Still no decision on MCOE’s proposal to ESUSD
Last Thursday a meeting with the Eastern Sierra Unified School District’s Board and the Mono County Office of Education was expected to occur, but just as quickly as the meeting was scheduled, it was canceled. The purpose of the meeting was for ESUSD and MCOE to further discuss the proposal that MCOE has put on the table to consolidate fiscal and human resources between the two entities in order to save ESUSD several hundred thousand dollars during its economic crisis, which has caused the district to lay off numerous employees, including 15 teacher positions.
The meeting was canceled when the Board and Superintendent Don Clark found out that MCOE Superintendent of Schools Catherine Hiatt had opened the meeting to the public. The Board had originally invited a few select members of the community, and Hiatt thought this was because the meeting was going to be held in the small confines of the MCOE offices. She let the public know at a meeting on Wednesday night that the venue would be changed to Bridgeport’s Memorial Hall so that it could accommodate whomever wanted to attend.
“I e-mailed Don [Clark] the next day to explain the change,” Hiatt said. “They invited some of the community, but you can’t be selective.”
A short while later Hiatt found out that Board President Margie Beaver was seeking legal counsel about changing the format of the meeting by opening it to the public. Shortly after that the meeting was canceled, to be rescheduled at a later date.
Hiatt said she was told by ESUSD that they want things to cool down and when she had opened the meeting to the public it had changed things for them.
“I explained that it would not be helpful to people to hear what the plan was second or third hand and that by allowing people to hear what is going on you will eliminate confusion and rumors,” Hiatt said. “It was clear that they did not want to meet.”
Hiatt went on to say that she would really like to see the matter be put to a close. She wants the citizens to be heard and the ESUSD Board to make a decision on MCOE’s proposal, which has now been before them for 26 days.
Calls from The Sheet to Clark and Beaver last Friday were not returned.
For our communities to sit back and silently wait while Mr. Clark and certain board members destroy our school district is simply not acceptable. The MCOE is offering to save our district in excess of $300,000 for the 10/11 school year, which would SAVE TEACHERS. Why is Mr. Clark, Ms. Beaver, Mr. Gilbert & Ms. Aylesworth against this happening? Why are they not immediately jumping at this offer if it is truly their intention to help the ESUSD? Come on people, get a clue and raise your voice so it can be heard. Haven’t we had enough of this yet????