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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-11-16 City Schools Liaison Committee Summary Minutes City/School Liaison Committee Meeting Page 1 SCHOOL/CITY LIAISON COMMITTEE PALO ALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT CITY OF PALO ALTO DATE: November 16, 2017 MINUTES FOR MEETING OF November 16, 2017 Opening The School/City Committee held a special meeting in the District Conference Room A at 25 Churchill Ave, Palo Alto. The meeting was called to order at 8:02 a.m. * All handouts can be viewed in the Business Services Office 25 Churchill Ave. Palo Alto Unified School District Representatives: Melissa Baten Caswell, Board Member, Committee Chair Ken Dauber, Board Member Cathy Mak, Chief Business Officer City of Palo Alto Representatives: Liz Kniss, Council Member (Absent) Eric Filseth, Council Member Rob de Geus, Community Services Director Oral Communications No requests were made to address the Committee. Approval of Minutes – October 19, 2017 MOTION: The October 19, 2017, meeting minutes were approved. Discussion Regarding Middle School Athletics The City’s Middle School Athletic Coordinator Chase Hartmann presented on the following slides: -MSA Mission Statement -MSA Program, JLS, Jordan, Terman -MSA Sports -MSA History -Roles and Responsibilities (PAUSD Responsibilities/City Responsibilities) -MSA Participation -MSA Program Fees -Parent Program Evaluations -Parent Program Evaluations Caswell asked what sports they would have in the winter. Hartmann said it is still a work in progress but they are open to looking at other options. Caswell asked if the Art David Athletic League has additional sports they are not participating in. District Middle School Principal Lisa Hickey said golf is one but it is because the golf course is under construction. Hartmann confirmed. Caswell asked if the participation numbers have anything to do with fewer students not wanting to play sports. Hartmann said no. Filseth asked what 35% teacher involvement means. Hartmann said 35% of the teaching staff they have on board are teachers. Caswell asked what happens to the middle school gyms after 7 p.m. District Chief Academic Officer Sharon Ofek said the high schools have been using them the past couple of years since the Paly gym has been under construction. Also, they had those conversations a few years ago on what is an appropriate time for students that age to be at practice and most do not want to be at practice at 7 p.m. City/School Liaison Committee Meeting Page 2 MINUTES FOR MEETING OF November 16, 2017 Ellis pointed out Hartmann mentioned the quantity of coaches but what about the quality of coaches. Hartmann stated they partner up with the Positive Coaching Alliance so they can provide all the proper training and Athletic Directors also walk them through training. Hickey mentioned the challenge is the hourly rate of $12 – $16 and so if they had a stipend system it would be a better system. Hickey also mentioned registration is a challenge. Parents need to be ready prior to 8:30 a.m. because they need to get into the queue but parents would be very upset if they went to a lottery system. Also, it would be helpful if they offered a tiered system for different skill levels because it is difficult to go against these other schools that are very competitive. Ofek mentioned that in terms of the registration process, she supports all students having the opportunity to play. They need to figure out a way to make this process more equitable for all families because if parents work, or do not have online access, or do not have the full fee available, it is really challenging. There is also the pride piece which they encounter quite often, which is not even trying, just ruling themselves out of that world of sports as a middle schooler because it is too costly or it is complicated or their parents work. Dauber mentioned they have previously raised the issue on whether it is okay for the City to charge student fees for these programs. He realizes the City is running the programs but the CA Department of Education has made it clear to school advisories that extra-curricular activities including sports are a part of public education and therefore cannot be charged for. He understands the City is providing the service but the level of integration with the schools is extremely tight. There is no other after school sports program. De Geus said this question is more for District legal counsel. They have consulted with City legal counsel but have not received a direct answer. Dauber added they need clarity on this issue. It might have an impact on the services given the District’s financial situation but they cannot avoid the question and in part because it does have these negative consequences on students who cannot afford the services. Hickey added they do have PTA funding and scholarships that will cover the fees. She sees the barrier being more the registration process than the fees. Caswell asked De Geus how they are investing in this program on an annual basis. De Geus said the full cost is about $300,000. Caswell stated it would nice to have a team that could address all these things. It does not sound like they have one. De Geus said at the start they had an advisory board that consisted of City staff, an athletic director, a parent, and some students from each school but does not know where that advisory board is now. The City’s Manager of Community Services Adam Howard reported they are trying to address the waitlist and looking at adding recreational sports like pickle ball and cross country. As the sports grow, they are trying to find other offerings to keep students off the waitlist. They are also evaluating their online registration system. Filseth asked for the total number of kids they support each year. Howard said it is about 1500 kids each year, and the waitlist is about 30 to 40 kids per sport. Dauber said he will pursue this question with the Superintendent and bring it to a Board meeting to discuss. Caswell said there are a series of questions she would like them to probe into because the number of families that call her with their child in tears is too high. Kristen O’Kane said it would be very beneficial in getting more teachers involved in coaching. Hickey added moving