holds 550,000 gallons of water and is equipped with two diving boards from the previous pool. The water polo and swim teams had to commute to Cuesta College for the past couple of years to practice, Pinkerton said.

“Teams want to come here to play now,” he said.

After the headaches of running a school of more than 2,000 students that was being renovated, Pinkerton said having a nice campus is good for both student morale — and behavior.

“Students appreciate when things are nice and new like we all do,” said Pinkerton. “They can have pride in their new campus.”