Frustrated by the lack of progress on equity, Tamalpais Union High School District trustees approved four consulting contracts totaling $430,000 to support students of color in the 2024-25 school year.
Trustees voted 4-0 at a special meeting Friday, with Trustee Kevin Saavedra absent. The vote came after several racist incidents rocked Tamalpais High School during the 2023-24 school year and led to protests from students and the community.
Board President Leslie Harlander said the district has been working on racial equity for years, including establishing a Racial Equity Committee and approving the name change from Sir Francis Drake High School to Archie Williams High School.
“You don’t see people who don’t care,” Harlander said. “We see every day the difficulties that families face, especially people of color.”
Friday’s vote awarded a $100,000 contract to Marin City activist Paul Austin, founder of the nonprofit recreation organization Play Marin. Austin is expected to be present at Tam High School on Tuesdays and Thursdays to provide “coaching and mentoring with a focus on academic achievement, interpersonal relationships, goal setting and career development,” according to the contract.
His specific goals are to “reduce the number of disciplinary actions against black students, create a success plan for each student and monitor progress every two weeks, and increase the participation of black families in Tam High community events.”
Austin’s wife, veteran Marin school administrator Tenisha Tate, will receive $150,000 to monitor each student’s progress. Tate, founder and executive director of Critical Friends LLC, a diversity, equity and inclusion strategy organization, will work with Tam High’s Black Student Success Support Team to ensure student success and achievement, the contract states.
Her focus will be to oversee support plans for black students and “coordinate service providers and community-based organizations that support black students at THS,” the contract states. She will also oversee professional development for Tam High staff and “facilitate weekly meetings focused on black student success.”
Specific expected outcomes for Tate include: an increase in the number of black students who graduate from school and meet graduation requirements to attend state universities; an increase in the number of black students who participate in leadership positions at the school; and an improvement in “the cultural competency of staff, as evidenced by black students reporting a stronger sense of connection to the school and valued by staff, as indicated by the California Healthy Kids Survey,” the contract states.
In addition, the board has hired Lisa Jimenez of OLAS Consulting for an $80,000 contract to work with Superintendent Tara Taupier in providing operational support to the district’s Racial Equity Committee. She will be paid $450 per hour for 16 hours of work per month during the 11-month term of the contract.
Keith Jackson of Dynamic Solutions for Youth will receive $100,000 to supervise and mentor students at all five Tam Union high schools. Jackson will be at each school one day a week to consult with students and staff and resolve conflicts. He will also work with students who have been suspended or expelled.
In addition to the specific goals of each contracting party, all are expected to achieve the same equity outcomes districtwide, which are to increase Black student attendance by 20% compared to the previous school year and reduce the number of Black students graduating the 2024-2025 school year with achievement deficits in math/science/social studies and English by 20% compared to the previous school year.
They are also tasked with reducing the number of Black students with DFI grades by 20% between 2023 and 2024 and 2024 and 2025 and improving Black students’ sense of safety and belonging on campus (measured in the October Youth Truth Survey).
The trustees said their review of the contracts is part of their efforts to be fiscally responsible, and the board must review all contracts to ensure there is no duplication of effort.
“We want to look at all the outsourcing to see if it’s working,” said trustee Cynthia Roenisch. “We want to see if we need to redirect resources.”
Her comments were in response to public criticism for removing the contracts from the agenda of last Tuesday’s board meeting. The contracts were removed to allow more time for their review, trustees said.
Roenisch said it is important to ask the difficult questions publicly to ensure that the money spent achieves the intended results.
“I welcome transparency,” she said. “I don’t want to shy away from it.”
Trustee Karen Loebbaka agreed.
“I want to emphasize that this meeting is not about whether we support our BIPOC students,” she said, referring to students who are Black, Indigenous and people of color. “We do, we have done, and we will continue to do.”
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