Category Archives: School Board – Dixon Unified

School resource officer a possibility for Dixon Unified – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Dixon Unified may soon lose an arguably dubious distinction; the only Solano County school district without a school resource officer.

Dixon Police Chief Robert Thompson on Thursday told district trustees that he had applied for federal funding that would pay for, either in full or part, the creation of the new department job.

“It’s critically important to fund and staff” the position, he said during a school board meeting in the Dixon City Council chamber.

School resource officers typically are responsible for providing security and crime-prevention services in U.S. schools. They may also have other duties, including mentoring, speaking about youth-related issues, and, he said at one point, making “soft contacts” with students and staff.

Thompson, a former FBI employee, said he was concerned about “the negative consequences of not having” a school resource officer in the rural eastern Solano County district with 3,500 students across eight campuses.

Source: School resource officer a possibility for Dixon Unified

Trustees table to Aug. 3 Measure Q Citizens Oversight Committee resolution – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Dixon Unified leaders on Thursday tabled until their next meeting, Aug. 3, a resolution to establish the Measure Q Citizens Oversight Committee, the decision coming after nearly three hours of discussion, by turns rancorous, repetitious and frustrating.

The lengthy discussion on the first new business agenda item came as a surprise to some, given the seemingly routine nature of such matters in other school districts, but committee members, who have already been meeting over the past several weeks, objected to the addition of five pages of bylaws, committee procedures and an excerpt from the California Constitution attached to the three-page resolution.

Source: Trustees table to Aug. 3 Measure Q Citizens Oversight Committee resolution

Measure Q Citizens Oversight Committee to meet – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Dixon Unified’s Measure Q Citizens Bond Oversight Committee will meet in Wednesday in Dixon.

Members will hear an overview of existing bond projects from John Calise, the rural school district’s director of facilities and operations.

They also will hear from a guest speaker Anton Jungherr on organizational guidance.

Gary Riddle, a committee member, will offer a report and the committee may take action, according to agenda documents.

Calise will present information about the committee’s website content.

Source: Measure Q Citizens Oversight Committee to meet

Measure Q Citizens Oversight Committee to hold organizational meeting – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Dixon Unified’s Measure Q Citizens Oversight Committee will hold its organizational meeting Wednesday at Dixon High School.

The committee, formed in May, will review procedures, policies and guidelines; Brown Act provisions that stipulate the state’s open meetings laws; elect officers (chair, vice chair, secretary, etc.); and set dates for future meetings.

The $30.4 million bond, which will pay for upgrades to the district’s aging schools, passed by more than 55 percent of district voters in November. The money will be used to upgrade the district’s eight campuses, but especially the oldest, such as Old Dixon High, built in 1940, and Anderson Elementary, built in 1949. By law, none of the bond money can be used for administrator or teacher salaries or school operating expenses.

Source: Measure Q Citizens Oversight Committee to hold organizational meeting

Dixon school leaders to add another member to Measure Q oversight committee – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Dixon Unified leaders, when they meet tonight in a special meeting, are expected to approve the addition of one new member to the Measure Q Citizens Oversight Committee, Tad Smith, a scientist.

During a regular meeting last week, trustees approved a list of five members to serve on the committee. They are Julie Mustard, an administrative coordinator; Gary Riddle, a retiree; Robert Strong, a computer network specialist; Andrea Kett, a business owner; and Jack Caldwell, a local manager.

When school bond measures pass in California, citizens oversight committees usually are formed to comply with the requirements of the bond and state law. Its members are appointed volunteers, often from various organizations, in accord with state law, Basically, oversight committees, independent of a school district’s governing board, try to make sure the bond money is being spent wisely on construction projects and is accounted for, by providing period updates to trustees.

Source: Dixon school leaders to add another member to Measure Q oversight committee

English-learner report, student achievement plan on Dixon Unified agenda – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Dixon Unified leaders, when they meet Thursday, will consider the annual District English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC) report, approve new courses at C.A. Jacobs Intermediate School, discuss a teacher survey on elementary school reconfiguration, and likely approve the Measure Q Citizen Oversight Committee membership roll.

