📋
Extracted from Consolidated Report

This investigation was originally published as part of a larger consolidated report containing multiple investigations. View the consolidated PDF for the complete document.

Tulare County Grand Jury • 2010-2011

Tulare County Grand Jury Report 2010-2011

13 pages
View PDF View Full Original

Findings 27 findings

F1 Page 31
The ADA for Tulare County school districts ranges from 19 (Hot Springs Elementary) to 25,089 (Visalia Unified). Superintendents’ total compensation similarly ranges from $80,071 (Saucelito) to $195,384 (Cutler-Orosi) (Attachment A).
F2 Page 31
In general, total compensation tracks upward with increasing ADA (Attachment B). Exceptions to this trend may be driven by longevity on the job, the credential or degree held by the individual, the number of school sites in the district, the negotiating ability of the individual superintendent, as well as the amount of attention each Board pays to their incumbent superintendent’s compensation.
F3 Page 31
Small district superintendents frequently have job responsibilities beyond their role as superintendent, such as teaching and site principal. The large district superintendents manage large and diverse staffs that cover all functional areas of school district operation.
F4 Page 31
There is a great deal of variation in the format of the superintendent’s contract for the various school districts. A common format does exist and is used by many districts, but some districts have either drifted away from the original, or it was never used.
F5 Page 31
The contractual support for health insurance and pension benefits varies considerably. Some districts pay all health insurance costs for their superintendent and family, while others only provide access to the district’s health insurance program. Similar variation occurs in regard to health insurance benefits at retirement. The differences noted in pension agreements appear to be more tactical and may be simply due to negotiations at the time of hiring or contract renewal. CONCLUSIONS The total compensation packages for the superintendents of the public school districts analyzed by the Grand Jury generally track positively with the ADA, size, and complexity of each district. The contents of each superintendent’s contract regarding health insurance and pension benefits are variable and do not adhere to any standard form. This does not take away from the observation that the trustees of the school 28 TULARE COUNTY GRAND JURY REPORT 2010-2011 districts in Tulare County are doing a reasonable job of managing their superintendent’s compensation in line with the size and complexity of their districts.
F6
Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified School District: a. There are 13 schools in the district, serving grades K-12. b. There are 226 teachers and an ADA of 3,985 students. c. The Revenue Limit per ADA is $6,362 with a TRL of $20,471,908 per year. d. Board meetings are scheduled to be held on the second Thursday of each month at 6:00 pm. e. During the November 10, 2010 meeting, Board members were professional, business like, and knowledgeable. f. There were microphones available; however, they were not needed.
F7
Dinuba Unified School District: a. There are 11 schools in the district, serving grades K-12/Adult. b. There are 322 teachers and an ADA of 5,653 students. c. The Revenue Limit per ADA is $6,690 with a TRL of $30,752,865 per year. d. Board meetings are scheduled to be held on the second and fourth Thursday of each month at 7:00 pm, closed sessions are at 6:00 pm when needed. e. During the meeting held on October 14, 2010, it was noted that the Board members directed their agenda reports to one another rather than the audience.
F8
Earlimart School District: a. There are four schools in the district, serving grades K-8. b. There are 109 teachers and an ADA of 1,923 students. c. The Revenue Limit per ADA is $6,134 with a TRL of $9,886,950 per year. d. Board meetings are scheduled to be held on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 6:00 pm. e. Agendas are posted in English and Spanish. f. A meeting held on January 11, 2011 began at the scheduled time. g. The board members were business like, courteous to each other as well as the visiting audience and appeared to be knowledgeable on school issues.
F9
Exeter Union School District: a. There are four schools in the district, serving grades Pre-school-8. b. There are 93 teachers and an ADA of 1,913 students. c. The Revenue Limit per ADA is $6,126 with a TRL of $9,667,195 per year. d. Board meetings are scheduled to be held on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 5:00 pm. e. A board meeting held on March 22, 2011, began on time and all board members were present. f. The board members were business like and appeared to be knowledgeable on school issues. g. The main topic discussed during this meeting was the upcoming eighth grade Wilson School graduation.
F10
Exeter Union High School District: a. There are two schools in the district, serving grades 9-12. TULARE COUNTY GRAND JURY REPORT 2010-2011
F11
Farmersville Unified School District: a. There are six schools in the district, serving grades K-12. b. There are 142 teachers and an ADA of 2,441 students. c. The Revenue Limit per ADA is $6,587 with a TRL of $13,224,476 per year. d. Board meetings are scheduled to be held on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 6:45 pm. e. On the August 24, 2010 Agenda, six Inter-District Requests for consideration were posted. Only one of those requests was approved. f. Microphones were available; however, the audio was poor and speakers spoke in low tones, making it difficult to hear.
