Page 1 of 31 Superintendent’s Office, Community Outreach Features ......................................................................................................................................................................2 MHS Loretta Kakala Selected to Play in McDonald’s All American Game..................................................................7 Manteca High School Visitation day ...........................................................................................................................8 GV Cross-grade Collaboration Rock Lab .....................................................................................................................9 Weston Ranch FFA Attends Stockton Ag Venture ................................................................................................... 10 Sierra High School’s Muise ...................................................................................................................................... 11 Sierra High School Student is Going to India to Help Orphans................................................................................ 12 School Accountability Report Card (SARC) .............................................................................................................. 13 Steppin’ Out Symphony Concert for Fourth Grade Students .................................................................................. 14 In Other News… ....................................................................................................................................................... 16
Transcript
Page 1 of 31 Super in tendent’ s Off ice , Community Outreach
Features ......................................................................................................................................................................2
MHS Loretta Kakala Selected to Play in McDonald’s All American Game ..................................................................7
Manteca High School Visitation day ...........................................................................................................................8
GV Cross-grade Collaboration Rock Lab .....................................................................................................................9
Weston Ranch FFA Attends Stockton Ag Venture ................................................................................................... 10
Sierra High School’s Muise ...................................................................................................................................... 11
Sierra High School Student is Going to India to Help Orphans ................................................................................ 12
School Accountability Report Card (SARC) .............................................................................................................. 13
Steppin’ Out Symphony Concert for Fourth Grade Students .................................................................................. 14
In Other News… ....................................................................................................................................................... 16
Page 2 of 31 Super in tendent’ s Off ice , Community Outreach
Features
Principals in Region 2 (Lathrop Elementary, Joseph Widmer, Mossdale, Lathrop High School and Manteca
Day School) were joined by Superintendent Messer and Director of Elementary Education Dr. Meeker to
complete the second regional visit for 2016-17. The Theme of the Visit was Transitions- tying into our MUSD
school board goals:
1. Promoting a shift in thinking with the relationship between teaching and student learning
2. Continuing to support efforts to improve exiting school facilities so that they remain safe and effective
places to learn
At Joseph Widmer, as new Leadership continues to transition into a new vision for the school, the PBIS
program, Physical Education with XFit, Jr High stem scopes, technology and mystery science were
highlighted.
At Lathrop Elementary, as new construction and facility remodeling takes place, the school is in transition
between classrooms, buildings, office and a beautiful updated library.
Tasting bugs with read 180 students!
Meeting at Lathrop Elementary
Widmer sensory room
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Students in be.tech First Responder
Academy had the opportunity to
participate in a Weapons of Mass
Destruction Training with all First
Responder agencies in San Joaquin
County. This training took place at the
Stockton Arena on January 17th and 18th.
Be.tech First Responder students served
as mock spectators, acted as victims and
patients for treatment, and triage
training. Be.tech First Responder
students are partnered with Lathrop-
Manteca Fire Department for this WMD
training event.
Through the months of January and February, Be.tech
students from the Culinary Arts Academy, Industrial
Arts Academy, and First Responder Academy will
present hands on CTE learning activities for 8th grade
students at multiple elementary sites.
Culinary students are preparing to compete in the Regional
Skills USA competition on February 11, held at Delta College.
Competing students will have a 90 minute time limit to prepare
four different baking projects that include icing and decorating.
Students received instruction from a professional baker and are
working hard to practice for the competition.
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Students of Brock Elliott used bits of a robotics kit to implement the engineering design process (EDP), which is a series of steps that engineers follow to come up with a solution to a problem. Many times, the solution involves designing a product (a machine or computer code) that meets specific criteria and/or accomplishes a certain task. Students practiced critical thinking and problem solving strategies as a team to invent different electronic objects. One group figured out how to power three fans and a light bulb simultaneously, while another group invented a speaker that connects to a cell phone to play music. During the EDP process, students tested their inventions to discover if they worked. Followed by a reflection and an if necessary revise and re-test until their goal was accomplished.
On Jan. 16th - Brock Elliott students celebrated
100th day of school offering a host of math and
language arts activities. Students in Mrs. Saldana’s
class dressed the part as 100 year olds.
On Jan. 28th – The Girls’ Basketball Team won the
Sierra High Tournament! Congratulations,
Champions!
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Students in Mr. Shaw’s 7th grade Social
Studies class selected a historical figure.
They conducted research, created costumes,
and then presented as if they were the
historical figure themselves.
