Our Bay Area economy is driven by HighTech and BioTech entrepreneurs. These industries provide great careers in research and development, engineering, product management, product marketing, and manufacturing. There has been an on-going shortage of engineers and scientists despite great compensations and high financial rewards through equity.

PUSD has made great efforts in the last decade to improve the teaching of the hard sciences (Math, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, …) as we finally now have AP classes in these fields. But much more needs to be done: our laboratories need capital investment to bring science education at PUSD to the next level and encourage our students to embrace these disciplines.

In this context, we are ambivalent about supporting the Spring bond measure to transform the AHT facilities into a top-notched performing theater / concert hall. We are grateful to the teachers and parents who have made the arts alive and well in Piedmont. From our perspective, the self confidence, debate and people skills acquired through the performing arts are key to effective leadership and achieving fulfilling life. But what additional education value would a concert hall / Davies Hall bring to our students? Marginal at best. Restoring paid helpers in the classroom would have a much better return.

So given other needs, we have a hard time supporting a $13.5 millions AHT renovation. We believe the current plan is over the top, and would like to see a program which would 1- Upgrade in a cost effective way the theater for ADA access - quite frankly not an expensive deal. 2- Cleanup and fix what is broken in the theater, with money to upgrade equipment and facilities. 3- Have the City and the District work together rather than fight over turf and jobs to a-make in the short term the room currently unused in the Piedmont Art Center (PAC) available as a classroom and b- develop a plan to replace the PAC house with a three story building housing classrooms and modern science laboratories.

The current bond measure should be replaced with one in the Fall election with much lower dollars, without creative financing and whose amount is based on good sense rather than gold plating. ADA upgrade of the theater would be done in the 2015 winter without a need to close it permanently. We expect close collaboration between the City and the District to solve the classroom issue using PAC. Please let your opinion be known using Hari’s electronic Town Hall.

Bernard Pech
[email protected]