On November 8, 2016, the voters approved Measure H1, authorizing the District to sell up to $66 million in school construction bonds.  The District will use bond funds to modernize and improve school facilities to better support our education programs.  We are extremely grateful for community support for these vital improvements, and we’re looking forward to getting started.

As part of the H1 Bond planning, we are developing two committees to assist in this work:  H1 Facilities Steering Committee and the H1 Citizen’s Oversight Committee.  While we are posting this information on the PUSD Website and the Piedmont Portal, as well as emailing all families in the District, I wanted to make sure that you had this information (see below) about how community members could submit an application.

Lastly, I want to direct you to the Board packet from December 14, 2016.  Under item VIII.A. H1 Facilities Bond – Next Steps, the District provided the Board with a timeline for work related to the H1 Bond, including how the public can submit an application to either the H1 Citizen’s Oversight Committee or the H1 Facilities Steering Committee.  I’ve provided the link below for the corresponding memo to the Board regarding H1 Facilities Bond – Next Steps.

https://agendaonline.net/public/Meeting/Attachments/DisplayAttachment.aspx?AttachmentID=510549&IsArchive=0

By clicking on this link, it will ask you to download a pdf file.  This file is the memo to the Board.  You can also access this memo by visiting the Board Agenda page at:

https://agendaonline.net/public/Meeting.aspx?AgencyID=1241&MeetingID=39841&AgencyTypeID=1&IsArchived=False

Please let me know if you have any questions.

 Sincerely,

Randall Booker, Superintendent Piedmont Unified School District

Student report on a City Hall gathering on the evening of the Tree Lighting ceremony. Although the Park Commission had cancelled its December meeting, Commissioners were encouraged to attend the December 7 Tree Lighting ceremony at the Community Hall. (read November 2 minutes of the Park Commission.)

On Wednesday, December 7, I attended the Park Commission gathering at the Piedmont City Hall. This commission meets once a month, but typically takes a recess during the Holiday season, so this meeting manifested itself as a casual event that involved people from all City Commissions and City Council members. I took this time to socialize with people who both held leadership positions in government and others who were simply curious about the meeting.

A major topic of conversation was the renovation of Hampton Park. This ongoing project was celebrated, as it is both on schedule and on budget. In response to the rain influencing construction of this project, I was informed that the new drainage system was working well avoiding any holdups for the project.

The recently completed Linda Triangle was another achievement spoken of at this event. People expressed their excitement for this addition to Piedmont, while some hoped to see some improvement, such as lighting fixes.

Upon arriving at the event, I spoke to a number of people, including the Mayor, the Vice Mayor, and the Public Works Director. Mayor Jeff Weiler said that he is particularly pushing for lighting improvement on the Oakland Avenue Bridge, in order to “make it safer for pedestrians.” Speaking from personal experience, it can often be unnerving walking on the Oakland Avenue Bridge, especially when people are driving fast and come right up next to the walkway, so I feel that lights would be a much needed addition.

Students spoke about our concern on the drought, but Mr. Weiler assured students that the California drought was not currently posing much of an issue to Piedmont parks, as the recent rains and the water used for firefighter training help keep the greens watered.

Halley Wolin, Piedmont High School Senior

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author. 

I attended the Recreation Commission meeting on Wednesday, November 16, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. in the Piedmont City Hall. The commissioners meet every third Wednesday of the month to discuss current projects in the city regarding recreational activities, parks and sports.

Chair Betsy Smegal Anderson began the meeting by calling public speakers to the stand to discuss any issues or suggestions that were not on the agenda. PHS students spoke regarding a desire for Triathlons put on by the Piedmont community that would include special ed students, creating more bike lanes and making running trails in various Piedmont parks. Anderson continued with a discussion of the progress of multiple Recreation Department Projects throughout Piedmont. The first project discussed was the Recreation Department Tot Lot play equipment which was approved on November 7th by the City Council. Now that the contract has been approved, the play equipment is looking to be finished by late January.

