Eastern Sierra News

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written by Parent in the District , March 10, 2010

hmmm...interesting that the school where the superintendent's child attends is not being affected by the layoffs. Also, if we outsourced or combined our admin. duties there is a potential for huge savings.

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written by Crouching Tiger , March 10, 2010

Yep...Why not combine the Academy with Coleville instead of LVHS...I find it amazing how the district all along has been saying they have plenty of money the last few years and everything is ok, then all of the sudden its like, "hey, by the way, we're going to be in the hole a million and a half dollars." I think the kids are the ones who are really going to suffer...

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written by BP , March 11, 2010

If the Superintendent really wants to "do the best for the kids" then maybe salary reductions across the board (especially at the highest levels) could keep schools opened. Also, getting rid of district vehicles (Expeditions and Excursions) and reimbursing for mileage for using your personal vehicle when you must drive to "official" school functionS would greatly reduce costs. Most school districts don't have a designated vehicle for their superintendent. The savings in insurance and vehicle maintenance would be a huge cost savings. Everyone must give up something in order to do what is truly best for the kids.

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written by Another upset parent , March 11, 2010

Also interesting.... Clark authorized spending tons of money last year for the entire district to be surveyed and evaluated.

The person or persons who are responsible for this gross negligence should be held personally accountable - lay THEM off, not the teachers! Accountability in administration!

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written by MHS parent , March 11, 2010

When you look at the Mono County Office of Ed, Eastern Sierra, and Mammoth Unified we have 3 superintendents, a deputy superintendent, and six or 7 principals. All that for how many kids? Maybe 2000 at max. Maybe the answer is unification with 1 super and just (fewer)principals. We could easily save enough to cover the teacher's salaries.

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written by District Parent , March 11, 2010

A correction to one of the statements made above, Mr. Clark actually has three children enrolled in the school district. Also, Coleville High School and Antelope Elementary schools are ALSO BEING AFFECTED by the cuts. These schools have an enrollment that at least doubles the above mentioned schools. These schools will also lose valuable teachers. I do believe everyone needs to stop the finger pointing and possibly come up with some valid solutions to the current problems. It does not get us any closer to a solution when we are busy pointing and blaming everyone else.

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written by parent in bridgepoet , March 11, 2010

Good for the school district! Finally a government organization trying to live inside their budget. I support the closure of all non-essential schools. Those kids will just have to go to coleville or lee vining. I for one am glad to see a government organization not continuing to spend more than it takes in.

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written by A CHS Student , March 11, 2010

I am a student at Coleville High School, and it is unfair that people are attacking our school. If anything, it is just as frustrating here, as anywhere else. Coleville has suffered and it is petty and immature that you would assume we are peachy because Mr. Clark's sons attend there. Two positions have already been cut and 3 more are in danger. If I am correct, the academy only has four teachers, just as many might get cut from Coleville. Is that not suffering? We might also lose teachers that we consider our friends, and family. Most of the students that attend Coleville live in Bridgeport, and have friends at the Academy and even Lee Vining. It is sad for the emotionally attached people that the Academy might close. Our district should have seen this coming, and it is regretful that is has to be this way, but it is unfair to attack a school that is trying to do the same you are. Educating our students with the best we can.

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written by Strelneck , March 11, 2010

In addition to decisions tied to painful budgets, there are broader procedural and education-strategy issues here. Inconsistent "facts" are now cited by different, credible people who are involved. Who actually knows the truth of both the finances and why this was rolled out with sudden, top-down urgency, rather than through engagement with school and community leaders? Rumors now fly, fed by the combination of this sudden urgency with the relatively closed-door and master-plan reputation this ESUSD administration has developed (rightfully or not). My opinion -- here, where a magnificent educational opportunity for all local kids rests on deep connection between schools and broader community, the non-connected approach that seems to have developed at the top frankly concerns me more than the ultimate decision about particular schools and teachers.

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written by Concerned parent , March 12, 2010

How do you lay off core teaching personnel without laying off non-essential personnel first? Coleville has a band teacher, a PE teacher and an art teacher. None of the other schools in the district have those positions so shouldn't they be first on the "chopping block?"

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written by Jose , March 12, 2010

It's a case of supply and demand and the State budget coming home to roost. This is real, people, expect more of these types of shocks. Things cost money, and the State is broke. There are too many extra programs, and unfortunately, probably too many schools that can truthfully be funded in our area. It's time to tighten the belts, wake up and realize that this problem is not going away...unless we all vote to raise taxes, which everyone is always against. We have had it good in this State for many years, but Prop 13 is rearing it's ugly head.

