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In sync with this week’s Presidential Debate, local communities held Town Hall-style candidate’s forums where members of the public were allowed to ask questions of candidates via a moderator.

The first forum was held on Thursday, Oct. 11 in Mammoth Lakes. The Mammoth Chamber of Commerce hosted the event, which featured the two candidates for Mono County District 4 Supervisor, Bob Peters and Tim Fesko, as well as the Mammoth Unified School District Board candidates John Stavlo and Shana Stapp. The third candidate for the MUSD Board, Luis Villanueva, was unable to attend the forum.

The 90-minute forum was broken into two, 45-minute segments. The first was devoted to Peters and Fesko.

The District 4 race spilled over into the November election after neither Peters nor Fesko secured 50 percent plus one of the vote in June. The candidates have met in several public forums over the past few months, but last Thursday they aired their difference once again.

Fesko said he belives that the Board should not have such a “hands off” approach, citing his broad background and experience as good assets to the County to use in more ways than simply setting policy.

He used an example of a recent Board meeting he attended where the Board was considering purchasing two boilers for the old hospital building in Bridgeport at the tune of $125,000. Fesko suggested cheaper ways to get the job done to both staff and the BOS but was brushed off as not understanding the process.

Fesko, however, said that if a Board member has an idea on how to save the County money, he or she should voice it.

“Yes, the Board is responsible for setting policy and direction but you have to know how to get from A to B,” he elaborated.

Peters on the other hand stuck to the theory that the BOS should decide policy, “not how a rain gutter is constructed.

“Too many people are looking at the acorns, not the trees,” Peters said.

In closing statements Fesko pointed out that he has gone through county processes as a customer and therefore knows where there are strengths and weaknesses in the system.

“It’s important to have someone with passion,” he said. “I hear what people say and act on it.”

Peters closed by saying that he would support whatever the County has to do to grow its economy, whether it be support of an airline subsidy, expansion of fish enhancement, or simply protecting our biggest asset, the environment.

The forum then swung to the MUSD Board candidates.

Stapp and Stavlo discussed everything from what type of cuts they would make to balance the budget (Stavlo said teacher’s salaries, Stapp wasn’t sure how she would do it, but didn’t want to cut salaries), to what they felt was a Board member’s role in the day-to-day operations of the district (both stated “very little”).

There are two seats available on the MUSD School Board and three candidates. Stay tuned for Geisel’s interviews with each candidate one-on-one.

ESUSD Board

On Tuesday, Oct. 16, an Eastern Sierra Unified School District Board Candidates Forum, sponsored by the teacher’s union, competed with the second Presidential Debate. The crowd in the Lee Vining Elementary School gym was small, but their questions packed a punch and revealed much about the four candidates vying for two seats. Here’s a breakdown of what we heard.

Pam Haas-Duhart brings teaching experience to the table. She was an educator for 22 years and has taught in the Mono County area.

She felt that true decisions regarding budget cuts could not be made until after the election in November because of the measures on the ballot that would ultimately affect schools.

If elected, she promised to be at every school in the District at least once a month. She admitted this could be tough in the winter.

Haas-Duhart was asked if she was a California taxpayer since she has Nevada license plates on her vehicle. She said that she does pay California taxes.

“I am married to a Nevada resident, and he pays his taxes, too” she said. Her husband is a ranch hand in Smith Valley. She travels back and forth between Mono County and Nevada not only to see her husband but also to teach in Nevada at a California Charter School.

Arya Degenhardt brings youth to the table. She is currently the Communications Director for the Mono Lake Committee and stressed two main points throughout the evening:

1. Communication is critical between Board members and the community.

2. Schools are the heart of the communities in the Eastern Sierra Unified School District.

Her solutions for budget cuts included collaborating further with the Mono County Office of Education and raising revenue in new ways.

“Unique communities need unique solutions,” she said.

When it came time to discuss the district’s level of trust with the current superintendent, Don Clark, all of the other candidates wholeheartedly stated that the community did not trust Clark [because of the budget crisis that occurred within ESUSD in 2010], but Degenhardt danced around the issue.

“You always hear the bad things, so yes, I’ve heard there is a lack of trust, but time does heal and there is an earnest effort to rebuild trust,” she said.

John Peters, son of Bob Peters the District 4 candidate for Mono County Supervisor already mentioned, operates the Bridgeport Inn with his father and lives in Walker.

With his oscillating preacher’s voice, Peters demanded attention as he gave his answers.

