The Board of Education is expected Tuesday evening to approve a new four-year Joint Powers Agreement that provides $9.7 million annually in city support for district schools. The agreement is also scheduled to be discussed and voted upon during the regular City Council meeting that night. The JPA is a four-year agreement in which the city pays the district for access to school facilities. The current JPA pays BHUSD $10.3 million a year and expires July 1, 2012. Council liaisons Mayor Barry Brucker, Vice Mayor Willie Brien, school board President Brian Goldberg and school board Vice President Jake Manaster spent the last six months negotiating the new agreement. In the final negotiations, Councilwoman Lili Bosse took Brucker’s place. City Treasurer Elliot Finkel had recommended cutting the next JPA to $9 million a year , so the $9.6 million figure is a relief for the school district. The JPA traditionally provides about 20 percent of the annual BHUSD budget. “I am very pleased with the negotiations and feel this new JPA is a real win for our community,” Goldberg told Patch. “I am hopeful that the full board and full council will agree and approve this newest JPA on Tuesday night.” Under the agreement, the district will get paid four times a year—Jan. 1, April 1, July 1 and Oct. 1. The new JPA agreement also provides a separate payment of $125,000 a year to pay for crossing guards at the four elementary schools. The 19-page agreement, which is posted on the board meeting agenda, provides for public access to school grounds facilities during specific times. For example, the agreement dictates that, “The District shall make available year-round on Saturdays and Sundays its outdoor athletic fields and play yards at the five school sites for use by the community… the District shall ensure that access to the outdoor facilities is provided between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.” The five school sites are El Rodeo School, Hawthorne School, Horace Mann School, Beverly Vista School and Beverly Hills High School. The district must also provide public access to school facilities on weekdays during summer, spring or winter recess from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., provided the city gives BHUSD at least 30 days notice. The five school libraries are to be made available to resident children for a minimum of three hours a week after the school day ends, according to the JPA. Be sure to follow Beverly Hills Patch on Twitter and “Like” us on Facebook . Read more: New JPA Provides $9.7 Mil a Year for BHUSD
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Library Media Teachers Returning to K-8 Schools
After a yearlong lobbying campaign by Beverly Hills Unified School District Board of Education President Lisa Korbatov, the board voted Tuesday to hire two library media teachers to work at the city’s four K-8 schools. “I am really excited at the thought that our children will see a librarian at school,” Korbatov said after the 4-0 vote. Board member Jake Manaster was not at the meeting because of a business trip. There have not been library media teachers at Beverly Vista, El Rodeo, Hawthorne or Horace Mann schools since 2008, when the board voted to eliminate the jobs to save funds. Beverly Hills High School was able to keep its librarian. “That vote [in 2008] was a mistake and this is an opportunity to rectify that mistake,” Vice President Brian Goldberg said before the vote. “If we’re going to move the district from good to great to the best, we need to provide qualified library media and technology teachers to engage our students.” Each library teacher will cost approximately $100,000 in salary and benefits, BHUSD Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Dawnalyn Murakawa-Leopard told the board. Since the positions were not included in the current fiscal year budget, funding for the jobs will come from unrestricted district reserves. The BHUSD recently announced it had accumulated a cash reserve of more than 10 percent of its yearly budget. It is yet to be determined how the two librarians will divide their time among the four schools, although Korbatov said she is confident the BHUSD will come up with a plan by the time the staff members are hired. She noted that there are probably many suitable job candidates available since the Los Angeles Unified School District recently eliminated most school librarian positions. According to the job description posted on the BHUSD website, the new librarians will provide “library and media services to elementary and middle school students and teachers.” Such services include: The development of student literacy through the library media program Providing instruction in the skills needed to use instructional materials, research and reference tools effectively The introduction of appropriate literature for students The integration of instructional materials Curriculum resource selection and ordering Overseeing the library’s circulation, utilization, organization and maintenance In an interview with Patch in December when she took over the board presidency, Korbatov said that one of her top priorities would be restoring the library media positions at the K-8 schools. Be sure to follow Beverly Hills Patch on Twitter and “Like” us on Facebook . Read this article: Library Media Teachers Returning to K-8 Schools
