SJSD announces “What Matters Most” community meetings

We need to talk.  

Recent changes in State Administrative Rule (R277-407) regarding School fees went into effect January 1, 2020. These changes are intended to provide more transparency to students and parents regarding school fees.  

The Utah State Board of Education website states that beginning with the 2020-2021 school year, every school district’s fee schedule must include a spend plan that lists the anticipated types of expenditures for each fee that the district/school charges. 

A spend plan provides students, parents, and employees transparency by identifying a fee’s funding uses. A district or school’s spend plan shall identify the needs justifying the fee being charged.  

In order to charge fees, a school district’s governing board must adopt a fee schedule every year and encourage public participation in the development of the fee schedule. The required steps in this process include: 

1. The district must provide a minimum of two opportunities for the public to provide input at public school district board meetings before the fee schedule is adopted. 

2. The fee schedule must be adopted in a regularly scheduled public meeting. 

3. The district must inform students and parents about the meetings using whatever method they typically use to communicate with parents and in accordance with the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act.

4. The fee schedule must be approved on or before the April 1 before the school year to which the fee schedule applies.

Please be informed that the San Juan School District Board of Education will be allowing input for all proposed fees for the 2020-2021 school year in the regularly scheduled January 22, February 5, and March 4 school board meetings.  

Proposed fees and spend plans can be found by going to the district website at sjsd.org and clicking on Spend Plans at the top of the page.   Public input is helpful and encouraged.  

In addition to the regularly scheduled board meetings, district administration will be hosting “What Matters Most” community meetings in the following schools and dates:  

Monticello High School, Tuesday, January 21 at 6:30 p.m.

Whitehorse High School, Monday, January 27 at 6:30 p.m.

Monument Valley High School, Tuesday, January 28 at 6 p.m.

San Juan High School, Monday, February 3 at 6:30 p.m.  

During these “What Matters Most” community meetings, topics such as School Safety, School Fees, and recent Portrait of a Graduate work will be discussed.  

All parents and interested community members are invited and encouraged to attend.