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Schools

Parents Thank Board and Express Concerns about Upcoming Meeting

Parents want to make their voices heard at next month's meeting.

A small group of parents showed up at Tuesday’s Culver City Unified School District Board meeting at City Hall to express their thanks to the board and make an appeal for an upcoming meeting to discuss parent-funded volunteer programs.

“In talking to other parents, we were so excited to hear that the district lawyers came to the conclusion that the adjuncts should not be included in the negotiation between the district and ACE,” said Alison Herbst, a parent of an El Marino Language School student. “It gave us hope that every dollar fundraised during booster club will reach the classrooms directly, so please come up with a policy that protects our booster clubs and our parent volunteers.”

Another parent, Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin, told the board she has gathered a petition signed by 1,173 parents from different schools throughout Culver City in a show of support of such a policy.

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Board member Laura Chardiet made a request at a board meeting last month to to change Board Policy 1240 which she introduced to address her concerns about parent-funded volunteer programs.

A fourth-grade student from El Marino Language School was also eager to share his sentiments.

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“I wanted to say that you should keep adjuncts,” said James Kocher. “My adjunct has helped me a lot with my Japanese.”

Many of the parents also voiced concerns about the format of next month’s meeting which is scheduled for April 10. Some of them encouraged the board to keep the lines of communication open between parents and board members.

“We want transparency,” said Scott Kecken, parent of a La Ballona Elementary School student. “We want to communicate. We don’t want to communicate through the blogosphere. We want to communicate directly with you.”

Board member Karlo Silbiger said next month’s meeting will last for two hours, but the format is still “a work in progress.” However, he said the board plans to communicate more about the format after it is determined.

“We want to give everyone in the community an opportunity to participate,” Silbiger said.

The parents say they simply want to make sure they are included every step of the way.

“The parents want a seat at the table,” Kecken said. “And I think we’re beginning to see that you hear what we’re talking about, and we hope that April 10 is the beginning of a new collaboration.”

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