Jun 11 2019

Non-resident Grandchildren of Piedmont Residents to be Prioritized for Admission to Piedmont Schools

A Search for Students to Fill Piedmont Schools

A reduction in school populations, the potential loss of State per student revenue, and State Open Enrollment laws have induced the Piedmont School District to widen student acceptance to Piedmont schools on a priority basis.  The children of Piedmont City employees and Piedmont School District employees have previously been admitted to Piedmont schools. Newly added for priority acceptance are the non-resident grandchildren of Piedmont residents along with children residing in certain neighboring Piedmont properties.

The matter will be undertaken at 7:25 p.m.,  Wednesday, June 12, 2019, School Board Meeting, City Hall, 120 Vista Avenue.  

Specific qualifications and applications are required for each potential interdistrict transfer student into the Piedmont schools.  Once a student is accepted into the Piedmont School District, they are allowed to remain during their school years.  See the proposed requirements linked below.

VI.B. Review and Approve Changes to Board Policy and Administrative Regulation 5117 – Interdistrict Attendance – 2nd Reading

VI_B_BackgroundBPAR5117InterdistrictTransferPolicies_0 (1)

VI_B_DraftBPAR5117InterdistrictTransfers_0 (1)

VI_B_DraftIDTAnnouncementLetter_0 (1)

Jun 11 2019

School Per Parcel Tax to Be Raised to $2,709 for FY 2019-20

7:15 PM Piedmont School Board Meeting June 12, 2019, Piedmont City Hall, 120 Vista Avenue.

The public is invited to attend or watch the live broadcast on Cable Channel 27 and from the City website under videos/School Board meeting.

 VI.A. Conduct Public Hearing on the Proposed Levy of Current School Support Tax, Measure A, to be Levied in 2019-20

VI_A_MeasureATaxLevyReport_0

Jun 11 2019

Two New School Parcel Taxes Proposed for Nov. 5, 2019 Ballot

One tax measure taxes every parcel equally and the second measure is an additional tax based on building square footage. Both measures will have a term of 8 years.

The public is invited to attend or watch the live broadcast on Cable Channel 27 and from the City website under videos/School Board meeting. 

8:45 PM  Piedmont Unified School Board meeting, June 12, 2019, Piedmont City Hall, 120 Vista Avenue.  

Staff recommendation to the School Board: 

Given the recent poll results and Piedmont’s current educational needs, District staff recommends that the Board of Education consider asking voters to support the renewal of its existing parcel tax to maintain current programs at the $2,709 flat rate (“Measure A”) and in a separate measure (“Measure B”) asking voters for an additional amount ($0.25 per square foot of building improvements) to ensure that Piedmont schools will be better able to attract and retain highly qualified teachers and educational support staff. Renewing the existing parcel tax (“Measure A”) would secure, $10.6 million in revenues.

Measure A is a continuation, no tax increase measure. We would also recommend an 8-year “duration” of the tax to provide a stable ongoing source of revenue to the District and fulfill the description as a pure continuation of what is in place today. Additionally, we recommend that a second measure (“Measure B”) be placed on the ballot. This second measure would be set at $0.25 per square foot of building improvements and would also have an 8-year duration. Passage of Measure B would result in an additional $2.6 million to the Piedmont schools. Importantly, the entire community would share the burden of an increased tax (although larger properties would pay more and smaller properties less – $139 per year for the smallest residential parcel). An added benefit is that if this tax were challenged from a legal standpoint, only the supplemental tax would be at legal risk. If both measures pass, the smallest square foot homeowner would pay $2,795 per year, and the largest square foot homeowner would pay $6,568 per year. Together, both measures would raise $13.3 million.

II. RECOMMENDATION: REVIEW AND ACTION District staff is recommending that the Board convene two (2) public hearings—June 12, 2019 and June 26, 2019—and adopt the two subsequent Board Resolutions that authorize both the renewal of a qualified special tax and a second qualified special tax for voter approval on November 5, 2019.

“The Board is requested to approve the attached Resolution 19-2018-19 “Proposing a Qualified Special Tax and Establishing Specifications of the Election Order Measure A”.

