Blog: School Board Weighs in on Waterfront Development

Last month, in the Dec. 6, 2011, meeting of the , we heard a report from the Board's appointees to the Albany City Council and discussed the Board's position on development proposed for the property now occupied by the (GGF) race track. This blog posting is for the benefit of those who did not attend or watch the Board meeting.

As you probably know, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) is thinking of building a second campus and is looking for a location close to its current lab in Berkeley. Among several other cities in the East Bay, Albany has expressed an interest in being considered, and the owners of GGF have submitted a proposal to LBNL. As of this posting, LBNL has not yet made a decision about where to place their laboratory.

The AUSD Board of Education has no position on whether LBNL should build their lab in Albany or, if not, what sort of development should go into the GGF property. It's not that the individual members of the Board have no opinions; rather, we hold that it is not appropriate for the Board to state an official position on that question.

The role of the Board of Education is to act as trustees of the school district. Anything that does not affect public education or school district property is not under the purview of the Board.

In recent years, the Albany Unified School District has received approximately $755,000 a year in parcel tax from GGF, which amounts to about 13% of our total parcel tax revenue, or 2.3% of our total budget. Another way to look at it is that the parcel taxes we receive from GGF pay for about 10 teachers a year.

According to the Waterfront Task Force, the proposed development at Golden Gate Fields would increase the value of the land by about six to 10 times its current value. On the other hand, any government buildings built on the property would probably be exempt from property and parcel tax.

After discussing the report from our task force members, the Board reached a consensus on the following points:

- Considering the scale of the development and the increase in value of the land, the Board would not support any development of the Golden Gate Field property that did not result in a proportionate, equitable increase in the revenue to the school district. The Board would not consider simply replacing the $755,000 the district is receiving now as proportionate or equitable.

- Although the Board's preference is to preserve our funds for use entirely for educational purposes, we have identified attorneys and land use experts to advise us and will spend the funds necessary to ensure that the interests of Albany's schools and students are protected in any land use or development agreement negotiated for property within the boundaries of the district.

In addition, it’s important to note that no one is endorsed by the Board or authorized to speak for the school district except the Superintendent of Schools, and her positions must be vetted by the Board. Neither the City of Albany, the Waterfront Task Force, the Sierra Club, nor any other person or entity can be considered to be representing the position of AUSD in any negotiation or discussion of plans for development of this property.

Paul Black
President 
Albany Unified School District Board of Education