By Edwin Diaz
The Dispatch editorial of May 16 on the future of Christopher High School is based on misinformation and half-truths. It irresponsibly scares the public into believing that the school district has squandered funds on unimportant facility projects and that the second high school is in danger of not becoming a reality unless taxpayers are willing to pay more money. Instead of taking the necessary time to study what is a very complex situation, the editorial board has chosen to oversimplify the situation by passing it off as an “administrative snafu.” They further incorrectly infer that the district released financial information with no plan for mitigation. The editorial board didn’t do its homework, and Dispatch readers deserve a more in-depth and complete analysis.
I want to assure the citizens of Gilroy who have put their trust in the school district by passing two bond measures that the Gilroy Unified School District has indeed found a way to build Phase I
(capacity of 900 students) of Christopher High School as it promised. At no time has it ever been the district’s intention to seek a parcel tax or another bond to finance Phase I of the new high school. A plan to identify funding alternatives was discussed in detail at the May 4 board meeting, but no part of that presentation was included in the editorial.
At the inception of the Facilities Master Plan in 2002, the district included a $69 million general obligation bond among several revenue items to help finance $153.09 million of projects, among them $39 million for a new high school. There were 15 major projects in all, including two new elementary schools, a new middle school and long overdue modernization projects at the existing high school and several other schools.
All these projects are viewed as critical to providing each and every student with a quality learning environment, and the largest project of all, the second high school, has been identified by both the community and the school district as being the most critical need of all. I suggest that the Dispatch editorial board take a tour of our schools while they are in session and judge for themselves how projects, such as the new library and cafeteria at Gilroy High School, the new Eliot School and the addition of multipurpose rooms and libraries at El Roble and Glen View, have made a difference for our students. Moreover, due to aggressive and skillful financing by my hardworking staff, contributions from different sources and design compromises, the district is prepared to deliver approximately $250 million in facility improvements for the same $69 million bond.
The GUSD Facilities Master Plan was always intended to be a “living,” flexible document that must reflect changes in facility needs, enrollment requirements, cost forecasts, funding forecasts and education programs. The Dispatch’s editorial board asks when district officials knew that $39 million was not going to cover the cost of the new high school and then answer the question by stating that this was “likely long before it became public,” thus implying that we had intentionally withheld information.
The facts say otherwise. The district has faithfully updated and publicly reported the plan on a quarterly basis at a minimum. Rising costs were reported at public board meetings attended by Dispatch reporters. The last update, posted on the district’s Web site, included $47 million for the new high school. However, as had been communicated at each public update, the initial cost estimate could not be more specific until the scope of the project was specifically defined. The timeline has always called for a preliminary cost estimate to be presented April 27, 2006. This was postponed until May 4 to give the district an opportunity to work with the city on off-site requirements and investigate potential areas for partnership.
This brings us to the preliminary estimate for the new high school. Some key facts about the estimate should have been mentioned in the editorial. These are:
– It is preliminary, is the first detailed public estimate and, as such, subject to change;
– The conceptual design layout is the result of a collaborative process involving many interests and, therefore, includes many wishes, not all of which can be funded in Phase 1
– It includes the following items which add up to millions and have never been included in any prior estimate: a football stadium, a second gymnasium, extra classrooms, additional land for trails, street expansions and other city requests, and a more extensive aquatics center for joint use with the city.
– The estimate includes $9 million in off-site improvements and impact fees suggested by the city of Gilroy; this amount is double what was originally expected.
– The land cost estimate has increased from $3 million to $18 million based on current appraised value; the original estimate was for a 50-acre site, while the current estimate is for 40 acres, since changed to 42.5 acres.
– Construction inflation has added another $26 million to the cost, as documented in the May 4, 2006 public presentation, of which $23.5 million was not included in the original estimate.
The editorial focused on the cost increases of $66 million but gave no credit to the district’s plan for addressing this. As included in the original Facilities Master Plan, staff will likely recommend that the football stadium and second gymnasium be eliminated from Phase 1 unless additional revenues are secured. At the May 4 board meeting, $29 million of additional funding alternatives were presented, and scope reductions in the physical layout, which will not affect the plan’s integrity, are being considered.
Let’s also acknowledge the difficult construction atmosphere everyone is experiencing. To infer the district is insulated from the following economic realities is illogical:
– An astronomical construction cost increase of 35 percent
– Land cost increase of 600 percent
– Fuel increase of over 112 percent since the plan was developed
– Extra costs of developing a large site while meeting community needs for off-site improvements
– A construction cost per square foot basis for residential developer fees of $9.45 as compared with $2.63/square foot we collect, while paying market value for land.
Finally, the Dispatch editorial board and all Gilroy citizens should certainly be demanding that school officials be held accountable for their actions. As superintendent, I am ultimately responsible for all district operations. I was actively involved in the development of the Facilities Master Plan, campaigned to fund the plan and have been closely involved in project implementation, including making decisions to address the impact of today’s school construction environment. We will build Phase I of Christopher High School and nothing written in the Dispatch editorial can increase my already high commitment and sense of responsibility to provide Gilroy students with the quality facilities they deserve.
Guest columnist Edwin Diaz is the superintendent of the Gilroy Unified School District. Anyone interested in writing a guest column may contact Editor Mark Derry at ed****@****ic.com.
