SVUSD LCAP Study Session, April 28, 2026: What Was Discussed, What Wasn't
A plain-language recap from Sonoma Schools Alliance
On Tuesday, April 28, the Sonoma Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees held a study session on the 2026-27 Local Control and Accountability Plan, also called the LCAP.
Trustees Bell, Ching, Guzman, and Landry attended in person. Trustee Lehman attended by Zoom. Superintendent Jason Sutter, Associate Superintendent of Educational Services Christina Casillas, and several district staff members presented. Two members of the public attended, Sarah Carroll of the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation and Leigh Cavalier of the Sonoma Schools Alliance.
What is the LCAP?
The LCAP is California's three-year strategic plan for school districts. It is required by the state's Local Control Funding Formula. Every district must use the plan to set goals for student outcomes, decide what actions and money will support those goals, and report on whether the goals are being met. We are currently in the 2nd year of this LCAP.
The state requires every LCAP to address eight priorities: basic services, implementation of state academic standards, course access, student achievement, other student outcomes, parent and family engagement, student engagement, and school climate.
SVUSD organizes its work around five local goals that fall under those eight state priorities: engagement and wellness, academic success for all students, qualified educators and staff, family and community engagement, and the Creekside Equity Multiplier. Trustees discussed the Creekside Equity Multiplier and were told that Creekside is no longer eligible for it. No clear answer was given as to what disqualifies Creekside.
This study session covered a draft of the 2026-27 plan. The board is scheduled to vote on the final plan in June.
Chronic Absenteeism
About 500 students in SVUSD are chronically absent. Christine Casillas said the most common reasons include transportation issues, family members who have to work, students caring for family members, and family vacations. School sites are responsible for tracking and addressing absenteeism. Interventions range from phone calls to parents, in-person meetings at the district office, social worker referrals, and other points of connection.
Casillas presented chronic absenteeism rates by grade level: TK 33%, kindergarten 25%, 1st grade 21%, 3rd grade 13%, 6th grade 12%, 8th grade 19%, 11th grade 22%, 12th grade 23%, and Creekside High School 75%.
The district spends approximately $150,000 annually on addressing chronic absenteeism. SVUSD also works with the Keeping Kids in School (KKIS) program, a Sonoma County Probation Department initiative that provides case management for chronically absent students.
Academic Standards
Just over 20% of high school students meet the state standard in math. In English language arts, 60% meet the standard. Casillas said students enrolled in advanced placement courses sometimes deprioritize math. Ninety percent of SVUSD graduates have passed both Algebra and Geometry. For students who have not yet passed those requirements, remedial classes are available to help them do so.
The standard math sequence at the high school is Algebra 1, then Geometry, then Algebra 2.
Career Pathways and College Readiness
Trustee Landry raised the district's career pathways program, which lets students take focused course tracks and earn certificates. She said pathway programs need committed teachers, and that frequent substitute coverage in those courses harms students. She also asked whether the cooking pathway, currently reserved for juniors and seniors, could be opened to freshmen who show strong interest. The district said opening the pathway to freshmen and sophomores would be a challenge, because underclassmen are concentrating on required courses. Once those are completed, students have access to electives like the cooking pathway.
Trustee Guzman said early exposure to college, beginning in elementary or middle school, helps students from families where college has not been part of the conversation. He shared that a sixth-grade visit from college students sparked his own interest in higher education.
Counseling and Four-Year Planning
Trustee Ching asked when students first meet with a counselor to build a four-year plan. The answer is two large group meetings per year, plus the option of one-on-one meetings. Ching also asked whether parents understand the process, citing cultural factors. Superintendent Sutter said the counseling team will describe the process to parents at a fall meeting. The fall timing was tied to current district staff transitions, with the district preferring to wait until those personnel changes are complete before starting the conversation with parents.
SEAL Program and Professional Development
The SEAL program, which stands for Sobrato Early Academic Language, is the district's K-5 multilingual learner instructional model. Teachers are out of the classroom for eight to nine days per year for SEAL training, supported by two instructional coaches. Trustee Landry asked whether the training could take place during the school day instead. The district said SEAL has a three-year implementation training window.
