Starting the meeting, Max Miller of Millennium High School, introduced himself and the recent events that have or will occur during the school year. After describing Back to School Night and showing gratitude for new teachers at Millennium, Miller praised the recent support of the student body at school events, encouraging them to continue doing so.

Subsequently, the President of the Board, Andrea Swenson, asked the audience if anyone had any topics they would like to bring to the table, outside of the listed agenda. One by one, three students rose and walked to the podium. Amelia Henry, a senior at Piedmont High School, started by vocalizing her thoughts about academic stress levels and inquiring about the possible ways to decrease them and ease the student body. Following her was Cole Bloomfield, who questioned the merit of summer homework. He noted that he had lost all of his summer working on AP class homework that was quickly tested and put aside for the school year. At a time where college applications were already raising stress levels, he felt that “[his] summer had been wasted” on summer assignments.

And finally, Addilynn Perkins talked about the fences around Wildwood School and the obstruction they caused as she had to walk all the way around them to reach her home, once the gates were locked. She realized that they were a safety precaution but wanted to let the Board know that they create an inconvenience to those living beyond the fence.

After a quick listing of ways for the community to get more involved by Superintendent Randall Booker, President Andrea Swenson, welcomed  Dr. Cheryl Wozniak and Stephanie Griffin to reveal the results of the 2016 CAASPP.

The CAASPP stands for the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, and recently replaced the STAR test that was administered in the PUSD. Being the second year in use, Griffin claimed that this computer based assessment was more precise and accurate about where a student was in their education level. Another benefit, mentioned by Dr. Wozniak, was that the CAASPP has a standardized measurement unlike the STAR test, allowing them to see how students are faring throughout the years and compare and contrast the relative scores.

After addressing the benefits of switching tests, Mrs. Griffin and Dr. Wozniak showed the Board the results of 2016 test on a powerpoint presentation. In all of California, 49% met or exceeded the standard needed to be prepared for college. Of this, only 37% of students in California met this mark in the mathematics section. Comparing this to the PUSD, 87% of students met or exceeded the standard for college with 87% of them meeting that standard in the mathematics testing. This contrast showed the success of the PUSD education department and thus they congratulated Superintendent Randall Booker, High School Principal Brent Daniels and their faculty. However, they noticed that 3% of students did not meet the mark in math and stated that Piedmont must do their best to remedy this small discrepancy.

96% of students took the test from Piedmont High School, Millennium and the Piedmont Middle School. Although only 10-13% did not meet the standard, and the PUSD scored a 97 on the ELA, Griffin stated that they needed to do better. Unfortunately, one must exceed the standard in order to be prepared for college level courses. She called attention to the Learning Center students and African American students in the district and how they could help them in their education.

Amid the applause, Rick Raushenbush, a Board member, expressed surprise and shock that the PUSD did not have 100% of their students meeting college criterias. He wondered what the problem was and how they could solve it. Superintendent Booker proposed that perhaps it was because it was the tests first year, and then turned towards the students in the audience asking if they had any input.

I, Sam Wen, a senior at Piedmont High School raised my hand and after being called on, walked to the podium to address the culture around the CAASPP. I expressed that the consequences of the CAASPP test was relatively unknown, being seen as merely something one should plow through and check off the graduation requirement list. I recalled how Mr. Daniels had told the class of 2017 that not enough of the seniors before us had taken the test, and that if we did likewise, Piedmont High School could be audited and this could drastically affect our college prospects. This was a surprise and unknown to me, as I did not know that the CAASPP test determined how colleges viewed our scores and thus our application to their colleges. I suggested that perhaps the school could educate future students on the consequences and importance of this test in order to create a culture around the CAASPP test and show them how it directly influenced their lives.

Two more students, Elisa Glauber and Elijah Levy, commented on how the CAASPP test seemed to be tacked onto the school schedule and that because the weight of the test was unknown and it was  the same week as normal school, tests and AP tests, they prioritized other things above the standardized test. They agreed that setting aside a special week for it, or clearing students schedules could help the results of the test. Mr. Booker nodded in agreement and thanked us for our input.

