Sarvis Responds to Special Education Concerns and Pulls Contract Extension

Back from my trip to see far-flung de la Guerras, I saw that in a prepared statement -- School Superintendent Brian Sarvis has responded to several board meetings of parent concerns over special education. You can read his statement over at Edhat. Noozhawk also reports that he has pulled a request for a contract extension that was made just six months into a three year contract.

Apparently, outgoing board member Laura Malakoff had placed the item on the agenda and he didn't know about it. Right. You would think he would review the agendas before they are made and posted. Further, I am sure a lot of people would love to get a contract extension two and a half years out...what about the performance review process? If I were a board member, I wouldn't extend a contract so early and would require a couple of annual reviews before a decision is made as one isn't entitled to keep an executive position like this so far in advance. Show us results!

Will Sarvis' Contract be Extended?

Anissa McNeil -- who has been described as having a "breathtaking lack of sensitivity" -- has given her notice as Special Education Director with the Santa Barbara School District. It happened after a contentious board meeting where School Board Trustee Bob Noel and Superintendent Brian Sarvis talked over each other, many parents complained and McNeil presented what Noel called an "infomercial" in her defense. Read all about the meeting from Rob Kuznia's well-written article at Noozhawk.

In the article's comments area -- the comments went generally as follows:

The damage that Anissa McNeil did to this district cannot be overestimated. The damage will not be repaired for years. I’ve been a special ed teacher for over 15 years, and I’ve never seen anyone like her; she was simultaneously imperious and incompetent. She would make proclamations about new programs, then not show up to the meeting where the new program was to be discussed. She would change say one thing to one employee, then another to another, to the point that we could never tell what was a fact and what was a lie. She would intimidate anyone who dared challenge her by approaching the person alone and without witnesses around.

One comment at Noozhawk even mentioned recall of current board members due to what they termed mismanagement by the district. Last night the school board reviewed Sarvis' contract and although running a school district is much more complicated than its special education department -- a high turnover and parent concerns will likely be a key area for improvement should Sarvis' contract be extended. Other issues might include a poor relationship with teaching staff and questions about how district funds are managed. I don't envy the two new board members who will starting soon -- there's a lot of work to do.

$2.5 Million Cut from Schools

$2.5 million is a lot of music and art classes and a there will no longer be foreign language training in the Santa Barbara School District. Surprisingly, the school board members voted to cut their salary in half in a gesture of goodwill. Nancy Harter and other school board members took a "hard swallow" Tuesday night -- see the full story at The Santa Barbara Newsroom.

SB School Board Delays Charter School Vote

The school board voted 4-1 to continue discussion of the American Charter High School after four hours of discussion. The sticking point? The school's education plan hasn't been presented. It seems that school board member Bob Noel's baby has until May 12th to be approved or the school district would lose funding. As the other board members pointed out in the Daily Sound this morning, this is a big decision for the school district and a tight deadline. For his part, Noel has rid himself of any financial ties to the school just so he could vote on the issue.

Stalled Contract Talks for Teachers

The Santa Barbara Independent reported recently that hundreds of Santa Barbara teachers protested at a school board meeting over stalled contract talks despite state-mediated negotiations. The "S" word was actually used -- teachers mentioned going on strike for a 1.5% increase which they say equals about $50 per month.

I would love to hear from some SBTA members on some comparative pay studies to districts of similar size. We all know it has to be tough to be a teacher and afford to live in Santa Barbara -- but what are the numbers? And, if I may, how do the numbers match with declining enrollment figures?