Jan. 17, 2023, Board Meeting Highlights

Jan. 17, 2023, Board Meeting Highlights
Posted on 01/19/2023

The Santee School District Board of Education met at 6 p.m. January 17, 2023. Meeting highlights included:

Reports and Presentations

  • The Santee School District Foundation, formed in 2002, supports literacy, arts, technology, and school site grants through fundraising and donations. This year, the Santee School District Foundation announced that it would be providing $25,000 toward innovative projects that enrich the educational experiences of Santee School District students. Grants were reviewed and selected based on a competitive process. Members of the Santee School District Foundation awarded the Innovative Grants funds to the District. More information about the projects can be found here
  • Mr. Mike Olander, Director of Pupil Services and Student Well-being, provided an update on the implementation of Behavioral Health Support grant services and benefits for Santee School District students. 

In the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years, Santee School District participated in the preliminary planning of two grants: Screening to Care and Student Behavioral Health Incentive Program (SBHIP). The Screening to Care grant aims to make available behavioral health interventions for all students in 7th and 8th grade using a universal screening tool, called the Social, Academic, Emotional, Behavior Risk Screener (SAEBRS). Once the SAEBRS is administered, a federally funded outside vender identifies areas of need for all students at the school site level. It also identifies at-risk students who don’t meet the threshold of needing a formal referral to County Mental Health Services but require additional support. The outside vendor provides cost-free interventions and resources for these students, such as on-site group counseling. The SBHIP grant aims to increasing student access to mental health supports and to student mental health needs. Strives to do this by expanding the mental health workforce, developing Care Teams, and building billing capacity for our mental health workforce for sustainability.

Consent Items

  • The Board proclaimed the week of February 6 – 10, 2023 as National School Counseling Week, and the week of March 6 – 10, 2023 as National School Social Work Week to celebrate the hard work of our counselors and social worker.

Discussion and Action Items

  • The Board reviewed their legislative goals in anticipation of the State Legislature beginning to develop legislation and bills that may impact education. The Board gave direction to staff to make revisions to the proposed goals and bring the revision list back to a future meeting.
  • The Board of Education adopted the Santee School District Governance Standards as a guideline to help increase effectiveness and improve the quality of governance and leadership for the District. The Santee School District Governance Standards were last revised and adopted by the Board of Education at the May 4, 2021, meeting.
  • On January 10, 2023, the Governor unveiled his plans for the 2023-24 State Budget. Administration provided a brief overview of key components of the Governor’s plan. More details will be provided at a Budget Workshop scheduled for March 7, 2023.
  • The Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) for the State of California has waived the Basic Skills Requirement for new Emergency 30-Day Substitute Teaching Permit. The waiver period will run from January 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024. While this will attract new substitute teachers and increase the pool in our impacted districts, there is still a need for experienced teachers to support our students in the classrooms. In recognition of the years of service and experience that retired educators bring, the Board approved an increase to the daily rate of pay for teachers who have retired directly from Santee School District and are returning to substitute teach. The increase for retirees who have met at least 5 consecutive years of service in Santee School District will be $275 per day.
  • Santee School District and the California School Employees Association and its (CSEA) Chapter #557 have reached a Tentative Agreement for the 2022-23 school year. concerning the following Articles:
    • Article 13, Layoff, Employment, Involuntary Reduction in Hours, and the Impacts and Effects of Such Matters
    • Article 14, Holidays
    • Article 16, Transfers
    • Article 18, Leave Provisions
    • Article 19, Compensation
    • Article 20, Health and Welfare Benefits
    • Article 24, Term

    A 6.75% increase to the 2022-2023 salary schedule was also included for Classified Employees, effective July 1, 2022.

Board Policies and Bylaws

  • Three Board policies were presented for the Board of Education’s review in a first reading: Board Policy 7110 – Facilities Master Plan and Board Policy 7140 – Architectural and Engineering Services, have been updated to conform with California School Board Association’s (CSBA) language; Board Policy 7131 – Relations with Local Agencies, is a new policy from CSBA.
  • Three Board policies were presented for the Board of Education’s review in a first reading: Board Policy 7150 – Site Selection and Development and Board Policy 7210 – Facilities Financing, have been updated to conform with California School Board Association’s (CSBA) language; Board Policy 7160 – Charter School Facilities, is a new policy from CSBA.

The next meeting of the Santee School District Board of Education will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday, February 7, 2023, in the Educational Resource Center, 9619 Cuyamaca, Santee.

Note: These are not official meeting minutes of the Board of Education but rather a brief recap of the Board’s actions. For official meeting minutes and a complete list of actions taken, visit bit.ly/3gejSgf.