Stringed Instruments Since 1969
650 U493 U2131 ,AMBERT !VENUE s 0ALO !LTO www.gryphonstrings.com
Palo Alto UniďŹ ed School District Notice is hereby given that proposals will be received by the Palo Alto UniďŹ ed School District for multiple work bid packages. Description of the projects/work is as follows: s 'UNN (IGH 3CHOOL 2EPLACEMENT OF 'YM (EATERS \ #ONTRACT .O ''( s 0ALO !LTO (IGH 3CHOOL 2EPLACEMENT OF 7INDOWS AT 4OWER "LDG (AY MARKET 4HEATRE 2EBID \ #ONTRACT .O 0!72 Mandatory Job Walk: 4HERE WILL BE A PRE BID CONFERENCE AND SITE VISIT FOR each project. Bid Submission: Proposals must be received at the District Facilities Of lCE "UILDING “Dâ€?. For more details on obtaining plans and speciďŹ cations, the mandatory job walk, bid submission, prevailing wage laws, or the bid packages, please see the contact below. PREVAILING WAGE LAWS: 4HE SUCCESSFUL "IDDER MUST COMPLY WITH ALL prevailing wage laws applicable to the Project, and related requirements CONTAINED IN THE #ONTRACT $OCUMENTS 0ALO !LTO 5NIlED 3CHOOL $ISTRICT WILL MAINTAIN A ,ABOR #OMPLIANCE 0RO GRAM ,#0 FOR THE DURATION OF THIS PROJECT )N BIDDING THIS PROJECT THE CONTRACTOR WARRANTS HE SHE IS AWARE AND WILL FOLLOW THE 0UBLIC 7ORKS #HAPTER OF THE #ALIFORNIA ,ABOR #ODE COMPRISED OF LABOR CODE SECTIONS n ! COPY OF THE $ISTRICTS ,#0 IS AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW AT #HURCHILL !VENUE "UILDING $ 0ALO !LTO #! ! PRE JOB CONFERENCE SHALL BE CONDUCTED WITH THE CONTRACTOR OR subcontractors to discuss federal and state labor law require ments applicable to the contract. 0ROJECT CONTRACTORS AND SUBCONTRACTS SHALL MAINTAIN AND FURNISH to the District, at a designated time, a certiďŹ ed copy of each payroll with a statement of compliance signed under penalty of perjury. 4HE $ISTRICT SHALL REVIEW AND IF APPROPRIATE AUDIT PAYROLL RECORDS TO VERIFY COMPLIANCE WITH THE 0UBLIC 7ORKS #HAPTER OF THE ,ABOR #ODE 4HE $ISTRICT SHALL WITHHOLD CONTRACT PAYMENTS IF PAYROLL RECORDS are delinquent or inadequate. 4HE $ISTRICT SHALL WITHHOLD CONTRACT PAYMENTS AS DESCRIBED IN THE ,#0 INCLUDING APPLICABLE PENALTIES WHEN THE $ISTRICT AND ,ABOR #OMMISSIONER ESTABLISH THAT UNDERPAYMENT OF OTHER VIOLATIONS has occurred. "IDDERS MAY EXAMINE "IDDING $OCUMENTS AT &ACILITIES /FlCE Building “Dâ€?. Palo Alto UniďŹ ed School District #HURCHILL !VENUE "UILDING h$v 0ALO !LTO #! 0HONE &AX
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donate to the Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund Donate online at siliconvalleycf.org/paw-holiday-fund Page 6ĂŠUĂŠ iVi“LiÀÊÓ£]ÊÓä£ÓÊUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠ Â?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠĂœĂœĂœÂ°*>Â?Âœ Â?ĂŒÂœ"˜Â?ˆ˜i°Vœ“
School
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are on a number of unpredictable factors, including the demands from CalPERS (the colossal state fund that administers the city’s pension system), employee retirements and the general health of the economy. But the report represents the best available guess from the Administrative Services Department about what the city’s financial future holds if the department’s current assumptions hold. The forecast model in the report assumes a 10 percent annual increase in medical costs, an increase of 3 percent in pension costs and a 2 percent salary increase for the two largest labor groups, the Service Employees International Union and the non-unionized group of management and professionals, starting in 2014. The other labor groups would get a similar raise in 2015. In discussing the forecast, council members suggested the news in the document might be a little too good to be true, particularly the staff projection that revenues will grow by 3.1 percent every year between 2013 and 2023. Vice Mayor Greg Scharff suggested that staff isn’t taking a long-enough view in making its predictions. Its projection that revenues will grow by 3.1 percent every year is based on three successful years, he said, and fails to account for possible down years over the next decade. The past decade has been a strong one for Palo Alto, even with the 2008 recession, but Scharff nonetheless voiced reservations about staff’s prediction. “My concern is I think we’re being much more aggressive in sales revenues,� Scharff said. “I don’t think it’s sustainable.� The council directed staff by a 3-0 vote to revise the forecast and consider the revenue trends for the past 20 years. Even with the long-term uncertainty, the numbers offer good news on the immediate financial front, in-
Walter Hays Elementary School
