Susan Barr
Kern Valley Sun

Excitement about the new school year and a new school superintendent at the helm were the sentiments expressed by Kernville Union School District Trustee Cassie Wingender. Her positive comments were mirrored by other trustees as the board revved up to tackle the business of a new school year at the August 11 board meeting held in the Wallace School cafeteria.

Next week marks the beginning of the 2009-2010 academic year and due to the ever-changing state budget and the ensuing financial crunch, parents and students can expect to see many changes in the way things are done. The most significant changes will be coming in the form of larger class sizes and a dramatically reduced bus transportation roster.

Kernville Union School District Superintendent Robin Shive and Board of Trustees member Mike Hughes review the meeting agenda during the board’s Aug. 11 meeting in Lake Isabella.

Sherry Costa, the district’s School Attendance Review Board (SARB) Chairperson, presented the end of year SARB Report that was prepared by Deputy District Attorney Vikki Del Pellegrino. The A.D.A. has worked with the district for the last two years and in the report, she provided baseline information and made recommendations so that the district could effectively plan its third year with the program.

“The biggest point covered in the report was that in the first year we were very gung-ho and a lot of referrals and a lot of citations were made. In year two, we were not as exuberant in our referrals. This year we need to go back to that,” said Costa. “We had quite a few families in this report that should have been referred to SARB that weren’t. We want to make sure that we monitor these families because quite often, when we meet at the table it is enough to change attendance.”

Costa went on to add, “The SARB team is an amazing team of representatives from the community. They all bring expertise that really benefits the team when we are talking to the families.”

Dana Goss, Treasurer of the Wallace PTC, reported to the board that the monies raised by “Bronco Bob” Van Helden during his successful run for Whiskey Flat Mayor earlier in the year has been used to purchase a considerable amount of playground equipment that will be used by all grades of the elementary school.

Kernville Elementary School Principal Eileen DeLapp informed the board that their Back-to-School Night will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 25.

Rio Vista Principal Sherry Costa gave an update on her school and incoming enrollment, as well as in the special education program. She noted that she is seeing an escalation in moderate to severe-needs students, but added it is in no way unique to the district.

In her report to the board, Wallace Elementary and Middle School Principal Stephanie Pope said, “We are excited about all of the changes at both campuses.” She referred to the nearly completed construction of the new middle school campus and the new elementary school playground. Pope also commented on the Camp KEEP fundraising efforts and especially complimented the hard work of Heather Berry. “She has done a terrific job and has kept me informed throughout the summer.” As of this point, the Keep Camp KEEP campaign has raised nearly $18,000.

Pope reminded everyone that the Wallace Back-to-School night will be held on Thursday, Aug. 20. At 5:30 p.m., elementary students and their parents will hear a brief presentation by Pope and then they will be able to visit classrooms and meet teachers.

Middle school students will have their Colt Kick-Off on the same day from 3:00-5:00 p.m. Student ID and school photos will be taken on the stage in the cafeteria. After filling in emergency contact cards, parents and students can then pick up student schedules. A Back-to-School Night and Site Orientation will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 1 from 5:00-6:30 p.m. Families will be able to visit the newly constructed middle school campus.

In the Superintendent’s Report, Robin Shive said that district staff will be meeting August 19–21 to prepare for the school year. Shive described the theme for the upcoming year as “Mission Impossible” and said teachers will have to be “superheroes” to get the tasks done. Financial necessity dictates that, “We are asking them to do more with less,” she said.

Shive announced that budget cuts have necessitated scheduling only one afternoon bus run, although there will continue to be two separate dismissal times. This will require elementary students who are not picked up by parents after regular dismissal time to remain in the care of the HOPE Program until they join middle school students on the bus an hour later.

Heather Berry made a brief presentation to the board to bring them up to date on the fundraising activities the Keep Camp KEEP group has sponsored during the summer. The amount of money required by the district to sign up with the camp has been raised. The board approved signing up the middle school for one of the three remaining dates available.

After the meeting, Berry started, “I’m thrilled that the board has given approval to sign up the students for Camp KEEP for the upcoming school year.” She went on to add, “All of us with the Keep Camp KEEP campaign have been overwhelmed by the community support we have received.”

The next board meeting will take place 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8 in the Woodrow Wallace School cafeteria.