Neil Hafley students celebrated
the 100th day of school with
presentations of their
collections of 100. Preston Riggs
shares 100 stickers with his
teacher, Mrs. Baum, and gives
Mrs. Baum the stickers to keep
for her classroom. Andrez
Rodriguez wears a shirt with 100
googlie eyes and shares a poster
with 100 balloons in Ms.
Norton’s class.
Neil Hafley holds a school-wide morning
assembly once per month. In the month of
January, first graders sang the National
Anthem.
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Weston Ranch Cougars Mr. Wamble and a few of his Journalism students (Joeseph Walkins, Manuel Carlos, and Paul Comauex), were invited to City Hall to interview Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs for WRHS’s first digital paper. Mayor Tubbs was very impressed with the overall presentation and the questions students asked. Mayor Tubbs acknowledged that the students "did their research" and although he has been interviewed many times by student reporters, WRHS students' questions were truly great, thought evoking and relevant.
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MHS Loretta Kakala Selected to Play in McDonald’s All
American Game By Shamyel Rezaye Community Outreach Intern
Loretta Kakala is one of 14 female athletes in
the country selected to play in the McDonald's
All-American Game on March 29 in Chicago.
Loretta Kakala, who signed to play at Louisville
next fall, is the first player from Manteca to be
chosen for the McDonald's all-star game.
Manteca High School celebrated Loretta on
Tuesday January 24, 2017.
The McDonald's All-American Game refers to
each of the all-star basketball games played
each year for American and Canadian boys' and girls' high-school basketball graduates.
Kakala, a 6-foot-3 athlete, commented, "It was always a dream to get a basketball
scholarship, so this McDonald's team is just over the top. I didn't expect it all. It's super
humbling."
Not only is Loretta a great basketball player but she is also a great teammate. “She's
really encouraging,” said Malia Parangan. “Even if you mess up, she's saying 'It's OK,
you'll get it next time.’”
Kakala's example has been inspiring for her teammates, who were among those in the stands Tuesday and happy
to join her for pictures later. Fellow senior Parangan was recovering from an ACL tear last season, so she's only
been able to play with Kakala this year. Parangan said she is shocked at how unselfish Kakala is.
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Manteca High School Visitation day Submitted by Shamyel Rezaye Community Outreach Intern
Manteca High School features welcoming staff, rigorous academics,
passionate artists, talented athletes, a distinguished ROTC program and the
pride MHS music program. This makes it a great school to go visit.
Manteca High School 8th grade Visitation welcomed over 250 eighth graders
to campus on January 24, 2017. This event was an excellent opportunity to
showcase the school and allow eighth graders to experience a day on MHS
campus.
This event was organized my Mary Ann Tolbert and her link crew students.
8th Grade visitation offers an opportunity for students to spend the day in a group setting learning about Manteca
High and all of the programs they have to offer.
“This was very cool I got to learn about life as a buffalo” exclaimed Shannon Le, from Joshua Cowell Elementary.
Eighth Grade orientation day is a great way for eighth grade students in the local communities to get a taste of
what it means to be a BUFFALO!
Eighth graders participated in various activities throughout the day such as sitting in on classes, watching a drama
performance, playing games and making friends with other eighth graders and high schoolers.
“Manteca high school is a very good school and I had so much fun today,” Woodward Student Tristan Garcia
added. “I can’t wait to go here next year.”
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GV Cross-grade Collaboration Rock Lab Submitted by: Joe Contreras Community Outreach Intern
Making sedimentary rocks may seem like a difficult process, but at Great Valley Elementary School, that is exactly what they did. As an extension of the 4th Grade Science rock chapter, students created sedimentary rocks using crayon shavings as sediments and then heat and pressure to create a rock sample. Fourth grader Alyssa Cruz-Ochoa acknowledged, “The crayons made the layers of the sediment rock.”
The students had the opportunity to work with 7th graders who had done the same lab the week before. During the lab the 4th grade students also learned Science vocabulary and became actual geologist. Jeannie Pacheco, 4th grade teacher explained, "It is difficult for student to visualize from reading a book on how a rock can be made." This was an inspiration for doing the lab. As rocks takes many years to develop. The lab helped students better understand the concept without the need of waiting a long period of time for the rock to develop. A sedimentary rock are types of rock that are formed by the deposition and subsequent cementation of that material at the Earth’s surface and within bodies of water.
"The junior high students did a good job leading the lab, ensuring safety, and keeping students on task," Pacheco added. She also mentioned that her favorite part of the lab was watching her students sit on sediments that produced enough pressure to create them and create a rock.
