By Brittany Hanson/Garden Grove Journal
Some of the oldest school buildings in the Garden Grove area may be moving into the 21st century, if voters agree.
On Wednesday, the Garden Grove Unified School District Board of Education approved a motion to authorize a $250 million bond measure for the June 8 primary election.
The bond measure will now go to the public to have the community vote whether or not they want to let it pass.
If approved by 55 percent percent of those voting, the bond will pass.
The money from the bond will be used for modernization of 69 school campuses in the district that serve 50,000 students in 2, 312 classrooms.
Modernization can include fixing plumbing, retrofitting to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, lighting, roofing, improvements for energy efficiency, updating and replacing playground equipment and upgrading telecommunications systems to accommodate modern technology.
Many of the schools in the district are eligible to qualify for modernization needs, which requires them to be over 25 years old. By the end of the current school year, more than 50 percent of schools in GGUSD will be over 50 years old.
The oldest school in the district, Garden Grove High School, dates back to 1921 and the youngest two are Nortcutt Elementary and Hettinga that were both built in 1973.
Although maintenance of facilities is kept up, there is only so much that patching can accomplish. A need for taking care of outdated facilities is something that the board recognized unanimously as a priority.
Board President Bob Harden said that we’re already paying taxes to the state as homeowners to pay for repairs to school everywhere in California but in Garden Grove.
“This is an opportunity for us to take care of this now instead of having to deal with it tomorrow,” said Harden.
