Woodside Elementary enters final phase of campus renewal project Woodside Elementary enters final phase of campus renewal project (February 01, 2006)

By David Boyce

Almanac Staff Writer

Three more milestones have been passed in the final phase of a 10-year effort to modernize and expand the campus of the K-8 Woodside Elementary School.

At its January 23 meeting, the five-member Board of Trustees of the Woodside Elementary School District unanimously approved a $13.25 million preliminary budget to demolish 17 aging and leaky portable classrooms on the campus and add 19,824 square feet in new construction, with a move-in date set for January 2007.

Under the plan, several new one-story buildings will be built, including 13 permanent classrooms, a band room, a computer lab, an administration building and community room, a full-size soccer field and a playground.

At the meeting, the trustees also unanimously approved the design drawings and a contract with Portola Valley-based CJW Architecture for the project.

"It's off to the races," said board president Bettina Pike after the voting was over.

"We've been off to the races," replied CJW principal architect Carter J. Warr with a smile. Since November, CJW has been meeting with teachers and staff to refine elements of the design.

Bidding for the demolition and construction phases of the project is scheduled for May, with demolition to begin July 1 and construction in mid-October.
Paying for it

Most of the project funding will come from the sale of $12 million in bonds, which district voters approved by a 68.5 percent majority in the November 2005 election.

The preliminary budget of $13.25 million sets aside about $1 million for contingencies. If some or all of the contingency funds are spent, the Woodside School Foundation might donate up to $1.25 million to cover the costs of furniture and equipment for the new classrooms and the renewal of the playing fields.

To raise the money, the foundation may put on a fundraising event or a multi-year fundraising campaign, said assistant superintendent and project manager Tim Hanretty in an interview.

Alternatively, the foundation might use a device called a certificate of participation, in which the school district takes on the additional debt but uses foundation money to pay it, money that would likely be raised through "private giving," said Mr. Hanretty.

Donations have played a significant role in modernizing the campus. Voters approved a $5 million bond measure in 1999 which, when combined with donations of about $7.5 million, paid for a new gym, six new classrooms and the conversion of Sellman Auditorium to a performing arts venue.

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