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Parcel tax election
Tuesday is Election Day in Livermore, as residents have until that day to turn in their ballot in the mail-only special election on renewal of the $138 parcel tax for the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District.
Measure A, which asks voters whether to extend the existing parcel tax for another seven years, needs a two-thirds supermajority to vote Yes in order to pass.
According to LVJUSD, the parcel tax funding is used for providing elementary science and TK-12 technology specialists, attracting and retaining qualified teachers, keeping classroom technology and curriculum up-to-date and maintaining small class sizes.
Since 2004, there has been a parcel tax in place to provide funding to Livermore public schools, which is worth a total of about $4 million per year. The tax was previously renewed in 2008 and 2014. The current parcel tax, Measure G, is set to expire at the end of June, which is why the district set the election for the renewal Measure A in May.
National champs
The Amador Valley High School competition civics team won the We the People national title this week.
Foothill High, which also advanced out of the state tournament to compete in Washington, D.C., took fourth place at nationals. Results were announced on
Tuesday evening; look for further coverage at PleasantonWeekly.com in the days ahead.
This marks the second time in five years that both Pleasanton teams finished in the Top 4 at nationals; in 2018, Foothill took second and Amador was fourth. The Dons previously won the national championship in 1995.
We the People is a competitive civics program in which students demonstrate their constitutional knowledge and understanding of federal government in mock congressional hearings. Students use critical thinking and other academic skills to analyze and defend positions on historical and contemporary matters.
Candidate forum
Livermore Indivisible is hosting a forum today for candidates for Alameda County education offices on Tri-Valley ballots in the June primary election.
The event will feature all three candidates for the District 7 seat on the county Board of Education: Cheryl Cook-Kallio, a former Pleasanton City Council member and career teacher; Kate Dao, a Pleasanton resident and founder of Action Academy East Bay; and Eric Dillie, formerly principal of the now-defunct Livermore Valley Charter Prep. Incumbent Trustee Yvonne Cerrato is not running.
Alysse Castro, challenger for Alameda County superintendent of schools, will also participate but incumbent Superintendent L.K. Monroe will not attend as unavailable for the forum, according to organizers. Castro is an Alameda resident who works in a leadership position with San Francisco Unified School District.
The forum runs from 7-8 p.m. this Friday (April 29); access via trivalley.rocks/ACEducation. A video-recording will be available after the fact.
Exposure at Amador
Amador Valley High School administration reported on Tuesday that there have been 25 confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported on campus since Saturday, resulting in an advisory that all people at the school should be considered exposed to the virus.
"Until this surge slows down, we will not be sending individual classroom exposure notices. Instead, please consider your student to be exposed at all times and take appropriate precautions, including frequent testing and mask wearing," officials wrote to families.
To learn more about the PUSD response, visit pusdedu.info/covid19.
Valley Link funds
The Tri-Valley Transportation Council last week unanimously approved committing $25.8 million toward the Valley Link project as part of its annual adoption of the Tri-Valley transportation development fee strategic expenditure plan.
Seen as key seed money to be leveraged to obtain other state and federal funds, the $25.8 million is specifically targeted to the implementation of the rail stations in the Tri-Valley portion of the project. Valley Link is a proposed commuter light rail system between the Dublin-Pleasanton BART Station and the North Lathrop ACE Station in San Joaquin County.
National Day of Prayer
Alameda County Supervisor David Haubert is hosting a 2022 National Day of Prayer event next Thursday (May 5) at 9 a.m. in the amphitheater at the fairgrounds in Pleasanton. It will be broadcast over Zoom and Facebook Live as well.
"The goal of this event is to highlight the cooperation and collaboration between church and state, recognizing that in America, freedom of religion allows us all to pray in our own way," Haubert said. "This event is a great way to bring people of all different backgrounds together, especially during a time of international conflict."
Leaders from a range of religious denominations will be participating. Audience members are asked to RSVP online, although walk-ins are welcome.
Interfaith Iftar
The Muslim Community Center of the East Bay is holding its fourth annual Interfaith Iftar during Ramadan this Saturday (April 30) from 6:30-9 p.m. at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in Livermore.
"Please join us for an iftar dinner experience as we observe the holy month of Ramadan and help create a peaceful society by building new relationships around the traditions of fasting and hospitality in the three major Abrahamic faiths along the theme 'Loving Across the Difference,'" MCC officials said.
