BOARD MEETING: September 25, 2007

ATTENDANCE: Board: Gary Eberhart (4:30 p.m.), April Treece, Dick Allen, Linda Mayo, Paul Strange

Administrative Staff: Superintendent Gary McHenry; Associate Superintendent Alan Young; assistant superintendents Roger Bylund, Gail Isserman, and Dick Nicoll; Chief Financial Officer Gloria Gamblin; General Counsel Greg Rolen; and Special Education Director Melinda Hall for Mildred Browne

1. CALL TO ORDER: Vice President Treece called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. in the Board Room at the MDUSD Dent Center.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None

CLOSED SESSION: The Board adjourned to Closed Session at 4:01 p.m. in Room 6 at the Dent Center. Topics discussed included superintendent’s evaluation; anticipated litigation (two potential cases); and negotiations.

2. RECONVENE OPEN SESSION: The Board returned to Open Session in the Board Room at 7: 43 p.m. President Eberhart led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and then reported on the topics discussed and action taken in Closed Session.

3. CONSENT AGENDA

Mayo moved, Strange seconded, and the Board voted 5-0-0 to adopt the Consent Agenda, thereby approving the following:

3.1 Minutes of the meeting of August 28, 2007.

3.2 Certificated Personnel

3.2.1 Leaves of Absence, Resignations, Retirements, Employment

3.2.2 Resolution 07/08-25 Variable Term Waiver Requests

Adopted Resolution 07/08-25 authorizing Monique Tafoya and Joseph Alvarez to apply for a Variable Term Waiver, giving them additional time in 2007-08 to complete certain requirements for the credential that authorizes their service. The waiver request is made when there is not a properly credentialed person available for the position.

3.2.3 Resolution 07/08-26 Approval of Provisional Internship Permit (PIP) Requests

Adopted Resolution 07/08-26, authorizing James Hood, Robert Casella, Danielle Ferris, Kristin Freeman, Ninfa Iglesias, and Michelle Howisey to apply for a Provisional Internship Permit (PIP) in order to complete their assignments for the 2007-08 school year.

3.3 Classified Personnel

3.3.1 Leaves of Absence, Resignations, Retirements, Employment

3.3.2 Modification or Elimination in Hours for Part-Time Instructional Assistant Position at Walnut Acres Elementary School

Approved the following changes for part-time Instructional Assistant positions at Walnut Acres Elementary:

• Increased one school-day-only Instructional Assistant position from 16 to 19 hours/week

• Decreased one vacant school-day-only Instructional Assistant position from 10 to 8 hours/week

• Eliminated one vacant 10 hour/week, school day only, Instructional Assistant position

There is no impact to the General Fund. There will be a savings of $5,140 to Walnut Acres Parent Faculty Club.

3.3.3 Request Approval to Eliminate a Part-Time Senior Instructional Assistant Position and Create an Instructional Assistant – Computer Position at Pleasant Hill Elementary School

Eliminated a 15-hour/week, school-day-only Senior Instructional Assistant – Computer position and created a 19.5-hour/week, school-day-only Instructional Assistant – Computer position at Pleasant Hill Elementary School. Fiscal Impact: Additional cost of $3,329 for 2007-08 and $3,689 for a full year to the Pleasant Hill Elementary Education Foundation, the funding source.

3.4 Fiscal Transactions for the Month of August 2007

3.5 Resolution 07/08-21 Adopting the 2007 Appropriation Limit Calculation (GANN Limit)

Approved Resolution 07/08-21, adopting the Gann Limit calculation for 2007. A school agency’s Gann Limit is increased for both inflation and population. Inflation for these purposes is currently the annual percentage change in California per capita personal income.

