Mill Valley School District Board of Trustees
Regular Meeting No. 10 - April 7, 2004
MINUTES
| Trustees Present: | Jeffrey Freiberg, Monib Khademi, Laura Murphy, Paula Reynolds, Brian Swartz |
| Administrative Staff Present: | Barbara B. Young, Superintendent Whitney Hoyt, Middle School Principal Stephany La Londe, Old Mill School Principal Leslie Thornton, Strawberry Point School Principal Gail van Adelsberg, Tamalpais Valley School Principal |
| A. 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 7, 2004 at the District Administrative Office, 411 Sycamore Avenue, Mill Valley, CA. President Khademi called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. |
| B. AGENDA | M/S/C Swartz/Freiberg (5-0) to approve the agenda, with Item E.6. to precede E.1 and Consent Item J.6. to be acted upon separately. |
| C. BUILDINGS/SITES Bids Alto Lease |
Mr. Khademi announced that two written bids had been received for leasing of a portion of District property at 70 Lomita Drive (old Alto School site): Marin Horizon School bid $1.75/sq.ft./month for eight months; Ring Mountain Day School bid $1.75/sq.ft./month for first year of renewable 10 year lease. As there were no oral bids, the following action was taken. |
| - Motion; Ring Mtn. lease bid | M/S/C (4-0 Reynolds abstain) to accept Ring Mountain Day School bid of $1.75/square foot/month for period as outlined in District Resolution #11-03/04, dated March 16, 2004, with Mr. Freiberg to work with Assistant Superintendent Harden in preparing the lease. |
| D. Public Comment | There were no public communications to the Board. |
| Staff Reports - Young |
Superintendent Young: reported on several recent school events; acknowledged Tam High's mock trial performance at State level, which included former Middle School students; announced that 7th grade students, led by Ms. Gruzsynski, once again placed high in World Affairs Council competition; reported on the Middle School marsh dedication to Mrs. Terwilliger; announced that interviews for teachers for 2004-05 had begun; reported that 284 kindergartners registered, with plans for an additional K class at Strawberry Point School. Mr. Khademi: announced that Ms. Young received a Certificate of Recognition from the California Department of Education for leadership in the California Middle Grades Partnership Network. |
| E. STRATEGIC PLAN - Middle
School Goal E.1. 04-05 schedule |
Ms. Young reviewed Middle School's scheduling issues over the years, and the work this year of the committee established to review Middle School schedules. She said that the committee's recommendation addresses the Strategic Plan. Principal Whitney Hoyt reported on staff work of last two years regarding strategies to meet needs of students, including changes for next year. Homerooms will be reinstated and teams of teachers will work with a common groups of students. Board and audience questions and discussion followed, with Board consensus endorsing the proposal for 2004-05. |
| Educational Program Goal E.2. Assessments |
Ms. Young introduced Michael Juric, County Assistant Superintendent for Education Services, whose services for the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) program have been shared by several Marin school districts this year. Dr. Juric reported on 2002-03 State and Education Task Force (ETF) assessments in the context of NCLB, saying that Mill Valley is one of the highest performing districts in the state. His recommendations included maintaining school and grade level focus on curriculum alignment and providing time for cross-grade level articulation, particularly at grades 4-7. Following Dr. Juric's presentation, Ms. Young reported on how various assessment data are used in the District. Discussion and questions followed, with appreciation extended to Dr. Juric for his work. |
| E.3. BP 1222 - Tech Advisory | Board Policy 1222: Community Technology Advisory Commission, was presented for 2nd reading and adoption. Teacher Curt Southworth, Co-President of the Mill Valley Teachers' Association, expressed concern that this is the second commission set up to exclude staff, who are among those most directly affected, saying that teachers want to be involved in the vision for the District. Ms. Reynolds explained that the commissions are intended to provide greater community participation in public school education, and a way for the Board to get an independent perspective. The commissions are advisory only, with the Board making decisions in conjunction with staff. |
| - Motion; BP 1222 - CTAC | M/S/C Freiberg/Reynolds (5-0) to approve 2nd reading and adoption of Board Policy BP 1222 - Community Technology Advisory Commission. |
| Finance Goal E.4. Parcel Tax Renewal |
Ms. Young reviewed the process to date and recommended timeline regarding a parcel tax renewal. Discussion followed, including recommendation to use Evans/McDonough for focus group meetings. The meetings, at a cost of $16,800, would provide information for constructing resolution language for measure and ballot language. It was suggested that the cost of focus groups be reimbursed by the campaign. The following actions were taken. |
