Mill Valley School District Board of Trustees
Regular Meeting No. 16 - May 7, 2003
MINUTES
| Trustees 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 Leslie Thornton, Director of Curriculum/Instruction; Strawberry Pt. Principal Ruthanne Bexton, Park 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 Park School, 360 E. Blithedale Avenue, Mill Valley, CA. President Khademi called the meeting to order at 7:03 PM. |
| 2. AGENDA | M/S/C Gensburg/Reynolds (5-0) to approve the agenda. |
| 3.COMMUNICATIONS A. Public Comment |
Ms. Reynolds, as Board liaison to Park School, welcomed everyone and thanked Principal Bexton and PTA Co-Presidents Stacey Agoustari and Stephanie Uzes for hosting the meeting. |
| B. Superintendent Report | Ms. Young recognized staff present and reported on the following: Week of the Teacher; Director of Facilities and Operations hiring process; first negotiations session with certificated staff; recent Redwoods Service Awards event; MV Herald article about the Memorial Day carnival; SB 19/Healthy Food Policy; County agencies' efforts to impact State budget decisions; potential impact of Governor's May budget revise; Superintendent Advisories - 1)Communication, 2)Political Action and 3) Committee working on Fund Raising policy revision; and reported that a retirement celebration honoring Principal Janie Teitelbaum will be held Tuesday, June 3rd from 3:30-5:00 at the Tam Valley Community Center. |
| C. Staff & Board Reports - Gensburg; Swartz; Freiberg; Reynolds; Khademi | Mr. Gensburg: reported on District teachers participating in Education Task Force courses. Mr. Swartz: reported on school liaison activities; Measure A debriefings; and that he will be working with the Superintendent's advisory to revise the fund raising policy. Ms. Reynolds: reported on Measure A debriefings, saying that there will be a full review at the May 19 board meeting. Mr. Freiberg reported on "Every 15 Minutes" event at Tam High; Roundtable meeting; and meeting with Representative Lynn Woolsey on federal budget. Mr. Khademi reported on Redwoods Award event; several meetings with Kiddo, and commended Kiddo and the PTAs for their collaboration with the District in funding message to the community. |
| 4. PERSONNEL A. Hasley retirement |
Ms. Young recognized Shirley Hasley, and officially announced Shirley's retirement after 37 years of teaching in the District. |
| - Motion: Hasley | M/S/C Freiberg/Reynolds (5-0) to accept, with deep regret and best wishes, the retirement of Shirley Hasley, effective June 13, 2003. |
| B. Res. #15-02/03: Prelim. Classified Layoff | Ms. Young explained the Preliminary
Resolution for Classified Layoff, after which the following action was
taken: M/S/C Freiberg/Swartz (5-0) to adopt Resolution #15-02/03: Preliminary Resolution for Classified Layoff. |
| 5. STRATEGIC PLAN A. 1. MS schedule pilot |
Middle School Principal Whitney Hoyt reported on the school's work regarding a revised schedule . Following the two-week pilot of a rolling schedule conducted this spring, staff and students were surveyed and a meeting was held to get parent input. Ms. Hoyt reviewed the survey results and the parent feedback. She said that the pilot basically went well; that this schedule does not solve all the concerns raised about the current schedule; that the consensus of the staff is to implement this schedule for 2003-04, with 2/3 of staff interested in looking at another pilot to further improve the school schedule. Board and audience discussion followed. |
| A. 2. Foreign Language reports | Foreign Language Department Chair Suzanne Chase reported on the 7th & 8th grade program at Middle School, including articulation with Tam High School. Parent Susan Hill reported on the K-5 subscription foreign language program started this year for grades 2-5. |
| 6. BUSINESS/ FISCAL
-Charter School A. 1. Proposal |
