My thoughts on our new Middle School construction

By Roy Salume

What follows is an opinion column I wrote in March of this year for the Half Moon Bay Review.

As you probably know, a $35 million dollar school construction bond was passed by the voters on the coastside in 1996. The purpose of the bond was to build a new middle school and repair our other schools.

The repairs were completed, but construction of our new middle school has been subject to a series of delays. I wrote this column to suggest a solution.

It's time to try and think differently - by Roy Salume

Our School Board is reviewing its decision to tie our new Middle School to the Wavecrest project. There are some serious hurdles to Wavecrest, and the political interests on all sides of this issue are highly polarized.

No matter what your political stripe, the general consensus is that we must move the Middle School project forward. I enjoy a good debate, but we need to stop the "blame game" and come up with a good solution.

Fortunately, there's a great alternative site for our new Middle School. I think we should seriously consider building on the open land just West of Half Moon Bay High School. It's generally referred to as the Podesta property.

Why build on this site?

The Podesta property was actually the School Site Selection Committee's first choice six years ago. This was before the perceived benefits of Wavecrest dominated the debate and swayed the decision-makers. The advantages of putting the Middle School and High School together were clear then, and they remain clear today.

Locating our Middle School next to the High School will give us the option of sharing buildings, fields, teachers, and resources between both schools. We could offer a more integrated seven-year college prep program, as well as great music, art, athletic, and shop programs.

In a joined campus, counselors and teachers could better track and nurture our students over a full seven years. When our kids show a special talent or interest, combined schools could help develop those gifts over a longer period of time. Concentrating our limited resources would give students a more effective education.

Our schools are a social focus for many families on the Coastside. They tie this community together. School athletic fields function as our park and recreation areas. By building near our High School, we'd create a better resource for all to enjoy.

Some other advantages of building on this site are:

- The property is within easy walking distance of all the services available in downtown Half Moon Bay.

- Residential, commercial, educational, and retail development already surround this site. Construction there would integrate into our existing urban core.

- The Podesta site is far larger than the existing Cunha site. By my estimate, we'd gain two sports fields, with room to expand our facilities as needed when the student population increases.

- The utilities to service a new Middle School (sewer, water, electrical) already run through the site on their way to the High School. Easy access to the utility runs will yield some construction savings over the choice of a more undeveloped site.

- Putting both schools together would gain an economy of scale. That will save us money on the District operating budget for years to come.

- The High School and the Podesta properties are separated physically by a height of 40 feet. Having the campuses on two different levels would effectively keep the student populations separate.

- The Podesta property is large enough to construct a single-story campus. That may not be possible on the Cunha site. I believe that construction at Cunha would dictate two-story construction. We'd have to go higher to preserve the ratio of building area to athletic space demanded by the folks in Sacramento.

There would be some additional traffic in the area, but that isn't a major obstacle. A couple of stop lights, dedicated turning lanes, and a rework of car access would solve that problem. In fact, the families who have kids going to both schools would save time by having a single student drop off. That could work to reduce our overall rush hour traffic.

As a practical matter, we'd have to approach the property owners and negotiate a fair price to buy the land. The City and the District would have to work closely on rezoning and traffic access issues. The various bureaucracies would need to bless the project. I estimate two years to get the approvals, another year for construction, and we'd have our Middle School completed in three years. That schedule may be somewhat optimistic, but it could be done if we choose to work together... starting now.

The school bond we approved six years ago could pay for it. If we choose to add a Performing Arts Center or other structures later, the space is there. We could build in stages, and seek matching funds or grants for that purpose.

So what do we do with Cunha?

Our elementary schools are overcrowded. We need another K-5 school, and Cunha is perfectly suited for that role.

There's been a lot of talk about building on the existing Cunha site. I think it's unwise to demolish serviceable school buildings in order to reconstruct them a few hundred feet away. We don't have a wealthy school district; we need to work smart with the resources we already have.

We also need to take the long view. I sometimes think of the people who planned and built Cunha more than 60 years ago. In the middle of the Great Depression, with a World War starting, those folks built for generations to come. They had wisdom, vision, and will.

It's time to match their vision with one of our own. We can do it.