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Nearly two years after Google announced plans to close its staff child care centers, the tech giant is still paying rent on two properties it leases from the Mountain View Whisman School District and is on the hook to pay for upgrades to make the sites usable as schools again.
For roughly two decades, Google has rented space at Theuerkauf Elementary School and the former Slater Elementary School campus to offer child care for its employees’ kids. The Mountain View-based tech company announced in late 2023 that it planned to end this program in August 2024, formally informing Mountain View Whisman in February 2024 that it would consequently be pulling out of its leases at Theuerkauf and Slater. The company started renting the space at Theuerkauf in 2004 and at Slater in 2006, according to the leases.
While Google no longer operates services on either site, it is responsible for paying rent, totaling roughly $3 million annually, until at least Feb. 22, 2026, according to Mountain View Whisman Chief Business Officer Rebecca Westover. That’s because the current contracts, which were slated to expire June 30, 2028, include clauses requiring two years notice for early termination.
Per the agreements, Google is also responsible for paying to bring both campuses up to state standards for K-12 facilities, Westover said. The district is currently in negotiations with Google over who will actually complete the work, which Google wants Mountain View Whisman to take on, she added.
If Google fails to make the campuses compliant by February, Mountain View Whisman administrators plan to seek to extend the amount of time the company pays rent, Superintendent Jeff Baier said.
The Voice reached out to Google for comment on the status of the two sites’ compliance with the state standards but did not hear back in time for publication.
What’s still unknown is how Mountain View Whisman will use the space after Google vacates. The school board will make the ultimate decision, Westover said, noting that the district has already received emails from preschools and private schools that are interested in renting the sites.
Another option, Westover said, would be for the district to use one or both of the sites for its own purposes, potentially to house transitional kindergarten classes. Over the past several years, the district has expanded its TK program in alignment with state requirements.
If the board decided to go in that direction, however, the district would lose out on the lease revenue. Currently, Google pays approximately $2.6 million for the former Slater location and $541,000 for the Theuerkauf campus, totalling to more than $3 million annually, Westover said.
Both sites – before my time, we only benefited by the leases when the going was great. Now the transition will be …? At least not guided by the real estate expertise of Dr. Rudolph.
// The advantage of the current configuration is – perfectly setup for pre-school. Each classroom has a small-kid toilet / which is not desired for 1-5th grade. Slater: This was part of Google $10M conversion upgrade/ covered in a Voice article. It would make absolutely no sense to Order back conversion – it makes Slater very desirable for A HOST of preschools – just like the Ventura school conversion in Palo Alto – bought by the PA City Rec Dept to oversee. TOO big for one private operator – then use it to serve several.
We had one kid at this PA facility / it was interesting-useful to have the ability to choose the type of care-learning.