GO Board Watch: August 10, 2016
Budget, Audit, Quality Schools, and Board and Superintendent Work Plans
Welcome to GO’s School Board Watch for Wednesday, August 10, 2016. As we gear up for a new school year, we’re excited to continue bringing you updates on the important work of our school board in determining district policy and use of resources in service of all of Oakland’s students.
This week’s agenda includes:
- Financial updates about the district’s budget and the latest audit
- Adoption of revisions to the Board of Education’s Core Beliefs Statement
- Second reading of the Board’s Quality School Development Policy
- Adoption of the Board of Education and Superintendent’s work plans for the year
Budget
The Board of Education will hear a presentation about the final adopted state budget. In January, the Governor of California makes public a preliminary budget based on estimates. In May, the Governor releases a “May Revise” with updated numbers. Finally, in June, the Governor signs the final state budget. The Board will review the impact the final budget had on OUSD.
This year, OUSD will receive approximately $1 million less in revenue than estimated in the May revise. Due to the last contract, approximately $650,000 of that $1 million was slated for teacher raises. The remaining $350,000 will result in cuts from district-wide expenditures. No cuts are slated to happen directly to the school sites.
2014-15 Audit
The Board will hear a presentation from an independent auditing firm to assist with the backlog of OUSD audits. After many years, OUSD is finally current. The presentation notes that the staff have completed three audits in the past year.
The report identifies 13 current issues. They are summarized on page 2-3 of the report. Most issues are characterized as minor. For each, OUSD has identified an implementation issue leading to a continued issue, or has recently taken steps to address the issue.
Quality School Development
The Board will hear a second reading of the its 2016-17 Quality School Development policy. The policy has one amendment added from the original and will be potentially adopted. Read the full text of the Quality School Development policy. The amendment is as follows:
“Create a defined autonomy framework whereby schools receive differentiated levels of autonomy and support based on the achievement of goals set forth by the school community and administration.”
Core Beliefs Statement
The Board will review and finalize the Core Beliefs Statement. The core belief statements have gone through some revisions, with the language around Equity being significantly revised to be more inclusive. The Core Beliefs are as follows:
- Equity
- Quality, Excellence & Growth
- Neighborhood and Community Schools
- Community Engagement for Shared Decision Making
- Responsible and Sustainable Management
Read the latest round of revisions. Read the final version up for adoption.
Board and Superintendent 2016-17 Work Plans
The Board will review and approve work plans for themselves and the superintendent.
The Board’s work plan outlines its policy and development goals for this year. The plan contains the following priorities:
- Facilitate leadership training and support for all Board of Education officers and directors
- Develop, update, and adopt belief statements that guide the OUSD’s work and values
- Ensure alignment between the strategic plan, work plans, LCAP and effectively communicate that alignment with staff and community
- Evaluate the Superintendent’s and General Counsel’s work performance
The Superintendent’s work plan is the scope of work for which the Board will hold the Superintendent accountable this year. It should generally align to the Board’s priorities. This year, it contains the following priorities:
- Continue the implementation of the Board priority regarding Professional Culture
- Continue the implementation of the Board policy on Quality School Development
- Continue to improve the transparency, accessibility, and reliability of the OUSD budget development and financial management systems
