At its Tuesday, October 22, 2019 meeting, the Board of Education took action on several matters, including preliminary action pertaining to the Facilities Advisory Committee's recommendations to move forward with planning for a bond to finance capital facilities improvements.
Click here
to list
en to a digital audio rec
ording of the full meeting, and
here
to view
documents related to the various agenda items.
The Board invites the community to attend its next regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, November 12, 2019, in the District Board room,
1665 West Drive, San Marino
. Due to the large number of agenda items, the meeting will start at 6:30 p.m., but agenda items related to the proposed bond resolution will begin around 7:30 p.m.
The Board Directed Superintendent Wilson to Prepare a Proposed Bond Resolution for a March 2020 Election for up to $200 Million, Subject to Further Scrutiny of Potential Projects and Cost
After hearing from an attorney regarding the legal language required for a proposed bond resolution, the Board heard from Superintendent Wilson about the pros and cons of various bond scenarios, including a single bond election
(e.g., $
x
million in March 2020)
and a phased bond election (
e.g., a first bond election for $
x
million in March 2020 and
a second bond election for $
y
million in 2022 or 2024).
The Board then heard from six residents during Public Comment.
Each Board member
, including Student Board Member Grace Davis and
excluding Chris
Norgaar
d
who was absent due to illness,
discussed his or her personal opinion about the need for, timing of and amount of a proposed bond.
Click here
to listen to a digital audio recording
limited to
the proposed facilities bond agenda item
s
.
After thorough discussion, the Board voted 3-1 to direct the Superintendent and staff to come back to the Board meeting on November 12, 2019, with a proposed bond resolution for a March 2020 election with a recommended bond amount that does not exceed $200 million and that incorporates further review and analysis of the costs associated with the projects identified in the FAC's recommended project list.
At its November 12 meeting, the Board will be presented with the
Superintendent's
recommended bond resolution language and will then vote on whether to approve the recommended language or to make any modifications
to the bond resolution language
.
If the Board intends to put the bond resolution on the March 2020 ballot, it must notify the Los Angeles County Registrar and Recorder no later than December 5, 2019.
The San Marino community has had numerous opportunities to learn more and provide input about the District's facilities needs at thr
ee town hall meetings, PTA/PTSA/
PTAffiliates
meetings
, Rotary, City Club, and by attending recent public Board meetings on September 18, September 24, October 7, and October 22.
Between the October 22 and November 12 Board meetings, the San Marino community will have
additional opportunities
to provide their thoughts and opinions regarding the proposed election date of March 2020 and the proposed bond amount that will not
exceed $200 million. The community is invited to tour the SMUSD facilities on Saturday, November 2, at 9 a.m. and 10 a.m.
, beginning at Valentine Elementary,
to get an "inside" view of some of the District's facilities needs. The District is working on a date for a forum with the Chinese Club after the Mid-Autumn Festival on November 3
rd
.
The Board Approved the San Marino High School Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) 2020 Focus on Learning Self-Study Report
During the second reading, SMHS
WASC leaders
Lisa Davidson and Ana
Teleguario
-Lee
reported that at the "pre-visit" the day before, the Chair of the WASC visiting team had only identified five minor recommended changes to the Focus on Learning Self-Study Report.
The Board approved the
report
, subject to minor revisions to be made by
WASC leaders Davidson and
Teleguario
-Lee.
The Board Approved a Parking Agreement with the City of San Marino
The Board approved an agreement with the City of San Marino that allows the City's continued non-exclusive use of 48 parking spaces adjacent to Huntington Middle School for 10 years. The City has agreed to pay rent to provide the District with some needed revenue, as well as an annual maintenance payment to contribute to repairs to the parking areas.
The Board Approved Budget Adjustment Report #2
The Board approved the 2019-20 Budget Adjustment Report #2, which includes both savings and increased costs since the budget was adopted in June 2019. Savings were identified due to open and unfilled positions and in the areas of supplies and materials, operating services, and equipment accounts.
C
ost increases were
recently
identified in substitute teacher costs, extra duty stipends, and tuition and services in the area of special education.
The Superintendent's ERT (Expenditure Review Team) continues to review, analyze and identify cost savings in the District budget.
Overview of Thoughtexchange as a Community Engagement Tool
The Board heard a presentation on
Thoughtexchange
, a community engagement tool that can be accessed by home computer or smartphone. The District will be using
Thoughtexchange
to get the community's thoughts about different subjects, including the proposed bond resolution.
With
Thoughtexchange
, the community can post thoughts about a particular subject and it can rate the thoughts of others. By "starring" thoughts (with one star being "strongly disagree" through five stars being "strongly agree"), the community will be able to see all thoughts in the community and will be able to see how they resonate with other community members.
The community can access
Thoughtexchange
and use instructions
at any time from anywhere at
www.smusd.us/te/
.
2019 California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) Score Results
The Board heard a presentation on the recent outstanding standardized testing results for the SMUSD. District students in various subgroups continue to improve academically and remain the top performing students in California unified school districts.
Click here
to view the
presentation on test results for student subgroups that met or exceeded state standards and comparisons to other school districts' results.
California School Dashboard Local Indicators
The Board heard a presentation on the District's local indicator responses that will be pos
ted as required by law on the California Dashboard at
www.caschooldashboard.org
. The Dashboard is designed to provide California residents with information about public schools throughout the state. To learn more about the District's local indicators, please
click here
.
