Regular of the Meeting

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[0] Elisa Martinez: We call this meeting to order at 5.05 p.m. And Ms. Gutierrez, roll call, please.

[9] SPEAKER_36: Member Zhang? Here. Member Nguyen? Here. Here. Member Rodriguez? Here. And President Martinez? Here. And Member Salami had informed me that he wasn't going to be able to attend this one.

[30] Elisa Martinez: Okay, very good. Do we, I know that we were having some potential issues with folks joining in. Can we tell if other folks have been able to join the meeting now?

[42] Phuong Nguyen: So they're saying that it's just saying, hey, we're waiting to be let in. So do you see them, Paul?

[54] SPEAKER_33: We do have attendees in the attendee room.

[56] Elisa Martinez: Okay. So they should be able to, folks should be able to listen and okay, very good. All right, with that, we move to item two, which is the approval of the agenda. And before I ask if there's any modifications to that, I just wanted to take a second So sorry, um, I wanted to take a second and apologize to uh to publicly apologize to member of uh, jean last, um last meeting he had a question about the minutes and and um, I I may have been too I apologize if I was a little too short in kind of trying to get a move forward on this item. You had a question about the why and item was pulled, typically, you know, staff doesn't have to share. And I know we've been talking about trying to keep the meeting going and not getting into a lot of administrative conversations. So I just wanted to apologize to you, Member Zhang.

[122] SPEAKER_33: Oh, that's fine.

[124] Elisa Martinez: Okay, and so with that, we move to item 2.1, which is the approval of the agenda as is, unless there's any items that are going to be changed, order,

[140] Ray Rodriguez: I'd like to make a motion that we accept the agenda as is.

[144] Elisa Martinez: I'm sorry, my understanding. Sorry, I was waiting on the superintendent. My understanding is that we were minutes would be pulled.

[155] Mark Triplett: All right. I was thinking that we were waiting until after the study session for that part Yes, so my apologies. We would like to pull certain minutes from this agenda. OK. And if you can give me a second, I can pull up. So that is the August. So all the minutes except for the August 6, August 20, and September 3 minutes. Those are the only minutes to remain. The other minutes, if they can be pulled, please.

[191] Elisa Martinez: Okay, so so items 15 7 8 and 9 remain And we pull um, so we're gonna pull 15.3 4 5 and 6 Plus, um, 15 10 and 15 11, correct? That's correct

[217] Mark Triplett: And is this an appropriate time to explain anything about that? Or should I wait until later?

[224] Elisa Martinez: I mean, if you want to just very quickly give a quick reason, otherwise we can keep going.

[232] Mark Triplett: OK. I will talk more about how we've revised our minutes process later on in my superintendent's report. But the specific reason for pulling these is because we experienced a technical difficulty when uploading them to the system. And so some of those minutes were not actually officially uploaded to the public until this morning. And so we thought it more appropriate to just pull them just so that there was no feelings that the public did not have sufficient time to review them. And then we also noticed one slight error in one of the minutes with regard to a vote. that to approve minutes in the last time, and we realized, thanks to a community member, that that was actually not the case. So we wanted to make sure we revised those before bringing them back to be approved.

[290] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Any other changes to the agenda? Otherwise, I would entertain a motion to approve the agenda with items 15.3 through 15.6 removed, as well as 15.10 and 15.11 removed. I move to approve the agenda as is with items 15.3 through 6 and items 15.10 and 11 removed from the agenda.

[319] Phuong Nguyen: I second. Thank you.

[335] Elisa Martinez: And Ms. Gutierrez, should we vote on BoardDocs or should we just do a quick by voice vote?

[343] SPEAKER_36: We can vote on BoardDocs. The voting has been open for you guys if you guys did log on to BoardDocs. Unfortunately, I can't share my screen, so I can read them out loud if you like.

[355] Elisa Martinez: Yes, let's just do a for now until you're otherwise. Yeah. OK, so member Zhang, how do you vote? Oh, OK.

[366] SPEAKER_36: Because I'm getting the votes. I'm getting the votes on board docs already. So I can call out the board, the vote for each, for each person.

[376] Elisa Martinez: Okay. That's fine.

[380] Ray Rodriguez: I'm not on board docs. Okay.

[384] Elisa Martinez: Okay, let's do a voice vote for this item. When we resumed after the study session, let's all make sure we're on BoardDocs so we could do the remainder of the votes on BoardDocs. So, Member Zhang, you voted? Yes. Member Nguyen? Member Rodriguez?

[403] Ray Rodriguez: Yes.

[404] Elisa Martinez: And my vote is yes as well, so the motion carries. And the next item is public comment on the board study session item. Ms. Gutierrez, do we have public comment?

[418] SPEAKER_36: Yes, we do. First comment comes from Cindy Parks.

[425] Elisa Martinez: Thank you.

[436] SPEAKER_36: OK, I think she might not be logged on yet. We'll wait a few minutes, but there is also a comment from Cary Knoop, who is available as an attendee. Okay, fantastic.

[454] Cary Knoop: And the system tells me I'm unmuted. Can everybody hear me?

[457] Elisa Martinez: Yes, we can hear you, Mr. Newp.

[460] Cary Knoop: Good evening, everybody. Good evening, board members, superintendent and staff. You know, wonderful that we have a FICMAT workshop. You know, FICMAT is a really great organization to help schools do, you know, proper financial management. I'm a little bit concerned, though, that we're getting into serious tunnel vision. It's not the case that every financial report should now be surrounded with school closure arguments. There are many more things of running a school and to do good financial management, school closure is not the only thing there. If you read the report, there's a whole bunch of things that they describe as a concern and these things need to be addressed as well. So I think it's a little bit of a tunnel vision presentation, the one that I've seen. One of the things that we really need to get going is our audit committee. The last time the audit committee met was, I think, in January. They're supposed to meet every quarter. So, you know, please get that going again. That's so important. I'm glad that I received the resolution 1774. Because I think we finally get now in a situation that this whole Fund 17 borrowing crisis, as I call it, is kind of fake news. It seems to be that an informer, CBO, kind of didn't copy that correctly on his budgets. But it is not alone. We're clear it's not alone. And resolution 1774 is clear. It basically gives the district a carte blanche to use that for balancing the budget. Now, of course, we don't want to misuse fund 17. And when we have the funds, we want to send the money back, obviously. But this whole drama of, oh, my goodness, we're in trouble because we have to pay back our loan is really not the case. One remark about the slides, page 15, facilities utilization. I understand it's copied from the FGMAC report, but that's really severely off. The capacity numbers are not current. And I think like Kennedy, just to pick one is about 20 points off. So really, we need to have accurate information. So that's basically what I wanted to say. Great that we have a FICMAT report, but let's not get into tunnel vision that every solution for every problem is now closing schools. That's trivialism we won't want to get into. Thank you.

[629] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Mr. Knoop. Ms. Gutierrez, do we have additional speakers?

[635] SPEAKER_36: We do. We have Ms. Veronica Medina. OK.

[643] Elisa Martinez: Welcome, Miss Medina.

[645] SPEAKER_17: Thank you. Good evening, Dr. Triplett and members of the school board and staff. My name is Veronica Medina. I'm a parent of a fourth grader in special day class at Music Elementary, and I'm also able to serve on the School Consolidation Advisory Committee. So I've become very familiar with our struggle to achieve fiscal solvency. And I will just tell you, I do not envy the tasks that you have ahead of you. But before you head into your study session and review the FCMAT, I'm not sure exactly how to say that one, presentation, I just wanted to bring a concern of mine to you. I noticed on page 18 of the report that the enrollment numbers presented were a little bit off. Also, those same enrollment numbers are listed on page 15 of your PowerPoint presentation for your study session. And these numbers do not match the numbers that were given by our consultant school works that were provided to the advisory committee, nor do they really match any enrollment numbers that I've heard for this year. So I just, to make sound decisions, it's important to use accurate data in our planning and our preparation. But if the data is flawed, then it really could impact everything. in not such a positive way. Just something to keep in mind as you head into your studies session. Thank you so much for your time. Good evening.

[732] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Ms. Medina. Ms. Gutierrez, do we have a question?

[740] SPEAKER_36: I'm being told, I mean, you guys are on Zoom and you guys can see the attendees by clicking the participants. I'm being told that Ms. Cindy Parks is on there unless she's the one named Zoom. I mean, the instructions are that their names be put on because we don't want to get any Zoom bombs, obviously. So unless you guys want me to try and see if the person, the attendee named Zoom is Ms. Parks, give me some instruction as to how we move forward.

[780] Elisa Martinez: What is the instruction that we give our speakers, our public speakers?

[784] SPEAKER_36: That they please come in, sign in with their names. Because in situations like this, I need to see what the name is of the person so I can unmute their microphone. And I don't see a Cindy Parks.

[799] Phuong Nguyen: She said it might be her, so can you just try?

[803] SPEAKER_36: And you guys tell me, President Martinez.

[806] Elisa Martinez: So I think this is an interesting, and we as a board need to make a decision whether we're gonna make this one exception, because we do have to be aware and careful about Zoom bombs. I mean, we have to be, you know, this meeting is being recorded. So we need to hold folks to the instruction. Can we check offline whether it's her? um and then that she's unable to change her zoom name to to to the full name she well they should be able to they should be able to rename themselves correct yes correct unless i get confirmation that she is zoom currently as the attendee is zoom is her uh can we get her can we get her to uh ask her if she could rename herself please just to confirm that that is her

[857] Ray Rodriguez: So in my opinion, if the majority of the board members say it's okay to see if Zoom is heard, then we should be able to do it.

[866] Elisa Martinez: Okay. And that's fine. And is this a one-time exception versus a rule? I think this is important that we set that up.

[874] Ray Rodriguez: It wouldn't be a one-time exception and it would be an exception based on what's happening right now. So hopefully it never happens again.

[882] Phuong Nguyen: Well, I would say a one-time exception just so we can make sure that moving forward. And then, yes, because she doesn't know how to change her name right now.

[894] Elisa Martinez: Okay, so I'm just gonna get a nod. This is a one-time exception. If the instructions are there, then we need to make sure folks are able to do that.

[902] Ray Rodriguez: Yeah, I'm okay. I'm okay with that.

[905] Elisa Martinez: Member Nguyen? Yes. Okay, Member Zhang? Yes. All right, let's go ahead and confirm that that's her.

[910] SPEAKER_33: Make sure we are able to remove this if it turns out to be false.

[915] SPEAKER_36: Okay, Mr. Paul, Mr. Rose, if you could please unmute the Zoom.

[922] Cindy Parks: It's me, thank you very much. I don't know how to do this. I'd said Cindy Parks, so I don't know. But thank you for letting me in, giving me the time to be able to figure out what's going on here. So I'll begin my speech. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Parks. Interfund borrowing is what you approved on August 6, 2020 with resolution 2020.21-002. Do the cash deferral from the state. This resolution clearly spells out this is temporary borrowing between funds, and the money is to be repaid in accordance with Education Code 42603. The language of this Education Code is contained in the presentation this evening. Also in the presentation is your AR3050. from 2006, which clearly says a loan to the general fund or other funds as necessary shall be repaid under terms and conditions established by the board at the time of such loan. I have reviewed numerous agendas, minutes and videos and other than the inner fund borrowing due to cash deferral from the state, I haven't found any board approved transfer categorized as a loan to be repaid under the terms and conditions established by the board at the time of the loan. I have seen comments in your budgets in the ACOE letters and the FCMAC reports referencing the district's transferring of funds from Special Reserve Fund 17 to the General Fund over the years. This was done to support NUSD's fiscal solvency as allowed by Board Resolution 1774, which was passed in February of 2009. The most recent letter from the ACOE says the resolution required the funds transferred from Fund 17 be paid back from future general fund budgets. the ACOE has continued to look at this situation as an outstanding debt. It's wonderful to be in possession of the 2009 resolution 1774 and to see the language contained within the resolution did not mention anything about inter-fund borrowing nor any repayment. While it has not been an ideal situation for the last 20 years with declining enrollment leading to less revenue and the continued deficit spending, It's exciting to know the current board and those who were to be elected in the next few weeks will not be burdened with this perceived outstanding debt. I don't want you to misinterpret my comments as support for the irresponsible spending, which has led to the district's current financial situation. However, I don't believe in perpetuating misinformation either. clearly the misrepresentation of resolution 1774 and the district's need to repay fund 17 transfers needs to be rectified with the ACOE and FITMAC. Thank you very much.

[1089] SPEAKER_36: And President Martinez, just so that it'd be known, Ms. Parks' name has been corrected.

[1094] Elisa Martinez: Okay, perfect. Thank you very much. And thank you, Ms. Parks, for your comments. Ms. Gutierrez, do we have any additional speakers? That's it. Thank you. And with that, we have approximately 40 minutes before closed session. So with that, I hand this study session to our superintendent, Dr. Triplett.

[1116] Mark Triplett: Thank you, President Martinez. Good evening, board members and staff and community. I'm really excited to be here in my first study session in Newark Unified. So please forgive me if I do anything wrong, but I'm learning as I go. We are excited to have this conversation. I think it's really important because as you recall, we had the report from FCMAT And the representatives from FCMAT are also here this evening and will be able to speak with us some more. But we had that report, and at the time what we said was we wanted to really make sure that we came back and shared with you some of the actions that we're going to be taking, as well as have some discussion around particular very high leverage items that come up in the report and have come up for many years, I believe. And so this evening what we're intending to do is really because we could, if we were to go one by one line item by lining item in the whole thick Matt report and share each step that we're taking for each little piece that we unfortunately wouldn't have time tonight. So what we've what we've thought to do is identify. a few of the most high leverage pieces. One of them being the discussion around Fund 17 and reserves. And then the other piece really being a discussion around the structural deficit in general and how to address that and the actions that were supported in the FCMAT report and from the board. So that's a little framing about what we're going to do tonight. I'm going to in a minute have Ms. Dela Cruz go through a presentation. And then what we hope we'll have time to do is then for the board to have a discussion. And one of the key pieces of that discussion, I'll just tee it up now, is we really would like some guidance and some To engage you all in a question around what is the appropriate amount of reserves that we should have as a district moving forward, particularly in given this time of financial crisis throughout our country. and also brought by the pandemic, but also in relationship to the recent events in the California and the last decade of budgets in California, and then also our own budget history with a structural deficit. So big question there is what is the appropriate amount of reserves in order for us to be a healthy, vibrant, flourishing district? And with that, I'll turn it over to Ms. Delacruz.

[1291] Marie dela Cruz: Thank you, Dr. Triplett. Good evening, President Martinez and board members. Ms. Gutierrez, can I ask that the guest panelists be invited in? I've invited our representatives from FCMAT back to join us in the study session. So Ms. Jennifer Noga and Mr. John Von Flue will be joining us in the study session. So thank you. As Dr. Triplett mentioned, for the purposes of this study session, I'm going to go through some of the areas of high risk. Because if we were to go through the entire report, we would probably need more time. And if the board wishes to, in the end, we can always add another study session or provide staff reports as needed. So can I go ahead and share my screen?

[1354] Nancy Thomas: Okay, here we go.

[1356] Marie dela Cruz: Thank you. So we will be going through the areas of high risk. Oh, you can see this, huh? Let me see.

[1367] Mark Triplett: Okay. We can see it, Ms. Delacruz.

[1372] SPEAKER_36: It looks good, Ms. Delacruz. Great.

[1374] Marie dela Cruz: So we'll be reviewing the areas of high risk and focus on those areas tonight. And then if you would allow me to please go through the presentation and jot down some notes and questions we can discuss afterwards, that would be great. So in terms of the areas of high risk in that section, there was the budget and the fiscal status. At the September board meeting, FCMAT did highlight some of the crucial points, and the district was identified as high risk of insolvency. There were many areas of fiscal concerns that were found. The number one main concern was that the district's inability to maintain sufficient reserves due to multi-year projected deficit spending, and also the failure to act to correct that trend. And a lot of it is beyond the district's control in some respects. It was because of declining enrollment. In the last couple of years, our district has seen a decline in about 300 students. And it's projected to continue. There's also rising costs of statutory benefits, such as STRS and PERS retirement benefits. And the revenue factor in terms of the local control funding formula is now all based on the cost of living adjustment. And in our case right now, what makes it worse is that our COLA is presently at 0%. And there's also been some key turnover in, you know, key leadership positions such as my position, the CBO, superintendent and board members and department administrators. And what that does is it creates an inconsistency in information, some level of confidence and some insecurity maybe in some information that's provided. And we'll also go through the facilities piece because that also has to do with our efficiencies. In the areas of high risk, so in this section, Any existence of a no answer to any of these items would supersede the scoring and would elevate the district to a higher risk level. So the initial trigger for the fiscal health risk analysis to begin with had to do with our qualified interim report certifications. We were on watch in 18-19 when the district filed two consecutive qualified interim reports. And the risk analysis, again, was triggered in 1920 at first interim when we had our third consecutive qualified certification. However, with FCMAT and the county, the county kind of gave us a chance and asked FCMAT to wait and delay the risk analysis to see what would happen in our second interim. But when we filed our second interim, that was qualified as well. And that became our fourth consecutive qualified report. And at that point, FCMAT had no choice but to engage in the district for the analysis. The district is working towards positive certification. As you recall, our unaudited actuals did indicate an increase in our fund balance. And our 2021 reserve for economic uncertainty is currently at 10%, and it's projected at 11 and 10% in the two subsequent years. The three main areas of our material weakness have to do with our 19-20 budget being conditionally approved and also our cashflow projections and our deficit spending. Our district risk score was at 29.3%, which normally would be considered moderate. However, because of our cashflow projections and deficit spending, both historically and what's been forecasted, the concerns were elevated to high risk. So the material with weakness in our adopted budget, the 1920 adopted budget was conditionally approved. And there was also a budget before that in 1718, which was also conditionally approved. We met all the conditions required by the Alameda County Office of Education and our 19-20 budget was subsequently approved. But the assumptions and the commitment that the board made in the resolutions to make the budget reductions were really critical in meeting the requirements for the approved budget for 2021. So our 2021 2021 adopted budget was approved unconditionally. But again, remember, it was because of the commitment that the board made in the resolutions and that we actually implemented in the 2021 budget. In terms of cash flow projections, FCMAT has a saying that cash is king. Cash and budget are two different things. We have to remember that budget is really, when it comes to revenues, it's what we expect to receive. And then cash is when we receive it. So the timing of our cash flow is really critical in order for us to meet all of our obligations and pay our expenditures. Now, although our, in this, analysis, it shows that the district is not doing the cash flow projections beyond the first year. It's not a requirement. However, it is a best practice to follow. And especially now that we have deferrals coming from the state starting in February 2021, it is even more critical that we have a multi-year cash projection. So in the meantime, I have been in training with the FICMAS Projection Pro software and I was able to use it for our 45-day budget revision and submitted it to the county and it was accepted. So we'll continue to use that software moving forward. And then in the deficit spending, this is also one of our material weaknesses. We had two resolutions last year that were approved by the board. They were a commitment to balance our budget. And in that balancing the budget, there were about 5 to 6 million of items identified in order for us to balance our budget. And it did include a million dollars in savings to consolidate and close schools. If you recall, this year we actually had a line item to consolidate and possibly close one school, but because we were not able to do that, we were able to identify other reductions in other areas to make up for the amount of 500,000, which we had estimated The board also indicated some uncertainty in implementing these reductions, which is one of the reasons why we ended up approving the second interim as qualified. And in order to give the board some idea of what we were able to do, We did implement 100% of the board's committed spending reductions of $4 million in this year's budget. Towards that end, in terms of the school consolidation, we had our first meeting on August 27th and we're scheduled to present a recommendation to the board on November 5th. In terms of our fund balance at the time that this review was being conducted, our second year, second interim multi-year projection showed a deficit of 107,000 in 2021 and a balanced budget in 21-22. But again, it was assuming that we would be implementing all of the board approved reductions that were identified in the resolution. In our 45-day budget revision for the 2021 school year, we are projecting a 203,000 deficit next year and 1.8 million in 22-23. This again assumes a $1 million savings from school consolidations and closures. If we are not able to do that, our true deficit would be 1.2 million next year and then a 2.8 million the following year. So even with the assumed budget reductions from our board approved resolutions, You can see that our deficit spending continues and is projected in future years. When we talk about our reserves, I wanted to share the AR3050, which was established by the board back in February 2006. And this is our reserve for emergency purposes. And as Dr. Triplett says, part of us maintaining a very healthy reserve is to maintain a sufficient amount. And we'll be having that discussion later after the presentation. We currently have 2.3 million in our Fund 17, which is about 3%. And that is not even enough to cover one month of payroll. And Interfund Borrowing, I wanted to share this as well, because Ed Code 42603 does allow Interfund Borrowing to take care of short-term cashflow needs. And we did pass a resolution. We anticipated needing this this year, especially because of the deferrals. So the board has already approved that resolution. And we will also need to address the Interfund borrowing that has occurred in the last couple of years from fund 17 to the general fund. Just a little bit of history on our reserve for economic uncertainties. The district did transfer a total of five and a half million from fund 17 to the general fund. And as far as we know, it was a temporary borrowing for cashflow purposes back in 08, 09, 16, 17, and 17, 18. This outstanding loan is highlighted in every ACOE review letter. And also it was mentioned in our FCMAT 2009 and 2017 reports. So some of the questions that we'll be addressing talking about are about what options does the board have to resolve this issue? What level of reserve is required for the district? What level of reserve should the district maintain? And what should the board commit to? Newark Unified, how it compares to other districts in the state, the average reserve for California Unified School Districts is 17.24%. And for all school districts, it was 17.71. The median reserve for large district was 16%. And again, a material weakness identified was in deficit spending. So these three questions were all no, no, no. Is the district avoiding deficit spending? No. Are we projected to avoid deficit spending in the two subsequent years? No. Is the district deficit spending in the current and two subsequent fiscal years and has the board approved and implemented a plan to reduce and or eliminate deficit spending to ensure fiscal solvency? No. This is our current multi-year projection. In next year, as I mentioned, we're looking at a $200,000 deficit and then the following year at 1.8. And then the third year out is 3.5, million. This is assuming 0% COLA, the increases in our PERS and STRS liabilities, increases in benefits, and other factors. So as you can see, by 2023-2024, our general fund reserves will be down from 10% down to 5.2%. And even if you assume that 2024-2025, there's no change in revenues and expenses, our reserves will be depleted in four years. The 3% minimum is not enough to cover one month of payroll. Our average payroll is about 4.5 million, which is 7% of expenditures. And the Government Finance Officers Association, which is a nationwide organization, they recommend a 17% reserves, which covers two months of expenditures. When the Thick Matt team did the analysis on our facilities. It was based on the facilities master plan. And this is also based on OPSC loading standards. The general message here is that the district has excess capacity. We're under utilizing our facilities. And the question again is, does the district use its facilities fully in accordance with the Office of Public School Construction's loading standards? The answer is no. So in the meantime, as part of our school consolidation process, we were able to update some of the capacity information and also looked at what it would look like in 25-26 based on the projected enrollment And even if you only count the permanent classrooms, because there's some discussion about, should we count portable? Should we not count portables? Even when we only counted the portables that were in good condition, there's still some feeling out there that maybe we should only look at permanent classrooms. But even when you do that, you can see that the excess capacity in 2526 is 1,578 seats in elementary and junior high. which is still ends up being about 72%. So whether you look at the capacity with permanent classrooms, with or without portables, the bottom line is that the district does have excess capacity. The district was serving over 10,000 students once upon a time, and our enrollment has declined down to 5,500 students. And it's actually even lower than that based on our C beds. We had projected 5,600 and our C beds enrollment is down about 135 students. So our elementary school enrollment, this is based on back September 10th, our C beds is at 2,934. So just a difference of about two students. And if you look at that, Enrollment, we're only utilizing 67% of our capacity. So we need to work at right-sizing our district. And by doing that, it would provide our district more opportunities to expand and enhance our educational programs. Just see, oh, I just, our current CBEDS enrollment, which was just done last Wednesday, it's 5,465. So some of the future challenges is the school consolidation process and how do we right size our districts so that we become more efficient? What are some other additional budget balancing solutions? Unfortunately, we still have some work to do. We have to identify more solutions because school closures is not enough. We continue to experience declining enrollment We will be seeing a decrease in funding from the state, especially because of the impact of COVID on our economy. We still have a lot of facilities and maintenance improvement projects to look at and the continuing increased costs in payroll and benefits and operating expenditures. So some of the next steps that we would like to discuss has to do with board resolutions so that we can resolve these transfers from fund 17, the reserve for emergency purposes to the general fund, identify additional budget balancing solutions and budget cuts for the next subsequent two years. We may need to update our enrollment projections, We should update our AR 3050 so that we can specify a specific level of reserve above the 3% minimum and take action on the school consolidation advisory committee recommendation to the board regarding school closures. So with that, I thank you. We can open up for discussion.

[2544] Mark Triplett: Thank you, Ms. Delacruz. And could you go back to the slide with the discussion questions, please?

[2553] Marie dela Cruz: The reserve, right? That one?

[2556] Mark Triplett: Yes. OK. President Martinez, should we open up maybe for some clarifying questions first, and then the board could have some conversation around these guiding questions?

[2571] Elisa Martinez: Yes, I think that's a great point. I wanna make sure that as I watch the clock here that we also, the last points that you have on your last slide, you're clearly looking for some direction for us. So let's just try to kind of manage ourselves and make sure that we're able to address or you're able to address the board questions, but let's make sure you also get what you need from us. um and we know we'll be going over a little bit after six o'clock so yes let's do that um and i have a clarifying question but i before i ask my question i will go ahead and um ask if some of the other board members have questions i guess i'll go ahead i asked the 1.5 i mean the 5.5 million that we've been transferring from

[2623] SPEAKER_33: from 17 to general fund over the past 12 years. So today that I did look into our resolution 1774, there was really not a word borrow. But I guess Figma thought this is a loan, which is borrowing. It is a loan, and it gets to be repaid. So I want to hear from our expert from Figma what is, How did you make the decision that this is an outstanding loan while our board resolution really doesn't, really didn't mention the word borrowing or loans?

