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Parents ask Piedmont council to expand Beach Elementary after‑school care
Summary
Parents and Beach Elementary program leaders asked the council to put schoolmates building expansion on a future agenda, saying enrollment rose roughly 20% in three years and about 30 families remain on the wait list for affordable after‑school care.
Brooke Wall and Kim Staley, co‑presidents of the Beach Parent Organization, asked the Piedmont City Council to schedule a discussion about expanding access to after‑school care at Beach Elementary.
"We represent 350 kids, around 800 of your constituents," Brooke Wall told the council, and she said Schoolmates — a city‑owned after‑school program site — is at capacity. Wall said enrollment at Beach Elementary has grown about 20% in three years and that roughly 30 families remain on a wait list for school‑based after‑school care.
Kim Staley, the other BPO co‑president, described temporary steps the community has taken to increase slots, including expanded ASC offerings and allowing the Parks & Recreation Department to operate Schoolmates out of the auditorium. "We are currently enrolled at 392 after school participants in that program," Staley said, but she emphasized those expansions are short‑term and that winter terms will bring shortfalls again.
The parents requested the council convene city staff, Parks & Rec and the school district to explore long‑term solutions including an expansion of the Schoolmates building, possible funding sources, and a timeline for bringing a proposal back to council. Mayor Betsy Smigel Anderson thanked the speakers and asked staff to coordinate next steps.
