The podcast for the meeting can be heard at http://cmsbears.podbean.com
The following handouts were provided at the meeting:
Agenda and Auditor's Report
Superintendent's Report
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Friday, December 14, 2012
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Regular School Board Meeting November 13, 2012
The podcast for the meeting is available at http://cmsbears.podbean.com
There were numerous handouts that will be forthcoming.
I will also post the article from the Mountain Monthly after December 1. Here is the article.
Please note that the next regular meeting will be held at the Weed Community Center.
There were numerous handouts that will be forthcoming.
I will also post the article from the Mountain Monthly after December 1. Here is the article.
Please note that the next regular meeting will be held at the Weed Community Center.
Weekly Superintendent's Report November 12, 2012
Here is the report, and here is the supporting powerpoint.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Weekly Superintendent's Report for Week Ending November 2, 2012
Here is the latest superintendent's report. There was no report for the previous week.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Regular School Board Meeting October 16, 2012
The podcast has been posted.
Here is the article from the Mountain Monthly.
Along the lines of "your tax dollars at work," it turns out that the Socorro school district is willing to GIVE us a retired route bus (they have a mandated life of 12 years) which we could use as an activity bus (they have a mandated life of 20 years), but the Public Education Department in Santa Fe won't let them transfer it. Nor will PED let them sell it. So, the ever helpful PED has apparently told Cloudcroft that if we want a bus we have to buy it from a contractor.
Further along the lines of "your tax dollars at work," every 5 years the school is mandated (there's that word again...as in UNFUNDED mandate) that we hire a contractor to do a Facilities Master Plan. Our last plan was done in 2007. The cost to hire said contractor and put together said plan is said to run around $30,000.
And speaking of tax dollars, the other thing that was discussed was adding a 2 mil levy to the ballot this February.
Here is the article from the Mountain Monthly.
Along the lines of "your tax dollars at work," it turns out that the Socorro school district is willing to GIVE us a retired route bus (they have a mandated life of 12 years) which we could use as an activity bus (they have a mandated life of 20 years), but the Public Education Department in Santa Fe won't let them transfer it. Nor will PED let them sell it. So, the ever helpful PED has apparently told Cloudcroft that if we want a bus we have to buy it from a contractor.
Further along the lines of "your tax dollars at work," every 5 years the school is mandated (there's that word again...as in UNFUNDED mandate) that we hire a contractor to do a Facilities Master Plan. Our last plan was done in 2007. The cost to hire said contractor and put together said plan is said to run around $30,000.
And speaking of tax dollars, the other thing that was discussed was adding a 2 mil levy to the ballot this February.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Weekly Superintendent's Report for October 13, 2012
Here is the weekly report along with the application that it references.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Superintendent's Weekly Summary for September 28. 2012
There was no weekly summary for the week ending September 21 since that was the week of the school board meeting.
Here is the Superintendent's Weekly Summary for the week ending September 28, 2012.
Here is the Superintendent's Weekly Summary for the week ending September 28, 2012.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Weekly Superintendent's Report for September 14, 2012
Here is the weekly Superintendent's report for last week.
Regular School Board Meeting September 18, 2012
Here is the agenda for the meeting. The podcast is uploaded at http://cmsbears.podbean.com
The superintendent gave a presentation, and I will upload a copy when I get them.
The new school newsletter was also handed out.
A trial version of a new school website was shown. This was created by community member Mike Beckler, of www.cloudcroftwebcam.com renown. They are asking folks to check it out and offer any feedback or comments. I'd address those to Mike or superintendent Dempsey.
The superintendent gave a presentation, and I will upload a copy when I get them.
The new school newsletter was also handed out.
A trial version of a new school website was shown. This was created by community member Mike Beckler, of www.cloudcroftwebcam.com renown. They are asking folks to check it out and offer any feedback or comments. I'd address those to Mike or superintendent Dempsey.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Weekly Superintendent's Report, September 10, 2012
Here is the weekly Superintendent's report. Also included are copies of the presentation that the Superintendent gave at the community meetings that were held this past weekend.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Superintendent's Weekly Report for August 24 2012
Here is the Superintendent's Weekly Report. Superintendent Dempsey also sent a copy of his forthcoming Superintendent's Corner that will appear in the Mountain Monthly, and a spec sheet for the activity bus that was at the last school board meeting.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Regular School Board Meeting of August 21, 2012
The podcast is finally up for last week's meeting. Superintendent Dempsey used a slide presentation during his portion of the meeting. Those slides can be seen here.
I, along with several folks from the meeting, took a ride on a "demo" activity bus that was provided by Zia. Apparently, there is a mandate that a school must retire its activity bus after 20 years. I don't know how long this requirement has been around, but it didn't sound like something recent. Cloudcroft's activity bus is now 20 years old, so must be replaced at the end of this school year. A new bus cost around $172,000. Over the past 20 years, it sounds like our school has set aside roughly $42,000 to purchase a new bus.
The Superintendent has rescheduled his community meetings to Saturday, September 8. If you look at his slide presentation you will see the times and locations of those meetings.
There was one visitor asking what the school was going to do about AP courses, since Ms. Carter was the only teacher certified to teach AP in the high school. While the superintendent discussed AP in his presentation, visitors are allowed to speak only at the end of the meeting, so no one answered her question. I haven't heard what the school is doing about the students that were signed up for AP classes with Ms. Carter.
Here is the agenda for this meeting.
There were also some handouts at the meeting: The NMSBA Training Report and Article 22, School Election Law.
I, along with several folks from the meeting, took a ride on a "demo" activity bus that was provided by Zia. Apparently, there is a mandate that a school must retire its activity bus after 20 years. I don't know how long this requirement has been around, but it didn't sound like something recent. Cloudcroft's activity bus is now 20 years old, so must be replaced at the end of this school year. A new bus cost around $172,000. Over the past 20 years, it sounds like our school has set aside roughly $42,000 to purchase a new bus.
The Superintendent has rescheduled his community meetings to Saturday, September 8. If you look at his slide presentation you will see the times and locations of those meetings.
There was one visitor asking what the school was going to do about AP courses, since Ms. Carter was the only teacher certified to teach AP in the high school. While the superintendent discussed AP in his presentation, visitors are allowed to speak only at the end of the meeting, so no one answered her question. I haven't heard what the school is doing about the students that were signed up for AP classes with Ms. Carter.
Here is the agenda for this meeting.
There were also some handouts at the meeting: The NMSBA Training Report and Article 22, School Election Law.
Monday, August 20, 2012
August 25 Community Meetings to be Rescheduled
Due to a conflict with a football scrimmage that has been scheduled for August 25, Superintendent Dempsey has cancelled his planned community meetings and will announce a new date as soon as he can find a time that doesn't conflict with something else.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Weekly Summary from Superintendent
As stated previously, I did formally request the Superintendent's weekly summary which he said he was going to start providing to the school board members each Friday. Below is his most recent summary, which I received today...
1. History Position: As you know we have had a resignation and been advertising for a history teacher. Kelly Goss was interviewed, offered the position, and has accepted. She comes to us from Quemado . She has 15 years of teaching experience and is endorsed in history, Health, and PE. She plans on being here beginning on Friday August 24 to start preparing her classroom and will more than likely begin instruction on Tuesday August 28. Mrs. Morales and Mr. Renteria have been working on the impact this will have on the master schedule and they have a plan that I believe will ensure students needs are being addressed and the fewest overall changes will have to be made to student schedules.
2. Staff Evaluation Training: Robyn, Roman, and I will be headed to Ruidoso on Monday August 20 where Carol Helms will be training us on the most up-to-date methods of evaluating staff. Carol is our school attorney and since we was already in Ruidoso with Region IX staff we are able to join in.
