Superintendent Resigns, Addresses Misunderstanding at Tuesday's School Board Meeting

Jim Province

Volunteers in Schools/Adjuncts
CCUSD Superintendent Patricia Jaffe began by addressing what was clearly the issue of the night for many of those in attendance (a rather large crowd of some 50 parents, teachers and adjunct staff), something she reluctantly identified as a “misunderstanding” that led some parents in the district to believe that the use of parent volunteers in the classroom was in danger of being phased out throughout the District.

Saying “that is simply untrue,” Superintendent Patricia Jaffe told the group of concerned and vocal parents that “some misunderstandings” seem to have sprung from a discussion about the status of parent-supported adjuncts at El Marino Language School - an issue that has yet to be discussed by the Board of Education and the collective bargaining units.

"I felt, I should say we all felt, it was important to straighten out some of the misinformation that has been flying around," Jaffe said. "The most important message from us is that parent volunteers are not included in any of this. We love parent volunteers. We want parent volunteers. They are not going to be replaced by District employees." Jaffe followed by saying the issue of the adjuncts will be addressed only when and if the Classified Employees union, ACE, actually makes a proposal. (This seemed to do little however to soothe the concerned group of parents, teachers and adjunct staff who later followed offering their comments, with several from a group called “Parents Have Rights” referring to what they saw as a “power grab” by a union that “cares more for itself than for the students”.)

Jaffe's Retirement
Jaffe then followed with what was arguably the biggest news of the evening, announcing that she would be stepping down from her position as Superintendent, effective June 30, 2012.

"I have been advised this is the year to retire before pension reform undermines retirement benefits," Jaffe added "It breaks my heart after all the support I have received from the community, and I will always be at CCUSD in spirit” Many in the crowd were shocked, as it was just a little over a year ago when some in the District were making the argument that, unlike many of her predecessors, Jaffe was more likely to stay for some time.

Solar Consultant
Board-member Silbiger asked to agendize a discussion with the district's solar consultant to begin planning the solar piece of the capital projects and set a timeline for the project's completion. Because of the California Solar Initiative rules, the district's project would have to be completed within the next 16 months in order for us to get the state rebates.

Green 5 Campaign Launch
The Green 5 Campaign, in conjunction with the District, the District's Environmental Sustainability Committee and the group Community Sustainability USA, was launched today as a pilot project at Linwood E. Howe Elementary. The goal of the Campaign is to demonstrate and build awareness of environmental sustainability in Culver City schools. Assemblies were held to kick off the campaign that is expected to go district-wide quite soon. Visit the website www.ccusd.org/sustainability for more info on this interesting and exciting effort.

Capital Improvement Project
The final item of discussion for the evening was the forming of a Committee ot oversee the long awaited Capital Improvements Project. Board Member Patricia Siever voiced her concerns about “ad-hoc committees” giving direction to the Board and suggesting that any Capital Project Committee should perhaps therefor be a sub-committee of the Community Budget Advisory Committee (CBAC). Alan Elmont then spoke for CBAC to say that a Capital Project Committee would be, by nature, a Project Management effort and that CBAC should not be involved in Project Management. Mr. Elmont pointed out that CBAC membership is “set” and that fact alone precludes the recruitment of experts required to oversee such a project.

The board then agreed to agendize the following:
The makeup of the Capitol Project Committee
A timeline for the projects
Discussion of the Project Manager position

Board-member Siever pointed out that the board needs to see some goals and objectives for the project and suggested that the board consult with El Segundo School District about how they handled a similar capitol effort, to which all the board seemed to agree.

More to come at the next Board of Education meeting, 7 p.m. on Tuesday, February 28 in the Mike Balkman Council Chambers at Culver City City Hall, 9770 Culver Blvd.

Jim Province is a Culver City High School Parent.