Next, Recreation Director Sara Lillevand described the progress of the Hampton Park Improvement Project which is working to turn the previous baseball field into a multi-functional park and sports field. She explained that the field is taking shape now that the grading, dugout and bleachers are almost finished and is on track to be finished by mid January. A plaque is also going to be placed on the backstop of the field to memorialize Oakland Police officer John Hege who was well known and loved by the community. The remaining details for the park including the ordering and paying for different sports equipment and storage will be taken care of before the opening.

Piedmont High School student Amelia Eldridge then spoke regarding the use of real grass or turf for the new park, a controversial decision on many fields in Piedmont. Director Lillevand explained that only a small portion of the field would be artificial turf and the remainder would be kept as natural grass and that the markings on the grass would be done seasonally to fit a variety of age groups and sports.

 The next topic discussed was the update on the Recreation Department/Veterans Hall Master Plan to optimize space efficiency for programs in the two buildings. Director Lillevand explained that the spaces in the Recreation Department and Veterans Hall are being assessed based on what is currently offered and what would be most efficient and beneficial to offer in the future. There are no set plans yet, although Public Works Director Chester Nakahara will be making the selection for the renovations using surveys from the public to get a wide range of opinions.

Another issue addressed was the current Kennelly Skate Park hours of operation. The limited park hours of  8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and 3 p.m. to dusk on weekends are looking to be expanded to increase the availability of the park. Commission members pointed out issues of noise, safety, volunteer availability for monitoring and lack of park use by the public.  Steve Roland stated that the park seems to be used mainly by children and they are in school during the open hours of the park which makes the monitoring pointless. Student Amelia Eldridge confirmed that the park being closed is not necessarily a deterrent from kids entering the park, which poses a safety threat.

Director Lillevand responded to a group of Piedmont Middle School students that explained that the skate park has limited space with dangerous conditions which makes the park less desireable, by suggesting filling in the large bowl in the park to create more space. The Commission established that the purpose of the monitor should be revisited and the City should take a look at the current safety of the park and understand what age groups would be using it.

 I believe that the Recreation Committee should advertise the need for staff help for Skate Park monitoring in order to increase the park’s hours. If the students who attend the park are able to participate in the monitoring after engaging in a short safety training, the lack of staff would no longer be an issue. It is important to make the most use out of the limited park spaces in Piedmont.

Chair Anderson then discussed the new Aquatics Coordinator Tyler Waespi who was hired last June. Tyler earned his position with his impressive interview, intensive training and working success this past summer.

Anderson went on to discuss the Aquatics Master Plan Conceptual Design which is moving forward with pre ideas given by the hired architect. The plan is to create a larger, more attractive and ultimately more functional pool that will attract more use from the public. PHS student Skyler Liu asked a question regarding where the funds for the project will be coming from. Anderson responded by explaining the $15 million budget that would most likely come from private fundraising and a bond fund. After student Kerry O’Connor suggested a new ideas for the placement of the water polo cages, Anderson confirmed that any minor design details for the project have not been decided.

The last topic addressed was a recap of the Piedmont Recreation Department Haunted House that is held in the Recreation Building every Halloween weekend. Director Lillevand proudly reported that this year there were 720 visitors on Friday and over 1,000 total throughout the weekend despite the last minute change of theme. Anderson suggested that the entry fee of $5 should be revisited considering the tremendous amount of time, planning and money that goes into the event. PHS student Nina Adarkar suggested that the Adventure Crew Club could volunteer to sell food at the end of the Haunted House to raise money for the costs of the production.

At the end of the meeting, I was honored to speak with Director Sara Lillevand about her position and reasons for participating. As the Director of the Recreation Department, Sara explained that she was here to create solutions for the community and to hear the needs and desires of the public. She believes that recreation enhances people’s lives and introduces healthy and fun opportunities into people’s lives. Lillevand described recreation as a “huge umbrella” that has a broad impact on the community, from preschool and school mates to PHS Seniors.

Addie MacCracken, Piedmont High School Senior

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.

