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Santa Barbara Unified board meeting, Sep 15, 2026

4 h 05 min · 14 public speakers

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 4 h 05 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Santa Barbara Unified board approves San Marcos High health careers academy construction resolution 1:01:28

  • A speaker at public comment said a student survey found restrictions on YouTube had negatively affected students' educational experience, and other speakers at public comment raised classroom heat and air conditioning. 27:27
  • The board unanimously approved a resolution authorizing McGillivray Construction Incorporated to proceed with construction of the San Marcos High School Health Careers Academy and Wellness Resource Center project, along with an amendment to a memorandum of understanding with the Royal Pride Foundation. 1:14:18
  • The board heard reports on the cost of bringing legal services in-house and on preliminary state test results. 1:24:24
  • The board unanimously approved the 2025⁠-⁠26 fiscal year unaudited actuals. 3:24:13

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Item by item (15)
  1. Opening and language access 0:05
    • William Banning called the meeting to order, recessed to closed session and called the meeting back into open session at 6:08. 0:05
    • A district staff member said interpretation was available in Spanish and ASL through Zoom. 1:26
  2. Superintendent's report 6:12
    • A district staff member reported 11,406 students enrolled as of the 18th day of the school year, compared with 12,877 students six years earlier, and said an enrollment study session was planned for November. 7:16
    • A staff member said CalShape grant HVAC projects at 5 schools were on hold while the district waited for confirmation from the California Energy Commission, and that the grant covers up to 50% of costs approximately. 9:35
    • Two school principals spoke about their backgrounds and their schools as part of a new feature of the superintendent's report. 11:04
  3. Public comment on non-agenda items 25:32
    • A speaker at public comment said a survey of over 1,700 high school students found 85.7% responded that restrictions to YouTube had negatively affected their educational experience. 27:27
    • Speakers at public comment raised classroom heat, asked for a heat response plan and a timeline for air conditioning at each school site. 45:20
    • Other speakers raised delays in Prop 28 arts funding and the role of the DEMLAC advisory committee. 54:05
  4. San Marcos High School construction project 1:01:28
    • A district staff member said the project would replace portables with 3 buildings for the Health Academy and modernize the wellness center. 1:02:50
    • A district staff member said the amended memorandum of understanding commits $1.5 million from the district and $1.5 million from the foundation to total $3 million, and that the district had submitted a $3 million construction CTE facilities grant that had not yet been approved. 1:05:34
    • Sunita Beall moved to approve the resolution and the amendment to the memorandum of understanding. 1:14:18
    • The motion passed unanimously. 1:15:12
  5. Board member comments 1:15:12
    • One board member said including student voice is very important and said the district needs to find a better way to communicate with students. 1:16:29
    • William Banning said the board would like to arrange a conversation with students in which the board can be involved. 1:20:39
  6. In-house legal counsel financial update 1:23:15
    • The district's in-house counsel said the district previously averaged about $58,400 per month across 5 outside law firms and is now saving about $28,600 per month, or about $343,000 per year. 1:24:24
    • Two board members each said they had been skeptical of the change. 1:30:01
  7. Student outcomes report 1:34:47
    • A district staff member reported preliminary results showing English language arts proficiency rose from 51.7% to 53.3% and district-wide math proficiency reached 43.9%. 1:35:20
    • One board member asked how the district would address a drop in math results between 8th and 11th grade and said it would consider the situation an emergency. 2:04:59
    • A staff member said principals were discussing a possible interim assessment for 10th graders. 2:09:25
  8. Finance Committee reserve policy update 2:19:27
    • A district staff member said the Finance Committee recommended a risk assessment to help set a floor and ceiling for a reserve policy. 2:21:20
    • A speaker at public comment said $2.4 million in arts grant money, a third of the grant, was diverted to the general fund. 2:26:31
    • Gabe Escobedo asked about reserve guidance for community-funded districts, and a staff member said guidance as high as 25% had been seen. 2:33:28
  9. Appropriations limit resolution 2:40:34
    • A district staff member said the district must adopt a resolution each year setting the limit enacted under Proposition 4. 2:40:50
    • Gabe Escobedo moved to adopt Resolution 2026⁠-⁠2027⁠-⁠06. 2:42:36
    • The motion carried unanimously. 2:42:55
  10. Unaudited actuals report 2:42:55
    • A district staff member reported general fund revenue rose from $237,808,746 to $252 million and expenditures went from $255 million to $257 million. 2:43:07
    • The staff member said general fund reserves ended at 11.02% and that a $5 million deficit remained on the unrestricted side. 2:50:56
    • Speakers at public comment said actual revenue exceeded budgeted revenue by millions of dollars and asked for more accurate budget projections. 3:02:38
    • The board approved the unaudited actuals unanimously. 3:24:51
  11. Teacher credential waivers and assignments 3:24:51
    • A district staff member said the variable term waivers were for 3 CTE teachers working to clear their credentials. 3:25:35
    • Gabe Escobedo moved to approve the waiver request and the annual report of teacher assignments with Resolution 2026/2027⁠-⁠08. 3:26:37
    • A speaker at public comment said tighter high school staffing led to elective classes being closed. 3:29:20
    • Both motions passed unanimously. 3:26:48
  12. Heritage and attendance month resolutions 3:31:37
    • Gabe Escobedo moved to approve Resolution Number 2026⁠-⁠27⁠-⁠07 proclaiming September 15th, 2026 through October 15th, 2026 Hispanic Heritage Month, and a staff member said school site events would be collected and posted on the website. ~3:34:07
    • A staff member said the district's chronic absenteeism rate went up this past year, and Celeste Kafri asked whether the board could get attendance data at board meetings. 3:35:55
    • Both resolutions passed unanimously. 3:35:35
  13. Sheriff services agreement and donations 3:40:22
    • A district staff member said the agreement with the Sheriff's Department provides safety for the district's high schools, particularly for large events. 3:40:32
    • The agreement and the acceptance of donations each passed unanimously. 3:41:51
  14. Contract negotiation proposals 3:42:22
    • William Banning said the public hearing on sufficiency of instructional materials was withdrawn and would return October 13th. 3:42:40
    • A speaker at public comment said the union's goal was to attract and retain teachers through working conditions and salary. 3:44:39
    • One board member said the district operates on a budget of approximately $250 million, faces a $5 million structural deficit, and that final financial terms must await a clearer fiscal outlook. 3:47:09
  15. Consent agenda and future items 3:50:59
    • Gabe Escobedo moved to approve the consent agenda without item K5. 3:51:16
    • A district staff member said a budget workshop was coming up October 10th, and Gabe Escobedo said the board wanted the opportunity to give input early on possible cuts or cost savings. 3:52:32
    • William Banning adjourned the meeting at 10:25. 4:04:08
    • The consent agenda motion carried unanimously. 3:51:38

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

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Video: posted by the district as “SB Unified - Board Meeting - Tuesday, September 15, 2026”