Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-04-18 City Schools Liaison Committee Summary MinutesPage 1 of 10 Special Meeting April 18, 2019 Chairperson Kou called the meeting to order at 8:31 A.M. in the Community Meeting Room, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, California. Present: City of Palo Alto Representatives Alison Cormack, Council Member Lydia Kou, Council Member (Chair) Chantal Gaines, Assistant to the City Manager, Staff Liaison Palo Alto Unified School District Representatives Todd Collins, Board Vice President Jim Novak, District Chief Business Officer, Staff Liaison Absent: Jennifer DiBrienza, Board President Oral Communications None Minutes Approval 2. Approval of March 21, 2019 Meeting Minutes. MOTION: Council Member Cormack moved, seconded by Board Member Collins to approve the March 21, 2019 minutes, with the following correction on Page 11: “Ms. Henderson hoped to bring the results of the staffing survey to the next meeting”. MOTION PASSED: 3-0 DiBrienza absent 3. Superintendent’s Comments and City Manager’s Comments. Don Austin, Superintendent, reported Chief Business Officer Jim Novak would be retiring, and recruitment for his position was underway. His meetings with City Manager Shikada and Ms. Gaines continued to be productive. Chantal Gaines, Assistant City Manager, noted the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) survey was listed as Agenda Item Numbers 5b and 6. City/School Liaison Committee Special Meeting Final Minutes FINAL MINUTES Page 2 of 10 Sp. City School Liaison Committee Meeting Final Minutes: 04/18/2019 4. City and District Comments and Announcements Chair Kou requested Agenda Item Number 4 be removed from future Agendas as it was duplicative of Superintendent and City Manager Comments. Board Member Collins announced the May Fete Parade was scheduled for May 4. Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) was encouraging children to participate and to bring their well-behaved pets. Kristen O’Kane, Assistant Director of Community Services, reported the May Fete Parade was focused on children and pets. Pets In Need, the new Animal Shelter operator, was encouraging children to walk in the parade with their pets. Palo Alto Day was scheduled for April 28 at 2:00 P.M. A time capsule buried in City Hall 25 years ago would be opened during the celebration. The time capsule was known to contain children's letters describing Palo Alto in 2019. City Staff was attempting to locate some of the children, now adults, to read their letters. In addition, the history of Palo Alto would be presented. 5. Review of Recent City Council and PAUSD Board Meetings a. CITY: Joint Study Session With the Palo Alto Youth Council b. PAUSD: El Carmelo School and Park; Staff Housing Survey. Chair Kou reported the Council held a joint session with the Palo Alto Youth Council (PAYC). Adam Howard, Senior Community Services Manager, advised that the PAYC was comprised of 15 teens from Palo Alto High School, Gunn High School, Kehillah Jewish High School, and Castilleja School. PAYC was designed to represent the teen voice and to gather teens in fun and wellbeing activities. PAYC communicated with the Council through Council Member Kou, who attended PAYC's weekly meetings. PAYC wanted to increase teen engagement with local government. PAYC projects changed each year based on the students' interests. City Staff was responsible for leading PAYC and ensuring the group was successful. PAYC held a finals study cram session with food, stress pets, and tutors for more than 200 students. The cram session was held Tuesday through Thursday nights at Mitchell Park Community Center. PAYC was involved with Racing Hearts and conducted a survey of teen vaping. Palopalooza was an upcoming event celebrating the end of the school year. Palopalooza could move to the beginning of the school year. Chair Kou requested information from the teen vaping survey. FINAL MINUTES Page 3 of 10 Sp. City School Liaison Committee Meeting Final Minutes: 04/18/2019 Mr. Howard indicated 66 students responded to the vaping survey. Thirty percent of respondents reported vaping at least once, and 50 percent of those reported vaping multiple times a day. Approximately 64 percent stated their friends had vaped or did vape on a regular basis. The small sample size did not represent the teen community, but the numbers could spur a conversation. Board Member Collins inquired whether the City Council was considering any restrictions on the sale of vaping products. Council Member Cormack related that the PAYC felt more restrictions should be enacted. During the joint session, the City Manager summarized the City Ordinance related to vaping. Vaping was a significant problem in schools. She was open to doing more with respect to restrictions and education around vaping. Board Member Collins asked if the Council was actively considering anything along those lines. Council Member Cormack replied not at the moment. Ed Shikada, City Manager, reported the City's