MJUSD assesses improvement plan for district
Jun. 25—On Tuesday, the Marysville Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees overviewed the proposal for a strategic plan addressing the district's fiscal accountability, facility infrastructure, staff retention and betterment of student programs.
The plan will serve as a guide when developing departmental initiatives over the next three years.
The meeting agenda originally planned for the board to vote on the presentation's approval, but was changed to an informational item due to board members not receiving the plan documents in a timely manner. Not all board members were adequately informed of the strategic plan and could not make an appropriate vote during Tuesday's meeting.
MJUSD began devising the strategic plan in December 2021 to align with the district's Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP). Both plans will be used to carry out the district's goals, actions, and expenditures to support identified student outcomes and overall performance.
While the district reported having a positive balance in its budget and reserves, it also reported inadequate funding for facilities upgrades, student transportation and extracurricular activities. The strategic plan attributes increased turnovers in staffing, decreased student attendance and outstanding loans associated with facilities upgrades as increased expenditures.
To counter these issues, MJUSD will establish a budget that prioritizes resources to optimize student achievement, staff retainment and costs of infrastructure or maintenance.
"Opportunities for partnerships with outside community agencies for infrastructure improvements and partnerships with colleges and universities were noted areas of focus, as were increased parent engagement and grant opportunities," the board reported. "These strategic fiscal goals keep our students at the center of everything we do and focus on strengthening their MJUSD experience through student resources, exemplary workforce, operational excellence, and meaningful partnerships."
The board also identified a need for improvements within school infrastructures. Along with general repairs, facilities within the district are in need of modern equipment and safety features such as security cameras and fencing.
One of the primary goals with this assessment is to provide safe, secure and optimal work environments for students and staff, the report said.
The MJUSD board also acknowledged difficulties in hiring retention and employment development across the district. The report attributes staffing issues to the fact that a large portion of MJUSD faculty are commuters.
"With the additional dollars, school districts have been able to create more positions which led to the MJUSD commuter workforce having job options available closer to home. We turned over five teachers for the 2021-2022 school year and still have four vacancies at the halfway point in the year," the LCAP report stated.
The district plans to better their hiring and benefits packages to become more competitive with neighboring districts.
The final area of improvement the board established was for student programs and support. While the classes and programs within the district foster student achievement, they lack support for college and career readiness. The report establishes possible opportunities for college partnerships, but the district's overall goals lie in improving student engagement and providing more academic programs.
MJUSD expects to execute the strategic plan at the start of the 2022/23 school year and hopes to fulfill all its goals by 2025.