3. Meet the Bears: I know many of you we able to attend the event which raised over $1,000 for Sidelines. With this money and a donation from Dr. Dan Jones and Dr. Suzanne Schmidt the Sideliners were able to reduce the “Participation Fee” from $50 per athlete to $25 per athlete. Along these lines you all should have received an robo call concerning the reduction in the participation fee on the evening of Thursday August 16. Earlier that day I was contacted by Margo Manford who confirmed that Sideliners were going to be able to make this possible in part due to the hamburger fundraiser and in part to the $1,000 donation. She had included a message that she had drafted and wanted to be used for the call. I did not see the attached message so Mr. Ward drafted the one that you did get. Margo left me a message that she was upset of the message and was concerned that the individuals who had donated the funds would be offended since they were not recognized in the robo call. You will be receiving a second message that does recognize these individuals. I want each of you to be clear that this was an error on MY part and not Mr. Wards or Mrs. Dalton. As far is next year we might need to have a discussion about the “participation fee” sometime before the next budget is passed, March and April, to see if this is something we want to continue or if it is something we can eliminate.
4. Activity Bus: The tentative plan right now is that Zia Bus company will have an activity bus here on Tuesday August 21 in the afternoon and evening. This will be an example of what is available since at the end of this school year we will be in the market for an activity bus since ours will be 20 years old and due to state law after 20 years will no longer be able to be used.
5. Regular Board Meeting: Tuesday August 21: action items that are on the agenda
a. Approval of IHBC-E (Principles of Restraint and Seclusion): This basically a recommendation and an update from the New Mexico School Boards Association. It is a state wide update and I will be recommending that we adapt this policy. This is the second time we have visited it.
b. Kindergarten Waiver: State law requires schools who have kindergarten classes that are over 20 students to apply for a waiver if they do not have the funds to hire a second Kindergarten teacher. We had anticipated 16 students and currently have 22 with one teacher’s aide in the room to help. We currently have a teacher’s aide position open which will be used in a manner that supports both the Kindergarten class as well as other larger classes. Mr. Cook will include some of this information in her principal’s report.
c. You will also see find that under the section “Superintendent’s Report” I added the section “Board Members Input”. This would give each of you a opportunity to bring up ideas or concerns that you have or that have been brought to you.
6. Update on SPED: I have now had two meetings with the SPED staff and we are beginning to start the process of making some changes as to the options students with IEPs (Individual Educational Plans) have especially in terms of gifted education. Right now we have several students who qualify for gifted and being served by a pull-out program. Historically, here in Cloudcroft this has been the model used, what we are going to start is allowing those students and parents with additional options for addressing these IEPs. These options will include dual credit classes as well as Advanced Placement courses. DonaKay has been asked to schedule a meeting with the parents of students who are gifted where I plan on offering those options to them.
7. Community Meetings: I am planning on having the community meetings in Mayhill, Weed, Timberon, and Cloudcroft in Saturday August 25. You can expect a couple of robo calls next week about these and you might see flyers. The idea is for me to meet with people out in the surrounding communities share with them some school information such as testing data, student activities, and academic opportunities. They then would have an opportunity to discuss with me concerns they have.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Finally Posting the Podcast for School Board Workshop
As I mentioned in my posting back on July 8, the school board and the new superintendent had a workshop to discuss policies and goals.
I have finally posted the podcast for this workshop at http://cmsbears.podbean.com. It is broken into 3 parts which conveniently coincide with dead batteries or other technical difficulties. Also, the whole thing lasts about 4 hours.
I have listened to the whole thing. There's a lot of talk...talk...talk. It remains to be seen how much "do" happens. However, some of the key points that I took away were:
1. The "grades" had just come out from PED. LOTS of talk about this. As we have seen in the past, it seems like no one really knows how these grades are set. There was some talk of PED "sandbagging" so they can hold up future grades and tout the amazing progress in New Mexico education. (Part 1, approx. time code 46 minutes). Seems like a plausible conspiracy theory to me.
2. One component of the "grade" is a survey that students take. Our schools failed the question "do you have an opportunity to learn." (Part 1 approx. timecode 49 minutes). So there was discussion on how to "explain" to our students how to answer those questions...someone even used the term "coaching." That makes the little hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
3. There was talk about opening the school on Mondays for teachers to access their classrooms, and even setting aside a place for students to get tutoring. In fact, opening the school on Mondays would even allow the school to use some of the expensive ITV equipment that it hasn't been able to use because our 4 day week schedule did not jive with other schools (Part 1, timecode 1hr 28 min).
4. There was discussion about how the school needed some positive PR, especially since they don't want people blaming the poor grades on the 4 day week. (throughout Part 1, and at timecode 1 hr. 38 minutes)
5. New superintendent Travis Dempsey asked the school board to give him their goals for him (part 2 timecode 12 minutes). Some of the conversation included: communication and exposure with the community and the teachers, getting to know the teachers and drop into classrooms, build a team mentality. At 19 minutes into part 2, and again at 1 hr. 2 minutes, Dempsey says he will start providing a Friday update to the leadership team and the school board. Sounds like a public document to me, so you can expect me to be asking for it.
6. Arlan Ponder wanted the superintendent to be evaluated by teachers, principals and parents (part 2, timecode 38 minutes). Jackie Cates Doyle was against this. (For what it's worth, I'm FOR it.)
7. Some board members want the school to start requiring new teachers to coach (part 3, timecode 1 minute). This makes me wonder what the priority is, coaching or teaching.
8. Board members wanted to know how teacher evaluations are being handled (part 3 timecode 17 minutes). If you listen to the podcast and hear a real answer, please let me know.
9. Dempsey says he wants teachers to teach "from bell to bell" (part 3 timecode 25 minutes). He is not in favor of kids lining up to leave 4 minutes before the bell rings, and says he will convey that to teachers.
Maybe you can listen to all of this during your commute or your next long car trip. For me, it was lots of talk, platitudes and "kumbaya" moments. However, there were a few commitments made and agreed to that we will just have to wait and see if they come to fruition.
I remain hopeful, but also realize that hope is not a strategy.
I have finally posted the podcast for this workshop at http://cmsbears.podbean.com. It is broken into 3 parts which conveniently coincide with dead batteries or other technical difficulties. Also, the whole thing lasts about 4 hours.
I have listened to the whole thing. There's a lot of talk...talk...talk. It remains to be seen how much "do" happens. However, some of the key points that I took away were:
1. The "grades" had just come out from PED. LOTS of talk about this. As we have seen in the past, it seems like no one really knows how these grades are set. There was some talk of PED "sandbagging" so they can hold up future grades and tout the amazing progress in New Mexico education. (Part 1, approx. time code 46 minutes). Seems like a plausible conspiracy theory to me.
2. One component of the "grade" is a survey that students take. Our schools failed the question "do you have an opportunity to learn." (Part 1 approx. timecode 49 minutes). So there was discussion on how to "explain" to our students how to answer those questions...someone even used the term "coaching." That makes the little hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
3. There was talk about opening the school on Mondays for teachers to access their classrooms, and even setting aside a place for students to get tutoring. In fact, opening the school on Mondays would even allow the school to use some of the expensive ITV equipment that it hasn't been able to use because our 4 day week schedule did not jive with other schools (Part 1, timecode 1hr 28 min).
4. There was discussion about how the school needed some positive PR, especially since they don't want people blaming the poor grades on the 4 day week. (throughout Part 1, and at timecode 1 hr. 38 minutes)
5. New superintendent Travis Dempsey asked the school board to give him their goals for him (part 2 timecode 12 minutes). Some of the conversation included: communication and exposure with the community and the teachers, getting to know the teachers and drop into classrooms, build a team mentality. At 19 minutes into part 2, and again at 1 hr. 2 minutes, Dempsey says he will start providing a Friday update to the leadership team and the school board. Sounds like a public document to me, so you can expect me to be asking for it.
