Highlights from the January 23, 2007 Board Meeting
Ken Benny, Superintendent
Board of Trustees
Laura Murphy, President
Steve Sell, Vice-President/Clerk
John Duncan
Monib Khademi
Paula Reynolds
As part of our ongoing efforts to broaden our communications, we have instituted Board Highlights, an informal summary of the monthly Mill Valley School District Board Meetings. The official recorded minutes of our Board meetings can be found at www.mvschools.org
Board and Superintendent Reports
Trustee John Duncan and Superintendent Ken Benny were pleased to report that KIDDO! has met its funding goal for the year and is also celebrating 25 years of service to our community. Past and present KIDDO! Board members will celebrate their achievement at a special reunion January 27.
Superintendent Ken Benny commended Matt Huxley, Mill Valley Middle School Principal, for his successful State of the School address on January 18. There were about 35 parents in attendance to hear Principal Huxley talk about programs, opportunities, and challenges for the Middle School.
Superintendent Ken Benny and Trisha Garlock, Executive Director of KIDDO!, were interviewed for an installment on Education Matters TV, a local program produced by Comcast and the Marin County Office of Education (MCOE). The host is Mary Jane Burke, Marin County Superintendent of Schools. The focus of this episode highlights Mill Valley’s exemplary K-8 arts programs. The interview will air (date TBD) on the local access channel as well as the Marin County Office of Education website.
Technology Update
Superintendent Ken Benny reported that the last 30 days have been extremely productive for the District’s Technology Team. Terry Kritsepis, Director of Technology, reported that the District successfully switched over to the new fiber optic wide area network and he expects all of the schools to cut over by February 15, 2007. He is confident that this will greatly increase the stability of the network. Terry attributes this success to the “best team he has ever worked with”. Over 100 KIDDO! funded laptops have been deployed on schedule to our teachers and the District’s first two flights of comprehensive technology professional development have been completed. District staff is now preparing for the next two flights to begin this spring. By December 2008, nearly half of all teachers in the District will have completed this program.
Successful District Audit
Steven Roatch of Steven Roatch Accountancy Corporation highlighted the District Audit Report for the fiscal year 2005-2006; which was approved by the Board. He was pleased to announce there were no questioned costs, or financial findings. Additionally, Mr. Roatch praised District staff for their work and cooperation on the auditing process. The District staff appreciated the auditing process as this gave them a chance to share “best practices” for accounting.
Budget Process Underway
Michele Rollins, Chief Business Official, gave an update on the budget development process. Her assessment is that the budget outlook for Mill Valley is stable, but we should not expect new funding to come from the state in the 2007-2008 budget. The budget process will be a standing item on future Board agendas and District staff will implement the Board approved annual budget calendar.
Another Successful Staff Development Day
Principals Peg Minicozzi, Park Elementary, and Lisa Zimmer, Edna Maguire Elementary, reported on the State Staff Development Day on January 12. The planning of this day was a collaborative effort on the part of the principals and the professional development coordinators/ team leaders at each school.
Strawberry Point School focused on their writing program; Edna Maguire planned the “rebirth” of the Edna Maguire garden and the curriculum that ties in; Old Mill shared curriculum mapping strategies; Park School and Tam Valley focused on math curriculum and teaching strategies across grade levels; and the development of a common math vocabulary. Gretchen Muller from Education Task Force also gave an interesting presentation about the Silicon Valley Math Initiative. The Middle School focused on technology as school based experts taught various uses of technology to their colleagues.
The Elementary Physical Education staff met separately and focused on fitness training, scoring time frames, class management, and the Healthy Snack program.
Overall, the day was a great success. The staff were energized and motivated. Everyone appreciated the chance to reconnect and spend quality planning time together as a team.
Housing Presentation to the Board
Trustee Paula Reynolds introduced guest presenter Bruce Dorfman from Educational Housing Partners, LLC. He presented a proposal for a small scale project that could eventually provide rental housing to staff at very reasonable rates. As the proposal is in its very early stages, the intent of this presentation was to gauge the interest on the part of the District before next steps are taken.
District staff have been surveyed to gauge interest and the initial response has indicated that there is a strong interest and need for affordable housing. As this was not an action item, the Board asked Mr. Dorfman to provide further information at a future Board meeting.
Board Approves Strategic Planning Process
Superintendent Ken Benny submitted a proposal for the development of a three-year strategic plan that would commence September 2007. The process will include evaluation of the current plan, due to expire June 2007 and will include multiple opportunities for staff and community input.
March Board Study Session on Finance
The Board approved a date change for the March 27, 2007 Study Session on finance. This annual session, part of the budget development process will be held on Wednesday, March 28, 2007.
February Study Session on Facilities
Vanir Construction and Management will present its findings and recommendations regarding District facilities on Monday, February 26. This very important session occurs as a result of the recommendations of the District Facilities Task force and will assist the Board in establishing priorities for future facilities needs.
Future Board Meetings
Regular meeting time – 7:00 PM, unless noted
Tuesday, February 13, 2007 – Adoption of School Calendar for 2007-08
Monday, February 26, 2007; 6-8 PM –Study Session: Facilities Needs Assessment Report
Tuesday, March 13, 2007 –2nd Interim Budget Report
Wednesday, March 28, 2007 – Study Session: Finance
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007 – Study Session: Student Learning
Monday, June 11, 2007
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
MID-WINTER BREAK – NO SCHOOL
Monday, February 19-23, 2007