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CUSD Board
Recognizes Students, Staff, and Discusses
Budget During May and June Meetings in 2011
By Kelly Avants
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May 11 Meeting
In addition to the
previously announced appointment of Steve Ward as
interim superintendent, the CUSD Governing Board took
the following additional actions at its May 11 meeting:
• Appointed Mike Vogt,
current physical education teacher at Buchanan High, to
the position of athletic director at Buchanan effective
July 1.
• Recognized students
from the Buchanan, Clovis East and Clovis Areas for
first place local, and first, second or third place at
the state or national level for academic achievements.
• Adopted a school
facility needs analysis (and earlier in the meeting held
a public hearing to allow for public comment on the
report) approving the district’s School Facilities Needs
Analysis and establishing the annual rate of Level II
Developer Fees.
• Awarded a bid for
painting at Temperance-Kutner and Lincoln elementary
schools.
• Approved a revised
charter for the Clovis Online School to reflect updates
made to the original charter which better reflect the
policies and practices of the school and school
district.
• Amended the Cooperative
Contract with the Department of Rehabilitation –
Transition Partnership Program to provide vocational
rehabilitation services for the period of July 1, 2009,
to June 30, 2012.
• Adopted a Declaration
of Need notifying the California Commission on Teacher
Credentialing that there may be a need to hire persons
on an emergency permit basis in some specialized areas
for the 2011-12 school year.
• Accepted a $10,000
donation of funds to Bud Rank Elementary School for use
by staff to support students.
• Ratified the
termination of a communication site licensing agreement
with T-Mobile related to the proposed communication
facility at a district school site.
• Ratified a contract
with the interim superintendent detailing the terms of
his temporary service in this role.
• Adopted textbooks for
“College Physics Second Edition;” “Environmental
Science: Earth as a Living Planet;” “The Language of
Composition;” and “Une Fois Pour Toutes” for use in CUSD
secondary classrooms.
• Approved the submission
of a five-year Title VII Indian Education Grant
Application to the U.S. Department of Education to
provide services to Native American students to begin in
the 2011-12 school year.
May 25 Meeting
The May 25 Governing
Board meeting focused on the recognition of students and
staff members for outstanding accomplishments during the
2010-11 school year. In addition to honoring close to
200 students from the Clovis North and Clovis West area
schools for first place local, and first, second or
third place academic accomplishments during the year,
the board singled out two staff members for special
attention.
First, Clovis High math
teacher Diana Herrington was recognized as the
California Science Fair Teacher of the Year (please
see related story page 8-A). Dr. Cheryl Rogers,
assistant superintendent Clovis Area, commented in her
introduction of Herrington, that while it may be unusual
for a math teacher to be honored for work in science,
Herrington’s philosophy is that “math is the language of
science, and one can only go as far in science as your
math will take you.” Herrington has worked with Science
Fair students for more than 20 years with many of the
projects she has sponsored earning state and national
level recognition, and three projects progressing to the
international level.
Following Herrington’s
recognition, the board honored Coordinator of Nursing
Services Jeanne Prandini, who was named School Nurse
Administrator of the Year by the California School
Nurse’s Organization. Prandini coordinates the Nursing
Services Department for CUSD and was selected from all
school nurse administrators in an 11-county region for
her outstanding work in school nursing.
Before the board began
its regularly scheduled meeting, members attended the
annual Senior Student Voice workshop at which students
from the district’s high schools shared their personal
experiences in the district along with suggestions for
improvements.
The board also received
the results of the annual senior survey. The survey is
given at the district’s comprehensive and alternative
schools, and seeks input from students about the rigor
of their academic experience, campus safety and overall
quality of the education they received while students in
Clovis Unified.
Later in the meeting,
members of the Inter-School Council presented their
annual report to the board summarizing their year of
work to build partnerships between the district’s high
schools. Included in their report was the group’s
recommendation to maintain the current dress code based
on feedback received from their fellow students, and to
continue senior off-campus privileges based on polling
of local businesses.
In other action, the
board:
• Approved the
appointment of Richard Sarkisian, assistant director of
Assessment, to the position of learning director at
Buchanan High School effective July 1, 2011.
