Parent-teacher group supports rebuilding school

1 ) First and foremost, our concerns are for the safety and education of our students. Unfortunately, in recent years our children have endured substandard conditions, safety hazards, and outmoded educational capabilities in the now condemned structure. A new building (as opposed to a remodeled or retrofitted structure) is the only option that will result in a school that meets the most current building codes while also ensuring structural and seismic safety. This is also the only option that will enable the school to have classroom sizes that meet the State and San Mateo Union High School District standard of 960 square feet. Standard size classrooms are vital to the quality of the educational program at SMHS, particularly given the current reality of 30-35 students per classroom.

2) As parents and registered voters, we also want to ensure that our bond monies are spent effectively. A newly-constructed building will clearly result in a structure that is safer, that is current in terms of code requirements, and that will provide an optimal educational environment well into the future. The proposal to reconstruct the school is also the only option that allows the district to access several million dollars in State funding that is earmarked specifically for new construction resulting from an unusual hardship situation. This is a unique opportunity for our community to significantly leverage the power of our local bond monies.

We are concerned that the true voice of the SMHS community has not been fully heard on the issue of whether or not to rebuild SMHS. The opinions to preserve and/or remodel the building have come almost entirely from those who are not parents, teachers, or students, and who by and large do not have a direct stake in the educational mission of SMHS. Their interests lie elsewhere. They are apparently not knowledgeable about the educational conditions at San Mateo High School before the structure was condemned, nor are they experts about what constitutes a safe and optimal educational environment.

It is critical for the public to know that those who are the most focused on the core purpose and fundamental mission of our school ... the safety and education of our children .... are in full support of the proposal to rebuild San Mateo High School.

Sincerely,

Cindy Hohle-Duncan, president

Lisa Diamond

Vlasta Hanson

Nancy Kaiser

Peggy LeDoux

Lisa Meade

Carole Melis

Molly Polidoroff

Ann van Oppen

Lili Walker

Jann Westfall

San Mateo High School Bearcat Parent Teacher Organization

506 North Delaware St.,

San Mateo, CA. 94401<