City Council candidates answer STHS students' questions on education and transportation

The South Tahoe High Climate Crew Club and Key Club asked questions of this year's candidates for South Lake Tahoe city council. Not all candidates replied and there are no responses from Brad Jacobson, Tamara Wallace, or Sherry Eddy.

Due to the length of the questions and answers (there are seven of them) they will be split up over the next few days. One was asked yesterday and there are two questions answered below:

2, Are you satisfied with the current state of our public schools? If not, what changes would you like to see?

SCOTT ROBBINS - I’d like to see improvements to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and especially better support for extracurricular STEM education. At present, teachers who additionally coach sports teams are given stipends to support that extra work, but the same does not appear to be true for advisors for STEM (such as the FIRST robotics competitions). I’d like to see the city engage with the other regional governments to support a program of basin-wide science competitions and projects for students.

However, while there is indeed a valuable role for the city to play a supporting role for our students, it is important to recognize that direct decisions on school curriculums, teacher hiring and retention, and funding in general (including the current $107 million “Measure K” education bond ballot measure) are made solely by LTUSD, which is an independent government agency under the jurisdiction of the county, rather than city. The LTUSD has its own 5-member elected board, with independent authority to raise taxes, spend money, and direct the school curriculum. Two seats are up for election for Area 5 of the LTUSD board of directors this November 8th, Lauri Kemper and Bob Grant; I think there would be great value in reaching out to them.

I should stress, however, that while the city’s role is supportive rather than direct, that role matters. In the last twenty years, our community has increased the total number of housing units by 20%, but in that same time, we’ve lost 10% of our local population and lost 36% of our school enrollment [US Census ASC Survey, LTUSD public data]. We’ve built vacation homes, and lost locals and families. This is not a healthy path. State funding for schools is based on enrollment and if we continue to lose families to the housing crisis, funding for our schools will continue to shrink. The most important role the city can play in the long-term health of our schools is to make housing more affordable so parents can actually afford to raise families here.

DAVID JINKENS - On the surface, our schools seem fine. Actually, you and other students can likely provide the best answers because you are in the school system. Our schools need to focus on providing all students with the education, training, and skills they will need to pursue whatever career choice they want to make in the future. Do you feel you are receiving this training? I think as well that schools need to provide more vocational training for those students who do not want to go to college so that when they graduate, they can and will get jobs. As a former teacher, I want to see our schools give all students the skills needed to be successful. I hope school administrators and teachers are asking students the same questions you are asking me.

NICOLE RAMIREZ THOMAS - Short Answer: I need to learn more about the current state of public schools.

I think that the public school system needs some shoring up but I know little about it other than that public education seems substantially different from when I was in school. My husband and I have no children, only nieces, and a nephew. But we are hosting a foreign exchange student that is at STHS this year and we are learning.

The top two things I think that are needed are funding and good teacher salaries. I think this has always been the case.

I definitely need to learn more on this subject and would really like to get the take of you and other students. Then we can discuss the ways in which the City might be able to engage, either through policy or some other support.

JOBY CEFALU - The public schools are governed by the LTUSD Board of Directors. With the post-pandemic situation, the schools do need to address moving forward how to best serve the youth of our community. I'm never satisfied in terms of the schools, governance, or even my business. We need to constantly strive for improvement in all aspects. There needs to be accountability for teachers just like students. I believe the divide between those like myself that struggled with certain curricula needs to have greater access to assistance and tutoring whether peer-to-peer or teacher-to-student. As a 15-year coach at STHS, I found it sometimes difficult to see the concern and sense of urgency to assist those that needed it most. I believe we have some really amazing teachers and administrators as well many of whom are not as concerned with bringing out the best from students that truly want to excel. As this is an important topic, from the standpoint of a potential South Lake Tahoe City Council Member I believe we can work with the schools for Pre-K as well as after-school programs to serve the needs of our youth in the best manner possible.

KEVIN BRUNNER - The biggest issue facing students is learning real-life skills. I have an idea that we get our local businesses, agencies, and even federal entities like the forest service to offer mentorships to (middle and) high school students. We can even find grant opportunities through the government and nonprofits to give these apprentices a chance to even earn as they learn. This would create opportunities for these students after school, whether they stay in Tahoe or move on to college or trade school.

NICK SPEAL - I’m very proud of our schools and the amazing teachers we are so lucky to have. But we need to make sure that we are maintaining the facilities to provide a safe and reliable learning environment. Leaky roofs and plumbing systems are overdue for investment, and the ventilation needs an upgrade for student safety and energy efficiency.

But the City and the School District are independent, so there won’t be a whole lot I can do on City Council to support this. This November I’ll certainly be voting YES on Measure K to apply progressive property taxes toward LTUSD’s Facilities Master Plan and I hope you’ll join me!

