Gateway School Celebrates New Facility After Fire Destroyed Building In 2008

With bright sunlight flooding the brand-new building, Principal Laurene Beto was beaming. It was nearly three years ago when arson destroyed the former Gateway School, and the 50 students receiving specialized education in the program have been doing so in a series of portable classrooms ever since.

Today, one year after Blach Construction broke ground on the project, those portables are no longer needed.

“About a week ago, a temporary fence—that was pretty ugly and was originally put up to cover a piece of scorched ground—was removed to reveal a beautiful building,” the principal said. “It’s like coming home.”

Today’s ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrated the reopening of the special education facility that includes two classrooms and a therapy room.

“Today is truly a day of celebration,” said Santa Clara County Superintendent Charles Weis. “The loss was devastating to the school and the community.

“Today, we are back,” he said.

Insurance on the former building paid for the $4.4 million reconstruction, the superintendent said.

Former Mayor Sig Sanchez attended the ceremony along with several representatives of county education, and current Mayor Al Pinheiro took part in the ribbon-cutting with a student from the school.

The school also received a $720 donation from the Mulhern Realty Team, part of the team’s initiative to donate 10 percent of its transaction income to a school of its client’s choosing.

Operated under the Santa Clara County Office of Education, the Gateway School, at 7151 Hannah St., serves South County students with medical and cognitive disabilities.