Jeff, your point is well taken that people on both sides of the political aisle can and should do a better job of listening to each other and that this would be a better way to achieve goals that accomplish results reflective of shared values.
But a key ingredient of good listening is compassion and a true desire to understand the needs of the other human beings in the conversation.

While you have explained your facebook postings as simply being re-posts from other sites, the fact is that those re-posts show a total lack of compassion; in fact they venture far into the territory of classic bullying behavior.  Name calling, labeling, colorful insults and grouping of individuals into categories are all behaviors that are so destructive of effective communication and community participation that we begin teaching even our youngest children not to engage in them.

Your two plus decades of community service are commendable.  However, I can’t help but feel that the missing element at this point in time is care and concern for the individuals who make up the full spectrum of your constituency.

National politics, talk radio, internet & facebook groups are quite abstract. Getting to know the fellow human beings of Piedmont (PADC [Piedmont Appreciating Diversity Committee] is a great place to start) and building some friendships outside the realm of politics is a much more ‘real’ and useful approach for local leadership.  While there is no doubt that the national political arena creates absorbing, outrageous and even terrifying ideas to consider – our local community must put all that aside in our day to day lives. Local leadership is at its best when the focus is on the needs, cares and concerns of the individuals who make up our shared community, and through compassionate consideration of these concerns arrive at agreeable solutions to the problems at hand.

I hope you will find a way forward, possibly by remembering why you were drawn to public service in the first place, and hopefully by leaving toxic national politics out of the equation when it comes to local concerns.

Respectfully submitted,
Katie Korotzer

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.

Read the statement by Mayor Jeff Wieler on his resignation by clicking below.

Wieler Statement 

Piedmont is no place for a RACIST and anti-LGBTQ mayor. Jeff Wieler’s political outbursts on social media show that he clearly has no regard for his diverse group of constituents. It sounds like Wieler needs to move to coal country where his anti-liberal hateful rhetoric will resonate amongst the uneducated.

UPDATE: The Special Council meeting of August 28, 2017  has been cancelled based on the August 27, 2017 resignation of Jeff Wieler as Mayor of Piedmont.  Wieler intends to remain on the Council as one of the 5 Piedmont City Councilmembers. Updated 8/28/2017

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On Monday, August 28, 2017, at 7:00 p.m., a Special Meeting of the Piedmont City Council will be held to consider the removal of Mayor Jeffrey Wieler from the Office of Mayor by Rescinding Resolution 105-16.

Mayor Wieler has come under considerable criticism based on his interaction with the general public and Piedmont citizens at meetings and on his Facebook site.  Wieler has been apologetic for his actions and remarks.

In Piedmont, the City Council elects the Mayor and Vice Mayor from the council members.  The Council can also remove the Mayor and Vice Mayor from these positions for they serve at the pleasure of the Council. It takes three Council members to elect or remove the Mayor or Vice Mayor.

The voter enacted Piedmont City Charter states:

SECTION 2.08 MAYOR

Following each general municipal election, the City Council shall elect from among its members officers of the City who shall have the titles of Mayor and Vice-Mayor, each of whom shall serve at the pleasure of the Council. The Mayor shall preside at meetings of the Council, shall be recognized as head of the City government for all ceremonial purposes and by the Governor for the purposes of military law, but shall have no administrative duties. The Vice-Mayor shall act as mayor during the absence or disability of the Mayor. In case of the temporary absence or disability of both the Mayor and Vice-Mayor, the Council shall select one of its members to serve as Mayor Pro Tempore. Emphasis added.

The Special Meeting is being called by at least 3 council members or by the Mayor per the City Charter, as follows:

SECTION 2.07 COUNCIL MEETINGS (A) MEETINGS. The City Council shall meet regularly at least twice in every month at such times and places as the Council may prescribe by ordinance or resolution. Special meetings may be held on the call of the Mayor or of three (3) or more members and, whenever practicable, upon no less than twenty-four (24) hours notice to each member. All meetings shall be public except as otherwise provided by law. Emphasis added.

