District staff outlines PAC/PTSO election timeline, parent handbook and training plans

Carly Rocha Reyes, director of school counseling and parent partnerships, told the Instruction Support Services Committee that district staff will support school-level PAC and PTSO elections, roll out a parent handbook in the coming weeks and pursue training and grant opportunities to boost parent leadership. "So we'll be working with all the administrators to hold the elections, to fill any vacancies that they might have on their PAC and PTSO," Rocha Reyes said.

The district will send administrators a blank action-plan template to customize for each school and expects detailed budgets and action plans to be submitted to the grants office in October for review and approval. Rocha Reyes said the district will provide templates and record‑keeping guidance for the P‑10 reporting process so schools submit consistent parent-participation records to their clerical staff. She added staff will produce a copy of any forms if the district's financial reporting system migrates to different software.

Why it matters: school parent organizations run activities and manage small budgets at the school level; clearer timelines, standardized forms and trainings are intended to reduce inconsistent recordkeeping and late filings.

Committee members asked for practical details. A board member asked for a districtwide contact list tying each school’s administrator to the outgoing PAC/PTSO leaders so the board and staff know who will work together after elections. Rocha Reyes said a flyer to publicize open house dates and election information should go out by the end of next week so schools can begin their processes.

Rocha Reyes described two immediate supports: a virtual family workshop series (participants receive $100 for signing in, per materials she referenced) and a parent‑leadership training grant the district will pursue. She also said a parent handbook is in final review by parents and will include department contact information, chains of communication, social-emotional learning guidance and sections on PAC/PTSO and school governance councils. Quarterly community resource events with community partners and meal kits were also planned; the first such event was being scheduled for September to kick off the school year.

The committee discussed long‑standing budget questions tied to parent‑convention reimbursements. A committee member asked about rollover balances and past years of unspent parent‑reimbursement allocations; staff said funds unspent at the end of the school year return to the district budget and are reallocated rather than carried forward at the school level.

No formal motions or votes were taken. Staff said they will follow up with: (1) the district contact list linking administrators and PAC/PTSO leaders, (2) the flyer for schools to send to families, (3) the finalized parent handbook after parent review and (4) details on the parent‑convention reimbursement balances from prior years.