California Schools Put to the Test: COVID-19 Testing and Safely Reopening Campuses

11/04/20 • 39 min

Despite the pandemic, California students are beginning to return to campuses for in-person instruction. In this episode, we connect with education leaders in San Diego and Napa counties to explore how schools in their regions are addressing key guidelines for reopening safely, including partnering with their county health departments to test employees for the COVID-19 virus.
OUR GUESTS:

Dr. Paul Gothold, San Diego County Superintendent of Schools. Dr. Gothold was appointed County Superintendent in 2017, after four years leading Lynwood USD in Los Angeles County. He has more than 25 years of experience in K-12 education with a focus on building school systems with equity at the core.
Josh Schultz, Deputy Superintendent and Chief Business Official for the Napa County Office of Education. Josh has served in the Napa COE for the past 12 years. Prior to that he served as a director in the office of research at Sonoma State University. He also taught high school for seven years in Napa County.

When and how best to safely reopen our schools for in-person instruction remains top of mind for students, families, educators, communities, and the whole state. It has also become highly politicized. Under California's color-tiered monitoring system, schools in many counties across the state are now eligible to resume in-person classes, as long as they follow guidelines for safety and physical distancing -- and many students are indeed back on campuses. Josh and Paul share challenges to reopening in their counties, strategies being utilized to address them, and protocols in place for when positive cases occur.
Also, series host Paul Richman shares a few highlights from recent informational hearings in the state legislature.

JUST OUT: To help organizations, including schools, increase COVID-19 testing capacity, on Nov. 4 the California Department of Public Health issued a letter to school leaders and a Playbook regarding the new Valencia Laboratory state partnership.

MORE RESOURCES

California’s COVID-19 website – COVID-19.ca.gov
California Department of Education Coronavirus Response and School Reopening Guidance – CDE.CA.gov

ABOUT the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL BUSINESS OFFICIALS
CASBO is the premier resource for professional development and business best practices for California's school business leaders. Be sure to visit CASBO.org and check the “Learn” tab for more information about our many valuable professional development programs; @CASBO
Your series guide Paul Richman is a public education advocate and consultant; @pjr100.
Contact us at [email protected]

Dr. Paul Gothold, San Diego County Superintendent of Schools. Dr. Gothold was appointed County Superintendent in 2017, after four years leading Lynwood USD in Los Angeles County. He has more than 25 years of experience in K-12 education with a focus on building school systems with equity at the core.
Josh Schultz, Deputy Superintendent and Chief Business Official for the Napa County Office of Education. Josh has served in the Napa COE for the past 12 years. Prior to that he served as a director in the office of research at Sonoma State University. He also taught high school for seven years in Napa County.

California’s COVID-19 website – COVID-19.ca.gov
California Department of Education Coronavirus Response and School Reopening Guidance – CDE.CA.gov

Previous Episode

What’s Ahead for School Funding in California?

How do education stakeholders, political leaders and policy experts view California’s school funding system and what would it take to come together around a comprehensive, coordinated effort to increase funding in California?

In this new episode, we explore these and other timely topics with Jason Willis and Carrie Hahnel, two co-authors of “Securing and protecting education funding in California,” a new study from Policy Analysis in California Education (PACE).
The report includes a great primer on California's education finance system -- and it provides an excellent frame for thinking about and addressing California’s school funding challenges.
New Resource: CA School Funding Crisis Explained in 12 Charts
We discuss several of the study’s key findings and recommendations – and we use the study as a springboard to engage Carrie and Jason in some “big-picture” conversation about the future of funding in California. Topics include:

The political choices and will that drive funding policies
Why is a new master plan for education funding needed and what would it do?
The value of “cross-segment” planning
Transparency and accountability in school funding, and more.

ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Carrie Hahnel is an independent researcher and consultant and a fellow with The Opportunity Institute. Her work focuses on education policy, including school finance, accountability, and ways in which policies and systems can mitigate racial and socioeconomic inequities. Previously, Carrie served nine years at The Education Trust-West, where she led research and policy work. [email protected]

Jason Willis is Director of Strategy & Performance in the Comprehensive School Assistance Program at WestEd, a nonprofit research, development and service agency, where he oversees and guides performance and accountability practice to support state and school district efforts. Previously, he served as budget director, chief financial officer and assistant superintendent in the Oakland, Stockton and San Jose unified school districts, respectively. [email protected]
Your series guide, Paul Richman, is a public education advocate and consultant. [email protected]; follow at @pjr100

Policy Analysis in California Education (PACE) is an independent, nonpartisan research partnership among five CA higher education institutions that seeks to make research accessible and bring evidence to bear on the most critical issues facing our state.
MORE RESOURCES

ABOUT CASBO
The California Association of School Business Officials is the premier resource for professional development and business best practices for California's school business leaders. CASBO is dedicated to promoting excellence and professionalism in all aspects of school business. Learn more at CASBO.org; follow at @CASBO

Next Episode

Optimism with a Side of Caution: Live (Virtually) from the CASBO CBO Symposium

The latest state budget outlook. Fiscal implications for schools. Safely reopening campuses. Tips for successful negotiations. These topics and more were on the table when school business leaders and state fiscal experts gathered remotely the week before Thanksgiving for CASBO's CBO Symposium.
We can't possibly convey all the insights and information packed into those two days. But in this episode we do bring you highlights, key takeaways and a flavor for this year’s event.
The Symposium coincided with release of the State Legislative Analyst Office's latest Budget Fiscal Outlook, which projects a dramatic rebound in overall state revenues in the current budget year, and a $13.7 billion increase in funds available to schools and community colleges. That's cause for much optimism, though budget experts recommend a healthy amount of caution as well, since the outlook in future years remains cloudy with potential deficits.
Hear highlights as Symposium presenters including Edgar Cabral, Deputy for K-12 Education at the Legislative Analyst's Office, Michael Fine, CEO of the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT), Sara Bachez, CASBO Chief Governmental Relations Officer, Kevin Gordon, President of Capitol Advisors Group, John Gray, President of School Services of California, and nationally regarded economist Robert Kleinhenz shed light on key economic indicators, budget projections, payment deferrals, other vital aspects of the state budget deal -- and they explore how school districts might approach planning.
We also listen in as CBOs and other school business leaders share how their different districts are navigating the pandemic and related fiscal challenges.
For even more information on safely reopening schools, also check out this recent webinar hosted by the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, COVID-19 Updates and Public Schools: A Conversation with State Public Health Leaders.
ABOUT THE CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL BUSINESS OFFICIALS
CASBO is the premier resource for professional development and business best practices for California's school business leaders. Be sure to visit CASBO.org for the latest budget news and more information about the many valuable professional development programs, including the new CASBO Work Wise Webinar Series. Follow on Twitter at @CASBO
Your series guide Paul Richman is a public education advocate and consultant. Follow on Twitter at @pjr100.
Contact us at [email protected]

Adventures in Ed Funding - California Schools Put to the Test: COVID-19 Testing and Safely Reopening Campuses

Transcript

California Schools Put to the Test: COVID-19 Testing and Safely Reopening Campuses

With special guests Paul Gothold, Superintendent, San Diego County Schools, and Josh Schultz, Deputy Superintendent/CBO, Napa County Office of Education

[0:01]
Opening

Josh Schultz:

I'm watching a lot of really dedicated bright, hardworking people, trying to create certainty in an environment where there is no certainty.