Board approves portable classrooms with pitched roofs and skylights for facilities plan

The Rocklin Unified School District Board of Trustees approved adding portable classrooms with pitched roofs and skylights to the district's Facilities Master Plan after staff presented cost comparisons and design trade‑offs.

Deputy Superintendent Jennifer Stolberg and Senior Director Craig Rouse summarized three delivery options — portable (fastest approval), modular (requires concrete slab and longer DSA approvals) and permanent construction (longest timeline) — and presented cost estimates. Rouse said portables are manufactured off site, trucked in and placed on a prepared pad; they are relocatable when built with wood foundations and lighter siding.

Trustees and staff discussed aesthetic and durability upgrades. The board favored Hardie board (concrete‑fiber siding) as a longer‑lasting alternative to older T‑111 wood siding; staff said Hardie board adds minimal cost compared with T‑111. Trustees were reluctant to require stucco with concrete foundations because that would significantly increase weight and cost and would remove the buildings' relocatability. Rouse noted that stucco would require concrete foundations and would effectively make the units permanent.

The board also reviewed an estimated program cost and timelines: staff presented an estimate of roughly $887,000 per portable (including site work and Hardie siding) and described a total‑program estimate of approximately $31 million to deliver 32 portables across the district as a planning estimate; trustees were reminded these are estimates and actual bid costs may vary.

Trustee Julie Hupp moved and Trustee Rochelle Price seconded a motion to include portable classrooms in the Facilities Master Plan with gable‑pitched roofs and skylights; the motion passed unanimously on roll call.

What the decision means: the district will proceed with portable classrooms (including aesthetic enhancements such as pitched roofs, skylights and Hardie board siding), preserve relocatability where possible, and direct staff to incorporate the units into the FMP and procurement schedule. Staff will return with specification details that reflect board preferences and state design/DSA requirements.