Absenteeism Falls to 12.9% as Trustees Probe Discipline, Wellness Data

Campbell Union High School District's student services team told trustees Nov. 5 that chronic absenteeism is down and wellness centers are now drawing state reimbursement. Trustees countered with hard questions about rising drug suspensions, shaky data and vanishing county supports. The board also unanimously approved a prefabricated classroom build at Del Mar High School and 15 portables for Prospect High School, while a neighboring labor dispute raised the prospect of a strike affecting about 300 district students.

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• Chronic absenteeism fell from 15.8% to 12.9%. Suspensions sit at 2.3%, below the 2.8% state average.
• Wellness centers billed the state for $88,154.88 after moving under district office control.
• Superintendent urges rewrite of the state's willful-defiance suspension ban, framing his remarks as personal views.
• Del Mar lease-leaseback with Flint Design Build approved 5-0. It funds 16 new classrooms across two campuses.
• 15 leased portables approved 5-0 for phase II of Prospect High School construction.
• SVCTE teachers warn of a possible strike ahead of Nov. 16 fact-finding, which could send about 300 district students back to home campuses.

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Student Services: Gains on Paper, Gaps in Support

Why it matters: The roughly hourlong presentation was the longest discussion of the night. It showed how the district now funds and measures student mental health and attendance supports as county programs shrink.

Where things stand: Courtney Schembri, Director of Student Services, walked trustees through a multi-tiered support framework. A multi-tiered framework layers interventions from schoolwide supports up to individual services.

• Suspensions were 2.3%, compared with a 2.8% state average.
• Chronic absenteeism dropped from 15.8% to 12.9%.
• The Say Something anonymous reporting platform logged 278 tips.

The biggest structural shift is that campus wellness centers now report to the district office. The district has also begun billing CYBHI, California's Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative.

“Since October 2025, we've been reimbursed $88,154.88,” said Schembri.

The other side: Trustees did not accept the headline numbers at face value.

• They pressed on drug-related suspensions, which rose from 26 to 64.
• They asked whether wellness center data can be compared year to year.
• Trustee Jason Baker questioned why the district relies on truancy letters when it uses other channels to reach families. He noted the letters are legally required.

Trustees also asked about county supports the district has lost, including the Parent Project and district attorney referrals.

“Parent Project, I would say, was a big tool that we used,” said Schembri.

Superintendent Robert Bravo separately described the district's use of digital hall passes.

The defiance debate: A trustee asked about staff frustration with student defiance. In response, Superintendent Bravo said disproportionate suspension data led the Legislature to end suspensions for willful defiance, one of the grounds listed in Education Code 48900. That ban now extends through high school, which he said leaves administrators without a tool. He stressed the views were not necessarily the district's.

“This needs to get fixed,” said Superintendent Bravo.

Another trustee pushed back, arguing that defiance can be reduced by changing how teachers and students interact.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: The item was informational, and no vote was taken.

• Families now deal with centralized wellness centers.
• The district budget gains a new reimbursement stream.
• Teachers and site administrators remain caught between state discipline limits and classroom pressures.
• Students may see less outside help as county programs withdraw.

What's next: No follow-up date was set. Trustees' questions on drug suspensions and data comparability remain open threads to watch.

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Del Mar Goes Prefab to Stay on Budget

Why it matters: Prefabrication kept the Del Mar High School project within budget. It also moved Case-Del Mar up in the bond schedule, which avoids escalation costs.

Where things stand: Gabriel Altamirano, Executive Director of Facilities, outlined the project with Flint Design Build:

• At Del Mar: seven general classrooms, three special education classrooms and four science classrooms
• At Case-Del Mar: two large classrooms

Under the lease-leaseback structure, Flint owns the improvements only during the lease, then ownership transfers to the district. Performance bonds protect the district.

“With the lease-leaseback, the district will maintain ownership and rights to the site at all times,” said Altamirano.

The other side: Trustees probed what the district gives up by going prefab. They also asked about the design, relocating maintenance operations, and whether the rooms favor robotics over other career technical education (CTE) programs.

