THE LEDE
This Week, the Waiting Ends
The school board has a Friday appointment with a vote that will determine whether Danville families lose their French teacher, their Korean teacher, their Japanese teacher.
Since February, the San Ramon Valley Unified School District's budget crisis has generated packed board meetings, late-night public comments, a formal impasse in negotiations, a union filing an unfair labor practice charge, and a county downgrade of the district's financial status. All of that comes to a head this week.
California state law gives school districts until May 15 to issue final layoff notices to tenured teachers. For anyone who received a preliminary pink slip in March, that date carries real weight: it is either the moment they learn they are out, or the moment that notice is rescinded and they return for another school year.
The SRVUSD board has called a special meeting for this Friday, May 8, specifically to vote on the final layoff resolution for both classified and certificated staff. The full agenda is available at srvusd.net. A regular board meeting follows on May 13. Then May 15 arrives.
The backstory, briefly: In February, the board voted 4-1 to cut 16 full-time equivalent teaching positions, with world language programs absorbing some of the deepest cuts. French, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese teachers are among those whose positions remain uncertain. Parents and teachers have shown up in force at board meetings since then, arguing that online alternatives are not a replacement for classroom language instruction, and that the cuts reflect a district that has prioritized its own administrative costs over students.
In late April, the district and the San Ramon Valley Education Association reached a tentative agreement after months of stalled negotiations. The deal protected elementary counselors and took class size increases off the table. But it did not save the world language positions. Those remain on the table as Friday's vote approaches.
What is also true: Contra Costa County's Office of Education has downgraded SRVUSD's financial status from 'positive' to 'qualified,' a designation that signals the county is watching the district more closely. The district manages a budget where 85 to 88 percent of every dollar goes to people. There is no painless path through a structural deficit.
If you want to be in the room when the vote happens, the special meeting is this Friday, May 8, at 699 Old Orchard Drive in Danville. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. After months of public comment at these meetings, this is the one that actually counts.
THE RUNDOWN
Blackhawk Plaza: 40 Days and Counting
The June 16 deadline for Ramanujan Group to file a restructuring plan under bankruptcy protection is now 40 days out. Nothing has been filed. The company, which owns Blackhawk Plaza and declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March, has 120 days from the filing date to present a plan for how it intends to emerge. Bankruptcy experts noted at the time that the deadline is often extended, but that staying in bankruptcy is expensive. Forty days is not a lot of runway for a property carrying approximately $36 million in secured debt. The plaza remains open, remaining tenants are still in business, and the ducks are still in the fountain.
Danville Is Small Business Country
National Small Business Week ran May 3 through 9, and the Town of Danville used it to highlight a statistic worth knowing: nearly 9 in 10 businesses within town limits have fewer than nine employees, giving Danville the highest concentration of micro small businesses in the Tri-Valley. The Town's annual Sip and Stroll brought residents downtown Thursday evening for wine tasting and a reminder of what that local commercial character actually feels like from the inside. If you missed it, mark next year.
A Turkish Table Opens at Bishop Ranch
Meyhouse, a Turkish restaurant and jazz club, opened May 2 at City Center Bishop Ranch in San Ramon, just over a year after it was first announced. The concept pairs Turkish cuisine with live jazz performances. Worth the short drive if dinner with a live set sounds like your kind of Thursday.
For Students: Design a Piano, Make a Film
The Town of Danville has two summer arts opportunities for middle and high school students. The Danville Community Pianos program, which places decorated pianos in downtown locations for the public to play, is accepting student design submissions for summer 2026. The Student Film Festival is accepting original short films through July 13; selected works will be screened at the Village Theatre on August 7 at 6:30 p.m. Both programs give student work a real public audience, not just a participation trophy. Visit danville.ca.gov/arts for details on both.
FAMILY AND KIDS
What May 15 Means for Your Household
If you have a student in an SRVUSD world language program, this is the week that determines what next fall looks like.
The May 15 state deadline is not a formality. Districts that issue final notices by that date can proceed with layoffs. Districts that rescind notices are signaling a position has been saved, often through a budget shift, a negotiated agreement, or a state grant coming through. For the French, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese teachers whose positions are still at risk, the board's special meeting on May 9 is the decisive moment.
The tentative agreement reached in late April between SRVUSD and the San Ramon Valley Education Association restored elementary counselors and protected class sizes. But it did not pull world language teachers off the chopping block. If those positions are formally eliminated, students currently enrolled in those programs will likely be redirected to the district's Expanded Language School online platform, which teachers and parents have consistently argued is not a comparable experience.
The special board meeting is this Friday, May 8, at 699 Old Orchard Drive in Danville, starting at 6 p.m. Public comment is accepted. Meeting agendas are posted at srvusd.net. The regular meeting on May 13 may include additional discussion. May 15 is the legal deadline.
On a lighter note: the Town is also offering creative summer opportunities for middle and high school students, including the Student Film Festival and the Community Pianos design program. Details at danville.ca.gov/arts.
MEANWHILE, ON NEXTDOOR…
A weekly roundup of what your neighbors are actually talking about. Names and identifying details omitted, as always.
