San Benito High School seniors will soon have to venture to a
different campus if they want to carry out hazing rituals on
underclassmen.
San Benito High School seniors will soon have to venture to a different campus if they want to carry out hazing rituals on underclassmen.
Construction on the high school’s 28-classroom freshman campus began in October and should be completed in the summer of 2004. Freshmen will begin taking classes in the fall of 2004 at the new campus on Nash Road west of the main SBHS campus.
“The campus will provide students coming from different elementary schools an opportunity to get to know each other while at the same time joining the rest of the campus,” said Richard Lowry, superintendent of the San Benito High School District.
The property covers about 70 acres, 28 of which are reserved for the school campus, Delay said.
The campus is being built in three phases, beginning with construction of the classrooms at a cost of $7.2 million. The second and third phases will continue depending on the amount of funds available, said Steve Delay, the district’s director of finance and operations.
“The last two (phases) hinge on money,” Delay said.
Phase two includes the construction of an administration building and library. Until this phase is completed, administration offices for the freshman campus will be housed in trailers. In the third phase, a gymnasium will be added.
The $7.2 million for the first phase comes from developer impact fees, state bonds and the district’s general fund, Delay said. The district is trying to qualify for funds from Proposition 47, passed by California voters in November. The measure provided more than $13 billion in bonds to relieve overcrowding in state schools and repair older schools.
When the campus opens in 2004, administrators project freshman enrollment at SBHS to be 875, Delay said. The campus is being built to handle 850 to 1,000 students, giving the school room to grow.
And it will. State projections expect 3,000 students at SBHS by the 2007-08 school year – an increase of about 10 percent in the next five years, according to the San Benito County Office of Education.
Despite the new campus’ freshman-only status, Delay emphasized that the campus is not separate from SBHS.
“The superintendent made it very clear that he didn’t want it being a separate campus,” Delay said. “It’s more economical to share resources. … You’re talking $50 million to build a high school campus these days.”
Lowry said having the freshman campus adjoin the existing campus allows for it to take advantage of SBHS’s special programs.
The freshman campus will share Mattson and O’Donnell gymnasiums with the main campus until phase three is completed, as well as vocational, home economics and industrial technology classrooms.
Part of the classrooms will be built on-site and part off-site, Delay said. The steel frame and roof of each structure will be constructed elsewhere, then delivered to the site. Once the frame is secure, the classroom will be finished on-site. On-site construction is contracted through Salinas-based Dilbeck & Sons, Inc.
-Community sports complex ‘in talks’
Adding to the value of more space for SBHS students is the idea of having a community sports complex on the new campus. The high school district and the City of Hollister are in talks to share the costs of the complex.
“Neither of us has the funds to do the complex on our own,” Delay said. “We want to combine our efforts.”
Delay said the need for a community sports complex has been recognized by the district and officers in the city’s recreation division.
This will be the first time the city and the district have a joint agreement for the development, maintenance and operation of a park, said Clay Lee, the city’s director of management services.
Of the property’s 70 acres, Delay estimated 30 would be available for the sports complex.
“This will be beneficial to the community. The school district has the property, but not the financial means of doing improvements,” he said. “It’s a win-win situation. … We can combine the needs of the community and reduce the cost to the general public, since most of the money comes from taxpayers.”
There are 11 parks under the supervision of the Hollister Recreation Division, Lee said.
Tentative talks include construction of softball, baseball and soccer fields. Tennis courts may also be in the plan, Delay said.
Funds will have to come from the general fund, Delay said, since the state does not provide funds for physical education facilities.
If talk turns into action, the complex would run alongside an extension of Westside Boulevard, offering parking for a large number of cars.
Lee said he is “positive” there will be an agreement to take before the SBHSD Board of Trustees and Hollister City Council within 30 days.
“We’ve (SBHSD and the city) had positive negotiations and a positive relationship so far,” he said.
