February 5, 2024
Dr. Bosco, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services, presented the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) mid-year report. All 4 of the district’s goals and their corresponding actions are currently being implemented. Her office will be submitting a new plan for 2024-27 in the upcoming months. Dr. Bosco also shared the district’s teacher staffing plans for 2024-25. The district is targeting 1 Transitional Kindergarten (TK) class per elementary school site, with an eighth TK class possibly being added. For all other grades K-6, the district is aiming for 2 sections per grade level at each school. While this will require more redistribution of students than in the past, it allows each teacher to have a grade level partner within their school.
Mr. Drummond, Director of Teaching and Learning, presented an update on the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP). This state-mandated program is offered to students in grades TK-6 who are English Language learners or economically disadvantaged. This year the district is serving 94 students, 78% of whom attend Almond or Santa Rita schools. For 2024-25, the district will continue to offer a summer camp program to qualifying students, but teachers will not begin academic interventions until two weeks before the start of school. Additional instruction will be offered during each of the school breaks, spanning 30 non-school days in total.
To determine next steps for the 10th site, the board reviewed the top 6 options selected from a list of 57 that were considered during the community engagement process in 2019. Jessica Speiser, Vaishali Sirkay, and Steve Taglio spoke in favor of allocating the 10th site to BCS. They were also open to the possibility of continuing to share Egan with a subset of BCS students if necessary. These same options received the most support from the community in 2019. Several parents provided public comment urging the board to avoid the closure or relocation of an existing neighborhood school. Bryan Johnson and Vladimir Ivanovic expressed reluctance to construct a school on the 10th site at this time, preferring to explore other options. They also asked the administration to quantify the impact of the current campus sharing on junior high programs. A vote on the issue is expected to be on the agenda at the next board meeting on March 4.
The board voted unanimously to approve a contract with transportation consultant Parametrix to complete a Multi-modal Transportation Analysis for the 10th site. The contract specifies that the cost of services shall not exceed $50,000. The transportation analysis is required by the city of Mountain View, who would likely finance any desired improvements.
Stella Kam, Observer