SAN MARCOS: Districts' decision to wait on bond could mean more portables for now

Officials say they want more support from the community

By SHAYNA CHABNER - Staff Writer | Monday, July 21, 2008 1:14 PM PDT ∞

SAN MARCOS ---- School officials said this month's decision to abandon a possible bond measure in the fall will delay several big construction projects, including plans to rebuild most of San Marcos High School.

San Marcos Unified School District officials said publicly they pushed the bond back ---- probably to the general election in 2010 ---- because they needed more time both to study and plan for improvements and to help local residents understand why the bond is important.

Some district officials suggested privately, however, that they weren't convinced they'd have voter support for a bond this year, based on a survey of local residents taken in the spring.

In the survey, many residents asked why improvements at San Marcos High were necessary, said Bonnie Moss, the district's bond consultant. Moss said survey results and a master plan for future building projects will be presented to the board in September.

District officials have said for years that renovating the 58-year-old campus is an important part of their plans to modernize all their campuses. The plans ---- rebuilding the gym and tearing down and replacing roughly half of the school's buildings and classrooms ---- could cost as much as $150 million, said Gary Hamels, the district's assistant superintendent of business services.

For students at San Marcos High, the delay of the bond means they'll have to study at least for several more years in outdated relocatable trailers with poor air circulation and limited technology. The school will also have to add more relocatable classrooms to the campus to accommodate its growing enrollment, Hamels said.

"It's a good school, but it's pretty rundown," said 17-year-old Crystal Bryer, who will be a senior at San Marcos High in the fall.

Crystal said her wish list of improvements include the replacement of the math relocatable classrooms where "teachers have to run the air conditioning all the time because otherwise it smells like mold," and the English building where the "walls are so thin that you can hear what every single class is saying."

Parent Teacher Organization President Jay Petrek agreed with Crystal and other students, noting that the "school is definitely in need of a major repair."

Petrek said that while he thinks the district has done a good job of maintaining the campus and fixing problems as things have come up, officials now need to invest time and money to do a more comprehensive overhaul.

San Marcos High is not the only campus that could benefit from bond money, Hamels said. District officials and staff have also discussed using some money from the next voter-approved bond to supplement the cost of rebuilding San Marcos Elementary School, where work is expected to begin next summer, and improving technology and replacing roughly 300 relocatable classroom throughout the district's 19 schools, he said.

The district will proceed with plans to rebuild San Marcos Elementary by paring down some of the architectural designs for the $30 million project and by seeking additional state funding for the project, said Kathy Tanner, the district's facility director.

Meanwhile, Tanner said district officials will finalize the designs for the replacement of relocatable classrooms and the modernization of San Marcos High so construction can start as soon as possible if voters approve a bond.

Petrek said the district's decision to push the bond back was probably a wise move in a bad economy and considering that district officials haven't really laid out their bond-spending plans with local residents.

"It's a matter of timing," he said. "I think it's important that it's a grassroots effort and it comes from the community and up through the district."

Contact staff writer Shayna Chabner at (760) 740-5416 or schabner@nctimes.com.