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Tuesday, January 15, 2019
OUSD to vote on tax re-do and Lebsack takes the lead on Health Ed
ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
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OUSD February 2018 tax "typo" requires re-vote on
developer tax
The Orange Unified School Board will vote to fix a 12 cent
per square foot tax mistake made 11 months ago.
With the 2018 SAB authorization the OUSD Board voted to hike the residential development tax 8.78%* to $3.79 per square foot of residential buildings and $0.61 per square foot for commercial/industrial buildings. The new tax rate calculates to $ 610 per 1000 square feet for Hotel/Motel developments ( a new 10,000 square foot industrial building would have a tax of $ 6,100).
OUSD Agenda Item 12 C (page 34) for the February 15th meeting includes the resolution to "INCREASE THE STATUTORY SCHOOL FEES" (taxes). The Tax Resolution, by law, must lay out the justifications for the tax increase.
The OUSD Tax Resolutions allow for 3% of all taxes collected to go to "administrative costs" caused by the collection of the tax.
Once a "tomboy" and still "not a prissy girl"...
Trustee Brenda Lebsack becomes state-wide leader against new mandated Health Education framework
OUSD Trustee Brenda Lebsack has become a state-wide leader against the new California mandated Health Education framework since OUSD's turbulent roll-out of its Health Education framework last year. (For more information click on OUSD HEALTH ED)
Lebsack's leaped from an Orange County platform with an op-ed in the Orange County Register to a state-wide platform with an opinion piece in the highly respected and influential mulit-media education platform EdSource.
Her December 2018 commentary titled Parents,educators should scrutinize concepts of gender and sexual identity in state's health education framework is aimed at getting readers to comment on the Health Ed Framework before the January 11, 2019 input deadline.
Writing that "The draft includes controversial teaching about sexual relations, sexual orientation and gender", Lebsack directly quotes controversial passages from the 1,000 page draft as well as taking the process to task for not making a Spanish language version of the draft available.
However, the most powerful writing Lebsack does is her vigilant replies to the online comments about her article. Lebsack monitored the comments for weeks, often responding with gracious rebuttal comments and poignant questions:
Brenda Lebsack 3 weeks ago
Alexander, I don’t mind if you disagree, this is America where free thought and free speech still exists. We are so fortunate to have these freedoms. Do you think parents should have the freedom to raise their children according to their cultural and religious values? Do you think “unlimited gender choices” should be taught to young children without parental notice and without the parent being given the right to “opt out” of this teaching? Do you believe the state’s authority over-rides parental authority? Just curious …
In another response to a commenter, Lebsack also provides a link to a letter the ACLU ( a sponsor of the Legislation that created the California Health Framework) sent to Orange Unified when it voted to delay the implementation of the new framework last year:
Brenda Lebsack 2 weeks ago
Mr Rodriguez, As an educator and parent myself, I agree with you that Parents are the most important educator in a child’s life when it comes to teaching values, however the ACLU and many other powerful organizations do not agree. When my district halted a curriculum pilot for Middle School students that included many of these teachings, the ACLU sent our district a letter that stated:
Parents do not have the right to dictate what curriculum is used or what information is provided to students in public schools. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that parents do not have any constitutional right “to prevent a public school from providing its students with whatever information it wishes to provide, sexual or otherwise, when and as the school determines that it is appropriate to do so.” Here is the full ACLU letter.
However, the last answer ( as of this posting) is a powerful self-revealing admission about growing up as a "tomboy" and being "kicked out of the girl's restroom" and her powerful self-awareness assertion "I’m still not a prissy girl, but that does not make me any less female". That early childhood experience leads her to reflect that the current Health Education Framework "would have caused me psychological damage and major confusion" :
Brenda Lebsack 1 week ago
Andy, I can only speak for myself. When I was a child I was a tomboy. Instead of playing with barbies, I played pirates and cops and robbers. I went through a phase when I just wore motorcycle t-shirts. My parents did not make a big deal about it. I never doubted I was a girl, but deep inside I wished I was a boy, because I thought boys had more fun. I looked and acted so much like a boy sometimes, that if I was in an unfamiliar environment, I would get kicked out of the girl’s bathroom. As I grew up, I changed.
I’m still not a prissy girl, but that does not make me any less female. All I can say is, speaking for myself, these teachings would have caused me psychological damage and major confusion. As a 9 year old when I heard about female menstruation for the first time, I freaked out. It sounded like the most horrific thing in the world (and sometimes it is, LOL!).
But as a child with an immature perception, I would have thought…”If there’s a way to get out of this, then I want it! Puberty blockers or whatever it takes.” This is just me, because I know how I thought as a kid.
I’m grateful my parents just accepted me for who I was and did not put a label on me. I’m glad they did not use gender stereotypes to define me. Although I am now a wife and a mom, I still don’t fit in many of those feminine stereotypical roles, but isn’t that what accepting a person for who they are all about?
Whether agreeing or disagreeing with her position on the California Health Education Framework, Lebsack's tone and presentation of her case is an approach many elected officials across the county can learn from.
INSIDE the OUSD Agenda
- Closed Session: 4 A ( front page) - Mid-year performance review of Superintendent Dr. Hansen.
- Action Item 12 A (page 2) - Approval of new calendars for school years 2019-2020 and 2020-2021.
- Action Item 12 C (page 5) Approval of updated agreements with El Rancho and Santiago Charter Schools.
- Information Item 13 B (pg 138) Updates on Measure S projects
- Information Item 13 D (pg 140) Information on El Modena HS pool replacement
OUSD Public Relations costs
In February 2018 OUSD Trustees voted $219,424 for a Public Relations contract (Click on):
Here is what spending $219,424 of educational tax dollars on PR buys (For the latest in OUSD News on the web Click on):
NEXT OUSD BOARD MEETING January 17, 2019
Next OUSD Board Meeting -OUSD BOARD ROOM
CLOSED SESSION- 5:00 pm
OUSD Regular Session: 7:00 pm Board Room
For more information call the OUSD Superintendent’s office at 714-628-4040
For budgeting questions call Business Services at 714-628-4015
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