The District Board of Trustees convened for their monthly meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 12. The Board heard a report on student attendance, reviewed plans for upcoming school renovations, and discussed a possible waiver for freshman P.E. credits.
Measure W Plans
SUHSD Chief Facilities Officer Narayan Naidu presented a plan for Measure W, which would provide funds for facility improvements on District campuses. The Board first heard public comment from Laura Nuñez, a teacher at EPA Academy, who stated that teachers at EPAA are in need of more space to prep and teach because many teachers currently share classrooms. Nuñez claimed EPAA’s campus is not given as much attention as other District schools and that the solution to EPAA’s crowding issues is the construction of portables.
During the presentation, Naidu mentioned that $591 million was approved to fund construction on SUHSD campuses. The money is set to fund demolition costs, as well as unique construction needs across campuses.
The Board expressed concern over the price of certain areas of the plan, like solar panels. In coming years, the District will see an increase in construction projects, worrying some Board members, who believe costs might be greater than specified.
Attendance Report
SUHSD Executive Director of Student Services Jarrett Dooley presented an annual report on student attendance to the Board, first recognizing six bilingual community liaisons who collaborate with students who are chronically absent.
Dooley described the high success rates of conferences with families of students who are chronically absent, citing a 0.5% decrease in chronic absenteeism over the last three years, and a four to nine percent attendance difference following such conferences.
According to Dooley, Hispanic, Pacific Islander, and Native American attendance rates improved, and attendance rates of Black students increased by one percent. The largest group of students who are regularly absent from school are English Language Learners.
Looking toward the future, Dooley anticipates the issue of chronic absenteeism will continue, particularly among incoming students.
Freshman P.E. Waiver
To end the meeting, Trustee Richard Ginn proposed a discussion over the possibility of allowing students to waive mandatory freshman P.E. Ginn proposed that the District change their policy to align with state policy, which allows students to be exempt from P.E., so long as they meet a minimum amount of physical activity. This waiver would allow students who participate in six seasons of high school sports to be exempt from two years of P.E.
The Board heard public comments from teachers and parents, all of whom were at least skeptical of a P.E. waiver. They argued for the importance of a unified ninth-grade experience, which is strengthened by the connections made in P.E. class between students of different backgrounds.
The main concern of both the Board and teachers was how it would affect socioeconomically disadvantaged students. Trustees noted that not only do students from wealthier backgrounds have more after-school time available because they are less likely to need to work, but they also have the money to play club sports and hire private coaches so that they are more likely to make school teams.
Trustee Sathvik Nori, however, mentioned that if students didn’t have to take P.E., they could take an extra elective class of their choice. Nori pointed out that choosing classes that students are interested in could help reduce chronic absenteeism by giving students a reason to go to school.
The Board overall recognized the importance of freshman year P.E., but also showed interest in evaluating whether there could be more opportunities to take elective classes, especially given that the District has more graduation requirements than mandated by state law.
