Input needed for possible renovation of Britton Middle School
Published in the April 30 – May 13, 2014 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Staff Report
A Central High School student celebrates under a balloon arch during a ribbon-cutting and barbecue Sept. 26. The former Burnett Elementary School was renamed the Loritta Bonfante Johnson Education Center. Photo by Marty Cheek
The voter-approved Measure G is well under way, with some projects complete, others in the planning stages and still others awaiting the issuance of bonds.
The Citizens’ Oversight Committee for the $198 million Measure G Bond program gave its annual report March 11 to the Morgan Hill Unified School District Board of Trustees for the 2012-2013 fiscal year.
As of June 30, 2013, the school board had approved $4.4 million for the renovation of the former Burnett Elementary School site to the Loritta Bonfante Johnson Education Center, which now houses Central High School, and $5 million for the Charter School of Morgan Hill multipurpose room, construction of which will begin this fall.
The total revenue from issuance of bonds is $55 million for the first round of projects. Bonds will be issued in the future for additional projects.
Measure G-funded projects that will be done during the 2014 summer vacation break include district-wide technology upgrades, upgrading the heating and cooling systems and roofs as well as restroom code upgrades at Jackson Academy of Math and Music, Nordstrom Elementary School, and Paradise Valley Elementary School, work on the Charter School’s multi-purpose room, and the modernization of the San Martin/Gwinn and P.A. Walsh schools.
The school district is seeking input from interested members of the community on the modernization of the Britton Middle School campus using Measure G funds.
District residents will have the opportunity to provide their input about this modernization at 8:30 a.m. May 1, 2014 in the Britton Middle School auditorium.
In February 2013, Cumming Corporation, the program managers for Measure G projects, assessed the district facilities including Britton, which was built in 1940 and last modernized in 1993. It estimated the cost of modernizing the school was $25 million, which includes a 5 percent design contingency and assumed escalation costs through 2015. Based on the modernization costs versus new construction costs, estimated to be $30 million, the district staff is exploring ideas for the construction of new facility buildings for Britton.
The school board last year appointed members to the committee to regularly inform the public about the spending of Measure G bond money on various district improvement projects.
The committee’s legal charge is to actively review and report on the expenditure of taxpayers’ money for school construction in accordance with voter-approved projects, ensuring the Measure G bond revenues are expended only for the purpose described.
The COC is required by voter-approved Proposition 39, also called the Smaller Classes, Safer Schools and Financial Accountability Act.
Measure G was passed by school district voters in November 2012 and provides for the issuance of general obligation bonds “for the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or replacement of school facilities, including the furnishing and equipping of school facilities.” It requires certain accountability measures, including a Citizens’ Oversight Committee, and an annual independent audit of bond expenditures.
The audit was done by Palo Alto-based Vavrinek, Trine, Day & Co. and, according to a letter from the Citizens’ Oversight Committee, “disclosed no instance of non-compliance with the terms of Proposition 39 or the terms of the Bond measure as approved by the district voters.”
Committee member Brad Ledwith took the role of the COC’s chair, replacing Marty Cheek, at the Feb. 27 meeting.
