Piedmont School Board adopted the new Math Pathways Proposal on a 3-2 vote.

    The purpose of the Wednesday, February 28 meeting was mainly to review the new proposed Math Pathways Recommendation for the Middle School and High School, championed by the Director of Curriculum for PUSD, Dr. Cheryl Wozniak.

    The Piedmont Board of Education is composed of five elected representatives oligarchy whose purpose is to represent the interests of all students, review and approve budgets and employs all school faculty members from teachers to the Superintendent and votes on policies within the State of California’s Education Codes. Piedmont School Board usually meets on the second and fourth Wednesday of every month in the City Hall Council Chambers at 7:00.

    The major issue addressed during the meeting was this was the last hearing of the adoption of the proposed Math Pathways program. Dr. Wozniak gave a presentation on the proposed 2018-19 Math Pathways proposal. In her presentation of the now adopted proposal, she explained students in the Grade Level Compression(“GLC”), High School Compression(“HSC) and Middle School Compression(“MSC”) will have the Math Pathways program. After 5th grade math, both pathways will have completed Common Core 6-8.  When the students reach 8th grade, however for students on MSC they will have already complete IM-1. But, once they are in High School, GLC students would only take IM-1 through 3 from freshman year to junior year, leaving these students with only an option of taking Math Analysis or Statistics (“Stats”) during their Senior year with no option of taking a Calculus class.

   In HSC and MSC both pathways by the end of 10th grade students would complete IM-3 and the pathway only allows students to take either Math Analysis or Honors Math Analysis in their Junior year and in their Senior year these students will only have the choice of taking AP Calc AB(“Calc = Calculus”), AP Calc BC, Stats or Honors Stats(“H Stats”). However, for students taking AP Calc BC, Calc A would be integrated in this class.

   PHS Seniors Jeremy Wong, Jane Anderson, and Kylie Hilton were the only students from the audience who opposed the now adopted math pathways proposal.

    I strongly oppose the new adoption of the Math Pathways 2018-2019 proposal.  It is fundamentally flawed for three reasons.

• One – What is the point of having HSC and MSC, 2 pathways, if the students when they arrive at their Senior year end up having the option to take either Calc AB, Calc BC, Stats or H Stats? In short HSC, and MSC end up at the same spot, their both really same pathway. It does not make any sense whatsoever.
• Two – The proposal prevents and limits High School Students from taking AP math classes (AP Calc AB and BC are the only AP math classes that PHS offers) during students’ Junior year. For the class of 2018 and 2019, students who were on the old Advanced Math Pathway could take AP Calc AB during their Junior year and AP Calc BC during their Senior year.
• Three – Since students under this proposal can not take both AP Calc AB and BC in high school and that AP Calc BC has AP Calc A already integrated within AP Calc BC, what is the point of having Calc AB. Students under this proposal would probably just take AP Calc BC because they are learning Calc A and Calc BC in the same course plus, the majority of colleges only accept calc credit if Students took the AP Calc BC test.

    We do not want to drive more students out of Piedmont because of the math program. Piedmont High School has 397 students and the senior class of 2018 only 97 students. The class of 2018 is the smallest class at PHS, and the class size has significantly decreased over the past four years. The adopted proposal will create more unnecessary stress and pressure, plus it will make it harder for the future classes to compete against students nationally and internationally when applying to colleges.

    Students and Parents were not well informed by the school of the math pathways proposal.

    I do not understand why the School Board passed an extremely flawed proposal which is detrimental to the future classes in the long run, instead of not adopting it and “assigning” the school to create a more revised proposal that gives students more autonomy when choosing their math classes.

    Before the meeting started, I interviewed MHS Senior Joshua Miller, VP of Millennium High School (MHS) who has a non-voting seat on the Board as a student representative.  Miller said to me that part of the role of the office of the VP of MHS is to address what’s going student wise in Piedmont and at Millennium as a part of the District. I asked what issues he would like addressed during the meeting. Miller said, “Well, academic wise I’m just bringing up how the quarter ends for Piedmont and marking period ends at Millennium, and activities stuff like the schools plays, the Bird Calling Contest, the community dinner and stuff that has been happening around the community.”

By Jeremy Wong,  Piedmont High School Senior

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.

