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The Pleasanton Unified School District Board of Trustees will be voting on a transfer agreement between the district and the city which would allow PUSD to buy the Amador Theater so that it can tear it down and build a new theater arts facility in the future.
According to Thursday night’s agenda report, the agreement to transfer ownership of the theater from the city to PUSD would go into effect on Sept. 1 given that the board approves the agreement and the district pays the city $100 as per the 50-year agreement the two had regarding the theater.
“The city and district are actively working on the details of the transfer,” according to the staff report. “We expect to operate this facility for the next 2–3 years before it is demolished to make room for the replacement facility.”
In 1988 the district gave the city ownership of the theater per a conveyance agreement because at the time, “the city did not have a theater and the district needed support to maintain and operate the Amador Theater.”
The terms of the agreement stated the city was responsible for ongoing facility repair, maintenance and custodial services while the district handled exterior maintenance and paid for half of the annual utility costs.
But in recent years, the city hasn’t needed the theater as much thanks to the Firehouse Arts Center, where it moved most of its programming. The balcony at the Amador Theater had also been closed due to safety and access concerns.
“Studies conducted by the city indicated that significant renovations would be needed to upgrade the facility or replace it to meet current building codes,” according to the staff report.
In 2022, the district introduced Measure I, a $395 million general obligation bond that voters passed in order to help fund various facility maintenance — including the replacement of the theater. PUSD is planning on using Measure I bond money to demolish the current theater to make way for a new facility that could be used as “educational space for the high school.”
In order to do so, the district must use an option in the conveyance agreement to repurchase the property for $100, which would end the agreement prematurely. There are no specific design plans currently approved for the theater but repurchasing it would at least help the school in other ways as the district gets ready to move forward with demolition in the next two to three years.
“Amador Valley High School will immediately benefit from gaining access to the facility for daily use, especially in light of the small gym’s closure due to fire damage,” according to the staff report.
The board’s open-session meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Thursday (Aug.22). Read the full agenda here.
In other business:
* Board President Mary Jo Carreon will be presenting a discussion item regarding CalSTRS retiree earnings limitation and options for or reinstatement to active service to allow Interim Superintendent Maurice Ghysels to work full-time and for an extended period of time.
* District staff will be recommending that the board approve a $838,209 contract with HED Architects to finalize the design phase for the Walnut Grove Elementary School transitional kindergarten (TK) expansion project. The project, which is being funded by Measure I, aims to build new TK buildings at the school with construction set to begin the next calendar year, if the contract is approved on Thursday.
* The board will be looking at approving a similar TK expansion project contract with HED Architects for the design of new TK buildings at Valley View Elementary School.
