Gabilan Hills parents took to the mic during public comment at a special board meeting Jan. 13 to express their desire to keep the establishment known for technology, a small student body and a special intervention program as their neighborhood school.
Gabilan Hills shares a campus with the Hollister Dual Language Academy on Santa Ana Road, but enrollment at the school has been shrinking while it has grown at the academy.
“My older children came to this school and they got a lot of help. I don’t see why other schools are trying to take our schools,” said Gabilan parent Teresa Barrientos during public comment, as her eyes filled with tears.
School board trustees are considering limiting Gabilan Hills enrollment and making the k-6 academy—which runs seventh and eight grade classes at Marguerite Maze Middle School—a full k-8 campus.
At least 20 speakers took the mic during public comment including a teacher, a former Gabilan student, and a few Spanish-only speaking mothers. They asked hard questions such as where their students would go if Gabilan School goes away, how the changes will be funded and how children would be transported if Gabilan is moved to a site that isn’t walking distance from their homes.
“As far as I’m concerned I would really like to see another solution,” said Janna Esparza,who highlighted transportation concerns. “Think about the logistics. I’m in a working household of two. We commute to San Jose.”
Possible solutions laid out by the superintendent included adding portables, reconfiguring attendance boundaries,keeping the academy as a k-8 program at two sites with k-5 at the current location and sixth, seventh and eighth grade classes offered at Maze;and approving the academy as a k-8 site at its current site while limiting enrollment for Gabilan. The superintendent also mentioned possibly moving Gabilan or the academy to the proposed new school site near Fairview.
The district’s facilities committee will meet at 6 p.m. Jan. 20 at the district office at 2690 Cienega Road to develop a draft plan to bring to the board at the next regularly scheduled board meeting Jan. 27. Staff will present a final draft and a recommendation for board approval at the regularly scheduled meeting Feb. 24.
