[BHS etree] SUPT: Update on Derby Field and BUSD & Board Committees

[bhs at idiom.com]

PLEASE DO NOT REPLY to the etree, contact Mark Coplan
[mailto:Mark_Coplan at berkeley.k12.ca.us] 

Update on Derby Field and BUSD & Board Committees:

The BUSD held two community meetings to receive public comment about
the Closed Derby Street Plan, in December and January. The last action
by the Board was to direct staff to pursue the Closed Derby Option,
and they directed staff to conduct these meetings for community input.
The overwhelming comment voiced in the meetings was in support of a
neighbor's Curvy Derby Plan, recommending it as an alternative to the
Closed Derby Plan that would still allow for a larger athletic field.

The next step in the process is to deliver the information gathered in
those meetings to the Board of Education for review. The report will
come before the Board in March, when the calendar will allow
sufficient time to make it a Conference Item as opposed to an
Informational Item. A Conference Item allows the Board greater options
once they receive the report, while an Information Item only allows
them to receive the report for information. Staff listened to the
community and believes that this is what they were asking for.

Update on the interim grass athletic field currently under
construction

Most of the work on the interim grass playing field currently under
construction has been completed. The contractor is ready to lay down
the sod, and I understand that they will do that as soon as PG&E has
removed the transformer that sits in the middle of the field.
Unfortunately PG&E has been unable to give any indication as to when
that might happen. Once the sod has been laid, there is a settling
period, while the sod bonds with the earth, that the field cannot be
used. Hopefully the sod can be laid while there is still rain to feed
it.

BUSD & Board Committees

Meanwhile, the BUSD Surplus Committee has completed their report to
the Board on the Hillside School site, and at least six of the members
have agreed to continue with the committee as we begin looking at
other surplus property questions. The Board is looking for an
additional five community members who are interested in the work of
the Surplus Committee and are willing to serve. The committee is what
is referred to as a "7-11" Committee as it is required to have a
minimum of seven, but not more than eleven members. Board members are
also looking to fill vacancies in the Facilities Safety and the
Maintenance Oversight Committee (FSMOC) and the School Construction
Oversight Committee (SCOC). Information on all of these and the
application (use the same application for the Surplus Committee) is
available on the BUSD website, [ http://www.berkeley.k12.ca.us
]www.berkeley.k12.ca.us under "Board Committees" or by calling
644-6320.


==========================================

Mark A. Coplan
Public Information Officer, BUSD
510-644-6320
Mark_Coplan at berkeley.k12.ca.us
Berkeley Unified School District
2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Berkeley, Ca 94704-1180