TJUSD Board Meeting - November 14, 2013

News pertaining directly to Trona, Death Valley, the northern Mojave Desert, Inyo County, and adjacent areas.

TJUSD Board Meeting - November 14, 2013

Postby blackturtle.us » Thu Nov 14, 2013 7:37 pm

The board meeting this evening only last forty-eight minutes and only six people were in the audience. All in attendance at the meeting were employees of the district or board members. The following are the highlights from my point of view:
1) Superintendent's Report - Mr. Olney talked about a number of things, but two items stood out in my mind. First, he talked about the new Common Core State Standards and commended the K-12 teaching staff for the effort we have put into understanding and implementing these updated standards. Second, he mentioned that new pads will be installed in the gym early in December.
2) Mary Wilhem - presented information on WASC and test score data. She also spoke of the transition to the Common Core and the new Smarter Balance test which will replace the old testing system. The new tests will be administered through the use of computers. (No more filling in bubbles on an answer sheet!) Wilhelm also explained that the next WASC accreditation visit will be in 2015 and she discussed the self-study process which the district will engage in over the next couple years.
3) Alan Tsubota - talked about science camp fundraising efforts. A total of approximately twenty-two students plan to go to camp and the cost per student is $400. Tsubota stated that about half the money needed to send the sixth graders to camp has been raised as a result of donations and various fundraisers.
4) ASB Cards - Thirty-eight elementary students were given ASB cards as a reward for good test scores. The Trona High School Athletic Club will be paid $950 as reimbursement for the cost of the cards. Since this year the state is transitioning to a new testing system there will be no tests given to elementary students this spring and so a different criteria will be used to decide who gets free ASB cards next year.
5) The board awarded the superintendent an off-schedule ten percent raise retroactive to July 1st. It is in effect for this year only and will be re-negotiated next year. Board president Garrison explained that Mr. Olney did not request the raise. However, after completing an evaluation of the superintendent the board unanimously agreed that his job performance has been sufficiently outstanding as to warrant a ten percent raise. So, in recognition of his contributions to the district, the board granted the unsolicited raise.

Next Regular Board Meeting: December 12, 2013
User avatar
blackturtle.us
Cantankerous Mule
 
Posts: 280
Joined: Fri Sep 28, 2012 12:20 pm
Location: Turtle Town

Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - November 14, 2013

Postby tronagirl » Fri Nov 15, 2013 8:43 am

What do you mean when you say that new pads will be installed in the gym? What kind of pads are you talking about? Would they be pads on the seats? Or maybe pads of paper so people can take notes? Perhaps pads on the corners of the bleachers? You need to be more specific!!! Not that I'm complaining or anything!
tronagirl
Ancient Bristlecone
 
Posts: 853
Joined: Thu Oct 04, 2012 8:55 am

Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - November 14, 2013

Postby CoolChick » Sat Nov 16, 2013 8:05 am

Parent-Teacher Conference :wtf:
Some parents really, really want their kid to be good at SOMETHING! This might offend some people, but the last couple seconds are pretty funny. I won't say what happens since I don't want to spoil the end for anyone!
:dizzy:
User avatar
CoolChick
Cantankerous Mule
 
Posts: 323
Joined: Wed Mar 20, 2013 11:09 am
Location: The Chicken Ranch

Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - November 14, 2013

Postby shadylady » Sun Nov 17, 2013 8:43 am

CoolChick wrote:Parent-Teacher Conference :wtf:
Some parents really, really want their kid to be good at SOMETHING! This might offend some people, but the last couple seconds are pretty funny. I won't say what happens since I don't want to spoil the end for anyone!
:dizzy:

That will definitely offend some people, but just like some people are tone deaf and some people are color blind, some people just don't have a sense of humor. It requires intelligence to recognize irony, sarcasm, figurative language, parody, etc. and some people just don't get it and no amount of remediation will change that.
User avatar
shadylady
Prehistoric Fossil
 