Board Marches Toward Change

    On February 28th, Sarah Pearson, the President of the Piedmont Board of Education, opened up a discussion about change. Initially leading everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance, she stood in the center of the semi-circle table, surrounded by the four other members and the Superintendent. This was the second meeting of the month, as the Board meets bimonthly on the second and fourth Wednesdays in the Council Chambers of City Hall to discuss issues involving the School District and seek to make decisions that will improve the schools.

To start the meeting, Ms. Pearson introduced Mr. Kessler, the president of the Association of Piedmont Teachers (APT), who spoke about APT’s concern for school safety in relation to the February 14th shooting in Parkland Florida. He explained that the group had voted to declare March 14th a day of action, suggesting the possibility of letter writing to officials, moments of silence in respect for the people who died, murals, and marches. His words later prompted Board Member Doug Ireland to show his support for APT, and to voice his concern for the safety of teenagers in Piedmont and across the country.

Superintendent Randall Booker expressed his support for APT’s actions. He mentioned the nation-wide plans for showing respect to the victims of the Parkland shootings on March 14th and spoke on behalf of the School District in supporting students in taking part. He spoke of the importance of standing in unity during times like these.

Mr. Ireland spoke passionately about a couple different issues, including the mental health of students and the environment that Piedmont families create at our schools. He expressed horror at the number of students who are in states of, or who have ever been in states of, depression and at how many have contemplated suicide. Drawing connections between depression and stress, he mentioned the intense environment surrounding college that exists in Piedmont. He voiced a desire to change the level of expectations that are placed onto students as they apply and decide where to go to college.

In response to the recent resignation of the Athletic Director, a common occurrence for Piedmont High School in the past two years, he admitted that blame has to be placed on the parents and community. His assertion set the tone for the rest of the meeting: a desire for change.

Continuing with the theme of changing and improving, Dr. Cheryl Wozniak presented to the Board about past and future opportunities for members of the community to learn about diversity, inclusion, equity and other issues.

The Let’s Talk sessions have been successful, with many Associated Student Body members from the High School attending, along with other faculty and members of the community.

As expressed by Dr. Wozniak, there will be more sessions for people to attend, along with other events, including the “Unity in Community” assembly, which is organized by students. These attempts are all in the hopes of teaching people about diversity and engagement in order to fulfill new social justice standards for administrators.

Terry Montgomery spoke to the Board about measure H1, and the Board moved to accept her report.

Next, Pete Palmer presented the new Safe School Plans. The plans focus on emergency drill protocol, with the major change being the implementation of lock down drills. Amal Smith, a Board Member, spoke in favor of this change, mentioning that the frequency of fire drills has allowed students and faculty to have memorized the protocol. The Board approved the plan.

The next major item on the agenda was the issue of the new Math Pathways proposal. Dr. Wozniak also presented the proposal, explaining the changes that were being made and the many options that students will have if the proposal is passed by the Board. The changes would allow students entering high school to have the opportunity to study over the summer and then take an assessment to accelerate and take a more advanced class, for example.

Personally, I think that having so many options about math classes could be a bad thing. Students at Piedmont are constantly stressed and many take on very hard classes and have large work loads. Adding more options, and therefore more ways to seemingly get ahead or excel, will only cause the stress level of students to increase.

Math teacher, Diana Miller, later told me that she, along with others members of the Math Pathways Committee, attended the meeting to hear the information presented and the Board’s decision. The Board voted three to two in favor of the changes, which pleased Ms. Miller. The discussion was not a brief one, and had been going on for months. Ms. Miller said she was “impressed by the depth of discussion between the five Board members before the vote”, as all members thoughtfully considered what is best for the students in Piedmont.

by Zoe Adams, Piedmont High School Senior

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One of Piedmont’s most influential committees, responsible for making recommendations to the City Council on expenditures and revenues, the Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Committee,  will meet on Tuesday, March 13, 2018 at 6 pm in the Police Department Emergency Operations Center.

The agenda includes:

• Review of Long Term Pension & General Fund Projections ( Piedmont has two programs for retirees.  One is with CalPERS, which the City does not control or determine the required contributions made for beneficiaries.  The second fund, controlled by the City and distributed from the Piedmont Retirement Fund to pre-PERS beneficiaries.  This fund is over funded for the approximately 16 remaining beneficiaries.)
• Review of FY 16/17 Year End General Fund Transfers & Establishment of Section 115 Trust ( No explanation has been provided for the newly proposed Trust.)
• Review of FY 17/18 Mid-Year Fiscal Report, and future meetings.

(Staff reports were not provided with the agenda.)

