Santa Barbara City Council and School District Hold Meeting of the Minds
City Leaders Discuss Opening Westside Schools on Weekends, Youth Programs and Engagement
It was a rare opportunity for the entire Santa Barbara City Council and Santa Barbara Unified School District’s Board of Education to sit down and check in with each other on Monday, as both groups gathered for a joint session to discuss the current programming offered to Santa Barbara’s youth through the city and the school district, and reaffirm their priorities as the new school year approaches.
As S.B. Unified schools prepare to welcome students next week, the city and the district are evaluating how best to work together to rebound after the pandemic — with students struggling both academically and socially — and how to provide as many resources as possible despite tightening the budget across the board.
S.B. Unified Superintendent Hilda Maldonado, whose contract was recently extended through 2026, opened up the round-table meeting by saying she sees the city and the school district as “separate but intertwined entities serving the same community,” and that they have “mutual interests” to serve the students of Santa Barbara.
