"But the reality is that this is not the situation here. Sad. TheSixFifty.com I tend to believe that if someone truly stands by their words, they use their name. Contractor. City Council should reconsider this draconian limitation. If you havent had to live close to a construction site during their working hours you have no idea how penetrating and constantly jarring the noise is. A much more sensible and honest compromise should have been reached. Administrators reached out to staff at Caada College, one of the campuses of the Community College District, last fall to discuss possible use of Caada's sports fields and minimal other space. Once it completes construction on the new buildings, it will be allowed to immediately raise its enrollment from the current level of 422 to 450. Runners use the track at College of San Mateo. We all know they are dishonest. The following is the text of my Letter to the Editor published in the Daily Post on Monday (June 13). "Im deeply appreciative of the support from incoming sixth grade parents and current Castilleja families who have been understanding of the situation," Kauffman said. The elementary school in my neighborhood has more portables and new buildings to cater for a much larger school body than before, there isn't even enough parking for all the staff who park on nearby streets. Cancel the sports banquet? Industry: Preschools & Child Care Services. I also think students and employees should be able to park on public street just like anyone else, first come first serve. A big ask in a residential neighborhood in which no other business with 400 daily commuters would be permitted. Especially since the school's own traffic consultant will be verifying traffic volumes. Castilleja, which charges almost $60,000 in annual tuition and fees, and offers tuition assistance to only about 20% of those students, does not serve our community, which has a relatively high household median income of approx $150,000/year (compared to our less wealthy neighboring cities). The faculty consists of approximately 70 full-time and part-time women and men. Moreno and Petrides also met separately. PALO ALTO The final version of a proposal to expand the exclusive 112-year-old private Castilleja School received its first public hearing this week as the city council gets one step closer to . The presently aggrieved homeowners win, the new homeowners win, and the students win. Most teachers at Castilleja know their subject areas, but many don't know how to teach it, adapting their instruction to the students' different learning styles. How long until the lawsuits are filed. Type: Company - Private. The council also added several new conditions to appease residents' concerns about the proposed traffic and parking impacts of the enrollment increases. Because it doesn't, it deprives our city of millions of dollars of tax revenue that using the lots for their zoned purpose (residential) would bring in. Each time Casti's garbage is picked up, mail delivered, and street cleaned, we pay for it. Castilleja School will be able to reconstruct its Bryant Street campus and increase enrollment after the Palo Alto City Council voted Monday to approve the school's contentious plan after six years of bitter debate. New York? "The parties had a thorough conversation about the situation, including the facts and applicable legal standards. And water's still wet. Embarcadero Media Photo by Gennady Sheyner. I am sososososo disappointed in our City Council. "How gauche, Castilleja" Following this brilliant logic, EVERY SINGLE HOME in Palo Alto, by itself, provides zero value for the other 99.99% of Palo Alto residents. Castillea broke the rule, turned themselves in and paid the fine levied by the city. "It's all about the TDM and whether they can get enrollment increases based on that," Reed said. Obituaries, Send News Tips The decision shocked Castilleja's administrators. The school's expansion plan has been hotly debated by the council since 2015. Photo by Gennady Sheyner. It's high time for both the school and the city to move forward together, working in a positive, collaborative direction. 5,536 were here. Try biking that five miles. Advertising Info Become a member today. Petrides suggested that Castilleja might consider submitting a proposal for use of facilities on the CSM campus that was much reduced in scope, the board's statement said.Petrides, Moreno and other district representatives met with Kauffman, members of the Castilleja School Board of Directors, and other Castilleja School representatives on May 22. Spotlight Blogs "Castilleja School had been working to secure space for its students for months. Castilleja School's plan to move its students to the College of San Mateo this fall, while its campus in Palo Alto is rebuilt, was rejected by the San Mateo County Community College District's Board of Trustees on May 24. on Dec 9, 2021 at 10:45 am Allan is a registered user. It's entirely clear where the region is headed: higher density. "This motion allows that trust to hopefully be rebuilt. Get the latest local news and information sent straight to your inbox. The council has agreed, for example, to allow Castilleja to use its existing traffic consultant to verify its traffic volumes rather than requiring an affirmation from independent consultant. Casti is profitable. Mountain View Voice In University of Southern California v. Robbins, the CA Appeals Court wrote, The higher education of youth in its largest implications is recognized as a most important public use, vitally essential to our governmental health and purposes. We're not paid nor do we have a PR machine, and our friends and neighbors work and raise kids; they ask us how it's going and they do what they can. The board heard the details about the Castilleja School proposal for the first time during closed session on May 10, 2023, and rejected the proposal, the statement indicated. My