La Jolla High School Governance Committee
Report on Meeting of February 25, 2003

In attendance:
Administration: Dana Shelburne
Classified: Shirley Moak
PTA Reps: Melissa Cunningham, Jane Jones, Patti Nussbaum, Dianna Sonderegger, and Kathleen Steele
Foundation Rep: John Boller
Students: Alex Fortes and Nick Oswald (alternate for Soraya Gheissari)
Certificated: Beth Behnke, Kerry Johnson, Carole LeCren, David Mika, Oscar Rodriguez, and Joanne Wainscott
SDEA Rep: Ken Davis
Guests: Linda Dowley, Jamie Ginsburg, and Kris McMillan

1. Call to Order: Carole LeCren called to order the meeting at 2:38 p.m.

2. Minutes: The minutes from December 17, 2002 and January 28, 2003 were approved.

3. Agenda Items – OLD Business:
* Master Schedule Changes: The following changes were made to the master schedule at the semester: Barry Dingle, Kevin Coleman, and Andrea Craig were excessed. Their classes were collapsed or taken over by another teacher. Stansell will now teach the Greek classes for this year, and Gary Frank will teach the ESL course. The algebra 1 (year-long) course and the Personal Finance courses were eliminated. There will be no Greek offered next year. Additionally, the 2-hour English block will be separated into a 9th grade English class and a Writer’s Workshop course. The 10th grade English/Literacy Course sequence will stay the same.
* Impact of the loss of three teachers: The number of students in elective courses has increased from the loss of the above-mentioned teachers.
* What does the Staff Developer do? Currently Bev Greco teaches three History classes, maintains the Digital High School Grant, and works on other grant writing. She is also working on the Distinguished School process and WASC.
* Decisions about Next Year’s CPU Distribution: With the looming lay-off notices that will be sent to certificated teachers, all decisions about next year’s CPU distribution will have to wait.
* Renewing Charter Efforts: There are still questions about the financial feasibility if we were to become a Charter school. Alex Fortes asked if we would still have a budget shortfall if we would have gone Charter this year. It was shared that Charter schools also received a state budget cut.
* Feedback for College Information Night: Patricia Nussbaum shared that she received good feedback regarding this event. Some statements shared were that the event was useful and worthwhile, however that Mr. Rugg’s portion was dispensable but offered comic relief. Beth Behnke shared that an idea for next year includes having a CSU, UC, and Community College representative present. Kathleen Steele worries that the rank/scores/schools sheet may be traced back to students and could possibly be an invasion of privacy.

4. Agenda Items – NEW Business:
* Ramifications of below 800 API: Dana Shelburne reported that the new 794 API score is negligible because it is based on a different calculation than last year’s score He does not feel that this should jeopardize our Autonomy. He reported that there is a change to our testing schedule this year that will extend the number of testing days, but lessen the amount of testing time each day. This, combined with the fact that the students will be taking their tests with their period three teachers, should help raise the scores. We are also adding nutrition breaks, and will talk to the students about the importance of the tests for our school. A student’s scores may also be used in determining their course placement for the following year, and students who “opt-out” may not be able to take Advanced or AP courses. Teachers may also view the “opt-out” as a negative when writing recommendation letters. D. Shelburne also mentioned that the Superintendent asked us to create a school accountability report as part of our autonomy and that process is underway. A. Fortes suggested that we emphasize to students that nothing about La Jolla High has changed under the Autonomy Agreement, and that is the point. We haven’t had to make changes because this agreement shelters us from the some of what the Blueprint mandates. This may help them see the significance.

5. Roundtable:
* Inez Baskin: David Mika reported that Juniors would attend a period 4 assembly on March 7, 2003 featuring Inez Baskin. She is also speaking at Beth Israel on that Sunday night.
* VEEP Parent College Night: Diana Sonderegger reported that the VEEP Parent College night was very successful with about 300 parents attending.
* Foundation Assistance: It was asked if Foundation could help with any of the financial cuts we are facing. John Boller reported that Foundation raises 1/4 million dollars each year and gives back about that much to the school. The most recent addition is the security/safety camera installation.
* GATE Model: Jamie Ginsburg asked what GATE model LJHS uses and who makes that decision. Carole LeCren moved that this topic be tabled to the next meeting.

Meeting adjourned at 3:38 p.m.

Next Meeting: March 25, 2002