Mill Valley School District Board of Trustees
Regular Meeting No. 6 - January 19, 2005
MINUTES
| Trustees Present: | Jeffrey Freiberg, Monib Khademi, Laura Murphy, Paula Reynolds, Brian Swartz |
| Administrators Present: | Barbara B. Young,
Superintendent Laurie Harden, Assistant Superintendent/Business Services Kerri M. Mills, Ed.D., Assistant Superintendent/Special Education Whitney Hoyt, Middle School Principal Stephany La Londe, Old Mill School Principal Peg Minicozzi, Park School Principal Leslie Thornton, Strawberry Point School Principal Gail van Adelsberg, Tamalpais Valley School Principal |
| CALL TO ORDER | The Mill Valley School District Board of Trustees, acting as the Governing Board of the Mill Valley School District, met in regular session at 5:00 PM on Wednesday, January 19, 2005 at the District Administrative Office, 411 Sycamore Avenue, Mill Valley, CA. President Reynolds called the meeting to order at 5:00 PM. |
| CLOSED
SESSION - Public Comment |
Staff members from Old Mill School spoke in support of Stephany La Londe and her leadership at the school. The meeting was then recessed to Closed Session at 5:06 PM. |
| RECONVENE & REPORT | Ms. Reynolds reconvened the meeting to Public Session at 7:00 PM and announced that no action was taken in Closed Session, and that the Board will recess to Closed Session following the Public Session. |
| AGENDA | M/S/C Swartz/Freiberg (5-0) to approve the agenda, with administrative items from the Personnel Action Form in Consent Agenda be addressed separately following Communications to the Board. |
| COMMUNICATIONS - Supt: personnel |
Superintendent Young announced the retirement of Old Mill Principal Stephany La Londe and the resignation of Edna Maguire Principal Carly Tolson, effective June 30, 2005. Ms. Young expressed her appreciation for their contributions and service to the District and expressed best wishes for the future. |
| - Tolson resignation | M/S/C Freiberg/Murphy (5-0) to accept resignation of Carly Tolson, effective June 30, 2005. |
| - La Londe retire | Old Mill School teacher Laura Shearer read a letter that the school staff had sent to Ms. La Londe asking her to reconsider her decision to retire, as they are in support of her continuing leadership at the school. Ms. Reynolds expressed her appreciation to Ms. La Londe and the staff and parents in the audience. The following action was taken. |
| M/S/C Swartz/Murphy (5-0) to approve retirement of Stephany La Londe, effective June 30, 2005. | |
| - Supt. Report | Ms. Young reported on the various efforts at schools to support the recent tsunami victims; expressed appreciation to the Strawberry Point School staff and community for their support of the family of 4th grade student Yi Dan Liu, who died suddenly over winter break; reported on Apple Computer staff development collaborative, which includes training for staff in Mill Valley, Dixie, Kentfield and Ross school districts; and welcomed Tad Whitaker, new Marin I-J reporter covering Mill Valley news. |
| STRATEGIC
PLAN Education - Kgn appeal: Rossi |
Rick and JoAnn Rossi appealed to the Board for consideration of allowing their daughter, Leah, to enter kindergarten following her 5th birthday on December 16, 2005. As she will miss the December 2 cutoff date for admittance to kindergarten, Mr. & Mrs. Rossi presented supporting statements for Leah's readiness for kindergarten. Ms. Young reviewed the Education Code and her report to the Board regarding this appeal and the many factors for the Board to consider. Discussion followed with parents and trustees, including information that the District has allowed "early" admittance to school if a student had completed an accredited kindergarten program. The following action was taken. |
| - Motion: deny appeal | M/S/C Khademi/Freiberg (4-1 Murphy nay) to deny request for Leah Rossi to enter kindergarten during the 2005-06 school year. |
| - Elem. Foreign Language | Parent Susan Hill presented a report on the history of the elementary foreign language program in the district for the last 3-4 years, including its development and the experiences with the instruction provider. The program is has not continued. Ms. Hill concluded said that an in-school program would be the best way to address foreign language at the elementary level. Ms. Young commented that foreign language is still in the Strategic Plan, acknowledging that funding is the issue. Appreciations were expressed to Ms. Hill and the committee that worked so diligently on elementary foreign language. |
| - MS Foreign Language | Teacher Suzanne Chase reported on foreign language at Middle School, including the new 6th grade "wheel" program; 7th and 8th grade programs; the advanced Spanish class; and articulation with Tamalpais High School. It was reported that most of our students going onto Tam High advance to level 3/4 upon entry, having been well-prepared at Middle School. |
