Tag Archives: Belmont-Redwood Shores School District

School Board Meeting

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A regular meeting of the School board is on the 1st Thursday of each month, at 7:00 PM. For this first February meeting on February 2, the meeting will be held in Redwood Shores’ Sandpiper Elementary. The meeting is Open Session and residents are, as usual, invited to attend.

February 2, 2012
7PM at Sandpiper Elementary
801 Redwood Shores Parkway

 

This special Sandpiper Elementary meeting will cover a regular agenda, and is being held here in Redwood Shores on this occasion to help residents who have not been able to make it to a standard session attend. Several times per year, meetings are held at various school sites in the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District. The regular meeting of the School board is on the 1st Thursday of each month, at 7:00 pm and held at the District Office building: 2960 Hallmark Dr., Belmont, CA 94002 [map and directions]. If a second meeting is needed during the month, it is generally held on the 3rd Thursday at the same time and place.

For more information about School Board Meetings, view the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District website.

A Letter to the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District

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These two messages were delivered to representatives of the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District on behalf of the Redwood Shores Community Association.

 

 

March 18, 2011

Mr. Andrew Stulbarg, President, &

Members of the Belmont-Redwood Shores Board of Trustees

2960 Hallmark Dr, Belmont, CA 94002

 

Dear Mr. Stulberg & Trustees:

With regard to the resignation of Michael Parker and the resulting Board of Trustees vacancy, I am writing at the direction of the RSCA Board of Directors to strongly urge that your Board fill this vacancy with a resident of Redwood Shores.

The student population from Redwood Shores is about one third of the total enrollment of the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District, and Shores property owners provide nearly half of the tax revenue. Based on these statistics alone, we believe that the Shores community deserves representation of at least two seats on the Board of Trustees. With basic aid districts about to lose funding from the State, it seems likely that the District will inevitably seek increased taxes in upcoming ballot measures. Having another School Board member who is a Shores resident will go a long way in garnering neighborhood support for these measures.

In addition, we intend to publish this vacancy in the April issue of The PILOT. We are also strongly suggesting that you allow sufficient time for interested candidates from this community to apply before rushing to fill this open position.

As always we look forward to working with you on this and other issues that affect our local schools, which are a highly valued part of our community.

Sincerely, Harris Rogers.

 

 

March 19, 2011

 

Dr. Emerita Orta-Camilleri, Superintendent, &

Members of the Belmont-Redwood Shores School Board of Trustees

2960 Hallmark Dr, Belmont, CA 94002

 

Dear Superintendent Orta-Camilleri & Board Members:

As a longtime supporter of our local schools, Redwood Shores Community Association (RSCA) was happy to learn that the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District has been awarded $8.75 million in matching funds for use at Redwood Shores Elementary School.

We understand that that are legitimate needs at Redwood Shores Elementary to which these funds can be applied. For example, we think it would be reasonable to use a portion of these funds to build additional classroom space to accommodate future growth and to install an artificial turf field to save water and lessen the students’ exposure to goose feces.

However, we cannot imagine that Redwood Shores Elementary has $8.75 million of such needs.

Accordingly, we urge the District to use a substantial portion of these matching funds to pay off a significant amount (e.g., millions) of the $25M in outstanding Measure C Bonds. By using a portion of this windfall to repay bond principal, you would show Shores residents that you are prudent managers of our property taxes. This is an especially important message right now given that the School District is likely to ask voters to pass additional parcel tax measures in the near future.

Further, if for some legal reason the matching funds can’t be used to pay off Measure C bonds, we feel strongly that any matching funds – other than those needed for essential capital projects – should be spent on facilities that will benefit the community as a whole in addition to the school. Should this situation arise, we ask that you work with RSCA to engage the community in discussing and prioritizing various projects at Redwood Shores Elementary that would provide benefits to the entire community.

In the interest of keeping our community informed, we are happy to provide space in our monthly publication, The PILOT, and on our web site (RSCA.org) for District communications related to use of the bond funds and, of course, other District news of interest.

 

We look forward to working with you on this and other issues that affect our local schools, which are a valued contributor to our high quality of life.

Best regards,

Harris Rogers, President Doug Crisman, Past President

Redwood Shores Community Association Redwood Shores Community Association

News from Belmont-Redwood Shores School District

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Dear Community,

Measures I and N have passed! On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I am writing to express our gratitude for the support given to pass these critical bond measures that will mean so much for the needed repairs of our schools and facilities to house our growing student population. Currently, there are 3,207 students enrolled. This is an increase of 241 students over last year!

Measure I is the Ralston Middle School repair measure and passed with 65.21% “yes” votes approving the issuance of $25 million in bonds. Measure N (only in Belmont, west of Hwy 101) is the elementary school repair measure. It was passed by a 63.20% “yes” vote approving the issuance of $35 million in bonds.

