Agoura High School almost completely beautified

By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com

Agoura High School (AHS) is looking better than ever.

After five years of beautification, Keith Thomas, AHS plant manager, and parent volunteers and chief fundraisers Sandy Thomas (no relation to Keith) and Nancy Baldino are proud of the improved appearance.

When students return to school next week, they’ll enter a campus transformed. Although the metamorphosis has taken about five years to complete, the tidy lawns, blooming flowers, trimmed trees and hedges, planters, benches and other student-friendly amenities are striking.

The telephone pole benches that were full of splinters have been replaced, infested junipers are gone, empty dirt lots that were previously used for recycling Christmas trees have been planted, and a new irrigation system keeps the new plant life alive and thriving. Fifteen thousand square feet of sod has been planted. Day lilies and agapanthus are everywhere. When the jasmine vines are in bloom, a fresh fragrance fills the air.

Thomas and Baldino, whose children have graduated from the school, have conducted fundraisers each year to keep the money coming, cash that Keith Thomas has used to plant, mend, paint and irrigate most areas of the campus. In addition to their relentless campaign to generate funding for ongoing beautification projects, the women also conducted massive volunteer efforts to maintain the new landscaping.

The Carolina cherry bushes will eventually form large hedges and hide stage materials. A new pittosporum tree will have a prominent location in front. Measure R money paid for new ramps for the handicapped, but Thomas and Baldino raised funds to brighten the area with hedges, sod and planters.

Prior to joining AHS as plant manager, Keith Thomas owned and operated a landscaping firm. Since he and his family live in the neighborhood, he was pleased to tackle the AHS improvement project. "All my kids will be going through here," he said.

Keith noted that when he started his job as plant manager, Thomas and Baldino gave him a three-page proposal, including pictures. He said that the transformation was the result of collaboration. "We put it into motion and got it done," he said.

"We focused on the outside of the campus because it was just so uninviting," said Keith.

The perimeter of the campus was spruced up first. Keith said that the corner of Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Argos was just dirt, often used as a site to discard trash and abandon junky cars. "It was basically a dump site," he said.

The holly oak tree in the front of the school sits in a new brick planter. It was blessed by a Chumash medicine man, and Thomas and Baldino said the tree has grown four times faster than expected.

Blue and gold, the AHS colors, are now everywhere. "There wasn’t any color," Keith said. "Everything was beige and dirt."

A yucca tree was removed and new concrete was poured. Forty trash cans are located throughout the campus. Picnic tables and benches will be used at lunchtime. Keith built a retaining wall and installed clamps (painted blue) on curbs to deter skateboarders.

An extra $10,000 was raised to have the new track painted blue instead of orange. "It had to match," Baldino said.

Principal Larry Misel got involved in the process, laying sod at the side of the gym with Keith. Eagle Scouts have contributed in a big way. One built a seating area around the oak tree near the beach bus sign. Other Eagle Scouts have worked on irrigation, fencing and benches by the tennis courts. One Scout created a 10-man drinking fountain on the football field.

"Eagle Scouts have been a lifesaver," Baldino said.

Students have helped and will continue to do so. On Pride Day, they planted flowers around the bell and other areas. Keith Thomas and his son, Tyler, paint the bell each year.

Keith said there’s more to be done. He wants to plant creeping red fescue on the hillside by the football stadium. The Freedom Grove that was planted in the 1960s was ripped out because all of the trees died from lack of water. The goal is to replace it with ground cover.

"(Because) of these ladies, Keith, and the support of the PFC, this school has evolved into a place of beauty," said Misel.