Wiseburn Unified reviews state California Dashboard results, LCAP midyear and budget implications

Maggie Mayberry, a district staff member presenting the California Dashboard and LCAP midyear, told the Board that Wiseburn’s 2024 state Dashboard included one green indicator in English language arts and four yellow indicators in math, English learner progress, chronic absenteeism and suspension rate. “The California dashboard…is a great tool that helps our communities be updated about how we’re performing,” Mayberry said.

Mayberry and other staff explained why the Dashboard matters: it compares local performance against statewide measures, isolates 14 state subgroups (Wiseburn tracks 10 of those locally) and now includes CAST (the California Science Test) for fifth and eighth graders. She said the CAST result appears on the Dashboard for the first time and will generate a color indicator in future years once growth is measurable.

Staff described subgroup findings and changes from prior reporting. Mayberry reported Wiseburn’s distance‑from‑standard in ELA was well above the state average (23.3 points above standard) though it declined slightly year‑over‑year. She also reported math remained in yellow (5.6 points below standard) but increased by 1.3 points. The English Learner Progress indicator showed 54.7% of English learners made progress; that figure declined 5.2 percentage points from the prior year but remained above the statewide rate cited by staff.

Staff called particular attention to long‑term English learners, who appeared in red on ELA subgroup breakdowns. Mayberry said long‑term English learners are students who have been English learners for six or more years with limited progress; she said the district needs to examine programming for those students.

District staff noted a data correction: a CBEDS/unduplicated pupil count update after families completed alternative income forms added about 100 students to Wiseburn’s unduplicated count, bringing numbers back into alignment with prior years. A staff member said the review “ended up adding about 100 students to our unduplicated people count.”

On chronic absenteeism, staff reported a drop to 10.3% districtwide, a 5.8 percentage‑point reduction from the previous Dashboard year; Mayberry said the district would have moved from yellow to green if nine fewer students had been chronically absent. Suspension rate rose to 1.9% from 0.6%, which moved that indicator into yellow; staff said a reduction of 10 suspensions would have returned the measure to green.

The presentation covered the district’s LCAP midyear status. Mayberry summarized progress across LCAP actions and expenditures, explaining the district’s LCAP dashboard marks actions as green (completed/spent), yellow (in progress) or red (will not be completed/spent this year). She said the district is in year one of a three‑year LCAP and some items remain on schedule because work is front‑loaded or multi‑year.

Sean (district business staff) reviewed midyear budget comparisons and said midyear actuals are “pretty much in line” with budgeted amounts; he recommended producing an encumbrance/projection column so the Board can see expected spend through year‑end. Sean advised caution in final budget assumptions but noted state proposals being discussed could add one‑time and ongoing funding streams (COLA, TK add‑on, discretionary block grants) that might require a budget update later in the year.

Staff outlined next steps: the district will run community LCAP surveys, hold educational partner meetings (first scheduled March 6), present finalized metrics and budgets to the Board in May and bring the LCAP to a public hearing in June before submission to the County Office of Education. Mayberry said community outreach will include principals contacting school site council, PTA and parents and that interested community members may email the district to participate.

Why it matters: the Dashboard and LCAP drive district budget priorities, identify student groups needing focused interventions (long‑term English learners, chronically absent students) and shape how one‑time and ongoing state funds are used. The district also signaled it will track related state budget proposals to determine if a midyear or summer revision is warranted.

Board discussion touched on data lag—these Dashboard results reflect prior school year data—and requested trend lines, subgroup interactions (how unduplicated/duplicated subgroup counts affect interpretation) and clearer encumbrance projections for midyear budgeting. Staff committed to provide additional detail in future updates.