anti-smoking Ordinance applied to vaping. Smoking and vaping were prohibited in public areas, common areas, and multifamily dwelling units throughout the City. The Council had enacted restrictions on the sale of tobacco products. Board Member Collins had read that local vendors were selling nicotine products to people under 21 years of age. Those vendors were commonly known to students. Council Member Cormack recalled one person stating during the joint session that two vendors were selling to people under 21 years old. Police Chief Jonsen was present and probably took some action on the issue. Board Member Collins understood vaping was marketed as being more like candy than cigarettes. Other cities had imposed restrictions on the sale of youth-oriented products. Mr. Shikada asked if the cities also restricted the sale of those products to adults. Board Member Collins related that cities on the Peninsula were considering bans on the sale of flavored nicotine products. Perhaps the City could consider the same or similar prohibitions. Vaping in schools was difficult to FINAL MINUTES Page 4 of 10 Sp. City School Liaison Committee Meeting Final Minutes: 04/18/2019 regulate. Bathrooms were locked at times during the school day to prevent student vaping. Chair Kou suggested the City and Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) collaborate to develop initiatives and involve School Resource Officers (SRO). Vaping was more prevalent at high schools, but monitoring was needed in the middle schools. Mr. Shikada remarked that enforcement around the use of vaping products would be challenging. The City worked with the County of Santa Clara (County) to regulate the sale of tobacco products. Don Austin, Superintendent, felt some percentage of students did not understand that vaping was wrong, and a different educational program would be needed to reach those students. Because vaping was extremely easy to conceal, supervision of students was a nightmare. PAUSD and every other school district in the country were struggling with the issue. Some measures could help with supervision; however, those measures could raise privacy concerns. Chair Kou reported in a PAYC meeting following the joint session, the PAYC expressed interest in providing education. Margaret Schoenholtz, Team Program Specialist/Palo Alto Youth Council, indicated the PAYC felt comparisons of vaping with tobacco would be more effective in educating teens about the harmful effects of vaping. Most teens did not understand the health implications of vaping. The PAYC was interested in collaborating with the PAUSD Board of Education (Board) and the City Council on educational programs. Board Member Collins felt a multi-agency collaboration could be effective. Council Member Cormack suggested engaging health educators at Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) as vaping was a public health issue. Chair Kou related that County Supervisor Simitian had offered to engage the County Health Department, which had compiled educational information. Mr. Howard commented that students were competitive but they cared deeply about one another. Involving student leadership groups would be effective. Board Member Collins did not want to underestimate the impact of vaping. Regulating and controlling vaping would be much harder than cigarettes. The pervasiveness of vaping and the speed at which it had spread were FINAL MINUTES Page 5 of 10 Sp. City School Liaison Committee Meeting Final Minutes: 04/18/2019 alarming. He wanted to see a community task force-type approach to address vaping. Council Member Cormack agreed with student and parent involvement. Chair Kou suggested Staff agendize a presentation from the County Health Department and present ideas for forming a task force. Mr. Shikada recommended Staff discuss the best venue to advance a discussion. Chair Kou wanted to include youth because they would be sharing the message and encouraging their peers. Mr. Howard noted the PAYC would form again with the new school year. During the summer, Staff could discuss next steps and a process. Mr. Shikada recommended City Staff brainstorm the issues. Chair Kou added that the Police Department should be involved. Board Member Collins committed to placing an item on a Board Agenda. Chair Kou asked the City Manager to contact the County Health Department for educational materials. Mr. Shikada recommended the conversation continue but assignments be deferred. The Healthy City Healthy Community working group may be interested in such a project. Staff needed to scope the issues and consider resources and priorities. Mr. Austin concurred with the City Manager's comments. He wanted to avoid redundant actions and include people who were involved in earlier efforts. Board Member Collins felt PAUSD Board Members would indicate vaping was a priority and would support the use of resources. Chair Kou reported the PAYC did not feel the teen voice was being heard, and this was an opportunity for them to be heard. She wanted