F12
Hot Springs School District: a. There are two schools in the district, serving grades K-8. b. There are two teachers and an ADA of 19 students. c. The Revenue Limit per ADA is $7,191 with a TRL of $240,343 per year. d. Board meetings are scheduled to be held on the second Monday of each month (except holidays) at 4:00 pm. e. Board members conducted the January 10, 2011 meeting in a professional and business like manner.
F13
Lindsay Unified School District: a. There are eight schools in the district, serving grades K-12. b. There are 186 teachers and an ADA of 3,911 students. c. The Revenue Limit per ADA is $6,388 with a TRL of $20,586,146 per year. d. Board meetings are scheduled to be held on the second and fourth Monday of each month at 6:00 pm. e. A meeting held on March 28, 2011 began on time. f. Board members were well prepared for the meeting and appeared to be professional and business like. g. There were microphones available and they were used.
F14
Porterville Unified School District: a. There are 23 schools in the district, serving grades K-12/Adult. b. There are 602 teachers and an ADA of 12,682 students. c. The Revenue Limit per ADA is $6,892 with a TRL of $69,343,567 per year. d. Board meetings are scheduled to be held on the second and fourth Thursday of each month at 4:30 pm. TULARE COUNTY GRAND JURY REPORT 2010-2011 e. The Board meeting held on February 10, 2011 was standing room only. f. Board members appeared knowledgeable and conducted the standing room only meeting in a professional manner. g. It was noted that Granite Hills won the Academic Decathlon for the 10th year in a row. The theme was The Grapes of Wrath. h. There was discussion of the Dual Immersion Program. So much time was used on the topic that the Board decided to holdover the discussion until the next scheduled meeting.
F15
Richgrove School District: a. There is one school in the district, serving grades K-8. b. There are 40 teachers and an ADA of 689 students. c. The Revenue Limit per ADA is $6,126 with a TRL of $3,433,106 per year. d. Board meetings are scheduled to be held on the second Thursday of each month at 6:00 pm. e. At the December 9, 2010 meeting the Board members were knowledgeable and conducted the meeting in a business like fashion. f. Board members attended board training in San Francisco. g. In the near future Solar panels will be installed on the school campus saving the district approximately $100,000 on its annual electric bill. h. A sum of $2.5 million from the districts childcare/pre-school budget needs to be returned to the state.
F16
Springville Union School District: a. There is one school in the district, serving grades K-8 b. There are 19 teachers and an ADA of 341 students. c. The Revenue Limit per ADA is $6,100 with a TRL of $1,725,931 per year. d. Board meetings are scheduled to be held on the second Monday of each month at 6:30 pm. e. All board members were present at the December 13, 2010 meeting. f. Board members appeared to have read the agendas and were prepared for their meeting. g. The board appeared to be professional, knowledgeable and treated the public courteously.
F17
Stone Corral School District: a. There is one school in the district, serving grades K-8. b. There are four teachers and an ADA of 131 students. c. The Revenue Limit per ADA is $6,159 with a TRL of $685,260 per year. d. Board meetings are scheduled to be held on the second Thursday of each month at 5:00 pm. e. A meeting held on February 10, 2011 started late, at 5:15 pm. f. No agendas were available and had to be requested. g. Board members did not appear to be knowledgeable on the agenda items. h. Board members did not stick to the agenda items and there was too much table talk between them. i. Of the three board members, two were present.
F18
Strathmore Union School District: a. There are three schools in the district, serving grades K-8. TULARE COUNTY GRAND JURY REPORT 2010-2011 a. There are three schools in the district, serving grades K-8. b. There are 39 teachers and an ADA of 761 students. c. The Revenue Limit per ADA is $6,090 with a TRL of $3,814,639 per year. d. Board meetings are scheduled to be held on the second Monday of each month at 6:00 pm. e. A meeting held on March 15, 2011 was held a day late due to a catastrophic leave situation. It was posted as being held on the day following the original scheduled meeting and was at 11:30 am. f. Board members appeared to be professional and knowledgeable on the agenda items.
F19
Sundale Union School District: a. There is one school in the district, serving grades K-8. b. There are 33 teachers and an ADA of 696 students. c. The Revenue Limit per ADA is $6,099 with a TRL of $3,462,162 per year. d. Board meetings are scheduled to be held on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 7:30 pm. e. At the January 25, 2011 meeting, board members were knowledgeable on the agenda items.
F20
