LAMORINDA WEEKLY | New Orinda Union School District Administration Building Opens Its Front Door


Tones sound in offices throughout the Orinda Union School District's new administration building as the front door opens, gently alerting OUSD administrative personnel as visitors arrive. Photos Ohlen Alexander

School may have been out for the summer, but Orinda Union School District administrators were busier than ever as they readied for their move into the district's new administration building. Lamorinda Weekly photographer Ohlen Alexander captured these August scenes as administrative personnel brought the facility to life.

"This building is housing what was in three buildings before," explained Kathy Frenklach, administrative assistant to the OUSD superintendent, Dr. Joe Jaconette. District annex and maintenance personnel now work in the same facility as administrative staff.

Designed by the KTGY Group of Irvine, Calif., the 7,500-foot structure was born via collaboration between the school district and PulteGroup, Inc. Pulte paid for the building's exterior and landscaping - approximately $1.4 million in total - and OUSD kicked in the remainder. The roughly $1.2 million cost to the district was covered by a portion of the $19.5 million garnered when OUSD sold the old Pine Grove school property to Pulte.

"It's one of the most challenging builds I've been on in my 30-plus-year career," observed OUSD facilities director Ed Silvas. School districts usually contract out for building construction, he said, but in this case, a Pulte project manager oversaw exterior construction while OUSD managed the interior work. Many items were easily designated as "shell" or "interior," but project managers were required to collaborate when design features impacted both the interior and exterior.

The structure's first floor is home to the OUSD school board's conference room, a large storage area and information technology and maintenance services. Administrative and special services staff conduct day-to-day business and meet with parents and teachers in offices, conference rooms and other workspaces on the floor above.

A state-of-the-art facility, lighting is energy efficient with room fixtures controlled by occupancy sensors. Down the road, visitors will be able to access an internet guest account firewalled off from staff wireless services.

"We engineered a lot of the expenses out of the building," said Silvas. Rubber-backed carpeting was installed for easy maintenance and, when possible, furniture and other supplies were brought in from the old building. A new overhead sound system in the school board conference room makes it easier to hear board debates, and twin televisions - installed there at a lower cost than a traditional projection system - can be linked to flat panel systems in conference areas upstairs when expanded meeting seating is needed. Even the LED lights on handrails outside of the building will mitigate energy costs.

"We were right on budget with only 3 percent of change orders - something that is pretty much unheard of in construction nowadays," said Silvas.

Spiffy features aside, what is clear is that OUSD kids and teachers remain the center of their world. "We've allotted space for the art teachers to come and hang the work of their students," said Frenklach. And funds from Pine Grove's sale have already been put to good use. The Facilities Task Force, which oversees the handling of the Special Reserve Fund for Capital Facilities (Fund 40) established in 1989, reports that more than $1.9 million in projects have already been completed, $2.7 million are in progress, and another $1 million have been authorized by the board thanks to the sale of the property.