CBO: New system will save money

By Keri Luiz
Assistant Editor

Benicia Unified School District trustees on Thursday approved a new financial and human resources software program that is expected to both save money and bring the district in line with the systems used by the county Office of Education.

Trustees also approved student achievement plans for Benicia High and Benicia Middle schools, and re-elected Rosie Switzer president of the board.

Chief Business Official Tim Rahill last week presented the software system Escape as a way for the district to join the system currently in use at the county level.

He said Escape was chosen after the Solano County Office of Education conducted a search and interview process, and he told trustees the district would see substantial savings from moving to the new system.

While BUSD has been paying about $95,000 per year for its current system, “For the first five years of Escape starting next year, the district will pay about $78,000 per year. After we pay off the implementation cost, it will be about $45,000 per year,” Rahill said.

The board members who were present unanimously voted to approve the new system software. Trustees Dana Dean and André Stewart were not present.

For its annual organizational meeting, Trustee Steve Messina nominated Switzer to continue as president; Gary Wing seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.

Messina then nominated Wing as clerk, which Switzer seconded. Again the vote was unanimous. The board also opted to keep most of last year’s committee appointments.

Principal Damon Wright of Benicia High and Benicia Middle Principal Michael Minahen and Vice Principals Lindsay Dalske and Christina Moore presented the Single Plan for Student Achievement for the high school and middle school.

The purpose of the Single Plan is to ensure that all students succeed in reaching academic standards set by the state Board of Education. School Site Councils — including principals, teachers, parents and others — develop such plans each year.

“Approval of the single plan for student achievement is a very important step the board takes, because this plan is what determines how we make sure we monitor and address student achievement so that all students are performing at proficient and above,” Superintendent Janice Adams said.

Adams said putting together the plans for each of Benicia’s schools “involves reviewing last year’s goals, seeing the kind of progress we’ve made, and then determining what actions need to be taken this year to make sure that all students are successful at school.”

Wright told trustees that the Western Association of Schools and Colleges would be reviewing the high school this year. According to its website, WASC is the accreditation through which a school demonstrates the capacity, commitment and competence to support high-quality student learning and ongoing school improvement.

Wright also pointed out that in the past five years, overall student scores on the California State High School Exit Exam have improved.

“College and career readiness is a common thing you are going to see in our plan,” Wright said.

Menihan proudly informed trustees that Benicia Middle is the county’s top middle school as measured by Academic Performance Index scores.

“We pride ourselves at not being one of the top, but the top school in Solano County,” he said with a laugh.

“Modest, aren’t you?” Switzer said.

“However, that being said, we are in program improvement,” Menihan said. “Going through program improvement has forced us to really stop and look at things and how we do business.”

He cited ongoing training for teachers in Common Core standards for math, English, science and social studies.

Trustees approved both schools’ site plans unanimously.

In other business, Adams urged that because of a series of thefts around Solano County, all district teachers should keep their classroom doors locked when they are away.

“There’s a group of thieves that are going from school to school in Solano County,” she said. “They seem to read bulletins and find out when assemblies are. They go on to campuses while teachers are out of the classroom and at assemblies, and have gone into classrooms to steal purses.

“We put out an announcement to all of our staff today to be aware of that, so if teachers leave their classrooms, make sure the doors are locked.”

Adams said there have been attempts at Robert Semple and Matthew Turner to steal materials from classrooms, but according to Benicia police Lt. Frank Hartig, nothing was stolen in those cases.

The superintendent also announced that Wells Fargo on Thursday presented checks of $1,000 to representatives of Liberty High, Joe Henderson Elementary, and Benicia Middle schools, and those schools “will be determining how use that money.”