After more than two hours of sometimes heated discussion, School
Board trustees voted 5-2 to accept the Secondary Task Force
recommendation for high school graduation requirements, removing
the mandatory ninth grade social studies credit that they added at
the Nov. 17 board meeting. Trustees Del Foster and Tom Kinoshita
voted against the motion.
After more than two hours of sometimes heated discussion, School Board trustees voted 5-2 to accept the Secondary Task Force recommendation for high school graduation requirements, removing the mandatory ninth grade social studies credit that they added at the Nov. 17 board meeting.
Trustees Del Foster and Tom Kinoshita voted against the motion.
Beginning with next year’s ninth graders, or the Class of 2008, Morgan Hill School District students will be required to take three years of social studies, including world history, US history and civics/government. They will also be required to take one year of a UC/CSU-approved elective course.
During the Nov. 17 meeting, trustees voted 4-3 in favor of adding the social studies course, after approving unanimously a first motion to accept the recommendation of the Secondary Task Force, which did not include the ninth grade social studies mandate.
Voting in favor of the second motion were Board President Tom Kinoshita and Trustees Jan Masuda, Del Foster and Amina Khemici. Trustees George Panos, Shelle Thomas and Mike Hickey voted against the motion.
Since that decision, parents have contacted board members to request that it be reconsidered. Khemici requested that the issue be placed on the Jan. 12 agenda because she misunderstood what she was voting for. The original motion printed in the board agenda packet recommended approval of the Secondary Task Force recommendation, and she said that is what she was voting for.
Board President George Panos said Monday that trustees had to vote to reconsider the earlier decision first.
The vote to reconsider the reconsider the Nov. 17 vote was 4-3, with Panos, Foster and Kinoshita voting against.
More than ten speakers, including three social studies teachers, one Britton student and several parents, gave trustees their opinions on rescinding their former vote.
“You do not seem to understand that a lot of work has gone into it (registering students, with the upcoming ninth graders signed up for social studies),” said Live Oak counselor Andrea Bird. “We disseminated the information to every ninth and tenth grader, and that was done in less than 24 hours … This community now knows what you expect. I have a serious problem with you even considering changing it now. You made a decision, stick with it.
“You are going to ask us to take hundreds of man-hours to change it … I took your decision on faith. Please give us the same courtesy and let us do our job.”
The parents that addressed the board were in favor of dropping the mandatory ninth grade social studies requirement.
Kinoshita, visibly upset, said he really had a problem rescinding the former vote.
“My issue is not social studies, but the decision itself,” he said. “We had a 4-3 vote, a majority vote, and that is the reality of a divided board. When we don’t win, we can’t go back and revisit it, thinking maybe we can talk someone into changing their mind. This is the third time we’ve done this in the past six months. It’s not a precedent I want to set.”
Parent Elizabeth Mandel told trustees that she perceived the ability to change a decision as strong leadership.
“I want leadership through due diligence,” she said. “Amina has demonstrated more leadership than anyone here. I look to trustees to be confident to have an open, honest discussion, but that’s hard if you can’t even talk to one another without arguing or because you’re sleeping.”
Julie Zintsmaster, who is administrative assistant to Superintendent Carolyn McKennan, a former trustee and a parent of three children who have gone through the district, said there are ways to make a fourth year of social studies work, and parents and students have to work together to make it happen, possibly taking classes at Gavilan and looking to the community to provide elective possibilities.
She also was opposed to trustees rescinding their decision.
Live Oak Principal Rich Knapp said Thursday that there are “multiple levels” to this decision.
“I think that the final decision of what the board wants to go with is fine,” he said. “But we have to look at rigor as it exists and what other districts are doing, not so much adding social studies as what other schools are doing. For example, in San Jose, they were having a tough time with rigor, so they raised the standards all over the place. In other districts, it’s not necessary to do so.”
Knapp cited Palo Alto, saying there is a “level of understanding of what it takes to be successful” that is much higher than in our district.
“Their kids take those courses no matter what,” he said. “My concern is that we provide enough info to parents and kids so that they will be able to do whatever they want to do after graduation. Our community needs more information than other communities, and our kids lose opportunities and that concerns me.”
Both UC and CSU require two years of social studies to enroll.
District officials have a plan to re-register, if necessary, those students who do not want to take the ninth grade social studies course. Parents of current eighth graders will be sent a letter in the mail, explaining the board’s decision, and telling them their students can remain in the social studies course or chose another. Parents will be contacted a second time to give them another registration form to complete.