One area where the City can help our schools is equitable access. I’ll prioritize the infrastructure improvements in the Safe Routes To School Master Plan, enabling students in the neighborhood to safely ride their bikes to and from school. And I’ll work to ensure that everybody in the community has the broadband internet access that has become essential when sickness or snow storms bring the classroom home.

CHANTELLE SCHELLIING - I believe there is always room to do better. According to US News, Lake Tahoe Unified School District ranks 29/100 on college readiness with a high school graduation rate of ~87%. The US News states,

“In Lake Tahoe Unified School District, 44% of elementary students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 37% tested at or above that level for math. Also, 41% of middle school students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 31% tested at or above that level for math. And 56% of high school students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 30% tested at or above that level for math.”

I would love to work with school leadership to better understand this scoring and explore ways we can best support students and ensure they have the resources needed for long-term success. Also, I believe an expanded partnership with the community college to provide access and support for high schoolers to take community college courses should be a priority. This could include prerequisite courses for 4-year institution acceptance, courses toward an associate’s degree, and certificates or employable skills. I would also explore ways to create partnerships with local small businesses for high school students to gain employment or internship experience. Additionally, I would learn about ways the district is incorporating social-emotional learning into elementary school and consistently hardwiring practices throughout middle school and high school. I also wonder how accessible mental health services are to students. The bottom line: Ensuring that students have all resources to succeed should be a priority for our City Council.

CODY BASS - As a Council member I have no authority over LTUSD issues. As a resident, I support the best possible education we can provide. I have heard of issues within the school district and what I know worked in the City four years ago was community members becoming involved and changing the makeup of the governance board. It takes participation from passionate community members who believe change is needed.

3. Considering the gridlock South Lake Tahoe experiences during the tourist seasons, do you believe improving public transportation would help, and if so, how would you improve it?

SCOTT ROBBINS - One cannot square the scene of traffic jams on busy holiday weekends that stretch all the way from South Lake to Sacramento with the city's stated goals of reducing our carbon footprint. Indeed, the recent testimony of the city’s climate coordinator indicated that the total C02 footprint for the city has gone up in the last year, not down. This is the wrong direction.

We need to encourage carpooling and buses into the basin, especially during the busy tourist seasons. This can be done with a mix of basin entry fees or parking fees for non-resident/non-workforce tourists, which can in turn be used to find improvements to our public transit system within the basin, both for visitors and locals alike. Many of our service workers work the busy evening shifts, work which may not end until 11pm - well past the time when our transit system has stopped working. We need transit that is not just better but runs much later to support our local workforce.

DAVID JINKENS - Yes! Improving public transportation is definitely needed, but we still have to deal with the thousands of people who drive to South Lake Tahoe to visit. They are the most important component of our economy. Their experience must be good if we want them to come back, and measures must be taken to ensure that the people who live here are not part of a living nightmare when people visit. We can do both. A good, reliable, and affordable transportation system is needed. More parking garages are needed to house visitor vehicles, and better traffic controls, signage, etc. are needed to keep our neighborhoods safe during peak visits by tourists. Once visitors get here, we want to have transit available so that they can keep their cars parked. We can and must value our visitors and value the people who live here. We must look at all of the money we are currently spending on public transit now and re-evaluate how it is spent to ensure that public transit is working the best for locals and visitors. The new Micro-Transit system seems to be a start in the right direction.

NICOLE RAMIREZ THOMAS - Short Answer: I think we need to understand what motivates people to take public transportation and think about how to use that to encourage its use.

I do think that improving public transportation would help, but I think there are many factors to consider. The primary consideration is how to get people to WANT to take public transportation as opposed to driving a car. We need to talk about culture change to do this. As noted above, pending climate challenges aren't enough to drive us until it starts to cost us time and money. In some ways we are there with climate issues, but transportation is really hard. How do we move from a car culture to one that uses other modes of transportation? This is the question.

Consider that people look at the costs and benefits of taking certain types of transportation. Public transportation can be viewed as costly to an individual in terms of the time it takes to get from Point A to Point B. Rather than being able to leave my house five minutes before a meeting if I drive my car, I need to leave 30-45 minutes before a meeting if I take public transportation, as an example. So how do we get people to make more room in their schedules to take public transportation? We need to ask questions like this and then consider how we build long-lasting infrastructure to meet the need.

Another question, who are we trying to incentivize to take public transportation? People coming to visit Tahoe or locals? I am not saying this has to be either/or (nor should it be), but focusing on the problem we are trying to solve (tourist traffic vs local traffic) is important to tackle the grid =lock issue. I think that both groups are put in one basket and the solutions can become scattered. Getting tourists to park their cars once they arrive might be a pretty attainable goal. And in thinking about this, how do the locals benefit from programs that encourage a relief in traffic, not just because there is less gridlock, but in what ways do traffic relief measures benefit the community? What opportunities does improved public transportation offer people?