After this, the meeting was addressed the financial reports and half of the room quietly left, leaving the audience void of anyone except high school students. The Board talked about contracts and agreements on business services, curriculum and instruction and special education. They graciously accepted a $1,000 donation to the school’s Wellness Center, and hoped that they would receive more to help the program grow and relieve stress.

As the topic turned to school renovations, the Board seemed hesitant to improve the facilities because it pulled away from the General Fund. Although their budget allowed $190,000, they found that they were out of it, having spent $28,000 on the PHS Binks Gym and more on the PMS wall. Board Member Doug Ireland asked Mr. Booker whether this year had been merely expensive or if they needed to make the school budget bigger. Mr Booker replied that it was a combination of the two. He ended the discussion by encouraging members of Piedmont to get more involved and educate others about certain bills that would help their cause.

As the meeting concluded, I asked the president of the Board, Andrea Swenson, what sort of difficulties she wanted to remedy. She stated that although she was the president, she had equal power to other board members, Rick Raushenbush or Doug Ireland, and merely helped facilitate the meetings. She joined the Board in order to keep and maintain the close knit community in Piedmont. She wanted to “support kids and especially emotionally support them”, while “adequately preparing them” for college and life beyond. She tries to do this by hearing what students have to say and implementing their input. She sometimes has to deal with opposing opinions in public, however, although she may disagree, she respects the system and likes how it allows people to speak. Overall, she was very grateful to the students for coming and their input and encouraged us to continue to support the community she so dearly loved.

There is a School Board meeting once every two weeks, held in the Council Chambers of the City Hall, 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont, beginning at 7:00 p.m.

By Samuel Wen, Piedmont High School Senior

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.

I am a staunch supporter of the press, in its role as the Fourth Estate, to question, poke and prod. A free and open press strengthens democracy and good governance. It creates the public sphere to exchange information and ideas. Hooray to those journalistic institutions which do that well! And hooray to Piedmont citizens who seek out information, ask questions and stand up to agree or disagree with what’s happening in our town! We all benefit from engaged, intelligent discourse, even if we have to respectfully agree to disagree.

More and more, however, the Piedmont Post has turned its long-simmering personal enmity towards district administrative personnel and members of the school board into a malicious campaign. The latest tempest is around the hiring of an athletics director who happens to be engaged to a family member of a PHS administrator’s spouse. Were the right people notified at the right time? Yes. Was that PHS administrator involved in the hiring of the new director? No. Does the new director report to that PHS administrator? No. Fair questions; asked and answered.

The Post doesn’t like the hiring decision or how the hire was made. OK. But there are several things that bother me: calling schools in Arizona for reference checks, pushing for the names and resumes of other candidates (Really? Who would apply to a school district that publicly lists all candidates?), purposefully writing a misleading headline, and including family members in the supporting article is, to me, crossing a line of journalistic integrity. I am disappointed and disheartened. This reads like mean-spirited bullying.

As our district students are taught, it’s time for me to be an upstander, not a bystander. As an upstander, I have to call it as I see it and say enough. As an upstander, I welcome Mr. Acuna and his family into our community and want him to know that he has my support as he settles into his full-time work for the district. I appreciate his skills and talents, and his abilities to work around this on-going, distracting noise. As an upstander, I want to say that I serve alongside board members and staff whose first mission is to serve our students and their families, and who are people of honor and integrity. As an upstander, I thank all our staff for staying the course of our educational mission, for refusing to be side tracked by this kind of coverage, and for creating structures and opportunities that our students can leverage to develop themselves and their intellectual curiosity.
I like what the Post puts under its name every week: A community newspaper serving the citizens of Piedmont. I like that it is a forum for community news, issues and opinions, for what our kids and our neighbors are up to, for local candidates during election season. But this foray into salacious journalism does all of us a disservice.

Amal Smith, Member of the School Board

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.

