|
|
|
 Mammoth Times Photo/Tiffany Henschel
Erratic winds whipped a fire near Mono Lake yesterday afternoon, growing the fire to 1,000 acres as of this morning. The fire, near the Mono Craters area and close to the junction of S.R. 120 East and U.S. 395, now has over 260 firefighters assigned to it, according to U.S. Forest Service/Inyo National Forest officials. The fire has closed 120 East for the time being and access to the South Tufa and Navy Beach area is also closed.
Four aircraft. including a helitanker, a helicopter and two air tankers will be on the fire today, as crews work to hold the northern flank of the fire near Highway 120 East.
The fire is estimated to be 20 percent contained.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.— WG |
|
|
|
|
|
School parents not happy with transportation cuts |
|
|
Thursday, 28 August 2008 |
By Stacey Powells
Mammoth Times Staff Writer
 Standing Room Only parents crowd the Mammoth High School Library, showing their concern with the lack of bus service for middle and high school students. MAMMOTH TIMES PHOTO/STACEY POWELLS
A standing-room-only crowd filled the Mammoth High School Library during the Aug. 25 Mammoth Unified School District Board meeting where parents hoped that some other solution would be addressed and initiated by the Board.
Much of the agitation in the room was in response to the lack of communication between the district and the parents of middle and high school students who claim they were not aware of the cuts in bus service until just days before the 2008/2009 school year began.
Several parents including Paul DeAngelis spoke on behalf of those parents who have kids in both elementary school and middle school. “I have two kids at the elementary school and one in the middle school,” DeAngelis said. “While my elementary school kids can get home, my middle school child is stuck in town unless we leave work to drive him back to where we live in Sunny Slopes. This is really going to cause lots of problems for working parents and it’s also a safety issue.”
Parent Karen Roberts wanted to know if the district would consider using the empty spaces on the elementary school buses for middle school and high school students.
John Conway also spoke about the inconvenience of the bus schedule for the middle school and high school students. “I would like to see busing reinstated or allow them to ride the elementary school bus if there’s room,” Conway said. “It’s not so much getting the kids to school, but getting them home is where the problem is.”
“The budget cuts were very difficult for the board to make but it was a necessity,” said board president Mary Canada. “I would like to send out a belated apology for not getting the information about the buses out sooner.”
Superintendent Frank Romero said the board will have future discussions regarding finding ways to work around the budget cuts in transportation.
Romero has high hopes for academia in district
Superintendent Romero presented the board with his Improvement Strands for the district, which included API Student Performance Improvements, Curricular and Instructional Improvements and Student Educational Path Improvements.
Part of his presentation included the accomplishments for the elementary, middle and high school. In the 2007/2008 school year, Mammoth Elementary School exceeded its API overall score for each subgroup by 30-50 points and reading performance continually improved due to the ExCel program.
Mammoth Middle School also exceeded the API target for the English Learners. Math and English Language Arts remediation were implemented and there was much more parent involvement at the middle school.
Mammoth High School also implemented a remediation program, strategic staff development, and focused on content standards. Principal Mike Agnitch put into action a three-year science requirement and improved the testing environment for the students.
Romero says he is holding the bar pretty high for the administrators of the schools. In addition to wanting the schools to all reach their API scores, another goal is that 80 percent of the tenth grade students taking the California High School Exit Exam will pass the first time they take the test. “One of the goals for Mr. Agnitch is that the students will pass the first time around,” Romero said. “Things will change in the high school if we can accomplish that goal.” For the middle school, Romero wants 70 percent of the eighth graders enrolled in algebra to score either Proficient or Advanced on the Algebra Standards Test.
Child Care
Catherine Hiatt of the Mono County Office of Education (MCOE) was anxious to have the board make a decision to move forward with the child care facility site that has been selected. Member Joe Bottom expressed his concern that the site might not be the safest place for a child care center but according to Hiatt, many other sites have been looked at and having the site in close proximity to the college would be a plus. “We have to move forward with this child care center,” Hiatt said. “It’s been in the works for a long time and if it keeps getting delayed we will have to pull out. I don’t want to have to go back to the collaborative and the groups that have donated money for these studies and tell them that nothing is moving forward.” The MCOE wants to evaluate the selected property as soon as possible. The board agreed to move forward with the study and approved the site as long as all legal requirements are met.
Board Bits
– Mammoth Middle School has 249 students enrolled. Two MMS teachers had to move to the elementary school due to budget cuts. Back to School night for MMS is Nov. 10, 2008.
– More than half the Mammoth High School students increased their API scores. Sept. 17, 2008 is Back To School Night for MHS. If parents come to Back to School night for MHS they will get a password so they can access the teachers' grade site online and see if their kids are missing assignments.
– Headed by Gloria Vasquez, the campaign committee for Measure K, the school bond measure, has 24 members. Their goal is to get at least 300 endorsements for the school bond. The bond needs 55 percent of the vote in November to pass.
– Mammoth Mountain Ski Area is now on the county tax roll. Any monies due the school district will not be held up if MMSA decides to appeal.
|
|
Last Updated ( Thursday, 04 September 2008 )
|
|
|
|
