By Kyra Williams
Executive News Editor
And Greta Nerad
News Editor
The Manhattan Beach Unified School District Board is currently finalizing plans for the modernization of all district schools.
Measures C and EE were passed on Nov. 18, 2016. Measure EE supports the construction of the new Mira Costa Athletics Complex, expected to be complete in the summer of 2020. Measure C supports modernization plans at all school sites, including upgrades to existing buildings and campuses, the installation of air conditioning, as well as the full replacement of some buildings and facilities at both Pennekamp and Grand View Elementary Schools.
“Since these funds were raised by a parcel tax for these specific purposes and voted on by the community, I think it’s definitely the right use of the funds,” MBUSD Student Representative and senior Parker Lynch said.
Modernization work will begin at both Pacific Elementary and Costa this summer. The district anticipates work at Grand View, Pennekamp, Meadows, Robinson and the Manhattan Beach Preschool will start in the summer of 2020.
“We will do as much of the construction during summers as possible in order to minimize disruption to classes, but some construction, especially where the work is more extensive or involved, will take place during the school year,” MBUSD Deputy Superintendent Dawnalyn Murakawa-Leopard said. “In those cases, we will work to do everything we can to minimize the impact to classroom instruction.”
Work at Manhattan Beach Middle School is planned for the summer of 2021. The Indoor Air Quality Management Plan is designed to help the district ensure that it is providing healthy classroom environments for students, Murakawa-Leopard said. The plan calls for building evaluations, walkthrough inspections, preventative maintenance and communication procedures to identify and address issues.
The plans provide specific guidance related to particular issues, such as asbestos, lead, mercury, vehicle emissions, pest management and the impact of plants and animals on indoor environments.
“There is always concern and we always want to remain vigilant,” Mira Costa Principal Dr. Ben Dale said. “If you have to look for a silver lining with the [Costa] library, you now have a district that’s expert in those issues like asbestos, and we know vastly more about what can arise.”
Renovations at Costa will include four different projects: finishing reconstruction of the library’s interior, implementing air conditioning in the finger buildings, fixing roofs to prevent leaking and constructing a new athletics gymnasium. The duct work for the AC is in place and the units will be installed by next fall, the roofing project will begin and conclude this summer, the gym will be completed in fall of 2020 and the reopening of the library has yet to be announced, Dale said.
“There are lots of good uses of the district’s funds, but certainly having new facilities makes it a great place to work and learn,” Dale said. “Once we finish the gym, we will have renovated nearly the entire campus during my time here.”
On both Grand View and Pennekamp campuses, construction will take place in multiple phases and span a number of years. At both schools, they will construct new buildings to replace outdated facilities. Additionally, at Grand View, the Ladera building will eventually be demolished and replaced by a new classroom building, cafeteria, multipurpose room and administration building. At Pennekamp, a number of portable classroom buildings will be removed and replaced with a new classroom building. The district anticipates completion at Pennekamp in the fall of 2021 and at Grand View in the winter of 2022.
“We are looking forward to all of this work, as our plans are intended to help to ensure good learning environments for students, including modern heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, repairs to roofs throughout the district, and other upgrades to electrical, plumbing, and mechanical systems,” Murakawa-Leopard said.
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