In regard to budget cuts, he felt that budget management was in fact the real issue for the District at this time.

“The budget was reduced after the initial crisis [2010] and is now seeing growth in the reserve,” he said. “Tightening it is not the issue right now, rebuilding is the issue.”

Peters believes that while kids need to be exposed to influences and cultures outside of the Eastern Sierra, they also need to be given the opportunity to experience what is in their own backyard.

“We need to emphasize learning,” he said.

Jimmy Little has four kids currently going through the ESUSD at different levels.

“I have a vested interest and will be living with the decisions made [within ESUSD] for at least the next decade,” he said.

He owns the Virginia Creek Settlement and got involved in District politics during the budget crisis of 2010.

He felt that the Board should work together to be more welcoming to the community, pointing out that Board meetings at this time have a negative atmosphere.

Little also stressed that kids in the ESUSD need to be prepared for the culture shock of the bigger world and stressed that there can be no cookie cutter approach in schools, as each student is unique.

Little strongly believed that the superintendent should pay close attention to the Board’s guidance.

“If the Superintendent doesn’t like the Board giving guidance then he shouldn’t work here,” Little said. He also added that in order for the community to have faith in the superintendent it needed to have faith in the Board.

Items the candidates agreed on

-The Edna Beaman Gym should be built

-Sports are an important part of education and should not be cut

-Teacher’s salaries were not known to any of them so they could not really comment on whether or not the pay was high enough

Closing statements that stuck

Little: “If I’m going to open my mouth, I’m going to step up.”

Peters: “We need to provide transparency to the taxpayers, even those without kids.”

Degenhardt: “Running is my way of saying I’m committed to our kids.”

Haas-Duhart: “Vote for me. If not I’m going to cry a lot.”

Mammoth Unified School District’s Board of Education voted Thursday evening to approve a collective bargaining agreement with the Mammoth Education Association teachers union. MUSD has been trying to reign in increasing deficit spending and avert potential insolvency by the end of the 2014-2015 school year.

The one-year agreement, from July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2013, calls for a reduction in salaries of $118,000. It also reduces Statutory Benefits (retirement, workers compensation, Medicare, etc.) contributions by $12,852, for a total savings of $131,152, affecting 66 employees represented in the negotiations.

According the Fiscal Impact agenda bill prepared by new District Business Manager Donnie Salamanca, salaries account for between 80 and 90 percent of MUSD’s budget. “The results of negotiations project that MUSD will have a reserve of 5% at the close of the 2014-2015 school year, well above the -3% originally forecast without any austerity measures,” he noted in the agenda bill.

The salary decrease is taken in net days in school. For the 2012-2013 school year only, the teacher work year consisting of 175 instructional days, one in-service day and one teacher workday for a total of 177 days, a decrease in of approximately 2.5%. During the 2012-2013 school year, the days furloughed will be the final five (5) days of the instructional year, at which point the entire school district will go dark during that time.

MUSD Superintendent Rich Boccia said the furlough days are a given for this school year, and will happen no matter what. On July 1, 2013, the teacher work year will revert back to I80 instructional days and one in-service day and one teacher workday for a total of I82 days.

MEA union lead negotiator Cheryl Hart previously said the teachers only want a fair deal, and have been willing to work with the District toward that end. Negotiations between the MUSD and MEA began this past spring, and four sessions between the two parties only resulted in a mutual agreement to declare impasse on July 25. There were a number of concerns expressed by both parties with the most pressing issue being that of maintaining the approved Board of Education (BOE) policy to maintain a 17% minimum reserve that would allow the District to remain fiscally solvent.

The bargaining also resulted in a negotiated cap on Health and Welfare benefits. Boccia said the year’s budget deficit, which started at around $880,000, is still about $250,000 short of being erased, and that assumes Prop 30, a tax initiative package proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown, in part meant to shore up state education spending levels, is passed by the voters this November. Salamanca indicated in his report that, [MUSD] began the 2012-2013 fiscal year with a reserve of approximately $4,793,612 (40%), which he indicated would be sufficient to compensate for this fiscal year’s deficit.

A lot is riding on passage of Brown’s tax package. “The successful passage of Prop 30 provides a critical element in the fiscal solvency of this school district,” Boccia wrote in his agenda bill on the Collective Bargaining Agreement. His bill’s language went on to say that if the tax initiatives fail at the ballot box, both parties agree to meet soon after Nov. 6 and negotiate a revised salary and work year agreement.

