The Piedmont Unified School District has announced a Special Meeting on Friday, March 13, 2015 to interview one candidate for Superintendent of Schools.  The meeting time encompasses the dinner hour. 

Friday, March 13, 2015 – 5:55 p.m.- 9:01 p.m.

131 LaSalle Avenue, Piedmont

(private residence of Board member)

A G E N D A

5:55 p.m. –  I. CALL TO ORDER

II. ESTABLISHMENT OF QUORUM – A majority of the Governing Board must be present in order to establish a quorum, allowing the Board to conduct business.

A. Public Comment – Members of the public may speak to any items on the agenda. The Board President may restrict the length of time for these comments.

6:05 p.m.  – III. ADJOURN TO CLOSED SESSION

 A. Public Employment: Superintendent (Government Code Section 54957)

Interview of candidate

At the end of the meeting, any action taken will be publicly reported; however, according to the agenda, no action is anticipated.

City seeks volunteers for commissions and committees with a deadline of Wednesday, March 25th by 5:00 p.m. –

Council Meeting Report by High School Student Jackson Roberts – 

        The Piedmont City Council meeting of March 2, 2015 was called to order with the Pledge of Allegiance at 7 p.m. sharp.  The Council, which meets on the first and third Mondays of each month, was beginning a meeting unlike any it had ever conducted, with Mayor Margaret Fujioka’s first-ever State of the City Address set to take place.

        First, there was time set aside for Public Forum.  This is a time during which members of the audience are allowed to approach the Council with any issues not marked on the agenda.  Only one speaker, Jackson Roberts, took the stand.  He addressed issues concerning public safety stemming from the speed of traffic at the intersection of Jerome and El Cerrito Avenue near the Witter Field parking lot.

        The Public Forum was then closed and the State of the City address began with Fujioka acknowledging Piedmont city employees, residents, and even former mayors for their contributions to the city’s overall health in 2014.  The challenge, Fujioka then said, was maintaining in 2015 the success the city incurred in the previous year.

        Fujioka then spoke about the objectives the Council had prioritized in 2014, namely public safety, technology, fiscal health and improving infrastructure, and the steps that had been taken in each of these areas.  Concerning public safety, Fujioka credited the city’s new license plate readers with aiding in the city’s crime management, and pointed out that crime had decreased 24% in 2014 from 2013, and that the solve rate had increased from 36% to 44%.  She also discussed the city’s new emphasis on disaster preparedness, including CodeRED, a new text and email system meant to notify residents of emergencies.  CodeRED also serves as an example of the new era of technological advancement the city is moving toward, with the objective of increasing efficiency in everything the city undertakes.

        Fujioka then spoke proudly of the city’s strong finances, attributing the successes, in part, to the Parcel Tax, for its $1.6 million per year that goes toward maintaining city services, and to the system sharing of pensions and employee benefits among residents.  With the city’s expenses in line with its revenues, Fujioka pointed out a number of goals the city was set to accomplish in 2015, such as improving the grass in public parks, upgrading city sewers and the completion of a new sidewalk connecting Mountain Avenue to Blair Avenue.

        Fujioka also addressed the steps the city had taken to improve its aging infrastructure, pointing to an anticipated $500,000 expenditure to improve Hampton Field, the participation in the impending East Bay Community Choice Aggregation to meet the area’s greenhouse gas goal’s, the new Pedestrian and Biking Master Plan, the adoption of an anti-smoking ordinance, and the implementation of LED lights throughout the city.

        Lastly, Fujioka made several additional acknowledgements, including the School District’s Holiday Book Drive, which raised 900 books in total, the leadership of women in key city government positions, including Council member Teddy King and Police Chief Rikki Goede, and several former mayors.  She called each of the former mayors, including Michael Bruck, Valerie Matzger, Skip Rhodes and John Chiang, to the front of the room to receive a small gift and take a photo.  With the State of the City Address marking the final item on the agenda, the meeting was adjourned.

Submitted by Jackson Roberts

Editors Note:  The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Piedmont Civic Association.

Let the Piedmont Recreation Department know if you are interested in more programs for adults and seniors.

For generations the Piedmont Recreation Department has fostered recreation programs designed primarily for youth.  Sara Lillevand, Piedmont’s new Recreation Director, and the Recreation Commission are actively seeking input from all sectors of the community including SENIORS and EMPTY NESTERS on future programs.