Letter to the City Council regarding land use changes without voter approval and conflicts of interest.

re: Sep. 19, 2016  Council Agenda Item 5: Planning and Zoning Revisions

Acting Mayor Wieler and Piedmont City Council –

The July 11, 2016 Planning Commission Staff Report at p. 3 recommends changing the use of City Property Zone B to include: “ . . . for profit entities because the City may want to allow a community-serving business, such as a local newspaper or beverage stand, to operate out of a City building.”  The only exclusively local newspaper is the Piedmont Post.

I express my concerns on the following four points:

1. The US Constitution’s First Amendment and the California Constitution’s protection of free speech raise serious question about the City’s approval of use of public property by a local newspaper with notorious and biased views on controversial local civic issues. The Post apparently operates as City Hall’s media outlet for these important issues by most often favoring the Council majority, by masking the Post’s editorial viewpoint as objective front page reporting, and by denying equal space for opposition viewpoints.

2. There are very serious conflict of interest issues involved in any Council action necessary to allow use of public property by the Piedmont Post.

3. Very real and substantial issues arise under Section 9.02 of the City Charter whether any change in use classification, with the exception of an owner’s voluntary request to zone the owned property to residential, requires an affirmative vote at a special or general election.

4. The Planning Commission recommended not-for-profit businesses be “non-political.” To be consistent, all businesses must be “non-political”  if eventually allowed rental space on City owned public property.

Sincerely,

Rick Schiller, Piedmont Resident

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.

The Piedmont Post’s Misrepresentations and Bullying Continue – 

The Piedmont Post’s September 14, 2016 edition headline reads “School District Hit with Ethics Charge: Conflict of interest revealed in naming of Athletic Director.”  By itself, this headline misleads the public.  First, to my knowledge no “ethics charge” has been filed against the District and none is revealed in the article. Rather, it is just the Post asserting an “ethics charge.” Second, there is no conflict of interest whatsoever revealed in the article.

The facts, even as twisted in the Post article, are simple. Mr. Acuna worked with his future fiancé, Ms. Villareal, in Arizona, and in 2014 she moved back to the Bay Area.  Ms. Villareal is the sister of Mr. Mapes’ wife.  In January 2016, Mr. Mapes, Assistant Vice-Principal at PHS, posted the Interim Athletic Director position on an education job website.  Mr. Acuna, now engaged to Ms. Villareal, applied for the job.  A committee (not including Mr. Mapes) reviewed the applications, interviewed five applicants, and selected Mr. Acuna for the job.  Based on Mr. Acuna’s performance as Interim Athletic Director, the PHS Principal (not Mr. Mapes) recommended Mr. Acuna for the permanent position.  Other staff, coaches and Booster Club representatives (not Mr. Mapes) supported Mr. Acuna. The Superintendent (not Mr. Mapes) hired Mr. Acuna as Athletic Director.  Like every other business or organization, we encourage staff to identify highly qualified candidates for open positions here, but no one with a potential conflict of interest plays a role in the selection process.  Aside from posting the job notice, Mr. Mapes played no role in selecting Mr. Acuna. There is no conflict of interest.

The Post also cites Board Policy 4112.8, which provides: “In order to preclude situations which could bring about a conflict of interest for members of the administrative staff, an employee shall not be appointed to a position where a member of his or her immediate family maintains hiring, supervisory or evaluation responsibilities for the position.” A good policy and not applicable here.  As an initial matter, Mr. Acuna’s engagement to Mr. Mapes’ wife’s sister does not make him part of Mr. Mapes’ “immediate family.” More importantly, Mr. Acuna reports to the PHS Principal, Brent Daniels.  Mr. Mapes has never had “hiring, supervisory or evaluation responsibilities” for Mr. Acuna.

