A special meeting of the Hope School District Board of Trustees was called to order on September 8, 2005, at 4:50 p.m. in the Hope District Board Room. All members were present except Joseph Liebman.

Public Comment:

There was no public comment.

Report:

Amy Bayley and Ben Phillips from Mercy Housing California met with the Board to give an update on the St. Vincent’s project. Trustee Michael Underwood gave a brief history of the district’s involvement with the planning of this project and the agreement made with Mercy Housing that they would provide an impact fee of $400,000 to the district to mitigate the development’s impacts on the district. St. Vincent’s Gardens will provide 75 affordable housing apartment homes for families and Villa Caridad will have 95 apartments for seniors aged 62 and older. The first family units will be available in July of 2006 and the next stage will be available in January or February of 2007. St. Vincent’s is in the Vieja Valley attendance area. The information segment was followed by a question and answer period that included board members, staff and community.

Adjournment:

The meeting was adjourned at 6:10 p.m.

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The monthly meeting of the Hope School District Board of Trustees was called to order on September 12, 2005, at 6:00 p.m. in the Hope District Board Room. All members were present except Michael Underwood.

The Board adjourned to Closed Session at 6:05 p.m. The Board reconvened to Regular Session at 7:00 p.m. The following is a brief outline of the actions and discussions addressed by the Board.

Regular Session:

The following actions were taken in closed session:

Accepted the resignations of a music specialist and two special education aides; approved the hiring of a library technician and two special education aides; discussed employee negotiations.

Correspondence:

There was no correspondence.

Public Comment:

Several members of Hope District Teachers Association addressed the Board regarding the

subject of additional instructional aide time in upper grade classrooms.

Consent Items:

· The Board of Trustees approved (4 ayes; 0 noes; 1 absent) the minutes of the Regular Board Meeting of August 22, 2005.

· The Board of Trustees approved (4 ayes; 0 noes; 1 absent) the purchase orders and warrant reports as submitted.

Principals’ Reports:

· Vieja Valley Principal, Judy Stettler, reported that there was a great parent turn out for Back to School Night and she complimented the staff on their preparations. The PTA held a social hour for parents before they visited the classrooms. The computer program and library have begun and Art, Music and Band will begin in October. The Imagine Campaign to benefit Art, Music and Technology began today. Students are fundraising for Hurricane Katrina relief. An orientation meeting for new parents will be held on Thursday and the first School Site Council meeting will also be on Thursday. The 6^th grade classes will attend CIMI the week of September 19^th. The Back to School BBQ will be held on September 28^th. The Scott Purdy staff development workshop on August 29th was excellent. At the first staff meeting, they used one of his suggestions on analyzing student data to help students achieve. Mrs. Stettler shared a welcome letter that she received from a student.

· Hope School Principal, Barbara LaCorte, reported that their Back to School Night was well attended. There will be a Bring Your Own Picnic event for families on September 13^th. All of the Specialists began this week and are looking forward to a great year. Students are collecting donations for Hurricane Katrina relief and she thanked former board member Ethan Stone for donating the use of a coin counting machine. The School Site Council is being organized as well as a Safety Committee. Staff is working on goals and school plans for this year. Students enjoyed Beach Days as a beginning of the year field trip.

· Monte Vista Principal, Patrick Plamondon, reported that their Back to School Night was well attended. The first PTA meeting was this evening and he was pleased to see how many parents attended. The Mustang Round-Up BBQ will be held on September 22^nd at 5:30. Konrad Kono began as Music Specialist for Monte Vista in addition to serving as Music Specialist at Hope School. The students held a two-day “Fill the Boot”

event and raised over $2500 for the Red Cross. David Borgatello from MarBorg will speak about recycling at the next staff meeting. The PTA after-school programs will begin in 10 days.

Action Items:

· Approval of Overnight Field Trips for the 2005-2006 School Year

In accordance with Board Policy 6153, School Sponsored Trips, each September the Board of Trustees will review and approve the overnight field trips that are planned during the school year as part of the curriculum. The scheduled overnight field trips were presented by the superintendent and school principals. The Board of Trustees approved (4 ayes; 0 noes; 1 absent) the overnight field trips for the 2005-2006 school year that are planned as part of the curriculum.

· Adoption of Resolution 05/06-01

Business Manager Julie Wood presented Resolution 05/06-01 Resolution of the Hope School District Regarding Annual Accounting of Development Fees for Fiscal year 2004-05 for Fund 25, Capital Facilities Fees to the Trustees for adoption. Because of the reclassification of certain government codes to educational codes and the resulting additional requirements, the District is required to identify the nature of the expenditures during the fiscal year and justify carry-over at the end of the fiscal year.

The Board of Trustees approved (4 ayes; 0 noes; 1 absent) the adoption of Resolution 05/06-01 of the Hope School District Regarding Annual Accounting of Development Fees for Fiscal Year 2004-05 for Fund 25, Capital Facilities Fees.

· Approval of Resolution 05/06-02 Instructional Materials 2005-2006

Superintendent Fausett presented Resolution 05/06-02 to the Trustees for adoption. The School District Governing Board is required to make a determination as to whether each pupil in each school in the District has, or will have prior to the end of the fiscal year, sufficient textbooks or instructional materials, or both, in each subject that is consistent with the content and cycles of the curriculum framework adopted by the State Board. The Board of Trustees approved (4 ayes; 0 noes; 1 absent) the adoption of Resolution 05/06-02 Instructional Materials 2005-2006.

Reports:

· Enrollment

Superintendent Fausett presented an update on district enrollment numbers. There are currently 1394 students in the district: 455 at Hope School, 505 at Monte Vista, and 434 at Vieja Valley with 62 classrooms. An interdistrict lottery for 1^st and 2^nd grades will be held on Friday and a 3^rd and 4^th grade lottery will be held on Tuesday to establish a list for any openings that may occur.

· Summer School

Barbara LaCorte, Summer School Principal, presented a report on the 2005 Summer School Program that was held at Hope School. Summer School was well attended and a positive experience for students and staff.

· Finance Committee Report

Trustees Steven Weintraub and Todd Sosna presented the first in a series of reports from the district finance committee. This report focused on district financial trends.

Discussion Item:

At the request of one of the trustees, the board discussed the possibility of changing the date of the October meeting from October 3rd to October 10th at 7:00 p.m. The trustees agreed to change the October meeting date to October 10^th at 7:00 p.m.

Superintendent’s Report:

Superintendent Fausett reported that the API scores have improved at all district schools. A detailed report will be presented at the October meeting. She commended the district teachers for their work that contributed to this growth. Five cases of whooping cough have been reported at Monte Vista and a letter will go out to all Monte Vista parents tomorrow. Trees were removed along Nogal Drive and the district is working with the county to control the safety hazard that resulted from the tree removal. A barrier will be installed soon to prevent cars from rolling down the hillside.

Board Members’ Reports:

Joseph Liebman expressed condolences to the family of Doug McFadden, a Vieja Valley parent who passed away recently.

Elizabeth Owen commented that she appreciates the new format for the Annual Notification to Parents information that is included in the opening day packets.

Adjournment:

The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 p.m.