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Chico Unified School District

EVERY STUDENT, EVERY DAY

Chico Unified School District

EVERY STUDENT, EVERY DAY

Bond Information - Building Together

Good schools are good for the community!

Good schools are good for the community!

Modern learning facilities/environments provide the tools students and staff require to support student learning and growth. Studies show that benefits for students include student engagement and motivation, stronger relationships with peers and teachers, and enhanced collaboration. 
Chico Unified is responsible for maintaining 1.6 MILLION square feet between our school district facilities! Our Maintenance & Operations Team works hard to keep our facilities safe and clean for students (many are over 70 years old). Chico Unified is committed to supporting our local economy with bond dollars. 93% of our General Contractor Participation is LOCAL!

Existing Bonds

Existing Bonds


Guiding document – CUSD Facilities Master Plan

Guiding document – CUSD Facilities Master Plan

The District adopted five guiding principles for the 2023 Facilities Master Plan. Those principles are outlined on the following page and serve to assess the priorities that are part of the proposed implementation plan.
 
  • RIGHTSIZING - Specifically addressing the elementary school capacity concerns, rightsizing acknowledges the significant excess capacity that currently exists in the District. Many options were discussed, including school consolidation or downsizing, and the opportunity that the excess capacity provided for interim housing during complex construction projects or as a location for other district programs. This guiding principle prompted a "model capacity" adoption - small, mid-sized and large - for the District's elementary schools.
 
  • KEEPING COMMITMENTS- Stakeholders at all levels recognized the need to understand and articulate any proposed changes to the District's implementation plan, keeping commitments to the school sites that have been waiting for the opportunity for significant improvements. These commitments have been predominantly at the elementary school level, at least in the near term implementation schedule, and remain the priority, contingent on funding availability. The implementation plan is shared on page six of the Facilities Master Plan.
 
  • PLANNING FOR TRANSITIONAL KINDERGARTEN (TK) - Transitional Kindergarten, as a new grade level, has significant impact on facilities as requirements for the youngest learners include larger spaces (similar to traditional Kindergarten), but also ideally proximate to parent parking spaces and age appropriate outdoor learning spaces and equipment. The District has determined that a "capture rate" of 65% of the Kindergarten population is an appropriate expectation for student enrollment. Additionally, they have established a 24:1 student-to-teacher ratio.
 
  • SPECIAL EDUCATION (SPED) - Throughout the country, the special education population is growing at unprecedented levels. Due to specific requirements and design guidelines developed as part of the District's educational specifications, and the unpredictability of the population, planning for SPED is a difficult facilities issue and often leads to these learners being placed in inadequate surplus spaces. The FMP identifies specific targets, per campus, for planning purposes.
 
  • SAFETY & SECURITY- Chico USD has been working through employing safety and security measures - controlled entry, fencing and gates, for example, throughout the District. They have also established criteria for new or renovated building hardware, etc. The FMP seeks to address, as campuses are modernized, key planning issues around safety and security such as parking and drop-off safety, administration location and controlled points of entry.