Document text
- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Local Scene Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us December 7, 2005 Di Chiro looks to the future Superintendent seeks stability in contract negotiations with new school board Ashland schools superintendent Juli Di Chiro has weathered an economic downturn and the closure of two schools during her time here. Orville Hector | Ashland Daily Tidings By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings School committee seeks high school master plan Staff reports In its review of the Facility and Capacity Study done earlier this year, the Ashland School District Bond and Facilities Planning Committee concluded that a Master Plan is necessary for the Ashland High School campus. This 18-member residents’ committee was appointed by the Ashland School Board in August and charged with identifying and prioritizing facility needs and repairs to be included in a general obligation bond to be decided by voters in the November 2006 election. From the committee’s review, it is apparent that some of the most pressing district facility needs were at the high school. These are just a few of the various challenges that the high school campus faces: • There are numerous buildings over 50 years old with antiquated or poorly operating HVAC systems, old electrical systems, outdated fire alarm systems, roofs and windows needing replacements, plumbing needs and seismic issues. • The campus lacks cohesion and a sense of “entry” or “arrival” to welcome students or community members to the campus. • There is little handicapped accessibility around the campus. Numerous classrooms and areas are accessible only via stairways. • The acreage is smaller than high schools of similar size and population density, posing unique and constraining conditions for any future plans. • The stadium and gyms have drainage, leakage and ADA issues. • Parking is inadequate. • There are many “dead zones” that have no purpose and are hard to supervise. • There are inadequate gathering or meeting places for staff. • The bus loading zone is disruptive to the administrative building functions. These observations are based on the committee’s tour of each school and professional assessments of the mechanical, engineering, architectural and seismic condition completed by Dull Olson Weekes Architects Inc. for the Ashland School District last summer. The school board resolved on Nov. 17 that a Request for Proposals should be sent out. It is anticipated that a contract will be awarded to a successful respondent by the beginning of the year, with work to be completed by March 15. Input on all district facility needs will be collected at five community forums, scheduled for Jan. 9, 10 and 11. A community survey is also planned. Also a second open house, to be conducted in early spring 2006, will offer the opportunity for the public to respond to charettes — a 3-step creative team design process that involves listening to the committee’s tentative recommendations, envisioning/brainstorming and mapping out. The community is invited to all of the Bond and Facilities Planning Commit-tee meetings, on the fourth Wednesday of each month through April. Updates are also available by visiting www.ashland.k12.or.us/ facility. Juli Di Chiro didn’t anticipate budget cuts, state revenue shortfalls, skyrocketing health care costs and a 15.5 percent enrollment drop over five years when she accepted the superintendent position in the Ashland School District 5 1/2 years ago. Di Chiro, 55, thought the move from Southern California to the Rogue Valley would be an opportunity to use her background in school reform, such as developing professional learning communities to support and enhance collaboration among educators in a school. Working with the Certificate for Initial Mastery and Certificate for Advanced Mastery programs at the high school piqued her interest. “I was excited about coming to a smaller setting,” Di Chiro said, explaining the advantages Ashland had over the large, urban district she had worked at previously. “It’s been a little bit ironic because I believe the reason I was hired as superintendent — I have not been able to use any of those strengths or skills.” The first budget she implemented, which had been planned by the previous superintendent, resulted in a $10,000 deficit, in part because district leaders had spent down the reserves to fill in the gaps created by inadequate state funding. “To be an administrator during a declining budget is a bear,” said Vance Littleton, who has decades of experience in school district leadership and worked with Di Chiro for a year when he headed the district’s special education program. Drawing down the reserves coincided with recession on the state level and double-digit rises in health-care costs. A drastic downturn in district enrollment that escalated the budget crisis in the Ashland School District and led to the closure of two elementary schools. “That’s not part of the vision of why I wanted to move to Ashland,” said Di Chiro, who was hired with overwhelming support from the community. “I remember just being in awe when we got the results back,” said former school board member John Mauer, thinking back to the panels of 70 community members who interviewed applicants for superintendent. “Every subset had identified her. She was superior in every aspect. It made it easy for us on the board.” She has now seen the district through what school leaders hope was the worst of the budget crisis, although the enrollment slide continues and a substantial number of experienced teachers are poised to retire in the next few years. Still, Di Chiro has also not gone without criticism. School closures splintered the community and some see the election of three new school board members in May as a mandate for change. “The school district’s community relations have been horribly mismanaged throughout the school closure process,” community member Paul Copeland said. “The new school board is trying to create more of a community collaboration and heal the wounds. They’re trying to fix what went wrong.” The question Stability, Di Chiro says, is the goal. But that may be difficult while her future with the district is in limbo. Di Chiro’s three-year contract, which pays $105,000, expires at the end of June and, just over a week ago, the school board hired a lawyer to negotiate the terms of a new agreement with Di Chiro’s attorney. Although neither side will comment on why legal counsel was necessary to continue talks, at least three board members have suggested a one-year contract during public meetings and, each time, Di Chiro responded that she wants to negotiate a three-year agreement. A shorter contract was proposed because several board members were recently elected. A one-year contract would give both sides the opportunity to explore their working relations prior to entering a long-term agreement, the board has stated. Di Chiro would like more security in the position. The one-year contract is appropriate “so the board can develop a working relationship with Di Chiro,” Copeland said. “Then Juli Di Chiro last week took the opportunity to say ‘I won’t take a one-year contract.’ ... Clearly, she’s making a demand and forcing their hand.” Others in the community believe a one-year deal is perceived as “you’ve got a year to leave,” Littleton said. “The board has to understand how big this. This is up or down.” Neither Di Chiro nor the board members felt it was appropriate to discuss the situation during the negotiation process, which they intend to conclude by the end of January. Staff writer Jennifer Squires can be reached at 482-3456 x 3019 or [email protected]. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Merchant Account Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations Hammocks Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams