The School Site Council met September 13th, 2017, for the first time this year. The members discussed: the budget, new tools being used by the school, Back to School Night, a new Campus Resource Officer, the 1:1 devices, and Science Bowl. The council also elected a new president, Patti Moon.

Mrs. Finn began the meeting by discussing the budget. Taft High is going through some budget issues at this time, in which Mrs. Finn confirmed by stating, “We are now in a situation where we are deficit spending.” Taft High is currently working on ways to help bring costs down without affecting students. One dilemma for some students is that Science Bowl, for this year, has been put in the closet.

The campus is also getting a new temporary Campus Resource Officer, Mark Haiungs. He will be starting soon. Haiungs has been put in place due to the absence of Officer Miller, and he will provide a decreased level of service compared to what Officer Miller did. The school is also pursuing a contract through the Kern County Sheriff’s Department as a permanent solution.

The school is also working on getting some new programs going. Taft High has a new program for students who are not performing proficiently in their classes. The Program is called Personalized Academic Center, and is an alternative to Buena Vista High School. Mrs. Finn commented on the program saying, “It is not every kid in the program doing the same thing.” The program’s main goal is to help students and keep them at Taft High.

The Student Site Council covered many of the events that happened over the last month. The meetings are open to everyone, and the tentative date for the next meeting is November 29th, 2017. These meetings can be very informative for those who want to know more about what is happening at Taft High.