Parents urge Lodi Unified to prioritize classrooms over parking lots and clarify Vinewood modernization

Multiple public commenters urged the Lodi Unified board to prioritize replacing aging portable classrooms and to make project plans clearer online.

At the start of public comment, Laura Mulcaney raised the Vinewood modernization amendment on Consent A and said she could not find the project documentation online; she noted the listed cost of $2,300,000 and asked what exactly the board was voting on. Staff (Miss Hughes) responded that the item is an amendment to an architect’s agreement to repackage the project and that certain parking-lot work was postponed from summer 2026 and will be reissued for bid in 2027; plans will be posted online when the bid is released.

Ron Heberly pressed officials on the district’s program-management plan and Measure U priorities, saying the plan lists “replace portables over 30 years old with permanent classrooms” as a top priority and asking why some sites (he cited Vinewood’s four portables) do not show replacement in the public-facing phase descriptions. He said parents expect classrooms, not concrete, and urged the board to re-evaluate priorities so classrooms come before parking-lot or other site work.

Parent Katie described a portable classroom where an air-conditioning repair repeatedly failed and the unit now leaks water across the room; she said staff had placed multiple buckets in the classroom and students must move in the afternoon to avoid drips. She also said a new shade structure had failed inspection twice and would not be ready for a harvest-festival event.

Board members acknowledged the concerns and asked staff to clarify the project timeline and to post plans online when available.