Lawndale parents hear school-site council updates on tutoring, safety and after-school supports

At a Lawndale Elementary School District parent meeting, participants described how several school-site councils reallocated local funds to pay for tutoring after district sites could not fill some vacant instructional-aide positions. "We reallocated budget, and we were able to get, tutors to, people who needed it," a parent said.

The report from parents and staff emphasized that Title I spending rules influenced the decisions. "The school sites have to spend 85% of their title 1 funds each year, or we have to give it back. Right?" a staff member said while explaining why sites moved money into direct student supports.

Parents also reported site-level safety and enrichment updates. A parent from Adams said the school had hired a new safety coordinator and "They added, some new, equipment, like, defibrillators to assure the safety of the children and to make sure that everyone is certified for, like, CPR." Other remarks summarized continuing after-school interventions, tutoring and enrichment programs that schools are using to support students.

The meeting facilitator urged families to bring budget and assessment data to each school-site council so decisions about reallocations can be informed by student performance and fund deadlines. Participants said many sites have been reviewing iReady, ELD and local assessment data as part of the second interim budget process.

District staff and parents said principals will bring proposed budget changes back to each school-site council for formal approval where required; no formal district-level vote or policy change was recorded during this meeting.

School-site council members and families said they will continue to monitor how reallocations affect classroom staffing and student supports and will report back at upcoming meetings.