The Post should be ashamed of continued harassment of District employees, now expanding from Mr. Acuna and Superintendent Booker to include Mr. Mapes.  When challenged on false statements, the Post does not apologize, but rather doubles down with personal attacks.  The stalking of Mr. Mapes’ or Mr. Acuna’s Facebook page is just creepy.  The Post’s unsupported personal attacks are hurtful to people who have dedicated their lives to educating our children.  Mr. Mapes posted a job notice. Mr. Acuna applied for the job to be close to his fiancé. Superintendent Booker did his job by picking an Athletic Director who was strongly supported by staff, coaches and involved Booster Club parents.  They have done nothing to deserve the Post’s abuse.  Whether the Post has a personal grievance against the District, just wants to create controversy, or seeks to tarnish Piedmont’s reputation for some unknown reason, it is unfair and improper to misrepresent the truth.

Rick Raushenbush, Piedmont School Board Member

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.

School Board member asks community to consider the charges and respond. –
Yesterday, I charged my cell phone. Yesterday, I charged a book on Amazon. Yesterday I charged up the PMS stairs to a site council meeting.  Yesterday, the Post charged the school district with ethical breaches regarding the recent hiring of our Athletic Director.

The word “charged” has all kinds of meaning in today’s world. Some serious, some not. To have “charged” our school district with ethics violations is serious business. With potentially serious consequences.

I am begging (not charging) any of you who care about the Piedmont Schools to understand what happened in this process.  Decide for yourselves whether there are grounds for such a serious and hurtful allegation. And if you find they are baseless, which I’m confident you will,  make your findings known to your neighbors and the editor of the Piedmont Post.

Doug Ireland
Piedmont Unified School District School Board member

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.

Vice Mayor McBain describes Council accomplishments.

I’ve had the privilege of serving on the Piedmont City Council for the past four years.These years are marked by significant achievements. I’m seeking reelection to continue to build on the constructive steps that we have taken to improve Piedmont. I believe that my experience and leadership have helped produce strong results for our community. As an incumbent, I’m proud to run on both my record and my commitment to continue to offer open-minded, collegial and productive leadership.

• Since 2012 the Council has taken actions that strengthened City’s finances, controlled costs and addressed long-term liabilities.   For instance, the city will save almost $1 million annually from restructured employee benefits. The CALPERS side-fund–an expensive pension obligation—was refinanced and will ultimately save the City more than $1 million. Further, council adopted the strong advice of the 2007 and 2011 Municipal Tax Review Committees and the 2015 Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Committee that recommended, given volatile real estate-related taxes, the City council must budget conservatively and establish strong reserves. Council has taken those steps and funded facilities maintenance, equipment replacement and long-term pension and health care obligations. And we have taken major steps to address deferred maintenance and our obsolete and unreliable technology. The City’s financial condition has improved materially during the past four years.
• In 2012, citizens were anxious about city projects and the associated unplanned expenses. Council adopted risk management policies to ensure projects are well-planned and fiscally sound.
• In 2012 and early 2013, crime increased significantly. Council responded by bringing in a talented chief, Ricki Goede; we supported her efforts to fully staff, train and equip a responsive and professional public safety organization. In that context Council provided resources to improve technology, such as the highly effective License Plate Readers.  Council supported the Public Safety Committee and the Fire Department in establishing updated community-wide Emergency Preparedness programs.
• Four years ago, no one anticipated that most of the City’s senior staff would retire.  In response, the Council hired experienced, talented professionals to replace retiring City staff. The commitment to provide a high level of professional service continues across the City departments.
• The Council finalized an EPA settlement and restarted the sewer replacement project without increasing sewer taxes. This is a major step environmentally and also puts the City on a fiscally sound and aggressive path to meet it legal obligations.
• Finally, the Council initiated several important community projects; Hampton Field Renovation, Linda/Kingston Triangle, Ramona/Ronada Triangle and refurbished Community Center. These projects all benefit the entire community.

I was liaison to the Planning, Park and Recreation Commissions and Police and Fire Pension Board.  Previously, I was Chairman of the Recreation Commission, member of the Municipal Tax Review Committee, Board member of the Piedmont Education Foundation and held leadership positions in numerous school and youth sports organizations. My wife and I have lived in Piedmont for 27 years and raised three children here. My career in finance and management along with my broad community experience allows me to provide constructive leadership and listen to all viewpoints. I look forward to another four years of service and building on the strong results of the past four years.

