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Board of Education surplus committee backs renewal of waiver for Mountain View site
Summary
The board's surplus property committee voted unanimously July 14 to ask the district to file a two-year renewal of a state waiver that would allow consideration of sale terms, not just the lowest bidder, for the former Mountain View school property; prior offers fell apart after due diligence and density limits reduced valuations.
Ortega, a surplus property committee member, told the committee Tuesday that the board should seek a renewal of a state waiver so the district can weigh sale terms as well as price when marketing the former Mountain View school site.
The committee voted unanimously to recommend that district staff file the waiver renewal with the state of California. Chair Vanessa Jones called for a hand vote and announced the motion passed.
Why it matters: Under the Education Code, districts typically must accept the lowest bidder when selling surplus property, Ortega said; a state waiver lets the district consider other contract terms that can be important to sellers. The waiver previously granted to the district is valid for two years and now must be renewed if the district wants the same flexibility for Mountain View, Ortega said.
Ortega reviewed recent buyer interactions. "TrueMark began their due diligence as any developer would," he said, and noted TrueMark had offered $31,000,000 in November 2024 before later seeking a significant price reduction that led the district to terminate that transaction. Ortega said Taylor Morrison also conducted due diligence and requested price reductions and concessions for other district sites.
A committee member pressed whether a buyer is already lined up; Ortega said several buyers had expressed interest during the original solicitation but the board was still weighing options, including whether to reissue a request for proposals. He added that Mountain View's allowable density was lower than developers expected: "I believe it's right now, it's 8.1. So 8.1 units per, per acre. And I think, originally, the guesstimate was somewhere around 13," Ortega said, adding that the lower density "is a cut in price."
Ortega said the other three properties named by the committee'the former Sierra High School, the former Ellington School and the former Powell Elementary School'are in escrow and moving forward, so the renewal request applies only to Mountain View.
Motion and outcome: A committee member moved to approve the district filing a renewal of the waiver; Ortega seconded. The chair announced the motion passed unanimously on a hand vote.
Next steps: The committee recommended that the district submit the waiver renewal to the state; the district will decide whether to re-engage prior bidders, issue a new RFP or pursue other options. The meeting adjourned at 5:11 p.m.
