"They just want to have less parking on-site so that they can have a bigger more massive building. So, no garage needed. Despite Monday nights setback, Kauffman said she will continue fighting for a project that is on the right side of history. In response to DuBois comments, she said the school isnt going anywhere. He and other members of the group Preserve Neighborhood Quality of Life Now (PNQLNow) argued that it is the school and planning staff who are responsible for the process taking so long. The mess resulting from the expansions will represent a major hit to the city's quality of life, particularly for the several thousand residents living in the neighborhoods closest to the school. "Does it seem to you that this is going to bite us in the rear when we look at this project in the future and ask, 'Why did we make a big deal out of this minor difference in underground parking?'" While its plans call for increasing student enrollment, the project would actually constitute a reduction in total building area, according to planning staff. Castilleja School offers 11 interscholastic sports: Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Track and Field, Volleyball and Water Polo. He and other members of the group Preserve Neighborhood Quality of Life Now (PNQLNow) argued that it is the school and planning staff who are responsible for the process taking so long. ", "It's doing something that is really powerful and I want to emphasize that," Thompson said. [17], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}372620N 1220906W / 37.4388N 122.1517W / 37.4388; -122.1517, Last edited on 30 December 2022, at 00:15, Western Association of Schools and Colleges, National Association of Independent Schools, "As Castilleja plans its expansion, city seeks firm assurances on traffic impacts", "City offers compromise in controversy over Castilleja expansion", "Exclusive Palo Alto school redevelopment plan would cause significant traffic issues, report says", "Council approves Castilleja's expansion plan after years of controversy", "Commerce Secretary Pritzker: On Diversity, Silicon Valley Can Learn From Washington", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Castilleja_School&oldid=1130397858, This page was last edited on 30 December 2022, at 00:15. The school's modernization plans have polarized the Professorville and Old Palo Alto neighborhoods, with some residents panning Castilleja's construction plan as a colossal overreach and an affront on the surrounding single-family neighborhood, and others calling a sorely needed upgrade for an acclaimed institution dedicated to educating young women. It seems fair to assume any family in a position to receive significant tuition assistance probably can't afford to live near Castilleja at current prices. I'm pretty sure no neighbor that's not a parent has ever agreed with proposed enrollment increase. It's inevitable. This has taken way too long to resolve, and has cost the school way too much money. St. Paul's is a completely residential, co-educational, Episcopal, secondary school in Concord, NH, welcoming to all faiths. Nor is concrete. of students and parents agree that the teachers adequately lead and control the classroom. Miss Manners: I shouldn't call because the phone scares people? Will decisions align with S-CAP goals? It wasn't perfect, though. Santa Rosa high school student stabbed to death in classroom Mask stepped down as the head coach at Pell City High . When is the application deadline for Castilleja School? Let's reduce the pain to all parties, to more quickly get their renovations completed! Staff's preferred design combines these underground spaces with 11 new at-grade spaces and 26 existing ones for a total of 89 spaces. Other duties as assigned by either the Head of School, Head of Middle School, or Director of Athletics. Schools deserve to be in neighborhoods. Get the latest local news and information sent straight to your inbox. The naysayers are hopelessly dug into their negative position, but in my opinion really don't have a leg to stand on. It's a game of pay-to-play musical chairs, with more people constantly being added, but basically the same number of chairs then only the wealthiest players can afford a seat and everyone acts surprised that prices keep skyrocketing. They have revised their plans numerous times and the loud voices of only some of the neighbors are holding up the entire project. If traffic increases, they will not be allowed to increase enrollment. "Our plan now checks all the boxes," Kauffman told the planning commission Wednesday night. It has 416 students in grades 6-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 7 to 1. HEAD OF SCHOOL. Funny how they could do that when, as Rita Vrhel noted in her speech, they were working with incomplete information since various critical reports were never forwarded to the decision-makers A shameful waste of taxpayers money!! This plan is not excessive in any way. Who is trustworthy in this process? [5] Originally from Montana, Lockey graduated from Stanford University in 1902, where she majored in English. excellence in educating young women to lead in a changing We were glad to see city council land on a 450 max enrollment to start, which most neighbors would support, and then entertain further requests down the road. It still has bearing on the abilities and mindset of the "planners" who could appear to recommend proceeding on Casti without having a complete set of documents on which to base their decisions. This process has continued to devolve, as each time Castilleja changes its plan in deference to the naysayers, those [portion removed] pivot to some other minuscule detail to complain about. If Casti were to apply today to locate in a residential neighborhood it wouldnt be permitted. I challenge those folks to say that Castilleja's traffic and/or parking impact on the neighborhood right now is even measurable. "Additionally, such reduction responds to concerns expressed by some community members about the size of the originally proposed structure.". Blah. Have you checked out Casti's tuition lately? 1. Why can't the students park in the Baylands and shuttle in just like their teachers rather than inflicting all the construction disruption and what will be ongoing traffic problems on Palo Alto? This is all at a time when accommodations such as Castilleja is seeking need to be made for "overriding public needs" such as affordable housing, which the Castilleja property would be an excellent home for! In 2019, the school submitted plans to rebuild most of its campus, which calls for demolishing and rebuilding three buildings on its campus, relocating the swimming pool and adding an underground parking structure.The school's modernization plans have polarized the Professorville and Old Palo Alto neighborhoods, with some residents panning Castilleja's construction plan as a colossal overreach and an affront on the surrounding single-family neighborhood, and others calling a sorely needed upgrade for an acclaimed institution dedicated to educating young women. However, the community is one of care, and everyone at the school aims only to celebrate your achievements and encourage you to put forth your best work. "Castilleja operates under a CUP (conditional use permit) which is a privilege