Happy 2011 everybody. We've made it through the holidays and the early-January deluge and now here we are, ready for a fascinating year of school district fun!
The packet materials for this week's meeting include about 100 pages of scintillating material for any auditors, accountants or insurance professionals out there. For the rest of the world, interesting topics are on the agenda, but not much accompanying information is available in the packet. To review the packet materials, click here. I have three items to highlight:
Facilities Planning & Bond Funding (Item 9) - A brief report in the packet states that trustees Ritter and Wade have been meeting with staff on a weekly basis and that they will provide an update during the meeting. The report also states that a Facilities Expansion Committee will meet on Thursday, Jan. 20 (time not given) and then every other week. The report does not mention who will join trustees Ritter and Wade on this committee. Perhaps this information will be shared during the discussion at the Board meeting.
TANGENT ALERT - Okay, at the last meeting I attended, which was in November, quite a few people interested in the facilities planning topic showed up at the meeting and were confused that the agenda did not include a designated time for them to address the Board. The fact that no designated time for public comment was included was pointed out by President Mangan at the start of the meeting. Since that time, I've become aware of some very fine print that is included at the bottom of the last page of each agenda. It says: "The Board of Trustees welcomes participation by the public. A person wishing to speak on any item on or off the agenda (emphasis added) will be granted up to 3 minutes. The Board will limit the public comment period on any single item to 20 minutes..." What is not made clear by this text is how one goes about requesting to speak. My best guess would be that one should raise their hand, then, when called upon, state that she would like to use the three minutes afforded by the policy stated on the bottom of the agenda. If you're sitting there thinking this text is in direct conflict with statements made at the November meeting, you are not alone.
Superintendent's Contract (Consent Calendar) - Mixed among often mundane items on the consent calendar is this very noteworthy item. Review of the packet materials shows that the Board completed negotiation of a new contract with Dr. Pitts during mid December. I find the timing of this interesting given that Dr. Pitts' current contract doesn't expire until June 30, 2011. However, review of the details of the contract reveals compensation terms that provide the Board with a lot of flexibility. The contract term is for three years, yet it does not include any pre-determined salary increases, as did the prior contract. Rather, Dr. Pitt's compensation will be agreed to with the Board each year and will take into account the budget, the increases given to teachers and other district staff, and the salary level of other local superintendents. This is a welcome change in comparison to Dr. Pitts' current three-year contract that included automatic salary increases that took effect even as significant cuts were made in other areas.
Hall Master Schedule & 7-Period Day (Item 8) - So, I need to admit something right here. Having only a third grader, I know very little about Hall. Apparently a group of folks who know a lot about Hall have been reviewing options for altering the daily schedule and moving to a 7-period day. The analysis is reportedly ongoing and the discussion with the Board will be an update from staff on work to date and presumably a discussion of next steps.
That's all for now, folks. Tune in on Thursday for a report from the meeting.
-Rob
No comments:
Post a Comment