Here is a summary of what went down at the April 22nd meeting of the SCUSD Board.
Thank you to Mo Kashmiri for the amazingly detailed notes!
The District narrowly avoided a strike by their classified employees, represented by SEIU (Service Employees International Union) 1021. An agreement was reached at the 11th hour around health and safety provisions. The District and SEIU were able to negotiate and ratify a MOU around reopening schools. After parents pressured both parties, the District was able to come to an understanding with the City to keep afterschool services going through the popular “4th R” afterschool program.
The Sacramento City Teachers Association expressed dismay that the District laid off positions at Kit Carson, cut the parent preschool program, and cut bussing. Teachers also expressed concern that the required tech equipment had not been provided yet.
The District received over $300 million in one-time COVID funding from the State and Federal COVID recovery funds. Details of a plan were not made available, but discussion has commenced surrounding use of the funds. There are different timelines for when the funds need to be spent, depending on the source.
The District expressed that it would continue to attempt to meet & confer with SCTA and SEIU around reducing the distance between students from 6 feet to 3 feet.
The District reported that they were still out of compliance in regards to completing special education assessments. The California Department of Education (CDE) issued 2 decisions that included corrective actions for this problem. The District will be collaborating with CDE & labor partners to achieve the completion of this goal. An attorney, speaking on behalf of the Equal Justice Society, urged the district to act immediately to hire non-district outside assessors to reduce the number of outstanding assessments.
SJPC Readers should contact their Board members about how the $300 million in COVID funds are to be spent. We need to upgrade the way we educate our students and implement the recommended supports.
As 2nd Grade educator Ingrid Hutchins explained: "We need smaller class sizes not just for safety, but so teachers can give all kids the attention they need. We need faster COVID testing, and we need school-site psychologists and social workers, hopefully trained in play therapy. We need to purchase more STEM kits, hands on stuff that honors the way they learn. We need to ensure a nurse or medical assistant is on campus every day, and while summer schools are helpful, our students also need enrichment".
Make your voices heard.