Regular - Part 2 Meeting

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[10] Elisa Martinez: Good evening. Welcome back to our regular meeting. We are coming back from closed session. We're reconvening from closed session here. And again, a couple of ways you all are joining us are through our regular YouTube channel. And we also know some of you have joined us through the phone number that was provided in the agenda. And with that, I was I was going to ask a member Rodriguez to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, please.

[45] Ray Rodriguez: Everybody stand. No. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

[56] SPEAKER_42: and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

[68] Elisa Martinez: All right. Thank you, Member Rodriguez. OK, so I would like to report on closed session actions. We did have an action. The board considered a claim by Fay Liu a vote of three ayes, one no, and one abstention. Sorry, and I skipped the motion by member Nguyen, the second by member Gutierrez. The no vote was from member Rodriguez. The abstention was from member And with that, I'm moving on to student report. Originally on the agenda, we had listed that we would not have one, but fortunately for us, student member Castillo will be providing a report from Newark Memorial.

[134] SPEAKER_43: All right, thank you, President Martinez. So tomorrow at 10 a.m. Newark Memorial senior class officers will be, and myself, will be meeting with members new and in good body especially, is that no determination has been made on any of these events. The situation is rapidly evolving, and as new information comes out, as orders change, and as things change in general, we'll be able to understand more clearly and more concretely what's going to happen but essentially what will take place tomorrow is just figuring out solutions for each possible scenario so that we have you know a plan to go on no matter what happens. Also the CIF which is responsible for high school athletics in California decided to cancel regional and sectional and state championships for the spring season. So what that means is essentially there will be no spring season for high school athletics. So, you know, a lot of senior athletes are kind of bummed out that, you know, we're missing our last season. But, you know, this is, there is something way larger going on that we do have to take into account and respect. and work together to curb the spread of this virus. But in light of the COVID-19 outbreak and our transition to distance learning for the remainder of the year, Newark Memorial leadership created the hashtag Cougar Quarantine Spirit Week. So we started with Pajama Monday. Then TikTok Tuesday and Wellness Wednesday. So people were showing off different ways that they're, you know, staying healthy, staying active and all that. Today is Binge Watch Thursday. So people are showing off what they're watching. And then tomorrow is Cougar Pride Friday. So everybody's wearing their their cougar gear and their jerseys. People can check out the Newark Memorial's ASB Instagram page, it's Newark underscore Memorial, and also look up the hashtag Cougar Quarantine on Instagram and you guys can see all the posts that have been made by our students. And then lastly, members of leadership are happy to be working with the board for the superintendent search. So the members are Wahab Zalimi, who's the new student board representative. There's also Jessica Freed and Anushka Surti will also be working with the board on that. So we're all and myself as well. So we're all happy to be collaborating with that search. And that's all for now. Thank you.

[287] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, student member Castillo. So we item number seven is postponed at this time. Moving to item number eight, which is public comment on non-agenda items. Ms. Aquino, did we have some submissions?

[308] SPEAKER_31: Public comment on non-agenda items, item 8.1. This comment was sent in by Dominga Barajas. The email was received in Spanish and was translated. We are going through moments of extreme reflection in all areas, but especially in the area of health. Knowing clearly that schools are places where the contagion of disease easily occurs and that nobody is free of contagion, it is time that the cleaning service is doubled instead of removing it. It is urgent that we have better hygiene in all of the schools, especially in the restrooms, cafeterias, classrooms, and offices because it affects the health and students, educational personnel, and staff.

[367] Elisa Martinez: Ms. Aquino, was that the only submission?

[371] Leonor Rebosura: Yes, it was.

[378] Elisa Martinez: Ms. Salinas, superintendent report?

[380] SPEAKER_27: Yes, thank you. As Miss Aquino pulls up the slides to share with all of you what we've been working on, I want to go ahead and just speak a little bit about from a personal perspective, you know, being home and sheltering in place and The days that I am back in Newark is with food distribution, with supporting the Chromebooks, and also working with our administrators really shows you how to start prioritizing what's really important and how do we count our blessings because there's so much out there that could be happening. And so although it doesn't feel good and we're working through this, we know there are a lot of folks out there who are really suffering and losing family members. So I'm reminded of that perspective. So with that, I'd like to launch the superintendent's report. Mr. Dolovich will be joining me for part of it towards the end, but let me get started. Miss Aquino, if you could advance the slide. Thank you. So as, as I, what I wanted to start with was certainly the timeline. So as we started to this timeline, you remember that on March 13th, the board of education passed this resolution to give direction for the suspension of in-class instruction. And so that, if you can look at that was almost 25 days ago. Then simultaneously, because as you remember, we worked with the Alameda County office of education because it was important to superintendent Karen Monroe and to all of the county superintendents that we were all on the same page to ensure that our students and our faculty and staff was safe. So at the same time they announced the temporary school closures for Alameda County. Days after that, and remember it was every day as it is now, it keeps changing, the Alameda County Public Health declared a shelter-in-place order. At that point, we said, we're going to continue. People were able to come in on that Monday morning, get their belongings, and students were able, some were able to pick up Chromebooks, take home books, take home materials. And at that point, what we were anticipating was a short closure for about two weeks. But that's when our out of school instruction started. Ms. Aquino? timeline continued with March 25th where all of a sudden we heard we were going to all be on the same page because at the same time that's when Alameda County Public Health declared all six county health officers declared a shelter in place until May 3rd and so we went ahead and we extended our school closures at that time continuing with are out of class instruction. Again, a very fast evolving thing. Who could have imagined a pandemic of this magnitude? And how do we support our staff? How do we support our families to do this? During that time, we went ahead and moved our spring break. And we saw that we had to go ahead and make these quick changes. Go ahead, Ms. Aquino. The next slide. So our spring break for Newark Unified was actually moved up. And again, this was done out of the abundance of caution, because we wanted to make sure that we weren't losing any instructional time, but at the same time, building in more days to be able to flatten the curve. And at that point, right in the middle of spring break, there was another declaration, which was essentially that we would be suspending in class instruction for the remainder of the year. Certainly, this is not something that's taken lightly. And at the same time, our teachers, Mr. Dolovich, our educational services, our principals, everyone was working diligently to ensure that we had the preparation in place for this next phase of our continuity of instruction. I want to share that what we've been doing since the spring break is that on April 6, we had a professional development day for our teachers. And what that really was, was time for our teachers to come back from spring break to really recalibrate and try to really assess what are the needs of their students, what are their own needs as they start to build their professional development. You have to picture just as our parents and our guardians at home are grappling with really becoming teachers in many ways and supporting their own children at home, some of our teachers also don't necessarily use technology in the classroom every day. And so we knew that we had to have a plan put in place to support them with this new expectation. And I have to say that our teachers really have risen to that expectation. they want to be able to reach out to their students. And if you've been following social media, a lot of the tweets and Facebook, our teachers have been doing some wonderful videos to say hello and they miss their students and families. So certainly I think our teachers really rose to the occasion to take on these new learnings around technology. This week, our school's principals, after our consultation with educational services, we made the determination that Chromebook distribution was going to be centralized to the school sites. Now we know that's not a perfect fit, but we wanted to at least get this started and distribute the Chromebooks as soon as we could. We anticipate another Chromebook distribution. We know that not everyone has had yet had access. And so I'll be making some, some comments towards the end of the meeting and also on our on our website with what the next steps are with that. But a big thank you to the NEWMA members to our principals. who went in during spring break, wiped down Chromebooks, unplugged them, made sure they were all ready to go, practicing social distancing at the same time, and got ready to distribute this week. So now for next week, the instruction is going to continue and our teachers and principals are preparing for the next phase of the continuity of instruction. Char? So I want to say a little something about the communication, the support of the city of Newark. A big thank you to certainly our council and our city manager and our mayor that have been consistently reaching out and connecting, I know, with the Board of Education and with the community and certainly with us and with myself, because we know that we're all in this together because we want to make sure that our schools are safe when we return and that everyone comes back healthy and ready to learn. So I want to share that. I also want to say that I'm asking all community members to please visit our website. I know that a lot of times we will see some miscommunication or questions out in the community. Our principals are doing a great job of monitoring their Facebook and their Twitter accounts. But when in doubt, please visit our website. Our website is where all information will be stored in English and in Spanish. and also there is going to be posted a contact email so that if you have any questions you can email directly and we can funnel that request and get you the answers that you need. We are also routing the our main phone number and we will make sure that that is posted on our website so if you do if you have a question and it's more comfortable for you to call than to send an email we will also be routing that phone call to our staff that is working off-site but still working from home. Tomorrow we will also be posting, we are working with the Alameda County Office of Education and we have child care opportunities for our first responders. This is provided by 4Cs. We will post that tomorrow on our website but if you are watching this and would like information now, you can email your school principal who already has that information. And essentially, it's a survey for first responders to complete. And then the directors and coordinators of four C's will be contacting you directly as to where there may be child care opportunities for you while you go out to protect us and serve in the community. The next slide, please. So before I introduce Mr. Dolovich to share a little bit more about the Certificated Staff Plan and what that looks like, I want to highlight attendance. So the questions been asked around there is like, how are we taking attendance? How are we making sure that we're reaching all students and that all students and families are having access? I want to share that we are working with our teachers and a part of the rollout of our Certificated Staff Plan is that teachers will be taking note of who they are checking in with each week. Our principals will then be working with our teachers to ensure that our students are having access and that they're communicating with their teacher. We're going to put into motion our regular practice. When a student is absent, we work with our pupil services coordinator, Ms. Leon, and also our parent partners to reach out to the family because a lot of times it may be for many reasons why they are not accessing the curriculum. Certainly it could be that they don't have access to technology or they have not yet made the connection, but there could be other things at play. There may be a need for housing or food or other more important and imperative things that they need to address as a family. And so we want to make sure that that resource is out there for our families. Our parent partners and Ms. Ashley Acosta along with our pupil services coordinator will be making connections with families and ensuring that they are connected to resources. We have a very good partnership with the Alameda County Food Bank and we are continuing to get food and deliver it to doorstops for families that are the most in need. So I wanted to share that. In terms of resources, as the plan that is going to be rolled out, we are going to include a lot of mental health support for our students. We know that many of our students, a lot of them are maybe feeling isolated and not connecting as much with other students. So we wanna make sure that our teachers have the resources to support our students, and also that our counselors and our mental health clinicians and all other staff that is there on a day-to-day basis when we are in class, that they have a caseload of students. So more on that. And at this point, I'm going to ask Mr. Dolovich to speak a little bit about the input that we've received to develop this distance learning plan, what the professional development opportunities for our teachers, and then what some of the expectations are. So thank you, Mr. Dolovich.

[1056] SPEAKER_20: Thank you. Good evening, members of the board. First I want to recognize that this is a challenging time for a number of our families, students and staff throughout Newark, the crisis effectively asked us to redesign education in a span of days. I took a lot of solace to say that Newark indeed was up for the challenge, and I couldn't be more proud to be a part of this community at this time. From all staff, child nutrition, as Ms. Salinas mentioned, distributing meals, principals stepping up with Chromebooks, but especially deserving of note, our partnership and collaboration with NTA leadership. Specifically, they've been responsive and supportive. And last but not least, our outstanding teachers deserve recognition. They've gone above and beyond reaching out, asking questions, supporting one another, and essentially reimagining the unimaginable. Which brings me to the PD on the slide. We are going to take a hybrid approach to professional development. We want to be thoughtful and strategic on behalf of our students. First, what this is asking of us is we have a number of Google certified teachers within Newark. And we have a single platform, which makes a lot of sense to streamline and move forward with all of our staff. So therefore, we'd like to really have that tap into teacher voice and also have teacher experts within Newark lead us. The first platform that we want to become aligned on is Google Classroom. Many are intermediate or beyond. But as mentioned previously by Miss Salinas, some could use some refreshing in terms of launching and getting up to speed. So each Wednesday, beginning this week after spring break and throughout the rest of the year into June, every Wednesday, Ed Services is offering professional development opportunities for distance learning. So this began yesterday. We had six workshop sessions that were offered for both elementary and secondary. And we had over 200 teachers attend yesterday. This is the first part of the approach. It's in-house, and it's with our own New Work experts. I do want to acknowledge the topics of the sessions, Google Classroom Launch, Exploring Google Classroom Beyond, and then also a project-based approach for distance learning for our students. I would like to acknowledge teachers and TOSAs who prepared and facilitated the sessions, Melissa Moore, Pauline Kim, Michaela Ashmore, Kim Nickerson, Vivian Young, and Cliff Ingham did an amazing job there the first six, and this is the first part like I said of the PD approach. part is to partner and collaborate with experts in the field of distance learning. That is already an infrastructure that's been in place. And one of the leaders in international organization is an organization called EdTech. And so we are going to partner with EdTech for the next two weeks. Again, on Wednesdays, April 15th and April 22nd, we're going to offer five comprehensive workshops for our teachers. The five topics include Google Classroom Launch, Google Classroom Intermediate and beyond. And both of that is strategic so that all of the teachers are aligned with respect to one platform before we move on as a district. We're also going to have a workshop on operating Google Meets for classes, providing feedback to our students during distance learning. And the last workshop is Seesaw, which is an online platform where students can post work. As a father of three, they're posting work on Seesaw right now. And so really, we want to place an emphasis on teacher voice. The partnership with NTA has exceeded expectations in terms of being open and honest and collaborative. So I do want to acknowledge them. But really, we have NUSD experts in the field that are Google certified. And then we want to leverage our partnership with EdTech so that the teachers can choose topics to go deeper with. And our own Newark teachers can lead those topics of interest in May. And finally, alluded to in the instructional plans, we're in collaboration right now with our partners, and we're hoping to come out with an updated guideline for certificated staff version 2.0 tomorrow to all district staff. Our original document was 10 pages. Tomorrow's document exceeds 30 pages. It touches on every aspect, including mental health of our students, English language learner support, special education expectations and then of course instruction sample schedules for both elementary and secondary and grading is a topic that many districts are now following cde guidelines with respect to credit no credit at the high school level and then further conversations at the elementary level to cesar and to newark memorial high school seniors We have a special section in there on graduation. We have, we purchased additional apex licenses to make sure that we didn't leave any senior behind, with respect to being qualified and meeting the criteria for graduation. And the other thing deserving note. I know a number of districts and we're one taking the lead. Looking at opportunities for our graduating seniors. Do we look at a ceremony in July. Do we look at partnerships with both the for profit and nonprofit sector to make sure that our seniors are recognized publicly, and that they have a ceremony that they deserve. And so I know Ms. Rangel, Ms. Calderon, Ms. Salinas, that's close to their heart and they've been taking the lead on that. And so there's a wealth of information in the 2.0 plan, but I wanted to touch upon some of the salient features and I will stop there unless there are any further questions.

