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The Pleasanton school board wrapped up its work for the 2011-12 school year in a six-hour meeting Tuesday night that brought back some workers, renewed administrative contracts and approved a budget for the upcoming year.
The board approved a budget that includes deficit spending of $1.4 million for the upcoming year, although the four furlough days that could be triggered by state cuts would make up the difference.
A letter from the Alameda County Office of Education notes the deficit is caused by “spending down carryover balances, the reinstatement of one-time concessions and revenue reductions resulting from the State budget crisis.”
Nonetheless, the Office of Education said it was satisfied with the district’s budget, acknowledges the district has “been fiscally prudent” and remains confident the district “will continue to make the necessary decisions concerning ongoing revenues and expenditures … to meet its financial obligations.”
The district, like others up and down the state, is awaiting the possibility of mid-year budget cuts if tax increases to provide extra money for schools are not approved. Luz Cazares, assistant superintendent of business services, has said the budget she prepared banked on a worst-case scenario that included that possibility. While the state budget has been approved, there remain some trailer bills that could hit school funding.
The board bucked a recommendation by Superintendent Parvin Ahmadi and voted to spend $50,000 more than she suggested for classified employees.
That will restore two hours per day of both technology specialists and library media specialists at elementary schools.
The board also approved a half-time custodial position at each middle school and at Amador Valley and Foothill high schools, along with restoring an extra hour for technology specialists at each middle school.
Ahmadi had recommended spending $326,500 to bring back workers from the California School Employees Association but the board decided to add an hour a day for elementary school library specialists, on a split vote.
“From my perspective, these are necessities, not luxuries,” said Board Member Chris Grant.
Board President Joan Laursen and Board Member Jamie Hintzke voted against adding extra library hours, with Hintzke worried about other costs to the district, and concern about using one-time savings to pay for an ongoing expense.
The approval will allow schools to raise money for additional library and technology hours at each site.
The expenses approved Tuesday night were not included in the budget OK’d by the board, although they will be added in a later budget revision.
Contract extensions for Ahmadi and two assistant superintendents were approved Tuesday night, which include furlough days as well as $400 monthly car allowances for all three.
Bill Faraghan, assistant superintendent of human resources, will continue to earn $184,614 (with stipends for a masters degree and doctorate); Cazares will earn $182,964 (including a master’s degree stipend) — not counting the potential furlough days — for a 220-day work year.
Both Hintzke and Arkin voted against the contracts while saying they support Faraghhan and Cazares.
“Car allowances … for assistant superintendents, I feel it’s something we need to eliminate,” Arkin said. “My decision is not based at all on the person or the position.
Ahmadi will continue at $220,000 for a 223-day work year, along with a $400 monthly car allowance; as with other district employees, her salary would be cut if furlough days were implemented. Her contract extension received unanimous approval.
The board also heard the first results of a demographic study that could mean more schools once the city is built out — meaning all its property is developed. The demographer’s report said that won’t come within the next 10 years, although some adjustments may have to be made to accommodate a potential influx of new students based on housing recently approved by the city.
In other actions at its meeting Tuesday, the board:
* Heard an update to the facilities masters plan, which is expected to move forward this summer and be ready by November;
* Hired a consultant to help increase attendance rates. Although the district typically has about 97% attendance, a slight jump — about .25% in average daily attendance — could mean an extra $200,000 for the district;
* Approved a proposal by Nancy and Gary Harrington to place public art on school property near the intersection of First Street and Bernal Avenue. The district would have to raise $25,000 for the piece, half of which would corporate student art;
* Approved a deferred maintenance plan that would take care of some basic repair work, such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning for Pleasanton Middle School, but postpone other maintenance; and
* Approved an election for three seats on the school board this November.
I AM ABSOLUTELY IN SHOCK … THE FOLLOWING IS OUR SUPERINTENDENT’S STRATEGIC PLAN FOR OUR KIDS!!!!! DELIVERED AT THE SCHOOL BOARD MEETING!
IS THIS WHAT THESE $200,000+ ($1000+/day) SCHOOL ADIMINISTRATORS ARE FOCUSED ON!
IT IS THE MOST RIDICULOUS BUNCH OF PC GARBAGE I HAVE EVER HEARD FROM A PERSON WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR “EDUCATING” OUR CHILDREN!!!!
WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO READING, WRITING AND ARITHMETIC!!!
