Editor’s note: This article was updated to include comments from the San Benito High School District. This article was written by BenitoLink intern Camille Mattish. Lea este articulo en español aquí.
San Benito High School District approved the location of its second high school on Wright Road, known as the Pura Vida property.
At its March 12 meeting, the board approved paying $2.23 million for the 49.68-acre property.
According to the purchase agreement, the district believes this location is “the most logical and compelling location for its second high school” as it considered the existing student population, future project developments, planning areas and commute route options.
According to a statement by the district provided by Adam Breen, San Benito High School District and Hollister High School public information/communications officer, the “location provides for the potential to create a walkable, bikeable community that will reduce traffic congestion and vehicle miles traveled to school.”
The district said the property it owns on Best Road does not align with these goals at this time, but will be held for a possible future site for a school.
It added the California Department of Education requires at least 50 acres for a high school site.
District Superintendent Shawn Tennenbaum told BenitoLink last year that Hollister High School is the third largest in Northern California and that it was over capacity last year, with an enrollment of over 3,500. The campus on Monterey Street, which the district said is “landlocked,” has a student capacity of 3,400.
“Overcrowding poses serious safety risks and inhibits the district’s ability to educate all students to their highest potential,” the district said in a statement. “The district must address overcrowding today to build a brighter future for tomorrow.”
Last year, Tennebaum said that by 2025 or 2026, it’s expected that enrollment will be at 3,900 if homes are built at the current pace. Last year, the California Department of Finance estimated that 1,765 more students will be attending Hollister High in 2031, an increase that is the equivalent of a new high school.
The school told BenitoLink in June 2023 that the new campus would cost approximately $200 million, which would pay for the first phase of a new school, accommodating between 1,200 and 1,400 students. Phase One of the new school would include a library, gymnasium, kitchen/cafeteria and 45 classrooms.
Last year, Jeff Small, the district’s financial advisor from Capitol Public Finance Group, said about $51 million is the annual budget for the high school. He said funding for the new campus would come from a combination of sources such as new residential and non-residential development fees, the state, and a local general obligation bond measure. At that time, he said the school had qualified for $11.6 million in state money, but it will probably take years to receive it.
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