Simi Valley Schools Show Off Improvements : Rehabilitation: Voter approval of $35 million in bonds has paved the way for the first phase of renovations at 11 of 26 campuses in the district.

It has not been a good year for the Simi Valley Unified School District, which has endured $8 million in budget cuts, a fire at an elementary school and the recent announcement that its superintendent will resign in September.

But it has not been all bad. On Wednesday, district officials took the opportunity to show off various school improvement projects under way at 11 of the district’s 26 campuses.

The improvements, the first of a three-phase renovation program, are being financed with $35 million provided by a bond measure approved by voters in March, 1989.

Some of the major renovations include installation of computerized sprinkler systems and installation or replacement of air-conditioning and heating systems. Other improvements include repainting and recarpeting at some schools, and the addition of handicapped ramps and restrooms at others.

“The purpose of the program is to rehabilitate classrooms from a deteriorating condition to a very functional and appealing” environment in which to learn and work, said Henry Needham, the district’s coordinator of construction and environmental management.

Park View School, which lost four classrooms in a fire in May, is undergoing the most extensive renovation. Workers are installing an air-conditioning and heating system as well as new plumbing. New floors and a new roof are also part of the package.

The elementary school is also being repainted. Its colors, beige and blue, are giving way to lighter tones of green and burgundy.

Mary Beth Wolford, assistant superintendent of business and property management, said the district had decided to renovate Park View before the fire.

“It had the most needs,” Wolford said of the 27-year-old campus. “Plus it was centrally located, and we wanted the residents of the community who supported the bond measure to visually see something happening.

“We wanted to take one school and sort of make it a model of what can happen when we modernize and completely redo the entire school.”

Wolford said the renovation is scheduled to be completed by Sept. 4. The fire-damaged classrooms, which are being rebuilt with insurance money, are expected to be finished by December.

Grading is under way for a new multipurpose building at Hollow Hills Fundamental School. The building will be used as a cafeteria, auditorium and storage area, Wolford said.

The old multipurpose room, which is being converted into two classrooms, was so small that five lunch periods were scheduled to accommodate the school’s 660 students, Wolford said. The school will now have the option of scheduling one or two lunch periods, she said.

Workers are also installing computerized sprinkler systems at a number of campuses, including Santa Susana, Simi Valley and Big Springs elementary schools.

The systems include moisture sensors that will automatically regulate the flow of water. They are expected to save about 30% of the water now being used, said Gary Nottingham, the district’s maintenance supervisor.

Needham said all of the projects are on schedule and should be completed by early September.