MEA is also scheduled to vote on the agreement. Results were still pending at press time. Watch for updates as details become available.

Knight argues the merits of SB 1148 to Mono Supes

CalTrout was clearly swimming against the current at Tuesday’s Mono County Board of Supervisors meeting when it made its case for Senate Bill 1148, currently sitting on Governor Jerry Brown’s desk awaiting his signature or veto.

Until Tuesday, the Board had only heard from those opposing the bill such as Retired State Senator and current Stanislaus County Assessor Dave Cogdill and local District 3 Supervisor-Elect Tim Alpers.

CalTrout Conservation Director Curtis Knight claimed that rather than trying to squash the language in Assembly Bill 7, which gives funding prioritization to fish hatcheries, SB 1148 had been written with the intent of reinvigorating the bill.

“We wanted to create a piece of legislation to remind legislators that trout are important,” Knight said. “SB 1148 keeps the issue on the front-burner. We are not trying to tip the balance any one way.

“It’s the way to get things to work in the messy world of Sacramento,” he added.

One of the major goals of SB 1148, according to Knight’s presentation, was to earmark funding for seven staffing positions for the wild trout program.

“SB 1148 added at least $2 million for the wild trout program, which would be used largely for staffing permanent positions,” Knight said.

This money would be taken out of the Hatcheries and Inland Fisheries Fund (HIFF), which was created as part of AB 7, first and then the remainder would be used for hatcheries.

While Knight pointed out that $2 million was 10% of the HIFF, so hatcheries would still be receiving 90% of the fund, Cogdill, who was also present at Tuesday’s meeting, felt that wasn’t the point. AB 7 put hatcheries first on the list to receive HIFF funding, so SB 1148 would be reversing the approved order.

“The language in SB 1148 says heritage and wild trout programs are the priorities, not hatcheries,” Cogdill said. So, if license fee sales drop, so would the amount of funding hatcheries receive because they would not be able to dip into the HIFF barrel until $2 million was pulled out for the heritage and wild trout programs.

“How are hatcheries not going to come up short,” Cogdill asked. “We’re going to end up having to raise fishing license fees, which ultimately makes families suffer. If license fees increase, fewer people will buy them and again it will hurt the hatcheries.

“This bill does not get us all where we want to be,” Cogdill added. He felt the process of creating SB 1148 had been truncated. He didn’t hear about the bill until June when it had already made its way through several steps in the process of becoming law.

“1148 was a wetlands mitigation bill at first,” Cogdill claimed. “CalTrout tried to sneak it in.”

Even after some eventual conversation with CalTrout over the past month, both Cogdill and Knight said they didn’t see eye to eye at the end of the day.

Both agreed that AB 7 had never been implemented properly, but while Knight said SB 1148 was the solution for that problem, Cogdill believed the new language fell short.

“AB 7 needs to be revisited and strengthened but SB 1148 does not do that,” Cogdill argued. “CalTrout was a major opponent to AB 7 at first and tried to block it because they saw it as a threat to their funding.”

The Department of Fish and Game is another agency that hasn’t been fond of the production goals of AB 7.

“There have been a lot of politics back and forth,” Cogdill said. “From the beginning there was language in AB 7 that said the production goals would be difficult to achieve. This was in the language signed by the governor and it gave DFG an out to not comply with AB 7 from the start. We need legislation with more teeth.”

Knight pointed out that SB 1148 would give hatcheries $1 million right off the bat to help them build up their facilities and meet production goals.

Cogdill, however, pointed out that the $1 million was a one-time allocation.

Supervisor-Elect and hatchery expert Tim Alpers got to the heart of the matter by pointing out that the bottom line was getting fish in the water.

“If the hatchery system is impaired any further, fishing [which is a large portion of Mono County’s economy] will go downhill,” Alpers said. “Without the hatchery system we can’t perpetuate fishing and get younger fisherpeople on board. You need funding continuity to properly grow nicer, bigger fish on a regular basis.”

These bigger fish are what will attract more fisherpeople to the waters.

Despite CalTrout’s presentation, the Board came to consensus to send two letters to the governor: one asking him to veto SB 1148 and another asking him to support SB 505, which, according to Cogdill, just restates the obvious points of AB 7.

“The DFG is just doing what it wants and is not following the law,” said Supervisor Larry Johnston. “The tail is wagging the dog and DFG will probably just ignore this bill, too.”

“It’s good we came to the table, but it’s the wrong table here at this Board level,” added Supervisor Vikki Bauer, in reference to the alleged truncated 1148 process.

