Board weighs options for long-held Opal site to stop recurring $62,000 annual fee

The Travis Unified School District board spent a substantial portion of its meeting weighing options for the district's long-held Opal/Nut Tree property in Vacaville, where the district has paid an annual unused-site fee of about $62,000 for years. Board members and staff discussed holding the property as a strategic asset, developing or using it for district programs, trading it for a more useful parcel, or selling it under the statutory surplus process.

Why it matters: The property carries a recurring holding cost charged by the state for unused school parcels; trustees expressed frustration at the ongoing expense and concern about lost local development revenue because district boundary lines assign some nearby neighborhoods to Vacaville Unified. Any change could affect long-term facilities planning and the district's ability to fund capital projects.

Board discussion and options Staff framed four basic options: continue to hold (preserving an asset for future capital needs), develop the parcel for district uses (which entails upfront construction and maintenance costs), pursue a trade for more useful property, or declare it surplus and sell it (a lengthy statutory process involving priority offers to public agencies).

Several trustees urged a practical, partnership-driven approach. One trustee proposed exploring a co-developed facility with the city of Vacaville'for example, a gym or multiuse community center'that could remove the annual fee and serve both communities. The trustee said that local youth programs in Vacaville face capacity constraints and that a joint facility could meet community needs while stopping the 'bleeding' of the holding fee.

Staff cautioned that developing the site would produce ongoing maintenance costs that could approach the fee the district is already paying; selling the property would require a surplus declaration and compliance with the Naylor Act and state procedures, including offering the site to public agencies below market value before opening competitive bids. Staff said they have not yet ordered a current appraisal and offered to return with cost estimates for several scenarios, including minimum development thresholds required to end the state's yearly charge.

Next steps: Trustees directed staff to further analyze costs and options, reach out to Vacaville city staff to gauge interest in joint development or boundary discussions, and return with a proposal and cost estimates for board consideration, including potential trade or sale routes and timing relative to five- and ten-year capital plans.

The board agreed to keep the property on the district's planning radar while pursuing near-term options to eliminate the annual fee and explore shared-use opportunities.