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MDUSD - Mt. Diablo Unified School District Blog
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Watch live streaming video from mdusd at livestream.compostCount('020910webcast');
February 9, 2010 Webcast (Recorded)
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mdusd on livestream.com. Broadcast Live FreepostCount('012610webcast');
January 26, 2010 Webcast (Recorded)
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Watch live streaming video from mdusd at livestream.comOUR COMMENTING SYSTEM HAS CHANGED, UNTIL I GET THE KINKS WORKED OUT, I AM SWITCHING TO THE BLOGGER SYSTEM. IF YOU POSTED A COMMENT LAST NIGHT THAT YOU WANT POSTED, PLEASE REPOST ON THE BLOGGER COMMENTS BELOW.
January 20, 2010 Webcast Community Meeting RECORDED VERSION
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January 12. 2010 Webcast
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We spent the last few days meeting with School Board Members from all over the State of California trying to figure out how to best deal with the next State budget. The word that we are getting from the State is that the budget shortfall is expected to be $20.7 Billion over the next 18 months. This weekend our Superintendent and fiscal services department are crunching numbers and trying to come up with the amount that we will have to cut and a list of proposed budget reductions that the Board and community can begin to discuss. If the Superintendent and his staff are able to pull it all together by Tuesday December 8th, we will begin to look at the list of proposed reductions at the meeting on Tuesday night. We will not be taking action to make any cuts at the December 8th meeting, it will only be on the agenda for discussion. We will likely begin acting on proposed reductions at the January 12, 2010 meeting.Our district has already made drastic cuts over the last few years, including million in cuts made in 2009. To give you an idea of cuts that we have already made, here are two links to lists of budget reductions made in June 2009:June 2, 2009June 9, 2009 There must be fundamental change in the State of California if school districts are ever going to get out of the cycle of cutting the services that we offer students. Our elected officials constantly indicate that they hold education as their highest priority, yet when times get tough, those same elected officials slash education spending. Every system in the State of California suffers when economic times are as tough as they are right now, but if we as a society fail to maintain our education system, the effects of short term economic downturn will be long term societal failure.Earlier in 2009 we attempted to pass a $99 parcel tax that would have greatly reduced the necessity to further cut education spending for our students. The measure received 59% approval from voters, but failed to achieve the two-thirds majority necessary for passage. Most school districts that surround the Mt. Diablo district have passed their own parcel taxes and those communities have reduced the need to make reductions during these tough economic times. We must pass a local funding measure in the near term if we want to support our kids and avoid further reductions.On December 8th we will begin the process of looking at reductions and we need our community to weigh in on the reductions that will be proposed. We also need our community to participate in the process by making other suggestions of areas where you think we may be able to make reductions.On December 14th there will be a community meeting to discuss action plans on how we are going to move forward as a community to protect services that we provide to our students. A link to the information for that meeting is contained here.The School Board needs to hear from you on the issue of the budget and solutions that will allow the district to remain solvent. Gary Eberhart, Paul Strange, and Sherry Whitmarsh can all be reached by e-mail at gary@mdusd.net, paul@mdusd.net, and sherry@mdusd.net. Gary can be reached by phone at 925-304-1546 and Paul can be reached at 925-567-3030. Dick Allen and Linda Mayo also have e-mail addresses and those addresses can be found on the district web site. You can also post questions and comments to this blog and we will respond to those questions. Please note that we are looking for actionable suggestions that will be helpful in finding solutions to the problem. We also welcome qu...
The State Budget Continues To Be A Disaster
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November 17, 2009 Webcast
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Novmeber 10, 2009 Webcast
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Tonight, November, 2009, the MDUSD Board will meet at our headquarters, which is located at 1936 Carlotta Drive, Concord. The open session will begin at 7:30 PM. Click HERE for the agenda.The agenda is presented differently - through the Electronic School Board System. You can view the detail for any item by clicking on the item.postCount('agenda11109');
November 10, 2009 Board Agenda
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October 27, 2009 Webcast
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Tonight, October 27, 2009, the MDUSD Board will meet at Monte Gardens Elementary School in the Multi Use Room, next door to our our headquarters, which is located at 1936 Carlotta Drive, Concord. The open session will begin at 7:30 PM. Click HERE for the agenda.The agenda is presented differently - through the Electronic School Board System. You can view the detail for any item by clicking on the item.postCount('agenda102709');
October 27, 2009 Agenda
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Below is a press release regarding the Governor's veto of AB 8. I was very hopeful that AB 8 would be passed and signed. It would have provided an opportunity for an overhaul of our broken state education funding.FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, October 14, 2009 Contact:Liz Guillen, Public Advocates Inc.916-442-3385 (o), 916-803-5596 (c)Linda.Rapattoni, Assemblywoman Brownley’s Office, 916-319-2041Paul Tran, Californians for Justice, 562-951-1015Schwarzenegger Continues To Run From Education PledgeAB 8 Veto latest disconnect between words and actionSan Francisco, CA – Education advocates today decried Governor Schwarzenegger’s decision to veto Assembly Education Committee Chair Julia Brownley’s bill Assembly Bill 8 (AB 8), pointing to it as yet another example of refusal by the Governor to move forward on a long overdue overhaul of California's archaic and highly dysfunctional school funding system.