San Mateo Union celebrates construction progress

Mills, as well as Aragon and Hillsdale high schools, received a major facelift to their exteriors, as well as upgraded signs and new frontage as a beautification measure, said Associate Superintendent Yancy Hawkins. The new transite panel encapsulation of the building's exterior prevents exposure of the public, students and workers to asbestos. 

The benefits of capital improvements, like necessary upgrades to HVAC systems, work to ultimately support students in the long run, and the benefits are twofold, Hawkins said. 

“State-of-the-art facilities do two things, one they allow students to have the best potential facilities to do their work,” Hawkins said. “Also, when a student walks into a beautiful campus with wonderful spaces for different things, academics, extracurriculars, sports, it shows the students that the community cares about their education and how important their education is.” 

In December 2020, the district’s Board of Trustees approved a project list and bond issuance schedule, which detailed 51 improvements. 

Looking forward, all projects are expected to be completed by 2028. There is current construction on two gym projects. One is at San Mateo High School, slated for completion in May, and the other is Burlingame High School, slated for completion in August.

“It’s really exciting, that students are getting to use these amazing facilities,” Hawkins said. “We are really lucky with an incredibly supportive community and of these bonds to have such wonderful facilities in the district.” 

One major across-district upgrade that has yet to begin includes a complete interior transformation of classrooms, which will be done the summers of 2026 and 2027, Hawkins said. 

Being well on track to complete all 51 projects is a feat Hawkins is proud of, acknowledging it is a “relatively rare” thing to accomplish considering common construction delays and cost increases.

“We are thrilled with the progress of projects funded through Measure L which will benefit generations of students,” Superintendent Randall Booker said in a statement. “Our district appreciates the opportunity to unveil our facilities at ribbon-cutting ceremonies so that the voters and taxpayers in our district can see firsthand what is possible through their support of school bonds.”

The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the baseball and flex field at Aragon will be 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 4, ahead of the first pitch of Aragon’s home baseball game against Burlingame High School.

To celebrate the improvements at Mills, a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be 5:30 p.m. Thursday March 13, ahead of the school’s incoming ninth grade orientation and open house.  

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