History
Prior to 1994, high school students belonging to the San Gabriel Unified School District (SGUSD) attended San Gabriel High School, which is part of the Alhambra School District, since SGUSD did not have a high school of its own.
In April 1992, San Gabriel residents won the right to educate their own high school students by ballot measure, winning 61% of votes to establish an autonomous school operated by the SGUSD. In response, the Alhambra School District (ASD) filed a lawsuit alleging that the California Board of Education had improperly excluded Alhambra voters and because ASD stood to lose as much as $1.8 million USD in state funding, since the planned high school would siphon away 1,400 students. Homeowners in San Gabriel also led the opposition to a bitterly disputed bond measure, claiming they would fight the district's attempts to raise the funds necessary to build the high school, which would be temporarily situated at the site of the old Jefferson Middle School campus. They complained the high school would cause congestion and lower their property values.
On November 13, 1993, San Gabriel Unified School District officials voted 327 to 241 to name the planned high school "Gabrielino High School," which became the first public building in California to honor the Gabrielino Indians (Tongva people).
In September 8, 1994, Gabrielino High School opened its doors to its first class, teaching 9th graders. Alhambra School District retained responsibility to school 10th to 12th graders until 1995, as part of an agreement signed by both districts in June, the same month Alhambra filed its lawsuit. The school's site on Lafayette Street formerly housed Jefferson Intermediate School, which was moved to the location of the former Madison Elementary School north of Las Tunas Road.
In June 1994, the Los Angeles Superior Court ruled in favor of Alhambra, declaring that the 1992 election was unconstitutional because all the stakeholders had not been allowed to vote in the measure. However, on December 22, 1994, the 2nd District Court of Appeals overturned the previous ruling, declaring that San Gabriel Unified School District residents had a right to independently establish their own boundaries, citing California Board of Education approval. In January 1995, Alhambra School District dropped its case against Gabrielino High School, citing the money and time needed to pursue its goal of shutting down the high school.
On March 20, 1999, an arsonist set a $2 million USD fire that destroyed 2 offices and 10 classrooms, effectively displacing 400 of the 1,400 students on campus.
On December 5, 2011, the San Gabriel Unified School District Board voted 3-2 not to renew the contract of Sharon Heinrich, the school's principal, for 2012-2013 school year, citing concerns about her leadership and supervisory abilities, against the opinion of Gabrielino alumni, students and faculty. On January 9, 2012, the Board reversed its previous decision, following community outcry.
Read more about this topic: Gabrielino High School
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