Miss-Delectable
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Construction barriers surround large sections of the California School for the Deaf in Riverside as contractors build an activity center, dorms and a new heating and air conditioning plant.
Crews worked on the projects this week, but officials at the school and the California Department of Education aren't sure how much longer they can continue. Last week, a state board put a hold on billions in funds for public works projects because of the state's budget crisis.
The $3.8-billion list included more than $150 million in projects under way or planned at the state-run School for the Deaf. State officials will review requests for exemptions to the suspension, and some projects could go forward if halting them would pose unacceptable legal liability, fines or penalties, according to a Dec. 18 letter from state Finance Director Michael Genest.
The state Department of General Services has filed exemption requests for 20 projects, including those under way at the School for the Deaf.
The work on the 55-acre campus could cost more if work is stopped, said Allen Young, construction and maintenance supervisor for the education department's special schools division. The division runs the state's schools for the deaf in Riverside and Fremont.
"Once you've stopped projects, it gets really expensive to start them again," Young said.
The projects would be an eyesore and a safety hazard if left uncompleted, said Laurie Pietro, a spokeswoman for the school, which enrolls more than 450 students.
"If they put a halt to this, it's just going to create a huge liability for us," Pietro said.
Work is nearing completion on a $13 million chiller plant, which will replace aging steam boilers as the campus' central source for heat and hot water. The plant also will provide air conditioning at the campus, which has no central air-conditioning system.
The plant is scheduled for completion in March, Young said.
School officials hope the activity center will be finished by June, in time for graduation ceremonies, Pietro said.
New, cottage-style dorms that will house about 100 students are supposed to be finished in August. They are the first phase of a project that eventually will replace the block-wall dorms that were built in the 1950s.
Some parents have refused to send their children to the school after seeing the forbidding look of the old dorms, Pietro said.
In Sacramento's Hands
Young said it's unclear when the school will get word on whether the projects can continue.
Last week, the Democratic-controlled Legislature approved a plan to address the state's deficit through tax and fee increases, mid-year cuts and other moves. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said last week he would veto the plan because it did not include economic stimulus measures he wanted.
But state Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said Tuesday that Democratic legislative leaders and the governor are continuing talks and that he hoped they could reach a deal next week.
The $3.8 billion in projects suspended by the state's Pooled Money Investment Board also includes a gym and pool center, a kitchen and a career and technical education complex at the School for the Deaf in Riverside. These projects are in the design phase and construction has not yet begun.
Construction barriers surround large sections of the California School for the Deaf in Riverside as contractors build an activity center, dorms and a new heating and air conditioning plant.
Crews worked on the projects this week, but officials at the school and the California Department of Education aren't sure how much longer they can continue. Last week, a state board put a hold on billions in funds for public works projects because of the state's budget crisis.
The $3.8-billion list included more than $150 million in projects under way or planned at the state-run School for the Deaf. State officials will review requests for exemptions to the suspension, and some projects could go forward if halting them would pose unacceptable legal liability, fines or penalties, according to a Dec. 18 letter from state Finance Director Michael Genest.
The state Department of General Services has filed exemption requests for 20 projects, including those under way at the School for the Deaf.
The work on the 55-acre campus could cost more if work is stopped, said Allen Young, construction and maintenance supervisor for the education department's special schools division. The division runs the state's schools for the deaf in Riverside and Fremont.
"Once you've stopped projects, it gets really expensive to start them again," Young said.
The projects would be an eyesore and a safety hazard if left uncompleted, said Laurie Pietro, a spokeswoman for the school, which enrolls more than 450 students.
"If they put a halt to this, it's just going to create a huge liability for us," Pietro said.
Work is nearing completion on a $13 million chiller plant, which will replace aging steam boilers as the campus' central source for heat and hot water. The plant also will provide air conditioning at the campus, which has no central air-conditioning system.
The plant is scheduled for completion in March, Young said.
School officials hope the activity center will be finished by June, in time for graduation ceremonies, Pietro said.
New, cottage-style dorms that will house about 100 students are supposed to be finished in August. They are the first phase of a project that eventually will replace the block-wall dorms that were built in the 1950s.
Some parents have refused to send their children to the school after seeing the forbidding look of the old dorms, Pietro said.
In Sacramento's Hands
Young said it's unclear when the school will get word on whether the projects can continue.
Last week, the Democratic-controlled Legislature approved a plan to address the state's deficit through tax and fee increases, mid-year cuts and other moves. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said last week he would veto the plan because it did not include economic stimulus measures he wanted.
But state Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said Tuesday that Democratic legislative leaders and the governor are continuing talks and that he hoped they could reach a deal next week.
The $3.8 billion in projects suspended by the state's Pooled Money Investment Board also includes a gym and pool center, a kitchen and a career and technical education complex at the School for the Deaf in Riverside. These projects are in the design phase and construction has not yet begun.