District to Build High School on Jefferson Site

Amid loud protests from community residents, San Gabriel Unified School District board members Monday chose Thomas Jefferson Intermediate School as the site for their new high school.

The board also narrowly decided to issue a $29.9 million bond to pay for construction and set a March 2 special election to obtain voter approval. A two-thirds vote is required for the bond to be issued.

Construction of the high school--expected to cost from $33 million to $37 million--was mandated in April when voters approved the unification of the district, which now only enrolls students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Residents of areas surrounding Jefferson booed the decision, citing potential traffic problems and plans to condemn at least five homes.

“There’s no doubt that a high school is needed,” said Frank Jenkins, whose residence may be condemned. “But this is not the right place.”

Jenkins and several other residents submitted a petition with more than 200 signatures against the Jefferson site at 1440 Lafayette St. Many speakers said the school should be built on the Madison Elementary School property.

A 90-member citizens committee that studied potential sites determined that a high school could be built at Madison for about $30 million but recommended Jefferson because athletic fields and parking lots would fit better and street access is more convenient. The board concurred on a 4-1 vote.

Board member Kathryn Blankinship dissented, saying she was unsure that either site would offer enough space for the school and thought that the Jefferson site might pose greater traffic hazards. Nancy Trask also voted against the bond election.

Joseph B. Crawford, assistant superintendent for business services, said bond payments would cost owners of median-valued homes--those assessed at slightly over $100,000--an extra $51 to $53 a year in property taxes over 25 years.

Until the school’s scheduled opening for the 1996-97 school year, about 1,300 secondary students will attend the Alhambra School District’s overcrowded San Gabriel High School.

Jefferson students will be moved to Madison elementary, which will be converted to an intermediate school. The district will probably disperse Madison’s 440 students between Roosevelt, Wilson and Washington elementary schools at a cost of $2.6 million.