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  • Friday, April 23, 2010

     

    Cost of Capistrano Unified Strike mounting: Reports OUSD sends buses to CSUD

    Cost of Capistrano Unified Strike mounting
    Reports of OUSD sending buses to CSUD

    The Capistrano Unified school district two-day strike has cost the cash strapped district over $326,150 in substitute pay. In a press release on the district’s website the district reports that CSUD had 593 qualified substitutes. The reported daily strike pay the district is paying the subs is said to be $275 a day. That figure would mean the 593 substitutes would cost the district $163,075 a day, with some of the money being made up by not having to pay the daily rate of the teachers who are out on strike.

    Locally, their are unconfirmed reports that cash strapped OUSD sent buses to CSUD to help the beleagured district in case the CSUD bus drivers honored the picket lines. CUSD support staff, including bus drivers, have continued to work during the two day teacher walk-out.

    Wednesday, April 21, 2010

     

    Capistrano Teachers' Strike mirrors OUSD Strike 10 years ago

    Capistrano Teachers' Strike mirrors OUSD Strike 10 years ago

    In 2000 OUSD teachers faced with a right wing school board staged a one day disruptive walk-out. The public plan however was for a two-day walk-out. Instead as the district geared up for a strike on Thursday, the teachers showed up to class disrupting hundreds of substitutes who had signed up to work. The next day, a Friday, the teachers did walk-out and the political fallout eventually led to the Orange Recall. Those painful episodes in Greater Orange history took years to erase. Citizen news was in its infancy and the result, though a painful one, is a Greater Orange much more in-touch with its public schools.

    Keep up with all of the Capistrano Strike news at the
    BEYOND THE BLACKBOARD Blog.

    http://capistranoinsider.typepad.com/beyond_the_blackboard/

    Monday, April 19, 2010

     

    Dreier plans to transform OUSD Administration

    ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
    a news service of Orange Net News /O/N/N/
    Independent insight into OUSD

    Dreier announces plan to transform
    OUSD Administration Organization


    Orange Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Renae Dreier reported at the March 25, 2010 OUSD Board of Education meeting that she would reorganize the OUSD Administration. Dreier’s plan is to reorganize the current five divisions into a two team approach beginning this July. The Superintendent stated her goals are to increase accountability and communication as well as sustain the organizational leanness necessitated by the current economic recession. Announcing the reorganizational move as part of the Progress Report on the OUSD Strategic Plan, Dreier stated that the reorganization was a move to continue the “effective use of resources” while assuring that OUSD can continue to do “more with less” and insure that none of the required administration work “falls through the cracks”. Dreier stressed that while the change contains two promotions in “title”, those promotions do not include salary increases. The “two team” concept has the OUSD Administration divided into two divisions; the Education Division and the Business Division. The Education Division will be headed up by an Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services and the new Business Division will be headed by a new position called Deputy Superintendent. Earlier in the meeting, Dreier had announced that the Board had hired Dr. Gunn Marie Hansen as the new Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services effective July 2010. Hansen is currently an Associate Superintendent of the Compton Unified School District. Like Dreier, Hansen received her doctorial degree from the University of Southern California. Dr. Hansen’s doctorial dissertation was on Immigrant Education of Pakistani Students in Norway. Hansen also served as the Associate Director of K-12 Curriculum and Instruction for Montebello Unified (an East Los Angeles County school district) and as Principal of Laguna Nueva E.S. in Montebello Unified (a school with a 100% Hispanic student population).

    Dreier’s streamline concept for reorganization is almost a complete opposite from the last OUSD Administrative reorganization under former Superintendent Dr. Godley. Under Godley’s reorganization, new layers of administration were added. While Dreier’s reorganization plan was widely heralded by both the OUSD Trustees and community members, one part of her plan did concern some long time Board watchers. Under Dreier’s plan the third high school vice principal position created by Dr. Godley’s administration (which has been a concern in the budget cutting process) was tapped to work with the stripped down Child, Welfare and Attendance office.

