Monrovia Schools Restore Some Cuts with Passage of Prop 30

The Monrovia Unified School District Board of Education authorized the
restoration of five school days and one staff development day for the
2013-2014 school year as a result of proactive fiscal management and
new state revenue, Superintendent Linda Wagner announced today. In
addition, the board also announced the end of salary reductions for
school employees.

Due to ongoing state budget cuts and declines in revenue, the school
district had been forced to reduce student and staff development days
over the last three years, as well as institute an across-the-board
three percent salary reduction for school employees. However, as a
result of proactive and smart fiscal management by the school district
and the passage of Proposition 30 in Nov, the school board was able to
restore all cuts to days and end the salary reduction.

"Our students and our schools owe a big thank you to the voters for
supporting Proposition 30," said Monrovia Unified School District
Superintendent Linda Wagner. "Despite budget cuts from the state, we
pulled together and found solutions that ensured our students
continued to receive the level of education they deserve. Our
teachers, staff and the school board should be commended for their
efforts over the last few years."

Over the last three years, Monrovia school leaders have taken
proactive steps to reduce costs and protect local schools from the
impacts of state budget cuts. In addition to reducing school days and
employee pay, the school district has adopted other local cost-saving
measures, including:
- Reduced administrative support in K-8 schools
- Modified library hours
- Streamlined adult education course offerings
- Created greater efficiencies with textbook ordering

The new school days will be a part of the 2013-2014 academic schedule,
which will be made available in the Spring of 2013. Restoration of
employee salaries will coincide with the start of the new school year.

For more information, please visit www.monroviaschools.net.

Source: School District press release

- Brad Haugaard

Fellowship Monrovia: Toys for 350 Children

According to a Facebook post, the church, Fellowship Monrovia, has adopted 350 children in low-income families and is collecting toys today for their parents to give them at Christmas.

- Brad Haugaard

Biking Saves Life of Owner of Stan's Monrovia Bike Shop

Feature article about Carlos Morales, new owner of Stan's Monrovia Bike Shop, and how biking saved Morales' life. http://goo.gl/QC8ak

- Brad Haugaard

Wild Motorcycles Made in Monrovia

Check out the video of a wild motorcycle created by Dugally MADercycles of Monrovia. Had no idea a company like this was located in town. http://goo.gl/woc78 . And here's its website: http://dugallery.com/

- Brad Haugaard

Local Reaction to Connecticut Killings.

Monrovia Patch has a good round-up of local leaders'  reaction to the tragic killings in Connecticut. http://goo.gl/sbBr8

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia Soccer Star Trying Out to Play Major League Soccer

Monrovian Joe Franco (partial bio: http://goo.gl/jIwtE ), who led Cal State Northridge to "its most successful season in seven years" and was "the 2012 Big West Defender of the Year," will get a chance to try out to play Major League Soccer.

Franco was invited to the 2013 Adidas MLS Player Combine in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, from Jan. 11-15, where he will demonstrate his skills to coaches from the 19 MLS clubs, giving him the chance of being drafted on Jan. 17.

Only 54 players have been invited to the Combine so far this year and only 38 will be drafted in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft on Jan. 17 in Indianapolis.

Source: Major League Soccer press release

- Brad Haugaard

Lunch at Remodeled Jim's Burger

Lunch at the remodeled Jim's Burger at Sixth and Duarte Road. It is remodeled on the outside but identical on the inside, including the good burgers. Got a cheeseburger with avocado for $4.85 plus the cost of an iced tea and tax. Liked it.

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia's 'French Tip' Robber | School Soon Out | Santa Schedule | Unity Center

~ Photos of Monrovia's "French Tip" Chase bank robbery suspect: http://goo.gl/Rh1oy

~ Monrovia schools will be out on Christmas break starting Dec. 20. Drive safely! http://goo.gl/sJZLE

~ Santa tour schedule here: http://goo.gl/KLSKG

~ Monrovia's Unity Center prepared more than 1,500 students for school in August. Also, the center is looking for volunteer truck drivers and packers, and money for dental services and hygiene kits for the homeless. Call: 358-3486. The Center's latest newsletter: http://goo.gl/6FPpS

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia Council May Impose Settlement on Firefighters, Will Hear Report on Gold Line Improvements, Chat With Lawyers

At its December 18 meeting (agenda: http://goo.gl/ThA4I ), the Monrovia City Council will...

