A portable journey

"For the ones who went through this they certainly have our sympathy," said Bob Arnold, associate superintendent of business services at San Mateo Union High School District.

But there will be, "generations who will go through this school after they do," he said.

Some students, teachers and administrators said they liked the carpeted and air-conditioned 960-square-foot portable classrooms, but others said they looked longingly over the chain link fence to the sturdier foundations of the new school that has risen next to it in four years.

"I wanted to graduate out of the building because it's tradition," said Michael Green, a San Mateo High senior.

Green waited for his ride home on Wednesday sheltered from the rain in Bearcat Lair, an asphalt area with metal picnic benches between rows of portable classrooms. The temporary classrooms were placed for four years above what was a parking lot and playgrounds.

A bond measure passed in November 2000 funded the construction of the new high school, and building started in 2001. A group of preservationists tried to stop the demolition of the old school for historical and other reasons, but it could not have withstood a 6.0 earthquake and was deemed unsafe, Arnold said.

The new seismically-safe school was expected to take two-and-a-half years to build, but it has taken an extra year in part because of the lawsuit and rain that held up construction.

The new building now looks like a twin of its old self, and has some bricks in it from the original building.

"It looks like a school that you see on TV, like a rich school," said Claudia Tatola, a San Mateo sophomore.

Tatola and her friends said they did not mind the portables, though at least one has a leaky roof. The temporary high school made of rows of temporary classrooms has no lockers, and students carry their books with them all day. Tatola carries six books to classes each day, but others said they often leave their books at home and get in trouble.

There will be hundreds of three-foot-high, sandy or gray-brown lockers in the new building, along with updated classrooms, bathrooms and enclosed hallways designed to dampen the noise of hundreds of students between class periods.

A school's environment is important, Arnold said, "but the quality of the program is dependent on the staff, and San Mateo High School has an outstanding staff."

The new school's library, B and C wing parallel to Poplar Avenue are complete, and boxes of teaching materials are expected to be moved in the next two weeks. Landscaping is still being added on the main building on Delaware Street, and a crew worked there Wednesday.

Classes end at the high school June 3 and the move will begin June 20.

Senior Michael Moeaki said he thought the temporary classrooms were "alright" because they were large, but he was more excited about the lights proposed for the school's new football field.

A new gymnasium, swimming pool and field have already been added, and their addition may have softened the blow of years of temporary classrooms, Arnold said.

Jeff Diamond's son is a junior at San Mateo, and he said parents may have been more concerned than their children about the absence of permanent classrooms.

Also the president of the San Mateo High School Foundation, Diamond has been raising money to dedicate the new field lights, scoreboard, bleachers and concession stand.

Parents with younger children have also sent students to San Mateo because of its new building.

Persia Perdomo, a 15-year-old freshman, chose San Mateo over Aragon High School at her parents' request, she said.

Principal Jacqueline McEvoy, Superintendent Sam Johnson and Arnold toured the new school Wednesday afternoon, and students said they sometimes sneaked in to take a peek.

"This was a nice experience," Tatola said, standing between rows of portables in the rain. "But it's going to be better because we won't get rained on between classes."

Stephen Baxter can be reached by e-mail at stephen@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 109. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.