Guest Column: Art Hoff

Save Our Elementary School

A longtime Emeryville resident, business and community leader, Art Hoff is a former Planning Commissioner and former president of the School District Advisory Board of Trustees.

Mr Hoff has long concerned himself with the success of the schools in Emeryville and he has been a major philanthropist to the school district, generously giving both his time and money for the betterment of our schools.

Mr Hoff is concerned that the decision makers adjust their planning properly and be open to new iterations as the Emeryville Center of Community Life school/community center is buffeted by large Measure J bond funding perturbations in the wake of Emeryville's skidding assessed valuation.

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IF IT AIN’T BROKE DON’T FIX IT

Anna Yates Elementary, a jewel of a school, just renovated at a cost of $8 Million Dollars, should remain in its present location and not be re-built as part of the Emery Center for Community Life (ECCL).  This would not only provide a better elementary school, it would make available funds to properly complete the ECCL Campus.

Because of the sluggish economy, only $70 Million of the authorized $120 Million will be available for Phase I of the ECCL construction.  Estimates vary, but it could take 10 years for the additional funds to be available.

As a result ECCL will not contain a teaching theatre, a second public gym, a K-3 building and landscaping on the north and south boundaries of the complex. K-3 classes will be held at Anna Yates effectively splitting the elementary school in two.

The School Board is optimistic that they will find the additional money, but it depends on the assessed valuation of the District increasing at an annual rate of 7%.  Last year the assessment role decreased by 7%. 

When the ECCL proposal came before the Planning Commission, a majority of the commissioners thought the site was too small for all the desired uses.  Two telltale items pop up: 1) there is insufficient separation of outside play fields for the lower and upper grade students and 2) the running track which is traditionally a quarter mile oval is in the form of a trapezoid, not suitable for competitive races.

Anna Yates should be retained in its present location and the saved money used to complete the ECCL complex sooner rather than later.  Time is of the essence.  The School District’s enrollment decreased from 802 in 2006 to 718 in 2011 (10%).  And beginning next year the District will have a $1,500,000 deficit (15%) in its annual operating budget.

Art Hoff

2/19/12

Guest Column: Art Hoff

The Tattler introduces guest columnist, Arthur Hoff.  

A longtime Emeryville resident, business and community leader, Art Hoff is a former president of the School District Advisory Board of Trustees and he now sits on the Planning Commission.

Mr Hoff has long concerned himself with the success of the schools in Emeryville and he has been a major philanthropist to the school district, generously giving both his time and money for the betterment of our schools.

Mr Hoff is concerned that the decision makers adjust their planning properly and be open to new iterations as the Emeryville Center of Community Life school/community center is buffeted by large Measure J bond funding perturbations in the wake of Emeryville's skidding assessed valuation.    

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ARE OUR SCHOOLS FISCALLY STABLE?

The latest financial report from the Emeryville School Board indicates that the School District will have negative cash flows for the next two years, and unless we can make $1.6 million in unspecified budget cuts, we will have a negative fund balance by 2014.  This raises the question of the fiscal stability of a 750 student school district.

Many years ago, when I served on the board, conventional wisdom was that we needed a school population of 1,200 students in order to keep overhead costs is proper proportions to the total budget.   A school of 750 students was not considered financially viable.

The plan was to build an all-new 1200 student school as part of the Center for Community Life. Unfortunately, 5 years later, because of the unavailability of bond funds, the proposed new school complex will only accommodate 800 students.  We will need to wait another 5 years to bring the school to the sustainable level of 1200 students.  In view of the current economy and the financial condition of the District, can we wait that long?

Perhaps we should go in another direction: activate the [existing but abandoned] Middle School. While a 3^rd campus increases overhead costs,  they should be more than offset by the additional income from the 300 students the middle school can accommodate.

Arthur Hoff

Past President, Emery Schools

Guest Column: Art Hoff

The Tattler introduces guest columnist, Arthur Hoff.  

A longtime Emeryville resident, business and community leader, Art Hoff is a former president of the School District Advisory Board of Trustees and he now sits on the Planning Commission.

Mr Hoff has long concerned himself with the success of the schools in Emeryville and he has been a major philanthropist to the school district, generously giving both his time and money for the betterment of our schools.

A respected business leader in commercial real estate,  Mr Hoff weighs in on the alarming recent downgrade of Emeryville's bond capacity and its deleterious effect on the planned School/Recreation & Community Center rebuild project known as the Emeryville Center of Community Life:

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EMERYVILLE CENTER OF COMMUNITY LIFE:

A WAY FORWARD

“ECCL is not a building; it is a concept” 

School Board member Josh Simon 

A year ago when Proposition J was being considered, it was decided to seek the maximum bonding capacity available to the School District: $95,000,000.  Because of the limitation imposed by assessed valuation constraints, many believed that the maximum actual bonds that would be saleable were $40,000,000.  The reason being that the debt service could not exceed $60 per $100,000 assessed valuation.  In order to sell the balance of the bonds, the Emeryville assessed valuation would have to increase at an annual rate of 7% for 7 to 10 years or almost double.

Nevertheless the School Board went ahead with planning the project based on the $95,000,000.  We are now told that the $40,000,000 is that maximum we can expect in the foreseeable future.  Considering the sluggish economy, we are in for a long period frugal living.  Emeryville assessed valuation declined 6% this year yet the School Board seems to be on the verge of going forward with the maximum program and finishing it if and when funds become available.  Which means we may end up with a partially built school of only 800 students instead of the desired goal of 1,200. 

Perhaps there is a better way.  To quote Don Rumsfeld “you fight the war with the army you have”.  We should not make the same mistake again.

Several suggestions: 

1.  Maintain Anna Yates Elementary as a local neighborhood school. 
2.  Reactivate the Middle School utilizing the Doyle/Hollis Park. 
3.  With City help build a Recreation Center and Theater together with a remodeled high school at the present cite.  And maybe we can get by with one gym. 

With this program we should reach the 1,200 goal in short order. 

I do not believe there is substantial evidence that a K/12 configuration is the best school structure.

Arthur Hoff, former President EUSD.

Editors Note: The Tattler story on the crash of the school bonds can be read HERE.

Letter From Planning Commissioner Art Hoff

The following was submitted to the Tattler today. The author, Art Hoff, is a Planning Commissioner for the City of Emeryville and a longtime resident.  Mr Hoff has long advocated for the Emery schools and has donated generously to the schools over the years.  ECCL means the Emeryville Center of Community Life.

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Should Anna Yates [elementary school] be moved and incorporated in the ECCL site?

School officials argue that there are substantial academic and administrative advantages to moving Anna Yates to the new ECCL site.

On the other hand we just spent 8 to 9 million refurbishing Anna Yates and there are strong family ties to the existing facilities.

It would be interesting to know what the parents and teachers feel about the move. There was substantial dissent expressed at a recent ECCL design study.

Art Hoff