Sincerely,

Bob McBain

Vice Mayor, City of Piedmont

Please visit my website for more information and endorsers.  http://www.mcbaincitycouncil.com/

Editors Note:  While welcoming candidate information, the Piedmont Civic Association does not support or oppose candidates for public office. 

       “The Beat (down) goes on”

I recently attended a beautiful memorial service for a 93-year old aunt, a much-beloved and longtime elementary school teacher. Her son, a senior member of the US State Department and ambassador to an eastern European country spoke eloquently about his mother’s influence on his life. In their last conversation, he thanked her for making him the man he is. In her infirmity but ever the teacher, she corrected him by saying she did not make him the man but rather allowed him to become the man he is.

I bring this up because the school district recently reported stellar results from last year’s CAASPP tests which replaced the previously administered STAR tests. Like our aunt, we can’t claim credit for the success of our great students. They do the work and put in the effort to excel in school and on these tests. It is the role of the district and the school board, like the mother cited above, to allow the students to become the individuals they are.

Our schools continue to shine and thus, attract families moving to the area. As they do, the demand bolsters local housing values. Good for the kids, good for parents, good for taxpayers with and without children in school. A win, win, win scenario. In other words, something to celebrate.

I’d like to thank The Piedmonter for recognizing this extraordinary success with their September 2 front page headline: “PUSD Student Test Scores Tops in Nor Cal.” In contrast, I continue to be baffled at the hostility leveled at the district administration and board by the Piedmont Post. Their latest page one featured a full color, detailed street sweeping schedule change and an assault on our superintendent. The CAASPP results, buried on page seven, paragraph four portrays a twisted sense of priorities for the paper.

Previously, the Post suggested the school administration is top heavy and the board is not scrutinizing district decisions. To the contrary, in anticipation of sweeping curricular and technological change, the board approved and the district created two director-level positions, Curriculum and Instruction (C&I) and Technology to prepare for those pending challenges. The tests, which our students just nailed, are in a new format covering new material. To achieve this result, common core standards were introduced as mandated by the state. Our fantastic, hardworking teachers incorporated those changes in their classrooms. And the tests were administered in a new format requiring computer competency. We took these measures by relying on the experts in the district office to educate us about emerging trends, articulate the needs for the district and identify the talent to insure continued excellence in our schools. And we now have results to support those moves.

Over the past year, the drumbeat of ongoing attacks from Post editorial staff with misleading or fabricated data, false allegations and sloppy reporting has endeavored to undermine Piedmont’s faith in the school board’s stewardship. Meanwhile, our schools continue to produce fabulous outcomes in graduation rates, college acceptances, student wellness, state testing and national rankings. This is tremendous success for which we all should be proud. And like our recently deceased aunt, we don’t claim to have made these students who they are but we believe we are providing a platform from which they can soar. I hope you’ll agree.

Doug Ireland, PUSD School Board Member

Editors Note:  Opinions expressed are those of the author.  

The Piedmont Civic Association on August 31, 2016 published an article on the CAASPP scores which can be read here< “Piedmont Schools Show Excellent Results on Statewide Tests.”

I am running in the November City Council election.  If readers are interested in my background, campaign issues and list of endorsers, my campaign website may be found at www.levineforpiedmont.com.

House Parties

I will be attending some house parties in the next few weeks to meet with Piedmont residents and discuss my campaign.  If any Piedmonters would like to attend, the house parties will be on the following dates:

• Tuesday, September 13 at 8 pm

• Sunday, September 18 at 5 pm

• Monday, September 26 at 8 pm

• Thursday, September 29 at 8 pm

Anyone who would like to attend should rsvp to: levineforpiedmont2016@gmail.com with the date they would like to attend.  The location of the event will be provided by return email.

Thank you.

Jonathan  Levine, Appointed City Council Incumbent

Editors Note: While encouraging candidate information, PCA does not support or oppose candidates for public office.

