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Extracted from Consolidated Report
This investigation was originally published as part of a larger consolidated report containing multiple investigations. View the consolidated PDF for the complete document.
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Note: Missing finding numbers detected: F3
Findings 3 findings
F1
Page 22
"After unification, one of the most difficult tasks was taking the various policies and procedures from each of the individual school and writing a single, comprehensive set of policies and procedures. Whenever a new State or Federal law or regulation is enacted, that must be incorporated into the District's policies and procedures. The California School Board Association may also send out new policies, which must be reviewed and adopted into the District policies and procedures. The Superintendent oversees the revisions and presents them to the School Board for review and ratification. Revising and rewriting policies and procedures is a continuous process." RESPONSE: Reviewing policy and procedures is a constant and continual activity within the Scott Valley Unified School District It involves the Superintendent, the District staff, teachers, classified staff, community members and the SVUSD Board. SVUSD has and still does, subscribe to the California School Boards Association's recommended policy program, Gamut Online, which allows us to incorporate all mandated State and Federal regulations into our board policies. We can and do revisit, revise and/or replace policies as needed or as set by law. There is no finding stating SVUSD is not actively "revising and rewriting policies and procedures" as this process is done on a continual basis, therefore we reject this finding.
F2
Page 22
"The current School Board does not have anyone with teaching or administrative experience; consequently the Board lacks someone who understands the more complex issues regarding school administration and educational programs who can review the budget and other accountability documents and understand what is going on behind the scenes." RESPONSE: School boards throughout California are made up of elected community members and are designed to be nonpartisan. The SVUSD Board of Trustees is comprised of five members, all serving four-year terms. Terms are staggered to keep experienced members on the Board at all times. Currently, the only requirement to run for the elected position of SVUSD Board Trustee is as follows: at least 18 years of age, a citizen of the State of California, a resident of the Scott Valley School District, a registered voter and eligible under the state constitution to be elected to public office. From that point, it is up to the Scott Valley community to elect a person they see fit for the position. Response to Grand Jury Report - SVUSD School Board 2 Again, there is no finding, as the Scott Valley Unified School District cannot, nor will ever control, nor be accountable for the state and/or county election process. We reject this finding.
F4
Page 33
in the review of the Public Administrator:
Recommendations 5
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R1Page 22"The District should continue to keep on top ofi ts policies and procedures, adding to and modifying them as necessary." RESPONSE: As stated above, our District employs the services of the California School Board Association, using the state-of-art Gamut Online system to assist our District with board policy management
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R2Page 23"Short of electing a Board member with these qualifications, the Board must rely heavily on the District Superintendent and his staff" RESPONSE: SVUSD does not have any control, nor should it, on the Siskiyou County election process. The SVUSD Board of Trustees will continue to oversee the activities of the District, using their own personal and professional backgrounds and will work together with the Superintendent, along with the entire, dedicated staff, who have all been hired in their respected fields, to aid in making decisions and policies which will reflect our District mission statement set forth; "To ensure high levels of learning for all students".
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R3Page 23"Due to the fluid nature ofe ducational funding, the task is daunting to assure that all expenses are adequately funded. The District must be constantly aware of where funds are and where they are not" Response to Grand Jury Report - SVUSD School Board 3 RESPONSE: The district will continue to adhere to the procedures already in place to ensure fiscal solvency.
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R4Page 24"/tis essential that all children and youth in the community be tracked no matter which academic path they choose, to assure they receive the education necessary for success in adulthood." RESPONSE: There is no requirement, mandates or methods for school districts to track students who are enrolled in other forms of education. The choice for a student's education entity is a parent's decision to make. Public school systems, such as SVUSD cannot assure the educational quality of outside organizations, entities or services, such as Independent Study, charter schools and/or home schooling, nor is it possible to track their progress to insure success.
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R6Page 27''All critical school and district personnel should become familiar with both the CISM and CISD procedures. These procedures should implemented when traumatic events occur in the Scott Valley communities." RESPONSE: We will continue ensure proper training on our procedure effectiveness for dealing with future traumatic events. Response to Grand Jury Report - SVUSD School Board 7 Office of Public Administrator matter: