At its Tuesday, January 28, 2020 regularly scheduled meeting, the Board of Education heard presentations on many different matters. Click here to listen to a digital audio recording of the full meeting, and click here to view documents related to the various agenda items.
Public Hearing on 2020-21 District Sunshine Proposal for Contract Negotiations between the SMUSD and CSEA Local Chapter #120 and SMTA
As required by federal law, the first step toward contract negotiations between the District and its employee associations is to "sunshine" or publicly make available the District's proposal for topics of negotiation. The next step is to agendize the proposals for Board discussion and approval at the next regularly scheduled meeting on February 11, 2020. Click to view the District's sunshine proposals for CSEA and SMTA.
District Addresses Concerns about Coronavirus
The District has taken several actions to educate the school community about the flu and coronavirus and to ensure that all necessary precautions are being taken.
Click here
to view the District webpage for more information.
Welcome Amber Nuuvali!
Dr. Wilson introduced the District's new Chief Communications Officer, Amber Nuuvali. Under the direction of Dr. Wilson, Ms. Nuuvali will develop and administer the District's public information and strategic communication plan, as well as facilitate public information and community relations activities. With peer school districts and private schools well ahead of the District in this area, Dr. Wilson believes that Ms. Nuuvali's legal background and prior experience with communications and community relations at Arcadia Unified School District will greatly benefit the SMUSD. Savings realized through management restructuring and 2019 end-of-the-year retirements will fund this new position.
Budget Review by Independent Consultant Revealed Areas of Strength and Future Challenges
Dr. Robert McEntire, Director, Management Consulting Services at School Services California, Inc. conducted an independent analysis of the District's finances. With a specific focus on the unrestricted side of the General Fund, Dr. McEntire analyzed budgets and supporting documents to determine the District's fiscal solvency, analyze practices, and identify areas for improvement. Click here to view the presentation and here to review the entire report.
Dr. McEntire touched on numerous areas, such as enrollment and ADA, LCFF and other revenues, expenditures, multiyear projections, escalating special education contributions, and cash flow and reserve issues.
Dr. McEntire also used a group of 19 school districts to compare finances, staffing and teacher compensation. The 18 other comparative districts are within a 30-mile geographic area, have student enrollment greater than 2500, have an Unduplicated Pupil Percentage (percent of students who are English learners, foster youth, or receive free or reduced-fee meals) between 0-30%, or compete with the SMUSD for students and talent. Some comparative findings show:
- The District ranks 14th out of 19 in LCFF revenue (state funding) and receives almost 20% less per-ADA funding than the average of unified districts in the state
- Even though the District receives relatively low funding, it "has prioritized its investment in personnel, primarily in the number of staff members relative to its student population" and ranks 3rd out of 19.
- When comparing the number of teachers employed in each district against the number of students, SMUSD on average has 3 students fewer per class than South Pasadena and Palos Verdes Peninsula USDs and 2 students fewer than Arcadia and La Canada USDs.
- Even though the District receives relatively low funding, and even though it has prioritized its investment in personnel, the District has "minimized expenditures away from the school site" with a lean central office administration (15th out of 19).
Recap of the Governor's Proposed State Budget
Dr. McEntire also presented information about Governor Newsom's proposed 2020-21 budget and its possible impact on K-12 education. The good news is that there is a projected statutory COLA (cost of living allowance) of 2.29%, which will provide an increase in LCFF funding, and there are some increases to the LCFF funding formula for smaller class sizes and increased Career Technical Education costs. The bad news is that with increases in expenditures, such as unfunded special education contributions, increased pension contributions, and increases in step and column salaries, it is expected that the mandated expenditures will exceed the COLA and increases, resulting in a built-in deficit of $80 per ADA. Without any new payments to reduce pension costs or any one-time discretionary grants, the District will not benefit from the Governor's proposed 2020-21 budget.
Los Angeles County BEST Accounting System
The Board heard a presentation on the Los Angeles County Office of Education's Business Enhancement System Transformation (BEST) Project, which is a new financial and human capital management system that the District is required to adopt and use. Once implemented after a year-long training, configuring, and testing process, the integrated system will include budget development, finance, human resources, and payroll.
The Board invites the San Marino community to attend its next regularly scheduled meeting on February 11, 2020, at 7:30 p.m. at 1665 West Drive, San Marino, CA 91108.
