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Calif. Releases $961 Million for School Construction

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The state agency responsible for issuing funding for new public school construction and modernizations recently awarded $961 million to 185 schools seeking financing for construction and renovation projects.
 
Projects include more than $283 million for construction at overcrowded schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District, $52.5 million for new construction in the Murrieta Unified School District and $41 million for new construction in the Adelanto School District.
 
At its monthly meeting in April, the State Allocation Board also approved $4.5 million for improvements at Calexico High School as part of the state’s effort to help school districts impacted by a recent earthquake in Baja, California, Mexico.
 
The Calexico project was financed by new funding available to school districts statewide due to recent bond sales by the state treasurer’s office. The Office of Public School Construction, the state agency that handles applications for state funding from school districts, expedited the fund release request for the project.
 
At the same meeting, the SAB agreed to consider neighboring San Pasqual Valley School District’s three approved projects that are planned to eliminate health and safety concerns. The board also offered modular classrooms to the Federal Emergency Management Agency programs working in affected school districts in Imperial, Riverside, and San Diego counties.
 
California’s public school population is expected to grow by nearly 61,000 students in the next five years. In order to keep up with the growth and deal with aging school facilities, the state will need to modernize 20 classrooms each day, according to reports.
 
“Our student population continues to grow while our aging classrooms continue to fall into disrepair,” says Jack O’Connell, state superintendent of public instruction. “The approval by the State Allocation Board will help stimulate our embattled economy by creating construction jobs throughout California.”