Trustees still deciding if they will abandon new development
While San Jose planners struggle with the question of allowing homes before jobs in the controversial Coyote Valley development just north of Morgan Hill, local school board trustees are still deciding if the district will manage schools in the new area.
If the district does follow the course, it will be responsible for building 13 new schools – essentially doubling the number of schools in the district – for the development which will eventually be home to 50,000 residents.
Bob Benich, a Morgan Hill resident who sits on the Morgan Hill Planning Commission and the Santa Clara County Committee on School District Organization, requested the discussion of Coyote Valley at the school district’s meeting Monday night.
“I would say now we need to make the city of Morgan Hill schools the best that they can be,” he said during public comment. “The time has come to form a new district in the city of San Jose – the Coyote Valley School District.”
Three trustees disagreed, however, stating that creating a new Coyote Valley District would abandon students and three schools in the northern section of the district, while crippling its finances through the loss of state and federal funding.
Every student in the district brings state and federal funding of more than $5,000 and there are currently 900 students educated by Morgan Hill schools in the Coyote Valley area. Abandoning those schools could be a fatal financial mistake for the district, which has already cut $8 million over the last three years, some trustees said.
Trustee Mike Hickey said he supported keeping Coyote in the district simply because the district cannot afford to lose the ADA funding from students at Los Paseos and Martin Murphy, both of which would be lost along with the Charter School of Morgan Hill.
“If you cut 900 students out of district, we’re not going to have any programs,” Hickey said, referring to an earlier board discussion of the music program and athletic programs. “I would never consider jettisoning from the district at this point.”
Trustee Kathy Sullivan agreed, suggesting the loss of the students and their funding could cause further financial woes for the embattled school district.
“I think we can possibly bankrupt our district (by getting rid of the northern portion),” she said.
Trustee Peter Mandel said he spent time over the weekend putting his thoughts together. He handed each board member a copy of his work, which described why he supported keeping the Coyote Valley portion of the district.
“The fundamental question is are we doing well by the city of Morgan Hill kids,” he said. “Are we doing what’s best for all kids? I don’t see how anyone could do it better than we could. If we are really thinking about the kids, I don’t see a compelling reason why the right thing for us is to sever.”
But Trustee Julia Hover-Smoot said the district has lacked finesse in building schools in the past and she doubted their ability to double the number of schools in the district.
“Our track record in building schools over last few years has been pretty crummy. We never have been experts,” she said. “We would be taking on this huge job (building 13 schools in Coyote Valley) with not having the ability to do it well …. I would assume Coyote Valley would care just as much about their kids as we care about ours. We have to think about our kids, the ones that are here now. I don’t think this is the School Board’s decision; this is a community decision. I don’t think we seven people get to make a decision for the district and the whole of Morgan Hill.”
Trustee Amina Khemici said she also supported removing the Coyote area from the district, agreeing the community should be involved in the process.
“This is a huge decision. We need to bring in the community,” she said. “We’re not abandoning our students, if the students are leaving with Coyote Valley, it’s not that we’re abandoning them. I think we should take care of our students before we take care of others. It’s a huge responsibility, taking care of 13 more schools. I think we should take care of our own schools first.”
With three in favor pursuing schools in Coyote and two against, the district’s decision weighs heavily on the opinions of school board president Shellé Thomas and trustee Don Moody. Both, however, are still deciding what the best course of action will be.
“We need more information,” Thomas said. “We are still seeking information. I know my gut feeling. What might be best for the school district might not be the best for Morgan Hill. We have to have more information before we can settle this. Even then, there are seven us. With a split vote are we sending a clear message on how to incorporate Coyote Valley into the district?”
Superintendent Alan Nishino listened attentively during the discussion but did not offer many comments. He did say the district wouldn’t have to build all 13 schools immediately.
On Friday, however, Nishino said he did not want to state a preference for keeping Coyote Valley in the district or initiating the formation of a Coyote Valley district.
“That is not my decision,” he said. “My job, my role, is to implement or manage what the board decides to do. Even if the board takes a vote on this, whether they say go ahead with the process (of forming a new district) or don’t go ahead with it, it will still be the vote of the people that decides.”
Nishino said his major focus as superintendent will be planning to assimilate Coyote Valley into the district unless the board indicates otherwise.
“My job is to make sure we look after the educational welfare of all our students,” he said. “We need to plan as if they are coming. If I don’t do that, I’m not doing my job. Whether (the development) goes forward or if it does not go forward, my job is to advocate for all students here now and in the future.”
He does have concerns about the development, however, and is seeking an agreement with developers to mitigate the effects of the students coming into the district, he said. He is not concerned, he said, with the district’s ability to build the new schools, which would happen gradually, because he has had experience and because of district personnel such as Al Solis, the district’s director of construction and modernization, and Collette McLaughlin, the district’s director of facilities.
Mandel said as the board continues to debate the issue, trustees must not let their personal opinions of Coyote Valley cloud their judgment.
“Do I like Coyote Valley or not; that doesn’t matter, we are not in that role,” he said. “They are still our kids, still our responsibility. We have to make sure that whatever happens down the road, the planning is well thoughtout.”
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at md****@mo*************.com.
