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Oakrove trustees back state equalization bill and remove Election Day as district holiday
Summary
The Oakrove School District Board of Trustees voted June 12 to endorse Senate Bill 743 (the Education Equalization Act) and to rescind its 2020 policy recognizing Election Day as a district holiday, citing equity, mail-in voting patterns and family-childcare impacts. Both measures passed by roll call vote.
The Oakrove School District Board of Trustees on June 12 unanimously adopted a resolution expressing support for Senate Bill 743, described by board members as the Education Equalization Act, and separately approved rescinding a 2020 resolution that designated Election Day as a district holiday beginning in the 2026-27 school year.
Vice President Abear, who presented the SB 743 item, told trustees the bill would create an equalization account "through increases in the state's general fund, not Prop 98, to help close that spending gap between basic aid and non-basic aid districts." He urged the board to "be loud and clear in Sacramento that our kids deserve equitable funding." He added that research cited in the presentation claims "a $1,000 increase in per-pupil funding can raise student achievement by an entire grade level." The board approved Resolution 1509-06/25 by roll call (Member Yolakar, Member Martinez, Member Torres, Vice President Abear, President Yu recorded as voting yes).
Board discussion on SB 743 centered on eligibility and funding source. A trustee asked whether the bill applies to all non-basic-aid districts; Abear said it targets non-basic-aid districts and that funding would come from the state's general fund rather than Prop 98. Trustees also asked whether the governor supports the bill; Abear said he did not know the governor's position.
On the district calendar issue, Associate Superintendent BS presented the recommendation to rescind Resolution 1364-10/20, which had previously recognized midterm and general election days as district holidays. The presentation noted feedback from the calendar advisory committee, principals and families that the holiday sometimes creates child-care challenges and that widespread use of mail-in ballots (cited in the presentation as approximately 88% of ballots in California) has reduced the need for a school-day holiday. A parent on the advisory committee told staff that keeping students home can make in-person voting harder for families who must supervise children at the polls.
The board adopted Resolution 1511-06/25 to remove Election Day as a district holiday beginning in 2026-27 by roll call (Member Yolakar, Member Martinez, Member Torres, Vice President Abear, President Yu recorded as voting yes).
What happens next: Both board resolutions will be included in the board minutes and transmitted as appropriate; the LCAP and budget process will continue with public hearings and the board's next regular meeting on June 26, when staff will bring final LCAP and budget adoption items.
Votes at a glance: - Resolution 1509-06/25 (support SB 743): Approved by roll call (Yolakar, Martinez, Torres, Abear, Yu). No recorded no/abstain votes in the transcript. - Resolution 1511-06/25 (rescind Election Day holiday / rescind Resolution 1364-10/20): Approved by roll call (Yolakar, Martinez, Torres, Abear, Yu). No recorded no/abstain votes in the transcript.
Authorities and references in this article are limited to those cited in the meeting presentation and record (the board referenced SB 743 and prior district resolution 1364-10/20).
