Mill Valley School District Board of Trustees
Regular Meeting No. 14 - April 2, 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 Stephany La Londe, Old Mill 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 7:00 PM on Wednesday, April 2, 2003 at Tamalpais Valley School, 350 Bell Lane, Mill Valley, CA. President Khademi called the meeting to order at 7:02 PM, and announced that the meeting will be adjourned in memory of Colleen Johnson, retired teacher of 29 years in the District. |
| 2. AGENDA | M/S/C Freiberg/Gensburg (5-0) to approve the agenda, with the addition of Item 8.F in Consent Agenda: Revised Multi-Year Projections and Cash Flow Analysis for 2002-03 2nd Interim Budget Report. |
| 3.COMMUNICATIONS A. Public Comment |
There was no public comment. |
| B. Superintendent Report | Ms. Young announced that "Take Your Child to Work Day", which is April 24th this year, has annually resulted in a loss of revenue due to absences, and encouraged parents who participate to have their children attend school in the morning for attendance purposes. Ms. Young reported that the district advisory on communications is scheduled to meet next week to begin developing a long-term plan. |
| C. Staff & Board Reports - Gensburg; Freiberg; Reynolds; Khademi | Mr. Gensburg reported on the recent parent meeting regarding the Middle School schedule and the two week pilot schedule in April. He also reported that, to date, only 207 responses have been received from the on-line parent survey, and that to be effective more responses are needed. He reminded parents that the survey is anonymous and that it only take about three minutes to complete. Mr. Freiberg reported that and Ms. Young attended a joint meeting of Marin County mayors, city council reps, superintendents and trustee reps to discuss the State budget crisis. He also reported on a meeting at the Marin County Office of Education regarding the interest of some former residents of unincorporated Mill Valley, who are now in unincorporated Tiburon, to be included in the Reed School District. Mr. Freiberg said that the school districts will continue the discussion, and that a report will be made at the April 23 board meeting. Ms. Reynolds reported on the recent activities of the county level committee for sharing resources, a collaboration to save money and share expertise in several areas. Mr. Khademi announced that his latest Board President letter was now on the website; and reported that he and Ms. Reynolds, at his invitation, recently met with Robert Weisberg and Jeff Winkler, two Reed School District trustees, to discuss possible interest in collaboration and sharing of resources. The Reed trustees were interested in possible collaboration, will report to their board and inquire about a joint board meeting. With the consensus of our Board, Mr. Khademi and Ms. Reynolds, along with Superintendent Young, will meet with their counterparts in Reed to pursue. |
| D. 03-04 Board calendar | Mr. Khademi presented a proposal for discussion of a board meeting schedule for 2003-04. Following discussion about the day to hold meetings and whether to hold all meetings at the District Office, the consensus of the Board is to hold the meetings on the 2nd & 4th Wednesdays of the month and to hold one meeting per year at each site as usual. The schedule will be acted upon at a future meeting. |
| E. Redwoods & Terwilliger Awards | Ms. Young announced the teacher nominees for the County Golden Bell Awards: Anna Lazzarini (MS); Christy Herrmann (EM); John Selix (OM); Judith Barry (PK); Bev Medynski (SP); and Susan Buehler (TV). Additionally, District Nurse Molly Pruyn will be honored in the "support" category. The teachers also will be honored at The Redwoods Annual Terwilliger Service Awards event, along with a student from each school: David Crawford (MS); Caroline DeLone (EM); Emil Barkovich (OM); Jonah Hopton (PK); Benjamin Harris (TV); and Erin Thompson's entire Special Day Class at SP. |
| 4. BUSINESS/ FISCAL A. 1. State Bd of Ed waiver |
Mr. Khademi opened a Public Hearing regarding the District's proposal to ask the State Board of Education to waive certain Education Code Sections regarding the bidding process for a lease or sale of surplus real property, to enable the District to enter into a new lease of the Homestead School site to Marin Horizon School. Ms. Young reviewed the reason for this hearing, saying that the District had been advised to have wider public notice than that given for earlier hearing held in order to request the waiver. Mr. Freiberg reviewed the work of the Surplus Property Advisory Committee and the waiver procedure and negotiations process. The waiver will go on the State Board of Education's May agenda; if approved, the District will then negotiate a lease renewal with Marin Horizon School. Following public comment, the hearing was closed. |
| A.2. Waiver request | M/S/C Freiberg/Gensburg (5-0) to request the State Board of Education to waive Education Code Sections 17465017469, 17471-17478, regarding the bidding process for a lease or sale of surplus real property, to enable the Mill Valley School District to enter into a new lease of the Homestead School site to Marin Horizon School. |
| B. MVSD initial proposal; MVTA | Mr. Khademi said that the District's
Initial Proposal for 2003-04 certificated negotiations is the same as
presented at the March 19 meeting, with one change: Item 3.a. to read
"Negotiate the impact on teacher working conditions of a
cost-neutral extension of the kindergarten student day to |
