PD, CACF, FMP, and the rest of the alphabet

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The Monday, October 2, 2023, LASD Board meeting will start its open session at 7:00pm and contemporaneous public comments may only be made in person in the LASD Board Room. We use the Zoom webinar platform for community members to follow our meetings at home. If you cannot attend in person, and have a comment that you would like the LASD Board to consider in its decision making, please email all of us at [email protected].  To register to watch the board meeting from the comfort of your home, click here.  The entire agenda and supporting documentation for this week's meeting can be found here.

First up on the agenda, Greg Drummond will give a Professional Development (PD) Update.  This is a discussion item and his presentation can be found under agenda item H.1.  Professional development is intrinsically part of everything our teachers and staff do.  In addition to professional development days in October and January, our teachers learn from each other on a daily basis, as LASD is full of life long learners who are dedicated to ensuring all our students get a top notch learning experience.

Next, Erik Walukiewicz and the Citizens' Advisory Committee for Finance (CACF) will present an Update.  This is a discussion item and their presentation can be found under agenda item H.2. CACF, the committee charged with overseeing how the District expends its parcel tax proceeds (and so much more), wants to reiterate to the Board the dangers in front of the District if Measure A were not to pass.  LASD has consistently performed in the 1% of school districts in CA, but is second to the bottom in compensation for its teachers.  80% of our budget goes toward educating our students by way of teacher salaries, but we pay them with fewer dollars than neighboring districts have.  We will not be able to stay in the top 1% if this parcel tax fails because LASD will be forced to make $3 million in cuts (to remain fiscally sound) which will result in noticeable effects in the classroom.  

Then, Erik will give a Facilities Master Plan Update.  This is a discussion item and his presentation can be found under agenda item H.3.  In May 2023 the Board had a study session to better understand the District's current facilities needs.  After that meeting, the Board directed staff to begin a facilities master planning process that reflects new state mandates that affect our facilities needs in addition to all other district facility needs.  In July 2023, the District issued an RFP for facilities master planning services.  On October 2nd, finalists that responded to the RFP will be interviewed.  That all being said, the facilities master planning process is set to start up in late Fall, once the District has selected and approved a vendor/expert to spearhead that effort. 

Superintendent Sandra McGonagle will next present a 2023-25 Employment Agreement with Assistant Superintendent of Schools, Business Services for the Board's approval.  This is an action item and the agreement can be found under agenda item H.4.  This agreement extends Erik's current contract another year through June 2025. 

Last, but definitely not least, Sandra has a bunch of Board Policy Updates and Deletions for the Board to review.  This is a discussion item and all of the Board Policies Updates can be found under agenda items H.5 and H.6.  The California School Boards Association (CSBA) frequently advises local school districts on updates and deletions to board policies, bylaws and regulations based on recent changes to California state law and regulations and our Board gradually updates our policies based on CSBA's recommendations. 

Please note, this is just the highlights of what is on the agenda for the 10/2/23 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.