As a Special Meeting only the item listed on the agenda can be considered during the meeting.  The agenda states:

 Consideration of the Removal of Jeffrey Wieler from the Office of Mayor by Rescinding Resolution 105-16 

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Resolution 105-16 RESOLVED, that the City Council elects Jeffrey Wieler to serve as Mayor of the City of Piedmont.

Moved by King, Seconded by Rood

Ayes: Cavenaugh, King, McBain, Rood, Wieler Noes: None         Absent: None

Under the rules, should Mayor Wieler be removed, Vice Mayor Bob McBain would assume the responsibilities of the Mayor. The City Charter states:

Vice-Mayor shall act as mayor during the absence or disability of the Mayor.

If the Council decides to remove and cause Mayor Wieler to vacate his position as Mayor, there is no place on this agenda to elect another Council member to the position of Mayor.

Recently, there was a vacancy, not an absence or disability, in the Mayor position when Mayor Margaret Fujioka resigned and vacated the City Council.  The Council did not follow the City Charter to elect a replacement, thereby allowing Jeff Wieler, the Vice Mayor, to be the Acting Mayor for months. There is no position in the City Charter known as the “Acting Mayor” for a vacated position. 

The Monday, August 28, 2017, Special Meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. in the  City Council Chambers, 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont.  The public can speak to the agenda item.

There is no indication from the City if the meeting will be broadcast on Channel 27 or via the City website.

For further information, contact the City Clerk at 420-3040.

The Piedmonter and East Bay Times:

http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/08/22/piedmont-mayor-criticized-by-residents-for-his-facebook-comments-views/

sfist.com:

http://sfist.com/2017/08/24/piedmonts_mayor_in_trouble_over_rac.php

CBS TV Channel 5 coverage:

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/08/23/piedmont-mayor-jeff-wieler-political-social-media-rants/

The Piedmont Post: 

On August 23, 2017, a headline in The Piedmont Post reads “Mayor Wieler issues statement condemning racism, violence.” The paragraph at the end of the article states, “A large number of people attended the Monday’s council meeting and some spoke about personal facebook posts Wieler made several days earlier.”

Mayor Wieler has been a long time columnist with Piedmont’s local newspaper, The Piedmont Post.

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Video of August 21, 2017 Piedmont Council Meeting  comments – 

To view the video of all comments made at the August 21, 2017 Piedmont City Council meeting, go to the City website at: http://piedmont.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=3&clip_id=1649

(Comments were made at the Council meeting in opening remarks and during the Public Forum, which followed the Consent Calendar.)

Piedmont Council member contact information:

http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/citycouncil/

– Remarks Prepared for 8/21/17 City Council Meeting

Thank you to Jennifer Smith Cavenaugh and Teddy Gray King for encouraging speakers at the August 21, 2017 Piedmont City Council Open Forum.

No one should have to show up at a City Council meeting to make sure their council members condemn the violence and hate that resulted in the deaths of two Virginia State troopers and a peaceful protestor as the direct result of racism, bigotry and hate. But there is a reason we are all here tonight. We all showed up because it is important to us to show moral leadership and speak unequivocally against the bigotry and hate that was on display in Virginia.

After I had commented that I found President Trump’s failure to denounce Nazis especially disturbing in light of the fact he has Jewish grandchildren, Mayor Wieler defended President Trump’s comments as adequate, arguing that the antifa protesters “picked a fight.”

An interesting point of view, despite the fact that Republican leaders, Business Leaders, Clergy and others expressed outrage at President Trump’s comparison of the behaviors of two opposing protest groups as equally wrong; Despite the fact that the messages of hate and bigotry advocated by White Supremacists, the KKK and the Alt right resulted in murder.

I am personally concerned that Mayor Wieler appears to judge the behavior of people who are actively trying to legitimize racial discrimination, people who carry signs and chant anti-Semitic, racist, and homophobic slurs with the behavior of counter protesters. There cannot be 2 sides. We can condemn those who champion violence and racial discrimination without conflating those who protest AGAINST discrimination.

Most importantly, I am here because Piedmont children are listening. I have encouraged Mayor Wieler to make a personal connection with the families he represents. Our children are seeing messages of hate across media screens.

