It might sound counterintuitive, however workers on the Fremont Union Excessive Faculty District say the pandemic helped development of the brand new district workplace end forward of schedule and below funds.
Development of the district workplace, which replaces the previous administrative workplaces at 589 W. Fremont Ave. in Sunnyvale, price roughly $24 million and took about 21 months to finish. The 27,000-square-foot constructing additionally homes the district’s grownup college.
The challenge was funded partly by was funded partly by Measure CC, $275 million college bond handed by district voters in November 2018.
Affiliate Superintendent Christine Mallery, who can be the district’s chief enterprise officer, mentioned a lot of the development was achieved throughout the pandemic shutdown, saving each money and time.
“Development actually picked up throughout the pandemic,” Mallery mentioned in an interview earlier than the March 22 ribbon-cutting ceremony for the brand new constructing. “It saved taxpayer dollars as a result of we had been capable of get issues achieved with out paying escalating development prices.”
Whereas her workers’s new workspace is about the identical measurement, Mallery mentioned the work atmosphere is far improved over that of the previous constructing, which was inbuilt 1960.
“The HVAC system was on the finish of its helpful life, and the lighting was poor,” she added.
The brand new workplace constructing, designed and constructed by Quattrocchi Kwok Architects and Blach Development, makes use of pure lighting with loads of home windows all through. Guests enter by a essential foyer that contains a multimedia show of the district’s historical past in a nod to its upcoming centennial subsequent 12 months.
Foyer shows additionally function paintings achieved by college students from the district’s excessive colleges and from its grownup schooling program. The district is made up of 5 excessive colleges in Cupertino, Sunnyvale and West San Jose.
“The entire aim is to make it really feel like a spot the place guests can see who our youngsters are,” mentioned Superintendent Polly Bove earlier than the ribbon chopping.
On the ceremony Bove, who's retiring on the finish of the present college 12 months, mentioned she felt lucky to have introduced the challenge to fruition earlier than she steps down. She added that she’s grateful to voters for passing bond measures to fund this and different district development tasks lately.
“We’re making an attempt to make certain our youngsters be ok with going to our colleges,” Bove mentioned. “These children know we wish them to succeed.”
Along with workers work areas, the brand new district workplace options skilled and persevering with schooling rooms and a brand new board room for public conferences. The portion of the constructing devoted to the grownup college consists of administration area and versatile school rooms designed to help a spread after all choices, reminiscent of English as a Second Language, GED preparation and citizenship preparation, in addition to bodily schooling lessons and programs in crafts like ikebana flower arranging.