The District owns two parcels of property at 700 West Essex Drive, Alameda, CA 94501 on Alameda Point. These parcels contain the former Bachelor Officer Quarters and an adjacent lot that was acquired through a land swap with the City of Alameda in 2014. The District does not operate any services at the Bachelor Officer Quarters.
On October 24, 2017, the Board of Education of the Alameda Unified School District ("District") approved the formation of a District Advisory Committee ("Committee") and authorized the District to convene such a committee to fulfill the requirements of California Education Code sections 17387-17391.
Eleven members were selected that represented a cross section of the community and met the requirements stated in California Education Code sections 17387-17391. In accordance with the California Education Code, the Committee was charged with the following duties:
a. Review pertinent information to determine the locations, size, condition and current use of real property owned by the district. Review master facilities plan if one exists.
b. Establish a priority list of possible uses for the district's real property that will be acceptable to the community and develop recommendations about the property.
c. Circulate throughout the attendance area the priority list of property use and provide for a public hearing for community input to the Committee regarding the acceptable uses for district property.
d. Forward a report to the District Board of Trustees recommending uses of surplus property.
On May 12, 2020, the Board approved Resolution No. 2019-2020.49 which authorized this committee to convene and analyze the property at 700 West Essex Drive.
The committee met on June 2, 2020 and June 11, 2020 to discuss the Bachelor Officer Quarters property. During the Committee meetings, enrollment information and current and possible future uses of property were discussed, reviewed and evaluated. Based upon the information presented to the Committee, the following findings and recommendations are presented to the Board of Education.
Committee's Findings:
1. The Alameda Unified School District has and will have for the near future, sufficient and suitable classroom space and real property within the District.
2. The Bachelor Officers Quarters ("BOQ") located at 700 West Essex, Alameda, CA ("BOQ") cannot be used for any operational purpose without making substantial and cost-prohibitive upgrades to the property, including extensive infrastructure development, likely demolition of the existing facility and ground-up reconstruction. The Committee found that there are also no immediate alternative school district needs for the BOQ.
3. The Committee found that the proceeds of a sale or lease of the BOQ could benefit District programs and other facility projects.
4. Based on the Committee’s review of this information, and after studying all of the real property owned by the District, the Committee came to the conclusions set forth below.
Committee's Recommendations:
1. The Bachelor Officers Quarters located at 700 W. Essex, Alameda California 94501 should be considered exempt surplus to the educational needs of the District.
2. The District's Governing Board should request a waiver from the State Board of Education to facilitate the disposition of the Bachelor Officers Quarters.
3. The Bachelor Officers Quarters should be sold or leased and revenue received be used for any purpose determined by the Governing Board which best serves to improve the educational experience of all students in the District and to the extent permitted by law.
Staff is recommending the Board adopt the recommendations of the District Advisory Committee and declare the Bachelor Officer Quarters exempt surplus property. Staff also requests authorization to request a waiver from the State Board of Education, seek a CEQA exemption, and take any additional necessary steps as may be required to complete these tasks.