Superintendent reports attendance dip, vacancies and partial Inclusive Meals grant

In the superintendent’s report, the district’s chief administrator said recent sickness likely caused a dip in attendance following sustained gains and described next steps to support improvement.

"We did see a dip with attendance," the superintendent said, adding that some schools still made improvements and that the high school showed about a 25% improvement compared to the same time the previous year. Board members asked whether new strategies were planned; the superintendent said staff will consider non-competitive recognition for students and families and will discuss ideas at upcoming administrative meetings.

Speaker 11 asked about district vacancies; the superintendent confirmed that the current count is about 17 openings (previous lows around eight) and noted positions include a middle-school science teacher for 2024–25 and a principal role at Montblanc High School for which discussion will come later.

On the Inclusive Meals grant, Speaker 11 noted the award was partial and asked whether that commits the district to future funding. The superintendent replied that it does not and explained the grant was intended to support enlargement of a central kitchen and farm-to-table programming; shortfalls may require start-up funds to come from the school nutrition budget rather than general district funds. The superintendent said the nutrition budget historically ended the year with a positive balance (figures referenced as 'less than almost a $1,000,000' for last year) and that staff will manage balances with board approval.

The superintendent also noted receipt of a communication from a junior questioning why the district's recycling program changed; the board agreed to add recycling and disposal contracting to a future agenda or refer it to operations and maintenance and to consider going out to bid on disposal and recycling options.

Board members did not take formal action on these operational matters at this meeting; they directed staff to continue development of recognition strategies for attendance and to bring recycling options and the principal search back for future consideration.