 I placed my laptop on the floor as quietly as possible and scooted to the front of my chair, preparing myself to speak in front of Piedmont’s Recreation Commission. “Thank you,” the Commission Chair smiled, and I quickly raised my hand. For the past 30 minutes or so, middle school boys and their moms had been rotating through the stand to bring to light the dangers and potential fixes of Piedmont’s skate park, one of the issues being the park’s minimal hours.

Stepping up to the podium, the Commissioner’s faces gazed back at me expectantly. After stating my name, I inquired, “How big an effect on the budget does the monitor at the skate park have? Is the budget for the monitor the main issue?” A commission member responded that yes, the budget has a heavy influence, as well as the lack of staffing to supply monitors, so I followed, “What is the purpose the monitor serves? Is it absolutely essential to have a monitor there at all times?”, to which another member answered that the monitor serves myriad purposes, from safety to noise control. With the issues cleared up, I smiled a thank you, and walked back to my seat.

 According to their website, Piedmont’s Recreation Commission meets monthly on the third Wednesday to “[make] regarding field allocation at city parks and [advise] the city council regarding the creation or renovation of park properties,” and they fulfilled their purpose completely at this meeting. Though the commission reviewed Hampton Field’s renovation (going well) and gave an update on the new aquatics instructor (also going well), the most heated topic was the Skate Park.

The commission patiently listened to each middle schooler and parent describe the problems with the park and followed through, questioning how they would set the hours, who could remodel a skate park, or if there was an improvement they could make without a complete remodel.

I agree with the commission that a remodel would be extremely costly, and is not pressing enough an issue that the whole community would fundraise for it. I commend Sara Lillevand, Recreation Director, for creating a compromise, ending in a decision to possibly fill the dangerous bowl with the dangerous transitions the middle schoolers and moms had exposed and by adding better street skating obstacles on it. Expanding the park’s hours without a monitor also seems like a good solution the commission could follow up on. To address the safety issue, they could clearly advertise days and hours when a monitor is or is not present, so parents and guardians can always feel safe with their children skating.

Moving to the final issue, the committee chair introduced the annual Haunted House. Due to recent violent clown incidents, the theme had to be changed from Fun House extremely last minute, but was still, as always, a success. One member reminded the group that they tend to lose revenue on the Haunted House, as they have never changed the entrance fee to $5. The commission ponders this, as they know some Piedmonters would be up in arms if they increased the longstanding fee.

Though I hadn’t planned on speaking again, I raised my hand and returned to the podium, explaining that I’m the President of the Piedmont Community Service Crew (PCSC), and reminding them that PCSC has helped the Recreation Department out before, taking over this year’s July 4th Pancake Breakfast, and collaborated with them by running a lemonade stand at the Harvest Festival.

To increase the revenue, I suggested that near the exit of the Haunted House, they set up an area where families can mingle after their exciting experience and buy food and drinks. PCSC members could run the stand, tracking money and selling food, so no staff would have to be paid, and in addition could cook food earlier in the day, as PCSC has lots of cooking experience through making and serving dinner to the homeless at Hot Meals, cooking lunch for low-income seniors at St. Mary’s Center, and more. A commission member’s face lit up, as he agreed that this could increase a few thousand dollars in revenue. Sara Lillevand noted that she’ll keep in contact with me, and affirmed the crew’s work with the pancake breakfast this summer, serving around 2,000 people.

Once the meeting adjourned, I approached Commissioner Steve Roland to ask him a few questions. When I asked him why he joined the Recreation Commission, Roland explained that he wanted to do something civic for the town. He had already been involved in sports through coaching, but he wanted to make an active difference. No specific problem motivated him to join the commission, just the general desire to improve the parks.

Now that he’s joined the committee, Roland still aims for general park improvement throughout Piedmont. Roland revealed his main strategy for taking action: time tables. Much of the commission meetings include discussions and hearing the community’s voice, but the key is to immediately create goals and action plans. Roland wants to expedite the processes to give the community what it wants without being sloppy. He adds that this is a continual progression, and learns more as each issue arises on how to better pick apart the problems and take action on them.

