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District presents LCAP update emphasizing bilingual aides, staffing and community input
Summary
District staff outlined the Local Control and Accountability Plan update, saying LCAP directs about $80 million toward high-need students and that bilingual instructional aides are the largest single LCAP expense; the public urged use of funds to reduce class size and prioritize student-facing staff.
The Santa Maria Bonita School District presented its LCAP update during a public hearing on June 10, highlighting community input, staffing, and proposed investments for high-need students.
Dr. Humphrey opened the LCAP discussion by noting the district's approximate $80 million allocation from the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) tied to its 90% unduplicated student count, and stressed that almost $70 million of those supplemental dollars are dedicated to staff. He told the board that the district engaged more than 2,000 participants who offered over 34,000 ratings in the thought-exchange process used to prioritize actions.
Nut graf: The LCAP update centers on staffing (including bilingual instructional aides), family and community engagement and improved student outcomes. Presenters said a bilingual instructional-aide allocation across all TK–3 classrooms would cost roughly $15 million (salary and benefits) when scaled districtwide and that multilingual supports are a top community priority.
Public input at the hearing reiterated those priorities. Teachers and union representatives asked the board to apply local LCAP and COLA dollars to reduce class sizes and restore benefit caps rather than expand consultant contracts. Kristen Lohr, SMEA president, asked the board to ‘‘prioritize our local CSEA staff out of outside contracts’’ and to follow stated LCAP goals on class-size reductions and staffing.
Board members asked staff to make the LCAP's effectiveness measures clearer and more accessible. Trustee Hollinshead requested progress-monitoring reports and suggested the district spotlight certain actions and metrics so the board and public can better judge what is working; Dr. Humphrey said the goal-analysis section contains implementation questions and that the county's approval will include technical compliance checks.
Next steps: The district will present an investment plan for possible adoption on June 24 and will report any material technical changes after county consultation.
