By Eric Licas
The Review
School district officials approved pay increases for top administrators, funding for updated math textbooks and new air conditioning units at South Pasadena Middle School, as well as a makeover for the campus auditorium seats during a meeting on April 16.
Money for the construction projects comes from Measure SP, a bond measure for necessary improvements to school facilities that succeeded on the ballot in 2016. The upgrades were described as long overdue by members of the South Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education and Superintendent Geoff Yantz.
South Pasadena Middle School’s current HVAC equipment is more than 20 years old, inefficient and difficult to find replacement parts for, according to reports from district officials. Administrators began planning for an overhaul of the middle school’s air conditioning system about four years ago, but work was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Yantz said.
The estimated cost for the new air conditioning system was about $5 million. It will take between eight and 10 months to order equipment, Yantz said. Work is scheduled to take place in the summer of 2025.
“It’s a pretty involved project in which we’ll have to shut down the building for the summer and move summer school during that period,” the superintendent said.
Meanwhile, improvements to the campus auditorium are already in progress. So far this year, the historic building has received fresh coats of paint, upgrades to its lighting and sound system as well as approval for a new heater.
The maintenance on the auditorium seats green lit by the Board last month should cost $286,838, and may begin as early as this summer. The Sierra School Equipment Company will be contracted to replace the cushions of every seat on the floor and in the mezzanine. Their outer fabric will also be repaired, but the original color and pattern of the seats will be retained.
“It’s really starting to come together,” Yantz said of the auditorium. “You can see the potential in there. And so, it’s exciting, and it’s been completely cleaned of all the dust and dirt and everything that was in there too. The walls are freshly painted. [It took] three coats of paint.”
HIGH SCHOOL MATH TEXTBOOKS GET UPDATED
SPUSD’s math department reviews textbooks every eight years, and staff has recommended replacements for those used by high school students taking integrated mathematics I, II, III, statistics and AP statistics. The new textbooks arrange lessons in a different order than the previous ones, but retain the same material, SPUSD Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services Christiane Gervais said.
Math department staff “really liked how the lessons are sequenced in this new textbook,” Gervais said. “They believe it’s sequenced in a way that makes sense to students and improves their understanding of mathematics.”
The new textbooks will cost the district $130,938.
DISTRICT LEADERS TO GET PAY RAISE
The Board of Education approved 5% pay increases for Gervais, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services David Lubs, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Judy Correnti and Executive Director of Student Support Services Dennis Lefevre.
Beginning July 1, their salaries will go up to about $213,150, $194,731, $194,730 and $176,198, respectively.
Local administrators do expect a decline in funding from Sacramento as the state grapples with a multibillion-dollar deficit. While nearby school districts’ budget shortages have recently led to layoffs, SPUSD so far has been able to mitigate state revenue shortfalls, managing to avoid layoffs in the immediate future.
First published in the May 3 print issue of the South Pasadena Review.
