Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma
Kicking off the meeting of the Bonsall Unified School District's Board of Trustees on Thursday, Nov. 17, Superintendent David Jones gave a short update on the departure of Sullivan Middle School Principal Dr. Shaunte' Knox.
"(I) particularly want to say goodbye and thank you and wish Dr. Knox the best in her next steps in her career and in her personal life," He said. "We're very thankful that Mr. Ramirez is here. He was helping as the assistant principal interim at (Bonsall Elementary School) and is now at the middle school. He has about 40 years of experience as a counselor, teacher, assistant principal, (and) principal so he has a lot of experience. We are grateful he will be here as an interim at the middle school until we can post to hire for the position."
He also gave a quick update on how the schools are doing since they have reopened to students.
"Something I'm thankful for is that all of our schools are open and continue to remain open," Jones said. "I appreciate the staff and parents and everyone playing their role and doing what we can to keep the social distancing and all the protocols safe so we can keep the schools open.
"We have had one case and that was appropriately handled and communicated to the staff and to the students and teachers and to the parents that needed to, but the school did not need to close down. We will continue to monitor that and make sure that we quickly respond when and where it's appropriate."
He said parents interested in reading about what the district is doing to handle reopening during the pandemic, can do so on the district website by visiting https://www.bonsallusd.com/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1692601&type=d&pREC_ID=1849424.
"It's really been nice to see the kids back, teachers back," Jones said. "I've had a number of opportunities to be in classrooms to see the teachers, so thank you to our teachers for their dedication to everything they're doing at home and in the schools, in the classrooms. I've also enjoyed starting to be a part of some of the leadership team meetings and staff meetings and appreciate everything that everyone is doing to continue the school improvement process and improve student achievement."
The trustees unanimously approved the consent agenda which included the ratification of the personnel register, cafeteria revolving cash report, revolving cash report, commercial warrant report, purchase order report and quarterly uniform complaint summary report ending on Sept. 30.
The trustees heard information items, starting with the opening and closing of a public hearing regarding the Title VI – Indian Education/Policies and Procedures for the district.
They also heard a presentation and review of Bonsall High School WASC mid-term accreditation visit from Bonsall High School Principal Dr. Jason Fowler.
"There is a culture of continuous inquiry by school staff in collecting, reviewing and interpreting achievement data to inform decision-making and growth supporting students," he read. "Parents are highly supportive of the school's mission and purpose and appreciate the school caring and supportive environment for their students.
"They participated in significant professional development training that is targeted and based on verifiable student and school growth needs. (We) have expanded dual enrollment courses and opportunities through our partnership with Palomar College by students indicating this opportunity has helped prepare them for college after graduation."
Dr. Fowler then summed up the committee's visit.
"Generally speaking, the visit went very well. The committee had nothing but high praise for the school, staff and parents and students that spoke. I think that this really is a good affirmation that the school and the district are heading in the right direction."
They also heard a review of the Special Education Policies and Procedures Manual from David Moore, executive director of Educational Services and Special Education.
"I want to send a huge thank you to David Perez, our intern program specialist here in Bonsall Unified," Moore said. "He led this work with a team of our special education staff members and worked months on putting this together. The policies and procedures manual is much needed for the special education department here in Bonsall Unified so I am very excited about it. It is a living document so it will be changed, as you know, special education is one of those things where there's something new everyday that we're faced with and so we will be adding different things to our policies and procedures."
The board also approved memorandum of understandings between the BUSD and the Bonsall Teachers Association as well as the California School Employees Association Chapter #703 regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and school opening during the 2020-21 school year.
The trustees also approved an Indian Policies and Procedures waiver, adopted Resolution 20-11-02 to establish an Associate Student Body Special Revenue Fund, approved the 2019-20 Annual and Five Year Developer Fee report, approved the Interdistrict Attendance Agreement between Escondido Union School District and Bonsall Unified School District for school years 2021-2026 and the Interdistrict Attendance Agreement between San Diego Unified School District and Bonsall Unified School District for 2019-2024.
They also approved the Cost Reimbursement and Comparison Schedule memorandum of understanding, the master contract and appendix with The Hello Foundation and EdTheory LLC.
They also ratified the renewal of an agreement for special legal services with Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo, approved the revised job description for the district's Transportation Coordinator, and approved the updated job description for the executive assistant to the Superintendent and Board of Trustees.
Jeff Pack can be reached by email at [email protected].
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