6. Arlan Ponder wanted the superintendent to be evaluated by teachers, principals and parents (part 2, timecode 38 minutes). Jackie Cates Doyle was against this. (For what it's worth, I'm FOR it.)
7. Some board members want the school to start requiring new teachers to coach (part 3, timecode 1 minute). This makes me wonder what the priority is, coaching or teaching.
8. Board members wanted to know how teacher evaluations are being handled (part 3 timecode 17 minutes). If you listen to the podcast and hear a real answer, please let me know.
9. Dempsey says he wants teachers to teach "from bell to bell" (part 3 timecode 25 minutes). He is not in favor of kids lining up to leave 4 minutes before the bell rings, and says he will convey that to teachers.
Maybe you can listen to all of this during your commute or your next long car trip. For me, it was lots of talk, platitudes and "kumbaya" moments. However, there were a few commitments made and agreed to that we will just have to wait and see if they come to fruition.
I remain hopeful, but also realize that hope is not a strategy.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Mandatory Athletics Meeting Tuesday
This coming Tuesday at 6 pm there will be a mandatory athletics meeting for students participating in athletics. The meeting will be in the High School. There will also be hamburger, chips and sodas for sale by Sideliners.
School Looking for New High School History/English Teacher
Just heard today that Carol Carter has resigned. The school is looking for someone to replace her. I don't have the job posting, but Carol taught History and English at the High School. If anyone knows of a qualified person, have them contact the school's admin office ASAP.
Still Pursuing Information from PED
As you will note from my last post, I am still trying to find out why PED is refusing our school's request to have "athletics" count towards the states mandate that students have a PE credit to graduate.
They did not answer the FOIA request that I sent, so I re-sent it and clarified that I wanted to know about all waivers...not just PE/Athletics. They are now telling me that I will have the information in November.
Again, if any of ya'll know about other small school districts in New Mexico that have "athletics" counting as PE, let me know!
They did not answer the FOIA request that I sent, so I re-sent it and clarified that I wanted to know about all waivers...not just PE/Athletics. They are now telling me that I will have the information in November.
Again, if any of ya'll know about other small school districts in New Mexico that have "athletics" counting as PE, let me know!
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
PED Turns Down Cloudcroft Request
I have heard that PED turned down Cloudcroft's request to have the Athletics course in the High School count as a PE credit. Since I was told by PED last year that other schools have requested that their Athletic's program count as a PE credit under the "alternative credit" system, I was wondering why PED would turn down Cloudcroft's request.
Imagine my surprise when I asked for the information via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and was told that no records matched my request. I called PED to follow up and was also surprised that it seemed to make a difference to the PED Public Affairs person if I was asking for this information as a "reporter" or a "concerned citizen." What happens if I'm both?
Below is the FOIA request that I reworded and sent to PED. Hopefully I will get a response. Does anyone out there know of another school district that has Athletics counting towards a PE credit? If so, let me know!
Dear Ms. Friedman,
Imagine my surprise when I asked for the information via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and was told that no records matched my request. I called PED to follow up and was also surprised that it seemed to make a difference to the PED Public Affairs person if I was asking for this information as a "reporter" or a "concerned citizen." What happens if I'm both?
Below is the FOIA request that I reworded and sent to PED. Hopefully I will get a response. Does anyone out there know of another school district that has Athletics counting towards a PE credit? If so, let me know!
Dear Ms. Friedman,
Yesterday, I spoke with Larry Behrens regarding this request. I asked him if I was phrasing my request incorrectly, as I had been told in the past by Dr. Blair (with PED) that other schools have structured their Athletic's period to count as the state required PE credit. Dr. Blair was the one who told me that other schools had used the "alternative credit" route and gave me the NMAC code. Based upon this information, I believe that other schools have had this approved by PED. I would like to see the wording that these schools used so that Cloudcroft schools can get it's wording correct and not have their next request rejected by PED.
I was concerned that Larry asked me several times if I was seeking this information as a reporter or as a concerned citizen. I happen to be both. When he asked me for the third time if I was requesting this information as a reporter I responded that I could be if I needed to. The tone of the conversation changed quite abruptly and he seemed to be in a hurry to hang up the phone. This makes me wonder if reporters get different information or treatment than concerned citizens.
Since I believe that the information exists, and that other schools have done this, I am asking again, formally as a FOIA request, that PED provide me with ANY and ALL approved requests for waivers, alternative credits, or any other terminology by which ANY and ALL New Mexico schools have SUCCESSFULLY or UNSUCCESSFULLY requested that PED approve a course as an alternative credit. I would like this information for the past 15 years.
I would appreciate receiving this information in electronic format.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or need additional information.
Margo Whitt
Concerned Citizen and Reporter
Monday, July 9, 2012
Cloudcroft's Grades are In
The Public Education Department has released the "grades" for schools throughout New Mexico. The state was successful in getting a waiver from the Federal standards, thus enabling PED to make its own grading system. According to the news, a staggering 98% of the state's schools would have failed under the Federal standards. But when the state was allowed to do the grading, most of the state's schools passed. Am I the only one who isn't surprised by this?
Anyway, here are the grades for Cloudcroft, and how they compare to what Cloudcroft got last year:
Elementary school: 2011-2012 Grade: D. 2010-2011 Grade: C
Middle school: 2011-2012 Grade: A, 2010-2011 Grade: B
High school: 2011 - 2012 Grade: C, 2010-2011 Grade: B
I'm baffled as to how the middle school is so dazzling when it's fed by students from the elementary school. And what's happening to those dazzling middle school students when they get to the high school? Is the glass 1/3 full or 2/3 empty?
Anyway, here are the grades for Cloudcroft, and how they compare to what Cloudcroft got last year:
Elementary school: 2011-2012 Grade: D. 2010-2011 Grade: C
Middle school: 2011-2012 Grade: A, 2010-2011 Grade: B
High school: 2011 - 2012 Grade: C, 2010-2011 Grade: B
I'm baffled as to how the middle school is so dazzling when it's fed by students from the elementary school. And what's happening to those dazzling middle school students when they get to the high school? Is the glass 1/3 full or 2/3 empty?
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Updating Some Documents
A while back I asked for, and received, a copy of the new superintendent's contract and a copy of the invoice for the consultant that the school board hired to conduct the search for the new superintendent. Here they are:
Consultant's Invoice
Superintendent's Contract
Consultant's Invoice
Superintendent's Contract
School Board Workshop held Yesterday
The school board held it's meeting yesterday to discuss goals for the superintendent and evaluate and set board priorities. Sounds like pretty heavy stuff. It was attended by exactly ONE member of the public...my husband. Since I'm out of town, he took care of the recording of the meeting, which I will podcast when I return on Tuesday. The meeting went for about 4 hours, and I can already tell you there were some "technical difficulties" that will result in some of the meeting not being recorded.
Here is what school board member Arlan Ponder had to say:
REPOST from Arlan Ponder's School Board Member News Facebook account:
Just finished a VERY productive work session for the Cloudcroft School Board. I think people will be impressed with some of the changes coming in the next year.
Look for more community input and board meetings IN communities like Weed or Timberon. Plus possibly a newsletter with updates from the superintendent.
I won't lie though ... We will have a few situations that not everyone is going to understand, but we have ALL committed to ensuring EVERYONE in the community understands the situations.
I think the days of "shut up and take it" are over. The age of transparency, respect AND teamwork should be the norm going forward.
In case you've forgotten the Cloudcroft School Board meets the third Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. Come by and meet the new superintendent and see what good things are going on at YOUR schools.
