If Lathrop Mayor Joseph “Chaka” Santos has his way, the currently vacant Lathrop School Annex on Thomsen Street would be a facility where the city’s youth and seniors can gather for various activities such as arts, crafts and other programs.

But before that can happen, the city would need the blessings of the Manteca Unified School District. Issues such as whether the city could rent, lease our purchase the property would need to be threshed out first.

The school property includes classrooms which housed Lathrop Elementary’s K-2 grades, and basketball fields in the back which are all immediately adjacent to the city’s Manuel Valverde Park. That is part of the reason the city is interested in the school property. Expanding Valverde Park to the west would be an option given the locations of the two properties, said Council member Sonny Dhaliwal.

“The school (building) could be used for sports or entertainment, culinary arts – something where the kids and seniors in the community could go to. It’s not being used,” the mayor said.

“Being a businessman, I’m all about keeping the city viable. Being an entrepreneur, I want to see how to make use of that (vacant school property). All I know is that if there’s an opportunity to utilize it, let’s utilize it and maybe get private donations to help,” Santos added.

The school district vacated the Lathrop Annex facilities more than two years ago when the K-12 classes and faculty were moved back to the main campus on Fifth Street at the corner of Thomsen Street as part of the effort to cut costs.

Using the vacant school building for city programs and activities and how that can be facilitated is one of the reasons Santos requested a 2x2 meeting with the school district. Trustees Manuel Medeiros and Rex Holliday were named as the school board’s representatives. Santos said he and Vice Mayor Chris Mateo will be representing the City of Lathrop.

No date has been set for the proposed meeting.