Trustees hire firm to consider renovations to current site,
possible new campus
Trustees hire firm to consider renovations to current site, possible new campus
The San Benito High School District trustees voted 3-2 at the Jan. 25 meeting to hire an architectural firm for $45,000 to look at creating a master plan for renovation of the current high school site, a plan for a potential new site and to help evaluate a possible site acquisition for a new campus.
The decision to hire NTD, the chosen firm, came after the board created a panel to interview firms last fall.
In minutes from the meeting, Debbie Fisher, the finance director, said that plans created five years ago would serve as a backbone for the new plan. The two trustees to disapprove of the contract were Mary Encinias and Evelyn Muro. Encinias said that she had “done her own research regarding a bond and had come to conclude that she could not support it.”
A bond measure would be required to raise the money necessary to build a new campus.
Encinias was also concerned about the district purchasing a plot of land for a new high school that could potentially segregate students by race. She also noted the defeat of a Hollister School District parcel tax in a special June election last year. The tax would have been $96 per parcel annually for four years, collecting $1.2 million each year.
Muro said she had “tremendous trepidation about going down this path and questioned the cost of running two schools, and if an analysis had been done.”
She said she also felt that voters would not approve of a bond measure at this time and said that she would not support a bond.
Three trustees spoke out in support of the contract and a possible bond. Ray Rodriguez said that there were concerns about racial segregation when Marguerite Maze Middle School was built but that the worries were unfounded. He said that he thought voters did not support the Hollister School District parcel tax “in large part to the public perception that there had been poor fiscal management and that was certainly not the case with the high school.”
Tim Shellito also pointed to an improving economy, saying that while unemployment was at 20 percent at one point in San Benito County, it is now at 11.2 percent (unemployment rose in December to 13 percent, according to the state Economic Development Department.) He said that there is “never a good time to go out for a bond,” but that the high school has a high level of public trust. He said that schools and services are the reason communities grow, and if a bond measure passed more people would stay in San Benito County.
Trustee William Tiffany also expressed support of hiring the architectural firm and said in doing so the board would receive more education about its future options. He said more descriptive and specific ideas would be needed before moving forward with the next step.
At the meeting, two community members spoke, including one who suggested that the board look into ways to partner with other agencies in the community.
Gavilan College Trustee Tony Ruiz spoke during the public comment period, saying the board was not making a commitment but taking a responsible step to determine a course of action. He said there is state legislation being proposed that would mandate partnerships between community colleges and K-12 districts.
Julie Morris, the executive director of Community Vision San Benito, said she thought a bond measure would receive support from voters, especially if it included a collaboration for a new library and shared recreational facilities. She noted that in meetings with members of the public through Community Vision, they largely said education and the needs of youth were a priority. She said the Community Foundation would be committed to helping the high school district with the bond process.
Superintendent Stan Rose did not return calls for comment before the Pinnacle’s press time.
