COVID
Q. If our kids are exposed to COVID at school, you are sending them home. But if we have a child that has COVID and we have a second child, who has been exposed to their sibling at home, BUSD is telling us to send those siblings to school. Can you explain what the difference is?
A. Any unvaccinated student exposed to a confirmed case of Covid-19 should be placed on quarantine. A sibling of a close contact would not need to quarantine unless the close contact tested positive or has symptoms according to the LACDPH guidelines. View the LA County Department of Health’s Exposure Management Plan for K-12 Schools HERE.
Q. What is “short term independent study” or “quarantine independent study”?
A. Short-term or Quarantine Independent Study is a temporary learning model that is used by students who may be experiencing symptoms of COVID or who are close contacts that need to be quarantined. Students will receive work assigned by their teacher to complete during quarantine.
Q. Why is the in-person instruction for distanced learners in elementary school at 3 pm? Why can’t it be in the morning?
A. BUSD elementary school teachers are teaching their in-person class in the morning so they can’t teach in-person independent study students until after their regular school day which ends at 3:00 pm daily.
Q. What efforts are being made to improve the testing process? My daughter missed an entire class waiting to be tested.
A. The District has made improvements each week in the testing process. At the end of August, we brought on testing coordinators to assist with testing. The coordinators have been working with the testing company and the sites to streamline the process. Please reach out to Toby Black (tobyblack@burbankusd.org) if there are any ongoing issues with testing.
Q. I understand Santa Monica unified is testing all of their students. How are they doing that efficiently? We have kids spending 90 minutes out of class being tested.
A. Over the past few weeks, our Testing Coordinators have worked with and visited the sites to streamline the process. At the present time, no student should be spending 90 minutes out of class. As mentioned above in item 4, please reach out to Toby Black, one of our Testing Coordinators, to bring any issues to our attention.
Q. In order to be more effective and keep schools open longer, can our school district switch our optional testing to having everyone enrolled but you have to opt out instead of having to opt in? Is there any possibility of mandated student testing, following the lead of LAUSD? Q. It seems that many elementary schools have less than 40% of the kids getting tested each week. What are the district’s efforts/strategy to have more students participate in COVID testing? Q. Why isn’t BUSD testing all students & staff weekly when it is has been proven that Covid-19 can be spread through asymptomatic people infected with Covid-19? Q. Why is Covid testing not mandated for unvaccinated students? Can we mandate testing for all of our students? Testing is 100% covered by the state. All we need is people to administer the tests. And the state will train them. We could use staff or volunteers. One school used the Boys and Girls club to administer tests. I can send you the info on the free testing program through the state.
A. Testing is a strategy that helps identify asymptomatic cases. If we start to see an increase in community and/or school spread due to asymptomatic cases, we will consider implementing mandatory testing. Even if you opt-out, you still need consent to conduct testing. We continue to encourage everyone to participate in weekly testing. Testing is not free, even if we could access the free tests (they are currently out-of-stock), we need to pay for staffing to administer the tests. You may see our current testing results here. https://www.burbankusd.org/Page/3582
Q. What is the threshold for Covid-19 infections for the district to close a school site? To close a classroom?
A. We work with LACDPH for every case and they help us determine the next steps. We are following LACDPH guidelines regarding Exposure Management. Click HERE to view these guidelines.
Q. At BHS we were told all athletes and performing arts (VMA, IMA, drama) students either have to be vaccinated or test weekly no exceptions. This is great! But who is keeping track of this? How do we know they are following this? Do the teachers have vaccine records and they are given a list of who tests weekly? Or is this an honor system? Additionally, JBHS was told this rule is not true of say a Concert Band student until they are performing outside of the 8-3 time frame. They would need to do this week of concerts that happen after 3pm but do not need to test if not vaccinated prior to that. Wouldn’t it be smart to have these kids either show proof of vaccine or tested ALL year not just prior to an after school activity considering they are blowing their air out in a room every day at one another through instruments?
A. Both high school Assistant Principals of Activities have a Google Doc for students to upload their vaccination cards. Parents can also upload the vaccination cards into AERIES and teachers can run a report.
Q. Thank you for the Covid Dashboard, it is important information that should be shared with parents; however, I feel it is incomplete and we cannot have a full picture unless we know the percentage of vaccinated students & staff at each site and the number of students & staff tested at each site as well. The numbers could be pretty good or really awful but we really don’t know because we have incomplete data. Some Principals are sharing that information with their parents, why can’t it be added to the dashboard?
