New Van Meter Classrooms on Schedule

At a sparsely attended Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday night, Leslie Paulides, assistant superintendent of facilities, gave an updated on the current status of Measure E bond funds.

Los Gatos voters approved the $30 million bond measure in June of 2010 for the purpose of building a new and addressing increasing enrollment with the improvement and building of new classrooms in the district.

A portion of the Measure E Bond fund was dedicated to building several new classrooms at

Paulides reported that the new Van Meter buildings are on schedule and that both the structural work and underground utilities have been completed.

“Buildings are being built completely in Lodi and will be shipped here on trucks in February, weather permitting,” she added.      

The first floors are almost done and now the manufacturer is working on second floors, she said.

The district is looking for a good weather window to set the modules down. The buildings are projected to be finished before the end of the school year so teachers can move in before leaving for the summer.

The project is slightly over budget, however there have been “no surprises” and a project contingency of $130,000 will more than cover any overage, she added.

Also noted at the board meeting:

Superintendent Diana Abbati said that the district has kicked off its annual survey which has been sent to all district parents. She asked everyone to participate and include comments. She said that preliminary results would be reported at the Feb. 7 meeting. 

Paulides also updated the board on the She offered a proposed schedule for implementation of the long-term plan and talked about the committee that is now forming.

As part of the Imagine 2022 Plan, the district will first work to form a committee made up of parents, community members and teachers. All parent positions in the committee have been filled. Community members and teachers may still apply to be on the committee. The committee will start working together beginning in March. 

She said that the initial meetings held at school locations prior to the holidays were attended by about 70 community members, mostly parents and that they provided great feedback which will be used when putting the new plan together. 

Stephen Roatch, president of the the district’s audit firm, presented the audit report for the 2010-11 fiscal year. He stated, “The district has done a very good job in adjusting to the current state budget, however, that could change at any moment.” 

The biggest financial concern is adjusting in the state budget going forward, he added. The board approved the audit report.

Paulides further provided information from Gov. Jerry Brown's January budget report and a schedule for the fiscal year 2012-13 district budget planning to the trustees. Many uncertainties exist, she emphasized. "We are crawling out of a trough, the California economy recovering more slowly than the nation, but there has been improvement,” she said.

The board discussed a proposed budget deficit projected for the year 2011-12, but Paulides emphasized that the numbers are very fluid, depending upon the state's budget.

Trustee Doug Halbert said “we have to design in as much flexibility as possible in the budget in March, so we can adjust our funding accordingly because there are so many uncertainties.”

Trustee Tina Orsi-Hartigan said that the district needs to be “open and out there” letting parents know why uncertainties exist.