Morro Bay High School has been undergoing some major changes over the summer of 2019 as a continuation of Measure D. So far students have been able to indulge in the updated tennis courts, glorious new pool, renovated auto shop, and professional new J-Wing to name a few, enhancing the campus immensely. Upon students’ arrival on the first day, an entire new building seemed to have just appeared at the front of the school.
This building is the new Student Services Center, with the purpose of replacing the current office building. It is scheduled to open this December. According to principal Kyle Pruitt, this building is an updated version of the office because it has new counseling offices, more space, and is more efficient for assisting students with their needs. “The nice part for students is that the career center with Ms. Ayotte is a lot bigger.” Pruitt stated. The new student service facilities in this building will be more spacious and accessible.
Pruitt also mentioned that a highlight of the Student Services Center will be the new student entrance next to attendance and other student needs like athletics and ASB. Students won’t need to wander throughout an office maze, they can just stop in the student entrance and get their needs met in one place.
Once the Student Services building is completed, the old office building will be transformed into new classrooms. This will begin a cycle of moving classes out of one hall and circulating them until each current hall has been renovated. “Moving will be hard.” Pruitt predicts that the project will be done in the next three to four years. “There’s never a ‘good time’ to do it, so you just have to dive in and do it.”
Besides the more obvious student center being nearly done, the campus has undergone some major updates over summer to benefit the band and agriculture departments. The building just North of the 100 Hall, which creates the hallway toward the science buildings, is often overlooked. A giant metal knight used to guard the outside of it. Pruitt mentions that this is currently being gutted and transformed into a spacious new band room. “It’ll be a great space for Belyea and the band,” Pruitt enthused.
Adjacent to this update is a new agricultural mechanic shop for welding and heavy machinery repair. “The welding class has always existed,” Pruitt commented, “but there wasn’t always an interest.” Pruitt discussed new facilities that would hopefully spark interest for the class again. High tech, modernized, impressive machinery in the coming year will enrich the class and open up the unique opportunity to repair tractors and create projects with legitimate welding equipment and space.
There are still many changes to look forward to. In the span of a few years, the cafeteria will eventually close and be replaced by a food truck in order for construction to commence on the performing arts space. Pruitt projects this space to be completed in a year and a half, accessible to all performing arts groups on campus. To make room for the theater, the library will soon be moved to the leveled small gym locker rooms sometime this year.
Pruitt is proud to see these changes underway. “It’s a unique opportunity for a principal to be a part of [Measure D]. In my job, most of the time you can do 25-30 years in a facility and just see maintenance and upkeep. I’m just excited to see students and staff in state-of-the-art facilities, experience new things. I’m excited to give real spaces to all kinds of programs: athletics out in the field, new classes, counseling, mental health support in the new offices. It’s going to be neat to see people finally living in the space.”
Although Measure D is a long process (and sometimes a bit distracting during the school day), it is a unique and special opportunity that not many districts have the funding to do. “It’s an inspiring thing to me that the community realized they needed to give students and teachers something legitimate to work in,” Pruitt said. “You guys deserve that.” With patience, MBHS will become a modernized, revamped, and impressive high school campus. It will become a school that any MBHS student can be proud of.
