MSD Board Gets Updates on Bullying, Itchy Heads and Excluding Sex Offenders

Superintendent Bruce Burns began Tuesday's meeting of the Moraga School District board by thanking the Camino Pablo staff for implementing "shelter-in-place" procedures when an animal —believed to be a bobcat — was spotted on the hill overlooking the school.

Burns then noted that a tentative contractual agreement had been reached with California School Employees Association members. October has been a busy month in the district with fall carnivals, Halloween parades and Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School's first dance.

In a charming aside, the superintendent thanked Rheem fifth-graders Ty Dow, Kyle Chuang and Ethan Sauerberg. The boys raised $35.75 from a bake sale. The money will be used to buy glue sticks for student projects.

Community building continues with Bruce Walters and Los Perales parents forming a book club that focuses on educational topics. 

During public comment, Dr. Susan Sparacio noted the methods of moving incoming sixth-graders into seventh-grade math at other school districts. Currently, Moraga School District uses a test given to a subset of incoming sixth-graders and admits students who score above the cutoff point. Sparacio noted that other districts give the test to the entire incoming class and allow students who miss the cutoff by a point or two to move into the seventh-grade course with parental approval. She provided supporting documentation to further illustrate her point.

A member of the public urged the board to evaluate top-line approaches to the budget crisis, and pursue a parcel tax.

The board then recognized Lisa Jaye, retiring board president, for her work on behalf of the district. Board members were complimentary of her work and voiced appreciation for her dedication to the district.

On the consent calendar, the board closely evaluated the head lice policy. While everyone suppressed the urge to itch, Burns recommended that the district adopt a policy of "no-nits" and state that two children in a class show infestation before  a full-class evaluation is initiated. The American Academy of Pediatrics does not support a no-nit policy because it keeps children out school. Burns stated that this is not an issue in Moraga because most students are back in school the next day.

The board then read the suggested policy on Volunteer Assistance, requesting that Burns research a more stringent policy on sex offenders. The suggested policy excludes sex offenders with a "conviction for a crime where the victim was a minor under the age 16." The board requested that the language be more prohibitive and exclude all sex offenders, regardless of victim age.

The district is modifying its policy on temporary athletic coaches to be compliant with current code. However, the suggested change in policy is confusing. The board requested more clarity on the language about first aid training and CPR certification.

Student record management policy is being updated to comply with regulations. It's a language change only, to bring the policy in line with laws and regulations.

Heidi Felt, Joaquin Moraga's counselor, took the floor to present a passionate and comprehensive evaluation of anti-bullying programs at JM. The 2010 California Healthy Kids Survey found that 54 percent of the student population had experienced verbal harassment on school grounds. Further, 44 percent of sixth-graders had been shoved or hit at school. Sixty-two percent of sixth-graders had been made fun of for the way they looked or talked.

Felt went on to discuss the programs at Joaquin Moraga that are set up to combat bullying. The programs, she noted, are effective, but more can be done. She said that training kids earlier in their academic careers would be of value in helping to minimize bullying because it is becoming an issue earlier than it has in the past.

Felt noted that we can't get rid of bullying, but we can make the victims resilient and the behavior unacceptable to minimize it as part of school culture.

Kathe Bell, chief business officer for the district, made a brief statement about the impact of the state budget being passed. The December meeting will be more substantive in its discussion. The key points: One-time monies of $432,000 may be available and $280,000 from the federal jobs bill has been apportioned. The district budget will be updated to reflect these potential revenues.