Tag Archives: Shores School News

Redwood Shores Elementary Spotlight: November 2010

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Are you reading your food labels lately? Have your children been exercising the required 60 minutes daily? Are you eating enough “green light” foods? All these questions and more will be answered during the Whole Child Wellness Week, sponsored by Redwood Shores Elementary School PTA. As part of the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District Wellness Policy and recent grant for Wellness Coordination, Thea Runyan, consultant and Mindy Shelton, Health Educator, will be teaching classes for staff, students and parents in making healthy choices for a lifetime of good health habits. The school will learn the necessary qualities of good nutrition and how it affects student achievement at school, recommendations for physical fitness and how to cooperate with others in resolving conflict. As students are more inclined to partake of fast foods and plenty of sugar in sodas, the increase of Type 2 diabetes has increased among youngsters. Consequently, the Sequoia Healthcare District has granted resources over three years to support school districts in prevention and intervention work with nutrition, physical and emotional health. The healthy choices each student makes prolongs good health when they become adults and reduces the risk of health issues later.

As students are given more information on the kinds of choices and habits to incorporate into their lifestyles, parents need to be aware of the same kinds of habits that might be helpful in their own lives.

We also want to celebrate our reaching the goal of raising the $10,000 in donations for our library. Thank you, community, for your spirit and generosity in helping us with the foundation of our book collection. Thank you, Carol Castro, for your organization and dedication in helping our school raise these funds.

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

Sandpiper Spotlight: June 2010

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May was a busy month filled with academic testing and end-of-year activities.

Leveraging a grant by the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors’ Math and Science Innovation Award, Miss Fauce expanded her Science students’ knowledge of anatomy with digestion tract labs, dissections, and an assembly by the Lawrence Hall of Science.

Sandpiper families also enjoyed a beautiful instrumental music and choral concert featuring more than 200 of our 4th & 5th grade students. We appreciate the dedication and passion of our music teacher, Mrs. MacAllister.

The PTA recently hosted Teacher Appreciation Week to thank the staff and teachers for their dedication throughout the school year. There was much to celebrate! With your generous donations to the School-Force Education Foundation, several positions at Sandpiper have been reinstated for the 2010-2011 school year. Our sincere appreciation to every family and business for their continued support!

API (Academic Performance Index) scores are one of many instruments used to measure a school’s performance. The 2009 scores were recently released and Sandpiper students came through with flying colors and a score of 935 — the highest ranking in our School District. Kudos to our students, and the strong partnership which exists between our Principal, PTA, staff, teachers and families.

The PTA wishes to invite all new families to the Sandpiper Summer Playdate series. Playdates will be held on June 26, July 24, and August 21 from 11:00am-1:00pm on the play structures (near Room 22). Please bring a picnic lunch, blanket/chairs, and sunscreen.

President’s Message: May 2010

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Books for Redwood Shores Elementary

As you probably know, Redwood Shores Elementary School (‘RSE’) will soon open its doors to students from Redwood Shores and Belmont Shores. RSE is a beautiful facility in an extraordinary setting that will enable our kids and their teachers to realize their full potential. We have this superb new school because in 2005 the voters of Redwood Shores passed $25M in bonds to build it.

RSE is a great facility, but it has some needs that can’t be paid for with bond proceeds. As a long time supporter of our schools, RSCA asked what we could do to help meet these needs. Cherie Ho, RSE’s new principal (and former Sandpiper and Nesbit principal) told us a high priority was financial support for the school’s library collection. We answered this need by pledging $10,000 for RSE’s opening day library collection, and up to an additional $10,000 as a one-to-one match for individual contributions towards the collection. We’ll provide more information on the match opportunity in future editions of the Pilot.

Another School Bond??!! . . . More Taxes??!!

With the opening of Redwood Shores Elementary, the long-standing over-enrollment crisis in the Shores will be at an end. It’s therefore ironic that Belmont is now experiencing overcrowding at its elementary schools and a need for increased classroom space. The Belmont elementary schools and Ralston Middle School are also in need of repairs due to the age of the buildings and deferred maintenance. To address these issues, the School District is preparing to float up to $69M (as of this date) in bonds for various facilities projects, almost entirely at its Belmont schools.