Other considerations might be the distance to walk to a bus stop. This discussion about "the last mile" in public transportation is important. If the bus stop is near to or convenient for people, will they take the bus more often? Does this offer the community more equity in the community? Some of these things need to be studied.

Microtransit like Lake Link is a good start but I think it is having mixed reviews. It does offer an alternative to driving for locals and tourists, but how many cars will it or can it take off the road?

I had a great discussion with the Program Manager of the Tahoe Rim Trail Association and we discussed trail tourism and how to offer people transportation options for getting to and from trails. I think discussions like this are important to address transportation needs. Transportation is a basin-wide consideration. My job as a City Councilor would be to see what the City can do, via policy and cultural stewardship, to assist in creating the culture change necessary to address public transportation.

JOBY CEFALU - I have lived in South Lake Tahoe my entire life and traffic during the busy seasons is an ongoing problem. There is a necessity to improve public transportation. Currently, Lake Link is being utilized and the City is paying for a portion. This, like most of our issues, takes collaboration between city, counties, and states to bring forth sustainable funding sources to expand this service. The more we can take folks out of cars and into public transportation the better. Along with the Lake link program and expansion, there could and should be opportunities to expand the service, as well as utilize larger vehicles to move more folks. Once again funding sources and sustainable funding for the future is the key to making this work.

KEVIN BRUNNER - Ironically, the gridlock we experience as locals is what most of our visitors consider “normal.” This is part of the problem in getting people out of their cars and using transit. I also think our locals could be better served by the current transit system, especially those who have class or work late at night.

I think we can make summers especially easier by expanding the current water taxi service. TTD (Tahoe Transportation District) has a project plan for a larger ferry that would run year-round between the north and south shore, I’d like to see this happen. I also think streamlining buses and other connecting services could make riding an easier experience.

NICK SPEAL - Every year 15 million people visit Lake Tahoe and there is a lot we can do to help them get here without a car. We can work with neighboring jurisdictions on regional transit to SF, Sacramento, and Reno. And the city itself can make it easier to get around once you’re here.

A lot of people aren’t aware of how good our transit system has gotten in recent years. I ride it whenever I’m not on my bike! We have free electric buses regularly running up and down highway 50 and the new Lake Link shuttle that will drive you door-to-door anywhere East of the college. One part of the solution is just getting the word out about what already exists!

When I’m on City Council, I’ll take it to the next level. We can expand Lake Link for later hours and a larger service area. I’ll work with the Tahoe Transportation District to push for more regular direct routes, now that Lake Link can fill the gap for connectivity off the main highway.

With the parking garage paid off next year, we will have a new revenue stream that we can apply to expand transit.

CHANTELLE SCHELLIING - While tourism is a contributor to traffic, we must not ignore the large number of residents (~23k) within a small footprint of our city. For both reasons, I do believe we need to improve our public transportation and transit infrastructure. So long as we rely on experts to evaluate data and develop plans for transportation and effectively engage residents as well as other cities/counties, I believe we can reduce the traffic burden and impact on our environment by providing a desirable, accessible alternative to private vehicles. Here are some thoughts on potential actions:

Immediate: I would like to evaluate the data on Lake Link to explore if the city accomplished anticipated outcomes, reduced the number of vehicles on the streets, and if it is worth the investment. I am disappointed that Lake Link does not utilize electric vehicles and appears to be circulating with empty vans. I suspect we can be more strategic to improve the performance metrics while being good stewards of our environment. Additionally, the city could work with Lime Micro mobility (scooters) and strategically position scooter parking throughout our city to encourage better usage.

Short/Mid-Term: Many vehicles are on the road due to the challenges with walk/bike-ability in our city. I am impressed by the city council and city manager’s efforts to invest in our own road repair equipment to improve efficiency and cut costs. We should continue focusing on road repair while also creating more walk/bike/scoot lanes throughout our city. I also believe incentives from local businesses for walking/ biking/ scooting instead of driving would be helpful. City council should communicate and facilitate federal and state incentives that exist for electric vehicle purchases and use.

Longer Term: We can explore funding from state and federal governments to support development of an electric transportation infrastructure like electric buses for folks who cannot walk or bike and as an alternative to private vehicles.

CODY BASS - Yes I passionately believe that we need improved transit services that include good transportation planning to create a real interconnected transportation network. I believe that we must create a new transit agency that is only focused on providing transit services for the South Shore. Currently, transit is provided by the Tahoe Transportation District which was established to work on transportation needs for the entire basin. The current local transit agency should be separated to serve the individual areas and not the entire basin. Currently, the TTD board has elected officials from all five counties, both states, and the city. I will continue working to get our transit brought into a new service agency that I believe can greatly improve the service. We must set goals that only reliable transit can accomplish learning from other mountain towns, we can truly transform the way our locals and visitors travel throughout the basin.