Mike Walbridge, assistant superintendent of educational services, will present the DELAC report.

Every California public school district, grades K-12, is required to form a DELAC if it has 51 or more English-learner students. The committee is comprised of school staff, parents of English-learner students, other parents and community members who are interested in English-learner programs. The committee advises the district’s governing board (in person, by letters or reports, or through an administrator, on programs and services for English learners).

In the agenda documents, Walbridge noted that an unspecified number of parent members will offer a brief “needs assessment as part of the LCAP (Local Control Accountability Plan) stakeholder engagement process.”

 

Source: English-learner report, student achievement plan on Dixon Unified agenda

Measure Q items, charter school petition on DUSD agenda – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Business related to Measure Q, the $30.4 million bond approved by voters in November, and a public hearing on the Norcal Trade and Tech Center Charter School petition are on the agenda when Dixon Unified leaders meet tonight in Dixon.

The five-member governing board is expected to approve a $864,000 contract with LPA Inc. for design services related to the modernization of Old Dixon High, built in 1940 when Franklin Roosevelt was president. LPA is an architectural firm with offices in California and Texas, from Sacramento and San Diego to Dallas and San Antonio.

Later in the meeting, trustees also are expected to approve some additional applicants to serve on the Citizens Oversight Committee for Measure Q. Typically, bond oversight committees are tasked with being stewards of the money, delivering periodic updates to the governing board on how the money is being spent. Agenda documents did not list the names of the applicants, but two were approved in March, one in April, and Superintendent Brian Dolan, noted the latest applicants bring the committee closer to being fully staffed.

Source: Measure Q items, charter school petition on DUSD agenda

Dixon Unified leaders to name bond measure oversight committee members – The Reporter

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The members’ appointments come nearly five months after voters approved the $30.4 million bond that will pay for upgrades to several aging schools, including Old Dixon High, built in 1940, when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president, and Anderson Elementary, built in 1949, when Harry Truman was president.

School bond oversight committees consist of volunteers whose mission includes service as stewards of the money and delivery of periodic updates to the governing board.

Trustees will meet in open session at 7:45 p.m. in the City Council chamber, 600 East A St., Dixon.

Source: Dixon Unified leaders to name bond measure oversight committee members

Budget report, open enrollment, alternative elementary configurations on DUSD agenda – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

The second interim budget report, open enrollment practices, and alternative elementary school configurations are on the agenda when Dixon Unified leaders meet tonight in Dixon.

As school districts statewide are doing in March, an update on the rural eastern Solano district’s 2016-17 budget likely will be approved by the five-member board. Adrian Vargas, assistant superintendent for business and operations, will make the presentation.

He is expected to note the $34 million budget will incur some red ink, about $286,000, with an ending balance of $3.4 million. Vargas will tell trustees that the district’s budget will receive a positive certification and district officials will be able to pay their bills for the current year and the next two.

The district’s projected $32.2 million 2017-18 budget likely will continue to evolve with Gov. Brown’s “May revise” of the state budget before a final district budget is sent the County Office of Education, Vargas will probably note.

 

Source: Budget report, open enrollment, alternative elementary configurations on DUSD agenda

Budget development, LCAP goals, configuration of elementaries on DUSD agenda – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

An update on the 2017-18 budget development process, a review of several LCAP goals, and configuration models for elementary schools are on the agenda when Dixon Unified leaders meet Thursday in Dixon.

The rural school district’s chief financial officer, Adrian Vargas, will lead the discussion about the 2017-18 budget development.

In fewer than a dozen slides, he will cover the Local Control Funding Formula “gap funding” percentages, enrollment projections, Local Control Accountability Plan actions, and highlight major ongoing commitments.

In an interview Tuesday, Vargas said his presentation will take into account subjects that will affect his second interim budget report, set for March 16.

