June 6, 2023 Board Meeting Highlights

June 6, 2023 Board Meeting Highlights
Posted on 06/09/2023

The Santee School District Board of Education met at 6 p.m. June 6, 2023. Meeting highlights included:

Reports and Presentations

  • Superintendent Baranski presented three Board Members with milestone certificates honoring their outstanding years of service on the Board of Education:
    • Diane El-Hajj – 30 years
    • Dustin Burns – 20 years
    • Elana Levens-Craig – 10 years
  • The Board of Education honored Alexis Svoboda from Hill Creek for being an outstanding student. Hill Creek’s administrative staff has selected this student to be acknowledged for her accomplishments and for the excellent effort she has demonstrated this school year as a wonderful role model to others.
  • The Board recognized the Santee Kiwanis for their outstanding contribution to Santee School District students in sponsoring and orchestrating the annual Junior Olympics event. The Santee Kiwanis Club has provided the Junior Olympics event for our students for over 35 years. Santee School District students in grades 4 – 8 work diligently with their classroom teachers to train for a variety of track and field events in preparation for the Kiwanis Junior Olympics. This annual event is held on a Saturday at one of the local high schools and is highly attended by students, families, and community members.
  • The Board thanked the Santee School District Foundation for their hard work to exhibit student artwork at the Chamber of Commerce Street Fair. The Foundation, formed in 2002, supports literacy, arts, technology, and school site grants through fundraising and donations. This year, the Santee School District Foundation was invited to participate in the Chamber of Commerce Street Fair on Saturday, May 27. Mrs. Monica Farren, Vice Principal at Hill Creek, with the assistance of Foundation members, art docents, staff, and volunteers, coordinated efforts to collect and display student art at the event.

Public Hearing

  • The Board of Education held a public hearing to review the District’s proposed Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) and solicit the recommendations and comments of members of the public regarding the specific actions and expenditures proposed to be included in the second year of the three-year Local Control Accountability Plan. The proposed LCAP is available for public inspection on the District’s website. The Board will consider the LCAP for approval at the June 20, 2023 regular Board of Education meeting.
  • A public hearing was held prior to the discussion of the Adopted Budget. Budget materials are available for review on the District’s website.
  • A public hearing was held regarding the recycling of obsolete library books. Due to the acquisition of new library books and limited space for storage, obsolete library books will be donated to the parents and children of Santee. Any obsolete library books deemed unusable by the school site Instructional Media Technician or District Instructional Media Technician will be recycled.

Discussion and Action Items

  • Mrs. Courtney Bittle and Mr. Luke Allen were appointed as vice principals, effective July 1, 2023. Mrs. Bittle has been serving as an Administrative Intern since 2022 and as a classroom teacher since 2011. Mr. Allen has served as an Administrative Intern since 2022 and as a classroom teacher since 2007. School placements for Courtney and Luke will be announced prior to July 30.
  • Kevin Fairchild was appointed as Director of Assessment and Learning Support, effective July 1, 2023. Kevin Fairchild holds an Administrative Services Credential and a Master of Science in Instructional Leadership. Mr. Fairchild has been serving as the District Coordinator for Instructional Design and Technology in Saddleback Valley Unified School District since 2016. Prior to this position, he served as a teacher on special assignment in San Dieguito Union High School District from 2012-2016 and as science teacher at La Costa Canyon High School from 1996-2012.
  • Administration updated the Board of Education with a range of costs associated with recording and archiving Board meetings, should the Board want to pursue that option in the future. Board meetings will live streamed, tentatively starting on July 18, 2023. If members of the public choose to provide the Board of Education with public comment, they will need to appear in person for this commentary.
  • The Board approved the purchase of kindergarten through fifth grade Common Core-aligned instructional materials, Amplify Science. Staff provided an overview of the pilot process and the recommendation to adopt Amplify Science instructional materials.
  • Students’ experience and perception of safety is a priority in Santee School District. Panorama student survey data shows that greatest contributors to students not feeling safe at school is having mean rumors or lies spread about them and having been made fun of because of the way they look or talk. To better understand student experiences and to address these concerns the Board approved a partnership with the San Diego Office of Education to study, plan, and implement solutions for bullying behavior.

The next meeting of the Santee School District Board of Education will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 20, 2023, in the Educational Resource Center, 9619 Cuyamaca, Santee.

Note: These are not official meeting minutes of the Board of Education but rather a brief recap of the Board’s actions. For official meeting minutes and a complete list of actions taken, visit bit.ly/3gejSgf.