Santa Barbara Unified Cuts Ribbon on 5 New Monroe Elementary Classrooms

By the Santa Barbara Unified School District

On Friday morning, the Santa Barbara Unified School District officially unveiled five new classrooms at Monroe Elementary, a project that began in Summer 2021 and was complete prior to the start of the 2022-23 school year.

The project is a part of Measure J funding approved by voters in 2016, with this two-building project costing $3.67 million.

Measure J is a $58-million bond measure, focused on improvements for SBUSD elementary schools, and was calculated on homeowners’ assessed value. The Santa Barbara County Auditor’s Office determined the tax rate per $100,000 of assessed value.

The morning celebration was co-hosted by Superintendent Dr. Hilda Maldonado and Monroe Elementary Principal Brian Naughton.

In attendance were Virginia Alvarez, Kate Ford and Laura Capps of the Santa Barbara Unified Board of Trustees, while Elizabeth McGillivray of McGillivray Construction and Joe Wilcox of KBZ Architects spoke of their involvement in the 14-month project.

It is the first major project completed at Monroe Elementary in more than two decades, with the school opening in 1958.

“This is a moment to pause and celebrate, as one of our facilities got a major upgrade due to the commitment of not only the Monroe community, but also taxpayers with their support of the bond,” said Dr. Maldonado. “Our mission is to provide our staff and students the most optimal places to learn, so that they can innovate and push us forward. Projects such as these provide the comfort that they need to do just that, and I’m grateful to a community that continues to understand that.”

The classroom ribbon cutting comes two weeks after the district also “flipped the switch” on its massive solar panel project that will touch every district school, with completion expected by year’s end.

“It’s a great time to attend a Santa Barbara Unified school, as we are pushing our facilities forward,” Dr. Maldonado said.