Tonight I attended the Superintendent Parent Advisory Council
Meeting at the School District Office.
Tonight I attended the Superintendent Parent Advisory Council Meeting at the School District Office. This committee consists of parent representatives from all the schools in Gilroy. In addition, parent representatives from other special interest groups within GUSD are involved.
These include the District ELAC group, the GATE group, the Migrant Education group and the Special Education group. Juanita Contin is the able facilitator of these monthly meetings, taking copious notes and translating when necessary. Edwin Diaz is there to listen and to answer questions from the committee members. What a concept!
The main topic on the agenda Tuesday was the school district budget. The news is not good.
Of course, living in these tough economic times, we were all aware that the news would be grim. The district is facing severe cuts to some programs, and the effect will be felt throughout all our schools. Lee White did an admirable job of presenting this information to the parent council. While the outlook for our school system is not as severe as in some other districts, immediate steps are being taken to lessen the impact of state budget cuts within GUSD. These include a district-wide hiring freeze, a freeze on capital expenditures in the General Fund, a freeze on uncommitted travel and conferences, and free food for district meetings and events will be eliminated.
Once we got past the budget, we knew we would be unable to complete the agenda. We agreed early on to set a two-hour time limit to the meetings, and we have stuck to that each month.
At this point, all the parent representatives tell the superintendent the concerns of their particular school site. This is the true value of the council in my opinion. Here we talk about issues that don’t always make it into the paper.
While I am aware of the concerns at Brownell, I value hearing the concerns of other school sites. Some parents spoke of concerns due to budget cuts, teacher morale, and playground issues. It seems that a few schools need some shade for their children. Las Animas is concerned with the dual immersion program and the transfer point for transportation. Other parents talked about a new after-school program, wanting to know when it will start.
The GATE person raised numerous concerns regarding GATE at the middle school, and after-school programs. The Migrant Program representative wanted to know why we don’t spend all the funds allotted to the program. So much information comes from each of the members, and you leave the meeting feeling that your voice has been heard. I came away assured that things are going well at both Gilroy High and Mount Madonna.
We live in such uncertain times. My children have asked me “are we at war?” As the president gave his State of the Union Address, I get the feeling that we are certainly headed for war. As a citizen of this country, I feel there is little I can do to change the course we are on, because I am just one voice out of millions. On Tuesday night, I took comfort in the fact that as a member of the Parent Advisory Council our “commander in chief” of the school district is taking the time to hear what is important to the people whose children he serves.
