School district leaders will consider several different options for the recently purchased land at the former Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority bus stop and parking lot on West Main Avenue in Morgan Hill.
“The district had a first option to purchase the VTA lot at market rate and a limited amount of time to consider options for its use,” according to Lanae Bays, Morgan Hill Unified School District’s communications coordinator. “The connection to our school property is an appealing feature for this property.”
Last month, MHUSD bought the nearly one-acre parcel at the intersection of West Main and Hale avenues from the Santa Clara VTA for $1,147,620, according to staff. The property is adjacent to the athletic fields at Britton Middle School, where most Morgan Hill Pony Baseball League games are played. The board approved the purchase at their Jan. 22 meeting.
“As we restructure our facilities in anticipation of future needs, that property could come into play for building or relocating central district services,” Bays said.
District officials also are considering building “some affordable housing (units) for school district employees to rent while they build up income to be able to purchase their own home,” according to Bays.
Teacher housing has been a hot-button topic in recent years among many local school districts with the rising cost of living throughout Santa Clara County.
“In consideration of the sports fields, and possible renovation of the Britton fields next to the property, the district may consider additional field facilities for the school or expanded parking for the many sports teams who use the fields after school,” Bays continued.
The district funded the purchase of the old VTA lot by using monies from its Capital Facilities and Mello Roos funds.
“Opportunities to acquire additional acreage connected to a school site do not come along often, especially so close to downtown,” Bays said. “If we passed it by for any of these valuable potential uses, it wouldn’t present itself again in the future.”
The topic will be discussed at a future board meeting yet to be determined as school district leaders finalize how they want to use the land.
