The Catholic Church hasn’t given up on building a high school
for San Benito and south Santa Clara County students, but
interested parents shouldn’t plan on enrolling their children any
time soon.
Hollister – The Catholic Church hasn’t given up on building a high school for San Benito and south Santa Clara County students, but interested parents shouldn’t plan on enrolling their children any time soon.
The possibility of a co-ed Catholic high school that could serve students in Hollister and those in south Santa Clara County is still a reality, according to the Diocese of San Jose. However, despite recent market research and local administrators’ support, the plans for the school that have been tossed around for five years are on hold.
“I think it would be a great idea and I am 100 percent for it, but my understanding is that the money simply isn’t there right now,” said Kathy O’Donnel, principal of Sacred Heart School.
O’Donnell believes that being able to continue their education in a Catholic environment would be beneficial to students who have spent their primary years at Sacred Heart.
“Being a Catholic school, we have the liberty to teach about God and about value and ‘What Would Jesus Do,'” she said. “Kids need time to integrate that into their life, and junior high isn’t really enough. They need a little more practice and high school is a good time for that.”
Some Gilroy and Morgan Hill residents received phone calls recently asking about their interest in a Catholic high school. Questions in the market research poll asked about tuition, location and the importance of programs such as athletics and computer and science labs.
Gilroy’s St. Mary teacher Stacy Huddleston also believes a school would be supported.
“The question of a close Catholic high school is something that is brought up quite frequently among the parents of my students,” she said. “They would absolutely be interested in something here. Since St. Francis in Watsonville opened, many of them are looking at that option, as opposed to the San Jose schools, but many of them don’t like the idea of crossing Hecker Pass every day. The big problem is that kids are involved in so many activities besides just the regular school day, it is overwhelming.”
The diocese rolled out the idea in 2001, complete with architectural plans and a virtual tour of the proposed school.
Roberta Ward, spokeswoman for the Diocese of San Jose, said the project is not going to go much farther any time soon.
“There is some market research going on, mainly to determine interest,” Ward said. “We’re basically just gauging interest levels, what people would look for in such a school, what tuition would be affordable for people, what they would be comfortable with.”
Though the diocese worked with an architect who created plans for the school, the money to follow through and build the school is just not there.
The estimated $84-million co-ed high school for grades nine through 12 was planned for a parcel between Monterey Road and Hale Avenue in Morgan Hill.
The plans include two softball fields with bleachers, one baseball field with bleachers, three basketball courts, four tennis courts, a combined football and soccer field with a lighted stadium containing a gymnasium, and an Olympic-size pool with bleachers and pool-house.
The school itself would include 62 classrooms with an average size of 960-square-feet. A main gym, weight room, library, multipurpose room, snack bar, food serving area, kitchen, music/choral classroom, dance studio, instrumental classroom, 300-seat theater and a 420-seat chapel are also part of the plans.
Father Gene O’Donnell of St. Catherine in Morgan Hill said the parish has a committee that is continuing to work on ideas for the school.
“We want to be ready when the time is right,” he said.
The committee has completed a mission statement for the school.
Active planning for the school on a diocesan level fell off in 2003 after several steps, including drawing the architectural plans, were taken to move the school forward.
In June 2002, the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), a land-use commission, voted to include the parcel selected for the school in Morgan Hill’s Urban Service Area. This was a key step in the development of the high school plan, as this would allow Morgan Hill to provide urban services including sewer, water and storm drainage to the school.
In 2002, Michael Mitchell, a monsignor with the San Jose Diocese, said the earliest the high school could open to serve its proposed 1,200 students and a staff of 120 is 2007. But now even that date is unlikely.
“We began looking at this idea years ago, when the population could support the school – not only with students but also the fundraising,” he said. “When the economy went sour, circumstances changed. Unfortunately, you can’t build the school in pieces.”
However, Mitchell said the plan for the school has not been totally scrapped. The diocese has spent money on development of the plans but is not confident in the current fundraising climate.
Danielle Smith contributed to this report.
