The most interested party in this discussion
– the residents of Gilroy – should not be locked out of a vital
public policy discussion
Closing the doors on such an important discussion as the building of future school facilities should not be an option. City Council representatives, Gilroy school board members and developers are meeting to hash out how to resolve this community’s current school facility crisis.
The math is simple: The impact fees levied on developers in Gilroy for school facilities stand at $2.63 per square foot. The school districts says $6.61 will cover the costs outlined in the school facilities master plan.
Developers feeling like the proverbial turnip – they are giving plenty of “blood money” to the city already for fire stations, parks and various fees, and now the squeeze is on again.
They have a valid point. Gilroy has some of the highest impact fees in the nation and it’s unreasonable to place yet another financial burden on developers without offering something in return.
Against the current backdrop, developers apparently want to close the meetings between the interested parties. But that would lock out the most interested party of all in the outcome of this vital debate – Gilroy residents – whose children and education will be directly affected by the results.
When self-interest comes into play, the discussion can get uncomfortable. But that’s no reason to close the doors on a key public policy discussion. Everyone’s cards should be put on the table.
And unless there’s substantial action soon on this long-simmering problem, the planned second high school in Gilroy, which is desperately needed, could be put on hold or drastically scaled back. If that happens the political backlash will be swift and significant.
Developers will be loading the guns for the no-growth advocates.
Growth in Gilroy must include adequate school facilities. To accomplish this necessary goal, there will have to be a grand compromise – one of those compacts that is defined by everyone leaving the table unhappy to a certain extent but yet satisfied.
It will require open, transparent conversation to give definition and clarity to the issues. This is public business and our elected officials should not waste time trying to hunt down some strained legal justification for conducting the public business behind closed doors. It is a waste of time.
Mayor Al Pinheiro, Councilman Craig Gartman, GUSD Board President Tom Bundros, Trustee Jamie Rosso and Trustee Denise Apuzzo should be publicly and genuinely united on this point.
It’s time the discussion moved forward. What will the city give? What can the school district do to be efficient? How can the developers help?
The compromise must be hammered out in public for the greater Gilroy good. No group should turn its back on that.
