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City Beat
WGES plans to add new classrooms next year
Parents say the planned upgrades aren't enough
By Kate Carter
Willow Glen Elementary School will get a new administration building, three new kindergarten classrooms and improvements to the main building this summer. But some neighbors and parents aren't satisfied with the plans they say don't resolve problems of noise, parking and safety in the school.
At a community meeting on Dec. 8, San Jose Unified School District officials and others involved in the construction project informed parents and nearby residents of the plans to upgrade the school facilities on the corner of Minnesota and Lincoln avenues.
John Cimino, construction manager for the school district, said the entire school would be repainted, refloored and get electrical upgrades. The school will also received a new security system, new blinds and new furniture. Two new water fountains would be added, and other issues of concern to parents, such as increased lighting and new fences could also be included in the work, he said.
Cimino told the group the outdated administration building will be replaced with a modular building that could have such features as a pitched roof and stucco exterior, so it would appear more attractive than the typical portable building.
"We will make sure in our design process that the building fits the culture of Willow Glen," he said, responding to neighbors concerns about the aesthetic needs of a building on the "high-profile corner in Willow Glen."
Cimino and the project architect, Bill Gould, also explained plans to replace the three kindergarten classrooms along Iris Court with three new modular classrooms, and to add a new kindergarten playground.
Parents and neighbors said they were concerned if the new buildings would be the same as modular classrooms built on the school several years ago, which have noisy air conditioning units that can make it difficult for students to hear what is being taught.
Cimino and Gould said engineers would take steps to reduce the noise in the new buildings that would be the same as the older ones.
"The district has really looked for the best possible buildings," Cimino said. "These are what are being put in across the state."
Parents said the school really needed improvements to the student drop-off system and increased parking, because traffic around the school on Iris Court and Minnesota Avenue is dangerous to children and inconvenient to neighbors.
"I don't want to wait until some child gets killed," said Iris Court resident Mary Schorr.
Cimino said the new plans include a few additional parking spaces, but there isn't enough money in the budget to add a turn-around drop-off area.
Parents also asked if the buildings would last as long as site-built buildings. Gould assured them that "they will meet the same permanence requirements as any site-built building."
Parent Richard Sonnenfeld said he believed parents would be interested in raising money to improve the quality of the school's improvements, so that site-built buildings, a turn-around drop-off, and more new water fountains and lighting could be part of the plan.
"Parents want this school here to be a first-rate school," Sonnenfeld said. "We'd like that to be a new model of working with the district."
But Cimino said there is an urgency to beginning work on Willow Glen Elementary, not only because the buildings must be ready for school next fall, but in order to receive the money to make the improvements at all.
The funds for the upgrades to all the district's schools come from $165 million of state bond money the district applied for and received 18 months ago. However, to qualify for the money, 80 percent of the improvements must be under contract two years after receiving the money.
The modular buildings are necessary, he said, because they would save months of construction time, and possibly years of time receiving building and construction approvals, as the modular buildings come largely preformed and preapproved. The modular buildings also cost 30 to 40 percent less than site-built buildings, he said.
Cimino said, that while he took seriously the concerns of the parents and neighbors, and would try to respond to all of them, there wasn't time to make significant changes to the plans if the work was to begin on schedule.
"We've really done our best to try to maximize benefits to your school," Cimino said. "We'll do whatever it takes to make these issues nonissues."
Cimino said the much-needed upgrades will begin "the day after school ends" this summer, and the goal is to have the buildings available for use when school resumes in the fall.
Janice Allen, the school's staff representative for the San Jose Teachers' Association, expressed some concern about teachers having access to rooms before students return, in order to prepare for the new school year.
District officials said the buildings they plan to put in should be completed by the end of summer, but even if they aren't they will make the necessary arrangements to ensure school starts on time.
"We cannot promise that things won't go wrong, but we have developed contingencies for what to do if there's a delay," said Gould.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
