Templeton schools are reporting higher enrollment than projected

TEMPLETON — The Templeton Unified School District held a regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, Sept. 23, at 6:15 p.m. for open session. Trustee Vierra was absent due to the fires.

The meeting opened with nothing to report on closed session and an adjustment to the agenda order to start with item 14.1, the Templeton High School FFA presentation. The presentation highlighted the different competitions and conferences that provide training and opportunity to high school students. Among the items was a job interview competition in which students created resumes, practiced interviews, and gave a speech on a chosen agriculture topic in order to hone their skills for future interviews.

The Board then presented the English Language Development update, which included a presentation of the students who have achieved the title of English Language Proficient. Each student was honored, and photo opportunities were available.

Item 7.1 was the public hearing regarding the Disclosure of Collective Bargaining Agreement with Templeton Teachers Association (TTA); with no public or Board comment on the item, the Board moved on to 8.1, which is the action on the item. The presentation highlighted the good partnership between both groups in having a civil, productive negotiation in finding a middle ground for the settlement. The agreement was approved.

Item 10.3 was a presentation of the first draft of the Core Values, Beliefs, Mission, and Vision Updates. This item was set to be looked into prior to COVID but put on hold until now when there was time and space to look into the values of the organization. This presentation was a draft and open to feedback, adjustment, and conversation. The goal was to speak on student outcomes and student well-being, as well as the collective values on the broader scale of staff, parents, and community.

Item 11.1 was the Superintendent’s Report, which started with the AB 361 extension of the Brown Act exemptions with application to remote meetings. The Board will be required to assess every 30 days the need for continuing virtual meetings, even though the Board is currently holding hybrid meetings which allow for in-person and remote. The superintendent also reported on Denim and Diamonds fundraiser event, which was well attended, and TES raised more than in past years.

The Board moved on to the consent agenda. Item 13.5 (Approval of Interdistrict Transfer Requests) was pulled, and the rest of the consent agenda was approved 5-0. Item 13.5 was approved after a correction to verbiage the was mistakenly put in.

The Board goals for the 2021-2022 school year focused on the major goals as well as the subgoals within those goals. Many goals throughout different departments were discussed. One goal was to do assessments in order to ensure that the students were meeting the standards being set as well as ensuring that the teachers are effectively teaching the subjects. Also, a focus was on making college information available as well as tracking attendance and contacting families struggling with attendance in order to see students achieve.

Public comment on this item was opened up, but for some technical error, the Board couldn’t hear the caller even though those on zoom could hear. Trustee Yamagata asked if staff could work on the issue and try to come back to the caller and item after moving on to other items. Her comment was written in, and Trustee Dubost read it for her. It asked about the ability to purchase iPad insurance or what the plan was for replacing iPads within the school. It was explained that the iPads are purchased on an ongoing basis, but the plan to do a larger rotation of the iPads as is done with the Chromebooks is coming. The item was again opened to the public for any final comment and was approved 5-0.

The next item was enrollment, which is tracked in order to plan for class sizes, as well as funding. The positive report is that the school is about 25 students above the projected enrollment.

Item 15.1 was the need for fully qualified educators. There are currently only seven teachers who are teaching in an area that isn’t exactly what their credential authorizes. The district will then go through proper credentialing programs to ensure that all teachers are fully qualified. The item was approved 5-0.

The next meeting is scheduled for Oct. 14 at 6:15 p.m.