• Our Steering Committee and elementary and secondary subcommittees are formed, and are meeting regularly. Thank you to everyone who applied. We had over 200 people interested in these committees! You can see the members selected here: steering, secondary, elementary.

• We were all hoping that the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health would release their Order on procedures to reopen schools earlier this week. Unfortunately, that release has been delayed by at least a week, and possibly two. The Health Department’s Order will establish the minimum level of procedures for all LA County schools to follow. We will not be able to finalize our school opening procedures until that Order is released, but our committees will still be meeting to review other relevant protocols and procedures.

• Our committees will be using guidance and resources from a wide variety of agencies and experts, as they are working on five major areas for re-opening our schools:
• Health and Safety
• Instruction (Both Distance and In-Person)
• Social and Emotional Supports
• Family and Community Engagement
• Operations (HR, Facilities, Budgeting, Nutrition, Technology)

• This week the State agreed upon a budget that is less harmful to MBUSD than the Governor’s May budget would have been. For that reason, we are recommending a budget for 2020-21 that does not include additional reductions beyond the ones we already approved in March. The budget also contains strong language advocating for students to return to some form of in-school learning in August. That said, if circumstances do not allow for students to return to school, we are beginning discussions about laying off classified employees in positions where their assigned responsibilities cannot be completed in a distance learning environment.

• Our return to school committees and our Medical Advisory Board both discussed the importance of wearing face coverings. There is an LA Times article today about the recent uptick in cases, particularly among our younger people. This is preventable, and I want to take this time to urge all of us to remain vigilant! I have received several emails criticizing our senior graduates, who, after the 10-hour MBUSD-sponsored graduation ceremony which adhered to Health Department guidelines, met on the beach for an unauthorized and non-district sponsored gathering. This type of event puts all of us in danger. The health advice from the County is there for a reason - not wearing face coverings and not honoring social distancing protocols creates risks for every member of our community. We are still in the first wave of COVID-19, and all of the medical professionals I speak with are still concerned. Please protect yourself, protect those you interact with, and protect our community by following the advice and directives from our Governor, Health Department, and practically every scientific/medical source I have read by wearing a face covering and practicing appropriate social distancing. And while we’re at it, let’s keep washing our hands regularly for the rest of our lives.