The Santa Barbara Unified School District Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a $4.4 million fundraising plan that will raise funds for a new building for San Marcos High School’s Health Career Academy and to upgrade the school’s Wellness Center and mental health services.
The school’s Royal Pride Foundation will be leading the fundraising efforts to match a $4.4 million district bond, for a total of about $8.8 million for the project. Funds already secured for the project include a $674,393 grant from the state’s K-12 Strong Workforce program for the Health Career Academy and a $25,000 donation from the Mosher Foundation.
San Marcos High School Principal Kip Glazer said she has already heard strong community support and interest in the project, especially to improve mental health resources offered at the school.
“When I share my idea [for the project], people see the potential and want to help,” Glazer said.
Part of the project involves a new building for the school’s Health Career Academy to create a hub for the program, which has been providing opportunities for students interested in pursuing careers in the medical field for more than 20 years.
San Marcos High School’s Health Career Academy, in its 21st year, is a three-year program that students can start in 10th grade to earn real-life experience for a health care career.
“We’re extremely diverse,” Health Career Academy Director Marcene Tate said. “As of last year, we’ve had 579 students that graduated from the program.”
The program partners with Cottage Health, where students are able to complete internships, as well as with Santa Barbara City College, which provides classes and dual enrollment for the high school students.
Tate said the program has seen 273 students graduate as Certified Nursing Assistants through classes from SBCC offered to Health Career Academy students.
“Some of the most rewarding things about being in this program is finding out where students end up later in life,” Tate said, mentioning how students have gone on to become doctors at Cottage Hospital or nurses in the operating room. “It’s nice to be part of a program that really gets to prepare students for careers and post-secondary education.”
The new building will include a large demonstration room and five new classrooms — one of which will be a medical biology lab, Glazer said — along with a director’s office and storage.
This will also allow the Health Career Academy to expand and improve its sports medicine program.
The other part of the expansion project involves upgrading the high school’s Wellness Center to provide more school-based mental health services.
“This week alone, we have had one or two students a day have an anxiety attack or require mental health services,” Glazer said.
Glazer said the current center will be built out to include a health clerk area, as well as three small therapy rooms, a community outreach area and one large therapy room where group therapy can take place.
“The goal of this project is to connect school-based mental health services to the technical health career education,” Glazer said. “This will expand the possibilities for our students.”
The fundraising plan will occur in two phases, Glazer explained, with the first stage soliciting large donations from foundations and individuals, offering opportunities for naming rights. The next stage will solicit smaller donations from the public, although Glazer said anyone can donate however much they want, noting that every dollar counts.
Kristi Newton, a Royal Pride Foundation volunteer board member who is helping Glazer launch the fundraising efforts, said that foundations and individuals can also make pledges and donate in stock.
Glazer and Newton said this project addresses two prominent issues — the shortage of health care professionals and the increase in demand for mental health services.
“This is not just a one-time solution,” Newton said. “It’s a long-term solution with lasting impacts.”
Glazer said she anticipates the entire process to take about two years, although the sooner the funds are raised, the sooner construction can begin.
She also said that if the campaign raises $1.5 million soon, they could start on the Wellness Center expansion.
Glazer will be sharing more information and progress at the Royal Pride Foundation’s annual Royal Gala scheduled for 6 p.m. April 29.
“By that stage, we’ll be much further in planning,” Newton said.
More information on the Royal Pride Foundation can be found on its website, and information on San Marcos High School’s Health Career Academy is available on the program’s website.
— Noozhawk staff writer Serena Guentz can be reached at sguentz@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.