Teachers Union Votes for New High School in Montebello District

In a move that has further split the educational community here, the teachers union has overwhelmingly endorsed a Montebello Unified School District plan to build a new high school to ease overcrowding.

In testimony during a Tuesday night study session at district headquarters, Montebello Teachers Assn. President David Lebow told the board that a majority of union members prefer building a new 2,400-student high school rather than adding classroom space to three campuses.

The board is scheduled to decide tonight on the two alternatives.

At issue is whether the district should invest $69 million and up to eight years to open a fourth comprehensive high school or add 60 classrooms--for less than one-third the cost and time--to Bell Gardens, Montebello and Schurr high schools. Vail Continuation High School would not be affected.

For the past several weeks, the board has heard conflicting testimony on the two alternatives from parents, students, staff and business leaders.

Many parents and students have joined School Supt. John P. Cook and board President Eleanor K. Chow in calling for a new school to lower the student-to-teacher ratio, which, at 33 students per teacher, is the highest in the county.

But business leaders, the district’s finance director and three of four principals have argued that expansion would help bring much-needed renovations to the three comprehensive high schools.

Must Do Something

Cook said Montebello, Schurr and Bell Gardens high schools are filled, and school officials predict that enrollment will continue to increase by about 700 students a year. “It’s clear something needs to be done,” Cook said. “It’s important that they (the board members) do something soon.”

The Montebello School District--the third largest in the county--serves Montebello, Commerce, Bell Gardens and parts of Downey, East Los Angeles, Monterey Park, Pico Rivera, Rosemead and South San Gabriel.

Complaining that the 1,500-member teachers union was never consulted about either plan, Lebow said union leaders met Tuesday morning and voted overwhelmingly to urge construction of a 40-acre student high school, which is being proposed in Commerce.

“We are creating numbers out of our children,” Lebow said, criticizing the expansion alternative. “All you have to do is go to Schurr at nutrition time and try to walk around on campus.”

“Our high schools are at bulging capacity,” Lebow continued. “If we are really serious about meeting the needs of our children, then we need to do so in a smaller plant. It may take eight years to build, but it will last for 50.”

Difficult Decision

The union endorsement illustrates the difficult decision the board faces when it meets tonight. Although the teachers union supports Cook’s proposal to build the new school, the association’s stand pits teachers against their principals and other local school administrators.

“I have heard from many residents about this,” said board member Willard G. Yamaguchi, who added that he is unsure how he will vote. “They all tell me that they want a new high school. It’s a hard choice. But they are the ones we are supposed to serve.”

Parent-Teacher associations at Bella Vista Elementary School in Monterey Park and Potrero Heights Elementary School in South San Gabriel also urged the board Tuesday night to approve a new high school.

School officials first proposed a new high school in 1987. Of 22 possible sites, officials have identified two 40-acre sites in Commerce. One site, across the street from Commerce City Hall, would displace 21 businesses. The other site, less than half a mile from Bell Gardens High School at Eastern Avenue and Randolph Street, would displace 18 businesses.

Board members have said the two sites were the best choices on the list, which was prepared by Len Coates, a consultant with the Los Angeles County Department of Internal Services.

But they added that the two locations, which were criticized by Commerce officials and business leaders, were not “set in concrete.” If the board decides to build a new school, they will consider the two sites as well as continue to search for another possible site.

School Site Suggested

Some school officials suggested earlier this month that the board consider building a campus on more than 600 acres of undeveloped Chevron Corp. land in North Montebello.

The Commerce City Council on May 2 approved a resolution condemning any effort by the school board to take Commerce commercial or industrial property. The resolution calls for expansion of Bell Gardens High School, which at 2,900, has the highest student population in the district.

School yards and playing fields are crowded with portable classrooms, the library and cafeteria were designed for 1,400 students, and many of the permanent buildings are in shoddy condition, school officials said. A renovation program to upgrade carpets, lockers, doors and windows has been put on hold until the board makes its decision.

Bell Gardens Principal Frances A. Riley, in a telephone interview Wednesday, said she does not oppose the concept of a new high school, but believes the board should concentrate on refurbishing and enlarging the campus before proceeding with new construction.

“We need to redesign the entire campus now,” she said. “We can’t wait any longer. We are in a very crisis situation here.” She said some of the campus buildings, including an abandoned elementary school that was opened for high school classes in 1971, should have been leveled long ago.

18 Years of Nothing

“We’ve had 18 years of not having anything done for us,” Riley said.

Others at the meeting who opposed a new school said that taking businesses would be unfair to property owners and to the city, which relies on tax revenue. The opponents included members of the Commerce Industrial Council and a spokesman for the Commerce City Council.

Leo Vusich, a Commerce businessman, said the two Commerce sites are not appropriate for a school environment. He pointed out that the site near City Hall is bisected by Eastern Avenue and that the site on Randolph Street is too close to Bell Gardens High School.