Photo: HMB HS students ask CUSD board to keep counselors
CUSD to finalize cuts Weds, protests planned
NOTE: The CUSD board normally meets on Thursdays. This is the regular meeting that was originally scheduled for Thursday, March 11.
The Cabrillo Unified School District board of directors will meet Wednesday to finalize its layoff plans, among other agenda items, at its monthly meeting Wednesday, March 10 at 7pm in the Cunha Intermediate School library.
The agenda includes the following resolutions [pdf]:
- Second Interim Financial Report and Budget Revision for Fiscal Year 2009-2010.
- Enter into a CSBA Sponsored Tax and Revenue Anticipation Note Agreement for 2010-2011.
- Reduction and/or Discontinuation of Classified Positions.
- Decrease the Number of Certificated Employees.
- Criteria for Determining Order of Seniority for Employees with Same Date of First Paid Service.
A protest is planned for the meeting. Parents and interested commmunity members are asked to bring signs and wear pink to protest the cuts.
Signs and pink are also requested for a pink slip protest at HMB High School from 6:45 to 7:45am, at the base of the hill.
CUSD lays out $2.5 million in school budget cuts
The Cabrillo Unified School District will cut the high school’s counselors and librarian, all athletics funding, and all class-size reduction if the proposed parcel tax does not pass.
The CUSD board voted to accept superintendent Rob Gaskill’s proposed cuts from the district’s budget, designed close the district’s forecast budget deficit for 2010-11 school year, at an increasingly emotional meeting in the Cunha Intermediate School library.
The district forecasts a $2.5 million budget shortfall if its proposed five-year $150/year parcel tax does not pass, and $1.0 million if the tax passes. Superintendent Gaskill also noted that the cuts were reduced by a one-time federal stimulus payment of $545,000 and that this money will have to be made up in the 2011-12 school year.
Superintendent Gaskill said that his proposed cuts were informed by his past experience as a high school principal during budget cuts in 1992, and that his priorities were protecting the classroom and maintaining safety. All cuts in the first $1 million would come from administration. The next $1.5 million would cut the high school’s counselors, librarians, athletics funding, and class-size reduction.
Some cuts that were on an earlier list were not on the final version: closing Kings Mountain School, eliminating literacy coaches in the elementary schools, and eliminating all regular ed busing.
Many parents and teachers came to speak in favor of athletic programs, counseling, and the high school librarian—all of which will be cut if the parcel tax fails, but which will be saved if the tax passes. Board president Dwight Wilson reminded the speakers that they might want to work to pass the parcel tax.
In the list of proposed cuts, those items at the top of the list would be cut first. Those at the bottom of the list would be cut last and would be reinstated first if additional money or savings are found. In other words, the district’s highest priority items are at the bottom of the list.
| Proposed cut (first cut, last reinstated) | Parcel Tax fails | Parcel tax passes |
|---|---|---|
| Increase current rates charged for facility use to non-school groups by 50% | $35,000 | $35,000 |
| Staff-to-Ratio in Special Services, cut 3.0 FTE’s | $199,800 | $199,800 |
| Cut eight additional hours of District classified positions | $72,852 | $72,852 |
| Cut transportation administrative position | $40,972 | $40,972 |
| Cut BTSA Coordinator position (new teacher training) | $37,000 | $37,000 |
| Cut one addl Senior District Adminstrative position (attrition) | $129,363 | $129,363 |
| Use one-time federal stimulus dollars as temporary backfill | $545,000 | $545,000 |
| Reduce HMBHS Registrar from 12 to 11 months | $4,200 | |
| Reconfigure Pilarcitos/Adult Education Secretary position | $4,754 | |
| Reduce Repo Depo position to .5 FTE | $32,600 | |
| Reduce Custodial workforce by 1.0 FTE | $60,600 | |
| Cut 1.0 Groundskeeper position | $67,300 | |
| Cut balance of School Clerk positions | $106,460 | |
| Cut High School Librarian position and replace with Library Tech | $44,199 | |
| Cut all remaining contributions to athletic programs | $90,275 | |
| Reduce Class Size Reduction by 50% | $302,254 | |
| Cut remainder of Class Size Reduction | $332,790 | |
| Reduce counseling positions by 1.0 FTE in High School and 1.0 FTE in Middle School | $101,216 | |
| Cut remainder of school Counseling positions | $318,972 | |
| Total cuts | $2,525,607 | $1,059,987 |
Cabrillo Education Foundation gives $50,000 to schools
The Cabrillo Education Foundation has given money to each school in the Cabrillo Unified School District for immediate use.