Read the agenda here

The Piedmont Park Commission will meet on Wednesday, March 7 at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, located in City Hall, 120 Vista Avenue.  The meeting will be broadcast live on cable Channel 27 and on the City’s website.

The Commission will be discussing Community Hall Lighting and Planting, a Civic Projects Donation from Piedmont Garden Club, the City’s Playground Equipment Safety Audit, Linda Beach Master Plan, Heritage Tree Nominations for 2018, Arbor Day, April 27, 2018.

Read the complete agenda here.

Your Tree Nominations are Sought Now!

The Piedmont Park Commission will discuss the nomination process at its meeting on Wednesday, March 7 at 5:30 p.m.  Park Commissioner Jim Horner proposed the heritage trees policy to celebrate notable trees on public property.  Horner, the author of “Trees of the Berkeley Campus,” presented the proposal to the City Council at their January 16, 2018 meeting. The Council unanimously approved the designation of Heritage Trees on public property.

Citizens are encouraged to nominate trees or groups of trees located on City owned property.  Nominations should be promptly forwarded to Nancy Kent, Parks & Project Manager, nkent@piedmont.ca.gov or contact her at (510) 420-3064

Nomination Form > Heritage Tree Application Form 2018 

Nominations: Due by March 16, 2018

Many public City meetings are broadcast live via the City website at > http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/video/ or on Cable Channel 27.  These meetings can be viewed after the meetings from video recordings found on the City website.  Many other meetings are not broadcast requiring those interested in the subject matter to be physically present to observe the meetings.

Below are a list of the City’s selection of which meetings in March 2018 will or will not be recorded and broadcast.

BROADCAST:

• City Council March 5 meeting video can be found > HERE.
• Wednesday March 7  Park Commission 5:30 pm Chambers
• Monday March 12 Planning Commission 5:00 pm Chambers
• Monday March 19 City Council 7:30 pm Chambers
• Wednesday March 21 Recreation Commission 7:30 pm Chambers

MEETINGS NOT BROADCAST:

• Tuesday  March 6  CIP Review Committee 7:00 pm Conference Room – (CIP Committee deliberates on which capital projects to recommend for funding by the City Council. This is an expense related committee.)
• Thursday March 15 City Council Special Meeting 5:30 pm Conference Room Interviews of applicants for Commission and Committee Appointments. (Open to everyone but seldom observed by Piedmonters.)
• Tuesday March 20 City / School Liaison 4:00 pm Conference Room (Representatives from the City Council and School Board discuss subjects of mutual interest as safety, facilities, etc. and return to their respective bodies to share information. Meeting is open to the public.)
• Tuesday March 20 CIP Review Committee 7:00 pm Conference Room ( Deliberations continue on funding choices. This is an expense related committee. )
• Thursday March 29 Public Safety Committee 5:30 pm Chambers.

All public meetings are open to the public to observe and participate. Exception: Closed Sessions.

Agendas for meetings will be posted in City Hall and the Piedmont Police Department at least 72 hours prior to each meeting.  Agendas for some Council, Commission & appointed Committee meetings are also posted online on the City website http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/.  Copies of all agendas may be requested from the office of the City Clerk, John O. Tulloch, 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont or by calling 510-420-3040.

Notice and agendas of special meetings will be provided by the City at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting.

Piedmont’s Research Undercuts Proposed Charter Change –

City staff sought relevant data from dozens of cities on their statutes excluding former Councilmembers from becoming candidates for the Council in the future.  The results of the survey reveal Piedmont’s proposed Charter change is radically out of step.  In the summer of 2017, without direction by the City Council on a new exclusionary candidate proposal, Piedmont City Clerk John Tulloch began extensively researching and carefully detailing practices to further limit previously serving Councilmembers and possibly School Board Members from returning to office. Unbeknownst to the public and without any public involvement, Tulloch contacted 79 cities inquiring about their rules on  limits for their elected officials.  Survey is below.

Remarkably, the City Clerk’s 2017 summer research project showed that excluding candidates was the opposite of what other cities were doing. 

During the February 5, 2018 Council meeting, Tulloch verbalized  parts of the previously undisclosed and undocumented survey.  The Council majority disregarded the verbal survey information and decided to expeditiously, without community involvement or viewing the survey information, move ahead to put a Charter change on the June ballot to exclude former Council members from becoming candidates for Piedmont elected office until 8 years had elapsed since their prior service ended.

