In a report to the Hollister School District Board of Trustees meeting on March 26, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Gabriel Moulaison said the new, yet-to-be-named school at Santana Ranch is close to being fully funded.
He said the total cost for the new school is $51.16 million, with the actual construction cost being $41.5 million. He said before purchasing the land, the district spent $465,000 on tests and approvals. The land was then purchased and fill dirt was moved and staged near the construction site at a cost of $5 million. He said there were some change orders in the design that cost $1.1 million.
“The cost to have the Division of the State Architect approve the design was $500,000,” he said. “We need furniture, fixtures, computers, and sports equipment, everything that goes into a school that’s going to be about $1.6 million.”
Total funding sources are at $50.7 million, leaving a shortfall of $455,000, Moulaison said.
Moulaison reported that the new school is receiving some funds under Measure V, a $36 million school bond that voters approved in 2016 alongside Measure M (of which there is still $3.4 million remaining).
He told the school board that the district receives about $2.5 million annually in developer fees, which would cover the $455,000 shortfall in about three months. He said there would also be a $1 million reimbursement from the state for the cost of the land.
What the numbers add up to, he said, is the school is totally funded. However, there won’t be a gym in the near future, because that will cost an additional $8 million.
Even though there is no determined construction start date, Moulaison told BenitoLink that the district still anticipates the school will be completed January 2021.
At the school board meeting, Trustee Rob Bernosky asked if the $1 million state reimbursement was guaranteed. Moulaison hedged a bit and said, “There’s a very good likelihood.”
When board President Stephen Kain said the district couldn’t count on the state, Moulaison replied that he was still “somewhat sure” they would receive the entire $1 million. He reminded the school board that they were waiting for some bonds to be sold, referring to Prop 51. California voters approved the measure in 2016, allowing for $9 billion in general obligation bonds to go to new construction and improvement of K-12 public school facilities, community colleges, charter schools and vocational schools.
“We’ll still get enough in developer fees over the next few months that we’re not going to have a problem,” Moulaison assured the board. “When I was budgeting this out, I wanted to make sure we were able to get through the whole thing without touching the general fund. We’re in good shape.”
As more funds become available, future Hollister School District projects include $8 million apiece for gyms at Calaveras Middle School, Cerra Vista Elementary School and the new school at Santana Ranch; $3.5 million for a locker room and kitchen at Maze Middle School; $250,000 for a sewer lift station, $100,000 for asphalt/concrete repair; $1.5 million for a roof at Rancho San Justo Middle School; $90,000 for termite abatement at Maze and Rancho; and $250,000 to demolish buildings at Sunnyslope Elementary School.
Other related BenitoLink articles:
Hollister School District invites public to submit new school name and mascot
Santana Ranch developer clears the air over new middle school site
Hollister School District considers traffic safety wall for new school
Santana Ranch School design nears completion
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