“What about other CTE programs like biomed and all the other facilities?” asked one trustee. Staff promised to return with images and more information.

The Board Chair framed the core trade-off: “There is some bar at which we shouldn't do the project if the cost prohibits what we want to do.”

“It was just too expensive to go with a fully custom,” said Altamirano.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: The board adopted Resolution #15-11-05-26 by voice vote (For: 5, Against: 0, Absent: 0). Trustee Linda Goytia moved the resolution, and Trustee Elisabeth Halliday seconded.

Trustees then approved a piggyback agreement with Mobile Modular to lease 15 portables for Prospect High School phase II (For: 5, Against: 0, Absent: 0). Halliday moved that item, and Trustee Aine O'Donovan seconded. The portables provide interim "Village 2" classroom space ahead of Prospect's new administration and classroom building.

The biggest winners are special education and science students at Del Mar. CTE advocates beyond robotics will want to watch the follow-up designs.

What's next: Staff will return with renderings and design details.

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MetroED Labor Dispute Puts 300 Students at Risk

Why it matters: The district pays about $3M a year in tuition for roughly 300 students at Silicon Valley Career Technical Education (SVCTE), run by the Metropolitan Education District (MetroED). A strike would push those students back to their home campuses.

Where things stand: Nathan Shooks, bargaining chair of the Silicon Valley Career Teachers Association and a collision repair and refinishing instructor, told trustees that MetroED has a teacher retention crisis. He said talks stalled over proposed healthcare cost increases.

By his count, the gap is about $250,000 over three years. He contrasted that with $15.7M in unrestricted reserves.

“We are preparing fact-finding on November 16th, and teachers are prepared for a possible strike,” said Shooks. Fact-finding is a late-stage impasse procedure in public-sector bargaining.

Shooks asked the board, through its MetroED trustee, to push MetroED management toward a fair raise and affordable healthcare.

The other side: Goytia, who represents the board at MetroED, declined to engage while fact-finding is underway.

“I'm not in a position to comment on what you heard about a potential strike,” said Goytia. She instead promoted an SVCTE hackathon on Feb. 4-5.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: The board took no action. Later in the meeting, Mary McClellan, secretary and co-chair for bargaining of the Campbell High School Teachers Association, voiced solidarity with SVCTA. She also said she hopes for continued productive work with district management.

That alignment matters because the district bargains with its own units. McClellan also praised passage of Prop 3 and Measure RTM, while noting the district gets little from Prop 3 because it is a basic aid district.

What's next: Fact-finding is set for Nov. 16.

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Minor Items

• Google and AI: Del Mar teacher Amanda Davison said “GoGuardian will not block Google Gemini” and urged trustees to consult teachers before a Google Search decision due by early 2027. One trustee later said she opposes AI in district schools.
• External honors: The district made the Education Results Partnership honor roll as a STAR district, one of four of 11 high-school-serving districts in the county. Westmont made the school-level list, and the district is a finalist for a Financial Sustainability Award.
• Student recognition: Clubs from all five campuses were honored. League of Women Voters of Southwest Santa Clara Valley volunteers reported 11 campus events, more than 1,100 students reached and more than 300 registered or pre-registered to vote.
• Routine approvals, all 5-0: Trustees approved the consent calendar with no items pulled. They also approved 2026-2028 piggyback agreements with Amazon Business, AAA Workspace and B&H Foto & Electronics for already-budgeted purchases, plus a no-change 403(b) plan restatement.
• Declaration of Need: A revised 2026-2027 declaration adds biology, approved 5-0. It lets the district fill a science post if no fully qualified candidate is found.

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Looking Ahead

The board holds a special study session Nov. 20 at 2:30 p.m., and a county committee candidacy filing is due around Nov. 20. Trustees also flagged an upcoming Cupertino Planning Commission hearing, at 6:45 p.m., on an educator workforce housing project that may be open to district employees without districts buying in first.