“Someone willing to give of their time and drill down “-

Our interim mayor’s endorsements in yesterday’s paper cited two skill sets that he thinks are needed on City Council – law and finance.  With all due respect to members of the bar, there were three lawyers on City Council when the flawed Piedmont Hills Underground Utilities District contract was approved.

Financial acumen?  The 2011 Municipal Tax Review Committee calculated that a 50% increase in the Sewer Tax was needed.  Rejected by the voters, 4 years later the Sewer Fund is the most solid city account and the work is ahead of schedule – the tax could probably withstand a 50% cut.

Volunteers do their best but are at the mercy of staff reports. What is needed for Council is commitment and initiative  – someone willing to give of their time and drill down into city matters to make sure we get the best services for our community without wasteful spending.

Anyone who has worked with Jen Cavenaugh knows how committed she is when she takes on a job.  Having spear-headed the Facilities Maintenance subcommittee on this year’s Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Committee, she is the perfect person to put on Council now to oversee this new spending program. Her initiative with the Piedmont Recreation Department showed that she wants to make our community better. I wholeheartedly encourage you to vote for Jennifer Cavenaugh.

Garrett Keating, member of Jennifer Cavenaugh’s campaign committee and a former Council member.

Editors’ Note:  PCA does not support or oppose candidates for public office.

FREE AND OPEN PRESS – Transparency and Community Engagement

The Piedmont Civic Association website is an open forum for resident exchange of civic commendations, advocacy, opinions, concerns, proposals, and ideas. Our medium, the internet, allows for extensive discussion and opinions, prompt posting of reader comments, and, if needed, corrections.

PCA’s open and free access is the only available media outlet exclusively serving Piedmont residents on civic issues.  PCA has frequently been told by readers that opinion letters sent to other media outlets and informational items were never used by other local media.

PCA attempts to print all civic information submitted by Piedmont residents.   The Piedmont Civic Association editorial policy can be found here.

While encouraging civic discourse and civil exchange of ideas on any side of civic issues, including criticisms and praise of policies, PCA does not allow personal attacks. Every attempt is made to focus discussions on policy, factual information, and civic actions.

For example, in recent weeks, controversy has arisen regarding Piedmont Unified School District employment of a full time Athletic Director responsible for high school athletic programs and scheduling of school athletic facilities.  A number of opinions have been printed here on the subject. PCA welcomes these opinions and is open to receiving opinions on all sides of this issue and all civic issues.

PCA believes that substantive discussions are part of a healthy democracy – open and free exchange of ideas. 

A PCA goal is to keep Piedmont residents involved in Piedmont civic matters: inform Piedmont residents, encourage community engagement, provide transparency to government, and engender civic involvement.

 Readers may comment below on this and every article, for below each article is a place to comment.  Readers may send an opinion, news article, or photos to PCA at the address below:

editors@piedmontcivic.org

Thank you for reading, sharing with neighbors, and commenting.

The Piedmont Civic Association is an all volunteer association of interested Piedmont residents. No dues, no lists, no ads, no exclusion, just civic information provided by Piedmont residents, volunteers who care about Piedmont.

 Comments and letters appearing on the PCA site are unsolicited.

PCA does not support or oppose specific ballot measures or candidates for public office.

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.

Little Public Involvement in Zone Use Changes

The Planning Commission did not make a recommendation to the City Council on whether voters or the Council can make final changes to land uses within zones.

The Planning Commission has considered the Planning Department’s proposals with little resident participation.  In our City of over 10,600 residents and over 3,800 households, a total of only 17 individuals have participated in Planning Commission meetings to provide input that impacts all Piedmont property, resident lives, and long term uses of land in Piedmont.  Former Planning Commissioners and the public in general have noted they were unaware of the considerations.

 Changes proposed are vast and long reaching.   Too numerous to list here, but some changes include:

• reduced parking requirements
• interchangeable land uses between zones
• extensions to buildings
• intensified use and development in the Civic Center (near emergency services and 3 schools)
• increased staff consideration and approval of proposals
• elimination of all building requirements for the Public Zone (This includes all public properties.)
• changed building standards including elimination of privacy attributes.

Voters Right Eliminated Without a Charter Change –

For decades the application and interpretation of the Piedmont City Charter referred to classification and reclassification as land uses within zones requiring voter ratification. Recent proposals by the Planning Department and opinions by Piedmont’s new City attorney takes away the right of Piedmont voters to approve zone land use changes.

The newly devised legal interpretation allows any use to be in any zone as long as the boundary lines are not moved and the City Council approves the land use change. Required voter approval of land use changes have been dismissed without changing the City Charter.

Unlike recent Recreation Department’s outreach to Piedmont residents, important zoning changes have lacked public input – no round table discussions, well attended public meeting, free exchange of ideas between the Planning Commission and residents, or polls and surveys.

The Planning staff will present an update on proposed changes to Chapter 17 at the City Council meeting September 19, 2016  in City Hall.

The staff report can be read here. 

A PCA article on the questioned legal interpretation of land use changes in Piedmont can be read here.

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.

Citizen Opposition to Increased Height of Commercial Development Adjacent to Residences and Other Issues –

Neighbors near the Shell Station at Wildwood and Grand Avenues are circulating a petition to gather support for their proposals to protect Piedmont residents. The pervasive zoning matter, originating in the Planning Department, attempts to increase the height of commercial buildings next to Piedmont homes to 40′, reduce the size and number of parking spaces required, permit eaves and overhangs on all Piedmont buildings to extend to the property line, and require housing on upper levels of new commercial buildings.

The petition does not address the dormant breach per the City Charter precluding Piedmont voters of their right to control land use changes. The breach was proposed in 2012 and later approved by the Council.  No development has occurred while awaiting the controversial 2016 proposed regulations.

The Planning Commission meetings covering consideration of zoning changes has been found by some to thwart community input while proposing consequential negative impacts on residential properties near the commercial zones located on Grand Avenue and in the Civic Center on Highland Avenue, and thus impacting all of Piedmont.

Below is the petition being circulated:

https://www.change.org/p/piedmont-planning-commission-and-piedmont-city-council-maintain-zoning-regulations-that-protect-piedmont-residents    Don Dare and Miguel DeAvila Piedmont Residents

Editors’ Note:  Opinions expressed in the petition are those of the authors.