Calabasas High School celebrates 25th anniversary
It’s more than just a birthday for CHS
Improvements nearly finished
By John Loesing
Acorn Staff Writer

JOHN LOESING/The Acorn THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF EDUCATION-- The new administration building at Calabasas High School is ready to serve the student body.

Calabasas High School had a birthday party last week to celebrate its 25th anniversary and the completion of new facilities at the school.

Students attended a lunchtime carnival at the football stadium featuring food, games and activities, as they welcomed the opening of the new H-Building, a 34-classroom structure recently built on campus.

The building is part of a $3 million makeover at the high school that includes construction of a new college and career center, music and dance rooms and 120-seat lecture hall. The work has taken almost two years.

The dozens of portable classrooms that once cluttered the school’s parking lot are now gone, making life much easier on students, teachers and administrators.

CHUCK ROGERS/The Acorn WHO LET THE STUDENTS OUT?--Freshman Rick Harris, left, and Aaron Gordon enjoy a carnival-style dart game at Calabasas High School's 25th anniversary celebration last Friday on the campus athletic field. The dart booth, hosted by Cheryl Smulson and Rebecca Hass, was one of several games. Cotton candy, music and an inflatable climbing wall provided student enjoyment. The students were treated to an extended lunch hour which they seemed to enjoy.

"There’s a lot more room now," said Tanya Barkhrodar, a freshman. "It’s a lot better than when the trailers were here."

With the portables out of the way, improvements to the parking lot are expected to be finished in about a month.

Funding for the Calabasas work comes from the $93 million Las Virgenes Unified School District bond measure of 1997 designed to upgrade facilities and bring the 38-year-old school district into the new century. More money has been spent on Calabasas than any of the district’s 14 schools, but the effort appears to have paid off.

"It’s great, although the construction tends to be a bit disheartening. Overall it’s been fairly smooth," said Jay Guidetti, the Calabasas principal.

School district officials originally wanted to remodel the quarter century-old H-Building, but wound up gutting the structure and working from scratch after learning the structure failed to meet fire department regulations.

The new H-Building has six more classrooms than the old one.

Improvement of the school’s wrestling room, locker rooms and dance studio will continue until May. The gymnasium floor, resurfaced just last summer, suffered recent water damage and must be repaired. But overall, the Measure R progress has been good, according to Guidetti.

The school also is getting a new $250,000 Tartan track to replace the pockmarked dirt track currently used by athletes.