Let’s Talk About Our Schools
May 15, 2019
“What’s going on with the land at Charter Square?” Lately not a single conversation with a resident is complete without this question. You may have seen the demolition of buildings and hauling off of debris by the site at Beach Park and Shell Boulevards. This work is being done by the owner of the site Westlake Urban who will transfer the ownership of the property to the San Mateo-Foster City School District once the site is graded. This transfer of ownership option and to publicly bid the construction of the school was chosen by the School District’s Board of Trustees late last year. The School District was not able to purchase the property originally without construction by the owner included, until the owner could not deliver the project within the budget. As a result, the School District was able to purchase the property with demolished buildings and a graded site just as you see it today.
Last Friday, May 10, 2019, the San Mateo-Foster City School District opened the bids for the Charter Square (Fourth Elementary School) project. The Base Bid (main structure) came in just below $30 million with Added Alternative Bid Items totaling approximately $5.5 million. The School District is reviewing the bid submittal before recommending the Award of Contract to the lowest bidder at its Board Meeting in June 2019. Construction could begin as early as Fall 2019. We hope that the fourth elementary school will help alleviate the overcrowding problems in the existing schools and will further enhance the quality of education for our children.
Our schools are among one of the prime reasons why families choose Foster City. We have been fortunate to have great elementary & middle schools with a track record of strong performance and scores. Bowditch Middle School currently has been recognized as a “Distinguished School” in the State of California and will be recognized at a City Council Meeting in the near future. Meanwhile, Audubon, Brewer Island, and Foster City Elementary Schools continue to receive high rankings with at least a score of 7. The School District has indicated that Foster City is more desirable for families than our neighboring cities. For example, the demographer has indicated that new housing generates 1 student for every 5 units, where San Mateo generates 1 student for every 20 units. According to the School District, with the construction of the new elementary school, 200-300 new housing units could be added to Foster City and accommodate the new students.
However, our schools are part of San Mateo-Foster City School District and we have had challenges in our relationship with the School District in the past. Foster City families often expressed concerns around equity in funding allocation as well as lack of financial and strategic stewardship.
In addition, we don’t have a high school in Foster City and we are part of San Mateo Union High School District. Our children have the option of going to San Mateo, Hillsdale, and Aragon High Schools based on the neighborhood they reside in. Not having our own high school and related facilities has been a sticking point of several residents who have expressed their concerns with me.
Needless to say, the City Council has a responsibility to continue to try to establish and maintain a relationship with our school districts. With the goal of continuing to collaborate and partner with the school districts and to establish an open communication channel, I recently reached out and met with Joan Rosas, Superintendent of the Elementary School District and Kevin Skelly, Superintendent of the High School District.
Superintendent Rosas shared several updates about the Elementary School District including the focus on long term strategic and financial planning, openness to collaborate on securing private funding for our schools, and continued dialogue and open communication. I am optimistic that we should be able to work together on aspects such as improving the infrastructure & other challenges for Bowditch Middle School, which our residents have expressed concerns about.
Superintendent Skelly talked about the trend in high school enrollment decline and explained that the enrollments are dropping due to the generation not having as many kids. The enrollment decline, which is already visible this academic year is projected to be more pronounced in the next few years. Superintendent Skelly indicated that having a high school in Foster City was explored in the past, deemed not feasible, and would most likely not happen even if they could acquire property in Foster City at no cost to the High School District. Enrollment decline further eliminates the case for building a new high school. Smaller schools are financially challenging to maintain due to lack of economy of scale and are not in a position to offer the same level of amenities and curriculum offerings as bigger schools.
Schools are an important component of any city and community. They attract families, help build a great community, and drive property values. Even though schools don’t fall under the jurisdiction of the City Council, we are committed to continuing to enhance our relationship, collaboration, and partnership with the school districts. The City Council has “walked the walk” in this area by partnership and contribution of dollars where possible. Below are some examples.
Typically, crossing guards are paid for by the School District. For Foster City, the City contributes approximately $22,000 annually for Crossing Guards.
The City is working with the School District to help in minimizing the costs for the construction of Fourth Elementary School (at the former Charter Square Shopping Center site). For example, the City will be conducting the project management of the design of the new traffic signal at Beach Park Boulevard/Shell Boulevard to help minimize costs for construction.
In partnership with the High School District, Foster City also contributes to the funding costs of the After School Activity Bus Program to assist Foster City students with transportation when their extracurricular activities, such as sports, occur after school hours.
As with everything else, we could do even better. My meetings with Superintendent Skelly and Rosas offer me the optimism to make tangible progress in this area. Along with the close involvement with the new school construction and ensuring our residents get what was promised in terms of the school size and facilities, we also need to understand and push for what could be done with the Bowditch Middle School infrastructure and facilities. We all agree that it is in dire need for significant improvements.
Majority of us agree that having a high school in Foster City is no longer a viable option. Unfortunately that ship has sailed already and we need to look forward. I am keen to explore what could be done creatively to make up for no high school, which could be valuable for our families and children of current and future residents. I am open to your input and creative ideas on this and other topics. Please continue to reach out to me at rawasthi@fostercity.org.
