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November Newsletter
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The Las Lomitas School District is dedicated to providing an
exemplary comprehensive, and continually improving educational program
that meets the cognitive and social-emotional needs of each student.
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1011 Altschul Ave
Menlo Park, CA 94025
650-854-6311
http://www.llesd.k12.ca.us
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Dear Parents and Staff,
With Halloween behind us and the World Series now a happy memory, it really feels like fall is in full swing, fooling us with some surprisingly warm weather just when we're digging our sweaters out of the closet and then throwing rain and chilly nights at us. The school year has raced along (can you believe it's conference time already?), and we've continued to grapple with challenging budgetary times; more about that below.
We've also experienced a major transition in District leadership as two veteran trustees, Leslie Airola-Murveit and Jamie Schein, complete their terms this month. I have enjoyed working with Leslie and Jamie immensely and am in awe of their energy and commitment to our District. Our new Board will benefit from their hard work and vision.
As of this date, the County Elections Board has not certified the results of the election to fill three seats on our Board, but our local paper, The Country Almanac, has "called" the election for Ann Jaquith and Jay Siegel. The third seat is "too close to call," but Rich Ginn leads Mark Reinstra by about 80 votes. We are fortunate to have so many talented individuals volunteer their time and talents to our District. For the latest on this race, click here.
I wish everybody a restful and thoughtful mid-week Veterans Day holiday as we thank all those who have served our country in our times of need.
Eric Hartwig
Superintendent
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Town Hall and Budget Updates
Last summer as we were grappling with very uncertain budget news from the state, I knew that we'd have to continue our austerity measures and involve staff and parents in difficult discussion
s. A few weeks after the opening of school, I began meetings with school personnel and scheduled Town Hall meetings with parents so I could share our situation with parents and solicit ideas and reactions to further budget cuts.
As the Town Hall meetings drew near, three developments occurred that caused us to ease off on our estimates of needed reductions: - Our end-of-year balance was higher than expected, mainly due to implementation of savings last year,
- We received a one-time grant of about $211,000 from the federal government for jobs preservation, and
- The state finally resolved budget negotiations for the 2010 fiscal year, striking a proposed take-away that saves our district about $330,000 per year.
When combined with the $1.3 million in savings that we identified last year, these developments put us on track to balance our budget, and further cuts at this time are not necessary. As a consequence, my comments at our most recent Town Hall meetings were focused on the question, "How do we get back to 'normal' after these tough years?" and not on "What additional programs should we consider reducing?" But we are not out of the woods yet. We still are operating on about $2 million less per year year while we are serving about 200 more children per year, compared to 2008. This is why class sizes are the highest they've been in ten years, and why we do not have an assistant principal at Las Lomitas. Nobody expects the economy to recover dramatically enough to restore us to our happier days; indeed, some believe that full recovery, if it comes at all, will be a long process that will take many years to "trickle" though the traditional funding mechanisms of local property taxes and, to a lesser degree, state income taxes. For our district to return to the funding levels that we were enjoyed previously will probably require four developments to occur: - A resolution to the perennial state budget quagmire that relies on dubious accounting assumptions and annual take-aways from local districts,
- A gradual improvement in the economy that lifts property values and encourages home buying (and thus reassessments),
- A successful Las Lomitas Education Foundation fund-raising campaign that reaches their current goal of $2.2 million, and
- A successful parcel tax campaign that will provide ongoing funding to meet the additional costs of serving greater numbers of children.
That's it in a nutshell. I am reminded of Winston Churchill's famous remark after the Montomery's victory over Rommel in 1943 at El Alamein in North Africa: "This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end, but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning..." To me it appears that, after 26 months of free-fall, we may be leveling out and gaining our footing. We are fortunate to have more safety nets than most, including carefully planned reserves set aside through the direction of our current and prior School Boards. If we can continue to work together, plan thoughtfully, and budget conservatively, we may just be able to say that the worst is behind us.
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Is There a Parcel Tax in Our Future?
For our District to "get back to normal," we need to address the challenges of our growing enrollment and to replace funding lost through state take-aways and stagnant local tax revenues. One way to accomplish this is through an additional parcel tax on properties within our District. We currently have a $311 per-parcel tax which generates about $1.1 million annually. For reference, our neighboring school districts collect the following amounts per parcel: Menlo Park School District $753; Portola Valley $458; Woodside $246; and Hillsborough $525.
