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Palo Alto Unified School District Henry M. Gunn High School 780 Arastradero Rd Palo Alto, CA 94306
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Funding disparities lead to PAUSD facility differences Charlotte Qian and Michael Zhang Online Editor and Lifestyle Editor
On May 21, 1964, the Palo Alto High School (Paly) Campanile published a story titled, “Henry Gunn nears completion; many unique features included,” which touted facilities such as the “950-seat auditorium, 2,000-seat football bleachers, 1,800-seat gym and a 10-lane, crushedlava track.” Recently, however, differences between Gunn and Paly’s campuses have grown, with Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) spending more on improving Paly’s over the past decade than Gunn’s. The history behind the two sites is complex, involving public funding, private donations and relative facility ages.
Construction Funding In PAUSD, school construction projects undergo a lengthy process for funding and approval, involving various organizations. The Board of Education approves each project and directs the overall plans, the equity committee promotes diversity and equity, and the bond oversight committee ensures projects align with the directives of government bonds. The three groups come together to decide what facilities problems need to be addressed at each of the 17 schools in the district. According to Director of Facilities Eric Holm, the majority of the sites’ issues are reported by community members, including teachers, principals and parents. From there, the projects are prioritized from most to least important, before the project list and budget plans are approved by the Board of Education and formatted into a grant proposal. After construction plans and funding methods are finalized, the district submits the specifications to the Division of the State Architect for approval. The entire process, from the initial project idea to the start of construction, can take around two to three years.
Gunn and Paly have similar acreages of developed space—such as athletic fields, classrooms and construction spaces—with 39 and 41 acres respectively. However, annual financial reports of the public bond program from 2011–2022 show that PAUSD spent $149.8 million in improving Paly’s campus while only $100 million was allocated to Gunn. Board of Education Vice President Jennifer DiBrienza attributes the imbalance to the age of Gunn and Paly’s respective campuses. “[Paly] was the first high school [built in the district] so those buildings hit the end of life before [Gunn’s] buildings,” she said. “At some point, [the board] is going to say, ‘That building has hit the end of its life here
million. PAUSD, however, footed only $18 million, with the majority coming from a donation by the Peery Foundation. Paly’s state of the art complex cost significantly more than Gunn’s Titan Gym, which came in with a price tag of $12.9 million in 2012. While the Peery Center includes partitions to allow multiple teams to play at once, an athletic store and a coaches’ suite, the Titan facility only consists of a main gym, weight room and dance room. Holm noted that the Peery Family Center was an anomaly, with 99% of PAUSD’s facilities funding coming from bond funds. The bonds that are still available to fund projects are the 2008 Measure A Strong Schools Bond and 2018 Measure Z Strong Schools Bond, providing $378 Funding—p.2
“At some point, [the board] is going to say, ‘That building has hit the end of its life here at Gunn, so we’re going to need to replace it.’” —Board of Education Vice President Jennifer DiBrienza at Gunn, so we’re going to need to replace it.’ That’s why Paly has newer buildings. [The same will] start happening [at Gunn] in the next couple of decades.” The Peery Family Center—Paly’s new gymnasium complex—finished construction in May 2017 at a cost of $44
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