to a stipend would help increase that. Caswell added they might be missing some kids that would be interested in doing coaching and City/School Liaison Committee Meeting Page 3 MINUTES FOR MEETING OF November 16, 2017 would like to do the community work. O’Kane asked if they have considered having the athletic boosters fund the middle school sports program. Caswell said Ofek might have more information on this. Caswell asked who in the District side they work with. De Geus said not really anyone. Caswell said Sharon Ofek would be a good person to work with. She added they should check back in next year in February or March on where they are with the middle school sports program. Discussion and Update on City and District Emergency Preparedness The City’s Chief of Emergency Services Ken Deuker and the District’s Risk Management Supervisor Victoria Geen-Lew presented on Emergency Preparedness with the following slides: -What is the City doing? -What is PAUSD doing? -Dr. Seuss Day with SRO’s on Lockdown Drills -What is the City of Palo Alto and PAUSD doing together? -How do we collaborate? -Benefits of Collaboration -Future Efforts of Under Consideration Caswell asked if the elementary schools are not emergency shelters. Geen-Lew said the American Red Cross does not want elementary schools as emergency shelters because of the size. Caswell mentioned she was under the impression that from the State level their elementary schools had to be emergency shelters and that is why they go through the Division of the State Architect with such stringent requirements. Geen-Lew said based on the American Red Cross their focus is on the middle and high schools because they have showers. Caswell asked if the State has something different than the American Red Cross. Geen-Lew said no, she does not believe so. Caswell mentioned when her children were in school she recalls the principal indicating the school would be an emergency shelter in case of an emergency. Geen-Lew said they do have the elementary schools supplied for 72 hour shelter. Caswell requested Geen-Lew to look into this because if they are not and parents are being told they are, that could be very confusing. She added they were told the elementary schools were a community shelter. It would be helpful to get the right information and get the information out to parents through the PTA Enews; PTA President Audrey Gold would be more than happy to assist with this. Review of Recent City Council/PAUSD Board Meetings City: Filseth reported the City passed the comprehensive plan. They adopted a preferred scenario. One thing this comprehensive plan does is project City housing growth. Next year, they will review the zoning code to ensure they align with policies in the comprehensive plan. The major changes on this comprehensive plan is more emphasis on stimulated housing growth, significant expansion on emergency preparedness, and a lot more up to date material on the transportation section. The City Financing Department will come back the first week of December with the City’s long range financial forecast and for the first time they are anticipating bringing two versions. One based on Calpers numbers for retirement and investment returns and one based on 6.2% which some people think is the much more accurate version. Caswell asked if the number of housing units are ones that will be built or possibly built based on the changes. Filseth said projection for housing is housing that will actually be built. Caswell asked how they will confirm they are built. Filseth said that will be part of the discussion on implementation they will have next year. He added they should be aware of the changes in Sacramento on the housing bill SB35 and a couple of others that will have larger impact. Essentially, they are making it easier to sue cities if they do not issue building permits that match their ABAG targets. Caswell asked if the numbers of housing units anticipated are not built, what will be done. Filseth said Council directed staff to return with recommendations for zoning changes to stimulate housing growth in Palo Alto. Caswell believes it would be helpful for them to have a presentation on this for the School Board. City/School Liaison Committee Meeting Page 4 MINUTES FOR MEETING OF November 16, 2017 Caswell said the Board is responding to the Stanford General Use Permit (GUP) with their mitigation requests. They have 550 new housing units that will generate children. They believe the Stanford GUP and the City Comprehensive Plan will contribute to more children in Palo Alto. The 550 housing units are being projected in a place where there is no neighborhood school nearby so one will need to be built or they will need to transport kids across town. Filseth added Council authorized the City to accept grants from MTC to develop a coordinated area plan for the north Ventura area, the 12-15 acres and some of the surrounding territory. This process will take about 12-18 months and there will be a Citizens’ Advisory Group. The expectation is there will be some amount of housing and other type of facilities. Caswell pointed out those students will belong to Escondido. Caswell added the solar power contract was approved at the last meeting. Caswell reported they changed their graduation requirements for the class of 2013 to match the entrance requirements for the California public universities. That group is called the A through Gs. It was all very well and good except in order for them to meet the entry requirements a student needs a C or above and the District made their requirements a D or above. The result of that over the last three years is that 60% of students were eligible to enter UC and CSU and one third are not. Caswell mentioned they are having a bike theft at Gunn High School. When they had this in the past, stage one required administration staff to take some action but stage two required some collaboration with the Palo Alto Police Department. She asked Council to please inquire about it. De Gues added they hired a new Police Chief that will start in January 2018. Caswell suggested they invite him to a meeting next year for introduction. Future Meetings and Agendas The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, December 14, 2017. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 9:37 a.m.