September 1, 2021
Note From Superintendent Salato - Bumpy Start
It has been a challenging start to the year, but things are slowly improving.
Staff Shortage – Want to Join a Great Team?
Long before we started the school year, we began recruiting qualified people to join our team—but a statewide shortage of teachers, bus drivers, and others has made it nearly impossible to fill some empty positions. We continue to seek full-time and part-time employees. If you or someone you know is looking for a new work opportunity, please visit our website (konoctiusd.org) and click on the JOBS button for a list of open positions.
Finding the right people is only one of our staffing challenges. Right now, we are struggling to find people who can fill-in for staff members who are out temporarily because of the pandemic. Currently, administrators such as myself are serving as substitutes, and many teachers are giving up their prep periods to substitute for absent colleagues, which means they often spend their personal time preparing for their classes. If you are interested in becoming a substitute teacher, there’s never been a better time—we’re increasing substitute pay and streamlining the process to become a substitute. Visit the Lake County Office of Education website for details: www.lakecoe.org/Page/2456.
Transportation – We’ll Train You to Get Your Bus Driver License
We’re sorry for the inconvenience of not having enough bus drivers. We know it’s frustrating when we have to adjust our routes, and we’ve seen the increased car traffic at pick-ups/drop-offs.
To date, we have processed more than 1,000 requests to bus students to and from school; all routes are full. During the next few weeks, Transportation staff will begin reaching out to families whose students are “no shows.” If the students continue to be absent from the bus route, they will be dropped to make space for students on the bussing waitlist. If you have questions, you can reach out to the Transportation Department at (707) 994-9473 between 9:00 am – 12:00 noon Monday through Friday.
If you are interested in becoming a bus driver, we’ll train you to get the license required to drive a school bus, while you work in the Transportation Department. Apply for our Bus-Driver-in-Training position.
Communication Woes
We also apologize for the communication challenges in recent weeks. We began the school year with a PG&E PSPS and a damaged phone line. With no power, no one could use our new online program to register students, and the construction mishap that cut our phone line made it impossible for calls to go through. Our new phone system is up and running but we haven’t had time to update extensions districtwide. We’ll continue to do our best to route calls where they need to go. Our small staff of technicians is working as fast as they can, but it is not a quick process.
To assure timely updates to our registration and phone systems, we’ve adjusted our Student Services hours. Until further notice, we’re open to the public from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm and by appointment in the afternoon. This allows us to work as efficiently as possible.
Cache Fire Evacuation
Just about the time we got our electricity back and our phone lines repaired, we had to evacuate because of the Cache Fire. We closed all schools for a day and several schools for two. Big thanks to our first responders, staff, and others who helped assure our students’ safety. We’re so glad everyone is okay, but our hearts go out to those who lost their homes. And, we’re sorry this further delayed our ability to catch up with registration and other essential back-to-school activities.
Pandemic Safety Protocols
On top of all this, we’ve been implementing State-mandated COVID-19 safety protocols. We are dedicated to keeping everyone safe, of course. However, the burden of following all the regulations, including screening, testing, and data tracking, are significant. When we’re short-staffed, it is especially challenging. The best way to keep our schools open and our students learning is for everyone to get vaccinated. In addition, we can reduce the spread of the virus by masking up and having students remain at home when they are symptomatic.
We Ask for Your Patience
I share this information in hopes that you’ll give us a little grace when we do not live up to it.