Budget, Hamilton Parcel on School District's Agenda Tuesday

The information packet for Tuesday night’s board of trustees meeting is 452 pages. Can you tell the focus of the meeting will be on the district’s budget for the next school year?

Following a 6 p.m. closed session, the board will reconvene at 7 p.m. for its open session and hear a presentation from retiring chief financial officer Marla Blackledge on the 2011-12 recommended budget. Blackledge, who has spent months keeping an eye on the moving targets in Sacramento, will provide an update on the best ways to ensure fiscal solvency as state funds are in flux. Staff is expecting the board to vote on the budget tonight.

Blackledge also will go over a request for proposals on a demographics study with 10-year projections as well as associated boundary adjustments for the district.

Mark Silva, the district’s director of maintenance, operations and transportation, is scheduled to give the board an update on Parcel 1A, land owned by the district at the former Hamilton Field. It is the final parcel left to be conveyed to the school district, and the transfer is expected sometime before September. Once it is transferred, the district has 36 months to make improvements on the site, half of which must be used for school instruction.

The following is the June NUSD newsletter sent out by acting Superintendent Pam Conklin:

Dear Parents, Colleagues and Novato Community,

The Marin Community Foundation and the Joanne & Peter Haas Foundation have graciously agreed to continue funding NUSD schools in their college readiness work and initiatives to close the achievement gap for NUSD.  Programs will be implemented starting in June 2010.

1.       College Readiness Support at Novato High, Sinaloa and San Jose provided by various agencies throughout Marin County including Novato Youth Center, Region IV AVID, Youth Leadership Institute, MESA, and E3.

2.      PreK-3rd Grade at Lu Sutton, Lynwood and Hamilton.

3.      School Transformation at Loma Verde

4.      New for 2011-2012 is a Planning Grant for School Transformation at San Jose.

The middle school consolidation is almost complete!  Hill staff and teachers have packed the contents of their classrooms and offices and will be moving to their new schools beginning in June.  The Alternative Education Center will be up and running on August 23 with NOVA, Marin Oaks, and Adult Education.

Transitional Kindergarten and the Inclusive Preschool will also be offered in the fall.  NUSD is excited to offer these unique learning opportunities for our students.  The Transitional Kindergarten will be located at Loma Verde Elementary School for those children with birth dates between August 2, 2006 and December 2, 2006. The Inclusive Preschool Program will be located at the Hamilton Annex, 931 C Street, Novato.  Children served in this program will range from a typical 3 or 4 year old to a child identified with special education needs.  Both program are currently accepting applications, which can be found at www.nusd.org, under Parents, Enrollment Information.  For more information on both programs, please contact Tanya Myers, Preschool Program Manager at (415) 883-3942 or tmyers@nusd.org.

Across the state, questions have arisen regarding student fees.  The California Constitution requires that public education be provided to students free of charge, unless a charge is specifically authorized by law for a particular program or activity.  A student's right to a free education is for all school/educational activities, whether curricular or extracurricular, and whether a student gets a grade for the activity or class.  Therefore, the Novato Unified School District may not charge fees for school programs and extracurricular activities, except for those programs or activities where a fee is specifically authorized by law.  A letter describing these exceptions can be found at www.nusd.org on the Homepage under Student Fees. 

You may have seen "No Shot, No School."  This refers to the implementation of Assembly Bill 354 requiring all students entering 7th through 12th  grades to provide proof of a Tdap booster shot before starting school.  If your child has not been immunized, he/she will not be permitted to attend school.  A clinic will be held in Novato at the Alternative Education Center (720 Diablo Avenue) on Monday, August 22, 10 am - 2 pm.  

Our graduates will be taking the next step in their educational journey by attending four- and two-year and vocational institutions, military agencies and the work force.  Novato students will add much to the world - thanks to the hard work and dedication of our amazing staff!

Have a great summer!

Pam Conklin

Acting Superintendent