At the Beaumont Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting held Tuesday, May 21, the main items discussed included a future bond, a review and update of the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) and a brief overview of the 2024-25 budget.
School Facilities Improvement District
According to Resolution 2023-24-30, Beaumont Unified anticipates forming School Facilities Improvement District No. 1 (SFID No.1) for an identified portion of the school district, in order to aid in funding necessary facility improvements within this specified area. SFID No.1 is to facilitate the issuance of general obligation bonds for financing the costs of school facilities and equipment to be acquired, renovated and constructed to benefit the students residing within SFID No. 1 boundaries.
Before SFID No.1 can be formed and funded, a ballot measure for approval of the bond will need to go before voters residing in the identified SFID No.1 area.
Beaumont Unified’s Chief Business Official Sergio San Martin explained, “This is to initiate issuing a potential general obligation bond for facilities improvements. This is the first step to conducting a public hearing and officially calling for a general obligation bond. This specific resolution of intention is to formalize boundaries and determine who would be voting for a potential general obligation bond. We will bring this item to the board at the June 11 board meeting.”
The boundaries identified for SFID No.1 are the western part of the district. There are nine senior (age 55 and over communities) within the identified SFID No.1 boundary that would not be part of the tax levy. The boundary map showing the proposed exterior boundaries for SFID No. 1 is available at the Beaumont Unified office, 350 W. Brookside Ave. Beaumont, for the public to view during regular business hours.
The facilities to be financed by SFID No. 1 include the acquisition, construction, modernization, repair, upgrading and equipping of property and facilities at some or all of the district’s elementary, middle or high schools, or at any other district facility benefiting the students within SFID No. 1. Costs include all design, engineering, program management, construction management, architectural, environmental compliance, land surveys and utility upgrade costs.
The board has determined that the estimated cost of the facilities will be approximately $1.6 million.
A public hearing on SFID No. 1 will be held on Tuesday, June 11, at 6 p.m., at the Beaumont Unified School District Boardroom, at 350 W. Brookside Ave., Beaumont.
LCAP
The LCAP is a three-year plan that describes a school district’s goals and planned actions, services and expenditures to support positive student outcomes that address state and local priorities. It is a state required tool for Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to use, which highlights the district’s strategies for improving areas of need and describes how the district plans to allocate the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) funds from the state.
Beaumont Unified utilizes the California School Dashboard (CSD) to help identify students needing additional support.
Per the CSD, the students in Beaumont Unified identified as those needing additional support include English learners, low income or socioeconomically disadvantaged (SED), including homeless students and foster youth.
Mina Jo Blazy, director of research, learning and data, and Ebon Brown, assistant superintendent of instruction and support services, provided a presentation of Beaumont Unified’s LCAP, focusing on the successes and challenges of the 2023-24 LCAP and an overview of the working draft of the 2024-25 LCAP. The high-needs groups identified by the CSD are prioritized in Beaumont Unified’s LCAP for the goal is to ensure these students receive the necessary support to succeed academically and socially.
The LCAP is broken down into three identified goals.
2023-24 LCAP update
In 2023-24, Beaumont Unified’s LCAP budgeted approximately $25.3 million for planned actions to increase or improve services for high-needs students. Beaumont Unified actually spent over $26 million for actions to increase or improve services for high-needs students in 2023-24.
The first goal for the 2023-24 LCAP was engagement, with Beaumont Unified implementing efforts to increase parental involvement and stronger community ties, enhance school safety measures and reduce bullying, to improve the overall school climate.
According to Blazy, “A few of the biggest impacts were the sports programs expansion to include esports and the partnership with the Expanded Learning Opportunity Program. Student access to counseling support, positive behavior intervention programs and attendance incentives decreased chronic absenteeism.”
It was noted that there were delays in implementing family and community engagement; however, all actions were eventually implemented, ensuring goals were met.
“The effectiveness of these initiatives were evident in the improved sense of student belonging and notable reduction in chronic absenteeism across English learners, low-income students and foster youth groups,” Blazy said.
“Additionally, the presence of school resource officers at the secondary level has been a notable success, with the community expressing appreciation for their role in enhancing school safety.”
The LCAP shows that programs implemented under this goal positively impacted target groups that have chronic absenteeism, with English learners showing a 5 percent reduction, SED students a 3 percent reduction, and foster youth an 8 percent reduction. Additionally, foster youth suspension rates have aligned with the overall student population at 2.7 percent, demonstrating effective inclusivity in disciplinary practices.
The second goal for the 2023-24 LCAP was for Beaumont Unified to improve student outcomes by providing standards-aligned comprehensive courses to increase academic and social-emotional learning (SEL) for all students.
This included the College and Career Symposium, which raised awareness and participation in future opportunities, and Early Literacy Intervention, which boosted foundational reading skills.
Blazy said, “The most impactful initiative was the increased professional learning throughout the school year. The site supplemental concentration allowed school sites to use funding, with community input, to create activities and strategies that benefited students and staff.”
One downfall noted in the presentation was a slow rollout of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) implementation, which had an impact on efforts to increase the use of mathematics manipulatives.
