The Governing Board of Benicia Unified School District will be asked Thursday to consider a search firm to find a replacement for outgoing Superintendent Janice Adams, who announced last month she will retire at the end of the 2014-15 school year.

“I’m 63 — I’m ready for another chapter!” Adams told The Herald in an interview Feb. 7.

On Feb. 5, the board heard presentations from two such firms, McPherson & Jacobson LLC and Leasership Associates. The board will consider and select a firm to begin the search for a new superintendent for the 2015-16 school year.

Adams has served as the top district official for eight years. She has spent a total of 41 years in education.

Also Thursday, the board will receive training in Agenda On Line, new software, and Gmail, the new email system for the district.

Adams also will ask the board to approve a one-year pilot program between BUSD and SolTrans for discounted student bus passes for income-eligible students for the 2015 calendar year.

Adams wrote that student attendance is a major factor that impacts student success, and “in our district there are students whose attendance is problematic because they do not have transportation and are unable to afford the cost of bus passes.”

The district has requested that SolTrans discount fixed route bus passes by 50 percent to reduce truancy and allow students to attend school on a regular basis.

Currently the cost of a monthly pass is $44. SolTrans has agreed to a one-year pilot study in which the transit agency will finance 50 percent of the cost of a youth montly pass, up to a maximum contribution of $2,000. Based on the current $44 monthly cost, SolTrans will be responsible for subsidizing up to 90 monthly passes.

“The district will be responsible for determining eligibility criteria based on free and reduced lunch qualifications and attendance records,” Adams wrote. “The district will monitor the impact on student attendance and SolTrans will monitor ridership on bus routes ridden by students.”

In other matters, during the highlight portion of the meeting county Superintendent of Schools Jay Speck will present a resolution from the county board of supervisors honoring Classified Employee of the Year Phillip Green.

If You Go
The BUSD Board of Trustees will meet at 5 p.m. Thursday for technical training, at 6 p.m. for a closed session, and at 7 p.m. for its regular meeting in the BUSD board room, 350 East K St.