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This board meeting lasted slightly over two hours. There were several community members, school employees, and students in attendance. Highlights as follows:

1) Small School District Conference - Several board members and the superintendent said that they enjoyed this conference which was held in Sacramento. They mentioned that they were able to share information with people representing other small school districts throughout the state, including a few nearby school districts.
2) TTA - Local chapter president mentioned a makerspace arcade held at the elementary and noted that it was very successful. Students designed arcade games using cardboard and other available materials.
3) TCEA Sunshine letter - Negotiations between the district and the classified union have officially begun.
4) Maintenance Summer Projects - Head of maintenance listed nearly two dozen summer projects under consideration including new furniture for classrooms, updated phone system, repairing concrete and water lines, installation of security cameras, installation of lockers at the high school, roof repairs, and a few other items.
5) Sports Eligibility - Currently students are eligible to participate in sports as long as they maintain a 2.0 GPA. Under consideration is a provision that would require that they also not have any F grades. This is a concern due to the large number of students failing math classes at the current time.
6) WASC and CTE - Career Technical Education was a focus of the last WASC report. The high school principal outlined courses under consideration including welding, construction, culinary arts, and computers and technology vocations.
7) Student Store Presentation - A student reported on progress being made in the development of the student store.
8) Public Comments: a) former coach talked about past experiences and hope for the future, b) Lana McCullar requested that the district provide information to facilitate the development of the community park, c) Kim Bayes said good things about the Bite of Reality event recently held in Ridgecrest.
9) Several summer workers and lifeguards approved.
10) Senior Trip - Funding issues have made it difficult for seniors to finalize plans. The board asked them to complete their planning in order to get trip approval.
11) Royalties Ad Hoc Committee - Board Member Heseman suggested that a committee be formed to lobby representatives regarding potash royalties. Periodically bills are submitted that would reduce the amount of royalty revenue received by the district. The most recent one lapsed before it could be voted upon. However, it is likely that a similar bill may be introduced in the future and this committee would attempt to lobby against the passage of such a bill.
12) Freshman overnight trip denied. It was suggested that day trips to visit colleges and universities in the area would be adequate.

NEXT REGULAR MEETING: May 9th

Do parents need a dress code at school?
They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and when a child has dysfunctional parents it is very hard for the kid to make it far in life. Not impossible, but parents often fail to be good examples and the resulting deficit is an obstacle for children getting a start in life.

Principal's rant on parenting goes viral
Not all policies are created equal and so it's a bit of a stretch to suggest that all rules deserve equal respect.

Dozens More Potential Graves Found At Notorious Florida Reform School
Not exactly a typical school and so public school students don't need to worry about this kind of thing happening at their school, but it does make you wonder how the people running this reform school got away with so much for so long!

wildrose: People who mindlessly follow rules are fools, otherwise known as sheeple. That principal in the video you posted is a worthless piece of crap as far as I'm concerned. The one rule that some schools have that I completely disagree with is the no peanut butter policy. Why should my grand kids not be allowed to have a peanut butter sandwich just because some kid has a peanut butter allergy? It's the responsibility of the parents of the kid with the allergy to teach their kid to not eat foods containing peanuts. Just think of all the foods that contain peanuts! It's a long, long list!

Rules in general are important and should be respected. The problem is people who make stupid rules! They force people to break rules. Given the choice between following a stupid rule and disregarding it, I think the most responsible thing to do is not follow the stupid rule. Following stupid rules is what makes people become sheeple. I believe in following rules that make sense, but rules which do not make sense should not be tolerated and the principal in the video posted by wildrose is a total tool!

Crusty: I agree with you on the peanut allergy issue for sure. Peanuts are highly nutritious and shouldn't be banned from schools. Banning them is going way too far and although I feel bad for kids who are allergic to peanuts, I'm not about to support measures which ban a perfectly healthy and nutritious food. It makes no sense!

1.Peanuts suck. Walnuts and Pecans rule!
2.If you want people to respect rules then make rules respectable and quit being dicks.
3.What am I doing up this early?

If that guy were my principal I would do everything in my power to make sure he does not succeed. It is your duty as a human being to insist you be treated with dignity and resist tyranny. Otherwise you are no better than cattle. If your kid is so dumb that he goes around eating peanuts when he is allergic to them then he does not belong in a normal school and should not be allowed to hold everyone else back in order to accommodate his special needs. Send him to retard school where he wont be made fun of and he will receive special treatment. Don't make the entire school retarded!

surfsteve wrote:Send him to retard school where he wont be made fun of and he will receive special treatment. Don't make the entire school retarded!

AMEN!
If all schools followed that policy, the quality of education would be improved one-thousand percent. Instead we accommodate dysfunction at every opportunity, thereby dooming all students to mediocrity!

Our schools completely ignore the needs of the exceptional and the gifted. We embrace the dysfunctional and impaired every chance we get and barely provide for the average student. When you focus on the lowest ten percent of the population, that's what everyone else becomes. It's high time that we focus on the needs of the top two-thirds and provide separate facilities for the bottom third. That's the only kind of reform that will make a real difference. Anything else is just throwing money away.