There could be very desirable properties on the North Coast, ripe for some kind of re-development, but there’s a long ways to go before two old schools in Morro Bay and Los Osos see any real activity.
The San Luis Coastal Unified School District is in the process of offering both the old Morro Elementary and Sunnyside Elementary School properties for sale as “surplus properties.”
And while their asking price of some $16 million is daunting for a small town like Morro Bay, even for SLO County, many residents are pushing the City Council and Board of Supervisors to step in and acquire the properties.
The issue of these two school sites has long been in contention, after the school district closed both in the early 2000s and consolidated the students in the two towns’ other elementary schools.
The closures came as part of a consolidation brought on by a drop in student registration amidst a tight budgetary time.
In 2002, the school district convened a “7-11” committee made up of elected officials in the community, including former Mayor Rodger Anderson and then-Recreation & Parks Director Andrea Lueker representing the City of Morro Bay.
That committee looked at three sites — Morro and Sunnyside schools, the latter in Los Osos, and Pacheco Elementary in San Luis Obispo.
The committee took testimony from people in the community interested in the sites and what their ideas were for them. In the end, the 7-11 committee recommended the school district declare all three as “surplus property,” and recommended the district lease them out.
And that’s what they’ve done for decades, as Morro was leased to a couple of churches and a Montessori School. Sunnyside has several entities using its buildings, including a pre-school facility and a charity helping the less fortunate, among others.
But the District is facing a serious budget shortfall of several million dollars and is now looking to sell the properties, initially to an agency like the City or County. Failing that, they could sell to a private interest, but the Education Code, which governs the actions in this matter, has a lot of catches on who can buy it and what it can be used for.
At one point the district also proposed a housing development at Morro Elementary that would have built small starter homes for its employees, but the residents rose up against the idea and the district never pursued it.
Morro Elementary was built in the early 1930s; decades before San Luis Coastal was even formed. The former school district bought the property from the Quintana Family reportedly for a $20 gold piece, to be specifically used for a school. It served the residents and their children well until it was closed in the early 2000s. Parts of the school have been leased out to different entities.
But now the school needs millions in upgrades and improvements to continue to be leased out, and the cash-strapped District doesn’t have the money to invest.
When the District in December announced that it wanted to sell the sites, all of which include playgrounds, playing fields, classrooms and multipurpose rooms, the Morro Bay City Council wasn’t interested.
In a letter dated Jan. 7, Mayor Carla Wixom said, “After thoughtful deliberation including consideration of public comments and staff analysis, the Council collectively decided not to make an offer at this time based on the terms presented by the District. It was a very difficult decision as all council members felt a deep connection to the property and genuinely appreciated the site’s historic and present significance.”
Mayor Wixom told EBN that the district was asking $10 million for Morro Elementary.
But in December, after the district declared the sites as surplus, citizens started bending the Council’s ear about the property.
“Since the District’s Board meeting on December 17, 2024,” the Mayor’s letter reads, “community members reached out to me and have expressed interest in exploring options for purchasing the property.”
The council set up a special informational meeting for Jan. 30 but didn’t even get to that meeting before the residents spoke up.
“At our Jan. 14 Council meeting,” reads a follow-up letter from the Mayor dated Jan. 29, “the Public Comment period was dominated by requests for the City to re-engage with the District. Specifically, community members asked for time to develop a fundraising plan to purchase the school property.”
So, the matter is delayed for some 120 days (4 months).
Since then, numerous residents have asked the District and City Council to preserve the property as it is, honoring its historic value and the value the city’s children get from using the large grassy playing field for various youth sports and recreation.
Sunnyside School is in a similar situation, as County Supervisors last week decided to look into acquiring that site.
According to Los Osos Community Services District General Manager Ron Munds, “The County has been in discussions with the school district to pursue the property, but the County is not in the financial position to do this without partnering with the community and CSD to make it happen.
“We had a meeting this morning (Feb. 6) with the County to discuss and will be tentatively holding a town hall meeting on Feb. 22 to gain community input and hear about the potential partnerships.”
Munds said the details on the town hall would be announced soon.
Los Osos certainly has community needs that Sunnyside could help meet. For example, the CSD has for years wanted to build an off-leash dog park on a piece of vacant property next to the Community Park on Palisades Avenue.
Recently, other residents have sought to change that to other recreational facilities like pickleball courts. With the community’s interest apparently moving away from a dog park, the CSD and Los Osos Community Advisory Council (LOCAC) formed a joint committee to look into how this property would be best utilized.
Having Sunnyside and its large blacktop area, might make more sense for pickleball courts than the bare sand on Palisades.
If the 2002, 7-11 Committee’s report can serve as an example, there used to be a lot of interest in the three school sites.
The interested parties listed in the committee’s report were:
• Julie Tacker and Jerry Walsh, representatives for Sunnyside Up!, stated their committee’s interest in occupying facilities at Sunnyside School for a community center for Los Osos residents;
• Eric Smith and John Barnhart, County Office of Education, stated their entity’s desire to obtain a long-term ground lease for Chris Jespersen and a long-term lease for portions of Sunnyside and either Del Mar or Morro Elementary Schools to continue their special education programs;
• Linda Dalton of Cal Poly stated the University’s interest in the former Pacheco facility to meet some adult needs of the campus, day care, and educational purposes;
• Christie Ezovski stated her interest in establishing an alternative educational program for adolescents, The Institute for Discovery, Exploration and Autonomous Learning (I.D.E.A.L.) on the former Pacheco School campus;
• Jeff Edwards, land planner and real estate developer, stated his interest in purchasing the Sunnyside School facility for a mixed-use development;
• Steve McGrath, Economic Opportunity Commission, stated his agency’s desire to lease facilities at the former Pacheco and Sunnyside school sites to continue and expand their preschool and childcare programs; and,
• Sonya Lanzen-Castellanos of Central Coast Montessori Charter School stated her entity’s interest in leasing space at Morro Elementary to establish a charter school for K-6 students in this area.
It should be noted that interest expressed over 22-years ago, may not still be there, and with the restrictions on growth in Los Osos finally beginning to be lifted, and the entire county suffering a lack of affordable housing, among other needs, there could be a desire for some kind of affordable housing development, something a few speakers at the District’s Feb. 4 board meeting talked about.
