Here's a money saving suggestion for the Emperor and the Board of Chosen Accomplices. Join the 21st Century. The board secretary wants ream after ream of documentation on all the bills, down to the cost per petal for the homecoming flowers.
We do not need to go overboard here. How about a copy machine that can scan the documents too? Heck, we can get by with a higher capacity desktop scanner. Let's save a forest or two.
GUSD board packets going the digital route
July 3, 2008 6:22 PM By Sara Suddes
A few days before every school board meeting, Marlene Hughes, the superintendent's assistant, loads bulky board packets into her car and heads out to schlep them all over town, from northwest Gilroy to the eastern hills.
But the three-hour and $4.60-per-gallon task is going the way of the dinosaurs starting in September. The school board is moving online and going paperless this fall in an attempt to boost efficiency, save money and do its part to go green.
Add up the cost of 58,512 pages of paper, copies, toner, and $4,000 worth of time, gas and labor, and putting together the board packets costs the district $7,313 annually, according to a spreadsheet Trustee Tom Bundros put together with the help of the district. To get started, the district will spend $6,318 on two more laptops, one scanner, wiring the board room and a $3,000 fee for a service called Agenda Online, provided by the California School Boards Association. Some board members, like Bundros, have opted to use their own laptops, while others will use the new laptops or one of the computers the district already owns. In its first year, the service will save the district nearly $1,000. Subsequent yearly savings amounts to $4,800.
Agenda Online has several advantages which include archiving the district's board meeting packets electronically and allowing the public to access the packets in their entirety prior to the board meetings, rather then gathering them piecemeal the evening of.
On the other hand, yet another barrier will be built between the seven board members, superintendent and public - a laptop screen, set atop an imposing dais that already puts the board at arm's length.
"We're going to have to be careful," said Bundros, who works for IBM. Enthusiastic about what the online service has to offer, he took the lead in researching the product and teasing out the pros and cons. "There is the danger of putting a computer screen in front of us."
"On the other hand," he added, "it provides a level of transparency to the public."
Public documents related to agenda items would be available online several days before the meetings, allowing anyone to view documents they would otherwise have to request from the district.
Plus, trustees conceded that they are sick of the mountains of paperwork they hang onto from bygone board meetings. Currently, agendas are published online but the real meat of the meetings - budgets, construction plans, contracts - are not. Trustees receive all this information in hard copy and the public has immediate access to only a fraction of what they are poring over.
"I have an entire file cabinet already filled with papers from less than a year of school board meetings," said Trustee Denise Apuzzo.
"Two or three times a week, I'm asking Marlene to find me a prior agenda," said Superintendent Deborah Flores, gesturing to her assistant. "I think this is an incredible deal. I'm really excited about this," she said with a smile.
Training provided by CSBA and included in the first-year fee will teach board members to use the technology to enhance, rather than hinder, public communication.
Although board members liked the idea of saving money and cutting back on waste, some suspected that the program wouldn't suit their style.
"I still need to have the document in front of me," Trustee Javier Aguirre said.
The board agreed that it would be up to the individual members whether or not to print out certain items, a service the district would still provide upon request although it wouldn't result in the maximum savings. But some trustees still like to sit down at the dining room table with a cup of coffee and highlight their way through sections of the agenda, like Trustee Pat Midtgaard.
"There's no way I can read all of this online," she said, gesturing to the inch-thick packet that lay before her on the dais. She agreed, however, that while some documents might be more appropriate to read in hard copy, others could be left on the screen.
"It's a huge document," she said. "It's nice to know you don't have to print it all out. We're drowning in paper as it is."
She said she would do her part to keep the lines of communication open at the meetings by bringing her laptop but lowering the screen when she could.
"I think the board is somewhat far removed anyway," she said. "But we're trying to be accessible. The dais is ridiculous for discussion. A horseshoe shape would be more conducive. I want to look at someone, not at a screen."
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Leadership
Wow! What a district in distress this is. There a "brain drain" as teachers and administrators leave, and a general arrogance toward the staff and community. At least here in Morrisville, the superintendent is on the ball and getting the job done. The school board? Not so much...
On the same day that the board slapped her in the face and shortened her contract, Dr. Yonson presided over a meeting with her staff and told them that "they would all get through this together." There's inspirational leadership for you.
SV school board, superintendent take it on the chin
Written by Chuck Anderson | Press Banner
Thursday, 03 July 2008
It’s going to be a long, hot summer for leaders of Scotts Valley Unified School District.
