Michelle Rodriguez (right), superintendent of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, chats with John Laird, who is running for State Senate, and Erica Padilla, CEO of Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance, while touring Pajaro Middle School. — Tarmo Hannula/The Pajaronian

WATSONVILLE—Over the summer, Pajaro Valley Unified School District completed 65 maintenance, construction and upgrade projects to the tune of $30 million.

That was all thanks to Measure L, the $150 million bond approved by voters in 2012. That bond is nearing the end of its life, with just $30 million left.

The district has completed nearly 140 projects since the bond was approved.

On Wednesday, a group of 20 elected officials, district administrators and community members hopped aboard a school bus to take a tour of six of the schools that received summertime work: Aptos High, Mar Vista, Ohlone, Pajaro Middle, MacQuiddy and Ann Soldo.

Pajaro Middle School, for example, got new perimeter fencing, drought-tolerant plants and an updated quad, with new concrete. The school will soon get a new paint job, said PVUSD Chief Business Officer Joe Dominguez. 

The tour – and others like it held every year – are the district’s way of showcasing the work and assuring the community that the Measure L money is being well spent, said PVUSD Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez.

“This provides the community a hands-on opportunity to see what we’re doing,” she said. “It’s to ensure the community that we have been good stewards of the taxpayers’ money.”

For information on Measure L projects click here.

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General assignment reporter, covering nearly every beat. I specialize in feature stories, but equally skilled in hard and spot news. Pajaronian/Good Times/Press Banner reporter honored by CSBA. https://pajaronian.com/r-p-reporter-honored-by-csba/

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