The June 17 meeting of the Windsor Unified School District (WUSD) was somewhat off-schedule, due to trying to meet a few deadlines as required by the state.
The meeting kicked off with a farewell to student advisor Ava Hamelburg, who finished out her tenure by creating a new outline for the job and how participating students are chosen.
2021-22 Budget
“A budget is only as good as the assumptions used to create it, and it’s only good for a day and then things change,” Chief Business Officer Lois Standring. “It will change probably at the 45-day revise once the (state) budget is signed off by the governor, and then there could be some assumptions were not what was used to create this budget, Then the school year starts and we’ll find out enrollment and carryovers.”
Some of the positive changes for this year’s budget include a cost of living (COLA) increase of 5.07%, additional supplemental funds of over $3 million, the removal of cash deferral except for the one in June of 2022, the addition of state and federal COVID relief funding, and the elimination of six teaching positions across the district.
Additional draws on the budget include the ever-increasing retirement and health benefits costs and the implementation of Universal Transitional Kindergarten over four years, as mandated by the state.
The multi-year projection is much more positive that anticipated this time last year, with the and ending fund balance of $4,797,872 at the end of the 2023-24 school year. While that is a much more positive picture than seen 12 months ago, Standring pointed out that there is still a functional deficit in the district’s finances that will need to be addressed going forward, either by increasing revenue, or reducing spending
To see the full budget and finances for the 2021-22 school year, click here.
LCAP
Director of Education Services Lisa Saxon presented this year’s Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) ahead of a later agenda item opening a public hearing before approval.
According to Saxon’s presentation, among the current successes the district is enjoying such as added implementation of social emotional learning programs across the district and an increase of 3.5% in the graduation rate to 90.1%. Ninety-four percent of Spanish-speaking parents state there is someone available to communicate in their home language and 84% of 5-12th graders agreed or strongly agreed that their schools have adults who really care about students.
Eighty-one percent of fifth to 12th graders agreed or strongly agreed that the teachers and other adults help them with schoolwork when they need it, and increase of 6%, and the districts English Learner reclassification rate of 13% exceeds the state average of 9%. The district’s rate of AP-test takers scoring above a 3 as higher than both the county and the district.
Finally, on the 2019 California Dashboard (the last full Dashboard available due to the global pandemic), Students with Disabilities, English Learners, and Hispanic/Latinx students exited Differentiated Assistance. This means they improved in academic achievement, suspension rate, and outcomes in enrollment in a broad course of study. However, the district qualified for Differentiated Assistance in 2019 for homeless students in the areas of academic achievement and chronic absenteeism.
Among the identified needs in the LCAP are a continued focus upon student social-emotional well-being. The plan shows a need for continued parent education and focus upon the college/career indicator (CCI), especially for Hispanic/Latinx students, English Learners, socioeconomically disadvantaged students, students with disabilities and homeless students as well as increasing SBAC scores, especially English Learners, Hispanic/Latinx student students with disabilities and homeless students.
English Learner Progress and RFEP rates need continued monitoring, as do student with disabilities, especially in relation to suspension and graduation rates as well as college and career readiness rates.
Saxon acknowledged the district still has work to do on positive adult-student relationships and ensuring that all students feel a strong connection to the school they attend along with increasing the percentage of staff and parents reporting that the school is providing a safe and positive learning environment.
Academically, the district wants to focus on third graders meeting and exceeding ELA standards on the SBAC summative assessment and district benchmark assessment, on Integrated Math 1 students scoring proficient on the first semester benchmark assessment and on developing and implementing an equity-focused, comprehensive multi-tiered system of support in all schools across the district.
Creating new positions, filling old ones
Finally, the district wants to communicate consistently with the community regarding important district information by routinely updating the district website and social media accounts to adequately keep the community informed as well as continue to focus on increasing school attendance and achievement through effective engagement and motivation strategies.
The meeting wound up with a series of approvals for some new positions within the district, and approvals to fill in the gaps for another. Standring announced her retirement earlier this year, but the district has struggled to fill her position.
According to Windsor Superintendent Jeremy Decker, this is primarily because of the large number of CBO vacancies locally, which he puts at five in this county alone. The district tried to find a candidate on their own, but have failed to do so, so Decker was asking the board to finalize a contract with School Services for $21,000 to find a candidate. The contract will remain in effect until the position is filled.
Along with that, Decker also asked the board to approve a measure that would enter the district into a contract with Total School Solutions for some business services.
“We’re lucky to have (Standring) to close out the books, but we don’t have someone for day-to-day stuff. The contract (is for) not to exceed $6,600,” Decker said.
The board approved both contracts.
Finally, the board approved two new positions within the district, coordinator of child development to oversee new preschool and childcare programs in the district and communications coordinator position to help improve internal and external communications within the district and help facilitate new student enrolments.
