Burton to seek public input on new superintendent

Burton School District (BSD) held their board meeting Tuesday, where they further discussed the superintendent position available, as well as new applications available for the district to adopt, a rigorous Unaudited Actual 2017-18 school year costs presentation, and a proposal for the naming of the Professional Academy (PALL) center on West Henderson.

The superintendent position for BSD has been posted at Edjoin since Aug. 24, and on the Association of California School Administration (ACSA) since Aug. 27 for those who meet the requirements to apply.

Some of the requirements for the position are experience as a classroom teacher and five years experience as a site administrator, along with the requirement of having a Master’s degree and a California administrative credential. Some of the highly desired qualifications are for the candidate to be biliterate (Spanish), to have a Doctorate degree and to have high school and charter school experience.

At the meeting it was established the board wants the community to be engaged with the hiring process, and will be holding a questionnaire on all social media sources from the district. The survey is to link families, and help the board with the hiring process by asking BSD families what they are seeking in potential candidates and what skills or knowledge parents would like the superintendent to have.

The application deadline for the position is Sept. 21 before the selection

know they can submit their name ideas. All suggestion must be submitted by Sept. 14.

Interim Superintendent David Shimer reported the relocation of several offices underway to the PALL building.

“Some offices will be making a slow transition to the PALL center,” explained Shimer. “Throughout the year we might also be having a few board meetings there.”

The distrcit has already built some offices for Student Services, along with work space for coordinators, coaches and some of the directors who will be moving there. The superintendent's office, business office and human resource office will remain in where they are at the exisiting district office on Westwood.

For many months now, BSD has also held their ‘Healthy on the

Go' neighborhood market at the PALL center. Irene Ortega, BSD communication and community engagement officer, shared the district has now been trained by the Central California Food Bank (CCFB) to become a pantry for the Burton community.

“We are in the process of getting in touch with local pantries to see how they run their services, and parents who want to volunteer and help run the pantry will also be attending the visits,” said Ortega. “The pantry is still in its infancy stages, and many Burton families are interested in participating and helping out.”

All food will be given to BSD pantry at no cost thanks to the CCFB, which partners with several agencies. Agencies like local markets will call the pantry letting them know they have food to give to them, said Ortega.

Ortega also talked about device applications that will be beneficial for staff and parents, like Peachjar and

SMORE. Peachjar is an app for parents to see flyers from certain school sites, creating an option for parents to also see flyers from community outreach centers available from non-profit or for-profit organizations.

Another application discussed was SMORE, which is used as a staff news letter. Depending on staff input, SMORE could potentially become a district-wide news letter, said Ortega.

Chris Mano, BSD chief business officer did a yearly unaudited actuals and associated final budget revision presentation to the board and audience regarding the 2017-18 academic year.

Mano said each year school districts and other Locals Educational Agencies (LEAS) are required to submit an annual financial report to the California Department of Education (CDE).

Mano reviewed all expenses from BSD and explained to the board the expenses from all schools, staff and construction done during the academic year. Mano said he will have the final financial report by next board meeting.

BSD board meeting closed with the hopes of being able to find a name for the PALL building by the next board meeting on Sept. 18.