Campus sale jeopardizes future of San Bruno preschool

Claiming concerns she raised to district officials yielded limited and inadequate responses, Jepsen said she is struggling to balance the challenging emotions posed by her business being jeopardized.

“It’s really sad to me. I feel very disrespected,” said Jepsen.

Jepsen, who has owned and operated the early education program for roughly 20 years, said she was notified by high school district officials in May that her rental lease would be terminated at the end of June.

After following up with officials, that deadline was pushed back until the end of August. But since then, Jepsen said limited details have been offered regarding ways the school can operate under restrictions imposed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to uncertainty about the fate of the program.

“The most difficult thing is to not get clear answers. Then I can’t give clear answers to my parents and that is frustrating on both ends,” she said.

For his part, Superintendent Kevin Skelly acknowledged the challenges facing the preschool, and hoped the two sides could work together on finding a solution.

“We understand the importance of the service Crayon College has provided to the families it serves and can understand their disappointment,” he said in an email. “We hope to be able to aid the preschool in finding a new location that will meet their needs and exceed their expectations.”

He said the preschool will need to find another location though, because maintenance personnel will be pulled from the site in September and it will be unsuitable for small children.

Plans call for a residential developer to acquire the 40-acre site where single-family homes could be built. Officials identified a list of potential builders which have expressed interest in the site, but no company has been identified. The continuation high school previously operating at Crestmoor has already been relocated, clearing the way for the district to begin discussions around selling the site.

For her part, Jepsen wondered why her program couldn’t stay in place before the sale is finalized. Such an opportunity would give her program and families some security until a more sustainable location is found.

“Why can’t we remain there for a period of time until we find a new location to support our families and community?,” she asked. Skelly though said the facilities are old and incapable of operating without a maintenance team.

Christina Manina, a parent of two children at the preschool serving children between 2 and 5, shared her frustration with the school district.

“It just puts us in a really difficult spot because we don’t have child care and now we don’t have preschool,” she said, citing the area’s lack of available spots in local child care programs.

Melissa Torrentes, who also has a daughter at the school, shared a similar perspective, noting the difficulties faced for families struggling amid a pandemic.

“During an already traumatic and stressful time, when our daughter is too young to truly understand why she can’t go to school to see her friends and teachers, she will now be forced to transition to a new school in a new building with new teachers. This is wrong.” she said in an email.

For her part, Jepsen shared the frustration of wanting to help her school community while not being able to provide clear answers regarding the fate of the program.

“It just seems so unfair to the parents, the students and the teachers,” she said.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

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