Peninsula High Relocation Plans Face Opposition

The San Mateo County Times reported that a proposal to relocate to either San Mateo High's or Hillsdale High's campuses is facing widespread opposition from families there and the San Mateo police chief.

Concerns about gang violence were the primary reason why people at a San Mateo Union High School District meeting on Monday were so opposed having the Peninsula High campus moved to the same site as a traditional high school, the Times reported.

According to the Times:

"The addition of outside rival gang members in this fragile neighborhood," Police Chief Susan Manheimer wrote in a memo, "will likely create violent conflicts, open hostility, and an environment that will take extraordinary police resources to quell."

Since —the $186 million bond measure that will pay off district debt, fund classroom projects and finance a new continuation school to replace the high school district's continuation schol—Superintendent Scott Laurence has been working on finding a more suitable location for Peninsula High, which currently is housed on the former Crestmoor High site.

Four options have been proposed so far, with three focusing on moving Peninsula High outside of San Bruno.

The Times continued:

But the potential of melding Peninsula students with traditional students caused opposition from San Mateo and Hillsdale parents, the San Mateo City Council and Chief Manheimer.

Police estimate that 20 percent of Peninsula students have ties to criminal street gangs, some of which are based in San Bruno and Millbrae and have rivalries with gangs in North Central.

This raises the question: If Peninsula High can't be moved to another site because of concerns about gang violence, then where should the school be relocated? Or should it just stay in San Bruno?

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