Parcel taxes need a vote of 66.6% to pass, but in the last few years voters in the Bay Area have been willing to pass them, probably because the revenue "stays local." Statewide, there were 18 parcel tax measures on last week's ballot; the two that passed were in the East Bay,while one in San Mateo County and three in Santa Clara County failed. Historically, parcel taxes that are on crowded general election ballots have a difficult time passing, while those in special elections or mail-in elections fare better.
We have hired a consultant to poll the Las Lomitas community to see whether there is enough support for a parcel tax to warrant calling for an election. Beginning late this week, calls will go out to a sampling of voters (not just LLESD parents, who make up about 25% of the voters) asking about their perceptions of our schools and their openness to adding a tax to support or restore various programs.
Our School Board will receive the results of this community polling in December and will make a decision whether to call for a parcel tax election. If the decision is "yes," it is up to a citizens' committee to conduct all subsequent work associated with a parcel tax campaign. The vote would likely be in late spring, 2011.
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Improved Emergency Notifications on the Way
Voice, email, or text: we have you covered
We are supposed to be in the era of instant communications, right? When Bret Favre splits his chin, we all hear about it right away, often with accompanying photographs and sound effects. And this Newsletter, and the occasional special email, are proof that schools too change with the times. But what about our ability to communicate instantly with families?
Two recent events reminded me that we need to improve on this front. Last spring, when we had a city-wide power failure, we were unable to open schools and operate them in a safe healthy way. How to notify parents? What we did was something quite old-fashioned: we had the bus drivers follow their route and verbally inform parents of the school closures, and we had staff posted at the school entrances to re-direct arriving families. We used a phone tree, and when power was up we used email. In the process, there was plenty of opportunity for confusion and miscommunication.
More recently, this fall one of our school buses was involved in a very minor accident, and the law required the driver to pull over and call the highway patrol. Even though there were no injuries, the students were required to stay on the bus until they were cleared to proceed or exit the bus. Well, guess what the students did? They called their parents to tell them that there was an accident and that they didn't know when they'd be let off the bus. You can imagine how upsetting that was for the parents, yet we had no way to instantly get a concise, accurate message to only those parents with children on the bus.
I am happy to report that we soon will be able to reach all parents, or just a subset of parents, instantly. Depending on the type of message and urgency, we will be able to send voice messages to all land lines and cell phones, SMS (text) messages to smart phones and computers, and emails to smart phones and computers. We will be able to do one of these options or all three within minutes of determining that a message needs to go out to parents. Of course, when the electricity is down regionally, our LLESD email and websites won't function, but this messaging service will.
We expect this system to be fully operational by December 1st, but in order to meet this deadline we need your help in two ways:
- If you have changed or added a new phone number or email address, please update this emergency contact information in the usual way -- by visiting the school office and providing the new information. This assures that we get it right.
- Joyce Massaro, the District's Director of Maintenance, Operations, and Transportation, will be sending out an email next week with a Transportation Survey for all families. With your responses we can best configure our systems to communicate any transportation updates (i.e., bus issues) to you directly.
We are developing protocols for this new service so we avoid bombarding you with frequent or redundant messages. One of the great features is that we can target recipients and won't be in a position of contacting all 1,670 email addresses when we're attempting to reach only the parents of, say, 5th graders. So, with your help, we should have the system up and running soon, and then, with luck, we will have little need for it! |
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Negotiations Update
Certificated (Teaching) Staff
Background About Schools And Collective Bargaining Since 1974, teachers (and other "certificated" employees such as librarians and counselors) have had the right to bargain collectively with management over their terms of employment. This bargaining, or negotiating, eventually results in an agreed-upon "contract," or "collective bargaining agreement" (or "CBA") which spells out the details of the work year, work day, salaries, health benefits, evaluation procedures, sick leave, post-retirement health benefits and other "mandatory subjects of bargaining."
A CBA which is ratified by the teachers' union and adopted by the Board of Trustees is then in effect for the term of the contract, anywhere from one to three years. If a contract expires before negotiations for a new contract are complete, under developed labor laws, most provisions of the contract remain in effect until a new contract is ratified by the union and the School Board. The current CBA with our teachers' union, the Las Lomitas Teachers' Association ("LLEA"), can be seen by clicking here.
On December 15, 2009, the District and the LLEA concluded negotiations for the previous 2008-09 school year. The entire LLEA contract expired on June 30, 2009. The most recent round of negotiations between the teachers' union and District management began in January 2010 when the District made its proposal to the teachers at a public meeting of the Board of Trustees. To see this proposal, please click here. In March 2010, the teachers' union responded and presented its proposals (click here), and the bargaining teams have been meeting regularly ever since.
