Monrovia School Link ~ Number 135 ~ August 26, 2005
Well! Interestinger and interestinger. Two of three school board incumbents have already decided not to run, and now the last member of the old-time board has resigned, and without much warning. Following the November election, the most senior people on the board will be those who took their seats at the last election, Clare Chesley and Bryan Wong. Good odds for the candidates, too! Three open seats for five candidates.
~ brad@sacklunch.net
By Maritza Diaz
The last meeting before the beginning of the school year didn't exactly bring in the crowd. There were only a handful of people in attendance and most of them were running in the school board race. Everyone must be getting in some last minute vacation fun - which did not include attending a board meeting.
FRUSTRATED ~ What happened? Well, something pretty big. President Monina Diaz announced that Betty Sandford resigned. That's right, Sandford decided to leave and didn't attend the meeting.
In her resignation letter, Sanford said her main reason for leaving was her frustration at politicians. She said there is too much focus on legislation and not enough on education. Sanford added she didn't need to be on the board to do good in the community.
Diaz called Sanford's resignation a "big loss" for the community and that her experience and history was a great asset to the board.
So what does this mean? Well, Superintendent Louise Taylor said, according to the County, the board has 60 days to fill the seat by holding a special election, appointing a temporary member or letting the county call a special election.
There will be a special study session on September 14 to discuss the vacant seat. Though it's sad to see Sanford go, this must be good news to those running.
That was the big shocker for the evening. Everything else was business as usual.
All board member were present, except for Bryan Wong. And Sandford, of course.
LONE SPEAKER ~ Charlotte, a representative of the library board, spoke of the success of the Summer Reading Program. Thousands of kids and parents attended, and not just from Monrovia, but from neighboring districts as well. Everyone agreed Monrovia has the best Summer Reading Program around. Who knew reading could be so much fun?
BOARD REPORTS ~ First to speak was Clare Chesley, who regretted missing the last meeting and said she understood Sandford's frustrations. Chesley also commented on the California Teachers Association's support of AB19 (California's Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act), which supports same sex marriage, saying it is inappropriate. She did not express her feelings towards AB19 but felt the CTA is over stepping its bounds in endorsing it.
President Diaz said the New Teacher's Buffet was great and a wonderful way for new teachers to feel welcome. What a nice gesture. Monrovia truly is a very welcoming place.
Bruce Carter reported on his recent trip to Sacramento with the Science Task Force. The main topic was the lack of emphasis on - you guessed it - science in the schools. They are working on ways to give science the attention it deserves in the classroom.
STAR PERFORMERS ~ Superintendent Taylor gave a brief preliminary report on the Standardized Testing and Reporting results. Though the final results won't be in until January, the preliminary results show that Monrovia is on the right track. There is a notable increase in test scores from the elementary and high schools. The school that did the best was Mayflower Elementary School. Congratulations.
A more detailed report will be given in September. Taylor said overall the results were good.
BUDGET ~ The board approved the revised budget for 2005-06. Some of the revised items were:
-An increase of $20,629 to add three or four health aides.
-An increase of $301,289 because of adding five teachers at Monrovia High School.
-An increase of $150,000 to re-instate home-to-school bus service for 2005-06.
Bus service was only re-instated for this school year. The board is looking into ways to pay for transportation for following years. Diaz suggested looking into advertising on buses. If advertising can keep money in parents’ pockets, an ad for Office Depot on the side of a school bus doesn't sound so bad.
FAIL OR PASS? ~ Teachers need to be graded too, you know? We got a bit of information on some new procedures, but there will be more detailed information in September. It sounds like September is going to be a very detailed month. The Certified Evaluation Procedures is a tighter evaluation system that works on a five point scale. This new system would be more consistent with standards of the teaching profession. An alternative evaluation procedure is also available in this new plan. A teacher in good standing can opt to be evaluated every five years as opposed to alternate years.
This evaluation was modeled after systems in place at other school districts. The board seemed very exited about this and Diaz called it "sunshineing." Sounds pleasant.
LATE DELIVERY ~ Superintendent Taylor said some registration packets didn't "arrive in a timely manner." This is the first time registrations packets have not been received on time and that's one time too many. The delivery process is going to be reviewed.
Meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m. I know, I couldn't believe it was so early either.
Don't forget, the first day of school is this coming Wednesday, August 31. Wednesday? Really? Oh well, at least the kids will have a short week.
Summer vacation is over. There are no more excuses not to attend a school meeting. Clear your evening calendar and stop by on September 14 at 7 p.m.
Also on the Web at www.monroviaschoollink.com