Hitting the weight room at East Union High for more than 44 years meant heading to a pair of attached portable classrooms.
The space was less than optimum.
The ventilation wasn’t the best.
And the atmosphere wasn’t top notch.
But that is going to change.
The weight room last week was temporarily moved to portables used for aerobics.
And aerobics were moved to the small gym.
Then, earlier this week, the portable housing the weight room since 1979 was demolished.
A permanent new weight room is part of a modernization effort now underway at East Union High made possible with the 2020 voter approved $260 million Measure A bond.
When completed, the new weight room will consist of 4,700 square feet. Sixty percent of that will be inside while the rest will be outside improvements that will accommodate areas for CrossFit style of exercises and such.
It will have high ceilings to allow, among other things, the tossing of medicine balls.
There will be ceiling fans and other touches that make sure the ventilation is conducive to working out.
It is being wired as well to give the school the option of adding TV screens, a sound system and other touches.
Those items — if they occur — will come from funding each school site has to equip educational spaces and will be decided at the campus level.
That said, the ability to have TV screens hooked to audio visual components could allow the use of videos on proper form and safety tips when lifting as well as other instructional videos.
The weight room is used not just for athletic programs but by physical education classes as well on a daily basis.
The portables that were demolished have a designed life expectancy of 44 years when used as traditional classrooms.
Staying on top of maintenance allowed Manteca Unified to squeeze the extra 24 years out of the two portables even with the rough use the structures received.
The floors, as an example, had to be replaced four times in 44 years.
The highest profile Measure A project currently underway at East Union is a 2-story building.
It will have 30 classrooms and a media center being built on the grassy area along Union Road at East Union High between the student and faculty parking lots.
It is expected to take 16 months to complete after the physical work started earlier this summer.
The 2-story structure is replacing 29 aging portable classrooms that have been in use for close to four decades at the 56-year-old campus.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
