It could be the formation of a Mello-Roos District
– a special tax district – that would Have new homeowners paying
for new school facilities. … Or developers could propose other
solutions.
Until this community can come up with a solution for building school facilities to keep up with housing growth, a building moratorium should be imposed.
Unfortunately, the situation has become extreme enough to require extreme measures.
Having recently passed a $69 million bond, there is no reason this community should be in the position of compromising a desperately needed second high high school – or any other school facility for that matter.
There is a solution.
If we couldn’t handle the sewage produced by new homes, we wouldn’t allow more homes to be built until capacity was added.
The Gilroy Unified School District will not be able to adequately handle the number of students in our schools. Given the huge discrepancy between the dollars the state allots for new school facilities and the actual cost, there has to be a way to bridge that gap.
It could be the formation of a Mello-Roos District – a special tax district – that would have new homeowners paying for new school facilities. Perhaps the entirety of the recently approved Glen Loma Ranch Development could be placed under the umbrella of such a district. Or developers could propose other solutions.
The point is that this community should not stand for inadequate school facilities. We deserve – and have built – outstanding school facilities. We expect continued educational improvement, and building top-notch schools is a part of that equation.
It’s wholly irresponsible for the city to grant another single housing allotment until a solution is found.
Moreover, if a builder or developer allows a current permit or allotment to expire, no exceptions or extensions should be granted.
Freeze the process until a solution is agreed upon and imbedded into the residential building process.
Properly educating the students of Gilroy is just as important as sewers and roads. Yet we have overcrowded schools – exhibit A is Gilroy High School – that don’t have room for the students they are expected to educate now, let alone the students on the way from the housing allotments doled out that are yet to be built.
GUSD officials are not blameless in the creation of this mess. The school district’s planning efforts have been less than perfect. But to be fair, GUSD administrators must grapple with several factors that are out of their control; chief among them are spiraling land prices, a state system for financing schools that is woefully inadequate and, perhaps most importantly, a city administration that has been unwilling to take a stand to support the schools.
Who will break that leadership vacuum? Councilman Craig Gartman? Mayor Al Pinheiro? Councilman Roland Velasco? All of the above? Who’s going to stand tall and make this an issue publicly?
The city has said its hands are tied – it cannot negotiate on behalf of the school district with developers. We don’t buy that. Neither does GUSD Superintendent Edwin Diaz who presented 10 options for school facility mitigation to the Council.
The ultimate trump card is housing allotments. The city holds that card. It’s time to play it. No bluff – no solution, no new housing allotments. No extensions, no exceptions.
It’s up to City Council members to take this step. And they must, if they truly care about what’s best for this community.
