From: Ram Duriseti <ram1_at_(domain_name_was_removed)>
Date: Fri May 02 2008 - 12:39:52 PDT

Dear City Council Members,

Over the last week, there have been several communications (such as the one below) from the School Board and its surrogates regarding the Oak Knoll development plan including take home documents for the kids. In these communications, they are exhorting a large turnout from Oak Knoll parents to address the "opponents" of the plan -- ostensibly those of us who raised concerns about the current plan and the attendant negative declaration. This is their response to your staff's query instigated by concerns that we raised. This is their idea of dialog.

I am writing to you to make a plea to your conscience. In the now infamous email by Rich Rollins (cc'd in this email) that mistakenly made it to your inbox, one of the most objectionable notions in it was the assertion that City Council members placed petty parochial political concerns above their principles. As you all know, I voiced my objection to that notion at that time in no uncertain terms. Intellectual consistency demands that I do the same now. I view the current campaign by the Board and its surrogates as no more than a means to send the City Council a message that you should "lay off" or face political consequences. The implicit suggestion is that some of you will abandon your principles and the responsibility of governmental oversight on components of the plan in the name of political expediency. Why do I view their efforts in this cynical light? Even the largest turnout of parents based upon this campaign will not alter the fundamental facts aligned against the current plan and the associated negative declaration. Superintendent Ranella even went so far as to accuse one of the council members of political grandstanding.

If you believe, despite the recommendations of various commissions that report to you, that the current plan with its: i) loss of 7 heritage trees including a 200+ year old healthy oak, ii) placement of a 30+ foot building in the daylight plane of many neighbors, iii) logistics that compromise bicycle/pedestrian safety, iv) logistics that may increase motorized traffic to the school, and v) surface conditions that will increase drainage to downgrade homes rather than a 36 inch drain at the back of the school are all reasonable and respect your oversight responsibilities, then you should take a stand against our position. Otherwise, I exhort you to stand with your principles and fulfill the responsibilities bestowed upon your position to support our efforts to engage the Board and Oak Knoll Site Committee. In other words, all I ask is that you act on principle instead of genuflecting to the majority position simply because it is the majority position.

I encourage you to attend the meeting on May 8th. The coalition of neighbors who oppose this plan are not monolithic. We each have a different prioritization of the concerns. Some strongly prefer to remain anonymous out of fear of retribution against their children. I will be there and will make my position known understanding that my opponents may be loud and insulting (if prior experience holds to form). Speaking only for my wife and myself, there are some principles that are more important than aesthetic concerns or my wallet and I will speak out for those principles. If you agree with us and the recommendations of the commissions that report to you, then I encourage you to stand with us even while I understand that certain pressures may preclude your ability to do so. Whatever you choose to do on May 8th, all I ask is that you stick to your principles thereafter as we pursue the avenues that it seems that we have to pursue.

Respectfully,

Ram Duriseti

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Dear Fellow Oak Knoll Parents,

I urge you to provide your support for Oak Knoll¹s construction plans by attending the special meeting of the Board of Education this Thursday, May 8th, at 7:00 p.m. in the Oak Knoll Multi-purpose Room. At this meeting, the Board of Education will discuss the approved project plans for the school, review and take comments from the public regarding the environmental review of the plans, and vote on the adoption of the proposed Negative Declaration The Board¹s adoption of the Negative Declaration will enable us to begin construction without undue delay.

As Principal Ackerman stated in his letter last week, opponents disagree with the results of the District¹s environmental and traffic reports and may attempt to delay construction. This could contribute to escalating construction costs and reductions in the scope of our project. We can not let this happen.

In the 6 years that I have been a parent at Oak Knoll, the student population has grown from 591 to 735, making Oak Knoll the largest elementary school in San Mateo County . Our educational and community life has evolved since Oak Knoll¹s construction in the 1950¹s. This project will provide our children with the state-of-the-art facility that they need and deserve?and that voters generously voted to fund through the passing of a bond measure 2 years ago.

At our April 16th meeting, the PTO Board unanimously voted to endorse the MPCSD school-board approved schematic design (Plan ³O²) for the new Oak Knoll School campus and support the expeditious completion of this project for the benefit of Oak Knoll students, families and the community. Plan ³O², the approved schematic design, embodies 15 major revisions of the design, achieved through 5 public input meetings over 9 months. It was developed through a thoughtful, interactive process.

Please join me at the meeting and demonstrate your support of the school by urging the Board to move forward with Oak Knoll¹s construction plans.

Sincerely,
Catherine Jaeger
PTO President
Oak Knoll

 P.S. Please see the attached Q&A for information about the Oak Knoll project. Received on Fri May 2 12:40:03 2008