The Fresno County Committee on School District Organization hosted its second public hearing on a divisive request from some Ventana Hills residents requesting their property be transferred from Sierra Unified School District to Clovis Unified.

Parents at foothill community Ventana Hills say the drive up the hill to Sierra schools is burdensome as many work in the city. Opponents to the transfer say the transfer would cost the already diminishing school district not only students but essential funds.

“What this is about is about kids having a choice where they go to school,” said lead petitioner Marc Thurston, a homeowner in the 20-year-old development.

Ventana Hills has 16 current homes and a total of 91 lots in the 20-year-old development.

Disclosure: GV Wire Publisher Darius Assemi is the developer of Ventana Hills.

With two hearings now in the books for the matter, the next step falls on the organization committee to either deny the petition or move it up to the state. The organization committee has 120 days after the hearing to decide.

Sierra Unified Enrollment on the Decline

The three-hour meeting at the Clovis Unified district office Sept. 17 comes after a Sept. 5 hearing at Foothills Elementary School. Sierra Unified board president Cortney Burke said the transfer would further diminish Sierra Unified. To be considered a unified school district, a district must have at least 1,500 students. The district has just under 1,300.

Clovis Unified officials stated that they are neutral on the transfer request.

Burke said the only area of Sierra Unified with potential growth is Ventana Hills. The 2,100-square-mile district includes Shaver Lake, Huntington Lake, Auberry, and Prather. It extends to Yolo County borders.

“Further reductions of our student population and potential growth would be very detrimental to Sierra Unified,” Burke said. “The only area in our district with any growth has been the new housing in Ventana Hills. And further development there would help us return to the efficient operating size that we once were.”

Sierra Unified Superintendent Lori Grace said during the first public hearing that enrollment decreases could mean eliminating some academic programs.

Enrollment declines have been independent of any growth at Ventana Hills, Thurston said.

“It’s important to point out that Ventana Hills has been around since 2006, and clearly there is no correlation between its growth and the Sierra school district growth,” Thurston said.

Sierra Unified Trying to Pass its First School Bond

Sierra Unified is also trying to pass its first school bond. At least two previous other bond measures at Sierra Unified have failed.

The $24.2 million bond would go toward repairing old facilities and some future construction.

The transfer of Ventana Hills would come at the cost of bonding capacity.

As it stands, the 13 lots would bring in $114,033 of additional property tax revenue under the proposed bond rate, according to analysis presented by Thurston. At full buildout, it could bring in $798,215. Thurston said, however, that full buildout would probably not happen during the life of the 25-year bond.

Granville started building Ventana Hills in 2006.

Former Sanger Mayor Joshua Mitchell, a Clovis Unified parent, spoke during the public comment portion at the Sept. 17 meeting.

“I have heard a very uncomfortable amount tonight about money,” Mitchell said. “Some about kids, a love for a way of life, a love for a community that belongs to Sierra High and way too much about money. Treating these properties and kids as financial pawns.”

In order to make the property transfer map qualify for consideration, petitioners had to outline an area of more than 600 acres to connect the property to Clovis Unified. That would encompass the 200 acres at Ventana Hills and 430 acres of undeveloped land.

Attorney David Soldani, representing Sierra Unified, said it was unfair to harm Sierra students because of the desire to cut down on drive time for some families.

“It is fundamentally unfair and inequitable to harm current and future Sierra Unified students so that these residents, a few residents, can cut down on the back-and-forth driving situation that they themselves created the moment they decided to live in Ventana Hills,” Soldani said.

Ventana Hills Residents Brought Two Proposals to Sierra in Attempt to Negotiate

At issue for Ventana Hills residents is the drive time. Thurston said a majority of residents work in Fresno or Clovis. Taking kids to Sierra Unified schools requires driving up the hill and then back down for work.

Of the 10 children at Ventana Hills, eight go to other schools, mostly private schools. Thurston said the school where his daughter goes only goes up to eighth grade.

In his presentation, Thurston said granting the transfer would also reduce vehicle miles traveled, with the closest CUSD bus being three miles or five minutes away from the Ventana Hills development. Thurston also said residents have tried to negotiate with Sierra Unified, proposing two alternatives to a territory transfer. The first would not include a territory transfer — children would only need an inter-district transfer once.

Residents also proposed an alternative where if they were allowed to transfer, a percentage of sales and resales within Ventana Hills would go to Sierra Unified.

Burke said the district discussed the terms but said that the district would not agree to blanket transfers.

“It is an annual process and is not very difficult, especially on our end. We do not agree to any long-term permanent transfers,” Burke said in an email to GV Wire.

Committee Asks About Granville Involvement in Petition

Public speakers and Sierra Unified officials repeatedly brought up the involvement of Granville Homes in the petition process. California rules about territory transfers say the reason cannot be to increase property values.

Burke said the fact that Assemi and Granville employees showed up to support the transfer proposal was “telling.”

“(It’s) hard to believe this is not about home sales and financial gain when the developer and his employees and friends are the ones to show and speak,” Burke said to GV Wire.

Many questions from the organization committee to Thurston revolved around his connection to Granville. Thurston said he did get help making the presentation from a Granville employee.

“Other than purchasing a home from Granville in Ventana Hills, I do not socialize or conduct any other activities with Granville personnel,” Thurston said in a written statement to the committee. “Furthermore, this is not about me. I am a father who is trying to provide my daughter the best education possible.”

Assemi has spoken in support of territory transfer.

“I’m always an advocate for my homeowners,” Assemi said. “My tenants, whether they live in an apartment complex or they’re our homeowners, whatever their issues are, I get involved. I personally get involved.”