The new school year for the Santa Maria-Bonita School District begins in less than a week and for some students, they’ll notice at least one new and “cooler" change.
Air conditioning units were installed over the summer at 11 of the district’s older schools, including Adam Elementary. It’s a project district officials say was much needed.
“That’s been a need for many, many years and we are proud to say that need has been met this summer,” said Maggie White, Santa Maria-Bonita School District Public Information Officer.
At Battles Elementary, a project involving seven new kindergarten classrooms was completed. Other summer projects include shade structures on playgrounds at schools district-wide, new playgrounds at five schools, solar canopies and more.
“This summer, was the time where we entered construction and we've been able to install an array similar to this at 21 of our schools and the district office," said Javier Cavasos, Maintenance and Operations Coordinator, referring to a new solar structure. "We hope to be completed with this project by next summer.”
The summer upgrades totaled around $86 million with part of the funding coming from COVID-19 relief and learning recovery funds.