3.6 Final Change Orders

3.6.1 Final Change Order to Bid 1429, Contract C-842, to Taber Construction in the amount of $135,862.46 for site utilities for new classrooms and softball field at Olympic High School. Funding Source: Proposition 55 and Measure A

3.6.2 Final Change Order to Bid 1473, Contract C-861, to Biland Construction Company in the amount of $52,150 for concrete flatwork repair at Fair Oaks, Hidden Valley, Meadow Homes, and Valle Verde elementary schools, Riverview Middle School, and Olympic High School. Funding Source: Deferred Maintenance

3.7 Notices of Completion

3.7.1 Notice of Completion to Bid 1429, Contract C-842, to Taber Construction for site utilities at Olympic High School, for a total expenditure of $3,371,816.22. Funding Source: Measure A and Proposition 55

3.7.2 Notice of Completion to Bid 1473, Contract C-861, to Biland Construction Company for the concrete flatwork repair at Fair Oaks, Hidden Valley, Meadow Homes, and Valle Verde elementary schools, Riverview Middle, and Olympic High, for a total amount of $311,550. Funding Source: Deferred Maintenance

3.8 Disposal of District Surplus

Declared a list of inoperable and/or obsolete vehicles in the Transportation Department to be surplus and granted District staff the authority to dispose of them in accordance with Ed. Code 17545 and 17546.. Fiscal Impact: Auction Proceeds

3.9 Agreement with Northgate Community Pride Foundation for Improvement of the Football Field and Track

Approved an agreement with the Northgate Community Pride Foundation, which will allow the group to complete design services for a synthetic field and all weather track. There is no impact to the General Fund. The Foundation will cover all project costs.

3.10 Independent Contract for a Speech-Language Pathologist through Independent Speech Pathology Network – College Park High School

Approved a contract with Independent Speech Pathology Network for a speech-language pathologist (SPL) to provide services at College Park High for five days a week for the 2007-08 school year. The $178,020 cost of the contract will be partially offset by a projected savings of $62,220 in the Related Services Staffing Budget due to the District’s inability to fill a vacant SLP positions. The impact to the General Fund will be $115,800.

3.11 Approval of Contract between Mt. Diablo Unified School District and Dori Maxon Pediatric Contracting Services

Approved a contract with Dori Maxon Pediatric Contracting Services to provide a 1.0 full time equivalent (FTE) Registered Physical Therapist for the 2007-08 school year. The contract amount of $93,000 for the 2007-08 school year is a decrease of $13,500 compared to the 2006-07 contract. Funding Source: General Fund

3.12 Approval of Contract between Mt. Diablo Unified School District and Progressus Therapy, Inc.

Approved a contract for Progressus Therapy, Inc. to provide districtwide occupational physical therapy serves for the 2007-2008 school year. Fiscal Impact: $1,361,832 for 2007-08. Funding Source: General Fund

4. RECOGNITIONS: None

5. BOARD FORUM

This item is here for the Board of Education to discuss any issues of concern.

5.1 Committee Minutes

5.2 Board Reports (time limit – 3 minutes)

Mayo said she visited Ayers and Mountain View elementary schools, where it was “exciting” to see students and teachers eagerly embracing learning and both campuses looking orderly and clean. She joined parents and faculty members at Hidden Valley Elementary School on Pleasant Hill City Community Service Day to help brighten the campus, clean up the grounds, paint the quad area, and configure aluminum tables for umbrellas. She attended the Contra Costa County Teacher of the Year dinner, where Mt. Diablo High teacher Sandy Johnson Shaw and Shauna Hawes, teacher at Valley View Middle School and former teacher at Hidden Valley Elementary, were honored. She suggested that community members review AB321 NAVA, which is currently sitting on the governor's desk. It would permit cities and counties to reduce the speed limit around schools from 25 to 15 miles per hour providing certain requirements are met. The California State PTA supports this bill. Information is available at www.leginfo.ca.gov.

Strange reported on the PTA Council meeting he attended, saying he hoped more people would attend as the school PTAs “are definitely moving forward.” He also enjoyed the County Teacher of the Year dinner, where many MDUSD teachers over the years were recognized. As Board rep, with Mayo, on the parcel tax committee, he announced community meetings to discuss the issue on October 2 at Concord High and Foothill Middle and on October 16 at College Park High and Riverview Middle. He pointed out that students from a Northgate High government class were in the meeting’s audience.