 

Source: Budget development, review of LCAP goals, configuration of elementaries on DUSD agenda

Bullying, elementary school configurations on Dixon Unified agenda tonight – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

The beginning of the annual review of LCAP goals, discussion about the harmful effects of bullying, and configuration models for elementary schools are on the agenda when Dixon Unified leaders meet tonight in Dixon.

Mike Walbridge, assistant superintendent for educational services, will lead the discussion about the district’s first and second goals under its Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), the document in California districts that typically guides all spending, particularly for English learners, poor students, and foster youth.

Goal No. 1, according to agenda documents, is providing “a well-rounded, relevant curriculum,” with a specific focus tonight of K-8 intervention programs. Goal No. 2 is an effort to “engage all students in continued learning” based on state standards.

 

Source: Bullying, elementary school configurations on Dixon Unified agenda tonight

Dixon Unified leaders to certify Nov. 8 election results – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Dixon Unified leaders, when they meet Thursday, are expected to approve a resolution certifying the Nov. 8 election results (the passage of Measure Q), hear a report on possibly eliminating the seventh and eighth grades at Dixon Montessori Charter School, and review the district’s mission and vision.

The five-member governing board, which includes newly appointed member Luke Foster, a Dixon attorney, likely will approve a resolution to certify the Nov. 8 election results. More than 55 percent of district voters approved Measure Q, a $30.4 million bond that will pay to upgrade several aging schools, including Old Dixon High, built in 1940, and Anderson Elementary, built in 1949.

The action will pave the way for the district to begin actual remodeling and construction, as necessary, at the school sites.

John Calise, director of facilities and operations, will offer an update to the trustees, including recommendations, for unspecified “construction delivery methods” related to Measure Q projects.

 

Source: Dixon Unified leaders to certify Nov. 8 election results – The Reporter

New board officers, interim budget report, and Measure Q update on DUSD agenda – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Dixon Unified leaders, when they meet tonight, will welcome new trustee Luke Foster, an attorney, hear the 2016-17 first interim budget report, and hear an update on Measure Q.

Foster, a Measure Q advocate who led the $30.4 million bond measure’s successful campaign, was named to the board last month. He replaces attorney Joe Di Paola and will serve a two-year term.

Lisette Estrella-Henderson, the incoming superintendent of the Solano County Office of Education, will officiate the swearing-in ceremony, and Foster will join on the dais board members John Gabby, Caitlin O’Halloran Guy Garcia and Melissa Maseda.

The board will then elect new officers, as California public school governing boards typically do in December.

 

Source: New board officers, interim budget report, and Measure Q update on DUSD agenda

Attorney tapped for vacant Dixon Unified post – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

An attorney with Farmers Insurance and the father of two district students will be sworn in Dec. 8 as the newest Dixon Unified trustee.

Luke Foster replaces attorney Joe Di Paola, who resigned in November, and will serve a two-year term.

The former president of the Yes on Measure Q Committee, Foster will take the oath of office during a regularly scheduled board meeting.

He was the No. 2 candidate to fill a board seat earlier this year when trustee Andrew Bloom resigned for personal reasons. Melissa Maseda was tapped for the post, but Foster’s name was held in reserve as a possible replacement in the event a board post opened up, Superintendent Brian Dolan said during a telephone interview from the Moscone Center in San Francisco, where he and Foster on Thursday attended a California Schools Boards Association meeting.

Source: Attorney tapped for vacant Dixon Unified post – The Reporter

Measure Q update, teacher wage-and-benefit proposal on Dixon Unified agenda – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

An update on the recent voter-approved Measure Q bond and the “sunshining” of the governing board’s initial wage-and-benefit proposal to teachers are on the agenda when Dixon Unified leaders meet tonight in Dixon.

Superintendent Brian Dolan will update the board about the measure, a $30.4 million bond passed by voters Nov. 8.

Nearly 60 percent of district voters cast “yes” votes, well more than the 55 percent needed for passage. It passed by relatively wide margins in all but a handful of precincts.

When it takes effect, residential property owners will be assessed $40 per $100,000 of valuation. For the median-priced Dixon home of $250,000, it translates into $100 to $115 per year.

