Gilroy Unified School District Facilities Master Plan

Executive Summary

Gilroy Unified School District (GUSD) is located in the southernmost region of Santa Clara County. The District consists of 15 schools: (8) K-6 Elementary Schools, (3) Middle Schools (grades 6-8), (2) Comprehensive High Schools, (1) Continuation High School, (1) Early College Academy, and (1) K-8 Charter School. The District also operates Pre-Schools at (3) sites and has (2) District support sites.

Over the last several years, the student population has been declining from 10,348 in 2021 to 9,881 in 2025 for students in TK-12. However, in recent years, the student population has seemed to level out.

The Gilroy Unified School District is the largest employer in the city. Our District benefits from many community partnerships including: the City of Gilroy, Gilroy Rotary, Gilroy Garlic Festival Association, Gavilan College, Gilroy Foundation, Gilroy Chamber of Commerce, and the Gilroy Welcome Center.

Known for its garlic fields, the agricultural areas that surround Gilroy provide a diverse array of agribusiness opportunities for its occupants. The town is home to commuters to Silicon Valley.

In 2016, Gilroy Unified School District underwent a major master plan effort. In an ongoing effort to comply with the Education Code of California and in preparation to pursue state funding with the Office of Public School Construction, the District hired Aedis Architects to create this updated 2026 Master Plan. This plan is to support the District’s goal to meet the changing needs of students and to help ensure that resources are allocated in an efficient and effective manner.

This master plan will be used to inform the planning and project selection processes for future capital construction projects executed using general obligation bond funds.

Statement of Purpose

A Facilities Master Plan (FMP) is a long-term roadmap for the planning, maintenance and improvement of school facilities. It aligns district goals with the needs of students, staff, and the community by evaluating current conditions, projecting future growth, and prioritizing projects that create safe, modern, and effective learning environments. Serving as a flexible framework, the FMP guides orderly growth by outlining capital improvements, budget considerations, and land use strategies to meet both current and future needs over a five-to-ten-year horizon.

District’s Mission
The Gilroy Unified School District will provide opportunities for all students to reach their highest intellectual competencies and personal attributes to be life-long learners, responsible citizens, and productive members of society. This will be accomplished by having a clear focus on student needs; staff, parents and community members demonstrating high expectations for themselves and for every child served; and by continually improving the quality of teaching and learning.
Summary of Key Findings
The District’s schools are largely operational and reflect a wide range of ages, conditions, and levels of deferred maintenance. While most campuses are in serviceable and fair condition, most campuses could use good refresh. Common issues among all campuses include aging interior finishes, worn flooring, outdated lighting and furniture, water-damaged ceilings, and incomplete accessibility compliance in classrooms, restrooms, parking, and site circulation. Campuses generally include a mix of permanent buildings and portable classrooms, with permanent structures typically in fair condition and portables consistently exhibiting the most significant deterioration. Site infrastructures such as asphalt paving, play yards, drop-off areas, and parking are frequently uneven, congested, or undersized, contributing to safety and accessibility concerns. Many campuses lack adequate shade, storage, flexible learning spaces, and support areas to meet current educational and enrollment demands.
Priority Recommendations

Project priorities vary from site to site, and the District needs to consider the long-term strategic implications of which projects are implemented and to what degree those projects take precedence. While every stakeholder and interested group has their priorities, the recommendations here have constantly risen to the top of many discussions throughout the process. While each project listed here is important, this list is in no particular order:

  • Create a Career Technical Education center at Gilroy High School as a pathway for student readiness as they graduate from High School.
  • Modernize or replace antiquated buildings and facilities at Gilroy High School
  • Replace portable classrooms with new permanent structures
  • Improve parking and drop off at many of the District’s elementary school sites.
  • Install shade structures.
  • Modernize playgrounds and play structures are multiple campuses.
  • Replace classroom buildings at Rucker and modernize entire site for efficiency and drop-off.
  • Install wayfinding and signage at high school sites.
  • Modernize classrooms, administrations, multi-use buildings, gymnasiums and other buildings on campus sites that have not recently modernized throughout the district.
  • Continue to upgrade accessible routes and parking to meet current ADA standards.
Financial Overview

The goal of a Facility Master Plan is to organize a plan to align facilities with the District’s long term educational strategy. It is important to understand the overall long-term facility needs so that those needs can be coordinated over time. It is also necessary to prioritize the most immediate needs to align with shorter range of funding opportunities.

To develop an effective implementation plan for GUSD, additional discussions with the District Administration, Facilities Sub-Committee, and other stakeholders are needed to evaluate Districtwide needs and to finalize a prioritized list. This will solidify the most immediate projects and provide context and expectations on budget parameters. While the rough order of magnitude for a Facilities Master Plan typically exceeds what the District and voters can afford, thoughtful prioritization enables the District to pursue General Obligation bonds, state funding, and other financing sources to address the most critical needs over approximately the next ten years.

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