A proposal to sell the 41-acre school facility that houses Peninsula High School in San Bruno sparked the anger of residents who wanted to maintain open space and were visibly frustrated about the San Mateo Union High School District’s poor notification about the issue.

“The northern part of the district is never treated quite the same,” said resident Anna Marie Jones. “For instance, this idea of having a meeting that no one knew about. If there hadn’t been an individual who would have told me about it, I wouldn’t have known.”

She added, “We were treated like poor peasants of the north, it kind of hurts all of us.”

Members of the committee charged with identifying the district’s surplus assets expressed embarrassment of how the notification was handled and continued the public hearing to an additional meeting in January to be held at the San Bruno Senior Center, for which members said the public will be better notified.

Forty-one acres in San Bruno, formerly known as Crestmoor High School upon which Peninsula High School now sits, could be considered unneeded property if a new, centrally-located home can be found for the continuation school, according to a draft report presented during a public hearing last night held by the committee. Centrally locating the school closer to transportation options could be beneficial for students, the committee noted.

Residents opposed the land being developed for any other purpose for a variety of reasons, but could not have many of their concerns answered since it was beyond the scope of work given to the committee. Furthermore, residents of the neighborhood felt they had not been included in the process, nor were they adequately notified of last night’s meeting.

Jones’ sentiment was shared.

“I don’t think the city of San Bruno’s been given fair notice. Making a recommendation without having hearings first doesn’t make good sense to me. … The district has already made up its mind to sell this property and this time is manipulating community input,” said Judith Puccini, who lives near the school.

Capuchino High School senior Gabriel Villalobos called the process a “shock-and-awe tactic.”

“We didn’t know how to react and didn’t have the appropriate time to react accordingly,” he said.

Field space was a major issue for many speakers who were not as concerned with the aging buildings.

“This facility and its fields are needed by the children of San Bruno,” Puccini said.

Trish Estelita, co-commissioner of AYSO soccer in San Bruno, explained that more than 1,200 students use the fields every Saturday for soccer. But the fields are also used for other sports.

“School districts will always be in financial difficulties. We need to put the children first,” she said.

One thing was certain: The public shared an overwhelming sense that this was a done deal and they were not part of the process.

“Crestmoor is the one the district wants to see sold; it’s not Hillsdale, because this has happened twice before,” said Beverly Barnard, who was concerned about selling property that has sliding problems. “[I am] not against building homes. But I am against building homes where there are serious problems and everyone knows it.”

Parent Laura Davis explained Capuchino is surrounded by Millbrae. Selling off Crestmoor will take away the one high school facility in San Bruno.

“Why not sell Burlingame High School? Know what the value is down there?” she said, noting her biggest frustration was the ability to be notified for all meetings but this one.

Resident Chris Kiely noted the recommendation calls the property surplus if another site can be found for Peninsula High. Using that logic, any school could be surplus if another site was found.

One speaker posed an interesting idea: The San Bruno Park Elementary School District is currently discussing a new middle school. One parent suggested the two districts and city should work together to have the site be used for the new middle school.

Unused land was also found at Hillsdale High from two areas: A .8669-acre spot at Del Monte Street and Hillsdale Boulevard and a 2.1-acre spot south of the football and baseball fields and home to some basketball and tennis courts at Hillsdale Boulevard and Alameda de las Pulgas.

The committee considered all of the district high school sites and found no excess space at Burlingame, San Mateo, Capuchino, Mills or Aragon.

Input gathered last night and at a future January meeting will be considered by the committee during a revision of the report before it ultimately goes to the San Mateo Union High School District Board of Trustees for a vote. If the Board of Trustees deems the property surplus, the committee recommends the land be used for a long-term lease or an outright sale.

Heather Murtagh can be reached by e-mail: heather@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 105.