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MVLA plans new classrooms with bond funds

by Nick Veronin

The local high school district is moving forward with its plan to use Measure A funding to build 24 new classrooms on its two main campuses in Mountain View and Los Altos, education officials said.

The board of trustees for the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District approved the plans for the new classrooms during a Sept. 12 board meeting. The computer illustrations of the new classrooms are available on the district's website.

The project allocates funding for 12 classrooms to be built on both the Mountain View High School and Los Altos High School campuses, according to Barry Groves, superintendent for the district. Three of the classrooms on each campus will be dedicated as laboratories; the other nine at each campus will be regular classroom spaces.

Groves explained that laboratory classrooms are typically larger and have more infrastructure, which allows for hands-on activities, such as physics experiments and art projects. The labs at Mountain View High School will accommodate physical science classes; the labs at Los Altos High School will accommodate art classes.

"We're very excited about these new buildings," Groves said, noting that Measure A, a $41.3 million school bond, passed with nearly 77 percent of the vote in June 2010.

It is money the district needs to accommodate a growing student body, Groves said. The district is projected to grow by 800 students over the next eight years. "This will allow us to accommodate our growing student population in a very aesthetically pleasing, environmentally friendly way."

The new classrooms will use plenty of natural light and have a more passive ventilation system, Groves said, all of which will make the buildings more energy efficient.

The district plans to break ground on the project in April of 2012, Groves said. If all goes according to plan, students will be in the new classes by the start of the 2013-2014 school year.

In addition to building new classrooms, Measure A money was used to build solar power canopies in both the Mountain View and Los Altos high school parking lots, as well as to install a new, high-speed wireless Internet system.

To view the computer renderings of the new classrooms, go to www.mvla.net and click on "Measure A Bond update."