Land price for school drops

The price tag for a 7-acre parcel among a 109-acre portion of wetlands in Redwood Shores slated to be the home of a new elementary school dropped to $8 million from the base land price of $9.8 million.

In July 2007, the Belmont-Redwood Shores Elementary School District entered into a contract with land owners Keech Properties for the 7-acre school site. The agreement committed the district to pay $8.5 million. The base land price was set at $9.8 million to be offset by a $1.1 million payment from either the Redwood City General Improvement District Facilities Fees or Keech Properties for development of co-use facilities on the site. With the developer fees coming in as estimated and a reduction in project costs, Max Keech of Keech Properties suggested lowering the district’s cost an additional $700,000 dropping the price to $8 million. The new agreement will go before the board Thursday.

Superintendent Emerita Orta-Camilleri was excited by the decreased cost. The price reduction will allow the district more money to put into the school, such as a fourth kindergarten classroom. In addition, more money can be put aside to ensure costs of the new school are covered, she said.

Efforts to open a new elementary school in Redwood Shores gained momentum in November 2005 when voters approved a $25 million bond measure to pay for the costs of buying land and building a school. The hope was to open the new school by this fall. In January, the opening was postponed until 2010 after a delay in receiving state approval.

Also on Thursday, the board will consider approving the inclusion of the classroom addition — which was part of the original project design, according to a staff report by Nellie Hungerford, associate superintendent of business services and operations. The $350,000 contract would be with Blach Construction and Stafford King Wiese, which offered to waive design fees for the addition if the district acted quickly.

Despite the opening delays, the district continues to work on setting boundaries for the new school site. The current proposal, which will again go before the board Thursday, will create new boundaries for students living on Amalfi Way, Batten Lane, Bayberry Lane, Beacon Shores Drive, Biarritz Court, Boardwalk Place, Bosun Lane, Breaker Lane, 300 to 370 Bridge Parkway, Brigantine Lane, Buccaneer Lane, Buoy Lane, Camerota Way, Captain Lane, Chart Lane, Clipper Drive, Commander Lane, Cork Harbour Circle, Corriente Point Drive, Cove Lane, Dana Point Court, Eyelet Lane, Farallon Drive, Freeport Lane, Frog Valley Lane, Genoa Drive, Gimbal Lane, parts of Gossamer Avenue, Island Place, Isleford Lane, Knot Lane, Kraken Lane, Krystallos Lane, Lacewing Lane, Landmark Lane, Lichen Lane, Livorno Way, London Lane, Mako Lane, Manchester Lane, Mandalay Court, Manhattan Court, Marine Parkway, Meridian Drive, Mindanao Drive, Monaco Drive, Montserrat Drive, Morning Lane, Nature Lane, Newcastle Lane, Newport Circle, Nice Court, Northampton Lane, Oceanside Way, Passage Lane, Pelican Lane, Pilot Circle, Portwalk Place, Poseidon Lane, Positano Circle, Prism Lane, Positano Circle, Prism Lane, Promenade Lane, Rainsong Lane, Rivermist Lane, Rockingham Lane, 1065 to 2069 Rockport Ave., Saint Martin Drive, Salt Court, parts of Sandhurst Street, Sandlewood Lane, Savona Way, Sea Cliff Lane, Seabrook Court, Seabrook Lane, Sealight Lane, Seasons Lane, Shell Drive, Shorebird Circle, Shoreline Drive, Solstice Lane, Sotocastle Lane, Starfish Lane, Sun Blossom Lane, Treasure Island Drive, Treedust Street, Waterlily Lane, Westwind Lane, Whisper Lane, Whisperwave Circle, Windblown Lane, Windfield Lane and Windlea Lane.

To make up for the high enrollment, kindergarten students are transferred from Sandpiper, the only elementary school in Redwood Shores, to Nesbit in Belmont. There are no kindergarten students at Sandpiper. Those kindergartners start school at Sandpiper in first grade.

The problem led to the passage of the bond money in 2005.

This delay, and a continued enrollment spike within the district, means new schedules such as morning/afternoon kindergarten classes are being considered as short-term solutions.

Last year, five new classrooms were added to the district when school kicked off with 164 students more than were enrolled the previous year. This year’s enrollment increased about 150 students.

Despite planning ahead by adding three classrooms in June 2007 and opening a fourth in August, the district still needed to open another classroom.

This trend is slated to continue this fall with a projected additional 124 students — resulting in the need for five to six more classrooms.

Staggering kindergarten classes was previously approved as the potential short-term solution to the enrollment issues until the new school opens. Schools are currently working out schedules for the change. Those will become available later this school year.

The board meets 7 p.m. Thursday, April 2 at the District Office, 2960 Hallmark Drive, Belmont.

Heather Murtagh can be reached by e-mail: heather@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 105.