Hello everyone – Happy Mother’s Day to all amazing moms out there!

In this update I am going over the following:

• LCAP: what is it and why does it matters
• How to plan for June 4th LCAP Public Hearing
• Link to Poll results thus far – Poll open only till end of May. I will provide analysis to the board.
• Important dates to mark your calendar
  • Monday May 13th – MH Library hosts curriculum Q&A with public. In person event.
  • Thursday May 16 - Concerned Parents of MH Meeting. 630pm 
  • Tuesday May 21st – Next board meeting. 6pm
  • Tuesday June 4th – LCAP & Budget Pubic Hearing

LCAP: what is it and why does it matters

The Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) is a three-year strategic plan developed by the district. It outlines the goals, metrics, actions, and expenditures aimed at enhancing student outcomes in relation to the eight state priorities. I have recently updated these state priorities (link here).

The significance of the LCAP lies in its role as a justification for MHUSD’s fund allocation and contract spending. Therefore, it’s crucial for us, as a community, to voice our opinions on the desired allocation of resources. Historically MHUSD has engaged the Hanover company under a $45,000 contract to create annual surveys for gathering community feedback. I firmly believe that MHUSD needs to reassess its approach to surveys and public feedback collection. The current structure of the LCAP survey and the organization of forums leave room for ambiguity regarding the actual amount spent and the return on investment. To enhance the effectiveness of future surveys and advisory meetings in collecting community feedback, I suggested the creation of purposeful and precise questions.

For example questions can be done this way:

• Over [X] number of years, a total of [Y] dollars have been allocated towards achieving LCAP goal [A], metric [B] through Action [C]. This allocation has resulted in an additional [Z] number of resources at our school sites and has improved academic/safety/wellness (any relevant performance indicators) by [X%]. In the upcoming three-year LCAP plan, [Y] amount of dollars are proposed to be cut/added to this program, which would impact on-site resources in [A] manner (describe the impact qualitatively or quantitatively).
  • Do you support this proposed allocation to this LCAP goal/metric: Yes or no?

Back to LCAP Document: MHUSD has announced that the hard copy of the 2024-2025 LCAP document is available for review at the MHUSD office from 8am to 5pm. However, a digital version has not yet been released. Given that many individuals may not have the opportunity to visit the District Office during weekday hours, it’s crucial that we advocate for the release of a digital copy before June. Please consider reaching out to your area trustee via email and request that MHUSD release a digital version of this public document. This will ensure greater accessibility and transparency.

Let’s breakdown the MHUSD LCAP!

At high level it comprises four primary goals that align with California’s eight state priorities:

1. Goal 1: Advance College, Career, and Civic Readiness for Improved Year-Over-Year Student Achievement in Pre-K-12th grades: Many of the professional development contracts are in response to this goal.
2. Goal 2: Promote Parent/Guardian, Family, and Community Engagement in Education to Support a Shared Vision of Student Achievement: The FACE center and all its related expenditures are justified as a response to this goal.
3. Goal 3: Enhance Student Engagement, Social Emotional Learning, and School Climate that Fosters Relationships, Well-being, and Achievement. For example contracts such Living Above The Influence are justified by this goal.
4. Goal 4: Improve Equity, Access, and Inclusion for Diverse Student Learners for increased opportunities for learning in the least restrictive environment (LRE), academic progress toward goals, and student achievement.

Each goal is associated with numerous metrics. To meet each metric, there are corresponding actions, which are actual expenditures associated with it.

For instance, Goal 2 is aimed at bolstering family engagement. One of the metrics under this goal is the completion of Round 1 Parent University by Parents/Guardians. In the academic year of 2022-2023, the attendance for this was recorded at 59 parents (as per page 75 of 2023-2024 LCAP). To support this metric in the same year, an allocation of $261,994.36 from LCFF funds was made to the role of Director of Family and Community Engagement (also according to page 75). The current holder of this position is Ms. Corina Sapien.

An effective strategy to challenge the FACE center could be to underscore that promoting family engagement and education does not require a centralized approach with ongoing LCFF expenditures. Family engagement can be more effectively achieved locally at each school facility/site. We already have the necessary facility resources. There are many schools, such as PVEA, that can serve as models for a localized approach to community engagement.

