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Broadway School moves to middle school campus
CAIR continues suit as matter of principle to force filing of EIR
By Chantal Lamers
Despite a pending lawsuit against the San Jose Unified School District, 150 continuation students are attending classes at the new Broadway High School site recently built on a portion of the John Muir Middle School campus.
Although the move is still unwelcomed by the Robertsville community, students weren't greeted with protests when they settled in during the first full week of classes May 1, said Broadway principal Susan Votaw. She was surprised that students and teachers were able to move onto the new campus quietly, following months of protests.
"We know the community doesn't really want us, but we're hoping in the long run we'll be a benefit to the community," Votaw said.
While landscaping continues on Broadway's campus, district funds are being used to build a new baseball diamond. Broadway was built where the old community-cherished diamond stood.
The continuation high school had shared a campus opposite the River Glen Bilingual Immersion Program on Bird Avenue since it opened in 1982. Following Broadway High School's move onto the John Muir Middle School campus, River Glen will move onto the Broadway site. River Glen will be torn down and construction will begin on Ernesto Galarza Elementary school.
Jim Chase has opposed the relocation of the continuation high school for months. He heads Community Action in Robertsville (CAIR).
Chase realizes that the pending lawsuit won't move Broadway. He says that at this point the lawsuit is a matter of principle. The suit was filed because a study, that was required by the California Environmental Quality Act and completed by the district, conflicted with a study that CAIR compiled.
CAIR members asked the district to complete an environmental impact report, but district officials found no evidence to support further investigation of the matter. Chase hopes a judge will order the district to complete an EIR.
Chase and 500 other Robertsville residents have the same concern. He says the fundamental problem is that the district never notified or engaged the community in its decision to relocate the school.
The continuation high school accepts students who have dropped out of San Jose Unified Schools. Many students are sent to Broadway because of attendance problems; others turn to the school for its young mother's program.
At district meetings, John Muir parents and students said they were afraid the continuation students would bring graffiti and violence to their neighborhoods, despite the fact that the continuation high school was presented an award by the San Jose City Council for having the cleanest campus in the city.
Maureen Davidson, SJUSD spokesperson, said district officials are confident that if they are required to compile an EIR, the outcome would be the same. Davidson said that the district's intention is always to work with the community, but that it intends to ensure that Broadway students have a supportive environment to study in.
That residents didn't protest when Broadway arrived at its new location shows that residents will find a way to support the school and forget the trouble ever existed, Davidson said.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
