March 4, 2005

Proposal to allow retail on school campuses worries parents, teachers

Willow Glen Elementary School would begin pilot program to generate extra cash for school district

By Sheila Sanchez
Staff Writer

A cash-strapped San Jose Unified School District’s desire to make money is creating anxiety among parents and teachers concerned about a controversial proposal to build commercial space on some of its campuses.

The proposal has tentatively targeted Willow Glen Elementary School’s new two-story building to include a 4,000 to 5,000 square feet commercial section when finished at the end of the year. Construction, to replace old portable classrooms, is expected to begin in June.

An artist’s rendition of the two-story building planned for Willow Glen Elementary School.

During a Feb. 17 meeting, San Jose Unified School District Superintendent Don Iglesias explained the plan to a group of parents and Willow Glen community members who fear the project would affect traffic, child safety, parking and other issues.

He said the district was forced to think about the proposal due to declining revenue.

The district, which has closed schools to save money, is struggling with a $10 million budget deficit exacerbated by a sharp enrollment decline due to the valley’s steep economic downturn that began in 2001.

Needs waiver
To proceed with the plan, however, the district would need to obtain a waiver from the education code to prevent the highest bidder from renting the commercial space. The SJUSD’s board would then be allowed to lease the space to agencies or businesses that are a good match with what the community wants, said Sonja Shurr, SJUSD’s facility and property consultant.

The commercial space at the new school building, estimated to cost about $500,000, would be built with money from the district’s general building fund, said district spokeswoman Karen Fuqua. Money to build the non-commercial portion of the building would come from Measure F. Voters approved Measure F in 2002, giving district schools $429 million to repair aging buildings.

Iglesias explained the space would not be leased to typical retail operators such as fast-food restaurants but to social service agencies like Catholic Charities and United Way or other educational-type ventures.

He said a parent advisory committee would work with school officials to develop the proposal and approve the commercial renters.

“The board is asking how we can generate income?” Iglesias said. “We don’t have what it takes, in terms of revenue, to meet our expenses.”

Iglesias said he began thinking of the proposal after speaking to the business community, which encouraged him to think outside the box to create innovative projects that could bring money to the district. “We have no money, but we have property,” he said.

District officials said they’ve had meetings with school officials already to discuss the proposal and will continue to have meetings to hammer out the details of the project until all concerns are addressed.

Willow Glen resident Deborah Taylor Hollis said the proposal has created anger in the community. “The design is great except for that retail space,” Hollis said. “We need more parking there. There’s no parking in Willow Glen.”

Hollis also said the neighborhood would probably allow social service providers there but would reject other users.

“They’ve had pedophile problems (there) in the past. If you give that site to anybody else you won’t have control over who delivers, who works there, who drops by to see their friends, and people will be very unhappy about that,” she warned.

School board member Richard Garcia praised Iglesias for thinking of ways to generate money for the district but asked for information on how much revenue the commercial section of the school will generate.

The Willow Glen Business and Professional Association and the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association are said to also have concerns about the proposal because of parking and other issues.

Ty Williams, SJUSD’s director of school construction, said to increase parking for commercial tenants, the district could work with the city to build a parking garage or a public parking lot.

Williams stressed patrons occupying, visiting and working with the commercial business site would not have access to the school.

Parent Mary Schorr said “teaching children is not a business,” in reference to Iglesias’ and other school board members’ comments about wanting to think outside the box to bring additional revenue to their coffers by thinking like a business. “How much is this feasibility study going to cost?” she asked.