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Committee keeps community‑schools and mental‑health contracts for now, urges systemwide review and in‑house planning
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Summary
The committee kept multiple community‑school, climate‑coach and school‑based mental‑health contracts while directing staff to analyze which roles could move in house if ongoing state funding materializes and to quantify costs of Ed Fund administration versus district administration.
The committee reviewed several community‑school, climate coach and school‑based mental‑health contracts funded largely by county and state grants and decided to retain those contracts for the coming year while asking staff for a systemwide analysis of contracting, grant administration and prospects for bringing roles in house.
Staff explained many of the positions (climate coaches, community‑school directors and clinicians) were contracted through Ed Fund and other lead agencies to provide required liability coverage and to allow prompt hiring when funding was uncertain. "This grant is set until 2028," a staff presenter said, adding that the county grant funds several clinical positions and that Ed Fund typically charges roughly a 10% administration fee.
Board members questioned why positions were contracted instead of being district employees. Staff responded that some job requisitions were not approved when the grants started because funding continuity could not be guaranteed; contracting allowed services to begin while protecting the district from long‑term obligations. Members pressed for a clearer accounting of how many grant‑funded positions actually are contracted versus in‑house and requested data on administrative fees and the number of budget technicians that would be required to move grant administration into district business services.
Several members proposed a staged approach: retain contracts now to avoid service interruption, begin job‑description development and labor conversations immediately, and—if multiyear state funding is confirmed—initiate a transition to in‑house positions in the 2027–28 cycle. Staff agreed to return with a timeline, job descriptions and an analysis of risks to service continuity if contracts are ended prematurely.
Members also highlighted evaluation and reporting contracts (for example, the district's contract with Clarity Social Research Group) that produce standardized metrics for the community‑schools initiative. The committee requested more detail on data sources and whether external evaluation is required under grant terms before trimming evaluation contracts.
The committee framed the decisions as preserving student services now while building a multi‑year plan to reduce reliance on contractors when funding and administrative capacity permit. Staff were asked to present a written analysis at a follow‑up meeting.
