Various Opinions Revolve Around High School Building Plans
Three options were described and discussed at the Town Hall meeting sponsored by the Piedmont School District.
On April 1st, 2017, the Piedmont Unified School District Town Hall meeting took place at 9:00am in Piedmont High School’s Student Center. The new Facilities Advisory meeting was convened to get feedback from Piedmont citizens on the three options for the new designs for Piedmont High School. The meeting began with one of the facilitators, Gina Bartlett, telling the audience the purpose of the meeting and what was hoped to get out of it. She said that they did not want agreement on the options, they wanted feedback. The goal was to get the opinions of teachers, students, parents, and community members. Bartlett also went over how the small groups should discuss each option in their small groups in order to get the most out of the discussions. Each group included five to six people, and there were 12 groups. As it was a discussion-style meeting, speakers did not share their names.
Superintendent Randy Booker spoke next. He went through each option so people could have background on the project. He stated that since Measure H1 passed, the District has $66 million for the new high school. Booker went over the constraints for the proposed facilities. They include: funding, lack of real estate and topography, and lack of interim housing. These were the three things the board struggled with when creating the three options. He said that it is important that the plan fits into the Piedmont community. There needs to be a logical entrance. This will provide a face to the school, and improve security. Booker emphasized that though not every building will be new, the Board is planning to reserve a portion of the funds to improve the classrooms in the untouched buildings. An animation was shown of the three options. Each one involves building a three-story STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math classrooms) building and a new gymnasium or theater. The video, along with more information and places to give feedback, can be found at www.measureh1.org.
The rest of the meeting was spent critiquing and sharing ideas about each option in the small groups. Each table wrote what they liked and disliked about each one on a piece of poster paper. These ideas are then going to be discussed by the Piedmont Board of Education to create the final plan.
Option 1 involves putting the STEAM building behind the current gym, and putting in a new theater in the same place as the current one. School Board offices would then be moved into a remodeled 20s building. The benefits discussed about this plan included that it is the least expensive and creates the most classrooms. A repeated criticism of this plan was that it would be difficult and inefficient to have a building that houses so many classrooms far away from the rest of the school. Students would have trouble getting to it because of the small walkway that would lead to the entrance.
Option 2 would include a new theater in the place of the 10s building, and the STEAM classrooms where the current theater is. People noted that this would create a face to the school. Both these buildings would be along Magnolia Avenue, so it would be the first thing people would see. The main entrance would be between the two buildings, and the main office would most likely be in the bottom floor of the STEAM building. This would improve security, as office staff would have an easier time monitoring who is entering the campus. A con mentioned was that both these buildings are very large, so they would be invasive to the feel of the current area: architects would have a hard time making large modern buildings that fit into the surrounding area and campus.
Option 3 has the STEAM building in the place of the current gym and the new gym along Magnolia Avenue in the place of the 10s building. People liked the idea of removing the unused amphitheater and having the three-story building make use of the hillside. Because the entrance would be level with the quad, it would make another centralized building. Having the gym on Magnolia makes it easier to find, and for more community members, able to utilize it. Several groups thought that having a new gym is not as important as a new theater. More people in Piedmont could make use of a new theater than a gym. One parent reminded the group that when students are taking PE classes, they often go from the locker room to Witter Field. Moving the gym further from the field makes it inconvenient for the teacher and students involved. One student also brought up the idea that the identity of Piedmont High School is not sports. By having the gym so prominent on the outside of the school, it disrupts what the students value most, which is academics.
After reviewing each option, I believe that #2 is the best for the school. I think a new theater will be more beneficial to the school than a new gym. Not all students play sports in the gym, but all students use the theater. The new one would be wheelchair accessible and be up to date with earthquake and fire standards. This option would also move Millennium High School into the current 20s building. MHS students would be more integrated with PHS students.
There will be more chances to get involved and voice opinions. Input from all meetings will be used by the School Board in preparing a final plan.
by Gemma Fucigna, Piedmont High School Senior
