Students await new STEM building, pool
EL CENTRO — Although current Southwest High School and Central Union High School students may not be able to fully utilize what Measure K will provide, they can be proud of the improvements it will bring to their campuses here in next few years.
So far through Measure K, a $30 million education bond approved in June 2016, construction for a new stateof-the-art, two-story science, technology, engineering and mathematics building began this year at Central, and will be completed by the start of the 2020 school year.
Measure K consists of two series of general obligation bonds. The first bond was issued Nov. 2016, for $12 million of the $30 million total, for the construction of Central’s STEM building, and the remaining balance of $18 million is projected to be issued toward making a new eight-lane competition swimming pool at Southwest.
“Honestly, I think it took a long time, but now the future students for Southwest don’t have to be traveling all the way to Central to practice and can have their own home meets here, and students who actually come to the school can come watch them swim,” said Southwest High swimmer Jonathan Puga, a senior.
Southwest is currently the only high school in the Imperial Valley without a designated pool, and shares its meets, which take place at Central’s pool, with swimmers from Vincent Memorial High School in Calexico.
“I think it’s going to be pretty cool because usually other swimmers think since Southwest doesn’t have a pool, we’re probably bad but we’re actually pretty good and this is just going to be a good step forward,” stated Southwest High junior Alice Valle, who enters her third year on the school’s swim team.
Southwest High swimmer Eric Pompa believes the need for a pool at the school is long overdue.
“I think it’s nice, I just hope the kids really take advantage of what they’re finally going to get and what we didn’t have,” expressed Pompa, a senior in his second year swimming for Southwest. “We struggled a little bit and we still worked hard. Hopefully they do the same.”
Building plans indicate the eightlane pool will range in depth from 6-feet and six inches to 7-feet and six inches. Dressing rooms, a restroom facility, bleachers and jumping stands are also expected.
If the project is approved, groundbreaking for the new pool is estimated to begin sometime between spring and summer 2019.
Central’s new STEM building will contain 30 classrooms. An elevator will link both floors, with the first floor set to contain a robotics and math classroom and a robotics lab.
Six dry labs, eight instructional classrooms, one special education classroom and a boys’ and girls’ restroom will also be on the first floor.
The second floor will have three dry labs, four wet labs, seven instructional classrooms, faculty restrooms and lounge, and a boys’ and girls’ restrooms.
The STEM building will replace and be built in the former location of Central Union’s old English building, which was constructed in 1913 and was demolished in July.
Central Union High School District has used the first issued bond so far to hire a utility improvement construction company, provide infrastructure for the 18 temporarily relocated classrooms formerly housed in the old English building, as well as hire the demolition company that demolished the old English building.
Also through the bond, 10 old trailer classrooms have been removed and a construction management company has been hired to assist with the construction of the new building.
Measure K was proposed by Central Union High School District on the June 2016 voting ballot to upgrade aging classrooms, acquire educational facilities to prepare students for college and careers and to upgrade athletic facilities.
“With the local bond money, the district is leveraging local money and will be applying for state funding to match for the dollars that are being spent locally,” said CUHSD Assistant Superintendent Arnold Preciado. “The school district is very thankful to our school community for allowing us to construct new facilities needed for providing the highest quality education to get our students ready for college or careers.”