“There are possible consequences, intended or unintended, from SB 1148,” Cogdill said. Since it has made it to the governor’s desk, Cogdill felt it would likely be signed.

“It’s never a done deal, especially with this governor, but the Department [DFG] is behind it so he is going to have a lot of pressure to sign it,” Cogdill said.

Public hearing to clarify assessment

The Mono County Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing on Sept. 4 to review assessment appeals board rules prior to adopting a resolution to accept these rules.

The assessment appeals board rules govern the process that is used during the assessment of property taxes. The Assessment Appeals Board has already signed off on the rules, but Supervisor Larry Johnston requested the public hearing in an effort to give the public a chance to weigh in.

June Lake in action

Members of the Keep June Mountain Open Coalition, now calling themselves the June Lake Revitalization Committee, updated the Mono County Board of Supervisors Tuesday regarding the status of June Lake, and the $100,000 in funding recently allocated by the Board.

Committee member Connie Black stated that the group had a productive meeting with the Forest Service, which included a caravan around the Loop to look at potential sites for recreation expansion.

Black also said that the June Lake community had convened for a meeting on Monday evening to set up committees that will be tasked out with different projects. Approximately 37 people attended.

Black also reported that the Committee had spoken with a PR person and outlined potential projects. The contact stated she would charge $65 per hour and estimated it would take about 15-20 hours month to accomplish the community’s goals.

Lastly, Black gave her own plug for air service (see related cover story).

“Negativity for the air service subsidy comes from its relation to Mammoth Mountain because people look at it as if we’re giving a gift to MMSA,” Black said. “As John Urdi stated, we need to educate people and get the word out that it benefits everyone.”

The Mono County Tourism Commission will act as the middleman for funneling the $100,000 between the County and the June Lake Community, and Economic Development Director Dan Lyster stated that the commission had been briefed and was excited by its role.

The Commission also met on Tuesday, and Commission Chair Jimmy Little, in hopes of starting things off on the right foot, said he would like to define the Commission’s role. “If we’re the one’s saying yes, and Mono County Tourism’s name is attached, we need authority over the money,” Little said, not wanting the commission to be just a token name with someone else pulling the strings.

Lyster agreed, stating that, “It will be made clear that all things approved must pass through [the Commission].” He added his take that a single entity in June Lake should be the point person or organization to make spending and billing more expeditious, whether it’s a non-profit or other type of arrangement. Little’s main caveat was that it not be an ad hoc group made up of 2-3 locals who have louder voices than everyone else. “EDD will ultimately be responsible for the money, and we’re not going to spend a dime until ground rules and a plan are developed,” Lyster said.

A meeting was scheduled for Friday, Aug. 24 at 9 a.m. at the June Lake Community Center for the Commission and the Committee (as well as any other interested parties) to convene.

Parks anniversary planning

In 2014, Yosemite will honor its 150th anniversary of the Yosemite Grant Act and the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. In 2015, Yosemite will honor its 125th anniversary as a national park. In 2016, the National Park Service will commemorate its 100th anniversary. Yosemite is a key icon for each of these significant anniversaries.

On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors received a presentation from Kass Hardy who is working with the entire region to host activities, create official merchandise, and to initiate projects. The presentation highlighted the importance of these anniversaries and showcased multiple ways that Mono County and Yosemite’s East Gateway communities, agencies, organizations, and businesses can be a part of these historic events.

June Mountain

Several members of the June Lake community attended the regular Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday to provide a status update on the closure of June Mountain.

“We had a cordial meeting with Rusty Gregory, Carl Williams and Ron Cohen yesterday [Monday],” explained Double Eagle Resort co-owner Connie Black. The group also had a meeting scheduled with the Forest Service on Wednesday.

“Following that meeting we can then formulate an action plan,” said June Lake CAC member Patti Heinrich.

Black, however, pointed out that “there is a fine line between optimism and hallucination,” when it comes to what can and can’t be done to save June Mountain.

According to Ralph Lockhart, Black’s son and partner at the Double Eagle, the group was told at its Monday meeting with Gregory that scheduling the necessary lift inspections for June Mountain to be able to operate in the winter was one of the primary reasons for not being able to open.

The lift inspections have to be done well before the Mountain opens in December, which makes the window of opportunity to get the Mountain open for the 2012-13-winter season even smaller.

“If the inspections could be done the time window would be a little larger,” Lockhart said. It would give the community more time to brainstorm solutions. Lockhart, however, did not know the cost to do the necessary inspections.

