July 16, 2021
A summary of news about the Pacifica School District for our community
Dear Families:
We hope that you are enjoying the summer break. As we get closer to the end of summer and beginning of the upcoming school year, I wanted to provide you an update.
COVID Update- Guidance for New School Year was Released
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released their guidance for the new school year. The guidance continues to promote the importance of layers of protection including vaccinations, masks, ventilation, health screening, testing and contact tracing. The big message in California is that we will be wearing masks indoors at schools in the new school year. Pacifica School District is looking into how we can provide rapid testing in response to a positive case. We want to minimize the disruption to the class, as much as possible. CDPH states that if there is a positive case in a classroom, the other students do not need to quarantine if:
- They were wearing masks indoors
- Students participate in twice weekly testing
- Students do not participate in activities outside of school during this period
The other big piece of news from Sacramento is the change in Independent Study regulations. Students that are not ready to return to in-person learning may participate in Independent Study through our Home School program. We will have more information for you in August about how we will incorporate the requirements into our existing Home School program.
Pacifica School District Trustee Vacancy
Jared Steele announced his resignation to the Board of Trustees as he moved out of state to attend graduate school. The position is currently open. The Board of Trustees intend to make a provisional appointment to fill the vacancy. A provisional appointment allows the Trustees to appoint a replacement through a process until the next election, which is November of 2022. We plan to transition from virtual to in-person meetings in October.
Interested persons may obtain a candidate packet on our District website. The deadline for submitting the packet to the Board of Trustees is August 9 at the end of the day. You may submit the Candidate Information Sheet to the District office at 375 Reina Del Mar Ave., Pacifica or to kalves@pacificasd.org. (Information from your application will be published with the agenda with your address, phone number redacted.)
Candidate packets will be reviewed and an invitation will be extended to a smaller number of candidates to participate in the interview process. The interviews and appointment will take place in a public meeting on August 19th at 6:00 PM. The interviews will be held virtually. Questions may be directed to the Superintendent’s office at 650-738-6625 or by emailing Kelly Alves, Executive Assistant, at kalves@pacificasd.org.
Board Meeting Summary
Our last Board meeting of the school year on June 30th included approval of compensation agreements with CSEA, LSEA, District Management and the Superintendent. The compensation agreements included a $1,500 stipend for 2020-2021 and a 3 percent raise for 2021-2022. The following items were discussed and voted on at the June 30, 2021 Regular Board of Trustees Meeting:
- Tentative Agreement with Laguna Salada Education Association (LSEA) for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 School Year
- Tentative Agreement with California School Employees Association (CSEA) Chapter 128 for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 School Year
- Tentative Agreement with Laguna Salada Management Association (LSMA) for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 School Year
- Superintendent's Contract: Compensation
- Board of Trustees Stipend - A discussion took place and the Board Bylaw will be addressed at the August 11, 2021 Regular Board Meeting
- Public Disclosure of Collective Bargaining Agreement
- Declaration of Surplus Equipment - Board Passed 4-0
- Update on Trustee Vacancy - A discussion about process and next steps took place.
Welcome to New District Leadership
We welcome Dr. Carla Chávez Torres as our new Director of Human Resources and Mr. John Bartfield as our new Director of Special Education and Student Services.
We look forward to communicating with you again prior to the start of the school year. Enjoy the rest of your summer break.
Warm Regards,
Heather Olsen
Superintendent of Pacifica School District