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San Mateo County Board presses staff after Facilities Master Plan work began without full board notice
Summary
Board members criticized staff and consultants for limited advance notice and insufficient detail on the 10‑year Facilities Master Plan; Deputy Superintendent Kevin Bultema accepted responsibility and apologized, and board leadership said it will seek legal guidance on proper procedures.
Board members sharply questioned staff and the consultant team on Dec. 15 after learning the San Mateo County Office of Education’s 10‑year Facilities Master Plan (FMP) had been underway with limited prior engagement of the full board.
Multistudio representatives described the FMP as a 10‑year planning document that must be refreshed every five years under Proposition 2 and said a cited $10 million figure was hypothetical, part of scenario modeling while actual funding may include county, state, and federal sources. Several trustees said they first learned of the master‑plan work “by accident.”
“Deputy Superintendent Bultema accepted full responsibility, saying he had not communicated well with the Board at the outset. He apologized for the oversight and acknowledged that the Board should never have found out about this process the way they did,” the minutes state.
Trustee Chelsea Bonini pressed staff on policy and procedural compliance, saying the plan at times appeared to include “building new facilities on property the organization does not own or lease,” and asking why the Board had not been involved earlier through its regular subcommittees and policy review processes. Bonini asked that the Board be given clearer alignments between the budget and the Strategic Plan and requested a slowdown or additional review before moving to implementation.
Deputy Superintendent Bultema said the consultants were hired to prepare the master plan and not to manage construction, and he acknowledged previous communications were insufficient. Board President Hugo Torres said he will consult with Deputy County Attorney Lisa Cho to confirm that board policies and legal processes have been followed before the Board gives further direction.
The discussion covered baseline design standards, ADA considerations beyond minimum compliance, leased versus owned sites (including Rollins Road, Twin Dolphin Drive, El Portal, and Palos Verdes), and possible funding sources such as state and federal grants. Trustee Mike O’Neill urged that delays raise costs and said he supported continuing the planning work with concerns addressed in the coming months.
The board did not take a formal vote on the master plan at this meeting but directed staff to provide clearer, fund‑level detail and to clarify ownership and procurement steps before advancing design or funding decisions.
