Cooperation Leads to School Face-Lift

In what officials describe as an unusual example of intergovernmental cooperation, the city will give the local school district $40,000 to improve the appearance of a middle school under construction.

The City Council agreed in principle Thursday night to give Fillmore Unified School District the money to upgrade the exterior of Fillmore Middle School, Mayor Roger Campbell said.

“We don’t want the school to look like a prison--a stark blank building,” he said. “We’ve suggested some significant changes to the front of the building.”

City officials have become more conscious of the community’s appearance since overhauling virtually the entire downtown in a massive rebuilding effort prompted by the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

The district is spending about $11 million to add 32 classrooms to the 10-year-old school, using the bulk of a $12-million bond measure voters approved in March.

But the district had in mind a utilitarian design in an attempt to save as much money as possible, so other schools in the district could be upgraded with the remainder of the bond money, said Supt. Mario Contini.

However, the district now plans to spend about $200,000, including the city’s contribution, on cornices, decorative gateways and other architectural features. The city will pay another $80,000 to bury utility wires and improve an intersection at A and 1st streets near the school.

“We have a commitment to work together,” said Contini, adding that the financial arrangement is unusual. “Our position has been we have the same clientele. . . . We’re all serving the same community.”

The City Council is expected to formally approve the financing from its redevelopment fund next week. The school should be finished by December 1998.