Jim Hogeboom's Blog, Superintendent of Schools

February 14, 2012

MID-YEAR PROGRESS / GOALS 2011-2012

A Report to the Board of Education

Hi everyone! I hope everyone is doing well and the New Year is treating you well. We have so many great things going on at our schools right now which makes it very exciting. A BIG thanks to our teachers and staff who continue to work so hard for our students and community so we can achieve and advance our goals for the district. On that note, I wanted to share with you what I presented to the Lucia Mar Board of Education last night in respect to our progress toward our goals for this year. See below and have a great day!

Jim Hogeboom

  "Change isn't an event, it's a process," 

-- from SWITCH:   How to change things when change is hard

by Chip and Dan Heath

In January, we held a retreat for all of our principals to check in on our vision and goals and to reflect on how we were doing.  The theme of the retreat was "managing change," and we looked at principles from the book Switch for clues to help us navigate a rapidly changing world.  If there is one criticism of education that seems valid, it is that our education system is not flexible and adaptable enough to meet the changing demands of the 21^st Century. Of course we are working on this, but change is definitely hard for all of us! As I reflect on our progress, both at the district and school levels, I believe we are making great strides toward our district vision of becoming the model school district for 21^st Century learning in the nation, and I encourage you to take risks, make mistakes and try new things!  Below is a brief assessment of our priorities and goals to date:

District Priority #1:  21^st Century Learning

• 21^st Century Skills Group:   Our team of teachers from every school, along with a few administrators, continues to meet to further explore the 7 skills of collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, communication, self-direction, technology and global awareness.  They have prioritized collaboration and critical thinking, and have drafted rubrics and definitions, and are working on a framework and sharing effective teaching practices.  They have also helped us to prepare a 21^st Century Skills Road Map and action plan, which will be presented to the school board this evening. We are also looking at piloting new assessments, and AGHS was recently selected as one of 100 schools nationwide to pilot the PISA exam for 15 year olds so we can see how our students measure up against international students. 
• Central Coast New Tech High:   We recently held a groundbreaking and building dedication for Central Coast New Tech High, which included the presentation of a $250,000 check from PG&E to our Lucia Mar Foundation for Innovation.  This was an amazing donation, and will really help us to pay for a large portion of costs such as New Tech Network fees, curriculum development, and technology.  We also recently hired three new teachers for Central Coast New Tech High:  Eric Dunham for math; Kurt Payne for science, and Jennifer Isbell for social studies. Raquel Lujano was recently selected as the school secretary. The remaining positions will be filled in the coming weeks.  Planning and training are under way, and our enrollment remains steady at 150 students.  Work has begun on the facilities, which includes a remodel, new Gen7 classrooms, and remodel of portables.
• International Baccalaureate Program at Grover Beach Elementary School:   We were recently accepted as a Candidate School by the International Baccalaureate Organization, and so we will spend the next few years on staff development, training and curriculum development to ensure the inquiry-based learning is being done effectively. Later this spring, all staff will be trained on the first phase of IB, and work continues each Monday through a late start to align the curriculum to the IB focus.

District Priority #2:  Implement TAP Effectively

• TIF: Release from Planning Year: We are one of a small handful of TIF 3 grantees to be officially released from the planning year and funded for three full years.  This is great news and points to how well our administrators, master and mentor teaches are doing to implement TAP well.
• Evaluations:  We recently moved from having to complete 4 full evaluations to 3, which has been helpful for everyone!  Learning a new evaluation system, with the 19 point rubric and all the detailed scripting of lessons, has been a challenge.  Evaluators are working in teams to make sure we are scoring accurately and providing effective feedback and coaching.  While this is a complete change in how we do our evaluations, so far most of the input we have received is that the feedback and coaching are proving to be incredibly helpful.
• TAP Budget:  Andy recently reported on the status of the TIF grant to the board, including a detailed look at the budget.  It shows that by using TIF to hire our master teachers, and using the general fund to pay for the cost of the less expensive temporary teachers, we will save the general fund over $1 million. 

District Priority #3:  Career Pathways

• Graduation Requirement:   The board will soon consider a proposal for all students to select a focus area as a graduation requirement for next year's freshmen class.  We will ask them to choose a career, college, individual or special program focus, beginning in their sophomore year.  This will give us time to make sure we have a robust career pathway program at our comprehensive high schools. 
• Review of Pathways:   We will also ask the board to approve the process for adopting new pathways, as well as to review our existing and proposed pathways at each school.
• Middle School/Skills for Success:   An oversight committee is currently looking at our Skills for Success curriculum to more closely align it to our goals and priorities.  In addition, Paulding is piloting career exploration ideas this spring.

