Regular Meeting

No content available.

[51] SPEAKER_22: Maybe we'll have the order at 3 PM.

[423] Phuong Nguyen: Good evening and welcome to the January 6th Newark Unified School District Board of Education meeting. Before I call this meeting to order, I'd like to welcome everyone back from a well-deserved winter break. I hope you all had the opportunity to spend quality time with your family, friends, and loved ones over the holidays. I'm excited to be here tonight and to preside over this meeting in my new role as president. I want to acknowledge from the start that I will occasionally make mistakes, will learn from them, and will hopefully, in the end, conquer the parliamentary protocols expected of me. I also wanted to remind my fellow board members, superintendent, executive cabinet, and members of the public that this is the meeting of the board to conduct board business held in public. Since it is a new year and a new beginning of sorts, I want to suggest that we, fellow board members, myself included, along with the superintendent and executive cabinet, on a regular basis review and understand the protocols and procedures that are laid out in our governance handbook, board policy, and bylaws to ensure orderly conduct of our board meetings With that said, I call this meeting to order at 5.02 PM. OK, so. Meeting practices and information. So we are conducting in person meetings. And will follow the state and Alameda County safety guidelines for public meetings. For additional COVID information, please go to HTTPS Newark www.newarkunified.org slash COVID-19 or HTTPS www.acoe.org slash guidance. For public comments And for those that are observing the meeting, you can also observe the meeting on the NUSD YouTube channel live transmission on Comcast channel 26 or in person at the NUSD boardroom. Spanish translation will be available via Zoom. For public comments, the public will have the opportunity to address the Board of Education regarding non-agendized matters and agendized items with a live audio-only comment via Zoom with advance notice requested by email at publiccomment at newarkunified.org, a written comment by submitting a speaking card via email at publiccomment at unified.org, or with live in-person comments by submitting a speaker card with the executive assistant. Thank you. Roll call, please.

[597] SPEAKER_22: Member Zhang.

[598] SPEAKER_30: Here.

[599] SPEAKER_22: Member Hill. Here. Vice President Grindel. Here. President Nguyen. Here. And Member Nguyen-Marcus. I mean, sorry, Member Marcus absent.

[612] Carina Plancarte: Thank you.

[621] Phuong Nguyen: On to the next item, approval. Oh, sorry.

[628] Jodi Croce: Oh, no, we'll do it later.

[629] Phuong Nguyen: Yeah. On to the next item. Approval of the agenda. May I have a motion to approve?

[634] SPEAKER_30: I move to approve.

[637] SPEAKER_24: I'll second.

[639] Phuong Nguyen: Member Zhang motioned, and Member Grindel second. How do you vote, Member Zhang?

[648] SPEAKER_25: Yes.

[650] Phuong Nguyen: Member Hill?

[652] SPEAKER_25: Yes.

[654] Phuong Nguyen: Member Grindel? Yes. And myself, yes. Four ayes and one absent. Item number three, study session. So on the study session, we'll be presiding over board policy of purchasing and contracts. So we'll move over to sit up front and start the study session.

[745] Mark Triplett: Go ahead and get started. So good evening, board members and staff and families and students at home. So welcome to our first board meeting of 2022. Very exciting. So we are starting off with a study session with regard to contract procedures and protocols. I know it's something that has been brought up here at the board, and so we thought it would be a good opportunity to start the year by talking a little bit about these protocols for both purchasing and contracts, just so that we can hopefully provide some clarity about the processes that districts in general, and our district in particular, go through in terms of budget and finance. And then we do have some sort of guiding questions at the end that we'd love your input on and your thoughts about. Oh, sure. So I want to turn it over to Ms. Delacruz, who's going to lead a brief presentation. And then at that point afterwards, we can engage the board in a conversation with some discussion prompts.

[826] Marie dela Cruz: Thank you, Dr. Triplett. So we thought we would review the board policies and the ARs that are related to purchasing and contracts. And in particular, as they relate to the board agenda items and how our agenda items are in compliance with these board policies and ARs. And hopefully answer any clarifying questions or address any concerns with our current practice and Also review PO report as an optional report item for board to consider and have a discussion. So the first policy related to expenditures and purchases is the BP 3300. This is the policy that provides the expending authority to the superintendent or designee, which basically authorizes the superintendent or designee the authority to purchase supplies, materials, equipment, and services up to the current bid limit, which as of January 1st is 99,100. This bid limit is set by the state and comes from the superintendent of public instruction. The board policy... Ms. Delacruz. Oh, sorry.

[929] Aiden Hill: Could you repeat that one more time?

[933] Marie dela Cruz: So the dollar amount, sorry. The dollar amount is $99,100. That's the current bid limit as of January 1st. And each year it changes and it's set by the state and it comes from the superintendent of public instruction.

[950] Aiden Hill: Okay, so if you have something that is going to be larger than $99,000. What's the process for that? Or are you going to get it out later?

[961] Marie dela Cruz: Yeah, it has to go out to bid.

[964] Aiden Hill: OK, so anything under $99,000 does not have to go out to bid?

