Before starting on a new campus at Blosser Ranch, builders need to secure enough dirt to fill around 30 Olympic-sized swimming pools. They also need drivers to bring it on-site.
Over the course of six to 10 weeks, it’ll take 12 to 15 trucks hauling dirt eight to 10 hours a day to get the job done. That’s 100,000 cubic yards of fill dirt to raise building pads 3 to 5 feet because nobody wants to go to school in a flood plain.
On May 13, the Santa Maria-Bonita School District unanimously agreed to spend $2 million on a contract with a local company for this work. Despite what may seem like a costly approval, it could be worse, said Matthew Beecher, the deputy superintendent for business services.
“We have a local supplier who is able to provide the quantity that we need for our project,” Beecher said at the meeting. “We also have material that has been tested in the past and used on school construction projects, which is really good.”
Sourcing locally saves “a significant amount of money” on transportation, he added. By securing the dirt now, it could also prevent rising costs in the future if private developers start competing for the material.
Next, they’ll need to test the soil and stockpile it before hauling starts in September. If all goes to plan, the Measure T-funded campus would be open for the 2028-29 school year, Beecher explained.
The district’s contract is with Speed’s Oil Tool Service Inc. based in Santa Maria. Speed’s will deliver dirt from off Black Road, around 8 miles away from the project site.
“I have been working for the last couple months with our testing labs, with contractors in our area trying to identify a source with this quantity of material that we need,” Beecher said. “This is the only one that I’ve been able to find.”
Since the contract was a sole-source agreement, the district didn’t accept any other bidders. Beecher said Speed’s price per cubic yard currently sits around $19, on the lower end of the average $18 to $22 based on his research. He called it a fair price for the material and the operation amid unknown variables like the cost of fuel in the trucking industry.
The future school will be just one aspect of Blosser Ranch, a 155-acre community development bordered by Blosser, Battles, and Stowell roads. Multiple residential phases were planned out over several years.
In June 2023, the Sun reported that the city Planning Commission greenlit one plot of 301 apartments with ample parking and electric vehicle chargers for each unit.
Blosser Ranch is scheduled to be complete by 2030, according to the developer’s website. The city has already broken ground on the project.
This article appears in May 28 – June 4, 2026.