Here is what school board member Arlan Ponder had to say:
REPOST from Arlan Ponder's School Board Member News Facebook account:
Just finished a VERY productive work session for the Cloudcroft School Board. I think people will be impressed with some of the changes coming in the next year.
Look for more community input and board meetings IN communities like Weed or Timberon. Plus possibly a newsletter with updates from the superintendent.
I won't lie though ... We will have a few situations that not everyone is going to understand, but we have ALL committed to ensuring EVERYONE in the community understands the situations.
I think the days of "shut up and take it" are over. The age of transparency, respect AND teamwork should be the norm going forward.
In case you've forgotten the Cloudcroft School Board meets the third Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. Come by and meet the new superintendent and see what good things are going on at YOUR schools.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
School Board to Hold Workshop to Set Goals & Priorities
Per the "sacred window" the school board and superintendent will be meeting this Saturday, July 7, at 9 am at the Co-Op to discuss goals for the superintendent and evaluate and set board priorities. I don't know if any public input is invited or welcomed, but it is a public meeting.
Here is the Agenda for the workshop.
Here is the Agenda for the workshop.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Regular School Board Meeting June 19, 2012
Sorry for the tardiness of this post, but the Little Bear fire took a big chunk of my time.
I did make it to the board meeting Tuesday evening, and have posted the podcast. Here is the Agenda.
It was also the official passing of the keys from outgoing Superintendent Tommy Hancock to incoming Superintendent Travis Dempsey. I believe Mr. Dempsey's first official day is July 1...but he can get into the building before that, so I imagine he'll be around once he gets moved into his new house, which he was hoping would happen this weekend.
I did make it to the board meeting Tuesday evening, and have posted the podcast. Here is the Agenda.
It was also the official passing of the keys from outgoing Superintendent Tommy Hancock to incoming Superintendent Travis Dempsey. I believe Mr. Dempsey's first official day is July 1...but he can get into the building before that, so I imagine he'll be around once he gets moved into his new house, which he was hoping would happen this weekend.
Friday, June 1, 2012
No Funding in Budget for Middle School Sports AND Pay to Play next Year
As it stands right now, there is no funding for Middle School sports AND the school expects pay-to-play to be implemented. Those preparing and approving the budget apparently made the ASSUMPTION that the Sideliners Booster Club would pay to keep the Middle School sports program going AND offset the pay-to-play expenses. Unfortunately, they never asked or consulted anyone on the Sideliners board about this. I have heard "approximate" numbers from the school of $7000 for Middle School PLUS another $5000 for pay to play. Oh, and they want to add football to the Middle School next year, which will be about $2000 more. Does anyone have a CLUE how many corn dogs, cookie doughs, car washes, pizza coupons, gun raffles, pancake breakfasts, golf tournaments, t-shirts, root beer floats, hamburgers, etc. etc. Sideliners has to sell to raise $14,000?!
I don't think the majority of people know just how much work went into fundraising efforts during the entire summer last year to raise the funds to keep the sports program going in the Middle School while also funding many activities in High School sports. Unfortunately, most of that work was done by very few parents and students and a handful of very generous benefactors. To put it bluntly, those parents were "rode hard and put up wet." Many of them are burned out. All of us have jobs, family and commitments. Without some fresh faces and enthusiastic Middle School parents/students, there will either be no Middle School sports, or a hefty pay-to-play per athlete. We simply do not have enough people volunteering, and I find any PRESUMPTION that those same parents can bust butt this summer to bail out Middle School sports and pay-to-play insulting.
Sideliners has asked the school for an accounting of where the money we donated last year was spent and how much, if any, is left. We have yet to receive that information.
The robo call that the school put out Sunday evening said athletics was "heavily affected" in the new budget. Unless the school can scrounge around in its budget and find $14,000 or so, I'd say heavily affected is optimistic. But who knows, they found $10,000 to pay a consultant when they supposedly didn't have that money either.
I'm not going to post the phone number for the Sideliner's president on a public forum. His number was given in the robo call. But if you want to volunteer or get involved I'd be glad to email it to you. I spoke to him yesterday, four days after the robo call. Want to guess how many people had called him to volunteer their services? None.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Is Middle School Sports being Cut?
I just listened to the podcast of the May 15 school board meeting. I have posted it at http://cmsbears.podbean.com and to iTunes. I'm sorry to say that the batteries must have died towards the end, so it stopped during the principal's report.
One thing I noticed in the review and approval of the 2012-2013 budget, was the lack of any mention of cutting Middle School sports. However, when I spoke to Superintendent Hancock yesterday, I was left with the impression that he expected the Sideliner's Booster Club to pay like we did last year if Middle School sports was going to be saved.
Right now, I can't say what the school has planned for Middle School sports. I can say that I'm the treasurer for Sideliner's, so I hope to find out soon what is going on, as the Superintendent was kicking around numbers in the $7000 range to keep the Middle School sports program.
One thing I noticed in the review and approval of the 2012-2013 budget, was the lack of any mention of cutting Middle School sports. However, when I spoke to Superintendent Hancock yesterday, I was left with the impression that he expected the Sideliner's Booster Club to pay like we did last year if Middle School sports was going to be saved.
Right now, I can't say what the school has planned for Middle School sports. I can say that I'm the treasurer for Sideliner's, so I hope to find out soon what is going on, as the Superintendent was kicking around numbers in the $7000 range to keep the Middle School sports program.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Mark Alvord to be on School Board
I'll update this post as soon as the podcast is ready, since I wasn't at the meeting last night.
The school board considered at least 3 candidates to fill the position vacated by Doug Porch. Those candidates were Ed Wooten, Dulaney Barrett and Mark Alvord. The board selected Mark Alvord to fill the vacant slot.
The school board considered at least 3 candidates to fill the position vacated by Doug Porch. Those candidates were Ed Wooten, Dulaney Barrett and Mark Alvord. The board selected Mark Alvord to fill the vacant slot.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
School Board Meeting Scheduled for Tuesday May 15, 2012
Here is the Agenda for Tuesday night's meeting. The meetings start at 6 p.m.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Interested in Being on the School Board?
If you are interested in filling the new vacancy on the school board, you are supposed to contact Bill Denney at 575-491-5734 or Tommy Hancock at 575-601-4416. The deadline for submitting names is May 15th before 3:30 p.m.
I believe that the board will be filling the position at the May 15th meeting...but things are always subject to change. As we have discovered in the past, to conform to the Open Meetings Act, the discussion and selection of the new school board member must be conducted in an open meeting.
I believe that the board will be filling the position at the May 15th meeting...but things are always subject to change. As we have discovered in the past, to conform to the Open Meetings Act, the discussion and selection of the new school board member must be conducted in an open meeting.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
School Board Member Doug Porch Resigning
There will be a special school board meeting in the morning at 7:30 am to accept his resignation. Here is the agenda.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
School Board Meeting April 24, 2012
You can find a podcast of the meeting on iTunes, or at http://cmsbears.podbean.com.
After the meeting was over the new Superintendent, Travis Dempsey, was introduced and allowed to address those in attendance. This introduction is included in the podcast.
As to the audit item on the agenda, that was just to announce that De'Aun Willoughby was selected again to be the auditor. I did ask if she was on the list of approved auditors, since she was on probation with the state auditor a couple of years ago when I served on the audit committee. Business manager Sharlotte Lund said she did not know, but that is why they have to get their auditor approved by PED and they would be the ones to decide if the auditor met their qualifications.
I will attempt to get a copy of the open meetings resolution that was approved at the meeting.
After the meeting was over the new Superintendent, Travis Dempsey, was introduced and allowed to address those in attendance. This introduction is included in the podcast.
