TJUSD Board Meeting - September 12, 2013

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TJUSD Board Meeting - September 12, 2013

Postby blackturtle.us » Thu Sep 12, 2013 7:33 pm

Only two individuals not employed by the school district attended this meeting. One was a former student and the other was a reporter from the Ridgecrest Daily Independent. The following are the highlights of the meeting from my point of view:

1. Deana Garrison noted that the entire football team is currently academically eligible to participate in sports events. She stated that this has not happened in years. Superintendent Olney reiterated this point later in the meeting.

2. Olney shared information regarding recently released test score results. He prefaced his remarks by explaining that two-thirds of school districts in California wound up with decreased API scores this year. He then stated that the district saw an overall improvement of 9 API points to attain a district-wide average of 792 with the elementary scoring above 800.

3. Leo's Painting - A mural was accidentally painted over during the summer. The ASB requested that the company (Leo's Painting) pay $1800 to cover the cost of replacing the mural. The company submitted a check for $2500.

4. Technology - The district will be installing new alarms to help protect new tech equipment. Also the long-awaited network upgrade should take place by the end of the month. On top of that the district webpage has been update. It can be viewed by clicking this link: http://trona.k12.ca.us/

5. Wellness Committee - Jeff McCurdy presented a report regarding revisions which will be made to the district's wellness plan so that it conforms with recently altered federal standards for nutrition, fitness, and nutrition/fitness education.

6. Public Comment - A former student who graduated in June 2013 and who is now a freshman at Cerro Coso Community College delivered an angry complaint regarding how poorly prepared he was for college level writing. He went into some detail about what was not covered in high school English classes and clearly blamed his instructors for the difficulties he is currently experiencing with college coursework.

7. Textbooks - No new textbooks were purchased this year since upcoming curriculum changes will necessitate the purchase of texts across the curriculum in the near future. The Common Core State Standards will force textbook updates and so it makes sense to wait until the standards are finalized and textbooks are written to cover them before purchasing new textbooks. However, supplemental materials have been purchased to help with the transition to the new curricular standards in the meantime.

8. Educational Protection Account (Proposition 30) - Olney explained that Prop 30 did not increase funding for education. All it did was protect districts from further cuts. In order to satisfy requirements of Prop 30 the district must verify that funds protected by the proposition are being used for instructional purposes. Olney assured the board that this was the case.

9. Gym Floor - Significant buckling of the gym floor occurred over the summer. Repairs must be expedited so that students will have full use of the gymnasium as soon as possible. Repairs will cost approximately $38,000 with the cost covered by insurance. A large portion of the gym floor will be replaced and other modifications will be made to fix all problems with the floor.

10. The school board approved a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Trona Teachers Association. The agreement will cover the 2013-2014 school year.

ROYALTY UPDATE: A total of $3.9 million was received by the district for the 2012-2013 fiscal year. So far one check for $307k has been received, covering the month of July for the 2013-2014 fiscal year. Last year the July check was for $361k.

Next Regular Meeting: October 10, 2013, 6 PM in the District Board Room.
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - September 12, 2013

Postby panamint_patty » Fri Sep 13, 2013 8:26 am

Disgusting Pink Slime Served In School Lunches
Nothing more delicious than a little processed meat product. Yummy!!!
:ack:
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - September 12, 2013

Postby CactusHugger » Fri Sep 13, 2013 10:49 am

blackturtle.us wrote:6. Public Comment - A former student who graduated in June 2013 and who is now a freshman at Cerro Coso Community College delivered an angry complaint regarding how poorly prepared he was for college level writing. He went into some detail about what was not covered in high school English classes and clearly blamed his instructors for the difficulties he is currently experiencing with college coursework.

What I want to know is how many other students who graduated in June 2013 have the same complaint. I'm willing to bet that of those who decided to go to college that only a minority are having serious difficulty writing at a college level. This kid should probably stop blaming others for his problem and start kicking his own butt into gear!
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - September 12, 2013

Postby wildrose » Sat Sep 14, 2013 7:58 am

blackturtle.us wrote:3. Leo's Painting - A mural was accidentally painted over during the summer. The ASB requested that the company (Leo's Painting) pay $1800 to cover the cost of replacing the mural. The company submitted a check for $2500.

Although I've heard friends say that the mural was no great loss, it's still neat that this company not only paid for the damage, but paid extra to help students replace the mural - hopefully with one better than the original!
:sun:
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - September 12, 2013

Postby tronagirl » Sun Sep 15, 2013 7:42 am

CactusHugger wrote:
blackturtle.us wrote:6. Public Comment - A former student who graduated in June 2013 and who is now a freshman at Cerro Coso Community College delivered an angry complaint regarding how poorly prepared he was for college level writing. He went into some detail about what was not covered in high school English classes and clearly blamed his instructors for the difficulties he is currently experiencing with college coursework.