EVERYONE HAS A PLAN FOR BLACKHAWK A neighbor from Blackhawk posted asking someone to buy the plaza before it becomes housing. What followed was a 30-plus-comment community wishboard: indoor mini-golf in the old Draeger's space, a kayak course with man-made rapids, an H Mart, escape rooms, smaller food stalls, and a landmark preservation designation that would reduce the property taxes. Someone ran the rough math on what an acquisition would actually cost and suggested the buyer would need deep pockets and a tolerance for uncertainty. One neighbor summarized the whole thread: 'lol, yes someone please buy the most unprofitable mall in America.' Another went and checked on the ducks. They are fine.
THE CITY CENTER IS NOT DANVILLE A neighbor asked how people felt about San Ramon's City Center mall. The thread became, unintentionally, an extended tribute to downtown Danville. City Center was variously described as ugly, cold, industrial, prison-like, and a car dealership. A few commenters defended it: Pottery Barn is thriving, Fieldwork is good, the farmers market works. Several people noted that if you want a real downtown, you drive to Danville, Pleasanton, or Livermore. The final verdict from one neighbor: 'If they are calling it Downtown, they have clearly missed the mark.' Danville did not have to say a word.
THE SCREEN TO REMIND YOU ABOUT YOUR SCREENS A neighbor spotted a $249 wall-mounted digital family organizer at Costco and wrote what became one of the most-reacted posts of the week: a careful examination of whether it made sense to buy another device to manage the devices already managing your life. The post included a minute-by-minute account of a typical morning involving a watch, a phone, Alexa, two cats, and a spouse whose verbal reminders already have a 100 percent compliance rate. Fifty-nine people reacted. The comments ran for hours and eventually detoured into Lily Tomlin impressions and the case for paper calendars. Multiple neighbors suggested a book deal. The poster is considering it.
ONLY IN DANVILLE
The 96-Year-Old Who Makes Art from Scraps
Josef Twirbutt was born in Lithuania in 1929. He earned an architecture degree in Poland and then fled the country for political reasons. He ended up in Paris with essentially nothing, and that is where he found art.
These days Twirbutt lives in Danville, and last weekend he opened his studio to the public as part of the fifth annual Tri-Valley Artist Studio Tour. He is 96 years old and still showing work. The medium he has worked in for decades: scrap wood, the kind of material most people throw away. He has exhibited in more than 20 shows and two solo exhibitions. The Tri-Valley has a lot of accomplished people. Few of them have a story quite like his.
ON THE CALENDAR
SRVUSD Special Board Meeting | Friday, May 8, 6 p.m. | 699 Old Orchard Drive, Danville The vote on the final layoff resolution for teachers. Public comment is accepted. Agenda at srvusd.net.
Danville Community Band: Musical Tales of Wonder | Saturday, May 16, 3 p.m. | Del Valle Theater, 1963 Tice Valley Blvd., Walnut Creek A free family concert featuring music from Wicked, The Lion King, Moana, Pokemon, and more. Free admission, donations accepted.
NCS Boys Lacrosse Playoffs | Monte Vista vs. Tamalpais | Tonight, May 7 The Mustangs (13-4) are in the second round of the North Coast Section D1 playoffs. If they win tonight, they stay alive.
THE NUMBER
40
Days remaining until the June 16 deadline for Blackhawk Plaza's owners to file a restructuring plan under bankruptcy protection. No plan has been filed. The clock is running.
FINAL THOUGHT
Two clocks are ticking in Danville this week. One runs out on May 15, when teachers find out whether they still have jobs. The other runs out on June 16, when Blackhawk Plaza's owners have to show the court what they intend to do with a shopping center nobody can figure out how to save. Communities do not usually get to watch the whole process in real time. Lucky us.
THE SIDELINE
The Wolves Are Nationally Ranked and Playing Tonight
The San Ramon Valley girls lacrosse program does not get talked about enough. At 14-3 overall with an 8-0 league record, the Wolves are ranked 8th in California and 37th in the nation. They opened NCS Division 1 playoff action on Tuesday with a dominant 19-6 win over Casa Grande, and they are back on the field again tonight, May 7, against Miramonte. For a program sitting in the top 40 nationally, that is the kind of run that deserves your attention even if you do not usually follow lacrosse. If they advance tonight, they will be two wins away from a section title. Full schedule and stats at MaxPreps.
Monte Vista Baseball Is on a Run
This is not the Monte Vista baseball team that was struggling through mid-April. The Mustangs have won seven straight games and stand alone atop the EBAL at 5-0 in league play, with a 15-6 overall record. Their pitching has been the engine: Aaron LaRosa is carrying a 0.00 ERA, and Gavin McMillan delivered a 10-strikeout complete game against Dublin late last month without allowing a single earned run. They play at California Friday afternoon with a chance to go to 6-0 in league. The leaderboard is not settled yet, but the Mustangs have earned the right to take it seriously. Stats at MaxPreps.
The Crosstown Rivalry Has a Scoreboard Tonight
SRV softball (17-6, 10-2 in league) is playing at Monte Vista this afternoon at 4 p.m. The Wolves have won eight straight at home and rank 48th in California. Their freshman Natalie Sun is hitting .421 with 15 stolen bases. Their sophomore Gia Ryan has five home runs and 29 RBI. Follow along at MaxPreps. For Monte Vista boys lacrosse, the Mustangs (13-4, CA Rank 14) take on Tamalpais tonight in NCS D1 playoffs. Two teams, two games, one Thursday. A good evening to stay tuned.
The Danville Dispatch is an independent newsletter covering Danville, California. Published weekly. Subscribe and read past issues at thedanvilledispatch.com. Not affiliated with the Town of Danville.