At their Feb. 17 meeting, the Windsor Unified School District (WUSD) Board of Trustees will consider recommendations to lay off over 20 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees, in addition to considering two items related to high school mathematics, receiving an auditor’s report, potentially approving the total base rent for portables to house Cali students while a permanent classroom building is built, and the potential issuance of $14.6 million in Measure F general obligation bonds.
The meeting begins at 6 p.m. and will be held both in-person at the Windsor Town Council chambers and online via YouTube. The full agenda can be found here.
Layoffs
Items 6.5 through 6.8 on the board’s agenda deal with reducing the total staff employed by the district, as well as eliminating assignments exceeding full-time for remaining staff.
Item 6.5 recommends a resolution that would lay off 4.13 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees, in response to an annual review suggesting staffing reductions corresponding to an analysis of enrollment.
“The District has diligently analyzed enrollment projections, student interest, and changing curriculum and instruction objectives to determine staffing needs for the coming school year. The analysis has resulted in a reduction of staffing levels for particular kinds of service that will require layoff of certain individuals, based on the processes outlined in Education Code sections 44949 and 44955.” the agenda reads.
The reductions would eliminate the positions of:
-one FTE Elementary School Teacher
-one FTE Fine Arts Teacher (0.5 digital photo, 0.5 art)
-.333 FTE Career and Technical Education, Arts and Media (0.167 Integrated Film, 0.167 Film Studies)
-0.8 FTE Dean of Students
-one FTE Independent Study teacher
The board could also, by separate resolution (Item 6.6), release 15 temporary certificated employees, including seven itinerant teachers, two elementary school teachers, three secondary school teachers, two CTE teachers and one special education teacher.
Item 6.7 would “terminate any assignment that is in addition to a full-time, permanent certificated employee’s full-time assignment,” so that any individual employee would not exceed 1.0 FTE.
Finally, Item 6.8 eliminate classified positions distributed as follows:
-one FTE Secretary III
– 0.68 FTE Program Instructional Assistant
– 0.22 FTE Paraprofessional I
– 0.43 FTE Student Advisor
Measure F bonds
Measure F, passed in November 2016, provides $62 million for school facility needs. All but $14.6 million in Measure F bonds have been issued, and Item 6.9 on the agenda would authorize the issuance of the remaining amount authorized by 55% of voters in 2016.
The resolution would authorize the bonds to be issued as traditional, tax-exempt general obligation bonds, payable from property taxes levied by the county on property within the district, according to the agenda report. The bonds are authorized only as current interest bonds, and capital appreciation bonds are not authorized.
Ensuring equity in WHS math classes
Windsor High School Principal Brian Williams will present to the board an annual review on students’ placement and advancement in mathematics courses, as required since 2016 as part of the California Mathematics Placement Act of 2015.
The presentation will break down enrollment in various math classes by demographics since Fall 2020, and is intended to ensure students qualified to progress in mathematics are not held back disproportionately based on their race, ethnicity, gender or socioeconomic background.
According to the presentation slides, 92% of all WHS students were enrolled in a math class last year, including 92% of juniors and 72% of seniors. This year, that enrollment has dipped by 3% total.
The board will consider the placement data and consider removing any identified barriers to students’ access to mathematics courses.
Potential change to graduation math requirements
Staff are recommending that the board change the current graduation requirement to three years of math, with Integrated Math I as the highest required level.
WUSD, in an attempt to exceed California minimum standard, requires graduating seniors to pass at least Integrated Math II with a D or higher. This has led to some “unintended repercussions” such as students repeating math classes and becoming credit deficient, student being unprepared for higher math classes because the rigor of IM II has been reduced, and students not taking math their junior year because they already met the requirement.
Approval of a lease-leaseback agreement for new classroom facility at Cali
The district will consider approving the total base rent ($1.13 million) for 12 portables to be used at Cali Calmecac Language Academy until construction on a new two-story, 14-classroom building is complete, as recommended by staff.
The new permanent building was initially approved in January 2021 after Cali was identified as a high-priority site for the use of Measure F bond funds during the creation of the Facilities Utilization Master Plan (FUMP).
Auditor finds comprehensive safety report late, recommends training and oversight for staff
Christy White, a certified public accountant, will present an audit of the district’s finances for the budget year ending June 30, 2021 for the board’s consideration and acceptance. White has audited financial statements, each major fund and the aggregate remaining fund information for WUSD.
Highlights from the report show that the district’s net position is $13.42 million, up by $2.17 million from the prior year, and overall revenues ($75.63 million) exceed expenses ($73.46 million).
One of the findings of the audit to be addressed by the board and district staff is the failure of the district to develop a comprehensive school safety plan before March 1 2021. It was approved June 17.
“The district was untimely adhering to comprehensive school safety requirements per California Education Code,” the audit report reads. “The district acknowledges this finding and will set up procedures to follow the audit recommendations. Our new procedures include the implementation of a master calendar, which identifies the deadlines for yearly occurring items as an additional layer of oversight. The district will also provide training to staff who are responsible for items requiring board approval.”
