Mill Valley School District Board of Trustees
Regular Meeting No. 13 - March 19, 2003
MINUTES
| Members Present: | Len Gensburg, Jeffrey Freiberg, Monib Khademi, Paula Reynolds, Brian Swartz |
| Administrative Staff Present: | Barbara B. Young, Superintendent Kerri M. Mills, Ed. D., Associate Superintendent - Special Education Laurie Harden, Chief Business Official Leslie Thornton, Director of Curriculum/Instruction; Strawberry Pt. Principal Whitney Hoyt, Middle School Principal Stephanie La Londe, Old Mill Principal Janie Teitelbaum, Edna Maguire Principal Gail van Adelsberg, Tamalpais Valley Principal |
| 1. 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 5:30 PM on Wednesday, March 19, 2003 at the Mill Valley Middle School, 425 Sycamore Avenue, Mill Valley, CA. President Khademi called the meeting to order at 5:35 PM. |
| 2. CLOSED SESSION | As there was no public comment, the meeting was recessed at 5:36 PM to Closed Session, which was held in the Mill Valley School District Administrative Office, 411 Sycamore Avenue, Mill Valley. |
| 3. RECONVENE & REPORT OUT | Mr. Khademi reconvened the meeting to Open Session at 7:00 PM and announced that the Board met in Closed Session regarding a conference with legal counsel - anticipated litigation; two cases, pursuant to Government Code 54956.9(b). Mr. Khademi reported that no action was taken. Mr. Khademi commented on the just declared conflict in Iraq, and that our hearts and prayers are with the Americans involved. Superintendent Young said that a letter will be sent home from District counselor Claudia Trinklein-Engman regarding parental guidance for children about the impending war. Ms. Young also said that, with an Orange Alert, administrators and teachers will re-evaluate any planned field trips and take extra precautions. |
| 4. AGENDA | M/S/C Freiberg/Reynolds (5-0) to approve the agenda, with the following changes: Items 7.A & 7.C: change to "2003-04"; delete Items 7.B & 7.D (Board adoption of negotiations proposals), which will be acted upon at the April 2nd meeting. |
| 5. COMMUNICATIONS A. Public Comment |
Strawberry Point Co-President Tammy Edmonson reported that the school was conducting a letter writing campaign to our State legislators regarding the State budget, and that there were letters available for the audience to sign. |
| B. Superintendent Report | Ms. Young reported on the recent Kiddo event, which raised over $180,000 for Kiddo's endowment fund. She recognized Instructional Media Specialist Jane Ritter, who is a nominee for President of the California School Library Association. Ms. Young said that 247 kindergartners are currently enrolled for 2003-04, about 40 fewer than last year at this time. Ms. Young also reported on an upcoming meeting of Mayors, Council members, Superintendents and Trustees to discuss ways to combine forces in this difficult economic time. |
| C. Staff & Board Reports - Harden; Gensburg; Reynolds; Freiberg; Khademi | Ms. Harden reported on recently announced mid-year cuts from the State, including the deferment to July of the revenue payment for June, and cuts in Peer Assistance Review (new teacher support), instructional materials and mandated costs. Mr. Gensburg reported on this year's parent survey, saying that he and Ms. Young have been working with Alison Grant, Strawberry Point parent in marketing research, who is making this contribution to the District. Information will be in PTA newsletters regarding how parents can access the survey via our website. The anonymous survey, by Monkey Survey, takes approximately three minutes to complete and will allow the District and the sites to conduct more frequent surveys throughout the year. Ms. Reynolds reported on a debriefing of the recent election; and reported on the efforts of superintendents and trustees in Marin meeting regarding resource sharing and possible Joint Powers Agreement Bay Area-wide. Mr. Freiberg reported that he, Mr. Swartz and Ms. Young met with a group of parents wishing to establish a Waldorf methods based charter school, beginning in 2004-05. Mr. Khademi reported on the March 6 event with Education Secretary Kerry Mazzoni. He also reported that the Joint Legislative Action Committee leadership had met with Representative Lynn Woolsey, the Ranking Member of the House Education Committee’s Subcommittee on Education Reform. Mr. Khademi commented on the number of large federally-mandated reports which are not funded. Mr. Khademi said that trustees will be discussing how the Board functions with the Kiddo funded Middle School student newspaper, The Grapevine. |
| 6. PERSONNEL - EM principal appointment: Carly Tolson | Mr. Khademi reported that the Board had met on March 17, at which time it appointed Carly Tolson as the new Edna Maguire School Principal, effective July 1, 2003. Ms. Young reviewed the District's process for hiring and said that there had been 29 qualified candidates for the position. Ms. Young welcomed Ms. Tolson, currently a Resource Specialist at Edna Maguire, and commented on her qualifications and experience in our district. |
| 7. BUSINESS & FISCAL A.MVSD initial proposal; MVTA |
Mr. Khademi reported that the Board had met with District labor negotiator Bill Kay to prepare its initial proposal for 2003-04 negotiations with the Mill Valley Teachers Association (MVTA). The negotiations process was reviewed, with Mr. Khademi saying that the Board is committed to informing the community periodically as negotiations proceed with both the certificated and classified units. Ms. Young reviewed the key items: Middle School teaching hours and schedule; compensation items; teacher work hours; and teacher evaluation process. The community may give comments to the trustees or the Superintendent prior to the Board adoption of the initial proposal at the April 2nd meeting. Once the MVTA presents its initial proposal, it is expected that negotiations will begin in late April/early May. Comments and questions about the proposed items were addressed to the Board. |
