During its meeting on Wednesday, June 23, the West Sonoma County Union High School District (WSCUHSD) Board of Trustees will be considering approval of the district’s Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), its budget, and will be considering approval of a resolution that outlines the return to full in-person learning for the beginning of the upcoming school year.
The board meeting is being held virtually, and information about how to attend, as well as information about other items on the board agenda, can be found here.
LCAP
The LCAP is the first in a three-year cycle. LCAPs are intended to outline how the district plans to spend state funds outlined in the Local Control Funding Formula devoted to high-needs (foster youth, English learner, low-income) students.
The WSCUHSD is projected to receive $19.47 million of its $28.63 million projected total revenue from state funds. Of that, $1.3 million is generated based on the number of high-needs students enrolled in the district.
The district is required to set aside various goals as part of the LCAP to track the specifics of what’s driving spending related to student support. The WSCUHSD’s LCAP for 2021-24 focuses on three goals:
● Improving conditions of learning, school climate and engagement
● Promote course access and student success
● Improve college and career readiness
A return to ‘normal’
Joining numerous of its fellow Sonoma County school districts, the board will be formally voting on sending students back to in-person learning full time beginning in the 2021-22 school year.
As the state begins to reopen following the June 15 formal reopening of the state, local boards and councils must officially begin meeting in-person by Sept. 30, when the governor’s suspension of some Brown Act requirements ends. On Wednesday, in a discussion-only item, the board will discuss whether or not it wants to begin meeting in-person again.
Budget talks
The school board conducted a public hearing for its 2021-22 fiscal year budget at its meeting on June 9 and is set to vote on the budget this Wednesday. According to the district, it continues to have reserves sufficient enough to cover the state-mandated 3% reserve level for the 2021-22 year and the two subsequent years. However, it’s noted in the board agenda that stuff reductions will be necessary in 2023-24 to bring staffing in line with a reduced enrollment number. Additionally, positions funded with money related to COVID-19 funds will have to be reduced once the funds are exhausted, which the district is predicting will be at the end of the 2022-23 year.
Additionally, the board will be considering the approval of the English learner student program consortium for the 2021-22 year and will be discussing whether or not it wants to send the city of Sebastopol a letter formally stating the board’s concerns about a fireworks event on July 3 that the city is proposing will be awarded via competitive selection process.
“District staff are concerned about any possibility of rotating use of the facilities for the 3rd of July fireworks show annually from different nonprofit groups. The amount of work that goes into running an elaborate fireworks show is immense. Kiwanis and district staff start working on the show details in April and most of the month of June and spend three days setting up and two days breaking down the event. It is a huge undertaking and takes a lot of collaboration and oversight from district staff and Kiwanis volunteers along with multiple third-party vendors,” states the board agenda. “If the city council approves a policy that creates a competitive selection process for annual fireworks it will have implications on district staff who oversee and manage this event annually. “
