"And now here tonight we have the opportunity to take another step forward in the profession," board chair Tyler Murphy said, , ahead of a vote on the tentative budget – which includes pay raises, 35 days of parental leave for birthing, non-birthing, and adoptive parents, and a $250 allocation for classroom supplies for every teacher.
The exact amount of the raises won’t be firmed up until later this summer.
The meeting didn’t go without some mention of a continuing controversy over the loss of an art offering at Cassidy Elementary School. During public comment, one speaker urged more transparency from the board.
"It needs to be asked by you guys — hard questions about where we're spending money. Is the money that's being spent being utilized effectively to improve results?" he said.
The district recently held a meeting to address the loss of some arts classes, with some advocates maintaining more could be done to cut the administrative budget in order to keep those offerings.
Ultimately, the board voted to affirm a decision by Cassidy’s school-based decision making council to cut the art course, arguing it’s a matter legally assigned to the councils – not the board.
