Closed Salinas elementary school may re-open aiding overcrowding, district says

For the last 10 years, Boronda Community School in Salinas has sat mostly empty. The building is currently used for storage and some office space, but that could change because the school may be reopen. The school closed a decade ago.

“It closed because it was small and very tired,” Salinas City Elementary School District assistant superintendent Jerry Stratton said.

With a big grass field and playgrounds outside, it’s easy to picture kids learning here again.

“We have 13 active schools right now. All of those schools are really overcrowded,” Stratton said.

To relieve some of the pressure, the school district said it may reopen the doors here. District leaders are deciding between three options: One, wait a year because the district is in the middle of a superintendent search. Two, bring in three kindergarten classes plus a transitional kindergarten and a pre-kindergarten class and make them all dual immersion. That means half the day in English, and half the day in Spanish. Three, open the school with T-K, pre-k and kindergarten, all dual immersion plus a grade 1, 2, 3 class. The district is pushing for option two, but said any one of them could save classroom space and a lot of money over new construction.

The school district said opening a brand new school would cost about $18 million and renovating the existing school would be about $1.5 million.

The school board already approved $23,000 for infrastructure improvements. There are plans for green features like solar panels and eco-friendly drinking fountains and that could help breathe new life into this old facility. The district will present the three options to the board Monday night.

Stratton said nearby families were disappointed when the school closed because it meant a bus ride for their kids.