| 7.C. MVSD initial proposal; CSEA - Ch. 360 | Ms. Young reviewed the District's initial proposal for 2003-04 negotiations with the California School Employees Association - Chapter 360 (CSEA). The items are in regard to the salary and benefits articles of the contract. Ms. Young said that the CSEA unit has many more members this year, as all instructional aides, technology aides and yard duty personnel were added. |
| 7.E. MS schedule 03-04 | Mr. Khademi reviewed previous Middle School schedule discussions. Ms. Hoyt reported on the schedule process since January, saying that, with Measure A not passing, the school will not have additional teachers. The Middle School staff has reviewed possible student schedules. Ms. Hoyt reviewed the advantages and disadvantages in various block schedules. The school will be piloting a rolling block schedule in April, and will survey staff, students and parents following the pilot. A proposal for a schedule is expected by late May. |
| 7.F. Budget Reductions - Superintendent/AC review |
The Board continued its discussion regarding budget reductions, which are expected to be $970,000. Presently, there is one-time carryover of $300,00 and $410,000 in already scheduled reductions. Superintendent Young and the Administrative Council (AC) were directed to review options and make recommendations for the additional reductions needed for 2003-04. They were also to consider any items that would have been funded by the passage of Measure A. Ms. Young reviewed the District's reductions, which have been $2 million in the last three years. Ms. Young said that the District anticipates a 0% COLA and a 2.15% reduction in State revenue. She reviewed the options for possible reductions and the recommendations of the AC. Ms. Young said that, after careful review, the AC does not recommend addressing any of the Measure A items, as that would mean deeper cuts. The AC recommends reductions in the following areas: elimination of library clerks; reduce site budgets; reduction of staff development and conference budget; reduction in the Middle School intervention program; and slightly increase class size at Middle School. |
| - Khademi comments | Prior to audience and Board discussion, Mr. Khademi asked the community to adjust its expectations, that we have already cut many personnel, and that we will have tighter constraints than previously. He added that health and welfare benefits must be addressed with employee units in order for the District to have a three-year balanced budget. Mr. Khademi said that the $300,000 carryover is just an estimate, and is the result of tighter management this year. He said that the Board may agree to certain recommendations, with others being further discussed in April. |
| - Board/Audience discussion | Comments and questions were expressed by many staff members and parents in the audience of 100+ people regarding the budget and the recommendations made by the Administrative Council. Other areas commented upon included political action, use of volunteers, Kiddo and PTA fundraising, equity issues, and technology support and other Measure A items. |
| - Board consensus | Mr. Khademi thanked all in the audience for attending and making comments. He said the Board is committed to working collaboratively with all involved as we move ahead. Following its discussion on budget reductions, the Board consensus is to accept the already scheduled $410,000 reductions and all of the Administrative Council recommendations at this time, except for the library clerk staff. The Board expressed support for the library clerks and directed the Superintendent and AC to review once again any other reduction options in preparation for the April 2 meeting. |
| 8. CURRICULUM & POLICY - Series 6000; adoption | M/S/C Freiberg/Swartz (5-0) to approve 2nd reading and adoption of Policy Manual Revision - Series 6000 (Instruction), as presented. |
| 9. Minutes: 3/5/03 | M/S/C Gensburg/Freiberg to approve minutes of Regular Meeting of March 5, 2003, with addition of Measure A leaders to Paula Reynolds' board report. |
| 10 .CONSENT AGENDA A. Warrants |
M/S/C Freiberg/Gensburg (5-0) to
approve Consent Agenda, as follows: - Warrants #0259-7129/7153, dated 02/21/03, for $14,198.32; -7327/7346, dated 02/26/03, for $34,264.84; - 7668/7686, dated 02/28/03, for $15,944.81; -8148/8192, dated 03/05/03, for $96,571.81; -8591/8625, dated 03/07/03, for $101,562.59; -9507/9583, dated 03/14/03, for $91,368.71. |
| B. Payroll certificate | - Payroll Certification: February 2003: Mid Month, dated 03/06/03, for $21,818.30. |
| C. Personnel #12-0203 | - Personnel Action Form #12-0203. |
| D. 02/03 CCR noncompliance | - 2002-03 Coordinated Compliance Review - Proposed Resolution of Noncompliance Findings; English Language Learner Program. |
| E. Gifts to MVSD: PK PTA | - Acceptance of gift, with gratitude: For benefit of Park School Outdoor Ed. Program, $11.081.00, from PK PTA. |
| F. Interdistrict transfers | - New Employment-Related IDT to MVSD for 2003-04 - from San Rafael: C. Pompanin (K). |
| 11. ADJOURNMENT | Mr. Khademi announced that the next regular Board meeting will be at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, April 2, 2003 at Tamalpais Valley School and adjourned the meeting at 10:00 PM. |
|
Respectfully submitted, |