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Alpine high school could be
four years away
By Christy Scott
The Alpine Sun
ALPINE — The struggle for a new high school in Alpine has been ongoing since 1998, and finally the reality may be only a few years away, according to Grossmont Union School District officials. About 20 Alpine residents took part in the Alpine High School Committee meeting held Monday, June 27, to hear about the latest progress in the effort to bring a high school to Alpine.
“The board’s priorities have remained consistent,” said GUHSD Superintendent Terry Ryan. “That’s a new high school within the boundaries of Alpine.”
GUHSD officials are trying to coordinate with the Alpine Union School District to bring a new high school to the area. GUHSD Clerk Larry Urdahl of Alpine and board member Priscilla Schreiber were also on hand at the meeting.
“Modernization projects are our first priority at the moment,” Ryan said. “Where we are on that list of priorities determines the future of the new high school in Alpine.”
“I’m pleased to announce that we’re actually ahead of schedule,” Ryan said.
There are 52 different projects being launched district-wide this summer ranging from standard upkeep to complete electrical overhaul at four GUHSD schools.
In the next phase of the process officials will try to pick a site for the new school.
“The district has not made any decision on a site,” Ryan said. “I just want to set the record straight, there’s been a lot of rumors and a lot of talk.”
According to Ryan the state will ultimately decide which site will be used. “The state has looked at five different sites,” he said, “but that doesn’t mean they’re stuck with those, and no in depth analysis have been done on any of them.”
Ryan hopes to shorten any list of potential sites prior to analysis with the help of the board and the public. “It costs a lot of money to do these analyses,” Ryan said, “it would be better to whittle down the list ahead of time.”
“In the mid to late fall, the district should have the money to purchase land in Alpine for a school site,” said Dr. Bob Cornelius, GUHSD business services. At that point, he believes that the district should have money set aside to purchase land in spring of 2006 at the earliest.
“We can only pay a certain price,” Ryan said. “The state won’t allow us to spend a huge inflated amount on any piece of land.”
The panel and audience discussed the need to move quickly, “we want to get things done and get land before the price on it possibly goes up,” Cornelius said.
Once land is purchased it will take 18-24 months minimum before doors open.
The upcoming census could have an impact on the future of a school as it will determine whether the Alpine area is big enough to sustain a high school.
“We’re constantly doing demographic studies. We’re doing them now,” Cornelius said, “It’s always needed for budgeting and planning year to year.”
“We’re entering a phase of declining enrollment,” Cornelius said.
The number of incoming ninth graders from Alpine has dropped to 110 for the 2005/2006 year. “We’ve estimated about a 400 drop in enrollment districtwide this year,” Cornelius said.
Despite a declining student body, GUHSD continues to have a surplus of unhoused students. That is defined as students attending classes in portable/non-permanent building.
There are currently 5,200 unhoused students in the district, bringing 16,000 extra square feet available to the district for expansion or new facilities.
A few Alpine residents in the audience voiced concerns about how long this process is taking.
“You’re talking about another year until we get anything done and we’ve waited four years already. How can we move faster?” asked one parent. “It’s a question of frustration at this point. We’ve been waiting a long time for this high school.”
“We didn’t have the funds to do anything then,” Cornelius said, recognizing that a lack of schedule is driving many of the concerns of Alpine residents. “We want to be able to lay out a timeline for you, you deserve that, but we’re not able to do that accurately right now.”
According to Ryan and Cornelius the district is moving as fast as possible through the process. “We’re moving at warp speed compared to state standards,” Ryan said.
“We understand the folks of Alpine are frustrated,” Ryan said. “We know you’ve waited for a long time; it’s our job to deliver for you.”
Another information session will be held in the fall as plans and possible purchases become more secure.
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Christy Scott
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