Student Success

• District Benchmarks:  Middle and elementary schools have reviewed the first semester benchmark results to learn how our students are doing.  TAP cluster meetings as well as grade level PLC's are looking closely at our data so we can learn what is working and where students need to improve. 
• Common Core:   District TOSAs are currently working to explain the changes coming in the new Common Core, and to make sure our own assessments and instructional strategies are aligned.  The new assessments will begin in 2013-14, and seem to be an improvement over the current standardized tests.

Staff Success

• Staff Development:   Training continues throughout the district during the spring in the following areas;  21^st Century Skills group rubrics and instructional strategies; Project Based Learning workshops; piloting authentic assessments; TAP rubric training and field testing of strategies; and Common Core curriculum and assessment changes (focused on math and language arts).

Stewardship of Resources

• Budget Study Sessions:   Two budget study sessions have been held so far for the board and public. Our third and final budget study session with the board is being planned. The purpose of these meetings is to make sure we continue to work toward aligning our budget to our district mission, vision and goals.
• Attendance:   We work with schools to find creative ways to increase attendance, and will continue to offer a few more Saturday schools to try and boost our numbers. As a result of our January 21 Saturday school offering, we made up 294 absences.
• Energy Savings:   District Sustainability Coordinator Erin Inglish continues to work with schools to decrease our energy use, and we are now currently working with Chevron to determine if we can develop a solar energy plan that will help our district to save money in the future. 

Thanks again everyone!

Jim Hogeboom

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Superintendent's Message October

The new school year is well under way, and I would like to share with you an update about our key goals for the year that will ensure our students are successful in a competitive world.  Lucia Mar Unified School District has been on the forefront of innovation, and our School Board has adopted our Vision 2020 Framework to provide direction and guidance as we work to ensure our students not only have the foundational core skills, but also the necessary 21^st Century skills that are essential in today's workforce.  This is a turbulent yet exciting time for education, and our ability to adapt and change is more important than ever.

Two years ago our School Board charged me as superintendent with the task of helping to craft a new mission, values and vision for our district.  We gathered input from our staff, parents, administrators, and students, and sought to develop a compelling vision to answer the question "What skills do our students need to be successful in the 21^st Century?"  Over the course of that year, we held community forums, visited successful districts and schools, conducted surveys and asked our Vision 2020 committee to draft our framework, which is attached to this letter.  I am very proud of the process and the final product that was developed, and that we now have a clear focus and direction for our district. To engage, challenge and inspire is a powerful mission statement; our core values ensure we have a strong foundation; our vision sets high expectations for success, and our seven 21^st Century skills make it clear exactly what our students need to know to be competitive in today's ever-changing world.

We are now in the process of working very hard to achieve our mission and vision, and I have also included our goals for this year and our three top board priorities.  Now that we know where we are going, these priorities and goals are essential to help us to achieve our vision.  Our top three priorities are to promote 21^st Century learning, to implement the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP), and to develop more Career Pathways for students.  Let me explain how each of these priorities will impact student achievement and directly benefit our students and teachers.

21^st Century Learning

We have prioritized seven specific skills, and believe all of our students need to be proficient in each of the skills of communication, critical thinking, teamwork, technology, self-direction, innovation and global awareness.  So far, we have convened a 21^st Century Skills group of principals and teachers, and they have prioritized teamwork and critical thinking as the two skills we will initially focus on. We have developed rubrics to assess these skills and are now preparing how to teach these skills. This group will also help the district to prioritize strategies and develop an action plan to ensure all students and teachers have resources necessary to ensure our students develop these skills.

One  area we are working on this year is to prepare for the fall 2012 opening of Central Coast New Technology High School which will be located on the southeast portion of Nipomo High campus. Another,  is the continuing development of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years program at Grover Beach Elementary School.  These two programs are models of 21st Century learning, and will serve as "incubators of innovation" to spread effective teaching practices throughout our district.  Both of these new initiatives are very exciting, and we invite you to learn more about them.  We are using special funding sources as well as our new Lucia Mar Foundation for Innovation (LMFI) to help us pay for initial planning costs.  For additional budget details, please visit the Central Coast New Tech website at www.CentralCoastNewTech.org.  The LMFI has set a goal to raise $150,000 this year to pay for IB and New Tech costs. Their website is www.thefoundationforinnovation.org,    In addition to our website, www.lmusd.org, you can also get our latest district news through our Facebook page www.Facebook.com/LuciaMarUnified, and our YouTube channel www.YouTube.com/LuciaMarUnified.

