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in Skelly next month is expected to propose locations for an additional 30 new elementary classrooms across the district. Palo Alto has experienced an unexpected boom in elementaryage enrollment in the past two years that many believe could continue. Skelly has said the district must prepare itself to handle as many as 568 additional K-5 students in the next five years — the size of a large elementary school. Besides the groundbreakings expected this summer, several large bond projects — including Gunn’s industrial arts building and Paly’s softball and baseball fields — already have been completed. And there’s more to come, including a new performing arts center at Paly budgeted for nearly $18 million. The bond also has funded interactive Smar tboards and amplification systems in all elementary classrooms as well as at JLS — more than 200 classrooms in all, officials said. “We’ve essentially stopped buying televisions because the (Smartboard) projector will project whatever image you have on your computer screen to the whiteboard,” Golton said. “This is what children are used to doing nowadays.” Bond funds also are supplying classroom technology, including laptops and iPads. “We’re buying more laptops instead of desktops, and now the use of laptops is eroding because people are buying iPads,” Golton said. “All schools are being touched by this. You can’t go any place in any of our schools and not find student workstations being funded by our bond.” Site committees at each campus — including parents, staff and students — have been involved in planning the changes and advertising the plans to school neighbors. A landscape committee populated by community members also has provided scrutiny, particularly of the high school landscape plans. Elements of the bond program have come before the school board in hundreds of bits and pieces as they make their way through a lengthy approval process, which includes a mandatory review by the Division of State Architect that can take up to nine months. The recession led to “steeply discounted” bids early in the bond program as contractors slashed their margins to get the work, said Thomas Hodges, a senior vice-president of O’Connor Construction Management Inc. and program director for the bond project. As materials costs began increasing six months ago, “We’re still getting bids under budget, but not the steeply discounted bids we were seeing last year,” Hodges said. N Staff Writer Chris Kenrick can be emailed at ckenrick@paweekly. com.
News Digest Expert: DNA match in attempted murder, rape case DNA evidence links Lionel Blanks Jr. of Santa Clara to a rape and attempted-murder case that began in Palo Alto in May 2010 and involved a 29-year-old woman, a DNA expert testified at a preliminary hearing in Santa Clara County Superior Court in San Jose on Monday. Judge Ron Del Pozzo ruled there is sufficient evidence to try Blanks, who will be arraigned on May 31, when a trial date could be set. Blanks is accused of an attack that began with the beating, binding and blindfolding of the woman in Palo Alto sometime after 1:30 or 2 a.m. on May 22, 2010. He allegedly kidnapped the victim in her car, made death threats against her and drove her to an elementary-school field in Santa Clara, where he allegedly raped, beat and choked her. The victim testified last Friday she survived only because she had faked her death. Nancy Marte, a county criminologist and DNA expert, said on Monday that she did statistical analysis on 13 of the most common DNA markers in samples taken from the victim and Blanks. The chances of anyone else having the same DNA match as Blanks are greater than 1 in 300 billion, she said. Deputy Public Defender Gilda Valeros struck hard at the county’s analysis, which follows policies that have never been published or peer reviewed in any scientific publication. “I’m not accepting any opinion that she is rendering based on an unpublished study,” Valeros said. But Marte explained that all of the genetic markers tested have been scientifically peer reviewed and have been accepted since 2000. Blanks faces six counts that could result in life in prison if he is convicted: rape during the conviction of a kidnap, with an allegation of rape engaged in tying and binding and personally inflicting great bodily injury; sexual penetration by force; attempted murder; carjacking; robbery; and threats to commit a crime resulting in death or great bodily injury. N — Sue Dremann
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Palo Alto schools hire new expert on test data The Palo Alto Unified School District has hired a new, high-level data cruncher to analyze student performance and other testing information. Diana Wilmot, previously coordinator of assessment and accountability for the Santa Clara County Office of Education, will come to Palo Alto to replace William Garrison, who is retiring after eight years with the district. Wilmot will track and report on student-testing data and work with teachers and principals on instructional approaches. The research director reports on trends and comparisons in STAR, SAT and AP test scores as well as percentages of students who complete a fouryear-college-prep course load. Wilmot previously has worked for many research institutions, including Educational Testing Services. She holds a Ph.D. in quantitative methods and evaluation and a master’s degree in education from the University of California at Berkeley. Earlier in her career she taught math and statistics at Los Altos High School. “I’m excited to join such a distinguished education community and look forward to working with the incredible professionals at PAUSD to help make a positive difference for our students,” Wilmot said. N — Chris Kenrick
Commission stops work around heritage oak A meeting with San Mateo County left the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission reviewing options for sparing a 65-foot-tall heritage oak tree known as “Granny.” The centuries-old tree sits in the middle of a site in unincorporated Menlo Park designated for a planned water pipeline meant to carry water from the Hetch Hetchy, part of a $4.6 billion seismic-improvement project. For now, the agency has ensconced the tree within an “avoidance area” at 827 15th Ave., and directed its contractor, Mountain Cascade, to stop work within that boundary. Ed Harrington, commission general manager, told the county in a letter Wednesday (May 18) that he personally promised the zone around the tree would, in fact, be avoided until June 6 at the earliest. That gives the agency enough time to review the arborist report and evaluate the cost of alternatives to removing the tree, he said. Commission spokeswoman Maureen Barry described the meeting with the county as “very cordial.” At issue was whether the agency would be subject to the county’s heritage tree ordinance. The commission is claiming immunity as a public agency. The neighbors agreed to meet with agency representatives but still want at least two weeks’ notice before the tree is brought down, according to Mary Ann Mullen, who organized the campaign to save “Granny.” They continue to pursue a temporary restraining order, Mullen said. N — Sandy Brundage LET’S DISCUSS: Read the latest local news headlines and talk about the issues at Town Square at PaloAltoOnline.com
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NOTICE OF A PUBLIC MEETING of the city of Palo Alto Architectural Review Board (ARB) 8:30 A.M., Thursday, June 2, 2011 Palo Alto Council Chambers, 1st Floor, Civic Center, 250 Hamilton Avenue. Go to the Development Center at 285 Hamilton Avenue to review filed documents; contact Diana Tamale for information regarding business hours at 650.329.2144. 2080 Channing Avenue [10PLN-00198]: Request by Kenneth Rodriques & Partners, Inc. on behalf of Ho Holdings No. 1, LLC for Preliminary Review of a proposal for Edgewood Plaza Shopping Center. The proposal includes renovation of three existing retail structures, on-site relocation of one of the retail structures, and construction of 10 new single-family homes. 355 Alma [11PLN-00045]: Request by Lund Smith on behalf of Lytton Gateway LLC for Preliminary Review of a new mixed use, five-story building on the former Shell Station site (21,700 square feet). The site was previously zoned CD-C(P) and CD-N(P) but was initiated as Planned Community (PC) zone district by the Planning and Transportation Commission (P&TC) at the March 16, 2011 P&TC public meeting. Amy French Manager of Current Planning *> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ >ÞÊÓä]ÊÓ䣣ÊU Page 7