Board of Trustees terminate
contract of
Superintendent

 

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2006-2007
eUPDATES
July 12, 2006

QUESTIONS:
Cindy McArthur Communications Manager
589 W. Fremont Ave.
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
(408) 522-2206
FAX (408) 245-5325

 


WELCOME to eUPDATE— AUGUST 25 , 2006
To keep you up-to-date about the latest news within
the Fremont Union High School District.
*********************************

WELCOME STUDENTS & FAMILIES TO 2006-2007 SCHOOL YEAR
Students reported to school on Monday, August 21. Enrollment fluctuates the first
two months of school as new students are enrolled and no-shows are disenrolled.
Enrollment as of today: CHS —1,474; FHS—1,825; HHS—2,175; LHS—1,902; MVHS—2,519; TOTAL 9,895


MARK YOUR CALENDAR!
    BACK-to-SCHOOL NIGHT at CUPERTINO High School — Wednesday, September 20th
    BACK-to-SCHOOL NIGHT at FREMONT High School — Tuesday, September 12th
    BACK-to-SCHOOL NIGHT at HOMESTEAD High School — Wednesday, September 20th
    BACK-to-SCHOOL NIGHT at LYNBROOK High School — Thursday, September 14th
    BACK-to-SCHOOL NIGHT at MONTA VISTA High School — Tuesday, September 12th
    FUHS Foundation 11th Annual Recognition Dinner — Thursday, October 26th
            "Mardi Gras Magic" at Historic Del Monte Building in Sunnyvale
            Proceeds will benefit music and performing arts at all five high schools

Below are the District Bulletin and Board Report for the
Tuesday, August 22, 2006 Board Meeting.

DISTRICT BULLETIN — Volume XIV, Issue 2
******************************************

Polly Bove Appointed Acting Superintendent

At the conclussion of a long meeting on August 22, 2006 where the Board of Trustees on a 3-2 vote terminated the contract of Superintendent Stephen R. Rowley, Board President Avie Katz announced that the Board asked Deputy Superintendent Polly Bove to serve as Acting Superintendent and she accepted. The Board unanimously approved her appointment.

Board Clerk Kathryn Ho acknowledged Polly as “very sensitive, very hard working, and that it is a blessing to have her take this responsibility.”

Board Vice President Barbara Nunes recognized Polly’s history with the District and her ability to see the “big picture.”

As Deputy Superintendent, Polly Bove oversaw all aspects of the District’s administrative services. She has a long record of leadership in the District as Assistant Principal at Homestead High School from 1989-91, as Coordinator of Student Services districtwide from 1991-95, and as Executive Director of Educational Services from 1995 to 2003 when she was promoted to Deputy Superintendent. In this role she also served as the District’s Chief Negotiator of both employee groups — California School Employees Association Chapter 237 (CSEA) is the union for the District’s classified support staff, and Fremont Education Association (FEA) is the union for the District’s teachers. Bove will continue in this role as Acting Superintendent.

STAR — California Standards Test Scores for 2006
% Scoring Proficient or Advanced (meeting or exceeding the state standards)
 
CHS
FHS
HHS
LHS
MVHS
District
County
State
English Language Arts
69%
41%
68%
80%
83%
69%
50%
39%
Mathematics
48%
26%
55%
70%
72%
57%
33%
21%
Science
49%
27%
60%
66%
76%
59%
38%
28%
History/Social Science
61%
34%
64%
78%
65%
65%
43%
32%
10th Life Science
61%
34%
66%
74%
82%
66%
47%
35%
Percentages incread from 2004-05 to 2005-06
10th Grade Life Science test was new for 2005-06 School Year


BOARD REPORT for Board of Trustees Meeting August 22, 2006
*******************************************************************

ANNOUNCEMENT OF ITEMS DISCUSSED IN CLOSED SESSION AND ACTIONS TAKEN Board President Avie Katz announced the termination of the contract for Superintendent. On a 3-2 vote in open session, the Board terminated the contract of Superintendent Dr. Stephen R. Rowley effective immediately. Kathryn Ho, Avie Katz, and Homer Tong voted for termination; Nancy Newton and Barbara Nunes voted against termination (see http://www.fuhsd.org/district.htm for more details). Katz announced that the Board would go back into closed session following the open session of the meeting.