The System for Teacher and Student Advancement (TAP)

You may know that Lucia Mar received a $7.2 million Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) grant from the federal government last year to implement TAP over the next five years.  The seven schools implementing TAP are Nipomo, Lange, Fairgrove, Oceano and Grover Heights Elementary Schools, and Mesa and Judkins Middle Schools.  TAP uses Master and Mentor teachers to provide weekly staff development for our teachers, using a scoring guide on 19 key elements of effective teaching.  In addition, the TAP system provides feedback, coaching, modeling and support through our administrators and Master/Mentor teachers.  Finally, TAP includes a performance-based compensation component based on the scoring guide and student growth.  So far, all indications from our TAP schools show that the system is providing wonderful support and assistance to our teachers.

Career Pathways

Our final goal is for our two comprehensive high schools to develop more fully articulated pathways so that our students have a better idea of possible career choices.  In addition, we are working to include a middle school curriculum to revamp our ninth grade "Skills for Success" class, and are considering asking the Board to approve a pathway graduation requirement.  Statistics show that a fairly small percentage of students actually make it through four years of college, and we must make sure they are prepared both for the college and the world of work with 21^st Century skills.

Please read through each of our nine goals in the areas of student success, staff success, and stewardship of resources.  I am very excited about the direction of our district and am constantly amazed at the high quality of our teachers, support staff, and administrators.  Equally important is our community support; specifically, from our parents and guardians of our children. Your continued input, volunteerism, and financial support is critical for our students.  The challenge of our times is to move forward towards innovation even during these difficult budget times, and I believe we are doing so in a thoughtful and deliberate manner.  With your help, and with the support of our community in general, we can achieve our vision.  As the late Steve Jobs said,

"Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity  - not a threat."

If you have any suggestions, questions or ideas, please contact me at jhogeboom@lmusd.org; I would love to hear from you!

Jim Hogeboom

Superintendent

Friday, August 26, 2011

Welcome Back to School 2011-12 School Year!

Superintendent's Message

Thursday morning was my first opportunity to drive my daughter Alaina to Arroyo Grande high school, where she is starting as a freshman while my son Jack is starting at Judkins.  We talked about how excited she was to begin her high school experience, and I realized this was one of those life milestones: my kids are growing up right before my eyes!  I had previously spoken to our principals at our retreat about the idea of looking for "remarkable moments" in our lives before they pass us by, and I was so glad I was able to capture this one and so glad to have my kids attending school in the district where I work so I have the opportunity to be with them a little more and observe as many remarkable moments as I can!  I hope you all had a memorable first full week of school.

We have so many great initiatives moving forward in Lucia Mar for our students and the energy and excitement you all bring to our schools and district is outstanding. As we move forward, I wanted to share with you more news about where we are now, and where we are heading, with your help.  

TAP started off on a very positive note, and our master and mentor teachers are working closely with our site administrators to provide teachers at the seven TAP schools with the support they need and to lead the weekly cluster meetings. This is a new role for our teachers to play, and they are doing such a fantastic job of learning the art of how to mentor, coach, and support our teachers. 

After the Welcome Back Rally last Monday, one of our new high school teachers came up to me and exclaimed, "I am so excited about New Tech High, and would love to work there one day.  I am so glad I came to Lucia Mar."  I had the opportunity to sit in on his presentation at Back To School Night one evening this week, and his love of students, passion for teaching and joy to be with his peers at school was palpable and so invigorating, and captured the positive tone of the new school year perfectly!  

As many of you know, New Tech High will be a school within a school located on the Nipomo High School campus. Our facilities division is hard at work with the first phase of preparing the site and renovating existing structures and readying this area. As construction moves forward, we will be keeping you updated on progress.

