AFTER A YEARSLONG struggle to transform an East Bay college that was deteriorating and infested with mildew and asbestos, the West Contra Costa Unified College District discovered sufficient funds not simply to transform, however absolutely rebuild the varsity.
It’s a long-awaited victory for Stege Elementary College college students, workers and neighborhood members. The district made guarantees to revamp the Richmond college at the beginning of the 2020-21 college yr, however that by no means occurred.
Now, an entire rebuild is ready to start out quickly, with the brand new college set to open by fall 2027, in keeping with district workers. Alten Development can be rebuilding it.
“It’s about time, and the children deserve it,” stated Guadalupe Enllana, the board member representing the Stege space.
The board unanimously accepted growing the price range for Stege Elementary College’s redesign from $43 million to $61 million over the last board assembly of 2024. The board had beforehand accepted $43 million for the modernization of the varsity, but it surely wasn’t sufficient to cowl an entire rebuild.
After backlash from the neighborhood and calls for for a rebuild as an alternative of transforming, the district discovered $18 million in spare funds to cowl an entire rebuild of the varsity.
The district is utilizing funds left over from different constructing modernization tasks which have been accomplished, stated Melissa Payne, interim affiliate superintendent of amenities. It’s a technique the district has used since 2016.
“I stand here with a commitment on behalf of our entire team — that we are listening, that we want to work together, and that we will,” Payne stated throughout the board assembly.
Years of irritating delays
Whereas thanking the board for growing the price range for the venture, neighborhood members expressed frustrations about how lengthy it took the district to get there.
“This is about equality,” a neighborhood member stated throughout the public remark interval. “If the students at Stege were not Black and brown, the school would have never deteriorated. This isn’t an issue of funds, this is an issue of will.”
Based on district officers, Stege Elementary, inbuilt 1943, has the very best inhabitants of Black and African American college students within the district. Practically 39% of scholars have been Black or African American within the 2022-23 college yr, and 34% have been Hispanic or Latino.
The college has additionally struggled with low efficiency for the final decade. Within the 2017-18 college yr, it was one of many lowest performing faculties within the state. Extra lately, 3.4% of scholars in grades 3-8 met or exceeded English requirements in 2024, about 5 share factors decrease than the earlier yr. Final yr, 18% of scholars in grades 3-8 met or exceeded math requirements, up practically 8 share factors from 2023.
As teams, African American and Latino college students statewide have had the lowest share of scholars assembly or exceeding math and English requirements for the final decade. Final yr practically 37% of Latino college students and about 30% of African American college students met English requirements. About 24% of Latino college students and practically 18% of African American college students met math requirements.
Moveable lecture rooms on the Stege Elementary College campus in Richmond in March 2020. The West Contra Costa Unified College District had plans to transform the ageing campus way back to the beginning of the pandemic, but it surely wasn’t till only in the near past that it discovered the $61 million mandatory for a whole rebuild. (Picture by Andrew Reed/EdSource)Dozens of complaints about poor circumstances
The college can also be on the middle of a lawsuit that was filed in July by civil rights legislation agency Public Advocates, alleging the varsity district did not treatment points within the required timeframe for practically 50 complaints filed by lecturers, college students and fogeys since June 2023. The majority of the complaints have been about poor constructing circumstances at Stege Elementary.
The complaints stated Stege had moldy partitions, inoperable home windows, lecture rooms reaching greater than 90 levels with out air flow, and damaged flooring tiles. Lead and asbestos have been additionally discovered after the district employed an environmental agency to check constructing supplies.
Constructing circumstances at Stege Elementary have been by no means improved, whilst district officers “repeatedly” acknowledged circumstances on the college have been “dangerous,” the lawsuit says. The closure of the varsity was introduced on July 23, 4 days after the lawsuit was filed and unsafe supplies have been detected throughout the elimination of window panels.
College students and workers started the 2024-25 college yr at DeJean Center College.
“I think this has been long awaited, and I really hope that the process moving forward will be transparent and all inclusive to the greater community,” Enllana stated. “I think it’s really going to take community buy-in not just from students and parents, but the greater community.”
This story initially appeared in EdSource.
