Matt Weir / The Collegian

Even with budgets being cut across the Fresno State campus, some major construction projects are able to find funding.

One of these projects is the construction of a permanent facility for University High School. The school has been housed in portable buildings since its establishment more than nine years ago.

James Bushman, the head of school for University High, said in phone interview that funding for the new campus is coming entirely from Proposition 55, which passed in 2004. The proposition funds building and construction projects for public schools in the state of California.

The state grant will fund up to $18.7 million for the project, but Bushman said they are currently expecting the project to cost only $16 million.

Bushman also said in a news release that the project was approved last year, but was pushed back due to budget problems. He is eager for the completion of the campus.

“We have waited a long time for this opportunity, and we are very excited to have our new campus,â€Â Bushman said.

The University High campus isn̢۪t the only previously scheduled project that will finally come to fruition this year.

Robert Boyd, associate vice president for facilities management, said that an update and repair project is being worked out for the heating and ventilation in the Agricultural Science building.

The project, which was originally supposed to be completed last year, is currently in the “design phase,â€Â Boyd said.

Boyd also said that plans for the new aquatics center, which will be located behind the softball diamond, are underway. The center was previously scheduled for completion in September 2009.

According to Boyd, both the aquatics center and the University High campus should be completed by September 2010. The heating and ventilation project for the agricultural science building should also be completed within the next year, Boyd said.

However, even with some construction breakthroughs, Boyd said it seemed likely that other projects would be deferred until a later date in response to budget problems. He said it was too soon to tell which projects may be shelved as of now because a finalized budget for facilities management wouldn̢۪t arrive until October, but he was planning on a reduction in the capital budget used for projects.

“We were told that the capital budget would be extremely limited, if any, for the 2009-10 year,â€Â Boyd said.