Joint Meeting of Three Area School Districts Tonight

A “Special Joint Meeting” of the three area school boards is being held tonight at the Felta School just off Westside Rd. outside of Healdsburg.

The Alexander Valley Union School District, the West Side Union School District, and the Healdsburg Unified School District will all be represented by their Boards of Trustees in this public meeting, scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m.

“They are open meetings, [but] we’re not anticipating much in the way of participation,” said HUSD supervisor Jeff Harding. “There are no action items. The primary purpose is to get to know each other better and to see how we can work better to benefit our students, together as a unit.”

After an open period of public comment, scheduled agenda items include:

Discussion/Report/Action Items

1.  “Our Interdependence” - facilitated by Rhonda Bellmer
   
   • History of Thompson District
   • Shared Services
2. Healdsburg Unified School District Bond - facilitated by Jeff Harding
3. 6th Grade to 7th Grade Articulation - facilitated by Bob Raines
4. Charter School Development - facilitated by Rhonda Bellmer
5. “A Look to the Future” - facilitated by Jeff Harding
   
   • Strategic Planning Process

The three districts are meeting to discuss shared resources and improve “articulation” of students who move from the primary schools represented by Alexander Valley and West Side school districts, into the secondary school curriculum provided by the Healdsburg Unified School District. Articulation refers to the coordinated study plans across the school districts, so student academic integration is smooth.

Both and schools are K-6, while the offers classes from 6-8. As a result, the 7th and 8th grade classes at HJHS are larger than the 6th grade classes due to the influx of students from the rural school districts.

Meals and nutrition, special education and transportation services are provided by HUSD under contract to the other two school districts, who can afford then hese services better due to “an economies of scale benefit,” as Harding said.

The meeting will be held at the , and is expected to be over by 8 p.m. or earlier.