Career Pathways is also a big priority this year, and we are making plans to ensure our students have options and skills to succeed in the work force after high school.  Our goal is to make sure we have at least 5 pathways at each high school, and that students are prepared with the self-knowledge and training to secure employment opportunities. Santa Rosa City Schools has a model we are looking at closely, and we hope to make great progress with our pathways this year. The new Agriculture Science & Technology Facility, made possible with Prop 1D Funding and three years in planning, is under construction - you can see its progress at the southwest corner of Arroyo Grande High School.  

Some have said I am being overly optimistic or moving too fast, but that is part of my nature. While I am very excited about all that is happening in our district, I am cognizant that we are living in difficult times, both in terms of our economic and fiscal situation as well as with the rapid changes in our social structures and technology. Here in Lucia Mar, the budget constraints are making our jobs more difficult, and there is no doubt we are all being asked to do more with less. Class sizes are higher, and there are fewer of us to do the jobs that need to be done.  I realize these are tough times, and I don't want to minimize how hard everyone is working or gloss over the fact that funding cuts are having a negative impact on education. 

Having said that, I still remain optimistic.  In terms of our budget, we have planned for anticipated possible mid-year cuts of about $3.1 million, which includes a general cut of $260 per student as well as a possible loss of $500,000 in transportation funding.  Nevertheless, as a result of prudent fiscal planning and proactive board action, I am proud of the fact that we have not had to implement furlough days or pay cuts like so many other districts in the state.  While we have certainly reduced our work force and hours, this year we were also able to rehire all of the teachers on our reemployment list, due mostly to the addition of 9 TAP Master teachers, funded by the $7.2 million TIF grant, as well as several retirements. At our new teacher luncheon, we welcomed 29 teachers to our district, and it was so motivating to have all that positive energy in one room!   

Finally, we have made a strong start in moving forward with our efforts to prioritize, define, assess, and teach our seven identified 21^st Century skills.  Our teachers identified teamwork and critical thinking as the top two skills, and drafted rubrics to assess student learning in these areas.  We will meet with this group again in November to finalize the rubrics and to share effective teaching strategies. New Tech High and the International Baccalaureate program are also top priorities, and will be strong models of innovation for us to learn from. 

When we started exploring our Vision 2020 Framework and looking at models of learning throughout our state and nation, I believe we did a great job through school visits, staff meetings, media stories, public forums, and other conversations to generate interest and buy-in, but now we need to outline more of the details related to funding, staffing, curriculum and other interest areas. This year, we will re-double our efforts to share news with all of you, our parents, students, business partners, and community stakeholders. We want and need your input and your ideas as we work together to support our students. The next open forum on New Tech & Vision 2020 is scheduled for Thursday, September 22, 2011. You are invited to join us at one of two sessions that day which will include a tour of the site: 3-4:00 p.m. or 5:30 - 6:30 p.m., at Olympic Hall, Nipomo High School, 525 N. Thompson Avenue, Nipomo. We hope you can stop by - please bring a guest!  

Life is a balance, isn't it?  We need to balance work with play, humor with seriousness, home with school.  We also need to balance the need to move forward boldly with making sure we are being thoughtful, communicating well, and inviting ideas, input, and suggestions.  Lucia Mar really is making dramatic progress to ensure our students are ready for the 21^st Century, but there will be some bumps along the way.  Change is hard, but if we work together we can do anything.

Thank you for working for Lucia Mar.  

-Jim

For more Lucia Mar Videos, you can check out our YouTube Channel

You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter

Monday, June 13, 2011

Fiorentino to Lead Paulding, Empey to Harloe

It is with great pleasure that I announce Chuck Fiorentino, currently the Principal at Harloe Elementary, will be the new principal at Paulding Middle School and Jim Empey, currently the Assistant Principal at Paulding, will be the new Principal at Harloe Elementary School, pending board approval.

Chuck has been the principal at Harloe for the past three years, and previously was a principal at Branch and Dana Elementary.  Chuck was interested in moving back to the middle school level, which is where he started as a science and math teacher.  I believe this move is a also a good fit for Paulding, and that Chuck will be able to help them continue the academic excellence that has been a trademark of Paulding.

 Jim has been the assistant principal at Paulding for the past two years, and previously had been an area administrator at Arroyo Grande High for a year and previously a classroom science teacher.  He welcomed the opportunity to lead a school forward, and is looking forward to working with the Harloe staff and community to find a common theme and area of focus for the school.

