TJUSD Board Meeting - March 10, 2016

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TJUSD Board Meeting - March 10, 2016

Postby blackturtle.us » Fri Mar 11, 2016 10:13 am

The meeting this evening was relatively well-attended and it lasted about an hour. There weren’t really any highlights, but there were a few items worth mentioning.

1) Closed Session - Although three items were slated for discussion during closed session, no decisions were announced during the regular session.

2) Superintendent’s Report - Supt. Keith Tomes told the board about a job fair he and Joseph Wolfe attended for the purpose of recruiting teachers in Fresno. He explained that there is a teacher shortage throughout the state. He described it as a “perfect storm” and provided the history behind the development of the current situation. He said that districts are in competition for available teachers.

3) Loma Linda Dental Group - Alan Tsubota briefed the board on a recent visit by a large group of dentists and dental technicians and the free dental work they provided for fifty-six students at the elementary. He said that forty percent of the students at the elementary received some form of treatment from this group during the days the group was here.

4) Odyssey of the Mind - Cathy Heseman provided the board with information about a student competition which took place in San Bernardino. She took a group of students to this event and another teacher (Sue Spinks) actually served as a judge at the event.

5) Financial Report - Dawn McMillan delivered the Second Interim Report to the board. She provided information about the financial state of the district, which is currently quite good. She also talked a little about enrollment numbers and provided the usual cautions against over-spending. Additionally, she mentioned that the local Swimming Pool Bond (which impacts local property tax bills) ends in 2025.

6) Public Comments: Three people addressed the board: 1) A parent talked about a bullying problem at the elementary school, 2) Doris Van Horn provided an update about Trona Care and a couple upcoming events, 3) Another parent expressed appreciation for the independent study program offered at the high school.

7) Joseph Wolfe was approved as high school principal for the 2016-2017 school year with a 5-0 vote.

8) On-Point Technology Upgrades - Approval of a contract with On-Point was tabled for discussion. The board president asked if it was necessary to go out to bid for these services. The superintendent explained that the contract had been split into parts, the implication being that each part would cost less than the amount which would necessitate going out to bid. The parts were 1) Staff Training, 2) Furniture, 3) Equipment Installation.

9) Three job descriptions were on the agenda for approval. Two were approved and one (#101 - Attendance/Counseling/Registrar Secretary) was tabled since it required negotiation with the classified union before it could be forwarded for approval.

10) Next Regular Board Meeting - April 14, 2016
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - March 10, 2016

Postby tronagirl » Sat Mar 12, 2016 8:02 am

Obama Was a ‘Gay Prostitute’, Says Texas School Board Candidate :smack:
Whether we're talking the state or local level, this is the real reason our educational system is not reaching its potential.
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - March 10, 2016

Postby wildrose » Sat Mar 12, 2016 1:00 pm

‘Cooker bomb’ or ‘Cucumber’?: Child mispronounces word, teacher reports to police in UK
The better-safe-than-sorry crowd will think this is quite reasonable, but the rest of us are more like one of these:
A) :wtf:
B) :smack:
C) :curse:
D) All the above
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - March 10, 2016

Postby Carlos Danger » Wed Mar 16, 2016 6:55 pm

Students in trouble for recording teacher
It could be worse and I should know, for I am Carlos Danger!
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - March 10, 2016

Postby panamint_patty » Thu Mar 17, 2016 6:23 am

Carlos Danger: I guess it was worse for you. You were actually dumb enough to post a pic of yourself. This poor guy just made a dumb thoughtless blunder. With cameras in basically every person's hands nowadays any little gaff can potentially be recorded. We all live with the constant threat of instant internet humiliation!
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RE: Instant Internet Humiliation

Postby twister » Fri Mar 18, 2016 6:37 am

panamint_patty: Gaffs are one thing, but with editing tools kids can potentially humiliate a teacher who does nothing wrong. By the time the editing trick is discovered the teacher's reputation could be destroyed and it might be impossible to recover. That could happen to anyone, but public employees are especially vulnerable.
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Re: Internet Humiliation

Postby BoraxBill » Fri Mar 18, 2016 7:52 am

twister: All this modern technology that's supposed to make life easier has actually complicated things. Something taken out of context can be made to appear inappropriate and sinister. Kids can set up a difficult situation and catch a teacher in a flustered moment say something in exasperation. The social shift that has occurred is mostly not for the better.
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - March 10, 2016

Postby ergot » Sat Mar 19, 2016 7:07 pm

Kindergartner brings toy gun to school :upset:
How exactly is a little kid bringing a toy gun to school even a news story? Why does the school district even have to inform other parents about this? Have people in this world totally lost their minds?
:wtf:
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - March 10, 2016

Postby wildrose » Sun Mar 20, 2016 6:52 am

Elk Grove holds teacher recruitment event
The teacher shortage has got school districts working hard to fill open positions.
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - March 10, 2016

Postby cactuspete » Fri Mar 25, 2016 6:32 am

Teacher accused of buying pot from student was victim of lies, attorney reveals
Student accuses a teacher of some impropriety? Ninety-nine percent of the time it's not true. The problem is that false accusations rarely receive publicity since most are caught fairly quickly. However, convincing accusations (most still false) are the ones which make the news. The result is a skewed representation of reality which actually increases the likelihood that more students will make false accusations in the future. This is one of the extremely rare cases where the media actually seems to be backing the claims of a falsely accused teacher. Almost always they are facilitating and promoting false accusations against educators. But what do you expect, it grabs the attention of a gullible public and as a result makes money.
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