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Santa Barbara Unified board meeting, date not confirmed yet

3 h 58 min · 39 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 58 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Santa Barbara Unified board votes to take up racism response at Oct. 27 meeting 3:29:48

  • Several speakers at public comment on non-agenda items raised anti-Black racism in district schools, including a blackface incident at San Marcos, and asked for consequences and action. 32:17
  • William Banning said the board could not discuss the issue that night under the Brown Act and intended to ask the superintendent to place it on an upcoming agenda, and the board later voted unanimously to agendize the item on October 27th. 1:16:19
  • District staff also presented a student outcomes report on reading and math assessment results. 1:26:13
  • The board unanimously approved two sunshine items on contract negotiations with the Santa Barbara Teachers Association. 2:24:44

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

Item by item (14)
  1. Opening and closed session 0:05
    • The meeting was called to order at 4:30, and a speaker at public comment requested a meeting of the Joint Use Committee within 30 days regarding a joint use agreement with the district. 0:05
    • The board adjourned into closed session at 4:33 and reconvened in open session at 6:10. 2:54
    • It was announced that in closed session the board voted 5 to 0 to approve a memorandum of understanding with CSEA Chapter 37 regarding a classified employee reassignment. 4:08
  2. Superintendent's report 11:36
    • A principal presented on Santa Barbara Community Academy and La Cumbre, saying La Cumbre is in its 3rd year of International Baccalaureate candidacy and looks to complete authorization by the 2028⁠-⁠29 school year. 12:16
    • The superintendent said high school teams increased STAAR reading assessment participation among 9th grade Latino students from 288 to 325 between the 2 spring testing windows. 17:41
    • The superintendent said the blackface incident at San Marcos was racist and harmful and that there is no place for hate, racism or discrimination in district schools. 18:25
  3. Public comment on non-agenda items 17:41
    • The board limited individual comments to 1 minute each because of the number of speakers and later continued past the 20-minute period. 21:47
    • Several speakers at public comment said Black students have repeatedly reported discrimination and asked for stricter consequences and direct communication with students and families. 26:03
    • Several speakers at public comment raised the transfer of the school nurse at Santa Barbara Community Academy and asked for answers and a transition plan. 1:02:14
  4. Board comments on racism concerns 1:16:19
    • William Banning said there was intent to ask the superintendent to place an item on an upcoming agenda or special session for discussion and problem-solving on racism. 1:16:41
    • One board member asked fellow board members to join in asking that existing recommendations be formalized and discussed at a board meeting. 1:18:25
    • One board member said the item should come before the board with enough time, possibly at a special board meeting, and expressed hope it could happen by December. 1:22:09
  5. Student outcomes report 1:24:46
    • Staff reported that first graders meeting or exceeding the reading standard increased from 28.9% to 32%, and that 8% of 9th graders were at or above grade level in math. 1:29:02
    • A speaker at public comment said the report was hard to read and lacked data on teacher training in LETRS. 1:42:15
    • A staff member said the district decided to implement a universal screener for grades 3 to 6, and one board member raised fully funding the high school block schedule as a future board discussion. 1:56:39
  6. District bargaining proposal to teachers union 2:20:50
    • A staff member said the item was the second reading of the district's sunshine letter to SBTA for final approval. 2:21:35
    • A speaker at public comment raised Article 6 of the district sunshine letter, which the speaker said would remove provisions about student instructional minutes. 2:23:33
    • The motion passed unanimously. 2:26:25
  7. Teachers union bargaining proposal 2:26:25
    • The SBTA bargaining chair said the structural deficit was projected last year at $20.6 million and came down to $5.4 million, and said a wage proposal would come in January. 2:27:25
    • A speaker at public comment asked for clear contract language on staffing reassignments. 2:31:18
    • The motion passed unanimously. 2:33:30
  8. Item 2:33:30
    • Speakers at public comment asked the board not to pass the resolution as written and to hold a community roundtable. 2:36:53
    • One board member asked whether the resolution could be brought back at the end of October and made more actionable. 2:47:11
    • A motion was made to recognize October and to work collectively with community partners to revise the current resolution. 2:56:16
    • The motion passed unanimously. 2:57:15
  9. Public education funding resolution 2:57:15
    • One board member said it is important to fund public schools and help for kids. 2:58:08
    • The board adopted Resolution Number 2026⁠-⁠27⁠-⁠12, Protecting California's Investment in Public Education, unanimously. ~3:02:50
  10. Donations 3:03:29
    • A motion was made to accept donations for October 13th, 2026. 3:03:29
    • The motion passed unanimously. 3:03:29
  11. Instructional materials public hearing 3:03:29
    • A speaker at public comment said counting e-textbooks as sufficient materials implies they are equivalent to print and noted over $250,000 in purchase orders to Apple on the agenda. 3:04:40
    • William Banning said the hearing was opened and closed with one comment and that approval of the resolution was within the consent agenda. 3:07:40
  12. Consent agenda 3:07:40
    • Speakers at public comment asked for a clearer uniform complaint process on the district website. 3:10:15
    • A speaker at public comment asked whether a staffing reassignment was included in the HR recommendations, and a staff member said HR actions come to the board after they take place. 3:16:13
    • The consent agenda, minus item 11, passed unanimously. 3:21:17
  13. Sufficiency of instructional materials 3:21:40
    • A staff member said the county office of education visits randomly selected classrooms and physically counts books for every student. 3:22:45
    • A staff member said TK-6 uses physical materials and not digital materials. 3:26:30
    • Item K11 passed unanimously. 3:29:48
  14. Coming events and future agenda items 3:29:48
    • A speaker announced a San Marcos High School groundbreaking for the Health Careers Academy on Monday. 3:30:21
    • A staff member said the team had been working on a coherent response protocol and could report back to the board on the 27th. 3:43:40
    • Celeste Kafri asked about agendizing a discussion of how much it would cost to fully fund the block schedule and also provide a hybrid schedule. 3:50:06

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 13, 2026”