Santa Maria High School held a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday to welcome the school's new state-of-the-art administration building.
The three-story, roughly 89,000-square-foot structure has 50 classrooms and is home to the school's administrative services. It can accommodate up to 1,800 students.
"This is just awesome. It's an inspiration," Jeannie Miranda said, who is a part of the high school's class of 1966. "Not just for we who graduated from Santa Maria High School, but for the students going there now."
The building has been in use since the school year began, but today marked the official welcoming ceremony — a huge mile-marking achievement for a school looking to provide another tool to its students and staff.
"The first day of class was absolutely amazing," Julieta Delgadillo said, who is an English teacher at the school. "Everything from state-of-the-art equipment to the brand new smell and shining bright faces, new desks and spacious rooms with air conditioning heating. Just a wonderful, wonderful experience to have the students in a brand new building."
The building boasts new teaching and learning technology — such as mounted big-screen monitors for presenting digital information from teachers' computers or tablets as well as modern furniture that can be easily moved so students can learn in group-oriented environments.
The $64 million building was funded by Measure H, passed by voters in 2016. Construction began in January of 2021.
"What has been created is the best of the best, the highest in technology," Miranda continued. "And when you're given the best, you can be the best."