“The Starlight Soirée fundraiser far exceeded our attendance expectations, allowing for a quick cash infusion to our schools during a very critical budgeting time,” said Christine Mendonca, President of the Foundation. “We thank our community for their generosity in support of our children.”
Specific portions were determined based strictly on numbers of students attending each school. During the past twelve months, $182,000 dollars have been raised through various community efforts and directly distributed. In May of 2009, the High School Academic Fund was established with CEF acting as fiduciary agent, providing an additional $75,000 to the school’s budget for the 09-10 academic year. Thus far, $37,000 has been added to the high school fund for 2010-2011. The CEF Endowment remains untouched, continuing to grow independently of immediate use distributions.
The dollars distributed to each school based on student population.
CUSD will seek $150 parcel tax
The Cabrillo Unified School District will seek a five-year $150 per-parcel tax, reports the Review. The tax will require approval from 2/3 of the voters in the June primary election.
The tax would raise $1.5 million this year toward the district’s projected $2.5 million budget shortfall.
The district also distributed a list of potential cuts, in order of decreasing desirability.
The school district will be starting negotiations later this month with its employee unions for possible cost savings including furlough days, salary reductions and shortening the school calendar by five days.
Follow the jump to see the list of possible cuts.
...there's more after the jump.HMB High School talent show, Friday
The Half Moon Bay High School leadership class is producing a talent show Friday, with proceeds going to the student association and Haiti relief.
The show is in the High School’s Multi-Use Room from 7 to about 10pm on Friday Feb 5. Tickets are $10 at the door.
CUSD budget hearings begin Thursday
The Cabrillo Unified School District board is holding a series of public hearings to discuss its developing budget crisis and possible remedies, in addition to regularly scheduled Board meetings scheduled for January 14 and February 11.
The four special public hearings have been scheduled for 6pm over the next few weeks. The first hearing is Thursday night at Farallone View in Montara.
- Thursday, January 21: Farallone View Elementary (Multi-Use Room)
- Monday, January 25: El Granada (School Library)
- Tuesday, February 23: Hatch Elementary (Multi-Use Room)
- Thursday, February 25: District Office Board Room
From the press release:
Like school districts throughout California, scrambling to respond to a structural budget deficit of nearly $2.5 million… and some key decisions will need to be made over the next two months in preparation for the upcoming 2010-2011 school year.
“It is incredibly frustrating,” CUSD Superintendent Rob Gaskill noted. “If we were funded at the appropriate level guaranteed by state formula we would be holding our own in these tough times. We’ve cut just about everywhere we can by now. The next round could prove really painful. The Board has some very difficult decisions to make by the end of February that will impact this school district for many years to come.” [...]
“We encourage members of our Coastside community to fully engage with us in developing creative strategies to cope with this imposing deficit,” Gaskill noted. “Everyone has something at stake in this one.”
District revises its interpretation of head lice policy
Cabrillo Unified School District will no longer require children to be free nits (lice eggs) in order to return to school, according to CUSD Superintendent Robert Gaskill.
The district and site administrators met today and have agreed that students will only be sent home if they have:
- active, adult head lice OR
- nits where there is no record of treatment OR
- any combination of the two
Students will not be readmitted with active, adult head lice.
Superintendent Gaskill describes this policy as consistent with the current policy, which require no “untreated” nits, but it is a radically different interpretation of that policy. And it will have a significant impact on district families whose children are found to have head lice.
Parents will now only have to say they’ve treated the live lice in oder to have their children re-admitted to school. Children will be re-inspected within seven to ten days and treatment kits will be available to parents who cannot afford them.
The district is revising the packet sent home with children found to have head lice to reflect these changes.
CUSD’s head lice policy is not supported by science
Recently, our family has had the opportunity to experience first-hand the Cabrillo Unified School District’s “no-nits” policy toward head lice.
The policy is broken. Not only does it impose needless misery and expense on district families, it’s unsupported by scientific, medical or public health evidence.
Under the policy, no child will be admitted to school if there are nits (head lice eggs) present in the child’s hair. While no-nits policies are common among school districts, they are universally opposed by the very public health and medical organizations cited in the district’s policy: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the California Department of Public Health, American Academy of Pediatrics, National Association of School Nurses, and California School Nurses Association.
The life cycle of a louse
The good news is that a couple of weekly treatments will kill any lice that hatch before they are mature enough (eight days old) to lay more eggs.
But there are no medications that can remove nits. Nor can hours of combing remove all the nits. Nits have evolved to stay cemented to a person’s hair. They can be tediously removed if they can be found, but only if you inspect every side of every single hair on the child’s head. There is a reason why nit-picking has become a metaphor for the futile pursuit of trivial outcomes.
