Monday, June 29, 2020 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 on this link. The entire agenda and supporting documentation for this week's meeting can be found here.
First up, Sandra McGonagle and Jeffrey Baier will present LASD's initial plans for Re-Opening the 20/21 School Year. This is a discussion item and staff's presentation and back up documentation may be found under agenda item E.1 using the link above. Based on current Santa Clara County Public Health Department, Santa Clara County Office of Education, and California Department of Education guidelines staff is recommending that LASD begins the school year in a Blended Learning Program. That being said, if parents do not want to send their kids back to physical school, 100% Virtual School will also be an option. What is a Blending Learning Program you ask? The short answer is that any given student will learn 2 days a week on campus and the other 3 days at home. Half the students participating in the blended learning program will come Monday and Tuesday and the the other half of the students will come Thursday and Friday. While all students are learning at home on Wednesday, the schools (classrooms, etc.) will be cleaned to prepare for the next student cohort, while teachers meet remotely with students and participate in teacher collaboration. I highly recommend you read the presentation and the supporting documentation to understand the entire spectrum of what LASD is preparing for, and more specifically about what to expect from the Blended Learning Program and the alternative Virtual School. Either way, LASD is working hard this summer to ensure learning in the fall is the best in breed and suited best for our students academic, social-emotional, and health needs. Next up, Randy Kenyon will give us a Financial Update based on the State's impending budget. This is a discussion item and his presentation can be found under agenda item E.2. According to the information Randy has received thus far (many details have not yet been shared publicly), LASD should be able to receive some one-time monies from the state for "Learning Loss Mitigation" in the total of approximate $1.8 million. Furthermore, the district will be entitled to an increase in per student funding for Special Education, adding roughly another $270,000 to LASD's bottom line. Last up, Jeff will present Community Heath Awareness Council's (CHAC) contract for the 20/21 school year. This is an action item and the agreement can be found under agenda item E.3. The Board is asked to approve the agreement. For years, CHAC has provided much needed counseling services at all of LASD's schools and our partnership with them helps facilitate LASD's commitment to health and wellness of each and every student (which is needed now, more than ever). Please note, this is just the highlights of what is on the agenda for the 6/29/2020 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. The June 22, 2020 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 on this link. The entire agenda and supporting documentation for this week's meeting can be found here.
First up on the agenda, Jeff Baier will present progress being made toward Re-Opening for the 2020-21 School Year. This is a discussion item and his presentation can be found under agenda item F.1 using the link above. As published in a letter to the parent community on 6/17, the District is holding off on making a decision as to our re-opening plans until after July 1st when the County (in conjunction with the Santa Clara County Public Health Department) comes out with more region specific, detailed school re-opening guidance. Guidance to date has been high level and for the most part has included information already considered by LASD in its planning. The Board will review a draft plan on June 29th and approve a plan for re-opening on July 6th so we can make our decision with county's more detailed guidance in hand. Next, Randy Kenyon will give us a Financial Update. There is no presentation available as of yet because this update planned to cover state budget deliberations and our state legislators and the governor are still in deliberation with no resolution as of yet. Hopefully there is some resolution before Monday and it favors public school education funding. Please note, this is just the highlights of what is on the agenda for the 6/22/20 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. The Monday, June 8, 2020 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 on this link. The entire agenda and supporting documentation for this week's meeting can be found here.
We will start the meeting by going over LASD’s Equity Policy. This is a discussion item and the policy and letter Superintendent Baier and the Board sent to the community regarding the race related killings and ensuing unrest can be found under agenda item H.1. Board Policy 0415 is what the board currently has in place and was adopted on February 10, 2020. The policy is focused on educational equity and LASD’s dedication to “eradicate institutional bias of any kind, including implicit or unintentional biases and prejudices that affect student achievement, and to eliminate disparities in educational outcomes for students from historically underserved and underrepresented populations.” Next up staff will cover progress that has been made toward planning for Re-Opening for the 20/21 School Year. This is a discussion item and Santa Clara County Office of Education’s “Stronger Together - Recovery and Reopening Schools in Santa Clara County” guidance document can be found under agenda item H.2. The document gives all districts in Santa Clara County guidance and a framework in which to plan the reopening of schools for the 20-21 school year. It does not give definitive answers and will be a living document that will change as health department guidance changes. Then, Sandra McGonagle will present LASD’s COVID-19 Operations Report. This is an action item and Ms. McGonagle’s presentation and the report can be found under agenda item H.3. The Board is asked to approve this report. The report is required by the state in lieu of a Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP, a much more involved document that has now been postponed until December). It details what the District has done in response to COVID-19 and explains how we implemented distance learning for all and more specifically our underserved and unduplicated pupils. Randy will next present the 20-21 District Budget. This is an action item and the budget and presentation can be found under agenda H.4. The Board is asked to approve the budget with the understanding that there are many uncertainties on which the budget is based on and the understanding that we will revisit and revise it when we have more certainties. Either way, the Board is required to pass a budget before June 30, 2020. The Citizens Oversight Committee will present its Annual Report. The Citizens Oversight Committee is charged with oversight of spending Measure N bond proceed funds. This is an action item and the committee’s report and our independent auditor’s report can be found under agenda item H.5. The Board is asked to approve the report. The Committee did bring to the Board’s attention that there has been significant expenditures professional/consulting services this past year. My understanding is this all had to do with the complex purchasing of the 10th site. Lastly, the Board is asked to approve a Resolution of Declaration of Need for Fully Qualified Educators. This is an action item and the resolution can be found under agenda item H.6. This is a resolution the Board is asked to approve every summer in order to ensure we can hire non-certificated teachers in light of the fact there is not a sufficient pool of certificated teachers from which to hire. Please note, this is just the highlights of what is on the agenda for the 6/8/20 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
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