Along with the usual paper, pencils and rulers, parents might want to consider a couple more back-to-school items: a construction hat and boots.
As the start of a new school year approaches, the Morgan Hill Unified School District is asking parents and students to be patient with the upgrades for the next nine months.
At Britton Middle School, the framing for a new locker room is up. Once complete, the new building on Keystone Avenue will provide a clean, well-lit, energy-efficient facility for physical education classes as well as athletics.
This fall, Britton will also have a completely renovated parking lot in front of the administration building. Although the lot is currently blocked off, parents can enter the administrative offices through the front door of the school on Central Avenue. Parking is available on the street in front of the school. The parking lot is scheduled to be completed and striped by Aug. 15.
The CommunityAdult School, at its new location on the far northwest corner of the Britton campus bordered by the baseball fields and the district Grounds Department, will be fenced off from the Britton campus and have its own parking lot. The new facility will provide more than twice the space of the former facility on Monterey Road, district officials said.
The new Community Adult School is open for student enrollment during the renovation. Access to the school office until Aug. 15 will be through the back gate of the Britton campus off of Keystone Road and Del Monte Avenue.
The former site of the Community Adult School on Monterey will be used to expand neighboring Central Continuation High School. This will allow for an enrollment boost from 100 to 150 students. Crews are moving furniture and files from one location to another and replacing carpeting. The new portion of the Central campus will be open by Aug. 19. The school office will be located in the new portion of the campus.
Two major construction projects at Live Oak High School are the theater and the administration building and front façade. Students are anxious to get back into the theater for their drama classes and award-winning productions. The district is aiming to complete the theater by the spring.
The administration building renovations include reconfiguration of the entryway and office space and a new front façade. The new façade will provide enhanced security for students and staff and will replicate the design of the original Live Oak Union High School, formerly located on Monterey at Keystone.
A temporary student drop-off pattern and entrance to the administration building at Live Oak is planned until the construction on the front of the school is completed. To drop off students, parents will be directed to an access road just east of the school on Main Avenue between the front entrance to the school and the staff parking lot entrance. A specific student drop-off area is designated, and parents will continue driving north and exit on Half Road behind the campus. The staff parking lot will be available to staff only. Visitor parking for those who need to park and come into the school office is still available at the front of the student parking lot, as well as the small lot just west of the staff parking lot. Multiple signs will be posted along the new route, and a map with detailed information is available on the school Web site http://liveoakhs.ca.campusgrid.net/home.
Bus drop-off and pick-up will remain the same in front of the campus on Main, and students will enter the campus through temporary access gates near the 100 and 900 buildings.
Access to the administration building will be through the attendance office door at the back northwest corner of the building, as the front of the building will be closed off.
"We are excited about the opportunity that we have to upgrade our schools for our students and community," district spokesman Dan Ehrler said. "The upgrades and improvements that we are making will serve students for many years. We appreciate the community's patience during the construction process."
Natalie Everett Natalie Everett covers education and city issues for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106, ext. 201, or neverett@morganhilltimes.com.
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