Deal to sell school in San Bruno dissolves

The district, in 2018, had agreed to sell the campus which was closed due to declining enrollment, but a press release said the private school pulled out of the deal due to the high price of renovating the property.

“Stratford’s bids for the significant renovations required for this facility have come in much higher than Stratford had budgeted for, and the organization does not believe it makes financial sense for them to proceed at this time,” said the press release signed by Superintendent Jose Espinoza and school board President Andrew Mason.

Looking ahead, Mason said the dissolved deal grants officials a new chance to take a closer look at ways to use the former El Crystal campus. Noting the issue still needs to be assessed collectively by the school board, Mason said he favors considering the variety of community needs when determining next steps.

Noting it is publicly owned, Mason questioned whether affordable housing could be developed on the land and expressed interest in discussing the issue with city officials and the rest of the San Bruno community.

When the deal was made to sell the land, San Bruno officials were in the midst of a plan crafted by former Superintendent Stella Kemp to reconfigure the district’s real estate assets. Mason noted Espinoza has since been hired and it may be time for officials to revisit the previous leadership’s vision.

At the time, officials had planned to use the sales money in tandem with the $79 million raised by a recently-approved bond measure to finance reconstruction and modernization of the district’s aging facilities. Officials had also discussed shuttering and selling the Rollingwood Elementary School site, but plans have not been aggressively pursued.

Additionally, earlier this year, board officials narrowly agreed to sell the expansive former Engvall Middle School site for $79.5 million. Home builder Pulte Home Company acquired the 21 acres leased by the San Bruno Golf Center to develop the site zoned for single-family homes.

The agreement modeled a recent deal for San Mateo Union High School District officials, who earlier this month agreed to sell the former Crestmoor High School campus in San Bruno to D.R. Horton, which will acquire the 40-acre campus to build between 120 and 200 homes at 300 Piedmont Ave.

The high school and elementary school districts are separate and the terms of the agreements were crafted independently, however, the two deals considered in tandem could lead to development of hundreds of new homes in San Bruno on properties which were previously school campuses.

For his part, Mason has been critical of plans to sell San Bruno Park Elementary School District land and in previous decisions favored renting the property instead. To that end, he voted with Trustee Jennifer Blanco earlier this year against the proposal to sell the former Engvall campus.

Profits made from land sales can only be used to address district facilities but there are fewer restrictions placed on revenue generated by leasing land.

Mason was previously concerned by the lack of community input involved in the decision to sell the Engvall site too, and expressed hope that the dissolved deal to sell the El Crystal campus would give way to more comprehensive deliberation around the future of the land.

“In the new year, the board will look at the district’s different disposition options for this site. We will keep you informed as to the decision-making process and timeline,” said the press release.

austin@smdailyjournal.com