As to the audit item on the agenda, that was just to announce that De'Aun Willoughby was selected again to be the auditor. I did ask if she was on the list of approved auditors, since she was on probation with the state auditor a couple of years ago when I served on the audit committee. Business manager Sharlotte Lund said she did not know, but that is why they have to get their auditor approved by PED and they would be the ones to decide if the auditor met their qualifications.
I will attempt to get a copy of the open meetings resolution that was approved at the meeting.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Fred Wright Retiring
Middle school and elementary school principal Fred Wright will be retiring at the end of this school year.
Agenda For Regular School Board Meeting April 24, 2012
Here is the agenda for this meeting. I hear that the new superintendent, Travis Dempsey, will also be present.
There is also a meeting for the parents of gifted students that will begin at 5:00 pm the same day as the school board meeting. They are always over by 6 pm.
There is also a meeting for the parents of gifted students that will begin at 5:00 pm the same day as the school board meeting. They are always over by 6 pm.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Special School Board Meeting for April 11 CANCELLED
I wandered by the sacred window to see if the special school board meeting that was scheduled for April 11 at the last public meeting was still on. Since there was no notice of the meeting, I wandered inside to inquire. I guess that is the procedure for finding out that a scheduled meeting has been cancelled.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
New Superintendent Selected
Per Arlan Ponder's Facebook posting, sounds like we have a new Superintendent. After interviewing candidates yesterday, the board selected Travis Dempsey from Mountainair and he has accepted.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Special School Board Meeting of April 3, 2012
The podcast of this 8-minute meeting can be found at http://cmsbears.podbean.com or on iTunes.
Basically, back on March 21 the board said that they would be conducting their interviews in public, while the "advisory" committees would conduct their interviews in closed sessions.
Now, the board has discovered that they are not required to conduct their interviews in public, therefore they will not conduct their interviews in public. According to board president Bill Denney “In my opinion we are going to have closed interviews. I think it would be better for the candidates and for the school board. We can ask better questions. Unless I’m getting voted down here, I think it’s the best all around."
But there was no vote, and it did not appear that anyone on the board was questioning this decision. This meeting was simply to inform the public that the April 7 meeting will be an Executive Session.
So those of you who are not on the hand-picked advisory boards will not have an opportunity to hear what questions the board thinks are important, or hear what the candidates have to say in response to those questions. Everything will be conducted behind closed doors and you will find out who they have selected either on the 7th, or the 11th or the 24th of this month.
Basically, back on March 21 the board said that they would be conducting their interviews in public, while the "advisory" committees would conduct their interviews in closed sessions.
Now, the board has discovered that they are not required to conduct their interviews in public, therefore they will not conduct their interviews in public. According to board president Bill Denney “In my opinion we are going to have closed interviews. I think it would be better for the candidates and for the school board. We can ask better questions. Unless I’m getting voted down here, I think it’s the best all around."
But there was no vote, and it did not appear that anyone on the board was questioning this decision. This meeting was simply to inform the public that the April 7 meeting will be an Executive Session.
So those of you who are not on the hand-picked advisory boards will not have an opportunity to hear what questions the board thinks are important, or hear what the candidates have to say in response to those questions. Everything will be conducted behind closed doors and you will find out who they have selected either on the 7th, or the 11th or the 24th of this month.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Surprise: Special School Board Meeting April 3
Imagine my surprise when I happened by the "sacred window" and noticed that the School Board has scheduled a Special Meeting to discuss the Superintendent search with consultant Dr. Dan Patterson. Here is the Agenda for that meeting. Interestingly, this agenda was taped to the outside of said sacred window, probably since the Administrative offices have been closed since Wednesday. I don't know when the meeting was set, since it would appear that Mr. Hancock dated the notice of this meeting back in December! (I wonder how valid an unsigned notice of a meeting is...)
Also, here is the Notice of the meeting that the board has been talking about, scheduled for April 7.
For the past month the board has been talking about and setting meeting dates. Never was there any mention of an April 3 meeting. I have sent the following email to board President Bill Denney and Superintendent Hancock (and cc'd all of the Board members) formally asking for a robo-call to give the public a heads-up on this Special April 3 meeting.
Hello Bill and Tommy,
Since this April 3 meeting has never been addressed in a public forum, and since it is for the discussion of the Superintendent search with the Board's consultant, would you please issue a robo-call to inform the parents that it is going to take place?
Thank you
Margo
Also, here is the Notice of the meeting that the board has been talking about, scheduled for April 7.
For the past month the board has been talking about and setting meeting dates. Never was there any mention of an April 3 meeting. I have sent the following email to board President Bill Denney and Superintendent Hancock (and cc'd all of the Board members) formally asking for a robo-call to give the public a heads-up on this Special April 3 meeting.
Hello Bill and Tommy,
Since this April 3 meeting has never been addressed in a public forum, and since it is for the discussion of the Superintendent search with the Board's consultant, would you please issue a robo-call to inform the parents that it is going to take place?
Thank you
Margo
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Resumes of Superintendent Candidates
I have received the resumes of the six candidates for Cloudcroft Superintendent. One of the candidates, Audie Brown, has taken another position so James "Scott" Sparks is filling that slot. Some of these resumes were faxed, so the best I could get was a fax of a fax...therefore the quality is poor.
Travis Dempsey
James "Scott" Sparks
Kenneth Lyon
Bobbie Gutierrez
Adan Estrada
LeAnne Ellis
I decided to do a little Googling to see what info was out there on each candidate. The higher the profile of the candidate, the more that was out there. I'm including links to what I came across in my searches:
"School Board Opts to Buy Out Superintendent's Contract" the Santa Fe New Mexican
Capitol Report, New Mexico - Editorial Talking About the Santa Fe School Board
"A Week of Bobbie Gutierrez' Emails" - The Santa Fe Reporter
Harper vs. Lyon (and others) in US District Court
"Leadership Changes in the Aztec School District" March 2007
"Differentiating the Norm to Reach the Unteachable" a presentation by Sparks at the 2010 New Mexico Summer Institute
Travis Dempsey
James "Scott" Sparks
Kenneth Lyon
Bobbie Gutierrez
Adan Estrada
LeAnne Ellis
I decided to do a little Googling to see what info was out there on each candidate. The higher the profile of the candidate, the more that was out there. I'm including links to what I came across in my searches:
"School Board Opts to Buy Out Superintendent's Contract" the Santa Fe New Mexican
Capitol Report, New Mexico - Editorial Talking About the Santa Fe School Board
"A Week of Bobbie Gutierrez' Emails" - The Santa Fe Reporter
Harper vs. Lyon (and others) in US District Court
"Leadership Changes in the Aztec School District" March 2007
"Differentiating the Norm to Reach the Unteachable" a presentation by Sparks at the 2010 New Mexico Summer Institute
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
School Board Meeting of March 20, 2012
The podcast of the meeting is available at http://cmsbears.podbean.com or via the iTunes store (it's a free podcast).
One change from my last posting. The Superintendent interviews that are to be conducted by the various committees appointed by the board will NOT be open to the public as previously stated. While they certainly could be open to the public, the Open Meetings Act does not require that they be open to the public, therefore our school board has somehow decided (since there was no vote or open discussion about this) that they will not be open to the public. However, the school board IS required to conduct their interviews in a public setting, therefore the public can watch those interviews on April 7.
Since I'm not feeling the transparency here, I might also point out that while the Bernalillo school board gets dinged by the Attorney General's Office for discussing the job description for a new superintendent in an executive session versus an open meeting (see March 8, 2012 posting of the news article), our school board somehow managed to develop our superintendent's job description/criteria without any meeting at all. According to Dr. Patterson, the Board's consultant, the criteria for the job description were developed via emails between him and board members.
My understanding from Dr. Patterson is that the resumes for the candidates are public information. Therefore I have officially asked for them pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act.