[2665] Elisa Martinez: So, sorry. So that's a question. Sorry. That's a question for Mr. Von Fluh. Okay.

[2672] SPEAKER_33: Also, I mean, if the superintendent, if we can have a, because I guess the key point here, it is a loan or is it not a loan?

[2679] Elisa Martinez: Well, So, go ahead, Mr. Von Flue.

[2682] Mark Triplett: We'll let him answer. Mr. Von Flue can chime in. And then, Ms. Dela Cruz, I think you could also speak to just what we've sort of unearthed and our understanding about how that process happened.

[2696] SPEAKER_18: Yes. So good evening, all. Happy to join in again tonight to assist and provide some clarification of our review. When it comes to the Fund 17 and Fund 1, I want to start off with kind of making sure you understand what the two funds are. I want to look at it, you can look at it like a checking account and a savings account. Fund 1 is your general fund that all the transactions occur, and Fund 17 is your savings account, which really no transaction should occur. However, it's there for use and for backing any needs that the general fund has. When we look at the reserve, the total reserve, those two in the financial documents are kind of blended so that if you have money in Fund 17, it automatically flows to cover the reserve requirement. So from an accounting standpoint, they are combined and aggregated so that the district's reserves can be seen by the total of fund balance from the two. So going back to what the district took action, and regardless of whether the district took action to borrow and or transfer the funds from 17, that's something that I'm not exactly clear as to what actions happened when, or I don't recall in front of me. But in most funds, other than fund one and 17, there's a restriction to those dollars. that they're intended for a specific use. And you can borrow from them, but you have to repay them because they are intended for other uses. What's unique about Fund 17 is it's an unrestricted reserve. So the only designations in Fund 17 are board designations. And the board designates that we want to withhold this reserve for economic uncertainty or for future expenditure in A, B, or C, what have you. So that's a designation by the board. So getting to the issue that we have here, the board can do a couple of things. And from accounting standpoint, the transfers or the accounting between fund 17 and one occurred as transfers, meaning the accounting did not, there's different accounting used when you borrow and different accounting moves when you transfer. And the accounting coding that was used was a transfer. And therefore it didn't come up on the year-end audit as an issue or any other issue, you have to look at the board minutes and the board resolution to find that the language of any different from a transfer. So the point is that it's really at the board's discretion. If the board wants to designate that as was a loan and wants to move the money back to fund 17 as and that's where it would reside, that's fine. Or if they want to designate it as a permanent transfer and it resides in Fund 1, that is up to you as well. Again, when you're looking at the total reserve, it's looked at as one reserve amount, an aggregate of the two funds. So I hope that helps you to understand a little bit of the background as to if you wanted to keep it in Fund 1 designated as reserves or move it to fund 17, which kind of puts it into the savings account and requires an extra level of action, meaning a board action to move it back and forth into fund one.

[2924] SPEAKER_33: I see, I see, I see. Thank you, Mr. President. Go ahead. I guess if the board re-resolved this issue, we settled on this, we shouldn't be seeing this outstanding loan in the next FICMA report going forward. Let's, I mean, just assuming that say the board say, I'm just make up a number. Let's say the board decide we're going to transfer half of them back to Fund 17. The other half of this 5.5 million stays in Fund 1. Then we settle this forever. Then next year, the FGMA report, we shouldn't be having this outstanding loan stuff highlighted in the review letters anymore, right? Right.

[2961] Ray Rodriguez: That would be correct. Yeah. I have something to share if I may.

[2967] Elisa Martinez: Go ahead, Member Rodriguez.

[2970] Ray Rodriguez: You know, it's hard enough for me to remember what happened last board meeting and going back 10, 12 years, but we were very blessed. We had a bomb measure A that we were able to finish, you know, with facilities and, you know, adding the multi-papers, you know, rooms at the different elementary schools. And then, so we were blessed with having additional interest from that particular bond. And that interest, we found out that we could use that in general fund. And that's when, in my opinion, looking back, it's when we started Fund 17. And so it was just additional monies that would increase your reserve. And the board had a long discussion. I was fine with, with doubling the reserve from three to six. But the other board members wanted to go as far as 10, 15% reserves. So then we did pass a resolution that any money is borrowed or any money is transferred. And I like using the checking account and savings account like you have in a bank where you can go back and forth. But so that any money is transferred for economic uncertainties or whatever the administration decided had to be used for, then in time would be transferred back to Fund 17. At one point, the board decided, and I wasn't for it, but the majority of the board voted to do a payback. where the administration had to pay back Fund 17 if they borrowed monies. I don't know of any administration that actually adhered to that. So it's been flowing back and forth where you might've had a high of maybe 6 million in the account, maybe a low of one, if not lower. And then the, whatever administration was transferring the money would do their best to transfer it back into Fund 17. So it's been like a rollover type thing where the money would flow from one to the other. I've always considered additional reserves. The payback provision, since it's never really been adhered to, to me, there's no point in having it. I think the administration understands that if they take money from Fund 17 for certain economic uncertainties that they should try to, you know, put that money back. But the payback provision that we have, I've never considered it a loan. I consider it a transfer from one fund to the other based on the needs of the district at that particular time.

[3148] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Member Rodriguez. And I think that's where that's potential. And sorry, before I speak, Member Nguyen, do you have any questions or comments?

[3161] Phuong Nguyen: I do not have any questions, but I did want to comment. I'm echoing the question that Member Zhang had presented. I think there was misunderstanding in terms of whether it was an actual transfer of funds to Fund 1 from Fund 17, or was it a loan? And Mr. Wong-Flu had clarified it, so that was good. Thank you.

[3193] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Um, and so I think that again, you know the the the lack of clarity in the verbiage, um, I wanted to go back to the uh, two things one is just I just want to want it to call out a just the the communication or public comment that we had regarding um, the the enrollment numbers. I just want to make sure, Ms.dela Cruz, that's something we do tie up because we have been sharing quite a bit of information with the advisory committee. So if you could take note, we don't have to address it right this second, but we should, please, let's double check those documents. With regards to EdCode, so there's a question for, I think, Big Matt or Ms.dela Cruz. If we look at the language from EdCode, does it allow that? Does it require us to use the word transfer or loan, or is it implied that if we make do a movement of funds from one from one to another, the assumption is that it will get paid back. So what is that distinction. If we look at the ED code language. So I think that's important going forward, whatever we resolve now with regard to this issue. going forward, how do we make sure that that verbiage is very, very clear so that we don't end up in this back and forth of what do we do with this situation?

[3284] Mark Triplett: You'd like to answer that?

[3286] Marie dela Cruz: Yeah, my understanding is that with interfund, any transfers between funds is considered a temporary borrowing. And from what I have found in my research, the transfers that were done in at least in 16, 17 and 17, 18, as Mr. Von Flew had mentioned, accounting wise, they were cash transfers. They were considered cash transfers temporarily. And in talking to my director, she needed it to cover cash flow to make the expenditures for a couple of months because of the timing of our property tax revenues. So in that regard, they were, The understanding was that it was going to be a temporary borrowing and she said she just did not get direction to transfer it back because there was a transfer in our CBO position. It was there was an interim CBO and then it got lost in between. Okay.

[3352] Elisa Martinez: So that's, sorry, that's an important distinction because again, and you'll both made it a point to say from an accounting perspective, it was a transfer. So from that perspective, ed code implies that we need to pay it back. Again, we're not saying we could make a decision, but I think I wanna make sure that we clarify all, you know, what we have in front of us. We as a board can make that decision based on the kind of funds that it is, based on what I heard you, Mr. Von Falu. because it's this unrestricted funds, if you will.

[3386] Marie dela Cruz: Yeah, and then going back to the FCMAT report back in, I think it was 2017. No, 2009. Their comment there was because it wasn't real clear that the district needs to make a decision at this point. You either need to designate it as a permanent transfer or was it a cash transfer? And if it was, then you need to pay it back.

[3415] Ray Rodriguez: I don't ever remember when the board voted to do a transfer where there was a repayment provision as part of the vote where we said what the administration is recommending that we transfer let's say three million dollars with the understanding that the payback would happen within the next two years. I don't remember any vote that we took that actually said that. It was just basically a transfer in the board voted to transfer the money based on the recommendation of the administration at the time.

[3446] Elisa Martinez: Yeah, and I think that's why member Rodriguez, that's the distinction I wanna make sure we have clear. Because if it was a transfer, right? And unless we call it a permanent transfer, the assumption is that we have to pay it back. we're not going to be able to do that. That's right. And I think like I just want to again because we you know, I think I'm hearing a tendency to wanting, you know, have some resolution on this fund. That's fine. But I just want to make sure. How we develop the system so we don't end up in the situation again. I just have a comment.

[3479] Phuong Nguyen: Go ahead. transfer funds because of, you know, certain issues that come up in this case, you know, making payment for property taxes or, and waiting for the money to come into the district. But my main concern is that, you know, we do have to clean up our procedures in the district in terms of like those items that are being transferred. It has to be noted and it has to come back to the board as a process and as a procedure, because once money is put back or has been transferred to the district from the state or from the county, that needs to be recognized and it needs to come back to the board so that we can resolve those issues of transferring funds back to the designated funds, in this case, Fund 17. And because we can say or make excuses that there's staff turnovers or whatever, but the key problem is that our procedures are not solid. So I just want us to please make note of that and change some procedural processes moving forward.

[3561] Elisa Martinez: Sorry, Mr. Von Flue.

[3563] SPEAKER_18: If I may, and I just want to start off with saying I don't want to intend to step on any toes or anything, but I do kind of want to share that There's a lot of discussion about transferring and permanency and transferring and discussion around that. Those are things that happened in the past and I think that the appropriate or the direction I would encourage the board to take is one, establishing the reserve and get to that agreement on that establishment of the reserve and then to establish where that reserve resides. whether it resides in fund one or fund 17, the board has full authority to make that decision as it stands right now with or without consideration of what happened in the past. But I think the key piece here is establishing that level of reserve and putting that in either administrative regulations or some kind of a document where you know that this is what your establishment is and whether it resides in 17 or one, you can make that decision as well and you can transfer funds as needed. this year with the amount of deferrals that is happening throughout the state you're going to have to have access to any and all cash you have available and regardless of what fund it is okay the funds that are restricted uh for other uses those are going to require only a borrow and a return or repayment fund 17 may not but the board can restrict that and say and designate that saying this is what we want in 17 and you know and force the the borrowing instead of transfer. But I think the most important thing is to get to an agreement on the level of reserve, and then determine where that reserve should be held.

[3671] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. That's helpful.

[3674] Ray Rodriguez: President McConnell, I agree 100%, and we tried to do that before. The payback provision was put in after we got $4 million, or we were able to transfer it, from the Russian monies and the state gave us a certain window and we were able to put $4 million. I think it was 4 million into fund 17. And then the payback provision was put there where, but I don't remember saying that you have to pay back in a certain amount of time, but the administration was required to pay back. As far as the reserve, I would like to see a list of school districts that have declining enrollment What they're doing to increase their reserves. You know, rather than looking at all school districts, because we're in a particular with schools that have declining enrollment up and down the coast. And how are they dealing with with increasing their reserves and It'd be nice to get that at some point.

[3732] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Member Rodriguez. Dr. Triplett, sorry, I know you were trying to... Yeah, thank you.

[3738] Mark Triplett: And thank you, Member Rodriguez, I appreciate that. That is one of the reasons why we, as a school district, have had the realization of the necessity to consolidate schools. is because that is one of the most significant options for a district that does have declining enrollment and is challenged by a structural deficit. And so I appreciate what Mr von flu is encouraging the board to do because I think that is the much more significant question is, how much do we want to have in our reserves and do we want to be a fiscally vibrant. and fiscally healthy district with enough reserves to be able to withstand the economic situations that we know are coming? Or do we want to be a district that is always struggling and is scraping along a little bit because we do not have the amount of reserves that we know are actually really necessary? And there is the average of 17%, which I know to some in the past has seemed excessive. But when we've done some research, and it turns out that across the state, 17% is an average. For smaller districts, it's much higher, actually, because a small district doesn't have as much flexibility with that with when crisis arise, and we are considered a medium sized district. And so we do need to be conscious of, we don't have the kind of flexibility that a very large district has, which may have less reserves than than a district of our size.

[3855] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Dr. Triplett. And And I know member Wayne and I can weigh in, but we recently went through the master's in governance training. And I actually was completely surprised to hear what the recommendation was, because we always thought, we always saw the 3% minimum. And then we found out what 3% can really pay for, which was, I think, weeks of operation, if you will, not months, but weeks. and to, I believe, to answer, and this is only what we heard, Member Rodriguez, but I mean, there were all sorts of different sizes of districts represented during the training. And so a lot of those questions came up. And we did hear the concern around small to medium size. Typically, you want to be on the higher side, closer to that 17 at least, because of the lack of flexibility that you have. Just our budgets don't have that room. Um, so so those are just kind of the points I I too was very um, because I just seemed like such a wildly large number But when you when we come back and ask, you know, miss delacruz Um, if we look at that 17, let's assume it's seven per 17 we land there somewhere in that neighborhood So that covers us for how much is it a two month? Is it a three month? Because I think that's an important just to give folks perspective

[3946] Marie dela Cruz: It's two months, two months of expenditures, that's all it will cover. That would include payroll, any vendor payments we have to make, the benefit payments, two months of expenditures.

[3961] Elisa Martinez: Member Nguyen, did you want to weigh in on any?

[3966] Phuong Nguyen: Yes, during that training, it was definitely an eye opener for both President Martinez and myself. And we were like, wow, we are We do not have enough in reserves to be able to keep the district afloat. Our reserves will be depleted after two weeks. That is really concerning to me. And of course, I would be in a position to really be in favor of us trying to increase the percentage of reserves that we can have moving forward, but us determining that together is really important.

[4011] Elisa Martinez: And so, Superintendent, I know, you know, you and just watching the clock, we're already into closed session time, but If we look at those items you want a direction from us, can we go to that last page? Just want to make sure that if we look at this, what is it that you're wanting us to either, whether it's bringing it back or coming out of this study session, what are you looking for from us?

[4041] Mark Triplett: Yeah, thank you. I think what we would like is guidance around the range, and we can share our recommendation, which is 17%. It's not as high as some districts, but like Ms. Delacruz said, it does cover two months worth of expenditures. But if the board wants to give just some general guidance around that, then we could come back to the board with the proper action item to lift it up and so that the board could take whatever action is.

[4079] SPEAKER_33: Can I chime in on that number? I think the 17% for two months, I think that's a bit high. I think the two months expenditure is probably around 14%, not 17%. because a simple math will tell you that number is too high. Two months is one-sixth of the year. You use 17 multiplied by six, that's more than 100%. And we're only talking about salary and benefit. Salary and benefit is 85% of our budget. So it cannot possibly be 17%.

[4108] Mark Triplett: Just a correction, member Jun, that number is for not just salary and benefits, but for all expenses.

[4115] SPEAKER_33: I see, I see. So that's just general operation, not just payroll.

[4119] Marie dela Cruz: It's everything. It would be everything. What we pay in average for one month, everything that we would pay for in one month, or two months rather, sorry.

[4131] Ray Rodriguez: It would be tough to give direction on 17% unless you know what recommendations would be made by the district, what cuts are, what do we do to get to the point where we have the money to make it 17%?

[4145] Elisa Martinez: But I think just giving, so in my expectation, maybe you can clarify this, superintendent, is that, you know, if the direction is What does 17 percent look like right because it's not like we're voting right now to say this is the actual number because I think Yeah, I mean compared to where we've been Right. We've been kind of uh, miss ela cruz. We've been kind of slowly creeping up a little bit on the reserves So so you're right. Um member rodriguez, it's you know, it's all of a sudden it's this huge shift What does that really look like and what does it do? but um, but I think you know, give it given the fact that um So yes, it's important to have a data point of how other districts are doing it. But if we just bring it to ourselves and say, do we believe two months of operating budget, if you will, reserves, do we think that's excessive, two months? Because it doesn't strike me as excessive, at least me. I don't know, you know, you all could weigh in. I think it seems like, well, yeah, that that is probably reasonable. I mean, a month is just so short, right? Hopefully, we don't ever get to the dire situation. But if we need to, two months seems reasonable. To me, my perspective, and everyone could weigh in, is I think I would like to understand what 17% looks like. What would we have to do to get there?

[4236] Mark Triplett: Yeah, and Ms. Delacruz can speak more to this, but I would say, realistically, it's not something that we would be able to achieve overnight. Not overnight, exactly. So we want to definitely build out a multi-year plan. Yeah. of how to get there, but it would involve both strategies around increasing enrollment and then strategies around reducing costs.

[4260] Marie dela Cruz: I think once we can establish that level of reserve, then we can work towards a plan and that would be our goal and how do we get there.

[4275] Elisa Martinez: Member, rest of the board, I mean, does that sound reasonable where we, it's the staff would look at if 17 is the target, what might it look like so that we can then maybe bring it back and continue the conversation, maybe give some additional direction?

[4293] Phuong Nguyen: Yes, I would be in agreement with that. Just to echo what the superintendent had said, I really do think that it needs to be in a stage phase approach. Yes, it's nice to be able to get to the 17%, but we need to be able to identify how we're gonna get there. Plus, with everything that's going on right now, including the school consolidation, we don't know financially what we're going to be looking for sure next year's budget also. So I would be in agreement with a phased approach.

[4334] SPEAKER_33: I think that two months for me is not excessive. It's actually may very well be the bare minimum. I think people so far fail to realize what kind of difficulty the state of California is going to be financially in the next several years. Because I don't think people understand the cash call of this state. Silicon Valley is moving out of the state. Twitter is permanently work from home. Microsoft permanently work from home. Google and Facebook, our neighbor Facebook is going to be 50% work from home. The high income taxpayer don't need to live in California anymore.

[4370] Elisa Martinez: Yeah. Thank you for that. I mean, it's a little bit of a scary thought, but it's actually a very true statement. So thank you, member Sean. Member Rodriguez, you're okay with that being a starting point?

[4383] Ray Rodriguez: Yeah, it's a goal and I'm anxious to see how the administration is, you know, what the different phases and how to get there.

[4395] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. And again, just watching the clock superintendent so I think that's that's the direction is let's let's shoot for 17 and percent and let's look at what that looks like. I'm just looking at and based on the conversation regarding. the issue with regards to the resolution with the borrowing of Fund 17. I think I definitely heard a couple of folks and Mr. Von Flue says, you know, you all need to resolve this. So it is the With that, Izzy, what are you looking for with regards to that? Are you looking for direction for us to a recommendation to go ahead and make that a permanent transfer so that we can clean up the process? What are your thoughts on that?

[4447] Mark Triplett: I'll let Ms. Delacruz chime in in a minute, but I would say that I think the big learning for me and others has been that the Fund 17, whether it's in Fund 17 or in general reserves, it's all reserves. And so whatever we need to do just to sort of rectify it on paper so that we don't continue to get FICMAT findings around Fund 17 in particular, I think is a wise thing to do. Ms. Dela Cruz, do you wanna chime in there at all?

[4478] Marie dela Cruz: Yeah, so I was thinking along the same lines. However we resolve it, whether we do a 50-50 kind of a compromise where we transfer back 50% of that 5 million and keep the other half in general fund, or we make it a permanent transfer. To me, those are, You either do the whole 100% as a permanent transfer, or you do some sort of a split. And those would be the two main options that I would recommend, just so that we can resolve this issue. And then also tailor it around the 17% that we're working towards.

[4522] Jodi Croce: So can I offer my... Go ahead, go ahead.

[4525] SPEAKER_33: I will be happy with a 50-50% split compromise. However, I do want to add an additional item to that. So after the 50-50% split, like let's say we pay back half of it, the other half we designate as permanent transfer, I want to add a new item. Any future transfer from Fund 17 to General Fund will need to be approved by the super majority of the board. Four votes, not three votes. Because I don't want to see a 3-2 vote again. Because when last time, several years ago, I remember when they did the transfer, it was a 3-2, very delighted board. It was bitter. It was delighted. I think this is not us. When we transfer funds from San Diego General, this is not an easy thing. I do hope we can have a super majority of the board agree on that before we do another transfer in the future.

[4575] Elisa Martinez: OK. So you're looking for some reaction for the rest of the board. I mean, I guess I would like to get other folks to weigh in on the supermajority. I think the first thing that comes to my mind, Member Zhang, is for any amount or did we want a dollar threshold that requires supermajority. So maybe, are you okay if we do it maybe in phases? And I don't know, I guess I'm looking at the camera here for staff, because I think there's the one that's been causing quite a bit of noise, which is, are we trying to close a school based on this assumed thing that we have to pay back? I think those are just, our financial condition is what it is, and that's what was described during the earlier part. This is about cleaning up the books. and saying, are we going to put this additional pressure to go pay back? Even if we put 50% back, we then have to then pay that 50% back to Fund 17, if that's where the reserves are gonna lie, correct? So that's another thing we need to go do. That's correct. And if we don't pay that, we're going to continue to get findings. It's not going to change our economic outlook, right? So it's almost like let's just make it a permanent transfer, the whole thing, right? Again, we still have to address the issue of the 17%. So I don't know that that changes the equation in any way.

[4685] Phuong Nguyen: I would be in agreement with you, President Martinez. I think that we should just do a permanent transfer to be able to clean up all the findings in FCMAT and move forward. And again, moving forward, have better protocol, have better procedures on how we want to handle inter-fund borrowing, and then and the designation and how, you know, if we are to pay back those things. But for right now, I think it's best to just do a permanent transfer and clean this up.

[4721] Elisa Martinez: Member Zhang, Member Rodriguez.

[4727] Ray Rodriguez: we this kind of verbal or shaking of the head does that make sense no no with with me i i really want to see what the administration um comes up with as far as um what we would need to do to uh you know to to get to that 17 percent reserves um so let's say you have an additional 10 million dollars that you have for reserves uh do we let that sit in the bank or if there's a need in the district where we have a need for our kids and everything, do we use it to take care of that need? I'm just not comfortable having money when kids have needs, having money, extra money in the bank that we can use to take care of that need. So I really wanna see what the administration comes up with to get to the 17%.

[4774] Elisa Martinez: I think there are two separate items though.

[4779] Marie dela Cruz: Mr. Rodriguez, to your point, if we get to a point where we're fiscally solvent and we're healthy and we're not deficit spending, then there's no need for us to dip into our reserves unless there's an emergency. So we should be able to take care of those needs from our operating budget. We shouldn't be relying on our reserves to take care of those student needs.

[4800] Ray Rodriguez: Yeah, but the issue I have is how do we get from point A to point B? We're at now to the 17%. Do we do it in phases? That's what I want to hear.

[4813] Marie dela Cruz: So maybe what we can do is provide some options and some scenarios. Now that we know, we kind of have a general feeling, what would it look like if you designate the whole 100% as a permanent transfer? What would it look like if we do a 50% permanent transfer and a 50% payback? what would it look like if you do 100% payback? And how does that go along with the goal of reaching 17%?

[4846] Elisa Martinez: Okay, so we will not give direction now. It sounds like Ms.dela Cruz, I think I and superintendent hearing that you all will bring some different scenarios so we can make the decision.

[4862] Mark Triplett: Okay. I think it was really good to I feel like we actually did get good direction here. So I really, I really appreciate it. I think that it was really valuable to hear your sentiments and to get a sense of like what is the general range and and and how and how to address the transfer back or to what degree. So we'll definitely come back with some different options with the long-term goal of reaching a 17% reserve, but with the clear understanding that we're not going to get there overnight, but we really want to have a plan. We want to already have a plan that we can really work towards.

[4906] Elisa Martinez: Gotcha. Okay, very good. And I just wanted to say, Member Zhang, you know, your comment about maybe our policies or ARs in terms of, you know, majority versus super majority, I think that is then a different issue that we absolutely could address. So I just want to make sure that I acknowledge that I think that we should have more discussion about it. I think it's very worthwhile. When we're making, you know big fiscal decisions like that. So, uh, thank you for for your suggestion Okay, and with that, um, we uh, if there are we have three minutes and we have 30 minutes for closed session, so any burning, um item that you need direction from us staff, uh superintendent If not, no, I think this is very helpful.

[4950] Mark Triplett: Thank you.

[4951] Marie dela Cruz: Yeah, I just want to make one last comment. Um, you know, the budget balancing solutions, that's something that we will also need to work on. And it also is part of us trying to increase our reserves. So we'll be working on that as well.

[4972] Elisa Martinez: And I just wanted, oh, sorry. I'm sorry, superintendent.

[4975] Mark Triplett: I'm sorry to interrupt. I don't want to open up a whole other discussion right at the end here. But I do want to say that I heard you, President Martinez, about the apparent discrepancy in enrollment numbers. And we actually, there is not a discrepancy, but we wanted to explain a little bit about why there was two different enrollment numbers there. And Ms. Del Cruz, do you think it's possible to explain that in two minutes?

[5005] Marie dela Cruz: Yeah, well, the data points from the FCMAT report were different from the data points that were shared at the School Consolidation Committee. So the enrollment figures that were shared with the School Consolidation Committee had to do with last year's CBEDS numbers. And the numbers that FCMAT used were from a different set. I can't remember. Maybe they can chime in on that. But the point is that They weren't wrong. It just depends on which data point you're looking at and which date.

