Breaking ground
Funding alternative for new school avoids further state delays
Undeterred by an ongoing delay of funds from Sacramento, Burton School District has found a way to move forward, and has broken ground at the site of their newest school across from Summit Charter Collegiate Academy in Porterville.
The district has secured bridge financing for the for the full amount of $17 million for the construction project, a loan that allows work to begin at the site without further delay while they wait for the release of funding from the state.
“I’m glad to finally get it underway,” said Tracy Tucker, director of maintenance, operations, and transportation for Burton School District. “As a district, we are excited about the new site.”
The new construction is one phase of efforts to improve and modernize facili-
ties around the district. Voters in the Burton School District approved a $6.5 million dollar bond, Measure M, in November of last year. The district issued $3.4 million of those funds for roofing projects and HVAC replacement at their Burton Elementary and Oak Grove sites, as well as an allocation of $25,000 for each of its nine sites for 21st Century Classroom modernization.
Because it is a small district at only nine square miles, Burton qualifies for hardship funding from the state of California for school construction. Without such assistance, small districts have difficulty funding the full cost of such projects on their own with tax revenues.
Governor Jerry Brown has been slow in distributing funds, however, announcing he wants to restructure how such hardship funding is spent statewide to ensure that districts are not using the money inappropriately. As a result of this process, Burton does not expect to receive their funding for another 12 to 18 months.
The bridge financing also enabled the district to avoid a critical deadline. If they had not begun construction at the site by Sept. 30, they would have surpassed the four-year time limit stipulated by the state, and would have had to begin the application process for hardship funding anew.
Enrollment at Burton School District is approaching 5,000 students, and they are in need of new instruction space to keep up with growth in enrollment.
“Over the last 10 years, we have doubled our enrollment, despite the lack of new housing, because we have a draw with our charter schools,” said Superintendent Sharon Kamberg. “We are now reaching the capacity of our schools, which is imperative that we really get moving on the project, so that we will have adequate space so that we can continue to grow.”
After a series of long and frustrating delays on the project, the school district is glad to see progress on new construction. They had hoped to finish the 14-month construction project in time for the beginning of the 2018-19 school year, but the delays have likely pushed completion back to December of 2018.
The new structure will be 34,324 square feet, and will consist of 16 classrooms, a library, an administration building and multi-use building with kitchen. The site is 12 acres and is located at the north west corner of Thurman Avenue and Redwood Street.
The district has not made a final decision about what grades will be taught at the new site, but have expressed a need for additional instruction space for grades K-6.
Bush Construction in Hanford, who previously worked on the district’s Jim Maples Academy, have already cleared weeds and turned earth at the site, and they are preparing to pour concrete footings for what will be the foundation of the new buildings.
The district is also planning for future growth beyond the current construction project. In August 2016, the district acquired the property that was once home to the drive-in theater on Newcomb Street. They have already cleared the property, removed the screens and partitions, and performed asbestos removal. The property will likely be the site of a new K-8 school for the district in the near future.