Teachers from Jimenez Elementary School played Jenga while staff from Sanchez Elementary posed for a selfie with their superintendent Tuesday in a final bash celebrating the end of summer and the start of a new year.
The Santa Maria-Bonita School District hosted a gigantic picnic for its staff on Tuesday at the Santa Maria Fairpark serving up lunch, raffle prizes, games, camaraderie and fun before students begin filling classrooms on Thursday.
Some 2,000 staff members from the 21 campuses, plus the district office, united for the back-to-school event as music, including “We Are Family” blared over the speakers.
“It’s fun. It was very needed to bond with other teachers,” said Ahtziri Rosas, one of four fifth-grade teachers from Jimenez Elementary School.
In addition to the relaxed time to bond, they welcomed the opportunity to feel appreciated and have a final chance to relax before the new school year starts.
“It sets the mood for the year,” Rosas added.
The quartet engaged in a spirited game of Jenga, building a block tower by removing one and adding it to the top without knocking it over as the stack grew increasingly taller and more unsteady.
Speaking from the stage as employees sat on the lawn or at tables, Superintendent Darren McDuffie welcomed the staff.
“The work we do together is transformative. Every day we have the opportunity to shape the future, to inspire hope and to instill faith in our students and each other,” McDuffie said. “There’s not greater calling and I am honored to walk this path with all of you.
“As we embark on this new school year, let us do so with a renewed commitment to unity, empathy and understanding and trust,” he added.
After arriving in 2022, McDuffie said he realized a need to show appreciation for employees and develop unity in the district, citing the strategic plan that a unified community inspires hope and faith.
“Everything that we do, we do it better when we do it together. So it really is about taking this district and understanding that all of us have different roles, but we’re here for the same reason. We’re here for our students,” McDuffie said.
“And when we work better together and when we understand that larger mission, then there’s nothing that we can’t do for our students.”
McDuffie said employees remain as the heartbeat for district, noting two unions.
“As we engage in dialogue and negotiations we will do so with respect, transparency and a shared commitment to the success of this district,” McDuffie said. “We may not always agree and that’s OK.
“What matters is that we approach each discussion with empathy and understanding and focus on our mission, our common goals.”
As the 2024-2025 school year begins, all campuses now have air conditioning after installation at the final 11 sites. Shade structures and solar panels also were added at campuses.
The district hired more than 100 new teachers, who spent last week in a special orientation.
Santa Maria-Bonita serves approximately 17,000 students from transitional kindergarten to eighth grades.
Unlike many districts seeing no growth or reduced enrollment, Santa Maria-Bonita continues to add students — and schools.
To help fund the facilities, the Nov. 5 ballot will include the district’s Measure K, a $77-million bond measure that would modernize existing schools and build new elementary or junior high school classrooms.
If approved by more than 55% of the voters, the measure would add $30 per $100,000 assessed value. A home valued at $400,000 would see a property tax increase of $120 annually if the bond’s approved.
