All Board reports can be found on GAMUT Meetings.  Not all items listed on the Board Agenda are included in these Highlights.

Student Presentation:  Rancho Elementary School students shared with the Board their partnership with Novato High’s JROTC students.

Consent Agenda Public Comment:  A community member commented on Consent Agenda Items 15.j and 15.k, Change Orders to the Grounds, Maintenance & Operations Building on C Street.

Non-Agenda Public Comment:  Community members commented on custodial staff, special education language, and retirement benefits.

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:

SPECIAL EDUCATION UPDATE:  The Board was given an update on the current status of the Special Education Department including 3-year California Dashboard data trends, Performance Indicator Review update, actions taken to address the recommendations from the 2019 School Services of California Special Education Study, and a look ahead as we use data trends highlighting students with disabilities for projected planning.  See Item 13.a for more information.

FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL SERVICES UPDATE:  In the fall of 2019, the District brought on a new FANS Director, Cody Williams. He is a graduate from the Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, and has worked for 20 years in the hospitality industry in the Bay Area. He managed the Food and Nutrition Services Department at the Sonoma Valley Unified School District for the past seven years. Cody gave the Board an overview of the program, the challenges the department faces, the plans being implemented to improve quality and constancy of food product, the department’s commitment to healthy eating and lifestyle, and a look at the next steps for the department. See Item 13.b for more information.

2018-2019 ANNUAL AUDIT REPORT:  The Board accepted and approved the District’s 2018-2019 Annual Audit Report as required by the Education Code presented by external auditors, Christy White & Associates. The audit report did not reveal any material weaknesses; there were no financial statement findings; and there were no federal or state award findings or questionable costs (pages 80-83 of the report). See Item 14.a for the 2018-2019 Annual Audit Report.

2020-2021 GOVERNOR’S PROPOSED BUDGET AND BUDGET DEVELOPMENT CALENDAR:

On January 10, 2020 Governor Newsom unveiled his proposed State Budget for 2020-2021.  The Governor proposes actions in the following areas:

  • Local Control Funding Formula: Proposes approximately $1.2 billion to fund a 2.29% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to the LCFF.  This is lower than the 3% COLA projected at adoption of the 2019-20 State Budget, but higher than the LAO’s estimate of 1.79% used in the 2019-2020 NUSD First Interim.
  • Other Areas: Governor Newsom made proposals in many areas of the education budget including special education, professional development, educator needs in specific credential areas, community schools, and low performing schools. Unfortunately, at this time, NUSD is either not eligible for these proposals or the proposals come with additional requirements which would eliminate any operational savings from the new funding.

The Board approved the 2020-2021 NUSD Budget Development Calendar. See Item 14.b to review the Governor’s Proposed Budget and the Budget Development Calendar.

Recordings of Board meetings can be found on NCTV’s YouTube Channel and NCTV reruns meetings on Comcast local Channel 30.

Next Board Meetings:           February 9, 2020, 9 am Special Board Meeting

February 11, 2020, 7 pm