Building Our Future

This e-newsletter will be published monthly to provide our community with updates on all Bond projects and other important facility upgrades happening in DJUSD.

In November 2018, Davis voters passed Measure M, a $150 million school facilities bond measure to upgrade schools for safety and 21st century learning. More information can be found on the Measure M website.

Measure M funds, along with additional facility dollars, constitute the current DJUSD Bond Program that together amounts to approximately $226 million. Bond sales will occur over the course of the next four years. In February 2019, DJUSD saw the first successful bond sale that enabled our school District to begin work with the first $50 million of our Bond Program, referred to as Group 1 Bond Projects, to address safety projects, elementary multi-purpose rooms and more!

Group 1 Bond Projects

• Bond projects include Districtwide projects such as hydration stations and school campus access improvements and site-specific projects such as new two multipurpose rooms, Emerson/Da Vinci Junior Highs science labs, and Da Vinci High campus renovations and construction.

Group 2 and Group 3 Projects

• Groups 2 and 3 Bond projects include Willett MPR, North Davis Elementary MPR and Davis Senior High School STEM Building and Aquatics Center.

Learn more about all DJUSD Bond Projects.

Thanks to our community and the passage of Measure M, Hydration Stations will soon be available at every site within our District. A Hydration Station is a filtered water fountain where students are able to fill their reusable water bottle to quench their thirst throughout the day. Installing hydration stations throughout the District was a high priority ask from our students and we listened! For updates and more information, visit our Bond News Feed.

The first series of DJUSD projects funded by the Bond Program will include the construction of four new science labs at the Emerson/Da Vinci Junior High School campus. Each of the four science labs will be 1,440 square feet and will include eight dedicated lab stations as well as flexible furniture to support lecture and small group instruction. Project completion is anticipated in Fall 2020-21. Learn more about Emerson and Da Vinci Science Labs and upgrades to rooms S-1 and S-2.

Please join the DJUSD Bond Team on Tuesday, January 14, 2020 for two Community Meeting opportunities to learn about the Emerson and Da Vinci science labs project and to share your feedback. Families, staff, neighbors and friends are all invited.

The new year will bring some exciting changes to Birch Lane Elementary (BLE). A temporary building will be brought to campus to support some classroom improvements and the long-awaited construction of the new Birch Lane multipurpose room (MPR). Visit our Bond News Feed for more on this project.

Community Meetings

To hear more about these changes and share any input or thoughts you may have about the Birch Lane MPR design, please join the DJUSD Bond Team on Wednesday, January 8, 2020 for two Community Meeting opportunities. See you there!

The Davis Joint Unified and César Chávez Elementary (CCE) have rescheduled the Community Meetings to discuss the construction of a new multipurpose room. Meetings will be held on Monday, January 27, 2020. There will be two opportunities to participate in an open meeting to learn more about plans, view architectural drawings, and hear ideas developed by a parent-staff working group on this topic. Mark your calendars now to join us for this informative session. We look forward to seeing you there!

In April 2019, the Board of Education revised the Facilities Master Plan to include the construction of a multipurpose room, science lab and parking lot for Da Vinci High School (DVHS) at the Valley Oak Campus. In addition, the Board took action to move most of the existing preschool programming located at Valley Oak campus to Korematsu Elementary to allow adequate space to transition the 9th grade Da Vinci Junior High students to the DVHS campus. Further details can be found on our Bond News Feed.

Sustainability is a priority for DJUSD and, in concert with our DJUSD Bond Program, DJUSD will be pursuing Renewable Energy System Projects, including assistance regarding financing and ownership options, system selection, system sizing, energy storage options and procurement documentation and process. Sustainability details and project specifics are forthcoming, but get a general overview our Bond News Feed.

DJUSD is seeking ways to improve access for school sites and other District facilities, which may include fencing, e-locks, and changes to policies and procedures for each site. Improving “School Campus Access” means that each site project will be uniquely designed to take into account the architecture, physical layout, staffing and other procedural factors for each campus. DJUSD is in the very early phase of this effort and will be looking to begin school-specific community conversations during the new year.

In April 2019, the Board of Education revised the DJUSD Facilities Master Plan to include the relocation of most of the existing preschool programming at Valley Oak to Korematsu Elementary, where new classrooms will be constructed for this program. This relocation will allow space at the Valley Oak Campus for the transition of ninth-grade Da Vinci students to the Da Vinci Charter High School campus. Stay in-the-know with this Bond project and the developments along the way.

Community Meetings

On February 12, 2020, the DJUSD Bond Team invite you to join them for two Community Meeting opportunities to discuss and share any input you may have regarding the new preschool campus and classroom relocations to Korematsu Elementary.

DJUSD is committed to building understanding and support for our Bond Program. It is important to us that our key stakeholders including students, staff, families, neighbors, local business, and others have an understanding of the details of each project, including purpose, launch, progress, decision making and completion. Our goal is to provide timely information through digital communications, public meetings and more. Please take time to read about our Communication efforts and when and how you can provide feedback and learn more information about the projects that interest you. Visit DJUSD Bond Public Outreach.

The Blue Devil Stadium Turf replacement process has begun! The original synthetic turf was installed in 2009 and the field, which has exceeded its anticipated lifecycle, is in need of replacement in order to continue to provide a safe and appropriate surface for athletics.

The Athletics Department has worked with all athletic groups to secure alternate locations to practice and hold games during the construction window. While some winter outdoor sports games will be displaced by the construction, the finished product will be worth the wait. Learn more at Davis Athletics.

DJUSD is preparing to construct a new office for Da Vinci Junior High School on the Emerson/Da Vinci Junior High campus. In the interim DVJH office has been housed within the Emerson Office so be sure to check in there with any administration or student needs that you may have. The new building will be placed at the site of the old office and is estimated to be completed by April 2020. The old building is being repurposed and used for Bond construction on other campuses.

In the coming issues of Building Our Future, DJUSD will highlight more Bond Projects including:

• Mary Ellen Dolcini Multipurpose Room - North Davis Elementary
• Willett Elementary New Multipurpose Room
• Improvements at Davis Senior High School including STEM Building and Aquatics Center
• District Office ADA upgrades
  

DJUSD wants to keep you updated on all our Bond Projects. Here are some ways you can learn more.

• Bond Website: Find information on all things DJUSD Bond Program, including information on bond projects, presentations, bond news stories and more!
• Bond Calendar: View all of our previous and upcoming meetings about our various bond projects.
• Bond Public Outreach: Our public outreach website explains our detailed communication plan that will be followed for each bond project.
• Social Media: Follow DJUSD on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for additional highlights and pictures of our bond projects.#DJUSDBond
• Contact us with questions or feedback at facilityplanning@djusd.net
• Invite your friends and neighbors to subscribe for this e-newsletter!