Virginia Graziani

Redwood Times

At a special meeting on Friday, Jan. 20, trustees of the Southern Humboldt Unified School District authorized Superintendent Jim Stewart to negotiate an alternate plan using a limited amount of district reserves if state legislators do not restore cuts to school transportation.

The trustees also officially authorized a district-wide field trip for all students to Sacramento today, Jan. 24, to meet with legislators at the Capitol and rally in support of their school bus service.

The alternate plan -- "Plan B" as Stewart and board chair Dennis O'Sullivan call it -- will squeeze $90,000 more out of reserves for transportation this school year and allocate $248,000 for the next school year.

In his report to the trustees, Stewart said that transportation efforts "will be geared towards getting students to South Fork High School," although he added that elementary school students may also be accommodated if there are enough seats available.

Routes will go "as far to the east and west as possible," Stewart explained, although his written report stated, "Pick-up and drop-off places connecting to Miranda will not be very far east or south of Garberville nor will they be very far west of Redway."

At the trustees' regular meeting on Jan. 12, Stewart had said his greatest concern was South Fork High School because it draws students from all over the district. If daily attendance numbers cannot be maintained, the high school's ADA (Average Daily Attendance) payments from the state will not be enough to keep the high school viable.

Trustee Barbara Lindsay urged Stewart to look at the specifics of actual ridership to determine how many students from various parts of the district ride the bus. Even if the routes stay close to Highway 101, students who live near those routes should not be given seats in preference to students from outlying areas.

Being able to drop your child off in Garberville to ride to South Fork can save a parent from an outlying area 20 minutes of driving time each way, Lindsay pointed out.

"We want to help those who need it most," she said, a feeling echoed by the other trustees.

Mark Ahrens, the labor relations representative from the California School Employees Association, warned Stewart and the trustees that they cannot "negotiate" anything until they rescind the layoff notices given to the transportation employees on Jan. 3.

The trustees took this action because they knew that if the state cut transportation funds, SHUSD would run out of money by Feb. 17. They need to give at least 45 days notice before laying off classified (non-teaching) employees, including the drivers, schedulers, and transportation director.

But Ahrens said that once the notices are given, the employees no longer have equal footing with school administrators and trustees, as required for bargaining by the California Educational Employees Relations Act of 1976.

Gabriela Echevearria, field director for CSEA's North Bay field office, which covers the coastal counties from the Bay Area to the Oregon border, attended the meeting with Ahrens.

SHUSD is the only school district in her part of the state that did not negotiate an alternate transportation plan with employees before the cuts went into effect, she said.

During the meeting Ahrens frequently emphasized the need to rescind the layoffs to leave adequate time for negotiations before the Feb. 17 cut-off date.

For now the district is still trying to put a plan together so they are not ready to enter into bargaining with the employees, Stewart said. Board chair Dennis O'Sullivan assured the labor representatives, "You will be comfortable when we sit down at the table."

The good news out of Sacramento was that North Coast State Senator Noreen Evans added an amendment to SB81, a proposed bill establishing funding for California schools in the coming school year. Evans's amendment would restore transportation funds, thus solving the issue.

Since Evans's action is an amendment to an existing bill, it requires only a simple majority to pass, unlike the proposed AB1448, which as a new appropriation for home to school transportation must be approved by two-thirds of each house of the legislature.

Plans for today's trip to Sacramento were well underway. Two buses carrying 30 students each would head up the caravan. Cinnamon Paula, creator of the "Bus Stop to Nowhere" Facebook site, reported that at least 25 private vehicles would bring more students, parents, and community members on the trip.

Apexnorth of Redway has donated all the fuel for the buses, Stewart reported. Pepsi-Cola donated 10 cases of bottled water, Ray's Shop Smart donated $200 of food, and a restaurant outside Sacramento will donate 150 tri-tip dinners for caravaners to eat on their way home tonight.

Lotus Mountain Graphics is imprinting 20 T-shirts to identify persons responsible for keeping the group safe and organized, Paula added. Clover Willison helped the district get the permit needed for a group rally on the Capitol grounds.

The caravan was scheduled to leave from South Fork at 5:30 a.m. this morning, arriving in Redway to pick up elementary school students at 6 a.m.

With a couple of rest stops, including a picnic lunch near Dunnigan north of Sacramento, the caravan should arrive at the Capitol by 1 p.m.

A five-person team, including Stewart, O'Sullivan, a student, a parent, and a bus driver, will meet with Evans in her office at 1:30 and then with North Coast State Assemblyman Wes Chesbro at 2 p.m. Chesbro has promised to address the caravan on the Capitol steps at approximately 2:30.

Around 3:00 p.m. the caravan will head back to SoHum, arriving home tonight.

Stewart said he had been receiving many phone calls and emails from legislators and felt optimistic that Southern Humboldt's voice is finally being heard in Sacramento.

Redway Elementary School Principal and Associate School Superintendent Julie Johansen told the trustees that elementary school students have been writing letters. "They're really getting it," she said. "They're writing about the impact not just on themselves but on other kids."

Trustee Susan Thompson thanked the community for its active support, particularly in writing letters directly to the legislators and commenting on Facebook.

The SHUSD trustees will meet next on Thursday, Feb. 9, in Room 7 at Redway Elementary School. At that time Stewart expects to have an alternate transportation plan ready for review by the public and the trustees. All interested community members are welcome to attend.

