VISTA — After analyzing various potential timelines, leaders in the Vista Unified School District agreed this week to proceed with a $5.5 million track and field replacement project at Vista High School this summer.
The project, funded by developer fees, will restore the track and field facilities from top to bottom, including new field drainage and turf, a new multi-lane track, ADA improvements, and new fencing.
Architects involved in the project said these major repairs are needed to complete long-overdue updates and address the drainage issues that have caused the field to flood when it rains.
“We need to remove the track, and we need to remove the turf. We can’t just overlay these elements anymore; they have reached their end of life, and we have to basically start over with them, so we are removing them fully,” Josh Eckle of AlphaStudio Design Group told the district board of trustees on Thursday.
The track and field renovation will be the latest major project completed at Vista High School, following the completion of two new campus buildings funded by $76 million in Measure LL bond funds since the beginning of 2024.
In January, the district completed the two-story Building S, housing 20 classrooms for the school’s English department. This was followed by the three-story Building T (directly adjacent to the stadium), which was completed earlier this month and offers a weight room, JROTC facilities, and additional classrooms for history, science and social science.
Vista Unified originally planned to begin the track and field renovations in 2022 but faced delays after needing to majorly revise the project scope to comply with new standards imposed by the Division of the State Architect, officials said.
At its Thursday meeting, the district board was asked to consider various timelines for the project besides this summer, including the upcoming fall and winter or the summer of 2025. District Chief Operations Officer Shawn Loescher said there are no good times to renovate a field at a high school and that there would be student impacts on band and athletics regardless of the schedule.
However, Loescher warned that later timelines could drive costs and delay other dependent projects at Rancho Buena Vista High School, including long-overdue gym renovations totaling around $2.5 million.
Trustees opted for the sooner timeline, noting that costs for the track and field renovation could rise by around 10% by next summer.
“The cost impacts that go with a $5.5 million job — if we wait, that turns out to be $550,000,” said Trustee Martha Alvarado.
Loescher said the project will take about six months to complete, pending weather conditions. The project will be advertised for bids in the coming weeks, with an exact timeframe to be determined once a contract is awarded.
Updates to the field will also bring it into compliance with CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) standards, with new striping to account for multiple sports, including lacrosse, women’s flag football, and soccer. The lifespan of the new turf is predicted to be around 10 years.
“The programs that are being played on the field are fundamentally different than when the field was constructed,” Loescher said.
During the project, athletics and band programs that depend on the stadium will use other fields on campus and facilities at other district schools.
Other projects, future bond
Vista Unified has also been busy with other Measure LL projects outside Vista High School. In February, Rancho Buena Vista High School celebrated the opening of its approximately $14 million Career Technical Education facility, a 9,000-square-foot space serving students pursuing careers in construction and welding.
The district is considering other major bond projects, including the Bobier Elementary School rebuild. While previously anticipated to cost around $57 million, pricing for the project will be finalized by August.
However, district leaders are also considering placing another bond measure on the November ballot to fund even more facilities projects. The board of trustees will decide in July whether to officially place the bond, currently proposed at $364 million with a rate of 4 cents per $100 of assessed value, before voters.
The board agreed last week to send draft bond language to the San Diego County Taxpayers Association for their endorsement, although it is not required for the bond to move forward. Trustee Rena Marrocco opposed the idea, saying she felt it was too soon and did not have enough information.
The draft language proposes using bond funds to “repair and upgrade classrooms, science labs, school facilities, and instructional technology to support college/career readiness in math, science, technology, engineering, arts and skilled trades; fix deteriorating roofs, plumbing, sewer, and electrical systems; and improve school safety and security.”
In the meantime, the district is also awaiting the results of a community survey regarding bond feasibility.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was updated to correct errors that misstated the source of funding for the VHS track and field project and the status of the Rancho Buena Vista softball field project.
