The Morgan Hill Unified School District is one step closer to acquiring a healthy parcel of land donated nine years ago by a local family.
Located near the intersection of Peet Road and Mission Avenida about a mile east of the Cochrane exit off U.S. 101, the 12-acre plot appraised at $2.6 million was given to MHUSD in 2003 by the Borello family, whose roots in Morgan Hill trace back to the early 1900s.
The Borellos previously grew apricot and cherry orchards along Peet and Cochrane roads for a century until September 2004, when the land became zoned for residential use at the request of the Borellos. This enabled the family to draw up plans for a luxury housing development called San Sebastian Estates.
By donating a portion of their land to MHUSD, the Borellos placed their San Sebastian Estates within three-quarters of a mile to a school-owned site – ultimately increasing the potential property value of the Sebastian housing development, according the city’s control system that monitors local residential development.
What will become of that land, and just when the district can put it to use, is still a decision MHUSD won’t likely make for years according to Superintendent Wes Smith. Construction on the Sebastian Estates is slated to begin in 2013.
Talk of a new elementary school for MHUSD, which currently has 8,790 students enrolled in its eight elementary schools, has been tossed around. But Smith says the district is focused on other new projects right now, such as the Jackson Academy for Math and Music and the Dual Immersion Program at San Martin Gwinn Elementary School.
As for the Borello plot, the district must continue wading through the process of legally acquiring the property before officials can do something useful with it.
Most recently in that arena, MHUSD completed its “Mitigated Negative Declaration” – a part of the mandatory process laid out by the California Department of Education for when a school district acquires a new plot of land.
A Mitigated Negative Declaration is a type of impact study, and must be made available for a public review. The school district responds to inquiries and concerns from the public and other organizations about the donated land during this time. For MHUSD, this period took place from Oct. 26 to Nov. 26. The district received responses from the City of Morgan Hill, State of California Department of Transportation and Lupine Investors, LLC.
Some of these responses expressed concerns over the district’s proposed uses of the site, such as an elementary school or recreational facility. Other inquiries focused on the location of the property in relation to its two-mile distance from the Anderson Dam, which poses a flooding risk until the damn’s scheduled retrofitting in 2015.
Traffic worries and potential environmental impacts to surrounding areas of the Peet Road property were also expressed.
The next step required by the California Department of Education is for MHUSD to address these concerns via individual letters.
Any decisions on what to do with the property are in limbo, Superintendent Smith reiterated.
Regardless, MHUSD must accept the title of the property now in order to develop it later, as stipulated by the California Department of Education.
“There are no real issues, we are just looking to work out what our piece is,” Smith said, referring to the remaining steps MHUSD must take to legally acquire the property on Peet Road.
While no official development plans exist for the property, there is a timeline to adhere to. But Smith said that won’t be a problem.
According to the donation agreement between MHUSD and the Borello family, the land must be utilized within 40 years of the donation. If the district decides it does not want to make use of the property, the Borello family will have the opportunity to purchase it back.
That’s an unlikely scenario, according to Smith. He says the district will likely use the property but does not have an immediate need for the space.
When that time does come, the expansion will follow recent efforts to improve the academic vitality and infrastructure of the district.
One of these recent advancements was kicked into motion when voters passed Measure G during the November general election. The initiative will give the district access to $198.3 million in funds purposed for facilities upgrades and revamping technology infrastructure.
The education landscape of Morgan Hill also got a reboot this year.
Two new options became available to Morgan Hill parents, helping to usher in what many hope is the beginning of a bright new era for MHUSD.
Jackson Elementary on Fountain Oaks Drive overhauled its learning model this year to become to the Jackson Academy for Math and Music. The magnet school now offers kindergarten through eighth grade, where students are provided with more math than previously found in the curriculum, along with an instrumental and choral music focus for all grades. The magnet model allows the school more freedom in its achievement choices, though its still governed by the school board and overseen by the district.
Across town, the Dual Immersion Multicultural Education school – a landmark learning format that fosters bilingualism and biliteracy by teaching 50/50 in English and Spanish – marks the ushering in of a “new era” at San Martin Gwinn Elementary, according to Smith. The dual immersion program launched in fall 2012 and was implemented in two classes at Gwinn.
With all the new changes that have taken place at MHUSD, Smith impressed that the district has its hands full.
As the district continues with its plans to acquire the Borello plot for future use, dreams for the site are still “so far out there,” according to Smith.
“We’re doing our due diligence to make sure its useable for the district,” he said.