There are children in our town who have recently been the victims of anti-Semitic jabs; there are children in our town who have been victims of racial bias and there is a current lawsuit against the city by a former police officer calling out incidents of racism.

Justifying the President’s pathetic response to the tragedy in Charlottesville has local repercussions on the well being of Piedmont families.

So when I asked Mayor Wieler if he would join City Councils across the United States sharing a moment of silence in observation of the tragedy in Charlottesville, he responded:

“As a moment of silence, I will stop engaging with you.”

He then referred to me as a “Lurid Partisan” and an “Irish Catholic claiming to be Miss Sensitivity.”

Which brings me to the second reason I am here tonight…

It is unacceptable for a nonpartisan mayor to express hatred for liberals. Mayor Wieler, you have a public FaceBook page and you post on it almost daily…often several posts a day. AND, you regularly represent Piedmont at Bay Area Conferences of local small town leaders. Allow me to suggest, YOUR IDEOLOGY DOES NOT REPRESENT PIEDMONT:
A small sampling of Mayor Wieler’s thoughts:

“The left burns buildings and deprives people of free speech and physically attacks conservatives. There’s a b***h named Falatco who led a gang that attacked a Trump rally in Berkeley.”

“Black Lives Matter encourages cop killing.”

“The Left is dangerous and un-American.”

“Transgenders are mentally ill.”

‘The left is Intellectually bankrupt.”

“Democrats are the plantation slave masters of today.” (article)

“Fight the leftie barbarians.”

“The tinfoil hat crowd of the left should be pitied because insanity is a terrible fate.”

“Some people hate Trump, but more people hate liberals.”

“The loonies of the resistance are worth a laugh, but not much more than that.”

Finally, I am here tonight to tell you, Mr. Mayor, when you threaten to use your friendship with the Editor of the hometown newspaper to denigrate those who would disagree with you, you have crossed a line.

You crossed a line when you threatened me and threaten people I care about with an “investigative story that I would not like.”  You abuse your power Mr. Mayor.

Piedmonters should hope for leaders who are open-minded, even tempered and emotionally stable.

Beyond that, Piedmonters should feel safe in knowing their small town mayor isn’t going to confer with the small town newspaper editor over lunch to invent ways to take down a member of the community with whom they disagree.

That is an abuse of power.

I would fully support this City Council in a decision to elevate Vice Mayor McBain to Mayor while allowing Jeff Wieler to quietly finish his term on the Council through November 2018.

by Conna McCarthy, Piedmont Resident

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.

No tax deduction allowed for ratepayers paying for city waste services.

Placing the cost of City Waste Services on private home garbage ratepayer billing rather than using the Piedmont General Fund Budget eliminates the tax deductibility of a legitimate municipal service, which should be covered by the Municipal Services Tax. 

How much municipal cost for waste services will be shifted from the city budget to individual residents’ in their required monthly waste removal charges? The recently received Republic Services bid provides no breakout of the cost of providing the city service that is billed to ratepayers.

Questions have also been raised about the ratepayer fees for City services without a benefit to the individual ratepayer, which may be considered an unauthorized required tax.  

Simultaneously, the City Council is moving ahead on considering a change to the City Charter to allow the city to accumulate more than the Charter prescribed maximum reserve of 25% of the annual budget. The city has been experiencing unprecedented increases in excess revenues which have been placed into various city reserve funds. Rather than using existing money for ongoing municipal services, such as city waste removal or the greatly needed pavement of substandard or damaged sidewalks, the city continues to ask for more funding from Piedmonters.

The voter enacted Piedmont City Charter states:

“The Council shall establish a fund known as the General Fund Reserve in an amount not to exceed twenty-five (25%) of the budget for the purpose of maintaining municipal services during periods of reduced revenues to the City, as well as meeting unforeseen contingencies and emergencies of the City.”

Council Moves Forward to Contract with Sole Source Bidder – 

On July 17th, the Piedmont City Council accepted the proposal submitted by Republic Services for waste collection services beginning on July 1, 2018, notably imposing huge rate increases particularly for backyard services and no rate break for seniors or the disabled.

