Monday, March 22, 2021 LASD Board meeting will start its open session at 7:00pm and it will be held using the Zoom webinar platform. To register in advance for the meeting, click here. The entire agenda and supporting documentation for this week's meeting can be found here.
First up, Jeff Baier will give a School Reopening update. This is a discussion item and there is no presentation available yet to review under agenda H.1. I expect the presentation to cover the status of reopening school 5 days a week this Spring in light of the new guidance from the CDC regarding safe distancing changing from 6ft to 3ft, among a general update about how the rest of our physical school reopening has been progressing. Next up, Greg Drummond and Bhavna Narula will give an Equity Task Force Update. This is an action item and their presentation and supporting documentation can be found under agenda item H.2 using the link provided above. This specific update focuses on 1 of 9 of LASD's Equity Policy Focus Areas involving curriculum and instructional materials. Staff is asking the Board to adopt a framework to guide instruction of equity, diversity, inclusion, anti-bias, and social justice. In their supporting documentation they show the barriers we had to meet our focus of adopting age-appropriate curriculum and instructional materials that teach such, and recommendations for the District to overcome those barriers, including adopting a framework outlined in the Social Justice Standards supporting documentation. I look forward to hearing more about the work the Equity Task Force has been doing and am pleased with the work I have seen so far. Then, Jeff will present a Resolution Denouncing Hate Crimes Targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. This is an action and the resolution can be found under agenda item H.3. The Board is asked to approve this resolution in support of our AAPI allies to condemn hateful actions that they have historically been subjected to and more recently subjected to in reaction to the COVID-19. Mr. Kenyon will next present our Collective Bargaining Agreement with CSEA (our staff union). This is an action item and the agreement and supporting documentation can be found under agenda item H.4. This is the collective bargaining agreement with LASD non certificated staff (not teachers). This agreement gives them the same salary increase (2%) we agreed to for the teachers a couple of weeks ago and extends the definition of family illness to include COVID related purposes. The Board is asked to approve the agreement. Ms. Erin Green will then present LASD's Comprehensive School Safety Plans. This is an action item and her presentation and the plans for all 9 schools and our District Office can be found under agenda item H.5. Every year, each site must update their Comprehensive Safety Plan and it must be presented to the Board for its approval. It covers physical and mental safety and, in a word, is comprehensive. Check out your personal school site's plan to learn more about what has been done and what is in store. Lastly, Board members and Staff will report on the meetings they participated in during CSBA Legislative Action Week. Sadly, I had technical glitches which meant I never received Zoom invitations for the meetings I signed up for, but I have been advocating consistently with our higher up elected officials since the beginning of this pandemic in the best interests of LASD safe school reopening including, most recently, for opening vaccinations to educators and better guidance on safe distancing in classrooms. Please note, these are just the highlights of what to expect at our 3/22/2021 meeting. You can inform yourself about the rest of the agenda at the link provided above. As always, feel free to email me with any questions.
0 Comments
Monday, March 8, 2021 LASD Board meeting will start its open session at 7:00pm and it will be held using the Zoom webinar platform. To register in advance for the meeting, click here. The entire agenda and supporting documentation for this week's meeting can be found here.
