Mill Valley School District Board of Trustees
Regular Meeting No. 9 - December 11, 2000
MINUTES
| Members Present: | Jeffrey Freiberg, Len Gensburg, Monib Khademi, Julie Kennedy, Elizabeth Spencer |
| Administrative Staff: | Barbara B. Young, Superintendent Dorothea M. Thompson, Ed. D., Interim Assistant 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 5:00 PM on Monday, December 11, 2000 at the Mill Valley School District Administrative Office, 411 Sycamore Avenue, Mill Valley, CA. President Spencer called the meeting to order at 5:03 PM. |
| BOARD RETREAT | The Board met to discuss committee liaison assignments for 2001. |
| PUBLIC COMMENT / CLOSED SESSION | As there was no public comment, the meeting was adjourned to Closed Session at 5:30 PM to meet with labor negotiators. |
| RECONVENE / REPORT OUT | Ms. Spencer reconvened the meeting to Open Session at 7:05 PM, and reported that the Board had met in closed session with labor negotiators Barbara Young, Len Gensburg, Elizabeth Spencer and Sandra Woliver, pursuant to Gov. Code section 54957.6, with no action taken. Ms. Spencer announced that mediation with the teachers' bargaining unit will continue on January 9th. Ms. Spencer then read a short statement regarding her tenure as Board President for 2000, and turned the meeting over to Superintendent Young. |
| ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING - Gensburg President | Ms. Young conducted the election for
President of the Board for 2001. M/S/C Freiberg/Kennedy (5-0) to elect Len Gensburg Board President for 2001. Mr. Gensburg then took over as presiding officer. |
| - Freiberg Vice-Pres. | M/S/C Khademi/Kennedy (5-0) to elect Jeffrey Freiberg as Vice-President and Clerk of the Board |
| - MCSBA rep | The timing of the election of representative to the Marin County School Board Association has been changed to spring; thus, the election was tabled until then. |
| - Meeting schedule | M/S/C Kennedy/Spencer (5-0) to affirm Meeting Schedule for 2000-01. |
| - Committee assignments: 2001 | M/S/C Freiberg/Kennedy (5-0) to confirm the following committee assignments for 2001: Freiberg - Budget; Facilities; Kiddo; Roundtable; Park & MS liaison; Tam Area Council (TAC) ; Gensburg - Curriculum Advisory; Education Task Force; GATE; Strawberry Pt. liaison; TAC; Kennedy: MCSBA; PTA Council; Tam Valley liaison; Spec. Ed. liaison; Khademi: Budget; GATE; Jt. Legis.; Kiddo investments; CSEA negot.; Old Mill liaison; Spencer: Facilities; Roundtable; Edna Maguire liaison. |
| AGENDA | M/S/C Freiberg/Spencer (5-0) to approve agenda, with Items 13.1: Employment agreement with L. Harden to precede Business & Fiscal section. |
| SPECIAL RECOGNITION - Freiberg, Bonnie | Superintendent Young honored parent Bonnie Freiberg for her exceptional volunteer work for years in the District, and especially for recent participation in creating a quilt with Shirley Hasley's class last year at Edna Maguire School. |
| COMMUNICATIONS Public - SP concern |
Strawberry Point School neighbor, Chris Miller, asked that the District respond to his prior request regarding the dumpster location at Strawberry Point School. |
| - teacher negotiations | Ms. Kennedy addressed the Board as a member of the public regarding the process in negotiations. Mill Valley Teachers' Association President Karen Croy read a statement regarding the Fiscal & Crisis Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) Report. The following spoke to the Board regarding current teacher negotiations: Teachers Kevin McDonald, Judy Gruszynski, Carol Maguire & Rilla Chaney; Kentfield teachers Peter Goetz, Amy Kelly & Peter Gavin; Larkspur teacher Susan Boley; parents John Orofino, Christine Figueroa, Tom Caldwell, Sharon Cohn; Ilana Friedman & Jeff Brown. |
| - Khademi absent | Mr. Khademi excused himself from the meeting at 8:30 PM |
| Superintendent Report | Superintendent Young thanked the district and Tam Valley staff for their support of teacher Elena Garton and her husband, who is undergoing treatment for leukemia; acknowledged the art teachers; recognized choral teacher Jessica Stewart, who recently led a choral concert with over 240 students, and an audience of 700+; congratulated Middle School for its API score of 877, up from the previous year. |
| Board Reports - Kennedy |
Ms. Kennedy reported that she and Mr. Khademi participated in a special education panel presentation at the recent annual California School Boards Association conference; and that she attended a recent Middle School staff meeting where discussion included the high school exit exam and implications for Middle School. |
| - Gensburg | Mr. Gensburg reported on recent Safe Routes to School activities. Ms. Young added that the MVPD is working on a related grant. |
| MINUTES 11/27/00 regular |
M/S/C Freiberg/Kennedy (4-0) to approve minutes of regular meeting of 11/27/00. |
| BUSINESS/FISCAL Harden-CBO agreement |
Ms. Young introduced Laurie Harden, who she is recommending for employment as our Chief Business Official, replacing Larry Machi, who recently retired. Ms. Harden has 17 years experience in school finance. |
| - Motion | M/S/C Freiberg/Kennedy (4-0) to approve employment agreement with Laurie Harden as Chief Business Official, from January 1, 2001-June 30, 2003. |