~ Consider imposing its "last, best and final offer" on the city firefighters since the union voted the offer down and the city and union are now at an "impasse." Implementing this would include "the suspension of merit salary adjustments and the Longevity/Performance Bonus Program. In addition, members will pay 6% (2/3) of the employee cost (9%) of the Public Employees' Retirement Benefit." This would save the city $208,000 a year, but there would be increases of about $34,000, which I gather means the savings would be about $174,000. Source: http://goo.gl/pFK6C

~ Hear a report on planned public improvements for the Station Square Transit Village. (That's the area around the planned Monrovia Gold Line station.) Here's the report: http://goo.gl/lVOEo

~ Meet in closed session to discuss three lawsuits and one property negotiation, all of which appear to be connected with the Gold Line development. http://goo.gl/MfPSA

- Brad Haugaard

Celebrate New Year's Eve in Old Town Monrovia

On New Year's Eve, 7 p.m. to midnight in Old Town, a live band, ball drop and a beer and wine garden.

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia Police: The Dogs Bark in Vain, Meth Arrest, Burglary

[Monrovia Police activities from the Police Department's Neighborhood Watch Report for Dec. 10-12 – Brad Haugaard]

During the last seven-day period, the Police Department handled 421 service events, resulting in 81 investigations.

Possession of Methamphetamine for Sale – Suspect Arrested

December 11 at 12:28 a.m., police received a call reporting suspicious individuals in the 300 block of West Palm. When officers approached, they saw a male subject hide something in a bush. Methamphetamine and cash was recovered. The suspect, who is currently on parole, was arrested and taken into custody.

Vehicle Burglary

December 12 at 5:07 a.m., a vehicle burglary was reported by a resident in the 500 block of Date Court. The vehicle was parked on the second level of a parking structure between midnight and 5:00 a.m. The victim reported that he locked his vehicle. There were no signs of forced entry. Tools were stolen from the vehicle. Investigation continuing.

Hot-Prowl Burglary

December 12 at 11:26 p.m., a hot-prowl residential burglary was reported in the 1300 block of South Primrose. The victim left for work at 8:00 a.m. She locked her bedroom door before leaving. When she returned at 11:15 p.m., she found her bedroom had been ransacked and her jewelry had been stolen. The suspect had removed the screen from an unlocked rear window to enter the bedroom. The victim's mother was in the house when the crime occurred, but did not hear or see anything suspicious. Another family member was in the rear house, which faces the point of entry. The family's dogs were heard barking at approximately 4:00 p.m., but no one checked to see what was disturbing them. Investigation continuing.

Monrovia Firm Starts 'Koupon Kitty' Internet Company

Monrovia's venture capital firm, Juvo Capital (in the old Dogwood's market - http://goo.gl/9rHNS ), has started a new company called Koupon Kitty, a web browser "bookmarklet" to provide coupons for online shoppers: http://kouponkitty.com/

Source: http://goo.gl/GKEfQ

- Brad Haugaard

The Snake Belly Bridge is Now Done

The next time you drive under the new Gold Line bridge on the 210 Freeway, remember that you are lower than a snake's belly. Yup, the bottom of the bridge is patterned after a diamondback rattler.

Today the Gold Line folks gave the media a tour of the new 210 Freeway bridge, which (congrats!) was completed on time and on budget.

The press materials describe the bridge this way: "The 584-foot dual track Gold Line Bridge is anchored by two 25-foot 'baskets' that pay tribute to the indigenous peoples of the San Gabriel Valley and the oversize iconic roadside traditions of nearby Route 66. The serpentine main underbelly of the bridge features casted grooves and hatch-marks that simulate the patterns found on the Western Diamondback snake, metaphorically referencing the spine of the transit system. As the most visible element of one of the region's largest transit projects, the bridge serves as the Gateway to the San Gabriel Valley."

I wondered how much the art work that decorates the bridge cost. Answer: About $1 million of the $18.6 million cost or about five percent. But as a percentage of the total cost of the Foothill Extension, about half a percent.

A bit of trivia: Spokesman Habib Baluan said that a lot of the old rails that are being pulled up will be reused in the Line's maintenance yard in Monrovia.

