Piedmont’s mayor, Margaret Fujioka, was elected in an uncontested race  to the Alameda County Superior Court on June 7, 2016. Although her term on the Court does not begin until January 2017, Fujioka has announced that she will resign her City Council position on June 20, 2016.  Her Council term extends to November 2016.

The City Council or Mayor is required to fill the vacancy. The appointed Councilmember will remain on the Council until the next election,  the Piedmont Municipal and California General Election is November 2016.   If the Council fails to make an appointment within 30 days following Fujioka’s resignation, the new Mayor (who will be elected by the Council) is responsible for making an appointment to fill the vacancy.

The Piedmont City Councilmembers have not made a determination on their approach to fill the vacancy. This will be scheduled for an upcoming Council meeting.  In past years when vacancies have occurred, the Council has opened the process up to all interested Piedmont registered voters.

Applicants have then been publicly interviewed and an individual chosen openly by the Council to complete the unexpired term of the vacancy. In this instance, the individual chosen would then have an opportunity to seek a 4 year term on the City Council at the November 2016 Election.

Currently, the Vice Mayor is Jeff Wieler.  The City Council will determine the next mayor. Piedmont mayors are elected by the Council from the Council and serve at the pleasure of the Council.

The City Charter states (emphasis added):

1. (1)  lacks at any time during the term of office any qualification for the office prescribed by this Charter or by State law;
2. (2)  violates any prohibition of this Charter; or
3. (3)  is convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude.

(C) FILLING OF VACANCIES. A vacancy on the City Council shall be filled by appointment by the Council, with said appointee to hold office until the next general municipal election, when a successor shall be chosen by the electors for the unexpired term. If the Council does not fill such vacancy within thirty (30) days after the same occurs, then such vacancy shall be filled by the Mayor.

June 30th is the deadline for terminating the exemptions to the School Support Tax, Measure A.

   Otherwise, the District will lose another $130,000 in revenue in FY 2016-17. Fear of a lawsuit is the explanation given to me for continuing the unlawful exemptions, but I believe this fear is unfounded.
     

  The bottom line is that Measure A is the law and it allowed no such exemptions.
     

  I take no great pleasure in finding fault with the District. But what I first thought was a simple accounting error has morphed over time into gross negligence and an appalling indifference to the law.

William Blackwell, Piedmont Resident

Editors’ Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.

Piedmonters, once more, vote to approve a parcel tax to support City services, reserves, and facilities.

Measure F was given support by approximately 70% of Piedmont voters. Measure F insures that the current property tax plus a 30% increase will continue for 4 years starting in 2017.

The Measure F election produced both pro and con activity. Piedmont’s elected officials were vocal about the need to increase reserves, maintain and improve City facilities, while keeping City services at a high level.

Following analysis of the City budget and financial projections, those opposed to the ballot measure took issue with the need for a 30% tax increase to achieve City goals.  

Final vote count will not be available for days, if not weeks. Election results will not change.

Measure F –          City of Piedmont                        Needs 2/3 majority Yes votes to pass Total Precincts:    6 Precincts Reported:    6 Percent Reported:    100.00 Contest # of   Votes % of Total Yes      2485                       70.64 No 1033 29.36

For the latest Measure F election results, click here

On Wednesday, June 8, the Piedmont Unified School District Board, will meet starting at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 120 Vista Avenue, to consider: a  new Bond Measure for the schools, the budget, food allergies, and the November Election of 3 school board members including one open seat.  The meeting is open to the public and will be broadcast live on Cable Channel 27 and the City website under 0n-line videos.  Recordings will be made of the proceedings.

The link to the agenda is here.

Another successful and sold out event for Piedmont High School’s Bird Calling Contest.  The students entertained and mimicked bird calls in the Allan Harvey Theater.

Piedmont Education Foundation approves $2.47 million grant to Piedmont Unified School District

At its May meeting, the Piedmont Education Foundation Board of Directors approved a grant of $2,474,233 for the 2016 – 2017 school year. The funding represents almost 8% of the District’s 2016-2017 budget, and provides direct support for nearly 12% of Piedmont’s K-12 teachers.

