EYSAC initially began in November 2001 as a task force reporting to the Emeryville City Council and Emery Unified School District Board with eighteen members, unified by the following mission:

The mission of the Emeryville Education and Youth Services Task Force is to articulate a community vision for youth, from infancy through high school, and to identify opportunities to coordinate education and youth services in the City of Emeryville and the Emery Unified School District in a manner that is consistent with this vision. This mission requires an active partnership among the City, EUSD, the Emeryville business community and the community at large to improve educational quality and enhance recreational and enrichment opportunities for all youth in the Emeryville community.

Since that time, EYSAC has grown to include nearly sixty members and has broadened the scope of its original mission to address education, recreation, enrichment and support services for all members of the Emeryville community.

During its initial year of operation, EYSAC focused on preparing an Education and Youth Services Master Plan for the Emeryville community. On August 12, 2002, this master plan was adopted by the City Council and EUSD School Board. The master plan includes a community vision for youth and an action plan, as well as recommendations regarding the implementation of the action plan. A key element of the action plan was to transition the task force into a permanent advisory committee and to expand the membership to include a broader group of Emeryville residents and business leaders. The Education and Youth Services Advisory Committee (EYSAC) was formally established as a joint City of Emeryville and Emery Unified School District advisory committee. The EYSAC reports to the City-School Committee at its regular monthly meetings.

• Download the EYSAC Master Plan (PDF, 407k)

During its initial meetings in late 2002, EYSAC’s Finance Subcommittee originated the idea of a parcel tax to raise much-needed operating funds for EUSD. This initial work led to a recommendation from the full EYSAC Committee that a parcel tax measure be submitted to the Emeryville voters at a special election on June 3, 2003. The parcel tax passed with overwhelming support from the Emeryville community and has been providing critical funds for EUSD’s education programs since that time.

EYSAC’s Facilities and Programs/Youth Services Subcommittees began their work by evaluating all of the existing community facilities and programs in Emeryville. The group concluded that EUSD needed to develop modern school facilities that support equitable outcomes for students and that the City needed to build a new permanent recreation facility and community resource center. As discussions progressed, it became clear that there were opportunities for community collaboration, in both programs and facilities, and the concept of the Emeryville Center of Community life was born. Since 2003, the community, under the leadership of EYSAC, has been planning for the Emeryville Center of Community Life.

• Read more about the Planning Process