Supervisor Vikki Bauer’s Recap of meeting with the Forest Service on Wednesday:

Ed Armenta, new Inyo Forest Supervisor, was very forthcoming and supportive of the community in yesterday’s meeting. He stated that they will be sending a letter of non-compliance to MMSA and requesting that a financial audit be completed. He stressed that revocation would only be something used way down the line and as a last resort (read protracted legal battle here). He stated that it might be reasonable to allow any permit holder a season of closure to re-configure their organization, but that they were examining their options. Non-compliance has no specific timeline and would proceed until all reasonable solutions had been explored by both parties. The revocation process is a different process that would come after, and IF it were to reach that, MMSA would have 180 days to respond and full appeal rights.

The Forest Service re-iterated that they would work with any parties interested in the June Mountain permit in this time period. So far no party has contacted them. in the meantime, MMSA holds this permit and the best short term solutions is to work with MMSA to either open or sell the permit to a potential buyer. Again, now is the time for potential buyers, groups of buyers or non-profits to step forward to the Forest Service.

I will start proposing ideas to the Mono County Board of Supervisors at our August 7 meeting in Bridgeport. We will be discussing air service subsidies, zoning of the Rodeo grounds, the transient overlay ordinance and ways to financially support MMSA operations at June Mountain this upcoming winter.

Stump announces successor

Long Valley Fire Department’s Fire Chief, Fred Stump announced he would be terminating his Fire Chief employment in October to prepare for his new role as Mono County District 2 Supervisor. Stump stated that the preliminary choice for the new chief is Vincent Maniaci, a current Captain for the Fire Department.

IAG/CRF contracts

The Board reviewed and approved its annual contracts with the Inland Aquaculture Group as well as the Conway Ranch Foundation, the two organizations associated with the Conway Ranch and the Alpers Trout raised there.

The contract with IAG was the annual agreement for the County to purchase trout from IAG. The Board approved 3-0 (Supervisors Vikki Bauer and Hap Hazard were absent), the contract with the modifications that IAG had requested.

The major modifications, according to County Counsel Marshall Rudolph were:

1. An evergreen agreement rather than a one-year agreement, with the contract rolling over each year until one party chooses to end it. A discussion of the amount of fish provided and cost would still be held every year.

2. A mutual hold harmless clause.

The Board also voted 3-0 to approve the contract with the Conway Ranch Foundation, but did not allow one of the changes that CRF had requested.

The CRF had requested that if a possessory interest tax were ever created, that the County agree to pay it. A possessory interest tax, according to Rudolph is a state property tax law and applies to an entity that has a right to use a piece of land but doesn’t own it. The County Assessor determines if the tax exists.

Currently, CRF is not paying a possessory interest tax, but the group wanted the contract to bind the County to pay it if things ever changed.

Rudolph explained that in its contracts, the County holds the other party responsible for paying the tax if one ever occurs, and the Board chose not to allow this clause to be changed.

“We need a professional opinion [to change it] and we don’t have an Assessor,” said Supervisor Tim Hansen.

“Taxes are the cost of democracy,” added Supervisor Larry Johnston. “Leave it as is.”

And other Mono County briefs

With the departure this week of Mono County Assessor Jody Henning and Assistant Assessor Chris Lyons, Mono County’s Board of Supervisors began discussions of how to fill the posts at its regular meeting Tuesday in Bridgeport.

The Board has authorized advertising for candidates for the assistant position, and later re-evaluating moving them up into a fulltime slot.

Henning and Lyons are both leaving independently for new job opportunities.

In the short term, County Administrative Officer Jim Arkens said he will oversee the department, and at this point, no decisions have been made on any candidates. Once a candidate or candidates for the positions are lined up, Mono County Supervisor Larry Johnston agreed to sit in on any interviews.

In addition, the Board is considering reallocating the Assessor’s Office mapping duties to the Information Technology department.

In one of her last statements to The Sheet, Henning said only that she wishes the County well, hopes the Board will “think outside the box” when looking for candidates, and consider other assessors to find “the very best qualified applicants, who will keep the progress we’ve made moving forward.”

Fees-Fi-Fo-Fum 

Mono County Supervisors on Tuesday adopted a new fee schedule with $70,800 in new or increased fees for certain County permits and other services, most in emergency services.

Coming prior to development and adoption of the County’s Fiscal Year 2012-2013 budget, most fee schedules were set so that departments can use them in budgeting, according to County Finance Director Brian Muir.

