The Hollister School District held a Nov. 20 groundbreaking ceremony for the new Rancho Santana School. Elected leaders from city and county government joined HSD trustees for the event. The new school is expected to open in 2021.

“We get certain joys when we go to a school and visit it and the kids are in awe because there’s an adult there they don’t know,” said trustee Rob Bernosky. “We get the pleasure of seeing some kids go through kindergarten all the way up to the eighth grade and on until they graduate, and there is some joy in seeing how we have changed their lives for the better.”

Total cost for the new, two-story school is approximately $51 million. Features are expected to include over 40 classrooms, a playground, ball courts and a field.

HSD Superintendent Diego Ochoa asked attendees to think about the reason they attended the groundbreaking ceremony.

“The reason that we’re all here is education—it’s children,” he said. “What this is all about is inspiring children to care about their future. We will not forget that.”

Trustee Carla Torres-DeLuna said she was excited to be part of the groundbreaking as someone raised in Hollister.

“I think that we need more schools to be opened considering all the development that’s going on,” she said. “So if there are any developers listening please help us create another one of these because we have a lot of students that are going to need to attend.”