Trustees debate which consultants to use for governance and budget work; motion to table School Services direction fails for lack of second

Trustees at the Apple Valley Unified special meeting on April 28 spent substantial time discussing whether to proceed with outside vendors for governance and budget support.

Trustee Maria Akpara said the board should pause any direction previously given to the superintendent to sign a contract with School Services of California until certificated staff confirm the entity they agreed to as part of bargaining. "As part of their bargaining agreement ... they should have some say in the school services being that chosen entity to be able to speak on our budget," she said.

Other trustees pushed back that the district budget is the board's fiduciary responsibility and that School Services of California is commonly used to review district budgets. One trustee noted CSBA had recommended School Services and suggested separating contracts so CSBA could support board governance while bargaining units work with a different provider if necessary.

A trustee moved to table the prior direction to proceed with School Services of California; the chair and other trustees noted the motion was not on the agenda and that it lacked a second, so the motion received no action. Trustees discussed logistics: whether the board should hold monthly governance workshops with CSBA, whether to add a second monthly business meeting to avoid late-night sessions, and requested that staff provide inter- and intra-district transfer data by school site to inform equity discussions.

No contracts were ratified at the meeting; one trustee said they would bring a ratification of a CSBA consulting agreement to the second board meeting in May so work could begin after ratification. The board asked staff for follow-up information on consultant findings and for data about transfer applications to be distributed before a future agenda.