This Again? (The School Board Liveblogger Returns)

It’s been a while!  Last time I showed up here, my summer had just started and I was feeling pretty ready to not come to any school board meetings for two months, as was perhaps reflected in the quality of my writing (“A public hearing is opened on categorical flexibility to provide a forum for the public to express concerns relating to the District’s proposed reallocation of formerly restricted funds that the State has granted permission to use in an unrestricted manner”…).

By the way, does anyone else think it’s weird that I always capitalize the D in District?  Is that even grammatically correct?  I suppose you can write “the President” and it’s all good, so maybe. It definitely looks more ominous capitalized, like something someone in some bad sci-fi movie would say.  “Commander, the Blazjorg have escaped the District.  Activate the ray guns!”

Anyway, after some time off spent reading on my back porch and drinking iced coffee and not caring what time it was, I’m excited and ready for the new year (kind of sort of almost maybe -ish), and the School Board is ready for me too, considering that they’ve perfectly timed the end of their summer recess for my first full week of school.  (“Commander, the Board is ready for you” … Should I stop?  I’ll stop.)

Oh wait!  Funny thing.  Turns out their recess actually ended two meetings ago.  Who knew?  (Me.)

Okay.  So basically the first one was on my mom’s birthday, plus I was sick, and all they did in open session anyway was just approve the consent calendar, so no one cared except for the Milk and Dairy Providers who got their Contract Extended, and probably the teachers they hired, but whatever.  As for the second one, I was several thousand miles away at that point, so that wasn’t happening, and haven’t we heard enough about the budget already?  Well, maybe not, but still.

In any case, I’m going to make it all up to you on Thursday, when I’ll be liveblogging like never before (i.e., in September).  On the agenda are an update from a committee to review enrollment and demographic data at Marguerite Montgomery Elementary School in south Davis, and… two other things that I will discover the purposes of tomorrow night, I guess.  Something about water rates and something about lawyers.  Fun!

The Board meeting (allegedly) begins at 7 tomorrow, so blog posts will start drifting in a little after that.  Tune in then!

7:00- Well, it looks like almost all the trustees have filed in and all the usual DJUSD people are present, so it’s entirely possible that this meeting will start vaguely on time.  And here we go!  Impressive.

7:08- No decisions made in closed session.  Agenda approved without amendment.  Consent calendar approved.  Moving on to the action calendar.

7:20- Associate Superintendent Clark Bryant begins presenting the update from the South Davis Enrollment Committee, formed to address Montgomery parents’ concerns that native speakers of English (who for obvious reasons score more highly on English-language standardized tests) were being driven off-site as a result of its Program Improvement designation under No Child Left Behind, which creates a cycle in which the concentration of English learners increases, forcing the English program down a level, in turn driving away more students whose first language is English, which further drives down test scores; simultaneously, enrollment decreases, limiting resources because of the way the state allocates funds (at least, that’s the way I remember it from some meeting months and months ago, so feel free to correct me in the comments if I got something wrong).

Bryant identifies, among many other areas of concern, making sure that parents fully understand what Program Improvement means before deciding to move their children to another school (i.e., that it’s not a “bad school,” and has many advantages to offer students despite its NCLB designation).  Note, however, that this is more of an early preview of what the Committee will be doing; final recommendations to the Board will not be available until December or January.

7:35- Questions from the Board continue; currently, we’re talking about the name of the committee, which is about as thrilling as it sounds.  Daleiden mentions, as one of the benefits of Montgomery’s Spanish Immersion program (which runs parallel to its conventional English-language program), an article that was read at an earlier board meeting that demonstrated the benefits of language immersion programs for native speakers of that language.

7:40- My torso is on TV during public comment, slightly awkward.  Must remember to sit another row back next time.

7:44- The principal of Montgomery Elementary, which has the highest rate of low-SES (socioeconomic status) students of any elementary school in the district and a large number of children of migrant laborers, is detailing the variety of measures that her school is undertaking to reach out to the families of at-risk students and to raise the school’s test scores, citing among many other examples increased resources to translate materials into English, extended-day kindergarten for students who are determined to need extra academic help to move into first grade, and an increased partnership with the Davis Bridge Foundation.  Trustee Gina Daleiden: “I don’t want anyone to tune in and think things are static at Montgomery [despite its Program Improvement designation], because they’re not.”

8:00- Bryant states that a link to the committee’s website will be on the District’s website sometime soon.  Presentation concludes, and the Board moves on to the Utility Rate Increase Protest Forms item, meaning that the Board has to decide whether or not to file an official protest with the city about increasing water rates.  President Richard Harris recuses himself because of a “business conflict” and leaves the room.  Superintendent Winfred Roberson recommends the Board not take action, and the Board unanimously agrees, voting 4-0 to not file the protest.  Harris returns to the room, and the Board begins discussion of the last item regarding legal counsel.

8:12- The Board is attempting to decide between two different versions of a bylaw governing access to council, and are currently debating issues that I’m sure are important but are honestly not that intriguing.

8:25- “‘Shall’ or ‘may’?” etc. etc.

8:35-The Board adopts Version B of the bylaw by a 3-2 vote, announces a few things, and adjourns the meeting.  See you in two weeks!