COMMUNICATIONS
FEA (teachers’ union) President Tom Avvakumovits stated that he was “shocked and perplexed like many people” stating that the District and community will want to know how much this “termination will cost the District” and how this action is “in their best interest.” Student Board Member Peter Liu encouraged the Board to “stick together by promoting education for all students.”

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
Director of Guidance & Community College Programs Shelby Spain reported “Day 2” enrollment numbers: CHS 1,452; FHS 1,736; HHS 2,111; LHS 1,898; MVHS 2,508 for total of 9,705 — 278 below the projected 9,983 students. The District expects a gradual increase in enrollment through the first month of school. • Santa Clara County School Board Member Dr. Bill Evers, who represents our District along with SCC School Board Member T.N. Ho, presented an overview of the functions of the Santa Clara County Office of Education.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROPOSAL
Community member Nick Szabo presented his proposal to locate mixed-use (classrooms and teacher housing) on school district property. His suggestion was to place about 30 townhomes on the Monta Vista High School student parking lot with the student parking moved to Blackberry Farm. These townhomes would be deemed affordable housing for District teachers. Staff agreed to review his proposal.

OVERVIEW OF DISTRICTWIDE STAR TEST RESULTS
Kate Jamentz, Associate Superintendent of Teaching & Learning, reviewed the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) results released by the California Department of Education last week. Staff is currently analyzing these results and school leadership teams will use them as part of the school planning process. Districtwide, the number of students achieving Proficient or Advanced (meeting or exceeding the state standards) on STAR has increased in English, mathematics, and science. In four of our five schools, the number of students achieving Proficient or Advanced far exceeds those in Santa Clara County or the State of California. The District will continue to use this data along with other student performance data to better understand which students are struggling academically and to strengthen the instructional program to meet their needs. See District Bulletin for 2006 Results.

FRAMEWORK FOR POTENTIAL INVESTIGATION
Several community members, District teachers, and students vigorously expressed their interest in the District moving ahead quickly with an “outside investigation” into why Monta Vista High School Teachers Melanie Walczak and Tim Krieger left the District. The Board unanimously passed a motion to “instruct a neutral party to complete a timeline starting with the beginning of the advertisement for the position at Monta Vista addressing confidentiality issues, the role of the staff and the Board, ending with August 22nd, with the goal that establishes policy so that this kind of thing does not happen again.”

BOARD OF TRUSTEES...
    • Adopted Resolution #067-02 authorizing investment of Fremont Union High School District
       monies in the Local Agency Investment Fund and re-certified District officers with
       appropriate titles
    • Approved designated personnel - Conflict of Interest Code
    • Approved Verification of Requirements for a Provisional Internship Permits for Chin Song,
       Single Subject Math and Business; for James Schussler, Educational Specialist—
       Moderate/Severe Disability area; for Leslie Navarro, Educational Specialist—Mild/Moderate
       disability area; for Susan Peters, Educational Specialist—Mild/Moderate Disability area; for
       Stephanie Worley, Educational Specialist—Mild/Moderate Disability area; and for
       Ted Shinta, Single Subject Industrial Technology
    • Reviewed the Quarterly Report on Williams Uniform Complaints for April 1 through
       June 30, 2006 (no complaints filed)

At 9:46pm the Board of Trustees returned to closed session...
ANNOUNCEMENT OF ITEMS DISCUSSED IN CLOSED SESSION AND ACTIONS TAKEN Board President Avie Katz stated that the Board talked about appointing an acting superintendent and the Board mutually agreed to appoint Deputy Superintendent Polly Bove. The Board unanimously approved the appointment.

FUTURE BOARD MEETINGS
TUESDAY, August 29, 2006 at ESC – Special Board Meeting—Closed Session at 5pm,
Open Session at 6pm
TUESDAY, September 5, 2006 at ESC – Closed Session at 6pm, Open Session at 7pm
TUESDAY, September 19, 2006 at ESC – Closed Session at 6pm, Open Session at 7pm

EDUCATING CAPABLE, CARING, CONTRIBUTING CITIZENS FOR LIFE

 
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