One of the biggest challenges with the new AVHS renovation project is the lack of communication with the new plans with the AV campus community.
As of the date the Amadon went to print, there were no meetings with the AVHS staff, department heads, athletics coaches, or teachers.
“How do I find the information because no one has given us the information. We’ve kind of been out of the loop. They haven’t asked us for our advice or opinions on the facilities,” said AV PE Department Head Dawn Silva.
Certain aspects of the early stages of this renovation have gained a lot of attention and backlash from faculty and community members. After the initial planning meetings, none of the coaches or teachers that were interviewed were aware that the new gym would necessitate removing part of the pool deck and baseball field in order to accommodate the new gymnasium.
Principal Jon Fey selected two representatives to join him on the committee, Jon Grantham representing the Music Department and AV Basketball Coach Bill Butler to represent athletics. Once Fey was gone, former AV Principal Josh Butterfield and acting principal Jr Yee sat in for Fey on the committee.
One issue brought up by AV Athletics staff was that though Coach Butler is an AV Basketball coach and his time was appreciated, Butler isn’t an AV faculty member on campus every day, nor did he communicate any of the plans with the rest of the Athletic Department.
“As far as I know, there’s nobody on the committee that supports athletics. There’s no athletic director at those meetings. The communication is not there. And that’s what’s lacking, is the communication with regard to the new facilities,” said AV Head Athletic Trainer Diana Hasenpflug.
Some of the athletic staff interviewed said that one of the problems with communication was caused by the leave of former AVHS principal Jon Fey. AVHS had temporary principals until the current acting principal Junior Yee came on board. Committee meetings continued and progressed during this time.
“A lot of this structure and demand changed when we lost our principal because he had formed committees. When the new principal came in, they kind of switched around a little bit,” said Hasenpflug.
Hasenpflug’s concerns arose from the fact that the new plans did not include space for a training room, which is much needed on the AV campus. This was not included due to high costs and due to the fact that it was not on the “high priority” list created by the public surveys, despite the fact that the trainers service well over 1,000 athletes on the AV campus.
“I deal with half of the school population. So they gotta accommodate us at some point,” said Hasenpflug.
New Gym Shrinks Louis Cesario Baseball Field
To accommodate the new competition gym, plans were made to cut into the Louis Cesario Baseball Field and pool deck.
“So the fence of the baseball field is gonna have to move in a little bit but it’s still going to be within NCS and CIF standards of a baseball field,” said Van Pelt Construction Services Executive Eric Van Pelt.
Currently, it is 321 feet from home plate to the left field fence. Facilities committee members said the baseball field would need to shrink around 20 feet in order to accommodate the new gymnasium.
“The baseball field will remain approximately 300 feet to the left field,” said PUSD Executive Director of Facilities and Construction Aaron Kael.
AV PE Teacher and Baseball Coach Lou Cesario was surprised when he heard about the plans.
“If it’s [the outfield fence] too close for varsity hitters, there could be a lot of home runs in baseball, 20 feet is a lot and you can’t just move the fence in and have the field be the same,” said PE teacher and AVHS Varsity baseball coach Louis Cesario.
One of the reasons that the baseball fence needs to be moved is because plans include a walkway called the Avenue of the Dons. This walkway must also be an egress that allows fire trucks to get to the stadium, which means there must be at least 20 feet of space for firetruck and ambulance access.
The original plan did not include building a new gym, but rather building onto the current big gym. After a fire made the small gym unusable, the idea to move the baseball field fence and shift the tennis courts for a new gym was created.
“The gym is important but it compromises sports like tennis and baseball. You know, we need every court we can in tennis. We can’t just have one closed,” said Cesario.
Updating the Theater Over Athletics
One of the other changes from the original 2023 drawing shows the AV Music department remaining as Music buildings instead of moving them to a larger space in the new theater, which became cost-prohibitive.
“There were many factors that led to the 2025 plan looking different from the 2023 plan. Top among them on the performing arts side was the cost savings of not demolishing the Amador Cafe (thus reducing available space for multiple music classrooms attached to the new theater). Another was the cost savings in keeping the current music building for music and adding the new athletic mat room and weight room to the new gymnasium facilities,” said AV Music Teacher Jon Grantham.
Some community members were also frustrated with the design of the new theater which was originally promoted to combine both a modern look and pay an homage to the lineage of the current theater.
Notable community members like Pleasanton resident, AV Centennial Committee member, and AV alumni Joanie Fields (‘64) have voiced their concerns about the design.
“I know a few people in our community that are very concerned that they aren’t being involved with the design of the theater because they were very instrumental in how the theater was re-established in ‘83,” said Fields.
All four design options incorporate a modern look and are far different from the original Measure I bond renderings. Though they expect to fit the historical chandelier and old lamppost, the draft is not set in stone yet.
“The original theater that was prepared for the Measure I Bond campaign was a visioning exercise of what that theater could potentially look like. There will be new options presented to the board and the Facilities Committee,” said Van Pelt.
The new campus renovations are much needed by the AVHS community, but the lack of communication of the decisions being made is what frustrates many in the AV community.
“I think the big picture is great. I think we need to get down and do more things like asking teachers what they need. I don’t know if I would give a lot of credit to —this is going to sound bad, but off-campus coaches, because they’re only directed in one direction. I think when people are looking at large projects, they need to have watchdogs. And students need to be brought in with their thoughts,” said Fields.
According to Kael, PUSD has meetings scheduled that should begin in March where they will present the initial plans and request feedback from the Amador Valley community in order to make sure that all of the needs of the AV stakeholders are met.