A. Here is the testing dashboard: https://www.burbankusd.org/Page/3582 After 10/22, 100% of employees will be vaccinated. We will work on a student vaccination dashboard.
Q. Thank you for making this a rule – I hope it is district-wide. We are supposed to keep our children home if they have any symptoms since Covid could show as really anything, close to a common cold, flu, stomach bug, and so on, why is it not a requirement that a Covid test be done with a negative result shown/emailed before a student can come back to school regardless of vaccination status? We know that vaccinated people can spread Covid.
A. We are following LACDPH guidelines regarding Exposure Management. You can view the guidelines HERE.
Q. Are teachers/staff mandated to test if unvaccinated, and if not, why?
A. Yes, and starting October 22 all employees must be vaccinated unless they have an approved legal exemption.
Q. Why are masks not required at sporting events? Yes, many of them are outside, but spectators are sitting in one place cheering/yelling for an extended period of time. Also, standing in line for concessions – there is no distancing and no masks.
A. We continue to follow LACDPH guidelines for schools and youth sports. Currently, masks are recommended but not required outdoors unless there are more than 1,000 people attending.
Lunch
Q. How will CA determine which schools are Title 1 if everyone can have a free lunch this year?
A. It is critical for families to still complete the Meal Application forms so that we can qualify for State and Federal funding.
Q. How are the high school cafeterias organized for distributing food? At BHS they only have one area for the main food, say “fried chicken ” yet there are 4 lines for pizza. Two for cheese and two for pepperoni. All the food is provided by CA now, why is there such a push for kids to eat pizza? And the snack line to get water or to get anything else is run by ONE person. The pizza and main food lines are shut off midway through the lunch period, but the snack line remains open the full 40 minutes but still only one person running one line. Where are the other workers? Couldn’t they open up more snack lines? Or why aren’t there more lines/ways to get to the main food (not pizza). My student eats pizza every day or doesn’t eat simply because there is no time to get in any other lines to get anything else.
A. We currently have 6-7 serving points at nutrition and 7-8 at lunch. All windows serve the same thing at Nutrition. The small room serves the special of the day and a salad entree. The Canteen windows serve only pepperoni pizza for this age level, and it is the most popular item that the students want. We prepare based on past numbers and set up accordingly where the proper heating equipment is installed. Both high schools have three entree options per day. The lunch rush comes in the first 15 minutes and then slows down tremendously. We close windows as student volume decreases. A main entree line stays open until the final bell rings along with an a la carte line. The a la carte line does not warrant more than one person at this time. Half of the kitchen staff are student workers and other staff members are there to help support the needs of the students.
P.E.
Q. Were Elementary PE teachers eliminated because of budget cuts? Do you have plans to bring that program back?
A. Yes, they were eliminated because of budget cuts. We do not have the funding to bring them back at this time.
Q. Now that we have no elementary school PE teachers, just being taught by gen ed teachers will all different abilities…how are the middle school PE teachers, whom we have already had issues with in the past (like EVERY Let’s Talk) adjusting to kids who don’t come from a structured PE, are probably out of shape from pandemic and/or just not as prepared to do the things middle school PE teachers expect. We have already heard rumblings from students about how miserable they are. We have this discussion every year, now in a year where kids are coming from online learning and next year when kids are coming from schools with no PE in place, how can these teachers expect them to accomplish the same things previous years have done to get the good grade?
A. The district has already been addressing these concerns with principals. We are working with PE teachers with setting appropriate goals as the students have not been doing normal activities over the last year due to distance learning. We also recognize that many students are wearing masks while exercising. District staff will be speaking directly with PE teachers at the upcoming PE Task Force meeting.
Q. With the Elementary PE teacher funding eliminated by the district, is there the possibility that a school can hire its own PE coach? If not, will there be additional PE equipment purchased by the district to assist the classroom teachers with teaching elementary PE?
A. Each elementary school has a stockpile of physical education equipment. Additionally, each school was allocated an additional $700 to purchase physical education equipment. Individual school sites should not hire a Physical Education teacher/coach as this would cause an inequity across the district. Each elementary teacher is authorized to teach physical education by the State of California.
