Superintendent: revised school‑calendar days produced no major disruptions; youth forum highlights mental‑health needs

Superintendent Kirsten Kramer told the board March 5 that the district’s first year of a revised calendar — keeping three days that were previously part of Ski/Skate Week as regular school days — produced no major operational problems and that the district will continue to monitor results.

Kramer said staff tracked three measures for the three days: attendance, bus routing/timing and the number of independent studies. She said district attendance records showed 313 absences across the district during the monitored days, “which was 2 people less than Monday, February, which was just a standard Monday in our district.” On transportation she said bus routes were able to run on time despite local ski traffic, and on independent studies she said Glenshire Elementary had 23 independent‑study requests across those days (about one per classroom), which she described as “no more or less than any other time of year.” Kramer said there were “no red flags” in the initial review.

Kramer also summarized the Truckee‑Tahoe Youth Forum and the district’s participation. She said students pre‑identified priorities that included mental health, substance use and citizenship status; students told attending adults they wanted safe, sober places to gather and more normalizing conversation about mental‑health struggles. Kramer said trustees and district staff plan screenings of the documentary Anxious Nation for families and staff: April 8 at North Tahoe High (Lakeside) and April 10 in Truckee, with panel discussion and resources following the screening.

Kramer said district staff will check whether federal Forest Reserve funding ($185,000 mentioned as a possible exposure) or other federal programs are affected by any federal funding freeze that local agencies have begun flagging, and she noted federal funds amount to about 2% of the district’s total budget (roughly $1.8 million). She advised the board she had heard about other agencies’ concerns but said the district had not received direct notification of a loss yet and is monitoring the situation.

Ending: Kramer said the district will continue to monitor attendance, routing and independent‑study impacts and will share further findings with the board; she encouraged community attendance at the Anxious Nation screenings planned for April.