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Weston Ranch FFA Attends Stockton Ag Venture Submitted by: Joe Contreras Community Outreach Intern
On January 11, fourteen Weston Ranch High School FFA member attended the Stockton Ag Venture that was held at the San Joaquin Fairgrounds. The 14 FFA members spent the day talking to over 3,000 third graders in the Stockton Unified School District about Agriculture and the community around them. Ten different FFA chapters from the region also took part in the Stockton Ag Venture including every Manteca Unified School District FFA chapters. Chris Livengood, FFA Advisor explained that the Stockton Ag Venture “is a great way for FFA students to give knowledge from first hand experiences."
Booths were set up to teach students many different topics, such as how to raise animals, the importance of eating vegetables, how seeds are grown, and how to use a hammer properly when nailing. The Weston Ranch FFA booths' included Rabbits, making seed necklaces, and woodworking. Junior Shannon Posadas helped organize and run two of the three Weston Ranch booths. She expressed her joy of teaching the 3rd graders about Ag. Posadas exclaimed, "I learned so much that I can't even remember!" The Stockton Ag Venture essentially gives students a chance to reach out in the community and work with students and teacher on Ag Literacy. The FFA students spoke in front of whole classes for 10-15 minutes at a time. Livengood called it "a fun event for all."
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Sierra High School’s Muise By Carly Cunial
Community Outreach Intern
When you hear that you are going to have an assembly at school to
listen to a speaker talk for an hour, Davey Muise is not the first man that
pops into our head.
Muise is covered in tattoos, is in a punk-rock band and was found in a
dresser by the police after his parents were arrested in a drug raid as an
eight-month old baby.
Muise is also the owner of his own clothing line that donates clothes to
teens in group homes so they do not have to wear other people’s hand-
me downs. He travels the country speaking to high schoolers, telling them
about his struggles and how you should never give up on your dream.
Last week Muise came to Sierra High School and talked to the student
body in two assemblies. He told the students about how he did not have
the greatest start in the world and while he was adopted by a great family,
his father ended up leaving his family while he was young.
“I really enjoyed having Davey as a guest speaker, and sharing his story
with us,” claimed Gabriel Ortega, an SHS senior.
Muise called his mother his super hero, and when he declared he wanted
to be rock star she found a way for him to get drum lessons. He used his
music to give him drive in his schoolwork and was able to perform concerts
in his school’s cafeteria.
After high school though, Muise went into a darker time in his life. His
girlfriend left him and he became very negative and hurtful to the people in
his life. It reached the point where he felt done with his life. Muise received a call from one of his friends in the
army, that turned his life around.
He realized that he could not focus on the bad things that happen to him; that doing this would hold him back. He
was bigger than everything that happened to him and he could not let it stop him from living his live, and going
after his dreams, any longer.
Now Muise is married to his wife who he tells people “is too good for him” and he tours with his punk rock band
Vanna. He also started his own clothing line, Shovel Brand, which has been able to donate so many clothes to a
teen home that they are now able to expand to more people. He uses his music to talk about depression, divorce
and other sensitive subjects others may not want to talk about, in hopes of reaching out and helping the people
who need to hear that it will all be okay.
“Remember, it is trash-can, not trash-cannot,” Muise stated.
Stella Oliver, Anne Marie Shaw and
Mellissa Harbison take a picture with
Davey Muise.
Senior Gabriel Ortega and Davey
Muise take a picture together.
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Sierra High School Student is Going to India
to Help Orphans By Carly Cunial Community Outreach Intern
Sierra High School senior Abigail Melton plans to travel to India this summer to work in orphanages to help the children who live in them.
For eight weeks, she will be staying in orphanages for youth under 18 years of age, and teaching them geography, hygiene and basic English skills.
Not only will Melton be teaching, she will be forming bonds and helping them develop relationships that these youth were not able to do within their own families.
“I am most excited to make an impact on the children’s life as well as my own,” Melton exulted.
She is hoping to not just change the life of these children in the orphanage, but that the will change her life as well. Melton wants to take this time in her life to not focus on herself, but to truly make a difference in the lives of others.
Melton is going to go to India by herself and is funding the trip through money she raised herself, and money she raised though a go-fund-me she started.
Sierra High School senior, Abigail Melton
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School Accountability Report Card (SARC) District Office
Compensatory Education
2/1/2017
All public schools in California are required annually to prepare a School Accountability Report Card
(SARC) and make it available to the public. The SARC is intended to provide the public with important
information about each public school and to communicate a school’s progress.
All SARCs for MUSD schools are published and made available to the California Department of Education
(CDE) no later than February 1 each year. Much of the information in the SARCs published during the
2016-17 school year pertains to data from the prior school year, as identified in the report.
All SARCs are available on the district’s website. This year, MUSD will continue to use the CDE’s web-
based application that allows districts to complete, and the public to view, SARCs in an online format.
