Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Committee member and community volunteer is challenging incumbents for a seat on the Piedmont City Council. 

Jen Cavenaugh’s statement:

I am running for Piedmont City Council in November because I love our city,  I have a passion for community service,  and I believe my background in finance and management will be an asset to the council.

I’ve been a dedicated community volunteer and leader in our community since my husband Dan and I moved here with our family in 2003.  As a mother of three children, I began my volunteer career at Beach School 13 years ago; today I remain involved on the parents clubs at both the middle and high schools. My volunteering evolved into working on budget and program projects for the city.  I have been able to make a positive impact in the classroom, on recreation planning, and on municipal fiscal strategy. I want to help preserve everything that makes Piedmont special, while preparing our community for the future.

I have several objectives if elected to the city council.  My primary goal is to advocate for fiscal responsibility. Managing the city’s budget is a top priority and requires balanced leadership to deliver quality results with limited resources. My professional background as a consultant and manager at Accenture and Clorox has provided valuable experience mastering the technical side of fiscal management.  At the same time, my ongoing role on the Budget Advisory Committee has given me a deep and realistic understanding of our city’s financial needs, resources and limitations.

In addition to working to ensure fiscal discipline and effective use of city funds, I will emphasize the importance of transparency in the council’s decision-making.  This means more than maximizing openness by the council;  it also means maximizing community engagement by the people of Piedmont.

A robust public process is integral to making sound municipal decisions. My connections within our community, my willingness to listen and be flexible, and my commitment to understand all sides of an issue will promote a healthy public dialogue.  That approach informed a recent project for the city — leading the comprehensive effort to gather broad-based community input on Recreation Department services — and generated nearly 1,000 responses that helped guide new department programming and service improvements.

My most fundamental objective is to keep Piedmont safe. As a community, we take pride in the responsiveness, quality, and professionalism of our Police and Fire Departments. I am committed to the safety of our residents, and would work to ensure we can continue to provide quality day-to-day service while being prepared in the event of an emergency.

I want to thank the over 90 volunteers who are helping on my campaign and the almost 500 community leaders, friends and neighbors who have endorsed my candidacy. I have the time, commitment, and energy to make this my top priority.

I hope to count on your vote on November 8.

Sincerely,

Jen Cavenaugh

To learn more about me and my campaign, get involved, and share your feedback about your priorities for our city at: 

www.Jen4Piedmont.com.

For photos and endorsers click above. 

Editors Note:  The Piedmont Civic Association does not support or oppose individual candidates for public office.

 The Piedmont Board of Education will meet in Piedmont City Hall on Sept. 28, 2016 at 7:00 p.m.  Read the full agenda here.

• VI.A. H1 Bond Priorities and Tax Rate Summary  Speaker: Randall Booker, Superintendent

 All attachments must be downloaded to your computer to be read.

Background on Measure H1   H1 Tax Rate Information Fact Sheet

VII.A. Accept The Piedmont Education Foundation Tier I and Tier II Grants Check  – Speaker: Randall Booker, Superintendent

Attachments: Background – PEF Donation

VII.B. Conduct Public Hearing and Adopt Resolution 06-2016-17, “Resolution on Sufficiency of Textbooks and Instructional Materials” Speaker: Randall Booker, Superintendent

Education Code Section 60119 requires a school district to conduct a public hearing determining whether text books and instructional materials, including lab equipment for science lab classes, were provided to all students, including English learners. The Board will be requested to adopt the resolution.

Attachments: Resolution 06-2016-17 – Sufficiency of Textbooks

 VII.C. Adopt Resolution 07-2016-17, Authorizing “Temporary Borrowing from Alameda County Treasury per Education Code 42620.

Speaker: Song Chin-Bendib, Assistant Superintendent, Business Services

The Board will be asked to approve the Resolution to allow the District to borrow from the Alameda County Treasury on an as-needed basis to meet cash flow needs throughout the year due to the State’s deferral of apportionments to K-12 schools. The funds are borrowed on a temporary basis and no loan amount crosses fiscal years. Borrowing between District funds and the County Treasurer allows the District to meet monthly financial obligations is a cost savings to the alternative of issuing a Tax Revenue Anticipation Note (TRAN).

Attachments: Resolution 07-2016-17 – Temporary Borrowing from the Alameda County Treasurer

VIII.A.1. Next Generation Science Standards

Speaker: Dr. Cheryl Wozniak and Sati Shah

Attachments: Background on NGSS

Click on the attachments and download them to your computer to be able to read them. 

