Los Gatos Saratoga Union High School District

LGSUHSD Minutes – Regular Board Meeting (#11/09) April 20, 2010

LOS GATOS – SARATOGA UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Call to Order – 6:00 p.m. Mr. Mason called the meeting to order and a quorum was established.

Board Trustees Present:  Ms. Cynthia Chang  Mr. Roger Mason  Ms. Rosemary Rossi  Ms. Michele van Zuiden

Board Trustees Absent:  Dr. Lorrie Wernick

Board Secretary Present:  Mr. Cary Matsuoka

Student Board Representatives Present:  Ms. Natalie Tkalcevic – Saratoga High School  Ms. Jennifer Heath – Los Gatos High School

Approval of the Agenda Motion #11/09-1: By Ms. Rossi and seconded by Ms. Chang to amend the agenda delaying the presentation of RD.5. Motion Passed: 4-0

Public Concerns None at this time.

Adjourn to Closed Session The board recessed into Closed Session to consider Conference Regarding Real – 6:00 p.m. Property (GC 54954.5) – 116 New York Avenue and Public Employee Performance Evaluation: Superintendent of the District (Government Code 54956.8).

Reconvene Open Session Mr. Mason reconvened the meeting into Regular Session and welcomed those in – 6:30 p.m. attendance. He reported that no action was taken in closed session.

Student Representatives’ Ms. Tkalcevic (Saratoga High School) reported that seniors have received their college Report decision letters and are making decisions for next year. ASB elections were completed last week and Anshu Siripurapu was elected as the Saratoga Student Board representative for the 2010-11 school year.

Ms. Heath (Los Gatos High School) reported that LGHS band students and some parents had been stranded in Europe but were due back tonight. She noted a successful spirit rally the Friday before spring break and announced upcoming events including the student-run “Play in a Day,” the Senior Talent Show and STAR and AP testing. ASB elections have concluded but the results have not been announced. Note: During tonight’s board meeting, Carolyn Dufort (LGHS band parent and band trip chaperone) announced the safe arrival of the band students at LGHS.

Principals’ Report Mr. Anderson announced the upcoming Alternative Food and Fuel Fair, the Benefit Fashion Show, the PTSO Volunteer Appreciation lunch, an upcoming screening of “Two Million Minutes,” and a presentation by Dave Evans; noted attending a screening of the film “Race to Nowhere,” focused on student stress, and announced plans to schedule a local showing – date tbd.

Mr. Autrey noted that the band students are due back from Germany; announced the upcoming suicide prevention awareness seminar designed to raise awareness about this issue; introduced Mr. Rob Bobeda and Ms. Valerie Arbizu, new Assistant Principals hired for LGHS beginning in the2010-11 school year. Ms. Arbizu and Mr. Bobeda addressed the board.

Superintendent’s Report Mr. Matsuoka noted a letter from the Dean of Student Affairs at Redwood Middle school, commending SHS teacher Mr. PJ Yim for leading both SHS and Redwood math clubs; congratulated Ms. Chang for her re-election to the CSBA Delegate Assembly; commented on importance of the message in” Race to Nowhere” about student stress and confirmed efforts to schedule a local showing this spring or fall.

Public Concerns  Dee Towner, Stacy Murillo, Julianne Yeaman, Susan Signorelli, Linda Greely, Pola Michelle Alas, Amandeep Dhindsa, and Kristy St. George: spoke regarding working conditions at the district office and their roles in the district in support of teachers, students, and schools.  Dory Albert: presented Survey Monkey data indicating parent support for smaller class sizes for incoming 9th graders and for a parcel tax; asked about board decision re: class size and requested follow up information regarding impact of any increase in class size.

Public Hearing A public hearing regarding the collective bargaining agreement with Chapter 875 of the PH.1 California School Employees’ Association and public disclosure was opened. There was no public input. The hearing was closed.

