Saratoga News

Saratoga Union votes to move Oak St. School to San Jose spot

Temporary move could shorten construction

Some parents not happy

By John Pancharian

Saratoga Elementary School will move to San Jose during Measure D construction, according to a decision made by the Saratoga Union School District Board of Trustees June 23.

The board voted unanimously to relocate the Oak Street campus to Strawberry Park School, part of San Jose's Moreland School District, during the 1999-2000 school year.

Some parents said they feel railroaded by the district, which they believe decided the issue ahead of time, then moved too quickly to allow parents adequate time to consider the decision. The vote followed an hour-long public hearing attended by 30 to 40 district parents and teachers.

The idea to move the Oak Street campus was born June 3, when Moreland Superintendent Jim Ritchie first proposed the plan to SUSD Superintendent Mary Gardner. Gardner bounced the idea from the board to the Oak Street staff on June 9 and 10, then called a public hearing on the issue June 16.

Some parents were upset that the letter announcing the June 16 public hearing was mailed only four days prior--and after school had already let out for the summer. The district mailed the announcement for the June 23 meeting--at which they decided to move the school--on June 18. Some parents said they received the announcement for the June 23 meeting on June 23, then noticed the letter did not mention the location of the meeting.

"It is frustrating to me that things happened this quickly," Oak Street parent David Ritter said.

Parent Milan Radosavljevic said it felt to him on June 23 as though the decision had already been made before the meeting.

Gardner said the district has moved quickly to ensure it can meet construction timelines. The district's old plan involved moving students into portable classrooms in the field at Saratoga Elementary while construction took place. Under that plan, six portables currently in use at Oak Street would have been moved this summer. Gardner said the district needed to decide the question of moving to Strawberry Park in time to go ahead with the old plan if necessary.

The board opened the June 23 public hearing with a presentation by Lee Salin of HMC Architects--the company the district has hired to plan renovation of the schools. Salin explained that the parking lot and much of the play area at Oak Street would be taken up by contractors' "staging area" during construction. He said the district expects to save $300,000 by leasing Strawberry Park, rather than using portables.

Now that the board has decided to move Saratoga Elementary students to Strawberry Park, it will debate whether to move the sixth grade at Redwood Middle School as well.

And that may not be the last issue surrounding the planned construction. Some residents are also concerned the district may choose to fell a number of historic eucalyptus trees skirting the campus, and two large trees on the playground. Arborist Barrie Coate is scheduled to present a report on the safety of the trees within the next few months.

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