By: Joey Komada

 

           Announcements:

           Jonathan announced that the Santa Anita racetrack trip                   has been cancelled indefinitely.

           He also told us that our next THURSDAY Night Live will                 be held on March 21^st., the location still to be determined.

 

           Julia and Suzy reported on the progress of the Lomita                       Sheriff Station Kitchen Refurbishment Project. Phase I                     has been completed with all new appliances acquired by                   Suzy Zimmerman.  Phase II will see new cabinets and                       countertops,  and John Polen is assisting in how to                           remodel them. We are working with the  Kiwanis Club on               this project to show our appreciation to our First                               Responders.

 

           Jennifer requested that there be 100% participation in our             Club Interest Survey, and resent it  to all members by                       email.  It is a simple, 10 question survey that can be                           answered directly by email.

 

           Greg O’Brien reported that the Harmony Concert  where                 our Club participated with the Lions and Kiwanis Clubs,                 was a tremendous success. 

           Guest Speaker:

 

           Today’s guest speaker was Dr. Alex Cherniss. Dr. Cherniss               was selected to become the PVP Superintendent of Public               Schools in August of 2018.  Dr. Cherniss has worked in                     education for over twenty years and his experience                           includes  serving as the Chief Financial Officer for the L.A.             County Office of Education where  he managed the budgets             of 80 school districts totaling over $14 billion dollars.

           Dr. Cherniss explained that funding for schools in                             California is based on demographics and parents’ financial             situation.  It is an equity based system;  more money is                     given to less affluent districts and therefore,  the Palos                     Verdes school district receives less funding than many                     other districts. The P.V. District encompasses 16 schools                 and has a total of 11,000 students.  For each of the last five             years, there has been a decline in enrollment of 100                           students per year,     which means that our district is                         receiving approximately $12,000,000  less in                                     funds each year. Despite this fact, our district is still the                   14^th highest achieving district in California.

 

           To counteract this loss of funds, the five member Board of               Education has come up with some creative ways to halt                   this loss of students and funding. The Board has just                         recently voted to reach out to our Senior population and                 allow the children of grandparents to enroll in our schools.             This will hopefully stop the decline in enrollment, and                     preserve our unique programs here which include mental               health counselors on staff twice a week and a wellness                     program at each high school. There are also before and                     after school programs for the 25% of students who are                     registering  below grade level in math and English, and a                 new satellite center in Malaga Cove is planned to cater to                 students interested in the trade and technical arts.