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BUSD Fiscal Information
I know there is concern that BUSD is in financial distress. This is not the case. The District prevailed today against LACOE's action for immediate intervention. The Courts denied all relief requested by the County. The District is allowed to continue to operate as a fiscally independent District, the District will continue to provide fiscal information in the manner that it has in the past and was approved under fiscal independence, the District is not required to allow the fiscal advisor into BUSD and the District is able to continue to pay all of its financial obligations. The court has allowed the County an opportunity to amend their complaint, but as of today, BUSD has prevailed on all counts. This is only round one, of what will be a long process there are still other legal actions before the Court. For those that believe this is a waste of taxpayers money, it is. The County is using your money to go after BUSD, and BUSD is having to defend itself from the County’s false claims. This is a money grab by the County. As always, BUSD is in an extremely strong financial position, and the Los Angeles County Office of Education knows this.
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Classified Employee of the Year
Karen Pack is an outstanding member of our classified team. Karen is an original Woodruff Wolf! She started as a kindergarten student at Woodruff 60 years ago! She has been an Instructional Assistant at Woodruff Elementary for over two decades. She goes above and beyond with every task and every student. Her happy place is at Woodruff contributing to the school environment in every possible way. Karen’s nickname is the energizer bunny and her enthusiasm is contagious to all that cross her path. She excels in motivating and engaging individual students or groups to achieve and surpass the learning objectives. There is a genuine care for each student that crosses her path. Karen is dedicated to helping BUSD build futures for our students.
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Feedback on Learning Continuity and Attendance Plan
Good Afternoon BUSD Families, Bellflower Unified School District is interested in your feedback regarding the draft 2020-2021 Learning Continuity and Attendance Plan. This plan describes the District’s planning process for how student learning will be addressed during the COVID -19 crisis this year. We encourage you to visit the BUSD website under the “Our District” tab where you can review a draft of the plan. There will be a public hearing on this item Wednesday, September 23, 2020 at a Special Meeting of the Board of Education. Anyone wishing to give input to the plan, may attend the Special Meeting, or provide input to be read into the record via email at publiccomment@busd.k12.ca.us. For email input to be read into the record, it must be received by 12:00 pm on September 23, 2020. Emails must include your name and address and must not exceed 400 words in order to adhere to the three minute public comment Board Policy. We look forward to your participation and input. English Call 855-256-0402. Enter 68015 on your telephone keypad TEXT A “News Item” has been posted on the BUSD website about the Learning Continuity and Attendance Plan.
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Bellflower Unified School District Teacher of the Year - Wendy Sparks
Wendy Sparks is currently a Math TOSA at Baxter Elementary. In this role she has moved Baxter’s intervention program from a pull out program to a co-teaching model where students are supported in the classroom by two teachers and benefit from working with on track peers. Wendy Sparks is a consummate professional with a growth mindset. She is driven to improve her individual craft and the instructional program for students at Baxter and in the Bellflower Unified School District. She actively seeks out professional development that is based on the needs of students. She is a key member of many District instructional leadership groups, including, the Assessment team, and the Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) team and a mentor for new teachers through our Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) program. Congratulations and a heartfelt thank you for all of her work for the students of BUSD and Baxter Elementary.
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Please Welcome Mayfair High School's New Principal Mr. Mark Kailiponi!
Mr. Mark Kailiponi has worked for 14 years as an educator in the Bellflower Unified School District. He started at Mayfair Middle/High School as an assistant principal working as the middle school assistant principal and as the principal over curriculum and instruction from 2006 to 2013. From 2013 to 2020 Mr. Kailiponi became the principal of Somerset High School working with students, parents and staff to help students that have fallen behind academically to graduate on time and realize their full potential. Mr. Kailiponi looks forward to returning to Mayfair and working with parents, students and staff to continue the work of educational excellence and building futures for the students of Mayfair Middle/High School.
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Please welcome Somerset High School's new Principal, Mr. Cliff Higgins!
Mr. Higgins began his career in education in 1993 as a long-term substitute teacher in the Banning Unified School District in Banning, CA. A year later, Mr. Higgins relocated his family to Inglewood, CA and he was hired as a teacher at Junipero Serra High School in Gardena. Mr. Higgins spent five years at Serra High School and held a number of positions including teacher, athletic director and dean of students. In 1999, Mr. Higgins was hired in the Bellflower Unified School District where he served as a Special Education teacher at Bellflower High School. The following year, Mr. Higgins was named assistant principal at Bellflower and he served in that capacity for seven years. In 1997, Mr. Higgins moved-on to Redondo Union High School in the Redondo Beach Unified School District in the same capacity, and after a brief period of time (two years) at Redondo, Mr. Higgins returned to BUSD as an assistant principal at Mayfair High School, a position he held for eleven years. Mr. Higgins holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from California State University, Northridge, and a Master's of Arts Degree in Secondary Education from Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles. Mr. Higgins is married to his wife of 33 years, and they have two daughters who reside in Silver Spring, Maryland and Washington D.C., respectively. Mr. Higgins is looking forward to proudly serving the students, parents and community of Somerset High School by upholding its long tradition as a Model Continuation High School.