The PSAT and SAT initiative was less impactful, as many students opted to attend California universities that accept other testing avenues and mathematics scores through the Early Assessment Program exam. The school year faced challenges such as unexpected salary increases, which affected expenditures.
Blazy noted that even with a slow rollout of some programs, “in terms of effectiveness, there were notable improvements in academic performances across subjects. Specific gains, including nine-point increase in mathematics for foster youth, a three-point increase in low-income students, and a general 10 percent increase in students meeting A through G requirements.”
The third priority goal identified in the 2023-24 LCAP was for Beaumont Unified to employ, develop and retain highly qualified diverse employees who provide broad quality teaching in an organization culture supported by multi-tiered services.
Challenges in implementing the ideas/program to meet this goal included logistical challenges for technology, driver shortages and training sufficient coaches to assist new teachers. Yet, all planned actions were implemented.
Blazy said, “Successes for the school year include improved access to transportation and technology, which facilitated continuous learning and consistent school attendance. The most impactful actions were access to technology, professional development, and Best First Instruction. In terms of effectiveness, strategic investments in training, technology and transportation greatly improved the learning environment and school culture.”
2024-25 LCAP Draft
Beaumont Unified is projecting in 2024-25 it will receive approximately $28.5 million based on the enrollment of foster youth, English learners, and low-income students. In the 2024-25 LCAP draft, Beaumont Unified describes how it intends to increase or improve services for high-needs students. Beaumont Unified plans to spend approximately $29.7 million to meet this requirement.
For the 2024-25 LCAP, Beaumont Unified’s focus remained on the key goals of engagement, student outcomes and conditions of learning. While the focus areas remained the same, the district made some changes on how to best implement programs and better measure outcomes, after seeking input from various parties.
Beaumont Unified sought input via collaboration, surveys and sessions with teachers, administrators, parents and students. Further feedback was gathered from meetings with community partners, such as the District African American Parent Advisory Committee and the District English Language Advisory Committee. Additional feedback sessions included meetings with the Beaumont Teachers Association and the California School Employees Association, school site council members and included the integration of special education representatives.
Blazy pointed out that this engagement strengthened partnerships and provided Beaumont Unified with specific areas of need and action ideas that will aid in increasing educational outcomes.
The first goal of Beaumont Unified’s 2024-25 LCAP draft focuses on improving the school climate and culture by focusing on engagement of staff, students and parents increased and improved services.
Some ideas identified in the 2024-25 LCAP draft on how to improve engagement include:
• Counselors at each school site and shared behavioral health therapists and student support specialists,
• School resource officers,
• Student support services for low-income, foster youth and homeless students,
• District-wide incentives for better attendance, using earned awards and positive reinforcement for students,
• Provide additional support to decrease chronic absenteeism at lowest performing school sites.
The second goal of Beaumont Unified’s 2024-25 LCAP draft is to implement systems of support to ensure the academic, behavioral and social success of all students.
Some ideas noted in the draft of the 2024-25 LCAP to ensure overall success of all students include:
• Increase funding for professional learning for staff,
• Increase staff and learning materials for Dual Language Immersion programs to help these thrive,
• Improve technology support to better equip educators,
• Improve English learner student achievement with English learner coordinators, bilingual instructional aides and translation services,
• Implement math intervention programs in secondary schools led by a math specialist. Provide support teachers in elementary schools for enhanced math instruction.
The third goal identified in Beaumont Unified’s 2024-25 LCAP draft states Beaumont Unified will recruit, retain and cultivate highly qualified staff while providing exemplary materials and equipment in a safe, secure and well-maintained learning environment.
Some ideas outlined in the draft to support this goal include:
• Provide a full-day kindergarten option in addition to the existing half-day program,
• Lower the student-teacher ratio,
• Implement supplemental software solutions that include analytics capabilities to integrate and analyze data on student behavior, attendance and academics,
• Increase disaster and emergency preparedness protocol through a comprehensive online training program,
• Increase home-to-school transportation for eligible students.
The board heard concerns from a handful of community members about the information in the 2024-25 LCAP draft not accurately representing the conversations that took place at the various community meetings. The community members emphasized the need for more transparency and accurate representation of community feedback. The board agreed to review the minutes from the community meetings and ensure accurate information is presented in the final 2024-25 LCAP.
Changes to the draft of Beaumont Unified’s 2024-25 LCAP will be made and presented at a future Board of Trustees meeting.
Proposed 2024-25 budget
A budget overview for the 2024-25 school year was presented.
School districts receive funding from different sources: state funds under the LCFF, other state funds, local funds, and federal funds. LCFF funds include a base level of funding for all LEAs and extra funding — called “Supplemental and Concentration” grants — to LEAs based on the enrollment of high-needs students.
The total revenue projected for 2024-25 is approximately $202 million of which $160.4 million is LCFF, $23 million is other state funds, $13.3 million is local funds, and $5.1 million is federal funds. Of the $160.4 million in LCFF funds, approximately $28.5 million is generated based on the enrollment of high-needs students.
Detailed information about each of the items presented at the May 21 Beaumont Unified meeting, along with corresponding supplemental documents, can be found at beaumontpublic.ic-board.com/.
The next board of trustees meeting will be at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 11, at 350 W. Brookside Ave., Beaumont.
