Pacific Grove Unified School
District
Note: This web page is a copy of the minutes from the Board of
Education Meeting.
Minutes are NOT OFFICIAL until approved by the Board.
The official Minutes are available at the Board Office.
Address any questions to the Superintendent, Dr. Ralph Porras, or call the District Office at 831-646-6510.
PACIFIC GROVE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Minutes of the Meeting of March 4, 2004
The Board of Education of the Pacific Grove Unified School District held a meeting on March 4 at the Pacific Grove High School.
I. OPENING BUSINESS
A. Call to Order: 6:30 PM
B. Roll Call: Members Present: Beth Shammas
Jessie Bray
Mark Cameron (6:44 PM)
Richard Schramm
Mike Niccum
Student Representative
Present: Bonnie Kwon (Absent)
Administrators Present: Patrick Perry, Superintendent
Robin Blakley, Assistant Superintendent
C. Pledge of Allegiance: Recited after closed session
D. Adoption of Agenda: MOTION (Schramm/Bray) to adopt agenda. Motion CARRIED 4 to 0.
E. Identified Closed Session Topics:
a. Public employee discipline/dismissal/release possible action on Resolution #733.
b. Personnel: The Board of Education will discuss possible amendments to the Superintendent’s contract (before taking action on any amendment, the Board will return to Open Session and prior to voting, public comment will occur).
F. Public comment on Closed Session Items: None
II. ADJOURN TO CLOSED SESSION: 6:33 PM
III. RECONVENE IN OPEN SESSION: 7:01 PM
A. Report Action Taken in Closed Session:
a. Public employee discipline/dismissal/release possible action on Resolution #733.
Resolution CARRIED 4 to 0.
b. Report Action Taken in Closed Session – Superintendent’s Contract.
No action taken. Will be carried over to next meeting (March 18).
IV. COMMUNICATIONS:
A. Written Communications:
Niccum: Received a letter from Suebah Guderski regarding the school calendar and the practice of adding extra days to the scheduled holidays. Pat Perry will forward a response to Mrs. Guderski.
Schramm: Was delighted with the receipt and new format of the Middle School newsletter. The newsletter was well done.
Shammas: She received a circular regarding criteria for closing a school and things that should be considered when dealing with this situation. She will bring the information to the next meeting.
B. Board Member Comment:
Schramm: Congratulated the High School Breaker Team for a great season this year. He also mentioned that he attended “Impact for Youth” last night, which was very well attended. The program dealt with stress, peer pressure, depression, etc. and the importance of counseling at the High School and Community High. He noted that the music, drama, and sports programs really help anchor the students.
Shammas: Thanked all of the people from PG Pride that put on the “Taste of PG” event; they really inspire the rest of the community.
C. Superintendent Report:
Perry: He was very pleased that Propositions 57 and 58 passed.
V. PRESENTATIONS:
A. Todd Buller, CCS Honor Coach, was honored and presented with Resolution No. 731.
MOTION (Cameron/Niccum) Motion CARRIED 5 to 0
Public Comment: Robert Kerschner thanked the Board for honoring Todd Buller, stating that he is an advocate for every child in the school.
B. Alissa Bell was honored for her outstanding accomplishments while a student at Pacific Grove High School. Bray read the letter that the Board presented to Alissa.
VI. PUBLIC COMMENT:
Todd Buller asked if we have any eligibility for money from Proposition 55. Blakley explained that eligibility existed for the David Ave. school site, but could not be used unless the District is using it as a school.
VII. CONSENT :
A. Acceptance of Donations
B. Certificated Assignment Order No. 10
C. Classified Assignment Order No. 10
D. Minutes of February 19, 2004 Regular Meeting
E. Warrant Schedule No. 429
F. Revolving Cash Report No. 7
G. Cash Receipts Report No. 7
H. Out of Counties Activity
I. Approval of Contract for Auditing Service
J. North Monterey County Unified School District Portable Classroom Agreement
K. Approval of Contract for Services – Piper Grove Music (Marylee Sunseri)
L. Revision of Contract with Balance 4 Kids
MOTION (Bray/Cameron) to adopt agenda. Motion CARRIED 5 to 0 .
Public Comment: None
VIII. INFORMATIOIN/DISCUSSION:
A. Sub Committee Reports
City/District (Bray/Niccum): Bray, Niccum, and Perry will be meeting with PG City Staff on March 16.
Negotiations (Bray/Shammas): The Board had a good study session on February 28. PGTA negotiations are scheduled for March 9, with CSEA negotiations to take place on March 15.
ROP (Schramm/Shammas): There is an Executive Board Meeting set for March 17.
