Melissa Alderman

The meeting covered the approval of the board agenda and subsequent adjournment to closed session to discuss potential litigation, public employee performance evaluation, labor negotiations, and a student matters settlement agreement, which was subsequently approved. In open session, the consent agenda (items 5.1 through 5.3) was approved. Key reports included a presentation by the California School Employees Association Chapter 503 recommending approval of their tentative agreement for the 2025-2027 collective bargaining agreement, and a notification from the Sanita Teachers Association regarding opening the collective bargaining agreement to bargain articles related to workday, professional learning, and health and welfare benefits. The Superintendent's cabinet provided updates on the upcoming announcement of Employees of the Year, Safety Care re-certification training, and the upcoming Special Olympics event. A detailed report on the third town hall meeting highlighted community feedback, focusing on campus health and safety concerns such as supervision, traffic on Praau Street, student behavior (bullying, vaping, social media conflicts), and bathroom supervision. Areas of strength noted included digital check-in, locked doors, and staff responsiveness. Board members also discussed outcomes from a recent 2x2 meeting with the high school district regarding 8th-grade transition, especially for multilingual learners.

This document serves as a mid-year metric and expenditure report for the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) covering the 2025-2026 academic year. It outlines progress across ten strategic goals: boosting student achievement in ELA and Math, empowering educators to support multilingual students, integrating advanced instructional technology, enhancing engagement for special education students, improving academic success and college readiness, increasing student attendance, fostering a safe and inclusive school environment, improving staff recruitment and retention, and building community capacity to address racism and discrimination. The report details successes and areas of focus for each goal, along with a budget overview as of December 2025, to ensure continuous improvement towards desired educational outcomes.

This Local Control and Accountability Plan outlines the strategic direction for Santa Rita Union School District for 2025-26. It focuses on enhancing student achievement in English Language Arts and Mathematics, with specific attention to the needs of English Language Learners and students with disabilities. Key priorities include empowering educators to support multilingual students, integrating advanced instructional technology, and improving the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral engagement of special education students. The plan also emphasizes fostering academic success and college readiness through rigorous instruction, strengthening parent and community engagement to reduce chronic absenteeism, cultivating a nurturing and safe school environment with robust mental health support, and improving staff recruitment and retention. Additionally, it aims to enhance the school community's capacity to address racism, discrimination, and bias, thereby promoting an inclusive and equitable educational landscape.

The meeting included roll call confirming all trustees were present, followed by the pledge of allegiance and approval of the board agenda. Close session discussions involved public employee performance evaluation and conference labor negotiators. Open session activities included approval of the consent agenda, reports and correspondence, where the SRTA president sent well wishes for the new year, and updates from the superintendent's cabinet directors (Nutritional Services, Technology and Innovation, Engagement and School Climate). The Director of Engagement and School Climate provided updates on an upcoming town hall focusing on campus health and safety, the Safe Routes to School walking school bus volunteer training, and the Saturday Academy program. A preview of the Destination Imagination challenge experience, which involves two teams piloting the design challenge and traveling to a regional tournament, was presented. Trustee Neil Patel read a prepared statement opposing the Navigator Schools charter petition, citing concerns about equitable services for special needs students and negative financial impact on district ADA funding. Other trustees expressed similar concerns regarding charter school petitions diverting public funds from the general district population. The meeting concluded with a school spotlight presentation from the Academic and Literacy Coaches detailing their coaching goals focusing on scope and sequence implementation, assessment data usage, and coaching cycles for new and veteran teachers.

The session commenced with roll call and the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by a brief closed session to discuss public employee performance evaluation and labor negotiator conferences. In the open session, the board approved the consent agenda items 5.1 to 5.2. The primary focus was a midyear student data workshop reviewing the California Healthy Kids survey results for the 2025-2026 period, covering elementary and middle school data. Key discussion points included student feelings of safety, bullying experiences (physical aggression, rumors, cyberbullying), and reported sadness levels. Recommendations centered on strengthening bullying prevention, enhancing mental health support, and maintaining a positive environment. The board also discussed resource availability for students facing non-mitigatable challenges, such as those leading to sadness. Furthermore, plans were detailed to integrate second-year school psychologists for providing SEAL lessons in classrooms, utilizing the survey data to direct their focus.