“The Piedmont Post Again Makes Baseless Attacks on School District – “

The Sept. 7, 2016 Piedmont Post includes a front page article entitled “School Supt. Sidesteps public hiring in naming Director of Athletics.”  Once again, the Post disregards basic journalistic integrity in making baseless accusation and insinuations against the Superintendent.  The Post’s bias is evident by the placement of this claptrap on the front page, while burying on page 7, with the ho-hum headline “PUSD scores well in new state testing,” the news that Piedmont students’ scores on CAASPP testing for unified school districts tied for 1^st in California in math and 3^rd in the State for English Language Arts.  The flaws in the Post’s reporting include:

• The Post asserts that Superintendent Booker’s hiring of the Athletic Director “displayed an attempt to limit publicity and avoid an open search process.”  Not true.  As the Post knows, “the District advertised the position to recruit an Interim Athletics Director on a contract basis for January through June of 2016.  The District received 22 applications.  An interview committee, consisting of administrators, coaches, and parents, interviewed five candidates.  Mr. Victor Acuña was selected for the interim position due to his extensive experience and positive recommendations.”  http://www.piedmont.k12.ca.us/blog/2016/08/09/joint-letter-to-families-from-the-superintendent-and-phs-principal-re-director-of-athletics-position/.  If the Post means to suggest that the District needed to repeat this process for the 2016-17 school year, after the District and parents were delighted with Mr. Acuna’s performance to complete the 2015-16 school year, that is ridiculous. By failing to mention the open search process, the Post misleads.
• The Post article provides a lengthy discussion of the CSEA collective bargaining contract with the District. One might think the CSEA contract somehow applies to the Athletic Director position—otherwise, why would the Post discuss it?  But it does not, as the Post was informed when it contacted the District.  The Athletic Director position is “classified management” because it does not require an academic administrative credential.  Use of the word “classified” does not render the position subject to the CSEA contract.  The Post declined an offer to discuss any questions with the Superintendent.  Why would an “investigative journalist” decline a chance to interview the obvious target of the article?  Don’t facts matter?
• The Post continues to comment that it has not been given Mr. Acuna’s resume. The Superintendent long ago informed the Post that the District does not give out information that includes an employee’s personal information.  However, the Superintendent provided the Post with all the information about Mr. Acuna’s prior employment.  There is no issue.
• • In fact, the Post is fully aware of Mr. Acuna’s previous jobs. The Post reporter called Mr. Acuna’s supervisors at two former jobs posing as someone conducting “reference checks.”  When challenged, as both already had provided reference checks to the District and knew Mr. Acuna was working here, she admitted she was from the Post.  Please note that the Post previously accused the District of not conducting reference checks—I suspect we will wait a long time for an apology from the Post.
  • The Post asserts the “title of the newly created job is misleading.” It is hard to see how.  Acuna oversees all PHS athletics, which are the only athletic programs the District runs.  He oversees all athletic facilities, including District facilities used by the Rec Dept., which runs non-school programs for PMS and elementary students.

  Basic journalistic ethics requires at least some attempt to provide accurate information.  The Post seems to go out of its way to avoid accurate reporting, ignoring the information it is given and declining to meet with the Superintendent.  I am finishing up 8.5 years on the School Board.  Throughout Superintendent Hubbard’s tenure, the Post levied unsupported attack after attack on her and the District.  Now, this sad Post tradition seems to be continuing over to Superintendent Booker.

  Given the tremendous job being done by our education professionals in Piedmont, the reason for these attacks are a mystery.  But it is harmful.  The District is not able to match salaries paid by many surrounding school districts, but has been able to attract talented people because it is a great place to work.  The Post’s attacks undermine that feeling of community support and appreciation.  Families also move to town because of the great schools.  The Post’s baseless attacks harm that reputation as well.

  Rick Raushenbush, School Board Member

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.

The Facilities Steering Committee: A Step in the Journey from Context to Form. 