“Instead of focusing his leadership on laying the groundwork for school finance reform in California, Governor Schwarzenegger has again avoided ensuring all students are funded by a system that enables them to meet high standards,” said Liz Guillen, Director of Legislative & Community Affairs at Public Advocates Inc., a nonprofit law firm and advocacy group.The bill had wide bipartisan support, passing the Assembly 79-0 and the Senate 31-6, and receiving the endorsement of business, parent, student, teacher, good government and civil rights groups. Funded by outside sources, AB 8 would have required that a bipartisan governmental working group propose a new school funding structure to the Legislature by December 2010 that, among other things, would make the system equitable, rational, and based on the actual costs of educating California’s diverse student population.In his veto statement, Schwarzenegger said in part: "This bill merely authorizes the convening of yet another working group that can be accomplished without statutory authorization. I am concerned that this bill provides the appearance of activity without actually translating to achievement.”Assemblymember Julia Brownley strongly disagreed with the Governor’s rationale. “I was shocked and puzzled by the governor’s veto of AB 8. Without question, overhauling California’s school finance system is the most important education reform effort California can undertake. The governor’s own Committee on Education Excellence said the current system is not equitable or efficient. If, as he said in his veto message, this can be done without legislation, why hasn’t he made a single move toward that? AB 8 would require a concrete action plan be brought forth within a year’s time. His lack of urgency on this most important issue is appalling.”In addition to the Governor’s Committee, a 2007 state-requested set of studies from scholars across the ideological spectrum agreed that California's public school funding system is irrational, inequitable, and hopelessly convoluted. Yet, Schwarzenegger has taken little action to implement any major reforms since vowing that 2008 would be “the Year of Education.” Lately, his education legacy has only grown bleaker. The Governor has overseen unprecedented cuts to California education funding, totaling a shocking $2,000 per student over the past two years. For a state that the respected weekly Education Week already ranks 46th in the nation in per pupil spending, California is likely now closer to 50th.“Instead of having the State take a crucial step toward fixing a school funding system that everyone acknowledges is broken, the Governor has put the brakes on reform,” said Carmen Iñiguez, Statewide Alliance Director with Californians for Justice. “It’s ironic that the governor says he does not want to give only the appearance of p...
AB 8 California Education Funding Review VETO
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As many of you are aware, as a result of the state budget cuts, the district was forced to cut funding for athletics - now the athletic foundation needs your help to raise funds to support sports in MDUSD's high schools. Please join us and help raise funds! From the foundation:5K Run & Walk Oct. 18th at Newhall Park, Concord The United Mt. Diablo Athletic Foundation’s largest fundraiser to date is coming up October 18th, a 5K Competitive Run, 5K Fun Run and a 1/2 Mile Kiddie Run. We need all MDUSD students and families to come together as a community to support this huge fundraiser to “SAVE OUR SPORTS!” We not only need you and your family to register, we need students to obtain sponsors for their run, all students that obtain at least $25 in sponsorships, do not pay the registration fee! All proceeds will go directly toward keeping sports in our high schools, all donations are tax deductible, the Foundation is a 501(c) 3 corporation. As a Foundation we have pledged to give MDUSD $200,000 toward high school sports for this year, 2009/2010. Without this donation from the Foundation and the contributions due from families toward the sports your child(ren) are involved in, we will not be able to keep sports in our District. The time to act is now! We must keep high school sports in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District, for this to happen, we must come together as a community and participate! Download a Sponsorship Form You may register online, download the registration form and send it in, or show up on race day! T-shirts guaranteed to any participant registered by October 4th.All ages welcome and encouraged! postCount('1014095k');
5K Run and Walk for MDUSD Sports!
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October 13, 2009 Webcast
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Tonight, October 13, 2009, the MDUSD Board will meet at our headquarters at 1936 Carlotta Drive, Concord. The open session will begin at 7:30 PM. Click HERE for the agenda.The agenda is presented differently - through the Electronic School Board System. You can view the detail for any item by clicking on the item.postCount('agenda101309');
October 13, 2009 Agenda
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September 22, 2009 Board Webcast
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Tonight, September 22, 2009, the MDUSD Board will meet at our headquarters at 1936 Carlotta Drive, Concord. The open session will begin at 7:30 PM. Click HERE for the agenda.The agenda is presented differently - through the Electronic School Board System. You can view the detail for any item by clicking on the item.postCount('agenda092209');
Board Meeting Agenda September 22, 2009
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September 8, 2009 Webcast
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Tonight, September 8, 2009, the MDUSD Board will meet at our headquarters at 1936 Carlotta Drive, Concord. The open session will begin at 7:30 PM. Click HERE for the agenda.postCount('agenda090809');
September 8, 2009 Agenda
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I have updated the general comments and Gary and I are going to try to keep this more up to date. In order to have a clean starting point, all comments that were not published over the summer have been deleted. postCount('blog090809');
This Blog
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On September 8, 2009 at 12:00 EST or 9:00 AM Pacific time, President Obama will address the students of our nation. Many of the students of our district will be able to view the President's address in their classrooms. Our district supports providing this opportunity to our students. The message that the President will deliver has been released and is available on the White House web site. You can also view the message by clicking here.postCount('Obama');
The President Speaks To Our Students
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Tonight, August 25, 2009, the MDUSD Board will meet at our headquarters at 1936 Carlotta Drive, Concord. The open session will begin at 7:30 PM. Click HERE for the agenda. The Agenda has bookmarks to take you right to each item. Simply open the bookmark pane on Acrobat Reader.postCount('082509agenda');
August 25, 2009 Board Agenda