As a high school student learning about government in Civics, meeting an adult with a desire to be involved purely to make a positive impact on the community is inspiring, and sadly, a contrast to some of the political leaders I’ve learned about in previous history and government studies. Because families primarily move to Piedmont for the excellent education, the parents generally are passionate about their children’s Piedmont experience, leading to the inspiring political leaders who serve double time as a parent or guardian.

Nina Adarkar, Piedmont High School Senior

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.

On the City Council agenda for December 19, 2016 is an appeal to a Planning Commission decision for expanding the house at 108 Moraga Avenue, owned by S. D. B. Talwatte and L. J. Chandler.  Story Poles with red flags have been visible for weeks on the property located opposite from the Mountain View Cemetery wall.

Appellants Charles Constanti & Erica Benson, owners of the house at 115 Ronada Avenue located behind 108 Moraga Avenue, state in their appeal:

“GROUNDS FOR APPEAL – SECTION 17.2S.2 FILING : A significant error occurred in the application of the provisions of City of Piedmont Municipal Code Chapter 17 (“Chapter 17″). Specifically, we believe that the approval of the design for an upper level addition and upper level deck at 108 Moraga Avenue involved a significant error because the decision was made, in part: • Based on misleading statements by the architect for 108 Moraga Avenue. • Without adequate discussion of the violations of Chapter 17, due to the significant adverse effect on neighboring properties’ existing views and privacy (both of which were points of complaints we made to the Planning Commission in letters dated July 2, 2016 and November 9, 2016). • Without appropriate consideration of the reasonable opportunity to reduce the height of the addition with lower level excavation because of misleading statements by the architect of 108 Moraga Avenue. 1 EXHIBIT H Agenda Report Page 55 • Without thorough consideration of the fact that increasing the size of the 1,004-square-foot house at 108 Moraga Avenue by 1,375 and thereby producing a 2,379-square-foot house is excessively large and crowded compared with the existing pattern of neighborhood development given the close proximity to 115 Ronada Avenue because of misleading statements by the architect of 108 Moraga Avenue.”

Constanti and Benson have been joined in their opposition to the Planning Commission approval by  neighbors Mark & Melissa Wilk and Kong.

“Although invited in written comments submitted by the appellants on November 9, 2016 to view the proposed project from the rear yard and inside their house at 115 Ronada Avenue, the Commissioners did not take the opportunity to view the proposed project from the rear yard and house at 115 Ronada Avenue.”

Paul Benoit, City Administrator

City Administrator Benoit is recommending that the Council deny the appeal.

Click below to view photos and read full documentation on the appeal.

12/19/16 – PUBLIC HEARING Regarding an Appeal of the Planning Commission’s Decision to Approve with Conditions an Application for Variance & Design Review at 108 Moraga Avenue

The hearing can be viewed on Channel 27 or via the City website under videos.

The Council faces a full agenda on December 19, 2016, broadcast will be on Channel 27 and via the City website.  The Council will vote on elimination of Recreation Department transport of participants, addition of a full time Planning Technician, and a loan mechanism to pay for sewer work (see separate article.)

Agenda items:

Political appointments chosen by the Mayor to represent Piedmont on various Boards:

12/19/16 – Approval of Council Liaison Assignments through 12/31/17

Piedmont’s Planning Department continues to grow as a full time Technician is added to the Department.  At a recent Planning Commission meeting, five Planning Department employees were present.

12/19/16 – Authorization to Add a Full Time Planning Technician Position

Elimination of transport by the Recreation Department of juvenile participants:

12/19/16 – Report from the Recreation Director on the Discontinuation of Transportation Services

With a new Police Chief appointed from within the Police Department, a vacancy has occurred in the Police Captain position:

12/19/16 – Consideration of an Agreement with Bob Murray & Associates in the Amount of $24,400 for the Recruitment of a Police Captain

12/19/16 – Consideration of a Three Year Agreement with OpenGov, Inc. for Implementation of Interactive Financial Visualization Software in the Amount of $24,502.50 and an Appropriation to Fund the Agreement

At their December 19, 2016 meeting, the City Council will consider “borrowing of funds from the California State Water Resources Control Board” to pay for sewer improvements. The State has approved the loan request.

