The Hollister city council narrowly rejected an idea to close a section of Nash Road in front of the high school while students are in class, but the superintendent of the campus didn’t know the topic was up for a vote.
San Benito High School administrators want to swap land in exchange for the safety of thousands of students that cross Nash Road—which bisects their campus—during class hours. But Hollister City Council members last week voted 3-2 against closing the road between Monterey Street and West Street from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. after hearing from neighbors who lived in the area at a meeting.
“I assumed I’d be notified if something of this gravity would be discussed and I was not,” said Superintendent John Perales. “I didn’t understand that I had to keep an eye on their agendas.”
The proposed resolution had the school district transfer property to the county for a park free of charge in exchange for the county and city—which both own portions of Nash Road—allowing part of the road to be closed during school hours. The county also was going to pick up the tab for an auxiliary road, which would service the new park and connect Nash Road with San Benito Street while classes were in session.
Legally, the city council is not required to provide notice to any individual or entity that might be affected by an action, explained Nikki Moore, a staff attorney for the California Newspaper Publishers Association, in an email.
Hollister Mayor Ignacio Velazquez—who cast one of two votes in favor of the closing the road while students were in class—agreed with Perales that district officials should have had a chance to voice their opinions.
“I definitely think the ball was dropped there and there should have been more communication from both sides so the school had a chance to present their plan,” the mayor said.
During the meeting, Diane Castaneda, a Suiter Street resident, claimed there were a lot of “illegal happenings” in the area due to the high school such as inflamed cars, gang activity and drug use. She said closing the street would cause even more problems with additional traffic on the residential roads.
“I’m very concerned about this,” she said, as others in the audience applauded.
For Perales, though, the discussion is about student safety.
“We’re giving a lot for the safety of our kids.” Perales said. “I just want a chance to continue the conversation, to re-visit the vote and to keep our kids safe.”
Editor Kollin Kosmicki contributed to this report.
