Manteca High’s modernization makeover aimed at creating a safe and educationally functional campus will be moved forward significantly Tuesday.
That is when Manteca Unified trustees are expected to approve the next phases involving the building of 48 new classrooms and authorize design documents and preconstruction activities to the tune of $10 million.
The step — if the trustees take it — will set the next project for the campus upgrade that started two years ago in motion.
It involves three phases.
The first is the major transformation of the campus along Mikesell Avenue.
It involves the demolition of houses the district has acquired.
In their place will be the construction of a 2-story classroom building accommodating 11 standard classrooms, 8 career technical education classrooms and a new woodshop. The phase is anticipated to include four portable classrooms for interim housing south of the JROTC classroom.
The 2-story classroom structure will go immediately to the east of where 10 classrooms funded by Measure G bond proceeds were completed last year.
The second phase will demolish 29 classrooms to make way for a second two-story classroom building, relocate the woodshop into the new shop building and modernize the existing woodshop into a new weight room.
The third phase will construct the new two-story building with 28 classrooms, media center, and learning stairs along Sherman Avenue along with the adjacent quad.
There is a fourth stage that will involve demolishing the majority of the remaining older classroom wings once the second two-story classroom building is completed. The east side of the 60 and 70 Wings may be kept in place for specialized programs.
Not included in work going forward but part of the masterplan is to modernize the existing library into four classrooms, build a new administration and student resource center, expand the cafeteria, and adding a visual and performing arts amphitheater near the cafeteria. Those parts of the masterplan could go forward in the near future.
Once the overall project is completed Manteca High will have a program capacity of 2,200 students based on 27 students per classroom.
The wedding of community facility district funds with receipts form the $260 million Measure A bond voters approved in November 2020 will allow the additional classroom space to be built concurrently with the replacement classrooms.
The CFD money is coming primarily from new homes being built in southeast Manteca — including the 1,405-home Griffin Park neighborhoods that has started construction on South Main Street.
The classrooms being replaced are over a half century old. They have numerous issues including aging electric systems and aren’t conducive to today’s educational programming. In order to make the spaces work as effectively as possible over the years the district has improvised including running additional electric services in secured conduit piping to power air conditioning units added a number of years ago.
The overall 102-year-old campus has drainage issues as well as aging water and sewer line issues that are being addressed.
The district is currently building a new gym to seat 2,200 plus a new swimming pool as part of a Measure M bond project to modernize facilities.
That work also involves revamping the student parking lot to make it a drop-off zone and to essentially reorientate that area as the front of Manteca High accessed from Moffat Boulevard.
The gym under construction in the past few weeks has had large green letters reading “Manteca High” placed on it.
The upgrades to secure the campus included replacing cyclone fencing with wrought iron fencing.
The school board meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the district office.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
