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 November 20, 2003
The Board of Education of the Pacific Grove Unified School District held a meeting on November 20, 2003, at the Pacific Grove High School.
I. OPENING BUSINESS
A. Call to Order: 7:00 p.m.
B. Roll Call: Members Present: Beth Shammas
Jessie Bray
Mark Cameron
Anne Hall
Richard Schramm
Student Representative: Bonnie Kwon
Administrators Patrick Perry, Superintendent
Present: Robin Blakley, Assistant Superintendent
C. Pledge of Allegiance: Recited
D. Adoption of Agenda: MOTION (Hall/Schramm) to adopt agenda. Motion CARRIED 5 to 0.
II. COMMUNICATIONS
A. Written Communications:
Hall: Reported that she received email messages from Bill Phillips and Nan Johnston addressing budget recommendations.
Bray: Expressed her appreciation for two very gratifying letters she received, one from Superintendent Perry and the other from the Parcel Tax Committee, thanking her for the part she played in the parcel tax measure.
Schramm: Received no written communications.
Perry: Stated that he received an email addressed to the Board from Mark Stotzer regarding distribution of Band Festival funds to the winter concerts. Perry stated that he would forward a copy to the Board, as not all members had received the email.
B. Board Member Comment:
Kwon: Reported the football team’s victory the prior week at the Shoe Game, when Pacific Grove High School won the shoe back from Carmel High School. She said that, as a tradition, the hall was decorated successfully on Friday. She also expressed a desire to have a student clerk to assist the Associated Student Body (ASB).
Cameron: Thanked the Board for their vote of confidence, and expressed enthusiasm in looking forward to working within the district.
Rich: Welcomed Cameron to the Board of Education. He apologized for not being able to make the judging for the hall decorating. He reported that Bray, Perry and he attended the festivities to honor Parents’ Place for receiving this year’s California School Board Association’s (CSBA) Golden Bell Award, and stated that it was nice to see the statewide recognition. Also, he announced an EdSource non-profit forum in San Ramon, California on March 19, 2004.
Bray: Expressed pleasure in gathering with the teachers for a wonderful afternoon at the Golden Bell Award ceremony.
Shammas: Noted an initiative that could make preschools a mandatory grade, and stated that it is good that the District already has a preschool system in place in the event that it became mandatory. She said that she was unable to attend the November 17 Counselors’ Committee Meeting. She mentioned that the District doesn’t have a policy regarding guidance and counseling services. Perry stated that he was able to locate a sample policy, and that he would share it with the Board once the committee had reviewed it.
C. Superintendent Report:
Perry: Had a discussion with the Board regarding the preferred delivery date for the December 4, 2003 Board meeting agenda. It was determined that it would be delivered on December 1. He also reported that he and Blakley would be attending a meeting the following day in Palo Alto for Basic Aid Superintendents sponsored by Schools for Sound Finance.
III. PUBLIC COMMENT: None.
IV. CONSENT AGENDA: MOTION (Bray/ Schramm) to adopt consent agenda.
A. 2003-2004 Alternative School Accountability Model
B. Contract with Monterey County Office of Education for SB 365 Training
C. Contract for Impact Training
D. Contract for Impact Training
E. Contract for GATE Testing
F. Minutes of October 2, 2003 Regular Meeting*
Motion CARRIED 5 to 0.
*Bray noted that in the Minutes of October 2, 2003 under item VIII-B, reference to the ‘2 new Board members’ should be changed to ‘new Board member’.
V. INFORMATION/DISCUSSION
Sub Committee Reports
Community Human Services (Kraus): Reported that the CHS Board approved acceptance of the Grant Deed for the Pearl Street property for Safe Place, and the loan package for Genesis House. He also reported a lengthy discussion regarding employee salary structure, the possibility of losing employees, a one-time 3% retroactive bonus phase-in plan over a 5-year period, a 3% COLA this year, and an employee bonus prorated on average hours per week for all staff employed for a minimum of 5 months. He shared a copy of the auditor’s report and the minutes of the meeting. Shammas gave an explanation to new Board member Mark Cameron on what CHS is about and the recent CHS/Family Services Agency merger. Lastly, he reported that there would be no meeting in December and that the next meeting would be held in January.
