Simi Valley Unified board reviews governance protocols, LCAP goals and assessments in extended workshop
May 10, 2026 | Simi Valley Unified, School Districts, California
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The Simi Valley Unified School District board held an extended governance workshop April 28 focusing on board-staff communications, LCAP alignment and district assessment and technology plans. Superintendent Dr. Poplinski led a presentation laying out the board’s role as policymaker and staff’s role in implementation, while seeking direction on board protocols and goals.
Trustees discussed four specific protocol areas: how frequently staff should send board updates, whether individual trustees may contact staff directly and when the superintendent must be copied, expectations about contacting staff outside business hours, and the feasibility of earlier distribution of board materials. Poplinski said staff will respond to members’ requests by copying the superintendent on replies so the superintendent remains informed.
The workshop’s nut graf: trustees agreed to align board goals with the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) — retaining the five LCAP goal areas and adding a sixth goal emphasizing fiscal integrity — and asked staff to convert the superintendent’s success plan into a publicly posted spreadsheet showing progress (green/yellow/red status) and completion dates.
On assessment and instruction, district staff described a new approach to quarterly district assessments. The district purchased SchoolCity and will use Measure of Academic Progress item banks for grades 3–10; staff said K–2 assessments will be developed internally and imported into SchoolCity. Cathy Roth and assessment staff said the plan is to create one common assessment per quarter beginning this summer so the district can track subgroup progress and meet LCAP monitoring requirements for English learners, socioeconomically disadvantaged students and foster youth. “We’ve not had district assessments in a long time,” Poplinski said; staff noted the new system will allow rapid disaggregation and actionable reports.
Trustees and staff also discussed technology priorities and constraints. The board has expanded Chromebook deployments but staff cautioned the district’s network infrastructure will need upgrades before a large-scale 1:1 rollout; the newly hired IT director is reviewing capacity and replacement costs. Trustees urged phased pilots targeting teachers and sites that already have hardware. Poplinski said the district will post progress and timelines and invited trustees to participate in school visits to see technology implementations first-hand.
The workshop included discussion of bond project management: staff outlined options to supplement in-house bond office capacity with consultants or construction-management firms, associated RFQ/bid thresholds, and software tools to provide publicly accessible project timelines and accountability. Mr. Toto said the district has meetings scheduled with construction-management firms and a facilities representative from the California Department of Education to review regional practices.
Trustees asked staff to return with clearer timelines, estimated costs and recommended protocols (including any legal constraints) so the board can adopt the proposed governance and communication changes at a future meeting. The superintendent said he will convert the success plan into a shared, public spreadsheet and circulate a draft of the board protocols for review.
The board did not take a formal vote on these workshop items; staff will prepare action language and supporting budget estimates for future meetings.
Trustees discussed four specific protocol areas: how frequently staff should send board updates, whether individual trustees may contact staff directly and when the superintendent must be copied, expectations about contacting staff outside business hours, and the feasibility of earlier distribution of board materials. Poplinski said staff will respond to members’ requests by copying the superintendent on replies so the superintendent remains informed.
The workshop’s nut graf: trustees agreed to align board goals with the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) — retaining the five LCAP goal areas and adding a sixth goal emphasizing fiscal integrity — and asked staff to convert the superintendent’s success plan into a publicly posted spreadsheet showing progress (green/yellow/red status) and completion dates.
On assessment and instruction, district staff described a new approach to quarterly district assessments. The district purchased SchoolCity and will use Measure of Academic Progress item banks for grades 3–10; staff said K–2 assessments will be developed internally and imported into SchoolCity. Cathy Roth and assessment staff said the plan is to create one common assessment per quarter beginning this summer so the district can track subgroup progress and meet LCAP monitoring requirements for English learners, socioeconomically disadvantaged students and foster youth. “We’ve not had district assessments in a long time,” Poplinski said; staff noted the new system will allow rapid disaggregation and actionable reports.
Trustees and staff also discussed technology priorities and constraints. The board has expanded Chromebook deployments but staff cautioned the district’s network infrastructure will need upgrades before a large-scale 1:1 rollout; the newly hired IT director is reviewing capacity and replacement costs. Trustees urged phased pilots targeting teachers and sites that already have hardware. Poplinski said the district will post progress and timelines and invited trustees to participate in school visits to see technology implementations first-hand.
The workshop included discussion of bond project management: staff outlined options to supplement in-house bond office capacity with consultants or construction-management firms, associated RFQ/bid thresholds, and software tools to provide publicly accessible project timelines and accountability. Mr. Toto said the district has meetings scheduled with construction-management firms and a facilities representative from the California Department of Education to review regional practices.
Trustees asked staff to return with clearer timelines, estimated costs and recommended protocols (including any legal constraints) so the board can adopt the proposed governance and communication changes at a future meeting. The superintendent said he will convert the success plan into a shared, public spreadsheet and circulate a draft of the board protocols for review.
The board did not take a formal vote on these workshop items; staff will prepare action language and supporting budget estimates for future meetings.
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