SLV School District Perspectives |
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School Board Meeting Synopsis May 4 , 2004 Link To SLVUSD Web site Agendas and Minutes Page (Note: These are PDF files - read this if you have trouble opening them). Minutes are posted after they are approved, usually at the next regular meeting. Note from Laura About These Synopses (Basically, I report on what I think will be most interesting to community residents. Consult the minutes for a more complete listing of what happened in the meeting.) Closed Session The board had no report out of closed session, which was listed on the agenda as follows: Confidential Student Issues (Ed. Code 35146) Pending Litigation Board Workshop - The board had another workshop in its continuing series to create a new strategic plan for the District. This one was on the Vision Statement. I did not attend this workshop. Organizational Updates/Announcements - The class-size reduction fundraiser has netted $40,000 overall so far. They are now differentiating K-6 from 7-12 in the fundraising efforts. Soon, there will be fundraising events - the first one scheduled is a basketball game at the high school. - The Child Nutrition Services evaluation from the State has taken place (background here). The District will get a preliminary report in 10 days and the final detailed report in about six weeks. The team from the state did say that it was possible to make the service "cost-neutral" (i.e. we won't lose money on school lunches). Staff has also been visiting other CNS programs to see how they do things. - There will be a diversity training workshop for the community this Friday evening. - SLVUSD has received a positive certification from the County for their latest financial projections for 2004-05 (apparently we are now the darling of the county financially - who'd have thought it 18 months ago?). - The Board decided to wear buttons identifying themselves at the upcoming open houses, and have some sort of more organized effort at outreach at the Back to School nights in the fall. - The High School and Jr. High now have electronic newsletters. Community Input There was no general community input at this meeting. Reports High School Booster Club Update The All-Weather Track plans have run into a snag. Whereas initial estimates were that it would cost $400K, more recently they are being told it will be $625K. At this point, they have $200K in fundraising and grants, and have applied for $50 more in grants. They are hoping to be able to lower costs by $100K, and get $100K more in in-kind donations and discounts. They also discussed the possibility of getting lane sponsors at $10K each (the sponsor would have their name on the lane for the 8-10 years until the track needs to be resurfaced), and of getting a large corporate sponsor which would then get the name of the track for $100K (e.g. the "Ben and Jerry's All-weather Track" - just hypothetical, especially since there is no B&J's around here!). There was a long discussion about these last two items, and no decision was reached, other than at least in the naming of the track a public conversation would have to happen. Advertising has been sold on site before (softball field), but naming something after a sponsor would be a change in policy which would require substantial discussion. Junior High School Site Plan Chris Mercer presented a great report on the Jr. High. Test scores are coming up. There are new "academies" starting in the fall as pilot programs - Performing Arts in 8th grade, and Humanities/Science Academy in 7th grade. Teachers are going to be getting instruction for incorporating Life Skills training into the curriculum. Writing is being emphasized, even in PE, and new intervention classes are starting for those below proficiency. Junior High Facilities Addition The architect gave a wonderful presentation, complex with 3-D effects which take you "inside" the new campus design. It looks beautiful. Public Hearings There were public hearings for the contract agreements with the SLVTA and SEIU. There was no public comment. Action Items Approval of Child Care Proposal This was a follow-up presentation from the last meeting about the proposed after-school (and perhaps before-school) at the Quail Hollow building. It was reported that parents of two children who will be in kindergarten in the fall said they would enroll their children at SLE instead of going to Scotts Valley because of the child care, and 2 families will return to the District because of it. Not bad for a program that wasn't even approved yet. Tonight the board approved the proposal unanimously. Approval of Coast Redwood High School Awarding of Credits and Diploma (first reading) Kay Mendoza, head of the alternative charter high school called Coast Redwood High School, gave a presentation about that school, how it functions, how it grants credits, etc. It would like credits to be transferable to the high school if a student decides to change over, and also for the students to be granted regular high school diplomas after completing the 230 required credits, noting that this is 10 more credits than the high school requires. This will also be the first step towards WASC accreditation for the school. This matter will be decided next week. Meeting was adjourned at 9 PM. |