Interim BHS principal introduced to parents by email

The governing body of the Benicia Unified School District will have its first regularly scheduled meeting of the 2015-16 school year Thursday, and trustees will get an update on the status of bond projects that began or were completed during the summer, as well as a report on future projects.

Among the major projects are a technology infrastructure upgrade — including a new phone system — at all school sites, exterior painting at Benicia High School and a re-roofing of Mary Farmar Elementary School, Mitchell Stark, director of bond projects, wrote in a report to the board.

Future projects will include installing a new playground structure at Robert Semple Elementary School and new bleachers at Benicia High’s varsity softball field.

The district also will release by Aug. 21 requests for proposals for districtwide geotechnical and special testing and the Benicia High stadium project, Stark wrote.

“We anticipate bringing our recommendations to the Board on the above RFPs at several Board meetings in September and early October,” he wrote. “This of course is dependent on the review process.”

In other business, Dr. Michael Gardner, deputy superintendent, will present for consideration and approval two new positions.

The first is a lead skills trade technician “to assist the Supervisor of Maintenance and Operations in running the day-to-day operations of the department,” Gardner wrote in a report to the board.

The primary function of the position would be maintenance of school district buildings, according to a job description provided by Gardner. The position would have no financial impact on the district because it replaces an existing position that included stipends for additional duties, he wrote.

The second position is a network maintenance technician, “necessitated to ensure the maintenance and repair of telephone, notification, surveillance and associated data communications systems used by the District,” Gardner wrote.

The position would be under the supervision of the director of technology, he wrote. The fiscal impact to the district would be $48,000.

“This position was funded through the LCAP (Local Control Accountability Plan) and will be funded out of routine restricted maintenance,” he wrote.

In other news, Benicia parents were notified Aug. 14 that Mark Corti had been hired as the new interim principal of Benicia High.

Corti earned his undergraduate degree at California State University-East Bay, and his master’s degree in educational leadership at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga. He served as principal of California High School in San Ramon for 15 years.

Though he retired in 2014, Corti’s “tireless energy and passion for the profession” led him to decide to “return in the role of interim principal,” the email stated.

Corti will receive training in administrative coaching for those new to leadership positions, the email added.

If You Go
The BUSD Governing Board will meet Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in a closed session, then at 7 p.m. in open session in the BUSD board room, 350 East K St. See the agenda at benicia.agendaonline.net/public.

Sharing is caring!