Response from Twin Rivers Unified School District

R1

1 Twin Rivers must immediately reduce the number and expense of top level administrators and put the savings into classrooms. Response to recommendation 1.1 This recommendation is not warranted. As evidenced in the graphic titled, “Twin Rivers USD Reductions in Administration” under finding 1.0, our district has already made dramatic reductions in administration. In addition to the $10 million in savings we have realized in administrative reductions, we piloted a budgeting system that allows us to push more of the resources that were previously centrally managed out to school site leaders. In return, school site staff collaboratively set goals for their campus and have more flexibility with funds as long as the goals are met. The new budgeting system is just one part of our Strategic School Funding for Results (SSFR) initiative in partnership with the American Institutes for Research, Pivot Learning Partners, and Los Angeles Unified School District. It is funded through grants with the Ford Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. The project is designed to help districts create a culture of innovation and efficiency, increase transparency, and provide resource equity. The project involves the development and evaluation of a comprehensive approach to local school finance, governance, and human resource management. With the ultimate goal of improving the level and distribution of both teacher effectiveness and student learning opportunities, SSFR was designed to: (a) develop and implement more equitable and transparent strategies for allocating resources within each district; (b) link those strategies to policies and processes designed to encourage innovation, efficiency, and teacher effectiveness; and (c) strengthen accountability for improving student outcomes. We will continue to act responsibly and reduce administrative positions as our district needs allow. We have consistently communicated and demonstrated our intention to gradually reduce the total positions as the number and variety of administrative tasks associated with creating a new district and restructuring programs and facilities lessens. In the area of fiscal responsibility, the results are clear. Thanks to the responsible handling of district expenditures, Twin Rivers is the only large Sacramento area district removed from the State’s fiscal watch list and has a positive budget as certified by the Sacramento County Office of Education. Building Trust and Delivering Results for Students and Families Twin Rivers Response to the 2010-2011 Grand Jury Report September 6, 2011

R2

Every city or town council in Sonoma County should exercise their prerogative per the E.C. 35720-35724 to initiate a CCSDO study of educational and financial benefits that might be achieved for their citizens through consolidation or unification of schoo! districts within their city boundaries.

R3

As per the E.C. 35720-35724, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors should request that the CCSDO initiate a fact finding study for the purpose of determining the educational and financial benefits, if any, of reconfiguring or consolidating school districts within their overlapping jurisdictions within Sonoma County into K12, or other configurations of unified school districts, that would benefit all stakeholders. RA. The Sonoma County Superintendent of Schools should sponsor twice-annual regional meetings of all school district superintendents to: (a) discuss and implement “best practices”; (b) explore and implement school district cost-sharing programs that would reduce school district duplication; ~ (c) initiate horizontal and vertical articulation of classroom curriculum, in order to meet educational needs, which benefit the students going forward feeding into the high schoo district; (d) provide for prompt transfer of pupil records among all schools that any student may chose to attend in Sonoma County, especially those students who are entering a secondary school -districts, RS. Ail CCSDO studies should include the statutory elements required by the state educational code and: (a) an evaluation of an articulated K-12 curriculum, (b) the economic benefits of Special Education, transportation, administrative services, (c) board members’ health and welfare benefits, and (d) stipend savings through elimination of duplicate services.

R4

1 The Twin Rivers Board and superintendent must take responsibility for creating a more diverse group of key personnel from all four of the unifying districts, including Grant. Response to Recommendation 4.1 This recommendation was implemented from the start of our district with a personnel approach that includes looking at current employees and outside professionals to obtain the most qualified individual for a given position. It is important to remember that many of the top administrators from the former Grant Joint Union High School District (GJUHSD) resigned prior to Twin Rivers becoming a district on July 1, 2008. The remaining leadership employees from all four of the predecessor districts provided invaluable service over the past three years to get our new district up and running and to ensure Twin Rivers continues to improve the academic experience and opportunities for students. Our current personnel have had the opportunity to work at different schools, in different neighborhoods, and collaborate together on a variety of projects. While an employee may have started at Twin Rivers with more elementary or secondary experience, all of our leadership have now experienced more than three years of programs at all levels, all while identifying best practices across our district, holding on to, and growing the programs that deliver the best results for all of our students. Some of our recent hires are administrators coming to us from outside the Sacramento area. As extremely limited key positions become open, our Board and Superintendent are always looking for professionals with strong, diverse skill sets and experience that 14 Building Trust and Delivering Results for Students and Families Twin Rivers Response to the 2010-2011 Grand Jury Report September 6, 2011 benefits our students. Twin Rivers has and will continue to work diligently to create a positive and inclusive atmosphere for all members of our community and our goal is to continue moving forward in that direction.

