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The committee, or LEDAC, will meet via Zoom from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Wednesday, March 9.
The meeting is open to the public.
The meeting will be held via Zoom: Meeting ID, 847 9466 6151; pass code, 619840. Dial by your location, 669-900-6833.
On the agenda, Nicole Flora, executive director of the Lake County Economic Development Corp., will give the group a presentation about Lake EDC’s priorities, the work of the Mendo-Lake SBDC and new services being offered in Lake County, said Chair Wilda Shock.
Shock said LEDAC also will hear updates on city projects and continue work on the next economic development strategic plan.
There also will be updates on city projects and activities, and member reports.
The group’s next meeting is on Wednesday, May 11.
LEDAC advocates for a strong and positive Lakeport business community and acts as a conduit between the city and the community for communicating the goals, activities and progress of Lakeport’s economic and business programs.
Members are Chair Wilda Shock, Vice Chair Denise Combs and Secretary JoAnn Saccato, along with Bonnie Darling, Candy De Los Santos, Bill Eaton, Monica Flores, Pam Harpster, Scott Knight, Alicia Russell, Laura Sammel and Marie Schrader. City staff who are members include City Manager Kevin Ingram and Community Development Director Jenni Byers.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated regarding the membership and titles.
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Email Elizabeth Larson at
Even before the pandemic hit, 98% of U.S. school districts said they didn’t have enough special education teachers to serve all the students who needed their help. During the pandemic, short-handed school districts were even more stretched to provide learning support to students with disabilities. Now, those students are struggling to catch up with where they should be.
In fall 2018, according to the most recent federal data available, there were 6.1 full-time special educators for every 100 students who received special-education services, varying widely by state, from 2.8 in Oklahoma to 12.1 in Washington, D.C. Special education teachers have long described their work as very demanding with little support, high stress and low pay.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to rapidly shift from traditional in-person teaching to virtual classes on laptops and smartphones in students’ homes. The sorts of services common in special education – additional support within a child’s classroom, and dedicated time with specialists outside the classroom – became difficult, or even impossible, to provide.
In an early 2020 survey of parents of children enrolled in special education services, just 20% reported that their child received all the support the school was required to provide. Another 39% reported that their child actually received no services at all. A federal report in June 2021 documented schools continuing to have difficulty serving students with disabilities.
As a lifelong special educator who now studies the field, I have seen that many students who needed support before will need even more to get back on track. I worry that, as the pandemic ends, many students who did not previously have mental health difficulties, or whose conditions did not significantly affect their readiness to learn, may now have difficulties or disabilities that require assistance from a system that is already strained.
Business as usual
There are still shortages of special education teachers across the country. There are also reports that children are not receiving required services even after they’re back in school buildings. Services may include speech and language therapy, math and reading support, and instruction to improve social and emotional skills. Services vary from student to student, based on their individual needs.
Under a civil rights law, students who did not get proper services during the pandemic may be eligible for additional support – beyond their existing special education plan – to catch up with where they should be. When determining what a student may be entitled to, schools and families consider the benefits that were lost because the student did not get what they were entitled to. Services to address this problem will also vary from student to student.
But there are problems with that additional help as well, as schools continue to do their best with the resources that are available to them. A November 2021 survey by the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates – an advocacy group for students in special education and their families – found that 86% of parents reported that their child experienced learning loss, skill regression or slower-than-expected progress in school.
But just 18% of parents said their child received additional support to recover ground lost during the pandemic. And 14% of parents believed that school districts’ decisions about who got that additional help were unfair.
A new group of students in need
The pandemic worsened what was already a crisis in young people’s mental health in the U.S.
A January 2021 survey from the JED Foundation, a nonprofit working to improve children’s and teens’ mental health, found that nearly two-thirds of U.S. parents reported their child experienced a mental or emotional challenge in the previous month. That included more common complaints like social anxiety and isolation, and less common but more severe episodes, such as suicidal thoughts. More than half of teenagers reported having experienced thoughts and feelings in that range in the previous month.
In October 2021, three major professional groups focused on children’s health – the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children’s Hospital Association – declared a “national emergency in child and adolescent mental health,” in part as a result of personal and family stress during the pandemic.
