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GUHSD
committed to building Alpine High School, officials say
Wright’s Field donation a non-issue in site selection
By Lori Bledsoe
The Alpine Sun
ALPINE — The Grossmont Union High School District Board of Trustees is in the process of reviewing the on-line survey regarding the twelve proposed sites for the new high school. Dr. Terry Ryan, Superintendent of GUHSD, said that the information gleaned from this survey is currently under consideration, but the outcome of the collected information is not yet available.
The purpose of this survey was to gather input for a preferred high school site from the citizens of Alpine.
Many Alpine community members are concerned that GUHSD has been hedging away from its commitment to build a new high school in Alpine. Priscilla Schreiber, GUHSD board member, says this is not true.
Schreiber said there is so much to consider when building a new high school that the process is enormously involved. The preliminary paperwork that must be completed is extensive and there is more to consider than just picking and acquiring a site.
“Everything, as well as all the public entities that have to do with building the high school want to have a say in the construction process, and must be considered.” Schreiber said, “They all want to have a hand in it.”
Ryan also said that GUHSD is committed to building a school in Alpine.
GUHSD is not a part of the many debates that are going on in Alpine, because, Ryan said, “The district has specifically not engaged in any discussion because the district desires to remains neutral. They do not want to be politically influenced. They want to focus on the will of the community, and not special interest groups.”
Other issues that are being discussed and argued about
are the proposed declining enrollment factor and the donation of Wright’s Field and how this will sway the board to go ahead with the project.
Schreiber said that declining enrollment is definitely an issue that the board is looking at. GUHSD is facing declining enrollment forecasts for the next four to five years. But new construction in unincorporated areas, such as Alpine, as well as the housing prices leveling off, indicate that enrollment will be on an upswing after four years, which will help with student numbers.
The truth of this statement may very well lie in the building of the Los Coches Creek Middle School. Currently, the estimated high school student population in Alpine is 900. This is only half of what the state of California requires for a high school to be built.
With the arrival of Los Coches Creek Middle School, and its additional student numbers, Alpine may very well have the appropriate number of students in the next two years.
Regarding the donation of Wright’s Field, Schreiber indicated that Superindent Terry Ryan only briefly discussed this proposal. Schreiber said that the board is obviously interested in the possibility of free land but has concerns with this donation, as it brings up land mitigation issues, as well as possible legal battles that could further delay this project another five years before construction takes place.
Schreiber said that the Alpine community
should understand that the state of California decides where a high school is to be built. Even though the board will submit the three proposed sites, the state makes the ultimate decision.
The state has a point system to determine which site is most buildable, she added.
Schreiber is hoping for some kind of presentation in regards to the outcome of the on-line survey at the special GUHSD board meeting to be held on July 27.
However, Ryan has emphatically said that the special board meeting will not
include discussion of the proposed high school nor the outcome of the survey.
Ryan said, “The agenda for the July 27 meeting will encompass balancing the budget, and approving contracts regarding Proposition H. The board will not be dealing with Alpine issues.”
See
also: The numbers are in on student enrollment
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