Construction on a new kindergarten building at Carpinteria’s Aliso Elementary School should be done in spring 2027, a Carpinteria Unified School District spokesperson confirmed.

The project is well underway, and costs related to groundwater issues at the school’s new Measure U-funded kindergarten building have gone down after being reviewed again.

The Carpinteria Unified School District Board of Trustees this month unanimously approved a change order that reduced the costs of dewatering and soil stabilization services by roughly $49,000. 

Per the order, during classroom excavation, excessive groundwater was found at a depth of approximately 4.5 feet. Excavation was paused and engineers recommended that the affected area receive dewatering services and soil stabilization for $485,815. 

That cost went down after a review by the district’s construction management consultant and architect. 

Board president Andy Sheaffer said heavy rainfall in the latter months of last year caused groundwater to rise. 

He said he considered bringing before the board a motion to delay the project and “let the groundwater subside, but that’s a big gamble.” 

The board has worked with McGillivray Construction to help mitigate the costs, along with the Carpinteria Sanitary District, which allowed them to discharge the water that was getting pumped out of the dewatering wells into its system. 

That resulted in large savings for the board because they didn’t need permits for discharge or water quality, Sheaffer said. 

“It’s good that other agencies were willing to work with us,” Sheaffer said. 

In March, the Carpinteria Architectural Review Board gave final design approval for the new kindergarten building.

It will replace several portable classrooms with four classrooms in a single-story building and will be roughly 6,500 square feet.