Pleasanton Group Unites To Improve Local Schools

PLEASANTON, CA — A local coalition of residents, businesses, students, parents and schools have pitched in to help improve Pleasanton schools.

Known as We Are Pleasanton, the group banded together after Measure M failed in the primary election, falling 2.6 percent short of the 55 percent majority needed to pass.

Now, the group is fundraising to build an 8,000-square-foot, sail-style shade structure for Amador Valley High School, in the school's colors. We Are Pleasanton hopes to support improvements to the Pleasanton Middle School field as its next project.

While the project was in the works before Bay Area counties enacted the first stay-at-home order in March, organizer Todd Utikal said he believes the shade structure could play a role in outdoor education, when students eventually return to campus.

We Are Pleasanton had raised more than $150,000 as of Monday, including $27,500 from Amador Valley High School students, Utikal said. The group seeks to meet its $225,000 goal by the end of the year.

Contributing to the project is a tangible way to benefit more than 2,000 students and more in years to come, he said.

We Are Pleasanton is seeking donors willing to match the $27,500 raised by students, or make contributions at the levels of $10,000, $5,000 and $1,000. Donations of at least $1,000 will get the donors' family or company name on a placard on campus.

Anything helps, Utikal said. The organization saw several smaller donations trickle in over Giving Tuesday.

Want to support the project while getting in the holiday spirit with seasonal wreaths, centerpieces and more? Fifteen percent of every purchase at the Lynch Creek Farms holiday store will go toward the shade structure.

Donate to the Amador Valley High project here. Checks can be made to PPIE (Pleasanton Partnerships in Education) with "Amador Shade" in the memo line. They can be mailed to We Are Pleasanton/PPIE c/o Kelly French at 1747 Baywood Ct. Pleasanton, CA. 94566.