Cory Smegal — Candidate for Piedmont Board of Education

I am happy to announce my candidacy for the Piedmont Board of Education.  Like many of you, we moved to Piedmont so our children could attend the public schools.  My husband grew up here and we wanted our two children to have the same high-quality education and opportunities fostered by generations of hard-working teachers, parents and community members.

For the last 11 years, I have supported our schools as an involved parent and tireless volunteer. I served as president of the Wildwood Parent Club the year that we need to plan for the school relocation to Emeryville.  The next year, I was a member of the Seismic Oversight Committee to monitor and review the seismic work for Wildwood.

I worked on the Giving Campaign Committee for six years, two as co-chair.  During my tenure as co-chair, we raised over $3.4 million for our schools. As a member of the Math Task Force, I worked with administrators, teachers and other parents on recommendations for implementation of the new math curriculum. I recently finished a two year term on the PMS Site Council and currently serve as co-treasurer for the Piedmont Education Foundation.

I’ve had a breadth of volunteer opportunities that have allowed me to see how things work in the District and what areas can be improved.  As a School Board member, I will focus on communication, fiscal responsibility, and decision-making transparency in our District. I have an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and 16 years of experience as a business consultant with KPMG and a marketing executive with AT&T.  My education and experience in business and volunteering for Piedmont schools allows me to ask the right questions, understand the financial issues facing the district and scrutinize the district’s economic priorities.

I support Measure H1 to invest in the physical infrastructure of our aging schools.  If it is passed, I will be a leader in ensuring the district makes effective use of our tax dollars to create lasting improvements for students and teachers.

On a more personal note, my daughter is a sophomore at PHS and my son is an 8^th grader at PMS.  I am committed to making sure that the District provides the highest quality education not only for them, but for all of its current and future students.  On November 8^th, I would be honored to have your support for Piedmont Board of Education.

Sincerely,

Cory Smegal

If you’d like to learn more about me, please visit my website,www.voteforcorysmegal.com.  

If you’d like to watch the recent League of Women Voters Election Forum, you can stream it at:  http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/video/index.shtml  (Select “Other Public Meetings”)

Editors Note:  The Piedmont Civic Association does not support or oppose candidates for public office. 

Vice Mayor McBain describes Council accomplishments.

I’ve had the privilege of serving on the Piedmont City Council for the past four years.These years are marked by significant achievements. I’m seeking reelection to continue to build on the constructive steps that we have taken to improve Piedmont. I believe that my experience and leadership have helped produce strong results for our community. As an incumbent, I’m proud to run on both my record and my commitment to continue to offer open-minded, collegial and productive leadership.

• Since 2012 the Council has taken actions that strengthened City’s finances, controlled costs and addressed long-term liabilities.   For instance, the city will save almost $1 million annually from restructured employee benefits. The CALPERS side-fund–an expensive pension obligation—was refinanced and will ultimately save the City more than $1 million. Further, council adopted the strong advice of the 2007 and 2011 Municipal Tax Review Committees and the 2015 Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Committee that recommended, given volatile real estate-related taxes, the City council must budget conservatively and establish strong reserves. Council has taken those steps and funded facilities maintenance, equipment replacement and long-term pension and health care obligations. And we have taken major steps to address deferred maintenance and our obsolete and unreliable technology. The City’s financial condition has improved materially during the past four years.
• In 2012, citizens were anxious about city projects and the associated unplanned expenses. Council adopted risk management policies to ensure projects are well-planned and fiscally sound.
• In 2012 and early 2013, crime increased significantly. Council responded by bringing in a talented chief, Ricki Goede; we supported her efforts to fully staff, train and equip a responsive and professional public safety organization. In that context Council provided resources to improve technology, such as the highly effective License Plate Readers.  Council supported the Public Safety Committee and the Fire Department in establishing updated community-wide Emergency Preparedness programs.
• Four years ago, no one anticipated that most of the City’s senior staff would retire.  In response, the Council hired experienced, talented professionals to replace retiring City staff. The commitment to provide a high level of professional service continues across the City departments.
• The Council finalized an EPA settlement and restarted the sewer replacement project without increasing sewer taxes. This is a major step environmentally and also puts the City on a fiscally sound and aggressive path to meet it legal obligations.
• Finally, the Council initiated several important community projects; Hampton Field Renovation, Linda/Kingston Triangle, Ramona/Ronada Triangle and refurbished Community Center. These projects all benefit the entire community.

I was liaison to the Planning, Park and Recreation Commissions and Police and Fire Pension Board.  Previously, I was Chairman of the Recreation Commission, member of the Municipal Tax Review Committee, Board member of the Piedmont Education Foundation and held leadership positions in numerous school and youth sports organizations. My wife and I have lived in Piedmont for 27 years and raised three children here. My career in finance and management along with my broad community experience allows me to provide constructive leadership and listen to all viewpoints. I look forward to another four years of service and building on the strong results of the past four years.

