Sequoia School is getting a running track.

It being funded via the Measure G and Measure A bond measures.

 The bonds were approved by voters in 2014 and 2020, respectively.

The running track — along with new playgrounds and playing fields — are being developed on the southwest corner of the campus along Locust Avenue and Wawona Street.

The work replaces deteriorating asphalt and problematic grass playing fields.

The work addresses drainage issues as well.

Previous Measure G work included new classrooms and a new office that was added next to a multipurpose room that was built a few years prior.

The overall $8.4 million modernization project reorientated the campus from the old congested Martha Street entrance to Wawona Street. It also included campus security upgrades.

The site has been master-planned to potentially accommodate an additional cluster of classrooms on the southeast portion of the campus if needed to accommodate growth.

As such, the elementary campus is a systemic example of how Manteca Unified is pursuing its plan to develop the best possible educational facilities by making maximum use of funding sources.

It does so by wedding modernization bond projects with growth funded endeavors such as community facility district fees and “bedroom taxes” also known as developer fees.

By designing campus modernization work where possible to situate sites for additional classrooms, it gives the district the option of adding classroom capacity without having to build  a new elementary campus.

Not only can an elementary campus cost as much as $40 million to build, but it can take five years to go from planning to completion.

It is also in one location.

As such, the Manteca Unified strategy allows the district to be nimbler and to do so at less cost when accommodating growth.

It piggybacks on existing support facilities such as parking lots, libraries, multiple-purpose rooms and other essential needs that are expensive to build.

It also improves the likelihood classrooms built in clusters can be stick and mortar affairs and not portables. As such, it assures the CFD and developer fees can be spent more effectively while reducing ongoing maintenance costs.

The revenue from CFDs and developer fees — both capped by state law — fall way short of covering the cost of permanent construction.

“Measure A (the $260 million bond passed in November 2020) will touch every campus in the district,” noted Manteca Unified School District Superintendent Clark Burke.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com