At the April 20 meeting of the Windsor Unified School District Board of Trustees, there will be a few agenda items, common to the district, and few that are likely unimaginable to any previous board members.
The meeting will kick off with two construction-related items, with a review of the portable replacement project planned for Cali Calmecac and an update on other district construction projects from construction manager Eric Van Pelt.
Then, the agenda takes an odd turn for the next two items: providing resources for students and staff in light of the current events within the town of Windsor and updates on in-person graduation plans.
The first of those is related to the sexual assault allegations against Windsor’s mayor Dominic Foppoli. According to the agenda, “due the conversation centered around Mayor Foppoli, the district will be sharing the resources available to students and staff members who are victims of sexual assault/harassment. Topics to include:
- The Board Policies addressing this topic
- What to do if you are a victim of sexual harassment/assault
- The supports are available to victims of sexual harassment/assault
- The resources available to anyone experiencing trauma centered around the current topic”
In-person graduations and other end of year ceremonies are still a bit uncertain, but the district is poised to provide some sort of in-person experience for its students. For the high school, it will likely mean multiple graduation ceremonies broken up by core, thought the exact number will depend on whatever restrictions may still be in place in June.
Plans for eighth graders at Windsor Middle School and Cali Calmecac will also be shared, as will plans for Windsor Oaks Academy/North Bay Met.
Director of Educational Services Lisa Saxon will present the annual LCAP survey results, which was carried forward from a previous, overfilled meeting agenda.
The meeting will wrap up with three discussion/action items.
The first is potential cost savings for the district on its broadband. “With the use of the new income eligibility forms in Windsor Unified and our increased rate of eligible students we are able to receive an 80% reimbursement for the 2019-20 fiscal year. 2017-2018 E-rate funds helped pay for the dark fiber that Sonic Enterprises provided to the district enabling us to move away from AT&T as a service provider thereby saving thousands of dollars each year,” reads the agenda. “ 2018-2019 E-Rate funds will help fund the work done by NetXperts to lay new fiber throughout the district … With the help of the District’s E-Rate Consultant, Rich Tunheim, we are using a master contract under SPURR (School Project for Utility Rate Reduction) to bypass the bidding process and get a highly competitive rate from a reputable vendor, AMS.net … the total cost of the project is $869,033 and the total district cost will be $173,807. This proposal will provide upgrades to our switching system which is the backbone of our technology infrastructure. It will provide higher performance and greater reliability in support of our one-to-one student devices. Another important note is that this project represents Windsor’s allocation of E-Rate funding for the next five years.”
The board will then consider approving an annual agreement with the California Department of Rehabilitation, which provides employment services for special education students. According to the agenda, “the grant from the Department of Rehabilitation will continue providing wages for students as well as a coordinator for the program for the next three years. The students served by this program are in addition to those already served by the district’s Special Education Workability program also funded by state money. The program will fund up to $210,000 spread over the next three years.”
The final item is to finalize and pass the resolution to not re-employ a number of certificated staff as agreed upon at a previous meeting.
According to the agenda, “the board approved certificated layoffs at their meeting on March 12, 2021. Their resolution allowed district to notice employees of layoffs for the 21-22 school year, and gave each individual the opportunity to request a hearing. This resolution recognizes that we had no requests for hearings, and allows the district to give further notice to each affected employee. The resolution allows the district to notice each employee. It does not preclude the district from rehiring any of these individuals if the need arises.”
The next meeting of the Windsor Unified School District Board of Trustees will be April 20 at 6 p.m. This meeting will be held via Zoom and streamed live to YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTC8qiAOAh8Qd77KSW7c8wA
Those wishing to make public comment should send their comments to [email protected] by 4 p.m. on the day of the meeting.
