On Tuesday, Nov. 5, residents in the Tamalpais Union High School District (TUHSD) area voted to approve Measure B, a school bond that will fund critical infrastructure repairs and improvements at Redwood High School, Tamalpais High School, and Archie Williams. The approval of Measure B marks a significant step forward for TUHSD, as bonds are the only source of funding for facility renovations.
The 289 million dollar bond distributes funding to the district’s high schools based on the proportion of students enrolled at each school. Archie Williams will receive roughly 60 million dollars to improve the academic and athletic environments on campus. TUHSD Assistant Superintendent Corbet Elson says the bond funding’s initial plans moving mostly concern construction of new facilities, and will be further clarified in the new year.
“The sequence of when these projects will be constructed will be discussed at the January 14th TUHSD Board meeting, but the goal is to construct these projects as soon as possible while also minimizing the disruption to the school campus that obviously comes with all construction,” Elson said.
Measure B funds will improve the Archie Williams football field, track, baseball field, and field house. The new field house, located behind the cafeteria and next to the baseball field, will have team rooms for sports to meet, equipped with lockers for athletes’ supplies and bathrooms where they can change clothing.
“First, these facilities’ improvements will continue to ensure our TUHSD school campuses are clean, safe, cool, and dry for the next generation of students and staff. Secondly, by Measure B passing, significant budget cuts to staff for student programming were averted,” Elson said.
The athletic fields will be upgraded with new turf, and the track will be resurfaced. The use of modern, high-quality materials will prioritize the safety of the athletes, specifically regarding concussion safety.
Freshman soccer player Meadow Quirie, looks forward to the changes on the sports fields. She is most excited for what the changes could mean for the future of all the sports that use the new and improved fields.
“I think [the improved field] will help the team play better if the field is better because if there’s rough turf you don’t want to play on that… [Concussion proofing] will [also] help because a lot of people get hurt in those sports.”
The Archie Williams football field, also planning to be resurfaced, currently displays the letter “D” in the center, formerly representing the school’s previous name, Sir Francis Drake High School. With these facility improvements, proper signage will be included to reflect the new name.
Emily Ulhorn, a trustee on the TUHSD board and mother of three children who all attended Tam, assures that the bond funds will be spent usefully and shares the support the community has for schools.
“Our community is generally predisposed to support our schools and our District has built trust through its excellent fiscal management, so voters can trust that the funds will be well spent. The District also did a very thorough job of preparing for a potential bond with its facilities master plan process and public outreach,” Ulhorn said.
Measure B will also provide new funding for outdoor learning spaces, current portable classrooms being replaced with outdoor learning areas, giving classes the opportunity to hold lessons outside. Along with outdoor learning spaces, new lunch areas and seating will be installed, creating places to sit and socialize in between classes and during breaks.
The funds will also go towards an entirely new and improved performing arts center. The arts center will undergo renovation to make the theater space and drama classrooms larger and add a second level to the current building. Archie Williams freshman and drama student Penelope Behr looks forward to the renovations of the arts center and how the changes will positively affect students.
“[The renovations will] have a good impact on students’ performance, because our current theater, it’s pretty small, and there’s not a lot of space to rehearse. Having a new theater in a fresh building will help encourage people to do more [in drama],” Penelope said.
The new center will attempt to attract a different crowd of students to join the program, especially after the decline of the upperclassman communications and performance academy, ComAcad. Sophomore Olmec Estrada, in his first year of drama, believes that the new theater will bring in new students to the performing arts program.
“A new environment is interesting for people who like to explore and try out. [With] any new [improvement,] people are going to be curious [about it]. So having a new building like that would inspire a lot of people and hopefully bring more people to the program,” Olmec said.
Widespread renovation plans also include the installation of air conditioning and heating systems, adhering to the new state mandates around wildfire season and clean air regulation. The air conditioning and heating unit installation will purify the air in all classrooms, making learning more comfortable during all seasons.
While the details of the improvements and dates for construction won’t be shared until after the January 14 meeting, students can still look forward to the various improvements taking place on campus.
