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Board adopts El Monte Union facilities master plan after presentation outlining $860 million program
Summary
After an 11‑month study and public Q&A, the board voted 5–0 to adopt the El Monte Union High School District’s 2026 facilities master plan, a program that consultants estimated at roughly $860 million and that highlights unfunded priorities and declining projected enrollment.
The El Monte Union High School District Board of Trustees voted 5–0 on April 1 to adopt the district’s 2026 facilities master plan update after a detailed presentation from Perkins Eastman. Trustee Ricardo Padilla moved the adoption and Trustee Dr. Maritza Galvez seconded; the measure passed unanimously.
Perkins Eastman principal Kimberly Coffeen and planner Heidi Kovalevsky said the study — developed over 11 months with community surveys and town halls — identifies a districtwide planning capacity of 8,371 students and projects 2030 enrollment of 5,743, a utilization rate the presenters framed as roughly 69 percent. "That gives us a district wide planning capacity of 8,371 students," the consultant said during the presentation. The plan groups priorities into five areas including learning‑environment modernization, site infrastructure, secured campus entry and perimeter work, safety/security upgrades, and gym/locker modernization.
The firm presented a total program estimate (contingency‑adjusted) of about $860,000,000 and a detailed appendix that breaks projects down by site, funding status and readiness. Presenters told trustees that some state modernization funds tied to Proposition 2 are effectively exhausted and that the district would need to pursue additional state or local bonds to advance many of the high‑priority projects.
Trustees questioned the planners about a projected enrollment decline and how to "right‑size" capacity — for example, replacing long‑term portables with appropriately sized permanent rooms — and about the order in which projects would be advanced if funding were secured. Trustee Qui Nguyen asked whether the community vote and dot‑vote process determined the priority ranking; Perkins Eastman said priorities were derived from a cross‑analysis of town‑hall dot votes, a districtwide survey (481 respondents), site profiles and cabinet review.
Board President Florento Briones said the adopted plan will be used to help the board and staff craft future bond proposals and to support state funding applications. The adoption marks a formal step toward translating survey and facilities work into funded projects, but the plan itself does not appropriate new funds — it creates a vetted project list and prioritization framework for future decisions.
