VALLEJO, CA – Superintendent Nick Driver of Griffin Technology Academies (GTA) today announced via school-wide communications that final measures to secure Proposition 51 funding are making tremendous progress and awaiting final approval. For over five years, GTA has been working diligently to complete the necessary approvals to fund a $48 million bond to rebuild and renovate Mare Island Technology (MIT) Academy High School and Middle School.

The many thousands of members of the GTA community are sincerely grateful to the Vallejo City Unified School District (VCUSD) Board for its critical role in protecting and promoting all Vallejo children, including students at District and Charter schools like GTA’s, through its oversight role and equitable, consistent, accountable standards of excellence. GTA ardently hopes the VCUSD Board’s construction decision regarding GTA’s $48 million Proposition 51 campus renovation can remain independent of the District’s new school closure initiative.

“GTA has made a tremendous amount of progress over the last 12 months and I wanted to share the positive news with our school families, staff and board members as well as the Vallejo community-at-large,” said Superintendent Nick Driver. “We are eager to break ground and bring immediate jobs to Vallejo that will result in a safe and conducive environment to fulfill our educational mission as GTA recommits and reinvests in Vallejo’s future.”

The final application to the Office of Public School Construction (OPSC) was submitted by GTA in late February 2023. The entire application process has taken over five years to complete and, in addition to OPSC, requires five additional authorizations by state and local agencies, including the City of Vallejo, VCUSD, the Department of Toxic Substances and Controls, the Division of the State Architect, and the California School Finance Authority. VCUSD has not yet signed off, but we are hopeful they will do so shortly; this is a project that thousands of Vallejo parents, students, and community members urgently wish to see break ground.

Very soon, OPSC staff will consider recommending GTA’s funding request for the MIT Academy campus rebuild to the State Allocation Board. Once approved, the State of California can begin issuing a general obligation bond for GTA’s new construction and modernization project. GTA anticipates the final process for funding authorization could be as early as June with VCUSD’s approval.

GTA’s new construction and modernization project is planned for the MIT Academy campus which serves middle school and high school students. Both schools will be located on the same campus at 2 Positive Place in Vallejo. The project site encompasses approximately 11 acres of the 14-acre MIT Academy campus and would renovate the existing campus by demolishing the existing buildings and portable buildings at the southern portion of the site.

The proposed project involves the construction of two-story classrooms buildings, a science building, an administration building, a multipurpose building, a gymnasium, a soccer field and other outdoor play fields. Site improvements would also include on-site parking, improved vehicle circulation, landscaping, walkways, and other amenities. The proposed project includes the construction of a total of 45 classrooms. All new facilities will meet current state building standards. The construction of the proposed project would occur over two phases in order to maintain enough facilities to operate the educational program. The proposed project is being managed by Educational Facilities Group, with Aedis Architects providing all architectural services. VCUSD owns the project site, and GTA operates the MIT Academy school campus under a long-term lease agreement. GTA’s schools are independent charter schools operated by a nonprofit public benefit corporation that are “authorized” by VCUSD; together, VCUSD and GTA are partners in providing educational options to Vallejo families through a shared objective of
preparing Vallejo’s children for the future.

In 2016, California voters approved Proposition 51 – Public School Facility Bonds Initiative – which authorized $9 billion in general obligation bonds: $3 billion for new construction and $3 billion for modernization of K-12 public school facilities; $1 billion for charter schools and vocational education facilities; and $2 billion for California Community Colleges facilities. Solano County educators, building and trade organizations, business and chambers of commerce, and local politicians supported the
statewide initiative to build new campus structures and modernize pre-existing ones in order to meet standards for earthquake safety, fire prevention, and health risks.

The $48 million designated for this Proposition 51 project represents net inflows of dollars into Northern Vallejo’s economy funded by State revenues. The project will be built with a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) utilizing local working men and women from the Napa-Solano Building and Construction Trades. The PLA shows that on top of employing represented staff, GTA has shown its commitment to working men and women of labor. The new campus will use an identical PLA that VCUSD put in place for Measure S projects.

"We applaud GTA’s commitment by engaging a Project Labor Agreement on this project. It signals the beginning of a partnership that will deploy the skilled craftspeople and apprentices of Napa and Solano County," said Danny Bernardini, Business Manager of the Napa-Solano Building and Construction Trades Council. "Considering the trades pipeline that currently exist with our high schools, pre-apprenticeship and adult schools, it is our hope that a young person in that system will work on this project. We look
forward to supporting GTA in their attempt to finalize this project."

In addition to the multiplier effect of outside dollars that circulate in the local community once invested, a recent February 2022 report estimates that an additional $2 in local tax revenue is generated per $1 invested in public education through higher student earning capacity. Driver suggests that “the combined effect could be well over $100 million dollars of direct and indirect return on investment at no cost to local taxpayers.”

These state-of-the-art facilities will enable expanded learning options, additional after school and extracurricular activities, and a new gymnasium to host physical education and GTA’s growing sports program. The project represents the culmination of a 23-year campaign to build a permanent campus, first started when MIT Academy originally opened its doors and began improving the site during the 1999-2000 school year. It also builds on GTA’s dramatic progress in completing its interim facilities improvement projects that are the central element of a 19-point Memorandum of Understanding between GTA and VCUSD. In February, VCUSD’s Chief Operating Officer Mr. Mitchell Romao performed his final facilities review of the MIT Academy campus, giving it a clean bill of health and indicating that all 60 former facilities deficiencies have been fixed or addressed.

“By all measures, GTA has demonstrated significant improvement and growth since we first launched the 180 Pathway Forward Plan last year,” explained Driver. “We have come together to ensure the highest degrees of transparency, accountability, and a stronger academic program for all students. Our goal for achieving a brighter future and new MIT Academy campus is now within reach. I am excited for what the future holds for our students.”

About Griffin Technology Academies
GTA is a local network of four high-performing, tuition-free public charter schools dedicated to serving
the Vallejo community's diverse, underserved student population. The four schools consist of: Mare
Island Technology Academy (MIT MS 6-8), MIT Academy (MIT HS 9-12), MIT Griffin Academy Middle
School (Griffin MS 6-8), Griffin Academy High School (Griffin HS 9-12). Our mission is to prepare students
to be ready for college, career, and life through diverse, innovative instructional programs that focus
relentlessly on student academic achievement and social and emotional well-being. To learn more about
GTA, please visit: https://griffintechnologyacademies.org or gtaschools.org