End of the year letter …

Dear Families and Community,

It’s hard to believe the school year has come to an end! As we reflect on the 2017-18 school year, educators across the District are feeling great pride in the academic and social-emotional growth of students. Together, let us celebrate students’ hard work and engagement in their learning process.

Please click on the following link for a year-end report that highlights many District initiatives from this year. The District’s ultimate goal is to provide an extraordinary education for all students. Each initiative furthered this goal in one of the following ways: updating and refining our curriculum and instruction; promoting deeper levels of student engagement, critical thinking, and inquiry; providing a safe, appropriate and inclusive learning environment for all students; or adapting our administrative practices and structures to better meet the needs of students and better support educators.

I would like to thank our teachers, staff and administrators for their incredible dedication and for all they do on behalf of our students. They are making a remarkable team of professionals who continually strive to improve teaching and learning. I would also like to thank the many organizations, families, and volunteers who partner with the District to enhance and expand opportunities for our students. I am grateful for this breadth and depth of community support for public education, and proud of what we have accomplished together this year.

Have a wonderful summer!

Sincerely,

Randall Booker
Superintendent of the Piedmont Unified School DistrictMay 31, 2018

     In reply to Superintendent Booker’s response to my recent article “A Costly Mistake”, the salient issue is whether or not the high school can get by without adding eight portables for a period of three years. I am not an educator, but I can add and subtract.

Piedmont City Council to Consider Proposed Charter Changes June 4, 2018, 7:30 p.m. City Hall:

If the City Administrator’s requests to change the City Charter are approved, the City Council could take a back seat in Piedmont’s governance.

Piedmont City Administrator Paul Benoit proposed eliminating the long-time appointment power of the City Council in the City Charter. 

The City Council has always appointed and hired key administrative positions – Police Chief, Fire Chief, City Clerk, Finance Director, Public Works Director, etc. However, the Council told Benoit on April 30, 2018 they wanted to retain the Council’s hiring authority per the City Charter.  Yet Benoit apparently convinced the Council that he, the City Administrator, should be the sole individual authorized to fire or terminate key managers, taking authority away from the Council in an unusual change to Council authority.

Readers will find the administrative changes repeatedly diminish the authority of the Council forfeiting their authority to the City Administrator.

The form of government proposed by Benoit is usually termed a City Manager form of government joined by a strong mayor, which Piedmont does not elect.  Oakland has a City Manager form of government as does Alameda and Astoria, Oregon, where Benoit was employed for many years prior to coming to Piedmont. Each of these cities have a separately elected Mayor.  Piedmont’s mayor is elected from within the Council  by the five Council members. 

Many are familiar with Oakland struggles, but perhaps less familiar with Alameda’s recent troubles when the Council terminated their City Manager over a hiring situation. Piedmont has not had such disruption and the City Council has worked collaboratively when selecting officers such as the Fire Chief, Police Chief, and others.  It has been stated that it is better to have 5 members of the Council selecting  the City officers rather than one unelected person – the City Administrator – making the selections and terminations.

Despite pleas for an independent committee to study and evaluate proposed changes to the Piedmont City Charter, none was formed by the City Council.  The Administration driven proposals have moved forward following a Council Study Session.  

This PCA article points out some of the critical issues, but as with any City Charter the devil is in the details, of which there are many.  The Council, apparently, will be presenting forums after they decide what should be placed on a Piedmont  November 2018 election ballot to seek required ratification

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Below are various changes noted by City staff as substantive.  Readers will note in the full draft linked below there are many other important issues.

   The pros and cons of the changes have not been presented by staff.

Important administrative changes of the Charter were listed last in the staff report linked below. The order has been changed here. 

• ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROVERSY: Council would hire top managers, but could not fire them. In Article 3 – Administration – Council directed staff to clarify sections in this article to make clear that the City Council appoints Department Heads, but that they will be directed by and serve at the pleasure of the City Administrator.
• The Council acted against the recommendation of the City Administrator and decided to retain their long held ability to select and appoint (hire) Department Heads per the current Charter requirement appointments for Department Heads, while letting the City Administrator be the only individual who fire the Department heads.
•   ISSUE: The Council relinquishment of their ability to also terminate (fire) Department Heads –  the Police Chief, Fire Chief, Finance Director, City Clerk, etc. presents potential new problems for the City Council authority.
• New positions have been added to the list of permanent City of Piedmont positions.  The number of  Department Head employeeswill be permanently placed in the City Charter potentially making it more difficult to consolidate or eliminate positions. 
•  ADMINISTRATIVE AND POLITICAL;  NO LIMIT ON AMOUNT OF RESERVE FUNDS. In Section 4.03, the limit on the General Fund Reserve of 25% is proposed for removal. In addition, an aspirational minimum for the General Fund Reserve of 15% of the General Fund operating budget is inserted.
• Elimination of the amount of money the City can place in reserve, while continuing to tax property owners has been one of  the more noticed proposed changes to the City Charter.  The original goal of limiting reserves was to control taxation without a purpose. In recent years, the Council and Administration has circumvented the limitation by building up reserves in numerous specials funds presenting a bountiful amount of money stored by the millions for special purposes.   The change appears arbitrary. 
• ADMINISTRATIVE AND POLITICAL: BIDDING and PURCHASING:  In Section 4.11, bidding requirements are changed to remove a low threshold for costly formal bidding requirements, rather leaving it to the Council to set the thresholds for formal bidding by ordinance.
• Many City service providers are currently not obtained through a formal bidding process. Regardless of cost to the City, old friends, contractors,  and work companions often continue for years without ever going through a formal procurement process.  Some suggest Piedmont has not always performed due diligence with the millions of dollars spent for outside services and have suggested stronger language rather than more relaxed requirements. Piedmont adopted a stronger procurement, liability and project policy led by the League of Women Voters of Piedmont.  There has been no comment on the impact of the proposed Charter change to the policy. 
•  
•  The proposed amendments also modernize the prohibition against employment discrimination to include all classes protected under U.S. and state law. (Section 5.02)  This makes Piedmont Charter language compliant with U.S. and state law without impacting Piedmont’s current compliant practices.
• The provision for filling vacancies on the Board of Education is changed to match the proposed amendments for the City Council, as described above for Section 2.05 (c). Staff consulted with the Piedmont Unified School District which agreed that this amendment, along with one other technical amendment to Article 7 should be included in the proposed amendments. There is no validation provide for the Board of Education position on the Charter change. 

POLITICAL: LIMITING SERVICE BY FORMER COUNCIL MEMBERS.  The proposal would increase the period of time during which a former Councilmember is ineligible to run for office from 4 to 8 years after leaving office.

 Only two Council members have in the past 3 decades attempted to be re-elected following 4 years of ineligibility.  One former Councilmember was not re-elected, another was elected, but recently resigned over a scandal.  A local newspaper’s publicity for those two candidates influenced the election more than the candidates’ efforts.

