MCS technology upgrade on agenda

The Modesto City Schools board will hear an update on district investments in technology, including future projects to prepare for the day when all students carry computers to school, at their meeting tonight.

Board members will likely not hear a report, included in the agenda’s routine consent items, that says students would benefit from shifting high school start times later.

Schools now start at 7:50 a.m. and end at 2 p.m., with an early period 1,771 students are taking this year starting at 7 a.m. The report says research shows nearly 9 in 10 adolescents do not get enough sleep, and a change “can positively impact adolescents’ attendance, mood and safety.”

The research shows that during puberty, teens experience a shift in sleep patterns making it difficult to fall asleep before 11 p.m. “Early school start times require students to awaken at 6 a.m. or earlier, putting them at risk for sleep deprivation,” the report says, going on to list daytime sleepiness, memory lapses, difficulty handling complex tasks and behavioral issues among the predictable effects.

The report stops short of recommending any changes for 2015-16, however, because of increased busing costs and a need to negotiate the changed times with teachers. It takes three hours to bus students from throughout the far-flung high school district, the report notes, with the first student pickups at 5:30 a.m.

Extracurricular activities would also have to shift with a later release time, though studies have found those did not change sports participation. It could mean buying more field lighting.

The report recommends proceeding slowly, forming committees to study logistical issues, holding open forums, and including parents and students in the discussions.

The technology update will lay out $5.7 million being spent on upgrades this school year, including new network infrastructure and replacements for computers too old to have security upgrades.

In a separate item, the board could vote on an estimated $3 million in network upgrades, 80 percent of which would be reimbursed by the federal government’s e-rate program.

Trustees will be asked to approve moving forward with replacing decrepit portables and trailers surrounding the two-story brick district office built in 1923, the former Franklin School on Locust Street.

Construction for the roughly 15,000-square-foot permanent structure is estimated to cost roughly $4.3 million. Staff is asking approval to negotiate a so-called lease-leaseback agreement with J.L. Bray and Son Inc.

Board members will also be asked to vote on replacement of the Golden Valley Health Center dental clinic that burned down on the Hanshaw Middle School campus. GVHC would pay for the center, which operated from 1993 until the fire in September.

The board will have a first reading of changes to its student conduct code eliminating expulsions for disruption or willful defiance, and ending suspension on those grounds through third grade. The change is required to align with Assembly Bill 420, passed by the state Legislature and signed into law.

In other business, initial bargaining proposals for 2015-16 with the district’s unions will be put on record. Teachers are asking for additional music teachers and counselors, as well as return of stipends for extra work cut during the recession. Support staff is asking for a higher health care contribution. Salaries are automatically part of each year’s negotiations.

Trustees will be asked to sign off on new courses in screenwriting and information technology in a global society.

This story was originally published March 22, 2015 at 10:46 PM with the headline "MCS technology upgrade on agenda."