Madera County Grand Jury • 2018-2019

Madera Unified School District Board of Trustees:*

Published: August 19, 2019 5 pages
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Note: Missing finding numbers detected: F2, F3, F4

Findings and Recommendations 4 findings

F1
Both MUSD and GVUSD are in compliance with Education Code 39831.5 (a) (A,B,C,D, and E) (2), the "Annual Student Bus Safety Document" requirements.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
The MCGJ recommends that MUSD and GVUSD must continue staying in compliance with Education Code 39831.5 (a) (A,B,C,D, and E) (2), the "Annual Student Bus Safety Document" requirements each year to ensure that the most complete and accurate information is provided to drivers. . Response: Ed Code 39831.5 (a) (1) (A,B,C,D, and E) states: (a) All pupils in prekindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, in public or private school who are transported in a school bus or school pupil activity bus shall receive instruction in school bus emergency procedures and passenger safety. The county superintendent of schools, superintendent of the school district, or owner operator of a private school, as applicable, shall ensure that the instruction is provided as follows: (1) Upon registration, the parents or guardians of all pupils not previously transported in a school bus or school pupil activity bus and who are in prekindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 6, inclusive, shall be provided with written information on school bus safety. The information shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following: MADERA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT Board of Trustees: 1902 Howard Road, Madera, California 93637 MADER Ray G. Seibert, President (559) 675-4500 Ruben Mendoza, Clerk FAX: (559) 675-1186 Trustees: www.madera.k12.ca.us Brent Fernandes, Joetta Fleak Ed McIntyre, Lucy Salazar Superintendent: Todd Lile (A) A list of school bus stops near each pupil's home. (B) General rules of conduct at school bus loading zones. (C) Red light crossing instructions. (D) School bus danger zone. (E) Walking to and from school bus stops. (2) At least once in each school year, all pupils in prekindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, who receive home-to-school transportation shall receive safety instruction that includes, but is not limited to, proper loading and unloading procedures, including escorting by the driver, how to safely cross the street, highway, or private road, instruction on the use of passenger restraint systems, as described in paragraph (3), proper passenger conduct, bus evacuation, and location of emergency equipment. Instruction also may include responsibilities of passengers seated next to an emergency exit. As part of the instruction, pupils shall evacuate the school bus through emergency exit doors. The district will continue to provide this information to parents through several avenues and to the families of all students enrolled in our district. School bus stops are posted on the district website and a flier is provided to each school site listing the bus stops for each of our bus routes organized by school of attendance. These routes are developed annually based on student enrollment and the location of student residences. Written information on general rules of conduct, red light crossing instructions, and school bus danger zones are included in the district handbook that is provided to all students at the beginning of every school year. Students will continue to participate in annual bus safety drills conducted by district drivers as required by Ed Code.
F5
The MCGJ finds that the traffic conditions are dangerous at Alpha Elementary School and John Adams Elementary.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
The MCGJ recommends MUSD senior District leaders immediately meet with senior City of Madera Law Enforcement and the City of Madera Traffic Engineer in order to mitigate all traffic congestion at Alpha School and John Adams School. Response: On July 16, 2019, MUSD leaders, City of Madera Police Chief, City of Madera Police Commander, and City of Madera Traffic Engineer met to discuss the MCGJ findings regarding traffic around district schools. Alpha Elementary and John Adams Elementary were discussed in great detail. MADERA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT Board of Trustees: 1902 Howard Road, Madera, California 93637 Ray G. Seibert, President (559) 675-4500 Ruben Mendoza, Clerk FAX: (559) 675-1186 Trustees: www.madera.k12.ca.us Brent Fernandes, Joetta Fleak Ed McIntyre, Lucy Salazar Superintendent: Todd Lile It was determined that the City of Madera would install traffic delineators in areas on Stadium Road that would prohibit left turns out of the parent pick up/drop off driveway at Alpha Elementary as well as the exit out of Madera South High School. MUSD was also informed that Stadium Road would be included in a traffic study the City will conduct as part of an analysis of extending Almond Ave. from Pine St. to Stadium Road. MUSD was also informed that a future "HAWK signal light" would be installed on the corner of Stadium Road and Gary Lane. It was recommended that MUSD ask parents traveling east towards John Adams to drop off/pick up students on National Ave, and parents traveling west towards John Adams to drop off/pick up students on Third Street. The intent is to eliminate students crossing those roadways in front of vehicular traffic.
F6
Many drivers are either uninformed or disregard traffic safety procedures at Alpha Elementary School and John Adams Elementary School causing additional traffic congestion and unsafe conditions for students.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
The MCGJ recommends, by the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, MUSD must begin using social media platforms, such as Aeries, Facebook, Twitter, and the school website, to publicize existing traffic hazards and expose problems in order to improve the behavior of drivers. Response: Madera Unified has established a standard procedure for all school sites to follow in order to better communicate traffic patterns at school sites. This procedure is currently in implementation stages and is expected to be followed at all school sites. School maps with clearly identified student drop off/pick up areas are in development. These maps will be posted on school websites and distributed to parents through emails and social media platforms. School sites have already sent messages via robo-phone calls to parents at the beginning of the school year. Madera Police Department has also provided communication through social media and coordinated their messages with the district. MUSD and Madera PD are continuing to visit and monitor all district school sites to review traffic patterns and make recommendations for improvement.
F7
Senior staff at both MUSD and Madera City Police Department are not collaborating to solve traffic safety issues throughout the district.
Related Recommendations (1)
R7
The MCGJ recommends MUSD senior leadership immediately begin to collaborate with senior managers of the City of Madera Police Department and the City of Madera Traffic Engineer to review the traffic flow plan on each school in Madera Unified. MADERA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT Board of Trustees: 1902 Howard Road, Madera, California 93637 Ray G. Seibert, President (559) 675-4500 Ruben Mendoza, Clerk FAX: (559) 675-1186 Trustees: www.madera.k12.ca.us Brent Fernandes, Joetta Fleak Ed McIntyre, Lucy Salazar Superintendent: Todd Lile Response: On July 16, 2019 the following District and City staff met to discuss the MCGJ findings (MUSD Superintendent, MUSD Deputy Superintendent, MUSD Area Assistant Superintendents, City of Madera Chief of Police, City of Madera Police Commander, and City of Madera Traffic Engineer. A second meeting was held on August 1, 2019. Meetings between the District, Madera Police Department, and City of Madera Traffic Engineer will be held every other month for the purpose of addressing traffic safety issues around school sites. Madera Police Department has provided additional resources to our school sites during morning drop off and afternoon pick up times and have provided "media blasts" to parents regarding enforcement of traffic laws around school sites. MUSD and Madera PD have also established satellite offices on the campuses of both Madera High School and Madera South High School for traffic patrol officers. This will provide increased traffic enforcement around the high schools as well as Stadium Road. Madera Unified would like to thank the Madera County Grand Jury for their diligence and thoughtful recommendations in making our community and specifically our schools safer. Respectfully, Todd Lile Ray Siebert Superintendent President Madera Unified School District Madera Unified Board of Trustees . į. . Add to Grand Jury Website 9-5-19 Responses to Final Report 1819-03 Community Action Partnership of Madera County Inc. 1819-05 Student Safety: Why Are They Turning the Wrong Way? .

No Responses Found 2

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Madera City
Madera Unified School District School District

* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.