UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The Upper Lake Unified School District Board took action to hire another employee, discussed a recent board workshop and got an update on new legislation regarding student vaccinations this week.

The meeting took place Tuesday evening at Upper Lake High School.

In January the board of the new unified district – which in July will absorb the high school and elementary school districts – held a Saturday workshop for the purposes of training and discussing goals.

Wally Holbrook and Richard Smith of Education Leadership Solutions, the consulting firm the board hired to assist with training and working on the unification transition, did a wrap up of the meeting with the board on Wednesday.

Smith presented a rundown of statements the board members made about where they want to see the district in five years.

Those statements included that the district would be better for having been consolidated, the board and administration would work well together, the district would be in a good financial position, the community would be more involved, there would be more enrichment opportunities and more students would be attending school.

Holbrook urged the board members to review those statements in five years to see if they ring true.

The consultants also discussed the use of committees to both involve the community and work through important issues in order to help the board save time and be more efficient.

Smith said the board decided at the workshop to form four temporary committees relating to the budget, organization, policy, and community and communications.

The consultants suggested that three additional ad hoc committees be formed to look at curriculum and instruction, student programs, and facilities, maintenance and operations.

Holbrook said other work done at the workshop included establishing timelines for critical tasks. One such task is the March 15 date for giving layoff letters to teachers, if needed.

The new district's interim Superintendent Patrick Iaccino – who also continues to fulfill his duties as principal and superintendent of the soon-to-be-dissolved Upper Lake Union High School District – updated the board on the organization of the new district.

He said there will be a principal at each of the school sites – elementary, middle and high school – with Valerie Gardner, the elementary district's superintendent, set to retire at the end of the school year.

He said recruitment is about to open on the elementary school principal position, with a committee of teachers and parents to help make the selection.

Iaccino said they also are looking at establishing an alternative school rather than continuing to send students to the Hance Community School, which is run by the Lake County Office of Education, a move that could save the district money.

Becky Jeffries, the elementary district's chief business officer, also gave an update on the business side of finalizing the unification of the high school and elementary school districts, with administrative staff working on necessary paperwork and reports.

In his regular report, Iaccino recounted visiting the middle school, congratulated the high school's Academic Decathlon team – which won the county competition on Saturday – and noted upcoming Mock Trial and robotics competitions.

He said the employees' unions also have met as part of the process for moving forward in completing the unification. A staffer in the audience noted that they have started meeting officially as a union.

In other business, the board unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding with the Upper Lake Union High School District to have Dina McCrea provide administrative secretarial support to the new district at no additional cost. She becomes the district's second employee, after Iaccino.

A similar agreement with the elementary district to have Jeffries serve as the new district chief business official was tabled temporarily.

The board also approved new bylaws, and the job description and salary scheduled for the elementary school principal's job.

Iaccino additionally updated the board on SB 277, “something that hit our desk last week.”

The bill, signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, takes effect in the next school year and requires all students be vaccinated. “It puts schools in a dilemma to a degree,” Iaccino said, adding that the district has been told that school districts will be held harmless.

He said staff will bringing more information on the legislation to the board in the weeks ahead.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.