MODESTO, Calif. — There was no silent reading time at James C. Enochs High School in Modesto Thursday. Instead, the on-campus scene involved cones, caution tape, scissor lifts and drills.
"We’re painting the exterior and we’re also adding a solar array in the front large student parking lot," said Roger Orth, senior director of Maintenance and Operations for Modesto City Schools. "We’re also adding a synthetic track and field."
The ruckus doesn't stop at Enochs High School.
"In the 36 years I have been in the school district, we've never done anything close to what we're doing right now," Orth said. "We have 34 total schools. Most of our campuses have work going on right now and that includes new gyms, cafeterias, solar projects and shop buildings."
With just 26 days until the hard hats are replaced with backpacks for the Aug. 13 start of the fall semester, it’s crunch time.
"All the projects that entail having instructional space ready for the start of school... those will all be ready for school to start," Orth said. "These other projects will run into the fall and sometimes beyond the fall."
While district officials described seeing the projects underway as exciting, they are hoping for more. In November, voters could approve a bond, Measure X, that would bring more construction equipment to more campuses.
"A lot of the work is cafeterias, security fencing, and parking and loading queue for parents," Orth said of what Measure X could fund. "We hope that we’ve shown the voters what we could do."
If the appeal sounds familiar, that’s because it is. Bond measures passed in 2018 and 2022 generated millions of dollars in funding — some of it used for the improvements underway now.
"The previous bond measures have addressed about half of the needs of our schools and so there are still schools that have a number of needs," said Modesto City Schools Public Information Officer Linda Mumma Solorio.
The district hopes to address those needs in the future, but for now, there's one focus.
"Really, we are trying to make sure we concentrate on the student and family," Orth said. "And make sure their needs are met at each one of these campuses."
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