MPUSD board meets with "Operation Educate"

Following a presentation made by parents, teachers and community members to the MPUSD board three weeks ago, the district scheduled a special meeting a 6:30 today to dialogue with the group and talk about their requests.

There's an email circulating from "Operation Educate" folks urging community members to attend.

"The board will not listen to just the handful of us. Your presence is the only way to make a difference. When you don't show up the assumption is that you are not concerned and are completely content with the the way things are being run," writes Tammi Suber, president of the 20th District of the California State PTA.

The board will also hear from district administrators who've done the math. To hire enough teachers to reduce class sizes, hire instructional aids for combo classes, and hire two intervention teachers per each program improvement school, the district would have to spend an additional $6.1 million.

The district will end up with $24 million in reserve, but it's spending $6 million more than it's taking in income, so that reserve could dry up if no cuts are made. Now, if spending is increased, and the governor's tax measure is not approved...

Plus, the district's in mediation with the Monterey Bay Teachers Association over a $8 million past due bill the district still owes the teachers. The union wants the district administrators to include the debt with the rest of their liabilities, something that appears they haven't done. At the board meeting where the district's audit was reviewed, the auditor seemed surprised to hear there was this outstanding debt not on the books. Now teachers and administrators are in negotiations to get the debt --which goes back more than a decade -- repaid, and also how to reflect it in the books.