The Missing Piece Of San Lorenzo USD

    Initially when I was preparing to go to the board meeting, I was not sure what to expect so I looked up history about the district to make sure I had some backbone. I was going because my daughter's teacher was told midday to come out of class where she was informed, She informed each of the parents, (a group of between 10-12), a note over Talking Points which is an app for teachers to send parents messages both collectively as well as individually.
    Her note read, " Dear Parents- It is with a horribly heavy heart that I inform you that I have been called down to the office during school hours to be informed decision to non-elect me for next year. At tonight's board meeting my name will be formally presented for public records. This is an incredible surprise to me as a veteran teacher of almost 20 years with exemplary service. I will be out at least for the remainder of the week as I process what this means for me and my family. It is and has been an honor to work with your children and families this year." This was on 2/4/24.
    Reading this message the first feeling that flooded through me was that of anxiety and disgust. I could not understand how, in a community hindered the most by lack of support, she could really be considered for a resignation. I have previously published an article about a teacher involved in an incident that was originally supposed to be a permanent part of the team. He had abused a child and yet was permitted to stay teaching at Lorenzo Manor for two more months before being moved to San Lorenzo Highschool to finish out the school year teaching special needs children. He was removed at the end of the school year however during that time, he left all 12 elementary students traumatized, scared and without a quality education for months. If you understand special needs classrooms, there are 4-6 para educators, however they cannot schedule all the things that the head teacher can. I am grateful that the ones in our class are as resolute as our teacher.
    Mrs. Koerbel has been a vital part of the children's education this year. While my daughter, who is 8, is non-verbal autistic, she has improved my daughter's education beyond art, ABC's and social interaction with the other children. This would be the first teacher in three years that all the parents and children collectively could trust. The only consistency the children have received is that teachers in the Special Needs department don't stay for very long. Mrs. Koerbel has been the only teacher to boost emotional and educational intelligence, producing individual schedules, bring music, P.E, and a speech therapist to the class all while responding to parents at almost any time of the day or evening.
    I needed to make sure that San Lorenzo Unified heard me by pulling up some background on the history of this district. In a study brought up by The National Center for Education, they reported that 72% of public schools with Special Education teacher vacancies reported difficulty filling those positions for the 2024-2025 school year in California. When I tried to find specifics about the department within the district, looking for the number of Special Educators within San Lorenzo, I found none. This is a district that has been opened for 166 years. There are roughly 800 Staff in total, in that number about 500 teachers. Less than half are Special Educators. 
    I browsed Indeed and found that there are current listings for Para Educators, Substitutes, Special Needs Educators as well as others. Among those listings are comments and complaints from former and current employees. Within the first 10 comments, (names unavailable), it was the same "Poor Management." I also looked up their history of teacher pay raises, of which a negotiation was made in 2023 and approved for 800 staff. 
    Prior to public commentary, the board talked about being "financially stable, not laying off teachers, the students come first, being inclusive", and the immigration crisis and how it "has not affected children's attendance". While I applauded them mentally about these things I could not help but wonder where the Special Needs children and department fit in there. Throughout the entirety of the meeting there was no mention of the Special Needs Department, except brought up by a contributor of the department, however she was quickly shut down, nor any mention of funding going towards it. 
    They gave each comment from the public about two minutes to speak so I was unfortunately not permitted to say anything outside of these facts and ended with what a change Mrs. Koerbel has made in each individual's life. The board members refused to comment on mine and four other parents’ remarks about Mrs. Koerbel, because it was not on the public meeting agenda, however, they did speak about the matter in the private one. The fifth parent was not permitted to comment as they had decided to move on from the comment section. One member did bring up personnel, however the board being led by Daryll Camp, ED, D. had effectively shut the conversation down, presumably due to time. 
    After the public comment section, I was caught between wanting to know about this budget and angry for not receiving answers. As they started to go through the homework packet of information, I noticed that the first goal was "Ensure that each and every student completes high school and is ready for college, career and life success." My question on that point would be, "How do we ensure the safety of those also unable to speak for themselves when we have allowed a door to be open for teachers to be rotated or have allowed harmful adults to be in their presence?" In a "Healthy Kids survey" that the district sends out, they found that collectively among staff, only 39% found teachers to be caring adults within the elementary schools. The same question was asked to parents as well and elementary schools were rated at 86% caring adults within elementary schools. That part of the survey, while distressing, does provide small hope that parents would be taken into consideration when voicing concerns surrounding their children.
     The fourth goal mentioned was " Ensure an excellent, effective, and supportive learning and working environments for all students, families, and employees." The question to them for this is, "How do you expect this to become a reality when you are pulling teachers out of classrooms in the middle of teaching to let them know this will be their last year?" 
    During the meeting we were informed, along with the budget, that a percentage of schools are allowed to have a banking account while others, mainly elementary, are not permitted to have one so they must rely on PTA contributions. Per the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) online, their budget is:  $30,426,698, however on paper, the amount was $32,830,408 with a non-personnel amount of $4,159,000. (This amount is not separate from government funding). One must wonder with that budget why the district would choose to dismiss such a vital employee as well as leave schools to fend for themselves when most parents do not have the extra cash to donate to schools. 
    Considering all this information I've concluded that while there may be some effort, the San Lorenzo School District does not seem to be as inclusive as they make themselves out to be. I did not see a definite budget for SPED (Special Education Department), which should have been made available since this meeting included a budget plan. From my own perspective it does indeed look like the children in that community as well as teachers have taken a backseat to their agenda. Mrs. Koerbel has always been a voice and an advocate for the children she represents and yet this district would choose to determine her eligibility than they would an abusive teacher. I was informed that the definite decision regarding Mrs. Koerbel will be made in March and while we are hopeful, it cannot be denied the inconsiderate and irresponsible move that has been made within the district. While I was uninformed before about my children's education, I encourage more parents, students, and teachers to engage. It is unfortunate that the district I grew up in is not putting more effort for those who cannot do for themselves. If they do not allow Mrs. Koerbel to stay, the district is effectively saying they are not looking out for the interests of the children, but instead for the budget.