Dive Brief:
- Developers KB Home, Brookfield Residential and D.R. Horton are suing the Fremont Unified School District (FUSD), claiming that the CA school district will not assign their new development's homes to area schools unless they make payments to the district beyond what they are legally bound to pay, the Silicon Valley Business Journal reported.
- Developers of the 500-unit Patterson Ranch allege that FUSD Superintendent Jim Morris told them they would have to "do something extra," like build a school or make an "extraordinary" monetary contribution in addition to the required school impact fees.
- The FUSD sits in the midst of a housing boom, and a classroom shortage, the Journal reported, and school officials say that the two closest schools to Patterson Ranch are full; therefore, children in Patterson Ranch will remain "unassigned" and be sent to whichever area school can take them.
Dive Insight:
In a housing development so obviously appealing to families, Patterson Ranch is at a clear marketing disadvantage if it's not able to tell potential buyers their children will be attending a school nearby, or even where they will be attending school.
It's also obvious that the FUSD, overwhelmed by the population growth in the Fremont area, is looking to developers to pony up for most, if not all, of the solution.
In the Warm Springs area of Fremont, developers, including housing giant Lennar, are building a new school to offset the addition of approximately 2,700 units, the Contra Costa Times reported.
"Some developers are working with us," school board member Larry Sweeney told the Times. "They see they get a return on their investment."
Patterson Ranch developers say FUSD has a legal obligation to make attendance-area assignments "without demanding or requesting any preconditions, monetary contribution, school construction or land" and are seeking a permanent injunction ordering the FUSD to make the assignments, reported the Journal.