THE ONLY WAY THESE BUREAUCRATS WILL BE SUCCESSFUL IS TO FOCUS ON THE BASICS AND TEACHING OUR CHILDREN HOW TO EMBRACE AND LOVE LEARNING !!!
NOT ALL THIS – BOIL THE OCEAN… FEEL GOOD… SAVE THE WORLD … GARBAGE…
I CANNOT BELIEVE IN THE ENTIRE STRATEGIC PLAN THE SUPERINTENDENT DID NOT MENTION ONCE THAT OUR GOAL IS TO INSURE OUR CHILDREN CAN READ, WRITE, COMMUNICATE, CALCULATE OR EMBRACE AND LEARN TO LOVE LEARNING!!!!
IT’S ALSO AMAZING THAT THIS PLAN WAS DEVELOPED AFTER MEETING WITH THE COMMUNITY … I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT IS WHAT WAS CONVEYED TO THE SUPERINTENDENT, IF IT IS, GOD HELP US!!!!
HERE IT IS … YOU BE THE JUDGE…
Superintendent Ahmadi presented the District’s Strategic Plan. After
conducting Listening Campaigns with many groups throughout the Pleasanton community, input was used to finalize the Vision, Mission, and Bold Goals for the District.
The Vision: Every student will be a resourceful, resilient, responsible and engaged world citizen.
The Mission: Our students will make a better world.
BOLD GOALS:
CURRICULUM & INSTRUCTION
1. Eliminate racial, socio-economic, and gender predictability in achievement.
2. Optimize student learning by utilizing innovative technologies.
PERSONAL GROWTH
1. Empower all students to develop character, compassion, civility, and community consciousness.
FISCAL STEWARDSHIP
1. Students will be central to all fiscal decisions.
2. Ensure fiscal health through investing in today while planning for
tomorrow.
LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
1. All students and staff are provided with a high-quality physical
environment that facilitates teaching and learning.
2. Every student and staff will feel safe, respected, and enjoy positive connections.
“FISCAL STEWARDSHIP” ha-ha. I certainly hope our students are not learning from our school district on this. If they are, we are in serious trouble.
This list is something that the parents should be teaching.
Our schools should be focusing on education and teaching students how to learn, and to enjoy learning.I hope this list is really a joke. If it is the real plan, we can save a lot of money by firing most of the teachers as they will not be needed to fulfill these goals.
I’m shocked. Even top earning executives in major companies have lost numerous perks during tough times. How is is possible that we are maintaining car allowances? The salaries of the people listed are crazy. We could hire 3 to 4 more teachers for the price of one of these positions. Do we need three????
I moved to Pleasanton for the schools and now I’m starting to question whether Pleasanton is the right place for my very young children to learn. Class size reduction is going away, but we are suppose to be happy that we are still below the state average of 32 to 1 bcs we are at 30 to 1. At my elementary school, 3 kindergarten teachers were pink slipped. Now we will have teachers who were pinked slipped at higher grade levels being rehired to teach kindergarten. Will these teacher understand Kindergarten students and their needs? Will there passion be there?
I really don’t know how to say this, my heart hurts. I want to do what is best for my children and make sure they start the education system with the best resources available to them. I want their foundation to be secure to insure their success as they move through the system. I can’t say with any confidence that my 1st grader will get the proper foundation in place in this district. I love the city of Pleasanton. I think we are fortunate to live in this community, but I could have visited Pleasanton and enjoyed these advantages. I paid way too much for my house and struggle each month because I wanted my kids in these schools. I’m discouraged.
I truly hope the District Strategic Plan that appears in this article is not factual. If it is…..our wonderful school system is in trouble beyond its economic woes. And I mean major trouble. This strategic plan sounds like it was written by a “Pie in the sky Berkeley liberal.” It’s filled with trendy fluff words and not a smidgeon of concrete matter. There’s not one mention about what schools SHOULD be doing – teaching subject matter to the children of tomorrow? The items detailed on this list should be taught in the home and church – not the main focus of the classroom! Sounds like psycho-babble to replace meaningful strategic education goals. I’m currently embarrassed to admit I live in Pleasanton and the positive support I’ve given the school department is quickly diminishing. This Strategic Plan must have originated with one of our elementary or middle school classes and certainly not our Phd bestowed Administration.
