The Tulare County Office of Education broke ground on a major expansion of its administrative campus on South Mooney Boulevard in Visalia on Feb. 20.
The project will include five new buildings: Pat Hillman Administrative Center, Chris Reed Administrative Center, Redwood Café and CBI Classrooms, Leonard Hansen Special Events Center, and Operational Services Center.
The new administrative campus will enable many of TCOE’s employees to work together at one central location.
“For 40 years, TCOE staff have been split between multiple buildings in and around Visalia,” Tulare County Superintendent of Schools Tim Hire said. “The expansion of the TCOE Mooney Administration Campus will bring together staff from our Doe Avenue complex and various rented office spaces, along with young adults with special needs from three Visalia classrooms.
“I am excited about the idea of how efficient our operations will become, the increased effectiveness of our services, and the enhanced organizational culture – all leading to greater outcomes for our students,” he said.
Since county offices of education are not eligible for state school construction funds, the project is being funded by a municipal loan. The municipal loan will be offset by savings from the leased offices the county move from and other sources of income, according to Hire.
Mangini Associates, the Visalia-based architectural firm that designed the Jim Vidak Education Center that was completed in 2016, created the plans for the new project. The general contractor is Oral E. Micham, Inc., based in Woodlake.
(This article has been updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.)
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: What a new 14.5‑acre TCOE campus will mean for Visalia schools
Reporting by Steve Pastis, Visalia Times-Delta / Visalia Times-Delta
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