While San Juan Bautista is waiting for the results of a seismic survey that will determine whether San Juan Elementary School needs to be relocated because of its proximity to the San Andreas Fault, the superintendent and trustees of the Aromas-San Juan Unified School District have wasted no time in their response.
At their July 19 meeting, they released the San Juan School Conceptual Master Plan and the Facilities Master Plan, setting out ideas for the possibilities that lie in the future of the three district schools: Anzar High School, Aromas School and, in particular, San Juan School.
“We are still waiting for word from the division of the state architect,” District Superintendent Barbara Dill-Varga said. “We are trying to get approval for a replacement and believe the estimates our architects have worked on justify that. I think they’ll agree that most of the buildings would cost more to renovate than they would to replace.”
If the school needs to be relocated, Dill-Varga has told BenitoLInk that resources and funding are available to the district.
“If the state tells us we must tear it down, they will pay 40% to 50% of the costs,” she said. “The state has a special bucket of money they use to address this kind of thing. And we already have the approved Measure O bonds, which we can also use.”
Passed by voters in 2020, Measure O authorized $30.5 million in funding to be used for repairing classrooms and facilities or constructing new classrooms.
The Facilities Master Plan, prepared by SchoolWooks Inc., a company specializing in facility planning for districts in California, offers design options for modifying existing buildings at all of the schools.
Anzar High
During the last school year, according to the plan, Anzar served 277 students with a classroom capacity of up to 540. It projects the student population declining to 227 by the 2028-29 school year.
The campus inventory cited in the plan includes eight wings, six of which were built in 1995 and have been eligible for modernization since at least 2020. One wing, built in 2006, is eligible for modernization in 2031. The remaining wing was a portable built in 2010 and will be eligible for modernization in 2030. Six structures within those wings are permanent buildings and six are portables.
The total required for the Anzar renovation is estimated at $16.6 million. Modernization is estimated to cost $4.4 million and would include an all-weather sports track, improved ADA access, interior painting and air conditioning for the classrooms. New construction to replace the portable buildings and add shade structures is estimated at $12.2 million.
Aromas School
During the last school year, according to the plan, Aromas served 382 students with a classroom capacity of up to 442. It projects the student population to increase to 406 by the 2028-29 school year.
The campus inventory cited in the plan includes 12 wings. Six wings were built in 1951, with five eligible for modernization since 2012 and not eligible until 2029.
Two wings, built in 1998, have been eligible for modernization since 2018. The remaining wings were built between 1986 and 2014 and will be eligible for modernization between 2024 and 2039. Seven structures within those wings are permanent buildings, and seven are portables.
The total required for the Aromas renovation is estimated at $11.7 million. Modernization is estimated to cost $3.8 million and would include roof repair, improved ADA access, cafeteria upgrades and air conditioning for the classrooms. New construction to replace the portable buildings and a maintenance shed is estimated at $7.9 million.
San Juan School
During the last school year, according to the plan, San Juan Elementary served 336 students with a classroom capacity of up to 491. It projects the student population to increase to 377 by the 2028-29 school year.
The campus inventory cited in the plan includes 13 wings. Seven wings were built in 1967, with one eligible for modernization since 1996 and six renovated in 2003 and not eligible again until 2028. Four wings, built in 1990, became eligible for modernization between 2010 and 2015. Two wings are portables built in 2003 and will be eligible for modernization in 2028. Nine structures within those wings are permanent buildings, three are portables, and one is a maintenance building.
The total required for the San Juan renovation is estimated at $34.2 million.
Modernization is estimated to cost $3.6 million and would include utility upgrades, improved ADA access and roof repair. New construction would replace buildings that do not meet current earthquake standards including four classroom buildings, the multipurpose/cafeteria building, the library/media center building and the administration building for an estimated cost of $30.6 million.
San Juan Conceptual Master Plan
The San Juan School Conceptual Master Plan, prepared by Aedis Architects, includes a possible timeline for building the new campus with studies and design work leading up to a year of construction beginning in June or July of 2024. The plan does not include work to be done at Anzar High School or the Aromas School.
Three plans were reviewed during stakeholder meetings. Two of them are conventional perpendicular and parallel layouts. The third plan, which is most favored plan among stakeholders, is a non-linear, almost zig-zagged layout centered around a quad. The design of classroom interior spaces would consider suggestions brought forward from recent workshops held by educational designer David Jakes.
The new design places the main entrance at the center of the campus. Transitional kindergarten and kindergarten classrooms have their own areas. The playground areas are moved to the back of the property. And the gym, along with the 7th and 8th grade classrooms would be preserved.
The final decision on the fate of the San Juan campus has been expected from the state architect since late last year. Once the decision is made, the school district will seek funding and construction could begin as soon as June 2024, according to a timeline drawn up by Aedis.
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