The Willow Glen Resident San Jose Unified is relocating schools to solve space shortage Some River Glen parents upset by plans to move to Broadway High By Cecily Barnes The fate of River Glen Elementary and Broadway High schools will soon be sealed. On Nov. 14 at 9 a.m., the U.S. District Court is expected to approve a plan by the San Jose Unified School District to move River Glen's bilingual immersion program to Broadway High School, and to build a new elementary school at the River Glen site on Bird Avenue at Willow Glen Way. Broadway will be relocated, either to the Central County Occupational Center or to a yet-to-be-determined location. According to SJUSD Superintendent Linda Murray, U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Whyte is expected to approve the moves, which fall under the district's court-ordered desegregation. "The court wouldn't normally contest an agreement between the plaintiff and the defendant," Murray said. "It was in full agreement with the plaintiffs [in the desegregation lawsuit]." While most school districts don't need court approval to redraw boundaries and juggle school locations, San Jose Unified has been under a desegregation court order since 1986 and must make facilities decisions in accordance with that order. Shortly after the desegregation order took affect, the district began a massive busing program to ethnically balance the schools. In 1994 the district obtained permission, through a compliance order from the courts, to return students to their neighborhood schools. Students and parents were thrilled to ditch their daily commute for schools within walking distance of their homes. The district was glad, too, until officials realized one enormous problem. By the year 2000, when all K-5 students return to neighborhood schools, 1,500 students would have nowhere to go. A panicked search began for a new school location. The selection committee settled on a site by the Tamien Light Rail Station, and the district began purchasing negotiations. But the negotiations soon broke off. "They were asking much more than we could afford to pay, Murray said. "We decided we had to look at other options. We started to look at what we already had." River Glen was selected as the site to build a new school. Since the campus is made up entirely of temporary buildings, nothing would have to be ripped down in order for new structures to be built. The site has a capacity for at least 800 students and is only serving 500 in River Glen's immersion program. And River Glen, which would be moved, is a magnet school and thus would displace few, if any, neighborhood kids. "We have to look at the housing needs of students overall in the district," Murray said. "I can't just look at the interest of one particular group." But the move will benefit River Glen, too, Murray promises. "We're going to be able to put a science lab, library media center and computer facilities [at the new campus]," Murray said. "This is a real opportunity to listen to our community about what could make this school really state of the art." Winds of Change River Glen parents stood at a recent school site council meeting and pledged to fight against the move. Some argued that Broadway is too small for River Glen's student body, because there's not enough parking and minimal outdoor playing fields. Other parents conceded that they were dedicated enough to follow the program anywhere. Superintendent Murray says she's aware of parent concerns and intends to work with them to find solutions. But there's one concern--raised by River Glen parent and P.E. teacher Cap Wilhelm-Safian--that Murray can't address. "I'm not for or against the move at this point, but people who live in a democracy should have input on something that affects their lives," Wilhelm-Safian said. "Last time I checked, we voted for our officials." The decision to move River Glen, Murray admits, was made behind closed doors without input from parents or teachers. But with good reason, she says. "It's not that the board or the staff wanted to exclude the public, but because we're under a federal court order and because the agreement to build the school is part of the litigation, it's not legal to do it in public," Murray said. "Every time we need to address issues dealing with facilities, we are bound by this court order." Board member Carol Myers seconded Murray's statement, explaining why the discussions took place in closed session. But the decision was made, Myers said, with everyone's best interests in mind. "I fully understand where the parents are coming from. They're thinking of themselves and their children. They feel like, 'we have this really nice community and you're uprooting us,' " Myers said. "But we're thinking about all the students, and all the students without a home." According to Myers, River Glen's move to Broadway is not completely set in stone. There's the remote possibility that the bilingual immersion program could share the school site with the English-only students who currently have no school. "Either way we have to start moving fast and furious to get something going," Myers said. The Underdog Broadway principal Susan Votaw says the students, parents and faculty at Broadway don't much mind moving. "We are quite flexible," she says. "It's just hard to pack up and move things." The principal recalled the neighborhood's deep opposition to continuation students moving into their neighborhood when the school first came to Willow Glen in 1982. The community has since accepted them warmly. "We got one call saying, 'we don't want you to move, please don't move,' " Votaw says. "It was funny because in 1982, that's not the type of call we would have gotten." An open house for River Glen parents will be held at Broadway High School on Oct. 24 beginning at 9 a.m. Broadway is located at 1088 Broadway Ave. off Lincoln. [ Back to Contents Page | Willow Glen Resident Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Willow Glen Resident, October 21, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.