10/23/07 BOE Meeting (edit this)
The meeting began 20 minutes late with Commissioner Yee absent.
1. The Board of Education approved the tentative agreement with SEIU 1021 who represent the majority of the classified workers. Maria Eilench noted that it was a hard fight with a 14 hour debate at the end. Mary Sanders thanked the Board and District, and reminded them that the first school worker that a child sees is SEIU member (the school secretary) and the last person that a child sees in a school as they leave for the day is a SEIU member (the school janitor).
2. The Board voted 4-1 to eliminate three paraprofessional positions. Maufuas was the lone “no” vote with Mar absent.
3. Commissioner Jane Kim noted that she had worked with the Youth Commission, Student Advisory Council and the Social Studies Department (Peter Hammer) as well other CBO’s over the last five months to create a revised resolution on Youth Vote.
The resolution was that a person will be hired to coordinate Youth Vote with $100,000 from the City to ensure that every school will participate in Youth Vote. The election will be noticed with one week notice to all schools. The resolution also states that all high schools will be encouraged to use a grade-appropriate curriculum on voting with their seniors.
The president of the Student Advisory Council, Rosie Liou (who is also acting as interim student delegate) announced that with the amendments, the SAC voted unanimously to approve the resolution. The program is scheduled to be launched in February for the presidential primary.The resolution passed 6-0.
4. Rosie Liou also announced that there will be a Youth Vote next week to fill the space of the student-elected student delegate (which she is acting as the interim) and a mock election for Mayor.
5. The item to grant the charter for the Bayview Essential School of Music, Art and Social Justice was send to the full Board by the Curriculum and Program Committee without recommendation. Commissioner Jane Kim, the cha1r for the Curriculum Committe, noted her support for the charter.
Even though the item was scheduled for a vote at the Board meeting, no action was taken.
6. President Mark Sanchez announced there will be a Committee of the Whole Meeting (and if there wasn’t a quorum, it will be a Special Meeting of the Building and Grounds Committee) in the Bayview on Thursday, Nov. 1. The subject will be talked about the impact of the construction at the Hunters Point Shipyard on SFUSD’s students. A time and location was not announced.
7. The Board of Education adopted a 10 year capital plan for the years of 2007-2017.
8. Rob Daniels of the District staff presented the spending plan for the Arts and Music Block Grant. The state of California is providing a grant of $803,903 foor 07-08 to SFUSD. But the grant directs that the money either goes directly into the classroom or follows a plan approved by the Board that specifies how the funds are to be allocated.
Commissioner Kim-Shree Maufas and Jane Kim objected to the lack of detail in the budget presented by the Visual and Performing Arts Department and asked that the item go to the Budget Committee on Thursday for further discussion prior to being approved at the next board meeting. Rob Daniels of the District staff noted that the District had already re;eased a Request for bids for instruments and was about to formally award it. He also noted that art and music instructors had already been hired and working with the schools.
President Sanchez suggested a compromise. Because the agenda for the the Budget Committee on Thursday, Oct. 25 at 5:30 p.m. had already been released and under state law, the agenda needs to be posted for 72 hours, there will be a second “special meeting” of the Budget Committee after their regular meeting. Special meetings only need 24 hour notice. At the “special” Budget meeting, the budget for the Arts and Music Block Grant will be discussed. Then there will be a “special” Board of Education Meeting after the “special” Budget meeting on Thursday to pass the spending plan of the Arts and Music Block Grant.
9. Joe Grazzoli, the District’s Financial Officer, announced that for the second year, the District sent its 05-06 financial audit report (the “SAC” report which standards for Standard Accounting Code) to the State.
Grazzoli noted that the District has slightly larger reserve at 2.5% this year. Last year, it was at 2%. He also noted that last year, the District received $345,793,200 in revenues (opposed to 04-05 where the District received $324,399,200). Unfortunately, expenses also went up. In 06-07, the District spent $289,477,500 (in 05-06, they sepnt $270,272,000).
Grazzoli also noted that in 05-o6, the District had $5.8 million in aduit adjustments. But in 06-07, they had only to make $500,000 in audit adjustments.
10. Although promised by the Office of Equity Assurance at the Building and Grounds Committee, the list of Williams Complaints for June-September was not released to the public in the Board Meeting’s agenda.
October 26th, 2007 at 8:33 am e
Just a reminder–it is the Student Advisory Council (SAC), implying a very different and still unfulfilled purpose.
October 26th, 2007 at 5:42 pm e
Nothing about an alternative to the JROTC program that the board wants to cancel? I thought this topic was on the meeting agenda.
October 27th, 2007 at 6:16 am e
The item was an informational item to discuss what the Curriculum Committee had discussed at their Oct. 11 meeting.
Several speakers had asked the Board to make a decision on JROTC. But the Curriculum Committee Chair Jane Kim noted that to do so, someone had to draft a resolution. She noted that Maufas and Sanchez were doing that and were recommending phasing out JROTC at four schools in 08-09 and then phasing out JROTC at all schools in 09-10. No word on the alternative program.