DETAILS:
January 10, 2013 at the District Office Board Room, 1889 Lawrence Rd. Santa Clara, CA 95051
Call to Order
– 5:30 pm; Open Session – 6:30 pm
RECAP:
Following a marathon 7 hour meeting last December 13th,
which featured the swearing in of two
newly elected Board members and ended with the announced retirement of the
District Superintendent, and two special meetings called on short notice on the
18th and 19th, tensions on the Board and between Board
and District Staff have rarely been higher.
The December 13th meeting ushered in a new Board majority,
consisting of newly selected Board President Christine Koltermann, Ina Bendis,
and two new trustees: Michelle Ryan and Chris Stampolis, who survived
substantial opposition to handily win his seat.
Following the meeting, marked by disagreement and
occasional outright hostility between members of the new majority and the
rest of the Board and Staff, Superintendent Bobbie Plough announced her
retirement, effective this June, citing family issues. The December 18th special meeting
was found to be in error due to mistakes in the announced agenda, preventing
any board action – which did not stop the meeting for lasting over an hour,
picking up on the 19th with a contentious discussion over beginning
the search for a new superintendent.
ITEMS OF NOTE:
(To view the
full agenda, visit the District's website here)
As has become practice, expect another long meeting of
the Santa Clara Unified School District Board of Trustees this Thursday. Reports are expected from the Citizen
Oversight Committees for the Measure J and Measure H Bond Measures. Expected to draw longer discussion is item
G.7., which will cover the approval of reference checking and further board
action on the hiring of a search firm to find candidates to replace the
retiring superintendent. Given the
extensive time previously spent on this normally simple matter, expect this
item to draw Board and public input.
Finally, several topics concerning public access to
Board meetings and records are expected to draw substantial, if not heated,
contributions from the Board and public: Item H.4. will discuss increased availability of past
Board agendas and minutes on the District Website, I.2. will discuss increasing access to Board
meetings after complaints from the Board and public over difficulty hearing and
getting into crowded meetings, and Item I.3.
will discuss the possibility of videotaping meetings, including airing
them on the public Channel 26.
OTHERWISE OF INTEREST:
The retirement of Superintendent Plough means that the
board will face a very different staff come this Fall compared to that found less
than a year ago. Of the primary Staff members
the Board deals with, only Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Brad
Syth remains; Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Lisa Cesario
left in May to accept a position outside the District, Assistant Superintendent
for Business Services Jim Luyau recently announced his retirement, and Board
Secretary Cathy Van Pernis plans to retire, after 14 years in her position,
this Fall.