POLITICAL: HOW LONG SHOULD THE COUNCIL HAVE TO FILL A COUNCIL VACANCY.   An amendment to the provision for filling of vacancies on the City Council would be extended to allow the Council 60 days rather than just 30 days to fill a vacancy.

 Recent history has proven the Council has been able to readily fill numerous Council vacancies within the allotted 30 day time period. The intention of the Charter was to expeditiously fill a vacancy for a full Council composition of 5 members rather than unnecessarily remain at 4 or fewer members. 

• CONTROVERSIAL: WHEN TO HOLD COUNCIL MEETINGS A requirement that the Council hold two regular meetings per month is eliminated. The proposed language would require the City Council to hold meetings on a regular basis.

  Change could be arbitrary. 

  Residents often plan their public participation schedules around knowing when the Council will meet  – the first and third Mondays of each month. With recent changes to the Zoning Code, not knowing when the Council will next meet to consider a matter opens up conflicting issues. From high school students to public participants, having regularly scheduled meetings, a standard for most cities,  is beneficial.  If three (the required amount) Council members cannot attend a regularly scheduled  meeting, then the meeting would fall to the next day or week. Going on the City Council is known to require certain meetings per month thus allowing the Council and public set dates for planning purposes. Scheduling of matters can be crucial to the consideration of many issues and the orderly functioning of government.  Reducing the frequency of Council meetings puts them at a disadvantage in providing the leadership the citizenry expects of their elected officials.
  

Amendments are also proposed to a number of other sections of the Charter to remove stated outdated provisions and modernize language. Click to read a marked up version of the Charter containing each of the proposed Charter amendments.

READ the full STAFF REPORT > HERE.

Citizens are invited and encouraged to comment at this meeting. Written comments may be submitted to the City Council at citycouncil@piedmont.ca.gov or by US Mail to City Clerk, 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont, CA  94611. All comments submitted will become part of the public record.

The meeting will be televised live on KCOM-TV, Channel 27, the City’s government TV station and will be available through streaming video on the City’s web site www.ci.piedmont.ca.us.

For further information, contact Assistant City Administrator/ City Clerk John O. Tulloch via email at cityclerk@piedmont.ca.gov or via phone at (510) 420-3040.

A Costly Mistake

On November 8, 2016, following a well-orchestrated campaign, 73% of Piedmont voters supported a $66 million bond issue to modernize and add classrooms to the high school campus, which includes the Millennium High School.

Subsequently, the Board approved selection of an architectural firm (HKIT) and proceeded with a plan focusing on two major projects: a new STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) Building that is expected to cost $37.5 million, and a new Alan Harvey Theater costing $16.3 million. Together these projects, including necessary demolition, account for 81.5% of the $66 million bond and will take about three years to complete, during which time the schools will be without a theater. The STEAM building includes 19 classrooms, and the theater adds a drama classroom. Eight existing classrooms will be demolished, so the net gain will be 12 new classrooms, a 30% increase in the number of classrooms but with no new teachers added and only a modest increase projected in high school enrollment. The balance of the bond money will be spent on modernizing existing classrooms and other needed improvements on the campus.

In sequence, the approved plan is to demolish the theater in the summer of 2020, and construct a new three-story STEAM building on its site. When STEAM is completed, the existing Administration Building will be demolished, and a replacement theater with a drama classroom will be constructed on its site.

Well before the election, Superintendent Booker established a Facilities Steering Committee to report directly to him. This committee, a mix of school staff and Piedmont residents, reviewed the Facilities Master Plan prepared by QKA Architects that included a list of needed school projects that totaled an estimated $137 million, twice the district’s current bonding capacity. Hence, the list had to be cut in half. The committee then decided that the highest priority should be given to the high school and its need for more and better classrooms. After thoughtful deliberation, the committee decided on three site plan options for consideration, and these were the only options open for discussion at three Town Hall Meetings held in April, 2017.

At some point in the process, the committee was told, mistakenly in my opinion, that if the Administration building was demolished before the STEAM building was completed, the high school could not function without first installing eight portable classrooms at a cost of $5 million. This effectively eliminated one of the three options, and ultimately led to the Board’s adopted plan. Board President Sarah Pearson said, “One of the reasons rebuilding a new theater [on the site of the Administration building] became such an attractive option was because of the cost of interim housing and not having much space. It was the most pragmatic decision — not to put money in portables.”

The fact is that a careful review of the high school teachers and their assigned classrooms showed that the school could function perfectly well without the need for costly portables during construction.

My detailed analysis found that of the 39 designated classrooms, eight in the Administration Building are nearly fully utilized, but the remaining 31 are typically underutilized. In fact, one designated classroom is now being used for storage and another for school publications. There would be some minor inconveniences, but these are far outweighed by the multiple advantages of constructing a new STEAM building on the site of the existing Administration Building, and a new or revamped theater at its present location.

Total construction time and campus disruption would be cut in half from 3 to 1.5 years, a significant saving in construction cost escalation.Moreover, there is no immediate need to replace the theater. ADA access and other suggested improvements could be made at a cost of less than $10 million. Only minor structural upgrade is needed. If theater replacement is deferred until additional bonding capacity is available, first phase funds would be available to address the much-needed Middle School upgrades, a rational trade-off.

In December 2017, I sent an e-mail to the Board and staff outlining in detail how this could be accomplished. To date, I have received no substantive reply, except a comment by Dr. Pearson that it is too late to make these changes. I do not believe this. It took only about 4 months for the construction documents for the Alan Harvey Theater to be prepared in 2014. Similarly, HKIT could most assuredly revise the construction documents needed for the two buildings in a relatively short period of time. They would not be starting from scratch. Even if the two projects have already been submitted to the State Division of Architects — and I don’t know that they have— it is not too late to consider revisiting the issue and make these siting improvements given the multiple advantages of time and cost.

 William Blackwell, Piedmont Resident

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.

The following is a letter provided by Piedmont Superintendent, Randall Booker, written and signed by all of the Superintendents in Alameda County. 

Sex, Science, and Systematic Slaughter

Have you ever wondered why Piedmont High School doesn’t distribute condoms? Are you curious as to the state of our upcoming chemistry curriculum? Do you wish PHS would up its Holocaust education game? If yes, you really should have attended May 9, 2018 School Board meeting.

