Palo Alto voters will be asked in November to approve a half-cent sales tax to fund a $65.5 million purchase of seven acres at the Cubberley Community Center campus from PAUSD. They won't get to see the appraisal that justified the price — at least not yet.
Dave Price, editor of the Palo Alto Daily Post, argued in a column published Tuesday, July 22, that the city is violating California Government Code Section 7928.705 by continuing to withhold the independent real estate appraisal used to set the purchase price. The statute requires government agencies to release appraisals once "all of the property has been acquired or all of the contract agreement obtained."
Price points to the city's own October 2024 announcement. On Thursday, October 3, 2024, the city issued a press release declaring that negotiations had been "successfully concluded" and touting "alignment on terms" for the purchase. Council Member Julie Lythcott-Haims, who chaired the city's negotiating committee, said in that release: "At long last, we had the right mix of council members and school board trustees needed to get the job done."
If the deal is done, Price contends, the law's confidentiality window has closed.
City Manager Ed Shikada told the Daily Post the appraisal remains confidential under the California Public Records Act, citing the summer recess of both the City Council and the PAUSD Board of Education as a reason transparency must wait.
The MOU complication
The Memorandum of Understanding signed in December 2024 by Shikada and then-Superintendent Don Austin may undercut Price's argument. The document explicitly states it "is not intended to be, and does not constitute, a binding agreement." PAUSD Board trustee Shounak Dharap, who initiated the sale process in 2023, called it a "tentative deal" in the October 2024 press release.
Whether a non-binding MOU satisfies the statute's "contract agreement obtained" trigger is an open legal question. The city has not responded to the specific statutory argument.
What voters know — and don't
The MOU does reveal some financial detail: the $65.5 million price reflects a 2024 valuation of $60.65 million, escalated at 2.6% per year over three years for a planned 2027 closing. The city has not said whether that $60.65 million figure came from the withheld appraisal or a separate valuation process. PAUSD intends to use the sale proceeds to fund school improvements districtwide.
The city placed the sales tax on the November ballot at its Monday, June 8 council meeting. Polling conducted by firm FM3 and discussed by the council on Monday, May 18 found only 55% of residents leaned toward supporting the measure, within the 4.9% margin of error. Support dropped when respondents learned more details, even when the arguments presented favored the tax.
The ballot language itself omits specific reference to the $65.5 million land acquisition. City staff acknowledged during the June 8 meeting that the land purchase polled far lower than other proposed uses like earthquake safety upgrades.
What happens next
The entire deal hinges on the November vote. Under the MOU, if voters reject the measure, the sale does not occur and all city leases at Cubberley terminate on Wednesday, June 30, 2027.
The city has not indicated when, or whether, it will release the appraisal before Election Day.
