Mill Valley School District Board of Trustees
Regular Meeting No. 17 - April 23, 2001
MINUTES
| Members Present: | Jeffrey Freiberg, Len Gensburg, Monib Khademi, Paula Reynolds, Elizabeth Spencer |
| Administrative Staff: | Barbara B. Young, Superintendent Kerri Mills, Ed.D., Director of Special Education |
| 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 7:00 PM on Monday, April 23, 2001 at the Mill Valley School District Administrative Office, 411 Sycamore Avenue, Mill Valley, CA. President Gensburg called the meeting to order at 7:02 PM. |
| AGENDA | M/S/C Spencer/Freiberg (5-0) to approve the agenda. |
| SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS River of Words winners |
Superintendent Young introduced 2001 "River of Words Environmental Poetry & Art Project" winners: Elsinore Carabetta-Smidth, Park School alumna, who read her Bay Area Grand Prize winning poem; and Christian Jordan, Park 3rd grader, who displayed his watercolor which was the Shasta Bioregion Prize Winner. Dee Uyeda, Park 3rd grade teacher, was acknowledged for teaching both of these students. Mayor Clifford Waldeck then presented the students with City of Mill Valley pins. |
| Bob Ritter- Chief of Police | Ms. Young recognized Chief of Police Bob Ritter and his staff, saying that Mr. Ritter will be recognized at the Annual Golden Bell awards event in May. |
| MS Distinguished School | Ms. Young also recognized the Middle School for achieving status as a California Distinguished School for the 3rd time, and thanked the many people who worked on the proposal. |
| JOINT MEETING - CITY OF MILL VALLEY | The Board met with the members of the Mill Valley City Council: Mayor Clifford Waldeck, Vice-Mayor Dennis Fisco, and members Chris Raker, Anne Solem and Dick Swanson; City Manager Don Hunter; Planning Director Rory Walsh; Parks & Recreation Director Christine Sansom; Public Works Director Wayne Bush; and Bob Ritter, Chief of Police. Following the reports and updates, the two groups discussed how the City Council works with its management team. |
| Miller Ave. Precise Plan / Housing | Ms. Walsh gave an update on City housing issues, including information on a comprehensive plan for uses and densities along Miller Avenue. |
| Community Center | Mr. Hunter gave an update on the new Community Center, saying that the teen and senior centers were now open, with other sections of the Center gradually opening. |
| Skateboard Park | Ms. Sansom gave an update on the skateboard park planned adjacent to Middle School. She said that there will be public meetings regarding the design of the park. Mill Valley Rotary has donated $3000 toward the building of the park. |
| Traffic | Mr. Gensburg reviewed the recommendations made in the recent traffic study in Mill Valley, saying that some school start times may be changed to help alleviate congestion in certain areas. Also discussed was the "Safe Routes to School" program. |
| MS Site Plan | District Project Manager Dave Harding reviewed the summer work plans for improvements at the Middle School, including a new parking plan to provide more spaces and better traffic flow. |
| Summer 2001 renovation | Mr. Harding reviewed the plans for summer renovation/modernization work at other sites, including flooring, networking, telephones and lock set changes. The Facilities Committee is preparing a summary sheet outlining the various projects. |
| RECESS/RECONVENE | Mr. Gensburg recessed the meeting at 8:20 PM, following joint meeting with the Mill Valley City Council. The meeting was reconvened at 8:30 PM. |
| COMMUNICATIONS Superintendent's Report |
Ms. Young reported that Librarian Jane Ritter has been appointed to the California Department of Education Literature and Science Committee; thanked Leslie Thornton for her help with PE teacher Matt Gardner getting a Dominican grant; and that there are 306 new registrants K-5 as of today. |
| Staff Reports - Bexton / Gabbard | Park Principal Ruthanne Bexton reported on the school's Earth Day celebration; and Middle School Principal Kit Gabbard reported on the very successful Michael Pritchard event for students. |
| Stakeholders Report | Ms. Young reported that the Stakeholders Group had gathered input from various groups regarding ideas for saving money or for expanding funding in the District. Those ideas are available in school offices, the District Office and will be available on the District website. |