and not an entitlement," Sylvester said. Two board members, Chair Osma Thompson and Grace Lee said that the previously approved project remains perfectly acceptable. The other two members, Peter Baltay and Alex Lew, found themselves between the two camps, with Baltay suggesting that Castilleja should modify the buildings' cornice line and the middle portion of the building, as well add more variability to its window locations. [6][7] She was a charter member of Alpha Phi and was the first Stanford Alpha Phi elected to Phi Beta Kappa. You judge: Also, please realize that if any of the students are on a club sport, they will be driving or having someone come pick them up; don't think that they will take a train or public transit. Kauffman said Castilleja has followed the citys process every step of the way and been working with staff for quite a long time. She said there appears to be a lack of trust between the council and staff and wondered whether this process would be a lot less challenging if there were more trust to the work that has been done.. My life is forever changed and I will bring the lessons you have taught me throughout the rest of my life. 2023 Palo Alto Online. You must not be a neighbor. Not recognizing the impact to traffic, safety issues for bike boulevard, taking old trees out, and not even thinking about the impact of this project with the Churchill proposal. Council has to decide on whether we want to have this kind of intensification of use in this location, DuBois said. "With public testimony stretching until nearly midnight, the planning commission deferred its own discussion of Castilleja's plans until Dec. 15. Mayor Tom DuBois agreed, saying in an interview Tuesday that there have been severe contortions to make this comply with zoning and get the yes vote from the council. Every single one of my classmates will become amazing women when they grow up, and Castilleja has been instrumental in developing our confidence, poise, ability to express ourselves, and compassion for others. Niche requires Javascript to work correctly. Lee and Thompson, however, felt that the building is fine the way it is, having already gone through years of refinements and public hearings. "So this plan is quite appropriate for the sustainability and mobility not just for the school but for the city.". "Every year spent in process negotiation and compromise has resulted in scores of young women being shut out of joining the Castilleja community," Burch said. Why should Casti think it is entitled to continue to increase its impact in a residential neighborhood? Home & Real Estate It's a shame the city never bothered to update the traffic numbers so they could really determine the amount of increased traffic. of students agree that they like their school and feel happy there. This school has been claimed by the school or a school representative. Help sustain the local news you depend on. If Churchill is closed, the situation will deteriorate. This process has dragged on for ten years. This time its in the form of a planned underground parking structure that school and city planning officials describe as a basement but a majority of Palo Alto City Council members consider a garage. Continuing to ask for more give-aways from the City after they've already been granted the 200 Melville Ave. street, A veteran teacher and administrator, Nanci has worked almost exclusively at all-girls schools. Castelleja has not keep faith with this community by expanding their student body over many years in violation of the rules. Sports Time and time again, Castilleja has revised their plans to meet the demands of the neighbors, yet the neighbors turn down every solution. Currently Castilleja pays no property taxes on its prime real estate holdings where the school is located nor do they pay a penny for the public services they receive to this school, Since 75% of the students come from outside Palo Alto, it's tough to see how Palo Alto benefits, especially when many Palo Alto residents who are also Casti alums and parents oppose this project as a violation of the school creed. As in the past, the public was split between those who believe Castilleja is still asking for too much, particularly when it comes to its proposed underground garage, and those who argued that Castilleja's project is worthy of approval and that the city's process has already dragged on for too long.Bill Burch fell squarely in the latter camp. Castilleja's pedagogical approach is shaped both by tradition But with enough housing to reduce these insane prices (or at least slow increases), many more staff/students could live close enough to walk or bike, and there'd be far less need for parking (and fewer complaints about traffic). Pac-12 media rights: Our (final) predictions for the revenue, media partners, expansion decisions and more, Denver gang member gave 14-year-old permission to open fire on woman with AR-15 after fender-bender, DA alleges, In 4 years, Lori Lightfoot went from breakout political star to divisive mayor of a Chicago beset by pandemic and crime, Florida lawmakers to consider expansion of so-called dont say gay law, Drone crashes at Disneyland after hovering over visitors heads See video, Rapper Travis Scott wanted for assaulting Manhattan club sound engineer, destroying $12K in equipment, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. Ten years. Nielsen Buchanan opposed the garage due to its impact on climate change. What sports does Castilleja School offer? Founded in 1907 by educator Mary Lockey, Castilleja is the only Even the Fehr & Peers report, which was commissioned by Castilleja concludes that the garage is not necessary, "The other two members, Peter Baltay and Alex Lew, found themselves between the two camps, with Baltay suggesting that Castilleja should modify the buildings' cornice line and the middle portion of the building, as well add more variability to its window locations.With its split verdict, the board gave Castilleja a somewhat confusing message, which was made more so when Lew declined to articulate what exactly he wants the school to change (the middle of the building, he said, is a "little bit muddled"). Your contribution matters. Education | It is time to send this back to the Council for their final approval. Castilleja School is ranked as one of the top 20% of private schools in California for most sports offered. "We think a 30% increase in enrollment excessive," Reed said in an interview. "We are looking at a successful program that has every advantage to perform and every element was reviewed: bicycle, walking, transit, carpool, the outreach, the monitoring and the penalty aspects," Hughes said. Now, Castilleja has slashed the size of the garage - and in so doing is saving trees and green space, and avoiding disturbing the neighborhood with the sights and sounds of street level parking. Thompson also suggested that the building, in its current iteration, "has a design intent. Three of Castilleja's proposed designs include 52 underground parking spaces, while two other options have 57 and 69 underground spaces, respectively. News Castilleja also remains true to the 5 C's - conscience, of students and parents agree that students at this school are creative and artsy. 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