Pleasant Hill School District outlines plan for Equity Advisory Committee, raises questions about scope and selection

The Pleasant Hill School District board on April 22 reviewed a proposed Education Equity Advisory Committee to advise the superintendent and board on equity impacts of policy decisions and representation of historically underserved students.

Superintendent (speaker 5) presented the draft charter and timeline, saying the committee would advise on issues that negatively or positively affect representative students and offer input on how to replicate successful practices. The outreach and application period is scheduled through March 2025, with member nomination and approval targeted for June 2025 and onboarding for the 2025–26 school year.

The draft calls for a 6–12 member committee that includes 2–3 students, 2–3 staff, 2–3 parent/caregiver representatives and 1–2 community partners. The packet includes a scoring rubric to rank applicants and an analysis matrix that prioritizes racial/ethnic diversity, bilingual families, LGBTQ+ representation, students with disabilities and low‑income representation.

"The purpose is to advise the school board and superintendent about educational equity impacts of policy decisions," the superintendent said. He described steps to anonymize applicant names where possible and to provide bias‑mitigation training to screening members.

Board members pressed for clarity on privacy and scope. One member noted that this committee should not become a forum for airing individual grievances and stressed the need for clear protocols about when to refer concerns to building principals or staff. The superintendent agreed, saying the committee’s role is advisory and that policies would be developed to protect confidential information.

Members also discussed whether an EAC member could be expected to serve on the budget committee if a vacancy opens. The superintendent said state rules require that, in some circumstances, an appointed committee member could fill a budget committee vacancy; board members asked for clearer language in the charter and explained that members should be informed in advance if service on the budget committee could be requested.

Board members asked about outreach in a small district and whether the recommended representation levels were feasible. The superintendent recommended starting with a smaller, diverse group and building capacity while using surveys or an outside agency to supplement data collection.

The board did not vote to create the committee at the meeting; members instructed staff to continue development of the charter, scoring rubric and outreach plan for future board action.