Construction continues on the new campus for the Guadalupe Union School District in the Pasadera neighborhood south of West Main Street. The campus will include a junior high school and early learning center. A groundbreaking ceremony occurred in January.
Construction continues on the new campus for the Guadalupe Union School District in the Pasadera neighborhood south of West Main Street. The campus will include a junior high school and early learning center. Credit: Janene Scully / Noozhawk photo

Eleven months after the groundbreaking ceremony, construction continues on a brand-new campus for the Guadalupe Union School District. 

In early January, current and former officials gathered for the ceremony celebrating the community’s first new campus in decades. 

The campus sits along Arroyo Seco Road in the Pasadera housing development south of West Main Street (Highway 166).

The junior high school, sitting on 12.5 acres and costing roughly $35 million, will accommodate 480 students for seventh and eighth grades and feature 16 new classrooms, a gymnasium and a library.

A large puddle captures the reflection of the new school under construction in Guadalupe, 11 months after the project's groundbreaking ceremony.
A large puddle captures the reflection of the new school under construction in Guadalupe, 11 months after the project’s groundbreaking ceremony. Credit: Janene Scully / Noozhawk photo

The project’s first phase called for construction of the multipurpose room that also will serve as a gymnasium.

The early learning center, with the capacity to support 192 students for preschool and transitional kindergarten, will be housed on 5.1 acres and cost about $10 million.

A classroom building takes shape in Guadalupe at the site of the new junior high school and early learning center. It's expected to open in the fall of 2025.
A classroom building takes shape in Guadalupe at the site of the new junior high school and early learning center. It’s expected to open in the fall of 2025. Credit: Janene Scully / Noozhawk photo

The new facilities count as three projects with money coming from multiple sources, including bond measures previously approved by Guadalupe voters along with state and federal funding.

Both institutions are expected to open during the fall of 2025, joining Mary Buren Elementary School and Kermit McKenzie Intermediate School.

Brand-new school campuses remain rare beyond the Santa Maria Valley. Before Guadalupe’s new facilities, only the Santa Maria-Bonita and Santa Maria Joint Union High School districts had added campuses with similar projects non-existent in the rest of the county.

— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.