First Term Accomplishments

By Scott Zeidman

During my first term, the Board of Education has accomplished a significant amount, all while the State has cut our funding dramatically. The following is a partial list of the Board's accomplishments.

• Measure EE--raising over $6,000,000 for CCUSD.

• Implementation of one of the State's first Anti-Bullying Task Forces in a public School District (CCUSD recently named by Penn State University as one of the top three districts in the entire nation in responsiveness to school bullying)

• Implementation of a cap on the size of the middle and high schools, thereby limiting the number of out of district permits and keeping a better control of enrollment and the overall budget for the short-term and long-term future.

• Implementation of higher academic requirements for those students on inter-district permits.

• Saved counselors and classroom aides, who were on the "cutting block" as a result of the annual budget crisis

• Successful formation of the Environmental Sustainability Committee, Community Budget Advisory Committee, and the Citizens' Oversight Committee in further efforts to allow the community to have real input into the direction of the District

• Maintained an open and transparent budget process, with increased community involvement so that the District could focus its increasing scarce resources on what is core to our students' continued academic growth, and submitted a balanced budget for each year.

• Worked with the City on developing methods for children to safely get to schools. One result included a grant of $447,000 from the State under the Safe Routes for Schools program.

• Approval of renegotiated leases that will result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in added revenue to the District.

• Enhancement of the K-12 music curriculum, demonstrating an ongoing commitment to arts/music education.

• Made the correct decision in hiring Patti Jaffe to lead our District as Superintendent.