| MINUTES 4/9/01 regular |
M/S/C Freiberg/Spencer (5-0) to approve minutes of regular meeting of April 9, 2001, with the following corrections: under Superintendent's Report: the last item regarding foreign language to read as follows: "reported that a before-school foreign language program needs to be accessible in all elementary schools. She is continuing to investigate programs in other districts." Under Board reports: line 1: after "mayors" add "and city councils". |
| 4/12/01 special | M/S/C Freiberg/Reynolds (5-0) to approve minutes of special meeting of April 2, 2001. |
| CURRICULUM/INSTRUCTION Charges for private school applications |
Due to the amount of time necessary to process student applications to private schools, mostly at the 8th grade level and some at 5th grade, a recommendation was made to the Board to authorize the District to charge for processing the applications. The Board indicated that $50 was an appropriate fee for the first year, with Mr. Freiberg dissenting that the charge should be higher. |
| - Motion | M/S/C Khademi/Reynolds (4-1 Freiberg nay) to authorize schools to charge a one-time fee of $50 for processing any private school applications that are requested at the same time, with any subsequent applications requiring an additional $50 fee, effective with the 2001-02 school year. |
| BUSINESS & FISCAL API Awards |
Ms. Young reported that all school site councils had met several times, both together and at sites, to discuss the disbursement of the Governor's Performance Awards. The funds will be shared equally among the sites per guidelines set by the joint meetings of site councils. |
| - Motion: API Awards | M/S/C Freiberg/Khademi (5-0) to approve disbursement of API Awards funds as presented by each school site council. |
| Tennessee Glen extension agreement/Sausalito | Ms. Young recommended renewal of an extension agreement with the Sausalito Marin City School District regarding the students who live in Tennessee Glen subdivision in unincorporated Mill Valley, but which falls within the Sausalito district boundary. An agreement reached last year between the two districts requires an extension renewal on an annual basis in order for students in that area to have a choice of districts in which to attend school. Discussion included the possibility of the residents paying the equivalent of parcel and/or bond assessments each year. The majority agreed to the original intent and are not opposed to modifying the agreement in the future, with Ms. Reynolds and Mr. Khademi wishing to modify the agreement at this time. The following action was taken. |
| - Motion: Tennessee Glen extension | M/S/C Freiberg/Spencer (3-2 Khademi & Reynolds nay) to approve the extension agreement with the Sausalito Marin City School District for students residing in Tennessee Glen. |
| Tennessee Woods subdivision | Ms. Young reported that Tennessee Woods, four new homes off of Tennessee Valley Road, are also in the Sausalito Marin City School District. The developer is interested in the two school districts having an agreement similar to that for Tennessee Glen students. Ms. Young and Mr. Gensburg will be meeting with the developer to discuss reimbursement to our district of lost and potential parcel and bond assessments. They will keep the Board updated on this proposal. |
| CONSENT AGENDA Warrants |
M/S/C Freiberg/Reynolds (5-0) to
approve Consent Agenda as follows: - Warrants #0251-6099/6108, dated 04/06/2001, for $105,021.19; -6537/6571, dated 04/11/01, for $10,113.01; -7024/7076, dated 04/13, for $213,146.02. |
| Payroll Certifications | -Payroll certifications - March 2001: Supplemental, dated 04/0501, for $135,116.11; Misc. Mid-Month, dated 04/14/01, for $26,487.73. |
| Personnel: Hire: DeCelles/ Keenan/Morgan/O'Hara/Spain/Starfas; Leaves: Halvorsen/Simmons | - Temporary certificated employment for 2001-02: Aimee DeCelles, Heather Keenan, Carrie Morgan, Sally O'Hara, Angela Spain, Emily Starfas; Leaves for 2001-02: K. Halvorsen (.2), J. Simmons (.2). |
| Gift - Bookstein | - Gift to MVSD, for benefit of MVMS: ceramic tiles,, valued at $100, from L. Bookstein. |
| ADJOURNMENT | Mr. Gensburg announced that the next regularly scheduled Board meeting will be at 7:00 PM on Monday, May 7, 2001, at Edna Maguire School and adjourned the meeting at 9:45 PM. |
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Respectfully submitted, |