Robla School Board members voted unanimously to amend the district’s recommendation on Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP/ACES) funding so that six newly proposed providers would be added to the list of current vendors for further review and public presentations.

The board action came after weeks of community concern about transparency and process. "This has been a faulty process, lacking critical elements and most importantly, lacking the involvement of critical stakeholders, the community," public commenter Danielle Sturgeon said during the meeting.

Why it matters: The ELOP and ACES grants provide large amounts of state funding for after-school programming. Local providers, parents and existing vendors said the district’s review and selection process should include more parent representation, more time for review, and clear public presentations before contracts are awarded.

What the board did

Trustees amended the staff recommendation to add the six vendors that filed proposals to the district’s list of current providers so that both new and incumbent providers would make presentations and be evaluated publicly. The motion as amended passed unanimously.

Public comments and concerns

Multiple parents and current program advocates asked the board either to pause the process and restart procurement with a committee that includes parents, or at a minimum to allow existing providers to present. "If START was not awarded a contract next year, they were not interested in providing summer school for this summer," parent speaker Sally Barajas said; the superintendent clarified that the district would ensure summer programming regardless of a particular provider's decision.

Danielle Sturgeon urged the board to "pause the process, fix the process, and give it the adequate time it deserves," citing prior district subcontracting decisions and saying the current outreach committee lacked parent representation. Another commenter, Sabrina Oliver, called for a new committee with parents and staff to revise the RFP and rubric and to restart the process if necessary.

Next steps

The superintendent said the amendment would require the new and incumbent providers to do presentations to the board and the community; additional outreach and an updated evaluation process will follow. No contracts were immediately awarded at the meeting; the amendment preserves incumbent providers while the board and district schedule presentations and vetting.

Action summary

- Motion (amendment) to add six new RFP respondents to the slate and retain current providers for comparison: passed unanimously.

Ending note

Parents and provider representatives asked the board for more time and community engagement; trustees said they heard those concerns and that the amended approach gives the district time to publicly vet proposals and keep existing services in place during the transition.