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written by Concerned parent , March 13, 2010

It seems as though a lot was left out of this article.
1) The failure of Ms. Dennison to timely file the necessary paperwork for the application for classroom reduction resulting in a cost of $300,000.00 to our district, and the failure of Mr. Clark to dismiss her for this inexcusable error.
2) The huge bonus in salary that Mr. Clark and his staff recently took.
Mr. Clark's being in the amount of over $20,000.00 a year.
3) The nepotism issues taking place within the school district. - The hiring of Mr. Clark's wife at Antelope Elementary with what we are told is a contract that specifically excludes her from layoffs, and the hiring of Ms. Nugent's husband Steve at a cost of $70.00 per hour plus travel expenses to oversee the LV Elementary School modernization project costing over 1.4 million dollars. Wouldn't that hourly rate be nice????
4) Inexcusable waste of district funds. For example, a program called "Slingerland" (which was taught to our district kids by Mr. Clark's former Alaskan neighbor) at a cost of over $100,000. This taught our kids, grades K-8 how to trace the letters of the alphabet, sound out those letters, and say the letters out loud. (Thought that was what Kindergarten teachers are for) The implementation of a computer program which provides the kids with computers from grades 7 - senior.
Sadly, at most school sites, these computers are never or are rarely used, and they have simply become a school funded home entertainment piece. Plus the cost of two computer techs for the district who are charging the kids $80.00 when their battery dies to have it replaced, when you can take it to to Apple store in Reno and get the battery replace for FREE. Wonder where Mr. Hurst is putting all those $80.00 fees??
Elimination of all the programs that were recently introduced also need to be cut. Breakfast at all schools, the after school babysitting program at Bport, the music program at Coleville and LV, etc.
Let's work together as a UNIFIED DISTRICT and make cuts across the board so that ALL schools can stay open. And let's remove the cancer that is Don Clark immediately.

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written by Lafe Draper , March 13, 2010

Wrongs were certainly committed by more than one person that got us into this mess and they do in fact need to pay for that. Mr. Clark and the members of the school board that voted "yes" on the $80K for his house and the $20K raise need to be dealt with because those actions were not taken with the best interest of the kids in mind. It was also wrong for the board to allow Mr. Clark to write his own 10 year employment contract which has never been done before, ever. Three years has always been the norm. Perception is everything. If the parents, kids and teachers perceive that a couple of the school board members are voting to appease Mr. Clark, what are people to think? Perhaps Mr. Clark has some dirt on them or could he be paying them with part of the $120K salary? It's painfully obvious that Mr. Clark's resignation would be welcomed by the majority of the residents of Mono county and would be a positive step in the right direction and if a couple of the school board members don't start doing what the voters want, perhaps a re-call like our past Governor might be in order.

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written by Ms. Taylor , March 13, 2010

Let's all hope that this projected budget shortfall doesn't tear our district apart. With a fair and open discussion, we can work together to do what's best for students. In the present, let's make sure that all students in this district feel proud of themselves and their accomplishments and their schools.

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written by David Strelneck , March 14, 2010

The meeting took place, with fervor. People vented. People provided financial and legal facts that were previously absent from the discussion. People called respectful community involvement in finding solutions. I left feeling that four things clearly must happen next:

1. The district, in the form of Mr. Clark or the Board, must respond to the specific criticisms of the past. If no such response comes, it would serve to confirm rather than alleviate the suspicions of the people, fueling the fire further.

2. The Board must put in place a thoughtful process which embraces the community, getting clear information and respectful debate on the table. Doing so should pursue two goals: to identify the best solutions given the circumstances; and to re-build the fabric of community engagement in the school process in a healthy way.

3. Difficult strategic and financial decisions must then be made. I say strategic first, because the suspicions of so many are that the finances are being used to justify a school-closing strategy that has been in place for much longer, and the merits of that discussion must be made public just so the mystery and resulting suspicion goes away.

4. Foremost, the high school students at Lee Vining, Bridgeport, Coleville and Benton must be addressed directly to affirm that this is not about them. Each has opportunity in their school today for great eduction, to learn academic and team-building skills, to their lives in whatever future directions they choose. Every responsible adult involved must make sure today's students understand this truth; we must not let it get lost in the turmoil.

Thank goodness we live where the communities can muster immense resources in difficult times like this. Now lets do so.

