Homeowners Object : Alhambra May Expand Schools

The Alhambra School District is seeking nearly $40 million from the state to expand three overcrowded high schools rather than build a new school that could require the demolition of up to 300 homes.

Plans for a new school encountered stormy opposition from residents whose homes might be taken for the project.

But the new plan also may involve taking homes, though the number would be much smaller. The proposed expansion of the San Gabriel High School campus could take up to 12 homes, and the residents who would be displaced have already voiced their objections to the school board.

“We’re against it,” said Bobby Siow, one of the homeowners. “We don’t think taking our house is the solution.”

Associate Supt. Richard Kielhacker said the district has hired HMC Architects Inc. of Ontario to study all three campuses--Alhambra, Mark Keppel and San Gabriel--to see how new facilities can be added.

Land Acquisition

Kielhacker said the district’s request to the state for funding includes money to buy adjoining land for campus expansion, but he added that no decision on acquisition has been made and that architects are still looking at alternatives. He said the funds were requested so that the property can be acquired if needed.

“At San Gabriel High School, we’re looking at a maximum of 12 houses,” Kielhacker said. Ultimately, he said, “we may be looking at one; we may be looking at none.”

Kielhacker said Mark Keppel High School could be expanded on the west by closing a cul-de-sac that extends off Almansor Street and on the east by acquiring three apartment buildings.

The Alhambra High School campus could be enlarged by closing 4th Street, which bisects the campus, and by acquiring 80,000 square feet of commercial property, including a grocery store, on Main Street, he said. The expansion could also take in two rows of bungalows, with 12 rental units, on 4th Street.

Kielhacker said the district has informally discussed the closure of 4th Street with the City of Alhambra, which would have to give its consent, but has not submitted a formal request.

Funds for 3 Schools

The request to the state asks for $14 million for Alhambra High, $13.3 million for Mark Keppel and $12.2 million for San Gabriel to acquire property and build classrooms and other facilities.

The 12 houses that could be acquired for the San Gabriel High School expansion are in a strip along the west side of Ramona Street. School buildings lie north of the homes, and a faculty parking lot is behind their backyards. Kielhacker said removing the houses could provide better access to parking lots and allow the parking area to be enlarged.

Anne Bosher, who lives in one house and owns two neighboring rentals in the area targeted for campus expansion, said: “I don’t know if there is anything that can be done, but it seems with the property they have that they could move things around so they don’t displace people.

“If there’s absolutely no other way that they can make the high school functional, they will have to take my house. I realize that,” Bosher said, “but (they should) look carefully into what else might be done first.”

Bosher and her husband, Jack, a retired San Gabriel firefighter, built their home in 1944 and have lived there since. Over the years, she said, her husband, a skilled craftsman, has added features to the home, such as an elaborate, decorative wooden ceiling in the living room, built-in bookcases and shelves and a large covered patio with extensive brick and tile work.

‘Try Me Again at 75’

“This is not the time of my life, at the age of 65, when I want to move,” she said. “Try me again at 75. I might say, ‘Gee, thanks.’ ”

Bosher added: “We’ve had a good life here. I really can’t complain. That’s why my heart breaks to think about (being forced to move).”

Siow, who lives with his wife and three children in a house bought in 1975, said there are alternatives that would improve access to the high school campus without uprooting families. For example, he said, a bridge could be built across the Alhambra Wash, and property in the adjoining Alhambra city yard might be available. “They don’t need to touch people’s homes,” he said.

Kielhacker said the school board has made it clear that it will acquire homes only if there is no acceptable alternative.

In fact, it was to avoid taking large numbers of homes that the school board voted in May to seek expansion of existing schools instead of acquiring a new school site. The decision depends on the willingness of the state Allocation Board to approve funding.

School officials also are hoping for passage of a bill by Assemblyman Michael Roos (D-Los Angeles) that would provide school districts in urban areas with financial incentives to construct multistory buildings instead of acquiring land. The bill has passed the Assembly and is pending in the state Senate.

Kielhacker said the architects hired by the district are preparing alternative plans. One would assume that the Roos bill is adopted, providing extra funds for multistory buildings. The other would be financially feasible even if the Roos bill fails.

The three high schools have 9,500 students, about 3,000 more than they were designed to serve.

School board members have said that expansion of campus facilities will ease the overcrowding, but that if enrollment continues to grow as expected, the district may still need another high school in five years. The high schools serve students from Alhambra, San Gabriel, Rosemead and Monterey Park.