Have no fear – the Piedmont School Board meets every 2nd and 4th Wednesday to develop curriculum, hear from community members about past and present issues, and keep tabs on Piedmont’s lovely and lively student body. But just in case School Board meetings are to you as “Game of Thrones” is to me (where you can’t miss a single episode lest you miss a plot point larger than Clifford, the Big Red Dog), here’s a recap:

Not sure how recently you’ve looked at a textbook, but apparently for our PHS AP Spanish students, it’s been a while. In their classroom, there are textbooks enough for only half the class! Estudiantes Sarah Machle and Kate Broening came to the podium to make their request: more textbooks! They also brought to attention a desire for online access to textbooks. With increase in technology use, online textbooks could make education more efficient and easier for students (not to mention physically lighten the load).

“The AP Spanish class has 13 more text books than students. There are not enough textbooks for each student to have one book for home and one book for the class.”

But alas! Conflict in the courtroom! John Savage, PHS chemistry teacher, takes a moment to speak his mind. Chromebooks, he argues, with all their access to games and platforms, have made it increasingly difficult for teachers to keep students on task. He has found printed materials to be more effective overall, and really wishes that the School Board would consult with teachers more before making decisions that so heavily affect the learning atmosphere.

Now, I won’t lie – I have spent many-a-class-period playing snake, sudoku, and 2048, so I can’t say that Mr. Savage’s argument is invalid. And I too have found that most often, I absorb material more thoroughly when not presented on a screen… so, sorry Sarah and Kate, I’m with Savage on this one.

Next came Maya Guzdar, PHS senior who was quick to ask the real question: how can PHS students get condoms? According to the California Healthy Youth Act, students have the right to obtain healthcare items at school, and with the Wellness Center already distributing physical and mental health necessities such as breath mints and tea, how big of a difference is condoms, really? I joke, but in reality, Maya has brought forth an excellent point – if sexually active teens can’t purchase condoms and don’t have parents who are down with diddling, is the school hurting or helping by providing protection?

The brilliant Mr. Savage has something to say to this one too – yes, the school should provide sexual protection because yes, condoms in a fishbowl really are beneficial to students lives. According to two statistics (of which I did not catch their origin), 25% of STDs exist in teens, and contrary to what some may think, schools providing condoms have had no history of increasing sexual activity of students!

When I asked Mr. Savage if he planned on pursuing the issue Maya had raised, he said that he “will probably not actively participate in any action to bring condoms to the school other than to continue to speak in favor of it… the School Board can choose to let it slide, and hope that students forget about it, and the students might. If the students press, then the School Board will have to act,” so I guess it’s up to us if we want the school to provide us raincoats before this next year’s rainy season.

After Maya came Clara Stevens, at the podium to discuss possibly the farthest thing from sex: kindergarteners and pumpkins. A teacher at Beach Elementary School, Ms Stevens has been working on integrating kindergarteners into the school experience by having them eat lunch with the “big kids.” With the School-Board-approved extended school day, the students have been able to resurrect their gardens and plant food and other plants such as (you guessed it) pumpkins! Nothing is quite as cute as the image of tiny kindergarteners with massive pumpkins, so thanks to the School Board for that one.

Unfortunately, I had an issue of my own to address, one whos accompanying images are not quite as pleasant: holocaust education. This year, I could not help but note that Holocaust Memorial Day came and went without even a mention on the loudspeaker (we announce birthdays for Pete’s sake, how hard could it be). Now, I understand that school assemblies and Holocaust speakers can be logistically hard to manage, but it seems to me that in the current climate, Holocaust education should maybe be considered a priority. And I have to hand it to the school, I really do – not even two full days later, I was called in with a few peers to discuss with administration and select faculty current PHS Holocaust education and their plans for future improvement. I learned that the school has already been working with my youth-group director, Rabbi Akiva Naiman (who comes to the high school to help run the Jewish Student Union), on ideas for next year, including bringing in Holocaust survivors. I am glad to say I truly felt heard, as if my feedback genuinely mattered, and I cannot express enough appreciation to the administration for making sure that my concern was not left unaddressed.

But sorry administration, there *is* someone out there cooler than you… Mazel Tov to Holly Hanke, winner of the Arthur Hecht Volunteer of the Year Award!! My family doesn’t have much of a presence in Piedmont, but if yours does even a tad, I’m sure you’ve heard of Holly.  I mean, after 12 years of service to Piedmont programs like the Piedmont Portal, email bulletins, CHIME, PAINTS, PEF, the giving campaign, the Harvest Festival, and more, I imagine it would be hard not to known Holly. Half the crowd at the School Board meeting came for Holly, and when she walked out, she left with not only her family and friends, but also with an original art piece made and presented to her by Saatvik Dube, AP Art student at Piedmont High.

After Holly and her fan club departed, the Board held a Public Hearing on the proposed levy of School Support Tax Measure, which allows a levy of a maximum of 2% increase a year. Mr. Schneider spoke in favor of the parcel tax, suggesting that maybe 10% of school funding shouldn’t be raised from fundraisers, rather it should be more solid and stable.

The later chunk of the meeting was spent discussing the updated curriculum for both Chemistry and Honors Chemistry at PHS. In case you missed the news, California adopted new science standards as of September 4, 2013, with three main components: core ideas (what students know), cross cutting concepts (how students can think across concepts), and engineering practices (how students can think like an engineer).

Chemistry teachers Tom Huffaker and the previously introduced John Savage presented the updated curriculum for approval, and touched on how they fulfilled the three main goals of the new standards in each unit. The Board and students in the audience asked a few questions: how does honors differ from regular? Will there be an AP Chemistry? Will students still read The Martian? The teachers answered them all (it’s faster, not yet, and of course!). Now, all Mr. Savage has to do is go back and see if the Board has come up with any more – “If/when they adopt the new curriculum, Mr. Huffaker and I will start developing detailed lessons and units,” he says. It’s looking good Mr. Savage, Mr. Huffaker. Keep up the good work!

After the science-geeks came the math-nerds, and the well-loved Mr. Hayden stepped up to go over the new math tracks for PMS and PHS students. Unfortunately, us kiddos were kicked out right about then, but not before we got to hear about the new Honors Math Analysis class, and various integrated math courses. I’m a proud Woman in STEM, so I gotta say, they looked pretty cool.

That was all I was able to witness, but if you’re still curious about the state of the curricula, or the absence of condoms in the Wellness Center, or anything else discussed in this past week’s meeting, I encourage you to go to the next one yourself, and truly experience the magic of community that is in full swing at every Piedmont School Board meeting.

By Zoe Levin, Piedmont High School Senior

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 Condoms, Chemistry, and Social Justice at City Hall

On Wednesday, May 9th, the Piedmont school board held its bi-monthly meeting at City Hall, providing the opportunity for various teachers, community members, and students to share their views regarding important community issues. At the recent meeting, attendees discussed everything from new honors chemistry curriculum to condoms in schools to social justice and equity in the classroom.

When asked how she handles such extensive meetings covering such wide ranges of topics, Piedmont Unified School District (PUSD) Board of Education President Sarah Pearson responded, “It’s often more helpful to listen than to speak.”

