Hearst Elementary neighbors press school district to drop the campus field as a site for its maintenance and bus yard

Parents and neighbors of Hearst Elementary School are asking Pleasanton Unified School District to take the campus off its short list of places to move the district's maintenance, operations and transportation yard, the Pleasanton Weekly reported this week.

The district wants to move that yard off its old headquarters property on Bernal Avenue, which the board has declared surplus. Selling or redeveloping about seven acres there, along with rent from a tenant in the district's newer offices on West Las Positas Boulevard, is meant to bring in new revenue.

The options

District spokesperson Susanne Frey told the Weekly that staff began searching for a commercial property in 2025 but found nothing suitable because of cost, size and limited supply. The board then had staff study three properties the district already owns: Pleasanton Middle School, Hearst Elementary and the space a tenant now leases at the West Las Positas offices.

An August facilities committee presentation ruled out Pleasanton Middle School because of its layout and space limits and called the other two workable. Under the Hearst concept, the yard would sit on the grass field at the school's southeast corner, with service vehicles using Case Avenue and most buses parked at Pleasanton Middle School.

Using the West Las Positas space instead would cost the district that rental income and mean building service bays in the parking lot at Hart Middle School.

Frey said an unused part of the Donlon Elementary property was also looked at and set aside because of access problems and its potential value for housing.

Pushback

Thomas Choi, a district parent who ran for the Area 5 board seat, organized the opposition and says a petition against the Hearst option has drawn more than 160 signatures. He told the Weekly the bigger problem is that families were not told the plan was under study before staff began spending time and money on it.

Residents on a "Save Hearst Fields" site dispute the district's description of the field as underused. Choi trailed Livermore High teacher Karen Fletcher in early Area 5 returns, 36.93% to 53.28%, the Weekly reported.

The district says no decision has been made. Staff are also studying the cost of keeping the yard on Bernal Avenue and expect to bring new information to the facilities committee in the first half of 2027, Frey said.

Sources

pleasantonweekly.com

pleasantonweekly.com