First up is a continued discussion of School Reopening. This is a discussion item and Jeff Baier's presentation can be found under agenda H.1 using the link provided above. Because of Santa Clara County's push forward into the Red Tier, we are able to physically open our Junior Highs! On March 8th, our 7th graders will physically go back in hybrid and on March 15th, our 8th graders will go back. I am thrilled all of our student that want to go back in person will now have that opportunity! Furthermore, Santa Clara County finally opened up vaccinations to educators and we expect all of our staff to be vaccinated fully by Spring Break. LASD continues to pool test the 6th graders weekly with no positive case yet. The pool testing will be expanded to 7th and 8th graders volunteers when the come back to campus. Case rates for LASD in person students remain low with roughly one positive case per week (and no spread). Things are looking better all around for LASD and Santa Clara County as case rates go down and vaccinations go up. I look forward to a day in our near future that our students are back 5 days a week, COVID is no longer is a topic of discussion and we are simply discussing curriculum and budgets. Next, the Executive Director of Community Health Awareness Council (CHAC), Marsha Deslauriers, will provide a Mental Health Update that will include the services they provide the District students and staff in COVID and non-COVID times. This is a discussion item and there is no presentation attached to the agenda as of yet. I look forward to her presentation and to learn about the tele (mental) health services CHAC has been providing our students and staff in these crazy times. CHAC is a priceless resource and has helped us in seemingly good times and now in these unprecedented COVID times. Then, Sandra McGonagle will present a proposed update to LASD's Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP). This is a discussion item and Sandra's presentation and supporting documents can be found under agenda H.3. Sandra's presentation is sun lighting a more simplified set of goals in line with goals already shared with the Board in January 2020 (pre-COVID). The draft LCAP 2020-23 Goals are:
Sandra will next present about the District's pursuit of instituting a Junior High School Pursuit of Biliteracy Award. This is an action item and Sandra's presentation and the resolution for the program can be found under agenda item H.4. The Board is asked to approve a resolution creating this award for students that enroll in a 2 year world language course in LASD (Spanish, French, or Mandarin) and receive 3 and 4s in Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening and Culture in those courses over the two years they take them. Then, Randy will present the 2nd Interim Financial Report. This is an action item and Randy's presentation and the report can be found under agenda item H.5. The report gives us our actual financial position as of January 31, 2021 and certifies that we can meet our financial obligations this year and for two future years. The report gives us an update on our revenues (down a total of $247,000) and expenses (up a total of $600,000). Furthermore it gives us expected new funding from state and federal sources for COVID related expenses. The Board is asked to approve the report and also provide direction to the Budget Review Committee on what to evaluate for the 21/22 Budget. Next, Randy will Disclose the Proposed Collective Bargaining Agreement with CSEA. This is an action item and the agreement can be found under agenda H.6. This is the collective bargaining agreement with LASD non certificated staff (not teachers). This agreement gives them the same salary increase (2%) we agreed to for the teachers a couple of weeks ago and extends the definition of family illness to include COVID related purposes. The Board is asked to approve the agreement. Randy will then present the Salary Agreement for Non-represented Employees. This is an action item and the non-represented employees' salary schedules can be found under agenda item H.7. The non-represented employees include our assistant superintendents, directors, coordinators, supervisors, principals, among other miscellaneous employees. The agreement incorporates the 2% salary increase the teachers received. The Board is asked to approve the agreement/salary schedules. Merlone Geier's Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) Purchase and Sale Agreement is next up for approval. This is an action item and the deal terms and actual agreement can be found under agenda item H.8. This is the second TDR Agreement brought before the Board for approval. In this agreement, LASD agrees to sell a certain amount of development rights to Merlone Geier in exchange for over $18 million dollars. The sale of TDRs, along with the City of Mountain View's financial support, are what made the purchase of 10th site a reality. Then, Jeff will present the 2021-22 Board Meeting Calendar. This is an action item and the meeting calendar can be found under agenda item H.9. This is the schedule for regular Board meetings for the 21-22 school year. Meetings of the Board are generally held every 2nd and 4th Monday of the school year unless it is a school break. Just when we thought Randy was out, we will pull him back in to present his request for LASD to join the School Project for Utility Rate Reduction (SPURR) -- Joint Powers Authority Membership. This is an action item and the resolution the Board is asked to approve can be found under agenda H.10. Joining this partnership will allow LASD to take advantage of some discounts on technology infrastructure equipment. The District can choose to participate in any or all of whatever programs or opportunities the partnership has and there are no membership fees. Please note, these are just the highlights of what to expect at our 3/8/2021 meeting. You can inform yourself about the rest of the agenda at the link provided above. As always, feel free to email me with any questions. |
Jessica SpeiserThanks to your support, I joined the Los Altos School District (LASD) Board of Trustees in December 2016. I finished my tenure as Board President after serving as such from December 2018 to December 2019. I am currently Board Vice President. As usual, I will use this blog to continue updating you on upcoming Board meetings and make you aware of upcoming office hours and community events. Archives
May 2024
Categories |