Trustee Ernst Resigns, Dolan’s Contract Approved

It was a short, but sweet meeting of the Board of Trustees. Here are the highlights:

Trustee Jim Ernst resigns from the board

In a letter to Solano County Superintendent of Schools Jay Speck, Jim Ernst resigned from the board, Interim Superintendent Brian Dolan said during the meeting.

Ernst’s last day is set for Sept. 15. Because the resignation is so close to the November election – – the law prohibits the board from appointing someone to fill in for Ernst, Dolan said.

News of Ernst’s resignation did not seem to shock the trustees, both Gabby and Ernst were not at the meeting, as none commented on the resignation and it has been publicly declared by Ernst that he was not seeking re-election.

Interim Superintendent Brian Dolan’s Contract approved

The board approved a contract for Dolan and decided to hire an assistant for Dolan who will help him with everything from clerical work to taking notes during the board meetings.

Trustee Herb Cross said that the 12-month contract carries a salary of $208,660. Cross said that Halberg would have earned $241,000 during the same time period. He said Dolan’s contract calls for 13 percent less compensation from Halberg’s.

Cross also pointed out that not hiring someone to fill in Dolan’s role as assistant superintendent saves the district about $120,000. Instead, the board chose to hire an administrative assistant at a yearly salary of roughly $50,000 to serve as Dolan’s assistant and to provide other functions.

The contract runs through June 30, 2012, and includes a 30-day opt out should Dolan decide to step down from the interim superintendent’s role or the board decide that it would like to look for a new superintendent.

“I do want to thank Mr. Dolan for stepping up to the place and giving us a savings I think that shows leadership and shows the man he is to set forth this district as what we need,” Trustee Gil Pinon said.

“Ditto,” Trustee Irina Okhremtchouk said. “ Also thank you for actually not replacing yourself and saving us some money.”

“I think this meets our expectations as a board and we are pleased with the outcome of this,” added Cross.

Dolan's yet-to-be-hired assistant will also be responsible for gathering information from each of the schools within the district, being the lead on the district’s new web site, and taking notes during meetings.

Contingency Plan for Graduation

The board last night began taking steps to formulate a contingency plan should a repeat happen of the

Everyone was shocked at the June 4 cancellation of the Class of 2011’s graduation ceremony. Overnight rains that continued throughout the morning of the graduation made for unsafe conditions out on the field. Officials reacted by postponing the graduation ceremony until the following week.

Many individuals to postpone the ceremony, given that the school had told everyone that the ceremony would happen rain or shine. It’s a scenario that the board would like to avoid in the future and hence began the process of coming up with a contingency plan.

Dolan recommended to the board that the seeds of the plan be planted at . He told the board that the matter should go back to the school and perhaps, at the recommendation of Trustee Gil Pinon, be taken up by the student council at DHS.

Dixon High is expected to return to the board at a future meeting with its recommendations for a contingency plan.