LCUSD considers student safety, active shooter response as a matter of course one day before Florida school shooting
With a light agenda Tuesday, La Cañada school officials took care of several key pieces of business while considering the best steps forward in terms of the district’s finances, seeking guidance in modernizing school campuses and keeping students safe.
School safety plans
A routine matter required by state law, district officials reviewed the 2018-19 school safety plans for all LCUSD sites. Mark Evans, the district’s assistant superintendent of business and administrative services, explained the information is compiled into annual School Accountability Report Cards.
The reports contain information on campus crimes, expulsions and discipline and lay out procedures for reporting child abuse and hate crimes, clarifying sexual harassment and ensuring safe ingress and egress to and from schools. Local parent David Haxton accused the district of “benign neglect” for not creating clearer pathways to and from La Cañada High School for pedestrians and vehicles.
“The district allows students to park in the cutouts on Oak Grove [Drive] so they can’t be used for the intended purpose of drop off and pick up … even though the district’s insurance underwriter said that that was unsafe,” Haxton said at the Feb. 13 meeting. “Students on the bus all have to cross two busy streets to get to the school property. And communities near the high school are used for pick up and drop off.”
School board member Dan Jeffries acknowledged the historic problem of parking on the high school campus, and said the district was working within the current restrictions but would prioritize the issue as LCUSD moves forward in its plans to renovate the campus in coming years under the district’s facilities master plan.
School board member Ellen Multari inquired whether information regarding active shooter training and response might be relevant to the reports and how it’s disseminated to staff and faculty members.
“There’s been a lot of evidence to suggest that certain behaviors can infinitely increase the chances of survival and success in getting out of situations like that,” she said. “It’s really not something we’re obviously going to teach our students, but I think we’d want our faculty and staff to understand how these behaviors can save lives.”
Officials explained how emergency procedural information is kept and disseminated. Board President Kaitzer Puglia said she’d like the board to receive updates on emergency readiness and safety training on an annual basis.
Second interim budget
Mark Evans and fiscal services director Gretchen Bergstrom gave governing board members a rough estimate of what the district’s budget might look like through 2021, presenting a second interim report for 2017-18. The out-year estimates incorporate key assumptions following the 2018-19 state budget proposal put forth by Gov. Jerry Brown on Jan. 10.
The district is on track to receive $46.6 million in revenues this fiscal year, about $1.13 million more than what officials anticipated in their 2017-18 budget. But expenditures are estimated at $47.2 million — with nearly $20.2 million dedicated to certificated teacher salaries — more than $1.2 million than the budget estimate.
“We’ll be deficit spending this year,” Evans said of the general fund change. “Next year is flush, that’s largely when we get those one-time moneys. Then we’re kind of flirting with the red and black line in the out years.”
Bergstrom said the assumption was that student enrollment would remain flat in coming years, and that while gap funding from the state, intended to help bring school districts back to 2007-08 funding levels, has been fully paid, LCUSD could expect one-time funding next school year in the amount of $295 per average daily attendance, or ADA.
After that, however, the only increase in state funding will come from cost of living adjustments, which are far outpaced by the rise in what districts are expected to contribute to employees’ retirement benefits.
“The pool is finite, and there are only so many resources,” Evans said, encouraging officials to prioritize spending projects. “Our ability to expand programs is very minimal.”
Contract awarded
Also Tuesday, school board members approved a contract with Valencia-based management consultant Linik Corp. for the planning and implementation of $149 million in Measure LCF bond funds. The cost of the contract is not to exceed $45,500, which will allow Linik Corp. to assist the district with pre-construction management, planning and the bidding and construction process, including the submittal of projects for approval by the Division of the State Architect.
“This is an important mechanism for us for oversight,” said school board member Joe Radabaugh. “The district doesn’t necessarily have the staff to pull this off right away. So I’m looking forward to partnering — let’s get going.”
Twitter: @SaraCardine