Yet it appeared that not many attendees took Pearson’s advice – the meeting ran over two hours, and almost every attendee spoke on an issue.

Mr. Kessler introduced the first major issue, discussing the importance of equity and social justice at Piedmont’s schools. He referenced gun violence awareness, gender equity, sexual harassment training, and other issues topical to this year. While Mr. Kessler only spoke for a few minutes, his topics of social justice and teachable equity were continually discussed throughout the meeting.

Following Mr. Kessler, Heather Frank took the stand, thanking the Parent Clubs for all of their work helping in fundraising to create safer, more equitable schools. In quick succession, Josh Miller, the Millennium High School student representative, contributed a short recap on both Piedmont and Millennium’s upcoming activities: AP tests, ASB elections, sporting events, and service learning projects.

At this point, the Board opened the floor for any public concerns. Attendees who wished to share concerns filled out a speaker card that allowed them time to share their thoughts. Students Kate Broening and Sarah Machle spoke first, promoting the use of online textbooks over physical ones. I spoke next challenging Piedmont and Millennium high schools for not providing condoms for students. I referenced the California Healthy Youth Act passed in 2016 that prohibits schools from teaching abstinence only or religious sexual education. Science teacher John Savage spoke to support my condom proposal, backing me up with more statistics.

Later, Pearson commented “I was very impressed that you had prepared comments and that you did research. You made a strong argument for providing condoms. I was impressed that Mr. Savage reinforced your argument with more statistics. Well done!”

Student Zoe Levin addressed Piedmont School’s ignorance of National Holocaust Remembrance Day and pushed for the schools to host a holocaust speaker to increase recognition. Student Will Reicher pushed for a more holistic understanding of Piedmont’s slogan “Achieve the Honorable.”

Following this “open mic” period, the Board commenced one of the main events of the night, the awarding of community member Holly Hanke with the Art Hecht Volunteer of the Year Award. Ms. Hanke first enjoyed a long introduction from a Board Member in which her vast volunteer experience was described. For her award, she was given her choice of high school AP art students’ portfolios. She chose student Saatvik Dube’s portrait depicting the negative effects of social media. Holly delivered a speech thanking everyone for their kindness and appreciation for receiving the award.

When asked her thoughts on the evening, Pearson immediately spoke on Hanke’s speech, reflecting that she thought the Art Hecht recipient “spoke eloquently about the importance of volunteering.”

Finally, the Board turned to the final issue of the night. Teachers John Savage, John Hayden, and Tom Huffaker presented a powerpoint on the new and updated science curriculum. They each presented an in depth presentation detailing each new unit, the changes that will be made, and how this will advance their students’ learning. Mr. Savage explained how the book The Martian will integrate more deeply into the curriculum. Mr. Hayden detailed the new structure of the honors math analysis class, and Mr. Huffaker talked about the new honors physics and possible AP physics class.

Following the meeting, Board President Sarah Pearson shared that the meeting was much more eventful than usual, as it had lasted over two hours and had attracted many teachers and students. Yet while the numerous speakers’ work is over, the Board Members’ duties stretch far beyond the confines of City Hall.

When asked next steps, Pearson replied, “The main issue that needs follow up from me and other Board Members is to reread, edit and approve the Board policies,” revealing that while it takes courage and preparation to speak out at these meetings, the true grit lies in the leading members of the Board who make these meetings possible.

by Maya Guzdar, Piedmont High School Senior

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Updates, Awards, and New Curriculum for Science and Math Classes 

On Wednesday evening of May 9th, seats were quickly filled as students, teachers, and community members filed into City Hall before the Piedmont Board of Board of Education to honor award winning community leaders, hear updates and opinions about relevant matters, and listen to the first proposals for new curriculum to be added in Science and Math classes for the 2018-19 school year. The School Board meets on the second and fourth Wednesday of every month in order to make decisions regarding educational policy.

The meeting began with an open microphone opportunity to speak on any topic that was not on the agenda.

Mr. Kessler, President of the Association of Piedmont Teachers spoke first on the benefit of a teacher training program regarding sexual harassment. Mr. Kessler wants to continue programs like these to ensure a welcoming and safe school climate for both students and teachers.

Next, Josh Miller, the Millenium ASB representative gave updates about ASB election week, AP testing, teacher appreciation week, service learning, and Day on the Green.

Various students who attended spoke about their personal comments and concerns that they wanted the Board to take note of. Kate Broening and Sarah Machle spoke about the subject of textbooks, advocating for greater accessibility to online textbooks as well as a greater number of textbooks in the classroom to ensure academic success for students. Maya Guzdar followed encouraging the idea of Piedmont High School providing condoms for student use to promote safe sexual activity. Zoe Levin, President of the Jewish Student Union, talked about the lack of Holocaust education at Piedmont High and proposed the idea of having a moment of silence on the loud speaker for Holocaust Memorial Day. Will Reicher closed the open microphone comments with updates about Site Council. At the previous Site Council meeting, attendees discussed the five skills they wish Piedmont High graduates leave with: communication, character, citizenship, collaboration, and content mastery.

The first subject on the agenda was honoring Holly Hanke, the Art Hecht award winner for volunteer of the year. Holly Hanke was recognized for her great service to the community which includes working on the Giving Campaign, Measures B, E,, and H1, Spring Fling, and helping to establish the Piedmont Portal.

Following the award ceremony, there was a hearing on the proposal for the School Support Tax which is a levy of a maximum of 2% increase for the 2018-19 school year.

Next, Chemistry teachers Mr. Savage and Mr. Huffaker presented on the proposed new curriculum to be added to both regular Chemistry and Honors Chemistry starting in the 2018-19 school year. In response to the changing California science standards, Chemistry will have a greater focus on Earth Science. The new curriculum will include more ways for students to apply their work tangibly through various projects and presentations including designing a coral reef fish tank and designing and testing batteries.

Some concern arose about the elimination of existing curriculum, but in my opinion making more room for Earth Science will be very beneficial. Many of the units and topics to be discussed are more relevant and applicable to our everyday world and tie in very smoothly to other science classes taught at Piedmont High. The new curriculum will allow for students to have a chance to do more hands on work and learn by doing, which to me is the best way to learn any material.

The next topic of discussion was the recent changing of math pathways with the addition of Honors Math Analysis this year. The current Honors Math Analysis class covers a few units of calculus with 13 units in total. Mr. Hayden’s presentation was on a proposed change to the Honors Math Analysis course that covers only 10 units to allow students to go into a deeper level of thought, with focus on derivations and proofs. This new course plan would also allow students to take more smaller assessments instead of few large ones.

