Nevada County Grand Jury
• 1997-1998
Nevada County Schools Reason for Investigation*
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Note: Missing finding numbers detected: F4
Findings and Recommendations 7 findings
F1
All of the elementary school districts except one in the county are experiencing declining enrollment. This results in a direct impact on their annual budgets since the state bases funding on average daily attendance. School boards and their superintendents are reviewing teaching staff requirements. Some of the districts have limited sharing of teaching staff. Districts at this time do not wish to combine administratively, as this removes the sense of local neighborhood control of schools. Elementary school districts work closely with their parent communities and this is reflected in the active parent volunteer support.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
The Grand Jury recommends sharing administrative and central office functions to reduce each district's cost of operation.
F2
There are more charter schools in Nevada County relative to population than in any other county in the state. California law places very few controls on the operation of charter schools. Concerns about fiscal oversight and lack of standards for student assessment, have been expressed by several local board members and professional staff. The charter school officials did not agree with the concerns on oversight and attendance. The legislation authorizing charter schools is being reviewed by state school officials and the Legislature during 1998. Input from leaders of the Nevada County charter schools has been requested by the Legislature. In a letter to the California Network of Educational Charters on October 31, 1997, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin expressed her concern for charter schools' fiscal oversight and average daily attendance accounting.
No recommendations for this finding
F3
Each school district conducts its own grant research and develops the required documentation in the competition for extra funds. The county superintendent of schools has attempted to improve school environment as well as promote communication between schools and the public. Examples of his accomplishments are: a countywide school newsletter directed to all superintendents and teachers school information broadcasts by school personnel on a local radio station contributions of computers and funds to the county library • establishment of the "3R" school for middle school students who have social and learning problems
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
The Grand Jury recommends that Nevada County schools work together to develop a grant research and writing staff that would be available for all school districts in the county.
F5
The Nevada Joint Union High School (NJUHS) counselors provide comparison statistics on the performance of incoming freshmen to the elementary districts from which the students came. This provides a means for the elementary school district to compare performance with other school districts.
No recommendations for this finding
F6
Most of the local school district board of education members participate in a countywide association in which school district superintendents prepare informational seminars to acquaint members with board duties. They also participate in the California School Board Association seminars on school governance which have been identified as being of significant benefit, particularly for new board members.
No recommendations for this finding
F7
The state requires that all prospective employees and volunteers of school districts be fingerprinted before they start employment; this costs school districts approximately $70 per applicant. It can take six weeks for each clearance.
No recommendations for this finding
F8
The Grand Jury found that a conflict had existed throughout the 1997-98 school year between the county superintendent of schools and the superintendent of the NJUHS. It was found that the handling of a sports program problem involving parents of a student and the county superintendent did not include participation of the NJUHS officials. This was in part responsible for the protracted conflict. CONCLUSIONS
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
The Grand Jury recommends that boards of education be alert to personnel conflict within the school districts' administration and assert more direction and authority if such issues arise.
Conclusions 3
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CL1 Page 2The elementary school districts and their respective volunteer parent communities are to be commended for their joint effort in providing the best possible school environment for their students.
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CL2 Page 2Charter schools offer different approaches to the learning environment. The lack of state mandated structure and standards, which are required for traditional schools, creates a concern about a sufficiency of financial oversight, accountability and assessment of student performance.
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CL3 Page 2The unresolved conflict between the county superintendent of schools and the superintendent of the NJUHS caused unnecessary ill will and showed lack of professionalism on the part of both individuals. 40
* 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.