Classes, campuses and cash

Lodi Unified board tackles teacher shortages, campus updates and bond funds

Lodi Unified School District began its first 2017 board meeting with a lengthy agenda to tackle, from preparing for the usage and oversight of the newly-passed Measure U bond to trying to solve the continuing substitute teacher shortage, as well as tackling updates to both district campuses and high school curriculum. Measure U

At Tuesday’s board meeting, the district officially declared the results of the school bond election and lauded the efforts of the many people involved in promoting the bond, such as Stephen Reid, who is now serving as a media consultant for Lodi Unified.

The board also thanked the community for their support in passing the bond this past November.

“And to that 34 percent who voted no — we hear you. ” said board trustee Ron Freitas who explained that the district would do its due diligence in making sure those tax dollars are spent wisely.

A next step in the process of using the bond was begun with a resolution to authorize the creation of a Measure U Citizen’s Oversight Committee.

Within that committee there will need to be a member who is active in a business organization within the district, a member who is active in a bona fide taxpayer organization, an active member in a senior citizens’ organization and a member who is a parent or guardian of a child enrolled in the district.

Following the vote, the district will begin advertising for applications to get involved in the committee, which will monitor how the district spends its bond money.

Candidates will be interviewed by a separate committee chosen by the board and the final list will be presented to the board on April 4 for a vote.

“The citizens’ committee is really the watchdog of the community,” said the new 2017 board president Ron Heberle.

Substitute teacher woes

As the shortage of substitute teachers in the district continues, the board heard a report on the current state of affairs with teacher absences and considered possible solutions.

Within a given day in the fall semester, there were anywhere from 73 to 225 teacher absences for a variety of reasons. So far, 86 people have completed the hiring process for substitute teaching during the 2016-2017 school year, but there are still not enough to fill all the teacher absences that come up.

In order to make sure those classrooms of children are being taught and supervised, some are being split up amongst other classrooms increasing class sizes for those other teachers.

While no one solution is clearly way to resolve the crisis, board trustees agreed that current district policy may be aggravating the problem.

“There are a lot of little pieces that make up the problem we’re having,” Heberle said.

Several teachers are pulled out of classrooms to complete professional development, which puts a strain on the substitute system, in addition to things like illness, bereavement and other possible reasons to call out.

Heberle also suggested pulling instructional coaches or teachers on special assignment for dire substitute needs in the district so as not to affect the education of the students.

“What affects those children has priority over what else is going on,” he said.

Trustees also considered better incentives for substitutes, including the possibility of increasing pay. The last

time substitutes saw a pay increase was in 2014. They currently make $120 for day to day assignments and increase to a maximum of $160 per assignment the more days they work.

“We need to make it easier to become one,” he said. He offered the idea to give substitutes

greater support in their assignment as well as helping them complete their necessary certifications. Another idea included the possibility of having administrators stand in for half-day absences so as not to waste a full-day sub in that spot.

This discussion was merely a report item and the district will continue to have discussions about how to resolve this problem.