The meeting this evening had a number of items which were interesting and which provoked a fair amount of discussion amongst the board members. However, the only people sitting in the audience were Alan Tsubota, Mark Goins, Tom Hopper, and me!
1. Superintendent's Report - The district got selected for Federal Program Monitoring. Basically it's a compliance review focusing on how economic impact aid money is spent and it will take place in November or December.
2. The acoustics in the auditorium were poor, but I believe I heard that that the pool was closed for a few days due to an issue with a pipe. Repairs were implemented and the pool was re-opened.
3. Board Room - Hopefully next month the board meeting will be held in the board room. This meeting and last meeting were held in the auditorium due to asbestos removal being conducted in the board room. The carpet in the board room (and adjacent rooms) had to be removed as the result of a flood caused by a broken pipe. While attempting to remove the carpet, the asbestos tiles under the carpet came loose. So, an asbestos removal team had to be called in before the carpet could be replaced. All work should be done in time for the next board meeting.
4. High Speed Internet is not yet operational as previously expected. Verizon fell behind on installation and the project will not be complete until some time in September.
5. State Budget - Governor Brown's budget was approved with some modifications. Supt. Olney explained the base, supplemental, and concentration categories of the budget, but the bottom line is that the district must resubmit its budget to account for changes to the state budget within the next 45 days.
6. Several extra duty positions were approved including Athletic Director, Mathletes, Yearbook, Elementary Student Council Advisor, Secondary Science Fair Director, and 6th Grade Science Camp Coordinator.
7. A proposal to pay a $1,500 moving bonus to new certificated employees passed 3-2 with Ray Richardson and Sandy Sprouse casting the nay votes. The bonus will be paid using Title II: Improving Teacher Quality funds. Supt. Olney explained that this bonus falls within the list of things these funds can be used for.
8. ROP Funding - The state no longer funds ROP and similar programs under the new budget. San Bernardino County has decided to maintain funding to all schools for these programs at 95% of last year's funding level for the next two years. In the meantime it is hoped that the state will decide to go back to funding these programs. However, if the state does not elect to do this, districts will have to either fund these programs out of their own funds or else drop the programs. (Tom: Let me know if I didn't get this one right!)
9. FCMAT Cafeteria Study Report - Supt. Olney passed out a rather thick report to all board members containing extensive recommendations pertaining to food services for TJUSD. He also passed out a condensed list of recommendations and suggestions. He went on to explain that the district is doing its best to run an efficient food services program and that small schools generally can not pay for such a program using only funds dedicated to feeding students and must pay for the cafeteria program in part with general funds. Olney also stated that the cafeteria manager had already started complying with the recommendations in the report and further explained various other challenges faced by those running food service programs.
ALSO OF INTEREST: Royalties for 2012-2013: $3,598,274.09 (No check for June has been received and so the total should be two or three hundred thousand dollars higher if June's check is comparable to those received during previous months.)
NEXT MEETING: August 8th, 2013