Most of the Board seemed okay with the modest increases, but Supervisor Larry Johnston remained steadfastly opposed to any increases during what he indicated were lingering economic hard times in the county.

“Philosophically we’re in an economic downturn and have lots of people out there suffering, and we’re raising fees,” he charged. “Fees need to reflect what’s going on in the economy. We need to hunker down and reduce some of the fees. I’m not saying we should do away with them altogether, but we should find ways to make do with other revenue.”

Byng Hunt countered that discussing these types of fees “always comes down to fairness,” adding that the people who get the benefit from these services are the ones who should pay for them. “I’m not in favor of any across the board cuts,” he said. “Given the struggles we’re going to have to face in the coming 12 to 24 months, we’re going to have to cover our costs.”

Fees for the process of recording surveys were changed to hourly to make them more affordable, but Johnston held his ground against any fee increases, casting the lone dissenting vote.

GBUAPCD says yes to County

The Board was briefed on approval by the Governing Board of the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District of a County Public Works – Road Division Clean Air Projects Program (CAPP) application for $300,000 to replace two 1958 snow blowers with two new MT Trackless blowers.

An additional $13,000 for wages and advertising necessary for bid development, equipment preparation, training, maintenance and grant administration, which is not part of the grant, will be covered by the Road Fund. CAO Jim Arkens said the County should have no problem finding the extra money. A second grant application for ventilation upgrades will come forward as a separate item with a separate match, according to Arkens.

4-Way Stop in June

Supervisors also approved a resolution designating the intersection of Knoll and Crawford Avenues in June Lake as a 4-way stop intersection and gave Public Works a go ahead to put up stop signs.

Right now, the stop is a two-way stop, at which one of the remaining signs has been hit and taken out, thus making it essentially a one-way stop. The sign is meant to be more of a controlling measure, and not necessarily patrolled, since traffic flow doesn’t warrant any major monitoring. CHP will still investigate traffic accidents at the intersection, and Bauer said she hopes the signs help during the winter when the roads are icy.

“I’ve been flying this flag and found no one who opposes it. It’s been my legacy … woo-hoo, a four-way stop,” enthused Bauer, whose term on the Board will come to an end this year. Bauer was recently defeated for re-election in District 3 by Tim Alpers.

Cerro Coso President Jill Board

Forums to help college reinvent itself during state budget crisis

A slogan on the cover of Cerro Coso Community College’s 2011 Annual Report reads, “One college. One mission. Many possibilities.”

In light of looming cuts to the state’s community college funding, CCCC President Jill Board and some of her senior staff held a pair of community forums earlier this week in Mammoth and Bishop to discuss some key possibilities, and solicit public input to help frame the tough decisions they’ll have to make going forward.

Staff on hand in Mammoth Monday evening included Deanna Campbell, Director of Eastern Sierra’s Bishop and Mammoth campuses, VP of Academic Affairs Dr. Corey Marvin, Natalie Dorrell, Director of Development and Public Affairs, and VP of Student Services Heather Ostash.

Board, who joined the Kern Community College District (KCCD) in 1989 as a tenured faculty member in counseling, and from there began counseling students in Mammoth and Bishop, opened the forum by saying,

“I’ve watched, as have many in the communities, the buildings go up, the land swaps and so on, and the budgets were always never what we thought they’d be. But we never dreamed we’d be in this position.”

She added that a recent open letter, sent by Board and KCCD Chancellor Sandra Serrano, was not meant to suggest the college is going away, or otherwise paint a doom and gloom scenario.

“It was really a reality check. I’m not here to talk politics, and say vote for [Governor Jerry Brown’s proposed] tax increase or don’t vote for the tax increase.” Board said the best decisions would come from open dialogue. “We’ll continue to educate students across more than 20,000 square miles. We’re invested, and that’s by design. Rural colleges have a different value system because of the way we view our communities. We want a team that has their heart and soul in the college,” she said, as opposed to more transient professors.

State deficits are projected to deliver hard-hitting budget blows to KCCD. A worst-case scenario reduction of $17.8 million district wide from the roughly $100 million General Fund budget assumes that Gov. Brown’s proposed tax hike package fails in November.

Board said it would be “by far the biggest fiscal hit ever taken by KCCD.”

