Save Jan. 13 at 6:30 for community forum with superintendent

We are very excited about our potential state-of-the-art performing arts facility serving all students and campuses on the west end of the San Juan Unified School District. But at this point in time, we are only a potential project and not yet a reality. We need your help:  please attend an open forum with Interim Superintendent Kent Kern and district leadership to show your support for this needed project:

Monday, January 13, 2014

6:30pm – 8:00pm

El Camino cafeteria

The recent passage of Bond Measure N will be a huge benefit to this and other needed projects around the District, but it presents some management issues for the District and the school board--the most significant problem being that there are roughly $1 billion in identified projects competing for about $275 million in Measure N funding.

Nonetheless, with ecARTS, Inc. at the helm, the performing arts center project enjoys an existing volunteer team that has worked closely with the District for several years.  It was the result of that relationship which prompted Superintendent Kern to offer to address our community and provide the latest and most accurate information on the subject of a performing arts center.  There will also be a question and answer session at this forum.

Why should you attend?

On October 14^th, a community forum was hosted by DLR, the company hired to produce the SJUSD Facilities Master Plan.  In attendance were El Camino and its feeder middle and elementary schools.  The performing arts center was at the top of the list of projects for our community.   Each high school will most likely receive one “signature project” through Measure N funding in the neighborhood of $10-$12 million.

However, the School Board has already approved all-weather tracks and athletic fields for El Camino and Del Campo—at $2 million each.  It is proposed that funding for the athletic facilities will come from the $10-$12 million for the El Camino community’s signature project—the performing arts center.  We disagree with that logic, especially since the football field at El Camino is a District field that serves four high schools.

More importantly, other high schools have received upgrades and new structures from previous bond measures so the idea that all nine high schools will receive an equal share of the Measure N Bond is an issue on the table.

It is for these reasons that we need you to attend this forum meeting on January 13^th and impress upon the District leadership that we are united behind our performing arts center and that we want it to receive the funding necessary to get this sorely needed facility built.

The San Juan School Board is an elected body and therefore sensitive to public sentiment. Our united presence will have the added benefit of reminding them of what they might hear from the voters should they feel that their Measure N vote was in vain. Our presence is the strongest way to show our level of commitment to and expectation for the performing arts center. Please take the time to attend.

Once again, save the date, Monday, January 13, 2014, 6:30 – 8:00pm in the El Camino cafeteria. Planning to attend? Please send us an email at performatec@yahoo.com. 

Save our performing arts center

The Problem:  Several school board members have expressed concern about the cost of a performing arts center along the lines of the facility outlined by our survey respondents. A facility that will have tremendous positive impact on the District and the community! A curriculum area linked to academic achievement! We need to act quickly to prove to the board that students, alumni, and faculty from area schools AND the community want this project to happen.

Pressing need: Get our performing arts center on the District’s Facilities Master Plan. To help us, please complete the information at this ONLINE FORM. In the comment boxes at the bottom, please identify the performing arts center at El Camino as a specific project for the board to support. Then share the link with a friend. The information collected by the District will be shared with the DLR Group, the firm producing the master plan. 

Background:

• Summer 2012:  ecARTS members volunteer to help the District ensure Measure N’s passage (which included handing out election flyers for some of our board members).
• Nov. 2012: Measure N passes and a District employee attends an ecARTS meeting to tell us our performing arts center is a sure thing.
• Spring 2013: ecARTS tabulates survey results from SJU schools and community organizations and creates a list of features our new performing arts center must have. ecARTS hires LPAS to produce a conceptual drawing (below).
• Summer 2013: ecARTS and LPAS representatives present the plan to SJUSD board members Lucinda Luttgen and Pam Costa. While the board members seem to support the concept, the cost of the facility is prohibitive in their opinion.
• Oct. 2013:  ECHS, Starr King, Cowan, Mission, and Arcade vote unanimously for a performing arts center. DLR is impressed by an idea that serves thousands of students, and the “signature project” aspect they believe the District needs.
• Nov. 2013:  School board members continue to express reservations about the cost of a facility and are not convinced that several schools will use it. Help us convince them!
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HELP! We need 5 minutes of your time...

As we reported last week, the SJUSD Board is presently awaiting the completion of a Facilities Master Plan (FMP) before it makes any public announcements regarding Measure N-funded projects. The DLR Group has conducted a series of public meetings where it received input from the community regarding improvements and/or enhancements at each school in the District.

The District is also seeking public input for the FMP via an ONLINE FORM. The intent was to have a form for each campus but as you can see, the form is generic.

How you can help (we need only 5 minutes!)

1. Click the above link.
2. Complete your name and select the appropriate radio buttons for questions on safety, academics, athletics. etc. (all fields are required). 
3. In the comment boxes at the end, PLEASE BE SURE THE NAME THE SAN JUAN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (at El Camino High School) AS YOUR #1 DESIRE!

It takes all of 5 minutes but the results can last a lifetime. When you're done, please forward to a friend.

Thank you for your continued support to help us build a first-class visual and performing arts center that serves the students in the west end of the District and the community at large.

Focused and positive!

As the President of ecARTS, part of my "job description" is to make sure this organization remains focused on our goal and positive in our actions. Over the past couple of months I often had to remind myself of my own philosophy of "Attitude is Everything"!

Since August, we have experienced some setbacks that took us by surprise. However, in the past week some very positive things have occurred in our favor. Specifically, at the recent community forum administered by DLR, the company hired by the San Juan School District to present a master plan for measure N funding.

• El Camino staff, administration, students, parents, PTSA, and Athletic Boosters bonded together to inform DLR (and the San Juan School District) that our number one priority at El Camino is to build a state of the art 600 seat performing arts center with measure N funds.
• In addition, each of our feeder schools (Starr King, Arcade, Cowan, Mission Avenue) also desire a performing arts center that serves their student arts programs.
• El Camino’s presentation at the community forum was received with applause and cheers by our feeder schools.

It makes perfect sense that the district build a single facility to serve the needs of the entire west end of our district. This has always been our intention! El Camino has the space and is in a logical location.

With the support of our school community, ecARTS is in a powerful position to see our vision come to fruition. As discussed at our meeting on Tuesday, we will invite the DLR team to the fall band concert and winter madrigal dinner concert to allow them to actually see why there is a need for a new facility.

So, the point of this communication is to remind us all (including myself) why we came together and to keep our eye on the prize! Attitude really is everything!

Thank you all for everything you have done and continue to do for our cause.

Kevin Glaser

Architect hired to create concept drawings

You've probably been wondering what we've been up to the last several months. The answer? A lot!

First, our hard work on Measure N paid off! The district now has $350 million of breathing room with respect to much needed improvements for all schools in our district.

Second, it was announced to ecARTS by the school district that money is being earmarked for our long-awaited performing arts center on El Camino's campus. 

In the last several months, the design committee met and developed a rough outline of necessary features for our performing arts center, based on surveys conducted with district elementary, middle, and high schools, and community performing groups.

Next, we submitted requests for proposal to three well-know area architects for concept drawings and project estimates. LPAS submitted the winning proposal -- designer of the Three Stages at Folsom Lake College and several other performing arts centers in the western U.S.

Between now and the end of May, ecARTS together with LPAS will prepare a design concept for district approval.

It's going to happen, folks! The Performing Arts Center at El Camino High School will soon be a reality.