At the district meeting on Feb.17, district officials held a second informational reading and public hearing to discuss the proposed relocation. Ty Williams, the district's construction director, presented ideas to accommodate the Steinbeck campus for younger children. His suggestions included using color coding to help elementary school children navigate a larger campus and creating a protected kindergarten play area.

"These are not final plans," he noted. "They are conceptual."

During the public forum, several Allen parents addressed the board with their concerns about moving to the Steinbeck campus. Many said they believed the process was moving too quickly, and asked the district to examine bringing Randol students to Allen.

"Please don't move Allen to Steinbeck," said Dawn Heinzman, who has two sons at the school. "To close Allen now would be cruel and not in the best interest of the children and community."

Allen second-grade teacher Suzanne Gregg said she had been shaken by the sudden decision to relocate the school.

"The speed of the process has startled us," she said to the board. "We heard about it at the end of January, and now it seems we are hurtling to a decision."

Addressing her concern, Superintendent Don Iglesias said the staff needed to make a decision by March 10 in order to ensure that the transition process would be completed by the next school year.

Iglesias also emphasized that Allen was being relocated and not closed. The difference, he said, was that probationary teachers from the school would be included in the move, and the principal at Allen would become the principal of the new site.

But bringing elementary school­ aged children to a middle-school campus, some parents said, could pose safety issues because of an increase in traffic and the presence of an on-site swimming pool. Williams said the district was considering adding an automatic gate around the pool and safety pool covers to ensure students' safety.

The San Jose Unified School District Board of Education will vote on the proposed relocation to Steinbeck on March 10.