A full-scale financial review is what’s needed before the Gilroy
Unified School District considers a move to the downtown area
The Gilroy Unified School District is considering moving the district offices from the current location on Arroyo Circle, the only district property east of U.S. 101, to downtown Gilroy.
That would fix what many people consider to be a 17-year-old mistake. “We’re in Siberia here,” school board president Tom Bundros said of the current location.
His point is well taken.
GUSD is considering purchasing 18,000 square feet of the Gilroy Cannery building downtown, which South County Housing will begin renovating next June.
Advocates tout the move as a way to make it easier for people without automobiles to reach the district and – improbably – as a way to improve communication.
Another, less expensive option is to move district headquarters to South Valley Middle School where the charter school is currently located.
It’s too soon to say if the district should move its headquarters or which location is better. Without a full study of costs and benefits – including evaluating the value of the Arroyo Circle property given its proximity to so much retail space – a recommendation is premature.
But clearly a move to the cannery building would benefit downtown. If the district offices were located there, several hundred more people would be milling about the downtown every day, some coming and going, but others eating lunch and filling coffee house establishments.
But a move has to make rock-solid financial sense and include allowances for any construction snafus that are bound to come up.
As for improving communication, well, moving a building would merely be a symbol of a change that has to take place from within the GUSD culture.
Poor communication has deep roots. There are signs the district is making strides in this arena. The district is using modern communication tools more effectively – including
e-mail and telephones. But there are miles to go.
Why, for example, aren’t all the high school teachers compelled to use the Web-based Edline uniformly?
Communication is not about where the district offices are located.
Should the district offices move to the cannery building or to South Valley Middle School? Maybe. Let’s see the numbers.
But let’s not sell a move on the dubious claim that it would improve communication. That will take a culture shift within GUSD, not a geography shift.
