Board reviews designs for Lodi High campus

During Tuesday night’s meeting, the Lodi Unified School District Board of Education reviewed schematic designs for a new Lodi High School campus.

Gary Gery, an architect with PBK Architects, said that several portable classrooms will be demolished to build new permanent classrooms in the north part of the campus, and a new parking lot will be built to the south of the school’s track.

“We’ll be taking some buildings down to do that as well,” Gery said.

The new two-story buildings in the north part of campus will be grouped by subjects such as social science, English, math or science, Gery said, and connected by a covered walkway on the second story.

The buildings will be modular, which Gery said will make them easier to construct, and built around a new quad area that will feature multiple outdoor shade structures where students can study or socialize.

The schematic design is the first level of the design process, Gery said, and will be followed by design development and construction documents before the project is bid out for contracts.

“We are looking forward to moving this forward to the next level of design,” Gery said.

School board member Courtney Porter — who represents Area 4, which includes Lodi High — asked whether the schematic included plans for a new aquatic facility or football stadium.

“Where is Lodi High going to play football next year?” Porter said.

Leonard Kahn, the district’s chief business officer, said that although the district has set money aside for a new aquatic facility sometime in the future, the current schematic does not include a new pool or football stadium.

“We believe they’re going to be at the Grape Bowl again,” Kahn said of Lodi High’s football team.