Roundup: Up in the Clouds
Spring forward slowly.
Lynn Deedler sent in this wonderful aerial photo by Bim Lipp from last Sunday. Lynn added that “the photo explains why it was raining at our house while it was sunny only a few blocks away.” It also shows what a beautiful area we live in.
A crowded school board meeting
When 110 people showed up for the March 6th WSCUHSD board meeting, one wondered what item on the agenda brought them out. (I attended via Zoom, which is like sitting in the bleachers for a ball game. The audience was out of Zoom view.). For most school board meetings, there are a dozen or so in the audience and most of them are District employees. On this night, there were not enough chairs for everyone to have a seat.
Which of the following items of the agenda would it be that brought out such a big crowd?
Something not at all on the agenda but to be raised in public comment.
The approval of supplementary text books for English classes.
The proposal to fly the Progress Pride flag.
The approval of a new HR director.
The proposal to eliminate the College and Career Center Coordinator position.
Board President Julie Aiello seemed worried by the turnout and opened the meeting with a statement outlining the rules for public participation and the need to respect the school board and staff.
In public comment about a handful of people came up to speak. Band teacher Casey Jones wanted to bring before the board a proclamation in support of Arts Education Month. He also mentioned that the production of Legally Blond will be running at the end of March and the beginning of April.
Mary Fricker raised two issues. She is worried that students may not understand the downside of taking on student loans for college. She also asked about the cost of the school’a solar panels and wondered if the bond money invested in them nets out in the long-run.
After public comment, the agenda item about supplementary text books was approved without much discussion or comment.
Julie Aiello turned to the Pride flag proposal and asked that the Board turn it over to the DEI committee to make a recommendation for a policy. The board went along with Aiello’s proposal and nearly all of them voiced support for the proposal. “I don’t have an issue with the Pride flag,” said Trustree Jeanne Fernandes, “but we need a clear policy.” Trustee Debbie Ramirez asked why the board could not approve the Pride flag while also turning it over the DEI committee, but she could not get others to agree with her proposal to do both. Anita Sandwina, Diversity Equity and Inclusion Coordinator for Analy, suggested that the DEI committee could look at other flags as well as plan for educational programs to support the flag and make sure that everyone was included in the new policy. She was joined at the podium by Aziza Greer, one of the two students who had developed the proposal for flying the Pride flag. Otherwise, there was not any public comment on the issue, which was a little surprising.
Then the Board moved on to approving a new HR director, Dan Blake, who will replace long-time HR director, Mia Del Prete who is retiring at the end of the school year. Blake has worked at the Sonoma County Office for Education for 17 years.
Then came the agenda item that read in part: “Due to a lack of work and/or lack of funds, the District Administrative Team and Analy Principal have determined to recommend the elimination of the Site Career Center Coordinator.” This position is held by Leah Woody. If you guessed #5 above, then you were right.
For about an hour, a stream of students, alumni, and parents got up to speak on behalf of Leah Woody, and many of them got emotional and teared up. “Leah Woody is your treasure,” said one person. Many students said that Ms. Woody had really helped them figure out what to do after high school. For some, it was finding the right kind of path at Santa Rosa Junior College while others it was finding a career such as a firefighter. They said she had made herself available outside of school hours and she stayed in touch with graduates. All those who came out to support Ms. Woody said that she had changed their lives.
Showing overwhelming support for Ms. Woody worked. Even before the board called for a vote, Superintendent Chris Meredith withdrew the resolution. He said he was moved by the public response, especially the remarks by students.
In a followup email, Meredith wrote: “The overwhelming support from the students at the board meeting advocating for the College and Career Coordinator position and the services this position provides was very compelling to me. I believe that the voice of our students is the most important voice I must listen to. It is for this reason that I made the decision to rescind the layoff recommendation and maintain these student services for the 2024-2025 year. As a result of this decision, I will not be redirecting funds to create a 5th counselor position at Analy at this time in order to maintain our District's fiduciary responsibilities.”
The next board meeting is this Wednesday, March 13 at the Laguna High School Library.
Letter: City Plans Senior Center Funding Cuts
Letter to the editor: The Sebastopol Area Senior Center receives a portion of our funding from the City. We have been told that funding will be cut to Zero next year. Unlike many towns our size, our Center is independent of the City. Most cities in California, with senior centers, are almost totally funded by their respective city. I would ask the city to consider the 30% of city population made up of seniors. If the city wants to solve their financial short fall, let’s brainstorm on how we can help each other. Our books balance.
I would urge you to consider what we are providing to 30% of the cities’ population:
21,000 Center visits
6,000 reduced cost meals
5,700 instances of health and fitness programs
2,000 instances mental health group usage
1,700 LGBTQ community engaged in our activities.
3,000 rides
Respectfully,
Gary Bachelor, Board President
Sebastopol Area Senior Center
Live music on Saturday
The Sonoma County Bluegrass and Folk Festival took place on Saturday at the Sebastopol Community Cultural Center. Organizer Mark Hogan introduced the 5pm set from the stage.
Mike Beck, whom Hogan calls a “neo-cowboy” singer, opened his 5pm set with his song, La Primera, about the Spanish mustang. (You can listen to the song on YouTube.) Beck hails from Montana.
Meanwhile, over at Community Market in the Barlow, the Guide Tones, a student collective from the SRJC, were outside playing jazz standards.
The Week of March 2nd through 9th
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