Officials at John F. Kennedy High School announced they will receive a $2 million investment to provide an overall better learning environment that will include creating cooler spaces to address the valley’s soaring temperatures.
Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo and Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Superintendent Alberto Carvalho joined Kennedy school Principal Oscar Vasquez at the Granada Hills campus.
“This allocation will help beautify our campus for students to enjoy,” said Vazquez. “Due to the excessive heat that we experienced here in the valley, this allocation will go a long way in creating cooler spaces where students can gather as well.”
The $2 million will go towards improving multiple exterior features, including repairing and restoring the baseball field and fencing; providing a new softball field, scoreboard and basketball courts; resurfacing and replacing paved areas; and renovating the main entrance with a new landscape, paving and accessible entry.
The investment comes from the budget bill request by Schiavo, who secured more than $20 million in grants to different agencies in her district; LAUSD being one of them.
The money will help fund the work associated with the school’s Comprehensive Modernization Project, which includes the demolition and removal of 22 relocatable buildings and improving the seismic safety of other buildings.
“We’re here today to celebrate a momentous occasion and that is … a remarkable $270-plus million investment into this great school,” said Carvalho, referencing the modernization project.
Schiavo said the money was not just an investment into some infrastructure, but one into the school itself and the generations of students that will one day come to this campus.
“Whether it’s health care or early childhood education, whatever it is, there are opportunities for kids to find whatever their spark is, whatever inspires them and whatever they’re excited about in their future,” Schiavo said. “We want to make sure that … these structures here that are geared for learning … can support that kind of education and our investment in the future and in our students.”