SR 05:131 - Laserfiche WebLink

Yahoo! Mail - w_rasmussen~yahoo.com Page 2 of 5 told me that it would be inappropriate for me to offer a "free" course through Adult Ed. It seems that institutionally, PUSD is all about raising revenue, and it is not possible to raise revenue when there is an available supply of facilities which are free. The gates around Hearst School seem to function as a means of eliminating the supply of "free and accessible" facilities. I have attempted to bring to the awareness of this sad, constrained, reality facing Pleasanton neighborhood children to the Council (most recently Matt Sullivan), but he responded that he was told that there is a reason that Hearst School is locked and gated (like a fortress). He gave no other details. Hat's off to Matt, at least he tried. Regardless of its status as a "public" institution, the school district is clearly a monopoly which does not respond as a service organization to constituents/children regarding after hours activities or equal access rights of individual rights to use its publicly-funded facilities. When the City of Pleasanton partners with the school district, the resulting public duopoly behaves monopolistically, using gates to prevent children and parents from using the facilities which would otherwise be available to them. The resulting ripple effect is huge. By closing off this Hearst School to the surrounding neighborhood children and families, PUSD forces the 685 children and their families to drive elsewhere. How many extra trips does that mean per day? If Mayor Hosterman truly seeks to make Transportation one of her priorities, the first step in cleaning up the transportation issue is to insure that the public institutions like ?USD and the City of Pleasanton use their duopoly power to minimize the car traffic and maximize the foot and bike traffic within neighborhoods. That means focusing on decentralizing facilities and services to children and creating more neighborhood services at the local schools, utilizing the facilities which exist, and most importantly, unlocking the locked gates, after hours. I've been told that it is for liability reasons the gates are locked. That's a convenient excuse. Insurance companies exist to minimize such risks. Like the San Jose Mercury News has been reporting, an entire industry has been created around the premise of getting kids athletic scholarships, where wealthy parents pay private tutors up to $50 per hour to individually train kids. Not everyone can afford to do that, nor does everyone want their child to miss out on the experiences of meeting at a playground and mixing it up with kids from other neighborhoods, and getting to know them. The choices are stark and simple. Do we choose a society built upon elitism, exclusivity, inaccessibility, or do we choose to reinforce a society built upon openness, inclusivity, accessibility, and transparency. On behalf of my kids interests, I am choosing to stand up for the latter, even if it means challenging the status quo of how Pleasanton operates its local government duopoly. Steve Page On Monday, April 11, 2005, at 01:49 PM, Terry Snyder wrote: > Mr. Page, > > Thank you for your e-mail, I will forward it accordingly. If you > can't make it to the town hall meeting tonight, possibly you could > make a future City Council meeting to voice your concern in person. > They will receive a copy of your e-mail. http://us.f511 .mail.yahoo.com/ym/ShowLetter?box=Inbox&MsgId=7616_84576240_7917... 4/13/2005