Terra Bella Union School District: a. There are two schools in the district, serving grades K-8. b. There are 46 teachers and an ADA of 873 students. c. The Revenue Limit per ADA is $6,103 with a TRL of $4,444,185 per year. d. Board meetings are scheduled to be held on the second Thursday of each month at 6:30 pm. e. At the board meeting held on January 13, 2011, board members appeared to have marginal knowledge of the agenda items. f. There were no microphones available and it was difficult to hear what was being discussed. g. It appeared that some board members tended to over explain some of the agenda items, causing the meeting to last longer than necessary.
F21
Tulare City School District: a. There are 15 schools in the district, serving grades Pre-school – 8. b. There are 441 teachers and an ADA of 8,760 students. c. The Revenue Limit per ADA is $6,129 with a TRL of $44,109,785 per year. d. Board meetings are scheduled to be held on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 7:00 pm. e. A meeting held on February 22, 2011 was well run. f. Board members appeared knowledgeable on the agenda items.
F22
Tulare County Office of Education: a. Board meetings are scheduled to be held on the second Wednesday of each month at 3:00 pm. b. At the February 9, 2011 meeting, it was noted that the meeting room is too small and there was standing room only. c. Board members were knowledgeable on agenda items. d. The meeting was well run and board members were courteous to each other 36 TULARE COUNTY GRAND JURY REPORT 2010-2011 d. The meeting was well run and board members were courteous to each other and to the public. e. Board members appeared genuinely interested in what the audience had to say during the public comment time.
F23
Tulare Joint Union High School District: a. There are eight schools in the district, serving grades 9-12/Adults. b. There are 237 teachers and an ADA of 4,676 students. c. The Revenue Limit per ADA is $7,392 with a TRL of $29,324,749 per year. d. Board meetings are scheduled to be held on the first and third Thursday of each month at 7:30 pm. e. A meeting held on February 17, 2011 began on time. f. Board members appeared to have read the agenda, were prepared for the meeting, and were knowledgeable on the agenda items. g. The meeting was well run and all items were discussed in a timely manner. h. There was only one microphone available making it difficult to hear.
F24
Visalia Unified School District: a. There are 38 schools in the district, serving grades Pre K-12/Adults. b. There are 1,161 teachers and an ADA of 25,548 students. c. The Revenue Limit per ADA is $6,390 with a TRL of $133,016,222 per year. d. Board meetings are scheduled to be held on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 7:00 pm. e. A meeting held on November 9, 2010 began on time and all board members were present. f. Board members were prepared for the meeting, courteous to each other and to the audience.
F25
Waukena Joint Union School District: a. There is one school in the district, serving grades K-8. b. There are nine teachers and an ADA of 255 students. c. The Revenue Limit per ADA is $6,095 with a TRL of $1,240,127 per year. d. Board meetings are scheduled to be held on the second Monday of each month at 6:00 pm. e. A meeting held on March 14, 2011 began at 6:10 pm. One board member arrived two hours late. f. Some of the board members asked questions on certain agenda items, for clarification. g. The Superintendent was asked to thoroughly explain each agenda item to board members.
F26
Woodlake Union High School District: a. There are two schools in the district, serving grades 9-12. b. There are 38 teachers and an ADA of 754 students. c. The Revenue Limit per ADA is $7,365 with a TRL of $4,806,287 per year. d. Board meetings are scheduled to be held on the first Wednesday of each month at 6:30 pm. e. A meeting held on November 3, 2010 had three of five board members present. f. Board members appeared to have read the agenda and were prepared for 37 TULARE COUNTY GRAND JURY REPORT 2010-2011 present. f. Board members appeared to have read the agenda and were prepared for their meeting. g. After two agenda items had been discussed, the board members went into closed session for a hearing on Student Expulsion(s)/Reinstatement and dinner. After 1¼ hours, the meeting resumed. h. There was unnecessary talking between the board members. i. At 10:00 pm, the board members went into a second closed session for discussion on the Superintendent Evaluation.
F27
Woodville Union School District: a. There is one school in the district, serving grades K-8. b. There are 35 teachers and an ADA of 540 students. c. The Revenue Limit per ADA is $6,103 with a TRL of $2,843,428 per year. d. Board meetings are scheduled to be held on the second Tuesday of each month at 6:00 pm. e. A meeting held on February 8, 2011 was well organized and the Board members appeared businesslike and professional. f. Of the five board members, one appeared not to be prepared for the meeting. g. Board members were courteous to each other and to the audience. h. Microphones were not used, making it difficult to hear what was being said. CONCLUSIONS With the exception of a select few, school board meetings appeared to be well run by well-informed board members. Some of the board meetings did not have microphones available and others had microphones available and not used. It was difficult to hear during those meetings. During some school board meetings, there was unnecessary talking between board members and/or agenda discussions took too long.

Recommendations 11