School board members and Superintendent Susan Silver find themselves facing increasingly harsh criticism from teachers, parents and other area residents over several issues.
Although she wasn’t present, Silver took a verbal beating Monday, June 30, during public comment time before the board started its annual closed-door review of her performance.
Speakers told trustees that Silver is arrogant, has fostered a "climate of fear" among employees and told teachers they were to blame for last month’s failure of Measure Q, the $55 million school bond.
"There is a leadership vacuum centered around your superintendent," said resident Gene Scothorn. "She demonstrates arrogance toward your employees and the community."
"What good has she brought us?" asked parent Wendy Brannan. "There aren’t good relations with parents or the teachers."
"I have serious concern with Superintendent Silver’s leadership or lack of it in rushing the bond issue," noted Martha Montelongo, executive director of Santa Cruz-based Californians for Clean Government.
"She didn’t even pretend to hear the concerns of the community. I hope you hold back on any raises or an extension of her contract. The teachers ought to come first — they are the ones doing the job."
Resident Linda Santos told the board that because of Silver, "teachers were fearful to speak out against Measure Q" and then "she told the teachers it was their fault the bond didn’t pass."
The blunt assessments came after word leaked out that Silver’s second-in-command has left, the latest in an unusually high turnover of district teachers and administrators.
A district brain drain
Teacher Ann Codd, president of Scotts Valley Education Association, said Tuesday that 10 percent to 12 percent of teachers and administrators have left the district in the past year, a higher percentage than usual in the district. (See Commentary, Page 6.)
The association voted "no confidence" in the superintendent last year during long, bitter contract negotiations. Codd had sounded conciliatory last fall when she told the board it was time for a "new beginning," but things have changed.
"Teachers feel demeaned, discouraged, fearful of retribution should they speak up and overall they feel as though they are not treated in the professional manner which their position and credentials deserve," Codd said.
Silver acknowledged Tuesday that Mary Navarro, assistant superintendent for instructional services for just a year, no longer works for the district. Trustees had a closed-door meeting May 29 with an agenda item labeled "public employee discipline/dismissal/release," but it isn’t known whether the subject was Navarro.
Silver said she wasn’t free to say whether Navarro resigned or was dismissed because it was a confidential personnel matter, but that she wasn’t aware of Navarro taking a new position elsewhere.
Navarro, who had been director of a charter home-school program in Antelope, near Sacramento, was hired to replace Susan Walker, whom Silver had inherited when she was appointed in 2005. Silver and Walker reportedly didn’t see eye to eye on matters, leading to her departure.
In May, Liann Reyes, the district’s director of business services, left to become chief business official of San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District.
A serious split
The Measure Q failure appears to have exposed a serious split between the district leadership and much of the community.
The school bond had been heavily favored by Silver and the majority of trustees, even though numerous residents had warned the board at several meetings about the size and timing of the measure.
The board voted 4-1 on Feb. 26 to put it on the June ballot, with Jondi Gumz dissenting. She favored a November vote that would have given the community more time to learn about the proposal.
Resulting voter rejection of the measure was widespread. Final accounting shows that of the district’s 15 precincts, voters in only four cast enough "yes" votes to have provided the 55 percent majority needed for passage. In four others, there were more "no" votes than "yes."`
Overall, the measure lost with 3,020 "yes" votes to 2,617 "no" — a 53.57 percent margin.
Silver attributed the community dissension to "a handful of folks."
"There can be a faction that’s very loud and others out doing the work, and that gives a skewed view of what’s going on," she said. "It’s my wish that we would stay focused on the children and the progress being made, which gets lost in the politics."
Last year, after Silver’s performance review, the board gave her a "superior" rating and a raise equal to that agreed to with teachers — 1 percent retroactive to July 2006 and 2.46 percent retroactive to February 2007.
Board President Allison Niday said Tuesday’s closed session lasted about three hours and the performance review likely will continue in August.
When asked about the comments before the session, she said:
"I always take into consideration public input, but oftentimes the board has additional experience and understanding of how the district works that is just as important."
A board decision on any extension of Silver’s contract, which goes until 2010, or raise in her $135,867 annual salary will be discussed in public, Niday said.
On the same day that the board slapped her in the face and shortened her contract, Dr. Yonson presided over a meeting with her staff and told them that "they would all get through this together." There's inspirational leadership for you.