Mr. Khademi reviewed the process for the Mill Valley Charter School (MVCS) proposal to the District. Following the presentation of the proposal, the public hearing and board discussion tonight, MVCS will have 14 days to respond to questions raised. Ms. Young introduced Charter School consultant Chuck Cadman, who has reviewed the proposal for the District. MVCS petitioners Christa Curtin-Savala, Susie Zarren and Anders Glader made a presentation to the Board, reviewing the history, rationale and budget for the proposed Waldorf inspired charter school for the 2004-05 school year. Mr. Cadman reviewed his analysis of the petition, based on our Charter School policy. In his opinion, four of the 16 required elements have not been met. These areas were discussed, along with the five bases for which a charter may be denied by a school board. Ms. Young and Dr. Mills presented their concerns, which also need to be addressed by the charter group. All questions, concerns and comments by the staff and Board will be forwarded to MVCS petitioners. |
| A.2. Public Hearing | Mr. Khademi opened the Public Hearing, at which time several District parents and petitioners spoke regarding the proposed charter school. All comments, questions and concerns will be taken into consideration by the Board when making a decision about the Mill Valley Charter School. The Public Hearing was closed at 10:30. |
| A. 3. Board consideration | The Board discussed the next steps in the process, particularly the timeline as outlined in Board policy. In order for the District and the petitioners to have sufficient time to consider issues and questions raised, the consensus of the Board, in accord with the petitioners, is to suspend the timeline set in motion when the petition was received. Either party may restart the timeline at any time. Mr. Freiberg and Mr. Swartz will meet with Ms. Young and MVCS representatives as a Superintendent's advisory to set a realistic timeline for the charter school process. The charter school will be further discussed at the May 19 Board meeting. |
| 7. CURRIC./POLICY; A. 1. Policy Manual; series 5000 | M/S/C Freiberg/Gensburg (5-0) to approve 2nd readings: BP 511.3 Student Enrollment/School Assignment; BP/AR 5117 Interdistrict Attendance; BP 5121 Grades/Evaluation of Student Achievement; AR/E 5123 Promotion/ Acceleration /Retention; BP 5131 Conduct; BP/AR 5131.6 Alcohol & Other Drugs; BP/AR 5132 Dress & Personal Hygiene. |
| A.2. BP 6158- Ind.t Study | M/S/C Freiberg/Gensburg (5-0) to approve 2nd reading: BP 6158 Independent Study |
| 8. Minutes: 4/23/03; 4/29/03 | M/S/C Gensburg/Swartz (5-0) to approve minutes of Regular Meeting of April 23, 2003; and Special Meeting of April 29, 2003. |
| 9 .CONSENT AGENDA A. Warrants |
M/S/C Freiberg/Gensburg (5-0) to
approve Consent Agenda, as follows: - Warrants #0260-4890/4947, dated 05/02/03, for $92,147.35. |
| B. Payroll | - Payroll certifications: March 2003 - March 2003 - Mid Month, dated 04/04/03, for $32,351.78; April 2003 - End of Month, dated 04/30/03, for $1,072,099.13. |
| C. Person'l #15-0203 | - Personnel Action Form #15-0203. |
| D. MPTA-JPA amendment | - Marin Pupil Transportation Agency - Joint Powers Agreement Proposed 3rd Amendment for Transportation of Special Education Students. |
| E. CDE summer meal waiver | - 2003 Summer School Meal Waiver Request to California Department of Education. |
| F. Gifts: Riaboff; MVMS PTSA; PK PTA | - Acceptance of gifts, with gratitude: for benefit of MVMS, Sony 200ES monitor, form P. Riaboff; $515 for library, from MVMS PTSA; for benefit of PK Library/Birthday Book Fund, $2500, from PK PTA. |
| G. IDT: Eagle | - Employment-related Interdistrict Transfer to MVSD from Berkeley SD for C. Gangei (K) for 2003-04. |
| 10. ADJOURNMENT | Mr. Khademi announced that the next regular Board meeting will be at 7:00 PM on Monday, May 19, 2003 at the Mill Valley School District Administrative Office and adjourned the meeting at 10:50 PM. |
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Respectfully submitted, |