RD.1 Ms. Natalie Tkalcevic, student Board Representative, presented student survey data Student Board Report – regarding student stress and connectedness: noted support for scheduling tutorial Saratoga High School between 4th and 5th periods and for scheduling finals before holiday break/starting the school year earlier; would like to see increase in connectedness for some students; noted students like both kinesthetic and traditional learning modalities and group projects are not as popular; would like to see more school spirit; noted time demands lead to increased student stress. Parent survey indicated high level of interest in having their student attend private colleges; parents feel SHS doing a good job overall.

Board expressed concern regarding drop in student connectedness. Disaggregated data will be sent to board in Friday packet.

RD.2 Mr. Mount presented the following texts for initial review: Instructional Materials  The Book Thief: Zusak, Markus: Knopf, 2007  Living in the Environment: Miller, G. and Spoolman, G: Brooks/Cole, 2009  California Algebra I: Bellman, et. al.: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2009 LGSUHSD Minutes – Regular Board Meeting (#11/09) April 20, 2010

 Algebra I Rescue: Bradsby, Larry: Sopris West Educational Services, 2004

These books will be brought back to the May 4th meeting of the Board of Trustees for final consideration and adoption.

RD.3 Mr. Matsuoka reported regarding the 3% salary rollback for administrative employees Administrative Employee for 2010-11: noted overall impact of step advancement and salary rollback. Salary Rollback

RD.4 Mr. Matsuoka reported regarding the furlough days for confidential/supervisory Confidential/Supervisory employees for 2010-11: noted definition of furlough days; discussed reallocation of Employee Joint benefit funding for identified position. Board requested information re: what Communique percentage this group contributed; discussed how longevity bonuses impact this.

RD.6 Mr. Jordan, Athletic Director and Physical Education department chair at SHS, Physical Education – SHS discussed the new “Cross Fit” program at Saratoga High School, noting program standards/measurement around overall student fitness/progress and shared student survey responses and anecdotal student reactions. Mr. Jordan thanked the Board and Kevin Mount for their support of this program through the Curriculum Redesign Project and funding.; thanked SHS staff Tim Lugo, Rick Ellis, and Yuko Aoki for their work implementing this new program; noted information available on the program’s website crossfitsawmill.com. Challenges include resistance to change and limited enrollment in this program by freshmen. Changes in PE requirements were discussed. Mr. Mount commended Mr. Jordan for his leadership and passion for this program.

RD.7 Mr. Autrey presented an update regarding the implementation of the block schedule, Block Schedule – LGHS now in its first year at LGHS. He noted advantages of the block schedule including the benefits of tutorial, ability to focus on fewer classes per day and deliver greater depth of material. Disadvantages included difficulty keeping track of schedule day by day, challenges of keeping student attention during longer class periods; acknowledged lack of hard data so far and plans to continue to evaluate the change. Discussed professional development, e.g, opportunities for teachers to visit each others’ classrooms; discussed professional development needs and the impact of the WASC process, i.e. time limitations, identification of areas of need and next steps. Discussed perception that students are not attending tutorial and the use of tutorial time.

RD.5 Dr. Woodruff provided an update regarding the Media Arts facility at Saratoga High SHS MAP Facilities School, noting DSA requirements and their impact on cost and schedule, specifically those regarding fire suppression. The Media Arts building should be ready in July but fire suppression issues could further delay final completion. Board noted concerns about lack of foresight about these issues.

Wendy Woo, Aedis Architects, and Rick Kramer, Kramer Project Development, responded to questions: noted that DSA originally approved the submitted fire sprinkler design. DSA did not rescind approval until the project was underway and then interpreted code differently. The delays caused by the position of the conduits to the PG&E transformer were also noted. Discussed history of application for matching grant and that it was based on original modular design plans.

Board Requested report re: use of COP funds. Noted difference between design omissions and design errors and asked for further discussion of Aedis’ response and responsibility.

