Menlo Church pulls Adelante rent proposal. RCSD holds impromptu "closed session" meeting.

As reported by the 7-11 Committee to the RCSD Board of Directors at their June 26 meeting, the initial Stratford Schools bid was $2.85 per square foot compared to $2 offered by Menlo Church. The Stratford bid also included $2,000,000 in improvements. See:Web Link

Prior to that meeting, the 7-11 Committee, expressing "Some concern over potential ADA impacts (Stratford)" recommended that the District reach out to Menlo Church to see if they could significantly improve their offer to approximate that offered by Stratford, and update Stratford on Committee Recommendations. Subsequently, Menlo Church upped their bid to $3 per square foot and added the $2,000,000 improvement. Stratford matched that bid. The 7/11 Committee then recommended that the District

7/11 COMMITTEE
On March 6, 2019, "Mr. Dutra (3D Strategies )provided the School District with an estimated timeline for the selection of 7-11 Committee members that meet the demographic requirements, public meetings, 7-11 Committee presentations, School Board approval on resolution of intent to surplus, required notifications, negotiation with public entities, release offering memoranda, review of proposals with School Board and an implementation plan."

At their April 17, 2019 Board meeting, RCSD Trustees approved selection of 7-11 Committee Members.
"The role of the 7-11 committee will include the following:

To develop and present to the Board of Trustees a report recommending uses of surplus space and real property.
The Committee will have between 7 and 11 members, and be representative of the stakeholder community, including, parents, teachers, District administrators, the business community, and those with expertise in environmental issues, land use law and land use planning.
The Committee will be provided with and will review attendance projections and school site capacity.
The Committee will work with a real property consultants retained by the District to identify potential uses of vacant campuses.
The Committee review and consider legal constraints on the use of the properties, as described in California Education Code.
The Committee will provide for hearings to receive community input on acceptable uses of vacant District real property.
The Committee will have an initial organizing meeting in April 22, 2019, and will then meet about 2-3 additional times, or until the business of the committee is completed.
The District announced the formation of the 7-11 Committee in December and invited community members to apply.
As advised by the real estate agent contracted to work with the District and the 7/11 committee, the District then revised its process to select members from the existing Superintendent’s Advisory Council.
The parents, teachers, and staff members who make up the Superintendent’s Advisory Council are the individuals who brainstormed with the district to come up with ideas on how to help the district solve its financial challenges.
"The Administration recommends that the board approve the following citizens to serve on a District Advisory Committee, also referred to as a 7-11 Committee, to advise the Board of Trustees in the use of real property no longer needed for school purposes. (Education Code Section 17388):

Amy Barstad, Henry Ford Elementary Teacher
Carol Anne Bauman, North Star Academy and Orion Alternative Parent
Shannon Cody, Clifford School Teacher
Rosario González, Fair Oaks Community School Instructional Coach
Shana Hackworth, Orion Alternative Parent
Ann Hynecek, Adelante Spanish Immersion Parent
Beatriz Mancia, Garfield Community School Parent
Richard Porter, Hoover Community School Parent
Leslie Stafford, North Star Academy Parent
Cindy Tong, Mandarin Immersion Parent
Chauntelle Trefz, Roosevelt School Parent"

Any questions?

ADDENDUM
Stratford matched that bid. The 7=11 Committee then recommended that the District "Finalize 3-year lease agreement with Menlo Church with automatic rollover to 10-year lease subject to waiver and surplus requirements.

THEN Menlo Church withdrew their bid!

Dominic Dutra, of 3D Strategies Web Link was hired by the District to extract revenue from surplus campuses. These campuses have benefited from bond measures passed by the lower, 55% threshold established in 2001. The debt for RCSD bonds being serviced by property taxes will pass the $200,000,000 mark this year. Revenue from lease of these properties should be used to service that debt.

Web Link

Stratford on Adelante
Bogus argument used by RCSD Board President, Dennis McBride, to reject Stratford's high bid: (listen to audio at 1:10:20 Web Link

President McBride's fallacious argument:
Stratford's offer is $1,200,000.
If 120 students leave RCSD to attend Stratford, the District will lose $1,200,000(120x$10,000 ADA)
The District would receive no benefit from the transaction.

With 120 fewer students, the District would need 4 fewer teachers and supporting staff, and would need 4 fewer classrooms. And, they would be much closer to becoming a basic aid District supported by property taxes. From a societal standpoint, any time a child is placed by parents in an alternative to the Public School System, the common good is served.