Board stated unequivocally that, during 2012-2013, “There will be NO employee layoffs; will use reserves to backfill as needed.” Right now, the college is still running $500,000 short for next fiscal year’s budget, which she said would likely be heavily reliant on reserve funds. Reserve spending had been intended only to backfill until state revenues recovered. But, as Board pointed out, the state’s revenues might continue to run shortfalls for the foreseeable future.

One option being considered to make up that shortfall is reducing months of operation. Board pitched the concept of running KCCD’s schools a la K-12 public schools, with salaries and benefits based on a certain amount of days in a school year. Staff has estimated that could save roughly $700,000 if that scenario were adopted.

Other suggestions included raising tuition, which Ostash said is up to the legislature. The Board of Governors has already raised it to $46/unit this past year, a boost of $10, she pointed out.

The college has utilized a $1.5 million grant from the Department of Labor to develop new basic skills classes and increase health programs, but isn’t going grant happy.

“Grants are only worth it if you’re going to do [the class or program] anyway,” Board said. “Chasing money for the sake of chasing money just creates a lot of unnecessary work and headaches.”

Board called the college’s plan Future by Design. “Don’t redesign yourself by looking just at hard numbers … Cerro Coso you cut 17 percent, Bakersfield you cut 64% … that doesn’t work,” she said. “Instead we brought together 45 faculty, management and classified employees, and locked ourselves in a room all afternoon.” The group first screened New York Times columnist and critical thinker Tom Friedman’s address to IBM’s Think Forum, “It Used To Be Us.”

“It hit on the old adage that we’re different today, we have our head in the sand and we’ve got to change,” Board said. Internal audits and annual reviews could well be part of that change. “We own buildings … how can we make them work for us?” Board asked rhetorically, suggesting better aligning classes between Mammoth and Bishop, as an example. “And we should be doing [annual reviews] anyway.”

Basic cost cutting measures, such as shutting down computers and turning off lights, are good things, but not $17.8 million things, Ostash said. “We needed to do more.” That in turn led to surveys that went out to faculty and staff and all the constituent groups on the campuses as a whole. “This was an opportunity to gather free-form input not generated by [the college administration].”

One thing the survey revealed was a lot of misperception about how the college spends its money.

“We found the same types of misperceptions [as other schools] during [Mammoth] meetings about what it cost to the penny about students, demographics, salaries, costs, and so on,” Campbell explained. “We also had a lot of similar ideas, and it became clear there were some very similar themes.”

According to Marvin, a lot rides on what defines a healthy program. “The key thing 15 years ago: get butts in seats,” Marvin said. “What’s taken place politically in the intervening years is that the legislature in Sacramento is more interested in how many students you’re ending with. The legislature says the core mission is get ‘em in and get ‘em out in six semesters. So what is it about now … the completion rate? How many classes you can fill?”

And what about online classes? KCCD covers a lot of geography, and online classes might sound like an ideal solution. Log on, take the class, take the tests and get your grade. Simple, right? Not so much, it turns out.

Should the college run online classes where 97% of the students are outside the service area? “That’s our dilemma,”Marvin acknowledged. “On one hand it allows us to run full classes where in some cases we might not be able to otherwise. Does that, however, mean cutting an on-ground welding class or an art class?”

Funding is based on a certain number of students. Online students have a much lower completion rate, Marvin pointed out, and many take only 3 units, or the equivalent of 1 class. Campbell said the state doesn’t have enough funding beyond capped numerical limits, forcing a choice between filling classes online or cutting a class that only has 50% actual attendance. “It’s a war that’s being fought nationally,” Board said, referring to performance-based funding.

“We need a critical mass of students,” Campbell responded. “Most want a general education track to transfer on to a UC or CSU school.” Since the college has skewed its course offerings toward that goal, the number of graduations has tripled.

However, the UC and CSU schools also want a cut of the tuition and to control the curriculum. Hospitality is considered a career technical industry, and Campbell thinks the hospitality industry has to begin to value an AA degree as somewhat proximate to a BA. Still, Campbell said partnerships at the high school level, in culinary arts for example, are being brainstormed and evaluated with local restaurateurs and business leaders.

One comment from CCCC student Corbyn Carroll cut to the chase when it comes to the local job market. Programs connected to engineering that can be used on the Mountain in designing pipes and rails are fine, he said. “Forget hospitality. Not going to happen. Give us languages, math and science,” he said, calling a proposed Kinesiology class a great idea. The college recently debuted its first Chemistry classes, Campbell noted.

“The reason we’re going to college is we want to make money,” Carroll said.

