Dear MTUESD Community,
Preparations for school start continue in earnest. Copperopolis has had major maintenance relating to the claimed fire and smoke damage from the Aero Fire. This includes the firm contracted by the insurance company, thoroughly cleaning and pressure washing affected rooms and replacing filters in our HVAC systems. We appreciate our insurance carrier’s partnership and making sure that we don't have any visible damage moving forward. You also will notice that the site will have a major weed whacking haircut over the next week. We are committed to getting the site in good shape for school opening.
At Mark Twain we also have a major landscape cleanup and planned pressure washing of the sidewalks and areas that need additional attention. Maintenance has also contracted to complete additional areas for parking lot work.
We will be installing at both sites in the upper grade bathrooms, vape detectors. I used these in my past districts and while it doesn't stop vaping, it certainly makes it a little bit harder to do so. Security cameras on the corridors leading to the bathrooms (I want to be clear; the cameras are not in the bathrooms) will also be installed so that we can hold children accountable for their behavior in the bathroom. A culture of vandalism has been established and will not be tolerated in the future. Will do our part by making sure students sign in and out to go to the bathroom and we are monitoring the area vigilantly, but we will also be expecting students to behave properly in those rooms.
I am a neat freak. My mantra in my career first as a shopping center developer and second career as a superintendent and site administrator is that I might not have pots of money, but I darn well take care of what I've got. That means our sites need to be litter- free, clean, and tidy. Most importantly they need to be safe. I hope we can together see improvement in this area at both sites over the coming year. That means everyone is responsible for litter-pick up, being tidy and presenting professionally.
On the horizon for the Fall, if your student receives speech service, please be advised that the therapy providers will be virtual with an in-person speech aid in the room. I want to emphasize this was not a district decision, but that the contractor that formerly performed in-house services is no longer available. Finding qualified speech therapists in the post-Covid environment, where so many of these providers got used to working online, is almost impossible. We are required to provide the minutes and we have made arrangements with a reputable firm to provide this service. Of course, we will continue to search for an in-person provider. Preschool services are the only portion of the caseload that remain in person. I want to acknowledge this is not ideal, but it is important that we maintain service. This is a function of the hiring marketplace and the district will remain diligent in trying to locate an in-person provider.
As you know, we have a number of critical vacancies in our district. We are exploring using an international teacher exchange service to bring in additional qualified staff. Housing will be essential for getting these people on board. If you have a room to rent, an in-line unit, or some other arrangement, please think of the district first. We are in the beginning stages, as we pioneer this for the county to solve this teacher crisis. We are going to need your partnership to get these folks on-boarded, if we move forward. The candidates will be thoroughly vetted and fingerprinted and go through the typical hiring process.
We still need some great special education aides. Please, if you have any interest in earning additional income on your students’ schedule, we need you. Come stop by the district office and visit with us about potential openings.
In other news, you may have heard that the state's financial position has resulted in a lack of money originally planned for TK classrooms. Districts across the state were notified their projects will not be funded. What that means is that the district will not receive the funding for new construction of those rooms at this time. My philosophy is that students need to go to school in clean and maintained buildings. We will be putting out to bid, for both sites, the exterior painting contracts. This is a public bidding process and takes a while. We then have to schedule the work when it won't be disruptive to students. This exterior painting will hopefully give us a full refresh for the sites, as we look for state money to do additional improvements. I do want to take a moment to explain why public school projects are expensive. There are laws that dictate the work conditions and one of the most onerous is a requirement for prevailing wage. We can't simply hire people at a rate that is fair in the county. The state governs the specific wages that must be paid. I know this seems not right and unfair, but it is the law and we have to comply. The good news is the funds that we expend will count towards our match for future state money. It's kind of a shell game and how you manage all these projects, but we have to follow the steps and we will eventually advocate vigorously to receive our fair share.
A shout out to the cafeteria, teaching and aide staff for a great summer school. We appreciate their hard work and effort!
I hope you have a safe and happy weekend. Looking forward to all that we can become.
Sincerely yours,
Louise Simson, Superintendent