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Topics: DUSD, Dublin Unified School District, Kolb Elementary School

Parent Comments From the Kolb Elementary School Town Hall

John M. Zukoski

kolb south elevation

The Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) conducted a Community Town Hall Meeting on February 4th to provide information and answer questions regarding the DUSD’s future elementary school, Kolb Elementary and the timing of its opening. The meeting opened with a brief informational session and then led into a 1+ hour Q&A session between the DUSD’s leadership team and Dublin residents. Please check out Around Dublin for a recap of the information provided during the town hall.

During the town hall conversation, it was acknowledged that one of the reasons that the DUSD doesn’t have the funding to complete the Kolb Elementary School project is that the impact fees that were generated on new home sales within the Kolb Elementary School boundaries were allocated to the construction of other East Dublin schools. One resident noted that he either felt that he was lied to about the Kolb school opening by the home builder or that the DUSD had poorly planned for the construction of Kolb Elementary School.

A few other residents in attendance noted that the DUSD ran over-budget on the Green and Fallon school projects because lucrative incentives were granted to contractors to finish in time for the targeted August school openings.

When discussing her frustration with having the construction of Kolb Elementary School pushed back at least a year, one resident went so far as to ask, “Should I cut and run”? Assistant Superintendent Dave Marken’s emotive response countered that Dublin was in better fiscal shape than neighboring school districts and that our schools have a bright future despite the bleak economic news.

The DUSD Board of Trustees may be deciding on the future opening of Kolb Elementary School during their next meeting scheduled for Tuesday, February 10, 2009. All residents and parents are encouraged to attend. The Board’s decision on the fate of Kolb Elementary School will impact ALL residents in Dublin.

Frederiksen Route
John M. Zukoski is the publisher of the Around Dublin Blog and a regular contributor on Dublin Townhall. He can be reached at john.zukoski@gmail.com.
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Published on Sunday, February 8th, 2009

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  • Dan_Cherrier
    Hi John,

    Thank for the update. I was also in attendance last Wednesday at the townhall meeting. The District’s position is at the following link: https://dublin.csbaagendaonline.net/DublineAgenda/192/2683/Files/kolb_elementary_school_discussion___rationale.doc
    If you have trouble opening it just go to Tuesday’s Agenda and click on Item I.5.

    District staff is recommending Option 3 of the three options listed. This will delay the decision for several months without any applicable benefit. The District is assuming that all children move in over the summer months. DUSD feels that through possible boundary changes, forced diversions, and adding portable classrooms that they can adequately house the expected 97 students that will be in excess of capacity. This approach is reasonable if you assume that no other children will move into the District during the school year.

    By August 2011 the District’s own published data: https://dublin.csbaagendaonline.net/DublineAgenda/192/2683/Files/east_dublin_k-8_enroll_proj._feb_09.pdf
    shows that there will be a capacity shortfall for 295 students. The District is assuming that the extra 200 students are not a 2010-2011 issues.

    I plan on attending Tuesday night’s meeting and urge approval of Option 2 (build the school now) and see what happens for 2010-2011 school year. There is a strong possibility that there will be no choice but to have a mid-year opening. By not building the school now, we leave no options but forced diversions, and portables with the accompanying loss of blacktop space. In addition portables, at the district’s projected $100,000 to 150,000 will make a big impact in Measure C funds for other District improvements.

    Option 2 is a win-win. If the District needs the space by mid-year 2010 we have a school ready to go. Also, we can capture the current great bidding environment and save the District up to $2 or 3 million dollars in capital costs. If the District’s projections turn out to be high then we can save operating expenses and not utilize the school until 2011-2012. I see little advantage in waiting to make the decision, the construction cost may go up, we may not have the school available when it is needed, and the rush to get it ready may add incentive payments to the contractor and decrease time to deal with punch-list items.

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