family attended all of the 22 public hearings, and it became evident early on that the Council would eventually side with the school while tossing a few bones to the immediate neighbors and other Palo Alto residents who tried in vain to curtail the vast overreach of this private commercial entity. The details of the decision were not released, but Board President Lisa Petrides said during the announcement that the trustees affirmed their decision from May 10.The decision shocked Castilleja's administrators. Spotlight Money and power talk, not citizens of this town. The primary driver of the school's decision to seek a temporary campus for all of its students, Kauffman said, was to reduce construction time. This is a huge expansion development on a relatively small property for this scale of construction, in a residential neighborhood. In the United States, there are some cases where large tax-exempt institutions have made some voluntary contribution to local government budgets, but still the law has been that these institutions are tax exempt. How about a golf course or Avenidas or do you just object to Castillea? What the council passed last night was the definition of compromise. This too shall pass and the neighbors will hopefully have a more honorable school administration in the future. Others were less thrilled. 4. I hope that is honored. Sign up for the Peninsula Foodist newsletter. Limit parent attendance at the volleyball games? Members of the group Preserve Neighborhood Quality of Life Now said they were disappointed about some of the conditions in the approval. The school's scaled-down options included a shorter lease and renting space for only juniors and seniors, roughly one-quarter of the original proposal, she said. Give me a break! They had also argued that the reconstruction project runs afoul of zoning rules and that Castilleja's proposed underground garage is out of place in the single-family neighborhood. Don't be snarky or belittling. With over-enrollment of 40, Casti made $2.4 million in profit due to intentional legal violations. Castilleja admits its serves no public purpose or social good. What rule of law? The financial survival of poor struggling Casti which had to pay a fine of $265,000 ? There's a lot of people in town who use it and like it and we are an education town, not just a public education town.". Petrides suggested that Castilleja might consider submitting a proposal for use of facilities on the CSM campus that was much reduced in scope, the board's statement said. "We will be highly affected on Embarcadero Rd.this has been a concern of mine over these years." Given the overwhelming benefits of high quality education on lifetime earnings, on health, and positive community externalities, isn't the cost-benefit analysis particularly clear?! I am ok with agreeing to disagree and feel ready to let the whole thing go even though some of my preferences were not included in the resolution. HOORAY! There are private schools all over town. Many, many more people use the school than the surrounding houses. Spring Spring2021 2021 | 1 FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL The Strength of Our Community Just before last year's issue of Full Circle went to print in the spring, I added a note at the end of my letter. "There's just no way to make the findings on this and I'm kind of perturbed that we're approving the variance that we can't find the findings on," Kou said.But despite some reservations, her colleagues agreed that it's time to approve the project. Now it's official: Castilleja will not be moving temporarily to the College of San Mateo (CSM) next year. Your contribution matters. "The JCC really came through in our hour of need, and we are especially grateful to them as fellow educators," Kauffman said in a June 12 email update.Splitting off the sixth grade from the rest of the school wasnt Castilleja's first choice, but on the bright side, the move will reduce traffic to the Bryant Street campus during the next academic year, she said. Connecticut? No. HA. Opponents of the project often cited the school's history of failing to abide with the enrollment cap in its existing conditional use permit, a violation that prompted the city to issue a $265,000 fine against Castilleja in 2013 and to demand a gradual reduction in enrollment. 17 Comments. We pay for Castilleja's use of public services. Seems to me a fresh start is in order. "There's just no way to make the findings on this and I'm kind of perturbed that we're approving the variance that we can't find the findings on," Kou said. 5. Champagne must have flowed at Castilleja school the night our docile City Council voted to bow to the schools construction variances, enrollment increases, underground garage in an R-1 neighborhood, and more demands. "During these conversations, the SMCCCD Board made it sound like they were open to a smaller-scale usage, but when we offered that to them, they still refused to move forward with our smaller-scale proposal," she wrote. A further conversation between the SMCCCD Interim Chancellor and the Castilleja School Board President also occurred on May 23, 2023," but the board voted down the proposal the next day at its meeting, the statement said.Kauffman, after reading the board's statement, offered her response to the Weekly in a follow-up email. Palo Alto's Municipal code provides for statutory damages of $500 per violation per day. Every council member except for Vice Mayor Lydia Kou voted against the interest of actual Palo Alto residents. Both sides could find things they liked and things they didn't like. Im ready to move on and closely monitor and hope all are willing to do so too. Hopefully the rest can be parsed. Palo Alto Online Contact Us State income tax: The state currently has ten separate tax brackets. When it was overenrolled by 40, its uncollected statutory fines were $6 million/year. WISDOM FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL Sharing Stories of Dignity I am so excited to share Castilleja's stories with you in this issue of Full Circle. The project which includes reconstructing the academic buildings at the all-girls school, building an underground garage and gradually increasing student enrollment had already gone through 22 public hearings, various design revisions and two separate approval processes involving the Planning and Transportation Commission and the Architectural Review Board.The Monday vote represents a hard-fought if conditional victory for Castilleja. Disclaimer The 2019-2020 Annual Report includes all gifts received between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020. I wonder if an applicant with less resources would be treated the same. Sports It was founded in 1907 by Mary Lockey. They had also argued that the reconstruction project runs afoul of zoning rules and that Castilleja's proposed underground garage is out of place in the single-family neighborhood.Council member Greer Stone characterized the council's approval of the project, which gives Castilleja most of what it asked for but attaches new conditions to ensure its impacts on the neighborhood are contained, as a compromise between the school and its critics. A plan to renovate Castilleja School in Palo Alto has met resistance from residents. Casti has been a positive part of Palo Alto for well over a century. I do think that Casti should be compared with the other school campuses. It was my understanding that it was new leadership that admitted to the city their enrollment had grown but perhaps I am mistaken about that. Former Parkland school resource Deputy Scot Peterson was found not guilty Thursday on all 11 counts against him related to . EVERY SINGLE HOMEowner pays property tax every single year we live here and then when we sell, the city takes an ever-increasing slice of our gains in the form of a "document transfer fee" because it obviously takes them so much more time to transfer the documents for an expensive house as for a cheaper one. Hardly. Tuition Assistance Each year we distribute over $3.7 million to 20% of the student body. 0 Before joining the Palo Alto Weekly/PaloAltoOnline.com in 2008, he covered breaking news and local politics for the Waterbury Republican-American, a daily newspaper in Connecticut. Photo by Magali Gauthier. Uploaded: Mon, Jun 6, 2022, 10:56 pm Or does the school just kinda fudge the numbers? One option they suggested was to find a. All-Girls School Enraging. "We knew there would be a lot of conditions and we are prepared to do what we need to do," she said.Others were less thrilled. "There has been a breakdown in trust and I think both sides recognize that," Stone said. or one side of a street as opposed to the other side, or even neighbouring addresses. Uploaded: Tue, Jun 13, 2023, 9:51 am Cancel the school musical? Castilleja has shown a relentless history of obfuscating, finding loopholes, and willfully misinterpreting its conditions for remaining in an R-1 zone. Castilleja School will be able to reconstruct its Bryant Street campus and increase enrollment after the Palo Alto City Council voted Monday to approve the school's contentious plan after six years of bitter debate.The council voted 6-1, with Vice Mayor Lydia Kou dissenting, to approve what for years has been the most complex and fiercely debated proposal in the city's development pipeline. The details of the decision were not released, but Board President Lisa Petrides said during the announcement that the trustees affirmed their decision from May 10. Best Professional Roofing 760-594-7449 605 Wil-ev Drive, San Marcos, CA 92069 Thank you Rebecca for all your well researched informative comments. Assuming 300 operating days a year, Casti actually owed $3 million/year when it was overenrolled by 20. Castilleja didn't approach Skyline because planning with CSM was proceeding well, she said.By October, Castilleja was working with CSM to identify a combination of arts, athletics and science spaces that were going unused; and by February, CSM hosted a Castilleja Board of Trustees retreat, which included a tour of campus and a discussion of specific arrangements for middle and upper school students, she said.Kauffman called it "confusing" that the district Board of Trustees "did not follow through on CSMs good faith negotiations," despite knowing the hardship it would cause Castilleja. The school has been there longer than the nearby neighbors who bought their homes next to a school knowing full well that this was a destination school and that traffic and parking would be issues. With Castilleja School's proposal to rebuild its Bryant Street campus inching toward approval, supporters and opponents of the contentious plan brought their. Council member Eric Filseth suggested that the proposal that the council ended up with strikes the right balance when it comes to enrollment and supported the formation of a committee that would review Castilleja's compliance with its conditions of approval and make recommendations to the planning director. Gennady Sheyner covers the City Hall beat in Palo Alto as well as regional politics, with a special focus on housing and transportation. (2) There's a regional shortage of high quality schooling. But the City also has some work to do on this. Its not the school that is the problem. "Castilleja School educates motivated young women to become confident thinkers and compassionate leaders with a sense of purpose to effect change in the world." "The pursuit of Castilleja's mission is supported by a commitment to our core values, the 5Cs: "Courage, Conscience, Courtesy, Charity, and Character "The 5Cs . Nanci Kauffman. Is what you're advocating the law in Canada? The same criticism she wrote would apply to any private school, any private university, in fact any public university (eg. The project which includes reconstructing the