 The Resolution calls for an election on November 5, 2019 to extend the authorization of the Board to levy the current School Support Tax as permitted in Measure A for eight years starting on July 1, 2020.  The new Measure “A” is a renewal of the current School Support Tax—a uniform flat tax on all parcels.  The new Measure “A” will continue to provide an exemption for churches, public utilities, and those eligible for Social Security Supplemental Income.  The new Measure “A” also continues to permit an inflation growth rate of up to two (2) percent per year.

VI_E_BackgroundSchoolSupportTax_0

VI_E_Resolution19201819MeasureA

VI.F. Approve Resolution 20-2018-19 “Proposing a Qualified Special Tax and Establishing Specification of the Election Order Measure B”

9:05 PM

The Board is requested to approve the attached Resolution 20-2018-19 “Proposing a Qualified Special Tax and Establishing Specifications of the Election Order Measure B”.

The Resolution calls for an election on November 5, 2019 to authorize the Board to levy a new School Support Tax as permitted in Measure “B”  for eight years starting on July 1, 2020.  The new Measure “B” is a uniform tax applied at $0.25 per square foot of building improvements.  The new Measure “B” will continue to provide an exemption for churches, public utilities, and those eligible for Social Security Supplemental Income.  The new Measure “B” does not include an inflation growth rate.

VI_F_Resolution20201819MeasureBParcelTax_0

Jun 11 2019

School District to Prohibit Herbicide Glyphosate

School Board on June 11, 2019 to Approve Resolution 21-2018-19 “Prohibiting Any District Purchase or Use of Herbicide Products Containing the Chemical Glyphosate”

Glyphosate described:

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glyphosate

Time Certain: 9:25 PM  School Board Agenda > https://agendaonline.net/public/Agency.aspx?PublicAgencyID=1241&AgencyTypeID=1

VI.G. Approve Resolution 21-2018-19 “Prohibiting Any District Purchase or Use of Herbicide Products Containing the Chemical Glyphosate”

VI_G_Resolution21201819_0

VI.H. Approve Administrative Regulation 3514.2 – Integrated Pest Management Plan

9:40 PM

VI_H_DraftAR35142IntegratedPestManagementPlan_

Jun 1 2019

New Piedmont School Board Email Address Announced

To facilitate direct communication with the Piedmont Unified School Board, a new email address has been established.

To make inquiry or provide information to the entire Board of Education, emails can be sent to:

schoolboard@piedmont.k12.ca.us

Emails will automatically be sent to all of the School Board members’ email inboxes — so each member will be able to view the email.  

The Board has a policy of appointing an official Board correspondent.  Board Vice President Cory Smegal is the current correspondent and will reply to all of the emails that are sent to the Board.  

Any emails sent to the School Board address will become part of the public record and available for review by the public.

To avoid potential Brown Act violations, the email address is set up so that individual School Board members cannot send emails to the email address. 

To communicate directly with selected School Board members, the Board member names and their email addresses are provided below:

Amal Smith
President
amalsmith@piedmont.k12.ca.us

Cory Smegal
Vice President
csmegal@piedmont.k12.ca.us

Andrea Swenson
aswenson@piedmont.k12.ca.us

Sarah Pearson
spearson@piedmont.k12.ca.us

Megan Pillsbury
mpillsbury@piedmont.k12.ca.us

May 18 2019

Juvenile Officer in Piedmont Police Department Funded by Tobacco Grant

May 20, 2019 – City Council consideration.

The original concept of funding a School Resource Officer (SRO) to accomplish the goals and objectives of the grant was fully supported by the Piedmont Unified School District (PUSD) Superintendent. Significant public concern arose during the public process of bringing the matter of an SRO program, which would have been “housed” on the school campuses, to the School Board. The concerns were primarily focused on the SRO being armed on campus, a concern about the criminalization for school disciplinary issues, concern over possible targeting of minority students, and the lack of a Health Educator component aligned with the school districts strategic plan.

On February 24, 2019, the PUSD Board of Education voted 4-1 against the SRO model where the position would be housed on a campus. Board President Amal Smith provided direction to Superintendent Booker to continue discussions with Chief Bowers to determine the feasibility of an alternative model which addressed the concerns raised. Acknowledging the concerns and also understanding the challenges and opportunities which exist, Chief Bowers in collaboration with Superintendent Booker agreed to propose the following modifications:

• Instead of an SRO, the Department would establish a Juvenile Officer position which would be “housed” within the police department rather than on the PUSD campus.