| FCMAT overview | Ms. Young briefly reviewed the Fiscal & Crisis Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) report. FCMAT is an independent State agency that Ms. Young asked, as a new superintendent, to review the district's business practices. The District has been under close review by the Marin County Office of Education due to our slim budget reserve in recent years. An open discussion meeting on the budget will be announced within the next few weeks. |
| Res.#10-00/01: 1st interim; 00-01 revis'n | Budget Manager Jennifer Frost gave overview of budget: First Interim Report, and recommended approval of Budget Revision #1. |
| - Motion | M/S/C Freiberg/Spencer (4-0) to approve Resolution #10-00/01: Positive Certification of Adequate Funding: 2000-01 1st Interim Report, as of 10/31/00; and to approve 2000-01 Budget revision No. 1. |
| Public notice: CSEA initial proposal | Ms. Young read the Public Notice of CSEA - Chapter 360 Initial Proposal for 2000-01 negotiations: "California School Employees Association-Chapter 360 wishes to begin negotiations for 2000-01. The topics of negotiation are: salary, health benefits, catastrophic leave and vacation carryover." There was no public comment. |
| Public notice: MVSD initial proposal: CSEA | Mr. Gensburg read the District's Initial Proposal for 2000-01 negotiations with CSEA - Ch. 360: "The Mill Valley School District proposes a fair and equitable salary agreement." Negotiations will begin in January. There was no public comment. |
| Adopt init. proposal: CSEA negotiations | M/S/C Freiberg/Spencer (4-0) to adopt the Mill Valley School District Initial Proposal for 2000-01 negotiations with California School Employees Association - Chapter 360. |
| CURRICULUM / POLICY- TV site plan | M/S/C Freiberg/Kennedy (4-0) to approve the Tamalpais Valley School Site Plan for 2000-2001. |
| Calendar 2001-02 | The Board continued discussion of 2001-02 school calendar. It was noted that the Tamalpais Union High School District's draft calendar has a February break (Feb. 18-22, 2002) that is aligned with traditional recess in MVSD; and that our spring recess, proposed for April 1-5, coincides with other Marin districts. The Superintendent with consult with MVTA regarding placement of staff development dates for the calendar, prior to Board final approval. |
| - Motion | M/S/C Freiberg/Kennedy (4-0) to approve major holiday dates consistent with Tamalpais Union HSD & Marin County Office of Education for 2001-02 calendar. |
| PERSONNEL Resign: Armbruster/ Smith |
M/S/C Freiberg/Spencer (4-0) to accept, with regret and best wishes, certificated resignations, effective 12/29/00: L. Armbruster & L. Smith. |
| Leave: Garton | M/S/C Freiberg/Kennedy (4-0) to approve .4 certificated leave for Elena Garton, effective January 2, 2001. |
| Cert hires: Batchelor / Green | M/S/C Freiberg/Kennedy (4-0) to approve temporary certificated employment, effective January 2, 2001: Katherine Batchelor (1.0-MS/6th) and Shaunna Green (.4 TV/4th) |
| BUILDINGS / SITES MS improvement |
Ms. Kennedy reviewed the Middle School exterior site improvement plan, including drainage, ADA compliance and changes for improved drop off and pick up areas. The first phase involves drainage and leveling the area between the gym and the main building. Students, teachers, parents and Park & Recreation personnel will meet to prioritize other improvements. |
| Agreement: estimates for Phase I | M/S/C Kennedy/Freiberg (4-0) to authorize the Board to seek preliminary estimates for Phase I planning of the Middle School site Master Plan. |
| POs: Smith & Smith; Redwood Security; North HVAC; COs: Union Pacific Const. (Alto #1/DO #1 & #2) | M/S/C Freiberg/Spencer (4-0) to approve the following: Purchase Orders- Smith & Smith Landscaping (increase existing MS PO), for $7500; Redwood Security (DW security alarm system), for $7845;North HVAC (Alto heating/ventilating), for $15,000; Change Orders - Union Pacific Construction: Alto #1, for $6164; DO #1, for $2915; DO #2, for $2530. |
| CONSENT AGENDA Warrants |
M/S/C Spencer/Kennedy (4-0) to
approve Consent Agenda as follows: - Warrants #0250-1592/1633, dated 12/01/00, for $92,200.58; -1999/2032, dated 12/06/00, for $326,091.50. |
| Payroll | - Payroll certification: November 2000- Supplemental, dated 12/05/00, for $71,734.90. |
| Gifts: Blau; Hattner | - Acceptance with gratitude, gifts for benefit of MVSD: V4Scan/Read Software & E-Reader & Software, valued at $2380, from A. Blau; 2 computers/ keyboards, monitor, CD-Rom & software, valued at $425, from K. Hattner. |
| Mileage reimb. increase | - Authorization to increase IRS Standard Mileage rate for 2001 from 32.5¢ to 34.5¢ per mile, effective January 1, 2001. |
| Res.#11-00/01: auth to sign for J. Freiberg | - Resolution #11-00/01: Authorization to sign on behalf of Board for Jeffrey L. Freiberg. |
| Lib of CA app | - Library of California Charter Member application. |
| Deny claims: Tarigo / Palmer | - Denial of claims: P. Tarigo for damage claim in amount of $424.95; M. Palmer for claim in amount of $10.00. |
| ADJOURN TO CLOSED SESSION | Mr. Gensburg announced that the next regularly scheduled Board meeting will be at Strawberry Point School at 7:00 PM on Monday, January 8, 2001 and adjourned the meeting at 10:35 PM. |
| Respectfully submitted, Barbara B. Young, Superintendent & Secretary to Board of Trustees Date of Approval These are unofficial minutes subject to approval by Board of Trustees at its next regularly scheduled meeting. |