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written by District Parent , March 15, 2010

There are no winners in this mess that our school district has created. The members of this community need to stand together and demand our district office personnel and School Board members find solutions to save every school and every teacher. The accounting mistakes were made by the district office but the students will be the ones to suffer. There are people who say close High Desert Academy and Eastern Sierra Academy but what they're not realizing is that all schools will be affected. Teachers at those schools who have seniority over teachers at other schools will "bump" those teachers' positions. This is a no win situation for everyone.

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written by concerned parent , March 15, 2010

It is very difficult to read information that is incorrect or points blame at one person or another. What we have to remember that in times of low finances you must cut things that are not necessary. The Eastern Sierra Academy is one of those. I know everyone keeps talking about how high they are in the school ranking but please show me how successful these students are? How many actually went and finished college? How many are giving back to their community? Does this school really set our youth up for continued success in life? The answer is not any more than the other schools in our district. Do not forget about Benton who is losing their only High School. These students and teachers must be feeling like they are not cared about. There is so much focus on the academy in Bridgeport everyone forgets about Benton. They are being affected too. What about our K-8 classrooms that will now have 2-3 grades in one class. Is this really fair to do just to keep a school with 12 (19-7seniors=12) students. How can they have 3 1/2 teachers and a secretary when you have 25-30 students in one classroom with only one teacher. Explain how that happens. Maybe the district should look into the HOUSE program for one of their teachers if the academy stays open. This way they can teach every subject and still have their school there.
The district needs to finally come to the realization that we can not spend this much money. You must put a stop to trainings, conferences, SUV transportation for students, extra technology costs. Can we cut money from other areas to help save our teachers. They are the most important part of the district. You can teach without a laptop, smartboard, document camera, etc. But you can not teach without teachers.

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written by Parent of ESUSD students , March 17, 2010

I've read all of the articles, heard all of the speeches and tonight will have the opportunity to hear the district personnel give the budget information to the community. It's no secret that California and the nation are in a budget crisis. The Superintendent, district fiscal personnel and the school board knew that there would be a shortfall of funds due to property tax revenues. Perhaps they didn't realize the large deficit- $493,000.00 but they should have made concessions. The purchasing of new textbooks in the amount of $250,000.00 at time of uncertainty wasn't a good call regardless of what you had in reserve. Missing the deadline for the state funding reduction in the amount of $301,500.00 is no one's fault but those at our district office. As a community at large, we all want to keep our teachers at their respective schools. There should be no finger pointing between individual schools. The only finger pointing should be at the leaders of our district due to poor financial decisions. A "wait and see" approach is what brings about the chaos that has ensued. There should have been planning meetings to have a plan in place should we find ourselves in the current situation. The chaos and mess that has occurred for the last week is due to lack of communication by our school district and school board.

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written by Rob , March 17, 2010

Missing the deadline for the state funding reduction in the amount of $301,500.00 is no one's fault but those at our district office.

I sure know who's pay I'd cut and who'd I lay off first. There needs to be accountability for such actions, or lack there of.

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written by Parent , March 18, 2010

Now that all of the finger pointing, bashing of schools and speeches have been done, it's time for this district to get together and make financially good decisions for all students, teachers, and taxpayers. We heard last night that equal education (money spent per student) should be the same for every student and not just a few. I think everyone would agree that is best for the students of ESUSD. There is only one solution that benefits all of the high school student of this district ... ONE HIGH SCHOOL centrally located in Bridgeport! Every high school student would have equal opportunities for education. A variety of classes (including band, PE and art) could be offered and afford all students to meet their requirements for graduation and the opportunity to apply to four year colleges. Of course, there would have to be a building to house these students but the overall savings(according to Ms. Dennison's report on Operating Expenditures) would be a great savings in the long run. When you combine the three high schools (HDA would have to continue to be a separate school due to the distance of travel required)the school population would be about 150 students ... still very small for a high school. This would unify the high school students of this district and would be a win-win situation for everyone. Equal education for all students of Eastern Sierra UNIFIED School District. Isn't that what we want?

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written by An angry student , March 22, 2010

I think that the academy is an awesome school it should not be closed.

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written by The Truth , March 22, 2010

A centrally located High School in Mono County (Bridgeport) would pose too many problems, mainly logistical and safety related (they would have to round up about 50-80 students each morning from Walker, Coleville and Topaz for a 40 minute drive to Bridgeport after already spending about an hour driving around Antelope Valley picking everyone up). Aren't the greater number of high school students located in Coleville?... one thing that has never made sense is; the rebuilding of Lee Vining high school? why don't they just bus those kids to Mammoth? They could move the LV elementary students to the fairly new high school building and save the money from the "modernization" project? for other things... Are other "academies" funded with public school money or from private organizations (including parents)?