| - 05/06 calendar | The options for start and end dates for 2005-06 and whether to have the Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving be a holiday were discussed. Start date discussion included the possibility of a Thursday start day in order to give parents one last weekend with families prior to any opening activities for students. The certificated staff will vote on the recommended options, with final approval no later than the February 9 board meeting. |
| - Motion: calendar | M/S/C Khademi/Freiberg (3-2 Reynolds/Murphy nay) for Superintendent to negotiate Option "A" (start date of August 24, 2005), with Wednesday before Thanksgiving to be determined through certificated staff negotiation. |
| - Assessment | Ms. Young reviewed the spring 2004 state assessment results, along with changes in testing, how the district staff is using the data in programs and planning, and the work being done by the Curriculum Advisory Council and staffs to assure alignment of standards to current instruction. |
| - Site Plans | Principal Stephany La Londe reviewed the process for development of site plans, saying that a template was developed last year for all Marin districts to use, and acknowledged the staff and parents who served on the site committees. |
| - Motion: site plans | M/S/C Khademi/Murphy (5-0) to approve 2004-05 site plans for all schools. |
| Finance - Audit Report |
Stephen Roatch, of Stephen Roatch Accountancy Corporation, reviewed the 2003-04 District audit report, noting that General Fund reserves are 10.6%. He said that the audit went very smoothly for his firm's first audit of the District, and thanked Assistant Superintendent Harden and staff who aided in the audit. |
| - Motion: audit | M/S/C Khademi/Murphy (5-0) to accept the audit report for 2003-04. |
| - Budget Calendar | The Budget Development Calendar was presented. Board consensus is for the Administrative Council to base its budget priorities recommendations on the Education and Staff goals of the Strategic Plan. Budget priorities for 2005-06 will be discussed at the February 9 Board meeting. |
| - Motion: budget calendar | M/S/C Khademi/Murphy (5-0) to adopt 2005-06 Budget Development Calendar. |
| BUILDINGS
& SITES - SP Mosaic |
Principal Leslie Thornton and PTA Co-President Amy Thomas reviewed the process for proposal for installation of mosaic panel at Strawberry Point School. |
| - Motion: mosaic | M/S/C Freiberg/Khademi (5-0) to approve proposal for installation of mosaic project at Strawberry Point School. |
| POLICY MATTERS | The following policies were acted upon in one motion. |
| - AR 1270; AR/E 1312.4; AR/E 4128; AR 5111.12; BP/AR 5113; BP 3112; AR 3515.1 | M/S/C Khademi/Swartz (5-0) to approve the following policy actions: AR 1270 - Protocol for Parent Interaction with School Personnel - 2nd reading (new); AR/E 1312.4 - Williams Uniform Complaint Procedures (new); AR/E 4128 - Shared Teaching Assignments - 1st reading (revision); AR 5111.12 - Residency Based on Parent/Guardian Employment - revision; BP/AR 5113 - Absences & Excuses - 1st reading (revision); BP 3112 - Special Reserve Fund - 1st reading (new); AR 3515.1 - Crime Data Reporting - Delete. |
| BOARD REPORTS | Mr. Khademi: recent Joint Legislative Action Committee seminar in Sacramento and Technology Advisory Commission meeting; Mr. Swartz: Old Mill expansion committee meetings, with recommendation expected in March; Ms. Murphy: acknowledged SP PTA Co-President Amy Thomas for her leadership following the recent death of earlier mentioned student. |
| MINUTES; Reg. 11/8/04; Spec. 12/6/04; 12/17/04 | M/S/C Freiberg/Khademi (5-0) to approve minutes of Regular meeting of December 8, 2004 and Special Meetings of December 6, 2004 and December 17, 2004. |
| CONSENT AGENDA - Warrants |
M/S/C
Murphy/Freiberg (5-0) to
approve Consent Agenda: - Warrants #0266-9599/9671, dated 12/08/04, for $170,471.43; #0267-0033/0076, dated 12/10/04, for $56,026.99; -0564/0603, dated 12/15/04, for $37,559.14; -1977/2036, dated 01/05/05, for $49,603.11; -1219/1255, dated 12/17/05, for $36,407.17; - 2415/2447, dated 01/07/05, for $173,130.35; -2999/3036, dated 01/12/05, for $22,821.17. |
| - Payroll | - Payroll certifications: November 2004: End of Month, dated 11/1/04, for $1,153,598.26; Mid Month, dated 12/6/04, for $54,396.03. |
| - PAF #0405-6 | - Personnel Action Form #0405-6. |
| - Gifts: | - Gifts: For benefit of of Park: $4500 for Library Fund & $1200 for book fair authors, from PK PTA; for Tam Valley: $4496.18 for Library, from TV PTA. |
|
RECESS TO CLOSED SESSION |
Ms. Reynolds announced that the next regular meeting of the Board will be on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 at 7:00 PM at the Mill Valley School District Administrative Office and recessed the meeting to Closed Session at 9:40 PM. |
| RECONVENE & REPORT | Ms. Reynolds reconvened the meeting to Public Session at 11:00 PM and announced that no action was taken in Closed Session. |
| ADJOURNMENT | The meeting was adjourned at 11:00 PM. |
Respectfully submitted, |