In the midst of the state’s troubled economy, the trustees of the Southern Humboldt Unified School District got a piece of good news at their regular monthly meeting at Redway School on Thursday, Feb.11.

John Isom of Isom Advisors, Inc., reported on the outcome of the survey his firm conducted to determine voter sentiments on the possibility of a General Obligation (GO) bond election and a possible parcel tax election. Between Jan. 28 and Feb.1, Isom’s team contacted 393 of the district’s 5,019 registered voters to sample their attitudes towards the schools and their tolerance for contributing to their support. The local survey was one of seven the firm conducted in California during the same period and support for the schools in this district was rated the highest.

With a margin of error of plus or minus 4.54 percent, the survey found that 68 percent of those contacted would vote in favor of a $25 million dollar bond measure to modernize and improve all schools in the district by energy efficiency and solar panels, new plumbing, replacing dilapidated portable classrooms with permanent classrooms, and better technology if the project were overseen by an independent citizen’s committee and the money was not used for teacher’s salaries.

The survey showed that 63 percent of voters would support a tax of $60 per $100,000 of assessed value, with 25 percent opposed to that and the remainder largely undecided. If the bond would only cost property owners $5 a month, support rose to 71 percent with only 19 percent opposed.

If the proceeds from the bond measure were spent locally and could not be seized by the state government, the approval rating rose to 82 percent.

Isom also surveyed voter opinion on the question of building a new high school in Garberville versus using the funds to renovate the existing high school in Miranda. Support for building a new high school was weak, at 42 percent in favor, as opposed to 56 percent in favor of renovating the current facility.

The favorable rating for a bond measure is well above the required 55 percent to pass a bond measure and Isom recommended that the trustees aim to get such a bond on the June 2010 ballot.

Trustee Scotty McClure asked if might not be better to wait until the November election. Isom said that the community is aware of the poor condition of all the school facilities in the district and that their recommendation is to go in June since the community is ready to support the measure.

Isom also recommended that the trustees hold a special public meeting at South Fork High School that will include tours of that campus that highlight the many problems existing there.

McClure said that he had been on a tour of South Fork High School with Principal Jim Stewart and Redway School with Principal Julie Johansen and he thought that anyone who came to the campus and saw the deterioration would be convinced of the need for rehabilitation.

”It sells itself,” he said. “Those schools are just done.”

With a deadline of March 12 to prepare the bond measure for the ballot, the trustees will have a public meeting in the gym at South Fork High School on Tuesday, Feb. 23. Tours of the campus will be given from 5 to 6 p.m. and the meeting will begin at 6 p.m.

The trustees will also be having special meetings, some with the architectural firm working on the plan to refurbish the district’s facilities, to determine just how bond money would be used.

Isom also conducted a survey of voter attitudes to a parcel tax that would be used to fund programs such as music, math, P.E., English, the arts and teachers’ salaries. They found that 54 percent of those surveyed would support a parcel tax. If the parcel tax were set at $29 per year, or less than $2.50 per month, the favorable margin rose to 70 percent. Isom recommended the trustees consider such a measure for November 2010.

The need for new sources of school financing was made evident when Superintendent Michael McAllister and Business Manager Celeste Boyd gave an update on Governor Schwarzenegger’s budget for 2010-2011.

McAllister characterized the governor’s budget as “accounting tricks” that will leave the district worse off next year than this year. The Prop 98 guarantees, which were approved by the voters to ensure a baseline of funding for education, have been recalculated to lower that base in such a way that the schools now owe the state $46.8 billion.

Additionally, there will be a further reduction of $1.7 billion to educational programs, coupled with a negative Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) that will deprive schools of another $2.2 billion. The only program left unscathed in the governor’s proposal is the after-school program that he introduced when he first took office.

The budget also calls for a 10 percent reduction in school administration.

The state plans to replace No Child Left Behind with a program called Race to the Top. McAllister said that Race to the Top will make it more difficult for schools to meet the identified benchmarks. The budget also does away with mandates such as Star Tests to the extent that the state will no longer fund them, but this does not relieve the schools of the responsibility to operate the programs.

”The reality is we can’t stop doing them, but we won’t get paid for it,” McAllister said. He said also that it is generally agreed that the budget will not actually be passed and in place until September, but since school districts have deadlines to meet, Boyd is already implementing the proposed changes in the district budget.

For this district, Boyd said, the governor’s budget means a loss of $2.25 per ADA plus a negative COLA of $24 per ADA, which means the district will lose another $253,825 from its budget.

”We’re trying to come up with ideas to make this work,” Boyd said. She added that their options are to operate with minimal staff or find a way to increase revenue.

Apropos of that, the trustees looked at recent attendance figures for all schools in the district. The quickest way to enhance the district’s income is regular attendance by all students. Every time a student is absent, the district loses money. The district loses thousands of dollars from poor attendance. The district has been trying to make parents more aware of the need for daily attendance at school.

