School Board: Pool Update, Parent Volunteer Policy, School Donations and More

The Oct. 18 school board agenda, attached here as a PDF, contains several items of potentially widespread public interest: an update on the ; a review of the district's parent volunteer policy; and an accounting of donations to schools from July 1 through Sept. 30.

You can watch  meetings online on KALB. Meetings take place, generally at City Hall, at 7 p.m. on the first and third Tuesdays each month. .

POOL PROJECT UPDATE

Aquatic Center Director Amanda Garcia will offer a progress update to board members. According to the agenda, p. 43, the board will approve a fee schedule for the pool. Monthly passes for an adult are proposed to be set at $84, with drop-in fees of $6 per class, for Albany residents. Swimming lessons could cost from $70 to $336. The packet includes a comparison chart, on p. 48, with nearby fees for pools in nearby cities. From January to June 2012, the pool is expected to incur expenditures of about $286,000, with a budget shortfall of from $78,000 to $166,000. .

PARENT VOLUNTEER POLICY

Following extensive public outcry about its Administrative Regulation regarding parent volunteers, the Board of Education is taking another look at it. Tonight's language changes include the creation of a "Volunteer I" designation, which would not require TB testing or federal fingerprinting clearance. This position will be limited to parents who have less than one hour a week of direct contact with students, "and/or no one-on-one contact." Examples include "individuals who participate as a guest reader, assist with class parties or projects or schoolwide or grade level projects such as Grad Night, provide clerical or library help, or individually observe a classroom (assisting with dav field trips, one-time classroom presentations, fund raising and special events would still constitute minimal interaction)." Read about the district's parent volunteer discussions on Albany Patch here.