- Brad Haugaard

Disney Animators Work on Monrovia Church Production | Rain? | Rowland Over Monrovia :-(

~ From Twitter: "Fellowship Monrovia has teamed up with top notch Disney animators in order to produce a custom made cartoon for our Miracle on Myrtle event!" Dec. 23 at 5 p.m. in Library Park.

~ Should be getting some rain tomorrow. http://goo.gl/y1aun

~ Rowland High School basketball over Monrovia. http://goo.gl/uDrsN

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia Community Planning Meeting

Community meeting to give ideas for Plan Monrovia, the city's five-year plan, at the Community Center. Ten tables for about six people each. Roughly 48 community members. Each table with a tall flip chart on which to write ideas. Some preliminaries from Mayor Mary Ann Lutz and City Manager Laurie Lile, then small group discussions, reporting on small group discussions, then voting on priorities. If you missed it there will be another meeting on Jan. 12 at Calvary Chapel (just south of the freeway). It's pretty painless. Give it a try.

- Brad Haugaard

Plan Monrovia on TV

NBC has a report on Plan Monrovia. http://goo.gl/t895Q

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia's State Senator Proposes Making Taxes Easier to Pass

A few days ago State Senator Carol Liu, who represents Monrovia, introduced a bill before the State Senate to make it easier to pass taxes for transportation projects.

The bill would lower the percentage of voters required to pass a tax from two-thirds to 55 percent. Here's the gist:

"This measure would provide that the imposition, extension, or increase of a special tax by a local government for the purpose of providing funding for local transportation projects requires the approval of 55% of its voters voting on the proposition. The measure would also make conforming and technical, nonsubstantive changes."

Source: http://goo.gl/4vfVy

- Brad Haugaard

Help Monrovia Develop Its Five-Year Plan

Give your ideas for Monrovia's five-year plan Tuesday (Dec. 11) at 7 p.m. at the Community Center, 19 W Palm Ave., across the street from the Library on the north side. Plan Monrovia is "a strategic planning process that engages and solicits community feedback to build a roadmap for Monrovia for the next five years."

- Brad Haugaard

Superintendent Wagner on District's Capital Appreciation Bonds

By Superintendent Linda Wagner

Recently, there has been press about capital appreciation bonds (CABs), and the cost of these bonds to taxpayers. CABs accrue interest which is paid in full at the time bonds mature, similar to federal government savings bonds. The Monrovia Unified School District was featured in a Los Angeles Times article focusing on this issue, and because of this, we would like to provide our local bond supporters with information regarding the status of Monrovia’s bonds. We are extremely grateful to the voters in our community for their support of bonds that have funded recent student housing projects. We take our responsibilities seriously; not only as educators of the students we serve, but also as stewards of local bond dollars.

The following provides answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about CABs.

What are Capital Appreciation Bonds and why use them?
Capital Appreciation Bonds, or CABs, are bonds in which all accrued interest is paid at the time the bonds mature, similar to a Federal government savings bond. The one-time payment at maturity includes all of the interest accumulated over the life of the bonds. Given that investors of municipal bond CABs do not receive any payments until the maturity date, they require a slightly higher interest rate to compensate for the delayed receipt of semi-annual payments.

In the case of a typical 30 year home mortgage, a buyer usually ends up paying much more than the purchase price; usually two to three times the original amount over the life of the loan, depending on the interest rate. Similarly, the repayment amount of bonds generally ends up costing two to three times the amount for which they were originally issued. In Monrovia’s case, that repayment calculation for the 1997 bond election is 2.90 and the 2006 repayment ratio is 2.40.

Districts choose CABs for several reasons:

1) School facilities will be used for many generations. CABs allow the District to spread part of the burden of paying for school facilities out to the future, giving some relief to current taxpayers who might otherwise pay what could be considered more than their fair share given the future use of these buildings to generations that will follow.

2) CABs allow schools to make the most of their General Obligation (GO) bonds by accessing dollars at the time the bond is passed, and therefore making use of the current construction costs. If it were not for the CAB portion of a District’s portfolio, construction would have to wait until bond dollars were available. In our case, it is estimated we would have had to wait years longer to access the dollars and begin construction than we were able to access using CABs. In many cases, during that delay, inflation can rise and construction costs can increase.