McAllister also presented possible reconfigurations of the district’s facilities to maximize income.

In one scenario, Agnes Johnson would be a K-6 school, Whitethorn a K-5 school, with its 6th graders going to Redway. This configuration would not increase revenue, but it would maintain revenue.

In a second scenario, the junior high would be restored and housed on the South Fork campus where it could share teachers and services. South Fork would become a 7-12 school. This scenario would actually earn the district about $53,000, and reduce transportation costs and complications. Right now, according to Transportation Supervisor Donna Anderson, some kindergartners are spending more than an hour on the bus.

McAllister said also that, like other districts in the state, SHUSD might have to look at reducing the school year by five days. Such measures are already being taken in other cash-strapped districts.

None of the trustees were in favor of reducing the number of school days.

The trustees will be having a special budget development meeting at Agnes Johnson School in Redway on Thursday, Feb. 25. This meeting will begin at 4:30 p.m. in the multi-purpose room and will provide an opportunity for the public to learn more about the district’s financial woes.

In other business, California School Employees Association president Tom Booth said that he had attended a rally for SB810, the California single payer health plan bill, in Sacramento. This bill would create universal health care in the state and relieve school districts and businesses of the need to provide health care coverage to employees. He said that everyone acknowledges that Governor Schwarzenegger will veto the measure, but the proponents plan to hold it over until there is a new governor.

Booth said that the district’s CSEA members are “downright disgusted” at not having their health care covered. He said that whereas employees earning in the $25 to $53 dollar an hour range are getting full health care coverage, CSEA members earning between $10 and $20 an hour have to pay for their health care coverage. Some are paying premiums that consume their entire paycheck.

”It’s immoral to treat us like this,” he said. “We feel alienated because we are the only ones to take a pay cut. We feel insulted and we would like a board member to be at our next negotiating meeting.”

Booth noted that they have been negotiating since last February and still have not reached an agreement with the district. He said that if the district stops paying the health care for its retirees, the remaining employees would walk out.

”It feels like we’re going downhill,” he said.

Trustee Paulette Thiele encouraged him to send a representative to the budget development meeting in Weott on Feb. 25.

The trustees also looked at the district’s policy on inter-district transfers. A parent from Whale Gulch School was at the meeting. Currently, 31 students residing in SHUSD boundaries are attending school in Whale Gulch. Each student represents a loss of about $6,800 to the district. Many of them are from Shelter Cove.

Whale Gulch, which operates as part of the Leggett Valley School District, would like the SHUSD to provide transportation for the students residing in the Whitethorn and Shelter Cove areas, and the two districts have been negotiating for a while to see if that’s possible. SHUSD gets its insurance through a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) and their insurance carrier requires all students on the bus be covered by insurance. The money SHUSD receives for transporting students can only be spent on SHUSD students, McAllister told the trustees. Moreover, the district can’t pay the insurance premiums for students outside the district and the Leggett Valley District has no money to pay the insurance premiums for the 31 students. It appears unlikely that an agreement can be reached.

However, the trustees wanted the parent and all the parents at Whale Gulch School to know that they support inter-district transfers and try to look at the best interests of the students, even when it means losing money.

”We don’t want to force students to attend our schools,” Trustee Barbara Lindsey said. “We want to attract them.”

Some Whale Gulch students do opt for attending South Fork High School because they want to be among their peers and have more activities available to them.

There was some discussion as to whether or not some of the lower grade students at Whale Gulch would return to the district if Whitethorn School were not so overcrowded. The days of declining enrollment are apparently over and enrollment has at least stabilized, according to McAllister, and may rise in the future. This change in enrollment patterns is something to consider when reconfiguring and repairing the district facilities. McAllister stressed the need to have a flexible plan that can adjust to changing demographics.

Student Trustee Arturo Lopez was asked about the senior class decision to hold its prom at the Scotia Inn rather than at the Mateel Community Center. Lopez said the class felt the Scotia Inn, although smaller than the Mateel, was more elegant and they wanted to have an elegant affair.

Lopez reported that the spring play this year will be “Bride, A Tale from the House of Frankenstein,” by Kirk Kuiper. The piece was not originally a musical, but Mr. Schmollinger will be adding music from the Baroque, Romantic and Neoclassical periods. A small ensemble of band students will perform at the play.

The Associated Student Body is having a Blood Drive on Feb. 25. Students 16 and older must get parental consent to donate blood. The students will also do a cheek swab for the bone marrow registry.

Lopez said that all the students were pleased and grateful to return to school and find a refurbished weight room.

The trustees also approved resolutions honoring the County Road crews for their assistance and diligence on behalf of the school bus drivers and to its administrators for their leadership and dedication.

Lastly, Southern Humboldt Teachers Association president Tasha Haller said that the SHTA would be participating in the California Faculty Association Day of Action in Eureka on March 4. This statewide rally is to protest cuts in education funding and will take place at the Eureka Courthouse. She urged the trustees to attend.