The Oakdale Joint Unified School District and the Oakdale Teachers Association exchanged initial proposals to modify their collective bargaining agreement in an action taken in a public hearing at the OJUSD Board of Trustees Oct. 10 regular meeting. OJUSD Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Terri Taylor said at the meeting that she’d present the California School Employees Association #830 with its respective proposal on Oct. 11, as a CSEA representative was not available at the time of the public hearing.

For the 2011-2012 school year, OJUSD and the OTA may each reopen two existing articles of their choice and any article mutually agreed upon between the two parties for negotiation. Salary schedule/health and welfare benefit articles are the reopeners for the district for the 2012-2013 school year. The agreement will be through June 30, 2013.

OJUSD and CSEA will negotiate a successor agreement for the 2012-2013 school year, also for salary schedule/health and welfare benefits, as well as articles on organizational security, evaluation procedures, miscellaneous provisions, term of agreement, and transportation. The agreement will go through June 30, 2014 and continue in effect year-by-year unless one of the parties notifies the other in writing by or before March 18 of the bargaining year of its request to make changes. However, the term of agreement language is subject to negotiation.

In other business, Taylor also gave a report to the board on K-12 enrollment and class size. She said that the district is fairly steady in its enrollment, and up a little this year, unlike other districts that are seeing declining enrollment. The report was based on September numbers this year compared to the same month last year. Total K-6 enrollment is up by 25 students, with a total of 2,627; however, Cloverland Elementary School has seen the largest increase because it’s the overflow school with 53 more students. In the 7-12 grade levels, the total is 2,677, an increase of nine students overall. Oakdale High School has the largest increase there with 15 more students than the same time last year.

Taylor also reviewed average class sizes at each grade level and in certain, specific classes. Trustee Diane Gilbert requested to see a more detailed report of actual numbers in different grade level classes, as opposed to averages.

Also in reports, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum Barbara Shook gave a presentation about sixth grade Outdoor Education to the board. She reviewed details about the camp as well as the numbers of OJUSD students, costs for them to attend, and funds raised by parent teacher organizations and a group called “Campsavers.”

Last year, the cost was $221 per student to attend Outdoor Ed, nearly 90 percent of OJUSD sixth graders participated, for a total cost of about $78,000, plus about $6,000 in teacher/staff stipends. This year, the cost per student is $226 and with expected 90 percent attendance, it’s estimated that the cost will be about $80,000 plus the teacher/staff stipend. Shook said that the district was able to refund about $11,000 to the schools because of the amount of money that was raised. She said that will serve as seed money and the schools’ largest fundraiser Jog-A-Thon happens this week.

Also in other business the Trustees adopted the resolution proclaiming Red Ribbon Celebration, the anti-drug campaign that takes place Oct. 24-28.

The next regular meeting of the OJUSD Board of Trustees will be at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 14 at Oakdale City Council Chambers, 277 N. Second.