At their meeting on June 25th at Joshua Tree Elementary, The Morongo Unified School District Board of Education discussed safety projects, local indicators, and goals for the 24-25 school year.
The meeting kicked off with a safety presentation by Jack Salseda, Director of Risk Management and Transportation. Salseda updated the Board on ongoing safety projects including a window film project that converts windows to shatter-resistant, providing another layer of safety for students during emergency situations. In the worst case scenario with guns involved, a bullet will go through these treated windows without shattering them, providing more time for students to run from a threat with the extra effort it would take the intruder to enter the building.
Sites across the District are also moving to a keyless entry system starting this school year, allowing doors to be managed by administrators and the district office if needed.
Salseda said, “In the case of a lockdown keyless entry would allow an administrator to lock an entire campus at the push of a button.”
The Board received an update on priority areas identified in the Local Control Funding Formula statute, including appropriately assigned teachers, access to Curriculum, aligned instructional materials and safe, clean, and functional school facilities. Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education Amy Woods reported that the district currently has four teacher vacancies and no teacher misassignments. All students were also found to have access to instructional materials. Woods stated that the district will be working next year on increasing family engagement but providing more family functions including events like math night and Bingo for Books.
The Board also approved a new Workplace Violence Prevention Plan which outlines MUSD’s proactive measures to prevent workplace violence in accordance with California state law and the district’s commitment to the safety and well-being of our community. The plan involves a new online reporting system, which will notify supervisors, human resources, and law enforcement immediately of a report of workplace violence. Upon the report of an incident, the district will activate immediate measures to secure the safety of all individuals involved, provide necessary medical and psychological support to affected persons, initiate a thorough investigation to ascertain facts and determine necessary disciplinary or corrective actions and communicate with the school community as appropriate, respecting the privacy and confidentiality of those involved.
The Board will reconvene for their next regular meeting on Aug. 13 at 6 p.m. at Joshua Tree Elementary School.
A singer and songwriter workshop for veterans, active duty military, and their families begins this Friday (July 12) in Joshua Tree. The workshop is hosted by local musician Ted Quinn, and will teach participants to write and perform their own song, with efforts showcased at a live performance this Sunday (July 14) at the Joshua Tree Retreat Center.
The three day workshop is held by Mil-Tree and is completely free thanks to a grant from the California Arts Council. There is still time to register for the workshop, email [email protected].
