The Fillmore Unified School District (FUSD) Board Meeting was held May 5, 2009. The audience was smaller than at previous meetings, but the teachers' union (FUTA) President Theresa Marvel attended, as did staff union (CSEA) Executive Board Member Sheila Duckett. The FUSD Board heard a report on the District-level English Learner Advisory Committee, approved the calendar for the 2009-2010 School year, approved a 3-year Technology Plan, and discussed a recent hearing regarding some of the layoffs.

The Board approved the school calendar for 2009-2010. The Board had two choices, and, after expressing regret over the 2nd Quarter ending after Winter Break, chose Calendar B to avoid having a short first semester and long second semester. School will start August 26th (avoiding conflict with this year's County Fair August 5th-16th), and end June 17, 2010. During the discussion, FUTA President Theresa Marvel and Assistant Superintendent Evalene Townend fervently disagreed on whether the calendar development process had differed from previous years' methods. They agreed that FUTA had submitted a list of prioritized elements to be incorporated into the calendar, but Marvel claimed that in past years the calendar had been developed at the negotiating table. Townend said that FUTA's and CSEA's requests had been incorporated to the best of her ability. Marvel said that more teachers disapproved of both choices than in previous years.

English Language Development (ELD) Coordinator Barbara Leija presented a report on the District-level English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC). According to the California Department of Education, “Parents or guardians of English learners not employed by the district must constitute a majority membership (51 percent or more) of the committee.” In Fillmore, each school site has an ELAC which elects a representative to the DELAC. DELAC parent representatives learn about and discuss the English Learners (EL) Master Plan, educational programs and services for English Learners, the District-wide needs assessment, the Annual Language Census, contents of parental notifications, and waiver requests for English Learners. Parents ask questions, provide input, and hear from teachers about EL programs at individual schools. DELAC’s goals include increasing parent participation in ELACs, increasing communication among parents, and raising parents’ level of educational knowledge, according to the report. Leija has noticed that ELAC meetings are well-attended. She said that there are 1,397 EL students in FUSD for 2008-2009. She explained that 445 of those score below intermediate level on the California English Language Development Test (CELDT). Leija noted that 157 students have been re-designated since last year.
Two teachers, whose hours at Fillmore High School had been severely reduced, had accepted the District's offer to contest the layoffs at a formal hearing. The District is required to offer such hearings to teachers being laid off, and although at the hearing the judge found that these teachers were Regional Occupational Program (ROP) teachers and therefore the District was not required to offer the hearings to them, the District erred on the side of caution. The teachers had argued that they were not ROP teachers, and therefore were inappropriately laid off. ROP teachers are funded by the County, do not earn seniority in the same way that non-ROP teachers do, and do not have as many rights as other teachers do. The judge found that because they were ROP teachers and because FUSD had to reduce its budget, Henry Beltran could be reduced 0.4 FTEs and Mary Ellen Wortham could be reduced 0.6 FTEs. The Board approved a resolution based on the judge's decision. Sweeney pointed out that FUSD is pursuing continued County funding for the ROP positions in hope that the terminations could be reversed.
CSEA Executive Board Member Sheila Duckett described to the Board her speech at the April 28th City Council meeting, in which she, accompanied by other CSEA members, asked the City to fund the School Resource Officer position to save FUSD $100,000 and mitigate job loss among CSEA employees.

The Board approved the Technology Plan for July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2012. Assistant Superintendent Katy Hadley presented the Plan, and thanked Special Projects Coordinator Kristin Lairson for her assistance. Data and Assessment Support Specialist Connie Rollo was also a contributing member of the subcommittee. The comprehensive Plan includes descriptions of FUSD's current technological state, clear strategic goals, measurable objectives, annual benchmarks, and some implementation details. Hadley explained the difficulty involved in making the Plan realistic and achievable despite FUSD's lack of financial resources. She said that she would like to see teachers increase their levels of technological skill. New features of the Plan include fostering cyber-safety and targeting English Learners. FUSD is applying for a grant that would help Grades 4-8, and some of the programs mentioned in the Plan are already in place. Board Member Tony Prado said that he liked the Plan's high goal numbers because FUSD is more likely to succeed if it attempts to reach higher goals. According to Hadley, the County has already seen and expressed admiration for the Plan.

Superintendent Jeff Sweeney praised Nurses Martha Romero and Ellen Dewey for their good work keeping track of the swine flu outbreak, and being prepared to respond if it came to Fillmore. He mentioned that the US Government Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta had recently announced that schools no longer need to close if a student is diagnosed with swine flu.

The Board ratified the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Application. Assistant Superintendent Mike Bush mentioned that District staff submitted the Application as soon as possible after it became available. It is still uncertain how much money FUSD could receive and when it will be distributed. Bush is concerned about the potential impact of low income-tax revenues, the May 19th election, and the June revise of the State Budget.

Student Representative Garrett Reilley reported that the State standardized testing is finished, but Advanced Placement testing will start soon. The students are preparing for Prom, which will be held at the Ventura Theater this year. Reilley and Health Clerk Janice Schieferle announced that a blood drive will be held for high school students and staff on May 14, 2009.