[5047] SPEAKER_30: So I wanted to clarify that because the numbers used in the FCMAT report came from the document that you guys uploaded, which is the 1.4 report number. Sorry, I'm talking in code. I don't know the name of the CALPADS report. But it's 1.4, it was uploaded, and it comes directly from your certified CALPADS data. And it was 5,669 students. In this facility's enrollment numbers, we did not include Bridge Point High, the continuation school. It did not include Crossroads High, which is the alternative school. And it did not include, nine NPS students. So if you add the total of the TK six, seven, and 12, and those special day class students, because I'm wondering if people think the special day class students are actually part of the enrollment, they are. When you add those three columns together, you get a total of 548, 5,548 students, which is, just shy of the 5,669 enrollment, which is from that CALPADS report 1.4. So the difference is 121 students, which are those three schools that were not included in this. Just because of the use in the facilities that they're at and where they're housed, it really skewed the data. And so we just excluded NPS students, our offsite And then the continuation and the alternative schools are kind of skewed the site's numbers. So, but it is tied to the CalPADS 1.4 report.

[5159] Mark Triplett: Thank you.

[5160] SPEAKER_30: It is a timing issue.

[5161] Elisa Martinez: Yeah. No, thank you, Ms. Noga. I much appreciate it. And I think I just want to make sure, you know, the conversations of the consolidation advisory committee, you know, they've been very good about keeping us honest about the source of the data and making sure we are, you know, being consistent in how we're measuring reporting. So thank you. Go ahead.

[5184] SPEAKER_30: And that's great, because the community then is kind of like keeping us on our toes, right? Making sure that our numbers are there. So we're human. We can make mistakes, but it's good that they're checking and following. So, yeah.

[5198] Elisa Martinez: Well, thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you, staff. Thank you, Miss Ella Cruz and our folks from Frick, Matt, much appreciated. This is, you know, this review has been very helpful. Again, we are in this very difficult process of having this conversation around consolidation and in many, well, not in many, there are in several instances, folks have asked, you know, You know, can't we do other things right and and this is a conversation we've been having over the last couple of years. I think this was a really good summary to, you know, to kind of just give everybody clarity as to We are in a very difficult situation and it's not a new situation, right? So there's not a ton of options. In fact, our numbers look the way we do, as they are, and it already assumes the $1 million savings from the consolidation. Again, much appreciated. Always, you know, difficult to get through this, but we will get out on the other side of these financial issues so we can start talking about the good stuff that we can do, right? Because we're coming back to training. Sorry if I'm being long-winded, but remember when you quoted this, I think a meeting or two ago, In our training, we learned that high-functioning districts and boards, if you will, spend 60% of their time talking about academics and student performance. And we do not. We are most likely inverted. We rarely spend time talking because we're just trying to make ends meet. So very, very difficult, we understand. But thank you so much for all the work and more to come. Thank you again. And with that, before we recess to closed session, I would like to ask Ms. Gutierrez if we have any public comment on closed session items. Ms. Gutierrez, are you on mute?

[5333] SPEAKER_18: If I may, is this a good time for Jennifer and I to exit?

[5337] Elisa Martinez: Yes, yes, thank you. Thank you so much for being here. Yes, thank you.

[5340] SPEAKER_18: Have a good night. Thank you for having us. Thank you.

[5342] Marie dela Cruz: Thank you so much, Mr. Von Flue, Ms. Noga. Thank you. Appreciate you being here.

[5348] SPEAKER_18: Good night.

[5348] Marie dela Cruz: Good night.

[5349] Elisa Martinez: Good night. Excuse me? Oh, sorry. Ms. Gutierrez, do we have any public comment on closed session items? Nope. Okay, and so with that, we will recess to closed session where we will be discussing public employee discipline dismissal release, 4.2 Conference with Labor Negotiator Employee Organizations, NTA and CSCA, 4.3 Conference with Labor Negotiator, NEWMA, Unrepresented Supervisors in Contracted Management, 4.4, conference with legal counsel regarding existing litigation, 4.5, conference with legal counsel regarding anticipated litigation, 4.6, termination of expulsion order E1920-02, and 4.7 is termination of expulsion order E1819-09. Okay, and with that, we adjourn. We'll see you back in approximately 30 minutes.

[5788] SPEAKER_29: identifying those groups we have.

[7026] Jodi Croce: All right, hello.

[7031] Elisa Martinez: God, those were awfully short minutes. Okay, we'll just give Member Rodriguez another 30 seconds before we go ahead and get started.

[7056] SPEAKER_36: And Martinez, he just mentioned that he's having logging issues.

[7060] Nancy Thomas: Okay.

[7086] Elisa Martinez: Okay, we will, I guess I'd give it another 30 seconds. Okay, let's go ahead and get started, and Ms. Gutierrez, you may have to help with maybe resending the link. So it is 7.03, and we reconvene to open session, and we can move to item 5.1, which is the Pledge of Allegiance, if we could all please stand. And we'll all do it cacophonously. Ready? Begin. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. And I believe Member Rodriguez has joined. Okay, and before we move on to item six, which is report out of closed session items, Ms. Gutierrez, you brought to my attention that there was a public comment for closed session items that you weren't able to see. I know you were having some technical difficulties. Do you know if our speaker is still available? We can go ahead and let him make his comments before we report out on closed session.

[7208] SPEAKER_36: Yes, Mr. Rose, if you could let Mr. Kerry Knoop in, please.

[7220] Elisa Martinez: Mr. Knoop, you are on mute.

[7226] Cary Knoop: Am I on now?

[7227] Elisa Martinez: Yes, you are. Oh, I'm sorry. We thank you and apologize for that. We just, we weren't able to see you.

[7234] Cary Knoop: I think we're actually good because I think I wanted to speak on 6-1,

[7238] Elisa Martinez: So, oh, oh, okay. You're on 6.1, not on closed session on 6.1. Okay, all right. Okay, so with regards to 6.1, you have a comment, go ahead.

[7252] Cary Knoop: Yeah, so some general comments and basically in the line of what former member Nancy Thomas talked about in the last meeting, you know, that it's so important that, you know, when reporting out of closed session happens, that if the voting is not unanimous, that the individual votes of the board members is given. That's very essential. I think there's still one case out where I think that's still not given. That happened some time ago where that was not mentioned. And then, you know, when you report out of a closed session, and it's like no actions were taken, I think we do have to be careful with, you know, well, we gave general direction. Now, of course, when it's, you know, pertaining to anticipated litigation or strategies, then obviously you can't report that out. That would not be very smart. But, you know, whenever there's a vote or sort of like what the majority feels to do, and it's not strategic, and it's not related to anticipated litigation, the public really needs to know what the next step is. And I'm not saying that that's not the case, but I just want to reiterate, kind of follow up on what former member Nancy Thomas mentioned. So that was just my comment. Thanks a lot.

[7339] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Mr. Knoop. Ms. Gutierrez, was that the only comment we had there?

[7344] Julienne Sumodobila: Yes. Okay.

[7345] Elisa Martinez: All right. Thank you. And with that, for item 6.1, no reportable action was taken. Thank you. And so we move to item seven, which is recognitions and celebrations. Superintendent, school spotlight.

[7363] Mark Triplett: Thank you, President Martinez. Good evening again, board members, staff and community. So I believe this is a tradition that occurred last year as well, but we want to start back up with the tradition of once a month, we have a school that comes and that school principal comes to highlight the amazing things happening at this school. I think it's particularly important because there are a lot of families out there who may not know everything about our different schools. And recently I've been doing my park visits and have been speaking to prospective families, families who have younger kids who are looking for an elementary school. And so this is one more reason why I think it's really valuable for us to spotlight our schools and talk about the great things happening. And I want to do a little pre-celebration, because if you remember, this is Administrator Appreciation Week, and we have an amazing administrator here, Ms. Ingham-Watters. So just want to appreciate her in advance of her presentation, because she's wonderful.

[7434] SPEAKER_26: Hello, good evening. Just give me a minute to share my screen. You're the best. Thank you. All right. Good evening, Board President Martinez, trustees of the board, Superintendent Triplett, Executive Cabinet, Newark community and our BGI families and staff who are tuning in tonight. I'm Catheerine Ingham-Watters, the principal of Birch Grove Intermediate School. We are a grades three through six campus, and we share a name with our sister school, Birch Grove Primary, serving students in grades TK to two. That is my sister principal, Vicenta Ditto. And so I'd like to give you an overview of BGI this year. We have 16 general education classrooms, one special day class, a resource program, a science resource teacher, a PE teacher, a library, and an intervention ELD program. When we're learning in person, we have a thriving maker space as well as a music room. We also support student leadership and offer ongoing enrichment opportunities for our students. BGI's mission statement is to provide a safe, inspiring, and innovative learning community. And there are some of our awesome staff members during Teacher Appreciation Week last year, where each got delivered an amazing BGI teacher lives here. One of the things that we love at Birch Grove is our configuration. There are many benefits of having a primary and intermediate focused program. It allows for larger same age peer groups, larger collaborative teaching teams, and our ability to focus on developmentally appropriate needs of our students. For example, at the primary level social emotional learning foundational skills and citizenship and at the intermediate level adolescent social emotional learning and project based learning. So tonight, for our focus, we, as I can talk about tons of amazing things that BGI is doing, we would like to highlight what BGI is doing as aligned to the three instructional priorities. And those are student engagement through rigorous standards-based instruction, assessment for learning, and social-emotional learning and mental health and wellness. So the first instructional focus is student engagement through rigorous standards-based instruction. BGI is in its fourth year into our STEAM roadmap, focusing on project-based learning. Project-based learning is a teaching method in which students learn by actively engaging in real-world and personally meaningful projects. Right now, our third graders are answering this driving question. How can we as historians use our family immigration stories to welcome others into our community and promote empathy? Later in the year, our sixth graders will be working on this project, BGI versus the apocalypse. How can we understand and mitigate the effects of climate change? We use a variety of digital platforms, such as the Google Suite and Flipgrid. We are continuing our focus on readers and writers workshop through the mini lesson video series through Lucy Calkins. Providing live science and PE classes every week for our students. implementing our social studies curriculum using Studies Weekly. And you may notice this Bitmoji classroom in the bottom right hand corner of the slide. This is our wonderful parent volunteer, Mrs. Lang. In this little Bitmoji slide, every single icon in that slide is hyperlinked to activities, videos, and project ideas. So students can partake virtually in maker space and design thinking activities during distance learning. The next piece I'd like to highlight is assessment for learning, which is an approach to teaching and learning that creates feedback, which is then used to improve students' performance. The idea here is that students become involved in the learning process. And from this, gain confidence in what they are expected to learn and to what standards. So in distance learning, we're using a variety of digital platforms that support these assessment opportunities. Some of them are interactive, such as Pear Deck, Nearpod, and Flipgrid, in which students are interacting with their learning and providing formative assessments. Their teachers are able to informally assess them along the way. We also use collaborative digital platforms, such as Jamboard. And you'll notice the Post-its, they're virtual Post-its that students can fill out live during class to show their learning, ask questions, and show their understanding. We also use pre and post tests and other summative tests. But what we want to do is involve students in that process as much as possible. And so we're looking for ways to include peer assessment as well as self-assessment and reflection. The last that we would like to highlight is our social emotional learning and mental health and wellness. And so some things that we are implementing and learning more about our community meetings. For example, Miss Kataki's daily check in Google form where students are able to reflect on how they're doing. And that's part of the community meeting. Some classes are trying some second step lessons. We're also focusing on social emotional learning and the competencies such as self-management, social awareness, and relationship skills. We are supporting our students through our COST team, which includes our mental health clinician who is supporting students virtually. We're finding ways to motivate and support our students in positive ways through PBIS. And we are reinstituting our very important Bulldog Awards program that highlights not only character traits, but also effort during distance learning. And at the end of the month, students will be able to have lunch on Zoom with me. So we're very excited for that. As we close this evening, we wanted to share an activity that we did in the beginning of the year. That's called what's your why or remembering our why we certainly acknowledge the distance and we feel the distance in distance learning. And so it's very important that we stay connected to our true purpose and education. This activity, we asked all staff members to create a slide that showed pictures and artifacts of their story. Them growing up, them as students, teaching experiences that have meant a lot to them, and then they shared them in small groups with their peers. Not only did this show our vulnerable sides, but it really was a purposeful way to start the year in this unique situation. so that we know and we can be remembered what fuels us every single day that we do the work that we do. So at BGI, we continue to support our students by keeping them engaged, monitoring their academic progress and growth, and maintaining and developing relationships and connections. So in closing, thank you so much for the opportunity to share highlights of BGI. We hope that you can see that although we're not, that we may be physically distanced from each other, we are very much connected and are Bulldog strong. So thank you for your time tonight.

[8016] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Go ahead. I was gonna say thank you, Miss Inglewater's superintendent. Go ahead. Any comments or questions from the board, the remaining board members?

[8035] Ray Rodriguez: Excellent presentation, as she always does. I know you have a couple of teachers that went through the Newark system that work at BGI, I'm sure that's exciting to have the kids come back and teach in our schools. But with this and learning and everything, it's more challenging. And your site with your leadership has definitely met the challenge. And I appreciate it, not only for me, but for the parents and grandparents of the kids that go to your school. Thank you.

[8068] SPEAKER_26: Thank you, Mr. Rodriguez.

[8072] Elisa Martinez: Any other comments before I step in? Oh, Ms. Member Nguyen.

[8077] Phuong Nguyen: I do have a question. When you were going over the assessment for learning, Ms. Amwaters, I just wanted to know how you guys are capturing the data in these different platforms, these digital assessment platforms, and is there a benchmark that you had to start with so that you can gauge the students' progress up to this point from the beginning of school?

[8103] SPEAKER_26: Yeah, so I think the highlight of our instructional priorities are our goals for this year. So we're learning, of course, how to monitor the data for different various digital platforms. But I do say, I can say that the data that we've collected at the beginning of the year is the iReady Diagnostic Benchmark, I think is the starting point. And then exploring those digital platforms is an opportunity for teachers to collect formative assessment to gauge students understanding more in the moment and keeping the pulse of the lesson. I will say that a number of the digital platforms, some of the Google suite features and other Google Classroom assignments do grade along the way. So my son in sixth grade can see his results from an assignment at the end of the assignment. And so what teachers are doing with that real-life time is at the end of the day in their closing meeting, they're saying, hey, you know, I looked at your exit tickets and this was a common mistake. Let's do a problem together right now. And so it is convenient that the digital platforms can give you that data right away, because then you're able to address those common misconceptions that afternoon or that very moment, you know, that very day. And so It's really important for teachers to have that data at the ready and then use it as a reteaching or an enrichment opportunity for the students. And that's what we're seeing in the morning meetings with the students, as well as the afternoon meetings with the students.

[8217] Phuong Nguyen: That's really excellent. So thank you for expanding on that. And of course, I was able to jump in on a couple of your back to school nights with a couple of your teachers. And I just wanted to say that you do have a wonderful staff and you yourself are excellent at what you do. So thank you so much.

[8238] Aiden Hill: Thank you.

[8242] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Member Hsuan, were you?

[8245] SPEAKER_33: Yeah, I did attend several BGI back to school nights as well. Just, I think I mentioned one time when they were talking about how they teach math, right? It's interesting.

[8262] Elisa Martinez: Yeah. Thank you. Is that it? Of course, you all know that I'm blessed that my kids attend the BGs and obviously they both have been, you know, really wonderfully and positively impacted by your leadership, Ms. Singham-Waters, with regards to how you really lead your team, the quality of the teachers, and just your excellence in communication. So I'm speaking as a parent, of course, but obviously as a board member, I you know, I hope that, and I don't want to make it sound like I don't think it's happening in other schools, but I really, you know, hold you as a benchmark. And I really appreciate everything you bring forward to our kids and to our district as a whole. So thank you so much.

[8317] SPEAKER_26: Thank you for the feedback.

[8324] Elisa Martinez: Superintendent?

[8329] Mark Triplett: Nothing else to add. I think Principal Ingham-Watters' presentation speaks for itself, really. But it's been delightful to be in collaboration with teachers at BGI and Principal Ingham-Watters. And I will say, to your point, President Martinez, we do have other amazing schools. And so we'll them all here once a month so that all the schools do have a chance to show what they've been up to and we get a chance to celebrate them.

[8364] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Thank you so much. All right. And with that, we move to item eight, which is employee organizations. And Ms. Gutierrez, do we have representatives from all three of our employee organizations?

[8383] Carina Plancarte: Yes.

[8385] Elisa Martinez: OK. And we'll go ahead and start with CSCA, unless you have an order.

[8394] SPEAKER_36: Mr. Rose, if you could, you got it. Thank you. OK, thank you.

[8400] Elisa Martinez: Hello, Ms. Eustace. You're on mute still. Oh, hello, you're still on mute.

[8417] SPEAKER_14: When I go on, I just think I'm automatically on, I'm sorry. I would just like to give a follow-up report. Two weeks ago, we gave a report and we indicated that we were going to be doing a candidate's night on October 5th. With all of the school board candidates, all but one were able to attend. And I'd like to thank everybody for participating. And I have to admit it was a wonderful evening. I did also had attended the PTA one. So it really, if you watched both, you had a real opportunity to really get to know the individuals. And it was a very interesting evening. And sometimes we make recommendations to endorse and sometimes we don't. We decided this year that we would not endorse anybody, but we certainly enjoyed the night and it was definitely full of information and I really appreciate everybody taking the time to do that so that our members can be better informed. So on October 7th our negotiating team got together and we did work on a counter proposal for our second MOU on the coming back school reopening. And so we were able to get that done, and I was able to take it into our EERC, which is Employee Employer Relations Committee, so that we meet with the district. And we were able to submit that counterproposal. On October 12th, we had our chapter meeting. And this is the time of the year, every two years we have elections. And so people were able to nominate all of the chapter officers, negotiating team, and also for job stewards. And actually it looks this year like we're gonna have a lot more participation, which is great. That means more people are gonna be involved. So we're excited about that. Our second nomination will happen in November and then our full election will happen in December. Because we're doing everything on Zoom or Google, we had a training on how we could do from CSCA on how we could do our elections very efficiently and making sure that people had confidence in being able to vote and that vote not being shared with anybody else. So I participated in that and so did two other of the members, which was great. So there were three from Newark. We also CSCA has continued with the upcoming elections to participate and to what they are doing, being that we are again working virtually from at home. We were able to phone, text, or email fellow members to vote yes on Proposition 50, which would bring more money into the district. So we're still continuing to work on that. The only thing left that I have to do is I'd like to encourage anybody out there to please vote. Voting is really important and everybody's voice should be heard. Whatever way you want to vote, that's fine. Just go do it. It's important. I want to thank you for allowing me to give the report. One other thing I'd like to say just in case, I just would like to thank Ray Rodriguez for all the years of service that he's given. I was hoping that when he retired that we would get to see each other, but I'm not sure that's going to happen. So I wanted to make sure in case I didn't get an opportunity further on down the road to thank him for all the years of service that he gave. So Ray, thank you. Thank you very much.

[8656] Ray Rodriguez: We will have a party as soon as this pandemic is over, I promise.

[8661] SPEAKER_14: And I'll be there.

[8663] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Ms. Eustis. We'll have to figure out something to celebrate Mr. Rodriguez for sure.

[8671] SPEAKER_14: Thank you so much.

[8674] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Ms. Eustis. Okay, Ms. Gutierrez, NTA?

[8682] SPEAKER_36: Yes, Mr. Abruzzi?

[8694] Elisa Martinez: There you are.

[8695] Sean Abruzzi: Yes, thank you. Today NTA would like to bring up a couple things and the reason why we're bringing these up is because we would like to get some clarification on a couple things and the things that we were bringing up would be the LCAP which is a locally controlled accountability plan and the CPSA which is a site plan for student achievement. One of the things we have noticed through the last couple years is that during the SPSA there has not been offered training for the members on the school site council, which is somewhat of a mandated. So, hopefully that that training could happen virtually. Um, the other thing nta would like and the reason why we're requesting this is this for clarification Is an itemized expenditure report broken down by goals for july 18th or july 2018 july 2019 and july 2020 and also march 2019 and march 2020 Also, we would like data that goes with each of these actions for these dates The reason why we're asking for july that is when this money becomes in to this district. And also the reason why we're asking for March is that is when that money needs to be spent for that. So also NTA would like to bring up that yes, we are still working on our hybrid MOU and with the district, hopefully we'll be able to get to that soon, but we are working in getting to that point. Also, NTA would like to, you wish Mr. Rodriguez, we appreciate everything that you have done for the school board. And it's kind of amazing how small this district really is. Cause I remember teaching some of Mr. Rodriguez's children through the school, especially your son, Daniel. And basically that's all NTA has for this meeting. So thank you.

[8823] Elisa Martinez: You know, that's okay. Thank you, Mr. Brucey.

[8827] Ray Rodriguez: Thank you. Thank you much. Hopefully Daniel didn't cause you to, you know, change the way you teach.

[8834] Sean Abruzzi: No, no, no. He, he was, it was nice having your son in my class. Thank you.

[8840] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. And have a good evening.

[8842] Sean Abruzzi: You too.

[8844] Elisa Martinez: Uh, miss, uh, Gutierrez, uh, Newman.

[8848] SPEAKER_36: Yes, ma'am. Ingham-Watters, please.

[8858] SPEAKER_26: Good evening again. Good evening, members of the board and executive cabinet. On behalf of NEWMA, we would like to take this opportunity to thank our teachers, classified and support staff for a very supportive transition and continuation of support to distance learning. We do want to recognize that this week is Week of the School Administrator. And thank you, Dr. Triplett, for beginning the meeting highlighting that. This is a remarkable time to be a school administrator. So let's celebrate everyone's leadership, commitment, resilience, and more. Thank you to all of our fellow NEWMA members for what you do each and every day. We would also like to take a minute and congratulate our awardees from last school year. We usually celebrate in the springtime, but because of shelter in place, we have not been able to do that formally. So we would like to congratulate Michelle Oliveira for NEWMA as classified manager. Sarah Wilson, who was here last year for being a confidential employee, NEWMA district winner, and Kim Lola, for her position in Business Services Administrator, a NEWMA district winner. Three of our NEWMA winners won for NEWMA and also for AXA Region 6. And so I'd like to celebrate Leonor Rebasora as Central Office Administrator, Akilah Byrd as Elementary Principal, and Julie Calderon as Continuation Education Administrator. This October 22nd, AXA will be hosting a virtual Administrator of the Year Awards from 5 to 6 p.m. to recognize the AXA region winners. As we continue the school year, we want to ensure that we will continue to lead with student-focused decisions in mind. Thank you for your support and dedication to our community.

[8994] Elisa Martinez: Thank you so much. And congratulations. Yes, everything seems to have been delayed. So thank you so much for bringing this up, Missing in Waters, thank you. Okay, and so with that, we move to item nine, which is. Item nine, which is public comment on non-agenda items. And Ms. Gutierrez, do we have speaker cards, virtual speaker cards?

[9029] SPEAKER_36: Yes, we do. Mr. Rose, if you could please move Ms. Parks in first.

[9045] Cindy Parks: Good evening. I want to start off by saying I know you were all here for the kids, and I am sure you wish for a balanced budget with sufficient reserve, well-paid employees, and a packed classroom. However, you are in a position of declining enrollment, underutilized facilities, and budget struggles. In two weeks, the consolidation committee will have their last meeting and you will see the outcome of their gatherings. It is projected the closing of two schools will save the district $1 million. Most years when the unaudited actuals have been released, there's been at least an extra $1 million, so the budget has a little leeway. I truly understand many of the elementary sites are underutilized, but with a new superintendent, new executive assistant, the position vacancy of the associate superintendent of educational services, a CBO who's been here for 12 months, and an HR director who's been in that position for two plus years, does NUSD have the experience to close two schools, shifting approximately 600 students to various different sites? Now, include the possibility of shifting the sixth graders to the junior high, making that site a middle school. I have given this a lot of thought and hope you will indulge me with my thoughts during the remainder of my time. Newark is a wonderful city and this consolidation is going to be very disruptive to the community as a whole. We are in the middle of a pandemic with students receiving instruction at home. With all our concerns in mind and looking at this objectively, the logical conclusion is to only close one school in the fall of 2021. Then beginning in March or April 2021, the district could begin planning the academic program and facility usage to transition Newark Junior High School into Newark Middle School in August of 2022. The reason I suggest August of 2022 is the site has a brand new principal and assistant principal. This will allow six to nine months of planning the transition and giving the district the time to assure the sixth grade staff and parents that the middle school model is a very effective academic model. By December 2021, with the sixth graders moving to Newark Middle School, if there isn't a significant increase in enrollment, the district can opt to close a second elementary site. The closure of the second elementary site should run a lot smoother than the closing of the first, as the district will have gained the experience on how to effectively make this transition. I know you will receive many suggestions over the next several weeks, but I hope you will give some serious consideration to this idea. Thank you very much.

[9209] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Ms. Parks. Ms. Gutierrez, additional speakers?

[9217] SPEAKER_36: Yes, Mr. Rose, if you please move, carry new.

