It’s time for a second high school
If there’s anything approaching a silver lining to the
state-imposed building moratorium in Hollister, it’s that it offers
the opportunity to define a vision for the future.
It’s time for a second high school
If there’s anything approaching a silver lining to the state-imposed building moratorium in Hollister, it’s that it offers the opportunity to define a vision for the future.
The moratorium was imposed in 2002, the result of the failure of a sewage treatment pond that spilled 15 million gallons of effluent into the San Benito River. It’s expected to be lifted next year, after a $130 million-plus refitting of the city’s wastewater treatment plant is completed.
The pond that failed was not originally intended for household waste, but rather to treat water used for washing and processing tomatoes. But it was called into service as a stopgap intended to keep the city’s runaway growth boom going a little while longer.
Since the moratorium, the city enlisted the public to craft a general plan that paints the picture of a model town, one that meets the housing needs of people from all income levels, fosters business growth and offers a rich mosaic of amenities.
Other local residents participated in a three-year consensus-building effort dubbed Vision San Benito. And a downtown strategic plan is beginning to take shape.
But there’s one place where a vision of the future appears to have been lacking.
San Benito High School, located at the south end of Monterey Street where it’s been for more than a century, is no longer the rural campus it once was. Every day nearly 3,000 students gather there, supported by hundreds of faculty and staff.
Thanks to the moratorium, the student population at the school has been relatively stable. That will start to change abruptly next year when the moratorium is lifted. And still, when reporter Patrick O’Donnell asked about plans for the future for a story appearing in this edition, there were no articulated plans for growth or, more important, a new campus.
The district purchased a tract of land with an eye toward a second campus a generation ago. The property is located near the intersection of Airline Highway and Best Road, adjacent to where Gavilan College is poised to build a new campus.
But financial worries, the fear that a second campus would be a source of divisiveness in the community and questions about suitability of the site conspired to push the notion off the table.
It’s past time to renew that discussion.
The neighborhood surrounding the existing campus is held hostage by the daily throngs. More important, larger schools can have a harder time reaching all students effectively.
The school has a rare opportunity today: the administrative faculty is largely new. Just-appointed Principal Krystal Lomanto is a popular choice with the faculty and a charismatic leader.
The school is uniquely suited to enlist the community in forming a vision for education through the 21st Century. Let’s get to work.
