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Palo Alto Unified School District Henry M. Gunn High School 780 Arastradero Rd Palo Alto, CA 94306
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Chinyoung Shao
Building construction brings new changes to campus Raphael Semeria Managing Editor Once put on hold by the COVID-19 pandemic, Palo Alto School District (PAUSD) construction has now resumed at full force, with the district taking advantage of the empty campuses during summer to jumpstart this year’s lengthy list of projects. “It’s the busiest summer we’ve had in a long time,” PAUSD Facilities and Construction Director Eric Holm said. At Gunn, work on a new administration, food services and K building have begun with the creation of temporary administration offices and learning spaces for those displaced by construction. In 2018, the Measure Z Strong Schools Bond authorized $460 million in funds for PAUSD to modernize or replace classroom facilities. The construction firm Fs3|Hodges has been employed by the district since 2002. Fs3|Hodges Principal Tom Hodges is the program director for the bond program and is involved in the planning and construction of all PAUSD projects. The first step requires relocating facilities otherwise used during the school year to empty out areas undergoing construction. “We were really inundated with moves this summer,” Holm said. “[Moving] is a logistical challenge. All of the teachers, administration and support functions pack up in the springtime [and] then the first week of summer, we start moving them.” Prior to beginning construction, PAUSD facilities— and any other state-owned or leased facilities—must receive approval from the Division of State Architects (DSA). For large construction projects, such as the A, B and K building renovation project at Gunn, going through the approval process can significantly delay plans. Changes to building plans can require going through the process again. “We’ve been in the DSA for almost a year now,” Hodges said. “We originally wanted to bid the project last spring and start construction in June but there were just too many complications.”
On top of lengthy DSA approvals, PAUSD Superintendent Don Austin pointed to how global supply chain issues have added to construction lengths due to shortages in building components. “About every budget is going to be over what it’s supposed to be when it comes to construction,” he said. “More than 20% increases in cost are common right now and that’s in addition to the delays in the projects and supply chain issues. It is the reality we’re dealing with.” At Gunn, the A, B and K buildings will all undergo major modernization. The first phase of the two-year
“One of the goals of the project was to create more of an identity and a sense of entry onto the campus.” —Fs3|Hodges Principal Tom Hodges project will include renovating the food services and administrative buildings to modernize current facilities while creating space for new culinary and design classrooms. The second phase will focus on the K building, converting it into science lab classrooms. “One of the goals of the project was to create more of an identity and a sense of entry onto the campus,” Hodges said. “[We also wanted] to give better visibility to the campus staff of people coming onto the campus.” While waiting for DSA approval over the summer, the district prepared for the A and B building construction by relocating staff and facilities to temporary spaces. The E building was reconfigured to become a temporary administration building while construction occurs. “What we’re doing now is transitioning into construction,” Hodges said. “The main reason why we couldn’t start earlier is that we had to get everybody out of the building and into new facilities. We couldn’t
Construction—p.2
Raphael Semeria
Kristy Blackburn
Top: Construction workers remodel the E building to create a temporary administrative office space. Bottom: Workers remove the artificial turf to access electrical components in front of the K building.