Bonita Vista High (BVH) has become damaged and dwindled over the past few years. The Sweetwater Union High School District (SUHSD) believed it was time for a change. A few BVH classrooms that they are planning to redo are the dance room, auto-shop, photography room and the school’s quad which will be funded by the SUHSD.
BVH Dance I, Dance II, International Baccalaureate Dance and Get to The Pointe (GTP) dance team teacher Cristine Timmons shared her excitement towards her new classroom that is soon to be built as it will give her more space and room for her dancers to freely move. Alongside, BVH Principal Lee Romero hopes that it will encourage students to be more involved in the school’s community.
“[SUHSD] came up [with a certain] amount of money that they had to allocate for [BVH]. 22 million dollars [was the] decision made because 22 million dollars ten years ago [could] build twice as much as [the district was] planning [on doing]. With 22 million [the dance room, auto-shop, BVTV, and the quad was] all [the district could] afford,” Romero said.
The process of tearing down specific parts of the school was initially not Romero’s idea, but he did have some control over the buildings that were soon to be redone. The money that is going towards the school is not enough to fix the entire school, so the SUHSD had to work around it and decide where the money would be put towards.
“The benefit is that there is going to be an increase in the square footage of the space. For example [one of my classes currently has] 42 students [and they] can barely move in the space [that the classroom has]. [When they] lift their arms up they[touch other students in the process], so I think the biggest benefit is gonna be having more square footage to be able to move comfortably and safely,” Timmons said.
Dance is one of the biggest programs here at BVH which makes Timmons frustrated that her classes have restricted freedom to move. Alongside that, BVH’s automotive teacher Jose Leyva has concerns about the initial structure of the buildings.
“[The building] is just falling apart and getting old. My roof tiles fell and landed on a student. I have random electrical boxes hanging from the heater [in the corner of the classroom]. I’m excited to have a new fresh classroom, I won’t be afraid to reach into a cabinet and touch a rat or touch rabbit poop. [Overall] I am excited for a fresh clean start,” Leyva states.
Leyva has been teaching at BVH for five years and has already seen issues within his classroom that are not only affecting the structure of his building, but the overall health and safety for the students as well. The issues with tearing down the current classrooms, while school is still in session, is the students’ learnings and where they will be taught for the time being. Timmons has concerns about where her class will be held as it will be difficult for her dancers if they have no classroom to dance in while her current one is being redone.
“My greatest concern is that the building is not being built where it currently is. I did make a request [if I] could keep the dance room as long as possible because we need a temporary place to have class while this one is being demolished,” Timmons said.
Romero acknowledges the concerns that teachers have about where their students will be taught, but he is more worried about the time management it will take to rebuild these classrooms. The issue with new buildings is that school is still in session. There will be construction everywhere and the students may find it difficult to get to and from their classrooms safely and efficiently.
“Right now [the district has] looked at plans, but they have to take those sketches [to] a state architectural department to see [if they are] acceptable [and safe],” Romero said. “[It]could take six to eight months until they start the building process. Once [the building starts] they will not finish [the process] for another eight to ten months. Next year there is going to be construction and it’s going to be a hassle.”
Not only will the building be a hassle for the students and staff at BVH, but it can also affect parents when dropping off and picking up their children from school. With this in mind, Romero does not want students to damage parts of the school because it seems ‘cool’. Many students think that by trashing our school they are being funny and enjoyable for the rest of the school. The right thing to do is to take care of the school and future buildings that will come.
“I hope to see [new] classrooms that are tailored to students and excite them. What I believe is important [at BVH is] our programs [like] BVTV, sports medicine, and dance. [I want to grow BVH’s] engineering program and build up photography. I think an auto-shop is going to be built in a way that will be better for the students who are interested in automotive,” Romero said
Romero shares his wishes for the new classrooms as they should capture students’ attention and make them excited to go to school. Not only does he want to grow our bigger programs like dance, but also expand on programs that are not well appreciated by the students. As for Timmons she also has wishes for her new classroom that will bring her dancers to love dance just as she does.
“People don’t realize that the most important thing [in a dance room] is to have a good floor that gives the dancers some spring as they’re dancing. The dance floor is probably the most important thing, but [I also wish for] changing rooms, costume storage and an office for me to organize all of my things.”
At BVH, dance is popular amongst the students so having a good dance room for the students is an important factor to not only grow the dance program, but also advance the students’ knowledge on dance. Other than Timmons, Leyva has wishes for his new classroom as his slowly begins to fall apart. Leyva shares his thoughts of his classroom that has no air conditioning in California’s summer heat which has interrupted his class time as nobody wants to learn in the heat with no air conditioning.
“We do not have air conditioning, which I think we are the only classroom without. [But] other than air conditioning, [I want] really good lighting, really good organization. I just want everything to have a home,” Leyva said.
As the 2024 election is coming up, Romero hopes for the SUHSD to put out a bond for our school as there are still buildings that need to be redone and if they do BVH will be the first school in the district to have the chance to redo more of our infrastructure.
“[SUHSD] is planning to put a bond out for the next election and if it gets approved then [BVH] [is the] first [school] they want to fix. I hope [SUHSD] bought pass the bond and that the construction happens, but that’ll be something exciting for the school,” Romero said.
