The Whittier Union Board of Trustees, District administrators and employees collaborate to ensure the District remains prudent and fiscally responsible in its decision-making, always maintaining quality education and support services for students and the Whittier Union community.
The District’s $155.9 million 2017-18 budget is based on a new funding system that is designed to increase funding for K-12 school districts and empower them to decide how best to use the funding instead of following one-size-fits-all guidelines.
For 2017-18, Whittier Union will invest $20.3 million in programs targeting students from low-income homes, in the foster system or who are learning English. These programs are outlined in its 2017-20 Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP), a three-year spending plan aimed at improving student learning, identifying goals for each year, strategies to achieve those goals and funding sources. The LCAP was built with extensive input from multiple stakeholder groups, including parents, students, community, teachers and staff.
The District will expand support classes to help English learners master standards to ensure they graduate in four years. Academic language development courses will assist ninth-grade English learners in mastering content, along with learning time management and organizational skills. The Horizons Program will continue to offer academic and personal support to English learners, while a new academic language class will be piloted for 10th-graders in need of continued support. Increased intervention strategies and team relationship-building will support all students.
The District pledges to continue programs that met or exceeded 2016-17 LCAP goals, including increased access to technology, maintaining academic/career counseling services, reducing Advanced Placement test fee costs and expanding PSAT/SAT test opportunities.