Monterey Peninsula Unified School District

The Superintendent report provided an update on several key initiatives, including the search for a provisional appointee to fill a vacancy in Trustee Area 6. The report highlighted observances for Attendance Awareness Month, National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and National Literacy Month, alongside plans for Hispanic Heritage Day. Additionally, the district reported on infrastructure updates, including facility use surveys and the completion of the new multi-use stadium at Marina High School, which hosted its first football game.

This strategic plan from the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District, titled 'Showing Up Matters: Leveraging Communications to Boost Attendance and Reduce Chronic Absenteeism', outlines a comprehensive approach to address chronic absenteeism. The initiative is built upon five key pillars: Campaign Engine, Leadership Alignment, Ready-to-Use Site Tools, Multi-Channel Approach, and Data and Integration. The plan aims to significantly reduce chronic absenteeism rates across all student subgroups by fostering a culture of belonging and shifting the narrative from compliance to support.

This document provides an overview of a multi-tiered suicide prevention and intervention framework. It outlines various components including classroom presentations for students in grades 5-12 to build awareness and promote help-seeking behaviors, Teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA) training for 10th-grade students to support peers, and staff prevention presentations to increase awareness and confidence in responding to student mental health concerns. The framework also details a clear risk assessment protocol, utilizing tools like the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (CSSRS), for at-risk students. The overall objective is to foster a culture of help-seeking and promote mental well-being for all students within the district.

This document serves as a follow-up presentation for the Fiscal Stabilization Plan, addressing the need for financial stability due to expiring COVID relief funding, declining enrollment, and escalating costs. It highlights the integration of the California Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI), a five-year investment to enhance mental health and well-being services for children and youth, utilizing new funding mechanisms and partnerships. The plan details strategies for optimizing school psychologists' staffing, maintaining essential services, and provides an overview of mental health support, including historical development, staff roles, and current challenges in billing and revenue generation. The overall objective is to ensure the continuity and enhancement of critical educational and support services amidst financial constraints.

This document outlines the Final Fiscal Stabilization Plan for MPUSD for 2026, developed to address significant financial challenges arising from the cessation of COVID support funds, declining student enrollment, and increased operational costs. The plan details strategic staffing reductions and adjustments designed to minimize layoffs while prioritizing the preservation of key investments made during the pandemic, such as mental health professionals and accelerated learning specialists. It acknowledges that, despite current measures, further expenditure reductions will be necessary beyond 2026-2027 to achieve long-term financial sustainability.