In other Board matters, Superintendent Hancock discussed the latest buzz word that we will all be hearing more and more. New Mexico is now one of 46 states that have adopted the "Common Core" standards. According to Mr. Hancock, this is basically a retooling of what was going on in the 70s, only now it has a new name. Anyway, our students will be required to go to these standards starting this August for the elementary students and next August in the high school (this according to the Special Education Director). I didn't catch where the middle school falls in the adoption of the standards.
One change from my last posting. The Superintendent interviews that are to be conducted by the various committees appointed by the board will NOT be open to the public as previously stated. While they certainly could be open to the public, the Open Meetings Act does not require that they be open to the public, therefore our school board has somehow decided (since there was no vote or open discussion about this) that they will not be open to the public. However, the school board IS required to conduct their interviews in a public setting, therefore the public can watch those interviews on April 7.
Since I'm not feeling the transparency here, I might also point out that while the Bernalillo school board gets dinged by the Attorney General's Office for discussing the job description for a new superintendent in an executive session versus an open meeting (see March 8, 2012 posting of the news article), our school board somehow managed to develop our superintendent's job description/criteria without any meeting at all. According to Dr. Patterson, the Board's consultant, the criteria for the job description were developed via emails between him and board members.
My understanding from Dr. Patterson is that the resumes for the candidates are public information. Therefore I have officially asked for them pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act.
In other Board matters, Superintendent Hancock discussed the latest buzz word that we will all be hearing more and more. New Mexico is now one of 46 states that have adopted the "Common Core" standards. According to Mr. Hancock, this is basically a retooling of what was going on in the 70s, only now it has a new name. Anyway, our students will be required to go to these standards starting this August for the elementary students and next August in the high school (this according to the Special Education Director). I didn't catch where the middle school falls in the adoption of the standards.
Monday, March 19, 2012
School Board Meeting Tomorrow Night
Here is the agenda for tomorrow night's regular school board meeting.
Also, the school board has released the names of the six finalists and three alternates for the position of superintendent. They are (in no particular order): Audie Brown, Travis Dempsey, Leann Ellis, Bobbie Gutierrez, Adan Estrada and Ken Lyon. The three alternates (in the event one of the six isn't available) are 1. James Sparks, 2. Amy Lane and 3. Jeff Gorum. Although I saw on Arlan Ponder's Facebook account that Amy Lane has asked that her name be withdrawn. (Actually, when I say this information has been "released" I mean that Arlan Ponder emailed the info...I don't know whether it is taped to the window of the school or anything like that.
The interviews will be at a public work session on April 7. If it is anything like the last work session, they will break into three different rooms so each candidate is essentially interviewed three times...once by the board and once by each community/teacher committee.
Also, the school board has released the names of the six finalists and three alternates for the position of superintendent. They are (in no particular order): Audie Brown, Travis Dempsey, Leann Ellis, Bobbie Gutierrez, Adan Estrada and Ken Lyon. The three alternates (in the event one of the six isn't available) are 1. James Sparks, 2. Amy Lane and 3. Jeff Gorum. Although I saw on Arlan Ponder's Facebook account that Amy Lane has asked that her name be withdrawn. (Actually, when I say this information has been "released" I mean that Arlan Ponder emailed the info...I don't know whether it is taped to the window of the school or anything like that.
The interviews will be at a public work session on April 7. If it is anything like the last work session, they will break into three different rooms so each candidate is essentially interviewed three times...once by the board and once by each community/teacher committee.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Clarification on Upcoming Special Board Meetings and Workshops
As I stated in the post about the special meeting to be held March 14, 2012 at 4 p.m., I wanted some clarification as to what the executive session was for. I emailed board president Bill Denney and CC'd all of the board members (my email is at the tail end of this). Arlan Ponder must have forwarded my questions to Dr. Patterson, who is the consultant the board hired to help with the superintendent search. Arlan has given me permission to post our email correspondence, along with Dr. Patterson's reply. Here it is...
Margo,
Following is a part of an email I receive from Dr. Patterson when I asked about the executive session.
Since he has been doing this a while I would think he understands the Open Meetings Act better than most and would do everything to ensure it was done properly and in accordance with the law.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Arlan
1. The training of the Board and committees, as well as the work of the committees and board in developing questions for the interviews will be "work sessions." Work sessions are open to the public so anyone who wants to spend 2 to 4 hours listening to the discussion are welcome to attend, although they will not be able to participate.
2. The part being conducted under executive session is for the screening process in which only the board members and those they invite are welcome to attend. Without quoting all the law which is many pages long, The Open Meetings Act, NMSA 1978, Chapter 10, Article 15 lists the many reasons a meeting for the Board to be conducted in public. 10-15-1.H lists meetings in which the public meeting is not required. Paragraph (3) of that section states: Limited personnel matters; provided that for purposes of the Open Meetings Act, 'limited personnel matters' means the discussion of hiring, promotion, demotion, dismissal, assignment or resigantion of or the investigation or consideration of complaints or charges against any individual employee......."
An example of this is given further on in the Compliance Guide in example #42: "A school board meets to consider applicants for the position of superintendent. Discussion of the applicant's qualifications is conducted in closed session, but the final decision or vote of the board with respect to hiring one of the applicants as superintendent must be taken in public session."
A commentary on that example included in the Compliance Guide also states: It may appear that to require final actions to be taken in open session is a meaningless formality since the actual deliberations may be closed. This requirement, however, serves the purpose of ensuring that all final actions on personnel matters are announced publicly and the position of each member on the issue is recorded in the official minutes."
Selecting finalists to be interviewed would fall under the same standards as the actual hiring discussion because the qualifications and in many cases confidential information regarding those candidates will be discussed.
As for the actual interviews on April 7, again, those are "work sessions" which are open to the public should they desire to spend 8 hours observing the process. Although they may "observe," they may not participate or interfere. The discussion by the board for the actual selection will again be an executive session with the actual open session and voting on the candidate being held on April 24.
Sent from my iPad
2. The part being conducted under executive session is for the screening process in which only the board members and those they invite are welcome to attend. Without quoting all the law which is many pages long, The Open Meetings Act, NMSA 1978, Chapter 10, Article 15 lists the many reasons a meeting for the Board to be conducted in public. 10-15-1.H lists meetings in which the public meeting is not required. Paragraph (3) of that section states: Limited personnel matters; provided that for purposes of the Open Meetings Act, 'limited personnel matters' means the discussion of hiring, promotion, demotion, dismissal, assignment or resigantion of or the investigation or consideration of complaints or charges against any individual employee......."
An example of this is given further on in the Compliance Guide in example #42: "A school board meets to consider applicants for the position of superintendent. Discussion of the applicant's qualifications is conducted in closed session, but the final decision or vote of the board with respect to hiring one of the applicants as superintendent must be taken in public session."
A commentary on that example included in the Compliance Guide also states: It may appear that to require final actions to be taken in open session is a meaningless formality since the actual deliberations may be closed. This requirement, however, serves the purpose of ensuring that all final actions on personnel matters are announced publicly and the position of each member on the issue is recorded in the official minutes."
Selecting finalists to be interviewed would fall under the same standards as the actual hiring discussion because the qualifications and in many cases confidential information regarding those candidates will be discussed.
As for the actual interviews on April 7, again, those are "work sessions" which are open to the public should they desire to spend 8 hours observing the process. Although they may "observe," they may not participate or interfere. The discussion by the board for the actual selection will again be an executive session with the actual open session and voting on the candidate being held on April 24.
Sent from my iPad
Hello Bill,The agenda for the special board meeting notes an executive session to discuss "limited personnel matters screening of superintendent candidates."
I have posted some information to my blog, www.cmsbears.net, which deals with the subject of screening of superintendent candidates.