How to plan for June 4th LCAP Public Hearing:

• Review the 2024-2025 LCAP using the following strategy:
  • Identify sections for Goals 1-4: These goals focus on academic matters (Goal 1), family engagement (Goal 2), social-emotional matters (Goal 3), and equity efforts (Goal 4).
  • Examine the “Actions” section under each Goal: This section highlights the current year’s expenditure items. Take note of which expenditures are marked as “contributing” (i.e., contributing to improved student services). Pay attention to how actions are labeled (e.g., 1.0.a, 2.0.f, etc.). It’s crucial to note the reference for each action you’re interested in, as you’ll need this to locate the item in the main budget section, marked by the 2024-25 Annual Update Table toward the end of the document (blue tables).
  • Review the “Goal Analysis [2024-2025]” section under each Goal: The key takeaway from this section is the expected increase/decrease in each action item for the 2024-2025 year. Note the percentage of increase/decrease mentioned, as there could be discrepancies in the actual expenditure noted in the Annual Update Table.
  • Analyze the 2024-25 Annual Update Table: This is where the bulk of the budget analysis will take place. Check the mentioned increase/decrease and note any expenses that are not contributing to improved student outcomes.
  • Consider making public comments: If there are actions (essentially, the expenditures) you disagree with, consider making public comments. Make your argument as specific as possible, referencing specific pages of the LCAP document. This will help ensure your feedback is clear.

Here are a few noteworthy highlights from the 2023-2024 LCAP, along with potential areas to monitor in the 2024-2025 LCAP:

1. Goal 1: On page 37 of the 2023-2024 LCAP, it’s mentioned that The Solution Tree contract saw a 10% increase from 2022-2023. This increase was approved by the board to support Goal 1, which aims to provide teachers with Professional Learning Communities (PLC) as a form of professional learning. Angie Freese, a consultant with Solution Tree, was mentioned at both the April 16 and May 7 meetings. According to former MHUSD employees who attended Ms. Freese’s sessions, the takeaways were minimal, suggesting that this investment could have been better spent directly on students or classrooms. It’s important to note that page 109 indicates the total amount of this investment is approximately $318K.
   •  One could argue that such contract spending, which Superintendent Garcia confirmed would continue through 2024-2025 during her May 7 update, is a wasteful response to Goal 1, considering our teachers often receive similar training during their education or through experience.
2. Goal 2: Page 77 of the LCAP indicates a 10% salary increase for FACE center staff in 2023-2024 to continue supporting the goal of improved family engagement. It’s worth noting that the director’s salary was established with LCFF funds in 2022-2023 as $261,994.36. It would be interesting to monitor this specific expenditure (once the digital copy is available) to verify is there is another 10% increase.
3. Based on the breakdown on pages 102-103, the estimated total spent on FACE, including translation services and Ms. Sapien’s salary, is around $800k for 2023-2024.
   • Page 78 further specifies various additional increases to support FACE well into 2023-2024. In the explanation section of the same page, it’s mentioned that the total expenses of the FACE center can be justified as they led to increased family engagement, such as 24 parents completing literacy workshops. However, it’s important to note that the total population of MHUSD is around 8000 students. Even if we consider each child to have only one parent, reaching 24 parents would only account for 0.3% of MHUSD parents.
4. Goal 3: Page 87 outlines the changes in expenditures (actions) from 2022-2023 to 2023-2024. Notably, the “Living Above The Influence” contract, which I’ve previously discussed, is justified here. Pages 95-96 list some high-cost items associated with this goal, justifying many SEL workshops and speakers.
5. Goal 4: Page 103 indicates a 10% increase from 2022-2023 to 2023-2024 for metric 4.0.f, which pertains to Professional Development and Staff Coaching. This goal is where the majority of coaching contracts are justified. It would be beneficial to monitor this specific metric for 2024-2025 and beyond.
6. In the 2022-23 Annual Update Table on page 122, the action for Goal 1, which involves Professional Learning Communities and Transformational Leadership Professional Development, is shown to have increased by more than 24% (from $79k in 2022-23 to $330k in 2023-24). However, the Goal analysis section on page 37 had specified only a 10% increase for 2023-24. This discrepancy is a red flag. Furthermore, this specific action is labeled as “not contributing” to improved student services. One should question why such a steep increase was approved for a non-contributing item. Its important to note this strategy for PD contracts is in line with Superintendent Dr Garcia vision District Wide Transitional Leaders that she mentioned in my one-on-one with her (see link here).