Unified School District Wins Approval; 4 School Board Incumbents Reelected

San Gabriel voters have signaled their desire for local control over education by approving a proposal to unify the San Gabriel School District by a wide margin.

The measure swept to victory Tuesday by a 61% to 39% vote.

Four school board incumbents also won election to the new board, along with newcomer Frank D. Clayton. The incumbents were Nancy Trask, Barbara Bauld, Kathryn R. Blankinshipand Dominic Shambra.

“A lot of people worked very hard to make this project successful,” San Gabriel Superintendent Gary E. Goodson said. “We feel good.”

San Gabriel parents who have spent five years researching and lobbying for a unified school district said they are gratified.

“I’m thrilled; it’s wonderful to know that the people of San Gabriel care so much about their kids,” said Roy Seltzer, a mother of six who was active in the unification drive.

Seltzer also said a unified district will offer a more nurturing environment for high school students because of its small size.

The 3,449-student San Gabriel School District currently enrolls children through eighth grade. After that, they transfer into Alhambra High School District, which has about 10,000 students.

Under unification, San Gabriel will build a high school so its teen-agers won’t have to transfer to Alhambra schools. San Gabriel school officials say they probably will float a bond measure asking residents to pay up to half the cost of a new high school.

The district is studying whether to buy land for its proposed high school. Another possibility is tearing down Madison Elementary School and building a high school on the 14.7-acre site.

Madison pupils would be relocated to other nearby elementary school campuses, said Joseph B. Crawford, assistant superintendent for business services at the San Gabriel district.

Crawford estimates that it will cost $25 million to build a high school and from $3 million to $4 million to relocate students from Madison.

The district plans to set up committees and hold public hearings on the construction plans. It hopes to have high school classes open within four years, so that current fourth-graders can become the first San Gabriel class to start at a local high school in 1996.

Meanwhile, students can continue attending Alhambra schools or apply for inter-district transfers to attend other local high schools.

Unification was opposed by Alhambra school officials, who said it would cost their district $1.8 million in state money that is tied to the number of pupils enrolled. Alhambra will lose about 1,300 students who currently attend San Gabriel High School, which is part of the Alhambra school district.

Additionally, Alhambra educators say, unifying the San Gabriel School District will increase segregation at Alhambra and throw educational programs into chaos. San Gabriel unification proponents disputed this.

“It will certainly affect us and it will hurt programs for kids,” Alhambra School Board member Dora Padilla said.

Three attempts to unify the district have failed in the past 25 years. But unlike the procedure in previous elections, which included voters in both Alhambra and San Gabriel, the State Board of Education ruled that only residents within the San Gabriel School District could vote Tuesday.