Congrats to our Grads! From The Press Vol. 28, No. 23
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June 5, 2026
County pulls Independence High School Measure X funding celebrates the Class of 2026 from low-income housing project Measure is a half-cent sales tax passed in 2020 By Dawnmarie Fehr Correspondent
The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed to pull $2.4 million in Measure X funds from a hotly contested multi-family housing project in Discovery Bay. The move – spearheaded by Supervisor Diane Burgis, who represents Discovery Bay – likely won’t prevent the $84 million Anton Development project from moving forward.
“This is a project that I know my constituents do not want. And because of that, I will not support this funding,” Burgis said during the May 19 meeting. The project is a three-story building dubbed Harbor Pointe with 170 residential units, a clubhouse and outdoor amenities, and 306 parking spaces. Of the units, 160 have been proposed as low or very low income. This means qualified families can apply for the units, which are rented at rates below market value. All the units meet the state’s criteria to be called “affordable.” For details about how to qualify, visit www.contracostaha.org/
Photo by Jeff Weisinger
I
ndependence High School kicked off this week’s Grad Week in Brentwood as they celebrated their Class of 2026 inside the Ghiggeri Gym at Liberty High School Tuesday evening. Family and friends of the graduates filled both sides of the gym as they cheered for their students throughout the roughly hour-long ceremony. Check back next week for more photos of local high school graduations happening over the weekend.
see Measure X page 23A
As new housing rises, schools prepare for growth By Jeff Weisinger
As new homes are built throughout Brentwood and Oakley, schools adjust for a potential influx of students.
Staff Writer
More homes are being built throughout East County, most notably as development continues along Sand Creek Road at both Creekside, in Antioch, and Bridlegate, in Brentwood, as well as on Cypress Road in Oakley bringing with it a familiar question for local school officials: where will the new students go? The answer depends on whom you ask. and how old the kids are. Liberty For the Liberty Union High School District, which features three main high schools and two alternative education schools, officials say the incoming housing projects are not expected to create immediate pressure on campuses already dealing with flat or declin-
Photo by Jeff Weisinger
ing enrollment. “Right now, just overall, basically our enrollment is staying the same. We’re declining really,” LUHSD superintendent Denise Rugani said. “Our enrollment right now is close to where we were in 2017. … and it’s
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been declining since 2021, 2022.” Rugani said the district’s five high school campuses can absorb the projected population increase from the incoming housing developments and that the district does not anticipate needing a new high school, nor
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major attendance boundary changes or additional campuses in the near future. Rugani said that the LUHSD currently enrolls 8,014 students districtwide: 2,728 at Liberty, 2,592 at Heritage, 2,359 at Freedom, 190 at Independence and 145 at La Paloma. Rugani says that the three comprehensive high schools – Liberty, Heritage, and Freedom – have the capacity to enroll more than 3,000 students within each of its main campuses. However, she added that the district isn’t looking to fill each school to capacity. “Our goal is to maintain balanced enrollment across the sites to support effective operations, student experience, and campus climate,” Rugani said. She included that the two alternative see Housing page 23A
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