Allen said he attended a fundraiser at the Concord Senior Center, where the Mt. Diablo High Serendipity Program students did a great job providing and serving the food. At a meeting of the Concord Citizens Advisory Committee on Naval Weapons Station Reuse Plan, he heard five possible options for the property. He said maps showing each option are available on the city’s web site and in the MDUSD Superintendent’s Office. He noted that no option leans too heavily on development or on open space.

Treece remarked that the density of housing on the Naval Weapons Station property will have an impact on ability of those who work for the District and for other employers in the county to live and work in the local area. The Contra Costa Economic Partnership and the Workforce Initiative are looking at area schools and their industrial technology programs. In a recent event, representatives from industry were introduced to an afterschool mentorship program operating in three sections of the county. Joanne Durkee, an MDUSD director, Carolyn Plath, Ygnacio Valley High principal, and Judy Cubillo, Northgate High teacher, represented the District. The goal of the program is to bring high school students together with “real people doing real things,” Treece explained.

Eberhart encouraged the public to participate in the Mt. Diablo Alternative Education Foundation’s poker tournament fundraiser being held on Friday, September 28, at Back 40 restaurant in Pleasant Hill.

5.3 Issues of Concern

6. PUBLIC COMMENT

Cassie Stover and Christina Lee, Northgate High students, said the Spanish I teacher resigned just before the school year began and has not yet been replaced. They described the problems students have with short-term substitutes and asked what efforts are being made to find a permanent teacher for the class. (Eberhart said it is the Board and Administration’s desire to have permanent teachers. Like other school districts, Mt. Diablo is having trouble finding teachers for several fields, including foreign language. Isserman said the District continues to advertise on web sites, including foreign language ones, that teachers use to find positions and staff also work with colleges and universities to find qualified candidates.)

7. COMMUNICATIONS: None

8. REPORTS/INFORMATION – None

9. SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT

McHenry reported that informal counts are showing General Education student enrollment to be above projections by about 400 students. Next Tuesday is the official CBEDS day, when the enrollment is officially recorded. Those data are used as the basis for funding. He also reported meeting with the presidents of Los Medanos and Diablo Valley community colleges to discuss the idea of a Middle College Program, in which high school students take core academic and college courses on the community college campus. He announced that at the next meeting, on October 9, the Board will have the opportunity to recognize principals and other staff at schools whose students did well on the Academic Performance Index. Of the District’s 47 comprehensive schools 21 are scoring above the state standard of 800, a noteworthy achievement in a district with such a diverse population with language, poverty, and race. Also highly commendable are five schools that have made progress in each of the six years since the accountability program began. They are Eagle Peak, Hidden Valley, Wren Avenue, Riverview, and Valley View. He credited the hard work of staff, parents and students for each school’s success. Referring to the Board’s decision to pursue a parcel tax, he mentioned the community meetings on October 2 and 16 to discuss the issue and stressed the need to make a decision as to what the tax money would be used for. A survey will be distributed at the meetings and through other avenues that community members can complete to indicate their preference. Competitive salaries are the highest priority of everyone who’s voiced an opinion so far. Community meetings give the public the opportunity to tell the Board and staff what their preferences are.

10. BUSINESS

10.1 Disability Awareness Month – October 2007

Strange moved, Treece seconded, and the Board voted 5-0-0 to adopt Resolution 07/08-24, acknowledging the designation of October as Disability Awareness Month and recognizing the contributions made by people with disabilities throughout history.

10.2 Appointment of Middle School Principal

Allen moved, Mayo seconded, and the Board voted 5-0-0 to appoint Patricia Bannister as Middle School Principal, assigned to Diablo View, effective immediately.

10.3 Appointment of Elementary School Principal—PULLED

10.4 Appointment of High School Vice Principal—PULLED

10.5 Appointment of Elementary School Vice Principal

Strange moved, Mayo seconded, and the Board voted 5-0-0 to appoint Nancy Klinkner as Elementary School Vice Principal, assigned to Cambridge, effective immediately.