    INSIDE the April 22, 2010 OUSD Board Meeting
    Santiago Charter Middle School has petitioned to renew its Charter. The April 22, 2010 OUSD Board Meeting will begin the renewal process with a Public Hearing on the renewal petition (Agenda Item 12 A page 9). In addition, OUSD Staff will present reports on three items: The Obama Administrations Race to the Top grant program (Agenda Item 13 A page 10); an update on OUSD’s Surplus Property (Agenda Item 13 B page 11); and a presentation on Extended Day Kindergarten (Agenda Item 13 C page 12). In addition, the Trustees will recognize April 27 as School Bus Drivers Day, May 5 as School Nurse Day, and May 12 as California Day of the Teacher.

    INSIDE OUSD Donations
    Academic Chess Insitute-$150 to Running Springs E.S. for supplies: Orange Education Foundation -$600 for OUSD Principal for a Day Event; Villa Park Gridiron Boosters-$6,000 to Villa Park H.S. salary stipends; Terra Cycle-$56 to Anaheim Hills E.S. for supplies; KRC Orange LP-$1,000 for Science Night Event; Kathy Moffat-$150-10% salary donation; El Modena Basketball -$1,500 to El Modena H.S,-salary stipend.
    For a complete list of the $38,800 in community donations see Agenda page 14.


    INSIDE the OUSD Budget

    Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2010: $ 0

    Former Superintendent Godley’s Retirement Bonus running total (beginning 8/2008):
    $22,710.00*


    * The Godley Retirement Bonus presented here is an estimate of the amount in “bonus retirement” accrued since the Superintendent’s retirement on 6/30/08 using a 6% lifetime formula calculated here at $1210 a month since 8/08. The actual retirement plan the former OUSD Superintendent opted to take is not public information and the figures presented are only as an estimate of the taxpayer costs after the OUSD trustees voted against an amendment to exclude Godley from the retirement program. The on-going estimated figure is presented as a reminder to the community of the high cost in educational tax dollars the OUSD Board vote to allow the former Superintendent to participate in the 6% retirement incentive cost the OUSD education community in tax dollars. Godley retired from OUSD on June 30, 2008 after he worked for the school district for a little over five years.

    Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2009: $1,041,000
    2009 Attorney Fee Tally:
    11/13/08 Parker & Covert (for 1/09 -6/09) $ 200,000
    3/12/09 Atkinson, Andelson, Loya (Sp. Ed) $ 50,000
    3/12/09 Parker & Covert (Special Ed) $ 98,000
    6/18/09 Parker & Covert (09-10) $ 400,000
    6/18/09 Parker & Covert (Special Ed) $ 200,000
    6/18/09 Parker & Covert (property) $ 55,000
    6/18/09 Atkinson, Andelson, Loya (property)$ 35,000
    Total $1,038,000

    2009 Consultant/ Speaker Fee Tally:
    01/24/09 Leadership Associates Consultants $ 3,000
    2009 TOTAL $1,041,000

    Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2008: $901,200.00

    Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2007: $704,090.00*

    Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2006: $849,717.00*

    2006 Administrative Conference/Travel: Total $ 18,317 *
    * JUNE 8th, 2006 Trustees VOTE to Give OUSD Superintendent the power to
    APPROVE OUSD Travel Requests taking this item OUT of the PUBLIC AGENDA


    Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2005: $978,300.00:

    NEXT BOARD MEETING: THURSDAY APRIL 22, 2010 OUSD BOARD ROOM
    For AGENDA-CLICK ON APRIL MEETING

    CLOSED SESSION- 5:30 pm
    OUSD Regular Session: 7:00 pm

    For more information call the OUSD Superintendent’s office at 714-628-4040
    For budgeting questions call Business Services at 714-628-4015

    ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
    Independent insight into OUSD
    is an independent news service of /O/N/N/
    “Independent Local Insight”

    Friday, April 16, 2010

     

    More Surprise News from Orange High School

    More Surprise News from Orange High School

    Greater Orange is all abuzz with the latest announcement from Orange High School.
    Read all about it at the Orange Net News Twitter site:
    ONN TWITTER

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    Greater Orange News Service is a community service of the Orange Communication System /OCS/, the communications arm of the Greater Orange Community Orgainization