School board discusses changes to master plan, potential bond measure and discipline policy

The La Cañada Unified School District Governing Board on Tuesday approved contracts with two consultants to assist the district in developing a new facilities master plan and to determine the feasibility of putting a general obligation bond before voters next year.

In the first meeting of the new school year, which began earlier that day, board members also reviewed potential changes to LCUSD’s discipline policy, considering the addition of language about online bullying and sexual harassment, and examined the process by which students are suspended and expelled.

Supt. Wendy Sinnette emphasized the importance of creating a new facilities master plan to address and provide funding strategies for the district’s infrastructure needs over the next 20 to 25 years.

“And, as we generate community enthusiasm, we ideally want to get those with a bond election measure in November 2017,” she said.

To help coordinate the financial aspects of a new master plan and possible bond measure — including determining LCUSD’s bond capacity — the board approved a contract with Irvine-based Fieldman, Rolapp & Associates (FRA).

To help research the plausibility of placing a general obligation bond measure before district voters next year, board members approved a contract with TBWB Strategies, a firm based in San Francisco.

Chief Business and Operations Officer Mark Evans said the district’s last facilities master plan dates back to 1995, although it was reviewed and updated by board members in 2002 and 2009. Officials and administrators may have ideas about current infrastructure needs, but much more work remains to be done to get a full picture.

“The scope will really be determined by the planning process,” Evans said after the meeting. “There are some items we will definitely need to address, such as infrastructure for technology and addressing any issues with updating/modernizing buildings.”

The possible addition of square footage at some of the district’s school sites will be another area of discussion, he added.

In a presentation to the board, FRA chief executive Adam Bauer highlighted his firm’s role as a municipal adviser, assisting in forming and executing the financing plans for the bond, organizing the debt transition, negotiating on behalf of the district, analyzing and making recommendations about alternative financing techniques and negotiating bond parameters on behalf of the school district, among other responsibilities.

Bauer said FRA will serve as a primary spokesperson with the rating agencies. The firm has worked in a similar capacity with school districts in San Diego, Pasadena, East Whittier, Riverside, San Bernardino, Anaheim City, Garden Grove and Palm Springs.

“When Mark and I interviewed several firms, we were both very impressed with Adam and felt it would be a very beneficial partnership,” Sinnette told board members.

Evans said FRA will help the district hash out plans for funding those projects proposed by the new facilities master plan, including pursuing a bond next year. According to the contract, the firm is to be paid a flat fee upon issuance of a bond, depending on the type of issuance.

TBWB will be paid a monthly base consulting fee of $6,500 for an 18-month contract period. It will collaborate with the district’s preferred pollster to design, conduct and analyze an opinion survey of district voters to assess the feasibility of a general obligation bond measure proposal in a 2017 election.

The survey will look at demographics and past election results to understand voter turnout trends, research other local tax proposals and make specific recommendations on how a district initiates its bond measure planning efforts.

“Bonds are focused more on capital improvements,” Evans said. “The bond dollars are separate from the general fund, but sometimes improvements can have indirect cost savings. These are most typical when buildings are made more efficient and use less energy.”

Tough talk on discipline

Also up for discussion were board policy amendments pertaining to discipline and due process surrounding suspensions and expulsions. Proposed updates include references to bullying via digital and social media, sexual harassment and the stipulation agreement between a student, parents and school site administrators when an offense worthy of expulsion has occurred, among other items.

Board member Ellen Multari commented on a highlighted section pertaining to firearms on campus.

“I can see we’ll have to revisit this every year since there’s so many moving targets, with social media and mobile devices,” she said.

Parent Belinda Randolph said she did not agree with proposals recommending recess restrictions as part of discipline.

“I think the district has a history of unfair treatment of denied recess,” she said. “Young children need recess to behave. You can’t have a teacher discipline a child and not inform the parents, and then continue to withhold recess.”

Off to a good start

Also Tuesday, the first day of the new 2016-17 school year, LCUSD board members praised the district’s maintenance crews for their diligent work over the summer break to make sure all campuses were primed and ready for an influx of more than 4,000 students earlier that day.

They shared news of a ribbon-cutting ceremony scheduled to take place Thursday morning, recognizing the completion this summer of a new track and football field at La Cañada High School. Crews recently finished work on the new artificial turf and track, which Evans said was budgeted at $1.5 million.

With the field in place and all campuses cleaned, Supt. Wendy Sinnette warmly thanked staff members and assured those in attendance the first day back had gone off without a hitch.

“We are healthy at all five of our sites,” she said. “(And) enrollment looks good.”

Sanderson is a contributor to Times Community News.