What I want to know is how many other students who graduated in June 2013 have the same complaint. I'm willing to bet that of those who decided to go to college that only a minority are having serious difficulty writing at a college level. This kid should probably stop blaming others for his problem and start kicking his own butt into gear!

I hate whiners as much as anyone else does, but it's possible that this kid has a legitimate gripe. Does anyone know how other kids who were in his graduating class are doing? If he's the only one or if there are just a few who can't write worth beans, then he's just whining, feeling sorry for himself, blaming others for his problem, and obviously a member of The First Church of Victimology. On the other hand, if none of the kids in his class (or only a few) can write well, then perhaps he has a point. It's hard to know what to think without more information!!!
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - September 12, 2013

Postby cactuspete » Tue Sep 17, 2013 8:21 am

blackturtle.us wrote:4. Technology - The district will be installing new alarms to help protect new tech equipment. Also the long-awaited network upgrade should take place by the end of the month. On top of that the district webpage has been update. It can be viewed by clicking this link: http://trona.k12.ca.us/

The school webpage is okay if high school students designed it and are maintaining it, but hopefully the district isn't paying anyone for it. There's not a lot I can say about the page that is positive, but here are a few things that could be fixed in less than an hour:
1) Front page contains images which load slowly. Some of these images are 2 Mb. They should be reduced in size to about 120 kb each at most.
2) Many links do not connect to anything. Either connect them to something or eliminate them.
3) Missing images - either put in images or get rid of the sections where images would go.
Compared with websites for other districts this one is incredibly weak. Someone needs to bring it up to snuff!
:smack:
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - September 12, 2013

Postby wildrose » Thu Sep 19, 2013 7:05 am

Teen football player dies after helmet-to-helmet hit
This happens a couple times almost every year. If kids are dying, then why do we still do it? How is this any different from any other form of child abuse?
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - September 12, 2013

Postby mrgreen » Thu Sep 19, 2013 7:24 pm

Dead Kennedys Jock O Rama :dead:
There's no doubt that high school football players wind up with permanent injuries or dead with amazing regularity. It's entirely predictable, but it's not likely that much will be done about it.
The star quarterback lies injured
Unconscious on the football field
Looks like his neck's been broken
Seems to happen somewhere every year

Jello Biafra speaks the truth in this song. It pretty much is the definitive statement when it comes to football culture.
Pep rally in the holy temple
And you're forced to go
Masturbate en masse
With the favored religious cult
Cheerleaders yell-"Ra Ra Team"
From the locker room parades the prime beef
When archaeologists dig this up
They'll either laugh or cry

Complete Lyrics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZH6kpjj3Fas
So sad about the star quarterback, but his buddies get over it quickly and so who really cares?
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - September 12, 2013

Postby a2z » Thu Sep 19, 2013 9:53 pm

How 'bout them hawgs?
MrGreen: :bow:
That was one heck of a great post! Here are a few comments that people left on YouTube:
1) This song is against everyone that I hate, that's why I love the Dead Kennedys.

2) Jello Biafra is the Frank Zappa of punk-insightful, intelligent, and 100% aware of some of the many things that make this world so fucked up!

3) I would LOVE to blast this song at my schools next f***ing pep assembly

A lot of people feel that this song expresses exactly what's wrong with American culture. High school is a microcosm of the bigger culture and is where you learn to accept a lot of the BS that comes with it. A lot of school traditions are counter-productive, but a lot of people are emotionally attached to them... kinda like a druggie and his or her drug of choice.
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - September 12, 2013

Postby cactuspete » Fri Sep 20, 2013 8:19 am

wildrose wrote:Teen football player dies after helmet-to-helmet hit
This happens a couple times almost every year. If kids are dying, then why do we still do it? How is this any different from any other form of child abuse?
:mad2:

MrGreen and A2Z probably take this a little too far and I'm not sure if I agree with WildRose that this should be considered a form of child abuse (or maybe child endangerment). People might argue the point one way or the other. On one side they might say that all the protective gear makes it relatively safe, but if it's so dangerous that special gear is needed, then is it appropriate for public schools to allow students to participate? Some might say that the frequency of injury is relatively low, but it's undeniable that injuries occur at a predictable rate and so it does seem to be a form of child endangerment. I have no doubt that many people have been found guilty of child endangerment for allowing kids to engage in activities which are much less dangerous. I suppose it comes down to a fairly arbitrary distinction between which activities are popular and which aren't, in which case the issue isn't really safety!
:mad2:
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