District Has Hard Choices on Bond

The bond program manager presented the improvements it recommends at five district schools at Thursday night's school board meeting, and the wish list came in a little high: $193 million.

That number assumes the district chooses to make the most expensive renovations from a range of options presented at , , , and . Those five schools were identified as priorities for physical upgrades in the $162 Measure J school bond that voters approved in November.

Swinerton Management & Consulting, the bond program manager, also outlined a more economical set of improvements that would come in at $175 million—still $13 million more than the bond allows. 

Board Trustees Philip Weise, Liza Normandy and Judy Bush agreed that with funds limited, the priority should be replacing aging portable classrooms, as well as improving safety and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Swinerton's most expensive list of upgrades included rebuilding Buri Buri and Martin Elementary Schools entirely and rehauling the South San Francisco High School football field and amenities to the tune of $8 million.

"The key piece of information we’re missing is how many modulars out there do we need to replace?" Weise said.

The board directed Swinerton to bring a list of portable classrooms at all district schools and what it would cost to replace them, broken down by how they are currently used (whether for classrooms, childcare, storage or not at all), to its Sept. 8 meeting.

Board President Maurice Goodman was concerned that the board might be shifting its priorities away from improving the five schools listed as priorities in the bond measure. The bond also listed replacing portable classrooms as a priority.

"As long as we’re consistent with what we put out to the voters,” Goodman said.

Swinerton is in the process of refining the district's master plan in preparation for beginning the design and construction process. The plan is due Sept. 30. Superintendent Alejandro Hogan said it's important to get the board's input now so that it can easily approve the plan at that time and move forward with bond improvements.