Tulare County Grand Jury
2013-2014
From the annual report
The consolidated year-end volume. The individual investigations it contains are listed separately below.
📑 Year-End Report
The full consolidated volume; individual reports are listed below.
Individual reports (12)
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Findings and recommendations not yet extracted.
Findings & Recommendations
2 findings
F1:
The Grand Jury found that Farmersville and Woodlake are the only two cities that have a Medical Marijuana Ordinance and permit requirement.
F2:
The Grand Jury also found that without a Medical Marijuana Ordinance and permit requirement, it was impossible for the cities to keep track of legal Medical Marijuana cultivation within their boundaries.
Findings and recommendations not yet extracted.
Findings and recommendations not yet extracted.
Findings & Recommendations
2 findings
F1:
School districts, communities and dedicated individuals rolled up their sleeves and went to work building student cabins, roads, hiking trails, instructional areas and a dining facility. Learning not from a book but from nature itself gives students a better understanding of the importance of nature, their environment and their world.
F2:
Students from Tulare County not only learn about nature; they learn to socialize and interact with students from other communities.
Findings & Recommendations
22 findings
F1:
General Funds are being used to purchase bottled water. T U L A R E C O U N T Y G R A N D J U R Y R E P O R T 2 013 - 2 014 10 5
F2:
The Tulare County Grand Jury recommends Buena Vista School District apply for funding under Prop 84, Safe Drinking Water Bond Act, for a new well as other school districts have done. RESPONSES:
F3:
The Academic Performance Index is 620, an increase of fifty-six points from the previous year.
F4:
The Revenue Limit per ADA is $7,430 and there is a Total Revenue Limit of $351,460.
F5:
Board meetings are scheduled for the second Thursday of each month.
F6:
The Student handbook was available only in English.
F7:
The majority of students live on the Tule River Indian Reservation.
F8:
The District provides transportation to and from school to the Towanits Education Center on the Tule River Indian Reservation.
F9:
A Safe School Plan is available.
F10:
Citrus South Tule School District does not have the financial means to maintain adequate technology resources needed for the students. They have minimal and outdated computers available which are inadequate for taking the common core assessment tests.
F11:
The School does not have an after school program; however, the school does work closely with the Towanits Education Center Staff to assist the students with extra help, homework and school projects. FINDINGS:
F12:
The school administration office did not have an office sign posted.
F13:
The school participates in Odyssey of the Mind, an international academic competition, and has a Science Olympiad Team, which participates in a science, oriented national competition.
F14:
The school has a sports team that competes against other small schools.
F15:
Columbine School District has new classroom computers available that are pending installation and are required for the Common Core testing. T U L A R E C O U N T Y G R A N D J U R Y R E P O R T 2 013 - 2 014 10 7
F16:
The Columbine School District lacks sufficient funds to satisfy both computer and textbook needs. FINDINGS:
F17:
A three way pledge is signed by the parents, teachers and students as a commitment to work together to help the students do their best academically.
F18:
As an annual fundraiser for SCICON and for other student needs, parents, students and staff all work together in sponsoring the annual Spring Chicken Dinner. The dinner serves as a bridge to unite the school and community. T U L A R E C O U N T Y G R A N D J U R Y R E P O R T 2 013 - 2 014 1 1 2 FINDINGS:
F19:
The school has a gymnasium with fold-out tables and it doubles as the cafeteria. The gymnasium has two basketball hoops and a full size stage with overhead lighting.
F20:
The school has a music program consisting of the history of music for grades 3 – 5 and the marching band for grades 5 – 8.
F21:
Sundale School has a Gifted and Talented Education Program for grades 3 – 8. To enter the program all applicants must pass a complex intelligence test. Approximately 3% of the school’s population is in the program.
F22:
Sundale School has an Agricultural Science Program which consists of the following: a. A Farmer’s Market Program b. Work in the School’s Farmer’s Market Store on campus c. Herb garden products and garden flowers for arrangements are sold in the Farmer’s Market Store. d. Students raise chickens and rabbits. Eggs are sold in the Farmer’s Market Store. e. A garden section for grades K – 3 f. A garden section for grades 3 – 8 g. The cafeteria uses oranges, pomegranates, and persimmons as well as the vegetables grown in the garden. h. During the Annual Farm Show in Tulare, the agricultural students work each day selling what they have raised at the school. Their profit averages $50,000 to $60,000 each year. i. A portion of the profits from the Farm Show go to support the Band, the Art Program, and scholarships in Agricultural Science. The balance of the profits go to the Sundale Foundation, an after school and childcare program. FINDINGS:
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Findings & Recommendations
2 findings
F1:
There are several instances where a child becomes the responsibility of the county and a placement determination is needed. There are situations where the child may be a victim of physical child abuse. From time to time the child may be a victim of general child neglect. Other times, a child may be subjected to emotional abuse. On occasion, children become the victims of sexual abuse. There are even situations where the caregiver was absent or incapacitated. Ultimately, all these cases end up in the Child Welfare System.
F2:
Child Welfare and Probation Departments both have the objective of family unification as a pre-placement goal within one year.
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Findings & Recommendations
2 findings
F1:
The Tulare County Public Defender’s Office exceeds the standards set by the United States Department of Justice on Standards for both Felony and Misdemeanor caseloads per attorney.
F2:
The current pay scale has not been increased for several years.
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Findings & Recommendations
2 findings
F1:
There are many benefits to solar energy such as lower energy costs, environmental, renewal resources and clean energy.
F2:
The schools are doing their part to become more energy efficient. T U L A R E C O U N T Y G R A N D J U R Y R E P O R T 2 013 - 2 014 14 6
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Findings & Recommendations
1 findings
F1:
Accomplishment of the objectives of the Yettem-Button Ditch, Cottonwood Creek Ditch and Seville-Sontag Ditch Projects is pending.
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Findings & Recommendations
7 findings
F1:
As the shortage of water increases, the costs to water districts to meet the maintenance requirement challenges increase. When water districts raise consumer prices to offset these fiscal demands, the response by the public is to conserve water in order to keep the bills down. This becomes a vicious cycle.
F2:
There is a need for potable water and improvement of basic infrastructure in certain communities. Many low income residents are forced into purchasing bottled water. Those who are unable to purchase or access potable water face certain health risks.
F3:
As water pressure decreases and the water table goes down, the levels of arsenic and other contaminants increase.
F4:
Without more rainwater, the efforts to collect and conserve water will be in vain.
F5:
The water infrastructures of all of the communities in Tulare County are old and need costly repairs and updating.
F6:
The City of Lindsay proposes to create additional surface water storage by constructing a levee and excavating a basin to improve efficiency at the water treatment process plant.
F7:
The upgrade of Visalia’s wastewater treatment facility will enable one hundred percent of the wastewater to be recycled. Approximately thirteen million gallons a day of recycled water will be generated by the upgraded Water Conservation Plant.
* 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.