AI.1 Motion 11/09-2: By Ms. Chang seconded by Ms. Rossi to approve the agreement with Center for Community The Center for Community Agreement for polling services to be shared with Saratoga Opinion Union School District.

Motion passed: 4-0

AI.2 Motion 11/09-3: By Ms. van Zuiden seconded by Ms. Chang to approve the Proposed Proposed Agreement Agreement with CSEA for 2009-11 with CSEA, Chapter 875 for 2009-11 Motion passed: 4-0

Board Correspondence Received correspondence from:  Julia Peck: commented regarding concerns about compensation strategies for confidential/supervisory group.

Trustee Comments  Ms. van Zuiden: distributed Time Magazine article, “Is Cash the Answer,” SJMN article about support by business executives for education, and the “Commitment Card” to be presented for signature to legislators at the upcoming SCCSBA Legislative Brunch.  Ms. Chang: noted a very productive meeting of the CSBA Policy Platform Committee.

Consent Calendar Items CC.1, CC.10, CC.14, CC.18, and CC.19 were removed for separate consideration.

Motion 11/09-4: By Ms. Chang seconded by Ms. van Zuiden to approve the Consent Calendar as amended.

Motion passed: 4-0  Purchase Order Contracts/Bill Warrants: March 2010  Application for CTE funding, 2010-11  Certificated and classified personnel reports, April 20, 2010  Purchase of modular restroom for Nova  Budget for equipment for LGHS weight room  Field Trip Request for SHS students to attend National First Robotics Competition in Atlanta, Georgia  Agreement with Kramer Project Development/school construction project closeouts  Purchase of classroom equipment for the MAP project at SHS  MOU with LG-S Community Education and Recreation for aquatics coordination services  Agreement with LG-S Community Education and Recreation for a preschool child care and development center at SHS  Agreement with Mandarin Language and Cultural Center at SHS  Quarterly Williams Uniform Complaint Report, as of April 2010  Disposal of surplus equipment – copier from LGHS Items Removed for Separate Consideration LGSUHSD Minutes – Regular Board Meeting (#11/09) April 20, 2010

CC.1 Motion 11/09-5: By Ms. van Zuiden seconded by Ms. Rossi to approve the Minutes of Minutes: Regular the Regular Meeting (March 16, 2010) amended as follows: Meeting – March 16,  Page 2: Remove student board member comments 2010  Page 4: Revise sentence to read “… engagement of community in creating the facility…”  Page 4: Revise sentence to read “while the currently proposed amount is 21%.”  Page 4: Add note – “available upon request at the District Office.”

Motion passed: 4-0

CC.10 Motion 11/09-6: By Ms. Chang seconded by Ms. van Zuiden to approve the Agreement Kramer Project with Kramer Project Development: SHS/MAP Project amended to include language Development: SHS/MAP whereby Kramer Project Development is contractually required to act in the best Project interests of LGSUHSD.

Motion passed: 4-0

CC.14 Motion 11/09-7: By Ms. van Zuiden seconded by Ms. Chang to approve the Agreement Los Gatos School with LGUSD and the Town of Los Gatos for school resource officer services and asked Resource Officer for annual follow up reports regarding impact of this position.

Motion passed: 4-0

CC.18 This item was deferred until the May 4, 2010 meeting of the Board of Trustees Board Meeting Calendar, 2011-12 Public Comment:  Shinku Sharma: supported adding meetings to the 2010-11 Board meeting calendar. CC.19 Motion 11/09-8: By Ms. Chang seconded by Ms. van Zuiden to approve the Agreement Valence Energy with Valence Energy Corporation for energy monitoring services after discussion Corporation regarding possible free services and expected savings in energy costs as a result of Valence’s monitoring services.

Motion passed: 4-0

Public Concerns None at this time

Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 9:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Cary Matsuoka (Secretary of the Board): ______

Approved and ordered into proceedings of the District on May 4, 2010, Dr. Lorrie Wernick (Clerk of the Board): ______