Stores are stocked with Spiderman backpacks and Yu-Gi-Oh
pencils; trucks are shuttling desks to the new Las Animas school,
and the days are getting shorter and cooler. All signs point to the
start of school.
Gilroy – Stores are stocked with Spiderman backpacks and Yu-Gi-Oh pencils; trucks are shuttling desks to the new Las Animas school, and the days are getting shorter and cooler. All signs point to the start of school.
The Gilroy Unified School District will open its doors Aug. 23 to a record number of students. The day will mark the first usage of a host of construction projects, including the new Las Animas Elementary School.
“God knows, it’s a miracle we’re making it,” assistant superintendent of business services Steve Brinkman said.
Construction on the school, located at the west end of Luchessa Avenue, was delayed two months in spring 2006 because of heavy rains and the resulting standing water. Due to the increased construction and labor costs associated with the delay, drainage and the resulting scramble to open the school, the 28-classroom facility cost about $18 million, not including $10.8 million in land cost.
However, the delay might have been “a blessing in disguise,” Brinkman said.
“In a way, it’s a fortunate we had that rain,” he said. “We might not have discovered the (drainage) problem with the property (and) it could have created problems in the future.”
The new Las Animas will draw about 675 students formerly attending Rod Kelley, Antonio del Buono and Luigi Aprea elementary schools. Students that used to attend the old Las Animas will now go to Antonio del Buono and Rod Kelley elementary schools.
The Las Animas construction was among projects completed or scheduled for completion this academic year at eight school sites, including all the middle schools and high schools. Highlights include two multipurpose centers and about a dozen portables.
The district is going to need all the spare room it can get. It expects a total of 10,387 students at its 14 schools – a 2.7 percent increase from last year. Gilroy High School will hold the largest number of students, with nearly 3,000 students crowding into facilities meant to house 1,800 students.
District staff project continued growth in the coming years, with attendance estimated to reach almost 11,000 students by 2010, more than 12,000 by 2015 and nearly 14,000 by 2026. This growth will be fueled by the construction and sale of about 2,100 homes already allocated to two area developers, Glen Loma Group and the Hecker Pass landowners.
The two developers remain key determinants of the future of the school district, district staff and trustees said. In addition to pouring more students into the district, the developers have yet to pay developer fees to the district.
Just how much the developers pay in fees has been the center of talks among the district, city of Gilroy and developers. The state mandates developers pay $2.63 per new square foot of development – or about $10 million given current plans – while the district is requesting they pay $6.61 per square foot – which could total more than $25 million.
With a $15 million district facilities budget deficit and a new high school about to break ground, just how much developers are willing to pay could impact how well the district can respond to increasing enrollment, trustee Jaime Rosso said after a July meeting.
“The longer we delay, the more uncertain our plans for the future,” he said.
