After reading the letter to the editor written by Mr. Ken Johnson I felt compelled to put up an opposing point of view. Mr. Johnson does make several good points and I am sure from the outside it seems like a good idea to consolidate with HSD, but there are, what I believe, some serious flaws in his logic. The first of which is what does the Hollister School District have to offer San Benito High School to make it a good move for the district? They have been in dire financial straits for quite some time and are only now regaining a financial foothold, while the San Benito High School District has remained financially solvent, and has managed to keep a full program of courses and activities throughout the budget crisis. For districts to merge there needs to be something positive for both. Another reason that I think it is a bad idea is that there is a definite philosophical divide between what the HSD feels is important and what the SBHSD feels is important, and this is not necessarily a bad thing as the needs of high school students are drastically different than the needs of elementary and junior high students. It also creates issues with credentials, seniority and shifting of staff. Possessing a valid secondary single subject credential does not allow one to teach in an elementary setting and visa versa. His comment about what kind of school needs a principal and three vice principals is obviously one that does not understand the demands of the job. My wife being one of those AP’s I can tell you that it is a full- and a half-time job. It’s not just discipline – it’s supervision at multiple school events, hosting parent meetings, being part of several committees and divisions, and being responsible for the success of all the students that are in that persons alphabet group.
As a former coach I really take offense to the comment about SBHS priding itself on its athletic teams. What’s wrong with that? Athletes on average have almost a 1 point higher G.P.A. than non-athletes, and athletics is certainly not the reason that SBHS is in Program, not “performance” improvement. By the way about 70% of the high schools in California are in various stages of P.I. Why no mention of the tremendous accomplishments of students academically at SBHS. With literally millions of dollars worth of scholarships being awarded to SBHS grads who are attending all types of two, four-year and trade schools throughout the U.S. and acclimating themselves very well. This includes students from all spectrums, AP and high achieving students, kids in the middle and a tremendous number of kids from the Migrant Ed. ELL, and special education programs.
Lastly I must really protest the idea of building a second high school, and I will use the towns he listed in his argument as the exact reason why. Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Watsonville and Los Banos all have had two common traits since building more high schools. One, the towns have become divided and in general there is more crime in all of them. It divides loyalties for fundraising programs, and pits areas of communities against other areas. Even in cities such as San Jose most schools are attached to some type of community or regional neighborhood area, which separates itself from the areas surrounding it. When medium-sized cities are divided in two there is a problem with how the division would occur. Looking at Christopher, Sobrato and Monte Vista Christian as examples, it’s pretty clear that the cities were divided on socioeconomic lines. The people from the newer subdivisions with wealth would go to the new schools, and the people who don’t go to the old school, which in essence has become an “inner city school”. To make two high schools work you would need to alphabetize the names and just divide them up one, two, one, two. The reason Hollister has been spared some of the crime that exists in these other cities is because of San Benito High School. Every kid regardless of wealth, race, talent, or other criteria goes to the same high school. It’s a unifying force in the community, and I believe Hollister would never be the same with two schools. And I haven’t even mentioned the detriment to the athletic programs of Gilroy, Live Oak and Watsonville high schools. So if you build a second high school, that’s twice as many coaches, equipment, facilities and administrative staff, which would cost a fortune. So even with our dirt track, grass football fields, leaky wrestling rooms, old swimming pools and such, the sports teams and students have managed a high degree of success at San Benito High School and will continue to because the “substance is more important than the appearance.”
Randy Logue, teacher at San Benito High school
