November 2002

November 11, 2002

Tustin Unified's new high school underway

The $47.2 million Arnold O. Beckman High School is now underway for the Tustin Unified School District. The school's namesake, Arnold O. Beckman, is a renowned 102-year-old inventor and entrepreneur. The school will have a focus on high-tech and science, but will also feature a humanities building. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held October 11, 2002. Tustin school district officials and staff, Dr. Beckman's family, the construction and design team, and future Beckman students from Pioneer Middle School were present for the event.

The new high school will encompass 180,000 square feet in 6 buildings. In addition to classrooms, laboratories, performing arts center, resource areas, and administration spaces, the new school will include the Olympic Gymnasium (named after Orange County's Olympic athletes), and locker room facilities, swimming pool, basketball and tennis courts, as well as baseball, softball,and other sports fields. The school features the latest in technology infrastructure and computer networking capabilities. The school will educate between 1,800 to 2,000 students in grades 9 through 12.

The school was designed by Trittipo & Associates Architects of San Marcos. Construction is scheduled for a August 2004 completion. John Trittipo and Bob Nelson are working on the project for Trittipo. Construction Inspection is being performed by Bruce Rosenberg of RNG Inspections.

The Tustin Unified School District educates kindergarten through 12th grade students within the borders of Tustin and parts of Irvine, California. Beckman High School is located in Irvine. Tustin Unified has over 18,000 students. This is the district's third comprehensive high school, and the first one to be built in 40 years. TUSD Superintendent Peter Gorman; Brock Wagner, Deputy Superintendent of Business Services; and Don Bishop,Director of Maintenance, Operations and Facilities are heading up the project for the school district.

Barnhart, Inc. is the Construction Manager for the school, and has constructed hundreds of educational facilities in the Southwestern United States since is inception in 1983. For Tustin, Barnhart has completed Pioneer Middle School, Red Hill Elementary School, Peters Canyon Elementary School, Ladera Elementary School, and Myford Elementary School. Construction of the school will be managed on site and from Barnhart's Orange County branch office. Barnhart team members include Glynna Hoekstra, John Bernardy, Chad Olson, Bryan Whalen, Phil Sager, Jesse Schmitt, Rob Campbell, and Karen Anderson.

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