School board to discuss issues surrounding Feb. 2 incident

Persistence paid off for two school board trustees from one faction of the fractured six-member governing body of the Morgan Hill Unified School District, as two public discussion items were placed on the May 3 agenda after months of request, delay and debate.
At the request of Trustee Gino Borgioli, as well as Trustee Rick Badillo, Tuesday evening’s docket includes a pair of issues related to the Feb. 2 incident in which Badillo was briefly detained by local police after they received an anonymous and unfounded report that he was carrying a concealed weapon at the meeting.
Since then, the two board members have made multiple requests for an investigation into the events of that night and a separate discussion on public safety concerns at school board meetings.
Board President Bob Benevento, who continues to be at odds with Borgioli and Badillo on these particular issues, had been reluctant to put those items on the agenda until now. At the April 19 board meeting, the three quarreled publicly over that very thing.
Badillo had also requested board permission to talk to school district attorneys regarding that Feb. 2 incident, something he had done previously as well. Benevento polled the board (Trustee David Gerard was not in attendance) for a consensus on the matter and Badillo’s request was shot down 3-2.
However, the May 3 agenda includes a “Proposal to Amend Board Bylaw 9323…Public Participation-Section 7….regarding disturbances or willful interruption of board meetings,” and a “Request for investigation of the events of board meeting dated February 2, 2016.”
According to Item G6, Borgioli “expressed concern that there is a safety and security gap” within the board bylaw and he has made a number of proposed amendments that the trustees will discuss.
As for Item G7, it states “Borgioli indicates that the public fears for their safety and security when attending Board meetings, that there is a frustration in the parent community, and that an investigation is required.” The item continues: “Does the Board agree that an investigation is necessary?”
Grade level reconfiguration
The shift of sixth grade into the middle schools—another polarizing issue that divided the board, frustrated some parents not in favor of it and sparked an unsuccessful recall movement—will also be discussed Tuesday night as district staff prepares for the 2016-17 school year.
Last year, the then seven-member board (former Trustee Amy Porter-Jensen has since resigned) approved the district’s request for a grade level reconfiguration by a 4-3 vote.
Now, district leadership will provide a “6th Grade Level Configuration Board Report” to update them on the progress being made to prepare for the impact at Britton and Martin Murphy Middle Schools.
Revised job descriptions
Other public agenda items include the revision of job descriptions for Director of Technology, Information Technology Administrator and Student Information Systems Coordinator.
The district claims overall cost savings of approximately $100,000 annually from the general fund, according to the G3 agenda item for Director of Technology revision.