Atascadero High School director of activities recognized for receiving Bob Burton Spirit Award

ATASCADERO — The Atascadero Unified School District (AUSD) Board of Trustees met for its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, March 19, at 7 p.m. President Terri Switzer was absent from the meeting.

Atascadero High School (AHS) Activities Director Kerry Sherer was recognized for receiving the Bob Burton Spirit Award, which was given to her by the California Association of Directors of Activities at their recent conference. Students representing all four grades addressed Sherer and thanked her for everything she does at the school.

“I’d like to start off by saying that Mrs. Sherer plays a crucial role in shaping the minds of all students at AHS,” said junior class representative and student Olivia Otter. “I’ve known her for almost all 16 years of my life, and she’s continued to inspire me to do my best, guide me to achieve all my goals, and empower me to grow as an individual.” 

Sherer addressed the room and thanked the students before telling them everything she does is for them. She also thanked the trustee board and the AHS staff for their support.

Superintendent Tom Butler then introduced two new AUSD administrative hires to the trustees. Kendyl Darnell will be the new superintendent of business services and will take over for Jackie Martin in October of this year. Darnell is currently the principal at the Fine Arts Academy. He then introduced Jeff Spiller, who will be the next principal at Atascadero Middle School (AMS). Spiller has worked within AUSD for over two decades.

During Oral Communication from the Public, five parents and one community member addressed the trustee board on the possibility of classes being downsized. Currently, grade school has a 32-1 student-teacher ratio. This is not the first time this concern has been brought forward.

The minutes for the March 5 meeting, the March 13 Study Session, and the Consent Agenda passed unanimously.

Butler then brought forward an item regarding video recordings of the AUSD Board of Trustee Meetings. During previous Communications from the Public, residents had asked why the recordings on the AUSD YouTube channel had disappeared and if they could be obtained for longer than 30 days.

“This is an information item up for discussion from our trustees. I wanted to share how we’re managing the video recordings from our meetings,” Butler said. “This meeting here, for example. We have the live viewing, which is occurring right now. Those are for our regular board meetings and broadcast live via the district’s YouTube channel. They can be viewed live on that by anyone who has an interest in our community. Then we record these, and then those end up being available on our AUSD YouTube channel for an additional 30 days.”

He added that the board meeting minutes are captured in writing during the meeting, and those are kept as hard copies for perpetuity. They are also saved in the AUSD archive. The minutes include details on the actions taken by the trustee board with the days, dates, and times.

The minimum requirement to keep the videos up for the public is 30 days, which is what the district has been doing currently.

The board agreed that they would like to see the item brought back as an action item in the future. They also requested that AUSD staff look into what other schools in the county are doing regarding their video recordings and look into why the California School Boards Association (CSBA) recommends only keeping video recordings up for 30 days. 

The next regularly scheduled AUSD Board of Trustees meeting will take place at Creston Elemaentary School (5105 O’Donovan Road) on Tuesday, April 16, at 7 p.m. It will live-streamed as usual.