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SACRAMENTO – The Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday approved the following bills by Sen. Patricia Wiggins (D – Santa Rosa):
– SB 557, which seeks to include qualified doctors of audiology among those medical professionals who may be appointed by the administrative director of the Division of Workers' Compensation as qualified medical evaluators.
The bill’s sponsor, the California Academy of Audiology, asserts that an audiologist is the most qualified professional to determine whether a hearing loss would impair a worker's ability or whether a hearing loss was secondary to noise exposure on the job.
– SB 565, which would create the position of hospital and health services director at the Yountville Veterans’ Home.
Yountville is the only state veterans’ home with a hospital. Yountville has an emergency room, skilled nursing facility, pharmacy, and an Alzheimer unit. Yountville has a medical director and a nursing director but no one to administer and coordinate the medical care and medical personnel for all the facilities on the property.
Veterans and veterans’ advocacy groups believe that patients would be better served with a hospital and health services director on-site.
– SB 581, which would transfer the Volunteer Firefighters Length of Service Award System away from CalPERS and direct administrative responsibilities of the program to the California State Fire Employees Welfare Benefit Corporation.
Currently there are approximately 54 fire departments participating in the program, and 128 volunteer firefighters who are receiving monthly payments and who are eligible for the death benefit. The total membership is comprised of 3,983 volunteer firefighters and the balance in the fund is approximately $2.6 million.
In 1998, CalPERS changed the methods and assumptions it used in determining the administrative costs of the VFLSA. Since that time, the administrative costs have increased from $10,000 to an estimated cost of $139,025 for 2007-08.
The system is funded entirely by contributions from contracting fire entities and investment earnings.
– SB 861, which would authorize the North Coast Railroad Authority (NCRA) to use $5.5 million in previously allocated state funds for environmental cleanup of rail lines.
Specifically, this bill would allow the NCRA to use $5.5 million in funds allocated through the Transportation Congestion Relief Program to meet cleanup obligations under an environmental remediation consent decree ($4 million), along with some administrative responsibilities.
The authority would be prohibited from spending more than $500,000 annually on administrative expenses.
Monday's actions mean that all four bills are now eligible for a vote by the full Senate.
Wiggins represents California’s 2nd Senate District, which stretches from Solano County to Humboldt County and includes part or all of Lake, Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma Counties as well. Visit her Web site at http://dist02.casen.govoffice.com/.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
CLEARLAKE – Oak Hill Middle School will receive more than $2 million over the next several years to help reduce class sizes and boost performance.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell recently submitted to the State Board of Education a list of 488 low-performing schools from throughout California that will receive dramatically increased new funding to invest in programs aimed at boosting student achievement. Oak Hill was on that list.
The funds, according to O'Connell's office, were allocated through the Quality Education Investment Act that was passed last summer.
The act was part of a settlement of a lawsuit filed by O’Connell and the California Teachers Association against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the California Department of Finance for failing to properly fund Proposition 98 in the 2004-05 and 2005-06 budget years.
"The Quality Education Investment Act allows us to invest significant resources for some of our lowest-performing schools," O’Connell said. "We can change the direction of these schools by hiring new, motivated teachers, decreasing class size, improving the student-to-counselor ratio, and providing more assistance and training for existing teachers and principals.”
The Quality Education Investment Act provides $2.7 billion over seven years to the selected schools, O'Connell's office reported.
When the Act is fully implemented by fiscal year 2008-09, the funds will be distributed on a basis of $500 per pupil for grades kindergarten through third, $900 per pupil in grades fourth through eighth, and $1,000 per pupil for grades ninth through 12th. In the initial funding year (fiscal year 2007-08), the amount distributed to schools will be slightly lower.
Schools eligible for the new Quality Education Investment Act funding were elementary, secondary, and charter schools that ranked in the lower deciles of 1 or 2 as determined by the 2005 Academic Performance Index (API) base.
Oak Hill's 2006 Academic Performance Index score was 620, the second-lowest score in the district.
Oak Hill, which has grades sixth through eighth, will receive $332,971 for six years, with a smaller amount the first year, said Konocti Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Louise Nan.
Beginning in the 2007-08 academic year, Nan said the school will start receiving funds for startup and planning purposes.
“The main focus of the grant is to reduce class size to 25 or fewer students and provide professional development,” she said.
The professional development includes 40 hours of training per teacher, she said.
The school's contract limit is current 32 students per teacher, said Nan. “We staff at around 29 to 1.”
Class sizes vary depending on the subject area, said Nan, with physical education classes having the largest enrollments.
