Tracy Press

The Tracy Unified School District will discuss a possible fee on new homes and the school-improvement bond that will appear on this November's ballot.

Principal Nancy Link looks over some of the fixtures at the 70-year-old Central School that might be repaired if the Measure S bond is passed by voters. Glenn Moore/Tracy Press

Trustees will talk about the proposed fees, which are separate from a proposed bond, during a public hearing Tuesday at the district’s first board meeting of the new school year.

The board will also talk about appointing a new Measure E bond committee member Tuesday night.

Trustees already have appointed bond team members who will serve two-year terms. But one position remains open for a nonvoting member to serve a one-year term.

Tracy High School parent Christina Frankel applied for the spot, and trustees are set to decide whether to accept her application Tuesday.

In other business, using Mountain House developer fees, the Tracy district will consider paying $15,000 to hire its own consultants to evaluate the pros and cons of a Lammersville Elementary School District unification, in which that district would become independent from TUSD and eventually build its own high school.

At the most recent TUSD board meeting in June, the Mountain House-based Lammersville District presented a report about unification, based on reports from Lammersville-hired consultant Art Thayer.

The Tracy district plans to compare its findings with those of the Mountain House district before going back to the San Joaquin County Office of Education to get permission to unify.

Trustees will also consider whether to grant TUSD power this coming school year to transfer money between building, maintenance and savings accounts, depending on where need is found.

Borrowing from one district account to fund another is common, district Superintendent of Business Services Casey Goodall said, and the district votes to do this every year.

"It’s not that we’ll need it," he said. Trustees simply vote for the option near the start of a new fiscal year, "just in case."

The board is also set to hire an artist to teach Delta Island Charter School students one hour a week for eight weeks.

An anonymous Tracy resident gave the school $5,000, which the district put in a pool of grant money. The district will allot $2,000 of that donation to pay for the art teacher, should trustees approve the item Tuesday.

Also on the agenda

• Top administrative salaries are up for approval.

• Trustees will consider whether to spend $10,000 in gifts mostly in the form of gift cards to longtime district employees and recent retirees.

• The district will talk about spending $132,000 this school year to send several "highly assaultive" students to a private Lodi school after they were thrown out of San Joaquin County Office of Education behavioral classes.

WHAT: Tracy Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting

WHEN: 7 p.m. Tuesday

WHERE: Board room, District Education Center, 1875 W. Lowell Ave.

INFO: 830-3200

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written by briandub , August 09, 2008

• The district will talk about spending $132,000 this school year to send several "highly assaultive" students to a private Lodi school after they were thrown out of San Joaquin County Office of Education behavioral classes.

132 grand to send "highly assualtive" students to yet another specialized school because of their behavior issues? At what point is the education or lack there of an issue back on the parents of these kids? Its a hard pill to swallow that we need to ask for private donations to fund a part time art teacher, but we can fork out 132 grand to force an education upon those who clearly have demonstrated that they will not be putting that perception of an education to use in society.

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written by Tracy RealNews , August 09, 2008

TUSD is a GIANT Sink-hole!!!

No pun intended!

Acquire Delta/NJ School District and take the money from there!

Thanks!

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written by fortheunderdog , August 10, 2008

"Also on the agenda

• Top administrative salaries are up for approval.

• Trustees will consider whether to spend $10,000 in gifts mostly in the form of gift cards to longtime district employees and recent retirees.


• The district will talk about spending $132,000 this school year to send several "highly assaultive" students to a private Lodi school after they were thrown out of San Joaquin County Office of Education behavioral classes."

Ok people, it's money we're talking about here.

Postpone any decision for "top administration" salaries if that decision has anything to do with raises in salary.

Don't use $10,000 for gifts, gift cards, or cash awards to longtime district employees or retirees. It could better be used for school maintenance or repair.

As far as the $132,000 to relocate highly assaultive students to other schools I suggest the district have the students parents re-enroll their assaultive students in another school district and leave TUSD out of it. Spending that money on students who have shown that they don't want an education is a waste of taxpayer money. And the idea of sending them to a private school?? Out of the question. Have their parents fork over the money for their kids education. Public school have already done their part and those students have shown what they're all about.

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written by amy , August 10, 2008

I totally agree with fortheunderdog!

Just cringed when I saw the "administrative raise" and "allotment for gifts"

Showed me lack of priorities? What of the students who truly wanted to do better? Are the administrative still students? Why the raise? Apply it to educational materials, security guard???, and so on that would benefit the students in "safer" environment.

Replace those sinks! They are health hazard!

Last poster gave good suggestions!

-amy

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written by Dave Hardesty , August 10, 2008

I agree with both of you to some extent. But if you really look at all the laws that we have allowed to be created, as band aide fixes to serious problems, this is the sort of things that happen.

The only way to fix these sorts of things is to get enough of our voting population to agree and force our politicians, school boards and trustees to change them.

Sadly I just don't think there are enough people who are really interested so I have to take a negative look at it and come away with the overall feeling that it's only going to get worse because all of us won't take the effort to see that it's changed.

Dave Hardesty

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written by amy , August 10, 2008

Good thing the article was brought to our attention, though. Perhaps those frustrated by this issue will feel encouraged at seeing it put to news? Giving them voice somehow. Hope they take actions supporting their concerns. Hope they didn't lose faith in the system completely, can't really blame them, system failed them, too?

Hopefully, a "new blood, voice" will wake up the town and lead it correctly! Would love to see that happen in every town!
How did it get to that point of disrepair, is beyond my understanding. The sink, shudder!!!!

-amy

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written by shooterrob , August 11, 2008

Top administrative salaries are up for approval? In this time of cutbacks, how do we justify raises for top administraters when the schools need so much work. Oops, I forgot how the top administraters will get there raises no mater how bad the schools are. After all there way more important to the students than teachers, custodians and the maintenance staff.

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written by GTkitkats , August 12, 2008

Who cares except the ones who absolutely need to know everything? I'm still working on summer homework that's due tomorrow!