$500M bond pumped into schools

VICTORVILLE • A $500 million bond measure local taxpayers approved in 2008 is now funding the first stadium for Silverado High School, the first permanent campus for Excelsior charter school and the first remodeling of Hook Junior High in nearly five decades.

Voters approved Measure V to fund construction and technology upgrades throughout the Victor Valley Union High School District. The measure was estimated to cost taxpayers $30 annually per $100,000 assessed property value over some 30 years. (To read the latest report on VVUHSD Measure V bond projects, click here.)

On Thursday, the VVUHSD Board of Trustees awarded construction bids for one of the latest bond measure projects, a $2.6 million upgrade to 23 classrooms at Hook Junior High. The classroom buildings will be freshly painted on the outside and gutted on the inside. New lighting, ceilings, flooring, cabinets, furniture and technology, including ceiling-mounted projectors, are set to be installed by early spring.

It's the first of three phases of modernization projects at Hook, which hasn’t been updated since 1964, according to Shawn Butters, director of facilities for VVUHSD. The second two phases include building a gymnasium and career technical and woodshop wing, upgrading the multipurpose room and kitchen facilities, and remodeling the existing administration and library buildings.

In another major project, Silverado High School will soon be able to host football, soccer and track events in its own stadium for the first time in nearly two decades. Currently the football team plays games at rival Victor Valley High.

“I think it’ll bring to the students a sense of pride having our own state-of-the-art facility,” Principal Sergio White said. “It’ll be a central focal point for our Silverado family.”

In addition to the 5,000-seat stadium, the $17.5 million sports complex will also feature an all-weather synthetic track and field, an Olympic-size swimming pool heated by solar power, a weight training building, lighted baseball and softball fields, and volleyball courts and locker rooms. It’s scheduled for completion by fall 2013.

The bond measure is also bringing the city of Adelanto its first high school near Mojave Drive and Raccoon Avenue. When Adelanto High School opens in fall 2012, it’ll have an estimated 1,600 ninth- and 10thgraders, easing overcrowding at Silverado High, which now houses more than 3,800 students. The new Adelanto school is being funded by $53.2 million from local Measure V funds and $48.87 million from the state.

Portions of the 106-classroom school and its athletic complex may not be ready at the opening, but plans include an Olympic-size swimming pool, eight tennis courts, eight outside basketball courts, a 4,000-seat football stadium, a synthetic turf field with an all-weather track and a 450-seat performing arts center.

Another upcoming project involves an expansion and renovations to University Preparatory that are still in the design phase. The sevenththrough 12th-grade school on Forrest Avenue and Seventh Street will have a new gym and upgrades to its kitchen, multipurpose room, band rooms, classrooms, science labs, library and media center. Some existing classrooms and administration areas will be renovated.

The district’s bond measure is also benefiting Excelsior charter school. Construction is nearly complete for a new Excelsior campus alongside Victor Valley College. It marks the first time in 16 years that Excelsior’s seventh- through 12thgrade students will get a permanent campus instead of portables, Excelsior Superintendent Mike Hayhurst said.

The 87,000-squarefoot project has been divided into two phases. The new two-story buildings with 32 classrooms should be ready for students in January, and the multi-purpose room will continue construction through March. The Excelsior campus advanced through $15.6 million in Measure V funds and $20.5 million in state grants.

Natasha Lindstrom may be reached at (760) 951-6232 or at NLindstrom@VVDailyPress.com.

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