Sincerely,

Bob McBain

Vice Mayor, City of Piedmont

Please visit my website for more information and endorsers.  http://www.mcbaincitycouncil.com/

Editors Note:  While welcoming candidate information, the Piedmont Civic Association does not support or oppose candidates for public office. 

I am running in the November City Council election.  If readers are interested in my background, campaign issues and list of endorsers, my campaign website may be found at www.levineforpiedmont.com.

House Parties

I will be attending some house parties in the next few weeks to meet with Piedmont residents and discuss my campaign.  If any Piedmonters would like to attend, the house parties will be on the following dates:

• Tuesday, September 13 at 8 pm

• Sunday, September 18 at 5 pm

• Monday, September 26 at 8 pm

• Thursday, September 29 at 8 pm

Anyone who would like to attend should rsvp to: levineforpiedmont2016@gmail.com with the date they would like to attend.  The location of the event will be provided by return email.

Thank you.

Jonathan  Levine, Appointed City Council Incumbent

Editors Note: While encouraging candidate information, PCA does not support or oppose candidates for public office.

The Facilities Steering Committee: A Step in the Journey from Context to Form. 

The ultimate object of design is form. To design is to fit a form to a context. The context includes all the constraints into which the form has to fit. The context reduces the set of possible forms. In some way, design is simple: understand the context, and then apply the appropriate set of engineering disciplines and trade arts to shape a form that fits. There is plenty of room for creativity and outstanding solutions provided they are grounded in the context. 

In the 2015 summer, the District launched a process to develop a plan to upgrade our secondary school facilities. Our superintendent leveraged internal expertise and an external consultant to assess the state of the facilities. In parallel he organized a number of meetings with parents, teachers, students, and the community at large to shape the broad parameters of the educational needs, another essential part of the context, with the goal of looking ahead:

How should we educate our students to best prepare them to function in our 21st century economy? What facilities do we need to support these evolving methods? These efforts were completed in January 2016 and resulted in two documents published on the PUSD website and presented to the Board of Education: the DRAFT Facility Site Assessment Report and a DRAFT Educational Specifications Report. 

It became clear that the context is very constraining and that the cost of meeting all the needs far exceeds the District maximum bonding capacity under a single measure. So choices have to be made. 

Tasked to make a recommendation on how to proceed, the Superintendent invited a number of Piedmont residents to join him, his senior staff, and a couple of Board members to form a Facilities Steering Committee and help shape that recommendation. I accepted to serve. From my experience in industry, reflection among a small committee was what was needed at this step in the process. 

The committee was disbanded in May having performed its functions. Its composition was very diverse with Piedmont residents from different professional backgrounds and perspectives. Our central focus was what would best serve our students. We functioned as a sounding board for the Superintendent and his staff in assessing the context and in helping generate, evaluate, and criticize potential forms that would fit. We were pressed by the Superintendent to help him set priorities so that forms could be designed to fit the financial constraint. Each one of us reached out to our friends in the community for help. My point of view was biased towards enhancing facilities to support a first class high school STEAM curriculum (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics): our Bay Area economy is driven by creativity and creativity is rooted in these disciplines. Others emphasized the poor state of our Magnolia facilities, the substandard classroom sizes, the importance of fundamentals (we are a High School, not a College), the comforts of our teachers and students (better noise insulation, air conditioning, …)… 

Most meetings were shaped by the presentation of conceptual plans with cost estimates worked out by the District Facilities Manager that reflected changes in priorities argued in previous discussions. We worked out two major forms with options. Our final report to the Board “Recommending a $65 Million Bond Measure” is available on the school website (attachment to the May 25 School Board Meeting agenda) and includes the following main points: 

● The Board should not seek to “do the minimum” by only repairing buildings or replacing failing systems at the middle and high schools. This would not meet the most urgent of the educational needs, and in the medium term would be money wasted as major renovations will have to be eventually made to an aged campus. 

● The Board  should seek voter approval to issue school bonds at its available bonding capacity to address the bulk of the educational needs. 

● Confirming that it is not possible to address all of the needs within the bonding capacity, the Committee suggested a specific list of priorities. 

● The final form should be shaped through an open public process and flexibility be built into the bond measure. More community input is needed to review and make the final trade­offs. 

● A specific design is not recommended, as the die is far from being cast. The work is not lost, as the District Facilities Manager retains the designs done for future elaboration. 

