A new conference center and a therapeutic student facility officially broke ground Tuesday, April 28, in Salinas. The two projects are being led by the Monterey County Office of Education.
The Professional Development Conference Center, located at the agency’s main offices at 901 Blanco Circle, will replace existing portable buildings and serve as a hub for trainings, classes and courses the agency offers for educators at all levels. There are about 11,000 school staff members in Monterey County.
“We have needed a space large enough to host all of the professional development trainings we have all the time,” said Deneen Guss, Ed.D., Monterey County Superintendent of Schools. “We are currently leasing facilities all across the county just to be able to get the size of a conference center that we need.”
The new center will reduce the agency’s long-term costs associated with renting off-site venues for large-scale trainings and events.
“I am just thrilled to be able to tear down all of those way too old portables that we have been fixing up year after year,” said Guss.
Demolition of the existing portables, which were zoned off behind yellow tape on Tuesday, will begin shortly followed by grading, utility work and site preparation. Construction will occur in two phases, with the project estimated to be completed by spring 2028.
Once finished, the conference room will accommodate up to 500 people and have the ability to be configured into as many as 16 different room layouts. The state-of-the-art space will also be available to the entire community.
“All education facilities are subject to the Civic Center use, which means other people can use our facility just like they use our conference rooms right now,” said Guss. “Community partners who want to host a training here will just have to fill out the facilities use request form and as long as MCOE is not using the facility, they will have the opportunity to use those conference spaces.”
In addition to the conference room, the new center will house the agency’s migrant services and educational services staff as well as preschool team members and the state preschool and Head Start. The MCOE said bringing them all together in one centralized location will improve efficiency and expand their overall impact.
The approximately $42 million project is being financed through a COP (Certificate of Participation)—a mechanism for providing capital to county offices to finance construction projects.
Guss, who was first elected as county superintendent in 2018, and re-elected in 2022, is not seeking re-election this year and plans to retire at the conclusion of her term in January. Guss said while she will no longer have an official title, she aims to join the celebration once construction is completed.
“I’ll be there at the ribbon cutting event with a big smile on my face,” said Guss. “It takes a lot of work and a lot of risk— right? Because with school districts, we’re always struggling. There’s not enough money to do what we need to do.”
Guss said while the district had to take on debt to get the conference center built, she believes it’s money is well spent. As the superintendent, Guss manages an operating budget of over $178 million, according to the MCOE website.
“It won’t only serve the needs of the Monterey County Office of Education and all the work we do, but the entire community,” Guss said.
New facility breaks ground at La Joya Elementary School
It was a mad dash to the other side of Salinas for Guss to help celebrate the groundbreaking of a new Therapeutic Intervention Program facility at La Joya Elementary School in the Santa Rita Union Elementary School District. The program is designed specifically for students who need a highly supportive, intensive therapeutic environment to succeed in school.
“Currently we have three portables in the district, and by building our own facilities, we will have our own dedicated spot,” said Kara Lowney, the program principal at Monterey County Office of Education who oversees therapeutic interventions.
The facility will include four modular classroom buildings, a dedicated restroom building, a new parking lot and various site improvements. Construction is expected to begin May 4 and completed by the end of the year.
The relatively short timeline can be attributed to the $3.5 million project’s straightforward build-out.
“It’s grading and leveling of the ground— the modular buildings are pre-built, and they will be delivered to site,” said Ryan Stewart, senior director of general services for Monterey County Office of Education. “Then there will be paving and grading for the parking lot and the installation of automatic gates. It’s about as simple as you can get.”
Lowney said the new parking lot will help with bus drop off and parent drop offs in the mornings, and with the new classrooms, they may even be able to expand their program.
Students who will use the new facility are from throughout Monterey County and referred by their home school district.
“They need a little more support than their district can provide,” said Beth Arabia, assistant superintendent for special education at Monterey County Office of Education. “Our program provides them with a small classroom environment and a low student staff ratio. We provide individual learning modules at their level and therapy on campus through our partnership with Monterey County Behavioral Health.”
Students in the program are supported by a team that includes a lead academic teacher, a licensed therapist, a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst, and Instructional Paraprofessionals.
While receiving the intensive emotional support, students continue their academics at grade level using materials and accommodations tailored to their IEP (Individual Education Plan) goals and remain connected to general education activities whenever possible.
Arabia said the program’s overall aim is to build students’ emotional and social skills so they are able to go back to their regular classroom.
“All their goals are different—we have some students that are almost regulated where they can participate in some general education classes, and we have other students who need a lot more time,” said Arabia, adding that being on campus, in a regular school environment will help that process.
“We’ve been working on this one for years, so to get to this point where we are now doing the groundbreaking is super exciting,” said Guss. “I know that when we put our young people in facilities that are conducive to learning and are supportive, safe environments, students thrive.”
This article originally appeared on Salinas Californian: Two new education facilities break ground in Salinas
Reporting by Roseann Cattani, Salinas Californian / Salinas Californian
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