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Mr. Roush said he did not recall any such loans. Mr. Campbell supported putting utilities to the site, making sure the roads are constructed, or whatever, but he was very uncomfortable loaning the District money for operating costs. There are five elected representatives on the School Board who make the decision to build the school and it feels like the City Council is becoming a de facto School Board and is making educational policy decisions. He did not believe that was the job of the City Council. Council provides the services and roads for the school. Mayor Pico believed the decision to make the loan was to facilitate the General Plan of the City of Pleasanton, which calls for neighborhood schools and sets limits on student populations at various schools, as well other health and safety issues. There are issues of traffic congestion around schools, parents who have to drive children to multiple schools in different parts of town, air quality issues, etc. If one seeks a nexus on why the City should help the District, it can be found. He said the City would not enter into an agreement to provide any short term financing unless the School Board agreed to that. Staff is exploring options to work with the District to facilitate the completion and opening of that school. This report does not specify what the agreement would be or how the funding would take place. There is an existing model to follow, but it is not yet known what the impacts of the State budget will be on the District. He believed the staff recommendation was to address concerns about the shortfall and to see if there is a way for the City to help mitigate the impacts. He did not believe there was any additional liability for the City. The District has said one of the major issues about the opening of the school is concern about operating shortfalls. The City has been asked to work with the Gift Agreement developers to see if some of the funds could be used for operation of the schools. Mr. Campbell appreciated the explanation. School financing is extremely complicated and it seems that if the District approached the City to seek help with funding options, he would be more comfortable. However, it seems like the City is being the aggressor and forcing these negotiations. Mayor Pico said that is absolutely not the case. The District asked for creative ways to help. The City has indicated it is willing to assist when necessary. There is no official decision on that at this meeting, the direction is to ask staffto investigate possibilities and to bring back a report. It was moved by Ms. Ayala, seconded by Mr. Campbell, to direct staff to continue to work with the Vineyard Avenue developers to provide utilities to the Neal Elementary School site by September 1, 2003 and to provide a date certain to the District when construction can commence on the site. The roll call vote was as follows: AYES: Councilmembcrs - Ayala, Campbell, Hosterman, and Mayor Pico NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: Councilmember Brozosky Pleasanton City Council 20 12/03/02 Minutes