Features

Education Briefs

Matthew Artz
Friday June 25, 2004

School Board Backs Community Park 

Solving one of the final disputes over the long-contested move of the Berkeley Adult School to the former Franklin School site in West Berkeley, the school board Wednesday unanimously pledged to contribute to a planned playground and community garden at the northeast corner of the campus. 

The school board didn’t commit a specific sum to the park, but indicated they would meet neighbors’ request of about $120,000 towards its development. Neighbors estimate the park will cost about $225,000, although district officials believe the price tag will ultimately be higher. The district will provide maintenance and landscaping at the facility. 

Neighbors of the school, which is bounded by San Pablo Avenue to the west and Virginia Street to the north, had protested the district’s decision to move the Adult School to the Franklin site. 

After the district agreed to neighborhood demands for changes to the site plan for the Adult School, district officials had warned that Berkeley Unified not might have enough money to redevelop the park, which had been a part of the Franklin School, until it fell into disrepair. 

The last main dispute between neighbors and the district involves the nighttime use of a parking lot on the eastern side of the campus. 

 

Still Hope for Willard AmeriCorps Program 

AmeriCorps, the domestic equivalent of the Peace Corps, might still be willing to work with Berkeley Unified despite years of late and insufficient payments by the district, said Martin Weinstein, the Executive Director of the Bay Area Community Resources (BACR), a nonprofit that operates the program for AmeriCorps. 

Weinstein had set a June 15 deadline for the district to make $11,000 in back payments and pay next year’s cost of $30,000 up front for BACR to continue the program. 

AmeriCorps provides three volunteers to assist with the Willard Greening Project that teaches students to grow their own food and cook it. 

While Weinstein declined to talk dollars, he said the district had come through with “a proposal and had shown some leadership, so we hope to reach an agreement and continue with the program next year.” 

District Spokesperson Mark Coplan had blamed the late payments on confusion between the district office and Willard. 

 

-Matthew Artz›