And I haven’t even gotten to the ludicrous car allowances in an economic downturn…..coupled with the need for two assistant superintendents and a 25k piece of artwork. Believe me, I am usually a big fan of our district…..but this has certainly put my knickers in a knot!!!!!
My heart hurts too that the district chooses to increase class sizes, lay off teachers, kill reading programs and waste money where the only ones “enjoying positive connections” from this strategic plan morale imperative exercise were the so-called Educational Equity Consultants who were paid for this nonsense from taxpayer dollars.
It is factual, unfortunately. The Pleasanton Weekly reported on the origins of the Berkeley-like social equity, morale imperative, revival meeting psychobabble here http://www.pleasantonweekly.com/story.php?story_id=8711 came from the the administrators. The superintendent also does not have a PhD.
So what did you expect? The school boards agenda is not to educate children, it’s to re-educate them and prepare them for socialism.
Why do the people that make the most money have cell phones provided, a car allowance, and whatever. They already get the most pay, why the other stuff. It can’t be because we have to pay more to get the best, because we all know that is BS.
If the residents wake up, they will vote them out and take control themselves, or nothing will change. The residents should take over the school board and the sups job now, or nothing will change.
This is exactly what happened in Ethiopia after the downfall of Haley TheLassie. The Sovyets came in and installated a indocrination program and forced the children to think about there neighbors. They called this social conscienceness. Add car allowences and cell phones and every thing adds up. My heart is heavy…. Sigh.
I tink we all know that Prop 13 has killed are schools in CA! Ol’ Ronnie Reagon and trickle-down moraility killed our kids and poisoined our water! The Rupugs want to kill everyone’s kids and teach there kids at home. Trickle-down schools is wat they want! I tell you! Pink slime is union food and they flat out reject it so there kids can be healthy. They dont care a wit about union kids! Pink slime, trickling down at union schools, AAAAAAH! Why don’t they care????!?!? Ronnie REagon led the worst period in CA and Ameirican history. If only Jerry Brown was younger.
Steve and steven, I very much enjoy your posts. Please keep ’em coming!
On that note, has anyone noticed that Stacey and KR have been quiet lately? Weird how those two people (who aren’t the same person, honest!) seem to be in sync in so many ways (although they aren’t the same person, really!).
All told, the forums seems much improved of late!
Looks like someone has been missing me.
I haven’t been missing you at all, Stacey. When you appear there seems simultaneously to be an appearance of Kathleen Ruggsinuckle and other bloviators who demonstrate how size of ego far outstrips intelligence. Example: When one of you has nothing intelligent to say you send out SOS posts in hopes of attracting attention? (See above.)
I know, someone missed me so very much that they bothered to write about me. I’m so flattered!
NS and Judith, So many clowns posting, hardly seems worth commenting on the circus.
The California public school system is a black hole that sucks in money for things like “car allowances” and provides little results.
All the bonds, taxes, and lottery money in the state has not and will not cure this very broken, tenured protected, administrative heavy system. Dismantle it and start over.
Another year where raises continue, good teachers with less tenure are laid off while worse teachers with more years stay, the unions trumpet the same concessions with the one year temporary agreements, and the kids lose. PUSD has now used up the Obama stimulus money, refused to use money saving furlough days, and is now blackmailed by Gov Brown to support a massive tax increase. Well done. Starving the Beast will continue until the system collapses.
It sounds like you miss ME!
Ron Paul for president!
Ron who?
Kathleen stated: “NS and Judith, So many clowns posting, hardly seems worth commenting on the circus.”
Yes, but this is a great example of why we need unions. If you guys were in a union, you and Stacey would have SENIORITY among the clowns, and you wouldn’t have to worry about steve and Arnold taking your jobs.
Only if I get to drive the car.
Good. Then we wouldn’t have to worry about our clown jobs when management needs to reduce staff, even if you’re better than us at being clowns. No need to let the best clown win.
And Stacey and Kathleen would get their birthdays off as a holiday as well to go clown around, just like PUSD’s CSEA union does.
Aw, no response here yet from Nurse Shark. I guess her baiting backfired on her and she hooked herself. LOL! Don’t worry, Nurse Shark, you’re still much better at clowning than I.
Wow, praise from Caesar!