Students with mental health diagnoses can qualify for special education if their conditions affect their ability to learn in school. To me, the steep increase in mental health difficulties reported during the pandemic means there will likely be more students in need of special education support than ever before.
Research has identified ways that schools and special educators could meet the current need, and what I fear may be a future spike in demand. These recommendations focus on developing working conditions that promote teacher and student success, improving compensation and using special educators to provide small-group instruction. I believe now is an opportune time to make a commitment to teachers who are experts in specialized instruction and to the students who really need them.
[Over 150,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletters to understand the world. Sign up today.]
John McKenna, Associate Professor of Special Education, UMass Lowell
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
The forum will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, March 10, at Lakeport Cinema, 52 Soda Bay Road.
The city of Lakeport is proposing to annex 137 acres, composed of 50 parcels, adjacent to South Main Street and Soda Bay Road.
In January, the city and county of Lake reached a sales tax agreement for the annexation area that opened the door to the process moving forward.
The Lake County Local Agency Formation Commission is now reviewing the annexation proposal.
Community members who have questions — such as how the annexation will affect them, impacts on taxing and how they can weigh in — are invited to attend. Experts will be on hand to answer questions.
Snacks and refreshments will be provided.
For more information, contact City Manager Kevin Ingram at 707-263-5615.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 8, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The meeting can be watched live on Channel 8, online at https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx and on the county’s Facebook page. Accompanying board documents, the agenda and archived board meeting videos also are available at that link.
To participate in real-time, join the Zoom meeting by clicking this link.
The meeting ID is 917 9771 8692, pass code 233443. The meeting also can be accessed via one tap mobile at +16699006833,,91797718692#,,,,*233443#.
All interested members of the public that do not have internet access or a Mediacom cable subscription are encouraged to call 669-900-6833, and enter the Zoom meeting ID and pass code information above.
To submit a written comment on any agenda item visit https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx and click on the eComment feature linked to the meeting date. If a comment is submitted after the meeting begins, it may not be read during the meeting but will become a part of the record.
In a discussion timed for 9:15 a.m., the board will consider rescinding an urgency ordinance requiring everyone in county facilities to wear face coverings, regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status.
Health Services Director Jonathan Portney’s report to the board cited the state’s lifting last week of masking requirements for public indoor places — although a strong recommendation to mask remains in place.
Portney said that, based on updated state and federal guidance, new Public Health Officer Dr. Erik McLaughlin is recommending the board rescind the ordinance requiring masking in county facilities. “Instead, Dr. McLaughlin highly recommends masking in County facilities.”
At 9:45 a.m., the board is set to get a presentation on the Big Valley Groundwater Basin Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and implementation, and at 10 a.m. will receive a presentation from the Lake County Cannabis Alliance.
In an untimed item, the board will consider taking action to reform the county’s cannabis tax.
Options staff is presenting include changing the taxable area from “cultivation area” to “canopy area,” which would reduce the tax by 15%; extend the due date for the cultivation tax’s second installment from May 15 to Oct. 30 and, going forward, resetting the future due dates; and temporarily reducing the cultivation tax rate by 50% for cultivation in 2022 and 25% for cultivation in 2023.
The proposal arose after the board heard from cannabis business owners in January who said the taxes, combined with market forces, were forcing them out of the industry.
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
5.1: Approve letter to the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands in support of expansion of the existing Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument to include Walker Ridge, authorizing the chair to sign.
5.2: Adopt proclamation commending Tim Celli for his 26 years of devoted service to the residents of Clearlake and Lake County.
5.3: Approve Northshore Fire Protection District Wildland Fire Fuels Crew Grant agreement for the purchase of equipment for an amount not to exceed $521,779.
5.4: Adopt resolution amending Resolution 2021-31 and replace Appendix A to include an updated legal description of the property exchange agreement with the state of California (APN 010-043-01) executed on Oct. 29, 2021.
5.5: Approve an amendment to the September 2021 letter of commitment between the county of Lake and Trane Technologies, enabling pursuit of grant funding toward a firemain linked auxiliary supply hydraulic energy storage (FLASHES) system project in north Lakeport.
