Lake Marie Elementary held their Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on Thursday, October 18, to celebrate the completion of the administration remodel project that took place over the summer as a part of Bond Measure QS.
The ceremony welcomed all Lake Marie students and teachers, the community, South Whittier School District’s superintendent, Dr. Gonzales, the South Whittier School Board, and many other prominent members of the Whittier community.
At the ceremony Lake Marie principal, Lisa Palomino, welcomed everyone and the community was able to hear from South Whittier’s superintendent and Associate Superintendent of Business Services, Mark Keriakous. They spoke about all the work that was done and thanked key members that made the remodel possible.
After the ceremony attendees were able to tour the new administration office and enjoy coffee and refreshments.
The primary reason for the remodel was so all visitors could be properly screened before entering the school campus. There was also a long ramp, for accessibility, that was replaced in order to address code requirements and to allow an adjoining walkway that leads to the new entrance. Along the walkway to the new entrance, a courtyard type area was developed that includes a new monumental type wall that has the name of the school cast into the concrete for visibility from the Carmenita side. The remodel also included a new pedestrian gate to address accessibility requirements, new plumbing fixtures as upgrades to the restroom building in order to address new code requirements, and much more.
South Whittier School District was successful at the “Bond Election” that took place back in November of 2016. It was that election that issued up to a $29 million aggregated principal amount of the district’s general obligation bonds, or “Measure QS”. It is through this expenditure that the district is able to make necessary improvements to Lake Marie and throughout the district. The district also has a BOND Oversight Committee whose purpose is to review district expenditures of bond proceeds generated under Measure QS.
“I would like to say thank you to those of you who voted for Measure QS, it’s because of you we were able to do this. So thank you.” Dr. Gonzales, South Whittier superintendent stated at the ceremony.
The community can follow along with the district’s latest projects, before and after photos, and audit reports on their website.