The passage of both Measures I and N will enable the District to continue quality education and proactively prevent classroom overcrowding. Much needed repairs and replacement of leaking roofs will be taken care of as well as repairs to classrooms including constructing and/or acquisition of additional classrooms to house projected increases in student enrollment of about 150 students per year for the next three years. Funds are also needed to meet current fire/safety codes, improve disabled access, upgrade technology, to replace outdated electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation, and safety/security systems.

Both Measures I and N will have citizens’ oversight and no funds are to be used for administrator salaries.

If you are interested in getting involved in citizens’ bond oversight, are at least 18 years of age and not an employee, vendor, contractor, or consultant of the District, an application packet may be obtained from Nellie Hungerford (Assistant Superintendent Business Services and Operations) at district offices, 2960 Hallmark Drive, Belmont 94002 or by calling (650) 637-4800 ext. 1010 or emailing Nellie at .

Even in these challenging years of reduced funding, your work to provide for the housing and safety of our children is deeply appreciated. Together, we are “Creating the Future” — a better tomorrow — for the children in Belmont-Redwood Shores School District!

— Dr. Emerita Orta-Camilleri
— Superintendent, Belmont-Redwood Shores School District

Redwood Shores Elementary Dedication Ceremony

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On November 4, 2010, the Board of Trustees for the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District met at Redwood Shores Elementary to hold a dedication ceremony for the many people involved with building the new school.

This all started with the citizens of Redwood Shores voting for Measure C in November, 2005 to issue the bonds to acquire the land and build a new elementary school in Redwood Shores. The School District along with Jeff Gee, then President of RSCA, selected members of the Redwood Shores community to serve on the New Shores School Advisory Committee. They were instrumental in advising the school board on site selection, and choosing the construction firm and architects.

The new school was named Redwood Shores Elementary in consideration for the community’s involvement in making this school a reality. This fall the school opened to 265 students with a capacity of 450 students.

President’s Message: June 2010

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I mentioned in my article last month that the Belmont Redwood Shores School Board has been considering a number of options for issuing bonds to address facilities issues (e.g., repairs and new classrooms) in the District, most of which are at the Belmont elementary schools and Ralston Middle School.

The School Board met on May 20 to discuss what sort of bond structure made the most sense in view of the District’s facilities needs and also had a good chance of being approved by the voters this November. Last month I described two of the options that were under consideration. Option 1 involved the issuance of District-wide bonds for $69M, which meant that taxpayers in Belmont and Redwood Shores would pay at the same rate ($27 per $100,000 Assessed Property Value) to fund the bonds, even though a very small amount of the funds would be spent in the Shores and we alone in Redwood Shores are already paying $30 per $100,000 APV for Redwood Shores Elementary. Option 2 was far more equitable as it involved the issuance of $58M in bonds in Belmont to fund projects at the Belmont elementary schools and half of Ralston’s needs, and $11M in bonds in Redwood Shores for small projects and maintenance at Sandpiper and the other half of Ralston’s needs. RSCA opposed Option 1 as inequitable, but supported Option 2 as being fair to the Shores.

I speak of these two options in the past tense as both were eliminated from consideration by the School Board at their May 20 meeting! It is a tribute to RSCA’s advocacy on this issue, and Shores residents who got involved by meeting with and writing to School Board Members and speaking at School Board and community meetings, that the Board recognized the inequity of Option 1 and decided to pursue a different course. On the other hand, the Board also ruled out Option 2 as it didn’t raise enough for the Belmont elementary schools. Instead of those choices, the Board decided to focus on a third option, Option 3.

Like Option 2, Option 3 involves two bonds. The first bond is a District-wide bond ($24.6M) that will provide $18M in funds for Ralston and $150K for the District Maintenance Building, and pay off around $6M in loans taken out by the School District to build the first phase of Sandpiper Elementary. (For more information on the history of Sandpiper, see the related article by Carole Wong inside this issue of The Pilot or go to www.rsca.org for a more detailed timeline of events.) This bond is projected to cost all District taxpayers approximately $10.68 per $100,000 APV. The second bond is a $49M bond for projects at the Belmont elementary schools to be paid for by Belmont taxpayers. Option 3 has not been formally adopted by the School Board (that should happen in early June) and the all-important language for the bond measure is still under development, so it would be premature to draw any conclusions at this point about Option 3. As we did with the levee issue, RSCA will monitor this evolving issue closely and communicate or take additional action depending on what we hear, our goal being a bond measure that addresses District needs and is fair and equitable for Redwood Shores residents.

