A voter-approved tax levy is allowing Chabot Elementary School to scrap its World War II-era portable classrooms. Needless to say, parents, teachers and students at the Rockridge area school couldn’t be happier about the prospect of a trailer-free education.

Polly Winograd Ikonen, co-chair of the Chabot: Way to Grow! campaign, wrote me a note detailing Saturday’s celebration to mark the start of the $17.5 million construction project.

It’s too soon to put any holes in the ground — there are still four more days of school — so Chabot dad Michael Bettendorf marked the occasion by destroying an old wooden bench with a sledgehammer. (Apparently, he did it in one swing. Doesn’t that sound oddly therapeutic?)

I hear Chabot alumni from the 1930s and 1940s even came. Dozens of photos are posted here.

Are other schools are celebrating the prospect of portable-free futures? Do you feel the funds are being distributed fairly? If you want to see how the $435 million in bond measure money is being spent, check out the first Measure B report from the Independent Citizen’s Bond Oversight Committee here.

photos courtesy of Michael Mages