| - Motion; MVTA | M/S/C Freiberg/Reynolds (5-0) to approve the Initial Proposal of the MVSD for the 2003-04 Negotiations with the Mill Valley Teachers Association, with the change noted. |
| C. MVSD initial proposal; CSEA - Ch. 360 | M/S/C Gensburg/Freiberg (5-0) to approve the Initial Proposal of the MVSD for the 2003-04 Negotiations with the California School Employees Association, as presented March 19, 2003. |
| D. Final Budget Reductions | As directed by the Board, the Superintendent and Administrative Council (AC) reviewed AC's recommendations to the Board regarding the elimination of library clerks as part of budget reductions. Ms. Young compared our library program with others in Marin, and recommends keeping our 4.5 Library Media Teachers (LMTs) and eliminating the library clerks. Ms. Young said that there is a commitment to maintaining our library program, with LMTs doing the work necessary. It was noted that while the District is not officially making "layoffs" of certificated personnel, we are downsizing, with a reduction in staff of approximately 10%. There have also been reductions in District Office staff. Following comments by the public, staff and trustees, the consensus of the Board is to eliminate the library clerks. At the conclusion of the fund raising discussion, the Board took the following action. |
| - Motion; library clerks | M/S/C Reynolds/Swartz (4-1 Freiberg nay) to eliminate the library clerk program for 2003-04. |
| E. District-wide Fund Raising | Prior to Board and public discussion, Mr. Khademi reviewed Kiddo and PTA fund raising. He said that, with Measure A not passing, we need to review the overall district strategy and priorities for funding needs beyond the District's budget. Ms. Young reported that the Administrative Council (AC) had discussed this matter and had specific recommendations to make regarding the priorities. Specifically, the AC recommends continued support for the music and art programs, and listed other areas for funding support in priority order. AC also identified ways that PTAs may be interested in funding. Board and audience discussion concerning fund raising and District needs followed, including comments and concerns from parents, staff, PTA leaders, and Kiddo staff. AC will continue to review its proposed recommendations for Kiddo funding. Board consensus is to endorse AC's priorities for district wide fund raising. They would include, at the district level, Kiddo support for: full funding for music and art programs, followed by site technology support; elementary reading and math support program; library aides and reinstatement of a portion of staff development. The PTAs and PTA Council will determine the specific contributions at the site level with the principle of equity across schools adhered to. The Board expressed appreciation to Kiddo and the PTAs for their continued support. Further budget discussion will be held at the next Board meeting. |
| 5. STUDY SESSION - Emergency Prep | Ms. Young introduced Ron Davis, coordinator of the District's emergency preparedness program. Mr. Davis reviewed the District's disaster planning, followed by a panel presentation on various components of the plan: Principal Gail van Adelsberg - site plans, disaster drills, communications & supplies; Principal Stephany La Londe - search and rescue, staff training and drills, investigation of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS); alert status regarding current field trips; Nurse Marcia Nisam - work of district-wide committee that meets monthly; Parent Sally Thomas - collegiality, sharing of equipment & supplies, cooperation of police and fire agencies; Battalion Chief Jeff Davidson, MVFD - command and control; District a leader in the County; keep flexibility and not just train for the latest event that may have occurred; Angel Bernal, MVPD - training county-wide. The Board expressed appreciation to Mr. Davis and the parents, staff, local agencies, and community members who have helped establish and maintain our outstanding program. |
| 6. POLICY; BP/AR 0420.4; Charter Schools revision | M/S/C Freiberg/Gensburg (5-0) to approve the revision to Board Policy/Administrative Regulation 0420.4 - Charter Schools. |
| 7. Minutes: 3/14/03; 3/17/03; 3/19/03 | M/S/C Freiberg/Gensburg (5-0) to approve minutes of Special Meetings of March 14, 2003; March 17, 2003; and Regular Meeting of March 19, 2003. |
| 8 .CONSENT AGENDA A. Warrants |
M/S/C Gensburg/Reynolds (5-0) to
approve Consent Agenda, as follows: - Warrants #0260-0291/0341, dated 03/21/03, for $51,193.54; -0729/0751, dated 03/26/03, for $29,239.67. |
| B. Payroll certification | - Payroll Certification: March 2003: End of Month, dated 03/21/03, for $1,088,585.99. |
| C. Personnel #13-0203 | - Personnel Action Form #13-0203. |
| D. Res. #14-02/03; TRAN | - Resolution #14-02/03: Requesting Marin County Board of Supervisors to Issue Tax & Revenue Anticipation Notes for Fiscal Year 2003-04. |
| E. Gifts to MVSD: EM PTA; North | - Acceptance of gifts, with gratitude: For benefit of Edna Maguire School PIP and copier personnel, $8862.50, from EM PTA; computer, printers, monitor, scanner, CD drives & assorted peripherals, software & manuals, from B. North. |
| F. 2nd Interim revision | - Revised Multi-Year Projections and Cash Flow Analysis for 2002-03 2nd Interim Budget Report. |
| 9. ADJOURNMENT | Mr. Khademi announced that the next regular Board meeting will be at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, April 23, 2003 at the District Administrative Office, and adjourned the meeting at 10:40 PM in honor of Colleen Johnson. |
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Respectfully submitted, |