Pittsburg: New Heights Elementary readies for debut

PITTSBURG -- It took a mad dash to the finish line by both contractors and teachers, but a new-look Heights Elementary School is ready to make its much-anticipated debut.

Contractors were busy painting doorways, adding wiring and computers and getting two-story school up and running in time for school to start Wednesday. Meanwhile, teachers were feverishly unpacking boxes and preparing inside their new classrooms.

"Everybody's trying to get the basics all ready. Nobody moves everything in all at once; it takes some time to settle in. But, overall everybody is really excited," Principal Laura Francis said.

"As a teacher you have to be flexible and be able to roll with the punches," added fourth-grade teacher Linda Sturgis, a 20-year teacher at the school. Sturgis was busy sorting through stacks of books stacked on the students desks.

"To be able to move out of portables and back into an actual big classroom, I know I'm excited about it. I'm sure the kids will be too," she said.

It was a year ago that F&H Construction started work on the $28.4 million project to replace one of Pittsburg's oldest schools. The face-lift couldn't have come at a better time, Francis said, noting how the 60-year-old site had a pipe leak at the end of the past school year that left a third of the campus flooded.

Also, each classroom had a separate heating and air conditioning system, which worked erratically.

"These kids deserve this," said Yolanda Orozco, entering her fifth year as the school's kitchen manager.

Some of the features in the new school include a twice-as-large multipurpose room, lots for space for storage, new computer labs and audio and video equipment, and safer pickup and drop-off for parents.

"Parents will be a whole lot happier," Francis said.

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Pittsburg: New Heights Elementary readies for debut