August 30, 2019

Board President Update
The Board of Education welcomed everyone back to school, including the principals and PTA Presidents from the four school sites, at its August 27, 2019 meeting.  In addition to hearing the principals' thoughts about the greatest accomplishments during the last school year and goals for the coming school year, the Board also heard about progress that had been made regarding past Academics Advisory Committee focus areas: CTE Pathways, Dual Enrollment, Honors Pathways, and Homework Policy Administrative Regulation.  The Board heard a presentation from Javier Carbajal-Ramos from Pasadena City College about Dual Enrollment, and the Board heard more about Superintendent Wilson's plans to form a Fiscal Resources Strategic Team (FiRST) in order to consider financial opportunities for the District. Click here to listen to the audio of the full two and a half-hour meeting.

Role of the Board
As a new school year begins, I wanted to remind the community about the role of the Board of Education. The Board has several duties, including creating policy, supervising our one employee, the Superintendent, and overseeing the budget. However, the Board does not actually do the work of the District. For example, while the Board creates policy, it does not implement the policy. The Board does not make the decisions to hire or fire teachers or tell them how to teach. Other than approving new curriculum, the Board does not get involved in course schedules or teacher assignments. The Board does not direct how the District is run at the District office or at a particular school site.

Therefore, while the Board wants to hear from its constituents, whether through Public Comment or other communication methods, it is important for the community to understand that the most effective place to direct concerns is to the persons who are involved in actually making the decisions. As the Board can only act as a whole, not as individuals, during publicly noticed meetings, and as the Board does not have the authority to actually do the District's business, it is recommended that community members address concerns directly at the proper level - the teachers, the assistant principals, the principals, District administrators and the Superintendent. Communications directed to Board members that are not within the decision making purview of the Board will be redirected to the appropriate persons.

For more information about the Board, please visit our webpage.

School Principals' Opening Report
Principals from all four school sites enthusiastically reported on their first weeks of school.  They all identified some major accomplishments from the past school year, ranging from the continued implementation of student emotional and academic support systems to the approval of additional honors, advance placement and CTE course offerings.  The principals also identified some of their goals for the coming school year, including student safety enhancements, refinement of accelerated and CTE pathways, Next Generation Science Standards innovations, and increased college and university partnerships, including one with the University of Pennsylvania/Wharton School of Business.  Click here to view the presentation.

Academics Advisory Committee Focus Group Updates
Even when the AAC is not meeting, District administrators are busy working on recommendations in different focus areas, including CTE Pathways, Dual Enrollment, Honors Pathways, and Homework Policy Administrative Regulation.  San Marino High School Assistant Principal Soomin Chao reported on progress that the District has been making over the past few years toward creating and solidifying CTE Pathways. After conducting various surveys and obtaining feedback from the community, work has been done to complete the Business/Finance Pathway and the Media Arts Pathway.  Work continues to be done to fully articulate the Computer Science and Graphics Arts pathways. Dr. Chao also identified several new and revised courses that meet the state's A-G requirements, including a new AP United States History course, Introduction to Computer Science in JavaScript, Advance Dance Company Honors, and Concert Choir.

Huntington Middle School Principal Alana Faure discussed the progress that has been made in implementing the Board of Education's AP/Honors Access liberalization policy, changes in the math sequence that will better align with individual students' needs, new placement criteria for incoming 6 th graders, and a pathways chart that will assist parents in better understanding students' curriculum pathways from 5 th grade through high school.

Executive Director of Curriculum & Instruction Jason Kurtenbach provided an update on the creation of an Administrative Regulation (AR) to implement the new Homework Policy adopted by the Board in June.  Mr. Kurtenbach explained that as a result of a community survey in 2016-17 and then study by the AAC in 2017-18 and Site Focus Groups in 2018-19, he and Superintendent Wilson will be working on the details for implementation of the policy.  Once prepared, the AR will be presented to the AAC and school sites for their input and then to the Board.

Dual Enrollment
In addition to hearing about the positive aspects of dual enrollment from San Marino High School Principal Issaic Gates, the Board received a detailed presentation on dual enrollment from Javier Carbajal-Ramos, Assistant Director of Educational Partnerships and Programs at Pasadena City College.  Mr. Carbajal-Ramos explained the difference between dual enrollment and concurrent enrollment and outlined the various legal requirements and opportunities associated with PCC's ability to provide and pay for dual enrollment and concurrent enrollment classes with SMUSD, provided that the District enters into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with PCC.  

There are many different factors that would need to be worked out in a MOU in order to ensure that dual enrollment courses would be supplementing, not supplanting District courses and that there would not be any displacement of District faculty.  

Fiscal Resources Strategic Team (FiRST)
Superintendent Wilson and Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Julie Boucher provided the Board with more detail regarding the formation of a task force dedicated to examining options and opportunities to improve long-term fiscal stability in the District.  Because of how school districts like SMUSD are funded by the state, the District's revenue side of the budget will fluctuate from year to year based on several different factors, such as how much the state receives in income and property taxes, how many students are enrolled in the District, and how many senior citizens have received a parcel tax exemption.   These fiscal fluctuations can wreak havoc every year and make it difficult for the District to engage in long-term planning and to build upon its outstanding educational programs and services.  

The FiRST would include community members, administrators, teachers, staff, and parents who have expertise in public finance, asset management, governmental funding, and fundraising.  The goal is that they will analyze and evaluate the District's current revenue sources and identify other potential opportunities that will provide a more stable and consistent solution for long-term fiscal stability.

The Board's next regularly scheduled meeting is Tuesday, September 10, 2019, at 7:30 p.m. in the District Board room. 


Lisa Link
President, SMUSD Board of Education
San Marino Unified School District Board of Education

Lisa Link
President
Chris Norgaard
Vice President
C. Joseph Chang
Clerk
Shelley Ryan
Member
Corey Barberie
Member