Meeting began at 12:31 called to order by Andrew Stearns
Pledge: Wes Sadumiano
Inspiration: Gary Allison: Found a message in his library that relates to Rotary.
Tell three people today how much you love them. How important it is to tell people how much you care and do not put it off or wait. Call or write a note or tell them in person. Challenged each of us to call someone today or tomorrow and tell them.
Greeter: Patti van den Burg. No visiting Rotarians or guests today.
Member Spotlight: Jeffrey Blum. Joined Rotary in Jan. 2021 because it is aligned with his values. Rotary is a positive force, builds good will and community. He has made new friends and Rotary also takes him out of his comfort zone, which is a good thing. He loves being a member.
Membership Minute: Lisa Cheskin. May 13 was the new member schmooze. Suzanne gave a presentation on finances. There were 12 people in attendance.
Margaret Smith was re-inducted into our club.
Rotary Foundation and Polio Plus: we are behind in our club with pledges for TRF. Only 12% of the membership has contributed and we have only collected $10,000 of a $25,000 goal.
We as a club are also behind on our pledges for Polio Plus. If you wish to donate by credit card contact Dan Snyder, and if you wish to write a check send it to Avis. Dan will send an email out to all members asking for pledges for both RTF and Polio Plus. You can also go to rotary.org to make a direct monthly payment to TRF and our club gets the credit. We receive 40-50% of the donations back to our club to use as needed.
Suggested donation ask: TRF: $200.00 and Polio Plus: $100.00, but any amount is welcome and appreciated.
Vocabulary Lesson: Andrew Stearns said that there are 1200 new words connected to the coronavirus. Some examples: new normal, covid fatigue, quarantining, covinated, zoom bombing and doom scrolling.
Club Announcements:
- Board Meeting is May 20, 2021 at 5pm
- Second Harvest Food Bank volunteer event will take place on July 10 , 10:30-2:30. Save the date, signups in June.
- Santa Maria Donations continue: they can use clothes and some packaged foods, no books
- Roast and Toast is June 29, 2021 at Villa Ragusa in Campbell.
- Leigh High Scholl Interactors are still doing personal shopping
- Background Avatar challenge next week: First Automobile or combustion engine mode of transportation
- St. Luke’s Volunteers: thank you!
- How are we doing with our pollinator plants? Make sure we are attracting, bees and butterflies
- Remember that you can sign into a meeting from anywhere
Twenty for Twenty:
- John Colwell - $50 to the Scholarship fund because he joined the meeting from Kauai and because he loves all the Rotarians
- Tina Orsi-Hartigan - $20 because she loves and respects John Colwell but that was not always the case
- John Pencer - $50 to the Charities fund because he went fishing on the Missouri River with his son and John McCleve and his son
- Sarita - $20 because she has known and loved John Colwell for 55 years.
Guest Speaker:
Paul Johnson, the LGUSD Superintendent accompanied by Dan Snyder
State of the State of LGUSD
He appreciates everything that rotary does for the district. New vision for the district is: Service Above Self
90-95% of students are back in school in person at the Elementary level and 75% at the Middle School level. They are in class all morning until 12:30, and then they have rotating lunches and virtual classes and electives in the afternoon.
They were one of the first districts to do Roomers and Zoomers, teaching in person and online simultaneously.
Los Gatos Schools are the heart of our community; they have lots of community support. 60% of their teachers have advanced degrees.
Finances:
12.3%-State and Federal Funding
75.9%-Property Taxes
5.4%-Donations
6.4%-Parcel Tax
88% is made up from local funding
Measure B Parcel Tax funds highly qualified teachers. They receive $290 per year per parcel. 23 teachers are funded by the parcel tax. The district will lose 15% of teachers if the parcel tax expires which is equivalent to 1 Elementary School. LGUSD is behind 18% in funding in comparison to other comparable school districts.
Recommendations:
Focus on protecting and expanding Core academics and STEAM.
Renewing and Increasing Measure B.
We need to keep our schools competitive. District is committed to delivering the best education for students.
Meeting was adjourned at 1:31.