Construction on the Buildings is Set to Start in 2027
Music students at Colton High School will soon enjoy a larger space with more storage, practice rooms, better acoustics and better space for creating, learning and performing.
The Colton Joint Unified School District’s board of education gave the green light recently to the district’s Facilities and Energy Management team to proceed with the project. It will replace existing, aged and cramped spaces with two new buildings comprising 2,911 square feet of space for choir and 5,357 for band. The project will also include a new, modernized 1,642 square feet of nurses office.
Both buildings will sit in close proximity to each other and the school’s Whitmer Auditorium and will have their own separate, dedicated storage space and practice rooms. The project will create an adjoining outdoor courtyard connecting both programs with a flexible venue with a performance platform and outdoor seating.
“This is an exciting project that will transform a part of our campus into a hub for the performing arts,” Superintendent Dr. Frank Miranda said. “It is a substantial investment into our music programs and will maximize the space we have to the best possible advantage.”
The existing music building was built in the 1940s. A district feasibility study found that it would be cost prohibitive to modernize and would not address the existing lack of adequate space as well as acoustical issues where sound from the choir and band programs bleed into each other’s spaces.
“Our students deserve the space and the opportunities to allow them to learn, grow and create in these types of programs,” Board President Bertha Flores said. “This underscores the Board of Education’s deep commitment to not only the arts, but to providing a robust, comprehensive program where they can explore whatever their interests are.”
Construction is scheduled to commence in the last quarter of 2027. It will be funded by the district's Measure BB, approved by voters in 2024. The district also launched last week a Superintendent's Advisory Committee to address issues of optimizing its existing school facilities in light of continued declining enrollment in the region.
The committee is composed of a diverse group of district certificated, classified and management staff as well as parents and other community members. More information is available on the district’s website at www.cjusd.net