Superintendent outlines plan to absorb duties after state abolishes constituent school boards

Superintendent Huggins told the trustees on May 19 that the district will reassign duties currently handled by constituent school boards after the governor signed legislation abolishing those bodies.

The superintendent said the law (cited as R23‑414 during the meeting) removes the constituent boards’ authorities and requires the district to assume zoning decisions, student transfer reviews and discipline appeals that constituent boards previously handled. For zoning, the district’s operations team will draft attendance‑zone recommendations and present them to the Board of Trustees for approval, the superintendent said.

Student transfer requests will be managed initially by the district’s school choice office, led by the staff identified in the meeting, with an internal review committee making first decisions and an appeal panel available for families who request formal review. ‘‘There’ll be an initial review, as they currently exist. Then there’ll be an appeal panel. And then, as currently exists, any additional appeal would come to you as the Board of Trustees,’’ the superintendent said.

For discipline appeals, the district proposes two three‑member hearing panels. Each panel would include a certified administrator (current or retired), a classified administrator with mental‑health or prevention/intervention experience, and a community member. Hearing panels would be convened Monday through Thursday, with a standard daytime block and evening hearings available by request; Fridays would be reserved for emergent matters. A neutral review officer in the Investigations and Compliance Office would review hearing records as an intermediate appeal step before matters could be escalated to the full board.

The superintendent said staff are preparing policy drafts that reference constituent board functions; the district’s policy liaison will shepherd dozens of policy revisions. Staff set a timetable that places draft policies with legal review by May 20, an initial board review beginning June 9, and a first reading on June 23, with a second reading and finalization in July if the schedule holds.

Trustees asked about staffing and cost. The CFO said some costs previously associated with constituent boards — roughly $630,000 in the district’s accounting — were reallocated in the FY26 budget, and the district expects a net decrease after realignment while creating allocations to support hearing‑panel operations. Staff emphasized training, standard operating procedures and neutral adjudication as priorities in the transition.

The superintendent also said the district plans to publicly recognize constituent‑board members for their service at an upcoming meeting.