Numerous residents have expressed dismay and shock at the cost of procuring only one bidder and the expensive end result.  It is not unusual for sole source procurement to result in unacceptably high costs. No breakout of the cost to go 30 feet into a backyard versus 100 feet or up many steep steps was offered.

Piedmont resident Alan Kong recommended “a re-procurement … with a non-responsive” penalty or  “a more stringent annual renewal cap.”

Despite the long lead time, a new less complex RFP for Piedmont property owners will not be sent out in an attempt to acquire waste removal charges in line with other communities. Detailed contract negotiations will proceed on the basis of the lone bid by Republic Services.

Concerns over the huge increase in rates for garbage collection have produced suggestions from a range of individuals.

“From what I have read in Mr. Benoit’s report may be indicative of inappropriate discussions by the proposers. In some industries such as sanitation/waste disposal, where there is limited to no competition, the eligible participants will divide territories/cities. Periodically these territories/cities will be redistributed in an RFP re-bid process. It seems odd that 2 proposers declined to bid altogether while of the remaining 2 proposers (Waste Management and Republic), there was a formal “no bid” citing safety. 

“Perhaps a re-procurement should be enacted with a qualifier that a non-responsive proposal will penalize/disqualify that party from future contract award considerations. Or implement a more stringent annual renewal cap (no greater than a legitimate index + X%, annually…and tie the contractor into a 5-10 year term contract with a stringent termination clause).

“However this is resolved, the seemingly damaged party will be the residents of the City of Piedmont. There are easy answers to this situation.” Alan Kong

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“What the City has left out in its online explanation of the process and in response to Mike Rancer’s thoughtful comment, is that Waste Management, which services many Oakland streets right next to Piedmont, wanted to use a different type of cart that matched to a lift on the trucks which would reduce their concern about worker injury. Piedmont did not want to investigate this thinking backyard service would not be possible. The Jan. 17 2017 staff report included my letter and research material; that material has Oakland provider Waste Management’s rate sheet which clearly shows Waste Management providing both curbside and backyard service.”  Rick Schiller

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“Are the City’s requirements asking for something that is far too expensive? Maybe relaxing some of the requirements would result in lower prices, and more competitors for the contract.”  Bruce Joffe

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“Maybe the problem is that Piedmont is too small to generate competitive bids or economies of scale. Given that Piedmont is completely surrounded by Oakland, and many of our streets cross the boundary into Oakland, has the city considered talking to Oakland about joining their contract and consolidating services to improve efficiency and lower our cost? It would be the height of negligence if our City Council simply rolled over and accepted this non-competitive bid. ”  Michael Rancer

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“Those are enormous rate increases – did Republic provide a quantifiable basis? They admitted they blew the last bid – you have to wonder how good this estimate is. And their flat rate for backyard makes no sense – all Piedmont backyards are not created equal. Staff’s formula may have been too complex for Republic, so make it simple – scale backyard service to lot size.

“Bad month for ratepayers – sewer, garbage and water rates all go up.”  Garrett Keating

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“Rick Schiller is to be commended for the extensive research and persuasive recommendations that he made.

“I hope that the shocked ratepayers will remember this when City Council election time comes around again. As a reminder: “Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear: Should you not fear me?”

“Politics tends to be forgotten. Writing those quarterly checks is the “gift” that keeps on giving, and giving, and giving. ” Jim McCrea

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“July 14, 2017
Piedmont City Council
c/o John Tulloch, City Clerk

July 17 Agenda: New Republic Services refuse contract.

