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Ms. Ortiz Franklin, Mr. Melvoin - Maximizing Efficiency and Effectiveness in Task Forces and Committees (Res-004-25/26) (Noticed August 26, 2025)
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Whereas, The Los Angeles Unified School District aims to achieve audacious goals for student achievement and wellness with finite resources, including time, funding and demands on personnel;
Whereas, The District is committed to advancing and balancing pillars of the Strategic Plan, including Pillar 3: Engagement and Collaboration through authentic engagement with families, communities, and educational partners and Pillar 4: Operational Effectiveness, encompassing data-driven decision-making and sustainable budgeting;
Whereas, Various resolutions by the Governing Board of the Los Angeles Unified School District have called for task forces or committees to solve a problem or advise on an issue of importance to the Board, almost always without a sunsetting date or final task to demonstrate completion;
Whereas, At Board direction, District staff prepare, convene and navigate the diverse perspectives of the various task forces and committees on a regular basis, resulting in countless hours of staff time, with little demonstrated evidence of positive impact on student achievement and Board goals;
Whereas, Multiple task forces have been convened to address overlapping topics such as school safety without a consistent process for coordination, and the District currently lacks a consistent structure for sunsetting task forces and advisory committees, resulting in several remaining active indefinitely without formal evaluation or final outcomes;
Whereas, Decision-making authority is not always clear, for example the Arts Justice Advisory Committee has been interpreted to exclude District staff as the lead convener, and the Black Student Achievement Plan Steering Committee has spent many hours debating how decisions should be made; and
Whereas, To promote efficiency and accountability, it is essential to establish time-bound and outcome-focused parameters for these bodies and a District staff member as the lead who will report back to the board as indicated in the resolves below; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Governing Board of the Los Angeles Unified School District commits to the efficient and effective use of staff time, Los Angeles Unified School District resources and student-focused priorities by:
- Eliminating or consolidating duplicative and/or inactive task forces and committees
- Clarifying the outcomes, tasks and decision-making process of each task force and committee, including that these entities consider the cost of program rollout and/or staff positions when making recommendations to the Board
- Adding end dates or annual board approval to continue these bodies
Resolved further, That any task force, committee, and/or advisory/work group established by Board Resolution that does not have a District lead (District employee) shall identify one within 30 days;
Resolved further, That all task forces and advisory committees established through Board resolution shall be reviewed annually, and automatically sunset after two years unless formally extended through Board action, and shall not be extended beyond a total of three years;
Resolved further, That each task force and committee, led by its designated District sponsor, must annually provide the Board with a report (oral or written) on the effectiveness and efficiency of the taskforce/committee including the impact on District resources and staff time, and progress towards intended outcomes;
Resolved further, That the District will present its first update on task force and committee elimination, consolidation, task-refinement and end dates at a Committee of the Whole by the first quarter of 2026; and, be it finally
Resolved, That at a minimum, this update should consolidate the School Culture Climate and Safety Task Force, and the Safe Schools Task Force, , and that this resolution shall not govern committees and task forces created by the Board President, Superintendent, or labor union contracts.