[9225] Cary Knoop: Hello, am I on mute? We hear you. OK, sorry. You know, I first want to say something because I just hear Cindy Parks speak about the closing schools and. I'm kind of of the opinion that we can't even close any school for next year because we just haven't taken enough time. But it seems that her idea is a little bit more pragmatic than my thoughts about it. And I definitely am in favor of a middle school model. But doing everything at the same time is just, you know, taking a lot of risk. And so, again, I just want to, you know, I think what Miss Sidney Parks just said just makes a lot of sense. And I just want to start with that. OK. Talking about the advisory committee, how that's managed, I do have to repeat, and I know people will not love me for it, but I think it was just basically a total muck up job. Not done very well. When you get somebody to advise you, don't interfere. Let them do their job. Remember, it's only advisory anyway. No slight intended, of course. The other concern I have is customer service. I heard from many people, and myself not excluded, you know, with respect to public record requests, unanswered emails, inappropriate comments on public records requests, garbled documents. You know, this really needs to change, and the board members need to speak up. We don't want to blame anybody personally. This is not about personal blame, but it's about a business process that needs to work well. If you don't fix that, it breeds misunderstanding and suspicion. You wind up getting more public records requests because people don't trust it anymore. They think, what do you have to hide? So again, transparency, Customer service is of eminent importance. And I just can't, you know, stress that enough. So that's kind of my comments. I'm sorry. I know I'm pretty negative about things. But, you know, things need to be said. And I think right now we have a lot of things we can improve on the board and from customer service perspective. Thank you.

[9403] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Ms. Gutierrez, do we have additional speakers?

[9408] SPEAKER_36: No. And at this time, I do also want to reflect just for the record that there were two written comments submitted that will be added to the minutes.

[9421] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Gutierrez. Okay, and with that, we move to item 10, which is the superintendent report.

[9427] SPEAKER_33: So I do want to ask, like, do we need all the comments, the written comments?

[9433] Elisa Martinez: No, the written comments, there's specific rules that are instructions, if you will. And so there, if you submit written, it becomes part of the record, but they will not be read. And that's clearly stated on the agenda landing page.

[9451] SPEAKER_36: I may ask President Martinez, they'll be on the minutes so they can always look back at the minutes to see these comments.

[9463] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Sorry. And so again, moving to item 10.1, which is the superintendent report.

[9472] Mark Triplett: Thank you, President Martinez. Thank you. So, like to start the presentation. It's been mentioned already, but I do want to just celebrate our administrators, not only the principles that you see, the dynamic principles you see in this photo, but also all of the other administrators that are working in lots of different capacities throughout our district. We have just an amazing, amazing team. So a couple things I wanted to talk about tonight. One student member, Salemi, last meeting asked if we could bring a little bit of an update on the progress of the equity task force. So just briefly, and I intend to share out progress regularly about this, but we have been starting some work around the equity equity task force and equity work in general. One thing that was called out in the resolution, the Black Lives Matter in the classroom resolution, was implicit bias trainings for staff. So we have begun that process by engaging with some individuals who have some experience with, extensive experience actually, with implicit bias training and they are going to be speaking with the social-emotional learning and wellness committee this upcoming week, and then we hope to start implicit bias trainings for staff in the next month. Also, just task force configuration in general. So we haven't officially started this equity task force yet. The work to date has been housed in the social-emotional learning and wellness committee, and they have been working to put together a plan for how to configure this equity task force. So that's also work that's being done. And part of the other thing that they've been doing is working to identify more social-emotional learning programs for our schools. And so they're about to come to a determination of what social emotional learning programs could be really beneficial that maybe is already happening in some schools that we could take to scale across many of our schools. And then lastly, we have begun professional development for our staff, starting with our principals around equity and equity conversations, because we think it's really valuable to start with principals and then also begin to engage other staff members. So that was a brief, brief update about the equity work. The next thing I wanted to talk about is our blueprint for California blueprint for safer, safer economy. And so this will also be an update and then you'll actually see more information about school reopening in later staff present presentations. So you I'm sure most of you are aware, but just this week, the county moved from the red tier into the orange tier. And so that's a significant positive news that cases are reduced being have been have reduced. And so there's actually No, as of yet, no additional changes in the articulation from the county around the implications of that for school districts. So just like I presented last time, this slide, the word from the county is still that as of October 13th, elementary schools that complete a full plan and fit a criteria could begin to could begin opening. That is really has caused a little bit of confusion for community members, because for almost all districts and actually all districts in Alameda County at this point, it does not mean that the that the district is able to reopen yet. There's some things that still needed to happen and we'll talk a little bit more about those this evening. But what it did mean is that school districts need to begin the planning for reopening. And then just to reiterate that part of what was articulated from the county was that elementary schools could reopen first, followed by secondary schools a little later. And the reason for that being that the county department of health, as well as state department of health has recognized through looking at the data and the science that young people, that the younger students are less at risk than the older students for transmission and spreading. And so that was one of the reasons. The other reason being that they recognize that in the younger grades, it's possible to maintain more cohesive cohorts of small groups of kids that is not necessarily as easy in the secondary grade. So that was part of the rationale that the county gave for this thing. So one thing I wanted to touch upon is that we've sent out, many of you probably received this, we sent out a survey to families last week to try to get a sense of families disposition around reopening, whether families are interested in going back to in-person learning at this point, or whether they really do not feel comfortable yet and want to remain in distance learning and so I want to share those results with you. And those results are really helping us to inform our next steps. And we did this survey in partnership with our labor partners, and particularly the teachers. labor group. And so we're also sharing this with all our labor partners, and it can help us inform as a district what we do next. So you see on here, these were the responses from the different grade levels. And this is the survey that was sent out in English. I'll also share one that was sent out in Spanish. And this, as of this afternoon, this is the percentage of the total respondents, which we had around 1300 respondents. So far, this was the the breakdown of where their children, the respondents children are currently going to school. And then this is the really the crux that I think is really needs to shape our discussions tonight and moving forward is we asked the question of when NUSD opens to in-person learning, what is your preference for returning for your child? And as you can see, the blue connotates families saying they would like their child to attend in-person hybrid learning. And then the red is families who have said they want to continue in-distance learning. They do not want to have, they do not want to do in-person learning yet. I must say, this surprised me a little bit, these responses, but I think it's really important to hear from families. I expected it to be slightly different just based on communications that many families have approached me with, which was they're really eager to have their child back in in-person learning. But as you can see here, it's roughly 50-50, but 57% of families saying that actually at this point, rather stay in distance learning for safety or health reasons. And then I did want to share quickly the Spanish survey. So this is Spanish speakers. We had, sorry, I don't want to misquote myself. So we'll see in another slide how many respondents we had, but this is broken down by grade level. And then this is broken down by school, 108 responses. There we go. I knew it was coming up. So these are the respondents thus far for the Spanish survey by school. And then you see here, interestingly enough, the breakdown is very similar for our Spanish-speaking families. So 53.7% saying that they would like to stay in distance learning, and 46.3% saying that they would really like to enter into in-person hybrid combination type of scenario. So that's, that's what I have to share about our recent survey. Later on in the staff report you'll hear from a couple of our staff members, some of the ideas, based on this information the ideas that we've been exploring. We haven't made any final decisions because, of course, all of that is contingent upon how we partner and collaborate with our labor partners. But I think it's really valuable for the community and the board to just get a sense of where things are at currently in terms of the disposition of our families. I'm going to shift gears quite a bit to information around board minutes. So, something that has, we've been really trying to streamline and improve some of the structures that we have here at the district, and it's really in recognition that we want to continue to get better and more efficient. and more purposeful about a number of our different structures, procedures, processes, board minutes being one of them. And later on, you will see the board minutes for this evening. And you'll notice, if you haven't already, that we have changed the structure of the board minutes a little bit. And so I wanted to share with you some of the reasons why and what that looks like. First of all, the purpose that we are really identifying for board minutes is to document the items that are being reviewed by the board and the actions taken. So the purpose is not going to be moving forward to try to capture all of the dialogue or the nuance of conversation, because honestly, when we do try to do that, in minutes that we run the risk of misinterpretation or not capturing nuance and details of a conversation. So we really want to utilize the videos that are public for after every meeting that the public has access to. That's where the public can really get a sense of the conversation that led to the actions taken that they'll see in the minutes. Our goal, and we have not done this up until now, is to provide the minutes for each meeting within 30 days or less. And I know that that's been a frustration on the part of the community in the past, and so we really want to start to do that and do it better. The other things I would say about this is that To come to this new structure, we recognize that historically that there's been some gaps in the minutes. And so sometimes that has resulted in undocumented actions happening. And so that's one of the reasons why we want to be really clear about the minutes documenting actions taken. We also sought legal expertise on this in order to determine what's the best structure to avoid any Brown Act violations and really to streamline the process. And then lastly, I would say that you'll notice that now we really want to fully utilize the BoardDocs platform. And so that's why this evening you saw that the minutes are actually an attachment within BoardDocs that we hope will really streamline the process. I mentioned it earlier, but I'll just say it again. We did run into a little technological glitch where some of the minutes that we thought were uploaded into that new platform, turns out they were not. We hadn't clicked the final button. So that's why we pulled some of those minutes from this evening. And then finally, the other process that I just wanted to share with with you is around public records and public records requests, we get it, we do get a significant amount of public records requests and in the past we we might not have been as responsive or as quick to respond as we really want to be. And so that's why we've revisited this structure as well. And we've created a process for streamlining all public records requests and to make sure that we're providing the requester the information that they need and that they have absolute right to in accordance with California law. And so some of these things really quickly is part of our new process is that in order to ensure the integrity of all our documents, we are going to be presenting all of our public records request documents in a manner that ensures that usually a PDF format. Two, is that we want to make sure that we're responding to every request in the same manner, that there's no preferential perception of preference for some over others. We want to avoid any selective or favored perception of favored access, because we know that that's actually a violation of law. And then per state law, our goal is that requesters can expect a response from us within 10 days of their submission, at which point they will be notified as to whether their requests can be filled. Not all of them can because some have confidential information or some actually are not documents that we have. But if we do have it and we can fulfill it, then we want to communicate that, fulfill the request. And at the same time, staff is going to be now tracking the amount of time that each request requires to fulfill. And then lastly, we're going to make a report to the board every month on all the public records requests that we have fulfilled, just so the board is in the loop about the work that's happening and the requests that have been made. And I believe that's the end of my presentation.

[10348] Elisa Martinez: Oops, thank you, but I unmute myself. Thank you for your report. Any quick questions or comments? And with that, we move to item 11, which is the staff report, which is the reopening plan development. And that's back to you, Superintendent.

[10375] Mark Triplett: Thank you, President Martinez. You all have heard me talk enough. So I'm going to turn this over to two of our two of our district leaders. First, we're going to have Mr. Dulwich report out about the academic work that's going on and the scheduling type of work that's going on around considering different configurations for how you would reopen schools. And so without further ado, I'll turn it over to Mr. Dulwich, the director of teaching and learning.

[10406] SPEAKER_08: Thank you. Good evening, members of the board. I'm going to share my screen. Good evening. Tonight, I will be presenting different considerations for reopening. This includes design challenges we are currently grappling with and our current thought process based on the survey data that Dr. Triplett mentioned previously. As we are actively engaged in negotiations with our labor partners, we want to respect this process. Therefore, tonight's presentation is based on research, which we've done from surrounding districts. It also deserves underscoring that the neighboring districts and our thought partners have some have which have already approved such schedules. The essential question for all of us as we grapple with a potential return during a pandemic is how do we create an environment which is as reasonably safe for our kids and staff while respecting the fact that for some people that can view this amount of risk as simply too much. Our priorities for in-person return, first and foremost, emphasize the safety for our students and staff and a student-centered approach with the appropriate safety protocols. As I discussed the draft schedules and also the fact that we are actively in negotiations for this presentation and in consideration of the drafts tonight, we are adhering to the recommendations of science, medical professionals, and state and county guidelines. It should be noted that for the school day structure, there are three components before I present the schedules. First, guidelines from the county and state regarding home health screening and surveys for families before arriving at school. Secondly, daily reporting of absences. While arriving at school, the district will craft and provide comprehensive drop-off procedures for every site, as well as district-wide entrance and exit pathways and a comprehensive visitor policy. While at school, the CDC, state, and county emphasize that it is essential to wear face coverings for the district to provide appropriate and requisite PPE for students and staff to adhere to physical distancing, appropriate classroom modifications, and when there are unique space considerations to take them into account at each respective school site. Also, before I jump into the schedules, it should be noted that attendance will be taken each and every day. And for our draft schedules, there are two iterations. You will see multiple versions for Mondays aligned with our current weekly schedule, as well as a new variation for providing synchronous learning on Wednesdays with an emphasis for deep cleaning for safety purposes. Currently, we find our self in phase one, and per county guidelines, and also for districts that have reached mo use or are set to return such as Palo Alto unified. It should be noted that they emphasize a staggered phased return specifically for elementary students first. Currently, we are in phase one on this screen, we have all synchronous instruction through zoom or Google meet, as well as asynchronous activities built to support time when students are faced are not face to face with their teacher. Phase two, if and when we move forward with our labor partners would include a staggered return based on the county guidelines, and it could also target specific groups, for instance, grades TK K and one at the elementary levels. as well as English language learners and students with disabilities. That's important to take note. And then phase three, cohort A in person, while cohort B remains in distance learning based on family preference, beginning in the elementary grades, again, per county guidelines should be noted that this is a new development for us. And it takes into account the survey data, which Dr. Triplett mentioned earlier. So the first of five elementary schedules to discuss here tonight. This is elementary schedule a some features to note. Monday continues to be protected. There is synchronous learning, but there's an emphasis on deep cleaning by our custodial staff, as well as professional development for our teachers. And then the students are divided into two respective groups. Group A, as you can see on campus consecutively, Tuesday and Wednesday, up until lunch for a half day of in-person instruction. And then students do go home while teachers have their scheduled lunch period. And group B has synchronous instruction not in person in that afternoon model. You can see that alternates Thursday and Friday. So some features of this include the back-to-back instruction. I think one drawback as we elicited input from our administrative team includes the fact that students would not see their instructor or teacher for five days. after that second consecutive day. So that's something to take note of. But here you have cohort A and cohort B at the elementary model. Elementary schedule B, very similar to A, Monday is protected for deep cleaning and synchronous learning. However, In-person for group A and group B alternates. So group A, Tuesday and Thursday, and group B, Wednesday and Friday. And then you can see the morning, again, is live in-person instruction up until that lunch period. In the afternoon, after lunch, the teachers continue to teach live synchronous instruction. However, the group of students is at home. So that's something to take note of, a difference between elementary schedule A and B, specifically with respect to the back-to-back days of instruction. Elementary schedule C moves Monday to Wednesday. And one of the reasons for this from a sanitization standpoint is to emphasize deep cleaning midweek. So you can see here that the groups in person, group A and B, alternate Monday, Tuesday. Likewise, Thursday, Friday. Again, the a.m. block is all in person. The afternoon block is synchronous, so teachers are teaching that group live, while the alternate group has asynchronous activities in the afternoon. I know there are a lot of different vocabulary words, so I'm absolutely happy to provide clarification at the end of this presentation. Elementary Schedule D is similar to C, however, it prioritizes the back-to-back days of instruction. So again, you have Group A in-person, in the AM and Group B in-person Thursday and Friday. Because they're respectively different cohorts, you emphasize the deep cleaning midweek. And you can see here that it's similar to C, with the exception that it's back-to-back. Again, in this model, if you were Group A, for instance, and your last day of in-person instruction was Tuesday, the drawback would be that you would not see your teacher in-person until the following Monday, hence, five days without in-person instruction. And then this is a new development that we found, again, from a neighboring district. And it takes into account, as we conducted research, it takes into account the status of our current data. Although I will say with the data that we're actively disaggregating based on grade level, and thus far, the data is showing that at different grade levels, families feel differently with respect to sending their students back to school in person. Elementary Schedule D, therefore, is the only model where students are in two cohorts And one of the cohorts remains distance learning again based on that survey data. And so what does this mean in this model. Monday is synchronous and the teacher teaches while the student is distance learning all students. There's also deep cleaning in the schools and professional development for teachers and then group a would be the designated approximately 50% of students whose families feel comfortable sending them back in person based on that data. And they would go to school in person up until that lunchtime. Group B would be conducting asynchronous activities in that AM block. Teachers would have lunch. And following lunch, the teachers would teach live instruction to Group B. In this case, Group B It never steps foot on campus. So this takes into account the data, and it also again provides the only model where the students remain as best we can with their current teacher to maintain relationships. However, there's a designated group whose families simply do not feel comfortable sending their students back. And we do understand that. And so we want to plan accordingly and provide a distance learning component for those families and students. Again, adhering to county state guidelines, it is recommended to prioritize significant groups such as English language learners or students with disabilities, as well as our lower grades for elementary. Nevertheless, we did wanna share some of our thought process regarding a secondary hybrid learning schedule. In this case, Monday is prioritized for synchronous learning activity. And there are two cohorts of students, a cohort A, and a cohort B. half the day, similarly with the elementary, would be in person. The half day would be in person in the AM, previous to lunch. And then teachers would remain and teach synchronously live in the afternoon. One drawback, simply put, are the number of times teachers are able to meet and interact with their teacher in this model, which does bring up a question and an obstacle that we'd like to address later in this presentation. And then you can see here a cohort B occurs Thursday and Friday. This is one variation of a secondary model. It's actually approved in the Bay Area in another district. And if you look at a different way to interpret it, we would move Mondays to Wednesdays. And in that model, we would prioritize the deep cleaning on Wednesdays at the secondary level. And then again, students would be in two separate cohorts, an A and a B consecutive days for the secondary hybrid learning schedule. And so I can return to any of those aforementioned schedules at the end of this presentation, but in the spirit of transparency and also out of respect for our labor partners, we think it's prudent to surface some of the obstacles that we're currently grappling with. One, how do we transition before lunch in a manner that minimizes cross-cohort contact for elementary students? For elementary, does one group remain on campus for a half day? And you can see in our models, it currently does. When does synchronous learning for the other cohort occur? And for secondary, is it sufficient in that previous model to allow for those three periods in the AM before lunch? Or do we consider a block schedule and maximize instructional minutes? In other words, for example, longer periods of instructional time each day for our secondary students. Again, the guidelines do emphasize returning at the elementary level first. And then it's imperative, and we're currently working on a daily basis in our committees to prepare training and onboarding, as well as a timeline for return contingent on our labor partner agreements, as well as conditions. Other pending obstacles include implementing safety protocols, which will be spoken to next by Ms. Saavedra for our students and staff to really address the safety measures and procedures that we will commit to putting in place. We think it's a point of emphasis to make sure that our labor partners have input and are a collaborative partners every step of the way as we work to prioritize their safety as well as the safety of our students. And then are there alternatives for families who do not wish to return in hybrid? We have taken those into account. We will continue to do so. But based on the data, we know that we have to account for that. And we want to, from this point forward, and as Dr. Triplett mentioned, both with our survey, our summer town hall meetings, which we're happy to bring back We want to continue to communicate clearly and consistently with community and all stakeholders throughout. We know this can be a very stressful and anxiety prone time, and we absolutely understand that as parents, as members of the community, and as leaders in our community. And finally, we want to continue with our labor partners to determine a phased approach as I outlined earlier in this presentation, to continue to elicit input and feedback from labor partners, explore all feasible options for our Newark community, and continue to engage parents with additional surveys. And as we move forward, our commitment to the community is to align our preparation practices with county and state guidelines for hybrid plans when and if they should be implemented. Thank you.

[11281] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Mr. Dulawich. And so two things. One is we actually had a speaker on this item, so I do apologize to, we'll go ahead and let him make his public comment before we move forward. But then just wanting some direction, Mr. Dulawich and Superintendent, would you all like us to get through the second part of the presentation before we engage in questions?

[11306] Mark Triplett: That's what I would recommend, President Martinez, just because some of the questions might be answered in the second presentation, and then any that aren't, we're happy to all.

[11313] Elisa Martinez: Gotcha. Okay, thank you. And Ms. Gutierrez, we have one speaker, correct?

[11321] SPEAKER_36: That's correct, and Mr. Rose is moving him now. Next time, Mr. Terry. Nope. Actually, Mr. Dulowich, if you could stop sharing your screen. Thank you.

[11343] Cary Knoop: Hello? Hi, Mr. Knoop. Go ahead. By the way, I wouldn't mind to do it afterwards. I'm kind of in midpoint and I leave it up to you, President. I can speak now. It's probably most practical, right? Yeah. Okay. Yes. Well, first of all, you know, thank you, Mr. Dolores. This was just an excellent presentation and it shows that new work unified is working the problem and it shows confidence and I think this is just wonderful to hear that. My concern is probably more about the next presentation. First of all, wonderful that the Documents are uploaded. I realized they were uploaded later, but better late than never. So again, I really appreciate the goodwill that, you know, the public wants to see these documents as well. And again, thank you so much for providing that information. My concern is ventilation. When we go back to school, we want to make sure that our kids and our teachers and staff are 100% safe. You know, we can't conceive of the situation that we find out that we saved some money for HIPAA filters because we want to do curb appeal. And if something happens, there's going to be lots of public records requests. So I'm just stretching again. We have to make sure that our ventilation situations in the classrooms and the teachers' rooms are A-OK. And that is the most important thing. So I yield to the next presentation. Thank you very much.

[11444] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Mr. Knoop. Okay. And so sorry, Mr. Dulwich, I kind of moved to procedurally. So I just wanted to thank you. I think that was an excellent presentation as well. And I know we'll have more questions after this next section. So thank you. And Mr. Chirpette.

[11463] Mark Triplett: Yes, so the next section is really more focused on the safety protocols that we have already built. And so I will turn it over to Miss Saavedra, who's our Executive Director of Human Resources.

