Fresno's Central Unified School District breaks ground on new high school

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Central Unified School District is gearing up to build a new high school on an empty plot of land near Ashlan and Grantland.

Linda Gutierrez has a daughter who will eventually attend the new high school and is excited about construction.

"We have always been known as forgotten Fresno; now we are going to have this state of the art high school that is going to bring the community even closer," Gutierrez.

Superintendent Andrew Alvarado said the ceremony was held on Saturday morning so the community could attend.

Dozens of parents, kids, and neighbors came out to mark the start of a new beginning.

Also showing their support for the new school were Congressman Jim Costa, Assemblymen Jim Patterson and Joaquin Arambula, Fresno City Councilmembers Esmeralda Soria and Miguel Arias, Fresno County Superintendent Jim Yovino, educational leaders from throughout Fresno County, the Central Unified Board of Trustees, and district administration and staff.

"This is great; this is what we are about, our community is very much involved in our schools," Alvarado said.

The new school does not have a name yet, but we learned today what it would offer.

The first phase of the construction, which totals 231,734 square feet, will include three two-story classroom buildings, an administration building, a building containing two gyms, a locker room building, kitchen, campus mall, ball fields, tennis courts, and exterior basketball courts.

"We are just excited about all the program and all the activities that are going to be coming to the community," Gutierrez said.

Construction will take about two years at a price tag of over 100 million dollars. Alvarado announced Harris Construction won the bid and is tasked with building the high school. Crews will start construction on the school this fall that's also when the district's high school transition committee will get down to business.

"Through that committee, there will be a lot of decisions made as to the name of the school, the mascot, the colors, and the academic program," Alvarado said. "I'm looking forward to that process."