Kyra Williams
News Editor
The Hermosa Beach City School District released its latest site plans to reconstruct the North School at the Hermosa Beach School Board meeting on May 10, which will include remodeling Hermosa View and Hermosa Valley School.
The district selected SVA Architects Associate Partner Nathan Herrero as the project manager and Bernards Brothers as the construction management company. According to the HBCSD Board President Maggie Bove-LaMonica, the district is still in the process of getting the plans approved, and construction is scheduled to begin in and January, however, the duration is still unknown.
Photos: HBCSD makes plans to remodel schools on May 10
“We looked for companies that would understand the district’s vision on wanting to respect Hermosa’s unique nature of honoring the historical past and at the same time realizing our ambition for zero net energy,” Bove-LaMonica said.” We looked for a company that would help create a district wide vision that would help us generate energy savings that would generate into student achievement.”
The district will use funds from Measure S, which was passed last June, in order to build a new school at that location. This measure also allows HBCSD to renovate the Hermosa View and Hermosa Valley Schools, in order to modernize and address the problem with the outdated and overcrowded schools.
“Hermosa View especially is a very old school,” Hermosa Beach School Board President Monique Ehsan said. “A partial modernization, partial rebuild at View is necessary for a variety of reasons, one being that it hasn’t been renovated in a long time.”
The plans to remodel North School include constructing bike and skateboard racks near the entrances of the school and closing off an exit to 26th Street, in order to reduce traffic and maintain safety. The new North School building will be two stories and include 15 classrooms, a multipurpose room, a library, workrooms and offices. The school will be a zero-net energy school, meaning that the amount of energy used by the school will be around the same amount of energy created by the school.
Link: Click here to learn more about Measure S in Hermosa Beach
“The North School site is particularly exciting because it will be a zero net energy school and completely designed for 21st century learning,” Bove-LaMonica said. “The money the district can save from energy reduction will translate into increased resources for students. The buildings will additionally provide a hands-on learning lab for students in lessons on sustainability and energy conservation, and the district can model a practice for green school construction.”
The North School building is facilitating the Children’s Journey Preschool, which will be moving to its new location in Redondo Beach.
Link: Check out the latest site plans to reconstruct the Hermosa Beach Schools
“The Measure S Facilities Program is long overdue,” Ehsan said. “With the failure of previous measures, the population swelled to about 30% over capacity. We house a lot of our students in temporary classrooms which sit on open space where kids could play, and it’s time on every level to bring our school district into the 21st century.”
HBCSD plans to keep grades kindergarten through second at Hermosa View, third and fourth grade at the North School and fifth through eighth will remain at Hermosa Valley. Why is this important?
“I agree with the benefits of moving third and fourth grade to the new school because it will give more space to the students at both schools,” Hermosa Valley 7th Grader Lexi Brownsberger said. “It seems like so many people are at Valley, and walking the halls at school feels very crowded.”
The Hermosa Beach City School District will implement new technology into the schools, such as the ability to take standardized tests online. There will be a partial modernization of the schools in terms of improving the classrooms and buildings, as well as putting into effect new technology to bring them into the 21st century, according to Ehsan.
“I am incredibly excited for the modernization and re-build of Hermosa Beach school district properties,” Bove-LaMonica said. “The average age of our school sites is over 70 years old, and the buildings don’t meet the needs of our teachers and students.”
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