Virginia Graziani

Redwood Times

At a special meeting on Friday, Jan. 20, trustees of the Southern Humboldt Unified School District authorized Superintendent Jim Stewart to negotiate an alternate plan using a limited amount of district reserves if state legislators do not restore cuts to school transportation.

The trustees also officially authorized a district-wide field trip for all students to Sacramento today, Jan. 24, to meet with legislators at the Capitol and rally in support of their school bus service.

The alternate plan -- "Plan B" as Stewart and board chair Dennis O'Sullivan call it -- will squeeze $90,000 more out of reserves for transportation this school year and allocate $248,000 for the next school year.

In his report to the trustees, Stewart said that transportation efforts "will be geared towards getting students to South Fork High School," although he added that elementary school students may also be accommodated if there are enough seats available.

Routes will go "as far to the east and west as possible," Stewart explained, although his written report stated, "Pick-up and drop-off places connecting to Miranda will not be very far east or south of Garberville nor will they be very far west of Redway."

At the trustees' regular meeting on Jan. 12, Stewart had said his greatest concern was South Fork High School because it draws students from all over the district. If daily attendance numbers cannot be maintained, the high school's ADA (Average Daily Attendance) payments from the state will not be enough to keep the high school viable.

Trustee Barbara Lindsay urged Stewart to look at the specifics of actual ridership to determine how many students from various parts of the district ride the bus. Even if the routes stay close to Highway 101, students who live near those routes should not be given seats in preference to students from outlying areas.

Being able to drop your child off in Garberville to ride to South Fork can save a parent from an outlying area 20 minutes of driving time each way, Lindsay pointed out.

"We want to help those who need it most," she said, a feeling echoed by the other trustees.

Mark Ahrens, the labor relations representative from the California School Employees Association, warned Stewart and the trustees that they cannot "negotiate" anything until they rescind the layoff notices given to the transportation employees on Jan. 3.

The trustees took this action because they knew that if the state cut transportation funds, SHUSD would run out of money by February 17. They need to give at least 45 days notice before laying off classified (non-teaching) employees, including the drivers, schedulers, and transportation director.

But Ahrens said that once the notices are given, the employees no longer have equal footing with school administrators and trustees, as required for bargaining by the California Educational Employees Relations Act of 1976.

Gabriela Echevearria, field director for CSEA's North Bay field office, which covers the coastal counties from the Bay Area to the Oregon border, attended the meeting with Ahrens.

SHUSD is the only school district in her part of the state that did not negotiate an alternate transportation plan with employees before the cuts went into effect, she said.

During the meeting Ahrens frequently emphasized the need to rescind the layoffs to leave adequate time for negotiations before the Feb. 17 cut-off date.

For now the district is still trying to put a plan together so they are not ready to enter into bargaining with the employees, Stewart said. Board chair Dennis O'Sullivan assured the labor representatives, "You will be comfortable when we sit down at the table."

The good news out of Sacramento was that North Coast State Senator Noreen Evans added an amendment to SB81, a proposed bill establishing funding for California schools in the coming school year. Evans's amendment would restore transportation funds, thus solving the issue.

Since Evans's action is an amendment to an existing bill, it requires only a simple majority to pass, unlike the proposed AB1448, which as a new appropriation for home to school transportation must be approved by two-thirds of each house of the legislature.

Plans for today's trip to Sacramento were well underway. Two buses carrying 30 students each would head up the caravan. Cinnamon Paula, creator of the "Bus Stop to Nowhere" Facebook site, reported that at least 25 private vehicles would bring more students, parents, and community members on the trip.

Apexnorth of Redway has donated all the fuel for the buses, Stewart reported. Pepsi-Cola donated 10 cases of bottled water, Ray's Shop Smart donated $200 of food, and a restaurant outside Sacramento will donate 150 tri-tip dinners for caravaners to eat on their way home tonight.

Lotus Mountain Graphics is imprinting 20 T-shirts to identify persons responsible for keeping the group safe and organized, Paula added. Clover Willison helped the district get the permit needed for a group rally on the Capitol grounds.

The caravan was scheduled to leave from South Fork at 5:30 a.m. this morning, arriving in Redway to pick up elementary school students at 6 a.m.

With a couple of rest stops, including a picnic lunch near Dunnigan north of Sacramento, the caravan should arrive at the Capitol by 1 p.m.

A five-person team, including Stewart, O'Sullivan, a student, a parent, and a bus driver, will meet with Evans in her office at 1:30 and then with North Coast State Assemblyman Wes Chesbro at 2 p.m. Chesbro has promised to address the caravan on the Capitol steps at approximately 2:30.

Around 3:00 p.m. the caravan will head back to SoHum, arriving home tonight.

Stewart said he had been receiving many phone calls and emails from legislators and felt optimistic that Southern Humboldt's voice is finally being heard in Sacramento.

Redway Elementary School principal and associate school superintendent Julie Johansen told the trustees that elementary school students have been writing letters. "They're really getting it," she said. "They're writing about the impact not just on themselves but on other kids."

Trustee Susan Thompson thanked the community for its active support, particularly in writing letters directly to the legislators and commenting on Facebook.

The SHUSD trustees will meet next on Thursday, Feb. 9, in Room 7 at Redway Elementary School. At that time Stewart expects to have an alternate transportation plan ready for review by the public and the trustees. All interested community members are welcome to attend.