Brawley looking to add schools By ERIC GALVAN, Staff Writer
Thursday, August 24, 2006 2:45 PM PDT
BRAWLEY The Brawley Union High School District is looking to expand and could have a new high school within the next five years.
District Superintendent Robert Moreno confirmed Wednesday that he and the school’s Board of Trustees agreed to begin talks with representatives from San Diego State University. The district is interested in purchasing land near the university’s Brawley campus east of town.
“We have that preferred location and we’re working on seeing if we can” purchase the land, Moreno said. “We have not gained any rights, but we are in talks.”
The board officially began talks about the second high school site during Wednesday’s board meeting, where discussion of a third high school also was on the agenda.
While Moreno said the second school site is still seven to 10 years down the road and a third is at least seven to 15 years away, board President Rusty Garcia said the second site could break ground sooner.
“We’re looking at a scope of four to five years,” Garcia said. “We can’t just put our heads in the sand, because it’s going to get here before we know it.
“We need to have that planned now,” Garcia said. “As the city continues to grow in about three or four years from now, we’re really going to be needing something.”
Moreno said the reason discussions for a third high school site have started are because the school district has been approached by at least two developers with an interest in building future schools. He did not disclose the names of the developers.
He said it is important to take a proactive approach in preparing for such projects and getting ready for “what’s going to happen in the next seven to 20 years.”
Brawley Mayor Toni Carrillo said she was torn on the addition of a second and even third high school in the city.
She said she understands the city is continually growing, but as a lifelong Brawley resident and student at Brawley Union High, she wouldn’t want to see the school split.
“Having two high schools, I’m thinking we’ll become like El Centro and that scares me,” she said. “It worries me because of the split we’d have in the community.
“But being involved in the city, you see the growth and you see the need,” she said. “But being born and raised a Wildcat, I wouldn’t want to see that split.”
While there is no specific time frame for adding a new high school, Garcia confirmed Brawley Union High is looking to expand the present campus in the near future.
Opening discussions have begun regarding the potential purchase of Valley Baptist Church. The church sits across from the east end of the school, and Garcia said it potentially would be used for faculty, not students.
“The school’s growing and there’s not much room around the area,” he said.
The school sits between A and C streets and North Imperial Avenue and Seventh Street surrounded by residential homes and three churches.
“That would be a good location for us since it’s across from the school,” Garcia said. “We always look to (alleviate) the growing pains, but right now it’s just something we’re looking into.”
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