[1441] SPEAKER_27: And why don't we go to the next slide. And at the end, we'll, we'll take some more questions. So before I get to the thank yous, which go around. I also want to share that part of our work is to make sure that our parents know what the expectations are for the students, because I think that's what's going to be important that while Our teachers certainly have academic freedom and our teachers are the best practitioners of the work. It is just as important for not only the students to know what the expectations are, but the parents. So what we are envisioning is that as we are rolling out the 2.0 guidelines, we will also be sharing that with families and with parents, with parents and students, because a lot of times, you know, parents are asking, you know, while my student may know what's going on, I need to know more information. So that's going to be part of what will be rolled out in the coming week as well as we're starting to work through and negotiate the next steps. I also want to advertise that part of this work is that what we're finding out is that not all of our families have access to devices, nor do they all have access to Wi-Fi. So a big shout out to a member who really connected us with some great opportunities around with T-Mobile. So we have just now gone ahead and purchased some hotspots for our students who are homeless, who are the most in need, or students who, quite frankly, don't have access to Wi-Fi. So in the coming two weeks, we will be receiving those hotspots along with another distribution of Chromebooks. We're meeting with our principals tomorrow. Mr. Dolovich and I will be meeting with them so that we can connect with them around prioritizing our students who are homeless and our students who do not have Wi-Fi access. Some of our families may have seen that a survey was sent out. And that really was for each individual principle, reaching out to families to determine what are the needs out there. So what I'm going to say to parents now in English and Spanish is that please reach out. If you cannot get in contact with a teacher or a principal, we will have the contact information on our website so that you can send me an email and I can work to make sure that you are connected with the support that you need. Quiero dar un mensaje acerca de cómo estamos ahorita en esta situación. Eso es que vamos a asegurar de que estemos en contacto con todas las familias para asegurarnos de que tengan la tecnología y también el acceso a la red de internet. Entonces, vamos a tener en publicidad mi número de teléfono y mi correo para que se puedan comunicar conmigo también para que yo pueda apoyarlos. And so I want to, as we start to get into the thank yous, a big, big thank you just to the Newark community. And this quote really spoke to me, that there is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about. And I think for me and for us all to reflect on, what I'm really looking at is what's important. What's really important is our kids, our kids and our families. And giving this time for us that while I joke with my husband and I joke with some colleagues, this job has truly become 24-7. Because really, when you start to work remotely, you know that there's changes and help and work that needs to be done pretty much all during the whole day. So we want to make sure that we're responsive. So I think that's a reflection for me. And I want to give a huge shout out to our community partners. If you have been watching Twitter, and if you have been watching social media, you have seen what a great partnership we have with our business owners in the city of Newark. So thank you, thank you to the Arteagas, to Council Member Suzy Callejo, to Mr. Sohan Sharma for putting together breakfast for our students in the last few weeks for our families that may need access to a warm meal for their students. And then a huge shout out to Mr. James O'Sullivan. So if you know a Sullivan's the one of the first places people told me about when I came to work in Newark a few years ago was you got to go to a Sullivan's that and Dino's and so knowing that Mr. O'Sullivan has provided spaghetti dinners and breakfast for our students and you see it on social media just how It's getting contagious. He'll, he'll, he'll share out. I just got another donation for money and they said, feed the kids. So a big thank you to our business owners who have really stepped up to support newer kids and families. So with that, that concludes my superintendent's report and thank you board for your support, because really we can't do this alone. And it's been your support that has really pushed us forward. Thank you.

[1735] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Superintendent Salinas and Mr. Dulavich. As we move forward on the agenda, item 10, employee organizations. President Martinez. Oh, I'm sorry. I just skipped right over to raised hands. Go ahead, Member Gutierrez and then Member Nguyen after you.

[1760] SPEAKER_35: Thank you. um the one the question that I had was regarding the training that will be happening um for the the teachers uh and and staff for example Google Classroom um but I what I was what I wanted to know is if there is if there's any training of this sort or resources for actual parents and students because I know they're also going to be struggling And particularly, I know my focus is more on the parents. Students are going to pick up on this very quickly. But a lot of parents want to help their students as much as possible. And they want to also be informed. But some of them will struggle with technology. So is there any resources for them to learn this new platform as well?

[1806] SPEAKER_27: Yes, I want to share that what the conversation I had with some of our administrators in NEWMA is that we need to now start to make the shift to parent education. I think in the first few weeks of the pandemic, our focus was more on making sure folks had meals, making sure folks were connected. We now need to make that shift. So in speaking with Isabel, the Cervantes folk, we are looking at how to push out some virtual parent workshops or coffees with the superintendent so that we can really start to have these online platforms to hear directly from families. but also to give them some tools. So this, yes, that is one of our next steps.

[1853] Elisa Martinez: Member Nguyen? You're mute.

[1860] Phuong Nguyen: Hi, I just wanted to say thank you, Acting Superintendent Salinas for the update, and also Ariel Mr. Dulavich for the update as well. I know that you guys both have been working very hard and getting your team ready and prepared for this, and that is very much appreciated. In terms of my question, I know that we were able to secure 150 Wi-Fi devices. I just wanted to make sure how well, I wanted to know how well those students be identified and if they will be allocated at all sites.

[1901] SPEAKER_27: Yes, so what we're doing now is that we're pulling the list of identified students who are identified as homeless. And then we are the next cut is that we're going to go by the principal and teacher recommendation, because as we know, sometimes they will know first if the student is is homeless at this moment because we want to see who have they not reached out to. So as Chromebooks have been distributed this week, at the end of the week tomorrow, tomorrow's Friday, our principals will be checking in with Mr. Dolovich and I in the morning, and that's going to be our next cut. So first cut will be identified homeless students, and next cut will be students that they have not been in touch with and that we've actually made a personal phone call or a way to verify it. At this point, we are saying that it will be for all schools because we have students in need at all of our schools. We see that our Title I schools have a higher need because that's why they may be a Title I school. We will redeploy the hotspots to that area.

[1967] Phuong Nguyen: And the information has already been communicated to staff and the principals at the site?

[1972] SPEAKER_27: Not yet for the principal, so that's tomorrow. Okay. With principals on Tuesdays and Thursdays, excuse me, with all of NEWMA, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and on Fridays, it's just the principal. So that will be part of our agenda tomorrow.

[1986] Elisa Martinez: Okay, got it. Thank you. And before I call on student member Castillo, if you could all remember to lower your hand once you've had a chance to speak. That way I know who has a request to speak. Student member Castillo.

[2004] SPEAKER_43: Thank you President Martinez and thank you to Superintendent Silliness and Mr. Dulwich for their work on this transition. I know it's it's been very quick and it's I mean it's difficult sometimes to adapt to these but I'm surprised that you know how fast we have websites set up and resources for students and parents to look at. My question is with regards to seniors especially Mr. Dulwich mentioned that the second edition of the the certificated plan was spanning more than 30 pages that there was a section specifically for seniors. So I think if there's anything from Mr. Dulwich's department that can be shared with seniors directly, I think we'd like to see it because a lot of us are kind of unsure of what's going to happen in terms of graduation requirements. in terms of graduation itself. And I think we would all feel a bit more reassured if we were to see that. So it doesn't have to be now, but once there's something concrete that you're able to share with us, we would really appreciate it.

[2070] SPEAKER_20: Absolutely. And I think the next step would be a meeting, a virtual meeting with you and some of the other senior leaders, along with Ms. Rangel, so that you guys can have a voice in some of the decisions that are being made.

[2084] SPEAKER_43: Great, thank you.

[2087] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Mr. Jalowicz. Member Gutierrez, did you have another comment? I just see your hand is still up. OK. I'm going to assume no. And so we'll get this. Next item is item 10, employee organizations. Ms. Aquino, I believe we do have some statements you will be reading from our organizations.

[2119] SPEAKER_31: Two reports this evening. The first one comes from Sue Eustis from CSCA Organizational Report. It is our hope that everyone is doing well and staying healthy. Please stay at home as hard as it may be and take good care of yourselves and others. This is a very difficult time to be living in but we will survive and conquer this virus. Because of this virus, CSCA has closed its headquarters in San Jose and all of its field offices up and down the state of California. Most of the staff at headquarters and all of our field staff are now working from their homes. It has been amazing to see how fast CSCA is changing to meet this challenge. CSCA has not missed a step in representing its members. We have continued to meet with our districts in Zoom and Hangout meetings. We are continuing to negotiate MOUs, holding EERCs, and negotiating chapter contracts. We have even started to hold regional meetings again. We may not be able to be together, but we can still get together through Zoom and hold our regional meetings. Our next step is to start having Newark Chapter No. 208 meetings again very soon. It is my strong belief this virus will make us stronger. Our next report is from our NEWMA organization. The Newark Management Association would like to thank teachers and staff for all the work that is being completed during this COVID-19 crisis. Thank you teachers for your collaboration and hard work in planning distance learning, as well as your communication with your families and students. NEWMA would also like to thank the community businesses that are providing meals to our students multiple times each week. Principals are working together to support their sites with distance learning, virtual meetings, Chromebook distribution, and helping families obtain internet access. During this unprecedented time, we will continue to reach out to families to ensure everyone is doing well and being safe. Please follow your school's social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter for ongoing messages and support. Thank you.

[2251] SPEAKER_43: Can I ask real quick if there was a specific individual from NEWMA that made that report just for the record?

[2258] SPEAKER_31: That would be the NEWMA president, Ms. Catheerine Ingham-Watters.

[2265] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. I did see your hand, Member Castillo. Ms. Aquino, those are the only two reports we have? I'm sorry, I apologize. I thought there were three. Yes, correct. Thank you. Okay. Thank you so much for the organizations that submitted reports. And again, we cannot express how grateful we are to our classified, to our certificated, to our NEWMA partners, every single one that is doing something that can't just because of the shelter in place, but is thinking about our kids and the team. Just thank you so much for that. With that, we move to item 11, old business. The first item is 11.1, which is the superintendent search update. And for this, we will be having our McPherson folks join us. Oh, there's Bill Hewitt. And I believe, Ms. Aquino, you're going to go ahead and give them access to speak. Welcome, Bill and Dan.

[2345] SPEAKER_18: now can you hear me now yes all right we're back in all right okay and do we also have my colleague I'm right here bill well we'll go ahead and get started if the president of board and the board members are ready yes please go ahead and get started all right Well, first of all, we want to thank Charlene for doing such a wonderful job of putting things together for us. We've done a lot of work with the district in the last couple of weeks virtually with interviewing groups of employees, 43 in total over the course of, I think, Charlene, nine different interview sessions. And that couldn't have been done without her great help. So Charlene, we both Dan and I and McPherson Jacobson really want to thank you for the great work you're doing with this.

[2403] SPEAKER_17: Yeah. Thank you.

[2406] SPEAKER_18: We have three things to go over with you tonight. And we can answer any questions that you might have about the process. First, tonight's the second regular board meeting that we attend that we will go over with you will give you a progress update on what the stakeholders have said. We have not finished with the stakeholders yet. We have planned to do that next week. Of course, it's taken a little bit longer than we thought because of the closing of schools, but we're making great progress with it. We'll give you an update tonight on the four questions that we ask everybody. We also tonight will talk to you about the progress of the interview process and that will be talking about how do we now start to think about the interview itself. We'll talk to you about some options about how to hold the interview. We'll also start you on the formation of a stakeholder panel to interview candidates that occurs simultaneously or in the same time as you do the candidates, but not in the same venue. And then finally, we'll very briefly talk about questions for your interview. We have to start thinking about what questions to ask for your interview. But we will not get into specifics of them tonight, so it will only take a couple of minutes. So I'd like to start by going over what we heard from your staff primarily. We have now, I think, completed our meetings with your different staff. And as I mentioned, we've had several meetings. We've met with executive cabinet. We've met with two meetings, actually, with classified management. We've met with the elementary principals. We've met with the secondary principals. We've met with the Teachers Union or DTA and we have met with CSCA or the Classified Union. Dan, have I missed anybody there?

[2536] SPEAKER_17: I think I got them all. You got them all.

[2538] SPEAKER_18: All right. And so what we will do and have completed is a draft of what each of those groups have said. And we have forwarded that to Charlene, and she can send that on for your reading after the meeting or in the next few days. It's not complete yet. We still need to get some community input. And add that to our summary, but we have a verbal summary of what we've heard so far for the four questions that we asked. And so I'll just simply go through that. Now I'll also ask Dan if he has any other comments. On these on any of these four areas, but I'll go through it and then we'll be glad to take any questions and comments that you might have the four questions to remind you are what's good about your community. What are some good things about your school district and schools. What are the issues that the next superintendent should be aware of to as they come into a district, the district. And then finally the traditional question, what are the skills attributes and characteristics that you're looking for in a superintendent as we ask your stakeholders. So let's start with the first one. What are some good things about your community? And it was pretty consistent here. People said, well, it's a small and tightly knit community. There's a long history of the community and the school district. There are a lot of people that live in this community that have lived here all their life and went to the schools. Likewise, there's a high percentage of people that work for the school district that lived in the community all of their life. The teacher said it was 25 percent, that's quite high. Classified representative as more than half. Both of those statistics are very high statistics for having the number of people in the school system, school employees that actually live in the community. Um, very, the employees were very generous with saying the help that they receive from the community is substantial and it is well received and it's appreciated. There is a lot of support for the schools, people are willing to participate. Businesses oftentimes will donate money and resources to the schools as do individuals. People stay involved even after their students graduate from the system. Another characteristic that came up, and so there's always a pitch in to help. Somebody described the community as Mayberry. And if you remember Andy of Mayberry, I think it's a community that's friendly and warm and always there to help. One other interesting aspect that was brought up in many meetings is that the community is growing, that there are a number of new dwellings that are being built on different edges of the city, condominiums, some homes, and the question is, what will that mean for the future? The second question that we have is, what are some good things about the school district? And the first things that we heard, and we heard consistently, was the dedication and the devotion of the staff. Many of the staff have been here a long time. I already mentioned that many of them actually went to school in the school district. That the staff work collaboratively well together within their entity, maybe not between schools so much, Other, but certainly with at a school, and in a department, people work together quite well. The smallness of this district is, and schools, is seen as a positive. It helps people get to solutions quickly and implement changes that need to be made fairly quickly because there aren't so many different levels, if you will, of decision making that you have to go through. There's a loyalty of the staff. There's a loyalty to the school district. Many staff members said, you know, I probably could have gone somewhere else and maybe even made a few more dollars, but I really like the environment here. So I chose to have my career here. Many of the groups said there's a camaraderie amongst us. Another very positive thing that came out about the school district is that staff and the schools are vested in their students. This is a student-centered place that people are looking to what they can do for students and oftentimes classified as well as certificated will go out of their way to really help a student succeed. It's a caring staff and again the smallness of the school district is pointed to as a real positive because that smallness leads to more deep and lasting relationships. Now the issues, and I like to say that these are obviously are always a little more controversial, but we always, every school district and every school has issues. And it's important for us to bring the issues forward while we do this search because of the match. We want to find the right person to lead the district and We, there are different leaders that have different skill sets and are able to address different problems more effectively so that's why we go through what the problems are of the school district, and we are, I'm pleased to say that your staff and the people we interviewed, while being very supportive of the school district. Also, we're not shy in telling us the concerns. And that's a good thing. Sometimes I'll go into an environment and there'll be an environment of sometimes a worry or a fear, or maybe even there might be a fear of retribution and people won't talk. But your staff, because they love their school district, did want to talk about the issues that they deal with. So here are the ones that seem to consistently run through our work with the sessions that we had with your staffs. A budget was the one that came in to be number one easily and clearly that being in qualified status, having declining enrollment affects all parts of everything in the school district. And everybody recognizes that it's a significant problem and that it has to be solved. But in line with that also, there was a unanimity of belief that the tough solutions or the tough problems of budget haven't been addressed well, and that the district really needs a leader that can take these tough issues on, even though that may be controversial and problematic, and be able to help the board with this and help the school district find solutions and then implement them. There's also some concern that when solutions are found, the tough ones aren't or can't be implemented. Now, it's not really a criticism of necessarily the board. It's because the staff is saying we have a new board and they seem to be people that are very dedicated to doing the right thing and helping children. But it's just part of the culture that has happened over the last few leaders that the tough decisions have been tough to very difficult to bring forward with good recommendations and supportive information that would allow a board to make some of these tough decisions. You're not alone in this issue, by the way. This is a very common issue that we hear when districts are in tough budget times. Another area is the lack of experience in district level leadership positions. And that there's been a lot of turnover in district staff and a lot of the high-level administrative positions. People are fairly new to their jobs. And that there's been turnover over time too. I think there's been three superintendents in four years or something like that. The only other position that we find this concern come up is in the high school principal. That came up from across the board with a number of groups, didn't come from just the secondary folks at all, came from a number of groups saying we've noticed that we've had a lot of high school principals and that turnover or that revolving door of leadership does not lead to stability. And that's where the concern and the issue comes is that if we keep changing people, new leaders come in and they have a set of initiatives, and then we're conscientious, we go ahead and Implement those initiatives, but then we got a new leader, you know, a couple years later, a whole nother set of initiatives come in and and it may not be that we've assessed that what we just implemented and now we're trying something quite new and different that leads leads to. fatigue, change fatigue on the staff's part, and an issue with morale because staff don't really know if the work that they're doing is making a difference. And so this lack of stability is a big issue in the school district from what your staff tells us. Dan, did you want to elaborate on that one?