Dear Mayor Wieler and Council,
It is what it is: one bid from Republic Services. Regrettably the preliminary cost estimates are for substantial increases of 60% for curbside service and 120% for backyard service. Considering the considerable increases, it is most unfortunate there will be no accommodation for seniors over 70. Staff indicated such an accommodation leaves the City vulnerable to legal challenge yet, perplexingly, this specific accommodation is common elsewhere and has not been legally challenged.
The Staff Report states “backyard service would be available to disabled residents at curbsides rates.” What is the mechanism for disabled qualification?
Mr. Benoit indicated, when we spoke at the Linda Triangle opening, that the new contract would include unlimited curbside green waste. This is most appropriate in lush, expansive Piedmont with its many large lots. Unlimited curbside recycling also seems appropriate and is in harmony with Piedmont’s embrace of ecological concerns.”   Rick Schiller

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“I find it odd and inconsistent that Piedmont finds a senior exemption of backyard service at curbside rates contrary to State law as many Municipalities have this exemption. In Marin County Almonte, Alto, Belvedere, Corte Madera, Homestead, Marin County, Mill Valley, Strawberry and Tiburon provide exemptions for backyard service at curbside rates for (1) any age 70 Senior on signature alone that requests the service and (2) any disabled person with a doctor’s letter. The City of Berkeley has the same two exemptions and lowers the qualifying age to 62 and does not require a doctor’s letter for the handicapped exemption (form and code attached). City of Albany has both a disability exemption and an age 62 low-income discount exemption (see attached p 7). Santa Clarita has an age 60 low-income discount exemption (see attached p 7). No doubt there are many more California cities with an age based senior exemption of backyard service at curbside rates.”  Rick Schiller

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“I think that there should be a provision that someone at age 75 (or pick a comparable age) or older should automatically be entitled to backyard collection at curbside rates. Will some noses get out of joint if they are thought to be “too old” to haul the cans to and from the curb and they don’t feel that way? If so, let THEM opt out of the reduced rates. “ Jim McCrea

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“I have not followed the Piedmont waste issue closely, but I did have a caution that may be useful. The City of Oakland spent a great deal on staff, consultants and public time to craft a detailed and specific RFP that outlined a great number of demands and requirements. Unfortunately, their efforts were rewarded with only one responsive bid from their current provider, Waste Management. This caused no end of trouble for the city ending up with recirculation of the EGO, eventual litigation and very increased rates. The 2016 Grand Jury report covers this problem pretty well. Piedmont should not repeat Oakland’s path on this. Also, collusion between garbage companies is not unknown. ”  Michael Henn

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“Good news- the proposed contract has significant reductions in service levels in that unlimited recycling/composting and individual curbside pick-ups are eliminated from the contract which should lower rates. These services were likely the reason rates were increased so much in the last contract so their elimination now should lead to lower rates. Likewise, the scalable backyard service formula should result in a more accurate (and higher) rate for this service, again leading to a rate reduction for curbside service, the majority of Piedmont’s service.

“Bad news – for recycling, this contract is a serious step backwards. Specifically, the contract calls for a 60% diversion rate, a rate the city had already achieved before the advent of the cart system 10 years ago. And it ignores the 75% diversion rate that council set by resolution – the stretch goal for this contract is 70% by 2028. Many other east bay cities are achieving 75 % and our city has routinely been above 70%. Staff assumes that with the reduction in unlimited recycling, green waste will go to the landfill instead and result in an underestimate of our true diversion rate – this happened in the past. But it won’t now – Alameda County has banned the dumping of green waste in land fills and green waste is now properly sorted and credited. The contract should at least adjust the diversion targets to 65, 70, and 75% at a minimum to maintain the current level of recycling in town. To do the right thing, the contract should set the target at 75% as directed by Resolution 38-08.

“General Plan Goals and Policies: the staff report lists the numerous goals and policies this contract addresses (wish that had been done with chapter 17 revisions) but many are really not related to this service contract. To make true headway with our Climate Action Plan, this contract should require the use of biodiesel vehicles – this is likely the largest source of truck traffic GHG emission generated by the city and the city could achieve major reduction by mandating this in the contract.”  Garrett Keating

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“May I suggest that a requirement be included that the carts be placed back on the curbs after emptying. When the carts are left in the street, as they usually are, they occupy parking spaces where parking is very limited to begin with. I asked the company to include this in its instructions to its drivers, but compliance lasted approximately one week. This is a minor irritation but an irritation nonetheless.”  Susan McCreary

Read prior PCA article HERE.

