The shuttered John M. McPhail Elementary School in San Rafael, Calif., on Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
San Rafael City Schools has received 16 applications for the use of surplus properties it has offered for sale or lease.
Bob Marcucci, assistant superintendent at the school district, said it planned to send notices this week to each of the applicants.
“We’ll acknowledge receipt of the applications and update them on the status of their proposals,” he said.
The surplus properties include the McPhail, Glenwood Marsh, Old Gallinas and corporation yard sites. Applications were received for all properties except the corporation yard, Marcucci said.
Marcucci declined to say which of the applications would be going forward to potential sale or lease negotiations, saying it would be premature to discuss any details.
“They won’t know themselves until Thursday,” he said.
“Only a small number” of the proposals met all the legal criteria outlined by the district to be eligible to purchase, rent or otherwise use one of the surplus sites, Marcucci said.
At minimum, the district had required that the applicants be a nonprofit or public entity. No commercial or for-profit groups were allowed to apply.
Besides the limited number of proposals selected to move forward, the others were either not qualified, did not meet the established criteria or were incomplete, Marcucci said.
While Marcucci declined to name any of the applicants, some have come forward publicly on their own.
They include the Gallinas Valley Little League and Community Action Marin, which have both publicly stated their interest in continuing their uses of the Old Gallinas site.
In addition, residents of the Glenwood neighborhood have said they hoped to propose an outdoor education center at the Glenwood Marsh site.
This week, residents of the Santa Venetia neighborhood spoke in favor of their plan to establish a community center at the old McPhail School property at 1565 Vendola Drive.
“This would be the ideal site for a community center,” resident Christina West told the district’s board during its meeting on Monday.
“It opens into the marsh preserve trail, and would give our elderly neighbors the ability to walk onto a trail without having to cross any city streets,” West said. “Getting out to walk is important for our seniors in not being isolated.”
The McPhail School has been vacant for at least 50 years, the residents said.
“We’d like to have the space for meetings, classes and music events,” said Marilyn Bagshaw of Santa Venetia. “It could also serve as an emergency shelter.”
Richard Howell, a musician, said he would like to teach music classes at the proposed community center, which the residents have dubbed Santa Venetia Commons.
“I’d like to run an after-school program for musicians of all ages,” he said. “I think a program like that would be very vital in that neighborhood.”
Betty Rappaport, a 37-year Santa Venetia resident, said her daughter, who has a small child, recently bought a house in the neighborhood.
“This proposal would be a lovely circle to complete,” she said, referring to her three generations of family living closely together, with a community center close by.
Marcucci has said that offering the surplus properties was less about money-making than bringing the district’s assets and holdings up to date. The district is seeking the “highest and best use” for each property, as well as a fair market value, he said.
Although the 90-day negotiation period will stretch into September, Marcucci said he expects to give a public update on the proposals in early August. The 90-day negotiation period began Monday, he said.
More information on each of the surplus sites is available online at srcs.org/34207_3.