Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Media advisory--School Superintendent and Mayor Dedicate New Joint-use Field Thursday

April 10, 1012 -- Contact: Cynthia Reed-Porter 619-546-3378

Superintendent and Mayor Dedicate New Joint-Use Playfield: San Diego Unified School District and the City of San Diego Open New Synthetic Turf Field at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School in North Park

WHAT: Superintendent Bill Kowba and Mayor Jerry Sanders will join Board Member Richard Barrera, Councilmember Todd Gloria, students, parents, school staff and community members as they officially dedicate the new multipurpose joint-use field at San Diego Unified School District's Jefferson Elementary School. Students will mark this special occasion by conducting their annual jog-a-thon fund-raiser on the new turf field immediately after the dedication. The students are raising funds for their field trips.

WHEN: Thursday, April 12 -- 10 to 11 a.m. (rain or shine)

WHERE: 3770 Utah Street, SD 92104 (North Park) Media parking will be available on site. Enter 28th Street gate, west of Utah Street. (site map attached) School phone: 619-293-4406 Note: The event will take place under canopies. Due to the outdoor location, we will not have a mult box available.

VISUALS: Navy Color Guard presenting the colors and leading the Pledge of Allegiance, ribbon-cutting ceremony after remarks from guest speakers, preschoolers at starting line for jog-a-thon under balloon arch, and preschoolers running jog-a-thon course on the new joint-use field immediately after the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

GUEST SPEAKERS/INTERVIEWS: Superintendent Bill Kowba, Mayor Jerry Sanders, Board Member Richard Barrera, Councilmember Todd Gloria (available after the event), and Principal Francisco Morga. Other than Sanders, speakers will be available for interviews. Stacey LoMedico, director of the city's Park and Recreation; and Lee Dulgeroff, executive director of the school district's Facilities Planning and Construction (Proposition S) will also be available. Interviews will be available in Spanish.

BACKGROUND: The multipurpose field is scheduled to open to the public on Monday, April 16. The one-acre field located on the southern part of the school campus is a joint-use facility that will be used by the students during school hours and the public during non-school hours. The improvements include a new multi-sport field using synthetic turf, parking and accessibility for people with physical disabilities. The cost of this project was more than $1.1 million, which was funded by school district's Proposition S bond program. Construction began in November 2011, and was completed in January 2012. Project partners were Mesquita and Associates (architectural) and Soltek Pacific Contractors (construction).

Established in 1948, and updated in 2002, the city and the school district have a long-standing agreement to maximize shared use of schools and/or park land to mutually benefit the city and the school district. The facilities shared by the city and the school district include multipurpose turf fields, lighted athletic fields, tennis courts, gymnasiums, parking facilities and libraries. In total, the school district and the city currently have 76 joint-use agreements.

For more information, contact Cynthia Reed-Porter, communications supervisor for San Diego Unified School District, at (619) 546-3378 or creed-porter@sandi.net.

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Cynthia Reed-Porter, Communications Supervisor | Communications Office | San Diego Unified School District
Offices: (619) 725-5579 or (858) 637-3607 | Mobile: (619) 546-3378 | E-mail: creed-porter@sandi.net