[11478] SPEAKER_29: Thank you, Dr. Triplett. Good evening, board members, members of the community, and staff. For this second part, I am bringing to your attention our safety protocols. So if you can just give me a second so that I can share my screen with you. And can you guys see it? So it's important to say that while this is a first presentation really based on the safety protocols that we have, this does have to do with the reopening of the schools. But I also want to acknowledge that these protocols have been placed ever since we closed down the school. So it's nothing that we're going to be doing or something that we plan to do. A lot of these things are already in place. With the, I guess with the caveat that we're not at school yet so a lot of the stuff that we have here for in school and in classrooms protections will be better developed as we work this plan out with our labor partners. So it's important to say Again, our commitment with the newer Unified School District, it's important for us that everybody understands that the safety of our school and our staff is our number one priority. And to do this, we will continue to work together to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases in our city, in the state, by observing all the precautions suggested by health experts. And I say this because we do feel and we do communicate, this is everybody's job. not just our district or not just our labor partners, all of us together, families, children, we all have to do this together in order to ensure safety is our number one priority. Given the reality that COVID-19 will remain a very real threat for the foreseeable future, we stand committed to a plan of what will get us through this period by working together. Just to bullet point some of the items that we are committed to, definitely comply with social distancing requirements to the maximum extent possible in order to avoid the spread of COVID-19 and remain safe. Providing personal learning to as many students as we can, focusing on students needing specialized support services or a higher risk of further learning loss or not participating in distance learning. Create a safe and healthy workplace for employees and learning environment for students and families. And again, this should have read continue to create and provide those healthy, those healthy environments. Do what we can to increase student parents and staff confidence that returning to school is a say it's a safe as we can make it operating with transparency, honest, honesty and respect. and acknowledge that all that we design, create, you know, creative can, you know, we will encounter limitations in that we just have to remind ourselves that we need to continue to work together to try to mitigate some of this, the possible problems that may arise. And lastly, by not least, we continue to value and maintain the strong partnership with relationships that exist between our community and our staff, ensuring that our connections and respect are stronger as a result of having gone through this together. So this is one of those examples that I was describing. For school campuses, these are the things that will be in place and that are already in some instances have been put in place. All students and staff will be required to maintain social distancing. This will be communicated through all our families and staff. Sickness to denote social distancing, expectations, hand washing, preventions of germ spreading have been posted. We have posters in all of our schools. We have clear plexiglass installed in front of offices areas. And we're also looking into what are other high risk areas where there may be more traffic of people in order to make sure that we provide those plexiglass protections. Face coverings will definitely be required for everyone to use. Schools will designate specific routes to promote social distancing. Right now, many of the schools have already identified those routes. We are in the process of making sure we actually have maps and making sure that we are consistent about this practice before students return. And again, something that's coming up that will be added to our plan is a designated entry and exit points. If students enter the school this way, then we definitely wanna make sure that the exit point is differently so that there's no, again, to avoid overcrowding of places. And lastly, limit visitor and volunteer access to school. It's important for everybody to know that we have to limit visitors and volunteer access to the school in order to ensure safety of our staff and our students. In regards to classrooms, some of the things that we've done is, again, we will ask that social distance will be maintained. To do that, we have removed some desks to accommodate smaller groups in the classrooms. While the number at first was 12, now we are accommodating number 14, 14 students plus a teacher, students cohorts to minimize the risk of exposures, avoid sharing of objects in promoting individual use. So this is definitely one of those areas where each individual students will have access to their own objects. And definitely face covering required will be another requirement when we return to classrooms. Again, hygiene and safety, as we all know and have been learning throughout all this month, is the hand washing is very important in order to prevent the spread of the illness. These are just some bullet points. Again, emphasizing the 22nd rule, after blowing your nose, coughing, sneezing, before eating, after playing, et cetera. And definitely after transitioning from one area to another. hygiene and safety precautions, covering your mouth when you're coughing, when you're sneezing, avoid touching your face, your eyes, and definitely, most importantly, if students or staff is sick, they will be asked to stay home and observe for possible COVID-19 symptoms that we will be reviewing in a few minutes. The next part, again, face covering, protect each other. This is the best way we know now that has been shared over and over again by all our health experts, that face coverings are one of the most effective tools to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. So again, these are some procedures that we have established with our staff. Wear a mask before entering the site, make sure the mask covers nose and mouth if needed. And for just in period we're asking them to not to touch the middle but to use the rubber bands on the sides and wearing mask is mandatory. I think that this was brought up before and we all need to know that while we are working. while we're working at the site, everybody is expected to be wearing, it's mandatory that everybody wears a mask. If you're able to work in an office and you're by yourself and you can close your door, again, you may be able to remove your mask, but as soon as another human being is in proximity, we ask you that you please continue the practice of wearing your mask. And so far, I think our staff, I'm very proud to report every opportunity that I get. That is one of the things that I look for. And I always carry extra masks with me just as a message of, oh, here's a mask. But I'm proud to say that people have been very good with that. One of the things that we started that we, the practices that is now a common theme across our district for those that are coming to sites to work is the daily health screening sheets. So this screening sheet is a passive health screening designed to check on employee symptoms before they arrive to work. All the questions on the self-check questionnaires are related to COVID-19 and whether employees have had any symptoms listed within the last 24 hours. So anyone exhibiting the symptoms like loss of smell or taste, muscle aches, sore throat, cough, headaches, stomach issues, all of these questions are asked in the, it's a very short health screening sheet. And each individual school site, each individual department has its own screening. We do keep track of everybody, making sure that people are completing this on a daily manner before entering the site. And this has been something that we can use also for tracing, should there be a need to know. if somebody was sick. Again, student reporting procedures, there's a lot of questions about how to complete this step, positive COVID-19 tests or potential exposures. Parents should inform the school or confirm of potential exposures. The staff should inform school principal, maintain confidentiality, of course, that this is one of those areas that we Usually we often remind our leaders is the confidentiality of our employees. Identify the areas where potential affected students, staff have been within the last 48 hours is important. This sheet, the previous sheet that I shared with you also has room numbers so that we can trace again where the person may have been if they were sick. If close contact, student staff is asked to quarantine for 14 days from the date of exposure. They monitor all symptoms. If no symptoms develop, then they may be able to return to school after the 14 days of quarantine. Any symptoms develop, families asked to call their health and care professionals to consider testing. Again, students that may return to school after following the following conditions are met. At least 10 days have passed since the symptoms first appear, or at least they have been free of fevers without the medication for the last 24 hours. This is just another simple graphic illustration, I guess, for lack of a better word, to help us understand the process of how we are reporting and use these reporting procedures. So we're asking office managers or staff, that could be teachers, to communicate to their principal about potential cases. Even if somebody just think, I think I was exposed. We're asking our principal site leaders to communicate with our district nurse. Our district nurse has now been... name our COVID-19 district COVID-19 liaison. So it is her that contacts MOT letting us letting us know if there's an area that needs extra attention. It is her who does the collaboration with ACPHD to ask for clarification if we need to report any cases and it is her also who's letting me the human resources know and also possible student services, if there's anything additional that we need to do to follow up. So as you can see, it's a teamwork when we're finding out. And we have some interesting phone calls about what to do. And I'm happy to say that we're getting better in these protocols. The next thing I have here is the district process again. If there's a confirmed COVID-19 case with our schools or district sites, we may implement the following actions based on Alameda County Healthcare Agency and state guidance. Number one, we coordinate with local health officials. When there's a COVID-19 case in our district, we immediately notify Alameda County Department of Health, who helps determine a course of action. So we tell them, we share with them, they tell us, yeah, do this, do that, they guide us through the process. We then contact tracing in quarantine, should there be a need again, whether the member or the student is feeling sick, we do ask them to be conscious of their symptoms in order to determine. next step. We communicate and in this case, our superintendent, you know, I have been a designee. Our school nurse is now another designee. So we have multiple layers of designees in order to be able to communicate regarding any cases of exposure with any of our employees or with any of our students in the future as well. Throughout the clean, obviously following all of these recommendations, we will have our custodian staff who will clean and disinfect all the areas used or exposed by the sick person. And lastly, people will be able to return to school after a positive diagnosis or after they have met all the criteria for safety. Once again, this is another question that has arisen is that when do we shut down? When do we know that someone needs to shut down? Do we need to shut down the district, the school? So you said additional guidelines that if one staff or student at a school site test positive for COVID-19, a classroom may need to shift to a distance learning, which means that the classroom may be to be closed, but not necessarily the school. We will treat this individual case. But if a school experiences a 5% positive COVID-19 rate in individual schools, then we'll need to be possibly shifted back to distance learning and the school will have to be shut down. The same thing with the district. If 25% of our district is exposed to COVID-19, then the distance learning will be in effect for whole district wide. Sorry, I'm going a little bit fast because I'm trying to be conscientious of our time. Lastly, we have shared this document too. It's actually a one-page document, but as you can see, there's a lot of information. This is our response to confirm or suspected COVID-19 cases or close contact chart. It's sort of like a cheat sheet, a reference sheet. that will be shared with all our office managers and really with anybody that would want access to this. And this one has six different scenarios of what do I do if a student or staff member for scenario one exhibits COVID-19 symptoms? If they answer yes on a health screening question or has a temperature of 100.4 or above. So the immediate action will be that staff or student will ask to go home, they will be recommended to be tested, and school and classroom will remain open. At this time, regarding communication, do we need to let the whole community know about this? There's no action needed at this time. So again, there's six different scenarios. Scenario two has to do with a family member or someone that they think have been in close contact with, may have had a positive COVID-19. Number three, if a student or staff member test positive for COVID-19, what do I do? Number four, a student or staff member test negative for COVID-19 after scenario one. A student or staff member test negative on scenario two. So as you can see, we're hoping that this could be a useful tool for people to make those determinations. And of course, again, we're encouraging everyone to utilize the resources that we do have. Agnes Lopez, our district nurse, is one of those great resources that we have, that we have the luxury of having in our district, in our small, tiny district. My office as well, when in doubt, call Jessica, call Ms. Saavedra, call Ms. Julie Radcliffe, call Ms. Debbie Romero. We are here to answer any questions staff may have and help guide them through this process because we know that we're in this together. And with that, I conclude my presentation for tonight. And I'll take any questions.

[12474] Mark Triplett: Thank you, Mr. Vetter. And just I just wanted to reiterate that the last couple of slides there, that is the county process. And we have already been following that. So, you know, we have different we've we have had different situations. And that is the process that is being followed. And and we'll continue to do so.

[12495] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Vetter and Superintendent I'm sorry. Okay, there we go. I thought I lost everyone. So I will open it up for questions for staff. Member Rodriguez, Member Zhang, or Member Nguyen.

[12516] SPEAKER_33: So do we have sort of the simple temperature tracking beforehand when you enter the facility? Just like the simple hospital one, they just take only one second on the forehand and check if you are over-temperatured.

[12531] Mark Triplett: Yes, we do. Yeah, we have the one, the no contact, they call it the no contact thermometers. So every school has, has those.

[12540] SPEAKER_33: So another thing is that 5%, if 5% test positive in one school, that school site will be closed. How do we arrive at the 5% number? Because for me, 5% positive grade is actually pretty high. It's a pretty high threshold to close a school.

[12558] Mark Triplett: I can answer that, or you want to chime in, Mr. Vedder, but yeah, those are the guidelines from the county.

[12562] Penny DeLeon: Okay, I see.

[12566] SPEAKER_29: That's correct. Those are guidelines from the county that we can always adjust to fit our needs, again, the needs of the district, but 5% is the recommendation at this time.

[12577] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Go ahead, Member Rodriguez.

[12582] Ray Rodriguez: No, no, thank you. Thank you, staff, for the report, putting it together. This is really a moving target, as we all know. So, you know, the county has given us a little bit and hopefully everything continues to improve so that they don't pull back. In the meantime, we've put in a lot of effort and staff has put together different scenarios. And I'm anxious to see, you know, the changes that we come up with after we finish our meetings with the union and to make sure that they're on board. And so every one of those presentations or scenarios has enough flexibility, in my opinion, to work with the union so that they can come up with a compromise, so that they can have a buy-in on it, which is so important. So again, this is the moving target. It's good that we're ahead of the game and making sure that we're ready. And I know the parents, it says 50-50, but I know most parents would wanna have their kids in the schools. And the reason why some of them pull back is because they're nervous naturally. And this is, so much of this is unknown and it's hard to really say yes or no to anything. And so, So the fact that we're engaging parents and our community members, that is so important. And hopefully we'll continue to do that as we move forward and the conversations with the county to make sure that we're in line with what they want us to do. Thank you. Thank you very much, staff. Appreciate it.

[12693] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Member Rodriguez. Member Nguyen, did you have a question or comment?

[12698] Phuong Nguyen: I do. So on the slide deck, it's stated that in our commitment slide that the district is going to create a safe and healthy workplace for employees and a learning environment for our students and families. But there was no mention really on a plan or in terms of classroom preparation for reopening, for example, like, have we addressed the ventilation in the classroom? And will there be proper updating of air filters? And what kind of processes are we going to be doing? And then if each of the classroom will be equipped with hand sanitizers, disinfectant wipes, and will that come out in a detailed manner for the community to be informed? Thank you.

[12748] Mark Triplett: Thank you, Member Nguyen. Yeah, I can just answer some of those. So in terms of ventilation, we did explore the different options for upgrading the filters. And what was determined was that our HVAC system is not compatible with HEPA filters, but there's an equivalent, the MERV filter, that does a very similar thing. It addresses the bacteria spores in the air. So what we did is we purchased all new Merv filters. And so we've already taken care of that. In terms of the equipment for the classrooms, so we do have hand sanitizer, wipes, all of those things for the classrooms. And then we've also already reconfigured the classrooms to the proper student to teacher ratio. So actually, currently, all of the classrooms are set up for a 12 to 1, I believe. The county has since changed their guidelines and are now saying it's up to 16. But we do want to be careful because there are some classrooms that are small in terms of adequate spacing between desks with more than 12. So all of that has been already arranged.

[12835] Phuong Nguyen: Okay. I'm asking in particular regarding the ventilation and the air filter only because, you know, in September we had approved, the board approved a contract to evaluate the remaining HVAC systems. And I just wanted also probably get an update on that to see where we're we're at in terms of moving forward and making sure that reopening is safe for all of our students and staff. Thank you.

[12874] SPEAKER_29: Mr. Dr. Triplett, can I add something else? I just wanted to let the board know that, yes, what we share right at this moment or today, tonight, it's a snapshot of what we've been working on, but we do plan to present something more complete, a more complete plan for the board and for the community to know exactly what the action steps will be when we're saying that we're going to provide a safe classroom environment, like what is the PPE and what are the What are the items that will need to be in place will be part of the complete plan that we will be sharing with you later on.

[12915] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. And my questions are very similar along the line of member wins questions, which is what what are some of those tactical and or if this is not the place, when would we expect to see that? You know, so when we when we make these statements, you know, what does that really translate to with regard? I attended a Alameda County of Education and the Alameda County of Public County Public Health Department meeting today. and you know for example ventilation keeps coming up and um I think because at some point there were these you know here's the recommended filtration types but there's the recognition that not all systems um are going to be able to you know uh to accommodate those filters and again their recommendation so I think just those explanations that you gave um superintendent um I think are going to be very important that You know that it's, it's, you don't want to force a filter into a system that's not compatible because in fact you make you now have a more risky situation. So, any more of that type of information that you can share I think would be fantastic. as we kind of maybe, I wanted to shift gears a little bit to some of the information that Dr. Dolowich, or Mr. Dolowich, I'm making you a doctor, you know, shared is, you know, Ms. Aveda, you made a statement, and this is something that surfaced in that meeting as well, is that, you know, we keep talking about here's our plan, here's our school, and I know we are working with our labor partners, but at the end of the day, it is a broader community plan. Because there's a lot of us, not everybody, but I know, for example, I want my children to go back to school, but I know that I play a part in that. And so that was one of the other topics that we that that there was discussion around is that, you know, what are those and how do we make sure we continue to involve the community to know that at the end of the day, we all have a part to play? and that there is, the situation is changing and all of us have, I suppose, have some risk and that is a natural condition of the situation. This is one of the doctors from the public health department said that. And having said that, I keep coming back to back in March when, and I stated this and it's still true where I had some angst and anxiety about some of our children whose only safe space is our schools. And, you know, I do want to, I know there was a lot of discussion today around phased approach. That is the model right and bringing in our little ones are bringing in our populations of our kids that are at have are at higher risk. So again, I really look forward to some feedback as you all continue to connect with our labor partners on how do we make sure we keep our little kids, not just the little ones, but our kids that fall into those categories. You know, I know we all can't have everything as parents, maybe we all want everything, but how do we make sure we're taking care of our most vulnerable and how do we come up with a plan to get some movement and getting them into school. as quickly as possible, as safely as possible. So thank you, Mr. Dolowich, for kind of walking us through here some of our examples. And I know these were kind of broader. I specifically would love to see how are we identifying some of those at-risk students and how do we make sure we are giving visibility and how we would phase them in, ideally before all others.

[13137] Phuong Nguyen: I too echo the same sentiment as President Martinez in terms of how we are going to be approaching and bringing back in students who are at risk. And yes, that is a major concern for us. And I think that we should have a streamlined plan moving forward to be able to bring them back into school. But then I also have a second question for Mr. Dolowich in regards to the secondary scheduling. Is there also a model or an example of, or will you guys be putting together an example of the group of students who choose or their family chooses to stay in distance learning? I did not see that example there. I know that it was just the two different cohorts A and B but set up in person learning and synchronous learning, but in two different groups. So I would like to see that also. And then the other thing that I was thinking of is, has there been a discussion with our labor groups in terms of how we want to proceed, whether timing wise on reopening? I know that we are coming towards the end of the year with the fall. And then also the possibility of additional flu season and things like that. And our labor partners more in favor of maybe starting, coming back in person learning towards the beginning of the school year when we start the new year fresh. So those are, I was wondering if there is a specific target date or or that has not even been discussed. Thank you.

[13258] Mark Triplett: I'll just chime in really quick around the target data. I don't want to be at jeopardy of bargaining in public in terms of what's being discussed with labor. But we definitely are in those kind of conversations with them about when's the appropriate time. Mr. Delawarge, do you want to speak a little bit about Schedule E?

[13284] SPEAKER_08: Sure. I think, remember when, to your point, we do have different variations at the secondary model, which emphasizes distance learning in full transparency. It is more logistically challenging. With six with six class periods. Obviously, one component could be a virtual component again contingent on on labor agreements. Alternatively, we could look at Maintaining students with our current teachers as best as possible. However, allowing students to continue in a split cohort model distance learning also in person, but but but no third party virtual learning platform. I think when you discuss the flu season. Also, I think it For me, the 57% to remain distance learning versus 43% to return in-person and hybrid was surprising. And I think part of that data is because we're entering the flu season, we're entering the winter. I think it makes sense to provide the community a timeline once we reach agreement so that we understand if towards or after the new year, that it's a feasible option to begin to do the staggered approach. But we can absolutely share with you more of our thoughts with secondary in the interest of time. Like I mentioned, it's a little bit more logistically complicated, but those models definitely exist and we're working through them.

[13387] Phuong Nguyen: Okay, thank you. And I know that, is there any way that we can reach our families more in terms of surveying. That's, I mean, that number is kind of low in terms of, I mean, how I would feel if we send out a survey. We just need to get more, more parent participation and student participation. Did we send the surveys out just to families or did we also send them out to students also?

[13418] SPEAKER_08: I believe we sent them out to all parents and guardians of students. Just to echo your point, when I looked at the just over 1,500 responses and we have over 5,000 students, it's obvious that we're running short in terms of the feedback. So that's an absolute next step in terms of you know, how do we address that gap? And we need to think of alternatives to electronic email surveys. Obviously, there's, you know, the website and the posting component. But we need to look at alternatives to increase parent and guardian input.

[13459] Phuong Nguyen: Okay, great. Thank you so much.

[13461] Mark Triplett: Oh, sorry. I will say some of those survey respondents could have had multiple students. In fact, we know they do. So the number of total students represented in the survey may be higher. We haven't like disaggregated it according to that, I believe, but the number of respondents was 1,300.

[13483] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Okay, I think if there are no further questions, we will go ahead and move forward. Thank you so much once again for the presentations, Ms. Saavedra and Mr. Dolowich, and we look forward to the next update as you move forward with our labor partners. Thank you so much.

[13506] Maria Huffer: Thank you.

[13507] Elisa Martinez: Okay, and Ms. Gutierrez, I'd like the record show that member Rodriguez had to leave the meeting. He wasn't feeling well. Thank you. Okay, and the next item All right. The next item is old business 12.1. And the staff recommends approval of the proposal for William D. White Company for the purchase installation of Wi-Fi video intercom with gate release hardware at Newark Junior High. May I have a motion and a second to approve?

[13559] Phuong Nguyen: I move to approve item 12.1.

[13562] SPEAKER_33: I second it.

[13566] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Member when member John Miss Gutierrez. Do we have any public comment on this item?

[13577] Nancy Thomas: I don't. No.

[13579] Elisa Martinez: Okay. Okay. Um, so, Superintendent, I'll hand this over to you.

[13587] Mark Triplett: Thank you. And I will actually just pass it right over to Miss Dela Cruz, who will talk a little bit about this item.

[13595] Marie dela Cruz: Thank you, Dr. Triplett. So if you recall, back in December, the board approved a contract for the purchase of the installation of the gates over at the Newark Junior High School. There was this piece that was still left to be done, which was the security and the video monitor at the gate so that the people at the office can answer the gate without having to get up and unlock the gate every single time. So this finishes that part of the project. And the proposal is for $5,621, and it is coming out of the Measure G bond money. And I just want to say it's taken a while because we had some challenges even getting quotes and a contractor to do the work.

[13656] Elisa Martinez: OK. And thank you, Ms.dela Cruz. Any questions from our board members on this item?

[13671] Phuong Nguyen: I don't have a. a question, but I do have a comment. So the Wi-Fi component is going to trigger the gate to open? Well, I guess it is a question, not a comment. Yeah.

[13690] Marie dela Cruz: Yeah. It's like a doorbell. They buzz them in, and then they're able to trigger the lock to open.

[13699] Phuong Nguyen: So my question is, So if, say, Wi-Fi goes down, is there a safety mechanism that will allow for the gate to open?

[13712] Marie dela Cruz: OK. That's a good question.

[13714] Mark Triplett: I can answer that. These are gates that are all panic barred. So it would allow the Wi-Fi down would not prohibit anybody from exiting. The only thing it would do, it would prohibit anybody without a key from entering. which would be, which is currently the case. If there's, you know, without the wifi there.

[13738] Phuong Nguyen: Okay. I'm just making sure that it's going to be properly tested. That's all.

[13744] Mark Triplett: It's good. Absolutely. These systems are pretty amazing, actually. You, yeah, cause you, you hit the intercom, somebody in the office can see who's, who's buzzed. They actually speak to them. Hello, may we help you? Oh yeah, I'm here for such and such. And then they buzz them in. It's very, very,

[13762] Phuong Nguyen: I'm asking because we do have that. We just put that into where I work and our front door is not working properly. So yeah, as long as it's going to be tested and that there's no safety concerns, then that's fine. Thank you.

[13781] Elisa Martinez: Actually, that's a great point, Member Nguyen, because I've worked in companies where, you know, at the end of the day, if it's not working right, what happens is they start putting, folks start putting something in the door to just kind of leave it open, buzz without looking. So I think that's a, you know, that's something that would be great to hear back, which is what is our testing protocol? and the process to make sure that, you know, that it's an integral system, that we're not going to be bypassing it or, you know, how do we get visibility to that? So that'd be something to think about. So I think this would be the only place where we have that. All other gates are right by the office in all our schools, right? So this is the only school where it's a unique buzzing in system, correct?

[13837] Mark Triplett: currently although we do have um we do have some schools where the gate is a slightly distanced from the some of the elementaries that are in that situation um and so if this works well which i'm pretty confident it will then we could always um we could always explore it for other schools as well okay um there are no other questions um miss gutierrez can you please repeat the motion

[13866] SPEAKER_36: Staff recommends approval of the proposal from Willem D. White Company for the purchase and installation of Wi-Fi video intercom with gate release hardware at Newark Junior High School. Motion made by member Nguyen and second by member Zhang. And I am opening voting now, so you guys can submit your vote. Okay. Voting closed. Do you want me to show the screen? Yes, please. So we have the three yeas with member Rodriguez absent. Very good.

[13916] Elisa Martinez: Thank you.

[13917] SPEAKER_33: Well, actually, point of order, I forgot to ask, where's our student board member today?

[13923] SPEAKER_36: From the very beginning, early on, I mentioned that he was going to be absent today.

[13929] Elisa Martinez: Thank you for asking. OK, very good. And with that, we move to a new business item 13.1. It's the citizens bond oversight. and the action item here is that staff recommends approval of the, oops, sorry, reading the wrong, recommends that the board accept the 2018-19 Citizens Fund Oversight Committee annual report as presented. Okay, we have a motion and a second to approve.

[13967] Phuong Nguyen: Is there any public comments on this one?

[13974] Elisa Martinez: So yeah, we'll do the motion a second, and then we'll do public comment, sorry.

[13978] SPEAKER_33: I move that we approve the presentation, the annual report as presented.

[13984] Elisa Martinez: I second. Thank you. So we do have public comment on this item. Okay, go ahead Ms. Gutierrez.

[13995] SPEAKER_36: We have member, I'm sorry, we have public comment from Cary Knoop. Mr. Rose, if you could please unmute his mic.

[14008] Cary Knoop: in my life? Yes. OK, sorry. Well, good evening again for the fourth time or so. The the list of facts, findings and concerns is pretty long. You know, I have been on the CBOC for a couple of periods myself and. I really hope that the board will ask the district to answer those concerns and present them in the next meeting or the meeting afterwards. We want to take what the CBOC brings out seriously, and we have to look forward. We have to look when the next bond will be there and of course there will be a next bond somewhere. We don't want to give the opponents the opportunity to say they're not good landlords of this bond. They don't spend the money in time. They work on you know, they use the bond as a slush fund and they don't look at the big things like HVACs. What particularly bothers me personally is the fact that about 98% of the whole funding from the ADA's master plan is used by the bonds. I think that is wrong. Some percentage of it could be used by the bonds, but certainly there's a lot about new construction in the ADIS master facility plan and new construction is not part of what the bond was for. And I really, I think it's shameful that it's just ignored and that these funds are just taken out of Measure G. But again, I hope that the board members speak up and ask the district to answer to this question, sort of like a grand jury report, saying, please give a reply to these questions. And, you know, the district may disagree with the findings of the CBOC, but at least they need to go through that exercise and, you know, think about the implications and look forward to the next bond and see how we can continuously improve ourselves. Thank you.

[14153] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Mr. Knuth. So let's see. Who was just speaking on behalf of this item? Is that you, Ms.dela Cruz?

[14165] Marie dela Cruz: Yes, thank you, President Martinez. We should have Mr. Waters as a guest panelist. This is the annual report of the Citizens Bond Oversight Committee, and usually the chair of the committee presents the report. And again, this is for the 2018-19 school year. And there's Mr. Waters. So Mr. Rich Waters is the chair of the committee this year.

[14195] SPEAKER_19: So Mr. Waters, thank you. Thank you trustees. So I'm speaking on behalf of the CBOC and just to refresh those that are watching or even some of the new board members, the mission of the CBOC is to oversee program and project expenditures for the construction, repair and modernization of schools in accordance with the California law. and as required by bond as your g ballot language. The committee is charged with the responsibility to communicate its findings and recommendations to the district and the public as a reviews the information provided to ensure the bond funds as authorized by the local voters through measure G are expended per ballot language and in a wise and efficient manner. I'm not I do not have a power point, but I'm going to be referring to the presentation that was in your, or the reports in your board packet. I just want to quickly highlight some of those findings and concerns that one of the members of the public just mentioned. Just so you should be aware, again, this report is for 2018-19, not for the current, this past current year. There was very little projects that were done in 2018 and 19. The board did not approve any projects. With some of the issues around the HVAC and warranty claims on getting the job finished or leaks or repairs done was an issue. And the playground equipment installation was still continuing for an extended period of time. Item two, which is one of the more concerning ones, district staff and project managers have changed many times over the years. And this causes a lot of confusion and provides reservations for us about consistent oversight of bond expenditures. The school district must make an effort to actively recruit community members. This is a big problem. Just up until recently, we had as few as three or four board members, and we're supposed to have seven. We think it's the district's responsibility to recruit members. And up until just recently, we retained one person. I don't believe there's been a consistent job in doing that. And I do recognize that the district has had turnover in staff. But not having a full board means we can't have meetings and take action. Item four, the district continues to operate without deferred maintenance plan. In the ADIS master plan, there was a contract included a maintenance plan, and we have asked for one, and we still haven't received it. And we are concerned that the district never received one to begin with. Retroactive bond usage, one of the issues that the CBOC has noticed that it's hard to keep track of bonds expenditures when the district is continually doing transfers well past the completion of the work. And we think that this needs to be addressed with new administration to make sure that there's consistent processes in place so it makes it less confusing and less risk adverse. We found that just doing our walkthroughs and at meetings that there's poor oversight and multiple delays and cost overages in a lot of the projects, specifically around the roofs and the HVAC projects at the high school. After inspection, the quality of work that was completed did not cover the scope of work. We found that projects were approved or notice of completions were done, and yet the work was shoddy and not completed at all. and in some cases made it worse, especially in the flooring in the high school. The play structure replacement project are concerning. After doing site tours, we noticed a lot of incorrect information that was provided concerning the location and types of play structures. It seemed that district staff didn't know when work was going to be done and when it was going to be completed. Some was already completed and some hadn't been done when it was communicated that it was done. We also noticed that there's major hazards after the work was completed, specifically at BGP. Measure G-Money has not been spent in a timely and efficient fashion, and this is not the first time this is showing up. According to bond language, 85% of the Series C funds should have been spent by July 2019, And the district is not in compliance with that. So just to go over kind of the funds, there's some charts in that report that you can see that most of the funds that were spent during the 18-19 year was about $2.6 million. The majority of that money was spent mostly on technology. And then bond support coming in second. And then the remaining funds as of June 20, 2019, were 9.8 million, almost 9.9 million remaining as of June 20th. There has been some allocations since then. But most importantly, the board should know that based on the review and observations of the CBOC, we find that the district is in compliance with the requirements of Article 13 a section 1B3 of the California Constitution, and that funds are being used for the purposes specified in the ballot language. And that concludes my report.

