Officials weigh fate of school’s radio station

Officials will ultimately be asked to keep, sell or lease the 100-watt station which still plays big band music from its control center housed at the district office in Redwood City.

For his part, district Trustee Alan Sarver said officials will weigh its monetary and educational value at the upcoming meeting to determine if they wish to keep the station.

“We’ll have the conversation and decide whether there is really enough likelihood for real value to our student population in a way that is worth leveraging before we give up on it,” he said.

The low-power station has been owned and operated by the school district on the portion of the FM spectrum reserved for nonprofit organizations. It currently runs automated music programming, barring periodic sports broadcasts or student productions.

For nearly four decades, the station was located at the Menlo-Atherton High School campus, before its relocation to the district’s electric maintenance shop in 2016. Following a board discussion in June, trustees directed administration and a public media consultant to examine ways to reintroduce the channel into the district’s career technical education programming.

From that direction, those charged with offering guidance crafted three options — establish the station as a vibrant asset for students and beef up its usefulness, lease the license it to another nonprofit or sell the station, equipment and music collection for an estimated sum of between $300,000 or $1.2 million, according to a district report.

For his part, Sarver suggested officials are not yet committed to taking any direction with the station.

“I think we’ll have an open conversation. I honestly have no idea which way we’ll end up being swayed and voting,” he said.

The high school district is the second local school system to recently decide the fate of its broadcast asset, as the San Mateo Community College District Board of Trustees recently agreed to sell its KCSM-TV station.

College district officials earlier this year approved selling the television station to a public broadcaster in Santa Rosa for $11.5 million. The decision followed a botched attempt to sell the channel through an $114 million auction, which led to counter lawsuits filed by the district and a consultant hired to facilitate the auction sale. The case is still making its way through the courts.

For the high school district, Sarver said a critical decision will be whether a terrestrial radio station which is falling out of favor with a younger generation of students can still serve to help build modern skills.

He suggested the station could help students hone their podcasting abilities, or further enhance the digital arts programming offered throughout the district. He balanced those recommendations though against a recognition that the station may simply be too antiquated to justify the investment required to make it more vibrant.

“I think the sense is that it is a primarily older resource that has brought value over the years, but it seems to be fading and harder to see the value in it,” he said. “If we can see our way to providing meaningful student value, then we’ll pursue it. And if we can’t, we’ll wave a fond farewell and turn the page.”

The Sequoia Union High School District Board of Trustees meets 6 p.m., in the district office, 480 James Ave., Redwood City.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 105