Buena Park High School has one. So do Fullerton Union and La Habra campuses. 

And soon, Sunny Hills will get its grassy field and worn-out dirt track replaced with turf and an all-weather, synthetic course.

That’s because last November during the elections, 58.33% of voters living in the Fullerton Joint Union High School District [FJUHSD] boundary approved Measure L, which required 55% or more “yes” votes for passage. 

“I am very excited that Bond Measure L passed. … We really appreciate the residents of Fullerton recognizing the needs we have on our campus to improve our facilities,” athletic director Paul Jones wrote in a Nov. 8, 2024, email statement to The Accolade. “We have been very fortunate to have so much success in athletics, despite being decades behind when it comes to facilities being upgraded. We have many original structures and fields that have existed since 1959 [when the campus first opened] and are in need of upgrades and modernization.

“Every school in our district either has two gyms or a stadium with turf. Sunny Hills is the only school that does not have either. We are excited for the future upgrades and changes that will come to Sunny Hills.”

Though the elections were held Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, the Orange County Registrar of Voters did not certify the results until more than a month later on Monday, Dec. 9. 

According to the Orange County Election Results from ocvote.gov, the FJUHSD was not alone in its success of asking the public to help pay for its facilities upgrades. The other bond proposals in Orange County — nine total — gained passage.

FJUHSD trustees held a Measure L study session before the start of its most recent board meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 14, and the next step calls for district officials to start the process to obtain funds to pay for the various projects that each FJUHSD school has prioritized.

That involves assessing property owners who live in the FJUHSD boundary to pay a certain amount of money so that district officials can collect it and “sell up to $284 [million] in general obligation bonds,” according to the Measure L statement.

Principal Craig Weinreich said athletic upgrades will be the first improvement projects on campus based on a master plan that school officials put together.

“Our main projects are a second gym and all-weather track and field,” said Weinreich, who lives in the FJUHSD boundary and voted for Measure L’s approval. “The track and field will be prioritized first, but everything depends on the bond sales — the amounts of money that can be raised and how quickly that comes in.”

The decision to start with track and field upgrades was not based on just one person.

“These priorities were based on the community input sessions and conversations between district and the site stakeholders including parents, students, administration, teachers and coaches,” Weinreich said.

According to an Accolade online poll from Friday, Nov. 15-Friday, Dec. 13, a majority of the 170 responses agreed with school officials as to the facilities improvement needs on campus.

A total of 69 favored the artificial turf field and an all-weather turf track followed by 53 votes for more modern classrooms; a second gym came in last with 48 responses.

Boys soccer co-team captain junior Anthony Fiorini said the soccer team would really benefit from the new track and field.

“The new field will help newer players develop because they will be focused on improving aspects they can control instead of having to constantly adjust to the conditions of the field,” Fiorini said. “We will be able to train on a good surface, and we [won’t] have to worry about weather impacting our games and practices.”

Track and field coach Jacob Holloway said student-athletes will need to remain patient since it will take awhile to get the upgrades because of the bureaucratic protocols that need to be followed, which can take up to two years.

“None of [the environmental review] has started yet, but from my understanding, they have started getting contractors assembled and trying to start getting bids submitted,” Holloway said. 

Science teacher Kelly Kim, who like Weinreich also lives in the FJUSHD boundary, said she voted “Yes” on Measure L.

“I’m very pleased about the results, and I’m looking forward to the new upgrades that [Sunny Hills] will receive,” said Kim, who has a daughter – a sophomore – enrolled here and could see upgrades in classrooms by the time she’s a senior. “Overall, the changes will be able to enhance the quality of our students’ learning environments.”

Though senior Farah Alramahi said she won’t be around to reap the benefits of Measure L, she said would have voted in favor of it if she were eligible to vote because of how it will benefit her younger sibling.

“It will really benefit the students in future years to come,” Alramahi said. “I also have a younger brother who wants to be an athlete, so I think the new equipment and all of the facilities that will be added will benefit him as well.”

Senior Matthew Yoon, who told The Accolade last October he had planned to vote against Measure L, said his views about the economic impact of the bond passage have changed since it got approved.

“Aside from the extra taxes, the school upgrades actually sound like a good idea for both me and the development of future high school generations,” Yoon said.

In a Thursday, Jan. 23, email statement from Jones, he wrote of additional projects that students might see in a few years.

“Ideally, [the funds could provide] bathrooms and bleachers down at the track field as well,” the athletic director wrote. “We have our fingers crossed for a second gym so that we can really support all of our programs that need to utilize the gym so that our teams are not here practicing in the gym until 10 p.m.”