Dixon Unified School District Weekly Update On The Reopening Of School - September 25, 2020

Press release from the Dixon Unified School District:

September 25, 2020

Weekly Update on the Reopening of School - September 25, 2020

Status on In-Person / Hybrid Return to School

We provided an update on the transition from the purple to red tier in the state's COVID monitoring system earlier this week and reported on that development's connection to reopening schools. The details around this require clarification as a variety of interpretations have emerged. We hope that this update helps to create some uniform understanding.

• The shift from purple to red allows for schools to reopen but does not require it. In-person return to school will be determined by each school district on a timeline of its choosing if it decides to have an in-person option.
• Under current conditions and guidance, the earliest that any schools in Solano County can reopen is October 5th, about a week earlier than previously announced. Districts may choose to reopen at a later date. Based on current information, it does not appear that any districts in Solano County will be prepared to reopen on October 5th, although smaller charter schools might be.
• If conditions worsen and our county returns to the purple tier, the October 5th reopening date would be eliminated and not reestablished until we had returned to the red tier and remained there for two weeks.
• Dixon Unified has been looking forward to the opportunity to begin some in-person instruction and has been planning for it. However, it isn't possible to complete that planning until there is a reopening date and the up-to-date guidance / requirements from public health agencies can be applied to the plans. All districts in our county are in the same position in this regard.
• The return to in-person instruction requires the District to negotiate the terms of the new working conditions with our two bargaining units - the Dixon Teachers Association and SEIU Local 1021. Again, that work could not formally begin until the information related to the exact conditions of reopening was known. Negotiations with our labor groups are underway or scheduled and will be completed as quickly as possible.
• If we decide to reopen for in-person instruction, we would be using a hybrid model that involves reduced numbers of students on campus / in classes, and continues to include asynchronous or independent work for all students to complete at home.
• Not all families will want to return their children to school upon reopening so we will be providing a continued distance learning option for them. The exact design of that will depend on how many families choose this option.
• While it should go without saying, we will anyway. Health and safety protocols will be in place and strictly adhered to by students and staff. We will continue to coordinate with public health agencies to ensure that we have the most current guidance.
• Any decision to begin in-person instruction in the hybrid model will be made with the same amount of opportunity for input from families and staff that we had regarding Distance Learning. Governing Board meetings will feature extensive discussion on reopening, and Town Hall Meetings for families will be scheduled and announced next week. We held similar meetings for families before deciding on Distance Learning and found them to be helpful to share information with you and receive input.

We are committed to completing the planning and decision-making process as quickly as possible, and ask for your patience and support while we do so. None of us want to hurry and end up making mistakes because we did so.

Funding Provided for COVID-19-related Expenses

As many are aware, school districts across California have received special funding to help us address expenses tied directly to the pandemic. We thought it is important to provide you with some of the specific information related to the funding that we have received:

• The 2020 California State budget allocated money to districts for COVID-related expenses.
• These are "one-time" monies. At this time, we do not anticipate receiving more money in the future.
• The money must be used for specific purposes and have specific deadlines.
• Districts must report expenditures on a regular basis.

COVID-19 One-Time Funds

Source

Deadline

Funding Amount

Coronavirus Relief Fund

December 30, 2020

$ 1,970,486

State General Fund

December 30, 2020

$ 259,824

Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER)

September 30, 2022

$ 199,645

Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER)

September 30, 2022

$ 707,096

Senate Bill 117

None

$ 52,819

This is a significant amount of revenue and will assist the District in addressing many of the costs that we will have related to COVID. What we don't know is how long the virus will force us to spend additional money to deal with it, so we have concerns that this is enough money to help us for as long as we need. There are not any current proposals making their way through either the federal or state government to add funding for schools. Another concern that we have right now is that $ 2,230,310 of our total allocation of $ 3,189,870 is required to be spent by December 30th of this year. This is simply too soon of a deadline and is creating pressure on us to spend money quickly now instead of spreading it out over a longer period of time as we need it. There are efforts to try to get this deadline extended,

We will be making public reports to the Governing Board as we spend these funds, so those who want to know where the money is going will be able to receive the information through those meetings.

Final Words

• We continue to offer our gratitude to everyone for their ongoing work to maximize student success at this time.
• Previously posted information regarding meals and technology help remains accurate at this time.
• Again, look for upcoming opportunities for you to get information and provide input on our plans for reopening in-person.

