Upfront TRANSPORTATION
EDUCATION
Caltrain could try for tax increase to fund operations
High school graduation criteria debated
Coming year’s budget looks stable, officials say, but long-term picture murky by Gennady Sheyner
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year after barely avoiding draconian service cuts, Caltrain officials have several reasons to feel optimistic even as they continue to scramble for new funding sources to keep the trains running. The agency, which draws funding from transit districts in Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco counties, withstood a financial crisis last year after San Mateo County Transit District (Samtrans) drastically cut back its contributions, prompting other agencies to follow suit. The result was a $30 million deficit on a budget of roughly $100 million. The good news for the cash-strapped agency is that its popularity continues to soar, thanks in large part to contributions from major employers such as the Stanford University Medical Center and Facebook, according to Yoriko Kishimoto, a former Palo Alto mayor who currently leads the group “Friends of Caltrain.� Kishimoto, who updated the City Council Rail Committee on Caltrain’s latest efforts Thursday morning, said that increased ridership has put a dent into the agency’s operating deficit. Stanford University Medical Center, for example, announced last month that it has offered Caltrain Go Passes to all of its employees. As of mid-December, about 2,000 employees had signed on for the monthly passes. Kishimoto estimated that the hospitals’ contribution brings Caltrain $1.4 million in annual revenues. Facebook, she said, has shuttles operating for each train. “The good thing, overall, is that every month since then (last year’s finan-
cial crisis), Caltrain ridership has been going up and revenues are going up,� Kishimoto said. But the recent uptick in revenue doesn’t erase the need for a dedicated funding source, which Caltrain still lacks. One idea on the table for addressing the agency’s long-term needs is a sales-tax increase for San Mateo County. Kishimoto said Caltrain will be conducting polls and surveys in the coming months to gauge the likelihood of such a measure passing. Another proposal, from state Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, would raise the sales tax in all three counties to support Caltrain. Kishimoto said Hill will detail his proposal at the Feb. 2 meeting of Friends of Caltrain. Either tax proposal would require voter approval. Mark Simon, Caltrain’s executive officer of public affairs, told the Weekly that the agency is facing two problems: the structural funding deficit and the need to modernize Caltrain, an ambitious effort that includes electrifying the tracks. “Caltrain is one of the few transit agencies that don’t have a dedicated source of funding,� Simon said. “We can put a sales-tax measure on the ballot, but we’d like to know a little more about whether it would pass.� In addition to considering a possible tax measure, Simon said Caltrain is reviewing its entire business model and considering how it allocates costs to the three transit partners. (continued on page 7)
School officials ponder better ‘alignment’ with CSU/UC entrance requirements by Chris Kenrick lgebra 2 has become a focus for a debate over whether the Palo Alto Unified School District should boost its graduation requirements to meet entrance criteria for the California State University (CSU) and the University of California (UC). Though the subject is not currently required for high-school graduation here, it is a prerequisite for entrance to both of the state’s four-year public university systems. Next week, Palo Alto Superintendent Kevin Skelly will present new data on student performance in Algebra 2 and some “preliminary thoughts� on how graduation requirements could be reformed. Math is only one of several areas in which Palo Alto graduation criteria are not consistent with CSU/UC entrance requirements. Palo Alto also falls short of CSU/ UC entrance criteria in foreign language. On the other hand, the district exceeds the four-year public college requirements in social studies, career-technical education, physical education and living skills. A solid majority of Palo Alto students — 80 percent of the Class of 2011 — meet or surpass the CSU/ UC requirements by the time they graduate. But consistently, about 20 percent — disproportionately AfricanAmerican and Hispanic — fall short. Out of concern for those students, the Board of Education highlighted the issue in its 2008 strategic plan, setting a goal of higher completion rates of the CSU/UC criteria, the socalled “A-G requirements.� The Parent Network for Students
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Gateway
portation Commission held its third hearing on the project Wednesday night. After a wide-ranging discussion that lasted longer than four hours and stretched past midnight, the commission once again requested revisions from the applicant. The commission voted 6-1, with Vice Chair Susan Fineberg dissenting, to send the project back to the drawing board, despite recognition from several commissioners that the project is perfect for the site. The applicants had already acceded to prior suggestions from various commissioners to add height, include more affordable housing and increase the retail space. The earlier version of the project had four stories, three units of affordable housing and 800 square feet of retail. Commissioners said Wednesday that the project still doesn’t offer enough “public benefits� — an ambiguous requirement that developers must satisfy to get the city’s approval for a “planned community� (PC) zone. The zoning designation allows developers to exceed the city’s regulations in exchange for negotiated benefits. Commissioner Arthur Keller argued that the building
Courtesy of Korth Sunseri Hagey Architects
