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| Loma Vista's new school building will open in March. |
This month, students at Chico's Loma Vista Campus will be getting a new building that includes bigger classrooms, new technology, new furniture and a new playground thanks to a ballot measure approved by voters two years ago.
When Linda Hovey was elected in 2012 as Chico Unified School District board president, she saw that the district's school buildings needed to be updated. That is where Measure K came in.
“Measure K is a $152 million school bond that was placed on the local ballot in November 2016,” Hovey said. “The voters of Chico overwhelming approved (71 percent) this bond to refurbish the aging school buildings in our district and to support the building and refurbishment of sports stadiums at both high school campuses.
"Many of the schools in our district were built in the 1950s and 1960s and needed repair to not just the physical building, but also upgrades to the infrastructure (for internet capability among other things), as well as retrofits to be in compliance with ADA laws,” Hovey said.
Money from Measure K will be used to implement the school district's facility master plan. The Loma Vista Campus, located on Marigold Avenue, was one of the projects included in the plan.
"It’s a specialty school that supports students with many types of disabilities,” Hovey said. “In addition, Loma Vista houses a unique preschool program, the Innovative Preschool. The Loma Vista building itself was very old and its physical space and layout was not conducive to meet the needs of the students who attend.”
School projects are prioritized based on anticipated growth, said Julia M. Kistle, director of facilities and construction. In 2016, the CUSD facilities master plan was updated to include Loma Vista’s new building.
“The district has a comprehensive plan in which they decided which school needs new improvements,” Loma Vista Principal Aaron Sauberan said. “A few years ago, Chico High got new improvements, and because of the plan, it is our turn.”
Jeana Peyton, assistant principal at Loma Vista Campus for two years, is thrilled about the new building.
“(I am) so excited, so unbelievably excited,” Peyton said.” “Parking has been a challenge with construction, but once we come back from spring break our old building will be torn down and there will be new parking.
“Everything (in the building) is nice. We got new technology, fancy equipment, rooms are bigger. It's going to be nice," she said.
--Salma Reyes