The monthly meeting of the Hope School District Board of Trustees was called to order at 6:30 p.m. on February 6, 2006, in the Hope District Board Room. All members were present. The Board adjourned to Closed Session at 6:35 p.m. The Board reconvened in a Public Session at 7:05 p.m.  The following is a brief outline of the actions and discussions addressed by the Board.  

The Meeting Reconvened at 7:05 p.m.

The following unanimous actions were taken in closed session:

The Board ratified the agreement with certificated employees for salary and benefits for   2005-2006. 

Acknowledgment of Retiree:

Superintendent Fausett and the Board of Trustees acknowledged Eustacchio Guadagnini, Supervisor of Maintenance and Operations, on his retirement from the district. Mr. Guadagnini began employment with the district in June of 1966.

Correspondence:

There was no correspondence.

Public Comment:

HDTA negotiator, Kelly Johnson, thanked the Board for the successful negotiations and said that the staff especially appreciates the minimum 2% increase that will be included in the budget for 2006-07.  Susan Jordano, a member of the Hope Charter School committee, read a letter to the Board regarding the intentions of the committee. Lyn Krieger, a Hope Charter School committee member, addressed to Board regarding the committee.

Consent Items:

The following routine consent items were presented to the Board for approval:

a. Approve the Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting of January 9, 2006. The Board of Trustees approved (4 ayes; 0 noes; 1 abstain) the minutes of the regular board meeting of January 9, 2006.

b. Approve the Minutes of the Special Board Meeting of January 17, 2006. The Board of Trustees approved (4 ayes; 0 noes; 1 abstain) the

 

 

 

minutes of the special board meeting of January 17, 2006.

c. Approve submitted purchase orders and warrant reports. Copies of the Commercial Warrant register sheets listing the purchase orders and warrants were provided to members of the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees unanimously approved the purchase orders and warrant reports as submitted.

Principal’s Report:

Technology Committee

Hope School Principal, Barbara LaCorte, presented a report on the district technology committee and included their recommendations on updating the district technology plan. This was followed by a question and answer period about technology use at each school, and a discussion regarding the computers at each of the schools and the need to have computers for the teachers that are capable of running OS 10. The board requested that the technology committee gather more information about what computers can be updated and what computers need to be replaced in order to run OS 10 and asked Ms. LaCorte to bring that information to the April board meeting for further discussion.

Action Items:

Approval of the Consolidated Programs Funding Application, PART II, 2005-2006

Superintendent Fausett and Business Manager Julie Wood presented the Consolidated Programs Funding Application, PART II, 2005-2006, to the Trustees for approval. The district has received the annual state and federal categorical entitlements for the Consolidated Application Programs, 2005-2006.  The supplementary funds are combined in PART II of the District’s annual application to the California Department of Education.  Upon receipt of Board approval for PART II, funds will be allocated to each school according to enrollments and student participation in the several programs. The Board of Trustees unanimously approved the Consolidated Programs Funding Application, PART II, 2005-2006.

 

 

 

Adopt Resolution 05/06-04 Request for Exclusion from Unification Petition or Action

Superintendent Fausett presented Resolution 05/06-04 Request for Exclusion from Unification

Petition or Action to the Trustees for adoption. At the January Board meeting, the Trustees heard a presentation by Dr. Brian Sarvis, Superintendent of Santa Barbara School district, regarding the possible unification of the Santa Barbara Elementary and High School districts.  Priscilla Diamond, secretary to the County Committee on School district Organization, reviewed the process for a “Thompson” unification and explained the ability of and procedure for feeder districts to be excluded from the unification. Superintendent Fausett reported that the Santa Barbara District has since decided not to pursue unification at this time. She requested that the Board adopt the Resolution in order to have it on file with the Department of Education should the Santa Barbara District decide to pursue unification at a future date. The Board of Trustees unanimously approved adoption of Resolution 05/06-04 Request for Exclusion from Unification Petition or Action pursuant to Education Code Section 35542(b).

  Adopt Board Goals for 2005-2006

Superintendent Fausett presented proposed Board goals for 2005-2006 to the Trustees for discussion and adoption. The Trustees reviewed and discussed the proposed goals and agreed on modifications to the goals.