I stand by the work done by the committee. As a former active opponent to the 2014 Measure H, I support Measure H1 put by the Board on the November ballot. The District has done its homework. But much more needs to be done: for example, we did not have time to research what other peer districts have done when faced with similar issues, and how well their projects have worked out. 

As a member of our vibrant community, you need to make up your mind on the Measure and select the board members which will implement an open transparent process and ensure accountability, both paramount given the flexibility built into the Measure. I urge the local professional expertise and educational/executive talent to get involved and bring new perspectives that will maximize the value obtained from our taxes and lead to such a compelling form that the entire community will say: “This is the obvious thing to do for our students; let us work out all the problems to make it happen”. 

 Bernard Pech, Piedmont Resident

Editors Note:  Opinions expressed are those of the author. The Piedmont Civic Association does not support or oppose ballot measures.

Sarah Pearson is seeking re-election to the Board of Education at the November 8, 2016 General Election.   Sarah writes:

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I have been honored to serve on the Piedmont Board of Education for the past four years, and I hope the citizens of Piedmont will support me and elect me for second term.

This is an exciting time in education, and I believe our public schools serve the children of Piedmont better now than they did five years ago. We have earned top academic rankings while focusing on the whole child and nurturing curiosity and love-of-learning in our students. Nonetheless, PUSD faces many challenges that will require thoughtful consideration and require all stakeholders to work collaboratively to ensure well-informed decisions regarding the allocation of scarce resources.

My husband, Evan Seevak, and I have three children who are so grateful for the Piedmont schools. They and their classmates have benefitted from great teachers who use innovative instructional strategies, such as differentiated teaching, and make the curriculum relevant and engaging. My children have enjoyed participating in a wide range of extracurricular activities at school, such as community service, athletics, journalism and the creative arts (acting, a cappella, instrumental music, studio art and ceramics). Our eldest just graduated from Piedmont High, and it is heartwarming to look at her classmates and see that these thirteen years in the Piedmont schools truly produce thoughtful, curious, creative and caring individuals who value community and service. I am optimistic that our graduates will become engaged global citizens.

I enjoy serving on the Board, and I believe that I can provide strong leadership in the next term. I have a proven record of working well with all stakeholders. I ask tough questions, research best practices, and insist that we get follow-up whenever we approve a program change. Our children’s educational experience is directly related to the quality of teaching, and I support rigorous hiring practices and on-going attention to teacher training and evaluation. I have a K-12 perspective, and I embrace an attitude of continual improvement. I want to ensure that PUSD continues to provide an excellent education to all of our students.

I am grateful to live in a community where people work together to make Piedmont a special place, and I am honored to serve on the Board of Education. I hope to be re-elected for a second term to keep the focus of the Board on providing the best possible public education for all the children of Piedmont.

Sincerely,
Sarah Pearson,  Member of the Piedmont Unified School District Board of Trustees

Sarah’s website is being regularly updated and contains photos, endorsers, and issues.  Click to read > www.VoteforSarahPearson.com

Editors Note:  While welcoming information on the candidates, the Piedmont Civic Association does not support or oppose candidates for public office.

 Five Candidates for School Board and Four Candidates for City Council are invited to describe their qualifications and respond to questions. Also, pro and con presentations on Piedmont Ballot Measure Measure H1, the School Facilities Improvement Bond will be made. 

The League of Women Voters of Piedmont will host an Election Forum in the Council Chambers at Piedmont City Hall.

Piedmont City Council Chambers, 7:00 p.m., Tuesday,  September 20, 2016

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

The Forum will feature candidates running for City Council and School Board, and  presentations of pros and cons for Measure H1, the Piedmont Unified School District facilities improvement bond.

The community is cordially invited to attend this event.  The Election Forum will be  simulcast on KCOM­TV, channel 27.

The League of Women Voters promotes active and informed democratic participation.  Visit www.lwvpiedmont.org for more information.

Editors Note:  The Piedmont Civic Association does not support or oppose candidates for public office or specific ballot measures. 

East Bay Times Editorial states:

“After voters soundly rejected the district’s 2014 bond plan, they now face one four times as large. This $66 million proposal is a vast overreach.

“Piedmont’s existing special school taxes — added to the base 1 percent property tax — dwarf others in the East Bay.

“Measure H1 would drive that annual cost to $4,260. Even for wealthy Piedmont, this is off the charts. The district must inject fiscal reality into its plans.”

Read the full editorial > http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_30318811/editorial-school-bonds-arent-free-money-east-bay

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.  PCA does not support or oppose specific ballot measures.