Starting Our Next Chapter

and I promise no April Fool's jokes.

Author

Charles DiFazio
April 01, 2025

If you haven't seen the big news, during our Special Meeting on March 22, the Mountain View Whisman School Board identified a finalist for Superintendent, pending contract negotiations and approval by the board.

As a new board member, it’s been quite the journey ramping up and working with our Interim Superintendents, Dr. Kevin Skelly and Jeffrey Baier, over the past few months. I want to thank them for their service and guidance, and thank all the community members and stakeholders who participated in the superintendent search process. The feedback from the community helped the board understand what the community was looking for in our next superintendent.

If approved at the meeting later this week, I look forward to having Mr. Baier continue to help lead the district. We have an amazing future ahead of us as a district, and lots of opportunities to continue to serve all of our students, staff members, families, and community.

As always, I hold weekly office hours on Fridays, so don't hesitate to book a slot if you'd like to meet! You can also send me an email at my official district address, [email protected] with questions, comments, or feedback.

Board Meeting

The Thursday, April 3, 2025 meeting begins at 4:30 PM with closed session until 6:00 PM. Here are some items on the agenda:

Superintendent Employment Agreement

The board of Trustees will consider approving the Superintendent Employment Agreement by and between Jeffrey Baier and the Governing Board, effective April 1, 2025.

There is not much more to say about this item! If approved by the board, Jeffrey Baier will officially be our new Superintendent.

Education Updates

There are three updates on some core education topics: Special Education, Reading Difficulty Risk Screening, and our Multilingual Learner program. Each of these will be presented by staff for discussion and feedback.

We are doing such great work in the district, I'm glad to be able to dedicate board time to reviewing these updates. Even with the challenges identified in some of these areas, we will continue to iterate to deliver world-class educations to each and every child in the district.

Rent Concession Staff Housing

During our Staff Housing Study Session, we discussed potentially making rent concessions during the lease-up phase of bringing our Staff Housing at The Sevens online.

Staff is recommending the approval of a rent concession initiative for potential tenants in the District’s staff housing building. Under this proposal, eligible tenants will receive the equivalent of two months' rent as a concession.

If approved, this will allow potential tenants to bridge the gap between their existing leases and moving in to staff housing. This will help us incentivize some employees that may not be prepared to move due to lease timing.

Upcoming Events

The district is updating its math curriculum, and, as part of the process, you have likely received a survey for feedback on your thoughts. The survey runs until April 4, and it is open to all staff, parents, and students in grades 4-8.

Spring break is next week, so I hope everyone has a restful vacation!