[14538] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Mr. Waters. Any questions from member Zhang or member Nguyen?

[14547] SPEAKER_33: Yeah, I mean, just a general comment. I think obviously the report is very sobering that they're A lot of, I think we have some negligence going on in the past one or two years. We need a lot of areas for improvement. And so that's my general comment. And to Mr. Waters, thank you for serving as a chair on the Oversight Committee. And Ms. Saino, thank you for serving on the Ohlone College Board. I think we have a pretty good relationship with Ohlone College from our high school. And hopefully in the years to come, we'll deepen our cooperation. Indeed.

[14582] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Member Zhang.

[14584] Phuong Nguyen: Member Nguyen, any questions or comments? I too would just like to echo what Member Zhang had said in regards to the findings of the CBOC. Yes, there needs to be better oversight in terms of the quality of work that's being done from vendors, and we do need to have staff make sure that once the job is completed that that the job is truly completed and before accepting the work. So I hope that we can move when we move forward with these additional jobs that we are currently approving that when we accept the jobs that they are in, in the condition that we expect them to be in and and just have better, proper accounting for those. And thank you, Mr. Waters, for the presentation.

[14648] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Just one minor thing on the very first item. The projects had very little progress. The last line, Hetch Hetchy, runs below it. This should be BGP, I believe, is the correct, because it's over at the old bunker campus. So we should just make sure we note that. When would we expect the 19-20 report? When would that report come out, Mr. Waters?

[14682] SPEAKER_19: The district has to have their audit performed. So after the audit is done and completed, then we would follow the same cycle. This one is a little bit late this year. Normally, we would have it probably by the June meeting

[14697] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. So yeah, I think just to echo the comments, you know, with regards to just, so I know this is a couple of years in arrears, right? But we know even as early as some months ago, I think that especially this project oversight is something that really worries me in terms of, you know, when we see some of the work that's happened or not happened. And at the end of the day, from a process perspective, because that's where we can ask questions is, from a district perspective, who's responsible for this project oversight? For IE, I'm gonna go fix, I'm gonna hire someone and they're gonna go fix HVAC. Before that vendor walks away, who owns that quality check, if you will, right? Because I know we had that with the roofing issues at the high school, you know, with the playground structures, with the AIDS report. So, you know, these are significant areas of expense. So a question I think that would maybe address all of these items and certainly in particular to Measure G, but in really anywhere we're expending funds, what is the process that the district is following to ensure that the vendor has delivered? That's something I would, and I think I hope that's what I'm hearing the rest of the board members ask is, we'd like to understand that. Because I think we can tell you hey, we need to do a better job. We need to do a better job that doesn't address the tactical How what is our process to ensure that we now have an owner? And so that if something doesn't go right there, there's a process for accountability Because this is an ongoing issue. Um, and so anyway, that's that that's my question and my ask Yeah, president martinez just uh from my understanding.

[14827] Marie dela Cruz: I know I wasn't here in 1819, but normally The project manager and the construction management teams are responsible for making sure that the projects are completed correctly. At the end of each project, they're supposed to do a walkthrough, they're supposed to do a punch list items. And before final payment is made, all of the punch list items should be taken care of. And before the notice of completion is filed, all of those items should be taken care of. Normally, it's the project management and construction management team that needs to make sure that all that is completed and to make the contractor accountable.

[14871] Elisa Martinez: And I get that, that we've had a gap in that. However, here's my other concern. We have a project manager who's not part of our team. It's somebody that we're paying, right? So let's just say Mr. Caputo, who's our current project manager, goes and certifies. At the end of the day, there's something that's, is there liability there for the project management team? In case something is certified and in fact it wasn't Yeah, i'm just curious about how we are formulating these agreements because I want to make sure at the end of the day There's ongoing accountability for this even if we've got a circle, you know Or people that are coming and going because we're hiring different vendors Yeah, there should be um, there's normally something in their agreement that makes them um, just as viable as if they were employees of the district and

[14929] Marie dela Cruz: you know, Mr. Caputo could speak to that later on as part of the agenda, but they are responsible and the district does have ways and remedies to make the project manager responsible.

[14944] Elisa Martinez: Yeah, and let's do that. Let's make sure we bring this back at some point when he is on board with Mr. Caputo. I know he joins because I definitely don't want, you know, it's like it should be there. We should know whether it's there or not. because otherwise, again, we continue to just have some of these gaps. So anyhow, that's just something, again, we continue to go from a process perspective, Superintendent, and so that's hence my question. So I know that the other thing, and I'm not sure how it's going, is our ability to get folks on the CBOC. Are we now fully, no? How many members do we have?

[14988] SPEAKER_19: I think six. Okay.

[14993] SPEAKER_33: I think Ms. Rivera just resigned a couple of months ago where the board voted on the resignation.

[15002] SPEAKER_19: Her term ended. Okay.

[15005] Elisa Martinez: So I know that's been an ongoing challenge. So I know that superintendent would be great to You know, I know we have a lot going on, but how might we be able to reach out and just get more information out on the importance of this committee? So.

[15021] Mark Triplett: Absolutely. And to your point about the just understanding the the process to ensure accountability to that's something that we could definitely bring back to share with the board.

[15035] Elisa Martinez: Thank you so much. OK, if there are no further questions for or comments, I'd like to ask Ms. Gutierrez to repeat the motion on the table.

[15049] SPEAKER_36: Yes, staff recommends the board accept the 2018-2019 Citizens Fund Oversight Committee Annual Report as presented. Motion made by Member Zhang and seconded by Member Nguyen.

[15069] Elisa Martinez: Did you give us a chance? Give us a chance to vote.

[15094] SPEAKER_36: So motion passes with three ayes.

[15097] Vicenta Ditto: Okay, thank you.

[15105] Mark Triplett: Thank you, Mr. Waters.

[15109] Marie dela Cruz: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Waters.

[15114] Elisa Martinez: OK. And with that, we move to item 13.2, which is, let's see, staff recommends the Board of Education approve as a board policy Sorry, is that correct? Yes, the bylaws, the bylaws. So I thought it was reading the same item. Board approve as presented or bring back for a second reading with any recommended revisions. And this is for board policy exhibit 7214. I have a motion and a second to approve.

[15150] SPEAKER_33: I move that we approve the bylaws as presented.

[15156] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. I have a second.

[15159] Phuong Nguyen: I second.

[15160] Elisa Martinez: I second. Thank you. Any, um. Comment public comment on this item. Okay. And any was there any presentation with regard to this item from anybody from Mr Cruz?

[15178] Mark Triplett: Mr Cruz. Are you would you like to speak at all on this item?

[15190] Marie dela Cruz: a section in the bylaws that had some language about the committee members and that they could serve no more than three consecutive terms. However, they wanted some clarification as to when they would be eligible again, because it wasn't really clear what that meant. Did that mean that they could no longer serve ever again? Or did they just have to wait it out? So this adds a sentence to the bylaws. It says, in the event that the member completes three consecutive terms, they're eligible to serve again after one year hiatus from the committee. So that's the basic change of the bylaw.

[15242] Elisa Martinez: Perfect. Thank you. Any questions for Ms. Dela Cruz? No. No. Thank you. And so, Miss Gutierrez, can you please repeat the motion?

[15256] SPEAKER_36: Staff recommends the Board of Education approve as presented or bring back. Okay, let me. Approve as presented. Just have to delete the second reading. Okay, the Board of Education approved as presented the recommended revisions. And I have a motion by Member Zhang, second by Member Nguyen. So motion passes three ayes.

[15316] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Okay, item 13.3, that is the reclassification of the administrative secretary. Staff recommends that the Board of Education approve the reclassification. The administrative secretary, child nutrition to child nutrition services technician. May I have a motion and a second to approve?

[15339] Phuong Nguyen: I move to approve item 13.3.

[15341] SPEAKER_33: I second it.

[15345] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Any public comment, Ms. Gutierrez? Thank you. And Superintendent?

[15354] Mark Triplett: Thank you, President Martinez. I'll have Ms. Saavedra explain a little bit of context here.

[15359] SPEAKER_29: Sure, thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Triplett. Thank you, President Martinez. Yes, this classification has evolved throughout the last few years, where the Administrative Secretary was in charge of a lot of the everyday needs from the department. As we know, a lot of the needs of the department has gone have evolved to the point where the person is now doing, in addition to doing secretary work, she's also doing some accounting and filling out some child nutrition reports from the state that require the reclassification for this position.

[15399] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Any questions for Ms. Avedra?

[15403] Phuong Nguyen: No.

[15405] Elisa Martinez: Or do I? Okay, thank you, Ms. Avedra. And Ms. Gutierrez, can you please repeat the motion?

[15410] SPEAKER_36: I have recommends that the Board of Education approve the reclassification of the Administrative Secretary Child Nutrition to Nutrition Services Technician. Motion made by Member Nguyen and second by Member Zhang. Thank you. Motion passes three ayes.

[15450] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Next item is 13.4. That is the The design and construction management services for the landscaping project. So this item is staff recommends that the board authorized staff to award and finalize consulting agreements with integrated design studio and RGM RGM Kramer for design planning and construction management services for the landscaping and irrigation project as presented. I have a motion and a second place.

[15491] Phuong Nguyen: I move to approve the item 13.4. Thank you.

[15498] SPEAKER_33: I second it.

[15500] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Member Jean. Ms. Gutierrez, public comment on this item?

[15505] SPEAKER_36: Yes, we have public comment from Cary Knoop. Mr. Rhodes, if you could please move him over. Thank you.

[15515] Cary Knoop: Good evening again. Before board members approve this, I just want to point out that the $200,000 district office curb appeal is still in the proposal. And it's flabbergasting to me, $200,000 for the district office curb appeal. I'm going to follow the action of every board member who votes yes on this, because I think it's just so outrageous. In addition, and maybe I misunderstand. So we're having a landscaping and irrigation project for about $90,000. Am I led to believe that in order to manage that project, we need another $94,000 or $90,000. So that's basically a project management overhead of 100%. Tell me I'm wrong, because that doesn't make any sense. How can this company charge $90,000 for a $90,000 project? What are we doing here? Again, I just want to reiterate, we're in the worst pandemic of 100 years. And again, any money that we need to spend on improving HVACs and ventilation, you know, the item that board member Wynn brought up. has absolute priority. And I think somebody will open a public records request to see what diligence the district has done to make sure that HVACs and filters, we got the right filters, we did the right thing. We went out of our way before we have our project manager work on irrigation and curb appeal. It's baffling to me. So these are my questions. I hope board members will repeat the questions. Thank you.

[15651] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Mr. Knoop. And superintendent, will you be speaking to this item or Ms. Dela Cruz?

[15660] Mark Triplett: Thank you, Ms. Martinez, President Martinez, excuse me. Yeah, I believe we have a guest, Mr. Caputo, who's going to speak to this, but first I turn it over to Ms. Dela Cruz, who will introduce this item.

[15675] Marie dela Cruz: Thank you, Dr. Triplett. Yes, President Martinez and board members, this is part of the planning phase and design phase of the landscape and irrigation project. This is not the actual project itself. It's the pre-planning, developing bid specs, and the design, and the construction management once we award the bid. But I will allow Mr. Caputo to expand on that.

[15714] SPEAKER_22: PB, David Ensign — Herndon, he-him, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, hims, him We are moving forward with the design and engineering of multiple projects concurrently that are consistent with previous board actions in the district's priority list. Landscaping being part of that. On August 20th, we presented a board item that discussed our review of all of the districts undeveloped and landscape and broken irrigation systems district-wide. Those costs were enormous. The bond allocation was not sufficient to do all of that work. We also understand and recognize the needs of the mechanical systems and we're working diligently to get those moving and anticipate reporting back on those, probably not the next two board meetings, but soon thereafter. Mechanical experts in our team have been walking every site and reviewing those mechanical units as a part of that project. We will also be looking at additional filtrations that are done up on top of the roof in the units themselves, not just filters that have been replaced recently. The mechanical projects I would like the board of community to recognize requires a significant amount of engineering and DSA, who's our planning and and permitting agency through the state architect's office. So those aren't things that can be jump started and done overnight. There's engineering, cost analysis, look at different systems and methods along with evaluating additional filtration systems to help reduce the risks of the COVID-19 virus. So look forward to more info on mechanical systems in the relatively near future. Regarding this item, the work that has been prioritized, if you recall, we provided information and they're also included in tonight's board packet, have been reduced to areas that we call 1 and 1A. And in August 20, the board recognized that there was additional funds through Fund 40 that were appropriated for this and some other budget redistributions for a total of $3.2 million. To address the public comment, I would say that A licensed architectural firm fees are typically 8% to 12% just for the design. Construction management could be anywhere from 5% to 8%, depending on the scope and scale of the project. The amounts requested of the board to approve tonight are on a not to exceed basis. Any cost savings accrues to the district. We are certainly cognizant of the district's budget, and we will work with the landscape and irrigation engineers as frugally and efficiently as we can. We will report progress to district administration and board, and before anything goes out to bid, we will review the priorities, the scope of work, the budgets with district administration and prepare a board presentation as requested. The total of both the architect's fee allocation and ours total less than 6%. So you're well under established standards in the industry. And that's not to say that we'll consume all of that going forward. We are looking at a lot of this work. Irrigation systems that have been turned off are broken. We have valves that are buried deep in the ground that we have to locate, wires that have been either cut or deteriorated or eaten by gophers or moles. And there's some recognizant work that is necessary in order to even start to develop a set of plans and specifications and re-estimate the work and re-engage with the district in terms of prioritization, which will all be done as we bring the mechanical work forward. So there will be opportunities to revisit budget and scope going forward. So as Ms. Dela Cruz emphasized, our work has already started on this and walking all the sites and trying to figure out what's the best way to move forward. We have worked with this design architect in a program in San Leandro. They proved to be very valuable to the district that had very similar issues. A lot of undocumented irrigation and landscape, old piping and problems, and the architect was very useful in being frugal and not over designing and being very cost conscious. We've also had to bring in a landscape contractor to help us dig some of this stuff up and document work that we just don't have plans and specifications on. That is something that took us a little bit of time to get engaged with because while the district has a lot of local and very good contractors, to bring a district contractor that they've used before in to help us work on design is a conflict of interest and would prevent them from being a viable bidder. So we looked for the architect to bring someone in that would only be doing this limited service and not come forward later and bid the project, and that was integral to maintain public contract code requirements. So we are asking for approval to start to do the troubleshooting and recognizance that we need to do. And as we move forward with this, I think, as we've said before, in the paving bids, and you saw in the paving bids, our estimates were a little conservative because we have to look at market down the road when bidding will occur. And we don't always, we try and give you the cost of what we think it's worth, not what competition may or may not do on bid day. There's always some bid day fluctuation. Sometimes we're very encouraged to get very good bids, and sometimes the bid market bids may exceed our expectations. The board has talked about this in the past. So with that I would look for your approval to get this started. We do recognize that as we move forward, the district has many competing interests besides landscaping and irrigation, and we will work hard with the district to vet those out and re ratchet prioritization as needed. If I can answer any specific questions, I'm pleased to do so.

[16184] SPEAKER_33: Yes, so I do have a question regarding the management costs of the project overhead, because you mentioned for normal architectural firm, the money they charge for design consulting is roughly 8 to 12% of the total value of the project. That's what you said, right?

[16200] SPEAKER_22: Yes, technically new construction is 9% and modernization is at 12%. It's a standard industry standard. Some architects are above, some could be a little below, but that's a general rule of thumb.

[16212] SPEAKER_33: Yeah, and you're saying most of the managing The management fee for just managing the project generally is 5% to 8% of the total value of the project. Is that right?

[16224] SPEAKER_22: There's a sliding scale that was part of the Office of Public School Construction. Just like they used to regulate architects' fees, they've regulated CM fees at one time. Those regulations are no longer in effect, but those industry standards are usually litmus test for us when we evaluate consultant fees and for districts that evaluate ours and other contemporaries in our industry as well. And they generally start at 8% for the first million dollars, seven and a half for the second million, and then it's a sliding scale based on the overall program. That's why I gave you an average of six to eight. Yeah, so

[16267] SPEAKER_33: Then in this case, why is this management fee almost the same as the consulting design fee?

[16273] SPEAKER_22: Because we're involved a lot in the planning of this. We're not just sitting and waiting for the architect to design. We're in the trenches with them. faring out the best way to move forward. We've already prepared a lot of estimates. We've looked at all the sites ourselves. We've developed cost analysis for multiple scenarios before it came to the board in August. And it's both planning and construction. As an example, I'll indicate also in the paving work, we did not use an engineer on the paving. We did all that work ourselves. So we essentially acted as the designer and the construction manager on the current paving projects. Similarly, at a reduced cost for the district. And we've done that here instead of going to a full service architect who would hire a landscape and irrigation consultant underneath them, we have the district working directly with the consultant, just as we when we put it out to bid we will work and put it out to bid directly to landscape consultants. So the district isn't going to pay the price of a general contractor's general conditions on-site supervision. We're taking on that role to help the district save additional ancillary costs and markups.

[16362] SPEAKER_33: Okay. And obviously the total value of the project is not to exceed $800,000, right?

[16370] SPEAKER_22: Pardon me? It's actually $3.2 million.

[16374] SPEAKER_33: No, I'm only talking about the pavement. We call that the site beautification improvement or irrigation repairs. That part is no more than $800,000. Because because you just mentioned 12% 8 or 12% of the total Melbourne is your design give your designs in 90k and I guess on this one Paving is different Paving Okay Thank you.

[16403] Mark Triplett: Remember when do you have any questions?

[16404] Phuong Nguyen: Yes, so infrastructure is Very important to me. So since you are helping in terms of doing, like you said, recognizance, will the district get a copy of all the documentation in terms of where all the assets will be in terms of it for the irrigation system, Mr. Caputo?

[16443] SPEAKER_22: Absolutely. And I'll also say as part of this, there's a new bill in front of the state right now, AB 841. There are other opportunities both for mechanical and water savings and efficiency in irrigation. We also intend to help see if any of these funding programs can offer the district some reimbursement or some additional revenue to to help further improve both irrigation, water conservation, mechanical, electrical efficiency, and fighting the COVID virus with additional filtration. So we are following that legislation that will be rolled out until April of next year, but we're hoping that the district can qualify for some of those funds.

[16492] Phuong Nguyen: Okay, so I just want to make sure that all the piping, all of the parts are going to be tagged in, and we will have documentation on all of them?

[16504] SPEAKER_22: Yes, I know getting this going was a priority, and unfortunately, without the records, we've had to engage a landscape architect to help recreate CAD drawings. And once those are done, the district will have a copy of the existing conditions, and then we will have CAD drawings available to the district, and all the project files belong to the district, even though we bring them forward.

[16531] Phuong Nguyen: And then my last question is, since you are our main project manager on all these projects that you're overseeing, I know that we are talking about reopening schools again. And I know that the community and even the CBOC reporting, the hot topic is the HVAC systems. And we did approve a vendor, a contractor last time to do the evaluation. How will you prioritize? Will you be prioritizing that system replacement over the landscape irrigation system?

[16572] SPEAKER_22: We will work closely with Superintendent Trippett and Ms. Delacruz to look at those going forward, both mechanical and In the landscape, we have to look at existing conditions. But before we put all schools out to bid, we will be conferring with the district for any reconfiguration plans that the district may have. But we need to do some recognizance on all the campuses to get to that point. But before we put drawings forward for schools that you know, may have a different service, then, you know, we will review that with the district and try and synchronize with them on that. Okay, thank you. For this one in particular, we will probably, you know, start with, I think it's the junior high school, high school as a priority, but we need to kind of recognize since all the schools.

[16633] Phuong Nguyen: Okay, thank you so much.

[16636] SPEAKER_33: Yeah, so I don't think I got my question answered.

[16640] Elisa Martinez: Can I get my question answered?

[16642] SPEAKER_33: Sorry.

[16643] Elisa Martinez: No, go ahead. Members, what was that? I'm sorry.

[16645] SPEAKER_33: Yeah, because I was on this. The $95K, the design consulting, the design fee, Mr. Caputo, you're talking about is generally 12% of the project. So this project is that $800,000 project, right? Not exceeding the $800K, right? Is that a total value of the project?

[16666] SPEAKER_22: No, no, no, I'm sorry. I think I may have confused you between the analogy I made for the paving project and the and the irrigation the budget for this work if we move forward and design everything the budget that was approved by the board on August 20 was $3,200,000 and $87,947. Now, we also know that the district will not want to spend all that money if it doesn't have to. So we're going to work closely to be as frugal and efficient as we can. But we do intend to start out addressing each of those areas. And then we'll provide options to either up to that level or reduced scope of work? And we've had some preliminary discussions with the district in that regard.

[16720] SPEAKER_33: Yeah, so you have 3.287 million. That is the estimated cost of the scope of the project. Does that mean going forward we'll be incurring additional design fee and project management fee?

[16732] SPEAKER_22: No. The district in their prioritization put construction dollars to each project. And I think I mentioned in a previous board meeting probably in passing that the way we operate in most school districts operate is when you develop a budget, you know, we have a little bit of planning costs to get to a point to understand what the scope of work is. But at that point, all costs associated with that project. Design costs, DSA fees, inspection fees, testing labs, any other consulting costs, temporary fencing, and all that is part of the overall budget. So we will work within that maximum budget, but we will also be providing district with options to do the same amount of work for less cost.

[16784] SPEAKER_33: Yeah, I guess this is the part I'm not making the connection. The total project's value is going to be 3.2 million, right? And then you also mentioned the design generates 8% to 12% of the total value. Now, how do we arrive at this 95K value? Because that seems to be pretty off if you apply that to the 3.5.

[16801] SPEAKER_22: Because we're not using full service architects, and we're not using general contractors. We're working directly with the landscape architect. They gave us a price of $94,000 and change. That totals about 3% of the overall. Yeah, but the reason I'm asking.

[16819] SPEAKER_33: I don't want to have any surprise management design that comes back and say, hey, remember, 12% of the total value of three million.

[16826] Elisa Martinez: Sorry, I'm going to because I think we're getting into the weeds of the numbers. Let's talk about what we're approving today. Right. And and I think just because I think that your question was important members on in terms of what's the scope. Right. And we are, there are some boundaries here. We're approving for this particular project where we all already approved, you know, the size of the allocating the funds. We'll still have to vote on the final bids and all that good stuff. But we said 3.2, 3.5 million dollars. This portion is the design and the project management portion. The expectation is this is the the administrative cost. We will not see additional costs. Correct, Mr. Caputo? I want to call everybody doctor.

[16883] SPEAKER_22: We don't have an inspector necessarily on this job. It's not a DSA project. There's not really testing labs involved. We have some reproducible costs to re replicate or to make CAD drawings because we don't have them available to give to the architect. But that'll all be it won't exceed that total appropriation that the board approved in August 20th. But our fees are fixed to manage the architect and manage the contractor and make sure you don't have the problems you experienced in your previous projects.

[16922] Elisa Martinez: And I think I wanted to kind of just bring that back to, you know, kind of what's before us, because and, you know, whether it's public comment or even us, you know, just staying on task, I think it's really important for us as a board, because it was only been a couple of months that we just where we gave this direction. Right. Yes. You know, there's a lot of class associated with making sure we're ready for COVID. I don't think there's any conversation where we would ever compromise allocating funds for that. But we've also been saying, hey, we need to spend the bond money on things we said we were going to do. And one of the things was making sure that, you know, the fields were good. Those are areas where our kids, you know, that our kids use and our kids need. And this portion is just the ability to go and scope it and plan it and design it so that we can then figure out how we go after and implement. So I think it's just important that we don't get distracted by just, there's always going to be competing priorities. But we just got reminded by the CBOC that it's been years and we don't take things to fruition. Right. So so I think that's just one one of the things I'd like to ask. But I think Mr. Caputo, I think you did a great job at describing. I asked a question actually to to our superintendent and our a chief business officer prior to the meeting, which was your fees and should we have gone to get another for you, Mr. Caputo, for your project management service. So if we look back at the original agreement, we already knew kind of the holistic set of services that you're providing. So you're not just administering, you're actually doing work and prep work. So I think that's important as well as we think about that, what are traditional fees. So I think it's just, I just wanna make sure we are having a comprehensive and we can't forget the work that has come here and gotten us here. We can't take today's decision and say we're making a decision in the vacuum because there's a lot of work that's already happened and presentations that have, where we've already approved some of this work. So, so sorry if I'm kind of on my soapbox, but I think we just want to make sure we stay focused on what the direction that we've been giving over the last couple of months. So, so I think I think what I'm hearing is consistent with the scope of work. 3.2 million, I think I had the thing open. So I think it's certainly, if there's any questions with regard to the numbers and the percentages that Mr. Caputo is quoting, we can go there. But I think aside from that, the numbers seem to add up. And we've scoped it. This is just the idea that we are going to be designing for the whole. I think there was a question about are we really going to be putting money into the district office that's gonna that's gonna come up before us again right as we approve bids um so this is just to create the overall design and plan just to reiterate um remember uh jeong did you have any additional questions with regard to that number are you are you be comfortable okay um watching the clock here 9 50 um If there are no additional questions, Ms. Gutierrez, can you please repeat the motion on the table, please?

[17153] SPEAKER_36: Yes. Staff recommends the board authorize. Give me one second.

[17163] Elisa Martinez: Sure. I suppose I could repeat that. So the staff recommends that the board approve authorized staff to award and finalize consulting agreements with Integrated Design Studio and RGM RGM Kramer for design, planning, and construction management services for the landscaping and irrigation project as presented. And you're on mute.

