2 SLO County schools will swap campuses. Why?
Templeton Middle School and Vineyard Elementary School and will swap campuses — an estimated $60.5 million decision that comes along with renovations and new construction at both school sites.
Trustees approved the campus swap plan at a special meeting on March 24, despite pushback from the audience and some school board members.
The district plans to use its $52.3 million Measure D general obligation bond, approved by voters in November 2024, in addition to matching state funds totaling around $9.4 million and about $8.5 million in district dollars to fund the planned renovations at both sites, according to a district presentation.
After hearing public comments and sharing their own thoughts, school board members voted to approve the swap in a 3-2 vote, with trustees Matt Allison and Cheryl Parks voting against the measure.
District will swap campuses, construct new classrooms
According to a staff presentation during the meeting, the Vineyard campus will serve students in sixth through eighth grades, while the old middle school campus will host preschool through fifth grades after the swap.
The campus swap project includes the construction of new facilities at each site, replacing old classrooms and expanding capacity for the district’s youngest learners, staff said.
That includes the removal of a five-classroom building at the Vineyard campus, which will be replaced with a 10-classroom building, and the construction of an eight-classroom building at the elementary campus for preschool, transitional kindergarten and kindergarten.
The classrooms slated to be replaced at Vineyard were portables that have reached their end of life, a school official said during the meeting.
“If you’ve seen them, you’ll understand what I mean,” he said.
District staff were still exploring options for the campus layouts and amenities, but the list of cost estimates for the proposed project also included the construction of a new, $13.6 million gymnasium, new STEM classrooms, band classrooms, and a music room at the current Vineyard campus, set to become the home of the middle school.
At the former middle school campus, the district proposed building a new transitional kindergarten playground, a new playground for grades three to five and various classroom demolitions and relocations, the chart showed.
The cost of switching the campuses and completing the associated projects was estimated at a little over $60.5 million, the chart showed. That’s compared to the $50.2 million estimated to keep the campuses as is, while completing updates at each.
Several community members spoke at the March 24 meeting, expressing concerns that the school bond approved by voters should go toward other expenses beyond what was listed by the district.
One speaker suggested using the bond money to update the district’s agriculture facilities at the high school. Another described the swap as “an expensive solution to a problem that does not exist,” expressing concerns about the size of the new elementary campus and increased foot traffic near the middle school.
Brandi Bognuda, agriculture department head at the high school, also expressed concerns about the aging ag facilities.
“We have so many goals, and we have so many aspirations, and we have so much room for growth, but that’s not going to happen unless we address the elephant in the room, which is we really need those facility upgrades,” Bognuda said.
After public comment, the board members had the chance to discuss the project. Trustee Matt Allison did not support the project as proposed, calling out specifically the gym construction.
He said he could not support spending a quarter of the available bond funds on the construction, describing the choice as “irresponsible.”
“I don’t think it’s the wisest choice for our money at this point,” he said.
Allison moved to approve keeping the campuses as is, but that motion failed on a 2-3 vote.
The board then voted 3-2 to approve the plan to swap the campuses, with Allison and trustee Cheryl Parks voting against the decision.
It was not immediately clear from the plans presented during the meeting what the timeline would be for the approved campus exchange plan.
This story was originally published April 8, 2026 at 12:00 PM.
CORRECTION: This article has been updated to clarify the timeline of the swap. The district has not yet established a timeline for when the swap will take place.
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