Weekly Update on School Reopening - September 25, 2020

Back-to-School Status In Person / Hybrid
We provided an update on the transition from purple to red level in the state's COVID monitoring system earlier this week and reported on the connection of that development with the reopening of schools. The details surrounding this require clarification as a variety of interpretations have emerged. We hope this update helps create a consistent understanding.

• The change from purple to red allows schools to reopen, but does not require it. Return to school in person will be determined by each school district on a schedule of its choice if it decides to have an option in person.
• Under current conditions and guidance, the earliest Solano County schools can reopen is October 5, approximately one week earlier than previously announced. Districts may choose to reopen at a later date. Based on current information, it does not appear that any district in Solano County is set to reopen on October 5, although smaller charter schools may do so.
• If conditions worsen and our county returns to the purple level, the reopening date of October 5 would be removed and will not be reset until we have returned to the red level and remain there for two weeks.
• The Dixon Unified School District is excited about the opportunity to begin some in-person instruction and has been planning for this. However, it is not possible to complete that planning until there is a reopening date and updated guidance / requirements from public health agencies can be applied to the plans. All the districts in our county are in the same position in this regard.
• Return to in-person instruction requires the District to negotiate the terms of the new working conditions with our two bargaining units: the Dixon Teachers Association and SEIU Local 1021. Again, that work could not formally begin until information regarding the exact reopening conditions is known. Negotiations with our labor groups are ongoing or scheduled and will be completed as soon as possible
• If we decide to reopen to an in-person instruction model, we would be using a hybrid model that involves a small number of students on campus / in class and continues to include asynchronous or independent work for all students to complete at home.
• Not all families will want their students to return to school when it reopens, so we will provide a continuous distance learning option. The exact layout will depend on how many families choose this option.
• While it should go without saying, we will do it anyway. Health and safety protocols will be in place and strictly adhered to by students and staff. We will continue to coordinate with public health agencies to ensure we have the most up-to-date guidance.
• Any decision to begin in-person instruction in the hybrid model will be made with the same amount of opportunity for input from families and staff that we had regarding Distance Learning. Board meetings will feature an extensive reopening discussion and City Hall meetings for families will be scheduled and announced next week. We held similar meetings for families before deciding on Distance Learning and we find them useful to share information with you and receive feedback.

We are committed to completing the planning process and will make decisions as quickly as possible and ask for your patience and support as we do so. None of us want to rush and end up making mistakes because we did.

Funding Provided for COVID-19 Related Expenses

As many of you know, California school districts have received special funds to help us address expenses directly related to the pandemic. We think it is important to provide you with some of the specific information related to the funding we have received:

• The 2020 California state budget allocated money to districts for COVID-related expenses.
• These are "unique" funds. At this time, we do not anticipate receiving more money in the future.
• The money must be used for specific purposes and have specific terms
• Districts must report expenditures on a regular basis.

One-Time COVID-19 Funds

Source

Deadline

Financing Amount

Coronavirus Relief Fund

December 30, 2020

$ 1,970,486

State General Fund

December 30, 2020

$ 259,824

Governor's Emergency Educational Assistance
(GEER)

September 30, 2022

$ 199,645

Emergency Assistance for Elementary and Secondary Schools (ESSER)

September 30, 2022

$ 707,096

Senate Bill 117

None

$ 52,819

This is a significant amount of revenue and will help the District address many of the costs that we will have related to COVID. What we don't know is how long the virus will force us to spend extra money to deal with it, so we are concerned that it will be enough money to help us for as long as we need it. There is no current proposal making its way through the federal or state government to add funding for schools. Another concern we have at this time is that $ 2,230,310 of our total allocation of $ 3,189,870 is required to be spent by December 30 of this year. This is simply too early a deadline and it's pushing us to spend money quickly now rather than spreading it out over a longer period of time as we need it.

We will make public reports to the Board of Directors as we spend these funds, so that those who want to know where the money is going will be able to receive the information through those meetings.

Last words

• We continue to offer our gratitude to everyone for their continued work to maximize student success at this time.
• Previously posted information on meals and assistive technology remains accurate at this time.
• Once again, look out for upcoming opportunities to gather information and provide feedback on our plans to reopen in person.

This press release was produced by the Dixon Unified School District . The views expressed are the author's own.