WPUSD ends academic year with community-identified priorities for school site needs

Nearly 80 parents, teachers and community members, known as the Facilities Needs Committee (FNC), joined Western Placer Unified School District (WPUSD) leadership over the course of academic year 2025-26 to learn about school funding, developer contributions, boundary adjustments and more. "The District is here to make recommendations on best practices working within the parameters of State Government and available funding," said Kerry Callahan, superintendent of WPUSD. "But it's really up to our community to help identify school site needs and provide feedback to the WPUSD Board of Trustees and Leadership regarding the future of Lincoln and Sheridan schools. We are very grateful to the 80 individuals that volunteered their time to participate in this important process." Committee members met monthly from September–April, for two hours, at different school sites. The FNC learned about comprehensive school funding and tackled topics such as the use of developer fees in education, boundary changes as an effective tool to manage space and reduce overcrowding, and also examined future funding opportunities and ultimately prioritized school site projects. After eight months of consensus building, the FNC made six recommendations – and identified school site priorities - at the June 2 WPUSD Board Meeting. "School funding is incredibly complicated and convoluted," said Cathy Dominico, WPUSD's finance consultant. "People assume development and the State pay for all of the schools, and it doesn't. Legally, it can't. Developers certainly contribute to building new schools and classrooms - about 30 percent of the cost - but developer fees generally can't be used to repair or maintain existing schools. And, the State pays about 30 percent, however it's done as a reimbursement – often after the school is built or construction milestones are reached. We have a number of schools in Lincoln and Sheridan, some over 70 years old, where developer fees can't be used for repair, maintenance or reconstruction. It's a problem." The FNC recommendations to the WPUSD Board of Trustees included: Prioritization of Projects: The FNC recommends prioritizing projects that improve equityacross all school sites, address critical health and safety needs, focus on classroomimprovements and student capacity demands, and benefit the greatest number ofstudents. Maximize Existing Capacity: To ensure fiscal responsibility, the FNC recommends theDistrict fully utilize existing facilities, as well as boundary adjustments, before investingin the construction of new facilities. Support Services Facilities: The FNC believes support services facilities are critical to efficient and safe operations. To ensure the District runs as efficiently and safely as possible, the FNC recommends improvements to facilities including kitchens, warehouses, maintenance garages, fleets and more. Bond Funding Strategy: Recognizing that Lincoln and Sheridan are comprised of many unique and diverse neighborhoods with different needs for local schools, the FNC recommends establishing two separate bonding districts aligned with high school boundaries. This ensures neighborhoods are investing in schools closest and most meaningful to them. Developer Contributions & Growth Impacts: The FNC recommends the District continue negotiating aggressively with developers – particularly those in Village I – to secure additional funding for school facilities to ensure students are able to attend a school in their neighborhood. Community Outreach & Education: The FNC recommends the District continue with public outreach to ensure Lincoln and Sheridan residents understand the funding challenges the District faces, and the opportunities to maintain and improve Lincoln and Sheridan's local schools through a future funding measure, likely in 2028. Additionally, the FNC prioritized school site projects – everything from campuswide reconstruction to TK-8 conversion, to safety upgrades and improvements – at Carlin C. Coppin, Creekside Oaks, and Sheridan Elementary Schools as well as Lincoln and Twelve Bridges high schools. "While many of our schools are older and require more significant repairs, or reconstruction, to meet modern-day safety standards, the community originally built these schools," said Mike Adell, director of facilities, WPUSD. "Many of these schools have educated generations of families. They're worth repairing and properly maintaining; we need them to serve current and future families. WPUSD schools are built together and maintained together." To learn more about WPUSD funding, facilities, current and future enrollment trends, proposedschool site projects, previous bond-funded projects, the FNC and its priorities and recommendations and more, please visit wpusd.org/facilities.