District parent advisory group urges nominations ahead of March 11 elections as sites revise plans

Julie Kane, a district staff member who led the meeting, told parents that their school-site councils have new January data and interim-budget results to use when deciding whether to continue or revise current improvement strategies. "So you just got your numbers… Is what we said we're going to do happening? Is what we said we're going to do working?" Kane asked, urging councils to either fill intended positions or reallocate set-aside funds if hiring fails.

Kane framed DPAC's role as advisory: the committee provides input on services funded through Title I, contributes to the Local Control and Accountability Plan and helps shape the district family engagement plan. She said nominations for DPAC officers will be accepted now and elections will be held at the March 11 meeting; members were given homework to recruit candidates at their school sites. "We can be a little more informal with this," Kane said of the nominations process; if there are multiple candidates, she described a brief introduction followed by a vote.

A parent, Nora Benitez, raised a volunteer question about age restrictions after her 20-year-old son completed volunteer screening but encountered middle-school activities that require volunteers to be 21. Kane responded that attendance at committee meetings is open to community members, that officer roles are elected, and recommended contacting the school principal or the community liaison to confirm whether a specific volunteer assignment is permitted.

Kane also previewed upcoming items: a parent empowerment program presented at a board meeting, the district's second interim budget to be presented March 5 by Luis Diaz, director of accounting, and facilities/construction measures scheduled for mid-March. She reminded members that March and April meetings will wrap up elections and that May will shift focus to the board presentation and finalizing LCAP materials.

The meeting closed with a reminder to bring prospective candidates to the March 11 meeting and continued outreach to increase parent leadership participation.