This web-based application gives our SARCs added functionality including language translation. Search
for a SARC by school name at this website: http://sarconline.org/.
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Steppin’ Out Symphony Concert for Fourth Grade Students District Office
Elementary Education Services
1/31/17 2/1/17
The Stockton Symphony, conducted by Peter Jaffe, hosted their annual Steppin’ Out concert this week
on January 31st and February 1, 2017. All MUSD fourth grade students attended this concert. Sites
attended on both days of the performance at San Joaquin County Delta Community College Atherton
Auditorium. Transportation coordination was handled by Walt Brookshire and Pam Costanza. Diyan
Dringenberg and Stacey Harris in Elementary Education coordinated with the Symphony and school sites.
Transportation to the event was sponsored by the Stockton Symphony Committee and ticket costs were
paid from the Board Curriculum Goals account to attend this fabulous event.
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In Other News…
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Page 18 of 31 Super in tendent’ s Off ice , Community Outreach
REL#17-8 CONTACT: Robert Oakes FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PHONE: 916-319-0818 January 30, 2017 E-MAIL: [email protected]
State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Announces Free Testing for Lead in Drinking Water at California Public Schools
SACRAMENTO— State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced that public schools can receive free testing for lead in drinking water under a new state program.
The State Water Resources Control Board, in cooperation with the California Department of Education (CDE), recently required all community water systems to test school drinking water upon request by school officials.
“Students should have access to clean drinking water at all times,” Torlakson said. “Students need fresh water, nutritious meals, and appropriate physical activity to be ready to learn in class.”
California’s water agencies regularly test for lead and other contaminants in their systems to comply with both state and federal laws. Water agencies also use corrosion control measures to prevent any lead that might be present from leaching into tap water.
The State Water Resources Control Board initiative makes testing mandatory if a public school served by a community water system requests testing.
Lead problems are infrequent in California, which has newer water infrastructure and less corrosive water than other parts of the nation. Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. directed the State Water Resources Control Board to incorporate schools into the regular water quality testing that community water systems conduct at customer’s taps.
If school officials make a written request, the community water systems must collect the samples within three months and report results back within two business days. Sampling locations can include drinking fountains, cafeteria and food preparation areas, and reusable water bottle filling stations. The program extends until November 1, 2019.
The community water systems are responsible for the costs associated with collecting drinking water samples, analyzing them, and reporting results.
# # # #
The California Department of Education (CDE) is a state agency led by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson. You may also follow him through CDE’s mobile Web site, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
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REL#17-8 CONTACT: Robert Oakes FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PHONE: 916-319-0818 January 30, 2017 E-MAIL: [email protected]
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson Encourages All California Schools to Continue “Safe Haven” Efforts
SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today urged all California public
schools to continue “Safe Haven” efforts for students and their families, particularly Muslims and refugees
targeted by recent federal actions.
“As a teacher, coach, father, citizen, and leader of California’s public school system, I strongly disagree
with President Trump’s recent immigration order and want to make sure that our students and families who are
refugees and Muslims feel safe and protected in our schools,” said Torlakson. “California public schools welcome
all students regardless of their heritage, religion, ethnicity, background, disability, or sexual orientation.
“Diversity is California’s strength. We do not just welcome diversity. We celebrate it. An ill-conceived
presidential executive order is not going to change that.”
President Trump signed an executive order on Friday that barred refugees from any nation from entering
the United States for 120 days, indefinitely barred refugees from Syria, and also blocked citizens from seven
Muslim majority nations from entering the U.S. in the next 90 days. Those nations are Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia,
Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
Torlakson urged school districts to continue to make sure students and their families feel safe at school
and reminded educators and the public that existing laws protect students’ records from questions about
immigration status.
Torlakson in December wrote a letter to all 1,025 California school districts and urged them to adopt
“Safe Haven” resolutions, which many districts have or will soon do so. “Engaged parents play a key role in
helping students succeed on their way to 21st century careers and college,” Torlakson said.
############################# The California Department of Education is a state agency led by State Superintendent of Public
Instruction Tom Torlakson. For more information, please visit the California Department of Education’s Web site or by mobile device. You may also follow Superintendent Torlakson on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
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What Happens if Manteca Unified Goes Nuclear? (Manteca Bulletin) Dennis Wyatt [email protected]
209-249-3519 In Other News…
February 3, 2017
How advantageous is it for the Building Industry Association of the Delta headed by Jon Beckman who once served as a councilman in the fairly slow growth community of Lodi to get the developers he advocates for to play ball with the Manteca Unified School District?