[3168] SPEAKER_17: Well, I think you've covered it quite well. And I think the whole issue of stability and folks with some background in the areas that they're working in, and all of that. One of the pieces I think tied into that is that we heard several times is that there's the opportunity to work independently as a school site, which in some ways is beneficial, but we're not working as a school district. We're a district of schools, but we are not a school district. And that was something that kept coming up.

[3205] SPEAKER_18: And so to kind of go with that, we received a lot of feedback on this issue about trust across the board with all schools and responsiveness to all schools. And the feedback that we got was that it's somewhat dependent upon the relationship a school has with the school district, that some schools seem to get answers and responsiveness and some don't. And I don't think I know too much more about that, but I know I heard it in several groups. And so it's coupled also with an issue of trust in the district office and the issue of trust in the leader in the school district about this independence, like Dan said, is kind of nice in some ways. But in the other ways, if you're kind of out there on your own, it's kind of survival of the fittest. I know we heard that a couple of times. If you're out there and you do the right things, that's fine. But if something goes wrong, well, then you're on your own and you're somewhat overly criticized and punished, according to the feedback that we've heard. And so in some cases, people said they thought that some healing in this case needs to happen. So we think that this is an issue, is this consistency of support from the district office to sites and a consistency of responsiveness to all sites and probably the ability to become more stable and more supportive to develop all leadership across the board. Dan, I'll let you jump in on that one as well.

[3325] SPEAKER_17: Well, I think what folks were really looking for is kind of this sense of team. And it goes back to what I said just a moment ago, that we're all in this together. While there are individual sites, these are all of our students, not those are your students, those are your students, these are our students. And we should all be working together for their benefit.

[3348] SPEAKER_18: Now, there were some other issues that came up amongst all the other groups and amongst many of the groups. And I'll go through those, probably not in as much detail. You can certainly read the report. There is an issue of facilities and having facilities well maintained. And especially, there is some bond money left, but there is There's an issue about has the bond money been spent where the real critical needs are or is it just spent on who is the loudest. There is an issue about listening to the loudest voice as opposed to doing what's the greatest need for students. And I thought that this was well articulated many different staff groups that there are some community members that are at a lot of board meetings and will be pushing or lobbying strongly or loudly either a point or something that either they need at their school or they think should occur. And there is at least a perception, if not a reality, that this happens, that the district is more reactive to that than rather than having solid plans and solid solutions to student learning needs that should take front seat. So that's not an unusual thing in a school district, but we heard that quite a bit. So I think we would say that that was one of the significant issues that occurs. Um, certainly having been superintendent in Berkeley for five years I understand that issue quite well. We had, we had a lot of folks that had, you know, had their agendas that we had to listen to, um, they. I think that pretty well through the major ones here, there is certainly a lot of folks that said that they really want a leader, they need a leader who listens well, and who not only will perfunctory sort of hear it, but really will do something with what is heard. So that seems to be a need that people have.

[3493] SPEAKER_17: Okay. I think Bill, there's two key points that you've alluded to several times. The first being building a community of trust. Right. And then really addressing morale. Right.

[3507] SPEAKER_18: Yeah. And the staff kind of says dressing morale and somebody who is a healer. So yeah, yeah. And that's a tough, that's not an easy role because any leader has got to be a doer as well. But, but I think that the staff is clearly saying we need to, and I think Dan, you said this, we really need a person that's sensitive to relationships and to people's needs. Okay. Any, anything else Dan on the, on the issues?

[3531] SPEAKER_17: I think you've got it covered. Okay.

[3533] SPEAKER_18: All right, we want to we want to talk about now what people are looking for in their next superintendent and these oftentimes mirror. What the issues are so they're looking for a people person they are looking for somebody who will build staff morale and build trust. They want to make sure that this was said over and over again. Somebody that has a proven track record and that is successful in getting things done. So that's at play too, is that there's a feeling that, not only feeling, but there's evidence from staff that say that we really don't accomplish things and then evaluate them and then make sure that they're well grounded. We need somebody who has got a track record of being able to improve instruction, being able to implement programs and fully assess them.

[3584] SPEAKER_17: And Bill, I think it's important to say with that, there was frequently a qualifier that it doesn't need to be somebody who's been a superintendent. They can have a track record in whatever department or from wherever they come.

[3598] SPEAKER_18: That's right. Thank you, Dan. That's exactly right. Yeah, they said it's most important that we have somebody that knows how to work in the political arena and knows how to work with staff to bring people together to get things accomplished. And somebody that isn't bringing in constant change. A lot of people said the next leader should build on what is here and what is successful here. Somebody who's vested in the district, this came up consistently and it didn't surprise me given the town nature of your school district is that, and we heard this from the board too, is that they really want to have somebody who is not treating this like a stepping stone, but is going to be here for a while. They recognize that this superintendent needs to be here for at least five years and wants to be here, doesn't want to be here just to move on to the next spot. And I know we can't say you must live in the district, but many people said the person needs to be involved in the district and the community. They need to be visible. They need to go to school sites. A couple of folks said, gee, it'd be great if they shot baskets on the playground with the kids and visited school sites frequently. So that visibility, being a part of schools, being a part of the culture of the community is important. They want somebody who is inclusive and knows educational equity, it's a diverse school district, and it's very important to be able to really to have experience in working with cultural diversity and able to lead in that environment of equity. They want somebody who can manage outspoken people effectively and work at the same time with the board in that environment. They want somebody with follow-through. There you go again, somebody who can implement things and follow through with them, not only hear a problem and talk about it, but do something about it. They want somebody who is straightforward and tactful. I thought that was an interesting combination I heard from One particular group of folks is they say, we just really need what to know, what the real thing is. What is the real issue and problem? And tactfully, what are we going to do about it? They do want an effective communicator. I think we've talked about that. But another aspect of that is they want somebody that can represent the school district well. Somebody that can market this district, can in public talk about the wonderful things going on in the district. They recognize that your school district competes with your neighbors for students. And in this day and age, you know the leader needs to be able to present the school district in a very positive light in the public and be a very accomplished speaker and communicator. They want somebody who values all employees. And I missed, I did miss something, I missed that this classified employees felt very strongly. And we talked to a couple of groups of classified employees, management, I think actually three, right Dan? and the union. And classified by and large is concerned that they're not heard, that they are second class employees, that they don't get as much attention or heard as well as a certificated staff.

[3809] SPEAKER_17: And so- A very strong feeling of feeling underappreciated.

[3813] SPEAKER_18: Underappreciated. Yeah. Yeah. Underappreciated. And there were a few examples given. And so then somebody also said they want someone who can put problems out there with solutions that are supported and then acted upon whoever said that had the whole they had the whole thing I think in one sentence. And Dan, you got it. You got it in 20 words or less. They also said another quote that came forward. They want someone who helps everyone around them get better. And I think they cited Larry Bird, the basketball player, right, that did that. So I really appreciated that. Then finally, the last quote that I had to have, somebody who has communication upfront about what can and can't be done. Again, there's that honesty and forthrightness, straight talk, if you will, and be honest about why a decision is being made. Those are the characteristics and attributes. We really enjoy talking with your staff. You really have some very talented people on your staff. and very supportive of the school district. You know, I never felt in the interviews that anybody was, you know, out to harm anybody or anything. They just want, you know, a better situation working so that kids can get more. So I was very impressed with, one, their ability and their care for your great school district.

[3908] SPEAKER_17: And what I would just add to that is, number one, we heard repeatedly about the real desire for, let's focus on students. That needs to be our primary focus that came up over and over again. And I think the piece that was interesting to me as we met with these different groups separately, But they were all consistent in what they said. There was no one group that was like, well, they have obviously got an issue here. No, they were all consistent what Bill shared, we heard from every group.

[3939] SPEAKER_18: Yeah, I that's a really good point, Dan, because I don't always get there. I've done a lot of these, as you know, and I don't always get the consistency that I got here. There was a lot of consistency from folks and So that's probably because of, you know, the smallness and that people are talking to each other and do work with each other and have, you know, a common commonality of purpose. So, yeah. Okay, do you have any questions for?

[3970] Elisa Martinez: Member Nguyen?

[3975] Phuong Nguyen: So, I took like several pages of notes, so hold on. So on the budgeting issue, I was wondering if on the tough solutions, if they had an example for us to like really hone in.

[3998] SPEAKER_18: They do they the example and nobody advocated for a solution necessarily but the example that came up was the closing of a school school that that and at the same time, many people like their small school so like I say I don't think I heard an advocacy but. But their perception of this is, OK, so there's a really tough problem. And the problem wasn't implemented, wasn't dealt with. It was just reacted to by the school district. That that may be, I don't know what a good solution would be for your budget problem. But that was the example that came forward. Dan, did you have any perspective on that?

[4033] SPEAKER_17: Well, you're absolutely right. That was the example. And what they want along with that was about this piece on decision making. And what they're saying is that we want somebody who can make decisions and be transparent about how they went about making the decisions. And even if it's not popular, of course, right now people say this when they're not up against something, but They would prefer somebody who can make the unpopular decisions that they may not agree with, but they know how they made it and they're willing to stand strong. That's what they want. They want a decision maker.

[4066] SPEAKER_18: Yep, they do. And they also want somebody that can work with the board on this too. There were a number of people that said, you know, we have a new board and they're going to need an experienced superintendent. Not, when I say experienced superintendent, they didn't say they must have been a superintendent, but an experienced administrator is a better way of saying it. who as a superintendent knows how to work with the board, how to support them in the recommendations that come forward that are the best. So that was also mentioned quite a bit.

[4101] Phuong Nguyen: I really appreciate the feedback because a lot of times, you know, in situations like this where we have some or have been having some turnover or staff feels like There's been low morale, it's really important that they're able to articulate how they feel and their needs and wants, and it's really important for us, all of us to really listen to that because they don't get these opportunities, often, and, and so I, I, you know, For me personally, it has great value. So I really appreciate that. Thank you.

[4141] SPEAKER_18: We really, I think, as I mentioned when we were talking to you about this firm at the very beginning, we take this whole part of the process to heart. I work for other firms that do searches. And I really like our firm because we really get into it with them. And we spend a lot of time. And we publish this, too. So we let them know that. This isn't just something you're saying to us and it's going to fall on deaf ears. We're going to be talking to the board about it. We're going to be using this as we find the right person. And it's going to be put in print. So yeah, I agree with you. It's very important, and especially to do it at this time.

[4181] SPEAKER_17: And I want to reinforce the notion that, in fact, this is where we are right now in gathering data. There will be more to come. So if you see this particular document, it's not done. This document won't change in terms of the responses, but we'll have more to add to it.

[4197] Elisa Martinez: That's correct. We have a few stakeholder groups still that we need to hear from. Member Gutierrez.

[4209] SPEAKER_35: Thank you, and I also kind of just also want to say thank you for all your work and to give us, at least for me, that comfort of knowing that we are also on the same track and on the same page of what the community you currently spoke with, what they currently want is what we are seeking as well. So it's good. It makes me feel very comfortable that at least in the conversations that we've had, we are looking for somebody in a similar role, characteristics, et cetera. Thank you.

[4250] Elisa Martinez: Anybody else from the board would like to comment? Same here. I would like to echo member Gutierrez's comments. Of course, not only hearing or knowing that we're hearing from our stakeholders, but just, again, how aligned we all are. And maybe it is because we're small or we can kind of put our arms, if you will, around our district. It is, we're aligned in terms of what we need. I'd be concerned if, as a board, had given you a bunch of other requirements and everybody else felt differently. So I see a lot of consistency, and that is very encouraging that we are aligned with our folks.

[4294] SPEAKER_18: If I can, as you go back and look at the criteria work that we did about a month and a half ago, it does line up with your criteria very closely.

[4302] SPEAKER_17: Very nicely.

[4306] Elisa Martinez: I think we're, I don't see anybody requesting to speak. So next steps. Okay.

[4312] SPEAKER_18: Let's talk about next steps. So we're getting into the phase now with the job coming close to closing. We've been talking to candidates. We're starting to vet them. I think as I looked last time, we had 12 candidates. Most of the candidates turned their applications in within the last week. So, you know, if that's the case, I think we will have a pretty good numbers of pool we're doing some recruiting for you. I have talked to a couple of very good candidates I do believe both I think one has applied and another one is going to. So we're out there beating the bushes saying what a great opportunity and indeed it is for somebody. We plan then to come back to you on, I think it was, I had it right here, it's May 5th, am I right at that? Let me see, gotta find yours, we gotta find.

[4374] SPEAKER_17: Yes, I'm saying yes.

[4377] SPEAKER_18: Is that right? May 5th. May 5th, we have a board meeting set. And this is a long meeting because we will, in closed session, go over all of the information that we have on all of the candidates so that you can select the people that you want to interview. So then the next thing are the interviews. We have those scheduled for the 19th and 20th of May. Now I've been told that the 19th of May is the school services workshop on the governor's May revise, which is gonna be critical this year. So we may wanna move that date away from the 19th to maybe the 20th and 21st or something, but let's hold on to that issue for a minute. That's a conflict that was unforeseen. The question that we have for you is traditionally we do face-to-face interviews and we don't think that by May 19th and 20th or the middle of May or even the end of May that we're gonna be ready to have at least a group of stakeholders get together and interview candidates. So we're recommending that at least with the stakeholders that we do a virtual interview with our candidates, that we do not have the aspect of having candidates come to the district and have meals with board members because I think that also is probably gonna be going too far at that time. And also then some options on how does the board interview. Now let me, let me talk to you about, I've been asking around with other consultants, and with our home office and with other districts about how they're interviewing most people for principal positions and district office positions are interviewing virtually over the internet. This is the superintendent position you really want to know that you know the candidates some places for superintendent. are doing both. They're interviewing virtually and then they get a finalist and then the board meets with that finalist in a second round of interviews and they do it face to face with a big room and they spread out. Some places are doing all of their board interviews in a big room all spread out with the candidates. So I think you have to give us direction, Charlene and Dana and myself, direction on what you feel would be the way to go. I think as a minimum, you really will need to have your stakeholders do this virtually. And I think we can work that out really well. I think that having now worked with, you're listening to your different employee groups. I think they're very skilled at being able to use the internet. So then it comes to the point about how is it that you wish to go ahead and interview the candidates?

[4577] SPEAKER_35: If I may suggest at this point, I think we have to just opt for the side of of safety and everything should stay virtual at this point.

[4590] Elisa Martinez: Okay. Member Gutierrez stated what I was about to state. So yeah, I wouldn't assume that we would do any in person.

[4599] SPEAKER_18: Okay. All right. Anybody else? I think that's actually what most districts are doing. Most of the people I talk to are doing a virtual interview, even for their superintendent. There's one district that I'm currently working with that's gonna do that, and then for their final candidate, before they offer the contract, the president and one other member of the board are going to meet with that person just to confirm things and meet the person personally. Okay, all right. So you may choose to you may choose to do that at the end and you can you can decide that later if that's what you want. Okay, well, we'll go down. We'll go down with this. I questions also come up is should we delay this and we think no we think now you're you're a well into this and you're doing very well as a district, we've got everything in place out there, and you've got people interested in your school district. You know, your employees want to have a permanent superintendent, that was clear to us, don't you think Dan?

[4659] SPEAKER_17: Yes, definitely.

[4661] SPEAKER_18: Yeah, yeah, yeah, they volunteered, they volunteered that, you know, your employees said, you know, we know we need a superintendent, we need somebody who's going to be here for us for a good period of time too. Yeah.

[4673] Elisa Martinez: Okay. Absolutely, no, appreciate that, appreciate the input. Of course, you know, all of us, whether we are on the board or as district staff, you know, all or, you know, at any level of the organization, I think we're all asking that, you know, from a timing perspective, not just for this, but just everything, there's just so much uncertainty. I very much appreciate the guidance in the process and the input. And I'm sure we'll be connecting, you know, in the in the next several days as you continue with the stakeholder meetings, anything that you need from us. Oh, I'm sorry. Did you want to speak about the survey that there's some links out there.

