Los Banos Rotary Club History
Rotarians Review School Facilities

Members of the Rotary Club, accustomed to a few minutes of easy chair relaxing after their regular Tuesday noon luncheon, did things differently this week. C. W. Bates and T. D. Toscano, high school trustees, and L. J. Spindt, school principal, escorted the Rotary members on a tour of the high school grounds so they could more clearly visualize the proposed expansion program that is planned for the school.

Previously Bates, who is clerk of the school board, outlined the program as it is now planned and presented architect's drawings and blue prints of the several units planned for construction if the voters of the district approve the necessary bond issue at the election next month. The program includes construction of a new music room, new dressing rooms and shower facilities at the gymnasium, lighted football field, a dressing room for school athletes and swimmers at the city pool, and a pedestrian underpass at the Seventh street crossing of Pacheco highway.

Bates explained the music room would be located on Sixth street, just south of Memorial Mall. This location, he emphasized, was purposely planned to isolate the music department as much as possible from the regular classroom section. The building will be 36 by 104 feet, with a band room, choral room, rest rooms, office and storage space for the musical instruments. Cost of the building is estimated at $53,000.

The proposed new dressing and shower rooms will be built into the present gymnasium building, where such facilities are now sadly inadequate. Cost of the installation will be about $20,000, plus $3,000 for new lockers and other equipment.

The proposed lights for the football field, in the new recreation park, would provide modern lighting facilities to cost about $25,000; two earth and concrete seating sectionings with announcer's booth, press box, rest rooms, etc., to cost $52,000, and fencing to cost $5,000.

The dual purpose dressing rooms at the swimming pool would serve as dressing rooms for school athletic teams, and in the summer months as dressing rooms at the pool. The original plans for the pool provided for such facilities to be built along the west side of the pool, but were abandoned at that time because of lack of funds. The present dressing room is actually designed as a ladies' lounge, where mothers could rest in the shade while their youngsters played in the kiddies wading pool. Cost of this proposed new unit would be $75,000.

Fifth feature of the expansion program is the pedestrian underpass at the intersection of Seventh street and Pacheco highway. Residents both north and south of the highway have long sought such facilities, declaring that the constantly increasing traffic on the highway creates a very serious hazard for the youngsters. A city officer is stationed at the crossing during peak traffic flow before and after school, but at other times the crossing is unguarded. Several attempts to obtain permission to install a stop and go sign at the intersection have been refused by the State Highway Department. Cost of the purposed underpass is estimated at about $25,000.

Bates stated that permission for construction of the underpass must be obtained from the State Highway Department. In event permission is not obtained at this time it will not delay the other scheduled projects.
To finance the anticipated construction, voters will be asked to approve a bond issue of $275,000. It is proposed that the bonds be for a ten-year period, and would entail a 25c tax rate the first year, decreasing gradually to about 20c the tenth year.

At the present time the high school district is entirely free of bonded debt, and is one of the very few in the state that has been able to maintain its operation on the regulation 75c tax rate. In previous years the high school has been able to operate and also provide a continuing expansion program on the 75c rate, but increasing costs the past several years requires the full 75c levy for regular operation.

March 28, 1952

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