Archives

Kennedy High concerns on school board agenda Jan. 5

Concerns raised by students and parents from Kennedy High School are scheduled to be discussed when the school board meets Wednesday, Jan. 5. Members of the Kennedy community will hear the report on their home turf. Beginning with the Jan. 5 meeting the board, which had been meeting at Richmond High, will hold its meetings in the cafeteria at Kennedy, 4300 Cutting Blvd., Richmond.

Scheduled to speak on the concerns are Anna Blackman, regional superintendent for the area that includes Kennedy; Linda Lester, assistant superintendent for personnel services; and, Vince Kilmartin, assistant superintendent for school support services.

Kennedy families have aired a number of concerns at recent meetings, including that the school has had a shortage of qualified teachers and counselors, about the quality of the food served in the cafeteria, and the conditions of the facility itself, such as the bathrooms.

The board will also:

* consider approval of a "classroom library plan." The district must submit such a plan to be eligible for classroom library funds for grades kindergarten through fourth grade from the state. The funds would total about $10.40 per student.

The proposed policy leaves many issues up to the school sites, such as whether students would be allowed to check the books out or whether they must remain in the classroom. Currently, if rooms have "classroom libraries," which provide books for students to read beyond their textbooks, it is usually because the teacher has bought them, they have been donated by families, or purchased with special monies such as Title 1 that are not available to all schools.

* consider supporting Proposition 26 -- the "Let's Fix Our Schools" initiative. The proposition, on the March ballot, would allow local school general obligation bonds to be approved by a simple majority while holding school districts accountable for how the money is spent.

Meetings are broadcast on FM radio * KECG, 88.1 and 97.7 .

* District announcement about moving board meetings to Kennedy