New Valley High School finally got answers about their future after years of waiting. The Santa Clara Unified Board of Trustee meeting on Thursday, Oct. 25 was a long and busy night with so many communities having a stake in the New Valley plans.
New Valley High School Relocation
New Valley High School is one of Santa Clara Unified’s alternative schools, and is in desperate need of new facilities. According to staff, they’ve had discussions for a year but have hit a wall. The glaring issue is that there isn’t enough money for the new school site they had originally planned in Measure BB.
On the bond project list, it states “Expand New Valley High School to Monticello Campus,” aka a brand-new school. However, a lot has changed since 2018, like skyrocketing construction costs. Additionally, the scope of the project is now much larger due to the new program and state-mandated requirements. What was originally projected to be a $62.2 million project in 2018 dollars has doubled to $125 million.
Other options were presented but one option became the main focus: sharing the Educational Options campus. This campus already has many of the facilities they need like a gym, kitchen, and sports fields. Compared to other options, it also has better access to public transportation. District staff met with New Valley staff and Ed Options staff where they gathered concerns. The main concern was fitting New Valley in with the other programs already on campus; Wilson High School, Post Secondary, Adult Education, Family Child Education, the Enrollment Center, and the Family Resource Center already live there. Moving New Valley to the campus would mean potentially relocating programs or services. Superintendent Dr. Gary Waddell made it clear that they would not eliminate any programs.
This dilemma had the unfortunate side effect of pitting these communities against each other, which is especially sad since these are some of the most vulnerable communities. The whole boardroom seemed in agreement that the current New Valley campus was unacceptable and that the students needed better facilities. The board wants to put resources into the existing Ed Options facilities to make it a win-win for everyone. However, disruption to the already interconnected Ed Options campus was a huge worry to the community that relies on its programs and services. For example, gardeners who use the Ed Options facilities were worried about the garden they’ve carefully cultivated. Adult Education Principal Carrie Casto added that all the programs work so well together, and that the Ed Options campus runs at capacity and is busy all year round.
New Valley Vice Principal Estrella Tovar said she loves that there’s such a beautiful community at Ed Options. “But I’m sensing that there’s no interest in sharing that community with us,” said Tovar. “New Valley has no issues with sharing the campus.”
Tovar said New Valley needs an answer because the last year has been a waste of time. They can’t grow their program without knowing their fate.
A couple of New Valley students also gave their support for moving to the Ed Options campus. They are willing to share the facilities especially because they don’t have any on their current campus.
Board Member Dr. Michele Ryan supported New Valley moving to the Ed Options campus. One of her concerns is how long it would take to build a brand-new campus at any other site. She didn’t want New Valley waiting four to six years when they’ve already waited so long. Additionally, she pointed out that building another new school would be fiscally irresponsible, especially in an era of declining enrollment.
A couple of motions got tossed around and failed before the Board landed on their third motion which had a bit of what everyone wanted. The motion was to move New Valley to the Ed Options campus. Staff will work with the committee of all relevant parties to determine the details. Those details must come back to the board within six months, with a plan implementation within three years. If they have any faster options, the board wants to hear about those too. This motion passed four to three with Board President Vickie Fairchild and Board Members Jodi Muirhead and Andy Ratermann voting “no.”
CAASPP Results
At this point, the meeting had gone late into the night, so staff quickly gave an update on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) results.
Brad Stam, Chief Academic and Innovation Officer, called their CAASPP data “flat” because there has been very little change over the last few years. An outlier is a bump in test scores from Black students who increased 13% in science, 10% in English language arts, and 4% in math.
Though the data is flat, Stam is still concerned about declines in middle school testing results. The staff has been keeping a close eye on the Hispanic/Latino testing results too. Over the last year, the District has been especially focused on literacy including a new phonics program. They’re also concentrating on math improvement with their Expand Math! program with the Expanded Learning Opportunity Program (ELOP) staff. They’re also looking forward to introducing Khanmigo, an AI tutoring platform by Khan Academy.
They adjourned in memory of Mike D. Young. The Santa Clara Unified Board meets next on Tuesday, Nov. 14 and their last meeting of 2024 is on Thursday, Dec. 19. Meetings are live-streamed on the District’s YouTube page, and agendas are posted on their website.
So what is going to happen with the money that was set aside to build the new campus?