A principal’s contract was not renewed and Anzar High School’s
student exhibitions came under fire Wednesday night at a meeting of
the Aromas-San Juan Unified School District Board of Trustees.
A principal’s contract was not renewed and Anzar High School’s student exhibitions came under fire Wednesday night at a meeting of the Aromas-San Juan Unified School District Board of Trustees.
In closed session, the five-member Board discussed the public employee performance evaluation of Aromas School Principal Mary-Ann Tucker and voted 3-2 not to renew her contract.
Trustee Jeff Hancock, amid objections from other members, said he “strenuously objected to what this board’s going to do.” Hancock and Board President John Ferreira cast the dissenting votes.
Tucker’s contract, for the 2001-02 and current school years, expires in June, said District Superintendent Jackie Munoz. Because the issue is a personnel matter, details cannot be discussed in public.
The Board intends to hire a new principal and the position was opened to applicants today, Munoz said. Tucker could not be reached for comment.
The Board and public also discussed for 90 minutes the fact that Anzar is losing students who live in the district.
According to district figures, fewer students attend Anzar than graduate from Aromas and San Juan schools. The number of eighth graders who graduated from the two elementary schools in June 2002 totaled 130, but only 106 freshmen enrolled at Anzar as of September 2002.
Reasons for the decrease vary and include students who move out of the area and attend another school – charter, private or public – and home schooling.
Some students also leave Anzar leave before they graduate. So far this school year, Anzar started with about 350 students and, according to recent counts, now has about 320 – a loss of roughly 30 students in six months. And a drop in enrollment means a proportionate drop in state funding for the school and district.
Concerned parents asked the Board to look into why students are not enrolling in Anzar and how the high school can market itself to area students to highlight its strengths.
Paul Goodman, one of the parents, said he believes exhibitions scare away many students, especially those who transfer out of Anzar during their junior or senior year. As many as 100 more students could be enrolled at the high school, Goodman said.
Exhibitions – a combination of research, written work and oral presentations – are required for graduation at Anzar, according to the school’s 2002-03 student-parent handbook. Students must cover six content areas – math, language arts, science, social science, service learning and post-graduate plan. Art and world language must be woven into an exhibition of choice.
Goodman said exhibitions were not intended for public schools and he would prefer that the school offer more electives instead of the exhibitions.
Anzar’s small size makes it hard for the staff to offer electives, said Principal Charlene McKowen. The school has a staff of 20 who would be split up between regular classes and electives, she said.
Trustee Andy Hsia-Coron said he believes “exhibitions have great value,” but said he isn’t sure they should be required. Student Trustee and Anzar senior Rose Lee said many students grumble about the exhibitions because they don’t want to do any “more work than they have to.” Trustee Sylvia Rios Metcalf said “young people shouldn’t get by for seat time.”
The lack of students within the district attending Anzar can be attributed to the short amount of time the district and the school have been around, the district’s small enrollment and the time when students were allowed to transfer to schools their siblings attended, Munoz said.
Anzar students’ morale and the community’s thoughts about the school were also brought up. Parents and students said there are not many good things said about Anzar and asked the Board to address that.
In other business:
Anzar High School students involved in Mock Trial gave a presentation. The club will travel to a state competition in Riverside at the end of March. County District Attorney John Sarsfield has been the team’s legal coach for the past few years.
The Board approved 5-0 an agreement governing the construction and operation of a joint school-county gym at Aromas School. The agreement is with Monterey County.
The Board approved job descriptions for the k through 8 principals and the high school director.
A resolution declaring March as Arts Education Month was approved by the Board 5-0.
The next Board meeting will be held April 2 at 7 p.m. at Anzar High School.