It could stave off making new homes his members build within district boundaries avoid having an average added cost of $21,509 before even a shovel of dirt is overturned.
That’s because the district — which is obligated to look out after the best interests of current and future students — is leaving no stone unturned to provide the school board with and arsenal of options when it comes to housing students.
The district’s preferred option is for developers to step up and put new neighborhoods they are building into Mello-Roos districts to provide partial funding for new schools.
The BIA may assume that given no law provides cities the power to make such a requirement or allows a school district to demand such a move that there is no reason why they should encourage builders to annex to — or form a new — Mello Roos District.
Bad assumption if that is the case.
There is a nuclear option the state created that district staff is dusting off if they need to employ it. Simply put, when certain conditions are met and findings made the existing residential fees charged for new home construction for school facilities that are now at $3.36 per square foot can ultimately be ratcheted up to $10.08 per square foot.
For the typical 3,200-square-foot new home now being built in Manteca Unified that builders are paying $10,752 upfront in school facilities fees it means that cost could shoot up to $32,256.
At 4.75 percent interest that additional $21,509 when collapsed into a mortgage means a new homebuyer would have to pay $83.16 more a month on a 30-year loan to buy that 3,200-quare-foot home.
It also means two other key things for builders. First, the pool of eligible buyers shrinks a bit as buyers have to qualify for another $83.16 a month to finance school fees that will end up costing the buyer $8,400 more or $29,937 after the end of 30 years. Given how close Manteca Unified is to ground zero for housing unaffordability — the Bay Area — builders may not have to worry much about not having enough buyers even in a downturn.
The most important impact on builders is the loss of the ability to steer buyers into $20,000 worth of highly profitable upgrades if $20,000 has to be used to finance increased school mitigation fees.
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And while the BIA advocates for and doesn’t direct builders on what they should do by not dealing with the issue head on it means a builder that does step up and puts a new project being built within a Mello-Roos district would be at a distinct disadvantage with builders that eschew Mello Roos districts.
Of course by the time Manteca Unified would be forced to go for the nuclear option a number of schools would have to be on year round schedules or — in a worst case scenario — double sessions. That would make buying a new home in Manteca or the non-River Islands part of Lathrop all that more less appealing.
The BIA is revving up its calculators to make the case the school district is partially wet — if not completely wet — behind the ears when it comes to their current ability to cram more students into classrooms. That’s fine. They have the right to do that.
But this is a different game than the game plan they’ve used over the years dealing with the City of Manteca to keep asking to re-examine recommended fees or proposed increases over and over again before they are implemented. That strategy helps hundreds if not thousands of homes to skirt by without paying their fair share of the cost for city amenities. In a strong market where other cities come into play, keeping Manteca fees lower for a year or two than elsewhere puts more profits into the pockets of a builder than their counterparts in other communities where elected officials have made requiring growth to pay its way a top priority with real teeth.
And the BIA needs to spare everyone proclamations that they are only doing what they are doing because someone has to fight for affordable housing. While there is a lot of truth to that given state mandates, questionable environmental costs related to six figure studies that either state the obvious or no one bothers to follow, as well as escalating labor and material costs the bottom line is the people they are selling houses to need amenities such as schools.
Developers are risk takers who — for the most part — build communities and not simply build homes.
More than anyone else they know the score when it comes to how dysfunctional California is when it comes to development hoops and environmental overreach.
That said they can ill afford to kill the goose that lays the golden egg.
Without an effective and appealing school system, parks, adequate fire and police protection and more developers will still be able to build homes here given this state’s incredible housing shortage and the proximity of Manteca Unified to the Big Squeeze when it comes to housing affordability and availability — the Bay Area.
But they will miss out on landing the whales — those new home buyers who can afford to go elsewhere and spend bigger dollars on bigger homes and more highly profitable upgrades.
How builders fare tomorrow in Manteca depends heavily on what they do today.
National Signing Day was special in many ways for several local soccer products.
Illena Rivera, for one, looked at Wednesday’s event as a family affair of sort. The East Union High girls soccer standout signed on with Stanislaus State, joining Isela and Isabella.
She’s looking forward to playing alongside her two sisters for the first since her freshman year for the Lancers.
It was also special moment for Paul Diniz. He’s the coach for the Manteca Futbol Club, described as a “program designed to provide advanced competitive players with high quality training.”
Diniz proudly watched three of his players sign on to four-year college programs – Manteca High’s Natalia Duran (Sonoma State), and Sierra’s Kaleigh Doyle (CSU East Bay) and Kyndra Kiser (UC Merced).
Illena Rivera
She’s been looking forward to playing for Gabriel Bolton and his staff at Stanislaus State since her sophomore year in high school.
“This is exciting for our family,” said Illena of her dream to play once again alongside Isela and Isabella or Bella but only at a higher level.
Her folks, Monica and Trent, were equally thrilled as were her East Union friends, teammates and administrators.
The NCAA Division II Warriors of the California Collegiate Athletic Association finished last year with a 13-7 mark.
Rivera is leaning towards a degree in Nursing.
Natalia Duran
She’s the daughter of Tom and Cynthia Duran.
Natalia has been playing soccer since she was age 4. But it wasn’t until the last couple of years that she became the player ready for the next level.
“She was always small (player) for her age,” said Manteca Futbol Club coach Diniz, who had the youngster since she was about 6 or 7.
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Natalia grew physically as did her playing skills – she’s versatile enough to play all positions on the field but is a standout defender.
Duran, who played for Buffaloes program under coach Justin Coenenberg for the past four years, is penciled in as a midfielder for the NCAA Division II Sonoma State Seawolves of the CCAA.
She’s looking to major in Biology with plans to go into a veterinary medicine. Natalia Duran helps out regularly at the Manteca Animal Shelter.
“I’m looking forward to playing at Sonoma,” she said. “I like the school, I like the coaches, and I like the competition that’s ahead.”
Kaleigh Doyle
She considered Sonoma State and UC Merced. But Doyle found California State University-East Bay more to her liking.
She’s the daughter of Chris and Debbie Doyle. Kaliegh was about 8 when she first played for the Manteca Futbol Club.
She currently plays forward / midfielder for Manuel Pires’ program at Sierra High.
Kaleigh Doyle is looking ahead to NCAA Division II Pioneers of the CCAA under the direction of head coach Amy Gerace.
Several local products are on the CSU-East Bay roster, including Carsyn Hoogendoorn and Kianna Lamont of Manteca.
Doyle is planning on majoring in Kinesiology.
Kyndra Kiser
The daughter of Mark and Jessica Kiser was happy with her decision to play for the UC Merced Golden Bobcats.
The NAIA school plays in the California Pacific Conference under head coach Megan Atoigue.
The Bobcats finished the recent campaign with an impressive 12-3-3, reaching the CPCC semifinals (they lost suffered a 2-1 loss to the University of Antelope Valley).
Kiser is looking to study Cognitive Science at UC Merced.
She’s a midfielder/defender of the Timberwolves and was about 11 when she joined the Manteca Futbol Club.
From left, Sierra High soccer teammates’ Kaleigh
Doyle (CSU East Bay) and Kyndra Kiser (UC
Merced) shared National Signing Day on
Wednesday, inking on to their respective schools
in the school library
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Kiser is also looking forward to being reunited with former Sierra teammate Emma Broderick, who is a goal keeper for the Bobcats.
Manteca Unified is on target to spend at least $13.9 million more for a 50 percent jump in teacher retirement contributions within three years.
At the same time overall teacher salaries are expected to rise by only $8.1 million. That means retirement costs will go up 70 percent more than salaries by 2019-2020.
Unfunded retirement liability is the 900-pound budget gorilla not just for Manteca Unified but for every school district throughout California as well as municipalities, counties, and the state government.
Public employee pension costs were front and center during the depth of the Great Recession when scheduled hikes in contributions to the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) threatened to sink general funds as jurisdictions scrambled to deal with plummeting revenues.
And while public attention has receded significantly as cities and school districts were able to regain funding, the basic problem with CalPERS and STRS funding shortfalls has actually worsened.
That’s because targeted returns on investments for both funds have not been met in recent years. It is why on Wednesday STRS (See retirement story on Page A3) lowered its earnings target from an annual
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rate of 7.5 to 7 percent starting July 1. As of July 2016, STRS projected it had only enough assets to cover 64 percent of the benefits teachers have been promised.
CalPERS made a similar move earlier this year. CalPERS now has a $139 billion shortfall with assets on hand to cover only 68 percent of their retirement obligations.
The only way the gap can be made up is by increasing assessments on school districts and other public sector employers participating in the retirement funds as well as what the covered workers contribute.
Every time the percentage of a teacher’s salary that the district has to pay into retirement funds increases it sets up a dicey ripple effect. That’s because roughly 90 percent of every dollar Manteca Unified spends from its general fund goes to cover employee salaries, benefits, and retirement.
Many educators have been warning that the situation is likely to get to the point where it will impact the ability of schools to maintain staffing levels. The most likely scenario in such cases is not replacing 100 percent of staff lost to retirement and for other reasons should retirement funding bumps starting cutting into the financial bones of general funds.