3) The voters in a given area likely passed the bond for student housing reasons, as was the case in Monrovia. CABs allow students to be housed in effective classroom buildings, providing a boost in the academic experience for current students, rather than waiting years to commence construction.

What is the status of Monrovia’s bonds relating to capital appreciation bonds?

The District has always been attentive to the costs associated with bond dollars. The LA County Treasurer's office participated in all the District's bond sales and approved both the interest rates and the structure (including the issuance of the CABs). In both bond programs (1997 and 2006) the District had a combined repayment ratio of 2.62 to 1 (principal and interest repaid as a ratio of the amount of principal borrowed). Our District has prudently managed its 1997 and 2006 bond election financings to take advantage of all available options to save taxpayers money.

What are the bond repayment ratios for Monrovia?

The 1997 Bond Election had an overall repayment ratio of 2.90 to 1.
The 2006 Bond Election had an overall repayment ratio of 2.40 to 1.
Combined, all of the bonds issued by the District had a repayment ratio of 2.62 to 1.

What is the media focusing on?
The LA Times story focused on the repayment ratio, which measures the combined interest and principal repayment compared to the original bond amount issued.  As noted in the story, the CA Treasurer has recommended that the ratio not exceed 4.0. With the exception of the 1997 Election Series B Bonds that were sold in 2000 with a repayment ratio of 4.8, none of the District's bond series has exceeded a 4.0 repayment ratio.

One misleading and deceptive aspect of the story is that the list focused only on the CAB portion of the bond issuance, as opposed to the total repayment of each bond series. What impacts taxpayers is the overall repayment of the bonds when taking into account every aspect of the bond program, including the other bonds issued. Picking out the CABs, as in the LA Times story, is comparable to evaluating a 30-year home mortgage after the first three or four years and asking “why did you pay over 80% in just interest during these years?" without looking at the overall repayment of the mortgage. What impacts taxpayers is the overall repayment of the bonds when taking into account every aspect of the bond program, including other bonds issued.

We thank you for your support of the new facilities at Monrovia High School. They are making a positive difference each and every day for Monrovia High School students, and will for generations to come.

Monrovia Police: Beer Bust, Mething Around With Cell Phone While Driving, Sleeping in Mid-Street, Etc.

[Monrovia Police activities from the Police Department's Neighborhood Watch Report for Dec. 6-9. - Brad Haugaard]

 

Following are the weekend's highlighted issues and events.

 

Vandalism

December 8 at 5:12 a.m., an employee at a business in the 100 block of West Foothill called to report that the glass front window of the neighboring business had been smashed.  Officers responded and checked for any evidence.  The investigation is continuing.

 

Commercial Burglary - Suspect Arrested

December 8 at 7:06 p.m., a burglary was reported at a business in the 300 block of West Huntington.  A male suspect entered the business and went directly to an isle, where he placed two three-packs of beer under his sweater.  A store employee observed him leaving the store without attempting to pay and pursued him.  The suspect was apprehended by the store employee and convinced to return to the store.  He admitted to entering the store with the intent to steal the beer without any means or intent to pay for it.  He was arrested and charged with burglary.

 

Possession of a Controlled Substance - Suspect Arrested

December 8 at 9:36 p.m., the Monrovia Special Enforcement Team was assisting the El Monte Police Department in the containment of an armed robbery suspect and they were checking cars leaving the area for the suspect.  They observed a driver nearly collide with the car in front of him as he was talking on his cell phone.  They stopped him and while investigating the driver for possible driving under the influence, they observed a small baggie containing a white crystalline substance on the seat of the car.  The substance turned out to be methamphetamine.  The driver was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance.

 

Traffic Collision - Light Signal Damaged

December 10 at 12:27 a.m., a male driver who was not paying attention to his driving while looking for a gas station collided into a light signal mounted on a center island.  The signal was damaged and will need to be replaced.  The Monrovia Fire Department and Southern California Edison responded to turn off the power to the loose wires. 

 

Driving Under the Influence - Suspect Arrested

December 10 at 2:17 a.m., a male driver stopped his vehicle in the middle of the roadway at Mayflower and Duarte Road, turned the ignition off and fell asleep, leaving his headlights on and the car in drive with the keys in the ignition.  Passersby called police to check on the welfare of the subject.  When officers arrived, they discovered the driver was heavily intoxicated.  He was arrested for driving under the influence.