City/District (Hall): None.
Negotiations (Bray/Shammas): Announced that the next meetings are scheduled for January 6 and 27, 2004.
ROP (Schramm/Shammas): Reported that there had been no meeting and that the next meeting would be held in January.
VI. ACTION/DISCUSSION ITEMS
2003/04 Adult Education Budget Revision #2: MOTION (Bray/Hall) to approve the proposed budget revision. Motion CARRIED 5 to 0.
2003-04 Budget Review: Shammas explained that the Board is reviewing possible reinstatement of budget items that had been reduced, noting that the recently passed parcel tax would not be of help until after July 2004. She reported that on the previous Saturday the Board had a study session to review the proposed reinstatements, taking caution in determining how much to use, due to the current situation with the State. Blakley further explained that in January 2004 the process would begin to discuss disbursement of property tax funds. He reviewed the budget summary, gave an explanation of the Basic Aid reserve (noting the District’s potential of losing the Basic Aid status), 2003/04 budget funds available, and categorical programs that could be reduced to offset funding reductions. He explained that at the study session the Board reviewed the status of the District’s budget relative to both local and Statewide issues and then discussed whether the District should retain the existing reserve or consider the restorations of previously reduced expenditures, if restorations are to be considered, then what level of reserve depletion should be considered as acceptable, and after defining the acceptable level of reserve depletion, what specific items should be given consideration for restoration. He then reviewed Superintendent Perry’s proposed budget restorations.
Blakley then answered questions asked by the Board. Schramm expressed his concern that Food Service has been running over its allocation for the past couple of years. In addition, he expressed his desire that the Facilities Maintenance Plan return. Kwon asked for clarification on the attendance clerk position. In answer, Blakley gave a detailed explanation of how the former Store Clerk’s duties had been distributed.
Public Comment: Todd Buller, high school athletic director, requested that the Board look at restoring a portion of the $16,000 that had been reduced from the athletic program, and the freeing up of some of the ASB clerk’s responsibilities that had been added to the athletic director’s job duties. Charlyce Estes, CSEA President, explained that classified employees had presented her with a proposal, which made it clear how they had been impacted by the recent budget reductions. She requested full restoration of the classified positions and stated that the classified employees are a great group of hardworking people and that she is proud to be part of PGUSD’s classified unit. Rachel Mein, high school secretary, explained how she had been affected by the budget reductions. She found that accomplishing the 1-hour ASB job in addition to her normal job responsibilities is not possible, and that very little had been taken from her normal duties. She expressed her desire to do a good job and asked the Board to restore the high school positions.
Perry addressed each of the public comments. Shammas noted that it is possible that in May the District may have to act on additional reductions. The Board expressed their sentiments concerning each of the concerns voiced, thanked each of them for participating in the Board meeting, thanked teachers, staff and classified employees for their efforts in making a difficult situation work and explained the difficulties they faced in making the budget reductions.
MOTION (Bray/Hall) to restore expenditures previously reduced as proposed. Motion CARRIED 5 to 0.
Board Calendar/Future Meetings: Shammas and Bray requested a special meeting of the Board, to include the student Board representative, in order to discuss Board protocols, what is expected of the Board, Board behavior, etc. As had been past practice, they also discussed having County Superintendent Bill Barr do an orientation session. Bray expressed her opinion that it would be helpful to also have County Board representative Harvey Kuffner present. Perry announced dates that Dr. Barr was available to do the orientation. It was determined that December 11 was the preferred date, and that December 18 would be a date to fall back on if Dr. Barr was not available on the 11th.
Public Comment: Mike Niccum asked when the subject “Categorical Funding” would be on the agenda. Perry stated that it would be an item for discussion on the December 4 agenda.
Future Agenda Items: Bray requested an item for the December 4 meeting on the topic “Preplanning for the Dec. 11 Organizational Meeting”.
VII. ADJOURNMENT: 9:22 p.m.
Submitted by,
Patrick Perry, Secretary
Board of Education
Pacific Grove U.S.D.
Home Page
Monterey County Office of Education
This page maintained for the PGUSD by Bruce Cates
Comments or questions to: bcates@pgusd.org
updated: 1/13/04
minutes/0304/112003min.html