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Sept. 10 CUSD Board Meeting Summary EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
CLASSIC COMMENTS OF THE NIGHT CUSD administrator Sherine Smith stated, “We had a smooth opening this year. Everyone deserves a pat on the back.” I suppose it went smoothly if you think class sizes of 40-plus students, more students and fewer adults per school, not enough custodial help to clean schools properly and volunteer parents taking over what used to be paid positions is smooth. Benecke stated, “Oh, yes, that’s right, Ellen,” when Addonizio asked that the prior month’s closed-session minutes, reported as No Action Taken, be changed to reflect the fact that a vote of 7-0 was actually taken. There’s nothing like getting your hand caught in the cookie jar. CUSD administrator Hall apologized to the parents of SJHHS for not having the track and field in when school opened. I wonder how the parents of almost EVERY OTHER school feel about this. Trustee Marlene Draper stated SJHHS was not a gold-plated school; the gold is in the kids. Something in that statement didn’t ring true. Oh wait, maybe it depends on what kids you are talking about. Are the kids sitting in the shower, bathrooms and locker room floors for lunch gold? What about the kids sitting in classrooms with windows that are not tempered glass? Or, what about the kids at Capo High, which doesn’t have a theatre after 30 years? Are they gold? BOARD BRIEFS New Superintendent Woodrow Carter addressed the board. He stated he has had an interest in CUSD since December 2006. He is now a resident of Dana Point. CUSD is comprised of great communities that each have a feeling of great pride. In CUSD we are surrounded by great and talented teachers, administrators, PTAs and parents. Most of his past experience is in districts with declining enrollment. He will be a superintendent who is open, visible and accessible. He is mindful that we have had five superintendents in 15 months. We need teamwork and consensus building. Suzette Lovely received flowers, praise and a standing ovation for doing her well-paid job. Opening school report:
Public Comments: A parent spoke about her daughter leaving the district because she received the approval to have IPE too late. Apparently there is not standard policy in CUSD as to what exactly qualifies for IPE in the case of gymnastics. Some schools allow it for a level 7 gymnast and some don’t. It was also stated the requirement for a middle-school student is the same as that of a high-school student. The parent requested a standardization of the requirement at level 7 for gymnastics. The president of the National Gymnastic Team wants the CUSD guidelines for IPE, in gymnastics, to reflect a standard of level 7. A student who benefited from a program that helped him learn to be independent stated his objection to CUSD cutting the program. The CVHS PTSA president spoke, reading part of a resolution passed by the CVHS PTSA Executive Board objecting to increase in class size due to staffing based on the school’s prior year ADA. (See speech below) A parent read a parable regarding the inequities in facilities within CUSD. (See speech below) INTERESTING: Now here’s where it got a little interesting. Pres. Sheila Benecke seemed to turn down some of the speakers’ microphone so they could not be heard. The speakers were Tom Russell and Terri Morelli (two outspoken critics of CUSD). Then she suddenly figured out how to fix it for the next speaker, Erin Kutnick, a supporter of the district. Benecke has been running the microphone in this boardroom since December 2006, and she seems to have problems every meeting. The interesting part is that you can always hear her and Draper. She only seems to have problems with those she might not want to hear. One would think after 10 months of being in office she could learn, but you know what they say about teaching old dogs new tricks. Consent Calendar: #1 8/13/07 closed-session minutes pulled by Addonizio, who requested that the closed-session minutes from the 8/13/07 be changed from No final action taken in the employment of Interim Superintendent to Vote taken 7-0. (Now how exactly is that kind of mistake made? Does anyone wonder how many of these errors exist? — Benecke’s comment, “Oh yes, you are right.”) 7-0 #5 Purchase Orders pulled by member of the audience – Questioned the cost of the shade structures. She stated she had done a lot of investigation and the company being used has quoted much a lower price than what CUSD is paying. 7-0 #8 Transfer of Funds pulled by Addonizio – Questioned and answered. 7-0 #15 Shade Structures pulled by Carter; Hall responded. – Member of the public had brought the issue to the district, so they did some research. There was a lot of discussion about the company’s reorganization. All structures must be approved by DSA. CUSD structures meet Title 25 requirements. His research concluded CUSD received the best bid. (Note: it is believed to be the only bid, so one could argue it is either the best bid or the worst bid.) 7-0 #22 Pulled by member of the audience – She stated that the item calls for her layoff. She is the single mother of a special-needs child. She has a bachelor’s degree and made a really good case for why the district should keep the position. 