[4717] SPEAKER_18: Okay, sorry. Okay, go ahead. One of them is going to take some time. Okay. So with the stakeholder group that's going to interview, that is a board committee and you have to take action to name them. Okay. So the last time we talked, you talked about having staff members and community members on a stakeholder panel. I think of about 10 people and given that we're doing it virtually, I think it's probably good to limit it to nine or 10 people. And from our standpoint, this is a representative group. So you're going to want to have some people from the teachers unions and people from the classified union and some administrators on that panel. And likewise, you may want to have a student on the panel. And likewise, you're going to want to have some people from the community on the panel. And what we would recommend is that you have at least three teachers, because you really want teachers from different levels. And normally, a board will ask their union to bring those people forward. I believe you need at least two classified, and sometimes districts want to have as many classified as teachers for, you know, to show that both groups are important. And again with classified you want folks that are from different jobs you don't want, you don't want. As much as I love them, you don't want three school secretaries as the three classified, okay? Or three district office classified, you know? And then you want at least probably two administrators. And typically, you have one district level administrator and one site principal doing that. So I'd like to hear if the board thinks that's fine. And then we'll go to the community side.

[4837] Elisa Martinez: All right, I was just taking some notes. And I'm fine with that. Any comments from any other thoughts from the rest of the board? I'm seeing heads shaking, so I think that sounds good.

[4849] SPEAKER_18: Good, good. That's how we typically do it. And we'll get to work on it with Charlene. Now, you want some, some community representation on this panel and I and I would suggest you have it. You know you're gonna have eight staff members now so I would suggest you have at least four. That does take us to 12 but I think it's that it's still fine at 12 I don't want to go higher than that but I would say at least four community people. Boards do this different ways. Sometimes the board members appoint one each. Sometimes you ask who is interested and you put all the names in a hat for equity purposes and you draw names out. A lot of boards do it that way. Then sometimes you have different organizations that you want represented. you know, like DELAC and your PTAs. And so then you go to those organizations and say, you know, why don't you put one person, you choose who you want to have on it. So those are the three different ways that boards do it. The one that tends to be the fairest and the most equitable is to simply say, you all come and we'll pick four people randomly to do it. The upside of that is that everybody has a fair shot at giving you input. And that is important that everybody's got an opportunity to do it. The downside is that you don't necessarily get representation from every corner of the district. Yeah.

[4940] Elisa Martinez: How would you like? Yep, sorry, before I remember Rodriguez, did you have a comment? You're on, you're on mute, right? Mr. Kino, can you can you unmute member Rodriguez?

[4959] Ray Rodriguez: There we go. I just wanted to ask what your idea is on having student representation on, you know, it's on this particular panel.

[4970] SPEAKER_18: I think it's a good idea. I think it's really good to do it. And oftentimes, the board will put the board rep on there. And I would encourage you to do that. It's always good. I'll tell you why. Oftentimes, I've seen that a student has a certain perspective, and nobody else had that perspective. It's amazing. It's amazing. So I like the idea of having a student on the panel.

[4994] SPEAKER_17: It's almost the same reason you don't want just educators on the panel. You want to make sure that there's a representation of your classified folks and people outside of the school system, as well as the student. They come with a different perspective, that if we live in the world of education, we only see education. We need people outside to help us see a bigger vision.

[5016] Ray Rodriguez: Thank you.

[5018] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Member Rodriguez. Yeah, I agree. I think that we definitely would want a student voice. Coming back to the question about the community members, you know, in terms of how we select, I mean, I'll speak and then I'll certainly let, or does anybody else want to weigh in before I weigh in on that? I was going to react to your suggestion, Mr. Hewitt, which is just, you know, for folks to submit and we just make it random. I think that that would be the fairest way. Hopefully we would get a good cross section, if enough folks from the different groups, but that would be where I would lead or lean.

[5063] SPEAKER_18: It certainly is the most equitable way of doing it is to have it be a random selection.

[5072] Elisa Martinez: I don't see any other comments. Next item.

[5075] SPEAKER_18: Okay, the final item I think unless Dan I missed something is that we need to start thinking about the questions that you're going to ask now here in the next week or so I'm going to be sending out a list of recommended questions that are aligned To your criteria, you might remember that we align your questions to your criteria, but there'll be more than you need. So I will want you to prioritize or make up your own question about what would be the best question for that criteria. and then to submit that back to us through Charlene, and we'll come forward at the third meeting with a set of questions that we're recommending from your feedback. Of course, you can modify them then if you wish as well. Now, the questions that you don't use, we will use with the stakeholders. Obviously, with the stakeholders, we won't have as much opportunity to build a set of questions for them. We will have them meet together with us beforehand, an hour before we start interviewing, and we'll go ahead and give them a set of questions that we recommend and let them modify them or add or delete what they wish to do. Now we have two ways of, since we're doing all of this virtually, we have two ways that we could organize this during the interview sessions. On one day, we could interview the stakeholder folks. And then on the second day, we could go ahead and have you interview the candidates. Or we can do a round robin sort of thing in the morning. Some go with the interview group and some come with us. I don't think you need to make that decision right now. It will largely be dependent upon how many candidates you have. So we'll address that in the third meeting. And that, I think, Dan, unless I missed something, that checks everything off of my list. Do you have anything?

[5198] SPEAKER_17: I think it checks everything off. Note that we're still interviewing folks. We're still going to be collecting the surveys. So we still have more input coming. And I think, Bill, you've covered everything.

[5210] SPEAKER_18: OK. And we still have about a week and a half before it closes.

[5218] Elisa Martinez: Oh, I'm not on mute. Thank you. Thank you so much. Any comments or questions from the board? If not, I'd like to thank you. Thank you. Oh, sorry. Member Rodriguez.

[5235] Ray Rodriguez: No, it was my understanding that your presentation was going to take about 20 minutes. You sure took a long time.

[5242] SPEAKER_18: We took a little bit of time. Yep. Sorry about that. I think we said we said a half an hour. It takes longer when we're not in person.

[5251] Chery Villa: That's right.

[5256] Elisa Martinez: Well, see what did I do here? Um, no, just thank you so much. Mr. Hewitt and Mr. morale. And I look forward to have much more input from our stakeholders and you bringing us just that information forth. We will absolutely work with you on the next, you know, we'll call practical steps. So thank you so much for your report today.

[5282] SPEAKER_17: It's our pleasure. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you all.

[5284] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Thank you.

[5292] Jodi Croce: All right.

[5294] Elisa Martinez: And this this this did take a little longer than we expected. So we will try to move right along here. 11.2 School Consolidation Advisory Committee. I will hand this over to you Superintendent Salinas.

[5312] SPEAKER_27: Yes, thank you. As you know, this is a returning item per board direction around alternates. And we wanted to bring this forward for your review, any further input. And Ms. Dela Cruz is here to answer any questions.

[5327] Maria Huffer: Thank you.

[5330] Elisa Martinez: And the recommended action here is the approval of the committee composition and charge. I apologize. Any questions from any of the board members?

[5347] SPEAKER_35: I have a comment I'd like to make. Yes. I wanted to suggest that we add a word and so to that end I was gonna request that we that I make an amended motion. But since we are talking about this right now, what I wanted to include in the if we're looking at the document itself right where it says committee composition. Currently, it says the board will appoint all members of the committee, which include the following. I just wanted to include the word may so that it would read which may include the following reason being is as we continue as we look in at the at the document part of it says and we're sorry as we're looking at the document part regarding the alternates part of it does say that if a member Mrs. The second meeting, they will not be the alternate would not would not be or would not be replaced. So to that end, we could possibly be missing a category. And I wouldn't want us to be restricted by our wording. So that is why I'm asking that we include the word may.

[5426] Elisa Martinez: OK, and I am Member Gutierrez, I am looking at that section. Can you repeat again which sentence is the one that you'd want it to be modified?

[5440] SPEAKER_35: Yes, the title it says committee composition and the first sentence reads the board will appoint all members of the committee, which I want to include may include the following. OK.

[5463] Elisa Martinez: Any student member Castillo?

[5473] SPEAKER_43: It was my understanding. Just to clarify, we did already approve the composition of the committee at the last meeting, correct?

[5485] Elisa Martinez: I believe so. My understanding was that it was really the alternate process that we were going to add to this. Go ahead.

[5496] SPEAKER_35: If I can add to this, we I believe we only approve the members because the alternate has to be part of the composition. So that's why I believe that's why the entire thing is coming back to us, the entire composition. OK.

[5512] Joy Lee: Right. That's right.

[5517] Elisa Martinez: OK, so We actually, I skipped a step, which is a motion to begin discussion. So we don't have a motion on the table. The actual, the requirement, or the, I'm sorry, the proposed action is the recommended approval in the composition and charge as in the document as is.

[5543] SPEAKER_35: So we form a motion and then have to rescind it. If it's okay with you, I would just, I would be, I would like to make an amended motion.

[5553] Elisa Martinez: Okay, does anybody have any concerns with the ask of member Gutierrez?

[5561] Phuong Nguyen: No, I don't.

[5565] Elisa Martinez: With that, may I ask for a motion and a second? And member Gutierrez, if you'd like to make the motion.

[5574] SPEAKER_35: I would like to make the motion that we accept the commit, let me, sorry, let me just look at the exact word that way. of the current get on the agenda. Okay, I would like to make a motion that we approve the school consolidation Advisory Committee composition charge with the addition of the word may in the specified section.

[5608] Ray Rodriguez: I'll second that.

[5611] Elisa Martinez: And I will ask Ms. Aquino, did you capture the motion?

[5619] SPEAKER_31: Yes, I did. Thank you.

[5624] Elisa Martinez: All right. Does anybody need the motion repeated or are we OK to move forward on a vote? Are any other questions regarding this item? If not, I will go ahead and ask for a vote. Member Gutierrez?

[5650] Julienne Sumodobila: Yes.

[5652] Elisa Martinez: Member Zhang?

[5653] Joy Lee: Aye.

[5656] Elisa Martinez: Member Rodriguez?

[5658] Joy Lee: Yes.

[5659] Elisa Martinez: Member Nguyen? Yes. And I vote yes as well. Motion carries with five ayes.

[5671] SPEAKER_43: If I may add real quick, my vote was supposed to be taken first on that as well, I believe.

[5678] Elisa Martinez: Yes, I apologize. You should have been the first to vote. How do you vote as a member Castillo?

[5685] SPEAKER_42: I vote yes.

[5687] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. And I write myself a big old note right now. Apologize. Give me one second here. Next item on the agenda is 12.1 Declaration of Need for Fully Qualified Educators. Ms. Salinas.

[5730] SPEAKER_27: Yes, thank you. This new business item is an annual exercise and form that is required by the California, the CTC, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. It's an annual process that must take place before June 30th. And we bring it forward to be able to, in case we need a teacher with this type of credential, this allows us to be able to hire this type of credential.

[5760] Elisa Martinez: And before you proceed, I will ask for a motion and a second as I try to bring us back to procedure. It's a little different here, but that is also the sequence that will play out. And I will ask Ms. Aquino if we have any speaker requests on this particular item. So before we open further discussion, may I have a motion and a second to discuss item 12.1?

[5788] SPEAKER_43: I move that we approve the declaration of need for fully qualified educators.

[5795] Elisa Martinez: May I have a second? I second. Thank you. Ms. Aquino, do we have any speaker cards on this item?

[5805] SPEAKER_31: We have one speaker. Thank you. One comment. Comment on Item 12.1 Declaration of Need for Fully Qualified Educators comment was submitted by Miss Rachel Bloom. Hello board members and executive cabinet. This comment is coming from Rachel Bloom the SRT at Graham and Schilling. First I would like to wish those celebrating a happy Passover. I hope to watch this meeting and hear my comments read after this evening's sedar. I read the Declaration of Need for Fully Qualified Educators document. It says that NUSD has been conducting a diligent search for teachers. Methods that can include distributing job announcements contacting college and university placement centers advertising in local newspapers exploring incentives participating in state and regional recruitment centers and participation in job fairs in California. I really hope our Director of Human Resources has diligent in her search to fill positions with quality fully credentialed candidates. I remember that when I was in my credential program at UC Berkeley the NUSD HR director at that time came and talked to my class. That was the first time I had heard of Newark and I am a Bay Area native. It is important that we have a capable and competent person to search for candidates. Not only that but we need a human resources director that treats people like humans and not resources that can be easily replaced. We know that quality teachers will leave Newark if they are treated poorly by district office and site-based leadership. And teachers have. I highly encourage the board to once again make it very clear about what their expectations for behavior professionalism and values are when it comes to the kind of employees they want in NUSD. Thank you for your time and COG SMIAC. That is the only comment.

[5932] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Ms. Aquino. And with that, I'll hand it back to Superintendent Salinas, and I'll hand it back to the board if there's any additional questions.

[5945] SPEAKER_27: Yes, I know I had a couple of questions about the note on the BCLAD certified waiver. What I want to share with you is as we are moving forward with the building of our dual immersion program, and yes, within the pandemic, Dr. Wendy is working on this and we're meeting actually tomorrow as well to look at applications from our families. But I want to note that the reason why we have a waiver there is twofold. Number one, a person who holds a B-clad is essentially able to teach A class certified class English learners and a bilingual class or a deal I class so that gives flexibility to a district, but I think as it speaks to Newark it's this. we know that we currently have some teachers who have shared interest in wanting to teach these classes. And as we move forward through the process of within the contract of how to really assign and award this class to a teacher, we know that some of our teachers who are veteran, long-standing, long-serving Newark Unified teachers may need this other authorization, which is essentially a test or it's three additional classes. And so we want to be able to have that flexibility for our own Newark teachers to be able to get that. So our goal is not to have to use this waiver. Our goal, like any other school district at this time of the year, is to be able to have the flexibility so that we can support our veteran tenure teachers, if that's the way they choose to go forward with applying for this DLI position.

[6047] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, members young.

[6050] Bowen Zhang: Yeah, so I want to follow up on what the superintendent just said. So this waiver is applying for two positional BCLAC credentials as a waiver. Is that we anticipate we need to BCLAC Spanish teacher, but in the case that we don't, we cannot hire them, then we have on-site teacher that can sort of stop in place for the two BCLAC teachers teaching the dual immersion program. Is that right?

[6078] SPEAKER_27: No, so and I know Ms. Saavedra is here. She can also chime in. But what I can share is this, because it's such a common practice. So first blush or first cut is that we want to serve our internal teachers first. So if there is a teacher who is fluent in Spanish, which we have some, and if there are some teachers who also want to teach the DLI, this would give an opportunity for them to be able to teach the class and then be able to do a waiver to give time to either take the test or do the class.

[6111] Bowen Zhang: I see. So that waiver is for our teacher who are bilingual, who want to teach the dual immersion program, to teach them without the B-class spanner, or they can allow them to, in the process, in the middle of the teaching, to pass the test and acquire the B-class credentials.

[6128] SPEAKER_27: Correct. And then if at second, if we were to look at, let's say we have no teachers that want to internally do that, and we don't have any internal teachers that have the B-CLAD, we would still advertise for the position with a B-CLAD because the best thing we could do is hire someone that already has the B-CLAD. Scenario three would be hiring someone from the outside who would need the be clad waiver. That is the last case scenario. We don't anticipate being there. But like all districts, we have to do this waiver now before June 30th to allow for the flexibility.

[6163] Bowen Zhang: PB, Harmon Zuckerman.

[6164] SPEAKER_33: PB, Lupita D Montoya. PB, Lupita D Montoya. PB, Harmon Zuckerman. PB, Harmon Zuckerman. unpaid leave of absences. So it covers a number of things, not just the BCLAD. And I know that we're utilizing, we're taking the opportunity to add two positions, possibly for a BCLAD person, but we're still in the midst of hiring someone. And just to get back to the comment from the public, we are obligated to do our due diligence to find and recruit highly qualified people, because that's one of the requirements that gets questioned by the commission. What have we done prior to going this route? So I just want to make sure that the board understands that we have to do our due diligence before we make this recommendation. And as you can see, I think we're asking for A couple of people in the B-Class, but the number is not huge because it's not the usual route that we go. We always are searching for the highly qualified teachers.

