City of Sunnyvale, City Council

and

Sunnyvale School District, Board of Education

Joint Meeting

Study Session Minutes

May 18, 2004

1.                  Call to Order

Board of Education completed actions associated with a regular meeting.

2.                  Introductions

3.                  School Facility Needs Analysis-Progress Report (1hour 15 minutes)

a.      Joint Presentation by City and School District staff

b.      Input and Direction

Presentation:  Trudi Ryan, Planning Officer, and Benjamin Picard, Deputy Superintendent, presented the status of the joint project to identify future school facility needs.  As part of the analysis, future school enrollment projections and the gap between existing school capacity and future demand were presented. Funding and capacity options for satisfying the future projected demand were also presented.

Question 1:  Aren’t there currently closed school sites?

Answer 1:  Yes, there are three:  DeAnza, Hollenbeck and Adair.

Question 2:  Have developer fees been considered as a source funding?

Answer 2:  Yes, this was one of the options presented.  School fees are currently collected for residential development, and fees could be collected for commercial/industrial, but these would only  provide a very small amount of funding needed to satisfy future projected demand for school facilities.

Question 3:  Did the enrollment projections address potential state-required class-size reductions?

Answer 3:  Only the 20 to 1 class-size reduction for grades K – 3 was included in the enrollment projections.  Although there had been discussions at the state level regarding further class-size reductions, the state has decided not to pursue them at this time.

Joseph Rudnicki, Superintendent of the Sunnyvale School District, presented a slide showing estimates of school construction costs. The point was made that developer fees would not cover these costs.

Comment 1:  20% of Redevelopment Agency Tax Increment must be used for affordable housing.  It is estimated that this would amount to $19M.

Comment 2:  Should the park site in the middle of the Industrial-to-Residential area be looked at for a school site?

Question 5:  Could a park site be swapped for an existing school site?

Answer 5:  The city is required to provide a certain amount of park area within a certain distance from the communities they serve.  This scenario poses the same proximity issue as for school sites.

Question 6:  Are any closed school sites large enough for a middle school?

Answer 6:  No, however, if part of Washington Park could be dedicated for school use, the Adair School site combined with Washington Park could potentially be large enough for a middle school.

Comment 3: Concerns regarding displacement of Mobile Home residents were expressed. 

Question 7:  Is class size dictated by the state?

Answer 7:  No, but the state provides funding to school districts that limit class sizes to 20 for grades K – 3.  However, as a long-term trend, it is expected that class sizes will become smaller to improve academic performance.

Question 8:  Is Orchard Park large enough for a school site?

Answer 8:  No, it is only approximately 2-3 acres in size.

4.                  Traffic Safety Information—change in drop off points at school sites (5 minutes)

Following a presentation of possible on-site modifications at Sunnyvale schools, council directed staff to work with the School District staff to identify the “worst” case as a pilot project to determine how the city could assist.

5.                  Discussion of Frequency of future joint meetings (5 minutes)

Council directed city staff to continue the joint collaboration with the school district and to schedule another joint session for the two agencies once the final report on Facility Planning is available.