In recent years, Piedmont adults have noticed a need for a place to gather, a Senior Center with age appropriate activities.  Some of the activities suggested are: gentle fitness classes; neighborhood walks; games; lectures; hand crafts; art classes; “My Trip” travel programs; dance; book reviews; book exchange; memoir-writing; computer skills; singing; brown bag lunches; etc. Volunteer service exchange programs are popular in many communities to allow seniors to help each other age in place, a goal of Piedmont’s General Plan.

On Line Survey:

An online survey will be conducted from March 4 to March 31, 2015 on the City of Piedmont website:

http://catalystmr.com/piedmont   < Click

Assistance will be available at the Community Hall on Wednesday, March 11 between 10:00 a.m. and noon for help in completing the computer survey.

Please contact Cora Wood (420-3070) to reserve a space on March 11, to schedule an appointment to complete the survey over the phone or in person, or to ask a question.

Town Hall Meetings:

Two Town Hall meetings will be held at the Piedmont Community Hall in Main Park to gather community input on recreation programming. These events are interactive and open to all with or without an RSVP.

–  March 21 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

–  March 25 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.  

“Please RSVP, choosing the date you wish to attend: PRD@ci.piedmont.ca.us.”

Email Feedback:

Send feedback about current programming and ideas about future programming to: PRDFeedback@ci.piedmont.ca.us

Feedback by US Mail:

Comments are also welcome via U.S. Mail to PRD Feedback c/o Piedmont Recreation Department, 358 Hillside Ave., Piedmont, CA 94611.

Questions or comments?

Contact Recreation Director Sara Lillevand at 420-3070

The Piedmont School Board has been working for two days in a row to select a new Superintendent of Schools.  A third Special Meeting will take place Sunday, March 8, 2015,  between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. in the District Offices at 760 Magnolia Avenue, Piedmont.

Most of the meeting will be held in Closed Session where the Board will continue their consideration of candidates.  The meeting will not be broadcast or recorded, however the public can speak to the Board on the selection issue at the beginning of the meeting. 

If final action is taken in the Closed Session, a public report will be made at the end of the meeting.  No action is anticipated.

After a long day on Friday, March 6 of interviewing candidates for School Superintendent, the Board of Education members will hold another Special Meeting the following day, Saturday, March 7, 2015, to continue their interviews and considerations.

“The March 7  meeting will be held at 191 Ridgeway Avenue, Oakland* between 8:30 a.m.- 3:00 p.m.”

[Note: The agenda states the first item at 8:15 a.m. rather than 8:30 a.m.] 

Members of the public may speak to any items on the agenda. The Board President may restrict the length of time for these comments.

Efforts are being made to protect the privacy of the candidates by meeting outside of the Piedmont Unified School District jurisdiction.

The majority of the meeting will be in a Closed Session.  No part of the meeting will be broadcast. In the unlikely event the Board takes an action, it will be publicly announced.

Read the > agenda. 

*191 Ridgeway Avenue in Oakland, CA is the business address of Tramutola Company LLC http://tramutola.com.  Tramutola has been a political consultant advising the Piedmont Unified School District on school parcel tax measures.  Former School Board member June Monach is associated with the Tramutola firm.

On February 11, 2015, the Piedmont Unified School District Board of Education met to discuss the future of Piedmont schools. The Board generally meets on the second and fourth Wednesday of every month at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall. Major issues addressed and/or discussed while I was at the meeting were the new Superintendent, refunding bonds from 2006, PHS bathrooms and the common core.

Barbara Young and Bill Levinson presented the superintendent leadership profile. Doug Ireland (Board member) responded with some issues, saying that the profile was contradicting at times.

Blake Boehm spoke about the bonds from 2006, summing his presentation up by saying “short term pain made for long term gain.”

Students Ami Felson and Frances Putnam spoke about the issues in Piedmont High School (PHS) bathrooms, mainly the locks on individual stalls, bad soap and often no paper towels.

Randall Booker, Assistant Superintendent explained the many common core pathways toward Calculus AB and BC.

The issue that I am the most familiar with out of all that were discussed is the PHS bathrooms. I agree with both Ami and Frances that the bathrooms are not up to par. What is most frustrating is that the school just spent money adding new water bottle “fillers” onto existing water fountains when the money could’ve been used to get working locks on the bathroom stalls.