The Piedmont City Charter states:

SECTION 4.13 TEMPORARY LOANS  Money may be borrowed in anticipation of the receipts from taxes during any fiscal year, by the issue of notes, certificates of indebtedness or revenue bonds; but the aggregate amount of such loans at any time outstanding shall not exceed twenty-five (25) percent of the receipts from all taxes during the preceding fiscal year; and all such loans shall be paid out of the receipts from taxes for the fiscal year in which they are issued.

SECTION 4.14 BONDED DEBT LIMIT  The City shall not incur an indebtedness evidenced by obligation bonds which shall in the aggregate exceed the sum of twenty (20) percent of total assessed valuation for purposes of City taxation, of all the real and personal property within the City, exclusive of any indebtedness that has been or may hereafter be incurred for the purposes of acquiring, constructing, extending or maintaining municipal utilities, for which purpose a further indebtedness may be incurred by the issuance of bonds, subject only to the provisions of the State Constitution and of this Charter. No bonded indebtedness which shall constitute a general obligation of the City may be created unless authorized by the affirmative votes of a majority of the electors voting on such proposition at any election at which the question is submitted to the electors and unless in full compliance with the provisions of the State Constitution, other State laws and this Charter.

Staff reports:

12/19/16 – Consideration of Actions Related to the Approval of the Sanitary Sewer Phase 5 Rehabilitation Project:

a. Approval of Installment Agreement # D16-01021

b. Authorization for City Administrator to Execute Documents

c. Approval of Construction Documents

    The Park Commission did not have an official meeting on December 7th.  Instead, there was a social gathering as a Holiday break that segued into the tree lighting ceremony at 7:30 p.m.  While there were no official issues to be addressed or discussed, it was the perfect time for a high school senior interested in the inner-workings of government to bump elbows and inquire upon many Piedmont government officials.

I got the opportunity to simultaneously interview the Mayor, Jeff Wieler and the Director of Public Works, Chester Nakahara as he stood behind the bar – eager to serve his community both beverages and hours of hard work.  I learned a lot more about general park information through direct conversation than I would have attempting to participate in a busy Park Commission’s docket.

  As a high school student, I admittedly had both a specific and limited view of what the Park Commission and the Public Works Department do.  I wanted a different perspective of my main connection to the Piedmont Parks -an inside scoop on the daily announcements pleading my peers to stop littering during their off-campus lunch privileges.  I was shocked to discover that it takes a full man day of work to clean all the litter after every Piedmont High School off-campus lunch break.  Despite trash and recycling bins within arms reach, the worst offending areas are Piedmont Main Park and outside the Veterans Building and City Hall.

The tone of both Wieler’s and Nakahara’s voices were mixtures between exasperation and jokes about the laziness of the litterers.  There was no obvious solution towards solving this problem that they have not already tried.  There are sufficient waste disposal containers, plus the quality of education at the school should justify a level of awareness to negate the problem.

I could not come up with answers or suggestions that have not already been attempted, I could only do my best to reassert that it seems to be an excessive and ongoing issue that the City needs to have a different stance on.  20-30% of the Publics Works budget of $4 million is dedicated strictly towards maintenance and cleaning.  That can make it harder to achieve some of Mayor Jeff Wieler’s park and public works goals: to finish the Linda Triangle, continue beautification, and to fully illuminate the Oakland Avenue Bridge for safety purposes.

