There are 16 agenda items for the next meeting of the Windsor Unified School District (WUSD) meeting of the Board of Trustees on March 16, and that doesn’t include consent items, opening items or closing items. But, with schools gearing up to welcome back students, budgets due and contract negotiations opening, there’s a lot to get done.
Report/Discussion
The report/discussion section will kick off with updates on the district’s solar projects and it’s other general construction projects.
The item everyone will be waiting on of course, will be the presentation on plans to reopen schools on April 5. Director of Educational Services Lisa Saxon will outline the schedules for each of the district’s schools, which will essentially bring back kids two days a week, for an abbreviated day. There will be significant safety and sanitization protocols in place, also outlined in Saxon’s presentation.
Saxon will also be bringing forward the results of the annual Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) survey. Interested parties can read the entire survey results on the board packet, but in the interest of time in a full meeting, the presentation will focus on Ed Code requirements and WUSD board goals.
The final item in report/discussion will be from Athletic Director, Jamie Williams, who will give an update regarding athletics following updated guidance from CIF.
Discussion/Action
While this section is full, a lot of it could be labeled as “housekeeping.”
The board will be asked to approve a resolution to reopen the schools in the hybrid model, to start things off.
That will be followed by a proposal to purchase portables that are currently being leased, using monies from Fund 25 that need to be spent or lost.
The next item is on the agenda due to a change in governmental accounting standards. The change (GASB 84) caused the California Department of Education (CDE) to establish a fund called the Student Activity Fund, known as Fund 08, in the Standardized Account Code Structure which will be used to record the financial activities of student body associations, commencing with fiscal year 2020-21. This fund will now be reflected in the district’s year-end financial statements resulting from the district’s annual audit. This change in policy is likely due to the ongoing audit issues for most California schools related to the accounting of ASB finances.
The board packet then outlines how the district hope to fill a challenging job role. “Speech/Language Pathologists are a recognized ‘hard-to-fill’ job category. As such, the students of the district benefit when we are able to fill these positions who are otherwise well-trained and qualified, but lack a traditional certification. The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC) recognizes that there are situations when credential waivers can be validly put in place if we meet all their alternative requirements. One of those requirements is that the Board of Trustees pass a resolution to allow this waiver to the typical credential requirements,” said the board packet. “Windsor Unified School District is confident in this individual’s ability to serve our students and families with Speech/Language services and is equally confident that this individual meets the requirements for this waiver.”
The district’s chief business officer will be presenting for approval the second interim budget report. The report analyzes the budgetary status for the district as of Jan. 31. Included in the analysis are budgetary projections for the current year as well as for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years based on specific assumptions.
“Using these assumptions, which are outlined in the attached report, the ending fund balance for 2020-21 is projected to be $11,941,014 of which $6,125,925 is unassigned/ unappropriated. The remaining funds are either restricted, are part of the Reserve for Economic Uncertainty or are otherwise assigned or committed. The financial report shows that the district reserves are sufficient to cover the third year deficit and to maintain the required 3% Reserve for Economic Uncertainty. As a result, the district will be filing a Positive Certification with the Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE).
There will be a public hearing on the district’s initial proposal for contract negotiations with the Windsor District Educator’s Association, as well as initial reopeners for contract negotiations and approval of their initial proposal.
There will be an identical set of items for the California School Employees Association, to finish up the evening’s regular agenda items.