[17192] SPEAKER_36: And I have a motion by Member Nguyen and a second by Member Zhang.

[17195] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. If you could please open voting. Motion passes. Thank you. Thank you so much. Great discussion. And Mr. Caputo, as always, thank you for sharing and being very thorough in what you're bringing forward. So I appreciate it.

[17233] SPEAKER_22: Thank you. Good night.

[17235] Elisa Martinez: OK. Well, with that, we have eight minutes. I don't think we're going to get through the next item. I know we don't want to extend, but I will ask. I know we won't take it till 1030, but I would ask that we extend the meeting to 1030. Can I get a motion?

[17253] SPEAKER_33: I move that we extend the meeting until 1030.

[17256] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, member Jean. Second. When seconds, can we just do a quick hand vote? All our ayes, so motion carries with three ayes. Okay. All right. Next item is 14 consent agenda personnel report. I have a motion and a second to approve.

[17282] SPEAKER_33: I move to approve the personnel report.

[17285] Elisa Martinez: I second. Member Zhang moves. Member Nguyen seconds. If you could please open voting.

[17295] Nancy Thomas: One second.

[17312] SPEAKER_36: Sorry, President Martinez, did you say the motions were made by?

[17318] Elisa Martinez: Sorry, I did say it, but who made the motion? Member Jean made the motion? That's correct. And Member Nguyen seconded.

[17347] SPEAKER_36: Just waiting on members on vote. Motion passes.

[17361] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. Next item is item 15, consent agenda, non-personnel items. And this is the area where we removed 15.3 and 15.6. So we would be approved and 15.10 and 15.11. So we would be approving all others. May I have a motion and a second to approve?

[17393] SPEAKER_33: I move that we approve 15.1 and 15.2 and 15.7 till 15.9. Thank you. I have a second.

[17409] Phuong Nguyen: I second.

[17416] Elisa Martinez: All right, member Zhang moves, member Nguyen seconds.

[17424] SPEAKER_33: Do we figure out how to do the vote voting?

[17434] Elisa Martinez: I think we're still voting. We're voting.

[17438] SPEAKER_33: Well, I'm not sure we can. I don't think we figure out the voting by multiple items all at once, or we can just just verbally report your vote and then move on.

[17449] Phuong Nguyen: She has it. She has the voting up for fifteen point one.

[17453] Elisa Martinez: OK. Oh, sorry. Got it. That's a good point. OK, so Miss Gutierrez, if let's do let's do a hand vote, if it's if it's by one by one. to spend the time doing that.

[17467] Phuong Nguyen: Sorry.

[17467] SPEAKER_36: In this case, there's a new motion on there. The motion will be reflected exactly how it was stated. So the recommendation is to approve all except the ones that are currently there. So it's not finalized. I just need to write it in, but it will be reflected exactly of what members on set.

[17490] Phuong Nguyen: We cannot vote as our point of order. There is a speaker for this item. for two of the items on here on the consent agenda.

[17499] SPEAKER_36: Thank you. Let me just let me pull out the ones that um that do have the the speaker one second.

[17509] Elisa Martinez: Okay sorry but I think somebody reached out to member when that there is a speaker on this item Ms. Gutierrez.

[17516] SPEAKER_36: Yeah let me pull my list up just so I can get the speaker and then I'll let you know which one we need to pull out. Okay gotcha. Okay, so we have speakers on 15.2 and 15.7 and 15.9. 15.2, 15.7 and 15.9? Okay. That is correct. So we would have a motion to approve 15.1 and 15.8.

[17532] Elisa Martinez: Those we could approve and then we have to hear comment on those other items. I have a motion and a second to approve 15.1 and item and 15.8.

[17560] SPEAKER_33: I move to approve 15.1 and item 15.8.

[17564] Elisa Martinez: I'll second. OK. Member Zhang moves, and member Nguyen seconds.

[17572] SPEAKER_36: So I did open voting, and it's reflective to approve only those two items. OK.

[17583] Elisa Martinez: So 15.1. Okay. So we're ready for the public comment, Ms. Gutierrez.

[17607] SPEAKER_36: Sorry, motion passes. And yes, I... Okay, one second. Okay, so public comment will be on 15.2. And this is Carrie new. Okay.

[17632] Cary Knoop: Yes, good evening again, briefly talking about the launch reports are asked several board members. to please change, and also ask the CBO by the way, to please change the reporting and provide a regular searchable PDF file. We've had that for years and I honestly question why now these reports are scanned, it's more work for everybody. And it's just another thing of less transparency. I mean, it almost sounds like you don't want people to search it. As a matter of fact, I automated the process. I scanned these PDFs for years. I automatically put them using Python into structures. And two board members right now, I served in the past with information from my analysis. And it really bothers me that I don't get a reply to my emails or at least an explanation. It's just going to a black hole as if nobody cares. It's just awful. It's a normal question. Remember the Brown Act latest updates already state computer readable formats. You know, why go to the extra mile of making it harder? Just provide a PDF file that you've been providing for years. Okay, so with respect to the warrant report, I want to talk about Facilitrom. I remember the presentation from Facilitrom. They said their business model is such that they don't charge anything if there's no request for any rooms or facilities. So why is there a $5,900 fixed fee this year? Did the contract change? Because Facilitron came in with the idea that they're not going to charge. I quote, our business model provides no out-of-pocket costs to the district. I can give you the second and a minute of the video where it's stated. So why do we have $5,900 fix-free? And please, board members, ask that. You can say it's only $5,900. We don't care, but we should care. What's going on? And besides, we're not really renting any rooms right now with COVID-19. So what are we doing? So first of all, can I get an answer? Why don't we have a readable PDF, as we always have for years, Why don't I get any decent replies to my emails? At least have the dignity of providing a feedback to somebody. And the last thing is why do we have $5,900 fixed fee for Facilitron? Thank you.

[17800] Elisa Martinez: Okay, and before we vote, so we have comments on the next two items. Can we go ahead and let's just do comments before we vote on all items, please?

[17814] SPEAKER_36: Yes, the next one is on 15.7 and we have Cindy Parks. Okay.

[17821] Cindy Parks: Good evening. I would like to thank President Martinez for addressing my concerns with the six sets of minutes which were pulled. I pulled the August six minutes because they were the first set of minutes on the consent agenda with a link to the minutes. I admit I'm not a fan of the minimalistic approach to capturing the minutes. But what matters is the current language in your BB 9324. which states, in order to ensure that the minutes are focused on board action, the minutes shall include only a brief summary of the board's discussion, but shall not include verbatim record of the board's discussion on each agenda topic or the names of board members who made specific points during the discussion. It does not direct that there to be complete omissions of all discussions by the board. Also, the minutes shall reflect the names of those individuals who comment during the meeting's public comment period, as well as the topics they address. The topic the public addressed is missing from all sets of minutes before you this evening. Based on Superintendent Triplett's earlier report, it seems you need to revise BB 9324. If you're going to rely on video for complete discussions and comments, I hope you don't have any technological glitches or that you have a backup plan. But as it stands right now, your BB 9324 includes the language which I read to you earlier. Thank you.

[17913] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Ms. Parks. And a speaker for 15.9?

[17918] SPEAKER_36: Correct. The speaker is Carrie New.

[17925] Cary Knoop: Yes, good evening. You know the superintendent is the person who runs the show in the district, and justifiably so he's the, the person who's in charge of all operational procedures and he's basically in charge of almost everything. But the one thing he's not in charge of is the boards meeting, and the boards minutes. It's the board that decides what kind of minutes need to be provided. The board's meeting is not subject to the superintendent's purview, period. I was shocked to see these minutes. I went to look around. I looked at Fremont, New Haven, Hayward, Oakland, Berkeley, all have a certain level of narrative. We're not looking for novels. but we need some narrative. Right now, the minutes are, in my mind, totally unacceptable. Again, here's an opportunity for the board members to speak up. It's the board's meeting. It's not under the superintendent's purview. The board's meeting is not under the superintendent's purview, period. And are the board members going to be silent and move to approve and accept it again? Or is this going to stand up for quality? Because having minutes without any narrative is not quality. And look at your districts around you. Right now, Newark is the only one who does that. We're at the bottom of the pit. We're sliding. So board members, speak up. Thank you.

[18026] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Mr. Newk.

[18028] Nancy Thomas: That's it for public comment.

[18032] Elisa Martinez: OK. Any questions or comments on these items? before we go ahead and vote?

[18042] SPEAKER_33: Well, any chance that Superintendent Triplett will respond to some of the questions that the public comments ask?

[18053] Elisa Martinez: We don't generally, unless there is any specific item that, Superintendent, you'd like to address, but we don't respond to public comment. So this is more of a opportunity for us as board members. Do we have any questions with regards to these items?

[18078] Phuong Nguyen: I do. I do believe that there should be some narrative and not change the minutes completely without having a little bit of a summary or a narrative so that our community can just go and look up the minutes and get a brief description or summary of what went on in our meetings and not have to, you know, go and look up the YouTube channel for the video, even though it is out there. Because they will be searching, you know, if they don't know exactly which item they want to be at and what minute or hour we spoke on that topic. So I think it is really important just to have some summary and some narrative And if there is already a board policy that dictate that, we really do need to take a look at that and review it, unfortunately. Especially if we wanna streamline and make changes to proper procedure and processes, I think that we need to really take that into account. And then also, Yes, I do have a question in regards to the warrant report for the Facilitron. Is that an annual fee for maintenance and services related to that item? Especially if we are not, you know, especially if the comment is correct in that they are not supposed to be charging us for non-usage at this time, since we are not really scheduling any facility rentals.

[18192] Elisa Martinez: Yeah. So, Ms.dela Cruz, yeah, and again, we don't know that that statement, we have to lean on our staff for the correct. Correct. Right. Whether there is, we're under some sort of contract or whatnot to pay. So I think that that is a valid question.

[18216] Marie dela Cruz: Are you asking? You want me to answer it right now?

[18219] Mark Triplett: Yes, please.

[18220] Marie dela Cruz: Yeah. Oh, OK. That is not the fee for use of facilities. There's two sides of Facilitron. There's the work order system, and then there's the use of facilities. That fee is not for use of facilities.

[18236] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you. So that is for the work order system maintenance and support, correct? Correct. Okay, thank you.

[18244] Marie dela Cruz: You're welcome.

[18248] Elisa Martinez: Yes, and you know, I actually did. I know that this was on the changes on the minutes were coming. I did review board policy or BB 93 24. And I mean, And if I think about it, it really does focus on the need to make sure we're capturing the actual actions taken. I mean, that's really at the end of the day. I think if you look at, and other folks mentioned, if you go to different sites, you're gonna get books of narrative, you're gonna get less, and so there's a different variation. I don't think we're out of compliance, frankly, with BB9324. I think the question becomes, and I think the district needs to, that is their job. Our superintendent is our board secretary, actually, right? So I do need to, I personally look to you, superintendent and staff, to come back with what's the recommended requirement for documentation. Yes, from where we had been documented, and actually it just depends. It depends where, how many years ago you go back, how many meetings, the amount of detail. So maybe this is somewhat of an overcorrection to go minimal. I think there's something around stabilizing to what's that minimum requirement. And then we can dictate because, you know, remember, remember when, as I hear you, and this is just my opinion, we can certainly kind of land somewhere. And I know it's 1011 now, but when we say, well, we need more, well, what does that mean? Right? When we want more. So, so there's, and I think we've got to be careful as a board that we aren't dictating we need to entrust that staff is going to go and do the homework to understand what is the requirement for documentation.

[18375] Phuong Nguyen: I don't disagree with you on that piece, but it does seem, and I'm sorry to use this word, but exact language is available for viewing on the NUSD YouTube channel. That to me is lazy. That to me is not transparent. That to me is telling the community that we have to go and do our own homework in order to hold the board accountable. When we don't have to do that, we don't have to create an environment where there's this friction with the community. No, I don't. So for me, that's how I feel. Thank you.

[18415] Elisa Martinez: I hear you. And I think that we have to go on feelings and opinions, but at the end of the day, are we compliant or not? And I think that's the question that's many times, and by the way, I'm getting texted, why am I taking the stands? I'm taking a stance from a process and procedure. This is why we in Newark get in trouble over the years. The minute we get pressure to say that we aren't being transparent, what does that mean? We always have to fall back on process, I guess is my only point. And so, so if we take it to process, let's go back to that and say, what is, do we want to then start a, do a subcommittee to say, Hey, let's work together, but we can't give this general direction of, um, we need more. Right. It's, it's somewhere in between. So, so that's why I was saying, you know, we've gone to different levels. We have a new administrative team. You know, this initial, the immediate sense that this is ill-intended is where it always gets us in trouble, right? So I don't know that it's lazy. I think it's trying to stabilize a standard. If we don't think that that's good enough, then let's give direction that we want to go ahead and work on a minutes committee. I think that's the only way. Because that means we're not trusting them to go do their job. I'm not trying to get into the weeds of the minutes. I'm just saying, stating that, you know, there is a level of what our community is used to. Yes, if we are going to make these procedural changes, yes, the superintendent did make a presentation regarding that.

[18516] Phuong Nguyen: But I'm not trying to get into the weeds of the minutes. I'm just saying, stating that, you know, there is a level of what our community is used to. Yes, if we are going to make these procedural changes, yes, the superintendent did make a presentation regarding that. What is it that you guys, I mean, what is it that we are trying to do? You know, we want to be able, we have been, we were tasked to fix communication in the district and by minimalizing the communication or information that you're putting out there, that is not improving communication. So for people who are interested in the minutes, Yes, we do need to look at it. And yes, maybe you're correct in the sense that maybe there should be a committee if there's one, in terms of restructuring the minutes, if that's what you want to go and do. But what I'm saying is that we shouldn't make these changes just out of the blue.

[18582] Elisa Martinez: so so the only thing look we all we all can have our our own opinions about this, but that when we the minute we Espouse that we are not that our district staff is not trying to be or we're not being transparent I completely disagree with that and I and you know i'm getting you know, people says i'm watching what you're doing I get it. I'm accountable to all our constituents. However We are having a zoom meeting recording. We are having a youtube record And then there's minutes. So for us to make a statement or espouse the idea that this district is not being transparent, I think that's not okay. That is not okay, just because a couple of voices are saying that we're not transparent. We gotta look at the facts. And so that's one of the things that I'm not okay accepting, that we are subscribing to that. I'm okay to say, you know what, I'm not comfortable, we as a board are not comfortable, then let's ask the superintendent to pull these and let's have a conversation as a board or ask him to bring a proposal. But I just wanna make sure that we, or at least I, I'm gonna stand firmly and not just buckle to one or two voices who are telling us that we're not being transparent because that is not the case. We have multiple outlets.

[18662] SPEAKER_33: I think we need to move on a little bit. Otherwise, we'll be- I agree. I agree. This meeting will not be extended beyond 10.30.

[18671] Elisa Martinez: We have 13 more minutes. So Superintendent, my recommendation is that you pull these minutes. And let's have some more conversation with this. And I think that we're going to have to have a subcommittee to make sure that we, as a board, give you some direction. Because somehow, we're not OK with this. So my recommendation is that you pull the minutes and we vote on if that's okay.

[18698] Phuong Nguyen: We vote on item 15.2. Superintendent?

[18705] Mark Triplett: OK, we can do that. I do want to point out that we do have minutes that we did pull that we're going to bring back tomorrow that have some ramifications for our audit and for the audit. So we we need to have those minutes pass. And so we We specifically brought those minutes tonight. Then we agreed to pull them. We're going to bring them back tomorrow. But if we don't have those minutes approved, then there's ramifications for our audit. And if that's the decision of the board, that's fine. I mean, that's up to the board. But I just want the board to be aware of what will happen if we are unable to pass the minutes tomorrow.

[18752] Elisa Martinez: So yeah, superintendent, you and I maybe can touch base in the morning and see if there's a way to see what is something that we can and maybe bring in another board members if we can get at least one or two that might impact us. OK.

[18766] Mark Triplett: Thank you.

[18767] Elisa Martinez: All right. So items 15.7 and 15.9 are pulled. OK. OK, the 15.8 was approved. OK, so let's vote on 15.2. Any motion in the second to approve the warrant report?

[18790] SPEAKER_33: I move that we approve the warrant report.

[18792] Elisa Martinez: Thank you. I second it. And let's do a quick hand vote, Ms. Gutierrez. All ayes, please raise your hand. Member Zhang, Member Nguyen, and myself. So motion carries. The warrant report is approved. We have 12 minutes. We move to student expulsion 16.1. Staff recommends, sorry, let me just do it right, verbiage. The administration recommends the approval of the recommendation for the termination of expulsion order E1819-09. May I have a motion and a second to approve staff recommendation?

[18849] Phuong Nguyen: I move to approve. Member Nguyen moves.

[18853] SPEAKER_33: I second.

[18854] Elisa Martinez: We're done seconds. And again, let's do a hand vote. All ayes, please raise your hand. Motion carries. Thank you. And next item is 16.2, termination of expulsion order E1920-02. Staff recommends approval. May I have a motion and a second to approve?

[18877] Phuong Nguyen: I move to approve. Member Nguyen moves.

[18884] Julienne Sumodobila: Second.

[18886] Elisa Martinez: Member Jeong seconds. Let's do another hand vote as well. All ayes, please raise your hand. Three ayes. Motion carries. OK. And with 10 minutes, Board of Education Committee reports. I know that the key one is the consolidation Consolidation Committee. And just very briefly, we had our last meeting on October the 8th. The focus, or we reviewed a presentation from Dr. Triplett around the performance dashboard. Number two was also, the second presentation by our CBO was the review of the financials of the district. with that included budgeted projections. And then also how we arrive or how staff arrived at the projected $500,000 savings per school that would be consolidated. There was some questions from the committee with regards to getting additional clarity as to what were the source accounts for that 500,000. And I believe Ms. Delacruz is gonna be providing some additional information. The next meeting will be next Thursday. And the committee was asked to bring forward any potential additional dimensions that they'd like to add to the scoring criteria. I know our facilitator sent out some instructions for that. And so the committee will be having that discussion. And they would also be having some preliminary discussion potential schools that will be brought forward to the board. And the target, again, is to bring an initial report to the board by the November 5th meeting. So very quickly, that's a quick synopsis of the last meeting from the SCAC. And with that, I'll very quickly pitch it to the board members. Any specific comments or requests, member Nguyen?

[19033] Phuong Nguyen: Just to remind everyone that the census is closing tonight. And I think they are going to be open until 2 a.m. the 16th. So if you haven't turned in your census, please do. They're still accepting it until later or until early tomorrow morning. No other comments. Thank you.

[19061] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, member Nguyen. Member Zhang.

[19065] SPEAKER_33: So like we're entering the flu season and there's if you look at the data across the country there might be a potentially a second wave of coronavirus. So I hope everyone gets vaccinated with flu and wear your mask, maintain proper social distancing and avoid the crowd. I know holiday season is coming but avoid the crowd. and stay safe. And lastly, I want to echo what Mrs. Eustace said in her employee group report. Go out and vote. And voting is both your right and your duty to exercise as a citizen in a democratic society. Whatever party you vote for or whoever you vote, you need to express yourself. You need to be heard. That's it.

[19119] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, member Jean. Yes, absolutely. Please, please, please vote, please. If you haven't filled out your census, do it tonight. You know, and again, just this is a tough, stressful time for everyone. Let's just remember, you know, at the end of the day, you know, our kids and our and our staff are bearing the brunt of it. You know, we we have to deal with all this other administrative stuff. But at the end of the day, We are all working to try to make sure we try to bring a little bit of normalcy to everyone. And, you know, that sometimes requires changes to the way we do things. I want to thank everyone for, you know, the staff for the presentation, for the presentations brought forward. you know and look forward to additional additional details as we get closer to reopening. So thanks so much for everyone for everything and superintendent closing remarks.

[19185] Mark Triplett: Thanks, President Martinez. I don't have a lot to say. I just want to appreciate the staff who work so incredibly hard all day, every day. And just their work is deeply appreciated. The people on this call, on this Zoom, and how hard they work, as well as all of our other staff, both in the district office and the schools. They just give so much for our kids and our community every day. And so I just really appreciate them.

[19216] Elisa Martinez: Thank you, Superintendent. And with that, I will entertain a motion to adjourn.

[19223] SPEAKER_33: I move to adjourn the meeting.

[19228] Phuong Nguyen: I second.

[19230] Elisa Martinez: Member Nguyen seconds. Let's take a hand vote. All in favor, aye. The motion carries with three ayes. So meeting is adjourned at 10.25 PM. Everyone have a good evening.

[19246] Julienne Sumodobila: Five ayes.

[19247] Elisa Martinez: Good night.

1. Live Comments: Join with an Internet connected device (tablet, computer, phone, etc.)

1.1 Roll Call

Type                     Procedural

Members of the public who seek to address the Board of Education regarding the NUSD Study Session Items on the agenda please click on the link below for Public Comment information:

http://go.boarddocs.com/ca/nusd/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=BN8PNC6402C1

2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

2. Live Comments: Join with an Internet connected device (tablet, computer, phone, etc.)

2.1 Approval of Agenda

Type                     Action
Recommended              It is recommended that the agenda for this Board of Education meeting be approved.
Action

Motion & Voting It is recommended that the agenda for this Board of Education meeting be approved.

Motion by Phuong Nguyen, second by Bowen Zhang.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Elisa Martinez, Bowen Zhang, Phuong Nguyen, Ray J Rodriguez

2.2 Public Comment on Board Study Session Items

Type                     Procedural

Members of the public who seek to address the Board of Education regarding the NUSD Study Session Items on the agenda please click on the link below for Public Comment information:

http://go.boarddocs.com/ca/nusd/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=BN8PNC6402C1

3. STUDY SESSION

3.1 FCMAT Fiscal Health Risk Analysis Report

Type

Purpose: To follow-up and address areas of high risk included in the Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team's Fiscal Health Risk Analysis (FHRA) Report.

Background: Representatives from Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) presented the FHRA report at the September 3, 2020 Board meeting.

Subsequent to the Second Interim Review Letter, the district received a notice from the Alameda County Office of Education that FCMAT would be engaging with the district to conduct a Fiscal Health Risk Analysis (FHRA). On September 2018, Governor Jerry Brown signed the most significant update to California public school district oversight in 14 years. These updates strengthened the tools available to county offices of education and state agencies to promote fiscal oversight of Local Educational Agency (LEA). In addition to Assembly Bill (AB) 1840, the 2018-19 Budget Act implemented an automatic engagement process for districts showing signs of fiscal distress, and outlined the process that is to be implemented if a district meets any of the following conditions: Disapproved Budget Negative Interim Budget Report certification Three consecutive qualified Interim Budget Report certifications Downgrade of an Interim Budget Report certification by the county superintendent "Lack of going concern" designation NUSD has filed qualified certifications for its First and Second Interim Budget Reports in both 2018-19 and 2019-20, meaning that it has four (4) consecutive qualified Interim Budget Reports and, thus, the automatic engagement process has been triggered.

As part of the review process, FCMAT conducted one-on-one interviews with district staff and the Board of Education the week of May 26, 2020 and a list of documents were provided by staff (see attached).

FCMAT's reports focus on systems and processes that may need improvement. Those that may be functioning well are generally not commented on in FCMAT's reports.

File Attachments FCMAT FHRA Report_FINAL 9-2020.pdf (627 KB) Board Study Session Presentation_FCMAT FHRA_10-15-20.pdf (1,766 KB)

3.2 Public Comment on Closed Session Item

Type                     Procedural

Members of the public who seek to address the Board of Education please click on the link below for Public Comment information on Non-Agenda Items and Agenda items.

http://go.boarddocs.com/ca/nusd/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=BN8PNC6402C1

3.3 Recess to Closed Session

Type

4. CLOSED SESSION

4.1 Public Employee Discipline/Dismissal/ Release (GC54957)

Type                     Procedural

Information provided by the Executive Director of Human Resources, Jessica Saavedra

4.2 Conference with Labor Negotiator Employee Organizations: NTA & CSEA (GC54957.6)

Type

Agency Negotiator: Jessica Saavedra, Executive Director of Human Resources Greg Dannis Esq., Dannis, Woliver, Kelly, Attoreys at Law

Employee Organizations: NTA and CSEA

4.3 Conference with Labor Negotiator (GC 54957.6) NEWMA, Unrepresented Supervisors & Contracted Management

Type

Agency Negotiators: Jessica Saavedra, Executive Director of Human Resources Dr. Mark Triplett, Superintendent Ingrid A. Meyers Esq., Dannis, Woliver, Kelly, Attorneys at Law

Employee Organizations: NEWMA, Unrepresented Supervisors & Contracted Management

4.4 Conference with Legal Counsel regarding Existing Litigation (GC 54956.9(d)(1))

Type

Cases:

Brazil v. Newark Unified School District (Alameda County Superior Court Case #RG17859813)

4.5 Conference with Legal Counsel Regarding Anticipated Litigation (GC 54956.9(d)(2))

Type

Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 54956.9: One Case

4.6 Termination of Expulsion Order e1920-02

Type

Purpose:

Background:

4.7 Termination of Expulsion Order e1819-09

Type

Purpose:

Background:

5. RECONVENE TO OPEN SESSION

5.1 Pledge of Allegiance

Type                     Procedural

6. REPORT OF CLOSED SESSION ACTIONS

6.1 Report of Closed Session Actions

Type                     Action

7. RECOGNITIONS AND CELEBRATIONS

7.1 School Spotlight: Birch Grove Intermediate

Type                     Information

Goals                        3a. Parent and Community Engagement and Communication
                             1a. Student Achievement

Purpose: The School Spotlight gives the Board of Education and the public and opportunity to hear from each school with highlights of their achievements and initiatives.

