Public Comments TVUSD Governing Board Meeting
I attended the TVUSD LCAP Board Workshop last week as an interested observer. In noting there were no public comments at the outset of the workshop, I will offer some at this time.
The workshop was an interactive process solely between the board and district office personnel. One way to increase audience participation if desired would be to place the thirty -minute Public Comment section toward the end of the meeting. The audience may have had a greater interest in sharing their reaction to the reported Stakeholder Input and District Recommendations at that stage of the event.
Speaking of Stakeholder Input, there seems to a partial disconnect between this and the initial District Office Recommendations.
While increasing counselors and social workers had widespread support (19 Sites) and VAPA Support was advocated for by TVEA, by far your largest employee representative group, gaps are evident in the suggestions for utilizing the remaining projected LCAP new monies.
TVUSD reported that only three (3) out of twenty-eight (28) sites reported a need for UPO/CIA’s yet it was woven into the district plan over several other needs more widely identified. In addition, it is not clear if the widespread support for ELA Specialists is being driven by our middle schools, which already have eight (8) full-time ELA Specialists at six (6) schools.
TVEA proposed the idea of Site Discretionary Funds on a per UDP basis. While each of the TVEA ratios would exceed the funds remaining if the district put most of it toward counselors and social workers, the concept is still fiscally viable in one of two ways:
Reduce the $ amount per UDP
Utilize proportionality in requiring schools have a certain UDP student % to qualify for these auxiliary dollars.
Ideas which received a great deal of Stakeholder Support such as After School Tutoring could be one of a menu of choices that school sites could select and provide evidence of closing the achievement gap.
This would highlight the “L” for LOCAL in the acronym LCAP and stimulate site based LCAP discussions. Just as our federal system of United States Government empowers states to partially execute and administer their unique programs, a small part of TVUSD LCAP monies would allow school sites to do the same.
This would invigorate the LCAP process at school sites and empower your greatest resource, your employees.