Library (Bray): No report
Public Comment: None
B. 2004/05 Budget Revenue, Expenditure Projections and Budget Assumptions
Blakley: At the meeting on February 19, the Board moved to not reduce as many sections as we were originally going to reduce and allocate funding for seven sections (2 MS, 5 HS) to the Parcel Tax, which will leave a reserve of $200,000. There is still an interest to allocate the remaining Parcel Tax. Things may also change with State actions. Perry mentioned that the April 1 Board meeting could be changed to a study session to look at revisions of the Long Range Plan, establish goals, and develop action plans. Bray asked if we plan to ask parents for their input regarding what we do with the budget. Niccum suggested we might want to approach the Site Councils regarding the budget.
Public Comment: None
IX. ACTION/DISCUSSION ITEMS:
A. 2002/2003 Audit Report
Blakley: Matt Miller, an auditor from Vavrinek, Trine, Day & Co., gave a brief overview of the recent audit. They found no material weaknesses and the District has a clean opinion, which is the best possible. The auditors appreciate the immediate response they always get from Robin Blakley and Sue Lovelace. Blakley also thanked Miller and his firm for their positive and productive approach.
Public Comment: None
MOTION (Bray/Schramm). Motion CARRIED 5 to 0
B. Resolution #734, Intention to Dismiss Certificated Employees
Cynthia Saxon noted that due to declining enrollment, we will need to reduce staffing by .8 for the High School. We are planning on reducing two sections of English, one section of social studies, and one section of science.
Public Comment: None
MOTION (Bray/Schramm) CARRIED 5 to 0
C. Board Bylaws 9000-9400 Review – Second Reading
Perry brought back Policies 9100, 9222, and 9310 from meeting of January 8 for continued discussion.
9123: Delete 2nd paragraph
9250: On 5th paragraph, take out ___%, and change to read … “a majority of the meeting time.”
9323: Change wording on #8 to read: “The goal of the Board is to have decisions made by consensus.”
Shammas made the comment that we don’t have the right to insist that the public state their name during a public comment. However, if someone requires a response, we would ask for their name so we could get back to that person.
9100: Bray had some suggestions that came from the CSBA sample. A discussion ensued regarding the parliamentarian. It was felt that this should be anyone on the Board that the President feels comfortable with as being a source for expertise. Perry felt that the President might want to appoint the parliamentarian as part of the organizational meeting and suggested putting it under the President’s duties. We will add item #5 “Develop a Board calendar”, and move parliamentarian to #6. The majority of the Board felt that it was too restrictive to limit the terms of office. Under Election of Offices section, the decision was made to strike the last sentence, “no officer may serve more than two consecutive terms”.
9222: Take out last sentence, “prior to accepting employment”. It was felt that a Board Member should resign their position prior to submitting an application for employment with PGUSD.
9310: on third paragraph … “these copies shall be maintained either electronically or by paper copy” to read, …“shall be maintained both electronically and by paper copy.” Add at end of last paragraph list of who the policy holders are.
Public Comment: None
MOTION (Cameron /Schramm) adopt 9000 bylaws with approved edits. Motion CARRIED 5 to 0.
D. Approval of Second Interim Report – 2003/04 Budget
Blakley explained that the District is required by the State to review and update our operating budgets in a standardized format at least twice a year. The current report covers all actual expenses up through January 31st of the current fiscal year. Without significant changes in State allocation or funding legislation, the District will be able to meet its financial obligations for the remainder of this fiscal year.
Public Comment: none
MOTION (Niccum /Cameron). CARRIED 5 to 0
E. 2003/04 Cafeteria Program Budget Revision #1
Blakley noted that the cafeteria budget is a separate fund and is not part of the General Fund. Last year, it did not run in the black. By taking into account the cafeteria staff’s suggestions, we instituted some major reductions in staffing and increased fees for the cafeteria. As of now, they are operating within their revenues, although it has not been easy.
Public Comment: None
MOTION (Bray/Cameron). Motion CARRIED 5 to 0
F. 2003/2004 Child Development Fund Budget Revision #1
Blakley: This fund is also run outside of the General Fund and the District is trying to get the program to operate within it’s budget resources. BASRP is currently operating at an $11,457 deficit. We took $2800 out of the books & supplies account to try and balance. We are keeping a close watch on this while trying to make adjustments to get back in line.
The State Preschool was previously out of balance, so we negotiated with the union to take the teacher’s salary out of the normal contractual increase. We are left with very little flexibility with only one teacher and one aide. We are also not running at capacity, and the State may drop our eligibility if we do not increase enrollment.
Public Comment: None
MOTION (Cameron/Schramm). Motion CARRIED 5 to 0
G. Board calendar/Future Meetings
We will use the April 1 meeting as a study session to address Long Range Goals and budget assumptions. In order for the Board to get a first-hand look at the various school sites, Niccum recommended we convene a Board meeting once per year at each of the school sites. Perry will explore this suggestion and come back with a proposal for a fall schedule.
H. Future Agenda Items
SIP Plan updates for Middle School and Robert H Down on March 18.
X. ADJOURNMENT: 9:40 PM
Submitted by,
Patrick Perry, Secretary
Board of Education
Pacific Grove U.S.D.
Home Page
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Comments or questions to: bcates@pgusd.org
updated: 3/29/04
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