That is why a no-lice policy is effective and a no-nits policy is no improvement.
The district’s cure is worse than the disease
The district’s no-nits policy causes unnecessarily lost school days. But most of the misery happens at home, away from the school.
The policy almost certainly results lost income and increased expenses for many Coastside families that work two jobs and cannot afford to pay for childcare.
Even more hidden is the unnecessary misery the district’s policy creates for parents and children.
I’ve seen parents discussing ineffective folk remedies, and futilely coming their childrens hair for hours in a vain attempt to remove nits. We have no idea how many have been driven out of desperation to overuse anti-lice medications.
Only the CUSD board can solve this problem
Because the no-nits policy was adopted by the district board last December, only the board can reverse the policy. I spoke to the board meeting Thursday night about why it must reverse the policy and I’m trying to get the board to put this on the agenda of its next meeting.
Because the board only meets once a month, it’s critical for the board to strike down this prejudicial, punitive, and unscientific policy at its next meeting.
I know that the board is dealing with much weightier matters right now. But this is an opportunity for them to solve a serious district problem quickly and simply.
Follow the link for quotes from the CDC, California Department of Public Health, California School Nurses Association, and American Academy of Pediatrics saying why they oppose this policy.
...there's more after the jump.
New tailgate event at High School Football game, Friday
A new pre-game tailgate party will launch at the Friday, October 2 football game at Half Moon Bay High School.
The party will feature barbeque with water and snacks, face painting supported by the High School’s Art Department, pictures taken with the “Cougie” mascot, and music. The party is sponsored by the high school’s Associated Student Council and is free to everyone.
The event is called the “Smokehouse Game,” referring to the barbeque. It will be held in the High School’s parking lot from 5-6 PM. The varsity football game against El Camino follows immediately at 6 PM, and all community members at the Smokehouse event are invited to attend. Tickets for the game are $5 at the gate.
“I love having community spirit at our football games, and I hope this event will boost that,” said Student Council Executive Board Member, Chris Probert.
“We haven’t done this before and we’re very enthusiastic to see the community turnout at our pre-game party,” said Rob Lawrence, the High School’s Activities Director and ASB Advisor.
Mon, Mar 1
Sun, Feb 28
Sat, Feb 27
Fri, Feb 26
Thu, Feb 25
Wed, Feb 24
...Looking for something even earlier? Try Coastsider's monthly archives.
Photo: HMB HS students ask CUSD board to keep counselors, Mar 12 6:21am, Katharine Weber — The pleas were poignant, but a day too late. We all received our lay off notices the next day. The decision had been made during the four previous board meetings. By the time the Board met at Cunha, it was already decided…..but the support was ...
Consultants' plan for Hwy 1 lacks awareness of our environment and community, Mar 11 4:43pm, Carl May — People interested in the California state trail known as the California Coastal Trail, especially what kind of a trail (or trails) it might be, can get into it by Googling “California Coastal Trail SB 908 Chesbro.” Chesbro, out of Arcata, is an ...
Consultants' plan for Hwy 1 lacks awareness of our environment and community, Mar 11 4:06pm, Carl May — “Many of your neighbors don’t care. They want a bike and foot path, as it provides access to some coastal and community features in our area.” For those who don’t get out except to go from their car to their front door, and to those so ...
Consultants' plan for Hwy 1 lacks awareness of our environment and community, Mar 11 2:24pm, Kevin Barron — An overpass will NEVER happen here. It reeks of growth, development, and an iota of suburbanization. Many here want to hold tight to no-growth-weed-ridden-squalor. Allow no infrastructure improvements, so any attempts at “progress” is denied for ...
Photo: HMB HS students ask CUSD board to keep counselors, Mar 11 12:02pm, Kathryn Slater Carter — I heard the final student comments. The comments were excellent, the students were impressive. Alternate budget cuts were suggested. One student made a particularly critical point: Students must feel safe in school, from bullies and other ...
Pacifica examines widening part of Hwy 1 to six lanes, Mar 10 6:55pm, Barbara Kossy — I wonder how much of the traffic is due to parents taking kids to school, and picking them up from school. I notice when school is out, it’s a faster drive through Pacifica. Maybe it would be more effective to re-instate the use of school ...
CUSD to finalize cuts Weds, protests planned, Mar 10 4:50pm, Katharine Weber — Well, we all got notified that we are going to be officially laid off and the letter comes Friday. That’s all five Counselors in the district, including Ilene Bragman, who has served Cabrillo Unified since 1974. ...