4-3 (NO:Addonizio, Bryson, Christensen). Discussion/Action #25 Arts and Music Education — Schools will get $83.04 per student, one-time money, and $15.94 per student ongoing money for music, dance, drama and visual arts. (Per the written agenda item includes PE.) Site Councils will have oversight. Steering committee was formed and input was obtained from focus groups, students and schools that held needs-assessment meetings. It was determined that CUSD will participate in the countywide Arts Alliance. Included in the decision were 14 arts teachers, two elementary school teachers, two parents, two students, three principals, and Carolyn Williams and Barbara Scholl. Bryson questions percentage of grant going to administration (answer 2.95 percent indirect costs). Also confirmed that Scholl’s salary and that of her personal secretary are paid from the General Fund. Scholl/ Williams were questioned and they answered: #26 Review of Master Facility Plan Demographics — Hall reported (with comments by Carter). He stated that in districts where he had previously worked, this type of plan was done every year. He was surprised to learn it had never been done in CUSD. The growth of district population is slowing, but it is still projected to increase 11.2 percent by 2011. The population by 2011 of children aged 5-14 will decline, and the population of children aged 14-17 will increase. School population is projected at .5 to .7 per unit built. By 2016, CUSD is expecting a growth in students between a conservative estimate of 4,196 students and a moderate estimate of 9113 students. The state is in declining enrollment, yet CUSD is still experiencing growth. Many districts are faced with closing schools because of the declining enrollment problem. It was recommended that the board develop a Board Policy addressing individual school capacity, permanent vs. portable, core school capacity and interim student housing. Next up in the review? Prioritizing the needs. #27 Change Order for SJHHS — They are within 1.5 percent of the original contract. A good question is what have they paid outside of the contract. Trustee Christensen requested the credits be voted on separately from the increases.
Hall noted that the credit for the field of $322,000 did not meet the mark of $400,000 that they had told the trustees they would get when they approved the additional $2.2 million contract. Trustee Bryson asked what the total landscape portion of the contract was and Hall stated he would have to get back to her. Current budget for the school $142 million Unknowns- stadium, concession, restrooms, track, two-story modular. Estimated best-case guess on additional cost for these items is $12 million in today’s dollars. In addition, CUSD is still in negotiations with SJC city regarding the pool. The cost of the pilot car was unexpected, as are additional road improvements. Other unknowns will further increase the cost of the school. They are trying to get the state to pay a portion of the required road improvement. Currently, the school only has enough classrooms for 1,700 students. A two-story modular will bring the capacity to 2,400. Both fall far short of the current enrollment at every other high school in the district. Hall apologized to the parents that the situation regarding the track and field are not optimal. Bryson expressed concern regarding security at the theatre, which is still under construction. Darnold thanked everyone for supporting “Our school.” Draper is excited to see the facility and stated it is beautiful. Draper wanted it noted that the developer put in the tree-lined street. Draper requested a timeline for the stadium, pool and new modular classrooms. Christensen feels that the district should not pay cost overruns that are cosmetic in nature, nor should the district pay for errors that are the fault of the vendors. Dixon stated that CUSD pays for errors on the part of vendors and then tries to negotiate at the end of the contract. (This has been discussed by Christensen in other meetings as bad business practice.) Benecke wanted to be sure that there is enough money to pay for all the extras. Hall answered that there is a $750,000 set-aside for contingencies. Upon further questioning by Addonizio(?), Hall admitted that if all the money is not spent at SJHHS, it would go to the Capital Facilities Fund for other schools’ needs. Christensen stated he had a problem with gold-plating one school when there are so many other schools with basic needs. Draper answered we don’t build old. (Note: this is not quite true, as one only needs to look at the science classrooms at SJHHS built at the exact same time as the science classrooms at CVHS – one is gold-plated, the other is not). Marlene stated she did not feel the costs were out of line, given the facility. Credits approved 7-0. Increases approved 4-3 (NO:Addonizio, Bryson, Christensen) #28 Change Order for Arroyo Vista. Increase $6,074 total cost of project $2,791,074 for second multipurpose room. Contractor will not sign the change order so legal counsel advised how to handle. 