By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
Waterford Union High School officials are on the verge of approving a new participation agreement for the Waterford Special Education Cooperative. Their likely move comes as the Waterford Graded School District recently moved forward on the issue after months of contentious debate.
Special education has been a hot-button topic throughout the Waterford community in the past year. The Graded School board held months of back-and-forth, often heated, discussions with parents at meetings as the school district’s future with the Co-op came into question.
At its regular board meeting May 20, the Graded School board voted in favor of a new contract, which begins July 1, 2014 and ends June 30, 2017. A deadline of June 30 had been given each participating school district to determine whether or not to continue participating.
Two days later – on May 22 – the high school board took up the issue.
Superintendent Keith Brandstetter presented his board with a draft version of the agreement. In keeping with WUHS district policy, it was a first reading; ultimate action will be taken during a second reading next month.
Three of the four K-8 public feeder districts in the WUHS system – North Cape, Washington-Caldwell and Waterford Graded – are also poised to take part in the new cooperative agreement. The high school will also serve as fiscal agent.
At last week’s WUHS meeting, Brandstetter said superintendents from the four participating districts met seven times to hash over language in the new agreement.
“We looked at our current curriculum and looked at what we need to change and revise,” Brandstetter said. “Every district had input into it. There was movement from all sides.”
Waterford Graded’s future participation in the Co-op had grown uncertain in recent months. From the vantage point of members on that board, the sticking point was conflict resolution.
A conflict resolution clause has now been included in the new contract that serves as a mechanism to give each participating district a say in the Co-op’s annual budget with veto power.
If there is any budgetary objection that arises, the Co-op’s Executive Committee is to convene and review the budget.
WUHS board members briefly discussed a new document – Appendix B – within the contents of the lengthy agreement. It outlines the processes the Co-op will take each year in planning out budgetary and programming issues.
Language in Appendix B states the Co-op’s Executive Committee will begin reviewing budgets for an upcoming school year in the previous December. In education, annual budgets begin July 1 each year and conclude June 30 the following year.
The budget review process will begin with a calculation of each district’s payment into the program for the upcoming school year. Further refinements and discussion are to take place in the ensuing months.
Brandstetter said he envisions each participating board examining and discussing the Co-op’s budget and programming three times annually.
“This is the first time we’ve had this kind of plan in place,” Brandstetter said. “I think a lot of the problems in the past arose from misunderstandings. This is an opportunity for us to have better communication.”
Plans call for meetings of the Co-op’s Executive Committee to be clearly posted in the same manner that regular district board meetings are noticed.
-
-
-
-
-