R5

1 The Board of Trustees must better utilize existing buildings, and be more judicious in the spending of scarce district funds. Response to recommendation 5.1 This recommendation is not warranted. From the start of Twin Rivers USD, our administration, Board of Trustees, and community budget advisory committees have overseen the use of funds and building projects. In fact, additional community advisory groups met more than 40 times over the past two years to provide guidance and input on the process of consolidating campuses. As a 16 Building Trust and Delivering Results for Students and Families Twin Rivers Response to the 2010-2011 Grand Jury Report September 6, 2011 result, we continue to reinvent these campuses to provide valuable community resources and services. For example, the former Aero Haven Elementary site is now home to a United Cerebral Palsy program. The former Larchmont Elementary site is now home to Pacific High School, a program that helps young people get back on track towards graduation. The judicious use of district funds and reinvention of district facilities has helped to ensure Twin Rivers is the only large Sacramento area district with a positive budget.

R6

The CCSDO, in an effort to better manage costs, should study the potential savings available by reconfiguring the CBOE trusteeships (currently 7 members) to align with the County Board.of Supervisors (currently 5). A’new, smaller CBOE would then also reflect current census distribution within the county.

R7

The County Board of Education and the County Superintendent of Schools should support and work with state legislators to establish a provision in the educational code that would empower the County Superintendent to make his/her own request for district consolidation or unification studies if a school district has filed qualified or negative financial certification for two or more years. R&. The Sonoma County Board of Education should conduct a study of SCOE to determine the possible costs and savings of fewer school districts to manage Sonoma County Schools, and where those costs/savings, if any, could be applied to better the education of students. RG, All 40 Districts in Sonoma County shall respond to the following questions, which will be published by the Grand Jury: a. Afier hearing public comments and by a majority vote of the Board of Directors we __invite or _____. decline to cooperate with a SCOE funded study to discover whether there could be benefits to both educational and financial costs in district consolidation. b. Current 2010/2011 enrolment is . Enrollment for 2009/2010 was c, We are currently a K-12 unified school district? yes, or no. Ifnot our current structure is: ad, We areor__ not currently classified as a Basic Aid District. As a Basic id District we derive the following financial benefit: __ e. We currently have enrolled students living outside district boundaries. Five years ago there were students living outside district boundaries. f. We currently have students living inside district boundaries who have chosen to attend schools in other districts. How many such students were there in the 2005/2006 school year ? g. There are currently dependent and our district. Five years ago there were dependent and our district. independent charter schools operating within independent charter schools in h. We currently have developed effective protocols with all surrounding districts to insure complete and timely access to student records transferring in or out of our district yes__—sino. i. Wecurrently have or have not implemented coordinated plans to insure articulation and basic curriculum compatibility with those districts most likely to receive our students and from whom we are likely to receive students. j. Wecurrently have or do not have Joint Power Agreements (JPAS), or similar significant shared cost saving plans with neighboring districts.

R8

1 The district must immediately complete a comprehensive physical inventory and merge equipment inventories from the four unifying districts. Response to recommendation 8.1 This recommendation is not warranted. Twin Rivers purchased an asset tracking software program in 2009 and is nearing completion of a complete audit of baseline inventory. It is important to note that during the school year, our staff focused on meeting the immediate needs of schools. Because the former districts did not come into unification with a complete physical inventory, it has been an enormous undertaking to go to each of the 50 schools to verify assets. Twin Rivers has completed fixed asset inventories at the following sites: Norwood Elementary North Avenue Elementary Larchmont Elementary 20 Building Trust and Delivering Results for Students and Families Twin Rivers Response to the 2010-2011 Grand Jury Report September 6, 2011 the past year have added more than $180,000 to our legal costs. Additional resources including hundreds of hours of district staff time, providing more than 27,000 pages of documentation, processing inquiry response and preparing this response have further burdened the district.

R9

1 The Board of Trustees must analyze and evaluate the costs of using outside counsel in comparison to the cost of hiring in-house legal staff. Response to recommendation 9.1 This recommendation is not warranted. The Board has analyzed the costs and benefits of using outside and in-house counsel for our district. The issue of choosing in-house as contrasted with the selection of outside counsel is a multi-faceted decision. The Board made this policy decision after evaluating many potential costs and benefits. For example, in most districts where there is an in-house counsel, there is also the added costs of legal support staff and the need to hire outside counsel specialists for individual cases and issues. The Board has a process of cost analysis for legal services and will continue to follow that process.

R10

1 The Board of Trustees must conduct a monthly review of the status and costs of each lawsuit involving Twin Rivers. Response to recommendation 10.1 This recommendation is not warranted. Trustees are briefed on an ongoing basis as legal milestones and decision points are reached. The administration has a thorough process for review of litigation fees and costs and regularly reviews such matters with counsel and the Board of Trustees in closed sessions of board meetings. We make substantial efforts to evaluate and limit legal expense, including the 5% reduction from the current outside legal counsel mentioned under

R11

1 The Board of Trustees must stop using Fund 24 bond money as a source for funds for Twin Rivers v. CFS, et al. Response to Recommendation 11.1 This recommendation will not be implemented as it is neither required nor reasonable in this circumstance. The Twin Rivers v. CFS lawsuit is directly related to the recovery of bond and other funds as a result of the improper conduct of CFS as alleged in that case. The lawsuit would not have been required but for the conduct of CFS related to the financing and commencement of construction and improvements. Further, it is the intent of Twin Rivers that Measure G/Fund 24 funds expended in prosecuting the Twin Rivers v. CFS lawsuit will be refunded to Fund 24 out of the recoveries received in the lawsuit. Twin Rivers is confident that the expenditures on this lawsuit are reasonable under applicable law.

