Portable buildings have become a major part of the school systems all across America. Whenever a project is being completed in the main buildings, portable classrooms are brought in for the displaced students. Portable buildings are also being used at schools when enrollment has exceeded the actual space that a facility has. This issue couldn’t be more important for one school – Ceiba College Preparatory Academy – which is having trouble finding enough room for its thriving student population.
According to an article in The Santa Cruz Sentinel:
‘But the historic two-story Porter Building, which serves as Ceiba’s campus, is crammed to capacity, and school leaders are in negotiations with the district to expand to two or more portable buildings now used for storage at Watsonville High School.
“We’ve actually had to limit enrollment,” said Tom Brown, president of Beacon Educational Network, Ceiba’s parent organization. “Facilities are a critical issue for most charter schools, and they are certainly a critical issue for us.”
The article states that the state law in California implies that the school district must provide Ceiba College Preporatory Academy with some type of facility capable of holding the students. Once the portable classrooms are installed, the district will have to pay for upkeep.
Even though the buildings aren’t a permanent solution, the cost is still pretty hefty, even if it’s needed:
“…[an official] estimated the cost at $35,000 to $50,000. Ceiba would pay a still undetermined “pro rata” fee, which is basically a share of the building’s cost. Brown said Ceiba eventually plans to serve 550 to 600 students in sixth through 12th grade. The school has about 250 students in sixth through eighth grade this year, and anticipates 50 of its 75 eighth-graders will enroll in the new ninth grade. It will be those ninth-graders — the school’s first sixth-graders three years ago — whom Brown and Stein look forward to seeing in college five years from now.”