The projects that are likely to be funded are documented in the District’s Master Facilities Plan ($175 M total cost). Top priority projects total $69M, with ~ $49M (71%) going towards new classrooms and maintenance at the four Belmont elementary schools, and ~ $18M (26%) for similar projects at Ralston. Only ~ $2M (<3%) of the $69M total would go to the Shores (all to Sandpiper). In view of the lack of benefits flowing to Redwood Shores schools and that Shores taxpayers will pay nearly half of a District-wide bond (based on assessed property values), how the bonds are paid for is a critical matter.

The District is considering at least two funding options. Option 1 (as currently configured) involves the issuance of District-wide bonds for the entire $69M, which means that taxpayers in Belmont and Redwood Shores would pay at the same rate to fund the bonds (currently, $27 per $100,000 of APV). The RSCA Board objects to this option as inequitable to Shores taxpayers in view of the disparity in benefits and the fact that we would end up paying about the same for improvements at the Belmont elementary schools (around half of $49M) as we did to purchase the land and build Redwood Shores Elementary ($25M)! And, this would be on top of what we alone are paying for the RSE bonds ($30 per $100,000 of APV).

Option 2 (as currently configured) is far more equitable as it involves the issuance of $58M in bonds in Belmont to fund projects at the Belmont Schools elementary schools and half of Ralston’s needs, and $11M in bonds in Redwood Shores for minor maintenance at Sandpiper and the other half of Ralston’s needs. The RSCA Board thinks it is reasonable for Shores taxpayers to fund projects at Ralston since our kids go there for middle school.

Some people object to our position as selfish and hostile to the idea of Belmont and Redwood Shores being a unified school district. To them I respond that it was the District Board itself that divided the District in two so Shores taxpayers would shoulder the entire burden for RSE, with no payment by Belmont. Consequently, it’s only fair for the District to ask Belmont voters to step up and take care of their elementary school needs. Others have objected that the Shores should contribute to improvements at the Belmont elementary schools since Belmont paid for most of Sandpiper. This myth is unfounded in fact and will be debunked in an upcoming edition of the Pilot.

Let no one say that RSCA does not support our schools. We are long-time supporters of School Force and Save the Music. We gave generously to Sandpiper when it was opened. We will give generously to Redwood Shores Elementary. However, as advocates for Redwood Shores, we expect the Shores to be treated equitably by the District. We oppose Option 1 in its current configuration as inequitable. We do, though, support Option 2 as presently configured, which we believe is fair to the Shores. And because Option 2 IS fair, it is far more likely to pass and give the District what it needs to move forward with its facilities plans.

— Doug Crisman

Sandpiper Spotlight: April 2010

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Have you designed a new product recently? Our students have! In March all students spent the day with Junior Achievement, the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students about work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through hands-on programs. Each grade level participated in creative exercises in which they designed a product and developed a sales, financial and marketing plan. It was very exciting to see the creativity of our future business leaders.

Sandpiper students celebrated National Reading Month during the Reading Power Read-A-Thon, a fundraiser for the School-Force education foundation. For two weeks, children tracked their hours spent reading in a heated competition to see which grade would reign supreme. Congratulations to all the children, and their sponsors, for their dedication to reading!

All Pro Dads held its second breakfast of the year, welcoming dads (and moms) to an hour of quality time with their children before school. Sandpiper is home to the only All Pro Dads program in Northern California, encouraging parents to be positive and engaged role models to all children.

The Disaster Preparedness Committee continues working towards its goal of building a 7-day emergency supply inventory for the school. Although this effort may take a year or more to achieve, several short-term milestones have been identified including “Grab & Go” backpacks for every classroom, and school-wide training and drill exercises. We encourage all families to develop their own emergency plan at home. Many resources can be found at www.redcross.org, and local training is available through the CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) website at www.redwoodcity.org/fire/disaster/signupforCERT.html.

