June 6, 2022
Assistant Superintendent Mrs. McGonagle described the various methods the district currently uses to prevent school violence. The district has additional plans to address school violence in the fall of 2022, including partnering with local law enforcement for staff training as well as a community-wide town hall.
The board approved 2-year employment agreements with Erik Walukiewicz (incoming Assistant Superintendent Business Services) and Dr. Carrie Bosco (incoming Assistant Superintendent Curriculum and Instruction) spanning July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2024.
The board voted unanimously to adopt a new science curriculum (Twig) for grades K-5 based on strong pilot testing results. For grades 6-8, the district will continue searching for a suitable curriculum, hopefully in time to adopt next school year.
In addition, the board approved a transfer of development rights for 125,000 sq ft of land to MV Campus Owner, LLC (Rockwood) for a purchase price of $16,250,000. This sale contributes to the financing of the 10th site purchase and construction.
Assistant Superintendent Randy Kenyon presented the proposed budget for 2022-23. The projected revenue is based on a conservative estimate of 5% growth in property taxes. (The 10-year average is over 7% growth.) Other revenue assumptions include $2.5 million from the Los Altos Educational Foundation, a $500,000 increase in facility use fees (return to pre-pandemic levels), and the discontinuance of one-time COVID funding. Bullis Charter School will be receiving an additional $1 million from LASD due to the updated cost-of-living-adjustment for the Local Control Funding Formula, which is used to determine their share of property tax revenue.
Projected expenses are based on an estimated 5% rate of inflation, 7.5% increase in health benefit rates, and only minor changes in classroom staffing needs. For the Universal Meals Program, about $1.1 million was transferred from the general fund to the newly created Cafeteria special revenue fund to cover staffing and set up costs that will not be reimbursed. Other expenditures in the budget proposal that differ from last year include providing technology to staff and students ($500,000), upgraded phone systems ($665,000), classroom lighting replacement ($394,260), flooring replacement ($85,050), and turf renovation ($20,000).
Based on all these assumptions, total amount of reserves is estimated to be $13,723,000, which is over 18% of projected expenses. Multi-Year Projections show that reserves could grow to be over 20% by 2024-25. These projections do not include any across-the-board salary increases, however, and those are expected to be necessary for staff retention.
June 13, 2022
The board of trustees unanimously approved the 2022-23 district budget. They also approved the draft plans for the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP) and Universal Pre-Kindergarten, both now required by state law. The district needs to do significantly more planning to meet the final benchmarks set by the new legislation. As a result, Laura Wiley has been hired to serve as the new Pre-K and ELOP coordinator.
The Measure N Citizens Oversight Committee reported a clean audit, indicating that all district expenditures were in accordance with bond spending requirements.
The board approved a $560,000 contract with the district architect, Gelfand Partners, to begin the schematic design phase of the CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) process. The current timeline aims to have construction of the new school completed by summer 2026.
The Santa Clara County of Public Health Department approached LASD to inquire about using a vacant building on the 10th site as a temporary vaccination clinic to serve communities in the northern part of the county. The board approved the facility use agreement, which requires no payment from the county other than to reimburse the district for utilities used. COVID-19 vaccinations for children under age 5 became available at the clinic on June 21.
Superintendent Jeff Baier proposed a board policy update to raise board member compensation amounts to match other districts in the state. Four out of five board members voted to approve this change, with Steve Taglio abstaining. The full text of the updated bylaw can be found using this link to Bylaw 9250.
Stella Kam, Observer