10.6 Appointment of Director of Technology Applications—PULLED

10.7 Appointment of Curriculum Specialist

Treece moved, Strange seconded, and the Board voted 5-0-0 to appoint Sandra Bruketta as Curriculum Specialist, effective October 1, 2007.

10.8 Certification and Approval of the 2006-2007 Statement of Receipts and Expenditures, the Annual Closing of the Books (SACS Unaudited Actuals)

Chief Financial Office Gloria Gamblin reviewed revenues and expenditures for the last school year, 2006-07. Highlights:

• District ended the year with a positive financial position

▪ Met 2% reserves requirement

▪ Met other Designated Reserve requirements

▪ No deficit spending

▪ All Funds ended the 2006-2007 fiscal year with a positive fund balance.

• General Fund, Combined Restricted and Unrestricted Funds

Total Revenues	$294,809,018
Total Expenditures	288,070,494
Excess (Deficiency) of revenues over expenditures before other financing sources and uses	6,738,523
Total Other Sources	6,110,727
Less Other Uses	(2,203,780)
Net Increase/(Decrease) In Fund Balance	10,645,470
Beginning Fund Balance	23,848,500
ENDING FUND BALANCE as of June 30, 2007	$34,493,970

• General Fund, Ending Balance, Combined Restricted and Unrestricted Funds

Combined General Fund Balance as of June 30, 2007	$34,493,970
LESS Reserves and Other Designations
a) Revolving Cash	300,000
b) Stores	747,109
c) Legally Restricted Balances	16,133,082
d) Phase I Energy Management System	622,165
e) Sites/Departments Carryover	3,249,357
f) Mandated Costs Reimbursement	1,521,101
g) FCMAT Recommendation	528,701
h) K-3 Class Size Reduction Adjustment	132,479
i) Credential Penalty	1,423,073
j) GASB 45	1,164,360
k) Economic Uncertainity	5,805,455
Total Reserves and Other Designations	$31,626,882
UNAPPROPRIATED AMOUNT $2,867,088

• Unrestricted General Fund Balance

Unrestricted Fund Balance as of June 30, 2007	$18,360,868
Components of fund balance
a) Revolving cash	300,000
b) Stores	747,109
c) Legally Restricted Balance
d) Other Designations:
▪ Mandated Costs Reimbursement	1,521,101
▪ Phase 1 Energy Management System	622,165
▪ FCMAT Recommendations	528,701
▪ K-3 Class Size Reduction Adjustment	132,479
▪ Credential Penalty	1,423,073
▪ GASB 45	1,164,360
▪ Sites/Department Carryover	3,249,357
e) Reserves For Economic Uncertainties	5,805,485
UNDESIGNATED AMOUNT $2,867,058

• Restricted General Fund Balance

Restricted Fund Balance as of June 30, 2007	$16,133,102
Components of fund balance
a) Revolving cash
b) Stores
c) Legally Restricted Balance	$16,133,082
d) Other Designations:
▪ Mandated Costs Reimbursement
▪ Phase 1 Energy Management System
▪ FCMAT Recommendations
▪ K-3 Class Size Reduction Adjustment
▪ Credential Penalty
▪ GASB 45
▪ Sites/Department Carryover
e) Reserves For Economic Uncertainties
UNDESIGNATED AMOUNT $20

• Contribution from General Fund to Restricted Programs

Special Education
Instructional Program	$27,736,069
Transportation	2,625,901
Sub Total for Special Education	30,361,970
Restricted Routine Maintenance Account	8,115,541
(Required Prop 55 Match)
Other Programs:
JROTC	178,039
BTSA	427,000
Adult Education Capital Outlay	75,000
MediCal Billing	11,241
Diablo Community Day School	73,864
Interscholastic Sports	300,125
Water Environment Studies	42,500
KAPOW	15,000
Reimbursement From Outside Agencies	30,706
Serendipity	6,453
Sub Total Other Programs	1,159,928
TOTAL CONTRIBUTION TO RESTRICTED PROGRAMS $39,637,439

