Superintendent briefs board on lingering staffing cuts, volunteer procedure and outreach

Superintendent Shelley updated the board on staffing and service changes that followed the district’s spring budget reductions and on a newly drafted volunteer procedure intended to expand community support while protecting student safety.

Shelley told the board the district initially identified roughly $20 million in reductions last spring and 184 impacted positions. After legislative changes and use of fund balance, the district restored about $5.5–6 million of that gap and removed some employees from the reduction-in-force list. The superintendent clarified those people were rehired to replace positions vacated by attrition, not by adding net new positions.

Directors heard that the cuts have had noticeable operational effects: the district no longer has an LPN in every building (instead an LPN per campus model), custodial staff absorbed stadium-setup duties after a stadium technician position was cut, and some office hours and middle-school sports support positions were reduced. School officials and directors described volunteers stepping in for crossing-guard duties in some locations but said communities still feel the loss.

Shelley said the district added eight teacher positions after school started to accommodate higher-than-expected enrollment, but she warned class sizes remain higher than in recent years. She said nursing and office workload shifts are being felt in buildings and by parents. “While we replaced some things, we’re still quite a ways away from operating the way we were operating a year ago,” she said.

To expand safe, structured volunteer support, administrators presented a new volunteer procedure that outlines eligibility, vetting steps and expectations. The superintendent said the district had a volunteer policy but not a firm procedure, and that the new procedure was vetted by the district attorney. The district will also create a Google sign-up form so community members can indicate specific volunteer interests for particular schools; administrators said they may need additional coordination help if volunteer interest outpaces staff capacity to manage assignments.

Shelley said the district plans a deeper community outreach effort at fall events, including a “legacy night” at a high school game in mid-September, and will distribute QR-code surveys to collect residents’ program priorities. She told directors that past levy forums produced low turnout and said the district must meet people where they are to determine which services the community most wants restored.

Assistant Superintendent Lanell described how teaching-and-learning priorities will align with the superintendent’s external engagement work and noted monitoring and reporting plans the board can expect from the teaching-and-learning team. Human-resources staff also reported that enrollment validation is underway and that two business-office employees earned WASBO certification; one of those employees was promoted into a newly opened fiscal specialist role.

Directors asked administrators to continue reporting impacts they observe as the school year proceeds.