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Jim Gordon said he is a resident, has two children who graduated from Sequoia High School, and is the President of the Board of the Police Activities League (PAL). He opined that it was always reassuring to staff and the parents that the SRO was always present and that we cannot afford to lose it. He said PAL lost a sworn officer and that they are aware of the issues, are not immune to cuts and this is a difficult decision, and he suggested looking at remodeling the PAL structure. They currently use civilian volunteers to continue their services as they look into getting a civilian director. He said they partner with many other organizations to provide services such as after school sports programs, tattoo removal program, and the annual toy drive. Miriam Seigel-Stern said she has a son who is a sophomore at Sequoia High School, a daughter who is now in college who chose to go to Sequoia High School as a freshman years ago, and she has taught special education for twenty-eight years. She said that when her daughter attended Sequoia High School, she experienced serious harassment and the SRO helped ease the tension from her peers. She spoke about the positive attention the school has been getting, that the freshmen class is at 600, and there is a need to continue to support the SRO when social and economic tensions are running high to prevent issues that other schools have experienced. Victoria Anderson said she has no self-interest in this issue because her children are now in college. She shared a story of how the SRO helped her daughter with a hit and run incident that occurred in front of the school. The SRO recognized the description of the car and the student who hit her daughter's car, went to his home, held him responsible for what he did, and worked with both parties so that he apologized, went onto to successfully complete probation, and get on the right track. She concluded that the SRO made the unfortunate incident turn out well everyone. Bruce Noth lives in San Carlos and Sequoia High School was their school of choice for their son who is a freshman and they chose it for two reasons: the strong academic programs and it feels welcoming and very safe. He talked about Council's fiscal responsibility, the school's increase in enrollment, students and parents spending money in downtown for sporting events, the improved reputation of the school, and concerns about what can happen on campus such as bullying, versus there being no evidence of such occurrences from his son now at the school. He said the Council has a difficult decision and he trusts them to make the right decision. David Fabian said he is a resident of Woodside, and after evaluating both private and public schools, they choose Sequoia High School for their son who is now a junior. He said that part of his background is in the mortgage banking and real estate fields and he opined that there is a direct correlation between desirability of a community's schools and the community's property values. He said that if the school were to lose its reputation as a safe, high quality high school, the long-term impact on property values and property tax revenues would impact the already exacerbated city budgets. He said that investing in the Sequoia's SRO is a direct investment in property values and ensuring that property tax revenues decline no further. JOINT CITY COUNCIL/REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY BOARD MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 9, 2009 PAGE 8