The district also reported that substitute teacher coverage costs SVUSD approximately $650,000 per year. That figure covers all teacher absences, including illness and other reasons, not just SEAL training days.
Seventh Period and Scheduling Models
Trustee Guzman asked what it would cost to add a seventh period at the high school. The district said adding a seventh period would cost between $875,000 and $1,000,000 annually. Superintendent Sutter discussed alternatives that add instructional time or course access, including the four-by-four block model and the A/B day model.
Superintendent Sutter told the board that if a major change is going to happen, the district needs to make a decision and act on it, not keep raising the topic year after year and disappointing parents who form expectations that go unmet.
Behavior Matrix
Trustee Landry raised the district's behavior matrix. Superintendent Sutter said that with multiple district staff leaving, the discussion should be shelved until those personnel changes are complete. Trustee Ching said there is too much discretion in how discipline is applied across the district.
What Trustees Focused On
Trustees asked questions throughout the session. The questions themselves are a record of what each trustee chose to prioritize.
Trustee Bell asked about absenteeism reasons, disruptive behavior, the pace of district decisions, and the cost of items.
Trustee Ching asked about chronic absenteeism, algebra pass rates, when students first meet with a counselor, and bringing back a senior project program from a decade ago.
Trustee Landry asked about career pathways, teacher consistency, the behavior matrix, grading consistency, and the SEAL program.
Trustee Guzman asked about the cost of adding a seventh period, early college exposure, parent volunteer fingerprinting being a barrier to some wanting to volunteer, and announced an upcoming Cinco de Mayo celebration at Flowery Elementary.
Trustee Lehman attended by Zoom and spoke twice. He asked about a seventh period scheduling alternative and whether the district has a kindergarten welcome program for parents.
What Wasn't Discussed
The only time money came up during the study session was when trustees asked the cost of specific items: the $875,000 to $1,000,000 estimate for a seventh period, the $150,000 spent on chronic absenteeism, the $650,000 spent on substitutes. There was no year-over-year comparison of district expenditures to outcomes. There was no presentation comparing what the district spent last year, what those investments produced, and what is being proposed for next year. For a study session on a planning document that is meant to align money to goals, that is a significant omission.
The financial impact of MacArthur Park Charter School, which the board approved earlier this year and which is projected to draw approximately $2.3 million annually in average daily attendance funding from SVUSD, was not mentioned. Charter LCAPs are legally separate from the district's LCAP, but the operational and financial effects on SVUSD are not separate. A district planning conversation that does not include charter impact is incomplete.
Plain Language and Translation
After the session, the question was raised whether the district's LCAP slide deck is translated into Spanish on the SVUSD website. Christine Casillas said no, and noted that parents can translate the page through Google Translate. SVUSD's student population is 67.7% Hispanic/Latino, per government data.
The district's website has improved over the past year, but plain-language access remains a barrier. Acronyms and technical terms used routinely by district staff are not consistently explained for the public. Residents attending in person, or watching on YouTube, often do not have a way to ask in real time what something means.
What Comes Next
The 2026-27 LCAP is scheduled for board adoption and submission to the Sonoma County Office of Education by July 1. A public hearing on the draft will take place at a board meeting in June. Public comment is open now.
Written comments can be sent to Christina Casillas, Associate Superintendent of Educational Services, at ccasillas@sonomaschools.org, or by mail to 17850 Railroad Avenue, Sonoma, CA 95476. For the public hearing date, board meeting date, and the comment deadline, please check the SVUSD website at sonomaschools.org or contact the district office directly.
If you want to weigh in on what your district prioritizes, what it funds, and how it measures success, this is the window.
Sonoma Schools Alliance is a community accountability organization focused on Sonoma Valley Unified School District. Unidos por Nuestras Escuelas, United for Our Schools. sonomaschoolsalliance.org