7-0 #29 Preliminary 06/07 Financial Statement. No need to amend the budget. Sorry, but PowerPoint was fast and there is no way to properly follow along. Convenient that when it comes to discussing the money, they never provide much information in the board packet. The reserve is now 2.3 percent or .3 percent above the minimum allowed. #30 Revision of Board Policy-Legal Protection. Bottom line, the taxpayers are on the hook for the trustees and or any employees’ legal fees. 7-0 BOARD COMMENTS None NOTES The CUSD Board of Trustees approved a budget on 6/24/07, 4-2. (Trustee Darnold was absent and Trustees Addonizio and Christensen voted no). Four parents spoke against passing the budget for many reasons, including the fact that the new staff allocation at ADA (average daily attendance) instead of Actual Enrollment would increase class size. At the 9/13/07 board meeting, during public comments, a parent again spoke against the increase in class size and read a portion of a resolution, passed unanimously by the CVHS PTSA Executive Board, opposing staffing based on ADA. The president of CUEA, Vicki Soderberg, has not spoken publicly at any meeting of the CUSD Board of Trustees opposing this action that has increased class size, the third increase since 1999. During the board meetings, no CUSD staff member expressed any concern regarding this new staffing program, and most of the PTA leadership has remained quiet regarding this disastrous action. Who is watching out for the students? SPEECHES Good evening and welcome, Mr. Carter. I am happy to have you in our district and look forward to working with you. My name is Sharon Campbell, and I am here tonight as the PTSA president for Capistrano Valley High School. On August 27, 2007, the CVHS PTSA Executive Board unanimously passed a resolution opposing the new formula for staffing teachers at the middle and high schools based on average daily attendance. A copy of that resolution has been provided to each of you. The board-approved resolution will be presented to our membership at the next association meeting. We resolve that all future staffing allocation be base upon actual enrollment and not prior year ADA. These changes in the current budget have the potential to create inequitable educational opportunities for the CUSD students, as schools with lower ADA will have large class sizes. Speaking as a parent I am also very opposed to staffing teachers based on last years ADA. I wrote to many in CUSD regarding my concerns prior to the adoption of the budget and I was told it would work out fine, well it hasn’t. The current formulary for staffing classrooms has resulted in unacceptably large classes, many in excess of 40 students. The attendance rate of last year’s students has no bearing on this year’s population. Approximately ¬ of a high schools population leave and new students enter. You have no way of knowing what these new students attendance will be. I understand that to put a Band-Aid on the problem you have added class sections however that is going to result in a last minute shuffling of students from one class to another, thus disrupting schooling Your actions are just like the airline who over books flights. Only when I show up for a plane to New York that is overbooked I get a placed on another flight and often compensation for my trouble. I don’t have sit on the floor and forego my meal and seatbelt. I understand you have budget problems and I understand you have to make cuts, but I have sat in this very room and heard over and over that you have done everything to keep the cuts away from the classroom. There seems to be a huge disconnect as to just what is the classroom. Increasing the number of students in a classroom is as close to making cuts to the classroom. I know this looked good for your budget because it came to my attention when I noticed the teachers received a raise yet there was an over $ 2 million reduction in teacher salaries. Just because it looks good on paper doesn’t mean it’s good for the students. I’m certain that your budget would look really good if all the people sitting at that table over there had their positions eliminated but that might make it a little hard to run the district. It is time each of you looked past the paper to what damage you are causing with your votes. Remember you are all here to serve the students and this cut was not service to the students. Thank you, Trustees Addonizio and Christensen, for voting against the budget that included this damaging cut. I ask you all to put the money back into our children’s classrooms by reversing your terrible decision. Good evening Board members and Mr. Carter, My name is Sharon O’Brien and I have students at Newhart and Capistrano Valley High School. I would like to spend my 3 minutes reciting a parable. The parents continued, “Why do you complain? –Look at Junior – he is the showcase of the family!” Well the other children had nothing against Junior and all of his nice things. They just stood there in their barefeet and wondered why their parents had not budgeted more intelligently and acted more equitably. They asked when they would get their new back to school things and their parents replied, “we are really sorry but you will have to be patient and wait for the family needs assessment”. Well we won’t go into the part of the story where Family Services takes the father away…. Now, as this parable teaches us – no healthy, well functioning family would buy an extravagant house and favor one child at the expense of all the others and no school district should either. Fair and timely allocation of resources in a school district is crucial to the well being of all the children in that district. Some of the oldest schools in CUSD have been made to wait the longest – Capo 25 yrs. for a pool, 30 yrs. and counting for a theatre, Newhart - 27 yrs. and counting for a multi purpose room and sufficient bathrooms to accommodate the huge population of the school. The time for assessments is over – the time for action is overdue. I don’t have anything against Junior – I just want all the children to have what they need when they go back to school. |
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