Read City web page on waste services HERE.

Reports on May 10, 2017 School Board meeting –

by Joseph Chu, Piedmont High School Senior –

The Piedmont Board of Education convened on the evening of May 10, 2017. The meeting commenced at 7:00 p.m. The general purpose of board meetings is to make decisions regarding the School District and include public input as a part of their decisions such as: the budget, education policies, setting District goals, and forming a local education vision. Participating members of the Board for this meeting were Andrea Swenson, Cory Smegal, Amal Smith, and Doug Ireland along with Superintendent Randall Booker and Finance Manager Song-Chin Bendib.

This meeting’s agenda included presenting the 2017 Arthur Hecht Volunteer of the Year Award to Hillary Cooper, hearing about the recent reports of anti-semitic, racist and other forms of hateful speech and conduct at Piedmont High School, and the assembly that was held at the high school to initiate student discussion and awareness about these issues. Other items included on the agenda included conducting a second hearing for approving the proposed levy of current School Support Tax Measure A, conducting a second hearing for approving 2017-18 Contract Openers between the District and Classified School Employees Association, a presentation for new math courses that are being proposed to meet the Secondary Math Pathways’ requirements: Integrated Math 3 and Honors Math Analysis, and finally reviewing and discussing the recommended concept designs for Piedmont High School’s new STEAM facilities, auditorium changes, and its projected costs and other concerns regarding its construction.

Announcements of the graduation dates for Millennium High School, Piedmont High School, and 8th Grade Graduation. The Millennium High School Graduation will take place on May 31st at 1:00 p.m. in the Veteran’s Hall. The Piedmont High School Graduation will be held on June 1st at 5:00 p.m. in Witter Field. The 8th Grade Celebration Ceremony will be held on May 31st at 5:30 p.m. at Witter Field.

The most heated items of discussion during this meeting surrounded topics that were not on the agenda of the meeting.  These topics were the recent events of anti-semitic, racist and other forms of hateful speech and actions, the newly appointed Athletic Director, Vic Acuna, and the firing of the former coach of the PHS Men’s Basketball Team, coach Lavdiotis.

Dr. Kalamas, a Piedmont resident, expressed concern for incidents of racism and anti-semitism at Piedmont High School and discontent at what she said was a “delayed and anemic response” on the part of the school board regarding these issues. Kalamas also addressed her own concerns about nepotism and cronyism in the school administration. Board Member Swenson responded with a statement that she was “horrified by the systematic assassination of [the current] Athletic Director, Vic Acuna”.

Among the other members of the Piedmont community who offered their own concerns and questions regarding the incidents of hateful speech and actions at Piedmont High School, Piedmont Police Chief Jeremy Bowers said that the Piedmont Police Department is committed to working closely with the community to address this problem and to continue investigating these incidents.

Several coaches and athletic professionals voiced their support for reinstating coach Lavdiotis and some expressed their disapproval of Athletic Director Vic Acuna.

Piedmont High School students Victoria Hou and Shannon Yan gave their opinions on non-agenda topics, as well.

Hou addressed the high school assembly that was held to initiate discussion and awareness for high school students regarding the incidents of hate speech and actions. Hou said that she hoped that the School Board would provide more clear and specific information regarding those incidents because she felt there was a general sense of confusion in the student body regarding this topic.

As a senior at Piedmont High School this year, I agree with Victoria Hou in terms of the feeling that the information that was given to students about those serious incidents was not clear and I have heard various stories about what actually happened. I would appreciate it if the school gave out an official statement about what exactly happened so that students and other members of the community can be on the same page about their understanding of these issues.

Yan proposed that the School Board allow high school students to be able to take more classes in  economics and government, since there is currently only one class offered for each of these subjects, both being only a semester long and strictly offered to seniors. Yan said that there are other students who hope to be able to pursue these subjects more fully through additional classes.

After the session for addressing non-agenda topics had closed, the Board moved to its agenda topics.

Hilary Cooper gave her acceptance speech for the 2017 Arthur Hecht Volunteer of the Year Award. Piedmont High School AP Art student Tong Zhou presented a ceramic tree that she made to Mrs. Cooper for her service.