After the meeting I had the chance to talk with President of the Board of Education, Sarah Pearson, who thought the meeting overall ran very smoothly due to the lack of controversial issues. Ms. Pearson especially enjoyed learning about the new curriculum and hearing insight from both students and teachers. Her next step is to read through all of the policies and proposals from the meeting before any official approval.

 by Sarah Machle, Piedmont High School Senior

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Ambitious Plans for Curriculum Changes at Piedmont High 

    The School Board meeting which took place on May 9th hosted the first public hearings for new classes and amendments to existing courses at Piedmont High School in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) subjects. These presentations occurred alongside regular Board proceedings, such as hearing issues from students and residents of Piedmont.

    Beginning with the aforementioned issues raised by citizens of Piedmont, Mr. Kesler, a fourth-grade teacher at Wildwood Elementary, praised recent initiatives by the School Board to support an inclusive environment through sexual harassment workshops that emphasized being sensitive with sexual and gender identities.

    In related news, Ms. Stevens, a first-grade teacher at Beach Elementary, chose to highlight initiatives by school administrators to reinforce teacher-student and teacher-parent relationships, in order to create a more conducive learning environment.

From Piedmont High, students Sarah Machle and Kate Broening spoke about the lack of availability of online textbooks for students. They stated that students struggle with the burden of bringing heavy texts to class or completely forgetting them in lieu of the increasing amount of online school resources that students can access anywhere with their devices, and that school administrators should pursue efforts to further digitize class materials.

    Another student from Piedmont High School, Maya Guzdar, gave an informative speech on the lack of access to contraceptives at the school, which was backed by chemistry teacher Mr. Savage. They both emphasized the importance of safe sex and that the school should be responsible for supporting safe sex by providing students with proper protection, since acquiring contraceptives otherwise may prove to be difficult as an unsubstantiated burden on students.

    Final highlights of Piedmont High students include Zoe Levin, who raised the issue of a lack of education pertaining to the Holocaust.

    Holly Hanke, the Arthur Hecht Volunteer of the Year, was present an art work by Saatvik Dube selected from the high school showcase.

    The crux of the meeting was considering the new course changes beginning with the introduction of “Chemistry in the Earth System” and “Honors Chemistry in the Earth System,” presented by both Mr. Savage and Mr. Huffaker who are current science educators at Piedmont High School. The intent of these courses was to enhance students’ education by having a greater focus on applicability for each of the lessons in the curricula.

    The next presentation regarded the implementation of a new math course called “Math Analysis Honors” at Piedmont High, due to the restructuring of math courses mandated by the Common Core initiative. This class would effectively address the needs of students who would proceed at a more accelerated rate than others in the regular “Math Analysis” course.

    I was able to interview Mr. Hayden, who presented the new course. He stated that the Board “achieved our goal” in getting the facts out to the attendees of the meeting, and that the next course of action is a second public hearing at the next School Board meeting. With confidence, Mr. Hayden believes “that the course will be accepted.”

by Ethan Tung, Piedmont High School Senior

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the authors.

Dear Piedmont Community,

Today, we received news about another horrific shooting in our public schools, this time at Santa Fe High School, just outside of Houston, Texas. Our hearts and our thoughts go out to the victims and their families. 

Now, more than ever, our students, staff, and community need special legislation and immediate action from our state and nation’s elected leaders to help keep our schools safe. On March 14th, the PUSD Board of Education unanimously passed Resolution 12-2017-18 School Safety and Gun Violence.

This resolution calls upon the United States Congress and all state legislators to prioritize the protection of students and school system employees by passing legislation that:

• More effectively regulates access to firearms in the interest of public safety by establishing universal background checks to purchase a firearm, reenacting the federal ban on the sale and possession of military-style assault weapons, banning large capacity ammunition magazines, and enacting gun violence restraining order laws and

• Advances and funds mental health supports.

• Invest in wraparound services to prevent bullying, harassment, discrimination and violence in our schools and

• Provide funding for programs and staff such as counselors, nurses and psychologists,that support students’ mental, physical and emotional health.

• Reduces the risk and severity of gun violence on school campuses; and

• Declares gun violence a public health crisis and removes all barriers to funding public-health research on firearms-related issues, including repealing the prohibition against data collection and research on gun violence by the U.S. Center for Disease Control.

In the spirit of collective action, I urge you to join me in contacting our elected representatives to implement a legislative solution that supports the safety of all.

United States Senate

Senator Dianne Feinstein – Email
Senator Kamala Harris – Email

United States Congress, California
District 9

Congresswoman Barbara Lee – Email

 California State Senate, District 9

Senator Nancy Skinner – Email

 California State Assembly, District 15

Assemblymember Tony Thurmond – Email

Media coverage of today’s tragedy will prompt questions and concerns from your students, and we want to provide resources that may help during these difficult conversations. According to the National Association of School Psychologists, high-profile acts of violence in schools can confuse and frighten students who may feel they, their friends or their loved ones are in danger. They will look to adults for guidance about how to react, and adults can help by talking with them about their fears.

For help with these conversations, please visit this online resource: “Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers.” This printable handout is available in 10 languages. We also encourage you to talk with your school’s teachers, counselors, support staff, or administrators if you need support or see any signs of distress or concerning behavior.

The safety and well-being of our students and staff here in Piedmont is our top priority. While school shootings are rare, we do have to prepare for the possibility.  We will continue to partner with the Piedmont Police Department and provide training in our schools to educate staff and students in responding to an active shooter or other internal threat.

Finally, it’s important to remind your students that if they “see something, say something.” Research shows warning signs occur in more than 80% of violent incidents. Our high school Speak Up! and middle school See Something, Say Something Scots online reporting tool allows students, parents, educators and community members to report concerns anonymously. Keeping our students, staff and schools safe is the responsibility of everyone in our community. 

Please keep the families affected by today’s school shooting in your thoughts and prayers.

Sincerely,

Randall Booker, Superintendent Piedmont Unified School District

At 7:30 p.m. on May 7th, 2018, there was a City Council meeting at Piedmont’s City Council Chambers about the Linda Beach Master Plan. The details of the current plan were laid out and many residents voiced their opinion. Many people who live close to Beach had great concerns about the plan. The point of these City Council meetings is for the citizens to address the Council on any subject.

The Piedmont City Council meets on the first and third Mondays of each month. Though the main focus of this meeting was the Linda Beach Master Plan people were there for a variety of reasons.

One woman named Andrea Zombrona attended the meeting to keep pushing to “make Piedmont a Sanctuary City.” She had already written to the City Council, met with them, and had started a petition with the Chief of Police.

The main focus of the meeting was on the master planning and the biggest issue with that was whether to put in pickle ball courts or not. Many people love pickle ball and wanted the courts to play on, but neighbors of Beach knew that this would create a lot of noise, not only because pickle ball itself is loud but also because a nearby bridge helps reflect the sound.

