After years of holding performances in their school’s wrestling room and in various spaces around campus, students at Pajaro Valley High School now have a new theater—albeit a temporary one—as they await future construction of a performing arts center.
District officials—along with elected leaders from Watsonville and Santa Cruz County—gathered in the school’s new Black Box Theatre to watch as dancers, band members and performers gave a brief glimpse of the talent that exists at the school.
With enough room for a stage and 150 seats, the theater will be a dedicated space for dance performances, plays and other events, without having to scrounge through the campus.
“This just goes to show what teachers and students can accomplish on the campus when given just a little more space,” said senior Julio Gonzalez who emceed the event, which included folklorico dances, a comedy sketch and two performances by the PVHS marching band.
The $62,000 renovation came from an Arts, Music, & Instructional Materials (AMIM) Block Grant from the California Department of Education, said Pajaro Valley Unified School District Superintendent Heather Contreras.
That was far less than the more than $200,000 it would have cost for a temporary mobile stage, she said.
From its inception in 2004, PVHS has borne the brunt of both funding shortfalls and logistical challenges that delayed its $14 million athletic field until 2021, which was funded through Measure L, the $150 million bond passed in 2012 to fund projects districtwide.
Now, with Measure M having passed in 2024, the district is gearing up to build the school’s new performing arts center.
Much like Measure L, the successful passage of the more recent bond came thanks in large part to PVHS students who campaigned in their free time, Contreras said.
“They really had a lot to do with passing that bond,” she said.
Principal Todd Wilson said that the temporary theater was completed in just 30 days.
“This space is more than just three portables transformed,” he said. “It is a stage where students can express their creativity, build confidence and share their talents with all of us.”