The grant is the first of its kind to be allocated with monies raised entirely by the new PEF organization throughout this past year. By bringing new transparency and more stakeholders to the grant-making process, the donation represents a significant change from past practices.

Read MORE.

Proposed Three-Car Garages: One Approval and One Denied

    On May 9th, 2016, I attended a Planning Commission meeting in order to protest the housing modifications that the owners of 132 Hillside Avenue were proposing. The Planning Commission is a group of Piedmont representatives that make decisions on proposals for housing modifications and any construction projects that may come to fruition. The Commission meets on the Monday of the second week of every month in order to settle disputes between neighbors and, most importantly, come to compromises that will benefit the entire public rather than just one party.

    During this meeting, there were two major proposals, both involving modifying the structure of the current house in order to construct a bigger, more modern garage. The owners of the 122 Monte Avenue had their plan approved with some minor changes to further comply with the wishes of some neighbors, who argued that the garage would look aesthetically unattractive.

   However, I focused more on the project that was being proposed by the owners of 132 Hillside Avenue, whose plan entailed cutting down a California Sycamore tree. The owners, who spoke at the meeting, expressed their desire to construct a bigger garage, that also doubles as a guest house, while demolishing their older, smaller garage.

During this process, the plan was to move the separate garage structure forward, while also enlarging the structure by one hundred and nine square feet, which, from the point of view of their neighbors, would create a bulky, not to scale garage. The residents of 138 Hillside Avenue argued that the house at 132 Hillside Avenue already sticks out due to how big it is compared to the houses on the street and creating an even bigger structure would accentuate that characteristic.

    Moving their garage structure forward would not only make the facade of the owner’s house much larger but it would also mean that a California Sycamore would be cut down in the process. California Sycamores are an iconic symbol within Piedmont and, as I stated in the meeting, the, “cutting down of the Sycamore should be avoided at all costs.” Sycamores are precious and should not be cut down just to benefit one party’s wishes for a third garage space but should instead be seen as a relic of the past in need of being conserved.

    Commissioner Ode and Ramsey expressed their support of this argument by ordering the owners and architect to change the plan to better accommodate the concerns of the entire public.

   Therefore, this plan was rejected and the Planning Commission prompted the owners and architect to revise the project so that the garage structure is less bulky and forward, which included suggestions such as: making the in-ground pool smaller, reducing the square footage of the structure and not including the third garage space in the plan.

    After the meeting I interviewed the architect for the plan, Gary Parsons, who was there to give the Commission a proper overview of the plan and to find a compromise that would benefit both the owners and the neighbors. After hearing the verdict he did not seem to be surprised, stating, “[we] heard what they said and we will be back here with a revised plan but it is the [owners and neighbors] that need to come to a solution.”

by Chris Driscoll, Piedmont High School Senior

Editors’ Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.

Athletics Take Too Much Time, Condoms in PHS, Food Pricing Encourages Unhealthy Choices, New Computer Programming Class

The Piedmont Unified School District’s Board of Education met on April 27, 2016 at Piedmont City Hall for its monthly meeting. The meeting was called to order at approximately 7:02 pm and began with open session. The first speakers, Claire Reichle and Emilia Rivera, discussed a lack of emotional based learning in Piedmont’s school systems.

Sean Rodriguez spoke about the amount of time required to play a sport at Piedmont High School. He stated that on average, basketball players would be at practice for three hours a day during the week, and up to five hours on Saturdays. He suggested having a maximum of two hours each day for practice, allowing student athletes to have more time to rest and study.

Later, Tom Jara suggested that Piedmont High School should have accessible condoms for students to encourage and make safe sex an easy and available option for students.

Sierra Singer wanted to reduce the price of salads at Piedmont High School. She stated that the Piedmont School District has always advocated healthy eating, but a salad is more expensive than chicken tenders and pizza at the high school’s cafeteria. Due to this, students feel more inclined to eat cheaper, unhealthy foods.