The Board of Trustees unanimously approved the adoption of Board Goals for 2005-2006 pursuant to the modifications agreed on by the Board at this meeting and with the understanding that the objectives relating to the goals will be expounded upon in future sessions with the goal to have this accomplished by summer.

Discussion Items:     

This item was taken out of sequence.

Update on Basic Aid

Superintendent Fausett led the Board in a discussion on the status of basic aid funding information.     Ms. Fausett reported that she had

 

 

consulted  with  other  districts  on  what process they used to obtain information on the differences between revenue limit funding and basic aid funding. She has arranged for a consultant, Caroline Larson who is a partner in the accounting firm of Vavrinek Tryne and Day, to research questions and issues that have been raised by staff and the community.  Ms. Larson will present a detailed report and present various funding models at a special board meeting on February 27th as a discussion item.  The Board will determine after the presentation if the decision to pursue basic aid funding will be placed on the March 6th agenda as an action item.

Single School Plan

Superintendent Fausett presented the Single School Plans for the district schools to the  Board.  Each year, the three school principals prepare plans for addressing school needs and achievement.  These Single School Plans are part of a comprehensive process to better inform the Trustees and community about each school’s yearly progress and goals.  The plans include strategies to address student needs and achievement, and sharing of special programs, as well as identified challenges.  The plan fulfills the No Child Left Behind federal law that requires each site to prepare a Single Plan for student achievement.  Superintendent Fausett summarized and highlighted portions of each school’s plan.  Copies of the Single School Plans are available by advance request at the district office.

2006-2007 Tax and Revenue Anticipation Notes Underwriter Change

Business Manager Julie Wood presented information to the Trustees on an underwriter change for the Tax and Revenue Anticipation Notes (TRAN) for 2006-2007 from Bank of America Securities to Piper Jaffray & Co.  She reported that the underwriter change would be for the purpose of lowering underwriter and bond council fees.

Superintendent’s Report

Superintendent Fausett reported that she has sent the proposed Volunteer Policy to the school leadership teams for review by their school’s staff. 

 

The policy will be brought back to the Board after she has received  input  from the schools.  Ms. Fausett noted that board meetings are now being recorded by a computer in the hopes of providing a clearer recording for district use and duplication requests. 

Board Members’ Reports      

Trustee Mike Underwood reported that he and the superintendent had attended a meeting with Brian Sarvis, Santa Barbara School District Superintendent, and Laura Malakoff, a Board Member for the Santa Barbara School District, prior to a meeting of the South County School Boards.  They discussed the Santa Barbara district’s interdistrict transfer policy and Mr. Underwood reported that the Santa Barbara district is no longer granting transfers based on the location of a family’s child care situation.

Adjournment of Regular Session

The meeting was adjourned at 10:05 p.m.

Special Board Meeting on February 27th

The February 27th special meeting of the Hope School District Board of Trustees was called to order at 6:30 p.m. in the Vieja Valley Multi-Purpose Room. All members were present. The Board adjourned to Closed Session at 6:35 p.m. The Board reconvened in a Public Session at 7:10 p.m. The following is a brief outline of the actions and discussions addressed by the Board.  

The Meeting Reconvened at 7:10 p.m.

The following unanimous actions were taken in closed session:

a. Approved a proposal for salary and benefits for the 2005-2006 school year for classified  employees.

b. Approved the hiring of Jesse Duncan as the Supervisor of Maintenance & Operations.

Report on Basic Aid versus Revenue Limit Funding

The Board of Trustees and the Superintendent arranged for this report to be presented to the community. Caroline Larson, an independent consultant from Vavrinek, Tryne, Day, & Co., Certified Public Accountants and Consultants, presented findings from her analysis, discussing

 

the pros and cons of basic aid and revenue limit funding models, and the long term effects on the District.  The presentation was followed by board discussion and an audience question and answer period.  Trustee Todd Sosna moved that at the meeting on March 6th the Board will make a decision concerning the acceptance of interdistrict transfers for the school year 2006-2007. Trustee Steven Weintraub seconded the motion.  The motion passed unanimously and this will be placed on the agenda as an action item.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m.