To return to the actual content of Glenn Wohltmann’s article…. here’s a quote:
‘The district, like others up and down the state, is awaiting the possibility of mid-year budget cuts if tax increases to provide extra money for schools are not approved. Luz Cazares, assistant superintendent of business services, has said the budget she prepared banked on a worst-case scenario that included that possibility. While the state budget has been approved, there remain some trailer bills that could hit school funding.’
It is so frustrating that the state legislature can continue to create this kind of uncertainty in school budgets right up until the July 1 start of the coming fiscal year. Both Democrats and Republicans, as well as the Governor, need to stop holding students’ futures up as human shields during political battles. Why can’t the budget for education be finalized by March 31 each year so that union negotiations and private fundraising can wrap up their work before May 15, and school boards can make budgeting decisions in June based on facts rather than guessing at what the state politicians will do in July?
Questions to ask Buchanan and other state representatives, and Corbett and other state senators.
There’s an old adage, “Hit ’em where they live.” Thus, cutting schools is a bullseye and proof is in Sacramento’s next step: “A health insurance program for low-income children will be eliminated . . .” http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/State-leaders-reach-deal-on-remaining-budget-bills-3652736.php
You can’t pick those things with fewer constituents/supporters/lobbyists if what you really want is to raise more money rather than make cuts. First place to look may well be the budgets of Buchanan and other state representatives and Corbett and other state senators.
PURE theatre!
@Theatre – True! As all the world’s a stage, with the actors in CA’s education system deep in the second childhood phase (sans everything, including intellect, new ideas and assets).
And those actors seem impervious (or sans memory?) to the rotten vegetables thrown at them. They are repeating the Tax-Em-More Act which was roundly booed and panned just a short time ago.
All this repitition of MORE TAXES. Like Adem Smith carried on. The first time around it strikes as tragedy, the second time it returns as farts. Why cant Big Brother suppressers allow us to keep our MONEY?
Can anybody tell me why we need a County Department of Education? Is this an institution that is no longer needed? When I went to school, we used the County Department of Education to check out 16 mm movies.
Following up on Kathy and Sandy’s post above, maybe the budgets and salaries of the legislature should be tied to education funding. If school mid-year funding goes down 5%, take 5% off the legislature budgets and their salaries. Until it affects the legislature directly, nothing will change.
I have contacted two governors about collapsing the county education offices (better known as the department of redundancy department) into two (three?) regional offices–if they are needed at all. Piled on top of that is the state department of education; maybe they could be the only agency. Seems there are efficiencies to be gained.
All for your suggestion on cuts to legislature!
Obviously, the LuvPleasanton person should be home schooling his/her children if any. Or maybe we all should be home schooling our children. That said, it is obvious all public agencies are gotten into the over paid, over coddled category.
I just read that the pleasanton unified web page says the people who ‘created’ the new strategic plan, other than the highly paid consultant that initially prepared a presentation for the Board, are as follows (see bottom). These look like a bunch of sham and fake organizations ? Who is the list of members that created this idiotic strategic plan. K-12 parents is kinda’ vague, yes? And various ethnic groups? Do tell? Which ethnic groups?
Why would an educational institution have as a lead organization listed in creating the strategic plan a corporate group of land developers known collectively as the Chamber of Commerce? Why are a bunch of small business owners and developer lobbyists driving the strategic plan in the PUSD?
And the Pleasanton Police Department? Oh lord, help us.
That is almost as bad as the real estate developer Dragas driving out the UVA President in Virginia in a ‘corporate hostile takeover’ the last few weeks that has been played out on the national news [the UVA President was re-instated by the way.]
Looking at the list, I know prior members of the Lifetime Planning and Student Achievement Advisory Committees and they say they did not participate. Also who is Bay East Real Estate? I googled them and no company of that name exists. The web says there is Bay Area Real Estate who are “Helping clients find homes in Marin, Napa, Sonoma, Solano and Mendocino counties.” Huh? I can’t find a company or organization called Honorary Ambassadors.
The Mystery List —
Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce
Student Achievement Advisory Committee
The Character Collaborative
The Lifetime Planning Committee
Honorary Ambassadors
Rotary Clubs
City Liaison Committee
Pleasanton Police Department
Middle and High School Students
Interfaith Council/ Clergy
Various ethnic groups
Preschool parents
K-12 parents
Parent Communication Council (PCC)
Bay East Real Estate
Leadership Pleasanton alumni
Former students
the District English Learner Advisory Committee
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