BY SWETA VOHRA //

A popular, vibrant radio class at El Cerrito High School is highlighting the importance of youth voice and activism.

Check out the video below to listen to what’s going on. Also be sure to check out this link for more info and to listen live!

www.worldoneradio.org

BY FERNANDO GALLO //

The Windrush School in El Cerrito opened its new “green” middle school building in September, earning a gold certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System in the process.

Among the environmentally friendly features the building has are ample skylights, solar panels and insulated concrete forms that eliminate the need to use lumber. The building also does not require a climate control system, saving nearly $16,000 in energy costs every year. Head of school Ilana Kaufman gives us a tour of the building and explains some of its benefits.

BY N’JERI EATON//

The West Contra Costa Unified School District met with the community Wednesday night to discuss school closures at DeJean Middle School in Richmond.

BY N’JERI EATON//

The West Contra Costa Unified School District met with the community Wednesday night to discuss school closures at DeJean Middle School in Richmond.Each school board member, including newly elected Antonio Medrano and Tony Thurmond, addressed the audience about how they plan to handle school consolidation.

With the announcement last week about the growing state deficit, school boards across the state, including West Contra Costa Unified will be affected.  This may lead to an increased number of school closures.  Following a special session with the state Legislature, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed cutting $4.5 billion from education, health care and welfare payment.

“We were looking at closing three or four schools before, now we may be closing four or five.  We don’t know yet,” said board member Antonio Medrano.

Castro Elementary School is scheduled to close at the end of the school year.  The school board has recommended the site be used for the relocation of Portola Middle School.

Student kayak trip to Angel Island.

BY SWETA VOHRA //

El Cerrito residents may soon have a new neighbor. The Living Skills Center for the Visually Impaired, currently located in San Pablo, is considering moving to the city of El Cerrito in order to provide a higher quality of life for its students.

“El Cerrito is a community on the move,” says the center’s director Patricia Williams, who has been involved with the organization for 36 years.

A former instructor, Williams says that she’s wanted to build a new site since she became director in 1995. For over a year now, the organization has focused on El Cerrito because of its central location plus its safe and friendly community.

On Sept. 15 the El Cerrito City Council voted for a mixed-use project on Portola Drive between San Pablo and the Ohlone Greenway. This project, managed by Resources for Community Development, a non-profit affordable housing development company, would combine the Living Skills Center with 57 affordable rental apartments, according to the organization’s proposal.

El Cerrito officials chose the Living Skills Center’s project over another proposal from Satellite Housing, Inc., which would have catered to a developmentally disabled population. That proposal would have built affordable housing at the Connor’s Doors site on 10919 San Pablo Avenue.

The city council approved a $100,000 loan to Resources for Community Development to assist the organization with predevelopment expenses. Both Resources for Community Development and Living Skills Center must work on securing funds, as well as final approvals from the City Council and Planning Commission, before they can begin projected construction in October 2010.

According to Williams, partnering with an affordable housing developer allows Living Skills Center to provide the best quality of life to its students, while the major task of maintenance will be left to Resources for Community Development.

For Living Skills Center, the joint agreement means, “still having part ownership and some control over accessibility issues, safety, and student rents,” according to the organization’s proposal.

Living Skills Center was founded by Dr. Philip Hatlen in 1972 to assist blind youth in their transition from home into the outer communities. It was his vision to form a program where students live by their own means to learn independence. Classes like cooking, adaptive technology, cane travel skills and Braille fill up each student’s day so at the end of their year-long stay, the students can handle daily tasks with little assistance.

Currently, the organization operates out of a complex in San Pablo where it rents nine apartments to house its 18 students, who come from around the country.

According to the organization, 87 percent of students “move on to live independent, fulfilling lives.”

Now, after 36 years, Williams says that the organization needs a change and more importantly, its own property in order to have more control over the quality and maintenance of the services it provides to its students.

The site on Portola drive is ideal, says Williams, because it’s “tucked away a little,” but still has access to two BART stations as well as Safeway and Longs Pharmacy.

Williams says she will go door-to-door to meet her El Cerrito neighbors if the city council gives final approval for their move. She says the Living Skills Center “will make a concerted effort to be good community citizens.”

If all goes well, Living Skills Center will move into to their new home in January 2012.

BY N’JERI EATON//

State education budget cuts have forced Castro Elementary School in El Cerrito, like many public schools throughout the state, to do more with less. Despite the loss of hours for librarians, school psychologists, and the elimination of the music program, Castro Elementary continues to thrive and exceed state performance standards. However, if voters decide against the Measure D parcel tax, schools in the West Contra Costa School District will face continued challenges.

A yes vote for Measure D renews the existing parcel tax that was approved by voters on June 8, 2004. The measure seeks to continue the parcel tax for the next five years, ending in June of 2014. If Measure D does not pass, the existing partial tax will expire on June 30, 2009.

