The District approved ten donations to Paso schools

PASO ROBLES — The Paso Robles Joint Unified School District met in person for a school board meeting on Sept. 28.

Trustees pulled items H7 and H6 from the consent agenda for a separate discussion.

H.6. Approve Consultant Agreements: Education Services

Retirees Dr. Patrick Sayne and Mr. Tom Apkarian have agreed to provide consulting and coordinating services for the District.

Specifically, the consultants will provide services and duties to include attendance at meetings requiring an administrator to be present such as IEPs, general campus supervision and attendance at events if needed, observance of classes, and review of course descriptions and teacher-submitted syllabi.

The consultants will assist with these and other duties as appropriate. Agreements are not to exceed $6,500 each.

Trustee Chris Bausch issued concern over re-hiring Dr. Sayne, a former PRJUSD superintendent, due to a letter in a local news source he co-signed against some of the trustees.

Superintendent Curt Dubost responded, saying, “I do not believe a position that a person takes in a political election should preclude them for a position at a later date. I don’t see the connection.”

Trustee Tim Gearhart said, “I have mixed personal feelings about the gentleman [Dr. Sayne], but he is honest. He has integrity and a heck of a lot of wisdom that we can take advantage of.”

The board of trustees decided to pass item H6 with a 6-0 vote, with Lance Gannon absent from the meeting.

Item H.7. Approve New Job Description: Account Tech II was tabled for the next school board meeting.

The board accepted several donations with a 6-0 vote:

Wonderful Company Foundation donation of $500 to Paso Robles High School.
Paso Robles Rotary Club donation of $671 intended for the Athletics Hall of Fame Display Fund.
Paso Robles Women’s Golf Association donation of $1,300 to support the Women’s Golf Program
Larry & Suzann Turley of Turley Wine Cellars have donated $1,500 to the Paso Robles AVID program.
Zoetis Industry Support Program donation of $118.80 on behalf of the veterinary animal health reseller and distributor customers who selected our FFA chapter. Intended purpose of this donation is for Paso Robles FFA activities and chapter functions.
Blackbaud Giving Fund has donated $298.78 in support of Paso Robles High School Administration.
Donors Choose organization made a non-monetary donation of classroom library books valued at $382. The book selection will be used to promote independent reading in the classroom at Georgia Brown Elementary.
Donors Choose organization made a non-monetary donation of student school supplies valued at $489. These supplies will be used by students in Room 6 at Georgia Brown Elementary all year for class projects and assignments.
Santa Cruz Biotechnology/Santa Cruz Animal Health donated hand sanitizer to Daniel Lewis Middle School, supplies valued at $500.
Albertsons donated sanitizer wipes and spray in the amount of $300 to Daniel Lewis Middle School.

I.4. Approve Change Order No. 3 for Glen Speck Academy of the Arts

A change order is required for the Glen Speck campus.

Change Order No. 3 contains various items that are categorized as owner requests, unforeseen conditions, and agency-required revisions. The cost of the change order is an additional $461,727.15.

The item was approved with a 5-1 vote. Bausch voted no, saying, “We are bumping up uncomfortably close to not being able to fulfill our obligations on future projects.”

J.2. District Planning for the Possible Closure of Classes, Schools, or District

Deputy Superintendent Jennifer Gaviola presented a closure plan for classes, schools, and districts. This is a contingency plan if classrooms, schools, or the District are closed by public health mandates.

“Full in-person school is our goal, and we will do every single thing possible to make sure that stays in place. With that stated, we do not want to ever be in the place where we were March 2020, where we were caught off guard and never expected the schools to close,” said Gaviola.

Current Public Health Directives determine a school closure and are as follows:

Five or more COVID-19 cases in the same classroom, in the same ten-day period, is considered an outbreak, and consultation with Public Health will be consulted regarding possible closure.
Five percent of the staff and student population is positive with COVID 19 in a ten-day period, strong consideration of school site closure with the consultation of Public Health.
Twenty-five percent of school sites closed in the District, strong consideration of district closure, with a mandate from Public Health.

The purpose of this document is to describe the actions PRJUSD will take to continue instruction in the event of an extended school, campus, or district closure.

The next regular PRJUSD board meeting is scheduled for Oct. 12 at 6 p.m.