My understanding of the open meetings act is that executive session is only warranted if discussing a specific applicant and that applicant's qualifications. At the last meeting, it didn't sound like there were any specific applicants yet.
Can you give me some more details as to what you are going into executive session for?
Thank youMargo
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Special School Board Meeting Scheduled for March 14, 2012
Here is the agenda for the meeting, which starts at 4 p.m. My understanding from the last public meeting is this meeting will include the consultant and the various committee members to teach them how to interview candidates.
They also note on the agenda that they will be going into executive session, which is supposed to deal with limited personnel matters. My understanding from reading the news and the Attorney General's Open Meetings Act Compliance Guide (specifically page 23, example 43), the executive session is only valid if discussing the specific qualifications of a specific candidate. I'm hoping to get some clarification of how they are justifying executive session at this stage, since the last meeting made it sound like they didn't have any specific candidates yet and were not going to be interviewing until April.
They also note on the agenda that they will be going into executive session, which is supposed to deal with limited personnel matters. My understanding from reading the news and the Attorney General's Open Meetings Act Compliance Guide (specifically page 23, example 43), the executive session is only valid if discussing the specific qualifications of a specific candidate. I'm hoping to get some clarification of how they are justifying executive session at this stage, since the last meeting made it sound like they didn't have any specific candidates yet and were not going to be interviewing until April.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
School Board Meeting Held February 21, 2012
Here is the article from the Alamogordo Daily News.
Here is a copy of the Technology Plan that the board approved. It must be approved by PED before it can be sent on to E-Rate in an effort to qualify for more technology funding. Interestingly, the school's technology plan was not presented (or apparently drafted) by the school's IT manager, but rather by teacher Sam Snoddy. No acknowledgement of this was made at the meeting. In fact, the 12-page document was not even included in the school board's packet (though it was on the agenda), so they were given about 10 minutes to scan it, but they unanimously voted to adopt it.
Right now they are talking about the "committees" having a meeting with the consultant on March 14, 2012. They are talking like this is a public meeting, but then they are also talking like it will be "executive session." I'm not sure how the Open Meetings Act can allow an executive session to take place with 12 or so hand picked community members allowed to attend and everyone else excluded. My understanding is that for an executive session to be warranted under personnel matters, you have to be talking about a specific school employee. Since potential employees don't fall into this category, per the Attorney General's office interpretation of the OMA, I'll be most interested in seeing how much the community and public are allowed to see.
The other dates discussed include a tentative date of April 9 for the committees to interview candidates (again, I don't know if this is public or not), and the regular school board meeting, which has been rescheduled to April 24, where the school board will announce who the new superintendent will be.
The podcast can be heard at http://cmsbears.podbean.com. You can also find all of the podcasts on iTunes by searching "Cloudcroft" in the podcast section.
Here is a copy of the Technology Plan that the board approved. It must be approved by PED before it can be sent on to E-Rate in an effort to qualify for more technology funding. Interestingly, the school's technology plan was not presented (or apparently drafted) by the school's IT manager, but rather by teacher Sam Snoddy. No acknowledgement of this was made at the meeting. In fact, the 12-page document was not even included in the school board's packet (though it was on the agenda), so they were given about 10 minutes to scan it, but they unanimously voted to adopt it.
Right now they are talking about the "committees" having a meeting with the consultant on March 14, 2012. They are talking like this is a public meeting, but then they are also talking like it will be "executive session." I'm not sure how the Open Meetings Act can allow an executive session to take place with 12 or so hand picked community members allowed to attend and everyone else excluded. My understanding is that for an executive session to be warranted under personnel matters, you have to be talking about a specific school employee. Since potential employees don't fall into this category, per the Attorney General's office interpretation of the OMA, I'll be most interested in seeing how much the community and public are allowed to see.
The other dates discussed include a tentative date of April 9 for the committees to interview candidates (again, I don't know if this is public or not), and the regular school board meeting, which has been rescheduled to April 24, where the school board will announce who the new superintendent will be.
The podcast can be heard at http://cmsbears.podbean.com. You can also find all of the podcasts on iTunes by searching "Cloudcroft" in the podcast section.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Agenda for Regular School Board Meeting February 21, 2012
Here is the agenda for Tuesday night's meeting. Sorry for the crummy image, but I had to take a picture of it taped to the window, as once again it is not on the website.
The link under the "superintendent's corner" that dealt with the policy changes would never open for me, so I don't have a copy to supply here.
I have also included a link to the "Help Wanted" ad for a new superintendent. I don't know if this was created by the school or the consultant.
The link under the "superintendent's corner" that dealt with the policy changes would never open for me, so I don't have a copy to supply here.
I have also included a link to the "Help Wanted" ad for a new superintendent. I don't know if this was created by the school or the consultant.
Friday, February 3, 2012
School Board Decides to Hire Consultant
At last night's special school board meeting, the board unanimously voted to hire consultant Dr. Dan Patterson to assist in the superintendent search.
Here is the Alamogordo Daily News Article
Here is some information taken from the New Mexico School Board Association's website regarding Dr. Patterson's service.
The podcast for this meeting is available at http://cmsbears.podbean.com
Here is the Alamogordo Daily News Article
Here is some information taken from the New Mexico School Board Association's website regarding Dr. Patterson's service.
The podcast for this meeting is available at http://cmsbears.podbean.com
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Special School Board Meeting Scheduled for Tomorrow Night
Here is the Agenda for the Special School Board Meeting scheduled for tomorrow night, Thursday, February 2, 2012 at 6 p.m.
Thanks for the heads up from someone who must press their nose to the window on a regular basis. I'll just take this moment to point out that (1) I have received no "personal notification" from Arlan Ponder, as was promised in a previous blog comment, (2) there is no "special place" on the school's website where Doug Porch said he would PERSONALLY keep the community updated about these meetings, and I have yet to receive a robocall notification of this meeting, which Bill Denney said he would PERSONALLY make sure happened from here on out.
Just one action item...Superintendent Search.
Thanks for the heads up from someone who must press their nose to the window on a regular basis. I'll just take this moment to point out that (1) I have received no "personal notification" from Arlan Ponder, as was promised in a previous blog comment, (2) there is no "special place" on the school's website where Doug Porch said he would PERSONALLY keep the community updated about these meetings, and I have yet to receive a robocall notification of this meeting, which Bill Denney said he would PERSONALLY make sure happened from here on out.
Just one action item...Superintendent Search.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Regular School Board Meeting January 17, 2012
The podcast for last night's meeting is posted at http://cmsbears.podbean.com.
Among the items discussed were the rules for public input at board meetings. The board decided that their existing policy was sufficient, as it gave the board president broad latitude in placing rules on public input at board meetings.
I did ask about the ability for parents or community members to be placed on the agenda if they provided their topic ahead of time. Doug Porch said he did not think that it was necessary to place them on the agenda. Instead, he is going to have a "special place" on the school's website where he will personally place any visitor's topic ahead of time. So I guess if you want to address the board and have the topic of your discussion known ahead of time, you will have to talk to Doug Porch.
The superintendent's report addressed the new grading system that PED has in place. As you know from previous posts, the High School and Middle School got Bs, while the elementary got a C. He expressed his frustration with the fact that PED is not disclosing what their expectations are or how they are coming up with the grades.
Fred Wright reported on the results of the poll sent out last week regarding the 4 day week. He said that of the surveys returned, 71% were in favor of the 4 day week. He said that 100% of the teachers and staff were in favor of the 4 day week. Only 25 surveys were returned by high schoolers, with 188 returned by middle schoolers and elementary students.
There was no mention of the superintendent search at this meeting. With the next regular meeting scheduled for February 21st, I would start visiting the school's window on a regular basis, as I bet there is a special meeting before that.