Status of Negotiations The District and LLEA have both proposed no salary schedule increases for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years, but we are still bargaining about other issues. From the District's perspective, the significant unresolved bargaining issues include: Other Compensation: Current Health Benefits
As an employer, the District provides its employees with health care benefits. The District currently pays $763 per month, or $9,158 annually, toward health insurance premium costs for each full-time teacher. About 25% of our teachers utilize all of the health benefits provided by the District, and the remainder receive some or all of their benefits as "cash back." The total amount the District paid out to employees as "cash back" for the 2009-10 school year was approximately $185,000. The District is proposing to maintain its current contribution toward health benefits with no increase. LLEA is proposing a $1,056 increase in the District's annual contribution for each full-time teacher for the 2010-11 school year.
Other Compensation: Post-Retirement Health Benefits
The rising costs of public employee pensions and health benefits and the unfunded liabilities for these benefits are major concerns for public employers throughout the country. The District is one of only three school districts in San Mateo County that still contributes to the cost of retired employee's health insurance for the retiree's lifetime. The District is responsibly setting aside funds in a reserve every year to fund its retiree health benefits liabilities, and is interested in reducing its future liability.
The District has proposed to reduce this benefit for teachers who are hired after the new contract is ratified. Under the District's proposal, when a teacher hired in the future retires, the District's contribution toward retiree health benefits costs will end when the retired employee is eligible for Medicare (usually age 65). The District's proposal would not change retirement health benefits for currently employed teachers. The LLEA's current postion is to reject the District's proposal and the LLEA proposes no change in the level of retiree benefits currently provided by the District.
Length Of Work Year
The District currently pays the teachers for 185 work days each year. In January 2010, the District proposed reducing the number of teacher work days to achieve short-term savings. The District anticipated that the need to reduce expenses by reducing teacher work days would continue only for a year or two. With the adoption of the state budget, the receipt of federal jobs money and some unanticipated savings in expenses, the District's need for short-term savings has been reduced.
The District's need to reduce its longer-term liability for retiree benefits continues, however, and the District has proposed dropping its proposal to reduce teacher work days in exchange for agreement to change retiree health benefits for teachers who are hired in the future. Early Retirement Incentive
In September, the District received a one-time grant of approximately $211,000 from the federal government government to be used for salaries and benefits and other expenses associated with rehiring staff, retaining existing employees, and hiring new staff. In October, LLEA introduced a new proposal to use some of this money to provide an early retirement incentive for teachers who retire this year. The District has not yet formally responded to this proposal. The past three years have been particularly challenging financially, with declining revenues and increasing enrollments. The two sides will continue to seek ways to reach an agreement.
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Pumpkin Love
Submitted by Sonya Dineen, Asst. Principal, La Entrada
It all started with an impulse buy at Safeway, any pumpkin for $2.99. How could I resist! My hand reached for an oblong shaped pumpkin.Wouldn't it look sweet on the counter top in La Entrada's front office? Little did I realize that this impulse buy would be the beginning of pumpkin love.
While walking my rounds on campus, an idea popped into my head. Would Ms. Gregori have an idea on how best to decorate that little oblong pumpkin? I walked over to room 4 and posed the question. Without a moment's hesitation, Ms. Gregori shared that she would ask her art students for some ideas for the little oblong pumpkin. Before too long, a call came through to my office asking if I could please stop in room 4 to look over some pumpkin designs the student had created. I smiled to myself as I envisioned jack-o-lantern drawings aplenty waiting for me to choose one lucky winner to adorn the little oblong pumpkin.
Ms. Gregori had turned this idea into an art assignment for students to create a pumpkin design. To my delight and surprise, the drawings showed such personality and creativity. I couldn't choose just one. I grabbed well over 12 drawings and returned to the office. The office and support staff rallied to help me make an impossible decision - to choose one final design. We finally agreed on 8 designs to be the finalists. It was too hard to vote for just one! Since we needed more pumpkins, Suzanne Mitchell contacted one of the owners of Webb Ranch, a former LLESD parent, Lyndell Webb Hubbard, and asked if she would donate the pumpkins. Mrs. Hubbard loved the idea. Ms. Mitchell drove up to the ranch later that evening, walked the fields and hauled in 8 beauties of all shapes and sizes.