 

Source: Measure Q update, teacher wage-and-benefit proposal on Dixon Unified agenda

Measure Q message, initial teacher contract proposals on DUSD agenda – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

An update on Measure Q and a teachers union contract for 2016-17 are on the agenda when Dixon Unified leaders meet Thursday in Dixon.

Superintendent Brian Dolan will encourage trustees, district staff and the general public to vote on Election Day, Tuesday, as “an encouragement for all eligible voters to get out and exercise their right” to vote.

If approved by 55 percent of voters, the $30.4 million general obligation bond will pay for upgrades and modernization of several of the rural district’s campuses, including Old Dixon High, built in 1940, and Anderson Elementary, built in 1949.

Leanne Medina-Estrada, director of human resources, and Shawn Tutt, president of the Dixon Teachers Association, will present the DTA’s initial collective bargaining proposal, or “sunshine” proposal, for the current academic year.

 

Source: Measure Q message, initial teacher contract proposals on DUSD agenda

Dixon Unified leaders optimistic about Measure Q – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

With 17 state propositions crowding the Nov. 8 ballot, including three related to schools, it is ultimately anybody’s guess if Dixon voters will approve Measure Q, a $30.4 million bond to upgrade aging local schools.

Trustees approved the measure in August, after airing a detailed needs assessment, followed by a commissioned survey to gauge voter sentiment, and, afterward, lengthy public comment, pro and con, during governing board meetings.

If it passes, requiring the final tally to reach a 55 percent threshold, the money will be used, among other things, to remodel Old Dixon High, built in 1940, when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president, and renovate Anderson Elementary, built in 1949, when Harry Truman was president.

Source: Dixon Unified leaders optimistic about Measure Q

Dixon school leaders to hear updates on Measure Q, mental health services – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Dixon Unified leaders, when they meet tonight, will hear an update on Measure Q, resolutions in support of two school-related propositions, and a presentation on mental health services.

Superintendent Brian Dolan will update the five-member governing board about Measure Q, the $30.4 million bond trustees approved for placement on the Nov. 8 general election ballot. If passed by voters, it will provide money to upgrade the district’s aging schools, including Old Dixon High, built in 1940, and Anderson Elementary, built in 1949.

Trustees are expected to approve a resolution to support Proposition 51, the K-12 School and Community College Facilities initiative, a $9 billion state bond for new construction and modernization of K-12 schools, including charter schools, and California community colleges. Like the schools in Dixon, Vacaville and Fairfield-Suisun unified districts, many schools in the state’s more than 1,000 districts are 50 years old and older.

 

Source: Dixon school leaders to hear updates on Measure Q, mental health services

No one files to contest vacant Dixon Unified board posts – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

It is all over but the shouting and, apparently, the shouting is over, too, for races to fill Dixon Unified trustee seats.

The filing period for governing board contests in the rural eastern Solano district ended with three positions failing to draw a candidate, Superintendent Brian Dolan noted in a email.

Current board members Guy Garcia filed for a two-year post and Melissa Maseda filed for a four-year seat.

No other candidates filed by the deadline set by the County Registrar of Voters, so they will assume those positions when the board is reorganized in December.

A third board seat, currently occupied by Joe Di Paola, will be vacated after Election Day, Nov. 8, as the Dixon attorney has chosen not to seek re-election.

 

Source: No one files to contest vacant Dixon Unified board posts

Dixon Unified agenda: Updates on state test scores, Measure Q – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Dixon Unified leaders, when they meet tonight, will hear a presentation on state standardized test scores, an update on Measure Q on the November ballot, and the Dixon High Farm.

The assistant superintendent of educational services, Mike Walbridge will tell the five-member governing board that, of the 1,700 out of 3,500 students tested last spring in grades three to eight and 11, 32 percent met or exceeded state standards in math and 41 percent did so in English.

Dixon’s scores on the 2016 California Assessment of Student Proficiency and Progress (CAASPP) roughly matched those of Solano County as a whole but fell well below the state averages.

Source: Dixon Unified agenda: Updates on state test scores, Measure Q