File Attachments __BGI School Spotlight 10.15.2020.pdf (6,674 KB)

8. EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATIONS

8.1 Employee Organizations

Type                     Information

At regular Board meetings, a single spokesperson of each recognized employee organization (NTA, CSEA, NEWMA) may make a brief presentation.

Discussion items are limited to updates, celebrations, and upcoming events.

NTA: Sean Abruzzi CSEA: Sue Eustice NEWMA: Cathreene Ingham-Watters

9. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS

9.1 Public Comment on Non-Agenda Items

Type                     Information

Members of the public who seek to address the Board of Education please see click the link below for Public Comment information on Non-Agenda Items and Agenda items.

http://go.boarddocs.com/ca/nusd/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=BN8PNC6402C1

10. SUPERINTENDENT REPORT

10.1 Superintendent Report

Type                      Information

File Attachments Supt Report 10.15.20.pdf (2,260 KB)

11. STAFF REPORT

11.1 Reopening Plan Development

Type                      Information

Purpose: To share an update with Board members on the Reopening Plans being drafted in anticipation of a return to in-person learning once conditions allow.

Background: Alameda County has moved into the Red Tier on the California Blueprint for a Safer Economy tiered system of reopening. Alameda County Public Health Department has indicated that once a list of criteria has been met, school districts will be eligible to reopen in a phased approach; starting with elementary grade levels, and then moving into upper-grade levels (7-12) as conditions allow.

After of October 13, elementary schools (grades TK-6) may reopen in a hybrid model only when the following steps have taken place: Alameda County procures a Covid testing agency Agreements with labor partners establish staffing at each school site A COVID liaison and team are trained by the county on protocols regarding any positive COVID cases A district reopening document is posted online outlining health and safety protocols and guidelines for the district

The district is looking forward to continuing to work alongside our labor partners to create a plan for the reopening of our schools.

File Attachments NUSD Considerations for Hybrid Reopening 10.15.20.pdf (2,517 KB) Reopening Safety Protocols Presentation 10.15.20.pdf (656 KB)

12. OLD BUSINESS

12.1 Newark Junior High School Gate- Wi-Fi Video Intercom with Gate Release Hardware

Type                      Action
Preferred Date           Oct 15, 2020

Absolute Date            Oct 15, 2020

Fiscal Impact            Yes

Dollar Amount            $5,621.00

Budgeted                 Yes

Budget Source            Bond Measure G

Recommended              Staff recommends approval of the proposal from William D. White Company for the
Action                   purchase and installation of Wi-Fi Video Intercom with gate release hardware at Newark
                         Junior High School

Purpose: To contract with William D. White Company for the purchase and installation of Wi-Fi Video Intercom with gate release hardware at Newark Junior High School.

Background: At the December 19, 2019 Board of Education meeting, a contract for the purchase and installation of new gates with the safety panic bars at Newark Junior High School for enhanced student safety and fire code compliance was approved. This contract will consist of the installation of a Video Intercom system to allow visitors to contact the school reception desk at the gate. The gate will be furnished with an electric strike and staff can remotely unlock the gate for entry by push button control if desired. The proposal includes: Furnish and install all required control conduits. Furnish, install and terminate all control wiring. Bring up the system and provide final field adjustments and complete operational testing. Train the owner's designated personnel in the operation of the system. Provide a one-year warranty, parts and labor included. Warranty labor is provided during normal business hours only. Delivery will be approximately 10 days after ordering. Time Frame - 10 days for completion of this project based on ordering materials, installation and final inspection of contract deliverables.

File Attachments Newark Unified School Dist, Video Intercom and Gate Release, 9-15-20.pdf (71 KB) HES-NEW-9600-SERIES-SURFACE-MOUNTED-ELECTRIC-STRIKE-ss (1).pdf (664 KB) BFT-WIFI-KPADII_Spec (2).pdf (1,303 KB)

Motion & Voting Staff recommends approval of the proposal from William D. White Company for the purchase and installation of Wi-Fi Video Intercom with gate release hardware at Newark Junior High School

Motion by Phuong Nguyen, second by Bowen Zhang.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Elisa Martinez, Bowen Zhang, Phuong Nguyen
Not Present at Vote: Ray J Rodriguez

13. NEW BUSINESS

13.1 Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee (CBOC) 2018-19 Annual Report

Type                     Action
Preferred Date           Oct 15, 2020

Absolute Date            Oct 15, 2020

Fiscal Impact            No

Recommended              Staff recommends the Board accept the 2018-19 Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee
Action                   Annual Report, as presented.

Goals                          2a. Safe, Secure and Healthy Learning Environments

Purpose: The Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee (CBOC) will present its Annual Report for the 2018-19 school year.

Background: Measure G requires an annual report from the Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee. Richard Watters, the CBOC Chair, will present the report.

File Attachments CBOC_Annual Report 2018-2019.pdf (755 KB)

Motion & Voting Staff recommends the Board accept the 2018-19 Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee Annual Report, as presented.

Motion by Bowen Zhang, second by Phuong Nguyen.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Elisa Martinez, Bowen Zhang, Phuong Nguyen
Not Present at Vote: Ray J Rodriguez

13.2 Board Policy Exhibit 7214 - Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee Bylaws (First Reading)

Type                     Action

Preferred Date           Oct 15, 2020

Absolute Date            Nov 05, 2020

Fiscal Impact            No

Recommended              Staff recommends the Board of Education approve as presented or bring back for a
Action                   second reading with recommended revisions.

Goals                          1a. Student Achievement
                               2a. Safe, Secure and Healthy Learning Environments
                               3a. Parent and Community Engagement and Communication

Purpose: This is the first reading of Exhibit 7214, Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee Bylaws, under Board Policy and Administrative Regulation 7214 General Obligation Bonds. Background: At the Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee (CBOC) Regular Meeting on September 8, 2020, the committee discussed the need to update item 3.2.A. Term of Service language in the Board Bylaw Exhibit 7214. The current language states committee members serve without compensation for a term of two (2) years, and for no more than Three (3) consecutive terms. The CBOC voted unanimously to add "In the event a member completes three (3) consecutive terms, they are eligible to serve again after a one (1) year hiatus from the Committee." This bylaw update is needed to allow former members, who want to return to the committee, the timeline for reapplying. No other changes have been recommended.

If any revisions are recommended, the document will be brought back to the Board of Education for a second reading.

File Attachments E 7214 General Obligation Bonds (first reading)-CBOC Bylaws.pdf (223 KB)

Motion & Voting Staff recommends the Board of Education approve as presented the recommended revisions.

Motion by Bowen Zhang, second by Phuong Nguyen.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Elisa Martinez, Bowen Zhang, Phuong Nguyen
Not Present at Vote: Ray J Rodriguez

13.3 Reclassification of the Administrative Secretary, Child Nutrition to Child Nutrition Services Technician

Type                      Action

Preferred Date            Oct 15, 2020

Absolute Date             Oct 15, 2020

Dollar Amount             $5,246.00

Budgeted                  No

Recommended               Staff recommends the Board of Education approve the reclassification the Administrative
Action                    Secretary, Child Nutrition to Child Nutrition Services Technician.

The Human Resources Department in collaboration with the Director of Child Nutrition and CSEA are proposing to reclassify the Administrative Secretary position in the Child Nutrition Department to Child Nutrition Services Technician. The attached proposed job description more accurately reflects the essential functions of the work being performed, which include but are not limited to a variety of technical accounting functions with above average difficulty, purchasing and support of the various Child Nutrition programs.

The proposed salary range of the position is 55, which will result in an annual salary increase of $5,246.00.

File Attachments Proposed Child Nutrition Technician Job Description.pdf (300 KB)

Motion & Voting Staff recommends the Board of Education approve the reclassification the Administrative Secretary, Child Nutrition to Child Nutrition Services Technician.

Motion by Phuong Nguyen, second by Bowen Zhang.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Elisa Martinez, Bowen Zhang, Phuong Nguyen
Not Present at Vote: Ray J Rodriguez

13.4 Design and Construction Management Services for Landscaping Project

Type                     Action

Preferred Date           Oct 15, 2020

Absolute Date            Oct 15, 2020

Fiscal Impact            Yes

Dollar Amount            $188,320.00

Budgeted                 Yes

Budget Source            Fund 21 Measure G

Recommended              Staff recommends the Board authorize Staff to award and finalize consulting agreements
Action                   with Integrated Design Studio and RGM Kramer for design, planning and construction
                         management services for the landscaping and irrigation project, as presented.

Goals                        3a. Parent and Community Engagement and Communication

Purpose: Initiate planning and design services to improve landscape areas as was identified at the August 20, 2020 board meeting and authorize staff to award and finalize consulting agreements to facilitate investigation of existing irrigation conditions, planning, bid document preparation and construction administration for the landscaping and irrigation upgrades.

Background: The Board approved a list of Measure G priority projects on February 20, 2020 There's approximately $7,800,000 remaining in Measure G funds The Board asked staff to review facilities needs and get input on priorities from Principals The Superintendent and CBO met with the Principals on February 12, 2020 to gather input The budget reflects rough estimates of the cost of the projects and is subject to change depending on actual bids/quotes received. Budget revisions will be submitted to the Board for approval as needed. Estimates and maps for the landscaping and irrigation projects were presented to the Board on August 20th. The revised budget reflected the scope of work for "Area 1" and "Area 1A". Areas 2 and 3 may be considered at a later date when additional funds are available. In February, the board approved a prioritized list of projects for the remaining Measure G bond funds and supplemental funding as may become available and approved for prioritized projects. The list allocated $800,000 for various irrigation repairs and site beautification improvements.

On August 20,2020 the board reviewed estimated costs to address the needs at the listed sites and a prioritized list which identified areas 1 & 1A and authorized a reallocation of funds (Item 13.2).

                                         th

As enumerated and approved on August 20th, the total estimated cost for the scope of work proposed is $3,287,947. Of this amount, $1,468,753 will be covered by Measure G and the balance from other sources. Staff had evaluated other funding sources and recommended the board allocate $1,819,194 from Fund 40 and reallocate the $300,000 from the Measure G funds earmarked for plumbing repairs and $368,753 earmarked for security to increase the budget for irrigation and landscape improvements. The listed plumbing repairs are being addressed by M&O within their budget. The Board previously approved $2,000,000 of Fund 40 (Ruschin Funds) to be used for landscape improvements. The board approved the budget allocation.

Designs will be tailored to not exceed the total approved budget, including planning, design, inspection and management costs and fees.

Integrated Design Studio, along with two sub-consultants, will provide planting and irrigation assessment and design for the entry areas at eleven sites in Newark, CA. The design scope of each site will be those designated as "Area 1" as shown on the maps presented to the Board on August 20, 2020. The subconsultants will be Panoramic Design Group (Irrigation Design) and Wright Landscaping (Irrigation Assessment). For this project, IDS, Landscape Architect, will be the lead consultant, coordinating with the school district and/or their representatives.

This action item is: (1) to authorize staff to award a contract to Integrated Design Studio (IDS) in the amount Not to Exceed $94,500.00 to assist with landscape and irrigation design, including site investigation and planning; and (2) to authorize staff to award a contract to RGM Kramer in the amount not to exceed $93,820.00 to assist the District with planning, estimating, design and construction oversight for the landscaping and irrigation project. This amount is included in the budget for project management. This contract is part of Phase 2 of their agreement. Phase 1 of their agreement was approved on May 7, 2020 for $20,000.

File Attachments NUSD-IDS Proposal_Planting Irrigation_09-30-20.pdf (282 KB) Priorities Projects Measure G Updated Feb 2020_rev10-6-20.pdf (32 KB) RGMK Fee Proposal-Landscape and Irrigation.pdf (214 KB)

Motion & Voting Staff recommends the Board authorize Staff to award and finalize consulting agreements with Integrated Design Studio and RGM Kramer for design, planning and construction management services for the landscaping and irrigation project, as presented.

Motion by Phuong Nguyen, second by Bowen Zhang.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Elisa Martinez, Bowen Zhang, Phuong Nguyen
Not Present at Vote: Ray J Rodriguez

14. CONSENT AGENDA - PERSONNEL ITEMS

14.1 Personnel Report

Type                      Action (Consent)

Preferred Date            Oct 15, 2020

Absolute Date             Oct 15, 2020

Recommended               Staff recommends the Board approve the personnel report as presented.
Action

This report includes employment, retirements, reassignments and terminations for both certificated and classified employees. Specific actions can be made known at the conclusion of the meeting. File Attachments HR PAL 10-15-20.pdf (363 KB)

Motion & Voting Staff recommends the Board approve the personnel report as presented.

Motion by Bowen Zhang, second by Phuong Nguyen.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Elisa Martinez, Bowen Zhang, Phuong Nguyen
Not Present at Vote: Ray J Rodriguez

15. CONSENT AGENDA - NON-PERSONNEL ITEMS

15.1 Quarterly Report on Contracts - FY 2020-21, 1st Quarter

Type                     Action (Consent)

Preferred Date           Oct 15, 2020

Absolute Date            Oct 15, 2020

Fiscal Impact            No

Recommended              Staff recommends the Board receive the Quarterly Report on Contracts.
Action

Goals                        2a. Safe, Secure and Healthy Learning Environments

Purpose: These quarterly reports on contracts are submitted to the Board for review.

Background: The Board has requested a report of all contracts for services over $10,000 be reviewed by the Board on a quarterly basis. This report only includes contracts that have not been previously approved by the Board.

This report lists contracts from the 1st Quarter of FY 2020-21 (July, August, September 2020).

Contracts are on file in the Business Office.

File Attachments Q1 2020 Contracts over $10K.pdf (11 KB)

Motion & Voting Staff recommends the Board approve the personnel report as presented.

Motion by Bowen Zhang, second by Phuong Nguyen.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Elisa Martinez, Bowen Zhang, Phuong Nguyen
Not Present at Vote: Ray J Rodriguez

15.2 Warrant Report for September 2020

Type                     Action (Consent)

Preferred Date           Oct 15, 2020

Absolute Date            Oct 15, 2020

Fiscal Impact            No

Recommended              Staff recommends the Board approve the Warrant Report as presented.
Action

Goals                        2a. Safe, Secure and Healthy Learning Environments

Purpose: The purpose of this item is to present warrants made from District funds for September 2020.

Background: The warrant registers represent a complete listing of all payments made from District funds for a month. Because Newark Unified School District is a fiscally dependent District, each warrant must pass through two separate audits; first by the District's Fiscal Services department, and second by the County Office of Education. No warrant can be paid until such time as it is examined and approved by the County Office of Education.

File Attachments Warrant Report_2020 September.pdf (2,782 KB)

Motion & Voting Staff recommends the Board approve the personnel report as presented.

Motion by Bowen Zhang, second by Phuong Nguyen.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Elisa Martinez, Bowen Zhang, Phuong Nguyen
Not Present at Vote: Ray J Rodriguez

15.3 Minutes of the June 18, 2020 Regular Meeting of the Board of Education

Type                     Action (Consent), Minutes

Recommended              Staff recommends approving the minutes of the June 18, 2020 Regular Meeting of the
Action                   Board of Education

Minutes                  View Minutes for Jun 18, 2020 - Regular Board Meeting

Purpose: For the board to review and approve the minutes

Background: The attached minutes are reflective of the June 18, 2020 Regular Meeting of the Board of Education. Exact language is available for viewing on the NUSD YouTube Channel.

Motion & Voting Staff recommends the Board approve the personnel report as presented.

Motion by Bowen Zhang, second by Phuong Nguyen.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Elisa Martinez, Bowen Zhang, Phuong Nguyen
Not Present at Vote: Ray J Rodriguez

15.4 Minutes of the June 24, 2020 Regular Meeting of the Board of Education

Type                     Action (Consent), Minutes

Recommended              Staff recommends approving the minutes of the June 24, 2020 Regular Meeting of the
Action                   Board of Education

Minutes                  View Minutes for Jun 24, 2020 - Special Board Meeting

Purpose: For the board to review and approve the minutes

Background: The attached minutes are reflective of the June 24, 2020 Regular Meeting of the Board of Education. Exact language is available for viewing on the NUSD YouTube Channel.

Motion & Voting Staff recommends the Board approve the personnel report as presented.

Motion by Bowen Zhang, second by Phuong Nguyen.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Elisa Martinez, Bowen Zhang, Phuong Nguyen
Not Present at Vote: Ray J Rodriguez

15.5 Minutes of the July 14, 2020 Special Meeting of the Board of Education

Type                     Action (Consent), Minutes

Recommended              Staff recommends approving the minutes of the July 14, 2020 Special Meeting of the
Action                   Board of Education

Minutes                  View Minutes for Jul 14, 2020 - Special Board Meeting

Purpose: For the board to review and approve the minutes

Background: The attached minutes are reflective of the July 14, 2020 Special Meeting of the Board of Education. Exact language is available for viewing on the NUSD YouTube Channel. Motion & Voting Staff recommends the Board approve the personnel report as presented.

Motion by Bowen Zhang, second by Phuong Nguyen.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Elisa Martinez, Bowen Zhang, Phuong Nguyen
Not Present at Vote: Ray J Rodriguez

15.6 Minutes of the July 21, 2020 Special Meeting of the Board of Education

Type                     Action (Consent), Minutes

Recommended              Staff recommends approving the minutes of the July 21, 2020 Special Meeting of the
Action                   Board of Education

Minutes                  View Minutes for Jul 21, 2020 - Special Board Meeting

Purpose: For the board to review and approve the minutes

Background: The attached minutes are reflective of the July 21, 2020 Special Meeting of the Board of Education. Exact language is available for viewing on the NUSD YouTube Channel.

Motion & Voting Staff recommends the Board approve the personnel report as presented.

Motion by Bowen Zhang, second by Phuong Nguyen.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Elisa Martinez, Bowen Zhang, Phuong Nguyen
Not Present at Vote: Ray J Rodriguez

15.7 Minutes of the August 6, 2020 Regular Meeting of the Board of Education

Type                     Action (Consent), Minutes

Fiscal Impact            No

Recommended              Staff recommends the Board approve the Minutes of the Aug. 6, 2020 Regular Meeting
Action                   of the Board of Education

Minutes                  View Minutes for Aug 6, 2020 - Regular Board Meeting

Purpose: For the board to review and approve the minutes

Background: The minutes are reflective of the Aug. 6, 2020 Regular Meeting of the Board of Education. Exact language is available for viewing on the NUSD YouTube Channel. Motion & Voting Staff recommends the Board approve the personnel report as presented.

Motion by Bowen Zhang, second by Phuong Nguyen.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Elisa Martinez, Bowen Zhang, Phuong Nguyen
Not Present at Vote: Ray J Rodriguez

15.8 Minutes of the August 20, 2020 Regular Meeting of the Board of Education

Type                     Action (Consent), Minutes

Recommended              Staff recommends the Board approve the Minutes of the Aug. 20, 2020 Regular Meeting
Action                   of the Board of Education

Minutes                  View Minutes for Aug 20, 2020 - Regular Board Meeting

Purpose: For the board to review and approve the minutes

Background: The minutes are reflective of the Aug. 20, 2020 Regular Meeting of the Board of Education. Exact language is available for viewing on the NUSD YouTube Channel.

Motion & Voting Staff recommends the Board approve the personnel report as presented.

Motion by Bowen Zhang, second by Phuong Nguyen.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Elisa Martinez, Bowen Zhang, Phuong Nguyen
Not Present at Vote: Ray J Rodriguez

15.9 Minutes of the September 3, 2020 Regular Meeting of the Board of Education

Type                     Action (Consent), Minutes

Fiscal Impact            No

Recommended              Staff recommends the Board approve the Minutes of the Sept. 3, 2020 Regular Meeting
Action                   of the Board of Education

Minutes                  View Minutes for Sep 3, 2020 - Regular Board Meeting

Purpose: For the board to review and approve the minutes

Background: The attached minutes are reflective of the Sept. 3, 2020 Regular Meeting of the Board of Education. Exact language is available for viewing on the NUSD YouTube Channel. Motion & Voting Staff recommends the Board approve the personnel report as presented.

Motion by Bowen Zhang, second by Phuong Nguyen.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Elisa Martinez, Bowen Zhang, Phuong Nguyen
Not Present at Vote: Ray J Rodriguez

15.10 Minutes of the September 17, 2020 Regular Meeting of the Board of Education

Type                     Action (Consent), Minutes

Recommended              Staff recommends approving the Minutes of the September 17, 2020 Regular Meeting of
Action                   the Board of Education

Minutes                  View Minutes for Sep 17, 2020 - Regular Board Meeting

Purpose: For the board to review and approve the minutes

Background: The attached minutes are reflective of the Sept. 17, 2020 Regular Meeting of the Board of Education. Exact language is available for viewing on the NUSD YouTube Channel.

Motion & Voting Staff recommends the Board approve the personnel report as presented.

Motion by Bowen Zhang, second by Phuong Nguyen.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Elisa Martinez, Bowen Zhang, Phuong Nguyen
Not Present at Vote: Ray J Rodriguez

15.11 Minutes of the October 1, 2020 Regular Meeting of the Board of Education

Type                     Action (Consent), Minutes

Recommended              Staff recommends approving the minutes of the October 1, 2020 Regular Meeting of the
Action                   Board of Education

Minutes                  View Minutes for Oct 1, 2020 - Regular Board Meeting

Purpose: For the board to review and approve the minutes

Background: The attached minutes are reflective of the Oct. 1, 2020 Regular Meeting of the Board of Education. Exact language is available for viewing on the NUSD YouTube Channel. Motion & Voting Staff recommends the Board approve the personnel report as presented.

Motion by Bowen Zhang, second by Phuong Nguyen.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Elisa Martinez, Bowen Zhang, Phuong Nguyen
Not Present at Vote: Ray J Rodriguez

16. STUDENT EXPULSION (S)

16.1 Termination of Expulsion Order e1819-09

Type                     Action

Preferred Date           Oct 15, 2020

Absolute Date            Oct 15, 2020

Fiscal Impact            No

Budgeted                 No

Recommended              The administration recommends the approval of the recommendation for the termination
Action                   of Expulsion Order e1819-09

Goals                        1a. Student Achievement
                             MISSION: The Newark Unified School District will inspire and educate all students to
                             achieve their full potential and be responsible, respectful, and productive citizens.

Purpose: The following student's expulsion is recommended for termination. The student has completed the requirements for high school graduation.

Case Number e1819-09

Background: California Education Code Section 48916 requires that "an expulsion order shall remain in effect until the governing board ... orders the readmission of the pupil." The following student has received a high school diploma and graduated. It is the administration's recommendation to terminate the expulsion order.

Motion & Voting The administration recommends the approval of the recommendation for the termination of Expulsion Order e1819-09

Motion by Phuong Nguyen, second by Bowen Zhang.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Elisa Martinez, Bowen Zhang, Phuong Nguyen
Not Present at Vote: Ray J Rodriguez

16.2 Termination of Expulsion Order e1920-02

Type                     Action

Preferred Date           Oct 15, 2020

Absolute Date            Oct 15, 2020

Fiscal Impact            No

Budgeted                 No

Recommended              The administration recommends the approval of the recommendation for the termination
Action                   of Expulsion Order e1920-02

Goals                        1a. Student Achievement
                             MISSION: The Newark Unified School District will inspire and educate all students to
                             achieve their full potential and be responsible, respectful, and productive citizens.

Purpose: The following student's expulsion is recommended for termination. The student has met the conditions of their expulsion.

Background: California Education Code Section 48916 requires that "an expulsion order shall remain in effect until the governing board ... orders the readmission of the pupil." The following student has received a high school diploma and graduated. It is the administration's recommendation to terminate the expulsion order.

Motion & Voting The administration recommends the approval of the recommendation for the termination of Expulsion Order e1920-02

Motion by Phuong Nguyen, second by Bowen Zhang.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Elisa Martinez, Bowen Zhang, Phuong Nguyen
Not Present at Vote: Ray J Rodriguez

17. BOARD OF EDUCATION - COMMITTEE REPORTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS, REQUESTS, DEBRIEF AND DISCUSSION

17.1 Board of Education Committee Reports

                         DEBRIEF AND DISCUSSION

Type                     Information

The board committee members will give any updates from the following committees:

Mission Valley ROP -Member Rodriguez & President Martinez SELPA - Member Rodriguez & President Martinez City/School Liaison - Member Nguyen & Member Zhang East Bay Induction - Member Rodriguez & _____ Audit Committee - Member Nguyen & Member Zhang School Consolidation Advisory Committee - Member Martinez & Member Nguyen Godbe - Member Martinez & ______ Communication Committee - Member ______ & Member Nguyen Governance Handbook - Member Martinez & Member Zhang

17.2 Board of Education Committee Reports, Announcements, Requests, Debrief and Discussion

                         DEBRIEF AND DISCUSSION

Type                     Information

18. SUPERINTENDENT'S CONCLUDING COMMENTS, UPDATES FOR THE BOARD AND FUTURE AGENDA REQUESTS

18.1 Superintendent's Concluding Comments, Updates for the Board and Future Agenda Requests

                         FUTURE AGENDA REQUESTS

Type                     Information

19. ADJOURNMENT

19.1 Adjournment

Type                     Action, Procedural

Recommended              Recommendation to adjourn this meeting.
Action

No items will be considered after 10:00 p.m., unless it is determined by a majority of the Board to extend to a specific time. The meeting shall be extended no more than once.

Motion & Voting Recommendation to adjourn this meeting at 10:25pm

Motion by Bowen Zhang, second by Phuong Nguyen.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Elisa Martinez, Bowen Zhang, Phuong Nguyen
Not Present at Vote: Ray J Rodriguez

No minutes available.