At its Tuesday, November 12, 2019 meeting, the Board of Education took action on several matters, including approving a resolution to place a Proposition 39 general obligation bond for up to $200 million on the ballot for the March 3, 2020 election in order to address the District's capital facilities needs. Click here to listen to a digital audio recording of the full meeting, and click here to view documents related to the various agenda items.
The Board invites the community to attend its next regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, December 10, 2019, at 7:30 p.m. in the District Board room, 1665 West Drive, San Marino.
The Board Approved a Bond Resolution for a March 2020 Election for up to $200 Million
After hearing a presentation from Superintendent Dr. Jeff Wilson regarding possible scenarios for bond amounts, receiving Public Comment from fifteen community members, hearing the opinions of Student Board Member Grace Davis and each School Board member, and asking questions of bond counsel and bond finance experts, the Board voted 4-1 to approve a resolution calling for a March 3, 2020 election for up to $200 million in Proposition 39 general obligation bonds to address the District's capital facilities needs. Voters within the boundaries of the San Marino Unified School District will be asked to approve paying the same tax rate that they are currently paying on bonds approved in 1996 and 2000 (approximately $60 per $100,000 assessed (not market) value). Click here to listen to a digital audio recording limited to the capital facilities bond agenda item.
The Board's decision to let the San Marino community vote on a capital facilities program was the culmination of a years-long process of determining the District's capital facilities needs. Since January 2016, there have been more than fifteen presentations during public School Board meetings about the District's aging facilities, safety and security needs, traffic issues, and facilities needs assessments.
In response to requests for community engagement, the Board convened the Facilities Advisory Committee, San Marino community volunteers with expertise in areas related to construction, construction management, architecture and finance. The FAC analyzed over 200 projects and whittled them down to 97 that were prioritized based on various factors, including safety and security and immediate building repair needs. After many months of meetings, the FAC unanimously recommended that the Board move forward with a capital facilities program to address the needs set forth in the project list, the projected cost of which was about $210 million.
In order to explain the District's capital facilities needs and obtain input from the San Marino community, there were five town hall meetings with varying interactive formats in October and November. In addition, Superintendent Wilson met with numerous community groups, such as PTAs/PTSA and PTAffiliates, San Marino Rotary Club, Partnership for Awareness, and City Club. Tours of SMUSD facilities revealed an "inside" look at the District's needs.
The community was encouraged to provide their thoughts and input during Public Comment at Board meetings on September 18, September 24, October 7, October 22 and November 12. ThoughtExchange, an online communication tool, also provided the community with an opportunity to provide thoughts and rate others' thoughts.
If the bond is passed on March 3, 2020, a Citizens Oversight Committee will be formed to ensure that public funds are being spent in accordance with the Project List included in the Board-adopted resolution.
JPA Health Insurance
Representatives from the District's insurance broker and health insurance Joint Powers Authority (JPA) provided the Board with information regarding District employees' health and welfare benefit programs. By participating in a JPA, the District can join with other governmental agencies to take advantage of lower premiums and better insurance coverage. By using a broker to market medical plans, the District has saved over $200,000 for the 2019-2020 school year. The District's Benefits Committee, which includes representatives from employee associations, administration and the Board, was thanked for its hard work.
College Acceptance Data
The Board heard a presentation from Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction Jason Kurtenbach and San Marino High School Principal Dr. Issaic Gates about the college successes of San Marino High School students.
According to the California Dashboard, www.caschooldashboard.org, a website that contains statistical information about all California public school districts, San Marino High School students are at the highest performance levels in each category measured, including College & Career Readiness. SMHS students surpassed La Canada, Palos Verdes Peninsula and Piedmont Unified School Districts in College & Career Readiness, and at 82.2% far exceeded the state average of 42.2% preparedness.
In addition to having high academic scores and having access to two CTE Pathways (Career Technical Education) in the areas of Business/Finance and Media Arts, SMHS students enjoy success in many different areas, including Visual and Performing Arts, Robotics, Yearbook and Publications, and Speech and Debate. About 60% of SMHS students participate in twelve different sports (with many sports fielding separate teams for males and females).
In 2019, SMHS seniors applied to an average of 11 colleges/universities per student. At USC, 20% of SMHS seniors were accepted, compared to 13% of all students who applied. At UCLA, almost 16% of SMHS seniors were accepted, compared to 12% of all applicants. At UC Berkeley, 24% of SMHS seniors were accepted, compared to 17% of all applicants.
In 2019, SMHS seniors were accepted at 234 different colleges and universities, including highly selective schools such as Cal Tech, Claremont McKenna College, Cornell, Duke, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Stanford, Tufts and Wellesley, to name a few. Seniors were also admitted to many UCs, universities abroad, and both the United States Air Force and Naval academies. Of the 234 different schools that accepted SMHS students, the 2019 seniors chose to attend 91 different colleges and universities, with 12 attending USC, 10 attending UC Berkeley, and 8 attending New York University.
According to data provided by Pasadena City College, the top five schools that SMHS students attending PCC transferred to between 2014-2018 were USC (31), UCLA (11), UC Berkeley (10), UC Santa Barbara (10) and Cal State Poly (7).
The Board Approved Notices of Completion for the Barth Athletics Complex
When construction work has been completed, a Notice of Completion is filed and recorded. The Board approved the Notices of Completion for BAC heating ventilation and air conditioning work and electric work. The Board will receive a report on the Barth Athletics Complex project budget at the December 10, 2019 meeting.
The Board Approved a Transportation Reimbursement Agreement and Amendment with the City of San Marino
The Board approved an agreement and amendment with the City of San Marino in which the City provides up to $110,000 of its Proposition A grant funding to reimburse the District for expenses incurred in transporting students to and from off-campus extra-curricular activities. The City receives Prop A funds to develop or improve public transportation, and the Board appreciates the cooperation of the City in sharing those funds to assist the District in funding transportation to athletic and extra-curricular events.
