Board discusses LCAP feedback, cell-phone pilot, student safety and special education staffing

At the May 21 meeting, Executive Director Sarah Notch summarized Board survey results and additional material for the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP), including Goal 4 content not covered during the Study Session. Notch said the LCAP is a three-year implementation and staff are evaluating resource effectiveness; the LCAP survey remained open for additional input.

Board members raised concerns about phone use and the voluntary Yonder pouch pilot tested alongside culture and climate efforts. Notch said participation in the pilot is voluntary and intended to complement broader strategies, noting "phone use has been a challenge for years" and that parents’ expectations about contact during the day can complicate implementation. On student safety, Notch said survey wording was general; Board Member Susan Alvaro highlighted that 18% of respondents said they could not always find an adult to talk to, and Notch described trauma-informed follow-ups and community-building activities to explore the result. Notch also said Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) are showing positive early outcomes and that staffing for special education will be increased next year, with a higher FTE allocation for resource specialists after current caseloads exceeded projections.

Board Member Mike O’Neill asked whether walkthrough data skewed results due to a small sample; Notch said the initial walkthroughs were a sampling exercise intended to identify high-leverage improvements and that the county's LCAP approach received positive mention during a WASC mid-cycle review.