By Joan Garvin

LASD trustees tour new two-story building

Los Altos School District board members took an escorted tour through Egan Intermediate School to witness progress at the first school under construction in the district’s $94.7 million facilities renovation project.

Project Manager Cory Thomas guided board members Victor M. Reed III, David Casas, Margot Harrigan, Duane Roberts and Jay A. Thomas through the new school buildings as workers hammered nails and surveyed plans.

Building K, the new two-story structural steel building, located along Portola Avenue, will house two computer labs, a word processing classroom, a library and a new school office on the first floor. The second floor, accessed by elevator and stairway, will have 10 fully equipped classrooms.

The trustees also examined the former library, gutted in preparation for its reconfiguration into fully functional science classrooms. Two storage rooms and a teacher prep room shared by all four science classrooms will provide optimal use of the building’s original floor plan.

All existing campus structures will be renovated. At completion, classrooms will have new HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) Systems, Voice/Data/Video/Clock Networks, a sink, carpet, paint, teaching wall, refinished casework and upgrades in electrical, fire alarm and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance.

Site work includes new gas, electrical and storm drainage systems, upgrades to the parking lot and exterior lights.

Because of the high construction costs, the final contract for Egan did not include new music and locker buildings. The Board of Trustees is exploring alternative funding for these buildings.

They intend to provide modern and effective teaching/learning environments at both Egan and Blach intermediate schools.