The Natomas Unified School District Board of Trustees met on February 8, 2023, during its regularly scheduled board meeting. This publication provides highlights of some of the items that the Board took action on to keep our community informed. This is not meant to be an all-inclusive list. All regularly scheduled Board meetings are streamed and can be accessed through the Natomas Unified School District website, along with the Board agenda items, and minutes.
Board Recognitions
Celebrating Our Diversity! Trustees Recognize African American/Black History Month
The Board approved a resolution recognizing February as African American/Black History Month. Natomas is an extremely diverse community with more than 20.5% of our student population representative of the African American/Black community. As part of the celebration portion of the board meeting, events and activities that are happening throughout the month of February were highlighted. Some of those included literary activities with the authors of the books; lessons on such notable figures as Mae Jemison, the first African American woman to travel into space; a virtual library that can be accessed at www.natomasunified.org; and a college forum on Historically Black Colleges and Universities with our community partner U-CAN. Trustees also were able to see a few highlights of the upcoming Virtual Talent Show that will be streamed on February 15, at 7 pm on the Natomas Unified Facebook page.
Student Achievement and Safety
Learning Recovery Update at NUSD Elementary and K-8 Schools
To update the Board on where the district is with phase 2 of learning recovery actions, Trustees participated in a study session where elementary and K-8 principals shared how they are utilizing centralized and site-based supports that are aimed at improving students writing. Some examples include software that supports learning and opportunities for live real-time tutoring with Varsity Tutors and in-person sessions on Saturdays at specific school sites. Trustees had an opportunity to review the information and ask questions of the principals presenting.
Phase 1 of our learning recovery actions included significant investments in co-teaching, expanded summer school offerings, and districtwide Trauma-Informed Practices staff training.
Budget and Facilities
Governor’s 2023-2024 Budget Update and LCAP Update
Trustees were briefed on the Governor’s January Budget update and LCAP Mid-year Update. Deputy Superintendent Bill Young provided key highlights of the proposed budget and its impact on education. While the proposed budget indicates a $29.5 billion state budget shortfall, the impacts on public education are manageable at this time. Young shared a slide that reflected 84% of the district’s budget is allocated to staffing, and 14% to operation costs. After explaining the district’s continuous cycle of budget development, he shared an update on where the district is in meeting its LCAP targets. Each district is responsible for developing a 3-year LCAP (Local Control and Accountability Plan) that clearly communicates the following:
- Locally defined goals
- Actions and services to achieve those goals
- Expenditures associated with those actions and services
- Targets and metrics to measure progress.
To hear the presentation, watch the recording at https://natomasunified.org/
Constituent and Customer Services (CCS) Update
Twice a year, typically in August and January, staff provides Trustees with a Board report from CCS. The report contains the number of contacts (phone calls, emails, in-person), contact types/categories, and departments contacted, along with the closure rate of contacts. This particular report covers the time period of July 1 through December 31.
The report also included updates on VoiceNation, our 24/7 365 days a year, live answering service, and Language Link usage, a program that provides interpretation services in more than 240 languages and dialects. The full report can be accessed on the Board agenda meeting webpage here.
