Machado Elementary School, the Morgan Hill School District
’s oldest at 109 years, closed Friday and, due to anticipated
state budget cuts, it may never reopen.
Machado Elementary School, the Morgan Hill School District’s oldest at 109 years, closed Friday and, due to anticipated state budget cuts, it may never reopen.
The district anticipates a $3.2 million reduction in state funds for the upcoming school year.
The 40 first and second grade students returned to class Monday in two formerly unoccupied portables on the Paradise Valley Elementary campus.
The school, a registered historic building, closed because the pump for the well which supplies the school with water stopped working completely. The pump had been working sluggishly for several weeks, but was still able to move enough water to serve the school’s restrooms.
“The district will look at the cost estimates to replace the pump, that’s the first step,” School Board President Tom Kinoshita said Monday. “In terms of future decisions, it’s not real clear what process will be used, whether as a part of the performance-based budget process or it may come directly to the board. My opinion is that it should be a part of the (performance-based budget) process.”
A statement from Superintendent Carolyn McKennan, issued via a letter from Paradise Valley/Machado Principal James Hamilton to all the Paradise Valley community on Friday explained the situation:
“There was a total failure of the well pump yesterday which supplies Machado School with water. We have been working on it for the past few weeks because we knew that it had a leak and water contamination. Students and staff have been using bottled water for drinking purposes.
“However, the restrooms were still in operation. With yesterday’s total failure, there is no water at the site, and the restrooms are no longer in operation … The leak is 25 feet under the round, and there is tremendous soil erosion in the area of the leak.
“For the safety of students and staff, we need to move the two classes to Paradise Valley today to give us time to assess the site and bring information to the board before making a decision about the future.”
The original Machado School was a one-room school built in 1895 by Paradise Valley families on land donated by Barney Machado, son-in-law of Martin Murphy, Sr. A second room was added in 1919.
The building was condemned in 1967 because it did not meet the latest earthquake standards. Classes are now held in two portable classrooms on the site.
The Machado building itself was restored by a group of interested residents that formed the Machado Heritage Society in 1980. Paul Ward is the society’s president.
“According to the original deed from Mr. Machado to the School District, the property reverts to the heirs of Machado unless classes are held on the site,” Ward said.
Ward said the original building is available for meetings of community groups, like Scouts and 4-H, at little or no charge. The Machado Heritage Society also rents the building for birthday parties, wedding receptions and other functions to help defray the cost of maintaining the building.
“This is upsetting to our group,” he said. “We would like the school to be kept open. We’ve got a little money in the bank, and we would be willing to put the pump back in order.”
Ward said he estimates the cost of repairing the well to be less than $10,000, based on the fact that two new houses in the area had new wells and pumps put in for that amount.
To determine the exact amount required to restore water to the site, Ward said he had received permission from the district to have someone from a company in Gilroy come out to the site and give an estimate.
Deputy Superintendent Bonnie Branco said if the society hired someone outside the district to repair the pump, the district would have to oversee the work.
“There would have to be a certain amount of oversight,” Branco said Monday. “We would have to make certain they were following all state guidelines, there would have to be a reference check, and we would have to make sure they were paying prevailing wages. The well would absolutely have to be safe for student consumption and use.”
One determining factor in the board’s decision to reopen the school or not, Hamilton said, would probably be the extent of the damage to the water distribution system.
“We have been having some soil contamination, and that could be occuring anywhere between the well itself and the distribution system , or pipe network, itself,” he said. “I can’t imagine that its not going to be expensive to repair or replace. I think the board would have to be prudent in their decision making.”
Hamilton said Monday afternoon that the former Machado students seemed to be adjusting nicely to the transition.
“I went into both classrooms today, and everybody gave me the thumbs up,” he said. “I think they are happy to be with their teachers, they were present for their learning, and their teachers were ready to roll. I think they have made a good transition … Of course, they’ll miss the things that make Machado special. But I think they appreciate our playgound.”
McKennan said Monday it is too early to make a prediction about Machado’s future.
“No decision has been made or will be made until we know all of the perameters around the installation of the new pump,” she said. “That’s something we’ll be taking to the board.”