The school must undergo academic reviews of test scores, and meet specific goals over the first three years of the grant in order to remain eligible for the funds, Nan explained.
At the end of seven years, the district must be prepared to “ramp down,” said Nan, which would include going back to regular class sizes.
“That could result in a layoff of staff,” she said, although normal staff attrition – such as through retirement – could reduce staff without layoffs.
The Quality Education Investment Act, said nan, is “an experiment in adequate funding,” with the state interested in seeing if more money really works in solving the problems of certain schools.
“If there is a strong difference, perhaps the legislature will see its way clear to continue funding the program in the long run,” she said.
As to why Oak Hill has been a lower-performing school, Nan said the district has been exploring that question.
“We've just completed a complete review through a district school liaison team,” she said.
The school district's board recently approved the team's recommendations, and will begin implementing them in the 2008-09 school year.
One of the primary recommendations suggests breaking up Oak Hill into a group of smaller “learning communities,” a process Nan said would have taken place even without the Quality Education Investment Act funds. Those changes at Oak Hill will begin next fall.
The learning communities will be established within each grade level and will include the core academic areas of math, science, history, social science, and language arts, according to the recommendations.
Teams of teachers will share the same group of students throughout the day in order to create a “school within a school,” the plan says. Focus will be placed on creating a culture of success for all students, and teachers will be trained in strategies aimed at engaging students in particular grades and subjects, the plan says.
Staff culture will be encouraged to create a culture of “Our Kids” vs. “The Kids,” which will include adding student activities and celebrations, mentoring programs between grades, social skills classes, repairing the school's exterior in time for the new school year, increase a feeling of safety at the campus through a perimeter fence, and coordinating community volunteer activities at the school, according to the report.
Schools that submitted applications were then randomly selected using a process that accounted for statutory requirements for geographic and grade-level distribution.
Up to $2 million will be allocated to county offices of education across the state to annually monitor the implementation of this investment program in funded schools.
Upper Lake High School Principal/Superintendent Patrick Iaccino had reported earlier this year his intention of applying for the funds, however, that school wasn't listed among the recipient schools. Iaccino could not be reached for comment for this article.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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LAKEPORT – The Lakeport Fire District is asking the community to come and give them a hand in supporting a young family struggling with a serious health issue.
Lakeport Fire Chief Ken Wells said Chad Parlee – a fire district volunteer since 1990 – and his wife, Brandi, recently found out their 9-year-old daughter, Halee, has encephalitis.
Since her diagnosis, Halee has been receiving treatment at the Oakland Children's Hospital, Wells reported. “I don't think we could even imagine what the costs are,” Wells said.
Chad Parlee works as an airplane mechanic at Lampson Field, said Wells, and the young working-class family is struggling with Halee's medical costs.
But firefighters are used to helping those in need, and so Wells and his department are organizing a Saturday benefit to help the family.
Wells said the pancake breakfast fundraiser will be held on Sunday, May 20, at the Lakeport Fire main station, 445 N. Main St.
Firefighters will serve up a complete breakfast, including pancakes, sausage, bacon, eggs and coffee, from 7:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.
“Hopefully it will go longer,” said Wells.
Many area businesses are donating to the effort, said Wells. “Everybody's kicking in.”
Those who have donated to the fundraiser, Wells reported, are Lakeport McDonald's, Longs Drugs, Park Place, Hi-Way Grocery, The Cottage Coffee Shop, Renee's Cafe, Perko's, Grocery Outlet, Shoreline Restaurant, Bruno's Shop Smart and Safeway.
The community is urged to come enjoy breakfast Sunday – come early and stay late – and help the Parlees as they get Halee the medical help she needs.
For more information or to make donations, call Lakeport Fire, 263-4396.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED.
NICE – A man who reportedly ran in front of a vehicle and was hit survived with relatively minor injuries.
The California Highway Patrol reported that they received a call at 3:48 p.m. Tuesday that a man had fallen from the back of a vehicle on Highway 20 in front of the Harbor Bar & Grill in Nice.
Thomas Rice, 27, was found to have a head injury but was conscious and alert, the CHP reported.
While investigating the incident, authorities discovered Rice hadn't fallen from a vehicle, but had actually run in front of a 2007 Saturn driven by Amy Zingone of Clearlake Oaks and been hit, according to CHP Officer Josh Dye.
Rice was taken to Sutter Lakeside Hospital, the CHP reported. Dye said Rice suffered lacerations to his face, abrasions to his head and right hand, and a pelvic fracture.
The cause of the collision was listed as public intoxication and failing to yield the right of way when not in a crosswalk, Dye reported.
Authorities said Rice would be arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct when released from the hospital.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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