TJUSD Board Meeting - May 14, 2020

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TJUSD Board Meeting - May 14, 2020

Postby blackturtle.us » Thu May 14, 2020 5:02 pm

The board meeting was streamed on YouTube this month. The number of people watching the meeting live reached 25 at one point. The meeting was supposed to begin at 6:00 P.M., but it started eight minutes late. The meeting lasted about an hour and fifty minutes.

INTERESTING ITEMS:
1) Board Member Comments - The graduating senior class was the main focus of all comments. Board members shared ideas to help recognize the seniors. The HS principal updated on things that were being done on behalf of the seniors. Another board member mentioned food programs available to help people who are in need.

2) Superintendent's Report - Talked about being involved in lots of video conference meetings. COVID-19 testing will be available at school site in near future. Informed district about need for surgery and will be unavailable during recovery period. Substitutes have been arranged for and so district business will not be impeded.

3) Maintenance - Progress on earthquake recovery.

4) Principal's Report - Year books will not arrive until July. Senior class still planning on a trip, but it is not scheduled yet. Graduation ceremony to be held on July 31st. Hopefully this will be in the gym, but at this time it's not clear what restrictions will apply. It may also be on the football field depending on what options are available.

5) Superintendent Designee - Joseph Wolfe named as designee. (The vote was not unanimous.)

6) Structural Engineer Reports - Two experts provided info about stability of soil substrate at existing (old) high school campus. The first expert reported on earthquake damage, presenting lots of slides showing what he saw during his inspection. Lots of damage due to earthquake and corrosive properties of soil. He concluded that the entire high school campus has exceeded it's useful lifespan and that the earthquake damage and harsh environment has made the situation even worse. The second expert talked about soil stability. At one point he referred to the 17.5 inch tilt of the gym as both unusual and drastic. Shallow groundwater fluctuations largely responsible for tilt. He went on to explain whether it was advisable to rebuild the high school on the current site. He said that the area closest to the highway would not be suitable, whereas the area west of the current elementary site might work.

7) Server File Backup Contract - Ensures security of essential documents so that in the event of a catastrophe, data would not be lost. COST: approximately $50k. (5-0)

8) ESSENTIAL WORK COVID-19 CLOSURE - Lots of maintenance projects need to be completed before school reopens. The board needs to approve of such activities which includes work done by outside contractors. (5-0)

9) DECLARATION OF NEED - District needs to disclose need for fully qualified teachers and librarians. Waiver required to allow non-certificated employees to serve in positions in which certificated person required. (5-0)

10) DONATION TO JUNIOR CLASS - Donation from NASA approved by board. (5-0)

11) CURRICULAR MATERIALS - Text books approved by board.

FUTURE MEETINGS: Special meeting May 30th and next regular meeting June 11th.

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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - May 14, 2020

Postby panamint_patty » Fri May 15, 2020 11:09 am

blackturtle.us: It's about time the school district put board meetings online. That way the public can watch anytime and see what happened. I appreciate your reports, but it's nice to be able to watch the whole thing or at least have that as an option.
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - May 14, 2020

Postby tronagirl » Sat May 16, 2020 8:56 am

Does anyone know anything at this point about next year? Will school return to normal and start in August as planned or will it be distance learning? Will they even have sports next year? It would be nice if our governor could get his head out of his ass long enough to get oxygen to his brain so he could stop being a lame, worthless, POC!
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - May 14, 2020

Postby shadylady » Sat May 16, 2020 11:31 am

Your Boss Is Watching You: Work-From-Home Boom Leads To More Surveillance
Let's hope that schools don't ask students to give up any privacy. We don't want to train kids to accept 1984/Brave New World on steroids. George Orwell and Aldous Huxley must be rolling in their graves!
Privacy advocates and some workers said they worry that the intensified tracking brought upon by the coronavirus will normalize workplace surveillance and that this type of digital supervision will persist when workers return to offices.

https://www.npr.org/2020/05/13/854014403/your-boss-is-watching-you-work-from-home-boom-leads-to-more-surveillance
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - May 14, 2020

Postby MojaveMike » Sun May 17, 2020 6:43 am

shadylady: Generally you don't want anyone having remote access to your computer. You don't want them to be able to turn on the microphone or the camera. You don't want them to be able to log keystrokes. You don't want them to be able to monitor what you're doing on the computer or when you're doing it. You definitely don't want a computer like that in your home. Whether you're a student or an employee that's a gross and unjustifiable invasion of privacy. I can see treating a prisoner this way, but not a free citizen who has not been found legitimately guilty of a major crime.
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - May 14, 2020

Postby drdesert » Sun May 17, 2020 9:34 am

MojaveMike: This push to invade people's privacy is a major concern. Requiring employees to load tracking software on their phones? Are you kidding me? That's just crazy. There are a few simple things people can do to protect their privacy, but once you allow surveillance and tracking software to be loaded onto your devices, you've basically given your privacy away to whatever idiot in charge you may happen to be beholden to. Having said that, when it comes to home computers, put tape over the camera and disconnect from WiFi whenever possible. When it comes to children and devices from a school, be very suspicious. If not a school employee, it could be some creep working for a software company or a random hacker who might spy on your kids. Not a good situation.
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - May 14, 2020

Postby camel » Sun May 17, 2020 8:16 pm

COVID-19: When Should Kids Go Back to School?
The short answer is YES, but there are a bunch of concerns and questions which makes the YES less than a definitely yes.
Would you walk a mile for me?
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - May 14, 2020

Postby wildrose » Mon May 18, 2020 6:31 am

tronagirl wrote:Does anyone know anything at this point about next year? Will school return to normal and start in August as planned or will it be distance learning? Will they even have sports next year? It would be nice if our governor could get his head out of his ass long enough to get oxygen to his brain so he could stop being a lame, worthless, POC!

At this point, I think the answer is that no one knows anything for sure at this point. I've heard people say that it's a "fluid situation" and that it's a wait-and-see set of circumstances. All this is very frustrating for people who like to know what's going on, but a little uncertainty is not necessarily a bad thing. We never know what the future may bring and at this time we know even less than is usually the case.
:sun:
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - May 14, 2020

Postby shotgunmary » Mon May 18, 2020 7:04 am

People complaining about the lockdown are just people who can't stand their own kids!
:laugh:
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - May 14, 2020

Postby CrustyOldFart » Tue May 19, 2020 7:21 am

Some people aren't shaking hands because of the coronavirus. I'm not shaking hands because everyone is out of toilet paper!
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