    Additionally, I learned that the California drought has minimally affected parks in Piedmont because the Piedmont Fire Department efficiently directs their mandated engine tests while spraying water onto Coaches Field.  The only evident aspect of our communities water shortage is the large brown spot on upper Dracena Park, a park that recently had a more controversial decision of whether a certain stretch of the dog park allowed dogs to be off leash.  The dogs must remain on leash, as the Park Commission recently decided, but additional and clearer signage is needed around that park.

  Jeff Wieler, Chester Nakahara, and every other person I met (like Park Commission staff liaison Nancy Kent!) work tirelessly in their various positions to help improve Piedmont.  They were all incredibly knowledgeable – Wieler was occasionally frustrated at himself for not having a certain exact budget or figure on the tip of his tongue – and even just a more light-hearted social Holiday celebration can bring up important local issues that everyone is clearly passionate about attempting to solve.

Josef Crombie Presberg, Piedmont High School Senior

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.

On December 14th, 2016, I attended a Piedmont Unified School District Board meeting at Piedmont City Hall. These meetings occur once or twice a month during the school year and their purpose is to discuss and propose changes to the Piedmont school system.

This meeting was focused on the Single Plan for Student Achievement which asked every Piedmont school principal to review their last year’s goals and create new goals for the coming year. There were also quick notes on school activities going on which were presented by the Associated Student Body President Alisha Lewis and each board member gave a quick list of the school related events they had recently attended. However, during the two hours I was at the meeting, the majority of the time was spent on each Principal’s plan for their school. Elementary school principals presentations weren’t until much later.

Principals Brent Daniels, Sati Shah, and Ryan Fletcher shared similar goals which included: improving communication between students and teachers, efficiency of time spent outside of school (eg. necessity of homework, sleep), and taking care of emotional and physical wellness for their students. Though a few times the Board may have had questions for the Principals, they seemed very happy with last year’s results and next year’s goals.

I got a chance to speak with Sati Shah, the Principal at Millennium High School, before the meeting began and asked him a few questions about his upcoming presentation.  He said that on average he gives about three or four presentations to the Board and that helps “set [a] collaborative direction for [the] school to follow”. He seemed confident with his presentation and after he finished, he was greeted with a few notes of praise by the Board towards the educational decisions made by Millennium High School.

This was a long meeting and after Ryan Fletcher’s goals for the year, I found that the similarities were growing and there would be little change between the elementary schools in terms of goals.

Finally, there was an election for a new president, vice president and secretary of the board which went to Sarah Pearson, Amal Smith, and Randall Booker.

