|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The likelihood of converting an unused portion of the Donlon Elementary School field into some form of housing continue to increase with the Pleasanton Unified School District Board of Trustees set to resume those discussions Thursday.
This comes after the board already expressed initial support for declaring the 4.7 acres of empty land as surplus last month, following a recommendation from the district’s 7-11 Advisory Committee which held several public meetings and discussions regarding the matter.
Some of the information the advisory committee based its recommendation on included enrollment, current usage, planned residential developments and other similar points.
According to the June 25 presentation, one of the potential uses for the portion of land, which is bordered by Denker Drive and Payne Road, is converting it into 21 single-family residential homes.Â
Other housing options include building townhomes or apartments that would be set at below market rates — the presentation alludes to workforce housing.
The last option staff will present is leasing the unused portion of land to a developer for 99 years. Under this option, the district would still generate revenue based on the “agreed upon lease rate of the land.”
However, staff will also go over how the affordable housing and ground lease options typically would require a larger parcel of land and would need to be closer to mass transit in order to be feasible.
The board’s open-session meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Thursday (June 25). Read the full agenda here.
In other business:
* The board will be discussing the possible restoration of several budget cuts and associated positions in light of newly-realized dollars in the district’s 2026-27 budget, which will also be up for final adoption in a separate item Thursday.
The budget cuts that the board will be looking at possibly rescinding were first approved by the board last year and included a total of $11.2 million in reductions. At the time, the district said these cuts were needed to “ensure the District’s fiscal solvency,” according to Thursday’s agenda report.
After having discussed the district’s proposed 2026-27 annual budget earlier this month, which outlined how PUSD will be receiving significant new state funding and $11.7 million in onetime funds, the board will now discuss which of the previously approved budget cuts and reductions can be restored.
“Staff provided the Board with considerations on how ongoing and one-time funds may be allocated or spent,” according to the staff report. “The Board requested that staff bring back options for the Board’s consideration regarding the restoration of positions on the reduction lists with additional funds based on the 2026/27 Budget.”
* Despite the new state funding and one-time funds touted in the 2026-27 annual budget, which will be up for final approval, district staff will be asking the board to approve a resolution that would allow PUSD to temporarily borrow about $15 million from the Alameda County Treasurer.
The reason for the request, according to staff, is because based on the district’s General Fund beginning balance for 2026-27 and revenue disbursements, the district’s “month-to-month cash flow will go negative in 2026.”
“In December 2026, the District will receive its local property taxes that are part of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) calculation, which will restore the District fund balance to a positive state,” staff noted in Thursday’s report.
According to staff, the county will charge interest — current interest earnings are between 3% and 3.5% at the county treasury — based on “what they would have earned if the money were kept in their account.”
“Staff will only borrow what is actually needed based on actual cash flow needs,” the report further states. “The borrowed funds from Alameda County Treasurer will be repaid on the back end when the County disburses our LCFF revenues in April 2027.”
* Trustees will vote on approving a revised contract between the district and Superintendent Maurice Ghysels. The revised contract will remain similar to the original except Ghysels will receive just over $6,200 less in his annual salary if the revised version is approved.
He will also work less days, per his new contract which will remain in effect until next June.
“These changes reflect the Governing Board’s review of the Superintendent’s employment terms and compensation for the 2026–2027 contract year and align with the District’s broader budget reduction efforts,” according to staff.
* In addition to Ghysels’ salary discussion, the board will also vote on approving new salary schedules for crossing guards, which reflect their increased pay rate, and for management and executive cabinet staff, whose work calendar has been reduced and whose educational stipends have been suspended per the budget reductions the board approved last November.
* With the Amador Valley High School Building N roof reaching the end of its life, the board will consider approving a $1 million roof replacement contract to the “lowest responsive and responsible bidder.”
According to staff, this project would be funded by the $395 million Measure I bond that voters passed four years ago.
* Trustees will be voting on two separate middle school field renovation contracts.
The first is a $200,000 contract for the construction of new synthetic turf — in addition to the already existing field — as well as concrete for future picnic tables or small benches at Pleasanton Middle School.
The second is a $931,700 contract to repave a portion of the blacktop at Harvest Park Middle School. The scope of work for the Harvest Park project includes removing old asphalt, adding new paving and addressing site drainage.