[6246] Bowen Zhang: So the first scenario, if I understand correctly, we will still go for scenario two, hire people outside with a B-Class credential. If we cannot do that, we find internal teachers who are interested in doing this. Is that right?

[6262] SPEAKER_33: Well, one of the things that we have to abide is our contract. And right now, even though we don't have, we possibly have one or two teachers that are not B-Club certified yet, but that have a plan. So that already puts them, already allows them to interview, should they choose to interview internally, we have to interview them first. and then ask them what their plan is in order to complete the BCLAD. And I think this is what Ms. Salinas was referring to. The two routes is taking the three extra classes that they need to take, which are in Spanish acquisition, or take the exam, which will be the much faster route to get certified.

[6305] Bowen Zhang: So the internal teachers with the CLAD credential takes precedence over outsider who has the BCLAD credentials?

[6313] Julienne Sumodobila: Yes.

[6315] Bowen Zhang: And speaking of the two B-Class credentials teacher, so we need two of them, because I remember we want to have four classes with that one. So all four of them are 50% English, 50% Spanish. That may get four multiplied by half is two. Is that right?

[6335] SPEAKER_33: That's right, because the people that will be teaching in Spanish need the bilingual class. But we already have CLAD people. Most of the people in our district are CLAD certified. And the CLAD meaning that they are certified to teach English language learners.

[6354] Bowen Zhang: OK, one last comment. I think before we fully go with the dual immersion program, I would like to have a more comprehensive update regarding the status and the current state of this dual immersion program for the board. OK.

[6370] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Member Zhang. I don't see any, oh, Member Gutierrez.

[6377] SPEAKER_35: Just to piggyback on what Member John said in regards to getting additional information. I think that's appropriate. I think getting an updated status on where we're at with that program. However, I don't think that we should stop everything until we get that presentation. If the process currently is still going then we should, but I would echo the ask of getting information or an update on that program or that status. Thank you.

[6413] Elisa Martinez: Thank you.

[6414] Phuong Nguyen: Member Nguyen. I too echo the same concerns as Member Zhang and Member Gutierrez. I would like to see something that's more concrete and also what is a little bit concerning is that We have to give precedence to internal staff before hiring someone who already is qualified to be teaching a dual immersion class, who carries a B-Clad. So I think I just need some clarification on that. And is it because it's in the contract? And there's no way that we can go around that. I mean, I'm all for promoting internally and everything like that. And I believe in that process, but at the same time, this is a new program that we're putting in place and I would like to see it succeed tremendously. And again, it goes back to all the needs and wants that we've had, that we wanna be able to put implement, be able to implement something that is going to be successful and have a proper evaluation process for it and see where that goes. and not just have a program and then see it unfold and not be successful.

[6495] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. I also wanted to comment on this item. And in fact, just full transparency, I had reached out to Superintendent Salinas. I think two points. One, I think everyone's touched on the dual immersion concerns. One is around the the due diligence that we thought we have followed in before we submit this, this declaration. So in the spirit of, you know, posting in the absence of posting, because I think from we're hearing from the processes, we would have had to gauge from our current staff, whether there's enough interest, I suppose that would, is that what would count as done being completing our due diligence and searching for, for candidates. before we go down the path of the declaration. For these particular positions, I understand and I get that this is a routine and request that we have to make to gain the flexibility. I think it was a fair question that was asked earlier about, have we done our due diligence in looking for particular internal candidates in this case, given the contract constraints?

[6573] SPEAKER_27: Yes. And if I could add, you know, a lot of folks don't know all of my background, but, you know, with my recent experience as an assistant superintendent of HR and my supervision of dual immersion schools across San Francisco Unified and Hayward, a bilingual, a BCLAD certified teacher is a very rare commodity. Like special education teachers, like science teachers, So what we're doing right now is a safeguard. You know, Ms. Saavedra would not be doing her job properly if she did not have a safeguard for our district. So ideally, you know, we want to make sure, and as we hear the commentary, we want to make sure that we're cultivating our own teachers and giving them this opportunity. The number one thing is going to be, are you fluent in Spanish? And so that's the part that we go through as we do the interviews. And then we start to also look at the pedagogy and practices that our teachers already do. So the good news is that we've got some really strong folks who have the pedagogy and practice and bonus, they're fluent English, Spanish speakers. And so, but we still have to go through the process. So again, it's a safeguard, but it's also comes from the experience of knowing that a B-Clad teacher is a pretty rare commodity. like a special education teacher, like a science teacher.

[6653] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. That's helpful. And then the second point is, I think you're hearing unanimity regarding seeing a report on dual immersion. I know that you have interest, but we don't know how big the interest is, where we are in the process. What's the plan? Specifically, we'd had a conversation with another board member, yourself and myself, regarding critical to success factors. And so I think that is one of the things that we're all expressing is we want this to succeed, but we haven't seen the plan. And we recognize that this was perhaps a mandate from a prior board or a prior folks that were on the board, different members. same boards, different members. So in the spirit of the current members on the board, we'd like to see that plan absolutely understanding what those critical success factors so that we can gauge whether we believe the right components are in place. And again, right now, specifically with what we're going through with a number of changes to the curriculum, given distance learning, This adds, of course, another layer of complexity. I'm sure that I'm not telling you something you don't know, but really emphasizes the need for us to see an update, ideally as early as next at the next regular board meeting.

[6746] SPEAKER_27: Oh, that's doable because we know we're on a timeline. And as I shared, applications are coming in and we want to be able to be responsive to our families. And so, yes, absolutely. We can give a definite status update, but also show you some of our upcoming points of progress.

[6769] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Any other comments? Okay. Well, with that, if member, Ms. Aquino, would you please repeat the motion on the table, please? You're muted. I'm sorry.

[6788] SPEAKER_31: Second by Member Wins.

[6793] Elisa Martinez: You cut out there for a little bit.

[6794] SPEAKER_31: Sorry. Motion to approve by student member Castillo, second by member Nguyen.

[6800] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Student member Castillo, how do you vote?

[6807] SPEAKER_42: I vote yes.

[6808] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Member Gutierrez? I vote yes. Member Zhang?

[6815] Bowen Zhang: Aye.

[6816] Elisa Martinez: Member Rodriguez?

[6818] Leonor Rebosura: Yes.

[6819] Elisa Martinez: Member Nguyen? Yes. And my vote is yes as well. Motion carries. Thank you. Next item is item 12.2, Child Abuse Prevention Month. Superintendent Salinas.

[6842] SPEAKER_27: Yes, thank you. April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. And as you know, all district employees are mandated reporters. but it goes beyond compliance. As we've been watching the news, a lot of times for some of our students, the safest place to be is at school. And so while we are suspending in-class instruction on school settings, we are particularly mindful of, as mandated reporters, we have to be vigilant and have communication with our students. So thank you to Human Resources. This resolution comes forward for your approval tonight. Thank you.

[6886] Elisa Martinez: Thank you for that. May I have a motion and a second to approve the staff recommendation to approve resolution 2065?

[6894] Ray Rodriguez: I'll make the motion.

[6899] Nancy Thomas: I'll second it.

[6899] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Any comments? If not, we'll ask for a vote. Member Zhang? Oh, sorry. I apologize. Sorry. Member Gutierrez?

[6915] SPEAKER_35: Sorry, yes, just one brief comment. Also echoing what Superintendent Salinas says, it's very important currently in our current situation that there are children at home and it does become more difficult for our teachers to know exactly what their status is. So it is going to be important that we on our end be more diligent and careful and really make a valid effort to try and touch every student so we can make sure that they are safe, that they are getting the education that they need, and and that we are well informed. Thank you.

[6953] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. So with that I will ask for a vote. One more comment, one more comment from member Nguyen. Oh sorry I apologize I didn't see you. Go ahead member Nguyen.

[6973] Phuong Nguyen: I just wanted to mention that today there was an email from Principal Neal at the junior high in regards to giving information out and in regards to that being that the counselors are available for questions and giving the information out for students to be able to email them so that they're going to be reaching out. So I think that's one avenue that is going to definitely help hopefully prevent some of if any, hopefully not any child abuse that is going on and help some of these kids to be able to reach out.

[7022] Elisa Martinez: Thank you for that. I will ask for a vote to approve. Student member Castillo, you had already voted, correct?

[7033] SPEAKER_43: Uh, no, but I'm sorry.

[7035] Elisa Martinez: Sorry. I was about to skip you earlier than member John. I remember Gutierrez. Yes. Remember Rodriguez?

[7047] Ray Rodriguez: Yes. Protect our kids.

[7050] Elisa Martinez: Remember when? Yes. And I vote yes as well. Motion carries. Yes, this is such an important. I think all of us are thinking about this. We know that in many cases, our schools are safe harbors for our children. So absolutely anything we can do to give resources to our teachers, to our counselors, you know, Superintendent Salinas, this is absolutely something I think that's near and dear in our hearts, certainly in our minds, but certainly in our hearts. And I know at the end of meeting, I know I have a request in terms of making sure we understand that we know all our kids accounted for, but I'll address it then. Thank you. Thank you so much.

[7098] SPEAKER_35: Member President Martinez, do we want to proceed with reading it or do we skip it at this point at this time?

[7105] Elisa Martinez: I actually was going to go ahead and skip it in the interest of time. Anybody have a concern if I go ahead and do that? Okay, moving on. I did not see any hands. So I will move on to item 12.3, resolution 2062, classified layoffs. Before we go ahead and get started on any more comments from staff, can I have a motion and a second to approve? Resolution 2062. I move.

[7152] SPEAKER_35: Member Gutierrez.

[7152] Elisa Martinez: I have a second. I second. Member Nguyen seconds. Miss Aquino, do we have any speaker cards on this item?

[7165] SPEAKER_31: Yes, we do. We have 10 speaker cards So in the interest of the 30 minute limit we are at 920 where I will begin the public comment on this item 12.3 classified layoffs. Comment is from Angela Lee. I would like to voice my concern about the five hundred thousand dollar cuts to classified staff. Classified has been already stretched thin and COVID-19 highlights the important work classified members are doing. The custodians help keep students and staff healthy. Food services feed the students even now. Library clerks are sharing resources with students staff and each other. I worry about what will happen when students return to school in the fall. Now is not the time to cut more classified. There will be a lot of work to be done. Here is just one example of the work a classified member will have upon return. I am BGI's library clerk. I serve about 450 students and their teachers. We currently have 600 books checked out. That totals about nine thousand dollars worth of books from the library's collection which we will need to be retrieved and accounted for. I expect a number of books will be lost or damaged. Some students will no longer be part of BGI and past experience shows that those books are rarely returned to the library. Furthermore the book fair the major source of funding for the library was canceled. So the library does not have the means to replace books for the students to study and enjoy. It will take time and effort to bring the library back to normal. and anything else would be a disservice to the students. I am the sole maintainer of the library at the site. There is no one else who can do my job. Realities like this and others I cannot conceive of exist among every position in the district without knowing what awaits students and staff upon return to normal. Cutting more classified members is not the right action. Classified members are already working with too few hours and workers. Please reconsider making the five hundred thousand dollar cuts to classified staff. Thank you. Next comment comes from Ms. Sue Eustis. I am so disappointed that the Newark Unified School Board is again going to correct their deficit spending money problems off the backs of the CSCA classified employees. In the Ryland report it was made very clear for the last 7 to 10 years the school board has continually laid off the CSCA classified employees to solve their spending problems. The board has made it very difficult for us to do our jobs. We do not have adequate staff now to keep our buildings clean and repaired. All of the substitute custodians work almost every day and on some days we don't have enough subs to cover and the schools are not cleaned that night. There is so much maintenance work to be done that they are having to work on weekends in order to get the work done. It's either that or contract the work which is even more expensive. We do not have enough food service employees to serve our kids in a timely fashion. These food service employees are not able to make their breaks. Many are getting injured. We're also having management employees help serve food almost every day to get the kids children fed. And I can go on and on. Please stop and think about what you are about to do. Continuing to make these cuts will be devastating to us. Please reconsider this action. Miranda Dinsmore. It is disappointing to see you are laying off classified positions after paying Ryland Consulting for their expert opinions and not heeding the advice they gave. They were clear that cutting more classified positions was not appropriate and that right-sizing the district would not include more classified cuts. I am interested to know how much these layoffs will save in reference to the suggested $500,000 cuts specific to classified. Is the .5 FTE management position being cut include as part of the $500,000 cuts to classified. Beth Linus music elementary school library clerk. Thank you for reading and considering this appeal. In these strange times when we are unable to come to speak to you in person this may be the only way we can make our voices heard. I want to comment specifically on the agenda. New business item 12.3 resolution number 2062. I also want to call your attention to the great value and the very necessary services delivered to our students teachers staff and members of our community by the very diverse group categorized simply as classified employees. When you find yourself considering budget reductions I believe no one who cares about our school is served by cutting classified staff. These dedicated workers include the women who plan develop and staff our libraries at every school Enriching our students educations both in class and beyond the classroom on less than half time schedules. Some also maintain the district's huge investment in classroom textbooks and other teaching materials. They include critical workers who provide child care for so many students whose parents lives and schedules don't perfectly match the schedules of classes in our schools. They feed our students nutritiously safely and efficiently at all times of every day. They keep the district operating on a daily weekly and monthly basis. in every school site in our district offices. They arrange simple matters of say payroll checks and record daily attendance. They research statistics of all sorts to keep county and state reports flowing and managers and board members provided with answers necessary to govern the district. They maintain our buildings grounds communication systems power plant and physical borders with our neighbors at every school and work site. They clean up after us removing the trash dirt and grime from all of the work play and gathering spaces our students and staff use every day. They will also now be called upon from now on I believe to keep us safe from germs bacteria viruses that have become such an obvious part of our lives. These are the people the dedicated workforce that serves this district so loyally and tirelessly never receiving the glory and gratitude that for example our certificated teachers receive and so richly deserve. If you ask yourself to honestly consider your own observations As well as the advice the board received from professional consultants just a few years ago you must agree that the district's classified staff is without question already overworked and underpaid. Our students staff and community deserve better. Certainly they deserve no less. Please strongly consider this background the value of classified staff in general before agreeing to make the staffing cuts proposed to you in this resolution. Thank you for considering this appeal. Our next comment is by Lake Culpepper. It has been brought to my attention that Schilling may lose their janitor. This is not a good thing and it looks bad for the district. Schilling is the third largest elementary school in the district and the most economically disadvantaged school in the district. We struggle as a community to provide the school with what students need. My wife and I have spent the majority of our spare time trying to provide all that we can for this school. The removal of the janitor will put the burden on the teachers who already are spread thin and underpaid and the parents that volunteer time and time again will then have to carry the weight of the janitor. There are many other things that Schilling needs. Removing anything at this time will not serve the school or the community any good. While 500 plus homes have been built in the school zone there should be an influx of money to help build the school up not break it down. Comment by Kathy Robinson parent and PTO board member. I would like my comment to be read aloud at the board meeting. NUSD should not consider layoffs especially in times like these. Distance learning requires schools to need additional help not less. Schilling is the top third enrollment population for elementary schools in the district. Why would we face losing a custodian position. We are also one of the most challenged socioeconomic schools in the district. We would need additional support in all areas. Additionally the Newark Memorial High School staff layoffs should not take place. These are support staff that assist the students to obtain a better education and a better future. Without the college and career and digital high school coordinator positions the work will be left to our teachers who are already overworked and underpaid. Lastly parent engagement is a necessary function for any district. If anything we need more parent engagement. Laying off the manager of parent engagement is a slap in the face to all of us parents and the Newark community. No layoffs. Kathy Robinson. Additional comment. I'd like to pose my comment to participate. Schilling is the top third enrollment population for elementary schools in the district. Why would we face losing a custodian position. We are also one of the most challenged socio-disadvantaged schools in the district. We would need additional support in all areas. Haley Chan Culpepper parent and PTA board member. I would like to pose my comment. Schilling is the top third enrollment population for elementary schools in the district. Why are we faced with losing a custodian position. We are also one of the most challenged socio disadvantaged schools in the district and could use all of the support we can get in all areas. Sharon McDonald Newark Memorial High School computer tech. My name is Sharon McDonald. I am one of the classified you want to lay off. I would like to ask you to reconsider this until another time. perhaps after first semester. To lay us off in this most unknown critical time in our lives is an added stress that I think you could hold off on. I started in 1995 part time at Schilling as a library clerk then went to the high school in 1999 as a tech but soon my position became digital high school program coordinator. It was part of a grant that was back in the 2002-ish along with the high school tech grant. It was at a time when technology was starting to be developed at our school site, but the title stayed the same. And in essence, I am a computer technician, information technology. I maintain, install, and troubleshoot all tech on campus. Over 2,400 student Chromebooks, the 75 laptops of staff, front office, counseling, and career center computers, and all printers, and now smart board setup. What I can do, I ask for help from IT. I am the extension of IT. Typically at the end and beginning of the year is when things are distributed and returned. Throughout the year it is everything else in between. At this time if you were to release me now there would be nobody to take care of all beginning of the new practices getting teachers set up. Perhaps you could reconsider at this time whether or not to lay me off. Thank you for your time and please be safe. Michelle Capuz parent board member. I would like to offer a comment to be included in this meeting. I'm very upset to hear we are losing a custodial custodian. Schilling needs this. We are one of the most social disadvantaged schools in the district. Why is this happening to us. Schilling is the top third enrollment population for elementary schools in the district. We need this support in our school. That is all public comment on that board item.

