ESCONDIDO - After more than five years of tearing up bathrooms, parking lots and classrooms in nine of Escondido's elementary and middle schools, the district is shifting its focus to fences and lunch shelters at 10 others, district officials say.

The projects are the final phase of the Escondido Union School District's campaign to build two new schools, renovate and modernize nine of its oldest campuses, and upgrade 10 others, using cash from Proposition K, a $46.3 million bond measure taxpayers approved in 2002.

Earlier this month, the district wrapped up the campus modernization projects when construction crews finished installing 350 seats in a theater that had been gutted at Hidden Valley Middle School.

The $18 million Farr Avenue Elementary School and $21 million Bear Valley Middle Schools, which opened in 2004, were also built with money from the bond and funds from the state government.

Students, parents and educators throughout the 18,500-student district say they are relieved the major projects are finally done.

They say traffic headaches, parking disruptions and bathroom inconveniences are behind them, some of the district's oldest campuses have been revitalized, students' pride in their schools has increased, and parking, ramps and doorways have become wheelchair-accessible.

"Our last thoughts of the school are going to be a lot better," 14-year-old Kaite Buscemi, an eighth-grader at Hidden Valley said about the newly completed school. "It's just so much nicer."

Kaite and her friends added, however, that they would have liked the work to be finished sooner because they won't have much time to enjoy the improvements.

"I wish I was in sixth grade again," said 13-year-old Chantelle Truong.

10 campuses remain

All that is left to be done are smaller improvements at the 10 campuses that have not received any of the upgrades, said Gina Manusov, the assistant superintendent of business.

The district has about $3 million left of the bond money to spend.

"I am anxious to have this part over too so we can meet all of the requirements we said we would," said district construction manager Martha Maes. "It's a really good feeling."

In January, Maes said she will begin meeting with principals and parents to outline projects for the following schools: the Nicolaysen Community Day, Felicita, L.R. Green, Central, Juniper, North Broadway, Pioneer and Rock Springs elementaries, and Mission and Rincon middle.

Each school's construction budget will range from about $250,000 to $400,000, depending on the work.

So far, lunch shelters, fencing for security of schools, restroom upgrades and improved parking and school access for students and parents with disabilities have been requested by principals and parents at many of the sites, Manusov said.

"That is one of the nice things now," said Kathryn Turner-Arsenault, a member of the Proposition K Independent Oversight Committee.

"We are able to go back again and add some of the improvements that we overlooked the first time. Even if it's just paint … a gallon of paint can go a long way to making a nice place to work."

Disabled to gain access

As was the case with the modernization projects, the district has said it was going to concentrate on improvements that help schools meet requirements for disability access, improve aging heating and cooling systems and ease commuting headaches for parents and students.

The district's main goal in passing the bond in 2002 was to relieve overcrowding and better prepare schools to serve students and families in the future, Manusov said.

Homeowners in the district are paying for the work and will continue to do so until 2027, according to the county tax assessor.

They are charged a combined $27.06 per $100,000 of assessed value on their homes for the 2002 bond measure and a $27 million bond that was passed in 1996.

The same homeowners are also paying $15 per $100,000 of assessed valuation on a $43 million bond measure Escondido voters passed for the high school district in 1996. Payments on that measure expire in 2021.

For a person whose home is assessed at about $500,000, for instance, that works out to about $210 in annual property taxes for school construction and modernization projects.

Rising costs, smaller promises

Escondido Union officials say the district met most of its promises to taxpayers and parlayed its bond money into as much as $18 million in additional funds from the state government. But doing so has not always been easy.

Many of the projects were more expensive than the district had originally budgeted, because bids came in higher than expected, and the prices for construction materials and labor increased over the last several years.

Work at Glenview, Oak Hill, Orange Glen and Rose elementary schools all ended up carrying construction tabs that were between $500,000 and $1.6 million more than the district originally expected, Manusov said.

To compensate, district officials scaled back projects at Central Elementary School, which ended up getting minor improvements.

And construction delivered years of headaches, said administrators, parents and students. Work took longer than planned, torn up parking lots led to havoc at pick-up and drop-off times, and some students had to use portable toilets while bathroom renovations were finished.

"I would hope that whoever is in charge of all this has learned (to better manage time)," said Robin Howe, the Parent Teacher Student Association president at Hidden Valley.

"If you are one of the last (schools) to get any modernizations, it's time to start all over again … and you may need money. People don't want to support things if it's going to take 10 to 15 years, especially if they have kids in school."

Howe added that her daughter spent her three years in middle school on a torn up campus.

Carrie Cox, a teacher at Rose Elementary School, sympathized with Howe. Cox said she remembers how difficult parking and getting to school was when construction crews were renovating the staff and visitor parking, and student drop-off areas.

"It's been difficult at times," she said. "But the improvements are tremendous.

"It's not just a benefit for teachers, but for parents because they have a place to come. If they came before … they might not have had a spot," Cox said.

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

Modernization projects for nine school in the Escondido Union School District

• Del Dios Middle School - $2.8 million
  Restrooms, doors and multipurpose room made accessible to students with disabilities; front entrance access ramp added; physical education building, nurse's office and restroom area remodeled; lunch shelter added; fire alarm system, electrical system, HVAC, ceilings and lighting replaced throughout; interior floor, carpet and painting refreshed.

• Hidden Valley Middle School - $2.62 million
  Bathrooms, multipurpose room, library and doors all made accessible to students with disabilities; home economics classroom remodeled to include kitchen area; school theater, nurse's office and restroom area renovated; fire alarm system, drop ceiling and lighting replaced throughout; electronic marquee added to the front of school.

• Conway Elementary School - $2.03 million
  Wheelchair access updates made to restrooms, doors and pedestrian drop off; interior repainted and carpet replaced; fire alarm system and lights replaced.

• Glenview Elementary School - $2.74 million
  Wheelchair access updates made to restrooms, doors, pedestrian drop off area; interior painted, carpet and floors replaced; teacher's lounge and nurse's area remodeled; fire alarm systems, electrical wiring and HVAC replaced.

• Lincoln Elementary School - $232,000
  Wheelchair access to restrooms and school doors improved; interior repainted, carpet, flooring, fire alarm system replaced; new sink bubblers and cabinets in kindergarten classrooms installed.

• Miller Elementary School -- $1.64 million
  Wheelchair access to restrooms, doors, sidewalks and student loading zone improved; front office remodeled; fire alarm system replaced; new sound system installed in multipurpose room.

• Oak Hill Elementary School - $3.25 million
  Restrooms, doors pedestrian drop off area and multipurpose room made accessible to students with disabilities; library, multipurpose room and nurse's office and restroom remodeled; new computer room set up in relocatable classroom; fire alarm system and electrical services replaced.

• Orange Glen Elementary School - $2.25 million
  Staff and student restrooms, multipurpose room, doors and pedestrian drop off area made accessible to disabled; nurse's office and restroom remodeled; new ceilings and lighting in the kindergarten and administration building; fire alarm system replaced.

• Rose Elementary School - $2.47 million
  New staff parking lot and existing visitor and student drop off area made accessible to students with disabilities, fire alarm system, HVAC and electrical wiring replaced; ceilings in the classrooms replaced; new exterior doors and hardware installed.