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Superintendent outlines equity-audit rollout and flags federal funding uncertainties
Summary
Superintendent Pedraza described a district plan to publicize and act on an equity audit with school-based outreach and professional development; he also summarized federal funding allocations and warned of potential reductions to Title II and Title III.
Superintendent Pedraza told the school committee the district will prioritize implementation of an equity audit through "community conversations" at school open houses, orientation and professional development days.
Pedraza said the audit is intended as a needs assessment and the district's immediate- and short-term actions will align with its recommendations. The district plans to hold school-based "state of the district" equity sessions before open houses, link the audit to school-improvement teams, and make the audit central to orientation and administrative retreats. He said some actions will start this summer and continue into the next school year.
As part of the superintendent's report, he also updated the committee on federal funding. He said allocations for IDEA, Title I and Title IV have been released but that Title II (professional development) had not yet been declared and that Title III funding is at risk of elimination under current state budget proposals. He said Perkins (CTE) funding is only half released because it follows a different schedule. The superintendent cautioned the committee that Title II reductions could be substantial and that the district is preparing contingencies, including relying more on internal expertise for professional development rather than external vendors.
Committee members and administrators discussed registration trends, residency verification and the risk that some elementary sections are at contractual caps. Several members asked for a budget-subcommittee meeting to get firm registration and fund numbers so the district can decide whether to request additional town funding or transport students to other schools. The superintendent said he will continue pushing registration and will report more precise FY25 and FY26 fund figures at the next meeting.