[7848] Elisa Martinez: Thank you Ms. Aquino. Student member Castillo.

[7856] SPEAKER_43: Okay. First of all, I think it's extremely disappointing that this item is being brought up at this point in time. I think given the circumstances that we're currently in, there is a large lack of foresight within human resources and by the board to even consider this item to be put on the agenda. As you are no doubt aware of, job security for many individuals across the entire nation is unknown. And what you are doing with this resolution is you are adding even more onto the stress of our community members as they try to do the work that they so diligently have done for our community, for our students, myself included. And, you know, this isn't helping. The superintendent has spoken a lot about we're trying to do everything for our community. And this item does the exact opposite. And so I'm very disappointed that it's being considered. I have a specific problem with the fact that two individuals from the high school are being laid off because Ms. McDonald does a lot for our, she does a lot for the technology. at Memorial, every time there's testing that this board so regularly loves to talk about, this testing is not possible without the work that Ms. McDonald does. And so, you know, by laying her off, what are you doing? You're putting more stress on the IT department at the district office, and none of the stuff that you want to get done is gonna get done. The same thing with the college and career program specialist. There are two people working in there currently. I know for a fact they love what they do. And they want to make life as easy as possible for for students like myself. And so by laying off one of the two specialists that are currently in that office. what you're doing is piling work onto the one specialist remaining. Um, you make that one specialist less capable of dedicating time to the students that she works with. And in general, you make students less happy and less able to succeed. Um, so I know I don't have a vote on this item because it does relate to personnel, but my vote would be no. Um, and I hope that this motion fails zero to five because, um, You know, you're doing all the wrong things. I brought this up back in my sophomore year, and it seems that the board still doesn't get the picture. You still don't understand that these layoffs are doing the exact opposite of what you want them to, and you still haven't identified any alternate solutions. That's all I have to say on this. Thank you.

[8026] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Thank you, student member Castillo. I will have you, Superintendent Salinas,

[8036] SPEAKER_27: Yes, I know there was some questions and perhaps some confusion, so I just wanted to clarify one aspect and then I'm going to ask Ms. Saavedra to also clarify. First of all, as you recall, this is all part of our attempt to really address the deficit. And as we've been moving through this, and the next item after this is actually furloughs for administrators. This is really all the work that we needed to do as we move forward. But I want to clarify that for the position of the parent engagement manager, that's actually in an administrator's position, who is also classified. With this position, we actually are the county, Alameda County actually pays for 50% of the position. and for this year only, we were able to absorb some of it within the LCAP, knowing that it was only for one year. So that's why we have to formally reduce it, but I wanted to clarify that that's actually an administrative position. I mean, the way that it has to work out in the resolution is that it's noted there. And then the second thing, I'm gonna have Ms. Avedra clarify a little bit about the shilling, and then also certainly speak to that as we're working with the site administrators, they can also look within budgets to see how to absorb some of the need. Because as we looked at all of the positions, and as we work with our labor partners, we saw that we did an analysis of knowing that we had to make some cuts, but at the same time, you know, this is how we were bringing this forward. So I'm going to ask Ms. Avedo to clarify about the Shilling custodial position.

[8140] SPEAKER_33: Yes, and I, and I can understand why the confusion in the with with our community is that they're thinking that we're going to cut the position but in reality is the, the, this is a vacant position in the vacancy, it's a chilling, but I want to reassure the board that the service will not be interrupted. that on the contrary we're going because we have the ability to move things around to services schools, the schools will not be affected in any way that in fact they will have a day custodian and a night custodian. This is a position that's vacant and that we took the opportunity to to make this layoff process, knowing that we have other ways to provide the services to the school. So the school will not be impacted in any way.

[8192] Elisa Martinez: So, Ms. Avedra, it's a closure of a position. Is that what it is? I mean, there's a technical term, the layoff. Okay, that's helpful.

[8201] SPEAKER_33: Yes, it has the name shilling because that's the current vacancy that we have.

[8206] Bowen Zhang: And the current showroom still has two janitors, two custodian workers, right?

[8212] SPEAKER_33: I'm sorry?

[8213] Bowen Zhang: We still have two, right? Two custodian workers.

[8216] SPEAKER_33: That's correct. That's correct. A day custodian and a night custodian, yes.

[8223] Elisa Martinez: Other questions or comments from the board?

[8226] Ray Rodriguez: I have one.

[8229] Elisa Martinez: Oh, sorry. Member Rodriguez.

[8231] Ray Rodriguez: That's fine. Thank you, President Martinez. Am I on? Can you hear me? Yes, sir. I can hear you. OK. I realized that we had budget workshops and we came up with the amount of the cuts. I felt at that time, and I feel now, that they're very excessive and that the timing with what's going on now and the fact that in a few weeks we're going to have the May revise, there is uncertainty. And I think that putting passing this right now, it's not a good move. I'd like to see more discussions with HR and the classified union people to come up with alternatives, so we can reduce the amount. I realize that there are going to be some cuts. I just feel that the amount is excessive, and I'd like to see more work put on it to kind of break it down. That's all I have. Thank you. Thank you, Member Rodriguez.

[8296] SPEAKER_35: thank you uh just uh thank you actually uh Mr. Vedra for the clarification that it is just a position a role uh not not an actual person however i'm just wondering if maybe for the future is that something that could also be explained um in in whether it's in the description of of the motion or whether it's on the document but um i think it's important for our community to understand that information ahead of time and um And as well, I did reach out and got clarification on this as well, but I would like it to be addressed, Ms. Salinas, regarding the Career Center person at the high school, College and Career Center. I think it's important that, it's such an important role for our students, as Mr. Castillo mentioned. And even though they do need every, resource available, I would like it to be noted that the school will not be left out with anybody. There will still be someone there. I do understand Mr. Castillo's concern that they do need more. It is such an important position, but can you please speak more to that, Ms. Salinas?

[8372] SPEAKER_27: Yes. You know, when we started to do the analysis and looking at a high school of this size, and comparable with surrounding districts, with their high schools. Surrounding districts have one college and career classified position, in addition to certainly our counselors that worked hand in hand. While ideally, yes, we would like to have more people to support it, unfortunately, as we're moving forward to try to address the deficit, this was one of the reductions that we had proposed. Certainly, I also want the board to recognize that even these cuts that are bringing forward are still not to the target that we had proposed, because we do anticipate the May revise. But I have to say, we also look at it with some trepidation, because we also know that in this time, we're not quite sure yet what the state of California is going to do, because they also are going to have a hit as this moves forward with the pandemic. at this point because we know that we needed to bring forward some positions. And like I said, we carefully analyzed the other positions that we were looking at and saw how these would be to look at along with the vacancy and then certainly the 50% administrator. We know it doesn't feel right, but unfortunately, we also had to be mindful of ensuring that we have a district that is addressing the deficit. Thank you.

[8467] SPEAKER_33: Can I add one last piece, President Martinez? And I think it's worth to mention that these decisions are not made by HR in isolation. These are decisions that are made within the group, and they get discussed with the business department, MLT, and the school leadership as well. So it's not an HR decision made in isolation. It's a decision made once we get direction from the board We as the body of the leadership from the district, we have to sit down and make these decisions that I know that are very difficult. But I think it's important for the community to understand that these decisions are not made in isolation.

[8510] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Ms. Avedra. Student member Castillo.

[8516] SPEAKER_43: I think with respect to considering districts of comparable sizes, it's important to note that, at least in my observation, Newark has a lot of first generation and immigrant students whose parents and whose households don't necessarily have the same experience dealing with college applications and with career search and all that. And so it puts us in a unique position where a second specialist would be helpful. And I'm willing to bet that that wasn't considered at all. And so I think you should consider that in your vote.

[8554] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Student Member Castillo. Member Nguyen?

[8560] Phuong Nguyen: Also, I was wondering if our current IT staff, in correlation to the onsite IT support that the students are getting, are they going to be able to offset this position being eliminated?

[8580] SPEAKER_33: Can I respond to that, Ms. Salinas? I think that there's, again, it's a combination of things. We do have counselors at sites and because we have a lower student enrollment, We looked into that, who are the people that are going to be supporting the students in this role? And the answer that we came up with was counselors. And counselors are doing a lot of this stuff anyways, as it is, which is why we identify this position as being one that the reduction, yes, we know the impact, of course, and the more, if we had the, a way to keep the position and fund the position. We would love to do that, but at this point we can't. And so in that matter, we have our counselor supporting. We also have IT that's already supporting the other position. So we feel that not ideal, but the things will be, that we will have a support system for the high school.

[8645] Phuong Nguyen: How many current IT positions do we have? And how many positions, I mean, How many students and faculty and staff are they supporting, currently supporting?

[8659] SPEAKER_33: We have three technicians. We're currently hiring one more. And then the IT manager, as you know, we recently lost him to another district. So we will be actually hiring for, we are hiring for those positions as it stands. So we will have a total of four people in the IT department that can be supporting the site. I can't really tell you how many students altogether, but they do support the district in general.

[8694] SPEAKER_27: Yeah, and I can add, currently and historically, the tech department also supports the high school. It has not been a left alone site to rely specifically on this position. They also support the high school.

[8712] Elisa Martinez: Member Nguyen, are you done with your question? Yeah, thank you. Thank you, thank you. I wanted to ask a question about timing, because that is a point. The reality of what we're voting on or the discussion that we're having, this was a direction that the board gave to staff some weeks ago. We need to reduce costs. Regardless of what the answer comes back, it's not easy. It's a difficult decision. So before we get into the process, it's just a question about timing. Nobody would have, never a good time, but this is just the complexity of the situation. what is the timing that we, where we need to make this decision or where we need to make these cuts, assuming that we move forward with this? What's our timeline?

[8765] SPEAKER_27: Yeah, I can add, and then Ms. Albedo, if she wants to add, but what I can share is, if you recall, we first came forward with the certificated timeline that by Ed Code had to be noticed by March 15th. And at that time, we noticed the certificated positions and also gave the certificated managers, including cabinet, including myself, our letter for our furloughs. And then what we shared at that point was that in April was when we had to bring it forward. And the reason why is because there is a timeline that if an action has to be taken within a certain number of days, I believe it's 60 days, because if you miss that 60 day timeline, then you are obligated to continue to pay beyond it. And so at that point, we would not realize the full cost savings. And we would have to, again, look at the budget at that point to see what other reductions would have to be made.

[8818] Elisa Martinez: Thank you.

[8819] SPEAKER_33: And can I just add, as well, we do have the language in the California Ed Code attached to the documents that we provided tonight, the 45117. that states that by April, that before April 29, we need to inform the people that will be affected by this layoff.

[8838] SPEAKER_35: Okay. If I may also Ms. Salinas, can you let us know exactly when would be the last date for these rolls as well?

[8848] SPEAKER_27: Oh, yes, yes. So this would go through the end of the school year. So depending on the position, you know, obviously by by July 1st is our new school year calendar. So these positions are not going away tomorrow. This actually is for the next school year.

[8867] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. And I do want to comment again about as we move to a vote here, the things that we do need to consider. as we hear back from our stakeholders, but us as a board. And I could only, I suppose, speak for myself as I think about it. These are, once again, I have to repeat, these are very difficult decisions. But frankly, this is one of the reasons we're here, is because these difficult decisions weren't taken years ago. And it feels like every month or every quarter we're talking or the next six months we're talking about cuts. So in this case, as I think about the direction that we as a board gave staff when we had the workshops, and I ask all of us as a board to remember that, we asked the fact that we needed to find a way to get out of deficit spending. We can't, it is not our job to tell you how and in which positions. So we have the trust that you did meet as you've stated with the site administrators, with the different program folks to come up with these recommendations. So I do want to make sure that we as a board take some of that responsibility and to Ms. Saavedra's comment, this is not a decision that she takes in isolation. It is a direction that she's carrying out in communicating with other folks. So I did want to state that because this is not an easy decision and conversation for anybody. But again, these are the decisions before us. Member Nguyen, is that a request to speak from before or did you have something else to add?

[8981] Phuong Nguyen: I will lower my hand. OK.

[8984] Bowen Zhang: Thank you. Point of order. I think we should move to extend the meeting time probably to 1030 or 1045.

[8993] Elisa Martinez: I agree. Thank you. Member Zhang, I would entertain a motion. I would ask that we extend for an hour because we only get one extension. I don't think we'll need the whole hour.

[9003] Bowen Zhang: So I move to extend the meeting time to 11 p.m.

[9007] SPEAKER_42: I second.

[9009] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Can I get a vote? Member Castillo?

[9016] SPEAKER_42: I vote yes.

[9017] Elisa Martinez: Member Gutierrez?

[9019] Julienne Sumodobila: Yes.

[9020] Elisa Martinez: Member Rodriguez? Yes. Member Nguyen? Yes. And I vote yes as well, Mr. Chair.

[9027] Bowen Zhang: I vote yes as well.

[9029] Elisa Martinez: Oh, did I skip you? Thank you. I'm sorry. I thought I started with you after member. I'm trying to go in order of how I see the display here, so thank you. Where were we? Oh, so Member Nguyen, you said that you didn't have any additional comments. So if there aren't any additional comments, I will ask for a vote. Member, Ms. Aquino, can you please repeat the motion on the table?

[9059] SPEAKER_31: Yes, motion to approve by Member Gutierrez, seconded by Member Nguyen.

[9063] Elisa Martinez: Okay. Member Gutierrez, how do you vote? Yes. Member Zhang?

[9072] Bowen Zhang: Aye.

[9074] Elisa Martinez: Member Rodriguez? No. Member Nguyen? Yes. And my vote is yes as well.

[9085] SPEAKER_43: You guys should be disappointed in yourselves.

[9089] Elisa Martinez: Point of order, Mr. Member Castillo, please speak when I ask or give you permission. Thank you. And so the motion carries. Thank you. And with that, we move to item 12.4, Resolution Number 2064, Reduction in Work Days for Classified Management, Confidential, and Supervisory Employees. May I get a motion and a second?

[9127] Cindy Parks: I move.

[9130] Elisa Martinez: I get a second. Remember when were you seconding? I just, I second. Sorry. I saw you speak. Ms. Aquino, do we have any speaker cards in this item?

[9150] SPEAKER_31: No, we do not.

[9152] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. With that, Superintendent Salinas.

[9157] SPEAKER_27: Thank you. As I stated before, this is an actual furlough day for all administrators. And as I said before, we actually took this out. You all gave direction and we took this action by the March 15th for our certificated. And now this is for our classified NEWMA administrators for a reduction of a furlough day for the next school year. Again, this is all part as we move forward to right size this district. And again, just as it is very difficult, and as you all have seen, our administrators are working 24-7 during this pandemic. And while it hurts to have to bring this forward for them, we also recognize that it's something that we have to do. And so we hope that in the next two years, when we see an increase in our enrollment and really right-sizing this district, we can certainly continue to attract administrators who, you know, as I think was said before by the consultant, we have a lot of folks who work here because they have the love of new work. And so I thank them for that, as I thank our classified and our certificated teachers, but that we bring forward this resolution for furlough for administrators.