Students soon began to show up in room 4 during lunch recess to paint a pumpkin of their choice. Slowly our front office counter was decorated with festive artwork of all styles; a fat red M&M pumpkin sat next to a formally attired fellow who escorted some ghosts, as well as a dragon design. Artwork to behold, the office never looked so interesting! The original little oblong pumpkin, now painted as a rainbow of fall colors with beautiful leaves floating throughout is cleverly displayed on Mrs. Stosz' desk amongst her wig plant.
Although the office was now royally decorated, we all felt that so many lovely pieces of artwork should really be shared. Once again, Ms. Mitchell had a contact. Another former LLESD parent, Janet Storz, suggested a donation to the Stanford Hospital's neonatal clinic where she works. The students willingly agreed to spread the love and even volunteered to bring the pumpkins to the clinic. Janet Storz is grateful. She picked up the pumpkins herself after learning of restrictions on visitors. All are pleased that the pumpkins will continue to brighten up a counter or two.
 | | Ms. Gregori's Students' Pumpkin Love |
The day finally came and we bid a fond farewell to all but two pumpkins. The clinic pumpkins will be raffled off during the Halloween party for the families of preemies to have or take home. But our office still needs to keep up appearances, so two beauties remain behind at La Entrada, the red M&M man and the little oblong pumpkin, cleverly hiding out on Mrs. Stosz' desk.
So, from one pumpkin idea the "seed"spread to our La Entrada campus on to the Stanford neonatal clinic and forward to the families who won them as raffle prizes. Smiles continue. Parents and children coming to the office comment on the decorated pumpkins still on display. Such lovely creations crafted with the love of a middle schooler, quite impressive for only $2.99.
Thank you to the following pumpkin decorators:
8th graders: Catherine P., Amanda W., Nicole S., John C., Sarah S., Shannon A., and Nicole S.
7th graders: Max C. and Elizabeth M.
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Impressions of Las Lomitas
Submitted by Sue Sartor, Principal, Las Lomitas School
As I walk through classrooms I am continually impressed with the breadth of curriculum and quality of instruction that I see. Each and every day the classrooms are humming with children learning. Below is a sampling of what's been going on recently at Las Lomitas:
Kindergarten: Teachers continually provide opportunities to help students make friends and play cooperatively with others in and outside the classroom. Recent science lessons were about the Ecosystem and farm animals. Language arts lessons offer literacy centers, comparing versions of favorite nursery rhymes, Writer's Workshop and Overnight Books to read at home. Math lessons emphasize counting, 1:1 correspondence, pattern and creating number stories. A field trip to Elkus Ranch and in-class presentations by the Portola Valley Theatre Conservatory enriched instruction in several classrooms.
1st Grade: Reading skills are a primary focus at this grade level. Regular lessons in phonics, sight word recognition, decoding and comprehension are being taught, as are elements of literature such as character description, mood and metaphor. Math skills currently focus on number bonds, the communicative property and model drawing to solve word problems. Pumpkin Stations around Halloween presented opportunities to measure and estimate. A unit of study on properties of matter, Solids & Liquids, will culminate with an upcoming assembly featuring Lawrence Hall of Science instructors.
2nd Grade: Math lessons center on place value, math facts, "renaming" (formally called regrouping), expanded notation and "decomposing" numbers to solve problems. Language arts periods include learning about compound words and contractions as students read leveled texts in small groups or write in journals. Some classes are involved in an earth science study of Rocks & Minerals, while others are learning about nutrition as a lead in to a social studies unit on food production and distribution. All of the classes went on a field trip to GeoKids at Stanford University.
3nd Grade: Social studies lessons are on land forms and map skills, Native American legends and comparison of "Now" and "Then." Math concepts focus on place value, graphing, multiplication, geometry, money, rounding numbers and estimating. Language arts periods provide time to read and analyze realistic fiction, write stories about pets and animals, and make regular journal entries. All students are improving their skill in writing complete paragraphs with detail. Science units on Stars and Constellations and Matter and Energy are being taught in several classrooms.
In addition to all of the above, Mrs. Ruwe teaches social skills lessons in many K and 1st grade classrooms using the Second Step curriculum. All the students make regular visits to the library, computer lab, music and physical education classes. Most by now have enjoyed painting lessons with Donine Ettinger our Artist-in-Resident, and the annual Book Fair began this week! As you can see, our students experience comprehensive, engaging learning experiences every day. It is a joy to watch the teachers and children in action. |
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