Budget
Q. There was a huge campaign a few years ago to fund instrumental programs at all BUSD schools? (Music is Instrumental campaign) . Is any of that funding able to be carried over to at least the upper grade levels at the elementary schools? Currently, there doesn’t seem to be any actual instruments being taught with hands on experience at most of the elementary school level.
A. The funds raised over two years was $265K of the $1.2 million in identified need. 100% of the proceeds were used to repair and replace instruments in the secondary music programs. The elementary music program is a general music program. Rhythm, percussion, and Orff instruments are used to teach grade-level standards under normal circumstances. We have paused the use of the instruments in elementary school to ensure students remain safe and to minimize the risk of spreading COVID-19.
Q. Does the district keep a list of all the service projects that Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts have done to benefit the district? I know there have been a lot of gardening projects. I often hear the school board thanking people for monetary donations but I’ve never heard any acknowledgment of the service projects. Is that done?
A. We don’t keep a list of these types of projects. We can certainly add these “in-kind” donations to our Board gift report to memorialize their contributions and to give the Board an opportunity to recognize their efforts. Great idea!
Q. Burbank Unified was very transparent on the budget items that were on the “chopping block” and many parents voted on the items that were most important to keep. I would like to know what ended up losing funding. Which services/FTEs have been lost?
A. For the 2020-21 budget year, when the significant cuts were being proposed, our budget was based on the May Revise budget. Thankfully, when the adopted budget came through in late June 2020, the deficit factor of almost 8% was removed and funding was left flat; that removed the immediate need for the significant cuts but still left us with operating deficits going forward. For the 2021-22 budget year, the State awarded what is being called a “mega-COLA” (COLA = Cost of Living Adjustment) of 5.07%; future COLAs are currently projected at 2.48%, 3.11%, and 3.54% for 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25, more in line with what inflation would be. The District has used some of the COVID one-time money to keep class sizes low, allowing us to avoid layoffs for this year. There were some layoffs related to the closure of the Horace Mann Children’s Center. We still need to address our structural deficit, declining enrollment, and the expiration of one-time funds.
Q. The district started a fundraiser and asked for direct donations from parents/community (I think $150 per household, which is what would have been collected from the failed parcel tax). How much was collected? Did that “save” any services/FTEs?
A. This was a Burbank Education Foundation fund-raiser. They raised $60,000, which the District used some of it to save the Stagecraft program, one of Career Tech Ed programs.
Q. Are we still in a financial crisis? Will more items/services/FTE get cut?
A. With declining enrollment and rising pension costs, the District is looking at continued structural deficits over this year and the subsequent two years. The District has strategically used the one-time COVID funding to help buffer the steepness of declines from earlier projections, but as the one-time funding expires, the District will have to address the ongoing budget shortfalls.
Q. Has there been an increase to our district’s funding (not just Covid relief funds)? Has there been a change to the funding formula for our district?
A. This fiscal year, 2021-22, we received a 5.07% Cost-of-Living Adjustment for our Local Control Funding Formula revenue. We also received $1.1 million in additional monies for Special Education. While the funding formula per see hasn’t changed, we will likely see a decline in the Supplemental portion of the LCFF funding in the future, which is based on the unduplicated pupil count. The unduplicated count is based on the number of students on free and reduced lunch, English Learners, and foster youth.
Classes/Curriculum/Other
Q. Senate Bill 1383 is requiring that BUSD divert all organic waste (food and plant waste) starting January 1st of next year. Does BUSD have a plan in place to facilitate this?
A. Our Food Services Director and Facilities Director are working with the Burbank Recycle Center to develop the District’s plan.
Q. Some teachers were present for Back to School night and some were not. Are teachers not required to do a presentation? Some teachers posted a slide with their email and nothing more.
A. All teachers are required to be at Back to School Night. In a virtual setting, the expectation this year is that teachers had a live session with parents. However, if a teacher was sick for the day, they would not have been present. If a teacher did not conduct a live session, please email your principal.
Q. For the last year, homework has been referred to as Asynchronous Instruction. Now that Synchronous Instruction is increasing to 6 hours a day, will there be a decrease in Asynchronous Instruction (homework)?
A. Students are back to in-person learning, so the homework expectations will also return to prior levels. If there is a particular class that is difficult in terms of homework load, please reach out directly to the teacher.