• Approved a minor
revision to Board Policy No. 3505 – Summer Sessions to
accurately reflect the district’s existing practice
allowing only those students enrolled in Clovis Unified
during the traditional school year to access summer
school.
• Scheduled a public hearing for
the 2011-12 proposed budget to occur June 15 at 6:45
p.m. in the boardroom at 1680 David E. Cook Way in
Clovis. The hearing would provide an opportunity for the
public to provide comments
on the budget before the board’s expected adoption of
the budget, also scheduled for June 15.
• Awarded construction
and supply bids for a variety of projects scheduled to
take place over the course of the 2011 summer break.
June 15 Meeting
At the start of its June
15 meeting, the Governing Board celebrated a milestone
in the district by bestowing the first Online High
School diploma to Theresa Harris. Principal Rob Darrow,
Ed.D., introduced Theresa and her family to the board
before President Ginny Hovsepian presented Theresa with
her Clovis Unified high school diploma; commenting as
she did that this was a groundbreaking moment for the
district.
Earlier in the afternoon,
the board also took time to recognize employees retiring
from Clovis Unified this year. Close to 40 employees
retired during the 2010-11 school year, and during the
June 15 reception the board and district leaders honored
the combined 846 years of service of these employees
before wishing them well in retirement.
Chairman of the Citizens
Committee to Study Capital Facility Needs Paul Spraetz
presented to the board the results of the committee’s
five-month study of facility needs in the district. The
committee, made up of community members, parents,
employees and local businesspeople, studied the
district’s history of bond measures, an extensive
reporting of the district’s capital facility needs, and
enrollment projections before developing a proposal for
the board’s consideration. In addition, the committee
conducted a voter opinion survey to determine the
attitude of the community toward a possible bond measure
and the needs of the district.
According to Spraetz, the
committee’s recommendation is that the board place a
$298 million facility bond measure on the presidential
primary election in 2012 in order that the district can
complete facility projects critical to maintaining
schools in good repair able to support the safety,
technology and infrastructure needs of the 21st
century. If approved by the community, this bond measure
would result in no tax increase.
Assistant
Superintendent of Business Services Michael Johnston
presented a budget update to the board that looked at
both national and state economic forecasts and news of
the June 15 budget vote by California’s legislature.
Though almost immediately vetoed, the budget proposal
included is almost flat funding for public schools
between 2010-2011 and 2011-2012, and the reinstatement
of a $3 billion cash deferral to community colleges and
K-12 schools that
delays cash payments to
schools. According to Johnston, funding of schools
remains well below what it was more than five years ago.
Given the latest
state budget proposal, and previously approved budget
reductions planned for 2011-12 (including three employee
furlough days and a 2 percent reduction to CUSD’s salary
schedules) the budget adopted by the board later in the
meeting includes the use of
slightly more than $3 million in reserve funds to
balance the district’s budget. According to Johnston,
work will continue over the summer to discuss both the
ongoing impact of previously implemented budget
reductions and how to best allocate the limited
resources that will be available to the district in the
2011-12 budget.
In other action, the
Board:
• Approved the 2011-12
designation of California Interscholastic Federation
representatives from the district high schools.
• Approved the schedule
of CUSD elementary school visits to the Sierra Outdoor
School for 2011-12.
•
Approved membership in the California School Boards
Association for 2011-12.
• Approved agreements
with the College Board for an Early Participation
Program; with School Business Consulting, Inc. for
facility consulting services; with CSU Fresno for the
Teaching American History Grant; with the Fresno
Interagency Council to improve the coordination of
services to students by agencies throughout Fresno
County; and with several service providers for the
district’s special education program.
• Authorized the
designation of Oraze Elementary to operate as a Title I
Schoolwide Program, and the submittal of the annual
Consolidated Application for Categorical Aid Programs
Part I and II for 2011-12.
• Entered into an
agreement with California First National Bank to finance
the 2011-12 computer refresh program.
• Approved one-year
contracts with the district’s associate superintendents,
assistant superintendents and administrators for the
2011-12 year. These contracts reflect the same salary
reductions, including furlough days, as all district
employees.
• Held a public hearing
on the district’s 2011-12 budget, which was later
adopted as described above.
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