The San Benito County Board of Education will decide Tuesday
whether to add its official support to the strong anti-casino
sentiment already expressed by many in the county in response to a
proposed Miwok casino.
Hollister – The San Benito County Board of Education will decide Tuesday whether to add its official support to the strong anti-casino sentiment already expressed by many in the county in response to a proposed Miwok casino.
The board will most likely either approve or amend a new anti-casino resolution to be presented at Tuesday’s meeting, according to board member Joan Campbell-Garcia.
“We’re basically all in favor of some kind of resolution,” Campbell-Garcia said of the board members. “(Today) we will discuss how we either want to go with it, or suggest some changes.”
The California Valley Miwok tribe is working with investor group Game Won to develop a casino similar in size to Cache Creek, which is 66,000 square feet with 1,762 slot machines and 120 table games. The proposed casino would be located off Highway 25 in San Benito County near the Santa Clara County line.
Gov. Schwarzenegger has said that in cases in which a tribe is unable to prove its ancestral ties to a county, he will not approve a casino unless there is overwhelming support from the locals. Since some doubt that the Miwoks have ancestral roots in San Benito County, locals have been speaking out against the casino in hopes of garnering Schwarzenegger’s support. Representatives from the tribe say they will prove that the Miwoks have ties to the area.
Board of Education member Mitchell Dabo said while the final draft of the resolution is not yet complete, it will definitely reflect the strong conflict they feel casinos have with education.
“There are a lot of issues out there when it comes to the widening of Highway 25, crime, all those things that the Native Americans don’t mitigate (when they build casinos). Those are issues and concerns, but that’s not what we’re concerned with. Especially if they don’t serve alcohol, an 18-year-old kid who is still in high school could go in there and gamble. We just feel that it’s a bad example of what we’re trying to teach our kids,” Dabo said.
California Valley Miwok Project Coordinator Gary Ramos, however, said the Board of Education and local residents need not worry about a casino’s adverse affects on the community.
“We want to reassure the families in the area that access to the casino will always be restricted to patrons aged 21 and older. Moreover, there is a very real opportunity for the community to gain youth-oriented facilities and programs through the revenues the project will generate for the community,” he said. “Regardless of the (Board of Education’s) position, we look forward to working with community leaders to ensure that San Benito’s young people will benefit along with the community as a whole.”
If the resolution is approved at Tuesday’s meeting, Dabo said he hopes it will raise awareness in the community.
“I think most people in our community are not for a casino, but we’ve become very complacent and all of a sudden they’re going to come in and buy land and build a casino. I think we need to be very upfront and just say ‘We don’t want a casino,'” said Dabo.
County Superintendent of Schools Tim Foley said he believed the board’s decision would reflect its members’ views that a casino would be bad for the community as a whole.
“I know that they are very concerned with the impact of a casino in our community. Sheriff (Curtis) Hill has presented the statistics from other communities where crime has increased because of casinos. I think the board is really concerned with the whole impact a casino would have on San Benito County and the region,” Foley said.
California Valley Miwok Project attorney Philip Thompson said last week the tribe wants to work with the community to create a casino that would not be a detriment to San Benito County socially or economically.
“Our entire effort is centered on working with the community to develop a project that will benefit everyone,” Thompson said.
But Dabo said the board’s stance is actually more focused on opposing casinos for the sake of education.
“From an education standpoint, we just feel that it’s not in harmony with what we’re proposing. It’s setting a poor precedence of what we in education believe is a correct way to set an example. Gambling is not something that we feel is appropriate,” Dabo said.
The board will meet today at noon in the San Benito County Office of Education board meeting room.
Jessica Quandt is a staff writer for the Free Lance. Reach her at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or at [email protected].