| - Motion; Intent for November ballot | M/S/C Freiberg/Reynolds (5-0) to approve the Board's intention to approve continuation of parcel tax at present level for November 2004 ballot, with final resolution and ballot language to be approved at May 12, 2004 Board meeting. |
| - Motion; EMC focus groups | M/S/C Freiberg/Murphy (5-0) to authorize expenditure of $16,800 for consultant Evans/McDonough Co., Inc. proposal to conduct focus groups. |
| E.5. Final Funding Priorities 04-05 | Ms. Young updated the Board on funding priorities for 2004-05, saying that the RAMP program will be fully reinstated to 30 minutes per class as restricted Title One funds may be used for the program. Ms. Young also reported that the PTA units will likely support library aides at the current level. |
| E.6. SP field consult fees | Ms. Young reported that field studies done at the time of Strawberry Point School's renovation project are in effect until May 12, 2004. Due to budget constraints, work on the field was not done at the time of renovation. In working with the Audubon Society and Little League, there is support for restoring the wetlands and installing a field for students. In order to avoid beginning the entire process again, Ms. Young is requesting authorization to borrow up to $25,000 from the Special Reserve Fund for proceeding with the permit/mitigation process. The following action was taken. |
| - Motion; SP field | M/S/C Freiberg/Murphy (5-0) to authorize the borrowing of up to $25,000 from the Special Reserve Fund in order to proceed with the permitting process for field installation and wetlands restoration at Strawberry Point School. |
| F. BUSINESS/FISCAL F.1. 04-05 Calendar |
The 2004-05 school calendar was reviewed, including start and end dates for the year. Earlier Board consensus was to approve the start and end dates as proposed, with many families and staff making summer plans on that basis. After much discussion, and with the understanding that the District will work closely with the high school district early on the 2005-06 calendar, the following action was taken. |
| - Motion; calendar | M/S/C Swartz/Murphy (4-1 Khademi nay) to approve the 2004-05 school calendar as presented. |
| G. PERSONNEL G.1. Pariani Retire |
Ms. Young announced the retirement of classified employee Richard Pariani, Maintenance Department, commending him for his 32 years of service to the District. |
| - Motion; Pariani | M/S/C Freiberg/Swartz (5-0) to accept, with appreciation and deep regret, the retirement of Richard Pariani, classified employee, effective June 2, 2004. |
| G.2. Res. #12-03/04 - Classified Layoff | M/S/C Freiberg/Murphy (5-0) to approve Resolution #12-03/04: Preliminary Resolution Regarding Classified Layoffs. |
| H. BOARD H.1. 04-05 meeting calendar revision |
As there is a conflict for the originally
scheduled board meeting of September 8, 2004, as well as other
Wednesdays in the month, the Board rescheduled its September meeting to
Tuesday, September 7, 2004. M/S/C Freiberg/Murphy (5-0) to revise the 2004-05 Board meeting scheduled as presented. |
| H.2. Board Reports | There were no Board reports. |
| I. MINUTES; Reg. 3/10/04; Spec. 3/8/04; 3/16/04 | M/S/C Freiberg/Reynolds to approve minutes of Regular Meeting of March 10, 2004; Special Meetings of March 8, 2004; March 16, 2004. |
| J.6. MS Field Trip | Item J.6. Middle School field trip for 7th-8th grade chorus was acted upon separately from the Consent Agenda. |
| - Motion; field trip | M/S/C Freiberg/Reynolds to approve 7th/8th grade chorus trip to Disney Magic Music, April 22-25, 2004. |
| J. CONSENT AGENDA J.1. Warrants |
M/S/C Freiberg/Reynolds (5-0) to
approve Consent Agenda, as follows: - Warrants #0263-7374/7424, dated 03/03/04, for $19,324.18; -7946/7979, dated 03/05/04, for $76,449.50; - 8427/8448, dated 03/10/04, for $18,725.59; -8823/8862, dated 03/12/04, for $51,726.12; -9286/9304, dated 03/17/04, for$23,730.74; -9609/9627, dated 03/19/04, for $20,721.65; -9976/#0264-0005, dated 03/24/04, for $19,384.03; #0264-0408/0432, dated 03/26/04, for $43,252.64; - 1008/1040, dated 03/31/04, for $21,742.37. |
| J.2. Payroll | - Payroll certifications: February 2004: Mid Month, dated 03/04/04, for $23,865.95; March 2004: End of Month, dated 03/22/04, for $1,086,752.45. |
| J.3. PAF #0304-10 | - Personnel Action Form #0304-10. |
| J.4. Agreements; Sausalito SD | - Agreements: Extension, through June 2009, of Attendance Agreements with Sausalito/Marin City SD: Tennessee Glen Addendum #4; Tennessee Woods Addendum #3. |
| J.5. Agreement; Reed USD | - Agreement: Extension, through June 2009, of Attendance Agreement with Reed Union SD: Cypress Hollow Addendum #1. |
| J.7. Gifts; TV PTA; Holets | - Gifts: To MVSD, for benefit of TV, $30,593.69 for playground equipment, from TV PTA; for benefit of SP, total of $9,874.30, for various items; Dell Dimension desktop computer, monitor & speakers, from S. Holets. |
| ADJOURNMENT | Mr. Khademi announced that the next regular meeting of the Board will be on Wednesday, May 12, 2004 at the Mill Valley School District Administrative Office and adjourned the meeting at 10:02 PM. |
Respectfully submitted, |