At their regular meeting on June 27, the Hollister School District trustees unanimously agreed to a new memo of understanding with the Youth Alliance and the YMCA to allow them to continue administering afterschool programs on most of their campuses. This reverses the district’s previous plan to take over those programs and administer them by itself.
Over 150 parents and students attending the regular board meeting on April 25 protested against the district’s plans to cut ties with the organizations at the end of the 2022-23 school year. In response, the trustees agreed to work with the organizations to salvage some part of the programs.
Under the new agreements, Youth Alliance will run programs at the Accelerated Achievement Academy, Calaveras Elementary, R. O, Harden Elementary and Sunnyslope Elementary schools. The YMCA has been assigned the Cerra Vista Elementary, Ladd Lane Elementary, and Rancho Santana Elementary schools.
Both contracts allow for as many as 100 students per campus to take part in the programs five days a week at a rate of $350 per student. Youth Alliance is funded for a maximum of $1.25 million, while the YMCA is funded for a maximum of $1.15 million.
A third organization, Elevo Learning, will take over the programs at the Hollister Dual Language Academy, Rancho San Justo, and Maze Middle Schools and also provide programs five days a week and will be paid $932,816. The language academy program will be open to 20 transitional and kindergarten students and 80 first- through eighth-grade students.
The number of students allowed in the programs at the other schools was not specified in the proposal. BenitoLink’s calls to the school district for the information were not returned as of June 28.
Elevo Learning was founded 17 years ago and is represented in more than 65 school districts and over 600 schools. The organization is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and employs over 1,000 teaching coaches.
During public comments, Hollister resident Isabel Munoz thanked the trustees for reinstating the programs.
“I feel, after listening to you, that you are going to support the community,” she said. “And I know you have listened to my story, and you heard the other stories too, and that we can work together.”
Youth Alliance Deputy Director of Operations José Martínez-Saldaña thanked the trustees for their continued support. He told BenitoLink that while he regretted losing the two middle schools in the new agreement, he was grateful that the organization was still involved and that continuity was being maintained for the students.
“We have a track record of successfully working with students and providing services,” he said. “We are not going to be backing away from that. But at the end of the day, it looks like the district is positioning itself to improve on what our children are going to be able to receive in these programs.”
Other actions
Prior voting on the after-school programs, the trustees also voted on the tentative agreement with Hollister Elementary Classified Association, CSEA #625, which represents classified school support employees, which allows for:
- A one-time, off-schedule payment of 1% of base salary for unit members completing the school year and those that retired during the school the 2022-23 school year
- 6% will be added to the 2022-23 salary schedule, retroactive to July 1, 2022
- Minor increases to some stipends
The measure passed 4-1 with Trustee Jose Perez voting against the agreement, saying he had not had time to read all of the documentation.
The trustees unanimously agreed to a new contract with the San Benito Arts Council to provide a TK-8th grade visual arts program, a third-grade music program, a second-grade voice program, and a dance-PE program. The arts council will be paid $498,940 for the year.
A proposal to increase the stipend trustees receive for attending meetings, currently set at $35, failed on a 4-1 vote, with only Perez voting in favor. Besides the $35 stipend, board members are reimbursed for travel expenses incurred while attending relevant seminars and conferences and may participate in the district’s health and welfare benefits.The full agenda and relevant documents are posted on the district’s website.
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