The community is invited to visit Sandpiper at the Open House to be held Wednesday, April 28 at 7:00pm. In addition to classroom exhibits, there will be an Art in Action showcase in the multi-use room. Please bike or walk as parking will be limited.

— Suzanne Pritchard, PTA President

2010-2011 Registration at Redwood Shores Elementary School

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Registration for the 2010-2011 school year at Redwood Shores Elementary School is now scheduled.

  • Sibling registration will take place between February 22-26.
  • New student registration (including new Kindergarten students) will take place from March 1-5.

The administrative office will be open from 8:am to 4:pm during those two weeks to accept registrations. Forms will be made available at that time and not earlier.

Students who reside within the boundaries of Redwood Shores Elementary school and already are at Sandpiper or Nesbit (currently Grades K-3) do NOT need to re-register.

For more information, please visit the district website: www.brssd.org.

Sandpiper School Update

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ENROLLMENT

Sandpiper is very excited to open our doors once again to Kindergarten students. School tours took place during January & February with Principal McDaniel and PTA President Suzanne Pritchard. Sibling registration will begin February 22 at 9:00 am.

Registration for New students (including incoming Kindergarten) begins at the school office on March 1 at 9:00 am. Registration forms will be made available at that time. PLEASE NOTE that school begins at 8:35 am at Sandpiper.

If you do not already have children attending Sandpiper, please avoid using the parking lot and drive-thru until after 8:45 am. Additional traffic will cause a delay in instructional time for our current students. Children who are enrolled and attending school in our district already do NOT need to re-register.

Additional details (including Redwood Shores Elementary) can be found at http://sandpiper.brssd.org.

SAFETY DRILLS

Student safety is our number one priority and we regularly conduct drills with our faculty, staff and students to ensure everyone is well prepared in the event of an emergency. Additionally, our PTA maintains an emergency supply kit for every student to provide short-term assistance. To take our plans one step further, Sandpiper is forming a Disaster Preparedness Committee to update the school’s crisis plan. If you have experience with emergency preparedness planning and would like to serve on the committee please contact the school office.

STUDENTS SHARE HOLIDAY CHEER

Sandpiper Elementary School students drop off presents for children in need served by Family Service Agency of San Mateo County. The students delivered over 200 presents for children receiving treatment for abuse and also those receiving subsidized child care at the San Mateo-based nonprofit. In addition, numerous students collected toys, groceries, and generously donated gift cards to donate to those members of the community most in need over the holidays.

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A New Year Brings New Progress on The Preserve at Redwood Shores

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Progress continues at The Preserve, where a new elementary school, new townhomes and a new nature area are taking shape. Keech Properties, a Redwood Shores company, is the master developer of this ecologically focused community.

New school, new name: The school was recently named the “Redwood Shores Elementary School” by the school district, in part to recognize the “hard work and generosity of Redwood Shores residents who made this school possible.” The school remains on target for completion inside and out before summer.

Lagoon improvements: A small barge can be seen on the lagoon as Redwood City continues its dredging project to protect water quality. According to the city’s web site, the project may continue through February, as they use the barge pump to move silt through a pipeline from the lagoon to the Preserves wetland restoration area.

Wetlands Restoration: Keech Properties continues to create public access paths, plazas and landscaping that will complete the system in the spring. The 90-acre natural area includes an 80-acre restored marsh that will provide habitat for the endangered California Clapper Rail and Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse.

Preserve Townhomes: Work on the models continues, despite rough weather in January. The townhomes are being built by KB Homes, which also constructed the nearby Seacrest, California Bayside Cove and Shore communities. Models open in April. Two, three and four bedroom units range from 1,400 to 2,000 square feet, and will be available beginning summer of 2010.

Shearwater Parkway Widening: Most of the construction has been completed to make Shearwater Parkway wider to handle the new school traffic. There are new turn lanes and utilities to the new School site, as well as landscaping, which has just been installed in the median islands.

For detailed information on the project visit www.keechproperties.com.