Among the items discussed were the rules for public input at board meetings. The board decided that their existing policy was sufficient, as it gave the board president broad latitude in placing rules on public input at board meetings.
I did ask about the ability for parents or community members to be placed on the agenda if they provided their topic ahead of time. Doug Porch said he did not think that it was necessary to place them on the agenda. Instead, he is going to have a "special place" on the school's website where he will personally place any visitor's topic ahead of time. So I guess if you want to address the board and have the topic of your discussion known ahead of time, you will have to talk to Doug Porch.
The superintendent's report addressed the new grading system that PED has in place. As you know from previous posts, the High School and Middle School got Bs, while the elementary got a C. He expressed his frustration with the fact that PED is not disclosing what their expectations are or how they are coming up with the grades.
Fred Wright reported on the results of the poll sent out last week regarding the 4 day week. He said that of the surveys returned, 71% were in favor of the 4 day week. He said that 100% of the teachers and staff were in favor of the 4 day week. Only 25 surveys were returned by high schoolers, with 188 returned by middle schoolers and elementary students.
There was no mention of the superintendent search at this meeting. With the next regular meeting scheduled for February 21st, I would start visiting the school's window on a regular basis, as I bet there is a special meeting before that.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Agenda for Regular School Board Meeting January 17, 2012
Here is the Agenda for the next board meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, January 17 at 6 p.m.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Local Schools Get Their Grades
I saw this in the Alamogordo Daily News so thought I would share. There is also an article in there where the Alamogordo Superintendent is asking PED to clarify their grading system. I poked around on the PED website and found nothing that explained it. Kinda sad if the "students" (i.e. the school district) can't figure out why the "teacher" (i.e. the Public Education Department) gave them the grade that they got.
Alamogordo Daily News article on local school grades
Cloudcroft Elementary School Grade
Cloudcroft Middle School Grade
Cloudcroft High School Grade
Alamogordo Daily News article on local school grades
Cloudcroft Elementary School Grade
Cloudcroft Middle School Grade
Cloudcroft High School Grade
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Offer of Website to School Board
After the school board meeting Thursday night, when everyone else had left, there was some discussion from the superintendent that he thought the school board should go through the school's website instead of form its own blog. He said something about the school's lawyer would probably prefer that. Some school board members indicated that they didn't think they could post something to a blog or it would be taken as speaking for the entire board.
That discussion prompted me to send the following email to every school board member yesterday:
Hello Arlan and all-
I have the domain name www.cmsbears.info paid up through May 2012. Using MyDomain.com, I can have it forwarded to whatever blog name you come up with at no cost. You can even set up email addresses via the domain, and it will forward to you. For example, if someone emailed "dougporch@cmsbears.info" I could have that forwarded to Doug's forest service email address. Also, I looked into the Policy Manual, and there is specific wording that if a board member speaks about something or voices his/her opinion, he/she is NOT speaking for the entire board but for him/herself. I'm pretty sure I found that in Section B.
I see no reason why an elected official cannot voice his/her opinion on a blog or website outside of the school's website. That's just another way of communicating with your constituents.
I never got a chance to sign up my email address last night, however I, too, would like to put my name in the hat as an interested parent willing to serve on the search committee and help in any way possible to assure we have a vast array of qualified and capable candidates from which to choose.
Arlan, let me know what I can do to help with the blog...
Margo
The policies that I'm referring to are:
Board Member Authority and Responsibilities
Board Powers and Responsibilities
Board Member Ethics
That discussion prompted me to send the following email to every school board member yesterday:
Hello Arlan and all-
I have the domain name www.cmsbears.info paid up through May 2012. Using MyDomain.com, I can have it forwarded to whatever blog name you come up with at no cost. You can even set up email addresses via the domain, and it will forward to you. For example, if someone emailed "dougporch@cmsbears.info" I could have that forwarded to Doug's forest service email address. Also, I looked into the Policy Manual, and there is specific wording that if a board member speaks about something or voices his/her opinion, he/she is NOT speaking for the entire board but for him/herself. I'm pretty sure I found that in Section B.
I see no reason why an elected official cannot voice his/her opinion on a blog or website outside of the school's website. That's just another way of communicating with your constituents.
I never got a chance to sign up my email address last night, however I, too, would like to put my name in the hat as an interested parent willing to serve on the search committee and help in any way possible to assure we have a vast array of qualified and capable candidates from which to choose.
Arlan, let me know what I can do to help with the blog...
Margo
The policies that I'm referring to are:
Board Member Authority and Responsibilities
Board Powers and Responsibilities
Board Member Ethics
Friday, January 6, 2012
Cloudcroft's Policy Manual as it Relates to the Superintendent
At last night's meeting, there was discussion as to developing a rubric with which to evaluate Superintendent candidates. Here is what currently exists in the Cloudcroft School Board Policy Manual with regards to the Superintendent and his/her evaluation:
Qualifications and Duties of the Superintendent
Superintendent
Evaluation of Superintendent
An important thing to remember is that there is room for the policy manual to be changed to suit the needs and desires of the specific school board as long as it doesn't violate state law. For example, teachers and staff used to submit their own evaluation of the superintendent. The school board would thus have input as to how everyone else in the school felt about how the superintendent does his or her job. This has been done away with, meaning that the school board is evaluating the superintendent based upon very limited knowledge and input. I don't know whether the parents and community have ever been asked to submit their evaluations or opinions.
Qualifications and Duties of the Superintendent
Superintendent
Evaluation of Superintendent
An important thing to remember is that there is room for the policy manual to be changed to suit the needs and desires of the specific school board as long as it doesn't violate state law. For example, teachers and staff used to submit their own evaluation of the superintendent. The school board would thus have input as to how everyone else in the school felt about how the superintendent does his or her job. This has been done away with, meaning that the school board is evaluating the superintendent based upon very limited knowledge and input. I don't know whether the parents and community have ever been asked to submit their evaluations or opinions.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Special Meeting of School Board Held
The podcast for this meeting is available at http://cmsbears.podbean.com.
There were probably 20 people in attendance, despite the lack of a robo call or the existence of any agenda or notice on the school's website. When people complained about the lack of notification, Superintendent Hancock told them that the information was posted on the window and if they wanted to know about meetings they could take the time to stop and read the window.
The board unanimously accepted Hancock's retirement, effective July 1, 2012. They then discussed beginning the procedure to search for a new superintendent.
Here is the article from the Alamogordo Daily News.
There were probably 20 people in attendance, despite the lack of a robo call or the existence of any agenda or notice on the school's website. When people complained about the lack of notification, Superintendent Hancock told them that the information was posted on the window and if they wanted to know about meetings they could take the time to stop and read the window.
The board unanimously accepted Hancock's retirement, effective July 1, 2012. They then discussed beginning the procedure to search for a new superintendent.
Here is the article from the Alamogordo Daily News.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Special School Board Meeting Thursday Jan. 5 at 6 pm
This is reposted from Arlan Ponder's Facebook page, since nothing is posted on the school's official website....
Too bad the school blocks Facebook, as it sometimes has very useful content! Thanks for the heads up Arlan.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Regular School Board Meeting December 20, 2011
Here is the podcast for the December 20, 2011 meeting. Most of the meeting was a discussion about any possible changes to the public input section of the current board policy. The current policy can be found at:
http://lp.ctspublish.com/nm/public/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=main-h.htm
In the end, the action item was tabled in hopes of more input at the January meeting. There were only 4 people attending the December 20 meeting, but all of us had something to say about the policy.
http://lp.ctspublish.com/nm/public/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=main-h.htm
In the end, the action item was tabled in hopes of more input at the January meeting. There were only 4 people attending the December 20 meeting, but all of us had something to say about the policy.
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