Page 1 of 3

TJUSD Board Meeting - October 13, 2016

PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2016 8:22 am
by blackturtle.us
Despite the short agenda, this meeting turned out to be a bit on the long side, lasting nearly two hours. Very few people attended and all were school employees except for one spouse of an employee and a student who reported to the board.

HIGHLIGHTS:
Homecoming Week - Student representative briefed the board on events for Homecoming Week, including Old West themed dress up days, class competitions, athletic events, Powder Puff event, bonfire, etc. There was some discussion about using LEDs instead of flares this year for the T-lighting.

Trona Teachers Association (TTA) Report - Concerns expressed regarding payroll issues. Hope expressed that these issue will be resolved in November paycheck.

Superintendent’s Report -
a) Addressed payroll issues
b) Talked about professional growth activities with OnPoint (classroom technology vendor) at the high school and elementary
c) Board Elections - Two incumbents (Samantha MacLean and Sandy Sprouse) are running unopposed and will not appear on ballot
d) Charter California STEAM San Bernardino - updated board on issues regarding supervision of charter school and talked about conference attended along with financial secretary and HS principal. Also mentioned the “Dragon Lady” (aka, lawyer for school district) who drafted MOU between charter school and TJUSD
e) Pool Bond - Upcoming presentation regarding loan restructuring
f) Gem and Mineral Show - Told board that he and his wife had a good time at this event
g) Tornado Boost - Informed board that grades seem to have improved as result of remedial sessions and that the high school is looking into ways to improve enrichment activities

AB-2000 - The county approved the tentative agreement between the TTA and TJUSD and the board voted to accept the findings of the county.

RFQ’s - Three companies turned in bids for energy/electric/solar/lighting upgrades to be paid for using Prop 39 funds ($260k). The superintendent discussed options for upgrades that may be considered.

Classroom Upgrades - Discussion of technology, window, and furniture upgrades planned for rooms at the high school and elementary. Initially a couple rooms will be upgraded with others following over the next few years. Also upgrades such as drinking fountains, shade structures, restroom improvements, etc. were discussed. The board requested that they have time to study the proposal and that a vote be postponed until next month.

Transportation - This turned into the most lengthy and spirited discussion of the evening. Apparently a controversy regarding employees taking their children on school trips has developed. A bus driver had been granted permission to take a child along on a trip while a coach had been denied a similar request. The administration and board wished to develop a fair policy regarding such requests, but also wanted to discourage employees from taking their kids on trips to the greatest extent possible, while acknowledging that sometimes “emergencies” where babysitting is not available could necessitate exceptions to any policy that would be developed. The tentative solution seemed to be that a clause would be added to the coaching agreement where coaches would be informed that bringing their kids to practices or on trips would not be allowed. Bus drivers would also only be allowed to bring their kids on a trip when no other alternative was available at the discretion of their supervisor, which has been past practice.

NEXT MEETING: November 10, 2016

Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - October 13, 2016

PostPosted: Sat Oct 15, 2016 8:03 am
by twister
blackturtle.us wrote:There was some discussion about using LEDs instead of flares this year for the T-lighting.

How do people feel about this? Is it...
A) An unwelcome departure from tradition
B) A positive modernization we should be proud of
C) Meh... Who gives a rat's ass?
D) T-lighting? WTF are you even talking about?
E) Will they be using programmable LEDs that can change color on command?

Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - October 13, 2016

PostPosted: Sun Oct 16, 2016 8:21 pm
by panamint_patty
5 Reasons Why Finland Is A Global Education Leader :sun:
This may have already been posted in another thread, but it's worth reposting if that's the case. There are lots of ways that our educational system could be improved and this video lists a few ideas that might be worthy of consideration.

Re: LEDs

PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2016 7:42 am
by camel
twister: My answer is C. I really don't give a rat's ass. Seriously. Who even cares?

Re: LEDs

PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2016 8:13 am
by CrustyOldFart
twister: A and E. It's a break from tradition, but I'm not too worried about it and I'd like to know if they are using programmable multi-color LEDs. Maybe some lasers would be nice too.

Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - October 13, 2016

PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2016 7:43 am
by wildrose
Finland and Standardized Tests: Most of the problem we have here in the USA is that our public education system is used to make private companies rich. Standardized tests are probably the worst excess in this regards which exists. They do no good for students. They provide no information that is actually useful. They cause unnecessary stress and they cause schools to focus on the wrong things. One test at graduation is all that is necessary and passing that test should be required for the student to graduate. That way the student is held accountable for his or her learning.

Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - October 13, 2016

PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 7:53 am
by cactuspete
wildrose: Corporations that own the companies which create standardized test materials do make a huge amount of money from public schools. Most of those corporations also publish textbooks which account for billions of dollars in revenue every year paid for from public school funds. The next big category of overly expensive items come from vendors who supply schools with software and technology equipment. Lots of money is thrown away on over-priced goods and services and that's not likely to change anytime soon.

Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - October 13, 2016

PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 8:30 am
by ergot
I JUST SUED THE SCHOOL SYSTEM !!!
FIFTY PERCENT COMPLETE HORSE CRAP!
However, the other half is reasonable. The problem is separating the horse crap from the reasonable. One point that was made which is correct: 1) Standardized testing should be almost completely abolished.

One of the many ridiculously STUPID claims made: Dance is as important as math. This is about the most incredibly dumb thing I've ever heard. The ability to work with numbers, think abstractly, and reason logically are the essence of what makes us human. Dancing is completely and 100% optional.

The guy also completely misses the significance of the success of education in Finland. He misrepresents almost everything about what is done in Finland and completely misses the key factor: CULTURE. The education system in Finland is very similar to ours minus the standardized testing, but their culture is very different. Instead of a focus on entertainment (for instance, DANCE) and sports, the focus is on intellectual growth and the salaries paid to professionals (including teachers) reflects this cultural value on intellectual achievement.

Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - October 13, 2016

PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 11:50 am
by MojaveMike
High School Teacher: "ALL WHITE PEOPLE ARE RACIST!"
The statement "All white people are racist" is the epitome of racism. Anytime you make a statement which lumps all members of a race into a single group, you are making a racist statement. You can't assume that just because someone belongs to a certain race that they have a certain world view or set of beliefs. That kind of an assumption is not only racist, but it is also stupid. A teacher who makes a stupid statement like this is not really intellectually fit to work as a teacher.

Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - October 13, 2016

PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 11:53 am
by MojaveMike
“To be white is to be racist,” Norman student offended by teacher’s lecture
Here's a news station in Oklahoma covering the story. The teacher claims that he was just mindlessly parroting something he'd heard in a lecture at some college. My question is whether or not this was an accredited college? Who was giving this lecture? Why did the high school teacher not critically analyze the statement in question and conclude that it was problematic and represented a rather inaccurate and prejudiced view of white people? Why are some people so easily influenced by such obviously stupid dribble?