Trustee board moves forward with next steps toward a multi-purpose facility at AHS

Board celebrates Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Dan Neff on final board meeting day

ATASCADERO — The Atascadero Unified School District (AUSD) Board of Trustees met for its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, June 11, at 4 p.m. Trustee Denise McGrew-Kane was absent from the meeting.

“Thanks for a great year, everyone. I wanted to share how much I enjoyed it, and I’m sure we’ll hear comments from the crew; the graduations were so good this year, both at Atascadero High School and Paloma Creek High School and ACE, our independent studies program,” said Superintendent Tom Butler at the top of his report. “Student speakers were outstanding, parents and families were super supportive, and there was a really positive spirit among the students. The promotions were also really well done at the Fine Arts Academy and Atascadero Middle School.”

He also called attention to the fact that the first day of school when it returns will be Wednesday, Aug. 14.

“I would just like to take this opportunity, since it is the board report, to say a special thank you to [Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources] Dan [Neff] because this is your final meeting with us,” said Trustee Corinne Kuhnle in her board member’s report. “But we do so appreciate all that you’ve given us this past year, your professionalism, your guidance, and being part of this team. It’s been awesome, and we wish you the very best.”

The minutes from the June 4 meeting and the Consent Agenda passed unanimously.

Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services E.J. Rossi presented the board with the LCAP for final approval after bringing it to the board previously on June 4. It passed unanimously. Rossi also presented the board with an informational item on the LCAP Federal Addendum.

Assistant Superintendant of Business Services Jackie Martin brought forth the Conceptual Design for a Multi-Purpose Facility at Atascadero High School. Facilities Director Brant Lloyd presented the item to the trustee board.

“So for a number of years, we’ve been banding this idea of a multi-purpose room, multi-purpose facility at AHS, and we’ve routinely thought about what happens if we just put a room in front of the snack bar,” he said. “Or what happens if we knock down the existing snack bar and build a facility that is both a meeting room, dining commons room, and new kitchen facility. Or what if we went even bigger than that and picked up the library next door and used both footprints to create one bigger building that would also serve as a multimedia and other types of spaces that we lack desperately at the high school that they’re currently using the library for now.”

Lloyd sent out requests for proposals from local architecture firms to give the district those three options as concepts so the district could know how much each one costs before moving forward. The firm that provides the best value for the district is RRM Design Group out of San Luis Obispo at $37,440.

“The recommendation is for the district to enter into an agreement with RRM to provide those services,” stated Lloyd.

The next regularly scheduled AUSD Board of Trustees meeting will take place Tuesday, Aug. 6, at 4 p.m.