Staffing change approvals and several financial reports are in store for the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) Board of Education during their final meeting of 2023.
On Thursday, the board will meet for the first time since Nov. 16, and will once again adjourn for the holidays before picking back up with a regular bi-weekly meeting schedule on Jan. 18, 2024. In a heavier-than-usual agenda due to the breaks, the board is tasked with the appointment of several roles within the district, including a new principal at McKinley Elementary School.
The current McKinley principal, Dr. Ashley Benjamin, was recently promoted to the position of Director of Curriculum and Instruction in the district, and has been working in both roles during a transitional period. Benjamin has been principal at McKinley since 2017 and was previously assistant principal at Franklin Elementary School. The new principal will be chosen during the board’s closed session, and will be announced during the open meeting, with the appointment taking effect on Friday.
Appointments are not just reserved for current positions, as the board is recommended to approve an increase in para educators, meeting individualized education program requirements and student needs for the remainder of the 2023-24 school year and beyond. Two new para educator positions, to work six hours each week, will be assigned to Grant Elementary School. Similar positions will also be assigned to Franklin and Grant Elementary School.
Two existing para educator roles, one at Franklin and one at Santa Monica High School, will have an increased workload. The Franklin position will rise from six hours per week to eight hours, and the Samohi position will increase from six and a half hours to eight per week.
The Board itself is not immune to changes, as the meeting will have its annual election of Board Officers, with a new President and Vice President of the board to be chosen. The existing President and Vice President, Maria Leon-Vazquez and Dr. Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein, will remain on the board through the current respective terms of December 2024 and December 2026. It is also recommended that SMMUSD Superintendent Dr. Antonio Shelton be named as Board Secretary.
Two subsequent elections on the agenda will elect annual representatives of the Board to the Los Angeles County School Trustees Association (LACSTA) and as a voting representative of the Los Angeles County Committee on School District Organization. The LACSTA is a branch of the Los Angeles County Office of Education, and is an organization of school board members that provides training, information and networking opportunities. The role was held by Board member Jon Kean in 2017, 2020 and 2021; and for the last two years Board member Jennifer Smith was tasked with voting on LACSTA matters. Board member Stacy Rouse served as voting representative of the County Committee in 2023.
It is also recommended that the Board nominate, if it so chooses, a member to run for the California School Boards Association Delegate Assembly in Region 24. The assembly works with local districts and county offices to "ensure that the association reflects the interests of school districts and county offices of education throughout the state." Six seats on the assembly are up for re-election in Region 24, which SMMUSD is a part of.
The Board will also hear reports on the 2023-24 First Interim Report as it pertains to the SMMUSD budget, as well as 2022-23 school year audit reports on Measures R, BB, ES, SMS and M.
One revenue change of note in the interim budget is a total of $7,230,758 ending fund balance from the 2022-23 school year added to the 2023-24 beginning balance. Expenditure increases include a $2,088,276 bump in statutory benefits and employee health benefits, as well as a $715,000 increase in district consultants. Consultant positions filled include a middle school sports athletics coordinator and children and youth family collaborative tutoring for homeless and foster youth.
