Student Board Members Welcomed
Board hears from the San Dieguito Alliance Changers and the Oak Crest Principal
CVMS Principal Resigns
Staff Provides Overview of District Financials
Students Advocate Against Bullying and Board Passes New Anti-Bullying Policy
The Board of Trustees held a regularly scheduled Board Meeting on September 12, 2023.
Student Board Members Welcomed
Five students were sworn in as student representatives to the Board. Congratulations to Skyler Young from La Costa Canyon, Lauren Chemtob from Sunset, Eva Cole from San Dieguito, Eric Li from Canyon Crest, and Savannah Keith from Torrey Pines, in their new roles. I look forward to their participation in our board meetings over this school year.
Board Receives Presentations from the San Dieguito Alliance Changers and the Oak Crest Principal
The San Dieguito Alliance Changers is a student-based outreach program that helps students resist drugs and violence. We heard from eight inspiring students and thank them for their leadership in this important effort.
The Board also heard from Oak Crest Middle School Principal Katie Friedrichs about her priorities for this school year, which include improving student academic achievement in Math and English and enhancing student safety, particularly in the area of e-bike safety. The popularity of e-bikes has dramatically increased, and I thank Principal Friedrichs for implementing specific initiatives to improve safety as students learn to navigate on e-bikes. Oak Crest offers student safety courses and Principal Friedrichs and her staff supervise afternoon e-bike, automobile traffic and pedestrian management by staggering school release times.
CVMS Principal Resigns
Vicki Kim, the Principal of Carmel Valley Middle School, resigned to accept a new role in another school district. We will immediately begin a job search and hope to have a new principal appointed in the coming months. We wish Ms. Kim the best in her new role.
Staff Provides Overview of District Financials
Tina Douglas, Associate Superintendent of Business Services, provided an overview of the District’s financial position, including the operating performance for the last school year and a reconciliation of the Proposition AA Capital Account.
The District ran a small deficit in its unrestricted financial accounts for the school year ending June 30, 2023, meaning that District expenditures exceeded revenues for the year. The deficit was smaller than expected, primarily because expenses were lower than forecasted. For this school year ending June 30, 2024, the District is currently forecasting a small unrestricted budget surplus of about $2.3 million, which is about 1.4% of revenue. However, the current forecasted expenditures do not include changes to staff salaries and other compensation expenses. The District is currently in negotiations with its primary labor bargaining units, the SDFA (teacher’s union) and CSEA (classified staff union). It is likely that when negotiations conclude, we will once again be in deficit spending, causing a further drawdown in our financial reserves which are already substantially below Board target levels. I will continue to impress on my fellow Board Trustees the need to manage our District in a financially prudent way and stop our deficit spending.
Separate from our operating results, Ms. Douglas also provided an overview of the District’s Proposition AA Capital Account. In summary, all of the $449 million raised by the District from the Proposition AA Bond issuance has either been spent or is currently allocated to specific projects.
In addition to the bond fund, the District also has access to capital accounts funded by the State of California. There is sufficient funding in these accounts to fully fund the aquatic center planned at Torrey Pines and a swimming pool at or near La Costa Canyon, with some money left over to be used for other capital projects. After we obtain updated cost estimates, we expect to bring the funding of the Torrey Pines aquatic center to the Board for approval, probably at the October or November board meeting.
Students Advocate Against Bullying and Board Passes New Anti-Bullying Policy
Several speakers, including some students, parents, and former parents, spoke during the public comment period in favor of enhancing our District’s commitment to safety and inclusiveness for all students, particularly members of racial minorities and LGBTQ students.
Every student deserves respect and must feel welcomed and safe in our schools. I am a vocal proponent of enhancing our policies and practices around anti-discrimination and anti-bullying and have sponsored several initiatives accepted by our Board to ensure a path of continuous improvement. These include enhanced anti-discrimination policies and the creation of a family advocate position at the district level to fully and properly investigate all discrimination and bullying complaints and to promote the rights of students and families. A well-trained district advocate can offer our families objective advice and information, support them, problem solve, and can be their voice directly to the District Administration.
Although a resolution to review and, where appropriate, strengthen our policies regarding LGBTQ inclusion and anti-bullying failed to pass last year (the vote was 2-2), at this September meeting our Board unanimously approved an enhanced anti-bullying policy. I firmly believe that Dr. Staffieri prioritizes a stronger and timely response to all complaints of bullying and intolerance, and I look forward to working with my fellow Trustees and the Administration as we implement these policies and procedures. Quite simply, our schools must be welcoming and safe to everyone on campus, so that every child has the opportunity to grow personally and academically.