Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board hears pleas to save CARE program after administrators propose cutting it to meet budget targets
Summary
Families, CARE staff and several board members urged keeping the CARE alternative-to-suspension program after an administrative recommendation to cut it as part of at least $1 million in proposed reductions. The board asked administration to seek alternatives and scheduled a special work meeting to review options.
Community members and CARE staff told the board the program prevents suspensions and supports students with trauma; Laura Fondia, the CARE teacher, said the program has "served over 365 different students and prevented over 750 suspensions," and urged continued investment as budget discussions proceed.
Administrators told the board they had included the CARE program on a preliminary list of reductions as one lever to meet a recommended $1,000,000 cut. The administration said the program next year would cost about $200,000 in salary and benefits and that some cuts could proceed without explicit board action, but reductions in certified positions would require a reduction-in-force process and timelines. The administration conceded some care placements are preventative rather than immediate alternatives to suspension and warned removing the program would likely lengthen out-of-school suspensions.
After extended questioning from board members and public speakers about student ratios, intervention outcomes, and alternatives, the board signaled it would keep the CARE program while asking administration to identify additional reductions and return with a CARE-options briefing at a special work meeting in early March. The board noted statutory notification timelines for personnel decisions (April 15) and asked administrators to collect revised cost options before that deadline.
