Santa Barbara schools are going to spend $50,000 to communicate to parents that classes are closed and they will provide minimal education. I have a better idea—save the money, open the classrooms and educate, instead of spending money on excuse.
““When we speak about public relations it is not meant to hide or lie,” Superintendent Hilda Maldonado said at the meeting. “It is quite the opposite.
“It is meant to ensure that we are providing all the information in a factual way so that the public and others can learn more about the great work we are doing in Santa Barbara Unified.”
In a subsequent interview with Noozhawk, Maldonado said the outside firm is needed to help the district do a better job of public outreach, particularly to the Spanish-language community, although the scope of work for the contract says nothing specifically about Spanish-language activity.
Yup, the educrats believe that spending $50,000 will placate Spanish speaking parents who want their kids to get a quality education—and the School Board is refusing to do this. Obvious this District does not need any Federal or State assistance—it can blow $50,000 on it own.
Santa Barbara School District OKs $50,000 to Hire Reputation Management Consultant
Trustees authorize 6-month contract with Sacramento PR firm to assist with communication to public
By Joshua Molina, Noozhawk, 1/31/21
The Santa Barbara Unified School District has hired a Sacramento public relations company to help with reputation management, communications and district leadership.
The district’s $50,000 contract with Nichols Strategies LLC runs from January to June.
The contract was placed on last week’s school board consent agenda, which is usually reserved for routine subject matters, and was lumped in with three other items.
“When we speak about public relations it is not meant to hide or lie,” Superintendent Hilda Maldonado said at the meeting. “It is quite the opposite.
“It is meant to ensure that we are providing all the information in a factual way so that the public and others can learn more about the great work we are doing in Santa Barbara Unified.”
In a subsequent interview with Noozhawk, Maldonado said the outside firm is needed to help the district do a better job of public outreach, particularly to the Spanish-language community, although the scope of work for the contract says nothing specifically about Spanish-language activity.
According to the proposal, Nichols Strategies plans to provide, “Situation Analysis and Issues Management, Communication Training and Capacity Building, Strategic Planning and Advising, Communication Support and Crisis Communication and High-Profile Incident Assistance.”
The consultant did not speak at the school board meeting because there was no request for proposals. Maldonado said she had suggested the company “about two weeks ago” because of previous professional knowledge of its CEO, Stephen Nichols.
The contract follows a November lawsuit that “Jane Doe” filed against the district, making 13 charges, including negligence, infliction of emotional distress and sexual battery for employing Matef Harmachis, a former teacher at Santa Barbara High School. Harmachis has since been stripped of his teaching credential, according to the district.
The district has faced several other high-profile legal challenges in the past few years.
“There is an aspect of this work where there has been so many lawsuits against this district that deal with different agendas and issues that we have to be aware of,” Maldonado told Noozhawk. “The right communication is super-important.”
The $50,000 expenditure also comes two weeks after the district gave its public information officer, Camilla Barnwell, a raise and change in title. Barnwell received an $8,826 salary increase — to $117,464 from $108,638 — and new title of communications manager.
Maldonado said one position can’t do it all.
“It is one person for the many, many messages that are happening,” she said.
Sheridan Rosenberg, a frequent critic of the district, blasted the hiring of the public relations consultant.
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“I have an idea,” she said. “Why don’t you just tell the truth and don’t hide things from parents and the public, and rebuild your reputation by rebuilding the trust in the community, because right now nobody trusts you.”
Rosenberg asked what the goal was of hiring the consultant.
“Why on earth are you spending this kind of money when you need to reopen schools?” she asked. “This is two-thirds of a teacher’s salary.
“You should be spending that $50,000 on literacy, on testing, on more staff, and instead, one of the things that he is going to do is reputation management. That’s on the front page of the scope of work.”
SBUSD trustees were enthusiastic about the contract, however.
“This is what I do for a living as well,” said Capps, who own a public relations and consulting firm.
The help is needed, she said.
“It has been astounding the volume of communication that has come out of this district during the pandemic,” Capps said. “The fact that it is a one-person team with a budget of $160 million and 21 schools, the videos, the parent squares, the fact sheets, the frequently asked questions. It is a ton of volume.”
She said communication is needed now more than ever.
“Especially in this time of crisis you have to overcommunicate,” Capps said. “It’s really a bandwidth issue.”
Board member Virginia Alvarez, who campaigned as a fiscal watchdog during her recent election, also backed the move.
“The No. 1 thing is that we will improve our communication to the parents, to our community, which is one of our primary goals,” she said. “Even though it was the consent agenda, there were a lot of questions already posed, and the information that was required was provided.”
Board president Kate Ford agreed.
“This is a perfect example of why we hired her,” she said of Maldonado. “She is proactive. It was her idea to improve communications in the district, and we also hired her because the very last thing that she will do is hide and spin.”
In an interview with Noozhawk on Sunday, Nichols said his company plans to make a presentation at an upcoming school board meeting.
“We look forward to providing them with our observations and recommendations pertaining to enhancing communication and engagement with stakeholders in SBUSD,” he said.
