The West Sonoma County Union High School District (WSCUHSD) board meeting this Wednesday, May 26 has some heft to it.
The agenda for the 6 p.m. Zoom meeting Wednesday spans the district’s Extended Learning Opportunity (ELO) Grant Plan, the third interim report coming due and recruitment needs for the chief business official position catching no applicants or inquiries as of late.
The agenda and Zoom link information are available here. Per the agenda, the meeting will have a brief open session at 5 p.m. before the board enters closed session to meet with legal counsel over CARE v. WSCUHSD.
Board to consider approval on Extended Learning Opportunity Grant Plan
Superintendent Toni Beal is scheduled to present for board approval the Extended Learning Opportunity (ELO) Grant Plan, needed for the district to receive the ELO funds from the state’s AB86 COVID-19 relief package.
Previously, former chief business official Jeff Ogston said the district is projected to receive approximately $1.29 million for the grant.
The agenda report states these monies can only be used for “extending instructional learning time, accelerating progress to close learning gaps, integrated pupil supports, community learning hubs, supports for credit deficient pupils, additional academic services and training for school staff.”
Further, the plan needs to be adopted by June 1 and delivered to the Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE) within five days of that, the agenda report said.
Next, the trustees will have a chance to approve two new courses of study at all school sites this coming fall, an advanced floral design class and an honors English class for sophomores, per the agenda.
According to the floral design course proposal, the class could be merged with “Floral 1” but allow “Floral 2” students to take on “more advanced designs and projects.”
Third interim report needs stamp of approval before heading to SCOE
The third interim report budget report is coming before the board for approval. According to the agenda report, SCOE called on the district to submit a third report out of concern for the longtime, continued deficit spending.
The district certified its second interim report as positive, but SCOE instructed the district “to update the multi-year projections and document the reductions resulting from the board-approved Fiscal Recovery Plan,” the agenda report said.
Usually, third interim reports are to estimate how the district will be faring financially when it concludes the fiscal year, the agenda report said.
Before the board takes on the third interim report, the trustees will take up the AB 1200 Public Disclosure of Salary Settlement Agreements for the West County Teachers Association (WSCTA) and the California School Employees Association (CSEA) for possible approval.
After the third interim report, the board is scheduled to consider adopting a resolution that would establish what’s called a “Student Activity Special Revenue Fund 08,” per the agenda.
According to the resolution, the state created the “Standardized Account Code Structure” for a statewide accounting system that allows such revenue funds “to properly account and report Student Activity in governmental funds.”
The agenda report connects this to the Governmental Accounting Standards Board’s 2017 Statement 84 containing requirements “to enhance the consistency and comparability of fiduciary activity reporting by state and local governments.”
The agenda report said the implementation of GASB 84 was delayed in the pandemic and is now to take effect in the 2020-21 year.
District exploring contracting assistance to recruit for chief business official
With no applications in for chief business official (CBO) as of May 21, the board is scheduled to discuss the position’s salary and contracting School Services of California (SSC) to help recruit, the agenda report said.
Five other districts in the county are seeking a CBO, too, and WSCUHSD offers a salary “still on the low end,” according to the report. The agenda report lists the district’s offer as $120,497 to start and $143,475 at the top.
Beal, interim CBO Anne Barron and human resources director Mia Del Prete touched base with SSC’s director in Management Consulting Services, Danyel Conolley, to talk about a potential contract, per the report.
This discussion concludes a series of human resources items that begin with trustees considering approval for the monthly personnel report. Afterwards, the board is to consider approving the tentative agreement between the district and the WSCTA and then the district’s tentative agreement with the CSEA.
Last up for board approval before the CBO recruitment discussion begins is the updated 2021-22 management and supervisory/confidential salary schedule, the agenda said.
According to the agenda report, the management and supervisory/confidential groups don’t have representation. The report continues to say Beal offered the groups “Me Too” raises for the coming year like the WSCTA and the Classified School Employees Group were offered.
What comes to the board for approval is the updated salary schedule with the “Me Too” raises factored in, the agenda report said.
