UPDATE: I spoke with Santa Rosa Teachers Assocation president Andy Brennan about the election and he said it’s his guess that the race will draw no other takers and that the four who have filed will be the four elected. “As a social studies teacher, I think elections are good because it forces us to take stands on issues on where we want to go,” he said. “At the same time, it also means we are not going to be… Read More »
November may seem like a long way off, but those interested in running for school board in the fall can begin filing paperwork today. The deadline for filing is Aug. 10 unless one of the incumbents does not file, in which case there is a five day extension for all candidates except incumbents, said Deborah Russotti, election services supervisor for the Sonoma County elections office. In Santa Rosa, Larry Haenel. Laura Gonzalez, Donna Jeye and Tad Wakefield are up for… Read More »
A little inside baseball news from the Santa Rosa School Board for anyone interested: new committee and school liaison assignments are being settled for the 2012 calendar year at the board’s regular meeting Wednesday night. The following assignments are proposed: President Larry Haenel: Teacher advisory committee (chair); Green Team Advisory Subcommittee. Vice-president Bill Carle: Finance and special projects advisory subcommittee; subcommittee on career pathways programs and community outreach (alternate); Teacher advisory committee. Liaison for: Elsie Allen High, Midrose, Cook Middle… Read More »
Interested in the inner workings of the Santa Rosa City School Board? Look no further. Here are the new committee assignments for board members: Facilities Advisory Committee: Chair: Laura Gonzalez. Members: Donna Jeye, Frank Pugh. Alternate: Tad Wakefield District Finance and Special Projects Advisory Subcommittee: Chair: Bill Carle. Members: Donna Jeye, Laura Gonzalez. Alternate: Frank Pugh. Subcommittee on Career Pathways Programs and Community Outreach: Chair: Donna Jeye. Members: Tad Wakefield, Ron Kristof. Alternate: Laura Gonzalez. Teacher Advisory Committee: Chair: Frank… Read More »
An unusual note was struck at the conclusion of Wednesday night’s Santa Rosa school board meeting during the usually routine, end of year board re-organization item. It’s typical to re-assign board members to new posts at the conclusion of the year, what is a little less usual is the split vote that occurred for the vice president pick. After a unanimous vote to make Frank Pugh board president, Trustee Donna Jeye was nominated to be vice president. She seconded the motion… Read More »
The discussion item related to Santa Rosa City Schools independent P.E. program had board members atwitter Wednesday night. The disparity between which school’s students apply for an individualized phys ed program, thereby bypassing gym requirements on campus, struck a nerve with a few board members. The numbers? 105 Maria Carrillo students applied for waivers beween 2006 and the current school year. Compare that with the two from Elsie Allen, five from Piner, 36 from Santa Rosa and 85 from Montgomery.… Read More »
Santa Rosa School Board member Tad Wakefield called out Elsie Allen and Piner high schools Wednesday night for what he called their “abysmal” scores in the English language arts section of the STAR test. At Wednesday night’s board meeting, Wakefield said Elsie Allen’s junior class score of 27 percent of students rating advanced or proficient in English was a poor showing. “The way I interpret that is that only 27 percent of our eleventh graders at Elsie Allen can write… Read More »
UPDATE: For reference, here is the link to a story that appeared in Wednesday’s Press Democrat about the situation with the CSBA: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20100727/ARTICLES/100729527 ________________ The fallout from the recent scandal at the California School Boards Association has what looks like its first local victim: unanimous support for a proposed parcel tax to support schools in Santa Rosa. While fellow Santa Rosa School Board members are expressing cautious support of the idea of a parcel tax under the right circumstances, trustee Tad Wakefield said… Read More »
The Santa Rosa School Board finalized $5.6 million in cuts to next school year’s $88 million budget but members warned that the entire list of line item cuts will be revisited – in as early as May when the state revised budget is released. “I’m open to more cuts at the district office, as painful as it is,” said trustee Tad Wakefield. “Counselors, librarians, elementary prep periods – all of those will be revisited.” Board member Wally Lowry said class… Read More »
Heading into January when board members will likely make decisions on approximately $5.6 million in cuts beginning in the 2010-11 school year, (with the prospect of $4.7 million more for 2011-12), the Santa Rosa School Board has appointed new officers for the upcoming year. Bill Carle is president, Frank Pugh is vice president and outgoing president Donna Jeye is clerk. Trustee Tad Wakefield was named voting representative to the Sonoma County Committee on School District Organization. Laura Gonzalez was named… Read More »
