About Us

Palo Alto Daily Editorial misses on all points

A recent Palo Alto Daily News editorial made several charges that are less than
correct regarding the City’s recent proposal to the Palo Alto Unified School District
for the Ventura community site.

The editorial said the City’s proposal to the School District would “preclude Ventura’s
use as an elementary school again”. This is not true. Using information available from
the School District, Avenidas’ architects show that under the City’s proposal the Ventura
site can include a school, an intergenerational facility, all current nonprofit activities and
two acres of open space.

The City is offering the School District a one-acre school building site at no cost.
Although small, this is enough land for a two strand (i.e. two classrooms per grade)
kindergarten through fifth grade school building. Architects have conceptually laid out a
two story, 12 classroom building, including administrative offices, library and multi-use
room on this site. If the School District exercised its 1980 option to purchase even this
one acre, it would cost over $4 million.

But in addition to this one acre, the District will also be able to jointly use at no charge
the 2.2 acres of open space that will remain under City ownership. In essence, the
School District receives a 3.2-acre school site at no charge in return for giving up the
right to pay roughly $12 million to purchase the entire site.