District weighs hefty school purchase offer

Reserving further comment until the meeting takes place, board President Teri Chavez said she plans to take the action she considers appropriate to defend the needs of the school community.

“As I prepare to cast my vote, the residents of San Bruno have my commitment that I will vote in the interest of our children,” she said in an email. “Their futures are too important to put at risk.”

The upcoming decision follows a process that has played out over the past year, which most recently featured officials agreeing to pick Pulte Home Company as the preferred bidder on the site.

The land at 2010 Sneath Lane was formerly home to Engvall Middle School, prior to a decision to shutter the campus in 1989. The site is currently rented to the golf facility, but officials reserve the right to cut the lease short if an acquisition deal is reached.

Last month, Chavez said the Pulte Home Company offer was the most desirable among other bids from D.R. Horton, Presidio Development Partners and SummerHill Homes. Requests for proposals were first sought in August.

Chavez had said the proposals ranged in development density and some sought to lease the land, but officials preferred Pulte’s offer to buy the land and build single-family homes, in alignment with much of the surrounding neighborhood.

The opportunity to sell the campus aligns with similar, previous decisions by the board which opted last year to sell the former El Crystal Elementary School site for $13.5 million to the Stratford School, which also leases the former Crestmoor Elementary School campus.

El Crystal Elementary School was closed as part of a pivot by officials away from a system built around neighborhood schools to a regional one with larger campuses. Officials are hopeful the transformation will free the district from the budget constraints which have hamstrung operations for years.

The revenue generated by the property sales will help pay toward the rebuild of existing facilities which need to be revamped and improved to accommodate more students, as it can only finance facility needs and not operations. Officials will use the sales money in tandem with the $79 million raised by a recent bond measure.

In other business, officials will also consider an offer by Coastal Business Group and wireless infrastructure company Crown Castle to install a new Sprint cellphone communication tower on district land.

If approved, the company would pay $1,750 per month over five years to lease about 4,000 square feet of space at either the former Engvall site, the former Crestmoor Elementary School campus or the Rollingwood Elementary School campus. After the five years expire, the rent would increase according to the cost of living index. There are additional options included in the proposed lease agreement, which would yield another $17,000 for the district for additional years.

The district has a similar agreement in place already at Belle Air Elementary School, which was first reached in 2005.

The San Bruno Park Elementary School District Board of Trustees meets 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 15, in the district office, 500 Acacia Ave.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

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