By Sean Mueck
Benicia has recently been experiencing numerous ad campaigns to help revitalize the city. Boards advertising city measures are scattered around the city, with some of the most notable being around the First Street green area and the 9th Street pier.
The city has been struggling in recent history to continue its commitment as a full service city, where all the utilities are provided by the city. “Believe in Benicia” and numerous other ad campaigns have served to attempt to foster support for the revitalization of the city. In addition, numerous measures have been shown on recent ballots. Measures A and B stand to revitalize the downtown area by increasing a sales tax of .75 cents along with implementing an additional hotel sales tax from 9 percent to 13 percent. Zoning laws limiting height in the downtown area have been extended as well, allowing for new buildings and hotels to be greenlit by the city. Despite being lesser known, Measure C stands as one of the most important wins for the school district, which has failed to pass measures to increase funding for the schools in recent history. The critically important Measure C serves to distribute funds to the old and quickly aging Benicia Unified School District.
Despite Benicia’s small population, the school district stands as one of the earliest public school districts in California, with the first public school being opened in 1849 and the school districts formation in 1850.
Most schools in the district currently are rapidly showing age. The median age of schools in the district is over 55 years old. The Benicia Unified School District states that Measure C will be used for repairing/replacing leaky roofs, expanding and renovating career technical classrooms and labs to better prepare students for employment after high school, replacing outdated heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems, and renovating/constructing science and technology labs improving student access to computers and technology.
The Benicia Unified School District recently held their measures meeting on April 30. The meeting, which was held in the PAB, set out to address how extra funds acquired from the passing of Measure C would be reinvested into upgrading and addressing issues at Benicia High School.
The meeting was attended by mostly teachers and staff who were invested in the future of their programs. The meeting was headlined by an overhaul of the PAB, with an extension and numerous upgrades to the area. The gymnasium has been slated for upgrades as well, with reflooring and a new audio system in the plans. When asked when these upgrades will take place, the architects estimated that the PAB upgrades will break ground in 2 to 3 years and will be completely finished in 2028. There are no current dates for when the gymnasium will undergo upgrades.
Despite the fact that the entire current student population is set to graduate before the finishing of the modernizations and improvements, Measure C will positively affect countless classes of students to come. Despite the High School’s old age, Measure C will help bring the campus properly into the next generation, being able to accommodate numerous more years of service.
Even with Benicia’s current rocky situation, bills such as Measure C help shine a positive light on the dire situation and set out to help improve students’ and educators’ experience in the Benicia Unified School District.
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