I have been asked to clarify the process that was used to fill these two principal positions in the district.  Usually we will post vacant administrative positions, as it provided the staff and community an opportunity to provide input into the final decision that is made.  However, there are times when I believe that a current administrator has the skills and leadership necessary to lead a school forward, and is a good match for the needs of the school.  Frankly, the outside administrative candidates we have interviewed have not been of high quality, and this means our internal candidates are usually the most qualified.  In this case, as in some previous decisions I have made this year regarding the movement of current principals to new schools, I believe both Chuck and Jim are the most qualified candidates to lead each school forward.  We are also late in the year, and so time is of the essence in terms of getting the best person possible for our open positions. 

I hope you will join me in welcoming Chuck and Jim to their new positions, and that you will provide them all the support you can to help them be successful.  Have a great summer, and rest up and relax—you all deserve a nice break.

Jim

Wednesday, May 11th, 2011

California Day of the Teacher

I just wanted to say a huge "THANKS" to all of our teachers for your tireless work on behalf of all of our students.  You make an incredible difference in the lives of so many children, not all of which can be seen or measured for years to come.  Most of your effort goes unnoticed, so on behalf of our students, parents and community members; I just want you know how much you are appreciated and how important the work you are doing is to our community.

When I first graduated from Cal, my parents advised me not to go into teaching but to try and do something I enjoyed "and also make a little money," so I accepted an offer from Boise Cascade Office Products Division as their inside sales manager.  I did enjoy the challenge of management, but after a few years decided to give outside sales a shot.  The challenge was there, but the job satisfaction and lack of meaning in my work caused me to quit and eventually find my way back to teaching.  My first years of teaching at Tamalpais High in Mill Valley were an incredible experience, and like many of you, I still remember so many of those faces and experiences with my students.  Some still make me laugh out loud, either at the dumb thing I did or something funny they did in class.  One of my biggest mistakes was when I was the leadership teacher and handed out Hershey's Kisses to all the sophomores, juniors, and seniors to give to the freshmen as they entered the rally; instead, as I should have known, they started pelting all the freshmen with the chocolates instead!  Not exactly the warm welcome I was hoping for! 

Teaching is incredibly rewarding, and incredibly challenging.  You have such a diverse range of learners in your classes, and are expected to challenge and support them all and to individualize your lessons.  We have fewer resources than ever before, and the budget is always shrinking.  Nevertheless, you carry on with your indomitable spirit, and continue to touch hearts and minds every day even in the midst of very difficult conditions.  We are so lucky to have such a talented teaching force here in Lucia Mar, and once again I thank you so much for all you do every day.  You should be very proud of being a teacher, and of the fact that you are making an incredible difference to so many young people.  Keep up your sense of humor, and have a great last month of school. Below are some pictures of our great teachers in action.

Thanks again,

Jim Hogeboom

Thursday, April 14, 2011

School Board Approves IB and New Tech High Programs

(For audio podcast version of the Superintendent's Message click here)

Click here for information on the Lucia Mar Foundation for Innovation

Despite these difficult budget times, but with the promise of financial support and backing from our new Lucia Mar Foundation for Innovation, the school board took a leap of faith that we will be able to count on our community to help fund these new initiatives. Rather than circling the wagons and battening down the hatches, our board has chosen the bold alternative of rethinking the status quo and moving ahead with these innovative programs to ensure our students are competitive in the world economy. Their decision to move forward shows great leadership in the face of uncertainty and adversity, and gives us hope and optimism that we can meet the tough challenges ahead.

In addition, I would like to thank all the staff, parents, and community members from both Grover Beach and the district who have worked so hard to move forward with these two programs. We have visited lots of schools and districts to try and learn from the most innovative and effective educational programs, and I am confident that implementing both IB and New Tech will promote the 21st Century Skills of teamwork, self-direction, critical thinking, technology, communication, innovation and global awareness. I also agree with the speakers at the meeting who shared the belief that these two programs are a start and there will be a "ripple effect" throughout our district to positively influence student learning.

It is easy to move ahead with new ideas and programs when things are going well, but much more difficult in the face of hardship. I know every one of us has been working extra hard and putting in extra hours to do our jobs with decreasing resources. While we are all trying to work smarter, the fact is we are all working harder as well. I want you to know that I truly appreciate your hard work, your dedication to our students, and your commitment to making our schools and district the best we can be. Thank you so much for all you do for our children. While I can't promise that our state and nation will head into an economic recovery any time soon, at least you can feel some hope and optimism that our school board has the courage and daring to move forward, and that our community is stepping up to support our vision. Being audacious and viewing our current crisis as opportunity is the only way we can ensure our students get the very best education possible!

