If by chance there is a lockdown or some other emergency in 2017 at Golden West School, teachers will immediately know exactly what is going on.

That’s because the Manteca Unified School District Measure G modernization effort includes installing digital wall clocks that can be converted to message mode to post information from the office so teachers can take immediate steps to secure student safety based on the incident that is occurring.

“As things are right know there is a lot of confusion when an alert is sent out,” Deputy Superintendent Clark Burke said.

It is just one common feature that the five elementary schools being modernized in the initial wave of school bond projects expected to cost $56.4 million will have in common.

Other school modernization projects in the first wave are Sequoia School, Lincoln, Shasta, and Lathrop Elementary. The Sequoia project will also use $981,792 in unspent Measure M bond money. Some $60 million in Measure G bonds are scheduled to be sold this summer to finance the initial projects

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Golden West School

At Golden West, the $14 million modernization effort will include enhancing safety and security.

A new office will be built at the entrance and classrooms will be grouped so they can easily be locked down.

Not only will frayed carpet be removed but so well the asbestos tile that has been sealed beneath them for years.

Given that the asbestos tile can break or could be damaged when carpet is ripped out, hazmat crews will do that part of the demolition.

Wiring will be modernized as well. Classrooms space is being maximized by getting rid of unneeded partitions. At the same time there is no need for computer labs any longer since the decision to switch all of the district’s 23,500 students over to tablet devices.

Golden West School will have new facade touches to the front so it blends in with the architecture of the newer community gym.

“The design will reflect the fact the school is on one of Manteca’s major thoroughfares,” Burke said.

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Shasta School

Shasta School’s $8.3 modernization will also maximize classroom space, provide new flooring, and upgrade electrical systems among other things.

The cost is lower due to the fact the original campus consists of concrete block buildings.

To improve security, a new office will be built along Edison Street with the existing complex at the center of the campus converted into classrooms.

“It really (the current office location) poses safety concerns as visitors can come on campus to classrooms without passing through the office,” Burke said.

A new classroom wing will replace portables. The design of the buildings facing Edison will pick up the architectural nuances of the multipurpose room completed several years ago to give the campus a unified look.

Where the portables are now located near Edison, additional parking will be provided.

Burke said most projects don’t contain additional parking but since the portables were being removed and work had to be done with the ground anyway, it made sense to take additional steps to improve traffic flow in the front of the school.

The school board in the coming months is expected to decide whether to approve the modernization projects.

Work could start later this year.