Posts: 1289
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2012 7:20 am
Location: The Ranch

Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - November 14, 2013

Postby desertrat » Mon Nov 18, 2013 8:13 am

ShadyLady: Couldn't agree more! That's a funny video, but some people won't be able to appreciate the humor. People like that worry me. They remind me of the Nazis, completely serious all the time like it's wrong to laugh every once in a while.
User avatar
desertrat
Prehistoric Fossil
 
Posts: 1256
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2012 7:22 am
Location: BFE

Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - November 14, 2013

Postby shadylady » Mon Nov 25, 2013 7:57 am

Evolution Battle In Kansas... Again!
Some parts of the country contain groups of backwards thinking people who seek to deny reality and insist that their religious views should be promoted in the public education system. They want to withhold knowledge from their children and other people's children so that the poor kids won't have the knowledge and wisdom needed to see through their religious BS. Usually people like this just send their kids to a church run religious school, but these people want to force the public school system to teach their religious beliefs. It's kind of like parents who abuse their own children wanting to also abuse other people's children. Apparently they just can't get enough!
:smack:
User avatar
shadylady
Prehistoric Fossil
 
Posts: 1289
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2012 7:20 am
Location: The Ranch

Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - November 14, 2013

Postby CoolChick » Tue Nov 26, 2013 12:35 pm

Get Castrated And We'll Talk, School Board Member Tells Transgender Students
Kids should stick with their biological gender until they reach adulthood. Before then they're too young to know what they really want.
:roll2:
User avatar
CoolChick
Cantankerous Mule
 
Posts: 323
Joined: Wed Mar 20, 2013 11:09 am
Location: The Chicken Ranch

Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - November 14, 2013

Postby wildrose » Wed Nov 27, 2013 8:49 am

Kids React to Gay Marriage
Kids are quite capable of discussing this issue and they can deal with it without emotional distress. The problem is when adults try to force their prejudices on kids. That is traumatic for kids since being pressured into accepting a prejudice that is in opposition to the obvious truth causes cognitive dissonance which is quite stressful as kids have to reconcile the contradiction. When parents fail to discuss this issue with their kids in a manner which is free of negative prejudice against homosexuals, that's when the school must step in to help kids understand the issue in a manner which is free of prejudice.
User avatar
wildrose
Prehistoric Fossil
 
Posts: 1397
Joined: Mon Oct 01, 2012 10:41 pm
Location: middle of nowhere

Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - November 14, 2013

Postby desertrat » Wed Nov 27, 2013 1:47 pm

School Firewalls And Their Blocks On 'Gay/Lesbian Issues'
As long as you (wildrose) brought up the topic of alternate lifestyles and how schools should respond to this issue, here's an interesting article relating that topic to filtering of online content. This quote does a nice job of putting things into perspective:
...gay and lesbian issues are no more a legitimate target for a block than African American issues.

This article includes quotes from a teacher who wanted to teach about these issues in his class, but found that websites which dealt with the topic were blocked. So much for free thought and public debate and encouraging children to grow up to be responsible citizens capable of discussing hotly debated topics in an intelligent and civil fashion!
:smack:
LINK: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20131112/19180625220/school-firewalls-their-blocks-gaylesbian-issues.shtml
User avatar
desertrat
Prehistoric Fossil
 
Posts: 1256
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2012 7:22 am
Location: BFE

Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - November 14, 2013

Postby tronagirl » Wed Dec 04, 2013 9:13 am

The previous three posts all deal with sensitive topics regarding sexual matters and lifestyle choices. There is plenty for kids to learn about at school without the need to bring up these very personal and controversial topics. Kids can learn how to discuss issues and be responsible citizens without sexual issues being brought up. You're just asking for trouble anytime you introduce the topic of sex in public schools!
tronagirl
Ancient Bristlecone
 
Posts: 853
Joined: Thu Oct 04, 2012 8:55 am

Next

Return to Local News

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 78 guests