THE LEDE
What's Actually on Your Kid's Screen at School
The district has been talking about AI for a year. Tuesday night, it finally showed its hand.
The San Ramon Valley Unified School District's board of education held its regular monthly meeting Tuesday, and buried in an agenda that included closed-session personnel votes was something genuinely useful to most parents in the valley: the district's annual technology report.
It was the first time the board has formally reviewed exactly what artificial intelligence tools are deployed in its classrooms right now. The answer is more than most parents probably realize. High school students have access to Google Gemini through their district accounts. Staff are using Microsoft Copilot. Teachers have Google Classroom AI tools available for lesson template creation. These are not experimental pilots running in a single room. They are district-wide deployments, at least for the age groups the district has cleared for access.
The board also heard about average screen time data by grade level, a number that most parents have wanted and few have had a clear answer to. That information was presented in open session and is now part of the public record. The district did not include it in its pre-meeting materials, so if you want the actual figures, the technology report, once posted, will be available through srvusd.net.
Then there is the cybersecurity piece, which sounds like the driest part of the agenda and turns out to be the most consequential. SRVUSD received a $250,000 state cybersecurity grant. The board heard an update on what the district has done in response to last year's full security audit. School district networks are among the more commonly targeted systems in California. The audit and the grant represent a real effort to close the gaps.
All of this lands in a district that has spent the last several months lurching through budget cuts, a union impasse, a credit downgrade, and a negotiated settlement that still left world language teachers on the chopping block. That context matters because it shapes what Tuesday also included: in closed session, the board was scheduled to vote on appointing a new director of human resources, a new director of special education, and assistant principals at both Monte Vista High School and Diablo Vista Middle School. Four key roles that have been in flux through an exhausting year.
The technology report alone is worth a read when the district posts it. If you want to know whether your high schooler’s English teacher is using Gemini for lesson plans, or what the district’s response protocol looks like if someone tries to access student data, this is the document to request. Agendas and published reports are at srvusd.net.
THE RUNDOWN
Two Council Seats. One Election. No Incumbents Running.
This November's Danville Town Council election will be unlike any in recent memory. When Karen Stepper announced in April that she would not seek re-election after 24 years, it created the first genuinely open seat in several cycles. What was less noted at the time: Vice Mayor Robert Storer's seat is also up this fall, and Storer has not announced whether he will run again. If he does not, two of the five seats on the council will be contested without an incumbent on the ballot. That dynamic tends to draw candidates who would otherwise be waiting years for an opening. The candidate filing period opens later this summer. If you have opinions about what Danville should look like in the next decade, this is the election to pay attention to.
Your I-680 Commute, Potentially
The Danville Town Council this week considered signing an agreement that would make the town an official partner in a long-discussed adaptive ramp metering project along the Interstate 680 corridor. The project would install smart metering systems at on-ramps to smooth out the peak-hour traffic that creates the bulk of morning and evening gridlock. Multiple cities, Caltrans, and county transit agencies are parties to the agreement. The same council agenda included a $3.8 million contract for Art District infrastructure projects downtown and a Red Cross shelter designation for community centers.
Blackhawk Plaza: 26 Days
Ramanujan Group LLC now has 26 days to file a restructuring plan with the bankruptcy court or risk losing the Chapter 11 protections that have kept foreclosure proceedings on hold since March 18. Nothing has been filed as of this writing. The company carries an estimated $36 million in secured debt across two lenders, Preferred Bank and Nano Banc. Bankruptcy attorneys who commented on the case in the spring noted the deadline can be extended, but extensions cost money for a property already burning through it.
Drive Around Diablo Road This Weekend
Tree removal and active grading on the Diablo Road multi-use trail resumed Monday and runs through Saturday, May 23. Drivers should expect lane restrictions and flagging operations between roughly Green Valley Road and Blackhawk Road during that window. If you have flexibility, Stone Valley Road or Camino Tassajara are cleaner routes this week. Full project details are at danvilletowntalks.org.
FAMILY AND KIDS
New Faces Arriving at District Headquarters
If the May 19 board vote in closed session went as the agenda suggested, SRVUSD is filling four significant vacancies this week: a new director of human resources, a new director of special education, and assistant principals at Monte Vista High School and Diablo Vista Middle School. These are not headline positions, but they are the ones that determine how the district actually functions for students and families who need to navigate it day to day. After a year that included layoff battles, a union impasse, a credit downgrade, and a hard-fought settlement, filling key administrative roles quietly and on time would itself be news. Watch for official announcements at srvusd.net.
The summer student arts programs are also quietly approaching their deadlines. The Student Film Festival is still accepting original short films through July 13. Selected works screen at the Village Theatre on August 7 at 6:30 p.m. That is a real public audience, and the window is long enough for a motivated student to actually make something worth submitting. Details at danville.ca.gov/arts.
MEANWHILE, ON NEXTDOOR…
A weekly roundup of real community conversations. Names and identifying details omitted, as always.
IS DANVILLE TOO TOUGH FOR BUSINESS? A wine bar owner at The Livery posted a candid observation that Danville is a hard place to run a small business. The thread attracted dozens of responses, most of which doubled as unsolicited consulting: move downtown for foot traffic, lean into the wine club, chase corporate bookings from nearby office parks, get into the Chamber. The owner replied to nearly every comment with patience that suggests either genuine gratitude or extensive customer-service experience. Someone from outside the neighborhood offered a "legit no BS" business idea via direct message. By the end of the thread, at least half a dozen people had promised to visit, which may or may not be the intended outcome of a post about struggling.
