Saratoga News School district should reconsider its priorities By Dan Ungaro The recent series of letters relating to tree cutting and the proposed construction program at Saratoga School brings to the fore the question of priorities. A former board member, Jill Hunter, points out that construction plans call for the demolition of the school cafeteria and for the provision of a "level soccer field" to cost $420,000. This would necessitate the removal of 27 trees including 10 eucalyptus, two of which are 75 years old. Kathy Forte expressed a serious concern about the priority of a soccer field over other needs. As a concerned taxpayer, I feel that the school board should review the priority needs not only of the Saratoga School, but of the school district as a whole. Let me briefly review what I consider to be a faulty analysis of the priorities of the school district: * There has been a faulty use of land and building needs. A school district's most prized possessions are kids, good teachers and land. In past years the newest school the district had was the Congress Springs school. It was sold and torn down. It was apparently the belief of the school administration that the district had reached its peak of enrollment. The fact that the site was used to build houses which in turn provided additional children for the schools was not considered. * The school district also sold valuable land at the Redwood site to provide a post office. In addition, school property was sold at the district office site for homes. Currently there are three large land developments that will bring many additional students to overcrowded schools: the Spaich property, adjacent to Harriman Avenue; August Boisseranc's property, just down the road; and the 22 acres sold by the Sisters of Notre Dame. * The proposed remodeling of the district office ($300,000) is another example of faulty priorities. If the district office building was moved to the Redwood site it would free some valuable land. This could be used for the construction of five or six classrooms for primary children (wouldn't it be wonderful if the land sold here had been retained?). * Still another faulty priority is apparent when one examines the use of Saratoga School land to provide a parking lot. During the 25 years that I was associated with the Saratoga School, there was no parking lot. For many years before my tenure, there was no parking lot. The Saratoga School site is small, so land use for play areas and for building needs is the proper priority. The present parking lot and the land parallel to Oak Street could be used for the construction of six two-storied classrooms (if needed in the future). This would conform to the architecture of the original school. * The priority of proper use of land is further illustrated by the strong likelihood of the need for another school site. I have checked with real estate personnel and with school architects for costs of a 10-acre school site. The cost of a school site for Saratoga would be between $1 million and $800,000 an acre. I would remind the school board that we purchased 21 acres at the Redwood site. A part of it could be considered as a strong possibility for a future school site. I sincerely hope that my observations are not considered as criticism. They are merely intended to stimulate possible review of priorities. Every time I go to the Saratoga Library and note the orchard land is being preserved, I breathe a sigh of relief and gratitude that all of the city councils considered land a priority. Incidentally, if different priorities for the Saratoga School are adopted, the 27 trees would not be cut down! Also, the present school cafeteria would be preserved. Longtime Saratogan Dan Ungaro was with the Saratoga Union School District for 25 years; he is a former superintendent of the district. [ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Saratoga News, December 30, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.