Parents and coaches ask board to reopen gym exits for games; district cautions structural, code and budget risks
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Summary
A parent and coach asked trustees to open one or two emergency exits so San Rafael High could host basketball games; district project manager detailed code, structural and cost complications and said doing so mid‑project would add cost and risk.
A group of parents, coaches and students urged the San Rafael City Schools board on Tuesday to consider opening one or two closed emergency exits in the San Rafael High main gym so the school can host home basketball games for the remainder of the season.
CJ Healy, a PE teacher and longtime coach whose children attended Coleman and San Rafael High, told trustees he represents hundreds of signees on a petition and described the burden placed on teams that have played home games offsite. "We are asking you to please look into what can be done over the next month to open just one emergency exit in the San Rafael High main gym," Healy said.
Tim Ryan, the district’s bond and project manager, responded with technical and budgetary detail. Ryan said the project’s original 2022 budget of about $35.6 million has grown to a projected $48.6 million after encountering an energy‑code change that required a heavier HVAC, structural members shown on drawings that were never installed, and unforeseen soil conditions that required CellCrete and other remediation. Ryan said contractors discovered joists and beams that had been altered and that repairs and an approved CCD (change order) are under bid; he estimated nearly $1 million for some repair work and said remobilization and sequencing to open exit(s) mid‑project would add tens of thousands of dollars per day and risk delaying overall completion.
Ryan said the project team has evaluated options for alternate walkways and additional exiting but concluded the district lacked design, budget, sequencing and state approvals to safely add exits without delaying the project and increasing cost. "We don't recommend doing it," he said, adding that current code allowances permit 50 people with one existing exit but that any change would require review by regulatory agencies and additional funding.
Trustees thanked Healy and staff; no immediate action or motion to change project sequencing occurred.