I don’t think they should put in the pickle ball courts, because if I were living nearby I know I would be upset if there was so much noise. Another concerned citizen named Adam Porter had an idea to make the big turf field grass because it is better for the environment and studies have shown that kids who play sports on turf fields have higher rates of brain cancer.

by Adam Porter, Piedmont High School Senior

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Pickleball, Skateparks, and Toddlers

    Piedmont’s May 7th City Council meeting saw the introduction of the 35% Linda Beach Master Plan. The new plan originated with a suggestion from the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Committee. The goal of the project is to get more residents to use the park, therefore making Piedmont’s investments in public parks more worthwhile. At the time of the City Council meeting, the plan for the park was at an early, “35%” stage.

There are several parts of the plan that have inspired residents to speak out strongly against them, such as the pickleball courts, the reduction in size of the toddler area, the addition of a skate park, and even changing the orientation and size of the tennis court.

Starting with the pickleball courts, there has been a sharp increase in interest for pickleball over the past couple years in Piedmont. The last two pickleball events organized in Piedmont both attracted dozens of players of all ages, prompting the group to ask the Park Commission to include pickleball courts in the new Linda Beach plan.

While there are dozens of players in favor of this addition, many residents and rival tennis players see this as a nuisance because of the “extreme” noise of pickleball games, and the removal of a tennis court to make way for the pickleball court. One rival tennis player’s rebuttal to the praise given to the pickleball court plan proved to be too much for one pickleball player, who became very annoyed and spoke out from his seat while the tennis player was still talking.

One resident of forty years, Lisa Nubble, had no problem with making the tennis courts regulation size, or at least close to regulation size, but said that the pickleball courts were “too much.” Instead of focusing on additions, she said, more attention should be given to maintaining the park better. She attended to see how these new plans would affect her neighborhood, since she lives right across from the park.

One of the other controversial additions to the park is the skate park. Many residents also saw this as an unacceptable source of noise, and don’t want it near their homes. They say that skate parks are placed in “undesirable areas” for a reason, and that the people that skate parks attract “shouldn’t have business in Piedmont, especially at night, because they bring trouble.”

I see the skate park as a something that could positively impact young kids in their search for hobbies and sports. I have friends, especially one friend, for which skateboarding is one of the most important things in his life. He’s been doing it for more than ten years, and it’s honestly amazing to see him continue to be so dedicated to the sport.

Even though I don’t skateboard and I wouldn’t use that part of Linda Beach Park for myself, I want that opportunity to be given to other kids in the area. I’d also like to add that I find it distasteful and selfish when I see Piedmonter so quickly saying “Piedmont is for us, not them.” Piedmont is a public place, our parks are public, and they are open to everyone. Anyway, I wanted to be helpful to the park planners, so I suggested adding an irregular surface to the Oakland/Linda Bridge, similar to the walls in audio recording studios, so that less noise is reflected and amplified towards homes.

A City Council member replied that the plan was in an early stage, so details like that haven’t been figured out, but I hope that the Parks Commission does find a way to prevent noise from being a problem so the skate park can be approved.

In this new plan, the area available to toddlers will be cut in half, which is proving to be a big problem with this plan. For many people in the neighborhood, the toddler area is very helpful to them as it helps keep toddlers active and occupied. Cutting the area for toddlers could affect the area’s effectiveness at keeping all those kids occupied at the same time.

Other changes for the park include revising the entrances to increase or decrease foot traffic, depending if they are in residential neighborhoods or not; making the entrance at Howard ADA accessible; and the addition of an outdoor classroom.

I’m in favor of most of the proposed ideas. I think that having a skate park in that area could land the City of Piedmont in a sticky situation if residents decide to sue because their property values go down, etc., but I think there should be another skate park in Piedmont. The existing one is comically out of the way and has restrictive hours. It’s also intimidating for people new to the sport. I think an outdoor classroom area is a great idea, more ADA accessible entrances is always good, and a better tennis court layout will please the tennis players. I’m excited to see how this plan develops in the coming weeks.

by Aaron Jeffries, Piedmont High School Senior

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On a warm evening in the beginning of May, many students, teachers, and other community members shuffled into Piedmont City Hall. Many community members had to sit on the floor of the Chamber as the seats were filled in a matter of seconds. Everyone there had a different reason for coming, but shared one common goal, to improve the Piedmont Unified School District.

At the May 9th School Board meeting in City Hall, the School Board discussed topics and legislation that should be passed or changed regarding Piedmont schools.

According to the Piedmont Unified School District’s website, the School Board meets about twice a month. The meeting began when the members of the School Board asked everyone to join them in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Many important topics were discussed, but the topics that seemed to rule the evening regarded the Volunteer of the Year Award, and the new proposed structuring of the Honors Chemistry, Regular Chemistry, and Math classes.

The volunteer of the year award was presented to Holly Hanke. Superintendent Randall Booker and the School Board presented her with this award for her outstanding work in the school system volunteering at the various schools throughout this year.

Saatvik Dube, a senior at Piedmont High School, was also celebrated as he presented his art piece to Ms Hanke. The piece depicted how technology has affected our lives.

Later, Cheryl Wozniak, introduced a slide show presented by Mr. Savage, Mr. Huffaker, and herself explaining the proposed new structure of the chemistry classes. The presentation ultimately proposed a more hands on approach in both Chemistry and Honors Chemistry, allowing the students to think for themselves with more labs and problem solving situations. Regular Chemistry stays somewhat the same, while Honors Chemistry has a couple of new units added to the class such as ocean acidification.

The Board Members seemed to like their presentations, as Sarah Pearson, the President of the Board, voiced her approval of their presentation.

Mr. Hayden then presented the new proposed structures for the integrated Math classes. One topic of discussion that Senior Kate Broening brought up was how the Math Department could tell if students take AP Math classes just for the grade bump. Mr Hayden responded by saying there is really no way they can stop that, but he hopes that students who take harder classes enjoy the material more.

I have come across this dilemma many times. Usually, a student that takes an AP or honors class tends to enjoy the information a bit more, but also is mainly taking the class for the GPA boost.

I later spoke with Mr. Savage about his experience at the meeting presenting a new proposed curriculum for the Honors Chemistry class with the help of his associate Mr. Huffaker. Mr. Savage told me that he loved how the meeting began with an Open Forum. He was also happy that students got up and spoke about various issues at the beginning of the meeting and he is curious to see whether or not the Board will act upon the questions that were raised by the students.

Mr. Savage brought up how incredibly impressed he is with the School Board itself. He noted that they do many things behind the scenes such as budgeting, ensuring safety, and overall education goals. Mr. Savage plans to go back to another meeting to field questions about his new proposed curriculum and see whether or not the School Board will in fact adopt the new outline for the class. The next scheduled School Board meeting will take place on May 23rd.

by Patrick Aebi, Piedmont High School Senior

What Should Be Done?