[9238] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Any questions or comments from the board?

[9246] SPEAKER_35: I have yes thank you as important as our our previous resolution passes so are the members of being affected here so I think it's important that we know that this is not being taken lightly and we understand the implications that it has to each individual here and and and just understand we just know that we understand that this is a difficult decision and I'm sorry that it has to be made

[9278] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Any other comments? With that, Ms. Aquino, can you please repeat the motion?

[9289] SPEAKER_31: Motion to approve by Member Gutierrez, seconded by Member Nguyen.

[9294] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Member Gutierrez, how do you vote?

[9299] Catheerine Ingham-Watters: Yes.

[9301] Elisa Martinez: Member Zhang?

[9302] Bowen Zhang: Aye.

[9303] Elisa Martinez: Member Rodriguez?

[9305] Joy Lee: Yes.

[9307] Elisa Martinez: Member Nguyen? Yes. My vote is yes as well. Motion carries with five ayes. Thank you. Again, these are very difficult decisions for everybody. And we know this is a very personal effect on a lot of you out there. So thank you. Thank you so much for bringing these decisions difficult decisions in front of us. They need to be made. Moving on to item 12.5, goal setting with the Board of Education. This is, I suppose, more of an update, Superintendent Salinas?

[9354] SPEAKER_27: Yes, thank you. So, you know, part of a board's role is to set the direction, set the policy, and really set the set the guideposts for a district as we move forward. And I appreciate President Martinez and all of you who really brought this forward saying we really want to get started on setting these district goals and board goals for us. As Ms. Aquino starts to put up the PowerPoint, I'm actually going to have Mr. Dolowich also join me on this part, but I'll start and then he's going to go ahead and come on board. And I want to first start by setting the context. And so, in setting the context we, you know, before the pandemic and and I want to eventually get to the day when I can say, past the pandemic but before the pandemic. We certainly started to think about this and have the conversations. And we had hoped to do this as a study session. And when we saw we weren't going to be able to do this as a study session, to the credit of our board and to Mr. Dolowich, and as we looked at it through Ed Services, we said, wouldn't it be wonderful to do a one-on-one with our board members to really start to get their input? And then after we speak with our board members to really tell us where do they want to see Newark Unified School District and in the next three years and what do they want us to accomplish. we said, let's have these virtual, you know, conversations and taking folks facilitating a wonderful conversation with each of you. And then tonight, have the opportunity for you all to see what was the discussion, right? And because, you know, you are a board as an individual, you're an individual, but together you're a board. And so for tonight's outcome, We hope to have a very open discussion. But then also, ideally, I do have this as an action item, you could settle, perhaps on some goals. So I'm going to start with giving a little bit more background. So if you can go to the next slide, Shar. So so why does a district need board goals? You know, why do we need district goals? Well, candidly, It's because our strategic plan needs to have the guideposts and the direction of the Board of Education. And so our strategic plan is our LCAP. And the LCAP is certainly governed by board goals, but also by the California dashboard. So as we start to prepare for the LCAP, as we start to continue to do that work, we also have to really revisit that, you know, this board has certainly imperatives that they think are important for a district our size and for a district that needs to accomplish things, but that's as an individual. But you all need to kind of come together to really calibrate with each other as to what is important. You all have, direct communication with so many community members and stakeholders that as you're representing their voice, this is the time to really hear from you as you hear from them. And so what we're going to talk about tonight is kind of a refresher of what you all did as individuals. And that's the review that the California dashboard tells us data-wise, what are the areas of strengths for Newark Unified and what are our areas of need. So as in the last week and a half, we actually went through the data with each of you and started to look at where these gaps were. Then we also went through a process of looking at local data. And with the local data can be something as simple as our attendance data. Not simple, but certainly tells us the kids aren't attending school or why they're not attending school. We also looked at our iReady data. And as we're working through this pandemic, we know we are going to see some drops in the sense of not having the regular classroom instruction. So we're looking at anecdotal data, and that's what's informed through the local data and our dashboard. And finally, the vehicle for it, and that's our LCAP. So that's where we're going to, you know, Ms. Isabel Cervantes-Falk has been meeting with stakeholder group to really start to get their input, but the board's voice is really important as we form that. And finally, the ultimate goal is improved student outcomes. And that really is, you know, we want to make sure we're fiscally solvent. We want to make sure that we're meeting the needs of students, but really to what end. And it's really that our students are graduating college and career ready with choice, and that's all through improved student outcomes. Next slide, Ms. Aquino. So I wanted to, at this point, also invite Mr. Dolovich to chime in on this part. But it's really about setting goals to become a high-performing district. Folks that have been listening to the board meetings have heard this phrase a lot. I know that as we start to get some new board members and you all start to get to know each other, and as we went through the training with CSBA, what we heard from you all was that we know we can become a high-performing district. We have pockets of high-performing students, and we have a lot of work that is really good work, and we want to build on that success. So how do we do it so that we become a full high-performing district? Well, the way we can do that is really by developing some clear goals. And that gives the guidance and the goalposts not just to the superintendent and cabinet, but really to the whole school district, our teachers, our principals, our classified staff, because once we have clarity on what the board expects as a reflection of the community, then we can reach those goals. So I'm going to have Mr. Dolovich chime in on this. So that's gonna be one of the outcomes. The other outcome is gonna be the reviewing of the draft goals that we heard from all of you. And then finally at the end, it's gonna be direction to us as staff as to what our next steps are. So I'm gonna go to the next slide and then have Mr. Dolovich take us through here.

[9746] SPEAKER_20: All right, thank you. So, just to continue on and we had those individual meetings, I think what's important to note is ultimately the board drives the big picture and that's going to drill down and affect. It's going to affect how we allocate funding, how we support certain school sites, and what we heard over and over in our meetings. was repeated themes when it comes to culture and climate, when it comes to achievement for students specific to gaps in the data, specifically at our secondary schools, and also with respect to vertical articulation in terms of the benefit that we heard before and throughout this meeting of being a tight knit community. How do we prepare our graduates for both college and career? How do we improve ROP, our relationship with Ohlone, different agencies and organizations to allow our students to have internships, and then ultimately to be able to select the college or university of their choice. And so, different board members felt strongly about different goals and you can see three. before you. NUSD will ensure each student is prepared for college and community success. NUSD will create a school district that holds itself and its partners accountable for superior outcomes. Woven in there could be something with fiscal solvency because that, as we heard from the superintendent search and as we heard from the board in terms of what you inherited, That is a major point or issue of contention. NUSD will ensure a culture and climate that promotes committed, highly skilled and passionate educators. Ms. Aquino, could you move on to the following slide? NUSD will maintain high levels of academic achievement and performance while preparing students with 21st century problem solving skills relevant for the post-secondary world. This targets the vertical articulation. We talk about creating a pathway through our high schools, through our junior high. Really, nowadays, even before this crisis, a move towards project-based learning and 21st century problem solving was a shift from traditional delivery of instruction. Second bullet and USD will build a culture of we that engages and values parents staff and the community. And we also heard a theme around improving trust tonight, and USD will have fiscal solvency in order to support all staff. So from our conversations on this slide, there was interest, specifically in that in that middle one, also in the fiscal solvency. And so I wanted to really open it up to board members to see if we can agree. to three or five of your choice. Again, it's really you leading the direction. And we took off the ones that were least voted upon or least discussed.

[9950] SPEAKER_27: And so President Martinez, because as I'm looking at the they're in front of us, and so I can't see if folks are raising their hand or not. So I'm going to maybe if you want, like maybe have each board member give some reflection or share some sort of discussion. It's hard because we can't see the whole thing on the screen. I can't see you.

[9972] Elisa Martinez: I just expanded to see almost everyone, but I cannot. So Actually yes, let's maybe go around Robin and ask everybody to weigh in. Member Gutierrez, would you like to go ahead and weigh in first?

[9993] SPEAKER_35: I do understand that we could pick three to five, but if it's just a matter to start off with to pick three, I do like the, give me one second so I can get the The one that's, I don't see the previous page. I can, I got this. Okay. I know the one right before that. Sorry about that. The one that said the 21st century or after. Yeah. So any, a newer will maintain high levels of academic achievement and perform performance while preparing students for the 21st century problem solving skills relevant to post-secondary world. I think it's important being a, based on our location and Silicon Valley, our tech companies nearby, that we do prepare our students for the 21st century and have them ready for the work field that is around us. As well, now Ms. Aquino, if you could go to the previous goals. The second one that NDSU will create a school district that holds itself and its partners accountable for superior outcomes. Unfortunately we have had a track of some lack of accountability so I think this is important to move our district in in the right direction and show that we are going to be We will be making sure to hold ourselves accountable and it says there have superior outcomes. And I'm a little bit torn between both of these two, the top, the first one and the third one here. Ensure students are prepared for college career and the community. However, I think it's also very tied in with... Oh, give me one second. Ensure culture that promotes... Okay. I would go for the first one. Ensure students are prepared for college career and community success. Now, I do want to note that I know that a lot of these are very focused on student learning and Our goals need to be more than that. They also need to focus on the culture, also need to focus on the community. So I will name those as my top three right now.

[10156] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Thank you. Member Nguyen, would you like to express your top three as well?

[10169] Phuong Nguyen: Yes, hold on one second. I lost my page. Can you come back to me, please? Sure, of course.

[10177] Elisa Martinez: Member Zhang?

[10179] Bowen Zhang: So when I was doing the one-on-one conversation with Ariel and the superintendent, I remember we talked about coming out of some measurable data-driven, some metrics regarding the goal. So I think at that point, what we're proposing when it comes to college preparedness is increasing 10% ASOG. Xuemao Wang, Ph.D. : Grad a to G 10% rate increase and speaking of the academic performance on the first page we're talking about 5%. increase in both math and reading for social, economically disadvantaged students. So for these humble goals, I think when we finalize the goals, yeah, I would want, and in US we will achieve, we'll ensure each student is prepared for college, grant, community success. But what does that really mean a year later when we come back and say, did you do a good job or did you fail the goal? So once we finalize, I wouldn't want to take these goals as our goals. Like I,

[10237] SPEAKER_35: I think if I may add, Member Arjong, and I apologize for interrupting, I think you're talking about the matrices or the numbers that will then need to be discussed. And that should be the next step and also something that maybe our staff will bring to us. So I think it is imperative that we do have those numbers. However, I don't believe that's the role of the board currently to be setting those that stage yet.

[10268] Bowen Zhang: Okay, so I remember the three ones I pointed out. One is the fiscal solvency, second one is the college preparedness, and the last one is the... I don't know whether it's a superior outcome or something on the first page, but that has to do with the academic performance, I remember. Can we go to the other page?

[10292] SPEAKER_27: Mr. Quino, can you go back to the other page?

[10303] Bowen Zhang: Yeah, now this is the 21st century problem-solving skills, okay? Yeah, I'll be my three.

[10311] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Member Zhang. Are you ready, Member Nguyen?

[10322] Phuong Nguyen: My top three is NUSD will build a culture of we that engages and values parents, staff, and the community. And NUSD will create a school district that holds itself and its partners accountable for superior outcome. And NUSD will maintain high level of academic achievement and performance while preparing students with 21st century problem solving skills relevant for the post-secondary world.

[10362] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Member Rodriguez?

[10371] Ray Rodriguez: I want to commend our new board with moving forward on goals in spite of the fact that we're in the middle of so much crisis or challenging times. I want to go to the other one where it says community success. I think that's on the next. Yeah, that one I don't really, it doesn't do much for me. The community success part, because unless we're talking about when a college student comes back into the community and decides to, you know, get more involved and as a, you know, young adult after they're done with college. So the community success, if we're talking about college students, then we're talking about the community where they're at, which wouldn't be our community. It would be the college community where, you know, be it Santa Barbara or whatever. I like to see instead of that, I like to see the school to career, I think school to career has to be part of this because a lot of our kids don't go to college. They go into military and they go into different careers. And I think to not put that somewhere, it's not good. I like to see that in there somewhere.

[10465] Elisa Martinez: Sorry, so which three? I'm sorry, did I, the last second?

[10469] Ray Rodriguez: No, no, I think they're all good. I'm just focusing on the first one here. Instead of community success, I would like to see school to career. Or if not there, somewhere else. All the others are good. I commend you guys for putting this together with Superintendent Salinas, and it's good.

[10499] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Member Rodriguez. I will, I'm looking at my screen, my parallel screen here. My first vote is for the NUSD will ensure a culture and climate that promotes committed, highly skilled and passionate educational team. I was between, you know, prepared for college career and community, but I think I do lean more towards the 21st century problem-solving skills, because I think that really does encompass whichever path our kids choose to go into, whether it's college or trade school, any other path that they choose. I think it does reflect that idea that our problem-solving skills may be different than maybe some years ago. So I really like that one. And I'm torn between the last two because I think fiscal solvency is kind of like a given that we have to have. But I think we are missing community in some of the other ones. We talk about staff and we'll call our internal stakeholders, but we're not talking about community and parents. So let me, my vote will, the third one will be the culture of we.

[10594] SPEAKER_27: Okay. Okay. Yes. I think it would be interesting to also hear if a student board member Castillo wanted to give any input. I know this is for the future, but it would be really interesting to hear your perspective in weighing in on this as well.

[10623] SPEAKER_43: Sure, I definitely support the second one. Newark Unified will create a school district that holds itself and its partners accountable for superior outcomes. I think that one's pretty self-explanatory. The next one would be Newark Unified will maintain high levels of academic achievement, excuse me, and performance while preparing students with 21st century problem-solving skills relevant for the post-secondary world. I think what I hear from my teachers every so often is that like the freshmen that are coming in don't necessarily have some of the skills that are needed for the world. And it's kind of difficult to teach those on top of teaching the curriculum that they're supposed to be teaching. So I think that would be important, especially in earlier years. And I don't know what the teaching methods would look like for that. But I think just looking into it and creating a curriculum that's more geared towards what the 21st century workplace looks like, that helps. Then the other one is NUSD will build a culture of we that engages and values parents, staff, and the community. What we heard from the McPherson Jacobson consultants was that overwhelmingly staff felt left behind and not valued as much as they should be. And so I think that culture, that relationship between district staff, the board and faculty is something that's necessary and it should not be overlooked under any circumstance. So as the district sets goals for the next couple of years, I think that's something that every one of you should be working on.

[10725] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Was this helpful? Did we end up with the same spread?

[10732] SPEAKER_27: A little bit better. So let me, I'm gonna ask Mr. Dolovich to check me. So here's where I saw the top vote getters. The one that had the most was NUSD will maintain high levels of academic achievement and performance while preparing students with 21st century problem solving skills relevant for the post-secondary world. And then the second was kind of a tie. So the second was NUSD will create a school district that holds itself and its partners accountable for superior outcomes. And then the other was NUSD will build a culture of we that engages and values parents, staff, and the community. And then there was others that had one vote is what I have. And I did hear Mr. Rodriguez about the school to career. So we may be able to put in some of that, perhaps on one of these as well.

[10790] Elisa Martinez: If I could change my go ahead.

[10793] SPEAKER_43: I think what I think what member Rodriguez ties in well with the, the 21st century problem solving skills one. I think that that goal accurately encompasses all possible paths, because when we talk about post secondary world we talk about whatever it is that a student might choose to do. whether it be university or community college or trade school, entering the armed forces, taking a gap year, going straight into the workforce, whatever it might be. I think that pretty accurately sums up what Member Rodriguez wanted.

[10826] SPEAKER_20: I would say Cesar accurately captured that with respect to the 21st century problem solving. That's the purpose of it. And so then it goes back to Mr. Bowen, Ms. Gutierrez's points about the measures or the metrics. And I would say, Ms. Salinas, that those were the top three, accountability, academic achievement, and the culture of we. And it sounds like there's an underlying current for also blending in fiscal solvency.

