By Rob Dennis
The Argus
FREMONT -- The school district will hold two community meetings next month to find out what residents think about school facility needs for the next two decades.
The sessions are part of an effort to develop a long-range facilities plan and funding strategy, including a possible bond.
The school board Wednesday night discussed options for a bond, including how much the average homeowner would pay under various scenarios.
According to the Alameda County Auditor-Controller, Fremont has the lowest school district tax rate in the county -- $44.40 per $100,000 of assessed value. That compares with $164.50 for Albany and $153.40 for Piedmont, the districts with the highest rates.
Among its neighbors, Newark's rate is $93.50 while New Haven's is $129.50.
"It's an important consideration to see where you stack up," said Chet Wang, managing director of Keygent, which advises Fremont and other California school districts on financing issues. "Even if you were to add on a brand new $60, you would still be in line with ... your neighboring districts."
If the district asked voters to authorize a new tax of $60 per $100,000 of assessed value -- the option that would raise the most money -- the average homeowner, with a house valued at $385,000, would pay an extra $231 a year.
The deadline to put a bond on the ballot would be March 9 for the June primary or Aug. 10 for the November general election.
The board this month
hired Godbe Research to conduct a phone survey of 600 Fremont voters about their support for a bond. In November, trustees approved a contract with WLC Architects and MGT of America to estimate how much it would cost to renovate or add facilities and raise technology infrastructure to current standards.
The most recent facilities assessment was completed in 2001 for a health and safety bond the following year. That study identified $230 million in facility needs, $157.2 million of which were covered by the bond. A $7.5 million bond surplus went toward other projects.
The consultants have gathered documents, conducted interviews and evaluated sites, and now they're seeking public input. Those sessions will be held Feb. 4 and 6 at Irvington High School, followed by an online survey Feb. 7 through 13.
"I hope everyone turns out to give their input, because we need everyone's help on this one," trustee Bryan Gebhardt said.
The final assessment report is expected to be completed in March, followed by a long-range facilities plan in June.
Showing posts with label fremont news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fremont news. Show all posts
Friday, January 27, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
WHOSE SILICON VALLEY FOOTPRINT'S GROWING FASTEST
by Mary Ann Azevedo
Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal
Search giant Google and cloud computing pioneer VMware have laid claim to more space in the Bay Area since 2009 than any other tech company, according to a Grubb & Ellis report on Friday.
The firm's managing director, Richard Scott, spoke at the Business Journal's Economic Forecast breakfast Friday about the biggest tech office/R&D space users in Silicon Valley and who has taken the most space since 2009.
While Cisco Systems has by far the biggest CRE footprint in the valley with nearly 7 million square feet, the San Jose networking equipment giant has absorbed very little new space since 2009.
Meanwhile, VMware has done most of its leasing or acquiring of space after 2009 although it was founded in 1998.
As of mid-October 2011, Google had leased or bought about 1.42 million square feet of space and VMware had leased or bought about 1.4 million square feet of space in the Bay Area since 2009 – more than social networking giant Facebook and even more than Apple, which has seen demand for its products explode in recent years.
In the spring of 2011, VMware took over more than 1 million square feet former Roche campus in Palo Alto’s Stanford Research Park. Over the year, Google bought or leased dozens of buildings in Mountain View. And Apple slowly leased up nearly all the available space in Cupertino.
"Apple owns Cupertino. Google owns Mountain View," Scott said. "Now they’re spilling into Sunnyvale."
Looking ahead, he predicted that as Facebook continues to grow beyond its Menlo Park campus, it may end up migrating to the Ardenwood/Fremont area.
"At the end of the day because these movers and shakers are so dynamic and big, they have more to say as to what happens over the next year than any other indicator," Scott said. "And all this activity are signs that they want to stay here."
Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal
Search giant Google and cloud computing pioneer VMware have laid claim to more space in the Bay Area since 2009 than any other tech company, according to a Grubb & Ellis report on Friday.
The firm's managing director, Richard Scott, spoke at the Business Journal's Economic Forecast breakfast Friday about the biggest tech office/R&D space users in Silicon Valley and who has taken the most space since 2009.
While Cisco Systems has by far the biggest CRE footprint in the valley with nearly 7 million square feet, the San Jose networking equipment giant has absorbed very little new space since 2009.
Meanwhile, VMware has done most of its leasing or acquiring of space after 2009 although it was founded in 1998.
As of mid-October 2011, Google had leased or bought about 1.42 million square feet of space and VMware had leased or bought about 1.4 million square feet of space in the Bay Area since 2009 – more than social networking giant Facebook and even more than Apple, which has seen demand for its products explode in recent years.
In the spring of 2011, VMware took over more than 1 million square feet former Roche campus in Palo Alto’s Stanford Research Park. Over the year, Google bought or leased dozens of buildings in Mountain View. And Apple slowly leased up nearly all the available space in Cupertino.
"Apple owns Cupertino. Google owns Mountain View," Scott said. "Now they’re spilling into Sunnyvale."
Looking ahead, he predicted that as Facebook continues to grow beyond its Menlo Park campus, it may end up migrating to the Ardenwood/Fremont area.
"At the end of the day because these movers and shakers are so dynamic and big, they have more to say as to what happens over the next year than any other indicator," Scott said. "And all this activity are signs that they want to stay here."
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