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Monserrat Solis contributed to this article. Lea este articulo en español aquí.
More than 90 people attended San Benito High School District’s two town hall meetings on June 12 and 13, where district officials presented a plan to fund the construction of the second high school, discussed the campus design and revealed the shortlist of potential school names and mascots. The town hall was conducted in Spanish on the 12th and in English on the 13th.
The district is preparing to build a second high school as Hollister High is exceeding its 3,437-student capacity. According to the California Department of Education, it had 3,465 students in 2022-23. High school district Superintendent Shawn Tennenbaum previously told BenitoLink he envisioned the second school, proposed to be built on Wright Road, to begin serving students in the 2028-29 academic year. However, he said it’s now more realistic that it will open in fall 2029.
Phase 1 of the campus could serve between 1,200 and 1,400 students, Tennenbaum said. At full buildout, the capacity would be 2,500.
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John Frusetta, the high school district’s chief business officer, said during the town hall the district is proposing two $70 million bonds broken into three series to build Phase 1. The district’s Board of Trustees is scheduled to have a final vote on the issuance of bonds June 25. The bonds would impact all property owners within the district boundary.
“The big note is that the average single-family home in this county has an assessed value of $526,000,” Frusetta said. “Based on that average value, the average annual taxpayer amount would be $200. The average monthly amount would be just over $16.”
District fiduciary consultant Jeff Small told BenitoLink the numbers are based on both bonds passing. He also drew the distinction between the assessed value of a home and its market value. Assessed value is usually closer to property’s value at the time it was purchased, while its current market value can be significantly greater.
At the town hall, Frusetta said that over the last five years “every single new high school” in California has had to pass a bond measure.
According to Ballotpedia, in the last two elections—2020 and 2022—there have been 305 school bond measures proposed in California, of which 179, or 58%, passed. Since 2000, local bonds require 55% voter approval in order to pass. School bonds previously required an approval rate of 66.67%.
The district had mixed results in its last two bond measure attempts. Measure L, the 2020 bond for $30 million, did not pass, as 62.91% of voters rejected it. Measure U, the 2016 bond for $60 million, passed with 63.85% of the vote.
In addition to bond funding, Small said, the district would be eligible to pursue $46 million in state funds if both bonds are passed. Moreover, he said the district estimates to collect $28.3 million in developer fees—which are imposed on developers to pay for public infrastructure including schools— and about $5 million from the high school district. Tennenbaum also announced the district has applied for about $11 million in state funding. Tennenbaum told BenitoLink those funds, depending on when they are awarded, would be put toward the second campus.
“We have to continue to press the state for that money,” Small said. “We have to continue to be vigilant with the development community. But that non-bonding funding will really go a long way to help our community with the bonding itself.”
Tennenbaum later stressed to BenitoLink that the district is proposing the bonds for a second campus because Hollister High’s enrollment is the second highest in Northern California and 10th highest in the state.
He said the second campus is important for the district to continue to “provide high quality education and build a connection with students.”
Asked what would happen if the community failed to pass either of the bonds, Tennenbaum said it was important for the community to invest in education now to create a future that includes new doctors, attorneys and electricians.
“I can think of no better investment than education for the next generations,” he said. “When we look at the bond program, if we are not supported we’ll be in a very challenging predicament to meet all the needs of students—academically, curricular and extracurricular.”
Innovative design for new campus
The town hall featured a presentation on the second high school’s master plan by Sherry Sajadpour of HMC Architects.
She described the campus, which would be built in two phases, as buildings in a “tight-knit cluster in the middle” for safety and traffic purposes, to create buffers from wind gusts.
“We’ve used the buildings as the perimeter to have a creative, secure perimeter and in between buildings, there is fencing. So it doesn’t feel like this campus with fencing all around. The fences are tucked in.”
The design also implements what Sajadpour called “passive supervision,” as staff and teacher work rooms are distributed throughout the campus.
As to the classrooms, which are called “academic villages” in the plan, she said the walls within a building can be removed to make larger rooms.
Assistant Superintendent Elaine Klauer said school officials who visited a high school in Arizona saw how it used collapsible walls and outdoor spaces that allowed teachers to adapt the space to differing instructional needs.
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“We really are looking for something away from the traditional standard and something that’s more innovative and going to be future-ready for college and career,” she said. “We know that we don’t sit in rows in our careers and so we want to make sure we’re offering students an opportunity to be creative both indoors and out, and have collaborative space.”
Nora Mena Guerrero was one of about two dozen attendees who participated in the Spanish town hall. She said she appreciated that the parents, especially the Latino community, had a say in the new school.
A mother of two, she said though her children will not be in high school when the new campus opens, she participated in the workshops to help mold the school to the community’s needs.
“La escuela va a esta muy bonita,” she said. (“The school is going to be pretty.”)
Attendees also participated in an activity in which they were given the final list of potential school names, mascots and color schemes to create their preferred choices.
The short list of school names included:
- Buena Vista High School
- Valle Vista High School
- Vista Colinas High School
- Orchard Valley
The list of mascot names included:
- Nighthawks
- Golden Eagles
- Hornets
- Hummingbirds
- Harvesters
- Rattlers/Racers
- Earthquakes/ Aftershock/ Shockwave/ Tremors
Two of the three tables called upon to share their choices opted for Buena Vista High School and Harvesters.
Denise Arriaga, parent of an incoming junior, attended the English town hall to find out more about the second campus, including its design.
“I was very curious,” she said.
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As for the name, she preferred Buena Vista High School but wanted Golden Eagles as the mascot.
Throughout the town hall, presenters posed survey questions to attendees to answer on their phone. Among the questions was, “Have we address your security concerns?” 86% of respondents answered “yes” while 14% answered “somewhat.” No respondent answered “no.” (see PDFs below for the presentation and survey results. Not all participants participated in the surveys.)
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