Q. Get Focused, Stay Focused has turned out to be an ineffective program. That may be due to Covid but I’ve spoken to parents of older students who had the same experience. It sounds like a wonderful program. What needs to be done to get it to work in our district?
A. The freshman experience with Get Focused Stay Focused is good by most accounts. The challenge is carrying out the curriculum over the span of the three remaining years. It is something the district can address in the English and social studies task force meetings this month.
Q. Can you explain the difference between dual enrollment classes, articulated classes, and CTE classes? Is that information posted anywhere?
A. Career Technical Education (CTE) classes are any courses offered in BUSD that are Career Technical Education courses. These begin in grade 6 in the exploratory wheels.
Dual Enrollment classes are courses taught by a college instructor on the high school campus. Students receive both high school and college credit.
Articulated classes are high school courses taught by high school teachers that align with college coursework. If students complete the necessary enrollment process and earn a “B” or better, they will earn college credit.
This information can be found on the district website under “Programs.”
Q. When will the high school School Profiles be updated? Can it be done before college applications are due in November?
A. Yes. Dr. Paramo will work with both comprehensive high schools to get that done by the end of the month.
Q. There are classes that don’t have enough desks and classes with 35-40 students. What is the maximum class size?
A. That is dependent on the room size. Some classrooms are very large and can appropriately accommodate 35 or 40 desks. Some classrooms are smaller and will not accommodate that many. Our class size average is 30.5 district-wide at each site. If you have a specific concern, please contact Dr. Paramo if it is a secondary concern. Or, you can contact Dr. Knapik if it is an elementary concern.
Q. What has been the result of offering English honors 11? Which classes are declining in enrollment, general Ed or AP? Do you have any statistics?
A. As you can see in the chart below, both AP Language and English 11 have declined in enrollment in order to accommodate the interest in English 11 Honors with the largest decline in AP Language.
| AP Language | English 11 | English 11 Honors | |
| 2018-2019 | 32.8% | 67.2% | 0% |
| 2020-2021 | 23.8% | 55% | 21.2% |
| 2021-2022 | 19.6% | 63.9% | 16.5% |
Q. What happens to the list of parents who opt into having their info shared with the PTA during registration? Can PTAs be provided with that list?
A. The information is stored in our student information system (Aeries). The school can run a list of the parents with contact information for the PTA.
Q. What is the strategy on attracting more bilingual teachers? What is the progress? Is there a partnership with universities?
A. We continue to have partnerships with multiple universities, and we continue to search for diverse candidates.
Q. Do you know when the first day of school will be for Fall 2022? When will we see an instructional calendar for 2022-23?
A. Not yet. The calendar committee will begin meeting in October with the goal of having an instructional calendar by December.
Q. Is there an active shooter plan for each school within the district? When I first toured my child’s elementary school, the principal said they were working on it. I haven’t heard a status update since and would love to know where that stands. As gun violence continues to plague our country, and most upsettingly, our schools, it’s really important we keep this top of mind.
A. Each school practices “Shelter in Place.” These plans are located in the Safe School Plans. In addition, our school administrators work with police and fire to continue to provide safe schools and emergency planning.
Q. It was just announced that 5th grade OSS was canceled at all the elementary schools. Why was this decision made so early in the school year? Can we please have the option to postpone OSS until the spring semester when vaccines for students under 12 might be readily available? Other schools in the LA area are doing this. If the concern was with some schools needing to make deposits to hold the date, couldn’t there be a list of companies that are required to give refunds given to the schools to choose from? Or the option of purchasing insurance for the trip be offered to a school or parents? The children look forward to OSS their entire elementary school years – if school is safe to be open, it seems unfair to cancel it instead of postponing to a spring date at this time.
A. The decision to cancel Outdoor Science (OSS) school was made due to the respect for the health and safety of each student and each staff member. When decisions are made related to OSS, all eleven elementary schools are impacted. In discussions with the elementary school principals, the team decided that the school could offer a comprehensive program reflective of the curriculum that is offered at the school site.
Q. Since returning to in-person school there seems to be an increase in fighting and bullying on the playground at our elementary school. What is being done to protect those that are being bullied? Do we no longer have a zero-tolerance bullying policy? And could we increase yard supervision?
A. School staff have and continue to reacquaint students with social skills and norms of expected behavior. Please reach out to your principal if you have a specific concern. Schools have asked yard supervision staff to extend their hours. Schools are also in the process of hiring additional yard supervision staff.