Board reviews after-school LEAP contracts, staffing and vendor use amid capacity shortfall

The Lennox Unified School District Board of Education reviewed contracts and staffing for the LEAP after-school program May 14 and approved multiple service agreements for the 2025–26 program year while acknowledging ongoing capacity and staffing challenges.

District staff explained the LEAP expansion is partly funded by new state after-school allocations and requires the district to offer programming that, in practice, has outpaced internal staffing capacity. Because the district could not fill all positions from internal hires, it has contracted with outside providers for services including program leadership, staff training and referees for athletic leagues.

The board approved service agreements (identified in the meeting materials as CDash1143: Valeria Vasquez; CDash1145: Francis Vasquez; and other vendors including a referee services contract) to cover leadership training and program delivery needs. Staff described the primary roles: an experienced vendor (Valeria Vasquez) who supports program reporting, classroom visits and training; another vendor to run a leadership workshop for summer staff development; and contracted referees for interscholastic sports because the program lacks certified in-house referees.

Board members questioned whether some contracting could be reduced by creating district positions and asked for organizational charts and cost analyses comparing contracting costs with hiring a permanent district employee. Staff said some contractors are district residents and current district employees who perform the work under contract because their primary assignment remains classroom teaching. School and business office staff said they try to recruit from the local community but face a revolving-door hiring market among younger candidates.

Nutrition and program services staff offered to prepare cost comparisons for using district kitchens and staff to cater board and district events; business services said it will return with pricing and capability analysis. The board directed staff to provide budgets, organizational charts and procurement details so trustees can evaluate long-term options for converting recurring contracted roles into posted district positions if feasible.

The board approved the listed contracts by motion and roll-call vote; staff emphasized contracts are to ensure program continuity and compliance with state funding rules for after-school programming.