Part-time CCCC instructor Lori Michelon mentioned a need for retention strategies to help students who start off well, but fade as the semester progresses. The Felici Trio’s Brian Schuldt inquired about a continued focus on “concurrent enrollment,” which allows local high school students to earn both high school and college credit for courses in various career tracks that translate well from community colleges to many four-year institutions.

Mammoth Unified School District Superintendent Rich Boccia cited the Early College High School Initiative, or High School 2.0, as a means of creating pathways. “The Health Science Academy at MHS allows students to get a taste of radiology, critical care, nursing and other disciplines and helps them decide where they want to go,” Boccia said.

Boccia, a big fan of concurrent education, wants to get even more proactive at the high school level. “I’d like to give the Accuplacer College Board Test, which is usually given to 11th graders to kids in 9th grade. We can spot any deficits to work on backfilling a lot earlier.”

Pathways to transferring was a key topic, including how to increase the value of an AA to students, and more technical training in growth industries, a la technology-based career courses that would dovetail with opportunities such as those that might be related to Digital 395.

A final report is due to Chancellor Serrano on April 30. Meetings on future directions and other related decisions are scheduled to begin in May.

Pictured staff restored the board room in Bridgeport over the past few months. (Photo: Mono County)

Over the past few months work has been completed to restore the board room in Bridgeport where the Mono County Board of Supervisors meets the first and second Tuesday of every month. The Board Room can be found on the second floor of the second oldest continuously-used courthouse in the state.

Three impressive maps were restored and preserved and are now on display. One of which is the Official Plat of the Bodie Town-site Survey, hand drawn in 1880 and submitted to the County Clerk

Included in the restoration, the removal of acoustical wall panels, significant plaster repair, and a new coat of paint. Period lighting fixtures replaced the fluorescent lamps. The original calendar clock (now worth over $30,000) approved for purchase by the Board on November 7, 1881 was sent out for repairs and is back gracing the wall. -Press Release

Mammoth Unified School District’s Board of Education conducted interviews with three candidates Thursday afternoon to fill the seat opened by the resignation last month of late former Board member Dr. Andrew Bourne.

The Board dedicated almost two hours to grill the candidates with a variety of questions regarding their attributes, vision, challenges and other criteria.

John Stavlo submitted a resume that included not only extensive technical and business background, but also some previous teaching and mentoring experience. The father of three children worked with members of the Armed Forces, counseling service members on higher education options. He also taught continuing education to employees at TRW, and upon moving to Mammoth full time, was hired as a contractor to help students with independent studies in Algebra and Calculus.

Andrea Revy O’Connell is a parent to three children, including one 8th grader currently in Mammoth Middle School. Her experience in the education system runs the gamut from independent elementary and secondary schools to large public high schools and top universities. Her resume features extensive money management experience in portfolio management, particularly for public agencies and state pension plans. She’s handled up to $5 billion for various clients.

Dr. Melvyn M. Lewin, PhD, has considerable Clinical Psychology  experience, including a private practice in Southern California, and Inyo and Mono counties. He previously served as a School Psychologist in the Torrance Unified School District, a consultant for Deep Springs College in Dyer, Nev., and is currently a consultant for the Palos Verdes Unified School District. He has also coached MUSD teachers in “Teaching With the Brain in Mind.” He holds a Bachelors in Psychology, and Master and Doctorate degrees in Counselor Education.

The Board selected John Stavlo late Thursday night during its regular monthly meeting. According to MUSD Superintendent Rich Boccia, Stavlo will next attend a study session on March 6 to bring him up to speed on current issues and projects, as well as meeting methodology, etc.

Stavlo is to be sworn in at the next regular meeting on March 22.

The Mammoth Unified School District Board of Education met on Feb. 7 to discuss the vacancy on the Board left by the resignation of Dr. Andrew Bourne last month.

Board members unanimously agreed on a provisional appointment for the remainder of the term rather than an election. The term expires in November 2012 when a general election will be held.

Board members agreed that an election now would simply be costly. In comparison, the Board discussed the $45,000 price tag associated with the Special Election for Measure S last fall.

A full Board is, however, needed prior to the general election in November, so the School District Administration will advertise the vacancy in the local media and take applications for the position. On Feb. 23, the Board will interview candidates and appoint a new member to fill the remainder of the term, according to MUSD Superintendent Rich Boccia.

Bourne resigned from the Board on Jan. 13 following his arrest on Jan. 4 for alleged illegal communication with a minor to facilitate sexual activity. Since then Bourne has taken his own life.