By Joan Garvin

In a move that surprised some, the Los Altos School District Board of Trustees last week decided on new construction at Covington School after weeks of discussing no new construction in the elementary schools in the interests of parity.

Trustees have been wrestling with downsizing their $94.7 million renovation plans after encountering construction costs that pushed original plans $40 million over budget.

The board on Dec. 11 went with a staff proposal to spend more than $10 million to reopen Covington and include construction of the east wing of proposed building K housing a library, computer room and classroom.

Audience members complained the decision seemed to differ from previous positions prohibiting new construction in favor of basic upgrades for health, safety and modernization.

Some trustees acknowledged the apparent conflict of adding new construction on any elementary site with the proposed new strategy hammered out in special board sessions and presented at the Nov. 16 Construction Oversight Committee meeting.

That strategy was to complete work on Egan and Blach junior high schools as originally intended, and perform needed upgrades on the other schools. There was never a formal vote on this proposal; it appeared to be adopted by consent.

Board member David Casas expressed “difficulty with including (the new building), but would concur.”

Member Duane Roberts also “struggled with (new construction) because we said ‘no construction.’ But we need to get parity. We can’t recover the soft costs (design); we would need to redesign. I’m comfortable with this (proposal).”

However, audience member Deb Gatta raised the issue of parity among the schools.

“We weren’t going to do any new construction. Now, at the last minute, you are talking about a new building,” Gatta said. “Every site had some construction planned and could prove that it would be more economical to build now. There seems to be no valid benchmark. You are making decisions before strategy.”

“I understand from a construction standpoint, it sounds good; but at the expense of some of the other schools. … Is this parity?” Sue Swartz said. “(Covington will have) fewer students than Loyola or Springer.”

Thomas responded, it’s a “tough decision in the middle of the plans. Covington was already started.”

The action passed, 5-0.

In other board news, Superintendent Marge Gratiot recommended approval of a proposed second camp school at Blach. “Safety and health issues such as hazardous materials, strangers on campus, accidents, trenching, equipment, traffic and parking, dust, power outages” were among reasons to support a second camp school.

The board approved the item, 5-0.

The board also voted to scale down plans for a new locker room at Egan, with a current bid of more than $1 million.

The recommendation was to tear down the existing building, provide interim housing for the physical education program, probably portables, then secure funding to redesign and build the new locker and music buildings.