Exciting News! Quick Updates & Special Board Meeting (Friday)

Posted Date: 7/24/25 (12:08 PM)

Good afternoon, BVUSD!

I hope this message finds you well and enjoying these last weeks of summer. I’ll save the official “welcome back” for a little later, but I do have a few important updates to share with you now.

#1 - Our Charter Petition Was Approved!

I’m excited to share that the State Board of Education officially approved our charter petition. Beginning with the 2025-26 school year:

All grades TK–6 will continue to be BVUSD public schools, operating under BVUSD oversight and benefiting from shared resources, equitable funding and the same day-to-day operations.
Grades 1–3 (Yulupa) and Grades 4–6 (Strawberry) will operate as Bennett Valley Charter
TK–K will continue as part of BVUSD as a traditional program

Why Is this Important?

The charter conversion is part of BVUSD’s strategic response to declining enrollment and equitable funding.

For those newer to the conversation, more details can be found here: https://bvusd.org/chartermsfaq .

Outside the fiscal benefits we anticipate reaching our schools in about a year, there will be no substantive changes for our families and educators.

In light of the upcoming Aeries Parent Data Confirmation (more on that later ), we do want to point out one minor shift to avoid any confusion.

Because the charter requires the creation of a second legal entity (essentially a new “district”) for state reporting purposes, our Student Information System ( Aeries ) will reflect the following official designations:

GRADE	OFFICIAL DESIGNATION (on paper)
TK & K	"Yulupa"
1, 2, 3	"Bennett Valley Charter 1-3"
4, 5, 6	"Bennett Valley Charter 4-6"

For almost all other purposes:
Yulupa will still be referred to as our TK–3 school
and Strawberry as our 4–6 campus.

What Does This Mean for You?

Our goal is to keep these details invisible to staff and families so school operations continue as usual.

We will continue to manage the new administrative complexities behind the scenes to meet the procedural requirements of this transition, and we are confident that the benefits this transition brings to our schools far outweigh the additional administrative work.

#2 - Aeries Parent Data Confirmation

We are finalizing transition details for the online Aeries Parent Data Confirmation (formerly the in-person “Rapid Reg”) and still expect to open the portal August 1–10. Step-by-step instructions will be shared soon.

New families will receive an email shortly with login information.
Returning families will be able to log using existing credentials (or select “Forgot my password’ if needed).

Thank you for your patience as we finish these updates. More information will be coming in the next few days.

#3 - Special Board Meeting - Friday

A special Board meeting is scheduled for Friday, July 25, 4:00–4:30 PM at the District Office. The agenda covers a few required procedural items to complete the charter transition, including setting up a separate fund, confirming STRS/PERS retirement benefits for all employees, and an MOU outlining governance and fiscal responsibilities.

These are strictly compliance steps designed to keep everything running smoothly and to ensure employee services continue without interruption. The items are largely redundant with details already included in the charter petition but are required for formal approval.

The agenda is posted outside our office and online here: bvusd.org/agendas2526.

Regular Board meetings will continue on the second Thursday of each month at 6:00 PM.

Enjoy the remaining days of summer, and thank you for staying informed during this busy transition. We appreciate your patience and engagement as we work through these behind-the-scenes details.

In partnership,

Alexis Cala