SMMUSD has big plans for the remaining $100 million facilities improvement budget, but costs have skyrocketed thanks to a 16-month delay.
Grant Elementary could get a fully renovated library. Will Rogers could get a new two-story classroom building. Franklin could get a state-of-the-art “makerspace” for creative learning. The list of Santa Monica schools’ campus improvements is long, but the money set aside for various projects isn’t going as far as it used to.
In October 2020, the SMMUSD Facility District Advisory Committee gave these project recommendations and more to the School Board, in line with the District’s overall vision for 21st century education. With about $98 million left over from 2018’s Measure SMS school bond, the District has been working to put the money to work improving education at various school sites across the City.
But…