SV school board, superintendent take it on the chin
Written by Chuck Anderson | Press Banner
Thursday, 03 July 2008
It’s going to be a long, hot summer for leaders of Scotts Valley Unified School District.
School board members and Superintendent Susan Silver find themselves facing increasingly harsh criticism from teachers, parents and other area residents over several issues.
Although she wasn’t present, Silver took a verbal beating Monday, June 30, during public comment time before the board started its annual closed-door review of her performance.
Speakers told trustees that Silver is arrogant, has fostered a "climate of fear" among employees and told teachers they were to blame for last month’s failure of Measure Q, the $55 million school bond.
"There is a leadership vacuum centered around your superintendent," said resident Gene Scothorn. "She demonstrates arrogance toward your employees and the community."
"What good has she brought us?" asked parent Wendy Brannan. "There aren’t good relations with parents or the teachers."
"I have serious concern with Superintendent Silver’s leadership or lack of it in rushing the bond issue," noted Martha Montelongo, executive director of Santa Cruz-based Californians for Clean Government.
"She didn’t even pretend to hear the concerns of the community. I hope you hold back on any raises or an extension of her contract. The teachers ought to come first — they are the ones doing the job."
Resident Linda Santos told the board that because of Silver, "teachers were fearful to speak out against Measure Q" and then "she told the teachers it was their fault the bond didn’t pass."
The blunt assessments came after word leaked out that Silver’s second-in-command has left, the latest in an unusually high turnover of district teachers and administrators.
A district brain drain
Teacher Ann Codd, president of Scotts Valley Education Association, said Tuesday that 10 percent to 12 percent of teachers and administrators have left the district in the past year, a higher percentage than usual in the district. (See Commentary, Page 6.)
The association voted "no confidence" in the superintendent last year during long, bitter contract negotiations. Codd had sounded conciliatory last fall when she told the board it was time for a "new beginning," but things have changed.
"Teachers feel demeaned, discouraged, fearful of retribution should they speak up and overall they feel as though they are not treated in the professional manner which their position and credentials deserve," Codd said.
Silver acknowledged Tuesday that Mary Navarro, assistant superintendent for instructional services for just a year, no longer works for the district. Trustees had a closed-door meeting May 29 with an agenda item labeled "public employee discipline/dismissal/release," but it isn’t known whether the subject was Navarro.
Silver said she wasn’t free to say whether Navarro resigned or was dismissed because it was a confidential personnel matter, but that she wasn’t aware of Navarro taking a new position elsewhere.
Navarro, who had been director of a charter home-school program in Antelope, near Sacramento, was hired to replace Susan Walker, whom Silver had inherited when she was appointed in 2005. Silver and Walker reportedly didn’t see eye to eye on matters, leading to her departure.
In May, Liann Reyes, the district’s director of business services, left to become chief business official of San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District.
A serious split
The Measure Q failure appears to have exposed a serious split between the district leadership and much of the community.
The school bond had been heavily favored by Silver and the majority of trustees, even though numerous residents had warned the board at several meetings about the size and timing of the measure.
The board voted 4-1 on Feb. 26 to put it on the June ballot, with Jondi Gumz dissenting. She favored a November vote that would have given the community more time to learn about the proposal.
Resulting voter rejection of the measure was widespread. Final accounting shows that of the district’s 15 precincts, voters in only four cast enough "yes" votes to have provided the 55 percent majority needed for passage. In four others, there were more "no" votes than "yes."`
Overall, the measure lost with 3,020 "yes" votes to 2,617 "no" — a 53.57 percent margin.
Silver attributed the community dissension to "a handful of folks."
"There can be a faction that’s very loud and others out doing the work, and that gives a skewed view of what’s going on," she said. "It’s my wish that we would stay focused on the children and the progress being made, which gets lost in the politics."
Last year, after Silver’s performance review, the board gave her a "superior" rating and a raise equal to that agreed to with teachers — 1 percent retroactive to July 2006 and 2.46 percent retroactive to February 2007.
Board President Allison Niday said Tuesday’s closed session lasted about three hours and the performance review likely will continue in August.
When asked about the comments before the session, she said:
"I always take into consideration public input, but oftentimes the board has additional experience and understanding of how the district works that is just as important."
A board decision on any extension of Silver’s contract, which goes until 2010, or raise in her $135,867 annual salary will be discussed in public, Niday said.
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