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City and school district highlight developer-funded model that sped a school build
Summary
City official Sean Scully told the Western Placer Unified School District board that a Village 7 funding approach — combining city CFD/park dollars with district financing — accelerated construction of a TK–8 school and is a model the city hopes to replicate, while board members pressed on annexation, leverage and long-term developer fees.
Sean Scully, representing the city of Lincoln, told the Western Placer Unified School District board on Dec. 2 that the city and district have a strong partnership and highlighted a funding approach used in Village 7 that he said accelerated a school build by roughly 15 years.
Scully said the city found a way to fold the district’s school facility needs into the city’s community facilities district (CFD)/park funding so that school-related dollars could be used to support borrowing for construction. “We found a way to sliver in the school district into the CFD and bonding capacity the city runs and manages,” he said, adding that the mechanism allowed the district to accelerate the school timeline and that “your success is our success.”
Superintendent Carrie Callahan and other board members described the approach as a creative solution to a long-standing problem of delayed school construction amid growth. Callahan noted Village 1 remains complicated because it involves many developers rather than a single developer, and the district projects substantial long-term developer-fee revenue in Village 1 over a 20-year buildout.
Board members asked how Lincoln’s approach differs from Roseville’s and whether the city can require more from developers. Scully said the main leverage is before annexation: once land is annexed developers gain rights, limiting what the city can require. He also said Roseville is further along in its development lifecycle and therefore can place clearer pre-annexation demands.
District staff and the superintendent discussed long-range numbers mentioned in the meeting. Staff presented an estimate that, over a 20-year buildout in Village 1, the district would collect about $5,050,000,000 in developer fees and noted the current cost of an elementary school at present-day pricing is roughly $70,000,000. Staff framed those figures as long-term collections over full buildout rather than immediately available funds.
The board and city officials said they will continue working together, including more regular joint meetings and 2x2 sessions, to coordinate planning and developer conversations. Callahan said she will discuss the partnership with the city council at an upcoming meeting and emphasized acknowledging past shortcomings without dwelling on them.
What’s next: board and city officials planned additional joint meetings to explore replicating aspects of the Village 7 arrangement elsewhere and to convene developers to discuss possible solutions for Village 1.