The ultimate object of design is form. To design is to fit a form to a context. The context includes all the constraints into which the form has to fit. The context reduces the set of possible forms. In some way, design is simple: understand the context, and then apply the appropriate set of engineering disciplines and trade arts to shape a form that fits. There is plenty of room for creativity and outstanding solutions provided they are grounded in the context. 

In the 2015 summer, the District launched a process to develop a plan to upgrade our secondary school facilities. Our superintendent leveraged internal expertise and an external consultant to assess the state of the facilities. In parallel he organized a number of meetings with parents, teachers, students, and the community at large to shape the broad parameters of the educational needs, another essential part of the context, with the goal of looking ahead:

How should we educate our students to best prepare them to function in our 21st century economy? What facilities do we need to support these evolving methods? These efforts were completed in January 2016 and resulted in two documents published on the PUSD website and presented to the Board of Education: the DRAFT Facility Site Assessment Report and a DRAFT Educational Specifications Report. 

It became clear that the context is very constraining and that the cost of meeting all the needs far exceeds the District maximum bonding capacity under a single measure. So choices have to be made. 

Tasked to make a recommendation on how to proceed, the Superintendent invited a number of Piedmont residents to join him, his senior staff, and a couple of Board members to form a Facilities Steering Committee and help shape that recommendation. I accepted to serve. From my experience in industry, reflection among a small committee was what was needed at this step in the process. 

The committee was disbanded in May having performed its functions. Its composition was very diverse with Piedmont residents from different professional backgrounds and perspectives. Our central focus was what would best serve our students. We functioned as a sounding board for the Superintendent and his staff in assessing the context and in helping generate, evaluate, and criticize potential forms that would fit. We were pressed by the Superintendent to help him set priorities so that forms could be designed to fit the financial constraint. Each one of us reached out to our friends in the community for help. My point of view was biased towards enhancing facilities to support a first class high school STEAM curriculum (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics): our Bay Area economy is driven by creativity and creativity is rooted in these disciplines. Others emphasized the poor state of our Magnolia facilities, the substandard classroom sizes, the importance of fundamentals (we are a High School, not a College), the comforts of our teachers and students (better noise insulation, air conditioning, …)… 

Most meetings were shaped by the presentation of conceptual plans with cost estimates worked out by the District Facilities Manager that reflected changes in priorities argued in previous discussions. We worked out two major forms with options. Our final report to the Board “Recommending a $65 Million Bond Measure” is available on the school website (attachment to the May 25 School Board Meeting agenda) and includes the following main points: 

● The Board should not seek to “do the minimum” by only repairing buildings or replacing failing systems at the middle and high schools. This would not meet the most urgent of the educational needs, and in the medium term would be money wasted as major renovations will have to be eventually made to an aged campus. 

● The Board  should seek voter approval to issue school bonds at its available bonding capacity to address the bulk of the educational needs. 

● Confirming that it is not possible to address all of the needs within the bonding capacity, the Committee suggested a specific list of priorities. 

● The final form should be shaped through an open public process and flexibility be built into the bond measure. More community input is needed to review and make the final trade­offs. 

● A specific design is not recommended, as the die is far from being cast. The work is not lost, as the District Facilities Manager retains the designs done for future elaboration. 

I stand by the work done by the committee. As a former active opponent to the 2014 Measure H, I support Measure H1 put by the Board on the November ballot. The District has done its homework. But much more needs to be done: for example, we did not have time to research what other peer districts have done when faced with similar issues, and how well their projects have worked out. 

As a member of our vibrant community, you need to make up your mind on the Measure and select the board members which will implement an open transparent process and ensure accountability, both paramount given the flexibility built into the Measure. I urge the local professional expertise and educational/executive talent to get involved and bring new perspectives that will maximize the value obtained from our taxes and lead to such a compelling form that the entire community will say: “This is the obvious thing to do for our students; let us work out all the problems to make it happen”. 

 Bernard Pech, Piedmont Resident

Editors Note:  Opinions expressed are those of the author. The Piedmont Civic Association does not support or oppose ballot measures.