Santa Clara Unified board approves plan to relocate New Valley High to Educational Options campus

The Santa Clara Unified School District Board of Trustees voted to approve a staff plan to relocate New Valley High School to the Educational Options campus (the Wilson/Ed Options site), after presentations from staff, principals and students and an extended public-comment period on the proposal.

District Superintendent Gary Waddell said the recommendation was driven by student needs: “It’s all about the kids,” he told the board, and he thanked site leaders, students and families for participating in the planning process. Michelle Healy, director of facilities development and planning, described the relocation footprint on the northwest corner of the Educational Options site, the intended program moves and an initial cost estimate.

The plan calls for building roughly 15 new classrooms for New Valley (including a science lab, art and media spaces and a wellness center), a new administration building, hard courts, shade-covered outdoor dining, a bus loop on Benton and shared use of the pool, gym and cafeteria with adult education and postsecondary programs. Wilson High School and some postsecondary classes would move to the modernized Laurelwood campus; other adult-education and family-child programs would remain on the Educational Options campus but be reorganized into more concentrated wings.

A preliminary site plan shows demolition of portable classrooms in the northwest corner, reconfiguration of existing spaces and possible additional parking. Healy said the district will pursue CEQA review and Department of Toxic Substances Control soil testing. The staff’s current high-level cost estimate for the New Valley construction and modernization at the Educational Options site is about $65 million; modernization at the existing Laurelwood site is estimated at about $6.7 million. Healy cautioned those are preliminary estimates “without some contingencies we normally see on projects” and said tariffs and other market factors could change costs.

The district described a tentative schedule that assumes immediate issuance of an RFP to hire an architect, about two years of design and two years of construction under a typical timeline, and an opening of the new New Valley campus in August 2029 under the timeline presented. Staff said an accelerated three-year timeline was analyzed but would likely require compressed DSA review and midyear moves for schools, which staff judged risky.

Students, staff and families of New Valley gave a majority of the public comments. Dozens of current New Valley students described improved attendance, mental-health supports and credit recovery they said the program provides. Student speakers and New Valley staff framed the move as an opportunity to provide “equitable” facilities — fields, a gym, science labs, and a cafeteria — comparable to other high schools in the district. Dr. Lori Stapleton, New Valley principal, told trustees the school serves a broad range of students and that enrollment has at times run closer to 180–250 students a year; she emphasized New Valley’s results and recent recognition as a California Distinguished continuation high school.

Neighbors and other residents raised questions about community outreach, tree removal, traffic and whether the site choice best balances competing uses on the Educational Options campus. Several neighbors said they had not known about the relocation plan until recently and asked for more outreach during the design phase. Healy said staff had held multiple work group meetings and town halls, including a second Educational Options town hall the week before the meeting, and that the architect will be asked early in the design stage to engage the neighborhood. She also said the district commits to replace trees removed for construction on a two-for-one basis and will perform an updated arborist assessment once design decisions are firm.

Trustees asked detailed operational questions about program continuity, adult-education scheduling and potential impacts to aquatic and gym classes. Healy and other staff said they will survey existing adult-education participants and attempt to reschedule classes where feasible; she acknowledged some aquatic classes might have to be moved or rescheduled depending on locker-room locations and building siting. Staff also said most existing permanent classrooms at the Educational Options site were modernized in recent bond work and would likely not require wholesale renovation.

After board discussion and a roll-call vote, the trustees approved the staff relocation plan and directed staff to begin architect procurement and the next steps described in the presentation. Trustees and district leaders said they will continue community outreach through the design phase and return with updates on costs, design and CEQA findings.

Votes at a glance - Motion to approve staff relocation plan for New Valley High School to the Educational Options campus (motion: Trustee Fairchild; second: Trustee Ryan). Outcome: approved. (Transcript records motion and approval; board directed staff to proceed to architect RFP and CEQA steps.) - Motion to approve agenda earlier in the meeting (motion: Trustee Ryan; second: Trustee Watanabe). Outcome: approved 6–1 with Trustee Muirhead recorded as voting no (transcript roll call). - Several consent and action items on the evening agenda passed by recorded roll calls (resolutions for Briarwood CEQA and master plan, HR appointments, salary schedules, consultant/contract approvals and others); most of those were recorded as passing unanimously or by the roll-call totals stated on the record (see meeting minutes for exact tallies).

Why this matters: New Valley is a continuation school serving students needing credit recovery and targeted supports; staff and student speakers said the current modular campus lacks science labs, a full cafeteria, indoor gym and outdoor field space. Board approval of the relocation plan starts the architect-hiring and environmental-review process and directs bond-funded design and construction steps that, if realized as presented, would provide New Valley students a permanent campus with classrooms and shared facilities comparable to other district high schools.

The board asked staff to return with final budget numbers after DSA/architect assessment and CEQA steps, and to continue robust community outreach during the design phase.