March 1, 2012 Board Meeting
4:30 p.m. Closed Session
6:30 p.m. Open Session
Agenda Items
9.0 STRATEGIC PLAN AND OTHER INITIATIVES
9.2 Transition Plan Update for Freeport Elementary School
9.3 Resolution No. 2690: Closure of A.M. Winn Elementary School
Addendum to CEQA Initial Study
9.6 Charter School Renewal Petition – Sacramento New Technology High School
10.0 CONSENT AGENDA
10.1b Approve Personnel Transactions
10.1f Approve John F. Kennedy High School Field Trip to Washington, D.C. May 13-18, 2012
10.1k Approve Board of Education Contract for Legal Services
10.1l Approve Sacramento New Technology High School Field Trip to Puerto Rico, May 30 – June 6, 2012
11.0 BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION / REPORTS
Video Archive
Contact the Board of Education Office at (916) 643-9314.
Response to Public Questions
1. If the district is laying-off over 300 classified and 400 teachers, why is the district advertising to hire an Assistant Superintendent Capital Asset Management Services?
Response: We have suspended the hiring of the Assistant CAMS position until further notice.
2. If the district is laying-off over 300 classified and 400 teachers, why is the district advertising to hire a Director III for Child Development? Doesn’t the District already have enough Director positions?
Response: The position is currently staffed with an interim. Due to the scope (the program provides continuous, intensive and comprehensive center-based and home-based services to over 2,700 infants/toddlers, preschool and school-age children) and magnitude (federal and state regulations) of the program coupled with the specific knowledge and skill-set needed to lead, a permanent director is warranted.
3. Is it true that the district is cutting transportation in order not to close schools?
Response: The elimination of home to school transportation was approved in order to provide a balanced 2012-13 budget to the Sacramento County Office of Education.
4. If the district eliminates the home to school transportation, how will students who parents are not able to transport their child to school get to school? Is it safe for young children to be walking the streets in Sacramento City traffic?
Response: With the elimination of home to school transportation, every effort will be made to ensure the safety of our students.
5. How does the district plan on protecting the students who have to walk through neighborhoods who have registered sex offenders? Isn’t this an exposure putting young students at risk?
Response: The Safe Schools office is working with Sac PD and the traffic engineers from the City to devise ideas for student safety such as walking attendants, “walking” school buses, and crossing guards. We are applying for grants for pedestrian safety education. We are working with “Walk Sacramento,” a local community organization to devise safe routes to schools.
Safe Schools will also work directly with school sites to promote pedestrian safety through school-wide assemblies.
6. I would like to know if it is true if the district has spent millions of dollars through the governance committee for outside consultants. If they did, is this a good use of public funds? Could have this money have been better spent by putting it into the classroom or on keeping the athletic, band or after school activities going?
Response: Please refer to the budget presentations on contracts at Board meetings for details of funds spent on contractual services. You may also find more Budget Questions and Answers.
The majority (77%) of funds spent on outside vendors is restricted in use by law and cannot be used to address the district’s budget deficit. This includes services such as Special Education and federally mandated tutoring for students in Program Improvement schools.
For example, in 2010-11, all SCUSD contracted services totaled $36.9 million. Of this, the following funds went to mandated or restricted programs, meaning they could not under any circumstances be used to balance our budget:
- $17.9 million to non-public schools (for the placement of students with special needs as required by law)
- $8 million to programs paid for by categorical (restricted) funds, such as Title I, Title III and Economic Impact Aid
- $2.4 million to federally mandated after-school Supplemental Educational Support (SES) tutoring
- $259,000 to schools directly
Of the remaining $8.3 million in unrestricted funds:
- $3.7 million went to fund an incentive for former employees (mostly certificated staff) who retired early to save the District money
- $1.5 million went to Sacramento Police Department for school resource officers in high schools and middle schools
- $660,000 went to legal fees, including litigation defense
- $139,890 went to insurance costs, including liability insurance for all district schools and employees
- $129,000 was used for the district’s automated telephone parent notification system
- $100,000 went to the Department of Justice for fingerprinting of potential employees and volunteers
For 2012-13, SCUSD is aggressively reducing costs associated with contracts to vendors in areas that can affect the deficit. Nineteen contracts will be reduced and/or eliminated entirely in 2012-13. Click here for a complete breakdown on contracted services for the last five years and to learn which contracts are being reduced and/or eliminated next year.
