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Hearst Elementary School parents and neighbors are still urging the Pleasanton Unified School District to rule out the school as a potential relocation site for its maintenance, operations and transportation (MOT) facilities, citing concerns about the loss of playing field space, safety and lack of communication regarding the plan.
The effort is being led by Thomas Choi, a Pleasanton parent and school board Area 5 candidate who has formed a grassroots coalition of parents and residents opposing the possible relocation. He said more than 160 people have signed a petition asking the district to remove Hearst Elementary from the list of proposed sites.
“My point to the board through this whole process has been just be transparent with the community and make sure everyone is at least aware before we start committing money and resources to making these changes,” Choi said. “And unfortunately, with respect to this Hearst MOT relocation, this hasn’t been happening.”
The Pleasanton school district is looking to relocate the MOT facilities as part of a plan to sell or redevelop the Bernal Avenue property, which used to house the district’s headquarters. The board moved its administrative offices to West Las Positas Boulevard about three years ago, after spending just under $23.5 million to buy the two-building property.
The district hopes to put seven acres of the property up for sale or redevelop the land itself. That revenue would be combined with rental income from electron microscopy firm Gatan Inc., which is leasing space in the West Las Positas offices, to generate new revenue.
The district board has since declared the old district headquarters site a surplus property. It has already relocated several of the programs that used to occupy space on the property, including Village High School, its adult education programs and its graphics department. Frey said work is currently underway to relocate the STEAM Preschool program to Harvest Park Middle School.
“As part of its commitment to responsible fiscal stewardship, Pleasanton Unified School District continues to explore opportunities to use its real estate assets strategically to generate additional revenue and strengthen (the district’s) long-term financial sustainability,” said Susanne Frey, the district’s safety and communications coordinator.
In 2025, the district began looking for commercial properties that could host the MOT, Frey said, focusing on several key factors: proximity to school sites, sufficient space for MOT functions, access for daily deliveries and service vehicles, student safety and minimizing impacts on surrounding neighborhoods.
“To date, staff has not identified a suitable commercial property due to cost, size and limited availability,” Frey said.
The board subsequently directed staff to assess three school sites: Hearst Elementary, Pleasanton Middle School and space currently occupied by a tenant at the current district offices on West Las Positas Boulevard.
Staff ruled out Pleasanton Middle School due to “site layout and space constraints,” according to a presentation on the options presented at an August board facility committee meeting.
The other two sites, however, were deemed viable, though staff noted relocating the MOT to the new district offices would involve some tradeoffs. The district would have to give up the rental income it collects from the tenant currently occupying the space, and it would have to build vehicle bays in the Hard Middle School parking lot.
According to the Aug. 12 committee presentation, the proposed plan at Hearst Elementary would place the MOT yard on the southeast corner of the school, where the grass field is located. MOT vehicles would enter and exit from Case Avenue, while buses would primarily be parked at Pleasanton Middle School.
Choi said that while he doesn’t believe the school is an appropriate site for the MOT yard, the bigger issue is the district’s lack of communication about the plan. He said he stumbled upon the Aug. 12 presentation by chance while digging through other school board and district documents.
He said the community had no idea the proposal was even being considered.
“There needs to be more transparency and more community engagement because when it does affect your neighborhood, and when it does affect your kids, you’ll see that people are going to be engaged, people are going to want to have a say and people are reasonable,” Choi said.
While the district describes the Hearst playing field as “underutilized,” community members disagree, with one writing on a “Save Hearst Fields” website created by Choi that the field is “an essential part of a school environment.”
Choi said the district should have been more conscious with decisions it has made about its surplus properties over the last few years, adding that those could have been better options for the MOT yard.
Frey said the district has evaluated the possibility of relocating the MOT yard to the unused property of Donlon Elementary School that the board is considering declaring as surplus land, but the site was ruled out due to “access challenges and the property’s potential value for future residential development.”
“A potential sale could help fund a new MOT facility or allow the district to reinvest in properties that generate ongoing revenue to support schools and students,” Frey said.
District staff at a board facility committee meeting last month reiterated that no decisions have been made regarding the relocation. The district is currently studying the possibility of keeping the yard at the existing Bernal Avenue location, including associated costs and the potential impact on future plans for the property and revenue opportunities, Frey said.
She said staff anticipates returning to the facility committee with new information sometime in the first half of 2027.
Choi, however, said the financial implications of keeping the yard on site and delaying the sale of the property could push officials to go with the Hearst option. He said he’s working to inform neighbors now because he wants the district to have the opportunity to respond to community feedback before a plan is finalized.
“We shouldn’t be using finances as a means to drive decisions that are going to impact our kids in our communities,” Choi said. “It needs to be a decision that is best for our community, that’s best for our kids and for the long-term future of our district.”
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