A week after Sequoia Union High School District trustees held a study session on streamlining courses, providing a stage for community members to express their concerns about lost honors courses, the Sequoia Healthcare District voted unanimously to affirm its commitment to supporting the school district.
The health care district’s Board of Directors stated its support for the school district in a letter approved by a 5-0 vote during a meeting Thursday morning. The vote reaffirming its support of the school district came a week after board President Aaron Nayfack sent an email to Richard Ginn, president of the school district’s Board of Trustees, and Ginn’s colleagues raising concerns about potentially “undoing some of the strong equity reforms that SUHSD put in place in 2019.”
“During our last strategic plan, we elevated equity to be a prime aim of the healthcare district efforts. I am writing to you with concern that your board may be taking a different strategic approach,” Nayfack wrote in his email to the school Board of Trustees. “I strongly urge you to reconsider this path as I would hate to have anything jeopardize the long partnership between SUHSD and the Sequoia Healthcare District.”
The Sequoia Union High School District receives about $5 million from the health care district annually and is one of eight school districts that receives funding support from the health care district as part of its School District Wellness Program. The program is based on the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child model crafted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which calls for using a student-centered approach to improve health and academic outcomes.
Nayfack’s email was sent before the health care district board could discuss the matter. He apologized during Thursday’s meeting to his colleagues, health care district officials and the school district for issuing the email. And the health care district board vote this week confirmed the value of the relationship.
“The Sequoia Healthcare District (SHD) Board highly values the collaborative relationship it shares with Sequoia Union High School District (SUHSD) and remain committed to providing resources, guidance, and expertise on health-related issues affecting students’ well-being by way of its Healthy Schools Initiative. The SHD board intends to leave decisions related to curriculum, instructional methods, school policies, and other educational matters to the school board and to keep those matters independent of health care district funding decisions,” read the letter.
Nayfack’s email was sent before a study session the school district held Sept. 20 to discuss streamlining courses by merging some honors classes with standard classes with the intention of improving student outcomes through diverse classrooms. The district has received strong pushback from some parents and students who assert the changes take away academic opportunities from high-performing students, referred to as high flyers by the district.
SUHSD Trustee Sathvick Nori, who had expressed concerns of his own about the outcomes of the course changes during the Sept. 20 meeting, had also shared concerns about districts asserting they wouldn’t want to partner with the school district for making curriculum changes.
As the only school district trustee to make it to the health care district board meeting, Nori said he only caught the tail end of it but felt Nayfack was genuine in his apology and that rifts between the two bodies had been mended.
“I’m glad that President Nayfack decided to apologize and that he took the time to do that,” Nori said, noting he hasn’t seen a written apology. “I look forward to us continuing to have a collaborative relationship.”
