Willits Unified School District

Thank you to Stan Cooley for taking his Veterans Day to come down to the track and level it out before the rains and fixing the road to the Ag. Farm.

THANK YOU TO THE VOTERS The passing of Measure I will help us to fix and repair our facilities. We appreciate the vote of support.

Halloween posters from Sherwood.

In the event of a power outage all Willits Unified schools will be closed.

Student Photo Opportunity. Maureen Moore will be at Baechtel Grove Middle School this weekend - Saturday, October 24 from 9 am to 3 pm and Sunday, October 25 from 9 am to 1 pm for school photos! Please see flyer below for details and please let others know. Please contact your school with any questions.

Socktober fundraising for WUSD students.

Hello! I wanted to give families a quick update and reminder that the Chromebook insurance window to file has been extended to 11/30/2020. This is a great option to protect your Childs device throughout the school year. The cost is $34 with a $0 deductible. English Flyer https://rb.gy/e6dskf Spanish Flyer https://rb.gy/pfhtiv Pay for insurance here => https://gpo.worthavegroup.com/gpo/willits

If You Want Your Taxes to Stay Local, Choose Measure I Willits public schools are in desperate need of maintenance and repairs. Every single school in the Willits Unified School District leaks when it rains, and that’s just the beginning. The longer we defer maintenance, the more expensive repairs will become. The question is how do we, as a community, raise funds to pay for those repairs? In the upcoming election, there is a statewide proposition and a local ballot measure that address school funding. California Proposition 15 would only guarantee an additional $15,000 per year for Willits schools (or $180,000 over 12 years). Measure I would allow Willits schools to raise $17 million over 12 years. If Prop. 15 passes, California schools will get 40 percent of the revenue. Of that, community colleges will receive 11 percent. The remaining funds would be divvied up among K-12 schools statewide. Prop. 15 isn’t polling very well, so depending on it to fund local school repairs is a big risk, but even if it does pass, it only guarantees $100 per student per year, not nearly enough to pay for the upkeep required for Willits schools. It’s possible that more revenue could come our way, but there’s no guarantee. On the other hand, if Measure I passes, 100 percent of revenue would remain local and go toward repairing and maintaining Willits public schools, including charter schools. Because the general obligation bond will be issued in four or more stages, the school board can reduce the burden on taxpayers should economic conditions change or other funding, such as Proposition 15, become available. As a reminder, Measure I would cost property owners a maximum of $40 per $100,000 of assessed value (not market value) per year. Assessed value is determined by the Mendocino County Assessor and is listed on your property tax bill. If, for example, your house is assessed at $250,000, your overall annual bill would be $100 (that’s about $8 per month). With these funds, public schools in Willits would have the funds to responsibly fix what is broken and keep school facilities in good repair. Willits Unified projects include replacing broken furniture at schools districtwide, repairing the roof at Blosser Lane Elementary, purchasing portable classrooms at Brookside Elementary and cafeteria tables at Baechtel Grove Middle School, paving parking lots at Willits High and the District Office, updating science classrooms at Baechtel Grove and Willits High, and similar projects. Proposition 15 is a whole different deal. I’m not recommending a vote for or against Prop. 15; that’s a personal decision. I’m just letting you know that Prop. 15 is unlikely to provide the funds needed to maintain local schools. Please realize that a vote in favor of Proposition 15 does not replace the need for Measure I. With Measure I, you will be able to see your tax dollars at work here in Willits. In the last election, 162 people skipped over the school bond—leaving it blank rather than voting yes or no—presumably because they didn’t feel they knew enough to make a good decision. My goal here is to provide information so voters feel comfortable taking a position one way or another. Please don’t leave it blank. If you need more information, I am happy to answer any questions you may have. You can reach me at the district office at 707-459-5314.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Learning Continuity Attendance Plan 2020/21 Thursday, September 24, 2020, 5:00 p.m. Via Zoom-Please see WUSD Events calendar for link

WUSD will resume Distance Learning tomorrow, September 14th, 2020.

Congratulations to the following certified staff, you have attained permanent status with WUSD! We greatly appreciate your dedication to the students and district. Lucas Brown, District School Psychologist Melissa Coughlin, Teacher at Brookside Katrina Hall, Teacher at High School Trisa Hall, Teacher at  Brookside Patrick Keough, Teacher at BGMS Kirsten Myers, Teacher at Brookside Speech and Language

All of Brooktrails has been reopened with the exception of third gate.

Learning Continuity and Attendance Plan Public Input Opportunity I am seeking input from our district stakeholders to assist WUSD in providing the best education possible for our students as we continue distance learning and prepare for on-site instruction. We value your ideas relating to district practices and funding and wish to incorporate them into the Learning Continuity and Attendance Plan, the LCAP for the 2020/21 school year. The purpose of this plan is to describe how the district will address the impact of COVID-19 and maintain continuity of student learning this school year. The final document will be presented to the board on 9/28/20 and will include the following: • Provision of distance learning and the transfer to in person classroom instruction when public health condition allows it • Measure student progress/participation and address learning loss • Provide support for English Learners, Foster Youth, Homeless Youth, Students with Unique Needs, and Low-income students • Ensure access to internet and hardware devices • Provide resources and support to address the mental health of students and staff along with social/emotional well-being for students and staff • Student/family engagement and outreach to reengage students who are absent, unengaged, or at risk of learning loss • Provide meals for students during distance learning and in-person instruction WUSD is eligible for $1,400,000 in funding and although this appears like a lot of money it is a decrease in revenue from previous years through LCAP. With all governmental funds there are requirements and timelines to follow. The majority of funds must be spent by December and can only be spent on items mentioned above. Hiring additional permanent staff is not an option because the one time funds must be spent by December. The district has already spent funds on the following necessary items to begin operations and distance learning on August 31st: • Large amounts of PPE equipment, sanitizers, and cleaning supplies. • Two additional days of teacher paid preparation time for distant learning. • Independent Study materials and supplies for 9-12 • Wi-Fi Equipment for buses • Protective screens and other safety equipment • Chromebooks for 3rd grade • Online software such as IXL, Renaissance Learning, Zoom and Canvas • Additional teacher to Blosser • Additional support time of school nurse • Tech equipment for classrooms to present remote distant learning • Teacher training of technology • Ipads for all students Grades K-1 and Chromebooks for all second graders. Please email me any ideas you have to make education better for our students, I welcome your input: markwesterburg@willitsunified.com

Due to the fire conditions WUSD will be closed for the remainder of this week.

Due to fire conditions WUSD and Charter school's will be closed on Wednesday September ninth, 2020.

Due to fire conditions WUSD schools will be closed on Tuesday Sept. 8th.

First day of school 2020.

Wi-Fi Bus locations and times.

Welcome Back to WUSD 2020 https://youtu.be/zIePMykImIA Mark Westerburg

HOTSPOT at home For people who have cell service this is how you make your iphone a hotspot so your chromebook can connect to it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NToTQfrdNHg This is how you turn your Android phone into a hotspot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-Y1HS4j8SU This would work for people who have good phone service but don't pay for home internet service. This is how you can check to see if a hotspot will work in your location. The hotspot is simply just like the phone for access to the internet.