Jim Hogeboom

Monday, March 7, 2011

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Advancing Student Achievement Through Labor-Management Collaboration

In an effort to continue our mission of becoming "the model school district for 21^st century learning" as stated in our Vision 2020 Framework, I took advantage of a rare invitation to the Advancing Student Achievement Through Labor-Management Collaboration Conference. The conference which was held in mid-February in Denver, Colorado was sponsored by the Department of Education in collaboration with the American Association of School Administrators, the American Federation of Teachers, the Council of the Great City Schools, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the National Education Association, and the National School Board Association. The conference airfare and lodging were sponsored by the Ford Foundation. Lucia Mar was one of just 150 school districts from across the nation that was invited. There were only 11 districts from California in attendance. I was fortunate enough to make the trip with Colleen Martin, president of the Lucia Mar School Board, and Lloyd Walzer, president of the Lucia Mar Teachers Association. We definitely felt honored to be there.

This unique conference on labor-management was designed to "transform the relationship among local superintendents, school boards, and teachers into a broad robust partnership designed to boost student achievement." We are doing everything we can at Lucia Mar to "boost student achievement", so I was happy to participate in this great collaboration. U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, gave a terrific and informative speech to open the conference. It was a pleasure to listen to him, and spend a little time with him as well. See photo below.

"Union Leaders and administrators across the country are finding new ways to work together to focus on student success. The leaders from these 150 districts are committed to bold reforms and are showing the country what is possible when adults come together, particularly in tough times, to do the right thing for kids," Duncan said about the conference.

There were plenty of informative breakout sessions to choose from, along with engaging networking opportunities. Colleen, Lloyd, and I decided to spread out and attend different breakout sessions in order to gather and share as much information as possible. The breakout sessions were led by leaders of different school districts who are currently communicating and collaborating in innovative and effective ways. They shared their thoughts and ideas on how school districts can improve and strengthen labor-management relationships, policies, and better techniques to holding each other responsible for achieving goals. The main goal of course is to ultimately improve student education and achievement. We learned a lot of interesting and effective practices that other districts are doing, and we hope to implement some of them at Lucia Mar.  

This trip provided Colleen, Lloyd, and I a great opportunity to know and understand each other better. On the final day, the three of us spent a good 90 minutes talking and discussing the conference, sharing ideas, and setting goals for Lucia Mar. This time spent with them, and our own collaboration, was one of the best aspects of the trip. We will be meeting again soon and taking the conversation even further, as we all have the same goal, as the goal of the conference was: boost student achievement.

Jim Hogeboom

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Superintendent’s Message:  Preliminary Budget Recommendations for FY 2011-12

At the school board meeting last night, I presented my initial budget reduction recommendations to the board of education, which total approximately $3.5 million dollars. I have attached a copy of this listing. While it is difficult to estimate how the final state budget will affect us here in Lucia Mar, we are using the estimates from our County Office of Education and School Services of California to predict cuts of about $335 per student, which totals the $3.5 million. California Education Code requires us to give preliminary notice to certificated staff by March 15^th of any potential layoff.

The board is holding a special meeting next Tuesday, March 8, 2011 to address the formal steps necessary for preliminary notices to any affected certificated and classified staffs. I am very sorry that this course of action is necessary, and only hope the budget situation brightens.

Governor Brown has set a deadline of March 10, 2011 for the legislature to vote to approve the ballot measure that would extend the temporary income, sales, and car taxes, which are due to expire, for five more years.  His deadline is 89 days from June 7, the date on which he said he would like to have a special tax election.  So far, he does not appear to have the few Republican votes he needs to place the measure on the ballot, but this could change any day.

In the meantime, we have prepared a budget that is prudent and which assumes that the ballot measure is not enacted.  While this is not the worst case scenario, it is one that is reasonable at this time. Frankly, we will not have a real handle on next year's budget for at least another few months.  Please know that when the final budget is enacted, possibly in June, we hope conditions will be much better for us, but realistically, it could also be much worse.  Thanks for your patience during this difficult budget process. 

