The Gilroy Unified School District is looking to sell, exchange or lease two vacant properties in order to build a new elementary school in the next five years in a different – and better – location.
A total of 25.89 acres may soon be on the market, including the 9.92-acre former site of the Las Animas Elementary School on Wren Avenue and a 15.97-acre property located in the middle of Gilroy’s largest development project: Glen Loma Ranch. While the sites are located in populated – or soon to be populated – areas, they won’t be near where most young families and soon-to-be parents of new GUSD students are living.
“They’re not really in the right place,” said GUSD Superintendent Debbie Flores.
Based on statistics collected by two contractors who looked at population growth, birth rates and the ages of people living in different parts of the city, the school district is looking for a piece of land in west Gilroy and considering a property swap or sale to get the lands they want.
“We’re in a really good place in that we have two pieces of property that are probably very marketable,” Flores said.
A ninth elementary school has been long overdue and was discussed back in 2008, but it was not built. Seven years later, the exact site of the school has not been determined.
GUSD previously discussed making the former site of Las Animas the ninth elementary school in the district, even though it was about a half mile from two other district elementary schools: Antonio Del Buono and Rod Kelley. But GUSD decided against it.
“It takes years to plan and then fund and then build a school,” said Jenny Derry, the chair of the “7-11 Committee,” a group of seven to 11 parents, business people, homeowners and administrators who evaluated whether the school district truly had surplus properties.
GUSD put the former Las Animas site out for sale before, spending upwards of $300,000 on developing plans for a 72-unit subdivision for that plot of land. The land went up for sale, but there were no takers, explained Derry, who now works for the school district as a construction project manager for GUSD.
“Probably that had a lot to do with the economy at the time,” Derry said.
The economy has improved now – and so has the housing market.
Almost 1,800 houses are under construction or in the pipeline for Gilroy in the next two years, according to Kristi Abrams, the community development director for the City of Gilroy who presented on the topic during a joint meeting between the school district and the City Council Jan. 22.
Consultant demographer Tom Williams, who has worked with GUSD for at least seven years, estimated that each two new homes will generate one new student for the district.
Over the next four years, the district is expected to gain 314 students due to new housing projects, including the roughly 1,600-home Glen Loma Ranch project, said GUSD Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Alvaro Meza.
But the big changes in student enrollment won’t be immediate, as Williams expects just 40 new students next school year.
“Obviously, I think we can accommodate 40 kids,” Meza said, but he noted that as the district moves toward sustained years of more than 100 new students, the district will need a ninth elementary school – probably in the next five years.
The process to explore market options for properties started about 1.5 years ago when the GUSD School Board authorized staff to solicit a “7-11 Committee.” After three meetings and a public hearing, the committee recommended both properties be considered surplus in May 2013. Some members of the committee recommended the former Las Animas site could be the home of a future school. Most said the property near Glen Loma would be most valuable as part of a sale or exchange.
In order to make school property open for sale, exchanges or leasing, the district must secure a state waiver. The State Board of Education will take action on the waiver – which would allow the school district to open up the market to the highest bidder – on March 13.
Securing the waiver does not mean the district has to sell the land. It just means they can. Property marketing would begin shortly after that, followed by proposals, reviews of offers, negotiations – and potentially an exchange, sale or lease.
“It’s really just looking at options at this point. If we don’t get something that makes sense to the board we can keep it,” Meza said.
Wren Avenue Property: The 9.92-acre property is the former site of the Las Animas Elementary School, which was torn down when repairs were deemed more expensive than building a new school. The site was considered a potential home for the district’s ninth elementary school in 2008, but was deemed too close to existing elementary schools. It’s just 0.7 miles from the district’s Antonio Del Buono and 0.6 miles from Rod Kelley. It is zoned R-3 (Medium Density Residential) now, which means that 8-16 housing units can be built per acre.
Grove Property: The 15.97-acre property at the northeast intersection of Santa Teresa Boulevard and Miller Avenue was donated to the district by Don Christopher and is located in the middle of the Glen Loma Ranch development plan. It’s not the best site for a new school because it’s missing critical utilities including city storm drains, water and electricity – and the district would have to absorb the costs of installing these, in addition to footing the bill for a new school. It is zoned R-4 PUD under the Glen Loma Specific Plan, which means that 158-186 housing units can be built on the site.
