Santa Clara Unified adopts districtwide facilities plan after heated public debate over Hayman fields

The Santa Clara Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved a districtwide facilities master plan and a separate set of educational specifications after more than three hours of testimony from parents, youth athletes and league officials who objected to a conceptual Hayman Elementary site plan that would remove a portion of the district-owned recreational fields.

Board members said the documents are high-level planning tools required to pursue future state reimbursement, not project approvals, but added a board-ordered change to the Hayman plan to require further study of neighborhood and league needs before any construction moves forward.

Why it matters: The master plan is a 20–30 year blueprint that the district must have to be eligible for state construction reimbursement from the Office of Public School Construction (OPSC). For the Hayman neighborhood the question is immediate: residents and Westside Little League volunteers said fields and open green space are central to neighborhood life and youth sports programs, and they urged the board to preserve the playing fields.

The board voted twice on elements of the agenda item. Trustees approved the educational specifications — a 93‑page document that defines the district’s programmatic requirements for new and modernized school buildings — by a 7–0 roll-call vote. After lengthy public comment and board discussion, the trustees approved the facilities master plan with an amendment that adds a written requirement that “the needs of the Westside Little League and Hayman neighborhood must be further determined and considered prior to moving forward with further construction/modernization projects at Hayman Elementary.” That motion also passed 7–0.

Superintendent Gary Waddell and Michelle Healy, director of facilities development and planning, told the board the master plan and educational specifications are flexible, are not project approvals, and that each future project would return to the district for additional design work, community engagement and separate board approvals. Healy said the plan was drafted after more than 110 meetings with staff, students and community members over two-and-a-half years and reflects site-by-site feedback and phased priorities.

Community reaction: Dozens of speakers, many representing Westside Little League, described multi‑decade use of the fields at Hayman and nearby Steve Carley Park, including regular Sunday challenger-league programs for youth with disabilities. Parents, longtime residents and young players said the farm field and open play areas are irreplaceable and urged the district to keep them. League leaders asked for a formal partnership and earlier, sustained consultation in planning.

Board context and next steps: Trustees repeatedly told the public that state rules require a long-range plan to seek OPSC reimbursement and that actual construction would require separate funding, community review, and board approvals. Deputy Superintendent Mark Schill said the district has already received state reimbursement funds for past projects and that the master plan will be paired later with a five‑year plan required by the state. He said staff will return with specific scopes and schedule for any project before design work begins.

What the board recorded: The educational specifications were approved 7–0 (motion by Trustee Vicki Fairchild); the facilities master plan was adopted 7–0 after amendment (motion by Trustee Canova, seconded by Trustee Fairchild). The amendment added the language requiring further determination of Westside Little League and Hayman neighborhood needs before moving forward with construction or modernization at Hayman Elementary.

Ending: Trustees asked staff to continue site-level engagement and to return any proposed project scopes to the board for review and approval. Several board members apologized to residents who said they felt blindsided by the conceptual plan and emphasized that no construction will occur without subsequent community input, environmental review and board action.