Batting Cages Approved, Budget Approved, Now Summer Can Start

Moraga's school district governing board meeting Tuesday night set the stage for next year. Members heard an impressive set of statistics from the Parent Teacher Associations and approved sports upgrades at Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School. 

After some heated conversation about traffic at Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School, the governing board approved construction of two batting cages on the far right hand side of the fields.

Governing board members clarified that the purpose of the public comment period was to focus on the batting cages, not the overall use of the fields at JM, which some neighbors said was leading to traffic and parking issues.

The space planned for the batting cages is not used at the moment, and the Moraga Baseball Association will bear the cost of installation. Matt Westphal, president of MBA, said the batting cages were necessary for the safety of the players. The cages won’t add noise, Westphal said, because MBA plans to include sound-muffling material.

In other news, Parent Teacher Association representatives from all four schools presented their end-of-year reports. Some highlights:

Donald L. Rheem Elementary School

• Rheem Road Pavers check-writing campaign raised $99,600
• Family participation in check-writing campaign -- 82 percent
• Volunteer hours estimated at 34,500

Los Perales Elementary School

• Panther Donor Pool check-writing campaign raised $110,000
• Family participation in check-writing campaign -- 80 percent
• Volunteer hours estimated at 19,882

Camino Pablo Elementary School

• Bobcat Bridge Fund check-writing campaign raised $111,000
• Family participation in check-writing campaign – 80 percent
• Volunteer hours estimated at 29,000

Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School

• Annual fund campaign raised $70,000
• Volunteer hours estimated at 13,600

In addition, the schools gave additional gifts to the district to help offset funding cuts.

Dennis Kelleher, president of the governing board,  said “it is astounding to me —not just the money raised, which is vital to the district, but also the number of volunteer hours. It’s absolutely amazing.”

The governing board also discussed adoption of GASB 54, which renames existing accounts and identifies the spending order for funds.

The Moraga school district budget was approved for next year, assuming a funding loss of $350 per student. The district plans to deficit spend in the amount of $491,000 to offset funding cutbacks from the state. With the governor’s veto of the budget, the funding situation is still fluid, but the school district must approve its budget by June 30.