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Pleasanton Unified School District leaders on Thursday celebrated the groundbreakings of new science classroom buildings at Amador Valley and Foothill high schools funded through the voter-approved Measure I1.
Livestreamed on the district’s Facebook page, the back-to-back events saw a small collection of district officials and board members gather for the groundbreakings of the new buildings that will offer students expanded and modernized learning areas at each comprehensive high school campus.
“This building is a testament to the support and hard work of our cabinet, our school board, our community members and our students,” second-year Amador principal Josh Butterfield said. “I can tell you that Measure I1 and the bond funds that are going to make this building possible are really a testament to the support of our community. And I just want to thank our community support from the bottom of my heart for what you are able to provide for our students.”
Funded through Measure I1, PUSD’s $270 million school facilities bond passed by Pleasanton voters in 2016, both new classroom buildings will replace leased portables used by the schools. Each project has an estimated completion date of September 2021.
Geared toward promoting a mix of different subjects, the two-story, 2,900-square-foot Foothill building will consist of four engineering classrooms, three science classrooms and two computer labs. It will also include a reconfigured dropoff area to improve traffic flow along Foothill Road.
Across town in Amador, the new building will likewise include a blending of learning environments and will consist of five standard classrooms, three science classrooms, two computer science labs and two rooms specifically for special day class students.
“This project has been in the works for quite a few years now, so to see it actually happening is incredible,” Foothill principal Sebastian Bull said at his school’s groundbreaking. “This building is the first new building on Foothill’s campus in close to 15 years, so it’s an important new addition to our campus. But more importantly, this project represents the potential for some incredible opportunities for our students.”
“Being able to combine biomedical science, engineering and computer science all in the same building will allow for some impressive collaboration among the programs. I’m excited to see what the future holds,” he added.
“It is absolutely without a doubt a pretty exciting time for the Pleasanton Unified School District. (These buildings) will be evidence of the community support Measure I1 has brought this opportunity to the students (in Pleasanton) and we’re really really pleased,” Superintendent David Haglund said at Amador’s groundbreaking.