R12

1 A more equitable election process would provide that the trustees be elected directly from their individual districts rather than at large. Response to recommendation 12.1 This recommendation will not be implemented at this time. The current election system provides a balance of neighborhood representation and the ability to think broadly and ensure the best outcomes for students. While the by-district approach is easier for potential candidates because they do not have to concern themselves with engaging all of the communities in our district in order to be elected, it does not yield the best results for students. When all members of the board are accountable to all families and voters, it is easier for the board to make decisions that are in the best long-term interests of all of our students. For example, in the case of a school closure, it could be difficult for a member of the board to accept that the closure would be in their neighborhood. However, if all members of the board are thinking district-wide, they are considering all options. In these times of difficult financial decisions forced by 20-30% budget cuts from the State, our district needs a system that encourages responsible, long-term decision-making. While there are passionate discussions and differences of opinion on challenging issues, divisiveness and parochialism would likely increase in a strictly by-district election approach. Our second election under this system will take place in June 2012, and should provide additional insight into the outcomes achieved by this hybrid approach.

R13

1 The Board of Trustees, using a wide variety of strategies and resources, must ensure that parents of all students are made aware of all programs offered to students by the district, including those programs offered by dependent charter schools. Response to recommendation 13.1 This recommendation is not warranted. Our district strongly encourages all schools, including dependent charters, to widely market their programs to grow district enrollment. One of the goals of our Board and Superintendent has been to turn-around the long- standing trend of students leaving our district schools. We have strongly emphasized 29 Building Trust and Delivering Results for Students and Families Twin Rivers Response to the 2010-2011 Grand Jury Report September 6, 2011 with our school staff the importance of listening to families, providing great customer service, and marketing their campus to potential students throughout the district. Schools, including our dependent charter schools, are encouraged to widely market the strengths of their programs to all students. Every student receives a Twin Rivers Student and Family Handbook each year that lists all Twin Rivers school options. We list school options on the Twin Rivers web site. We post dependent charter application periods on homepage banners on the district web site. We hold an open enrollment fair each year that is widely publicized in multiple languages and families have the opportunity to talk with representatives from school sites. We have also offered marketing advice and training for teachers, parents and staff who are interested in growing their school enrollment. In fact, we have received complaints from neighboring Twin Rivers schools about the aggressive marketing taking place to recruit students from each other. This year, we are providing schools with a list of marketing guidelines and setting aside a two-month period prior to open enrollment that will be the main marketing period for all schools.

R14

1 The Board of Trustees and the Twin Rivers Superintendent should engage in active listening and consistent responsive communications, and encourage the involvement of all members of the Twin Rivers communities. Response to recommendation 14.1 This recommendation is not warranted. From the beginning of the Twin Rivers USD, we have operated under the belief that students benefit enormously when our families and community are involved in our schools and classrooms. We believe we have and continue to make substantial efforts to listen, engage and communicate with our communities. Twin Rivers provides a wide variety of opportunities to understand district issues, provide feedback, and get involved at the classroom and district levels. For example, we provide regular electronic newsletter updates, web site news and calendar items, automated phone calls and surveys, printed flyers, translated materials, video stories, print newsletter stories, and in-person meetings and interpretation. Families can access school information, online curriculum, and daily email updates 31 Building Trust and Delivering Results for Students and Families Twin Rivers Response to the 2010-2011 Grand Jury Report September 6, 2011 through our district-wide School Loop system. In addition, in the 2011-2012 school year, we are reaching out to families to make them aware of a special internet pricing program through Comcast that allows low-income families to pay just $9.95 a month for internet service. This low-cost program has the potential to allow many more families to connect with real-time information about their student’s academic and behavior progress in the classroom. When families have more information and are active partners with teachers and principals, students benefit. Last spring we piloted a district-wide phone messaging system. This successful trial with 10 schools led to a full implementation that has the potential of transforming the teacher to family relationship by bridging the digital and language divide among our families. In Twin Rivers USD, our students and families speak a wide variety of languages. Our new phone messaging system will allow classroom teachers to send daily feedback calls to families in more than 20 languages. In addition to these activities and those listed under recommendation 4.2, ongoing opportunities for active listening and involvement are outlined in Appendix B - Ongoing Employee, Community, Family, and Student Engagement Opportunities within Twin Rivers USD. We are always looking for new and better ways to communicate and engage and will continue the type of work that resulted in Twin Rivers being recognized by the American Association of School Administrators and the National School Public Relations Association with the 2010 National Leadership Through Communication Award.