[10857] Elisa Martinez: Right. And actually, I was about to say, if it helps, I would change my vote to accountable for superior outcomes. Because I think just to kind of narrow that, and I think maybe fiscal solvency is part of that, right? It's an outcome of how we're measuring, how we're keeping ourselves on track. So maybe those are the three buckets where I think address most of our concerns.

[10887] SPEAKER_20: So, Miss Aquino, if you could move to the next slide. So your three goals would replace the three goals listed here, but the notion is that they would be big picture, and then it would be the district's responsibility to design those metrics and measures and bring them to you. So going back to Mr. Bowen's point that next year, you're able to say, did we achieve that goal, increasing 5%, 10%, depending on which it is. And so unless there's additional comments, I think we feel pretty comfortable with the conversation and the notes that Ms. Salinas took with respect to next steps and coming back with a presentation for three. And then Ms. Martinez, I think lastly, your point about weaving in fiscal solvency to that third point.

[10946] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Dulowicz. And I do want to, you know, circle back to where the conversation started, Ms. Salinas, with, you know, our intent as a board to set goals. And in what we're doing, we really are trying to set, here is the overarching, the umbrella, and hence the visual there, for how we are thinking about our priorities. Having said that, one of the things I think that we intended to do was actually put together a three-year vision, at least. And I know we had talked about doing a retreat, obviously, in this current climate. We really are giving now that broad direction. And we would be looking to you to provide, at minimum, the one-year look forward And at that point, I think we'll have to decide whether we want to plan beyond that one year, unless we want to get together as a board in a study session before we move on to a broader and longer term. I just wanted to set that context, I think, for some of the questions that surfaced, and member Zhang, to your point, in terms of the quantification of goals. So thank you. Thank you so much.

[11029] Maria Huffer: Thank you.

[11030] SPEAKER_27: Thank you.

[11034] Elisa Martinez: All right, any other comments on this? So more to come on, Mr. Dulowich, on this particular item, correct?

[11043] SPEAKER_20: Correct, yes. And I think it ties into the vision and then kind of coming back together and then figuring out the one-year plan and putting that in front of you so that you have a clear timeline for the entire academic year when we return.

[11058] Elisa Martinez: Excellent, thank you. Moving on to item 12.6, the audit report.

[11068] SPEAKER_27: Yes, and we have Ms. Dela Cruz here if there are any questions, but we submit this forward for your approval.

[11076] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. May I have a motion and a second to approve?

[11082] Phuong Nguyen: I move to approve. I have a second.

[11092] Nancy Thomas: I'll second.

[11094] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Member Gutierrez. Any comments or questions regarding the audit report? If not, Student Member Castillo, how do you vote?

[11108] SPEAKER_42: I vote yes.

[11108] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Member Zhang?

[11112] Bowen Zhang: Aye.

[11113] Elisa Martinez: Member Nguyen? Yes. Member Gutierrez?

[11121] SPEAKER_35: Yes.

[11122] Elisa Martinez: Member Rodriguez? Yes. And I vote aye as well. So motion passes. Thank you, Ms. Dela Cruz, for preparing the summary. Thank you. Item 13 is the consent agenda, the personnel report. May I have a motion and a second?

[11152] Phuong Nguyen: I move. Second.

[11158] Elisa Martinez: Any comments or questions? Okay, please vote. Member Zhang?

[11167] Leonor Rebosura: Aye.

[11168] Elisa Martinez: Member Nguyen? Yes. Member Gutierrez? Yes. Member Rodriguez?

[11177] Joy Lee: Yes.

[11178] Elisa Martinez: My vote is yes as well. Motion passes with five ayes. Next item is consent agenda, non-personnel items. May I have a motion and a second to approve?

[11196] Bowen Zhang: I move to approve 14.1 and 14.2. I second.

[11202] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Ms. Aquino, I didn't ask, are there any speaker cards to any of these items?

[11211] Jodi Croce: No.

[11212] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Any questions? from the board. With that, I'd ask that we vote on items 14.1 and 14.2. Member Castillo?

[11229] SPEAKER_42: Yes.

[11230] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Member Zhang?

[11232] Leonor Rebosura: Aye.

[11234] Elisa Martinez: Member Nguyen? Yes. Member Gutierrez?

[11238] SPEAKER_35: Yes.

[11239] Elisa Martinez: And Member Rodriguez?

[11241] Ray Rodriguez: Yes.

[11242] Elisa Martinez: My vote is yes as well. Motion passes. Okay, and with that, we move to item 15, Board of Education Committee Reports, Announcements, Requests, Debrief, and Discussion. We'll start first with item 15.1, Any Committee Reports. Specifically, I will request a Godby, the survey report. Would you like to give that Ms. member Gutierrez?

[11278] SPEAKER_35: Sure. I think just an update, the survey will be going out to the community. Monday, the 13th, I believe that's this Monday coming up, so community members, please be ready for that and please, if you can take the time to do the survey, there will be various options online over the phone. So If you can, again, please take the time to do the survey. It will be very helpful for us and our students and our community as well.

[11312] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Any other committee reports? I know it's been a hectic time. It's hard to spend as much time with each other as we used to. So I know we have the communication subcommittee, Mission Valley, ROP, any of the other committees that you'd like to give an update? Member Gutierrez.

[11333] SPEAKER_35: I can also add that, and member Castillo mentioned it earlier on, but tomorrow the communication committee, which is member Wynne and myself, will be having a meeting with high school staff and some students regarding possible options for our seniors after this pandemic of ours.

[11357] Elisa Martinez: Okay, thank you so much. Thanks for that. Any other? updates. If not we will go ahead and move over move down to item 15.2 which are any announcements or requests. Student member Castillo we'll start with you.

[11376] SPEAKER_43: Okay thank you President Martinez. So I'm sure you guys saw it throughout the meeting as I was moving around a little bit But I am wearing my UCSB sweatshirt. I have officially committed to the University of California Santa Barbara as a mechanical engineering major. So I'm excited to be spending the next four years down in Southern California.

[11399] Diego Torres: Beautiful. You are a gaucho. Yes, I am.

[11403] SPEAKER_43: Yeah, UCLA didn't work out, but it's all right. I got my letter of admissions here too. I also did earn a $10,000 scholarship, which is going to help out immensely with the next four years. But yeah, I'm excited for the next four years. Some other things from the high school with rocketry. What's that?

[11432] Phuong Nguyen: You better come back with a tan.

[11436] SPEAKER_43: Yeah, maybe. So for rocketry, I believe I sent it out in an email to the board. But the national fly off in Virginia was canceled for this year. It's been postponed to next year. The same rules that the teams have been working with this year will remain in effect. So it'll just be basically another year of working with the same rules But for my team, which is mainly seniors, we are entering the presentation competition. And so we'll be creating a slide deck that will go to judges, and they'll be selecting some finalists. So for my team, who, for a lot of them, it's their last chance to win any prizes, we'll be giving that a go. And hopefully we'll, we're hoping to win something. We're hungry for it. And then the other thing was regarding mental health during this time. I know it's been on everybody's mind. People are saying, oh, this shelter-in-place is making me go crazy. I've got to stay in my home for the next few months. And yeah, no, it's a very real feeling. I want it to be understood that students are We're trying the best that we can, and things are a little bit tough. And so we ask that teachers especially, you know, I know work still has to go on, but students are trying our best. And sometimes, you know, there are off days. Everybody has off days. So I would like everybody to be aware of that as we move through this pandemic and our response to it.

[11540] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Thank you. Um, remember Castillo, uh, member Rodriguez, how about you?

[11548] Ray Rodriguez: Um, I, um, we'll be sharing, uh, emails that I have from, uh, superintendent Hanson for the RP. Um, I'll be sending them over to the board. Um, I wanted to wish everybody a, um, happy Passover and, uh, and Easter and, um, just try to, you know, stay safe and stay inside as much as you can. Thank you. Oh, wait a minute. One more thing. I didn't say it earlier, but the way the staff has handled the giving out free lunches to the kids, it's just been great. So many people involved and And I realize it seems to change, every week it changes a little bit, but the community appreciates it. And it's just when you see staff out there giving out the bags of food and stuff, it shows that they're really excited and serving our community and it's appreciated. Be safe. Thank you.

[11629] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Member Rodriguez. Member Zhang?

[11633] Bowen Zhang: Just want to thank Superintendent and your team for your constant update and communication and your leadership during this pretty difficult period of time. And thank you for providing the meals for our low-income students. And at the same time, 24 members of our community contracted the COVID-19. So we pray for their speedy recovery. That's it for me.

[11658] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Member Zhang. Member Nguyen?

[11663] Phuong Nguyen: I echo the same sentiments as Member Zhang and want to say thank you to all of staff, all the teachers who are working so diligently. I know it's very hard to have to adjust and also learn new technology in order to provide this new distance learning opportunity for our students. And also say that a lot of times we do have to have to make these tough decisions even with a heavy heart and it's not an easy thing to do. But we have to do it. So that's it. And I just want to say thank you to everyone here and stay safe. And hopefully we'll see each other soon.

[11718] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Member Gutierrez.

[11722] SPEAKER_35: Thank you. And I as well want to thank Miss Salinas, her staff, her entire team, the teachers. I know we are all taking on a new endeavor here and many, many new challenges for everybody on the teaching end of our teachers, principals, as well as our parents and family members and students. Please to the community, please bear with us. There are a lot of challenges that the entire team is trying to overcome. So we do hear you. We do hear the community. that you need the Chromebooks, you need the internet access. I know there's communication in regards to, there's concerns from the community in regards to teachers and accessibility and communication. We do hear you. I do want to say please continue reaching out to your principals, continue reaching out to Ms. Salinas. it is very these are new challenges and our new problems that we if you guys don't come to us the appropriate staff it will be difficult to address so please let us know everybody's trying their hardest and and thank you for that but but please don't stop communicating with us if you have a problem and it's not being addressed please reach out because there will be somebody that will be helping you out to to address that. And yes, please stay home. Please stay safe. Thank you.

[11820] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Member Gutierrez. I just wanted to say just how proud I am of everybody, of the entire team, our community. I keep thinking about O'Sullivans and how they're always offering to beat our kids. But it really is everybody just I think about, again, just how extraordinary this situation is and just how quickly you all have really stepped up. And I say you all, I could only see a few faces, but it's really the whole of you all. It's, I really, you know, again, we all hear concerns from community members and whatnot. I'd like to remind us all that, This is your first week in earnest as a team, as a group of principals and teachers and district staff, where you're planning beyond those first two weeks, right? So thank you so much for the great job of really keeping us abreast of any new information that happens. So very much appreciate everybody's efforts. In particular, I really want to call out Ms. Aquino, she has kept us together, the whole broader us. There's a lot of moving pieces, you know, the day to day support of, you know, just the logistics of getting our kids back to school. And then there's the business of running the district and keeping us in line as a board. Ms. Aquino, thank you for the endless hours and all of your effort. Much, much appreciated. Um, no, no, no. Go ahead.

[11938] Ray Rodriguez: No, no. Yeah. UCSB dad. And I'm so happy for student board member Castillo. He's going to love it in Santa Barbara and the school, the excellent school. And in solidarity, a lot of our alumni are wearing their graduation gowns and everything. And it's been posted on Facebook in support of the class of 2020. I think that's it.

[11963] Elisa Martinez: Fantastic. Thank you.

[11964] SPEAKER_35: Ms. Martinez, I don't want to steal your thunder, so I do want to let you ask a question.

[11969] Maria Huffer: No, go ahead. Please, please, please.

[11970] SPEAKER_35: If I may, I forgot to mention that there has also been some confusion in regards to the lunches that are being provided. I do want to clarify that they are for all Newark students. not just low income, not just free lunch for all Newark students. So if you need a lunch, if you want a lunch, please come. And it's all students in your family.

[11997] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. But OK, let me next point. So Cesar, I'll speak to you as a student and a comrade excited about Santa Barbara. I think I mentioned when I was moving on, when I think between junior high and high school, that was my first experience with a university. And I was a migrant student and I got to go and spend a month at UCSB. And I loved, loved, loved, loved. It's a beautiful campus. I think you're going to just fall in love with it. I'm sure you are. So congratulations. We're very proud of you.

[12042] SPEAKER_43: Thank you, President Martinez.

[12044] Elisa Martinez: And then finally, I think we're always full of requests. But really, one of the things that I've just really been causing a heavy heart, besides all these difficult decisions we're having to make, I just can't stop thinking about our kids and the kids who it's hard enough being at home, just, you know, not having cabin fever, but making sure they're safe. And I know, Superintendent Salinas, you and I spoke about this and you mentioned, you made some mention around how we intend to account for, and I'll look to you, Ms. Delacruz, you know, 5,600 or 5,000, you know, or 72, whatever that magic number is, each of them has a name, and we need to make sure we've touched them all. We have to make sure we have a method of accounting to make sure that, you know, we are going to do our due diligence. We know we can't, you know, fix every issue, you know, but, you know, have we made and gone through our due diligence of making sure we've accounted for every single one of our kids? So I would look forward in the next, and again, knowing that this is week one, really, of this environment, in this new long-term environment, I would really ask that you consider a way to turn back around a report that gives us that ability to see and how we are accounting for that. You know, it makes me think about elementary, you know, our first and third graders, I think, where we had our buddy, right, their reading buddy. and just thinking any which way where our kids help us making sure that all their buddies are accounted for. So anyway, I do put that in your capable hands. I would love to make sure that I put out this request. I hope the rest of the board agrees. We'd like to get a report on how we've accounted for that. Sorry for being long-winded, but it is right here in my heart and I think about it every day. With that, I will turn it over to you, Superintendent Salinas.

[12182] SPEAKER_27: Yes, thank you. And yes, I think that's doable. And I know it speaks to all of you. You wouldn't be on the board if it wasn't about our kids. And so absolutely, we can definitely follow up on that. And knowing that a lot of our students, particularly our older students, they, in some ways, are probably becoming caregivers for their siblings. And so I think when Member Castillo was saying that, It's balancing that because some of our students, quite honestly, can't get in front of a computer because they're taking care of their siblings. So we will definitely check on that and compile a report. So I want to end the night by, again, a promo for O'Sullivan. So tomorrow, 8 AM to 10 AM, O'Sullivan's Breakfast for all students, all newer kids. And they are at 5660 Thornton Avenue, 8 AM to 10 AM, free breakfast. for kids. I want to also, on behalf of the board, and I anticipate we will meet this new special person for Newark, but as a lot of you know, we have a new chief of police, police chief Gina Anderson, and so I've been retweeting it, I tagged her, I followed her on Twitter, so looking forward to continuing our great relationship with our police department and getting to know this new chief who started this week. Talk about new things. So she just started this week. And yes, thank you all meals off for all students and and the last thing is happy Passover to our families that are celebrating. And also a happy Easter and we know that. it's hard to be away from family. But I'm again, I'm looking at social media, families are finding a way to be creative. I highly recommend Netflix Watch Party. I was able to watch a great movie with my parents. It took about an hour to teach them how to get onto Netflix party. But that was fun too. And so wishing you some some good times with your families. So thank you. That's all for me.

[12316] Elisa Martinez: Sorry, I was going to. I think, I think that's it then. With that, I would entertain a motion and a second to adjourn the meeting.

[12329] Phuong Nguyen: I move. But I want to say congratulations again to Cesar on a job well done. You're going to love UCSB. There's lots of alumni from Newark Memorial that have graduated from US UCSB, so you're gonna be another representing member. So amazing, good job.

[12349] SPEAKER_42: I'll second.

[12352] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Member Wood moves, Member Gutierrez seconds. Student Member Castillo, how do you vote?

[12361] SPEAKER_42: Yes.

[12362] Elisa Martinez: Member Jean?

[12363] Bowen Zhang: Yes.

[12364] Elisa Martinez: Member Nguyen? Yes. Member Gutierrez? Yes. Member Rodriguez?

[12371] Ray Rodriguez: I want to go another hour.

[12374] Elisa Martinez: Yes. And my vote is yes as well. Thank you so much. Meeting adjourned 1047 PM. Thank you. Thank you.

[12381] Guadalupe Lopez: Bye. Thank you. Bye.

[12384] Elisa Martinez: Good night, everyone. Good night.

No minutes available.