The Winters Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees heard two proposals from WJUSD staff regarding a Transportation Services Plan and a stipend increase for summer school administrators at its March 16 meeting.
Student Services Director Jenny Pinedo presented a 2023–2024 Transportation Services Plan as part of reimbursement of the school district’s transportation costs by the state.
The plan contains with “a description of the transportation services we offer, a plan for transporting students with disabilities, Foster Youth, and students experiencing homelessness, feedback from the community, and Transportation Department budget information.” “Together this information effectively outlines the ways that Winters JUSD Transportation Department works to support our community.”
Pindeo provided some clarifications to community feedback the school district had received regarding transportation. This included clarifying to several community members’ concerns who expressed that transportation should be at no cost, that this is already the case in Winters where students are not charged for transportation services. Another theme in community and staff feedback sought to have Winters JUSD drivers have more training for working with students with disabilities, to which Pinedo noted that the school district began providing drivers with three training sessions for students with disabilities this school year.
Finally, parents asked the school district for more direct clarification with students regarding transportation expectations, to which Pinedo said Winters JUSD agrees with this concern and they “plan to do an in-depth orientation for students in the 23–24 school year.”
Before concluding the presentation, Pinedo clarified the fiscal impact of the recommendation, saying “the board cover letter states the fiscal impact will be an increase of $343,656 — this is the total amount of transportation funding that we project to receive from the state in the current year. Of this amount, about $130,000 is new transportation funding the district will receive due to Assembly Bill 185, which requires this plan as a condition to receive these funds. The total transportation expenditures for the current year are projected to be $697,000.”
Summer school stipend proposal
Human Resources Director Lisa Dennis presented a proposal from staff to provide stipends for summer school administrators for this summer.
“In light of the need for increased summer enrichment to address students’ academic and social-emotional needs,” Dennis explained “and in view of the Extended Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP) grant responsibilities and funding, staff proposes the following School Administrator Stipends for the summer of 2023.” The stipends include two FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) each paid at $8,640, for administrators who “will support and oversee K-12 learning programs, migrant education programs, enrichment programs and expanded learning opportunities planning.” The funding will come out to $21,350, with half paid in this fiscal year and the other in the next, both coming from the ELOP grant.
Trustees unanimously approved both the Transportation Services Plan and the summer school stipends proposal.