7. I have heard that the district contracts with Sacramento Police Department for the School Resource program at a cost of approximately $125,000.00 plus dollars per year per officer. Is this true?
Response: The cost per officer is $96,663; the cost for one Sergeant is $126,274. The contract has been reduced to $750,000 for the 2011-12 school year. For the 2011-12 school year, the SPD provided $1,403,866 worth of free-of-charge direct contributions, and $860,491 of indirect contributions, not charged to SCUSD.
This includes, but not limited to:
- Campus Monitor Training - $20,000
- Magnet Program which includes a sergeant and three officers - $553,272
- Einstein Middle School SRO – $130,435
- “Floater” SRO to ensure comprehensive coverage – $130,435
- Summer Personnel costs – $285,394
- Overtime not billed to SCUSD – $89,193
- SCUSD Lieutenant – $194,137
Total $1,403,866
- COPS Save our Schools Grant – $221,182
- Magnet High School Support funding via the Sacramento Police Foundation – $30,000
- Magnet High School funding from the California Partnership Academy -$240,000
- CalGRIP for SCUSD Gang Intervention and Prevention – $369,309
Total $860,491
Reduction in thefts/burglaries
SCPD supports:
- Principal Support
- Provide a direct contact for law enforcement and fire
- Extend support to Non-SRO covered schools
- Follow Up Investigations
- Maintenance and Operations
- Connect Center
- Training
- Management Support
- Reorganization of Security Services
- Evaluation of Alarm Monitoring Services
- CPTED Assessments of all sites
- Restructured Communications Protocols
- FCC Narrowbanding
- District Wide Identification Services
- Site Security
- Safe Routes to School Program
- Gang Violence Prevention and Intervention Project Advisory Council
- Improved District Office Security Measures
- Site Safety Coordinator project
- Project AIM
- Evaluation of District Policing Needs
- District Committee Appointments
- CSSPs
Audit:
- Security and Site Safety Plans
- Deployment of Resources
- Effectiveness of Security Components
- Communication Effectiveness
- Internal and External Safety measures
- Relationship between local law enforcement and the sites
SPD work collaboratively with the district on the following:
- Policy Development
- Grant Procurement and Management
- Rapid Assessment Team
- Safety and Security Project
- Rapid Responder Management and Tracking
- Technical and Safety Expertise to the Sites
SPD collaborate with the following departments:
- Student Hearing Office
- Dropout Prevention Services
- Youth Development
- Attendance Intervention Management (Project AIM) Truancy Center
- Human Resources
Grants Obtained:
- REMS
- COPS- Save our Schools
- CalGRIP IV
- Gang Violence Suppression Program (GVS)
- Safe Routes to School
- California Wellness Endowment
8. I have heard and is this true that SCUSD leases the patrol cars for the school police resource program from Sacramento City Police Department at a cost of approximately $1,000.00 per car per month for 10 months out of the year? If this is true, isn’t this a lot of money to be paying for used cars? The monthly rate per patrol car is $1,200 per vehicle (includes equipment and maintenance).
Response: The monthly rate per patrol car is $1,200 per vehicle (includes equipment and maintenance).
9. How much money was saved through the furloughs and where is that money now or if it is gone – where was it sent?
Response: Savings generated from furlough days for all employees for the 2011-12 fiscal year were used to offset the budget deficit. Without those furlough days, additional personnel and programmatic reductions would have been necessary to maintain a balanced budget.