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Incoming students who live in about 20 blocks north and south of Embarcadero Road would be moved from the Addison attendance area to Walter Hays’ under a new plan. the board. In October, board members asked staff to come up with a “conceptual comparison� of opening a 13th elementary school at the
Finance
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the school board Tuesday. “We’d really like to fix that,� he said. “Hays has seen declining enrollment trends as kids age up, so we’re looking at shifting some of these kids from Addison to Hays.� Also Tuesday, officials said that despite rising enrollment, Palo Alto’s three middle schools — augmented by portable classrooms — should be able to meet demand at least through 2021. Board members and Skelly have said they would like to open a fourth middle school before that time. Dunkin, who has been analyzing projections, said, “There is probably some middle ground.� Board members said they would like to see options that include opening a new middle school before 2021, and Skelly promised to come back after the holidays with proposals. As for a new elementary school, a committee of parents and school officials will convene after the holidays to advise on options, guided by a list of “values� approved by
Channing Ave.
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Other classes at more advanced levels are also offered. A full brochure is available at Gryphon.
Direct proposal: Students would attend Hays, rather than Addison
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*“Starting to Play� meets for one hour each Monday night for nine weeks beginning January 7. Students are encouraged to bring their own guitar, but both nylon-string and steel-string loaner guitars are available.
Addison
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Carol McComb’s “Starting to Play� workshop includes the FREE use of a Loaner Guitar for the duration of the classes.* Regular cost is just $160 for nine weeks of group lessons, and all music is included.
Upfront
Source: DecisionInsite
Learn the Guitar this Winter
old Garland Elementary School campus at 870 N. California Ave. versus the Greendell campus at 4120 Middlefield Road. N
Sales tax revenues are heading back up $25,000 $23,364 $22,623
$23,000
$22,132
$22,194 $21,000 $20,089
$20,746
$19,000 $17,991
$17,000
$15,000 2007
2008
2009
2010
Fiscal Year
2011
2012
2013 Graph by Lili Cao
City of Palo Alto sales-tax revenues have rebounded from the 2008 dip of the “Great Recession� and are on an upward trajectory. dicating that Palo Alto has emerged from the 2008 economic slump much faster than much of California and the nation at large. Councilwoman Nancy Shepherd suggested that the national foreclosure crisis, which has troubled local economies elsewhere but which has not made a dent in Palo Alto, is a major reason for the city’s bounce back. In fact, the city’s property-tax revenues have gone up from $25.7 million to $26.5 million between 2011 and 2012. But the council hedged its enthusiasm, noting that the local economy may face its own hurdles down the line. Councilman Pat Burt said that Palo Alto’s “microeconomy� could suffer downturns that the rest of the nation may not see. “We’re tied to the tech economy, which is more volatile,� Burt said. “We were hit harder by the dotcom bust than the rest of the country.� The city also continues to struggle with the high cost of employee benefits, which have been taking up a greater share of the General Fund budget every year. Between 2003 and 2013, the city’s expenditures on salaries and benefits have gone up by 24 percent, despite a major reduction
in staffing levels. Pensions alone have increased nearly tenfold, from about $2.4 million in 2003 to more than $24 million this year. Medical costs are also rising fast, going from $6.8 million in 2011 to a projected level of $9.1 million in fiscal year 2014. Meanwhile, the city has been slashing the number of positions supported by the General Fund, which pays for most basic city services (not including utilities). Between 2003 and 2013, the number of positions has been reduced from 758 to 578, said Christine Paras, principal analyst at the Administrative Services Department. Overall, the new numbers represent a stunning turnaround from last year’s forecast, which predicted an $88 million budget gap over 10 years. The new document, meanwhile, projects a $4.2 million surplus over the next decade if the assumptions in its forecast model hold. Paras called the difference between the two forecasts a “180 degree shift.� Even so, the council is looking to continue its effort to curb the steeply growing costs of employee benefits. The council plans to hold a meeting next month to discuss potential health care and pension reforms. N