Thousands of students from elementary to high school return to class in Santa Maria

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Thousands of students returned to class Thursday morning as the new school year started in both Santa Maria school districts.

In the Santa Maria-Bonita School District, more than 17,000 students returned to school across its 21 elementary and middle school campuses.

"Today is really a great day for the school year 2024-25," said Santa Maria-Bonita School District Superintendent Darren McDuffie. "We want to welcome everyone back here to Santa Maria Bonita School District. It is about having a unified community that inspires hope and faith, and so we want to get students, families, staff all connected and create that bond that really helps students move forward to the future."

At Miller Elementary School, one of the oldest in the district, the day marked the first time many of its classrooms were outfitted with air conditioning units.

"We've had some incredible work done this summer," said Miller Elementary School Principal Kathy Blackburn. "The most exciting of that is our air conditioning has gone into our permanent buildings. Our teachers in the portables have been lucky and always have had access to that and now every classroom has access to air conditioning which makes it a much better learning environment especially when we get our warmer days as we have those in the fall and the spring, and students are going to be awake after lunch instead of tired and warm, and teachers are especially appreciative of the air conditioning being added to their classrooms."

In the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District, more than 9,000 students across its four campuses returned to class on Thursday.

Combined between the two districts, more than 26,000 students returned to school, where they will continue their education through early June before the 2025 summer break begins.