NEIGHBORS MOBILIZE ON WEST EL PINTADO A proposed housing development on a residential street off West El Pintado is drawing organized opposition, with neighbors coordinating to attend a public meeting on Tuesday, May 26, at Town Meeting Hall. A 40-year resident of the affected street noted he has already declined an offer to sell his home. The thread produced a vigorous debate about California’s housing laws, with enough legislative history cited to fill a graduate seminar. One commenter managed to offer a thorough infrastructure improvement wish list while technically endorsing neither side of the underlying dispute.
DECK LIGHTING: A COMMUNITY REVIEW A local deck builder posted a photo of illuminated stair riser lights and asked if the community would want to see them more often. Neighbors weighed in enthusiastically: yes with dimmers, no because they blind you at eye level, and one commenter reported three stair falls in four years as her strongest possible endorsement. A handyman materialized in the comments offering installation services. The original poster, it emerged about halfway through, is in the process of becoming a certified installer of the exact product pictured. The community appeared undeterred.
MOUNTAIN LION ON BLACKHAWK ROAD A resident spotted what they are confident was a mountain lion near a trailhead off old Blackhawk Road, distinguishable from a bobcat by its long tail and distinctive gait. The sighting prompted safety concern, barely concealed envy, and a multi-comment exchange about whether the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s online reporting form is too intrusive to bother with. A neighbor who regularly submits wildlife sightings from a local creek trail offered step-by-step guidance on minimizing the required personal information. The mountain lion has not weighed in.
ONLY IN DANVILLE
Learning to Drive Without Leaving the Garage
A group of Danville engineers, competitive racing veterans, and driving educators decided the most sensible approach to teaching teenagers to drive was to build a simulator that could recreate dangerous situations before a new driver ever encounters them in the real world. The company, Greenlight Simulation, was founded in a local garage and offers virtual-reality-based driver training courses designed to let students practice the scenarios that actually kill new drivers: panic braking, blind intersections, skids on wet pavement, that moment of confusion on a freeway on-ramp when everything happens at once. The pitch is essentially: a surgeon does not practice their first incision on a real patient. Why are we doing the equivalent with sixteen-year-olds on Sycamore Valley Road? It was started here. Of course it was.
ON THE CALENDAR
Memorial Day Ceremony | Monday, May 25. Oak Hill Park, Danville. The Town is marking the holiday with a ceremony that doubles as the ribbon cutting for the newly renovated All Wars Memorial. The memorial has been under renovation for months. Monday is when the community gets to see it. It is one of the few occasions when a town actually stops to mark what the day is for.
At the Plaza Summer Series | Thursdays beginning in June. Prospect Park Plaza, downtown Danville. Free live music and family-friendly entertainment returns to the plaza all summer long. One of those events that draws people who were just walking by anyway. Check danville.ca.gov for the full performance schedule.
NCS Baseball Quarterfinal: Monte Vista vs. Clayton Valley Charter | Friday, May 22, 4:30 p.m. at Monte Vista. The Mustangs advanced out of the first round Tuesday and host this one. Both programs have allowed fewer than three runs per game on average this season, so expect a tight game.
NCS Softball Quarterfinal: San Ramon Valley vs. American Canyon | Friday, May 22, 5:00 p.m. at San Ramon Valley. The Wolves are 20-6 and ranked 40th in California. Home playoff games at this level do not come around often. Worth showing up for.
THE NUMBER
2 of 5
The number of Danville Town Council seats that could be on the ballot this November without an incumbent running. Karen Stepper is not seeking re-election after 24 years. Vice Mayor Robert Storer's seat is also up. Two open seats on a five-member council is the kind of election that rewrites local politics for a decade.
FINAL THOUGHT
Memorial Day arrives this weekend with a newly renovated war memorial opening at Oak Hill Park and the last week of school just around the corner. Bring the kids. Tell them what the day is for.
THE SIDELINE
Monte Vista Wins a Tight One, Softball Is the Other Story Worth Watching
The game you should have been at Tuesday was on the Monte Vista diamond. The Mustangs opened the North Coast Section Division 1 baseball playoffs with a 4-3 win over Liberty, and the story was pitcher Gavin McMillan, who went six innings without allowing a single earned run. That was his eleventh consecutive appearance with one earned run or fewer. Monte Vista is now 19-6 on the season, unbeaten in EBAL at eight-and-zero, and ranked 54th in California.
Quarterfinals are Friday at 4:30 p.m. at Monte Vista against Clayton Valley Charter. The Mustangs have allowed an average of 2.6 runs per game this season. The Eagles come in at 2.2. Whoever scores first may very well win it.
San Ramon Valley's baseball season ended Tuesday in a 5-6 loss to Granada. The Wolves lost four straight games by an average of one run, and this one was no different. That is a hard way to finish.
The program with business still to conduct Friday is San Ramon Valley softball, and this one deserves more attention than it has been getting. The Wolves are 20-6, ranked 40th in California, second in the EBAL, and hosting American Canyon in the NCS Division 1 quarterfinals at 5 p.m. This is one of the strongest San Ramon Valley programs across any sport this spring. If you have a student or a neighbor on that roster, Friday evening at SRV is the place to be.
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