(DUBLIN, CA.) – Dublin’s planning commission received a request from Enlight Academy to increase their number of students from 20 to 34 during their meeting on August 25.
According to the brief presentation given by Special Projects Manager Christie Wheeler, Enlight Academy is a private school that is occupying a number of classrooms in a school building belonging to Dublin Unified School District (DUSD).
Located at 7500 Amarillo Road, this campus used to be Nielsen Elementary School before it was leased to Enlight Academy in August of 2023.
Video Credit: City of Dublin
In order to grant the school’s request to increase their enrollment from 20 to 34 students, the commission would have to approve an amendment to their existing conditional use permit.
Increasing the school’s enrollment is the only thing this amendment would alter about the school’s existing state and operations.
Before concluding the presentation, Wheeler mentioned that the site already has more than enough parking to accommodate a potential increase in students. She closed with staff’s recommendation to approve the amendment.
The commission then began to ask city staff questions.
First up was Commissioner Srinivas Badami, who inquired whether or not DUSD would be gaining extra revenue from the lease if the number of enrolled students increased.
Wheeler confirmed that DUSD would be gaining revenue if the commission approved the amendment.
Chair Wahida Rashid proceeded to ask a question that explained where this extra revenue would come from. This question was whether or not DUSD would be leasing additional spaces to Enlight Academy.
“They were previously leasing three classrooms and an office. They’re adding one more [classroom], and they’re moving the office from one location within the school to another location,” said Wheeler. “I think they’re increasing their square footage by around 2,500 to 2,600 square feet. They’re also leasing another bathroom. So it’s a portion of the school, not the whole school.”
Photo Credit: City of Dublin / Special Projects Manager Christie Wheeler
Multiple commissioners had questions on why Enlight Academy wanted to increase their enrollment number to 34. These were answered by one of the board members of Enlight Academy who was attending the meeting.
Before they were answered, however, the applicant addressed some confusion expressed by Commission Member Jaisena Prasath, who asked if the teacher to student ratio would be one teacher to 34 students.
According to the applicant, Enlight Academy does not follow a traditional educational structure like the schools seen in San Ramon, CA. Instead, their school runs on a Montessori system, which requires a different teacher to student ratio.
Following this explanation, the applicant, as represented by Board Member Mir Aamir, stated the reasons why the school wishes to increase its enrollment only to 34 when the campus still has room for more.
“What we looked at was the growth trajectory [and] how fast we can hire teachers. We [also] spoke with [DUSD] because they have to renovate those individual classrooms as we occupy them. So based on that math of space, availability, and how quickly we can grow in the next few years, it seemed like an ample [number] to ask for at the moment.”
Photo Credit: City of Dublin / Enlight Academy Board Member Mir Aamir
Once the applicant mentioned these additional empty classrooms that have not been renovated, Rashid inquired whether these unoccupied spaces were safe for the students or not.
To this, the applicant reassured the commission that these spaces were not only safe but were inaccessible to the students.
With no further questions, the commission moved forward with voting on whether or not to allow Enlight Academy to increase their enrollment from 20 students to 34 students.
They passed this unanimously.
To add or correct any information in this report, please contact me at madison.v@lead4earth.org or leave a comment below with your thoughts.
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