— Doug Crisman , RSCA President

The Origin and Funding of Sandpiper Elementary School

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As community discussion has intensified over the last several months about the size, shape, and equity of the proposed school bond tax, certain “urban myths” have taken on a new life. The purpose of this article is to shed light on the facts about how Sandpiper Elementary School came to be and de-bunk the myth that “Belmont paid for most of Sandpiper.” This myth, if left uncorrected, could distract the community at a critical time in funding the public school system. The factual basis for this article comes from extensive interviews of those who were directly involved in the development of the Shores, examination of public records, and information provided by staff at San Mateo County (Office of the Treasurer, Controller, Assessor, Education, Elections, and Records), Belmont-Redwood Shores School District (the ‘District’), and Redwood City.

Fact: Sandpiper Elementary School would not exist today had it not been for the continued generosity of the master developer, personal intervention by Redwood City Council, and significant financial support of Redwood City.

Fact: Shores and Belmont taxpayers have shared in the funding for construction of Sandpiper Elementary.

Fact: The District could have significantly reduced the financed amount for Sandpiper had it not already depleted more than $3,500,000 from the 1987 sale of the original school site in the Shores (given to the District in 1969 by the original Shores master developer for $175K) and hundreds of thousands more in School Impact Fees (a/k/a “developer fees”) collected from 1987 onwards as the Shores was built out.

The Origin of the First School in the Shores:

In 1968, the first General Plan for development of Redwood Shores was approved. In 1969, Leslie Properties, Inc. (the original master developer) sold a 6.75 acre parcel (known as the “Dory Lane parcel”) to the District at a deeply discounted price of $175K to encourage the District to build a school in Redwood Shores at a date as early as possible. Instead, in 1987, the District declared the property as “surplus” and offered it for sale to Redwood City who agreed to purchase 2 acres for the price of $362K in 1988 (now Marlin Park). The District sold the remaining portion to PenCal Properties for $3.32M which brought the District’s total profit to over $3.5M. (PenCal Properties developed the homes along what is now Harbor Colony Court and Dory Lane.)

During the period from 1987 to 1995, there was neither in-ground construction that benefited Shores students (who attended Nesbit Elementary in Belmont) nor a neighborhood school as originally planned by the master developer.

By 1995, the Shores student population had reached a critical number and the District finally acknowledged that the Shores required a local school. However, the District had no funds and attempted unsuccessfully to get Redwood City to require the master developer (now Redwood Shores Properties) to donate a second school site to the District as a condition for approval to develop Area G (seven neighborhoods). The master developer refused believing that it too would be declared “surplus” and sold.

At this point in 1995, Redwood City’s City Council became actively involved in shaping a deal that would make the first school in the Shores a reality. First, the master developer gave Redwood City “free and clear” title to 11 acres (then known as Sandpiper Park) for use as a school and related facilities.

Redwood City sold 3.89 acres of Sandpiper Park parcel to the District for a school site for $2.95M. The City used the rest of the site (7.17 acres) for a community center and sports fields and reserved the $2.95M (from the sale of the school site) in a sinking fund to support future maintenance and operations costs of the sports field and community center. The City also invested $2.98 million on construction of Sandpiper Community Center including half of the cost of the multi-purpose room that would be used by the District as part of normal school operation. In addition, the City used $1.25 million of General Improvement District 1-64 funds to construct the portions of the sports fields that would be used as part of a public park (with the District sharing the cost of joint playfields). Lastly, the City entered into a Joint Use Agreement with the District that allowed the District to use the community center, sports fields, and parking lot as part of school operations.

The District, having no ready funds, took out a loan for $6 million, using 89% of it ($5.34M) to: purchase the Sandpiper school site; construct K-3 school for 250 students, day care center, joint use sports fields, and up to $1M of the cost of a multi-purpose room in the community center; and, obtain a license to use the City’s facilities as part of school operations. The District paid the annual debt expense using developer fees and funds that it received from Belmont Redevelopment Agency. [NOTE: This is the basis for the urban myth that “Belmont paid for most of Sandpiper.” However, today’s outstanding principal is $5.6M — which is $300K more than the cost to build the first phase of Sandpiper (K-3). So, it is more accurate to say that the loan to finance the entire first phase of Sandpiper is still outstanding. This District-wide debt could have been largely avoided if the District had reserved the proceeds from the sale of the first school site as well as School Impact Fees paid over the many years by developers in the Shores for the original intended use — the construction of the first school in the Shores.]

In 1997, the voters approved a District-wide bond ($12M) and less than half used for expanding Sandpiper to K-5. Since this bond was District-wide, Shores and Belmont taxpayers have shared these bond payments.

In summary, Sandpiper Elementary School became a reality due in large measure to the continued generosity of the master developer and substantial intervention of Redwood City and its Council. Both Belmont and Shores taxpayers have shared the funding for construction of Sandpiper Elementary. The new Redwood Shores Elementary School, in contrast, is funded 100% by Shores taxpayers for the next 30 years.

–Submitted by Carole Wong, President of RSOA