Manteca Unified is currently contributing 13.88 cents for every dollar it pays a teacher who elected to be covered by CalPERS. The cost is 12.58 cents on every dollar of salary for a teacher enrolled in STRS.
In real numbers the district this year will pay $39.4 million to staff covered by CalPERS with an additional $5.4 million going into the retirement fund. For STRS the salaries come to $167.8 million with the district’s share of the retirement contributions costing $21.1 million.
Before Wednesday’s announcement by STRS, Manteca Unified projected the current 12.58 percent STRS contribution would ratchet up to 14.43 percent for the 2017-2018 school year, 16.28 percent for the 2018-2019 school year, and 18.13 percent by the 2019-2020 school year.
As for CalPERS it will go from 13.88 percent this year to 15.8 percent in 2017-2018, 18.7 percent in 2018-2019, and 21.6 percent in 2019-2020.
By 2019-2020 Manteca Unified will be paying $40.4 million toward retirement costs as opposed to the $26.5 million they are paying this year. That represents a jump of $13.9 million.
Meanwhile, overall salaries are projected to go from $207.2 million this year to $215.3 million by 2019-2020. That represents a jump of $8.1 million.
The dollar cost of the district funding retirement costs will increase almost 70 percent more than what teachers will be paid.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email [email protected] http://www.mantecabulletin.com/section/1/article/141396/
‘Jury’ Finds Shaky Innocent of Murder in ROP Mock Trial
Adrian Angulo was braced to receive an unfavorable verdict.
At the mock trial of the Regional Occupational Program’s Careers in Law Enforcement class, the Weston Ranch High senior had reprised his role of Shannon J. Jacobson otherwise known as Shaky.
“I think they’ll find me guilty,” Angulo said Friday during jury deliberation.
On the contrary, he was found innocent of first degree murder.
The 7-5 not-guilty verdict — a simple majority from this jury made of several Army recruiters, teachers, staff members and young professionals was suffice in this case given the time constraints — surprised the defense team of Amaya Finley and Michaela Rutland.
“I think we did OK,” said Rutland prior to the verdict.
Finley added that the witnesses and the ballistic evidence were enough to prove that their client acted in self-defense.
As Shaky, Angulo sported an eye patch as part of his “injury” from last month’s barroom brawl incident.
He was arrested for the shooting death of Jerry Lee Lewis alias Sneaky Pete, who was twice his size.
ROP instructor Joe Waller had turned his auxiliary classroom at the Manteca Unified district complex into the Star Bar for the first part of this longtime exercise.
That same classroom was transformed into courtroom for the followup.
Nneka Ikechiuku presided as judge.
“I added a few twists (as evidence),” said Waller, who has conducted this mock trial for the past 19 years.
He praised the prosecutor Jerry Ramirez, who teamed up with fellow Weston Ranch senior Erika Plascencia.
“Although they lost, (Ramirez) did a great job,” Waller said. “It was one of the best performances I’ve seen during all these years.”In his earlier class, Waller said the jury found Jacobson guilty by a 7-5 count.
“Either way, I know both sides are making valid points — first degree murder verses self-defense,” he said.
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Sierra Football State Title Ring in HBO Series Jason Campbell [email protected] 209-249-3544 February 1, 2017
The fairytale story of the 2015 Sierra High School state football championship just hit the big screen.
Sort of.
On Tuesday, longtime Hollywood actor Christopher McDonald – best known for playing Shooter McGavin in the Adam Sandler movie “Happy Gilmore” – wore the ring that the players of the 2015 CIF Division IV-A State Championship Sierra High School Timberwolves were awarded while shooting a scene from the HBO series “Ballers” on location in San Francisco.
The ring, which is worn daily by Sierra High School freshman football coach Jim Anderson, became a topic of conversation on the set of the show on Tuesday where Anderson was doing extra work as part of a budding acting career that included a recent trip to the Sundance Film Festival.
While having lunch, McDonald asked Anderson about the ring and when he told him about the team that defied the odds to come back and win the state’s top trophy for football despite all but being counted out at the end of the regular season with a .500 record, he asked if he could put in on for the next scene they were about to shoot.
“He said that he was proud of the kids and he would be proud to wear that ring today,” Anderson said. “I thought that was something that was really cool for him to do – for those kids to be able to see that ring when the show final does air.”
Anderson has been keeping a full schedule ever since fulfilling a lifelong dream of earning his Screen Actors Guild card, and got the opportunity recently to bask in the limelight in Park City, Utah at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival where “American Paradise” – a short film by Joe Talbot – was featured.