academic buildings at the all-girls school, building an underground garage and gradually increasing student enrollment had already gone through 22 public hearings, various design revisions and two separate approval processes involving the Planning and Transportation Commission and the Architectural Review Board. Mountain View Voice When Casti took up our limited City Council time and budget for decades, we paid for it. Though they have been offered help to do it, they never accepted it. Print Edition/Archives The question is whether municipalities can make the proper investments in public transit, services (including schools), bike lanes, etc to make density function better. But Hank Sousa, also a member of the neighborhood group, called the council's prohibition on juniors driving a "modest victory" and took some solace in the fact that the enrollment levels will not exceed 450 for a while. The neighbors near any of those schools have some sympathy too, but it must be remembered that all who made their choice to live near a school have to deal with having a school as a neighbor. The win-win solution BTW is for the subset of neighbors that are aggrieved (at living next to a school and within a growing Palo Alto) to sell their fantastically valuable homes for millions of dollars, take the proceeds, and move somewhere quieter. It would require Castilleja to create an aggressive transportation-demand management plan that keeps traffic at its current levels. Holding classes at CSM would have also allowed the school to increase its enrollment by around 16 students about 3.5% in the coming school year without a problem, she said. All Casti now shares with the majority of its existence is its name. They were well-aware that reversing CSMs plan would be extremely disruptive to our community. The student population of Castilleja School is 430. There are now 3 middle schools and there were only 2 when I first moved here. It is not a charitable organization. 5 minutes ago Ex-Parkland school resource deputy cleared on all charges . Once it completes construction on the new buildings, it will be allowed to immediately raise its enrollment from the current level of 422 to 450. Sue Dremann is a veteran journalist who joined the Palo Alto Weekly in 2001. There needs to be an annual review cycle with milestones for education, encouragement, engineering and evaluation programs built in. It's very disappointing to see the arbitrary reduction in the number of events the school can hold on its campus. Sign up for the Peninsula Foodist newsletter. When Casti's construction trucks spew toxic cement fumes on our sidewalks, we will pay for it. and may be deleted if deemed inappropriate by our staff. Restoring trust should be inherent in the goals. Become a member today. "At the time, it was understood that Castilleja School had secured classroom space elsewhere," the district board stated.Beginning in February, conversations between the College of San Mateo and Castilleja began regarding hosting Castilleja's entire operation for two years: the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years. Uploaded: Tue, Jun 13, 2023, 9:51 am If we're counting the number of people that benefit, it's clear the hundreds of students, plus teachers, plus families outnumber the residents of a few dozen nearby properties. However, the board released a public statement on May 25 in which it stated that Castilleja's proposals would result in "detrimental displacement of students and undue interference with programs and activities at the College of San Mateo's campus.". If they fail to make milestones, make sure that the language allows NO legal wiggle room to allow further growth. I hope you and others are too. Castilleja has been in the community for a century or more. Lack of cell coverage is stranding Foothills Nature Preserve visitors, Report urges overhaul of Palo Alto's retail laws, City proposes right-turn-only islands, but no traffic signal, for Lincoln and Middlefield, Environmental Protection Agency invests more than $50M to protect San Francisco Bay, For beleaguered property owner, change of zoning is anything but straightforward. The permit states that if any students remain on campus during construction, the school can't have more than 416 students there a restriction to which the school will adhere, Kauffman said. The information listed below outlines Castilleja's Admission process. The council, she said, deferred too much in Castilleja's attorney in crafting the conditions around transportation-demand management (TDM), which are key to its enrollment plan. 2023 Palo Alto Online. Home Special Pubs Promotions News While the school has historically held more than 90 special events those with 50 or more attendees per year, its proposed conditional use permit would have lowered the number to 70, while also allowing five "major events" with 500 or more participants. 5.00 (1 review) 1310 Bryant St. Palo Alto, CA 94301. All rights reserved. Can we buy the land back from Castilleja and put it to good public use? 15 Education Salaries provided anonymously by Castilleja School employees. The school's motto is "Women Learning. But the city's never been big at looking at the big picture as shown by how they allow major construction on most major roads at the same time. While that is well shy of the 540 that Castilleja had requested in its conditional use permit application, the council's approval creates a path for getting to that higher level. Castilleja won the City Council's approval of its redevelopment plan in June 2022, following a contentious and drawn-out review process.Holding classes at CSM would have also allowed the school to increase its enrollment by around 16 students about 3.5% in the coming school year without a problem, she said. We'd much rather have housing there, so it's so weird to call us NIMBIES. Who is kidding whom?
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