New gym on horizon

Photo by Ross Lilly, Reporter

HOOP DREAMS--Pacheco Elementary School’s hopes of having a gymnasium may soon become a reality.

For many years the students of the Pacheco Elementary School District have been without a gymnasium, but it looks as though that could change.

Years of perseverance could pay off for the district, as representatives of Pacheco Elementary School have recently approached the three SHASTEC partner agencies — Shasta County, the City of Redding and the City of Anderson — to assist them in developing a new gymnasium on the Pacheco Elementary School campus.

It’s been a busy time of year for the Pacheco Elementary School District and Superintendent Rich Rhodes, particularly with the ongoing discussions regarding the Auto Mall proposed along Churn Creek Bottom; however, Rhodes has expressed a desire to bring a gymnasium to Pacheco School since becoming Superintendent in 2005.

At the Anderson City Council meeting on Dec. 5 the school district proposed to apply for a $1.5 million state grant funded by voters at the Nov. 7 election. The local partnership agency match of up to $1.5 million would come from bonds secured by taxes passing through payments that SHASTEC is required to remit to the district in any case.

According to a statement released by the SHASTEC Technical Committee, “This is an opportunity to help the District with the construction of a new gymnasium that will be available for use by the County of Shasta, Redding and Anderson as a community facility.”

The district has also agreed to make the gymnasium available after school for community recreation use for the next thirty years, which could also include additional indoor gymnasium time for the City of Anderson’s expanding youth basketball league. While using the facilities for its youth league, the City would be responsible for a proportionate amount of the utility and clean up costs.