Public participants at the February 5 meeting did not comment on the the survey, for the survey information had not been made available.

SURVEY RESULTS –

Following a citizen’s > Public Records request to the City for a copy of the survey, the July research shows the Piedmont City Council’s proposed Charter change is not in keeping with other cities. 

The procured survey was sent to PCA and is being made available to the public on this site showing that only 19 of the 79 cities surveyed (25%) have any exclusion for returning council members to office.  Eleven exclude former council members for 2 years, 7 prohibit candidacy until 4 years have elapsed, which is what the Piedmont City Charter currently specifies, and only 1 city has an 8 year hiatus, Anaheim.

Survey > PCA Term Limit Questionnaire (Responses)(1)

Three Piedmont Councilmembers, likely to be seeking reelection in November 2018, could benefit from eliminating legally qualified individuals from seeking election to their positions.  Those Councilmembers are King, Rood, and Andersen.

The Council will consider controversial, proposed Charter changes at their meeting on Monday, March 5, 2018.  The meeting will be held at 120 Vista Avenue, starting at 7:30 p.m. The meeting will be broadcast from the City website under videos and on Channel 27.

Contact numbers for the City Council members:

The City Council on Monday, March 5, 2018, will undertake consideration of a number of important and impactful decisions for Piedmont.

Issues include increasing City’s taxing potential (Charter change), exclusionary requirements for candidates to seek election to the City Council (Charter change), new expensive window replacement policy (Expenditure), up to $55,000 for a Special Election in June rather than waiting until November (Expenditure), short term rental parameters (Zoning considerations), Coaches Field study and contingency funding (Expenditures), labor contracts (Expenditure), new position for Fire Prevention (Expenditure).

The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. in City Hall, 120 Vista Avenue, and will be broadcast live from the City website and on Piedmont Cable Channel 27.  The public can address any item on the agenda and during Public Forum speak to any item not on the agenda.

Staff reports for March 5, 2018 Council meeting:

03/05/18 – Consideration of an Agreement for Development of a Master Plan for Coaches Playfield with Callander Associates in the Amount of $24,985 and an Additional Appropriation of $10,000 to Fund the Project’s Contingency

03/05/18 – Consideration of the Following Actions Related to the Possible Amendment of the City Charter

a. Approval of a Resolution Proposing Amendments to the City Charter Modifying Term Limits for the City Council, Eliminating the 25% Cap on the General Fund Reserve, and Amending Sections Related to the Filling of Vacancies on the City Council and Board of Education

b. Approval of a Resolution Calling a Special Municipal Election for June 5, 2018, Requesting the Consolidation of the Special Municipal Election with the Statewide General Election, and Adding a Measure Relating to Amendments to the Charter of the City of Piedmont 

03/05/18 – Consideration of Options Regarding a Direct Argument and a Rebuttal Argument Regarding the Charter Amendment Measure on the June 5, 2018 Ballot 

03/05/18 – Consideration of Regulatory Parameters Related to the Permitting of Short-Term Rentals 

03/05/18 – Consideration of Memoranda of Understanding with the Following Labor Groups for the Period of 7/1/2017 through 6/30/2020:

a. Piedmont Firefighters Association – Captains Unit – 7/1/2017 through 6/30/2020

b. SEIU Local 1021 – General Unit – 03/05/2018 through 6/30/2021

c. SEIU Local 1021 – Public Works Unit – 03/05/2018 through 6/30/2021

 03/05/18 – Approval of a Part Time Fire Prevention Officer Position in the Fire Department for a Two Year Period

 03/05/18 – Consideration of a Resolution Amending the Interim Design Guidelines Regarding the Recess of Windows and Making Technical Corrections

The Window Guidelines have been acknowledged as not having received generalized public input considering the impact to homeowners and staff costs.

Unlike the Piedmont City Council of 1977 (1977 City Council minutes below), the majority on the 2018 Piedmont City Council plans to put important Charter changes on the June 2018 ballot without an advisory committee, input from City commissions, the School Board, or a broad public information exchange.

The June ballot will require the City to spend up to $55,000 to stop City Council members from returning to office until they have been out of office for 8 years, which is 4 years beyond the current hiatus law.The majority on the Council, except Councilmember Jen Cavenaugh, want immediate action, calling for a Special Election in June 2018, rather than wait until the much less costly Regular Election in November 2018 and public engagement on the proposed changes.

