New bathrooms, portables move Alternative Education Program forward

The Maricopa Unified School District unanimously voted Wednesday to approve the installation of additional bathrooms and portable buildings at Maricopa High School, a move designed to accommodate the district’s new Alternative Education Program.

The measure to install more bathrooms in the automotive building was tabled at the board’s Jan. 11 meeting due to concerns about the construction timeline and whether it would be completed by the start of the 2017-18 school year.

After conferring with Business Services Director Aaron Rausch, Superintendent Steve Chestnut expressed confidence at Wednesday’s meeting, saying the district will “get this done by June, before the first day of school,” and he again recommended approval of the measure.

The second item approved by the board was the installation of two portable buildings, which will be used by the Alternative Education Program.

There were some questions raised as to the possibility of the installation of a permanent structure. However, due to budgetary implications, new construction projects are not quite feasible. Furthermore, Chestnut said the district’s steady growth merits the purchase regardless of application.

“This will launch our new alternative program at the high school, and I think these will be good investments,” Chestnut said. “We’re continuing to grow. It’s only a matter of time before we start buying portables, so we might as well get started now.”

Chestnut said the alternative program is currently designed to begin at 2 p.m., thus the portables could serve a secondary purpose during the early part of the day.

The alternative program will be designed to assist up to 120 credit-deficient juniors and seniors who may be at risk of not graduating on schedule.  The program is set to begin with the 2017-18 school year and is funded by revenue gained from the recent tax override.

MUSD Board Meeting 1-25-17

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