Pickleball? In My Neighborhood?

Residential neighborhoods are always looking for improvements to where they live through parks. Most residents find joy in seeing young children playing in the parks, or old friends coming together for a game of tennis. The residents near Linda Beach Park seem to want a noiseless neighborhood, despite the fact that they live just off a busy avenue.

On Monday, May 7th, I attended a City Council meeting to look over a 35% completed conceptual plan for the new Linda Beach Park remodel. This plan started in October and since then, the Groundworks team of Berkeley, led by architect and landscaper Will Smith, has met with the community multiple times to gather insight from the residents near Linda Beach Park about what they would like to see added or remodeled. The meeting last Monday was the second in a series of five meetings to perfect the plan.

Residents of Piedmont, specifically those who live near the park, all watched while the Groundworks team shared their plan and then one by one, shared their own ideas in front of the Council. I had to watch from the completely full overflow room because so many residents were interested in this new plan.

One topic that was widely discussed was the new pickleball courts the City was planning to implement in place of the tennis courts. Jim Landes, the head coach for the varsity tennis teams and a tennis coach for younger kids through his clinics, expressed his concerns for getting rid of the tennis courts at Linda Beach Park.

As a tennis player on the team, I spoke out with my support for keeping the courts at Linda as I have some memories of when I was younger playing on those courts and how the extra space to play is useful to all ages of players.

Some other residents spoke of their concern against the pickleball courts for the noise. One man brought in a stereo and presented his points over the sound of a pickleball game, which all could agree made it extremely difficult to hear him. There were few residents in support of the pickleball courts, but the ones who were there were extremely passionate about their sport. I believe the pickleball courts at the Middle School are more than adequate and with fewer residents surrounding the Middle School making them the optimal place for pickleball.

One of the other major topics was the tot lot. The current tot lot is a fun area with lots of structures for toddlers to play and be safe while their parents watch. In the new plan, the tot lot would be moved behind the field so parents could watch their toddlers while their other children play a sports game, however the new tot lot would be half the size of the previous one.

One concerned resident was Piedmont High senior, Samantha Fanger. Fanger has a younger brother who is a huge fan of the tot lot and her concerns, along with other residents, was that so many kids in the one area would be detrimental to the children because of the tiny space and the popularity of the tot lot.

I believe that the new location of the tot lot is an improvement, but the size needs to be close or equal to the current one to accommodate everyone.

The last major topic was the skateboard park that was to be placed right next to the Oakland Avenue Bridge that goes over Linda Avenue. One resident stated, “I would not have moved to this area if I had known a skatepark and pickleball courts would be right next to my house.” Others were concerned for safety of the skateboarders near the tot lot as there is no curb or anything stopping a stray skateboard in the plan.

I believe that there is no other place in Piedmont for this skateboard park given that the one at Coaches Field has limited hours and limited access. Also, given the fact that the skatepark will be right next to a bridge, I would hope that there could be something implemented to absorb the sound. Most of the government officials did not speak in support of or against any idea but instead, thanked everyone for voicing their concerns and for coming to the meeting.

After the meeting, I interviewed Barbara Love, an avid tennis player, pickleball player, and a past resident of the Linda Avenue neighborhood. She was at the meeting to support the new plans for Linda Beach Park and to encourage the two tennis court plan and to oppose the one tennis court plan. She was surprised so many people were against the pickleball courts and had learned more details about the plan that she was previously known of  before. She was shocked by how many people were there in opposition to the plan. Her next step would be to spread the word around to the community to support the plan and put the plan further into action.

I would like to acknowledge the City Council’s efforts in beautifying Piedmont and continuing to do what is best for the citizens. I feel optimistic that the Linda Beach Park will benefit all and will be an excellent feature of Piedmont.

by Kate Gustke, Piedmont High School Senior

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Have you ever tried to use the bathroom at Linda Beach Field? Have you seen the rundown, empty space next to the Oakland Avenue Bridge?

These are two of the issues concerning the Linda Beach Park area that are  being addressed by a new master plan for renovation of the city property.

The Linda Beach Park changes are an important part of the plan, yet would negatively impact some nearby residents. The Piedmont City Council meeting on May 7, 2018 addressed the Linda Beach Field Master Plan content completed so far.

The Piedmont City Council serves the City of Piedmont  by reviewing the city’s department budgets, deciding how to spend the City’s budgets and overseeing City projects.  The Council meets on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month.

The Master Plan is being created by an architectural design team, and is in early stages of development. For this process to move forward, an audit team must make sure that Piedmont is financially able to complete the renovation.

As the City Council meeting began, a member of the outside audit team gave a presentation about the City audit. She reported that the audit went smoothly, and Piedmont is in good shape, however there are insufficient funds currently available for the Linda Beach Field project.

A member of the architectural design team came to the podium to give a presentation on the Master Plan. He led off by saying that the plan is only a 35% conceptual design. Many adjustments are expect to be made to the plan. So far, the field will be left as it is, the tot lot will be moved to the current location of the bathrooms, the tennis courts will be given more space within the fences, and bathrooms will be put on both ends of the Park. Pickleball is a growing sport in the community of Piedmont, so they planned to create eight pickleball courts within the tennis courts. There is also a plan to build a skatepark at the base of the Oakland Avenue Bridge.

The major issues with the plan are the pickleball courts and the skatepark.

While I stated in the meeting that a skatepark would be a cool addition since I enjoy skateboarding, I learned that not everyone would believe that the skatepark would be an improvement for Piedmont.

Many residents complained that these two facilities, pickleball and skateboard,  will create constant noise. The Linda Beach area is at the bottom of a valley with a concrete bridge that amplifies sound. More than three residents came up to the podium to talk about how much these new facilities will pollute their homes with the awful sound of pickleballs being struck and skateboards constantly rolling around. Multiple residents said that they would not have purchased their property had they known that these two changes were planned to be installed.

I believe that installing pickleball courts would cause a constant piercing noise that would echo through the valley and disrupt the lives of all of the neighbors. Installing the courts would be in blatant disregard of the neighbors that live nearby.

I interviewed Dave Johnson, who is a resident that had recently purchased a home on the hill above Linda Beach Field. He had been hearing about the possibility of a renovation project and attended the meeting to learn more about the problems that could be created, and speak about them. He says that he does not know a next step for addressing his issue other than attending the next City Council meeting on the issue and speaking his mind.

