City Council Agenda
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Memo to: |
Manteca City Council |
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From: |
Brad Wungluck, Director of Development Services |
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Date: |
October 20, 2026 |
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Subject: |
Support for Manteca Unified School District's Request to the State Board of Education for a Waiver of Education Code Section 17388 for the Conveyance of Property for Fire Station No. 6 |
Recommendation:
title
Adopt a resolution supporting the Manteca Unified School District's request to the State Board of Education for a waiver of Education Code section 17388 for the conveyance of approximately one acre of the Tara Park school site to the City for Fire Station No. 6, and authorize the Mayor to sign a letter of support and City representatives to provide testimony to the State Board of Education.
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Background:
Summary
The Manteca Unified School District (District) has agreed to convey a narrow one-acre strip of its undeveloped Tara Park school site to the City for Fire Station No. 6. Before a school district sells surplus property, the Education Code requires it to appoint a community advisory committee unless the State Board of Education waives that requirement. The District has asked the State Board for a waiver, and State Board staff has recommended denial. This item asks the City Council to formally support the District's request and to place the City's reasons on the public record.
Qualex Agreement
On April 15, 2025, the City Council approved a settlement with the District, effective May 7, 2025 (Qualex Agreement, City Contract No. C2025-67). Among other things, the District released its share of proceeds from the former Qualex property at 555 Industrial Park Drive, and agreed in Section 4 to convey to the City an approximately one-acre strip along the western edge of its Tara Park school site, APN 241-260-13, for a fire station. In exchange, the City waived certain water, sewer, and storm drain fees for District projects, waived an encroachment permit fee, and agreed to fund street improvements at Joshua Cowell School. The City has performed its obligations.
State Board Waiver Process
Education Code section 17388 requires a school district to appoint an advisory committee before selling surplus real property. The State Board of Education may waive that requirement under Education Code section 33050. Under Education Code section 33051, the State Board must approve a waiver request unless it specifically finds that one of the grounds listed in the statute applies.
The District submitted a waiver request. California Department of Education staff has recommended denial, citing two grounds. The first is that the appropriate councils or advisory committees did not have an adequate opportunity to review the request. The second is that guarantees of parental involvement would be jeopardized. Staff's recommendation is advisory, and the State Board makes the final decision.
Correction to Prior Staff Report
The January 20, 2026 staff report for the Letter of Intent with PD Danna, LLC (File No. 25-546) described the fire station site as one acre from the District plus one acre from Danna. That description was incomplete. As shown on the exhibits in Attachment 3, the 2.00-acre fire station site consists of approximately 0.18 acre of the District strip and approximately 1.82 acres of Danna's Lot 9. The City intends to exchange the remaining approximately 0.82 acre of the District strip, together with approximately 0.94 acre of City remnant land at McKinley Avenue and Bronzan Road, for the 1.82 acres from Danna. This report corrects the record.
The Property and Its Use
The strip is approximately 58 feet wide and runs along the western boundary of the Tara Park site. The District has advised that the strip is not needed for school purposes and that its conveyance does not reduce the planned capacity of the school, which is designed for 1,000 students initially and up to 1,300. The Tara Park school has not yet been built, and no students are enrolled at the site.
Fire Station No. 6 will serve southwest Manteca and will sit next to the planned Tara Park school, placing fire and emergency medical response immediately adjacent to the future campus. The City and District have discussed a fire safety and career education program for students at the adjoining school. The exchange with Danna allows the City to assemble the station site without spending public funds to purchase land.
District Public Hearing
The District will hold a public hearing on its waiver request at a noticed meeting of its Board of Education on October 22, 2026, as Education Code section 33050 requires. Parents, District employees, and members of the public will have the opportunity to comment. Because the Tara Park school has not been built, there is no enrolled student body, parent group, or school site council at the site whose role would be affected by the conveyance.
Why the City Supports the Waiver
The conveyance carries out a settlement both agencies approved in 2025, under which the District has already received the benefit of its bargain. The land is a narrow strip of a future school site with no instructional use. The station directly benefits the students and staff who will attend the adjoining school. The property is going to another public agency for a public safety use, not to a private buyer.
The resolution directs that every City submission to the State Board describe the complete transaction, including the City's intended exchange of approximately 0.82 acre with Danna. Staff believes complete disclosure is essential to the credibility of the request. The District is the applicant and controls its request. The City's role is to provide information, a formal statement of support, and testimony. The proposed letter in Attachment 2 would be sent after the District's October 22, 2026 hearing.
Environmental Review
Adoption of the resolution is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act because it is an administrative action that will not result in a direct or indirect physical change in the environment (CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(5)).
Fiscal Impact:
There is no fiscal impact from this action beyond staff time. The fiscal terms of the Qualex Agreement and the Land Exchange Agreement with PD Danna, LLC were addressed when those agreements were approved.
Documents Attached:
Attachment 1 - Resolution
Attachment 2 - Draft Letter of Support to the State Board of Education
Attachment 3 - Fire Station No. 6 Site Exhibits (Existing Lot 9, Lot Adjustments, and Resultant Parcels)