If approved, Measure D funds will be used to hire and retain qualified teachers, reduce class sizes and provide after school activities.

A parcel tax feasibility study conducted by the school in March 2008 showed 66 percent of voters supported the measure while 26 percent were against it.

No on Measure D opponents accuse the school district of mismanaging the money from the parcel tax, using if for other expenses like post-employment benefits instead of children’s education. Marilynne Mellander, an outspoken opponent of Measure D, believes that current parcel tax has not had a positive influence on the schools.

“There’s still violence, there’s poor education,” Mellander said. “Throwing any more money at the district will not have any impact.”

According to the staff at Castro Elementary, the money from the current bond measure pays for art programs, band, and after school intervention for students who need more one-on-one time with teachers. Kyle Nelson, a second-grade teacher and head of the site council for the school, said the money for these programs is crucial.

“As much as we can do with any of that, the money comes from this bond measure,” Nelson said.

However, members of the Alliance of Contra Costa Taxpayers don’t want any additional taxes. No on Measure D opponents claim that “people in the district are already the most heavily taxed in the county with six extra taxes already imposed by the district.”

The tax would apply to each parcel of real property in the district. If the parcel has a building on it, the tax would be 7.2 cents per square foot. For example, the tax for a property with a 1,800 square feet would be around $129. If the parcel were vacant, the annual tax would be just $7.20. Senior citizens are exempt from the parcel tax. An exemption form can be found on the school district website.

Although Measure D opponent Mellander is retired, she has not reached the minimum age required for the exemption. She says the parcel tax is a burden on her fixed income. “I don’t see the reason for it, especially in this economic downturn,” she said.

Nelson, who has been teaching for 11 years, believes the tax is an investment in schools.

“We forget, I think, where we are and what we’re doing,” Nelson said. “And 50 bucks a year isn’t a lot of money to be putting towards it.”

However, Mellander is one of a group of citizens who is determined to campaign against the measure.

“We stopped it the last time and we’re going to stop it again and send the board a message,” she said.

Voters will be able to make their decision on November 4. The measure requires two-thirds of voter support in order to pass.

For more information on the proposition, consult your sample ballot or the following links:

Explanation of Measure D

http://www.smartvoter.org/2008/11/04/ca/cc/meas/D/

No on Measure D

http://WWW.ACCTaxpayers.com

Parcel Tax Feasibility Report

http://www.wccusd.k12.ca.us/Fiscal/parcel_tax/WCCUSD-Survey3-08.pdf

Senior Citizen Exemption Form

http://www.wccusd.k12.ca.us/Fiscal/parcel_tax/sr_exemption_form_0809.pdf

2005-2006 School District Budget Cuts

http://www.wccusd.k12.ca.us/Fiscal/PDF/cuts030804.pdf

BY SWETA VOHRA //

In this year’s local elections, four candidates will be running to fill two empty seats on the West Contra Costa School Board. They include Karen Pfeifer, Antonio Medrano, Robert Studdiford and Tony Thurmond. Three of the four candidates offer their comments and outlook on the future of the district.

The West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) serves the communities of Richmond, Hercules, Pinole, El Cerrito, and San Pablo and the unincorporated areas of East Richmond Heights, El Sobrante, Kensington, Bay View-Montalvin Manor, North Richmond and Tara Hills. It covers a 65-mile area and serves over 31,000 students from kindergarten to the 12th grade. There are over 25 different ethnicities within the families of the WCCUSD and over 80 languages are spoken.

Karen Pfeifer is the current WCCUSD School Board President and has served for four years. She is full-time mother to three children and full-time nurse at Alta Bates Medical Center. As president of the school board, Pfeifer has facilitated the start of career technical programs, a Safety Resource Officer (SRO) Program and an academic council among many other things. She has been a resident of El Cerrito for 20 years and has been active in PTA and site council.

Antonio Medrano is a retired school teacher who spent 40 years in the public education system and has been living in the city of San Pablo for the past 30 years. Medrano has spent years working with civil rights and activist organizations such as Amnesty International, Ed Fund and Concilo Latino. He has also worked on several committees under the WCCUSD and was the past chair of the Civilian Bond Oversight Committee.

Robert Studdiford has been a resident of El Cerrito for 25 years and is the father of three children. Studdiford has been actively involved in his children’s PTA for the past eight years and has also sat on the Citizens Bond Oversight and Citizen Budget Advisory committees for several years. In addition, he has run his own company, Twofish Unlimited, for the past 15 years -  a company that manufactures bicycle and wheelchair accessories.

Tony Thurmond is a long-time resident of Richmond and currently serves as executive director of Beyond Emancipation, an Alameda County based non-profit for youths. Thurmond was elected to the Richmond City Council in 2005 and was re-elected for a two-year term in 2006. He served as council liaison to Richmond’s Youth Commission and Workforce Investment Board and is the council liaison to the West Contra Costa Unified School District. Thurmond was unavailable for a video interview.

Tony Thurmond