Board comment Mayo thanked Gamblin and her staff for their hard work in closing the books. Eberhart asked why the books end with a balance in the Restricted budget each year ($16 million this year) and why the balance would not be transferred back into the General Fund. Gamblin explained that money from the General Fund is needed for some Restricted programs, such as Special Education, that are not fully financed from state and federal sources. Other money in the Restricted Fund is allocated to specific categorical programs. When there is an ending balance in the Restricted Fund, it is because the budgets for those categorical programs were not fully spent. Because it never was General Fund money, it cannot be transferred into the General Fund. For example, staff may intentionally leave carryover money in the instructional materials account at the end of a year to save for a textbook adoption the following year. Gamblin will give Board members a list of categorical programs that have a balance.

Board action: Strange moved, Mayo seconded, and the Board voted 5-0-0 to approve and certify the 2006-07 Unaudited Actuals—Statement of Receipts and Expenditures.

10.9 Resolution 07/08-27, 28, and 29 Intent to Dedicate Easements at Loma Vista Adult Center, Pleasant Hill Education Center, and Shadelands Center

Allen moved, Treece seconded, and the Board voted 5-0-0 to adopt Resolution 07/08-27, 28, and 29, declaring the District’s intent to dedicate easements at Loma Vista Adult Center, Pleasant Hill Education Center, and Shadelands Center to the Contra Costa Water District for fire protection uses. A public hearing and final action on the resolution will take place at the October 9, 2007, Board meeting, pursuant to the provisions of Education Code Section 17556.

10.10 Increase in Full-Time Equivalent Positions (FTE) for the 2007-2008

Treece moved, Allen seconded, and the Board voted 5-0-0 to approve the following increases in certificated staffing (i.e. teachers):

Gregory Gardens Elementary .50
Highlands Elementary 2.00
Pleasant Hill Elementary 1.00
Mt. Diablo Elementary 2.00
Delta View Elementary 1.00
Oak Grove Middle School 2.00
Sequoia Middle School .86

Total General Fund 9.36

Cambridge Elementary

High Priority Schools Grant 3.00

School Improvement Block Grant 1.00

Fair Oaks Elementary

High Priority Schools Grant 1.00

Meadow Homes Elementary

Title 1 .30

Shore Acres Elementary

Title 1 .1125

Delta View Elementary

School Improvement (Psych Intern) .20

Ygnacio Valley Elementary

Reading First Sub Grant .20

High Priority Schools Grant 2.00

Hidden Valley Elementary

School Improvement (Psych Intern) .10

Outside Sources (Psych Intern) .10

Oak Grove Middle School

Economic Impact Aid (EIP) .86

Mt. Diablo High School

International Hospitality Academy .20

California High School Exit Exam 3.00

Northgate High School

Outside Sources 1.00

Total Categorical 13.0725

This action increases the expenditure budget of the General Fund in the amount of $643,612 and of Categorical Funds in the amount of $817,093. Funding Source: General Fund and Categorical Funds ( High Priority Schools Grant - $369,088; School Improvement Block Grant - $69,494; Title I - $34,267; Reading First Sub Grant - $17,546; Funds from Outside Sources - $73,593; Economic Impact Aid (EIP) - $58,029; International Hospitality Academy - $14,417; California High School Exit Exam - $180,659.)

Board comment Eberhart noted that during the budget reductions of three years ago the Board set a minimum class size for secondary schools of 20 students per teacher. He asked if any classes have fewer than 20 students. McHenry said the goal is to maintain that minimum, but it is not always possible. Currently about 13 classes have fewer than 20 students. They are offered in response to student needs at specific schools and include music, academic literacy, and English language development.

11. CLOSED SESSION

At 8:36 p.m. Eberhart adjourned the meeting to Closed Session to discuss negotiations and the superintendent’s evaluation

12. ADJOURNMENT
Eberhart adjourned the meeting at 10:15 p.m.

Gary McHenry, Secretary