On May 8, 2019, the PUSD Board of Education met to consider acceptance of the grant funds available through the modification. Superintendent Booker presented a 2-year plan which contained specific goals and accompanying actions to accomplish the goals (see Attachment #4). The plan included several actions which would be implemented in partnership and collaboration with the police department and specifically, the Juvenile Officer.

Examples of the specific actions include:

• The establishment of a diversion program for youth caught vaping, using drugs or alcohol on campus

• Analysis and implementation of vaping mitigation efforts such as possibly installing sensors which detect when someone is vaping

• Partner in the delivery of classroom lessons identified to meet the California Health Standards in PUSD

Read the full report for the May 20, 2019 Council meeting by clicking below:

05/20/19 – Consideration of the Acceptance of a State of California Tobacco Grant to Fund a Juvenile Officer in the Police Department for Three Years in Cooperation with the Piedmont Unified School District

For questions, contact Jeremy Bowers, Chief of Police Piedmont Police Department 403 Highland Avenue Piedmont, CA 94611 (510)420-3010 jbowers@piedmont.ca.gov. 

READ the entire agenda by clicking below:

http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/html/govern/agendas/2019-05-20.pdf

May 15 2019

OPINION: Clarification of School’s Tax Survey

The Piedmont School District contracted Dr. Timothy McClarney of True North Research for a Tax Survey and the results were presented April 24. Plainly taxpayers are more receptive to a square foot tax of building than the current flat rate levy. Dr. McLarney’s survey report states on p.18: “More tax rate sensitivity for flat rate / less tax rate sensitivity for square foot version.” Dr. McLarney confirmed this verbally.

On p. 7 the survey shows a preliminary voter test with no ballot arguments presented. The survey polled a $3,056 flat rate and a $1.25 square foot tax; both garnered favorable 73-74% definite/probable approval. However this was not an equivalent comparison. $3,056 is a 15% increase over the current $2,656 flat tax. The $1.25 tax generates 25% more revenue than the current flat tax. This is revealed in the May 8 Staff Report which shows that the current $2,656 generates $10.4 million, and that an additional tax of 25 cents per square foot will generate $2.6 million, a 25% increase, for a total of $13 million.

Conclusively, the Final Ballot test is shown on pages 15-17. The Final shows definite/probable votes after all positive and negative ballot arguments are presented within a 5% margin of error. The 25% revenue increase of $1.25 square foot received a 73.5% approval. The 15% increase flat rate of $3,056 received a 62.1% approval on the poll. 66.67% would be needed to pass. Unquestionably a $1.15 square foot tax, equivalent to the $3,056 tax, would poll higher than 73.5%.

Piedmont taxpayers have generously supported our schools and the School Board will now hopefully respect the wishes of voters by placing a single $1.15 square foot tax building tax before voters for virtually certain approval.

– Rick Schiller, Piedmont Resident

Survey > 2019-04-24 VI_A_PollingResultsPresentation_0

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.
May 10 2019

Piedmont Capital Improvement and Staff Budget Recommendations: Saturday, May 11, 9 am

CIP Recommendations: Yes to improvements for Piedmont Middle School courts for pickleball usage, license plate readers at all Piedmont entrances, drinking fountain in Piedmont Main Park for dogs and people – No to Blair Park and Witter Field improvements. 

The CIP Review Committee recommendations will be discussed as part of the Piedmont Proposed FY 19-20 Budget Presentation and Workshop Saturday, May 11,  9 am Piedmont Police Department Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

CIP Review Committee recommendations with respect to the 9 new 2019-20 resident proposals can be summarized as follows:

The following 3 proposals can move forward with City Council support:

-Renovation of PMS Hard-courts
-Installation of ALPRs at Piedmont Entrances
-Installation of a drinking fountain (for humans and dogs) in Piedmont Park

The following 3 proposals are recommended as meritorious but requiring additional study from public safety and/or public works:

-Two related Wildwood Gardens proposals
-Development of a landscape triangle at Blair and Calvert Court

The following 3 proposals are determined to need direction from City Council:

 – Blair Park proposals for donated fencing and parking improvements

 – Two related Witter Field proposals

READ the agenda below for the Council Budget Work Session when the Council will consider all CIP proposals and department budgets:

http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/html/govern/agendas/2019-05-11_special.pdf

READ the full CIP Review Report for 2019 below:

CIPreviewreport 2019

Minutes, broadcasts, and recordings were not made of any of the CIP Review meetings.  Staff reports were not publicized. 

