In 1963, the residents of Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland, and Piedmont voted to form a single community college district. The district began operations under the Peralta name on July 1, 1964. The Peralta name was selected because all of the cities of the district, now a part of the greater Oakland metropolitan region, are located on the original Spanish land grant for Sgt. Luís María Peralta dating from August 1820.
With the founding of PCCD, the campuses of Oakland City College were split into their own community colleges, Laney College and Merritt College. In 1965, a bond issue was passed which established a new downtown Oakland campus building for Laney College (opened in 1970), a new campus for Merritt College (opened in 1971), and the founding of the College of Alameda. Berkeley City College was established in 1974 and operated under the name Vista Community College until 2006, when it began to operate from a permanent site.
Feather River College was operated by the Peralta CCD from 1968 to 1988, when Plumas County was de-annexed from the district; it now operates as the flagship campus of its own district.[3]
The Peralta district is governed by a seven-member Board of Trustees elected by the public within the district boundaries. Two student members sit on the board, but only have "advisory votes."
In June 2021, the contract for Interim Chancellor Jackson was extended through June 2022.[4]