Superintendent of Schools finishing up huge reorganization
-
1 of 3By Henry A. Barrios / The Californian
Jess Montecino with Reliable Moving & Storage is part of a crew moving the Community Connection for Child Care to its new office at 2000 K St., Suite 110.
click to collapse -
2 of 3By Henry A. Barrios / The Californian
Sabino Briseno Jr., left, and Chad Franey, foreground, with Reliable Moving & Storage, prepare to load up items at the Community Connection for Child Care to move to its new office at 2000 K St., Suite 110.
click to collapse -
3 of 3
By Henry A. Barrios / The Californian
A crew with Reliable Moving & Storage load up office equipment from the Community Connection for Child Care office on 24th Street as it relocates to its new office at 2000 K St., Suite 110.
click to collapse
BY JORGE BARRIENTOS Californian staff writer jbarrientos@bakersfield.com
The Kern County Superintendent of Schools office is undergoing a massive restructuring this summer, a $300,000, months-long project to consolidate office space and realign school departments.
The moves -- which started in December and will continue until mid-August -- affect about 60 percent of administrative space in KCSOS' City Centre and Larry Reider Education Center and relocate about 275 people, KCSOS administrators said.
Related Info
KCSOS MOVES
City Centre -- 1300 17th St.
* Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team moved from Reider Center to align closer with Division of Finance.
* Moved all curriculum and instruction staff from Reider Center to move closer to student programs.
* Facilities staff relocated to Reider Center and opened up space for future growth.
Larry E. Reider Education Center -- 2000 K St.
* Moved Community Connection for Child Care from its 24th Street location, now up for sale.
* Moved facilities and property management from City Centre.
* Opened up one large and three small meeting rooms where UC Merced vacated.
* Moved California Technology Assistance Project from the Learning Center.
* Moved in Self-Insured Schools of California administration, boardroom and administrative offices.
Access Center -- 1330 Truxtun Ave.
* Moved two nonprofit groups here in otherwise under-utilized offices.
The Learning Center -- 2020 K St.
* Combined learning centers at 24th Street and K Street.
* Moved Parent Teachers Association and Junior Achievement here.
Kelly F. Blanton Education Center -- 300 East Truxtun Ave.
* Moved School-Community Partnerships here to bring programs closer to students and families served.
Source: Kern County Superintendent of Schools Office
MOVING COSTS
Rebuilding cubicles (labor, materials): $28,840
Furniture (new and used components, parts): $173,012
Technology (cables, labor): $11,245
Signs, graphics: $474
Reider Center building permit: $627
Wall systems for rooms, offices (parts, labor): $68,742
Work order total: $36,072
Total spent: $324,190
Source: Kern County Superintendent of Schools office
It's the agency's biggest reorganization since it moved some 20 years ago to its City Centre building in downtown Bakersfield from its previous headquarters on Sundale Avenue in southwest Bakersfield, now home to the Kern High School District.
The changes come at a time of drastic state budget cuts for public schools that forced KCSOS in August to close its Downtown Child Development Center. These moves, however, are expected to save money in the long run and make KCSOS more efficient, said Assistant Superintendent Chris Hall.
Certain departments and divisions will be closer to each other, and KCSOS office space vacated by outside agencies will be filled.
"There are a lot of puzzle pieces fitting together. It's a big move," Hall said. "We tried to do this as cost-effectively as we could. And it was warranted."
The move is being paid for with "deferred maintenance" state funds intended for school facility uses, Hall said. KCSOS has spent about $324,000 to date and expects to spend about $15,000 more in move-related expenses.
But KCSOS officials said they expect to collect millions from the sale of one of its buildings being vacated -- by Community Connection for Child Care at 2000 24th St. Officials decided to sell it instead of footing the $550,000 bill to replace the ventilation system and install energy, technology and flooring upgrades.
"I used to joke about getting a parking spot for the AC repair guy because he was here so much," said Lisa Duncan-Purcell, program manager for Community Connection, which is moving to the Reider Center.
The 24th Street building and property was appraised at about $2.1 million and officials are accepting public bids for purchase.
On Friday, 15 movers from Reliable Moving and Storage loaded three giant trucks of equipment from Duncan-Purcell's program. General Manager Kevin Gutierrez said the move involves "a lot of people, and a lot of dynamics."
The new home for Community Connection will provide a better environment for staff and be closer to public transportation hubs used by clients, Duncan-Purcell said.
Other KCSOS buildings have been vacated by tenants.
UC Merced officials in July said they were pulling out of the Reider Center in a cost-cutting effort. MOVE International also left the Reider Center. Fresno Pacific left the Access Center, owned by KCSOS behind Mission Bank downtown. And the Kern County Probation Department moved out of its office space on the west end of the Blanton Center, also run by KCSOS.
Planning for the moves started in June of last year. Moving began in December.
"We didn't take these moves lightly," said Steve Sanders, KCSOS chief of staff. "It's strategic. And it's been a long time coming."
School-Community Partnerships moved from the Reider Center to the Blanton Center to place services closer to people using them, like Safe Streets Partnership and Project 180.
The partnerships department moved about 15 people and cleaned out decades-old files and property that took several days to transfer.
"It's a very positive move for us in terms of being accessible," said Daryl Thiesen, prevention programs coordinator with the partnerships. "That's a plus."
Most CommentedMost Popular
A forceful Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood announced at a tense press conference Thursday that David Sal Silva, whose death earlier this month raised questions about use of force by deputies, died as a result of hypertensive heart disease and was not only intoxicated but had methamphetamine...
The death of a man in custody following a prolonged struggle with Kern County Sheriff's deputies and CHP officers and the subsequent fracas over confiscated witness cellphones have gained international attention and raised concerns here that the incidents could tarnish the county's emerging...
The Kern County Sheriff's Office is out of control. That's one conclusion many people will draw based on the events of the past two weeks and in the context of recent years.
A draft city ordinance that would have restricted abortion in Bakersfield was placed on hold Monday when the Bakersfield City Council's Legislative and Litigation Committee voted 3-0 to table its discussion indefinitely, and instead, ordered the drafting of a resolution that could be less...
Blood stains are still visible on the sidewalk at the corner of Flower Street and Palm Drive, where a Bakersfield man struggled with as many as nine officers and later died this week.
A forceful Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood announced at a tense press conference Thursday that David Sal Silva, whose death earlier this month raised questions about use of force by deputies, died as a result of hypertensive heart disease and was not only intoxicated but had methamphetamine and other drugs in his system at the time of his death.
Classes were canceled at Bakersfield High School Monday after three small bottle bomb explosions struck campus, authorities said.
David Sal Silva’s screams seem like they will never stop.