to have some guidance and plans in place for the PAYC to move into action at the beginning of the school year. She wanted to develop an action plan, identify other agencies for collaboration, and engage the County. Board Member Collins advised that the Board had approved funding for a Magical Bridge-inspired playground at El Carmelo Elementary School. FINAL MINUTES Page 6 of 10 Sp. City School Liaison Committee Meeting Final Minutes: 04/18/2019 PAUSD received matching funds from the County for the project. The Palo Alto Promise was not a comprehensive strategic plan but a statement of priorities for the next few years. The primary focus was the improvement of performances by low-income and other disadvantaged students. Change would be focused on a small number of items. Seventy-five percent of low- income Hispanic students were below grade level in English and math. Sixty-five percent all low-income students were below grade level in English and math. Those percentages were higher than State and County averages. When comparing results for low-income students from East Palo Alto who joined PAUSD through the Tinsley Program, scores for Palo Alto students and students in other receiving districts were no higher than scores for students who remained in the Ravenswood School District. Mr. Austin noted there was some resistance to reducing the number of goals. The intent to accomplish The Promise was the biggest difference between The Promise and previous strategic plans. Board Member Collins indicated the Board had reached an agreement with Stanford University regarding the General Use Permit (GUP). Mr. Austin added that PAUSD settled its labor contract with teachers. Council Member Cormack inquired regarding the percentage of low-income students in PAUSD. Board Member Collins answered approximately eight percent. Council Member Cormack would be interested in hearing about three things that made the biggest difference in improving scores. The City Council enacted an Ordinance about small cell wireless facilities. Over the next year, Staff would investigate approaches used in other communities to regulate wireless facilities. She inquired whether Barron Park Elementary School was notified about the wireless facility in Barron Park. Mr. Shikada did not know if Barron Park Elementary School had been notified. Council Member Cormack indicated notice of development projects was sent to property owners and tenants located within 600 feet of the project site. Federal law prohibited the Council from using health implications of radio frequency emissions as a regulatory measure. Chair Kou added that some cities had implemented setbacks from schools and residences. A wireless facility would be installed in front of Barron Park Elementary School. Should PAUSD receive notice of a wireless facility FINAL MINUTES Page 7 of 10 Sp. City School Liaison Committee Meeting Final Minutes: 04/18/2019 project near a school site, PAUSD should alert the City Manager or Council Members so that they could explore alternative locations for the facility. Mr. Austin advised that he had a meeting with a large group of people regarding wireless facilities. Chair Kou indicated Congresswoman Eshoo had proposed a bill to update the requirements for wireless facilities. Council Member Cormack indicated the Staff Report for the Agenda Item contained information regarding Federal limitations placed on cities, and that information could be helpful to Dr. Austin in his meeting. Board Member Collins noted the wireless facility would be approximately 250 feet from the kindergarten wing of Barron Park Elementary School. Placing wireless facilities near schools should be avoided when possible. 6. PAUSD Staffing Survey Update. Don Austin, Superintendent, reported a large majority of the survey responses was submitted by teachers. The majority of Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) employees drove to work alone. About half of employees indicated they currently owned a home. Staff housing was targeted toward new employees. A housing survey attempted to obtain a snapshot in time, but the results became less true each year. Two-thirds of employees who responded to the survey lived in single-family homes. Half were not happy with their current housing situation. An employee living in Oakland was just as likely to be happy as unhappy with his housing situation. Employees living in Palo Alto were also split about 50/50 on their happiness with their current living situation. Employees were interested in renting a room or a small unit in a residence. PAUSD was considering many options for housing, and those options needed to be reduced. Other school districts that had provided staff housing generally wished they had provided more housing. As a general rule, school districts underestimated the need. Board Member Collins added that 61 percent of respondents were very interested in living in PAUSD-owned rental housing exclusively for PAUSD employees at a below-market rent. Forty-six percent of