After open session, the School Board discussed the Piedmont Unified School District’s budget. The Board discussed that the District is in debt and that money is very tight. They suggested a new tax called the School Support Tax for 2016-2017. The purpose of this tax is to raise money for the District, allowing it to pay off its debt and continue providing high-grade equipment for the schools.

Piedmont High School’s Vice Principal, Ms. Munoz, came to the stand to propose a new computer class for the High School. The class would be labeled the Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles Course. This class would allow students to expand their knowledge of computer programming and prepare students for computer science related majors and jobs after graduation.

Mr. Mattix, a Piedmont High computer teacher, also spoke about the new computer class. He stated that this class would replace the current Mobile Applications computer class. Mr. Mattix and Ms. Munoz also explained that nearly 100 students have already expressed interest in the new class.

Nearly 50% of the interested students are female. This is a key point for Piedmont High School, as the High School has been trying to encourage girls to pursue computer science and even out the percentage of boys and girls interested in programming.

Personally, I believe this is a good addition to Piedmont High School’s computer science department. As a junior, I took Advanced Placement Computer Programming. After completing that course, however, I did not have another course to take as a senior. It appears that Advanced Placement Computer Principles is a course that furthers the knowledge learned in the Computer Programming course I took. If this class is approved, it will allow students to get more practical experience with their computer skills, as well as learn new information, making them strong candidates for future computer programming jobs.

In an interview with Mr. Mattix, he stated that he was at the meeting to help Ms. Munoz answer questions about the newly proposed Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles class. He also wanted to inform the Board of the astonishing number of people interested in the class, as well as mention that the population of female programmers is nearly even with the amount of male programmers at Piedmont High School. Mr. Mattix sees this as an accomplishment, as only two girls were enrolled in advanced placement computer science courses his first year teaching at Piedmont. When asked what he would do next, Mr. Mattix stated, “There is no next step for me. I have helped prepare the class and proposed it to the Board.” The decision to approve the class is now in the hands of the Board.

Piedmont High Vice Principal Munoz also proposed new math courses at Piedmont and Millennium High Schools. These courses, Integrated Math 2, Integrated Math 2A, and Integrated Math 2B/3, would cover material in Model Mathematics II and III courses in the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics in California Public Schools.

A Piedmont Middle School teacher spoke out on this topic. She claimed that middle schoolers would be prepared to take these classes. Piedmont High math teacher, Mr. Marthinsen, spoke against this proposal. He believed that students should not have more high level math classes to worry about. He suggested that Piedmont ban all Advanced Placement and Honors classes. He feels that students are under too much pressure, and are unable to truly process information or enjoy learning due to the tremendous amount of pressure and work given.

The Elementary Design Program then proposed a new schedule for Piedmont Elementary schools. The Design Program argued that the current schedule has too many transitions in the day, making it difficult for younger children to stay on task and work efficiently. Due to this, the Design Program stated that too much time is being wasted, not allowing enough time for core academic instruction and learning. The Design Program’s new schedule would also provide ample opportunities for integrated learning, arts, and technology. The proposed schedule limits interruptions throughout the week by having a similar class schedule everyday. By having a similar class schedule everyday, students’ lives will be less chaotic as they can plan to learn certain subject at a dedicated time each day.

by Sean Rodriguez, Piedmont High School Senior

Editors’ Note:  Opinions expressed are those of the author.

The Piedmont Education Foundation (PEF) is reorganizing in order to continue to deliver on the mission of promoting academic excellence, championing innovation, and providing sustained financial support to the Piedmont schools. As of the end of our current fiscal year (June 30, 2016), three existing staff positions are being reconfigured into three new positions (see links below). 

All interested candidates are encouraged to apply by submitting a cover letter and resume to resumes@piedmontedfoundation.org.

The reorganization is in keeping with plans to continue to grow fundraising revenues, including those via the Endowment, all of which in turn will provide necessary financial support to the Piedmont schools.

Communications Manager

Development & Campaign Manager

Finance & Database Coordinator

Deadline for applications:  June 10 or until the position is filled

Estimated start date:  July 2016

Interviews:  To be held in June

Interested candidates:  Email cover letter and resume to resumes@piedmontedfoundation.org.