Letter: One former Cunha student wishes CUSD had decided sooner

Tom Chimienti is a senior at HMBHS

The future site of the new HMB middle school has finally been decided after ten years of conflict. The Cabrillo school district voted unanimously to select the site on which the school already rests instead of the controversial Wavecrest site. Many believe it is a wetland that needs to be preserved.

The school is to be completed September 2009. The class of 2006 was said to be the first class to graduate from the new middle school; too bad they will all be able to buy an alcoholic beverage before the new school is completed. The Cunha site proves to be more economic and logical, while the Wavecrest site included a residential neighborhood, irrigation pond and commercial space. The original plans even had retail stores, which would have hurt all of the downtown main street businesses. Even if Wavecrest was accepted by the school board and city council they do not have the final say. So it would still have to be approved by the California Coastal Commission which makes it a futile choice.

I am glad they have finally made this choice. At my times at Cunha I could easily walk across highway one to get home or occasionally I would stop into Cunha store for a sandwich after school with my friends. These simple tasks would have become extremely harder if I was stuck further down highway one and even risky. I wouldn’t have been able to walk home because it’s not safe to walk along a highway especially in the rain. I look forward to seeing these renovations on the school; I only wish they had started sooner. Hopefully my younger sister will get a chance to enjoy them. I believe this will greatly benefit and keep the heart of the city from looking run down.