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Santa Barbara Unified board meeting, date not confirmed yet

3 h 55 min · 24 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 3 h 55 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Santa Barbara Unified board votes to bring back action item on equity staffing 3:44:04

  • The board heard a staff report on addressing racist, biased and anti-Black actions, including a new racial incident response protocol. 21:52
  • Speakers at public comment on the item asked for an implementation timeline, funding, dedicated staff positions and expanded ethnic studies. 55:02
  • The board voted unanimously to bring back a discussion and action item on staffing needs tied to the work. 3:47:41

Until Nov 4, lines where a board member takes a side don't name the member. Why →

Item by item (11)
  1. Opening and closed session 0:05
    • William Banning called the meeting to order and announced a recess into closed session. 0:05
    • William Banning said the board took no action in closed session. 1:29
  2. Student board member report 1:29
    • The student board member reported that students at a superintendent student advisory council meeting raised concerns about student input on the district's technology policy, and the item was postponed and left off the agenda. 1:58
  3. Superintendent report and updates 3:55
    • A staff member said the Finance Committee is working on a reserve policy, that the current reserve is about $22 million at about 8.67%, and that the committee plans to discuss it again on November 10th. 11:35
    • A technology staff member said the new on-device content filter has been deployed to all high school student devices. 18:00
    • The technology staff member said the first reading of the technology board policy was delayed to gather additional input from students, parents and community members. 19:29
  4. Response to racist and anti-Black actions 21:52
    • A district staff member said the district developed a racial incident response protocol with feedback from partners and provided it to Dos Pueblos to pilot. 41:12
    • Speakers at public comment asked for a timeline, funding, a dedicated employee position and support for office hours at each high school. 55:02
    • One board member asked that the board agendize an action item at the next meeting to invest in an elementary position and a director-level position to guide the work. 2:11:59
  5. Public comment on non-agenda items 2:23:08
    • Several speakers at public comment asked that a school nurse transferred from Santa Barbara Community Academy be returned and that the district explain its decision. 2:27:48
    • A speaker at public comment asked the district to allocate Prop 28 funds to school sites earlier. 2:33:22
  6. Board comments and superintendent search 2:42:03
    • A board member said the November 17th agenda will include a board vote on forming an ad hoc committee of 2 board members to review proposals from superintendent search firms. 2:46:35
    • The board member said the next superintendent is expected to begin on July 1st, 2027. 2:47:12
  7. Elementary reading outcomes report 2:47:40
    • A staff member said students scoring well below benchmark on the beginning-of-year reading screener ranged between 13% to 52% across schools. 2:49:44
    • A staff member said about 95% of K-3 teachers have completed or are participating in LETRS training. 2:54:00
    • Asked about Spanish screening at McKinley, staff said middle-of-year and end-of-year reports will include both English and Spanish results. 3:04:35
  8. Dyslexia Awareness Month resolution 3:20:12
    • Rose Muñoz moved to adopt the resolution recognizing Dyslexia Awareness Month. 3:34:38
    • The resolution passed unanimously. 3:35:01
  9. Acceptance of donations 3:35:12
    • A motion was made to accept the donations for October 27th, 2026. 3:35:24
    • The motion passed unanimously. 3:35:37
  10. Consent agenda 3:35:37
    • William Banning said the student board member would be asked to refrain from making motions or seconds on the consent agenda but may cast an advisory vote. 3:35:37
    • The consent agenda was approved unanimously. 3:41:11
  11. Future agenda items on equity staffing 3:43:01
    • One board member requested an action item for the November 17th meeting on investing in a director-level position and an additional position focused on equity work. 3:44:04
    • William Banning described the broadened motion as bringing back a discussion and action item on staffing needs as recommended through the committee and staff. 3:47:41
    • William Banning said a special board meeting on enrollment will be held on November 7th and the next regular meeting is November 17th. 3:54:07
    • The motion passed unanimously. 3:49:04

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, October 27, 2026”