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The San Benito High School Board of Trustees on June 25 approved for the general election ballot two $70 million companion bonds which, if passed, would finance the construction of an additional high school in Hollister.
The district recommended that the county build the additional campus because Hollister High School has exceeded its 3,437-student capacity. According to the California Department of Education, the high school had 3,465 students enrolled during the 2022-23 school year.
The two bonds, referred to as Solution 1 and Solution 2, were designed to help fund various aspects of a new high school. Both bonds would need at least a 55% voter approval in November before the high school district can issue and sell the bonds with the aim of raising $140 million.
Janet Mueller, attorney with Dannis Woliver Kelley, which represents the high school district, delivered a presentation on the bonds at the board’s June 11 meeting.
Mueller said that Solution 1 at $70 million, focuses on the construction of the second high school and Solution 2 at second $70 million, sets a goal of providing vocational learning classrooms in addition to core academics at the second high school.
If built, Phase 1 of the campus could serve 1,200 to 1,400 students, Tennenbaum said at a June 18 meeting. At full buildout, the capacity would be 2,500.
Mueller said both bonds must pass in order to effectively fund the school’s construction, as each bond covers different critical aspects of the campus.
If either bond were to fail, the district would turn to alternate sources such as state funding, Mueller said.
Exploring a visual identity
In addition to approving the bonds, the June 25 board meeting included a presentation on the proposed school’s visual identity.
Hollister High Assistant Principal Allison Musich revealed the finalists for the new high school’s name, mascots, and colors, showcasing three of each. She said they are the result of four months of research and community and student surveys. They were chosen from over 60 ideas generated through the 831 student survey responses and 88 community survey responses, Musich said. The surveys included both open ended and multiple choice questions.
To promote the community surveys, with help from high school district Communications Officer Adam Breen, the committee conducted a campaign on Instagram, YouTube and other social media.
The committee also did outreach from a Hollister Farmers Market booth for three weeks and passed out 200 flyers.
Musich said: “In terms of our research, we did a lot of the history of San Benito County, trying to really embrace our San Benito roots, but we also did a lot of comprehensive analysis where we took a 60-mile radius to figure out the visual identities of some of the other high schools in the region. Then we did a comparative analysis to figure out what schools in our county are named after.”
Musich told BenitoLink the committee also conducted historian interviews, including one with Ed Ketchum from the Amah Mutsun Tribal Land Trust.
Through these contributions, the finalists for the new high school’s visual identity include:
Proposed school names
Buena Vista high school
Valle Vista high school
Orchard Valley high school
Proposed school mascots
NightHawks
Harvesters
Golden Eagles
Proposed school colors
Burnt orange and slate
Benitoite blue, slate and coastal fog
Evergreen and coastal fog
Musich said she would like to conduct a second community input survey as well as small listening sessions to gather further feedback, and present the data this fall.
“A building is just a building but we need heart and soul to add context to that because this school is going to be embraced by many people for a long period of time,” Tennenbaum said.
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