Note: This Article was originally published on January 23, 2013 on page 6 of the Santa Clara Weekly print edition. It is also hosted online at http://www.santaclaraweekly.com/2013/Issue-4/education_desk.html.

By Ben Muirhead

On January 10, the Santa Clara Unified School District Board of Education met for their first meeting of the New Year, hearing business on bond measures, moving forward in the search for a new superintendent, and discussing several measures to increase public access to the board. The meeting was not without hostility and conflict, but brief glimpses of congeniality between many board members helped the meeting end on a more positive note than most.

The meeting began on an upbeat note with reports from the Measure J and Measure H Independent Citizens' Oversight Committees, highlighting the new classroom building at Wilcox High School; called "The largest, most complicated project in the entire District" by the Measure H Chairman Oversight Committee Tim Towers, and lauded by the board and public.

The board also entertained debate on a Request for Proposals for Travel Services for School-Sponsored Student Trips, with outgoing Superintendent Bobbie Plough patiently explaining the document, highlighting the need for action to reduce the District's liability during students' long distance travel. The debate featured a rare divergence of views between Superintendent Plough and Trustee Andrew Ratermann, who called the document "poorly crafted" and said it contained conflicting language, although he ultimately joined the rest of the board in approving the request.

Progress was made on hiring a search firm for the soon-to-be-open superintendent's position, with the board receiving bids from four firms. Many noted the small number of bids received, especially compared to the seven bids during the search for the current superintendent. Ominously, concern was voiced about firms declining to submit bids because they didn’t want to work with the district. "Since 2006, this district has now gone through three superintendents. That's astonishing," noted longtime Trustee Jim Canova.

"My concern is that our reputation as a district is not what it was the last two times we've gone through this process. Its suffered damage." Ultimately, a committee consisting of Trustees Ina Bendis, Chris Stampolis, and Albert Gonzales was appointed to check the references of those firms that submitted bids, with Stampolis pushing to include the Student Board Representatives, who represent the district's high school-level programs, in the board discussion on this and other items of the evening.

With the beginning of the discussion and planning items for the evening, Stampolis surprised many in the room by requesting a formal 10 minute limit on board discussion per item, a move that came after numerous attempts by other members at past meetings to limit debate; almost all of which had failed. The move faced strong opposition from Bendis, who noted that she had "always been adverse to motions like this, and always will be." Stampolis quickly garnered support in both in the room and on the board, and the motion passed with a 6-1 vote.

The congeniality was broken only a few minutes later as hostility erupted between Bendis and Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Mary Kay Going, after Bendis claimed that district staff was circumventing the board and violating state law and board policy in selecting and implementing core curriculum.

Following the board's adoption of Core Curriculum at a previous meeting, the district had added numerous supplemental materials that, in Bendis' view, were supplanting state-approved core curriculum and violating state law. Bendis attacked staff for circumventing the board's wishes, arguing "that students end up not getting as much phonics and not as much grammar that they would have had if they had Houghton Mifflin, which is what I thought I was voting for."

The charge reflected allegations made at the last regular board meeting in December, when Bendis strongly pushed for adopting a new phonics curriculum option, Zoophonics. That drew strong resistance from staff, which noted that the action at a board meeting conflicted with district curriculum adoption policy - a rigorous process carried out by staff and teachers and not simply implemented by the board. Bendis' proposal ultimately failed to gain significant traction on the board. Her attacks last Thursday on Going were seen by many as continuing that failed attempt.

Bendis quickly faced pushback from all sides. New Trustee Michele Ryan pointed out that recent state legislation freeing up districts to choose their own curriculum meant that Bendis's accusation that the district had run afoul of state law and board policy was unfounded. But the normally quiet Going, a long time district employee who became assistant superintendent last spring, asked to respond directly to the charges.

"I feel that you're attacking my integrity," Going said to Bendis. "I go into adoption, follow the law, and I actually do know how to do this job. We have had two [curriculum] audits, where we have passed with flying colors. Where we are in accordance with the law. And I don't appreciate you making it seem like we didn't follow the law." Echoing comments made at past meetings, she noted that "[The District's] literacy program in elementary is second to none - in this county and in a lot of areas.

"I do not appreciate feeling like you are attacking my integrity, making it seem like I made a presentation to try and slide something by the board that was not legal," she concluded. The rare outburst from a staff member quieted the room, and after a quick motion to postpone action, debate quickly ended.

The meeting concluded with proposals to increase public access to board meetings, particularly by expanding the amount of public material, such as board meeting agendas, minutes and board policies, available for download. The primary concern was cost for server space on the district's website. Both audience and board members were surprised at the unexpectedly high cost, around $1,300 per 10 GB.

General sentiment on the board, however, was that it was worth the cost - as Board President Christine Koltermann put, "The feedback I've gotten from the public is: What do you mean you don't have everything on your website? This is Silicon Valley!"

Costs were also presented for installing a video system for meeting broadcast and streaming, although the high cost (at least $30,000 in first year expenses) was less palatable. Finally, discussion was had about accessibility to the boardroom. Rotating locations was discussed, but it was generally acknowledged that doing so regularly would create more problems than it would solve. A more limited plan will be explored going forward.

Next Meeting: January 24 at 6:30 p.m. at the District Office Board Room, 1889 Lawrence Rd. in Santa Clara. For agendas and meeting recordings, visit www.santaclarausd.org/overview.cfm?subpage=145153.

"Amid Conflict, Signs of Hope" was published on January 23, 2013 in the Santa Clara Weekly.

Note: This article was originally published on January 9, 2013 at www.aroundsantaclara.com.

On Tap for the Board is a short summary of what you can expect at the next regular meeting of the Santa Clara Unified School District's Board of Trustees
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.