Agua Fria board hears progress reports on cafeterias, campus remodels and new Hilltop School for the Arts

At a meeting of the Agua Fria Union High School District governing board, facilities staff provided a brief update on multiple bond-funded construction projects across the district.

Director of facilities Maryannes reported on cafeteria expansions and upgrades: one dining area increased from roughly 7,800 square feet to about 13,000 square feet and the kitchen expanded from about 3,300 square feet to roughly 7,000–9,000 square feet; work on that site was expected to finish in December. At Desert Edge High School, staff added about 1,500 square feet of interior dining space and roughly 4,200 square feet of covered patio with new LED lighting and concrete finishes. Maryannes also said the Desert Edge barn is complete pending final fire-marshall occupancy approval and that a ribbon-cutting was scheduled for Aug. 28.

Bond program leadership said Millennium High School will undergo a major campus remodel next year; by sequencing demolition and construction the district expects to avoid using portable classrooms and thereby save several million dollars. At Agua Fria High School (referred to in the presentation as the West Ranch/West Neck project), the interim school-instruction plan has students attending on the Agua Fria campus while work finishes; staff estimated completion near the end of the month for that phase.

Technology staff said two summer priorities, security improvements and network connectivity upgrades, were finished and reported positive early feedback. On the Hilltop School for the Arts, concrete slab permits were issued and crews were moving dirt and pouring slabs; staff said vertical construction should begin in roughly a month once the next set of permits is secured.

Board members thanked staff and asked timing questions; staff answered sequencing and schedule questions and offered tours of completed sites.