Residents Gather For Hoover Update

About a dozen residents gathered Tuesday night to learn more about the future of Hoover Elementary School. The school was purchased in October 2010 and is expected to open as a neighborhood K-5 school in the 2014-2015 school year.

Assistant Superintendent Robert Clark began by projecting Burlingame Elementary School District’s enrollment over the next several years. He said that enrollment is cyclical, and Burlingame is in an upward swing, necessitating more classrooms than the current five schools are able to accommodate.

“They’re not enough for where we are now and where we are going,” said Clark, who estimates BSD’s enrollment will grow by 300 students or more by 2017. “My guess is that number will continue to grow.”

In addition to enrollment growth, kindergarten classroom size reduction from 27 students to 22 students and a state mandated increase the number of students needing classrooms in the coming years.

The Burlingame School District Board of Trustees has been working with Dreiling Terrones Architecture since Hoover’s purchase. include removing the current annex building and creating a new structure with five classrooms, a day care facility and office space.

 “The new building is intended to harmonize with the existing buildings,” said architect Jacob Furlong. “[It] integrates with the aesthetic, integrates with the neighborhood.”

Between all the buildings, Hoover is expected to have 11 classrooms and hold about 225 students. Although Clark said the attendance lines for the school will be drawn in the fall of 2012 at the earliest, students will likely come from Lincoln, Franklin and Roosevelt elementary schools. He also said fifth grade students would potentially be grandfathered in at their original schools during Hoover’s first year.

Neighbors of the school attended the meeting voicing concerns over traffic.

“We’re working hard to accommodate increased traffic,” Furlong said. They are looking at slowing traffic in the nearby intersections, adding crosswalks and sidewalks for student safety and keeping the student drop-off internal to the property.

Previously an elementary school, the property was most recently owned by Shinnyo-en, a Buddhist organization. The district sold it during the 1970s when enrollment dropped by 42 percent.

The district bought Hoover using funds from the $48.3 million Measure A bond that was approved in 2007 for school facility renovation and improvement.

Parents and residents are encouraged to visit the Hoover website for updates and more information.