“To be, or not to be — that is the question: Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them.” Isn’t Shakespeare great! And isn’t this still the question, to “B” or not to “B”?
The matter of whether to pursue a general obligation bond (GOB), the primary means by which schools are built or modernized, is the weighty matter currently under consideration by the San Benito High School District’s Board of Trustees. The Board has been very deliberate in its consideration since the Winter of 2011, when the Board established a facilities committee to look into the matter. When the Committee began meeting, it had no preconceived notions about a new school or the current school. Its purpose was to consider the current situation and make recommendations to the Board. As Superintendent, I was directed to create the Committee by finding individuals from across the spectrum of the community. At the onset, the purpose of the committee was to:
1.) Review the Facilities Master Plan (2007).
2.) Identify facility improvements that reduce operational costs.
3.) Prioritize facilities needs in three phases using the following criteria:
a. Serve school operations,
b. Serve curricular, co-curricular, and extra-curricular programs, and
c. Support community involvement.
4.) Report back to the SBHSD Board of Trustees by early June, after completing a report in May 2011.
Over 20 participants served on the Committee, including staff and board members from the high school and elementary school districts, community volunteers, city and county officials, and officials from non-profit and other educational settings. It soon became clear that the Committee wanted to include consideration of a new high school, one that would include partnership opportunities to serve the entire Hollister and San Benito County community. Potential partnership ideas were floated that included Gavilan College, the YMCA, San Benito County Library, agriculture, and performing arts groups. The Committee completed its work in May which included presentations by experts in architecture, bond campaigns, joint-use agreements, the SBC General Plan, financial underwriting, and smart growth (walkable communities, leveraged funds). The Committee’s report of findings and recommendations went before the Board in June and included the following:
1. The District is in need of a significant infusion of funds to manage its facilities needs, both short and long term.
2. The funding vehicle over which the District has the most control to create an infusion of funds, and a vehicle that can be managed over a period of years, is the General Obligation Bond.
3. Partnerships are an essential element of the short and long term planning processes of the District that must be considered and explored.
4. The Committee finds that this thorough examination and planning process is necessary to demonstrate to the San Benito County community that San Benito High School District is a good steward in managing financial resources effectively.
5. The Committee recommends that the District further refine its listed needs by acquiring the services of professionals.
The Board received the report of the Facilities Committee in June 2011. Their recommendation then was to survey the community to determine public interest in a bond. To accomplish that task, it became necessary to translate facilities needs into ideas with associated costs that the public could evaluate. Once again, community officials, district personnel and community volunteers came together; this time to evaluate proposals by architectural firms that would in turn render ideas and concepts into potential proposals and costs. The winning firm, NTD Architecture, Salinas, CA was selected because it was best able to demonstrate that it could work well with joint-use projects, address green school issues, engage local support and input, and offer their services for a competitive price ($49k). Current high school facility needs identified through the community/staff gathering process of the Committee included modernizing existing classrooms for 21^st Century learning, expansion and/or upgrade of the library, cafeteria, auditorium, and athletic facilities, an upgrade of systems such as the public address system, phones, energy management (including green technology such as solar), security, fire and accessibility for all. In addition, to assess the appetite for a second high school that contained the kinds of partnerships identified by the Committee as necessary, the architect would support the district in assessing building sites that served to support partnerships with college, county library and other non-profits.
The work described above and ongoing conversations with the community are essential preconditions to assess whether or not to offer a bond for voter approval. Shakespeare was prophetic when he wrote, “To ‘B’ or not to ‘B’…” It really is still the question!
PS: There will be opportunities to express your opinions or dreams as members of the public at upcoming meetings. Look for announcements to provide your opinions, or feel free to email Dr. Stan Rose (sr***@sb***.us), Superintendent, or Director of Finance and Operations Debbie Fisher (df*****@sb***.us) with comments.
Stan Rose, Ed.D., is superintendent at SBHS.