Next, the Board approved the tax level increase of 2% for the School Support Tax Measure A, and 2017-18 Contract Openers between the District and Classified School Employees Association.

Following these actions, a presentation was given to the Board about new math classes that would fulfill the Secondary Math Pathways’ requirements: Integrated Math 3 and Honors Math Analysis. Integrated Math 3 would replace the Algebra II class of the traditional math pathway. Honors Math Analysis would cover the topics of Math Analysis as well as AP Calculus, AB’s first semester’s worth of coursework. This class would be part of the accelerated math pathway. A second reading for these new classes will be held on May 24, 2017.

Following this presentation, the board held a discussion about the cost and other logistic details for Option 2B of the series of concept designs for new Piedmont High School STEAM facilities. Cost estimates were based on compiled data from other local related school construction projects that have been happening within the past three years. The Board also discussed potential uses for any surplus from the budget they have for the STEAM facilities construction and the need to demolish and rebuild the current Alan Harvey Theatre, due to it’s multiple safety hazards, structural degradation and need for more seating and restrooms. The Board’s general consensus was that while estimates of cost must be carefully and accurately calculated to avoid overstepping the budget, construction must begin as soon as possible to reduce costs of the project, which are expected to increase as more time passes.

Mrs. Conn was at the Board meeting this evening to congratulate Hillary Cooper for receiving the Hecht Volunteer of the Year Award for 2017. She nominated Mrs. Cooper for this award. Mrs. Conn was also attending the meeting because she heard someone would come to the meeting to complain about the new PHS Men’s Soccer Coach. She had written a letter in support of the new coach and came to this Board meeting to express her support for the new coach. But it turned out that this person with complaints about the new soccer coach never showed up so she didn’t have to say much. She was impressed by how intense the beginning of the Board meeting was, especially around the topics of the new Athletic Director Vic Acuna and also the anti-semitic, racist and hateful speech/actions that happened recently at PHS. Mrs. Conn said that she will continue to write letters and do what she can to support the new soccer coach if more complaints are brought against him.

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          by Trang Le, Piedmont High School Senior

    The School Board meeting held on the night of May 10th was incredibly crowded. Small groups of concerned parents, coaches, and PHS staff spoke in hurried, hushed voices over plastic cups of wine and complimentary cheese outside the City Hall. The small chamber in which the meeting was held only could accommodate a mere 48 people. The small room adjacent to it provided a livestream of the events unfolding, and all the seats in both chambers were taken. Even so, crowds of Piedmont residents stood outside the chamber or sat on the carpet within, looking for answers from the Board of Education concerning the recent occurrences of anti-semitism within PHS and PMS.

    The Board opened with a statement acknowledging the hate speech, informing the audience of the assembly held at PHS that Monday. The Superintendent stressed to the critical audience that the School board prioritized students emotional state above everything else, and that these recent incidents do not define Piedmont. However, this and the complimentary cheese did little to sate the critical audience.

   Quickly moving on, the Board addressed the recently dismissed Basketball Coach and emails about annual coaching positions. With this, the atmosphere of the room changed to a restless one and it was obvious that their actions roused resentment among the residents. The speaker cards were then gathered, read aloud, and the podium opened to whoever wanted to speak out on the topic of hate-speech and fired coaches.

   The first and most controversial speaker, Alicia Kalamas, addressed both of these and more. She accused the School Board of their “anemic and delayed reaction” to the anti-semitism and racism on the school campuses as well as her emails. She also accused the Board of being racist themselves, briefly bringing up last years’ Bird Calling Contest and claiming it was rigged to knock an African American student from their rightful third place. Her speech was very briefly interrupted to tell her that she was rapidly approaching her five minute speaking limit. Kalamas then finished her speech by addressing a potential firing of the Athletic Director, claiming that she had sent an email some time ago questioning his credentials and employment in the Piedmont Unified School District.  Quickly wrapping up, she finished with a thinly veiled threat of legal action against the School Board if they did not properly address her concerns.

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the authors.