Cato Leist, Piedmont High School Senior

~~~~~~~~~

    I attended a School Board meeting on December 14, 2016. The purpose of the meeting was to make sure everyone is in agreement on how the schools are running and how they are progressing toward their goals.

    Because it was the last meeting of the year, the principals from all the schools in the Piedmont Unified School District came to talk about their assessment of last year’s goals and how they will improve them this year or new goals.

    Principal Brent Daniels, of Piedmont High School (PHS), was the first principal to speak on his goals. He noted all the efforts he and all the staff made to reduce student stress and give students a greater opportunity to sleep; tutorial and staff meetings in the morning, conflict calendars, and the five day block scheduling. Also, his new goals for this topic; implement a curfew for any school related activities, including sports, a testing center open 8a.m. to 3p.m., therefore students can make-up tests on their own time, and continuing to make sure homework has Meaning, Value, and Practice (MVP.)

    Every Board member agreed that Principal Daniels had outstanding achievements and futures goals, however one Board member, Amal Smith, pointed out that we want to help the students as much as possible, without taking away from learning life skills. For example, the conflict calendar is an immense help, but on the contrary, students need to be taught how to juggle and delegate multiple projects or assignments at a time, because that is what is expected of people in the real world. Also, Board member Doug Ireland questioned if students were actually receiving more sleep. Principal Daniels stated that based on the survey, they are getting slightly more sleep, though they are mostly benefiting from the later start, thus they are more alert during class. Other than those two comments, every Board member expressed their support and positivity.

    Principal Daniels spoke about their efforts in improving the message of Consent. This past year, they chose to implement a new speaker and a debriefing. I spoke to the debriefing. I was lucky to have Ms.Taylor, the acting teacher and a leader in the Consent Assembly, lead my classes debriefing. I expressed that Ms.Taylor should lead the teachers in a class on how to talk to students because she created a warm and open environment where it was easy to speak my opinions. Also, about thirty student are in my English class, the class we debriefed with, and less than ten showed up. Teachers and faculty should stress the importance on the debriefing because many chose not to attend. I got an immense amount more from this assembly than freshman year’s Consent Assembly due to the discussion afterwards.

I had the chance to speak to Principal Sati Shaw, of Millennium High School (MHS). This was his second year as principal of MHS, thus his second year reviewing and expressing his goals, the Single Student Achievement Plan. He fully supports the Board meetings as, “they are a great opportunity for teachers, parents, and community members to express their ideas and feelings,”  said Shaw.

Then, he continued to explain the process of the goals. The goals are tirelessly attempted to be met, while new ones are arising. They are all important, but as Principal Shaw stated, “it is about prioritizing them and where the School Board and I want the center of discussion to be. The main goal is to create a collaborative space where students feel comfortable to excel on a personal level. We get lost in grades and getting into college, we really try to create well rounded people as well.”

Daniela Siu, Piedmont High School Senior

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.

School Budget Advisory Committee includes teachers, District Administrators, and interested community members.

On December 8th of 2016, I attended Piedmont Unified School District [PUSD] Budget Advisory Committee Meeting at District office Board Room 760 Magnolia Avenue. The PUSD Budget Advisory Committee meets once every three months. The general purpose of the meeting is to discuss where PUSD money is coming from and where it is going; in other words, budget funding.

I realized however, after the first few minutes of listening in on this meeting, that budget funding sounds much more simple than it is. The long stream of numbers and expenses listed on the slides were extremely detailed, at times hard to follow, and only emphasized how much detail and planning goes into budget funding. The meeting covered topics of the amount of money the school receives and loses due to student absences, parcel tax, federal revenue, restrictive revenue, donation sources, pension costs, retirement benefits, and the different levels of expenses and gains year to year. One issue that was addressed/voiced was the fact that we are spending more and more each year because of heightened expenses which is causing us to cut into our budget fund savings, whittling away at that number year by year. The issue that comes with this statement was discussed by Mr. Best, a leader of the meeting, who was highlighting how this is a very dangerous statistic.

Another issue voiced, because there were many teachers at the meeting, was the lack of benefits teachers have. California is one of the few states that does not cover teachers with social security so that is something that is really detrimental and takes a portion away from their paychecks. This is an issue that I believe is something that should be shared and highlighted because while California seems to be a very progressive, fair state, it does not seem fair that teachers are not covered under social security. During this topic, I asked the Committee a few questions about this particular topic as well as voiced my opinion on the subject.

At the end of the meeting I interviewed a Middle School teacher named Gabriel Kessler. Kessler, the vice president of the teachers union, said “It’s really important that I’m familiar with the budget and understand it because I’m involved with a lot of decision and negotiations.”

Kessler said that the other reason he attended the meeting was his “belief that teachers, as well as students, should take some civic interest in what’s going on in the community.”

Kessler said there are some concerns he had that he came to the meeting wanting to address. “The budget reserve getting lower and lower is definitely a big issue,” Kessler said. “The rise in pension benefits is also causing a real problem.”

The other issue Kessler brought up were the budget cuts that are going to be taking place.

When asked how we can combat these issues, Kessler responded by saying “I think we have to put pressure on our law makers and representatives of finding ways to fund education.” Kessler’s other idea to implement positive change was about the giving campaign and where that money goes to.

“A lot of that money is designated to specific uses. I am wondering if that money can become undesignated so that the School Board and Superintendent are able to put it to where they feel is most important,” Kessler said.

Maddie Wolfe, Piedmont High School Senior

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author. Meetings of the Budget Advisory Committee are not broadcast or recorded.  The meetings are open to the public.