Known as a distribution clearinghouse for major Hollywood studios looking to add independent movies to their distribution schedules, Sundance also proved to be fruitful for Anderson, landing him several contacts and the possibility of a larger role in a full-length feature film. The experience of getting to see himself on the silver screen, he said, is something that hardly be put into words.
“It’s a great feeling to see yourself up there and know the work that went into making that film and getting to see other people enjoy it,” Anderson said. “It was very weird and it was very humbling, but it was also very cool at the same time.
“I’m hoping that movie was a kick-off for me and it ends up paving the way towards something more. But for the time being, I’m going to enjoy all of this while it’s happening.”
To contact reporter Jason Campbell email [email protected] or call 209.249.3544.
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Manteca Unified Looking to Hire 300+ Nile Garden School fourth grade teacher Constance Blackmon interacts with students as part of a group math activity on Friday. HIME ROMERO/ The Bulletin Dennis Wyatt [email protected] 209-249-3519 January 28, 2017
The biggest employer in the South County is looking to hire more than 300 new employees.
The Manteca Unified School District needs to fill everything from teaching posts to school site assistant positions as well as para-professional jobs during a job fair set for Saturday, Feb. 4, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the district office complex, 2271 W. Louise Ave.
The district is interviewing and hiring on the spot for at least 100 teachers they need for class-size reductions, retirement and growth. Those include kindergarten through sixth grade multiple subjects, junior high and high school assorted single subjects, and special education teachers.
There are more than 200 classified positions ranging from school site assistants and paraprofessionals to transportation and nutritional services. Information tables will be available for those jobs.
Certified teachers, candidates are asked to submit applications on Edjoin by Feb. 1 at 4 p.m.
Deputy Superintendent Burke Clarke notes that those teachers who are hired and aren’t currently employed that the district will work with them to fill substitute teaching jobs until their employment starts with Manteca Unified as a full-time instructor in August.
To avoid not having teachers hired in advance of the start of school in August with enough time to prepare lesson plans and classrooms, the district is hiring educators early in advance of vacancies being created. Hiring teachers credentialed in multipole subjects leaves little chance they won’t have a vacancy as is hiring math teachers of which there is a national shortage.
The hiring strategy also means Manteca will stand a better chance of getting even better qualified candidates by essentially getting at the front of the line.
That coupled with starting teachers being the highest paid in San Joaquin County and a policy that allows existing teachers transferring from jobs elsewhere to retain their seniority (up to 21 years credit where most salary schedules top out) eliminates pay as a deterrent to getting applicants.
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At the same time the district is aggressively marketing the fact that Manteca is affordable for young teachers that want the culture and social activities that the Bay Area offers or the active lifestyle provided by everything from the Sierra to beaches.
Manteca Unified also offers a free two-year teacher induction program, curriculum and training specialist, programs coordinators, and department chairs — all focused on helping a teacher succeed. The district also offers ongoing professional development opportunities online and in person.
Other incentives are detailed in what Manteca Unified describes as a “culture of excellence.”
That includes digital learning being deployed in transitional kindergarten through the 12th grade, be.tech dependent vocational charter school, traditional high schools on innovative 4x4 block schedule, untethered teaching and wireless projection, Microsoft Glob, Showcase Technology District, “maker” mindset for engineering/computing and entrepreneurship, Advanced Placement District Honor Roll recipient, and an environmentally conscious mindset among other pluses.
Filling classified positions is an ongoing challenge.All of the paraprofessional jobs — bilingual included — requires some college units or passing a test.
The positions dovetail well into some college students’ schedules giving that they start at $13.95 to $15.03 an hour and are only for a few hours a day.
Besides bilingual aides and classroom aides there is a pressing need for yard duty supervisors and nutrition services employees. The frequent vacancies are the function of two things: a job with more hours elsewhere or the employee taking advantage of the ability to move into other classified jobs as they become available with more hours, and better pay. In many cases, the current fulltime classified employees started in the district in jobs that had only several hours or work a day.
One of the biggest sources to fill the positions lately has been retired people that are only looking for a few hours of work a day.
Cooks and bakers start at $15.41 an hours. The pay steps based primarily on longevity go as high as $21.50.
Campus monitors start at $15.80 an hour. The pay steps top out at $22.04.
Classroom aides start out at $13.95 an hour. The pay steps top out at $19.46.
Bilingual aides in specific languages start out at $14.66 an hour. The pay tops out at $20.45
All open positions in the district are posted on EdJoin that in turn advertises on various online sites such as Indeed.com and Monster Jobs. They’ve post jobs in the newspaper, with educational agencies and in school site newsletters and on campus masques. They also advertise jobs on the school district office campus marquee visible from Louise Avenue and occasionally on the distinct Facebook page.
