Mountain View Whisman School District
Agenda Item for Board Meeting of 5/29/2025
Agenda Category: ACTION AND DISCUSSION
Agenda Item Title: (Action) California School Board Association Service Agreements
Estimated Time:
Person Responsible: Jeffrey Baier, Interim Superintendent
Background:
Mountain View Whisman School District is undertaking an important transition to modernize how Board meetings and policies are managed. With the current meeting platform (Novus) being phased out and policy updates still tracked manually, the District is evaluating more efficient, user-friendly solutions to meet evolving transparency and governance needs.
The Need for Change
- Meetings: The sunsetting of Novus leaves the District in need of a replacement that allows more flexibility in agenda formatting without reliance on customer service. The increasing number of Board-reporting committees and community interest in transparency require a consistent, accessible solution for sharing agendas and materials.
- Policies: Manual tracking of policies via spreadsheets poses version control risks and public-facing errors. Policy audits initiated last year highlighted the need for a streamlined system. With a newly established Policy Committee and growing Board involvement, the demand for a structured, integrated policy platform has increased.
Evaluation of Options
Several platforms were assessed:
- Board Docs by Diligent Community: $11,800 annually
- Peak Agenda by Granicus: $12,526 in year one; $5,300 annually thereafter (Granicus is replacing the company, Novus)
- Gamut Meetings/Policies by CSBA: $17,900 in year one; $7,300 annually thereafter
Gamut emerged as the most aligned with district needs due to its integration with the CSBA-supported Policy Plus module and strong policy development tools from the organization that produces policies — CSBA. Many neighboring districts, including Los Altos SD and Sunnyvale SD, currently use Gamut.
Next Steps
A summer policy workshop will serve as a critical milestone in onboarding the new system and training staff. Commitment across departments will be essential during this transition phase to ensure a smooth implementation.
Cost Summary
- Meetings: $5,250 annually
- Policy Plus: $3,280 annually
- Policy Development Workshop: $10,100 (one-time)
- Total year one cost: $18,630
- Ongoing annual cost: $8,530
- (Note: The District already subscribes to Gamut Policy for $3,100 annually.)
Fiscal Implication:
Not to exceed $19,000 for 2025
Not to exceed $9000 for 2026
Recommended Action:
It is recommended that the Board of Trustees approve the California School Board Association GAMUT Service Agreement, as presented.
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