-Jim

Thursday, February 24, 2011 

Superintendent's Message: Budget information for FY 2011-12

At Tuesday's school board meeting, the board passed Resolution A-1011-18 (attached) urging our state legislators to work with the Governor to place a measure on the June 2011 ballot calling for a five-year extension of taxes to protect our schools and students by making education a priority in the state. As you are all well aware, education in California has taken a disproportionate share  of budget cuts over the last few years - here in Lucia Mar, this amount was over $9.6 million. The Governor's plan for a balanced approach to reducing the $25 billion+ state deficit is with a combination of cuts and tax extensions. We will find out in March if the legislature can muster the votes to put this measure on the June ballot, and then will have to wait and see if it passes. I have provided contact information for Senator Sam Blakeslee and Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian at the end of this message if you wish to join me in contacting them with your support for education and opposition of further cuts.

While it is extremely difficult to predict how the budget situation will turn out, projections from the County Office of Education and School Services of California are that if the tax extensions do not come to pass, we are looking at budget cuts of about $335 per student, or an overall cut to Lucia Mar of around $3.5 million. Of course the cuts could be much higher or much lower than this estimate, but this is our best guess at this point. Adding to our woes is the fact that we are a declining enrollment district, so that hurts us even more as we have lost about 130 students since last year.   

I have been meeting with my cabinet over the last several months to discuss possible cuts that will allow us to meet this projected deficit, and the work is difficult. Frankly, every possible idea for increasing revenue or decreasing expenditures has already been examined over the past several years and there is little that we have not considered. For this reason, I have decided not to convene the Budget Review Committee again this year, but will instead use the ideas that have already been brought forth to make suggestions for needed reductions. At the school board meeting next Tuesday, March 1, I will present my preliminary budget recommendations for next year to the board, and invite input and feedback from all of you on these ideas. My draft recommendations are a starting point to use for further conversations; and over the coming months, the board will consider many more options to make reasoned decisions when a budget is finally passed in June. Unlike the state legislature, our school district is required to adopt a budget by June 30, and we will meet this deadline.

Budget reductions are painful for our district and will result in layoffs for management, certificated and classified staff. These are very difficult times for education, and it is wearing to have to do this. While we will do everything possible to minimize the impact of these cuts on the classroom; unfortunately, we are already beyond this point. Please feel free to give me your suggestions and feedback related to your budget ideas as we struggle to address our budget shortfall over the coming months. Thank you in advance for all you do to help our students learn and grow even during these times of declining resources; I am well aware of how the cuts have impacted each of you and that it makes everyone's job much more difficult. I will continue to do all I can to pursue other resources, including grants and donations from our community, to try and soften the blow of the state budget cuts.

Jim

Senator Sam Blakeslee

District Office

1104 Palm Street

San Luis Obispo, CA  93401

549-3784 phone

549-3779 fax

Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian

1150 Osos Street Suite 207
San Luis Obispo , CA 93401
(805) 549-3381 phone
(805) 549-3400 fax   

Thursday, February 17, 2011

ConocoPhillips Visit

I recently took a very exciting and informative trip to ConocoPhillips. Superintendent of Maintenance Jim Anderson and Facility Manger Tim Seidel invited several representatives from the school district to come over for lunch and a tour. About nine of us made the short trip to ConocoPhillips, which is located near the dunes in Arroyo Grande. Aside from myself, several district counselors, teachers and principals were on hand to explore the facility and learn more about the company.

I also did some sharing. I spoke with them about our Vision 2020 Framework and our new direction for our schools, which focuses on the critical skills needed for success in the 21st century. Turns out we are more similar than we once thought. District skills like “Communicating,” “Problem Solving & Critical Thinking,” “Teamwork,” and “Technology” are some of the same words used to define ConocoPhillips’ Mission Statement.

We weren’t the only ones who benefited from the trip. It also turned out to be very rewarding for our students. Jim and Tim discussed several different career opportunities that ConocoPhillips has to offer and I was pleasantly surprised at how much some of their technical positions pay. It was also great for our teachers and counselors to hear what kind of employees ConocoPhillips is looking for, and what skills they value most. Now our Lucia Mar students truly have an edge on the competition.

I think it’s incredibly important that Lucia Mar continue to reach out and talk with local business leaders. What a great way to form partnerships and learn from each other. A big thanks to Jim, Tim and all the folks at ConocoPhillips for the delicious lunch and for taking some time to exchange ideas and discuss how we can make our students, and our community, a better and more enjoyable place for everyone.

Jim Hogeboom

 Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Pacific Gas and Electric Company Donates $30,000 to LMUSD!