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Where is That $1,500 PVUSD Staff Bonus?, Q&A With Dr. Michelle
FEATURED COLUMNIST
Where is That $1,500 PVUSD Staff Bonus?
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Q&A With Dr. Michelle Rodriguez, Superintendent, Pajaro Valley Unified School District
In your Aug 26 message out you said the board approved $2,500 retention bonus. 2 paychecks have come and gone and it has not been in either. When will this bonus be given?
At the August 24, 2022 PVUSD Board Meeting, the Board of Trustees approved a $2500 retention bonus for all staff to show our appreciation for their dedication and continued service to our students.
The first half of the retention bonus was approved to be paid on the Oct. 31 payroll and will be in the amount of $1,250. The second half of the bonus will be paid on the June 30 payroll in the amount of $1,250.
There used to be support for staff with down payments for homes. Is that still going on? Did it ever help any at PVUSD?
Through a partnership with Landed, the following number of employees of Pajaro Valley Unified were able to receive additional financial counseling and assistance: • 393 employees who have signed up to learn more about Landed • 32 on boarded employees (those who have been matched with an agent and lender) • 4 employees actively searching for homes • 12 homebuyers!
Due to recent changes in the housing market, Landed’s down payment program currently has a waitlist.
However, they still have robust resources to support homeownership which can be found at https://tinyurl. com/teacher-home-purchase-help.
When will I be able to access and spend the PO for all certificated staff?
As of Sept. 21, all purchase orders (PO) had been created for eligible certificated staff. Detailed instructions for how to use the PO with Palace can be accessed at the following link.
New certificated staff should have received an email from Palace with login and password information.
Certificated staff who have had previous access, can just log in and start ordering. If you have forgotten your login information, the instruction sheet through the provided link will walk you through the login process.
All current PO’s will expire on Dec. 1. An additional $125 will be provided after winter break (specific dates TBD). For additional support, please call the PVUSD Purchasing Department at 831-786-2195 or email them at purchasing_ help@pvusd.net.
You may also call Palace Business Solutions directly at 831-476-3815 or contact them through their Customer Care Live chat https://www.gopalace.com/
Will PVUSD be offering the latest
COVID-variant booster shots to teachers and staff this fall?
PVUSD and Inspire Diagnostics continue to partner to provide vaccines for all PVUSD staff. The most recent PVUSD hosted vaccine clinic was Oct. 13 from 1-5 p.m. at the District Office HR Conference Room (294 Green Valley Rd, Watsonville).
For more information on age & eligibility requirements for vaccines and boosters, visit: https://santacruzcoe.org/vaccines/
Inspire also offers vaccine clinics at the following locations:
Cabrillo College, parking lot R — Saturdays 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Santa Cruz County Office of Education
— Fridays 1 - 5 p.m.
Are all sixth-grade students’ families informed about sixth grade science camp regardless of which class they are enrolled in? I heard of a special education student who is not in a mainstream general Ed class not receiving this information to attend. This seems like a very flawed communication system if this was overlooked.
We believe that all students should have equity of access to educational programming including field trips such as science camp. Our District policy is to inform all fifth and sixth grade students and their families of science camp. If a student is in a Special Day Class, they may need accommodations or additional support.
When necessary, the site administrator and Special Services team will work to provide necessary accommodations for student success. If you have questions or concerns regarding science camp please contact your site principal, your child’s teacher, or our Special Services Department at the District Office (831) 786-2130.
With recent incidents at high school football games (Hollister, Monterey and other places) and news articles talking about an increase in violence at high school football games, is Pajaro Valley Unified doing anything differently at games?
To add additional security measures, PVUSD is changing some policies for home football games scheduled to be played in the evenings. For home evening football games, any middle school student or junior high school student must be accompanied by an adult to be allowed entrance to the game.
Additionally, all student bags of unaccompanied high school students will be checked before entering the football field. With these additional safety measures, please be patient as the lines may be a bit longer.
I just read in the newspaper that PVUSD is going to be mindful of a variety of religious observations. When I told my family, my 3rd grader asked if that meant there would be more than one Chanukah book in her class this year and if the holiday party would be a Christmas party or be a holiday party for her too. What can I tell her?
The Pajaro Valley Unified School Board honors the rich diversity of our students and our community. For many students in our schools, the observance of religious and cultural traditions is an important part of their personal, family, and community life.
These traditions help students understand and preserve their own value systems, cultures, customs and history. As such, we will work with site principals and library media technicians to ensure there is more than one book about a variety of religions, customs, and traditions.
Additionally, if staff choose to have a holiday themed party it must be inclusive of all religions during that time. We encourage an inclusive “holiday party” instead of a party dedicated to only one religion, custom, or belief. Teachers are encouraged to provide a safe space for students to share about their own religious beliefs, cultures, and family traditions. A suggested list of books to use for educational purposes in the classroom can be provided by the site Library Media Technician.
Plastic bottle caps are a choking hazard,
I noticed a lot of students bring one to school, are we able to provide portable water bottles for our students?
During the 2021-2022 school year, all staff and students were provided a PVUSD C.A.R.E.S. reusable aluminum water bottle. A limited supply of these water bottles are still available from the district wide order.
School site leadership should contact Richard Arellano in the Purchasing Department to request additional water bottles while supplies last.
When will you release the PVUSD student test assessment results? Will it be before or after the election? Other districts have released their results, why not PVUSD?
PVUSD is proud of the work of staff and students to ensure we rebounded to 2019 performance levels after the pandemic. Due to the importance of reviewing our data, as in previous years, we scheduled a Special Board Study Session on Aug. 31 to discuss student performance data.
Unfortunately, due to not having a quorum of the Board, that meeting had to be rescheduled. However, the student performance information has been provided through the Sept. 28 Board Meeting which focused on academic data including Early Literacy, State Assessments, Advanced Placement, Comparison of Expanded Course Opportunities with Traditional Course Offerings, and the Equity Grade Grading Pilot.
The Oct. 12 Board Meeting will focus on behavioral data including Suspensions/ Expulsions, Chronic Absenteeism and PBIS Tiered Fidelity Inventory Status.
Did PVUSD lower graduation requirements due to the pandemic?
In 2018, PVUSD engaged in an 18-month Educational Equity Audit (EEA) which examined existing District practices related to college and career readiness for students. The audit revealed the need for an action plan to systematically transform policies and practices that advance equity and close opportunity and achievement gaps.
