OPINION: Campus construction projects have economic impact locally

This article was provided by San Benito High School Superintendent, Shawn Tennenbaum.

A report presented this week to the San Benito High School District Board of Trustees shows that of the more than 68,000 hours put into recent campus construction projects — many of which are funded by voter-approved bond measures — half have been completed by local workers from the tri-county area, including San Benito, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.

This means that not only are resources funding campus upgrades that will directly benefit students, faculty, staff and the community for years to come, but nearly $4 million in wages is cycling back to the region.

This local economic impact from construction wages was not the intent of the bond measures, but it is a welcome byproduct, offering employment opportunities to skilled, local workers who support their families and areas businesses with their wages.

SBHS is appreciative for local residents’ ongoing support as we continue to transform the school through projects such as the Measure G-funded Career Technical Education Building — which will hold a grand opening in November — and the Visual and Performing Arts and Academic Building, funded by Measures G and U. The VAPAA building, scheduled for opening in January 2018, is slated to add fine arts, ceramics and dance classrooms just south of Nash Road near Mattson Gym.

Support of the district has extended to local government, as the San Benito County Board of Supervisors’ and Hollister City Council’s approval of the Nash Road closure through campus will improve student and staff safety by next summer and create a bypass road south of campus to ease traffic congestion.

Following campus modernization projects over the past two summers, including the installation of new HVAC systems in all classrooms that didn’t have them, the next couple of years are scheduled to include the start of construction of an aquatics facility, new multi-purpose field for physical education classes and athletics practices, a new track and field and softball field, and new classroom and science wings that will feature a robotics lab and instructional spaces for biology, chemistry and physics.

One of our main priorities is to continuously monitor the progress and ensure completion of our facility projects by skilled, local workers from the tri-county area. All of this is made possible by the trust the community shows to San Benito High School District. It is an exciting time for the district and our constituents, and we look forward to continuing our facility modernization efforts into the future.