Construction begins on aquatics center at Paloma Valley
Grading has begun north of the gym for construction of a pool at Paloma Valley High School. (Photo credit: PUHSD) A project that has been on...
Grading has begun north of the gym for construction of a pool at Paloma Valley High School. (Photo credit: PUHSD)
A project that has been on the drawing board for more than a decade finally moved into the construction phase last week as workers broke ground on a pool at Paloma Valley High School.
The Paloma Valley Aquatics Center will include a 33-meter pool and adjacent pool building to be located on the back (north) side of the gym. The project began last week with preparations to move the existing G portable classroom buildings to make room for the pool, which is expected to be ready for use in July 2022.
Plans for a pool at Paloma Valley High had been discussed even before 2012, when it was included in the Perris Union High School District Master Plan with funding proposed from the Measure T bond measure. State matching funds were not provided as expected, however, so the project was put on hold, said Candace Reines, deputy superintendent of PUHSD.
An additional bond measure – Measure W in 2018 – included the state funding needed not only to build Liberty High School, but to provide additional funding. Some of that is being used to build pools not only at Paloma Valley, but at Heritage High and Liberty High, Reines said.
For the upcoming school year, while those pools are being completed, water polo and swim teams at the three Menifee high schools will continue to use the pool at Drop Zone waterpark in Perris.
Additional projects at Paloma Valley include construction of a new multi-purpose room with a state-of-the-art culinary program, as well as relocation of the administrative offices to the front of the campus, where the library will be removed. A new student union will replace the current administrative offices.
Construction on those projects will begin following approval from the Division of State Architect, which is expected toward the end of the year, Reines said.
