Lincoln School is being rebuilt into a technical academy at the corner of Cherokee Lane and Pine Street in Lodi. A $13.4 million project, Lincoln is one of several schools being built and renovated with money from the $109 million Measure K bond. (Angelina Gervasi/News-Sentinel)

Lodi Unified reaches halfway point of $109 Million Measure K bond

As of June, Lodi Unified has spent a total of $55.4 — more than half the amount of a bond to build new schools — stretching bond dollars as far as they'll go. When Measure K passed, officials vowed to the public the district would be cost-efficient on building projects.

So far, the district has opened seven new campuses, bought land and started several other projects in Lodi and north Stockton.

With some creativity, such as federal loans for special projects and reusing floor plans in multiple new sites, the district has maximized Measure K funding.

Now, with $53.7 million to go, officials are looking at what's been accomplished so far and what needs to be done to plan for the future.

But the focus remains the same.

"We've got to do what we promised to voters," Superintendent Bill Huyett said.

Officials are currently revamping the Facilities Master Plan, which predicts future growth as well as where and how many schools will be needed.

The plan will need to be completed before the district knows how much local money to seek in the future or whether another bond could be on the horizon.

The updated Master Plan will likely go before the board sometime this spring, Huyett said. Until then, plans to finish Measure K projects will stay on course.

The largest portion of Measure K money — $76.5 million — was earmarked for the new schools in Lodi and north Stockton.

New sites, including Borchardt and Larson Elementary schools, have allowed the district to remove as many as 19 campuses from a year-round calendar, which is said to cheat students of nearly 20 instructional days each year.

By this time next year, Lodi Unified hopes to return its last three year-round elementary schools to a modified-traditional calendar when it opens Woodbridge Elementary School on a former middle school site.

The district will open Lincoln Technical Academy, for high school-aged students living in Lodi's Eastside, as soon as 2006.

The Cherokee Lane site, which is expected to cost $13.4 million, will likely offer training in dentistry and health care, emergency and fire response as well as computer programming.

The remaining $9 million of Measure K money will be cashed sometime this summer.

It will pay for additions at Bear Creek, Lawrence Elementary and Lockeford School, Chief Business Officer Douglas Barge said.

Contact reporter Sara Cardine at sarac@lodinews.com.