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Although mostly well-received by the Planning & Transportation Commission, the now five-story Gateway project was sent back to the developer to come back with more public benefits to justify its size and density. owners should offer Caltrain and VTA passes to all residents. Commissioner Samir Tuma advocated requiring the building to include below-market-rate commercial space (in addition to the affordable-housing units). Commissioner Greg Tanaka said the project should include more parking and suggested that the developers make the building’s parking spaces available to
the public. After hours of discussion and disagreement among commissioners about what types of benefits the developer should provide, Commissioner Daniel Garber appeared frustrated by the increasing demands of his colleagues. He and Planning and Community Environment Director Curtis Williams both said that the proposal
of Color and the Student Equity Action Network have advocated “A-G for all� as a way of boosting expectations for minority students. Last spring, Skelly asked the Board of Education to take steps toward aligning graduation requirements with CSU/UC criteria. By boosting math and language graduation requirements, Palo Alto could “formally acknowledge and strengthen its commitment toward eliminating the achievement gap,� the district’s Director of Secondary Education Debbra Lindo said at the time. The recommendation sparked an outcry from special-education parents, however, who worried their children could have difficulty graduating under the new requirements. The board tabled it pending further research on the reasons students fail to fulfill the A-G requirements. Lindo has since left Palo Alto to become superintendent of the Emery Unified School District. But the issue has not gone away. Skelly returned to the board last fall with information on the types of students who fail to meet the four-year college requirements. He is expected to present more data — on the Class of 2012 — at next Tuesday’s board meeting. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in the board room of school district headquarters (25 Churchill Ave.). In October Skelly’s research director, Diana Wilmot, reported that more than 60 percent of students failing to meet the CSU/UC requirements are white or Asian. However, a higher-than-expected proportion are African-American and Hispanic.
English and math are where students have the most difficulty, Wilmot said, adding that many don’t give up easily and still are trying as late as senior year to complete Algebra 2 or Geometry and make up English credits. In many cases there were early signs of struggle. About half of the 170 members of the Class of 2011 who failed to complete A-G had scored “below proficient� in standardized tests in elementary school, Wilmot said. In the end, 90 percent of the Paly and Gunn classes of 2011 went on to college, 80 percent to four-year colleges, Wilmot reported. She noted that many private four-year colleges have lower entrance criteria than CSU/UC. For graduation, Palo Alto currently requires 20 units of math, including “one year of algebra or its equivalent.� By contrast, CSU/UC wants 30 units of math, including “Algebra 1 or equivalent, Geometry and Algebra 2.� In foreign language, now called “world languages,� Palo Alto has no requirement while CSU/UC want 20 credits, or two years. Palo Alto exceeds CSU/UC criteria in social studies, demanding 40 credits — four years — in contrast to CSU/UC’s 20 credits. Palo Alto also requires 20 units of physical education, 10 units of career-technical education and 5 units of living skills. Those courses are not required for CSU/UC entrance but are mandated by state legislation for every student in California. N Staff Writer Chris Kenrick can be emailed at ckenrick@paweekly. com.
is consistent with the City Council’s push to encourage more dense developments near transit hubs. The council had previously directed staff to allow projects to exceed the city’s 50-foot height limit if they are located near Caltrain stations — a policy aimed at promoting walking and use of public transit to relieve traffic congestion. The building’s location across from the Caltrain station is also a leading reason for why the League of Women Voters and the Sierra Club both submitted letters in support of the project. Neighboring property owners also attended Wednesday’s hearing to urge approval. “It is one of the prime sites for redevelopment — immediately adjacent to transit,� Williams told the commission. “If not here, then where would we do it?� Garber agreed and argued that the project is perfect for the proposed site at 355 Alma St. The building’s size, he said, is exactly what the city is trying to encourage around train stations. “I find it somehow astounding that we keep trying to find other things to add on to this,� Garber said. “We’re just piling on.� “I’m finding myself very frustrated with the fact that we have a project
that’s done everything we wanted it to do, and it doesn’t seem like there’s any consensus around it,� he added. “I’m astounded by it.� Chair Eduardo Martinez agreed with Garber that higher density should be encouraged near transit but argued that there is an imbalance between the benefits to the developer and to the public. Fineberg argued that the applicant didn’t follow the commission’s prior instructions to come back with more benefits. “We as a body asked you to come back with substantive public benefits, and it didn’t happen,� Fineberg said. “We’re making lots of additional suggestions tonight.� The commission agreed that the developer doesn’t need to make any more changes to the building’s design. When the application returns, the focus of the discussion will be solely on public benefits. If the city doesn’t approve the PC zone, the developer would have the option of building a standard two-story commercial building at the site under the existing zoning. N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be emailed at gsheyner@paweekly. com.
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