San Rafael board names Pozalot as successful bidder for former McPhail Elementary site

The San Rafael City Schools Board of Trustees on Jan. 27 moved forward with the public bidding process for the former McPhail Elementary School site and adopted an amended resolution naming a single written bidder the apparent successful bidder.

District staff described the property at 1565 Vendola Drive as roughly 9.7 acres that the district declared surplus in 1979 and reaffirmed in 1993 and again in 2008 and 2024. During the public portion of the sealed-bid opening, staff read the one timely written bid received and announced the guaranteed purchase price as $6,000,000.00.

Neighborhood speakers urged the board to accept a nonprofit bid to preserve the site as a community asset. "We're a community center, a location for a community center for decades," said Gina Hagen, president of the Santa Venetia Neighborhood Association, urging the board to "accept the bid from the Posula Foundation." Mary Hamlin, a longtime neighbor, said residents had previously worked with county and parks partners and viewed the current auction as a last chance to secure a community center.

After the bid opening, staff checked for any pre-qualified parties present for an oral auction; none were on site. Later in the meeting trustees moved to amend the proposed resolution to delete the oral-bid recitals, insert the bidder name named in the written bid packet, and replace exhibit B with the successful bid form. The amended resolution (listed in the agenda as resolution 52622) was adopted by voice vote.

Under the terms staff described, the district required a 1% bid deposit with the written bid and will require the winning bidder to provide an additional 10% deposit of the purchase price within 10 days of board acceptance. Staff cautioned that the sale is "as is," that bidders "shall rely solely on [their] own due diligence," and that the district reserves the right to accept or reject bids that do not conform with the notice of sale and bidding instructions.

The board recorded the procedural motions and voice votes on the record but did not read a roll-call tally for the sale motion. Staff said additional completeness and responsiveness checks will occur before final acceptance and that the district will announce the top qualified bids later if further review changes the ranking.

Next steps listed by district staff include the additional deposit from the successful bidder, staff review for responsiveness, and further administrative steps toward closing. The board and staff also noted the statutory process (Education Code) the district followed in offering the site and potential priority offers to public entities and eligible nonprofits before public sale.