My interviewee, Barbara Young, attended the Board meeting to present the superintendent leadership profile with Bill Levinson. They were there to get edits for the profile and to eventually find our new superintendent. Their next step is to do preliminary interviews to weed out the superintendent candidates that do not fit the approved leadership profile.

Gelly Miller, Piedmont High School Student

Editors’ Note: The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Piedmont Civic Association.

The Piedmont Unified School District Board of Education will hold a Special Meeting on Friday, March 6, 2015, outside of Piedmont, at 6333 Telegraph Avenue, Suite 102, in Oakland from approximately 8:15 a.m.-5:00 p.m. to conduct interviews of select applicants for School Superintendent.

As with all Special Meetings, only the items listed on the agenda can be discussed or considered, yet there will be an opportunity to speak to the Board on items not on the agenda and the Superintendent selection.  The Board will adjourn to Closed Session for the candidate interviews.  Applicants names will not be publicly released to provide applicants privacy as provided under the Brown Act.

After the day long meeting, if action is taken by the Board, it will be publicly announced at the end of the meeting. However, no action is expected to be announced, as negotiations and further information gathering continues.

Read the agenda. <click

Press release from Recreation Department ~

The Piedmont Recreation Department (PRD) is seeking broad-based community input on current and future programming. The PRD is seeking feedback from ALL community members, regardless of whether you currently participate in PRD activities.

Your input is invited in a number of ways:

Online Survey: An online survey will be available from March 4 to March 31, 2015 at the following web address: http://catalystmr.com/piedmont You can also access the link from the  <click

City of Piedmont website: http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/  <click

For those who would like to participate in the online survey but do not have access to a computer, we will have computers and assistance available at the Community Hall on Wednesday March 11 between 10:00 a.m. and noon. Please contact Cora Wood (420-3070) to reserve a space on March 11 or to schedule an appointment to complete the survey over the phone or in person.

Town Hall Meetings: Recreation Director Sara Lillevand will host two Town Hall meetings at the Piedmont Community Hall in Main Park. These events are interactive and open to all.

–  March 21 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

– March 25 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.  

Please RSVP with the date you plan to attend: PRD@ci.piedmont.ca.us

Email Feedback: The PRD has a dedicated email address for sending feedback about current programming and ideas about future programming. The email address is:

PRDFeedback@ci.piedmont.ca.us

Feedback by US Mail: You are welcome to send comments via U.S. Mail to PRD Feedback c/o Piedmont Recreation Department, 358 Hillside Ave., Piedmont, CA 94611.

Questions ? – Contact Recreation Director Sara Lillevand at 510/420-3070

Piedmont school parcel tax levies are often based on consideration and information presented at the Piedmont Unified School District’s Budget Advisory Committee.  These meetings are open to the public, but are not publicly broadcast or recorded.

PIEDMONT UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Budget Advisory Committee*

Thursday, March 5, 2015 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. District Office Board Room, 760 Magnolia Avenue

Parents, teachers, students, staff and residents are invited to learn about the District’s Budget for 2015-16 and future years.

~~ AGENDA ~~

1. Welcome

2. Second Interim Budget Report [Staff presents information]

3. 2015-16 and Beyond Schedule of Upcoming Budget Advisory Committee Meetings: (all to be held 3:30-5:00 p.m., District Administration Office)

Next meeting – Wednesday May 20, 2015 [ Date changed to allow receipt of Governor’s Budget]

~~~~~~~~~~

*”The Budget Advisory Committee is a standing committee with representatives from all stakeholders in the District. Its purpose is to review the District’s Budget, share the information with constituent groups and generate recommendations for Board consideration in the Budget development process.

“Members will be asked to serve in rotation for a one to two year cycle. Responsibilities will include attendance at meetings and sharing of information with their representative group and to represent the interests of all programs and services for the District as a whole.

“The Budget is fluid and therefore under constant ‘revision’ as revenues and expenditures are clarified. The Program/Budget Advisory Committee is a vehicle to disseminate information to as many parents, students, staff and community members as possible. The Committee is advisory in nature and will not have decision-making responsibilities.”

While relying on recommendations from the Budget Advisory Committee, the Piedmont Board of Education makes final decisions on parcel tax levies.