The Manteca Unified is getting ready to secure preconstruction services for what will be the first new elementary school in the City of Manteca since Veritas School opened in 2005.

The new Tara Park School will be to the west of Veritas School on a 22-acre site northwest of the intersection of McKinley Avenue and Woodward Avenue.

The request for proposals for preconstruction/lease back services the district has issued also includes remodeling work for the new location for the warehouse serving nutritional serves as well as relocating 15 portable classrooms.

The board in September authorized the purchase of the 58,500 square-foot building at 550 Carnegie Street in the Manteca Industrial Park for $6.75 million.

It backs up to 555 Industrial Park Drive, the former Qualex building that includes the parking lot where the City of Manteca is operating its “temporary” emergency homeless shelter.

The work involves installing freezers, coolers, and a racking system. It make also include installing a central kitchen.”

The district has $13 million in restricted capital funds that can go toward buying and remodeling warehouse space.

That includes a $2 million grant from the state for nutrition education related projects.

The district plans to centralize all of its nutritional service administration and warehouses in the Manteca Industrial Park.

It is similar to what the district has done with its maintenance operations and health services at the former Lindbergh School campus on North Street.

The district is still pursuing the Qualex building as it would be able to locate all warehouse operations in one place and create a synergy that can further reduce operating costs.

The current warehouses for curriculum related items — books and such — and one for other items needed districtwide from toilet paper to cleaning products — are nearing capacity.

To build a 19,000 square-foot warehouse, it would cost the district $14 million.

In doing so they’d only have roughly 40 percent of the space of either the former Ecologic facility or the Qualex building.

The district has identified 15 portable classrooms suitable for relocating that are not needed at East Union High after replacement classrooms are completed this year as well as the August Knodt campus.

Eight portables will be placed at Sequoia School, two at Woodward School, and possibly five at Veritas School.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com