This City Council meeting was very informative on the Master Plan for the Linda Beach Field renovation, and gave the people of Piedmont a great opportunity to speak their minds about what could be built in the Beach Field area. The plan holds many improvements for the area, but there are many residents that could have problems with the noise created. I look forward to what is coming in the future for the Beach Field renovation project.

by Grant Keating, Piedmont High School Senior

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Remodelling Linda Beach Park: The Battle Against Noise

On May 7, 2018, the Piedmont City Council met, like they always do on the first and third Mondays of the month, to discuss the early iteration of the plans for the makeover of Linda Beach Park. At the meeting the current plans were shown and critiqued by the Council members, but the most important part of the meeting was the feedback given by Piedmont citizens attending the meeting. It became clear that there is a large divide on how the citizens of Piedmont would like the construction process to go; it is an issue that the City Council will have to take into deep consideration as the process goes forward.

The presentation of the potential plans began with a short recap of Piedmont’s past two audits, which were completed and presented by Auditor Erica Pastor. To summarize Erica’s work, over the past two years Piedmont’s financial record has been relatively clean and in her words: “There were no material weaknesses, no deficiencies, and no major downfalls, meaning that there are no financial worries as the city enters this process.”

Following Erica, the entire 35 percent plan for the Linda Beach Park was presented. The developers wanted to emphasize from the beginning that there would be no additions onto the Linda Beach school buildings, schoolmates, or Linda Beach Field itself, but rather the areas surrounding them. This means they desire to change the tennis court, the tot lot, bathroom, and possibly even add a skating area on the south side of the lot next to the bridge on Oakland Avenue.

The developers then presented their seven areas of focus, or as they called them “guidelines,” for the Park. They told the Council that they want to focus on: park identity, circulation and access, green space, stormwater management, a multi-purpose space, event space, and public art. The intended purpose of these items is to provide a public use, and for the parts of the list which are already incorporated on the lot, like green and event space, they want to expand on those capabilities and maximize the uses of the lot. To accomplish the goals, there will be major changes done to the North and South ends of the lot, while the middle of the Park will remain nearly unchanged since most of the space is taken up by the turf field.

For the North side, there is a large public following of Pickleball, so there will be Pickleball lines added to the Tennis courts, as well as a whole new multi-purpose space and a small plaza filled with public art. As for the South side, the plan is to add a skateboard area and new bleachers facing the turf field allowing parents to comfortably watch their kids play.

There are currently also plans to add new tot lots on both sides of the Park as well as new bathrooms on both sides, so parents don’t have to cross the entire lot and take their kids with them if they need to use the restroom. Following this presentation, citizens of Piedmont were invited to give their input.

Before the meeting began, I interviewed a man named Daniel who was attending the meeting to voice his concerns about the project. Daniel told me that he was worried about the amount of noise that he would be hearing throughout the construction process, as well as after the construction. He was upset with the ideas of adding Pickleball courts and a skateboard area, stating that the noise would be too overwhelming for the area’s residents, as they already deal with the noise of tennis, baseball, and the dog park.

Daniel also disliked the idea of having to suffer through another period of construction since the area had just endured the construction of the townhouses on Linda Avenue. He told me until he gets the peace and quiet he desires, he will continue to attend City Council meetings and relentlessly fight for his side.

Daniel’s thoughts on the matter reflected the ideas of every other resident around Linda Beach Park, as citizen after citizen came to the podium complaining about the constant noise.

However, there were a few avid Pickleball players who were in great support of the addition of the Pickleball courts. These players stated that the public’s desire to play this game that is quickly gaining popularity outweighs the burden of some noise, and they added that the amount of noise being told by the residents was over exaggerated.

During this public section, the Council members showed no preference to either side of the issue, but in the future they will likely be on the side of the Pickleball players, as they have a larger number of supporters.

I believe that it is in the city’s best interest to move ahead with this construction. However, I do understand that the amount of construction and noise is far too high being familiar with residents of the area.  They have spoken about the noise waking them up early and keeping them awake late, and it makes them want to pull out their hair. But, after seeing the final product of the Hampton Field remodel, I would have to side with the Pickleballers, and say that a renovation of the Park would be a great thing for the City of Piedmont, and the City Council should move forward with this plan.

by Ryan Addiego, Piedmont High School Senior

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Potential Linda Beach Project Draws Big Crowd to Piedmont City Council Meeting

The Linda Beach Playfield is a hot topic these days around Piedmont, California.  Its future is currently being decided, and many Piedmont citizens voiced their opinion on the topic on May 7th at the City Council meeting.  The Piedmont City Council meets every first and third Monday of each month. It provides citizens with an update on what the City of Piedmont is currently dealing with, as well as an opportunity for citizens to express their own personal opinions, issues, or advice to the City Council members.

 I attended the May 7th City Council meeting, and before the Linda Beach Playfield was discussed, there was a presentation made about the June 30, 2017 audit that a company had performed on Piedmont.  According to the report, the City had great financing, and quickly after the presentation, the audit report was voted on and accepted by the City Council.

The Council then moved on to the topic of plans for the Linda Beach Playfield.  It was announced that an architecture firm had produced a 35% plan for the changes that would be made to the field. The firm emphasized that they were very early in the process of making changes to the field, and that nothing would be voted on that night.

A representative of the architecture firm gave a presentation that displayed the plan. The main changes proposed were to move and reduce the size of the tot lot, increase the size of the tennis court area and add pickleball courts, build a skatepark near the Oakland Avenue Bridge, and build an additional play area where the tot lot used to be.

The City Council members asked clarifying questions, and participated in the discussion with the citizens, but did not give an obvious opinion for or against the plan.  However, the citizens expressed strong opinions both for and against the proposed changes. Those who supported the new plane argued that the addition of the sport of pickleball would benefit the community by providing another healthy outdoor activity that people of all ages can enjoy.  One citizen brought up a recent pickleball clinic, in which more than eighty Piedmont residents of all ages showed up. He argued that this demonstrated a large amount of interest in the sport of pickleball.

What seemed to be the biggest argument against the plan was the increase in noise that would be created with the addition of pickleball and a skatepark.  One citizen used a speaker to play the sound of a pickleball game, in order to demonstrate how disruptive and intrusive it would be. Another citizen who recently purchased a home near the park, explained that he would not have bought that house had he known about the proposed plans.  Many of the people who were concerned about the noise strongly suggested that the city perform a sound study on the potential effects of the plan.

Before the meeting began, I spoke with Richard Benton, who lives very near the park.  We discussed the proposed plan, and while he was not completely opposed to making changes to the park, he felt like the current plan had many flaws.  He expressed concern about the noise, traffic, and the reduced size of the tot lot. “I have a deck right near the tennis courts, and pickleball would just be too noisy,” Benton said.  At the time, Benton’s plan of action consisted solely of expressing his disapproval of the plan at the meeting.

    While I understand both arguments, I personally believe that the City should listen to the concerns of the homeowners who live near the park.  Living in an area that is noisy is very unpleasant, and could drive away current and future homeowners and devalue the property surrounding the park.  I am in favor of improving the park, but not at the expense of the surrounding families.

by Ben Fujita, Piedmont High School Senior 

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the authors.