respondents were very interested and 30 percent were somewhat interested in living in a complex that included Palo Alto City and PAUSD employees. Fifty-nine percent were considering leaving PAUSD within the next five years due to housing costs or proximity. Ninety-four percent of respondents would prefer to live closer to work. PAUSD wanted to provide housing as a tool to attract and retain teachers. Hundreds of people attended the PAUSD job fair, which indicated recruiting teachers was not a problem. Employee tenure was flat, FINAL MINUTES Page 8 of 10 Sp. City School Liaison Committee Meeting Final Minutes: 04/18/2019 and the employee attrition and retirement rates were average. Housing was one piece of the puzzle, and additional work was needed. Council Member Cormack remarked that the survey provided valuable information about education and workforce benefits. She suggested the question about employees' happiness with their living situation was a broader statement about their general happiness. Chair Kou indicated the City Council had been exploring different things for employee housing. Council Member Cormack noted the largest percentage of respondents lived in a household of four or more people. That data could be connected to the unwillingness to live in tiny units. Carpools and vanpools for employees driving on Highways 101 and 280 could address concerns about the length of commutes. 7. Cubberley Master Plan Next Steps. Bob Golton, Bond Manager PAUSD, reported the amount of housing in the plans had increased. The community's attitude toward housing had changed dramatically. The next community meeting was scheduled for May 9. Kristen O’Kane, Assistant Director of Community Services, advised that the May 9 community meeting would focus on site circulation, the look and feel of the community center and the school, program organization, housing options, and phasing. Participants would provide their opinions and share comments regarding the different options. Staff was attempting to engage parents of school-age children. Community Fellows were also brainstorming methods to reach that demographic. Managing and operating the site and funding the Master Plan had to be addressed. Staff was drafting a scope of work for a consultant to prepare a pro forma and business plan. Cost estimates should be available at the end of the week. Mark Weiss suggested Cubberley should be considered a well-known, regional venue for cultural events. Board Member Collins suggested the City School Liaison Committee (Committee) plan and organize a Joint Study Session between the City Council and the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) Board of Education (Board). Mr. Golton concurred with the need for planning in order to achieve maximum impact. FINAL MINUTES Page 9 of 10 Sp. City School Liaison Committee Meeting Final Minutes: 04/18/2019 Ed Shikada, City Manager, had recommended the joint session be continued from May 6 because the Council would have a lengthy discussion of State legislation on May 6. In addition, having a financial structure could benefit the discussion. A new date for the joint session had not been set. Ms. O’Kane indicated the joint session could be held after the Council Recess. Chair Kou inquired about the possibility of planning the joint session during the May 16 City/School Liaison Committee meeting. Council Member Cormack expressed concern about the Committee operating on behalf of the Council when she did not have an indication of Council Members' interest in developing housing on City-owned land. Rather than waiting six months for a joint session, perhaps the Board and the Council could schedule independent study sessions. She was confident Staff could lead the planning as they understood concerns about transition and funding. If necessary, Staff could meet with individual Committee members to discuss issues. Mr. Shikada advised that City Staff had discussed presenting information to the Council before scheduling a Closed Session regarding housing. Board Member Collins wanted to ensure the joint meeting was productive. Checking in with the individual bodies prior to a joint meeting was logical. He had intended the Committee set the objectives for the joint meeting rather than lead the work or the analysis. Council Member Cormack felt the joint meeting would be a discussion of funding the Master Plan and managing the site. Board Member Collins concurred. Chair Kou requested the item be agendized for the next Committee meeting. Council Member Cormack left the meeting at 10:00 A.M. 8. Updates on Ongoing Matters a. Grade Separation Update b. Stanford University General Use Permit (GUP) Update 9. Committee Format Discussion (Continued From February 21, 2019 Meeting) 10. Future Meetings and Agendas FINAL MINUTES Page 10 of 10 Sp. City School Liaison Committee Meeting Final Minutes: 04/18/2019 11. Committee Group Photo at 529 Bryant Street (First School in Palo Alto) ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 A.M. due to lack of quorum.