CUSD board reviewing emergency fund spending plan

The Cloverdale Unified School District (CUSD) Board of Trustees will be meeting this week. During its regular meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 20, the board is slated to discuss its plan for spending federal ESSER funds, approve the bargaining agreement and contract revision with its teachers union and hold a public hearing about sufficiency of instructional materials. Additionally, the board will receive an update about its Measure H projects and, during her regular report, Superintendent Betha MacClain will report on district enrollment.
The meeting begins at 6 p.m. and is held in person at the Cloverdale High School Maker Space. To view the full agenda, go here.

Federal funds

The CUSD is receiving $1.225 million in funding from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) III funds as part of the American Rescue Plan Act. The one-time funding must be used by Sept. 30, 2024 and can be used for expenses that the district has incurred as of March 13, 2020.
According to the board agenda packet, at least 20% of the funds must address the lost instructional time via “evidence-based interventions” and the remaining dollars can be used for academic or behavioral intervention, educational programs, long-term closure planning, health and safety as it related to COVID-19 and social and emotional learning and mental health services.
According to Cloverdale’s ESSER III expenditure plan, $91,052 will be spent on strategies for continuous and safe in-person learning and $534,000 on addressing lost instructional time, with $600,000 remaining.
For helping with continuous and safe in-person learning, the district is using the funds to purchase air scrubbers and pay for supplemental staffing while operating during COVID conditions.
For addressing the impact of lost instructional time, the following is outlined:
●      $100,000 will go toward summer school for the 2023-24 year;
●      $140,000 will go toward providing professional development for certificated staff;
●      $48,000 will go toward providing professional development to classified staff;
●      $60,000 is slated to be used for professional development for administrative staff;
●      $84,000 will go toward increasing the hours of the library techs at each school site;
●      $27,000 will go toward enrichment and differentiated enrichment opportunities before and after school;
●      $75,000 will go toward a contract with the Boys and Girls Club to provide after school daycare for families of transitional kindergarten and kindergarten students to augment school day learning.
With its remaining ESSER III funds, the district is planning to use $80,000 for counseling services; $75,000 for site-specific funds for social-emotional learning opportunities, learning loss mitigation and school culture development; $320,000 for supplemental instructional programs; and $125,000 on device purchases.

Bargaining

Also on the agenda, the school board is reviewing the negotiated agreements between the school district and the Teachers Associate of Cloverdale (TAC). According to the board agenda, the district has agreed to a tentative agreement with TAC, with the district and TAC concluding negotiations for the 2021-22 year.
Per the board agenda, the main cost items are a 5% increase on 2021-22 salary schedules retroactive to July 1, a one-time COVID-19 stipend of $1,500 per full time employee and an increase to the annual health and welfare benefits cap to $11,400.