FAQ about our schools and the board.

I am fortunate to spend alot of my time talking to parents, teachers, students and community members about our schools and my new adventure in becoming part of the governing board. One of my jobs, as an elected trustee, is to represent the communites wishes in setting the policies and direction of our schools. The only way to do that is to make sure that the community is well-informed on the issues and that I receive their input. I hope to take advantage of this venue to share information and answer questions from the public about our schools and the functioning of our school district. I will begin by publishing my email responses to recent questions from parents about Budget Cuts, Public Input and Lifeguard salaries. You can find details of the issues underlying these questions on the district website: www.coronadousd.org. BUDGET CUTS Q: I still did not fully understand how the decrease in expenses was arrived at: A: The Superintendent called an all staff meeting in the high school auditorium at which over half the staff was given a rundown, by Dr. Felix, of the current situation coming at the district and then asked for suggestions about how to deal with it. All ideas were written down and then discussed at 2 meetings with union reps. Two board members, Mrs. Vienna and myself, observed all of these meetings. The union reps put out a survey to the staff and recieved 185 responses to the proposal. Q: How much per school site? do all cuts apply to all sites? A: It depends; the class size increase from 20 to 22:1 affects grades K-3 only. Two positions were cut and those people will likely come from the elementary sites. Attendance is across the board – all sites – all students. Furloughs are across the board – all sites – all employees. The Reading Specialist cut will affect Village. Q: For utilities, is the cut coming from electicity, water; are we just turning off lights, where? not watering as much? A: All of the above – the high school has already instituted this program and they are seeing the savings – we will now just expand what they are doing at CHS. I am unfamiliar with the exact details but you could get that information from the Superintendent. Q: For cafeteria, less refrigeration? shortened prep hours? A: This will come from greater use. The changes at CHS, turning the cafeteria into the “Coronado Cafe”(this work was done over christmas) have already reaped great benefit: where we usually saw $1,000 come in for the month, in February we took in $8,000! CMS will get their own “Coronado Cafe” over spring break – look for more info coming soon from the Superintendent and the site on Edline. The elementary sites are up next. I believe we will see an even greater boost form the primary grade sites because all students remain on campus for lunch at those sites. Q: How much is art, music and PE being cut each to make up the 100K? A: There are no cuts to these programs. This money comes from a grant that presently has $180,000 remaining to be dispursed for supplies and services for art, music and pe. The state’s temporary flexabilities allow us to re-route that money. We are not re-routing all of it – $100k of the $180. What this basically means is that part of the money that may have been used to buy new instruments, art and pe supplies and/or start up new classes in these areas helps us keep more of our staff employed. CSF, Band Boosters, PTOs and other fundraising orgs. can be tapped for the supplies & services – but wouldn’t be asked to fund salaries. PUBLIC INPUT Q: I don’t quite get the timing/value of parent/student comments. Anytime the community has a comment, the Board should hear it but, if the vote needed to be taken that night, don’t the comments appear to be late in the game? What if a comment has truly critical impact on the decision, does the Board reconsider options right there and then, or is the decision delayed pending further consideration? discussion among Board members? A: The board held a workshop the week before the vote where the cuts were a discussion item only. It was the first opportunity for us to discuss this as a group. Because we are charged with carrying out the public’s business in public, we cannot and do not discuss matters, as a group, outside of public meetings. We discussed the proposal that night for 3 hours and invited public input then, as well as for the 2 weeks before then on Edline and on the district blog. And, as you know, we constantly invite the public to offer their comments, questions and opinions anytime:) And – yes – the board will, and recently has (see Lifeguard response below), reconsider, reject and/or sometimes even table a vote on the item until we all feel comfortable that we have the information and data we need to make the best possible decision. Let me explain the process in more detail: The board can hold discussions and take action ONLY at a publically noticed meeting. This is why we publish the agenda ahead of time and put info out on Edline, on the site (www.Coronadousd.org), on the blog (http://coronadoschools.blogspot.com/), and in emails. At a meeting, then, the item is introduced and explained by the Superintendent and any additional staff he thinks will be helpful to the public and the board. After Board members ask any clarifying questions and make comments, the public is then invited to ask questions and/or offer opinions and infomation before the board begins their discussion. Once the board begins discussion however, public input is done. The meeting becomes an opportunity for the public to attend and hear the board’s discussion and any action taken. That is why it is so important to take the opportunity to be heard – once the board begins discussion there is no longer opportunity for public input. LIFEGUARDS Q: Was the lifeguard salary issue resolved? A: This issue first came up in January, as a response to the BBMAC Foundation President’s financial report to the board. Not having been noticed, there was no discussion of the issue that night, but, by consensus of the board, the Superintendent was asked to bring the issue to the board with more information. Payment for an extra lifeguard hired by the BBMAC for CUSD classtimes came up on the February agenda. It was at that time, after receiving input from the public, that the board tabled the discussion and decision in order to obtain more information as well as more public input. The item was then placed on the March agenda as the first action item. Upon review of the contract and in light of the existing budgetary constraints, the BBMAC Board withdrew the request. The contract states that the District would build the pool and have free use of its facilities. Classes will continue as they have all year. The contract states that the district will not expend further funds on the pool. But that does not mean that we cannot begin to work together. I hope to begin contact between the BBMAC Foundation, the aquatics population and the district in order to develop relationships that will ensure efficient district use of the pool and gain community-wide support for this beautiful facility. Thanks for taking the time to read this information. WE ARE BETTER TOGETHER – so let me know – What’s on your mind?