 

 


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New School Updates

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SCHOOL DISTRICT STUDIES ANOTHER BOND MEASURE

At its regular meeting on December 10, 2010, the Board of Trustees of the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District began to consider placing a general obligation bond measure on a future ballot – i.e., a Proposition 39 bond measure for the November 2, 2010, election.

In a memo to the Board (dated December 10, 2010), Dr. Orta-Camilleri (Superintendent) described some of the district’s facilities needs as including: “a new roof at Ralston [Middle School]; modernization at several schools sites (improved lighting system, updating plumbing, additional parking, floor replacement due to moisture damage, prevent flooding in certain areas, etc.); technology updates and equipment renewal; artificial turf; seismic upgrades; and increased classroom space.”  The Superintendent also reported that there is an added possibility for the district to apply for an additional $18 million in matching from the state but “in order for us to apply for these funds, we need to have local matching funds which could come from a local bond measure.”

Superintendent Orta-Camilleri reported that “although we have tried to address our facilities needs by completing minor repairs and maximizing classroom space, we have now exhausted our classroom space and many of our current buildings are in need of repair or modernization.”

If successful, based on the distribution of Assessed Property Values in the District, about half of the bond proceeds would come from Redwood Shores.

The Board began its study session with a general overview regarding a bond measure.  Presenters included:  a pollster from Godbe Research; a public relations consultant from TBWB Strategies; a financial advisor from California Financial Services; and, legal counsel from Stradling, Yocca, Carlson & Rauth.

At the conclusion of the study session, the Board unanimously voted to authorize district staff to begin the process of establishing the specific facility needs that might be funded with a bond by undertaking a Facility Master Planning Process and initiate the process of preparing a community opinion survey to establish the probable level of community support for a new bond measure based on projects identified in the Facility Master Planning process.

The project timetable describes key activities in 2010 including:  a voter survey in January/February; finalizing bond project lists and Facility Master Plan by March/April; adopting Board resolution calling for bond election by late July or early August; and, campaigning from August to the November election.  A copy of the detailed timetable for the Proposition 39 Bond Election can be found at the district’s website.

UPDATE ON THE NEW REDWOOD SHORES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

On Friday, December 4, 2009, all seven members of the Measure C School Bond Oversight Committee visited the new school construction site in Redwood Shores.  We were accompanied by members of the New Shores School Advisory Committee, school district staff, Sandpiper Elementary School principal, and construction team representatives from Blach Construction and Meehleis Modular.  Interiors now include carpeting, built-in storage, counters, and lighting.   The school is beautiful inside and out!

We toured:  Building A containing administration and 6 classrooms; Building B with library and learning center; Building C╒s 6 classrooms; Building C1╒s science/music room, small kitchen, and multi-purpose room; and, Buildings D and E with 2 kindergarten classrooms each and a smaller playground between them. We  also saw the pad for Building F which will be 2 self-contained before/after school classrooms.  The multi-purpose room is especially impressive ╨ windows on three sides, as large as the multi-purpose room at Sandpiper Community Center, without a stage.  Playgrounds, outdoor eating areas, and walkways are partially complete.  School construction and landscaping will be finished by Spring 2010 as the cooperative effort of the construction team continues.The name of the new school was announced at the Belmont Redwood Shores School District Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday, December 10th.  Sixty-two names were submitted by local citizens and school children.  The name — Redwood Shores Elementary School ╤was chosen because it:

╨ Recognizes the hard work and generosity of Redwood Shores residents who made this school possible;

╨ Is a point of community pride;

╨ Recognizes the community╒s commitment to fund the construction and acquisition of the new school;

╨ Communicates the strength of a community working together;

╨ Is easily identifiable and unique; and,

╨ Allows flexibility for the school mascot.

The extended day care program provider will be announced by the school Board in January, 2010.  The next meeting of the Measure C Bond Oversight Committee meeting is Tuesday, January 19, 2010, at 6:30 pm at the San Mateo County Office of Education, 101 Twin Dolphin Drive, Redwood Shores.  Members of the community are welcome!

Submitted by Lee Fernandez (Vice Chair) and Carole Wong (Chair), Measure C Bond Oversight Committee