Recordings and broadcast will not be made of the Saturday, May 11, 2019 Council Budget Workshop held at 403 Highland Avenue in the Emergency Operations Center of the Piedmont Police Department.  The public is welcome to attend and participate.

 

READ the full staff 2019-20 Budget recommendations including fees, permits, salaries, benefits, use of City property, tax rates, personnel, etc. – http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/finance/budget/19-20/19-20_budget.shtml

May 6 2019

New Piedmont School Tax Measures Considered – Wed. May 8

Recommendation:

Two parcel tax measures: one for each separate parcel and a second measure, an additional add on tax based on square footage of each Piedmont building including single family residences. See full report linked below.

The School Board will discuss potential School District parcel tax measures at their Wednesday, May 8, 2019 Board Meeting in City Hall, 120 Vista Avenue.  The meeting will be broadcast live on cable Channel 27 and the Piedmont website under videos/school board. The tax measure agenda item is set for 8:40 p.m.

  1. Recommendation for 2 Measures on the November 2019 Ballot 

Given the recent poll results and Piedmont’s current educational needs, District staff recommends that the Board of Education consider asking voters to support the renewal of its existing parcel tax to maintain current programs at the $2,656 flat rate (“Measure A”) and in a separate measure (“Measure B”) asking voters for an additional amount ($0.25 per building square foot) to ensure that Piedmont schools will be better able to attract and retain qualified teachers and staff.  Renewing the existing parcel tax (“Measure A”) would secure, $10.5 million in revenues. Measure A is a continuation, no tax increase measure. We would also recommend an 8-year “duration” of the tax to provide a stable ongoing source of revenue to the District and fulfill the description as a pure continuation of what is in place today.  Additionally, we recommend that a second measure (“Measure B”) be placed on the ballot. This second measure would be set at $0.25 per building square foot and would also have an 8-year duration.

Passage of Measure B would result in an additional $2.6 million to the Piedmont schools. Importantly, the entire community would share the burden of an increased tax (although larger properties would pay more and smaller properties less – $139 per year for the smallest residential parcel). An added benefit is that if this tax were challenged from a legal standpoint, only the supplemental tax would be at legal risk.

If both measures pass, the smallest square foot homeowner would pay $2,795 per year, and the largest square foot homeowner would pay $6,568 per year. Together, both measures would raise $13.1 million.

Read the full staff report on the tax measures: > VII_C_BackgroundSchoolSupportTax_0

Read the full May 8 School Board Agenda > https://agendaonline.net/public/Meeting.aspx?AgencyID=1241&MeetingID=72017&AgencyTypeID=1&IsArchived=False

May 6 2019

School Board to Accept Grant for Police Officer May 8

RECOMMENDATION: District staff requests that the Board accept the Department of Justice Tobacco Cessation Grant to address student use, exposure, and perceived harm of controlled substances (e.g. alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes).

“This specially trained officer (Juvenile Officer) will partner with PUSD to collaboratively conduct student and parent education classes on the harms of tobacco use and develop a Diversion Program for youth who are detected using tobacco products.

Finally, the Juvenile Officer will work with the PUSD to identify and implement tobacco/vaping mitigation strategies. Additionally, with the support of the Dept. of Justice Tobacco Cessation Grant, PUSD staff has developed goals and actions to help mitigate controlled substance use (e-cigarettes, drugs, alcohol)”:

Read full report below: 

VII_B_BackgroundDOJTobaccoCessationGrant_0

Read the full May 8 School Board Agenda: > https://agendaonline.net/public/Meeting.aspx?AgencyID=1241&MeetingID=72017&AgencyTypeID=1&IsArchived=False

The May 8th Piedmont School Board meeting will be held at 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont, City Hall.  The Grant will be considered at 8:10 p.m. and broadcast live on cable Channel 27 and also on the City of Piedmont website under videos/school board. 

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