School district to spend $2 million on portables
By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

In the wake of closing schools, the Pleasant Valley School District is spending $2 million this summer to install 15 portable classrooms and restrooms on five campuses.

The price tag includes excavation and other site preparation work, which began in June and is expected to be completed by Aug. 13.

Interim Superintendent Luis Villegas, hired by the district earlier this month, said that developer fees will pay for all construction and installation costs. No money from the general fund will be used, he said.

Villegas said if general fund money was being used, he would not support it. Developer fees can only be used for projects like this and not to hire teachers or buy instructional material, Villegas added.

Pleasant Valley needs the additional classroom space for students whose school closed last month. In response to years of declining enrollment and the need to boost teachers' salary, the district closed Los Altos Middle School, Los Primeros Structured School and Los Senderos Open School in June.

The district agreed to give teachers an 8 percent raise in the coming school year. Teachers' salaries had been among the lowest in the county.

Pleasant Valley officials said closing schools is necessary to pay for the raise and attract and retain the best teachers.

The district is adding three portable classrooms to Rancho Rosal School and three to the former Los Senderos Open School campus, temporarily known as the Kendall site.

Five classrooms are being added to the Las Colinas Middle School campus and one to both Monte Vista Middle School and Santa Rosa Technology Magnet School. An older portable is also being relocated to Santa Rosa.

The Kendall site and Las Colinas will also get restroom facilities.

Although movable, such buildings are constructed to last, Modtech sales manager Suzanne Willis said.

Pleasant Valley bought several classrooms from the Perris, Calif.-based portable classroom manufacturer.