Darleene Barrientos
Jean Minniear was not about to miss the open house at John Burroughs
High School where she, her husband and her son are all proud to be
alma maters.
The Burroughs High School that Minniear graduated from in 1976 was
a lot more shabby than the school she visited Saturday.
"It's a really good thing they decided to [renovate it]," she
said. "There were a lot of things that were really run down."
Burroughs is now a modern haven for learning.
The $39 million in improvements at Burroughs includes 43 new
classrooms in a three-story building connected with two elevators, 13
renovated science labs, a new library with 24 computers with Internet
access, energy-efficient windows and air conditioning and a new
gymnasium. The school was renovated with money from a $112.5 million
bond measure approved by voters in 1997. Construction on the school
began in 2000.
Burroughs alumni, staff and Burbank Unified School District
administrators were also there Saturday to pay tribute to former
teacher Tom Marshall, who was part of the original staff when the
school opened in 1948, and Brian Hurst, who served the school as a
teacher, coach, athletic director and assistant principal.
"People like Mr. Hurst inspire people like me," said Michael
Hastings, chairman of the Burbank Priority in Education, a Burroughs
High alumnus and former city council member. "A school is just a
building, but people like Mr. Hurst and Mr. Marshall make it what it
is."
Hurst's and Marshall's families were in attendance, to see the
unveiling of Marshall Hall and the Brian W. Hurst gymnasium. Hurst
said he was excited to see the changes that have been made at the
school where he spent 29 years of his career.
"The modernization was long overdue," he said.
