Orcutt Academy officials are set to break ground next week on a $9 million multipurpose building that includes a full-size gym and performance stages, giving the high school students their own space.
Currently, Orcutt Academy High School shares a facility with adjacent Orcutt Junior High School.
Paid for by Measure G, which passed in 2016, construction contracts for the nearly 14,000-square-foot facility were awarded by the Orcutt Union School District Board of Trustees in June. After the 5 p.m. groundbreaking Monday, construction is expected to be completed in less than two years.
“We have envisioned this building for quite some time, and it is nice to be on the road to getting it done,” said Mark Steller, president of the Orcutt Union School District Board of Trustees. “Our community and especially Orcutt Academy High School students deserve this.”
The new building will be located east of current buildings, between Pinal Street and the campus' outdoor basketball courts. Besides a full-size gymnasium, plans include indoor and outdoor stages for assemblies and performances. At least one additional classroom also will be available.
"It's been a long time. It's really exciting to bring this to the high school," said Holly Edds, district superintendent. "They've been sharing facilities with the junior high, so to provide them with their own facility, it feels really good."
The plans also call for the addition of a fenced-in student parking lot, with motion-activated lighting designed to be energy efficient and reduce light pollution.
Grading work to level out the new facility is expected to take a few weeks before further construction can continue. With students returning to class Aug. 11, the area has been fenced off to prevent access to the site.
"Student safety is our No. 1 priority, so the area will stay fenced off," Edds said. "Luckily, it's not a heavily used area — not in the center of campus or anything — so hopefully it'll really be a minimal distraction."
Edds said the project completion target date is in winter 2023 or spring 2024.
More construction in Santa Maria
While groundbreaking at Orcutt Academy is set to begin, construction on a nearly $60 million, 50-classroom building at Santa Maria High School is continuing. Construction is expected to be ongoing through the school year, and the building should be open to the public by April 2023.
The three-story, 89,000-square-foot building will eliminate the use of nearly all portable buildings on campus and include visitor parking and a bell tower.
According to Santa Maria Joint Union High School District staff, the building is roughly 72% complete as of this week. Currently, painting, stucco, concrete and other construction work is in progress.
"Construction really hasn't interfered with instruction, because it's been isolated on the north of campus where there are only a few classes nearby," said Kenny Klein, spokesman for the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District. "It's really going to be game-changer for generations to come."
The project is paid for through Measure H, which passed in 2016.
Also paid for by Measure H are $15 million in modernization projects at Righetti High School, set to be complete by June 2023.
Phase 3 of a five-phase project has continued this summer, with work being completed on the southside 200 and 300 buildings, which include the library, choir and band rooms and traditional classrooms. According to Klein, the 21st century upgrades include movable whiteboards, mounted big screen monitors that sync with teacher's tablets and other learning aids in each room.
Phase 4 of the Righetti modernization project will target the eastside 100 buildings.
The first day of school for Santa Maria Joint Union schools and Orcutt Academy is Aug. 11.