Citizens have pointed out that the rushed Charter changes in regard to limiting citizens who can be candidates favors the current majority of on the City Council, who will be up for re-election in November 2018. The favored Councilmembers are Tim Rood, Betsy Andersen and Teddy King. All of whom have expressed support for the extended time limit on the candidacy of former elected officials.

The majority of the Council members stated that turnover on the Council would be good for Piedmont and opportunities should be opened for more volunteers to serve.  Yet, the current City Council has often rejected new volunteers from appointment to Piedmont Committees and Commissions, where new appointees would gain additional insight helpful in running for a position on the Council.  When making appointments, the Council has repeatedly reached back, recycling former appointees or transferring termed-out appointees from one commission or committee to another, while new, qualified volunteers were not chosen.

Incumbency as an advantage for prior office holders was a primary reason put forward by those Council members seeking to forbid individuals from seeking elected office until 8 years had elapsed.  However, by law, the term “incumbent” is one who is “in office seeking reelection”; former out-of-office individuals are not incumbents and can not by law seek office as “incumbents.”  

Definition: “An incumbent is an official who holds an office.” 

California law states:

1. Pursuant to Elections Code Section 13107, subdivision (b)(4), the Secretary of State shall reject as unacceptable any proposed ballot designation which uses a word or prefix to indicate a prior profession, vocation, occupation or elected, appointed or judicial office previously held by the candidate. Such impermissible words or prefixes include, but are not limited to, “Ex-,” “former,” “past,” and “erstwhile.” Examples of impermissible designations include “Former Congressman,” “Ex-Senator,” and “Former Educator.”

(2) The word “incumbent” [can be used] if the candidate is a candidate for the same office which he or she holds at the time of filing the nomination papers, and was elected to that office by a vote of the people.

Piedmont City Council and School Board elections are frequently uncontested.  Stopping previously elected officials from seeking election potentially narrows the field of potential candidates and increases the possibility of an uncontested election relieving candidates from the necessity of campaigning / convincing citizens to vote for them.

Prominence in the community for good work is the criteria used by most voters.  History proves some Piedmont candidates seeking reelection or a return to office after an absence have not won election.

The School Board at their February meeting did not take an official position on whether or not School Board members should likewise be prohibited by law from running for the Board prior to an eight year hiatus. Mayor Robert McBain and City Clerk John Tulloch in their expedited trip to the School Board discovered the School Board members were unprepared to support the proposal of the City Administrator Paul Benoit and Mayor McBain to extend the limit from 4 to 8 years when an individual would be barred as a candidate for office.  Prior to Council consideration on March 5, 2018, the staff report indicates McBain and Benoit changed their recommendation.  The two decided against the inclusion of the School Board in their recommendation to change the City Charter. 

Some Piedmonters have wondered why the Council and City staff are so eager to preemptively spend $55,000 on a ballot measure that could wait for community consideration and placement on the November 2018 ballot.  It has been speculated that the advantage to current Councilmembers to eliminate competitors in the November 2018 election could be the impetus for spending up to $55,000 in June rather than wait until November, because the budget and fund reserve issues can continue as practiced until further exploration of the implications and consideration of the changes on the November ballot. 

Reserving excess City revenue funds as proposed in the Charter changes will be discussed in a future article.

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Below is the language found in the 1977 City Council minutes charging a Charter Review Committee:

“On July 5, 1977, by Resolution 172-77, the City Council charged the Charter Review Committee as follows:

Resolved:  That this Council directs the Charter Review Committee to recommend to the Council the deletion of antiquated provisions and recommend updating of Charter provisions.

All Council members present voted aye: Loughran, Anderson, Rickson, Shapiro”

On the Council Agenda for 03/05/18 is Consideration of the Following Actions Related to the Possible Amendment of the City Charter –

Read the Staff reports by clicking on the items below: 

a. Approval of a Resolution Proposing Amendments to the City Charter Modifying Term Limits for the City Council, Eliminating the 25% Cap on the General Fund Reserve, and Amending Sections Related to the Filling of Vacancies on the City Council and Board of Education

b. Approval of a Resolution Calling a Special Municipal Election for June 5, 2018, Requesting the Consolidation of the Special Municipal Election with the Statewide General Election, and Adding a Measure Relating to Amendments to the Charter of the City of Piedmont

03/05/18 – Consideration of Options Regarding a Direct Argument and a Rebuttal Argument Regarding the Charter Amendment Measure on the June 5, 2018 Ballot