Facilities director outlines recent completions, active projects and pipeline including HVAC and new school planning
Loading...
Summary
Associate Superintendent Dais Abasi summarized completed capital projects (two‑story buildings, early learning center, classrooms, HVAC installations), active work (relocatables, cameras, EV chargers for buses, restroom construction), and long‑range planning for potential new schools and district facility yards.
Associate Superintendent Dais Abasi told the Alisal Union School District Board of Trustees that the district has completed a range of facility projects over the past three years and has a slate of active and planned projects that will continue to require coordination, state approvals and funding.
"When we say facilities, it means construction, maintenance, and renovation of facilities," Abasi told the board as he reviewed recently finished projects, current work and a multi‑year pipeline.
What was completed: Abasi listed several major completions, including a two‑story building at Ellis Hill Community School, a new early learning center (Bakon Early Learning Center), PK/kinder classrooms at Loya and a districtwide installation of classroom interactive ViewSonic TVs and PA systems. The district also installed HVAC (air conditioning) systems districtwide using roughly $10 million in COVID‑era funding, added surveillance cameras at multiple sites, and completed repaving and exterior repairs at several campuses. Abasi said some relocatable classrooms built as temporary units are now being considered for longer‑term retention because of the cost to construct and site them.
Active projects and near term work: Abasi said work is under way on LSL Community School phase 2 and Fremont Elementary School phase 3, Chavez Elementary kinder classrooms, 18 relocatable classrooms to support expanded learning programs, and remaining campus surveillance camera installations including the special education building and the Bakon Learning Center. He also said the district is installing additional EV charging stations to support a growing electric bus fleet; the district currently has four chargers and 12 electric buses and needs more chargers to support operations.
Planning and future projects: The district is completing planning for Creekside Elementary School classroom additions, evaluating expansion of the district office (including a new warehouse and annex), and continuing early planning tasks for a potential School 13 across from Alvarez High School to serve an estimated 500 students in the long range. Abasi described the School 13 concept as an early schematic that will require environmental review, utility work and other preconstruction steps.
Board questions focused on scope, classroom HVAC coverage and electric vehicle chargers. Vice President Ocampo asked whether HVAC had been installed in every classroom; Abasi confirmed the systems were installed districtwide. Trustees asked whether PA systems tie into emergency communications; Abasi said they do, and described the district system as "state of the art." Trustee Ocampo asked about the feasibility and cost of adding EV chargers at every school site; Abasi said the current charging‑for‑bus project is PG&E grant‑funded and that broader deployment would require electrical upgrades and additional funding.
Why it matters: the work affects classroom comfort (HVAC), safety (surveillance systems and emergency PA integration), program capacity (relocatable classrooms and new kinder rooms) and capital budgets. Several projects rely on state or external grants and on coordination with state design and school construction agencies.
Ending: Abasi said the district will continue to coordinate with the California Department of State Architects, OPSC and other agencies, and will return with updates as projects move from planning to construction.
