Board divided over proposed $46,500 expenditure for Cooperative Strategies
PASO ROBLES — During the Tuesday, June 27, Paso Robles Joint Unified School District (PRJUSD) meeting, trustees discussed looking into analyzing capacity and attendance throughout the district via the company Cooperative Strategies.
Specifically, the district is looking at the Capacity Analysis and Attendance Boundary studies. According to the staff’s report, “the Capacity Analysis will calculate the capacities of all available facilities, taking program needs and class size into account. This analysis reflects how well our current facilities support our academic and operational needs. The Attendance Boundary study will identify potential attendance boundaries that minimize the disruption of students while maximizing the efficiency of school facilities.”
The proposed cost for the studies is as follows: Capacity Analysis $6,500 and Boundary Study $40,000 — totaling an estimated $46,500 from the General Fund.
Trustee Kenney Enney stated he would vote against moving forward with the study until the district can receive feedback from the community first.
“I think we should focus on what is the future of Georgia Brown campus,” Enney said.
Trustee Joel Peterson echoed Enney’s concerns, adding that the budget felt too high for the service. Once approved, it will take five weeks for the district to receive its completed data.
However, Trustee Sondra Williams was ready to move forward with the studies.
“They [the community] are asking for those things. Our community is asking us. Tell us these things. We have an obligation to provide data,” she said, adding that the data the district has is already outdated.
Sondra Williams then motioned to move forward with the studies, which died on the floor with Enney, Peterson, and fellow Trustees Laurene McCoy, and Dorian Baker voting no. Trustee Nathan Williams voted yes, and Board Clerk Jim Cogan was absent from the meeting. Discussion on the studies will be held with the community at a later date.
Trustees then received information for updates to an Administrative Regulation (AR) 6115 “Ceremonies and Observances.” Updates reflect updated information with legal advice. The policy comes forward to updates after previous debates on flag policies in the district and covers holidays and commemorative exercises observed by the district.
McCoy and Sondra Williams both questioned Black American Day on March 5. Both had not heard of the holiday and wanted to know why it was specifically kept and how it is celebrated, but there were no direct answers for them. They both gave directions to staff to remove it from the commemorative exercises.
The district will be closed on the following holidays:
- New Year’s Day: Jan. 1
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: Third Monday in January or the Monday or Friday of the week in which Jan. 15 occurs
- Lincoln Day: The Monday or Friday of the week in which Feb. 12 occurs
- Washington Day: Third Monday in February
- Memorial Day: Last Monday in May
- Juneteenth National Independence Day: June 19
- Independence Day: July 4
- Labor Day: First Monday in September
- Veterans Day: Nov. 11
- Thanksgiving Day: Fourth Thursday in November designated by the president
- Christmas Day: Dec. 25
The district will commemorate the following special days:
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: The Friday before the day schools are closed for this holiday
- Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday: The school day before the day schools are closed for this holiday
- Susan B. Anthony Day: Feb. 15
- George Washington’s Birthday: The Friday preceding the third Monday in February
- Conservation, Bird, and Arbor Day: March 7
- Classified Employee Week: Third week in May
- U.S. Constitution and Citizenship Day: On or near Sept. 17
The next Paso Robles Joint Unified School District meeting is scheduled for July 11 at 6 p.m.
