San Benito High School District applies for Prop 2 grants

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In June 2024, the San Benito High School District placed two bonds, measures L and M, on the Nov. 5 ballot to fund the building of a new campus and modernization of Hollister High School. After those measures failed, the district applied for funds made available by Proposition 2,  a statewide bond raising money for public schools infrastructure, which passed in the same election. 

At the high school district’s April 8 Board of Trustees meeting, Kevin Sullivan from School Facility Consultants gave a presentation about the future of the projects.

He reported that the district has already secured nearly $36 million of state funding for both modernization and new construction, and is waiting on the Office of Public School Construction to approve an additional $11 million. He said Proposition 2 provides new opportunities for funding, many of which the district has already applied for. 

“All of this is brought to you by Proposition 2,” Sullivan said. “If Proposition 2 hadn’t passed in November we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

The district’s Master Plan, drawn up in 2023, estimated that a new campus would cost $220 million to build. Supporters of measures L and M cited overcrowding as justification for the bonds. 

The majority of Hollister High’s current structures were built after 1955, when a fire destroyed most of the campus’s buildings. The 2023 Master Plan estimated the enrollment capacity at 3,437. The California Department of Education’s profile for the district puts the current enrollment at 3,539. 

The district submitted applications for new construction funding from Proposition 2 in January. Sullivan also said Proposition 2 allocates money for Career Technical Education (CTE) facilities, also known as vocational facilities. The application deadline for CTE funding is Dec. 1. 

“I know you guys have a CTE facility that’s pretty good,” Sullivan said, “and there’s some need for some additional equipment. Or maybe more state-of-the-art type of equipment that’s available from even a few years ago when we constructed it.”

In other business, the board heard comments from Mike Krause, a machine shop teacher at Hollister High and the president of the teacher’s union. He criticized the board for continuing to raise the wages of the district’s highest paid employees.  

“Meanwhile, our classified workers and certificated staff continue to lose wages,” Krause said. 

The board did not respond to Krause’s comment. Later, the board approved contract renewals for Chief Business Officer John Frusetta, Human Resource Officer Cindi Peterson and Assistant Superintendent Elaine Klauer.

The BenitoLink Internship Program is a paid, skill-building program that prepares local youth for a professional career. This program is supported by Monterey Peninsula Foundation AT&T Golf Tour, United Way, Taylor Farms and the Emma Bowen Foundation.