Most people know that the Carlsbad Unified School District Board governs all the schools in Carlsbad, however, many don’t know much about what the board members are constantly working on in order to improve our school and community.
Once every month the district board, which also includes student representatives, meets to discuss specific plans for improving our learning environment by implementing better safety measures and renovating campuses.
The 2019-2020 district board members are off to a great start, and have many things planned for this school year.
Ms. Kathy Rallings, President of the Board of Trustees, provides more information on plans for the 2019-2020 school year.
“We have our facilities master plan that was approved a few years ago and we were able to get the funding from Measure HH. We also have a Local Control Accountability Plan that’s on a regular yearly basis, so we will be discussing if we want to change any of our goals or any of our success indicators.”
In addition to discussions about LCAP and projects funded by the Measure HH, a San Diego ballot measure bond for the Carlsbad District, Superintendent Dr. Churchill mentions additional topics that are brought up in meetings.
“[The board] approves the curriculum for the school district, they approve the budget for the school district, they hire the Superintendent and evaluate the Superintendent, and then they make policy decisions. They also approve paychecks, and firing and hiring of employees.”
The public also has the opportunity to bring up any comments they have regarding resolutions.
“We will be surveying the community in order to decipher what the community believes we should focus on and what we believe what we should focus on,” Ms. Rallings stated.
Student representatives Belle Flanegan, Taylor Keller and Boden Haber pose for a photo together. These students are working with the board to improve our community.
In addition, students also play a large role as a part of the District Board. Sage Creek student representative Belle Flanagan expands on this.
“As the student board representative for Sage Creek, basically I have to give the rest of the board members updates on what’s happening at our campus and point out any issues I see that they could potentially help solve and provide that in a monthly report.”
Ultimately, board meeting agendas are reviewed and agreed upon before they are discussed altogether.
“We have a board president and a board vice president, and they meet with the Superintendent and the Cabinet each month to determine the agenda items on the next upcoming board meeting. We also have a year-long calendar which describes the agenda items that have to happen in a certain month each year,” Dr. Churchill stated.