5.6: a) Reaffirm action taken on Oct. 26, 2021, adopting resolution No. 2021-135 authorizing the agreement in the amount of $757,550.00 between the county of Lake and the California Mental Health Services Authority for the period of agreement execution through Dec. 31, 2024; and b) authorize the Behavioral Health director to sign the agreement.
5.7: Approve amendment to the agreement between county of Lake and Hilltop Recovery Services for substance use disorder outpatient drug free and residential services for a new contract maximum of $292,050.00 for fiscal year 2021-22 and authorize the board chair to sign.
5.8: Approve Board of Supervisors meeting minutes Feb. 15, 2022.
5.9: (a) Adopt resolution recognizing, endorsing and accepting the technical and financial support provided to Lake County by the Northern California Coalition to safeguard communities in an effort to address criminal activities associated with the illegal cultivation of cannabis by drug trafficking organizations; and (b) adopt resolution amending Resolution 2021-115 to amend the adopted budget for FY 2021-22 by appropriating unanticipated revenue in the sheriff/coroner budget 2201.
5.10: Approve late travel claim for Water Resources Program Coordinator William Fox in the amount of $224.28 for the Western Groundwater Congress Conference held in Burbank, California, and authorize the auditor to pay.
TIMED ITEMS
6.2, 9:15 a.m.: Consideration to rescind Urgency Ordinance No. 3114 requiring all persons, regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status, wear face coverings in county facilities.
6.3, 9:30 a.m.: Consideration of hearing on account and proposed assessment for 12201 Widgeon Way, Clearlake Oaks.
6.4, 9:45 a.m.: Presentation of Big Valley Groundwater Basin Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, or SGMA, and implementation.
6.5, 10 a.m.: Consideration of presentation from the Lake County Cannabis Alliance.
UNTIMED ITEMS
7.2: Consideration of resolution authorizing state of California cannabis equity funding.
7.3: Consideration of cannabis tax reform options.
7.4: a) Discussion and possible renegotiations of certain provisions of agreement approved on Sept. 28, 2021, with the Rural Communities Housing Development Corp. and b) discussion and direction on audit for financial activity regarding loan and loan forgiveness regarding Collier Avenue project.
7.5: Discussion of interest apportionment with the treasurer–tax collector.
CLOSED SESSION
8.1: Public employee evaluation: Health Services director.
8.2: Public employee evaluation: Public Health officer.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
The event will take place Wednesday, March 16, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the American Legion Post 437, 14770 Austin Road.
The Stand Down offers immediate intervention support in the form of supplies and housing, employment services and other community resource information. A hot lunch will be provided. Veterans must provide their ID cards or DD Forms 214.
Resources will be offered covering a variety of topics including veterans’ services, housing and homeless assistance, employment, safe medication disposal, emergency preparedness, advance care planning, behavioral health, employment assistance and more.
“In the military, ‘Stand Down’ afforded battle-weary soldiers the opportunity to renew their spirits, enjoy warm meals, receive medical and dental care, mail and receive letters, and enjoy the camaraderie of friends in a safe environment,” said Vet Connect Chair Chris Taliaferro.
“Today, ‘Stand Down’ refers to grassroots, community-based intervention programs designed to help the nation’s homeless veterans ‘combat’ life on the streets. Homeless veterans are brought together in a single location and are provided access to the community resources needed to begin addressing their individual problems and start rebuilding their lives,” added Taliaferro.
The Lake County Veterans Council asks the public to spread the word regarding the event so that local homeless or near homeless veterans can be reached and may benefit from the assistance available.
The Veterans Stand Down will follow protocols recommended by the County of Lake Public Health Department to reduce the spread of COVID. Masks are required and will be provided.
For more information, contact Taliaferro at
Janine Smith-Citron is development director for Hospice Services of Lake County.
Call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter online for information on visiting or adopting.
The following cats at the shelter have been cleared for adoption.
‘Joel’
“Joel” is a 3-year-old male domestic longhair with an orange tabby coat.
He is in kennel No. 24, ID No. LCAC-A-2466.
‘Bruno’
“Bruno” is a young male Siamese with red markings and blue eyes.
He is in kennel No. 255, ID No. LCAC-A-2828.
‘Sticks’
“Sticks” is a young male Siamese with red markings and blue eyes.
He is in kennel No. 255, ID No. LCAC-A-2829.
Email Elizabeth Larson at