[967] Marie dela Cruz: Correct. OK. Yeah. OK, and that's for supplies, materials, and equipment. Without getting into too much detail, because we weren't I'm not going to go into too much detail about the bid limit. There's also a bid limit for construction projects, which is $200,000. But for this study session, we want to cover the reports that are provided and presented to the board on a regular basis, whether it's monthly or quarterly. And as a requirement of this board policy, It states that the board shall review all transactions entered into by the superintendent or designee on behalf of the board every 60 days. So in our case, the board reviews the transactions through the warrant report, which is presented to the board on a monthly basis. So we actually do it more often than what is required. And then also as part of this policy, it states that all purchases shall be made by formal contract or purchase order or shall be accompanied by a receipt. And it also talks a little bit about blanket POs, which basically allows us to process what's known as blanket or open POs for small purchases. For example, if we order through an office supply place on a regular basis rather than do, you know, $50 POs, $40 POs, 100 POs to the same vendor, then this policy allows us to do the blankets POs.

[1083] Aiden Hill: And the where you say that all purchases have to be made by formal contract or purchase order or shall be accompanied by a receipt. So I'm imagining that there's probably dollar limits that determine whether when a contract gets, you know, invoked or whether it's a simple purchase order or whether it's a simple receipt.

[1107] Marie dela Cruz: Yeah, so all of the purchases, as stated in the previous slide, are guided by the bid limit So superintendent or designee, we're authorized to sign purchases up to the bid limit. So anything beyond that will go out to bid and then go out and be presented to the board.

[1131] Terrence Grindall: I think I understand the question. Is there a threshold for within that bid limit, whether or not a contract or a PO or a receipt simply is required? Or is that just, that's not in our regulations? It's one of the others. It doesn't necessarily, if it's 99, that doesn't mean it has to be a contract necessarily.

[1156] Marie dela Cruz: That's right. It could either be a contract or an appeal.

[1160] Aiden Hill: Right. But the part that I'm really zeroing in on is the receipt part, right? Because normally, right, so a receipt is for some type of like kind of petty cash reimbursement. But you wouldn't like, you know, go out and buy like a $20,000 vehicle and then just bring in a receipt and say, okay, I purchased this, right? So that's going to go through a formal process of requisitioning and potentially a purchase order, correct?

[1187] Marie dela Cruz: Correct. So all the purchase transactions includes, for example, orders for materials and supplies, contracted services, field trips, assemblies, and reimbursements. Reimbursements for us are the exception. and not the normal process, because we stress the process of having everything go through a PO, a purchase order. So if a vendor accepts our purchase order, then we expect that order to go through a purchase order. For example, even if, let's say you were at Target, and Target accepts our POs, you can't just buy you know, $1,000 worth of items and then expect to be reimbursed. Everything has to be pre-approved. And the only time that we would approve something like that is if the vendor just will not take our purchase order. But our purchase order process is our standard process for all of our expenditures. And all our purchase requisitions, they go through our online escape system. which includes an online approval process. And this board policy 3310 states that, you know, the superintendent or designee shall maintain effective purchasing procedures. So basically, you know, the district is required to maintain purchasing procedures, which we do. And the business office processes all POs. Everything goes through the business office. And then there's some references here with the ed code on delegation of powers to agents, delegation of authority to purchase supplies and equipment. So that's all part of the board policy.

[1316] Mark Triplett: I just wanted to make sure that

[1320] Marie dela Cruz: The definition here of receipt, is that strictly for reimbursement, or is that receipt is also defined as an invoice? In this case, receipt is more for reimbursement. It's just a form of a backup, so that in order for us to approve a purchase that is backed up by a receipt, in the form of a reimbursement, then we're not talking about an invoice. It's a receipt.

[1356] Terrence Grindall: So if there's an invoice, there's a PO that goes behind it. The receipt is somebody in an emergency had to go buy some pencils.

[1364] Terrence Grindall: And whatever, the vendor that they were going to, the Safeway, didn't want to take our PO, or the time was not possible. It's relatively small. But even with an invoice, we'd have a PO. We'd go through a PO process. That's right.

[1384] Aiden Hill: going to have a purchase order, right, that shows that there's been a request that's been put in, it's gone through the appropriate approval steps, it then turns into a purchase order, and then purchasing happens, and then when an invoice comes in, you're going to match and say, okay, I'm having somebody say that I want to be paid, do I have an authorized PO? Right, and that's part, that's one of your internal controls, right, to check, and you're not going to pay before you have a match. Exactly.

[1414] Marie dela Cruz: So if we receive an invoice that does not reference a P.O. number, that's a red flag, right? So we're going to go back and investigate, you know, is there a P.O. for this? Because sometimes, you know, there is a P.O., but maybe the vendor forgets to reference it. Or is there not a P.O.? And why is that? So then we go through and go to whoever ordered it

[1445] Phuong Nguyen: receive the goods and... And do you sometimes... Do you guys also keep a copy of the quotes that you get in order to create the purchase order?

[1455] Marie dela Cruz: Yes. Our system actually has a way of attaching those documents, so everything is online. We're able to attach the documents in the escape system.

[1468] Mark Triplett: Thank you for that clarification. And I think one of the reasons I wanted to just make sure it was clear is because I think sometimes the public It's a little confused that everything has to have a contract, and that's actually not the case. That sometimes purchase order with the quote is sufficient.

[1484] Terrence Grindall: Yes, and- In districts. Right. Right. And we say sometimes there's no monetary issue there. Right. But it's gonna be more physical goods. You're gonna want a contract if you're buying services more likely.

[1502] Marie dela Cruz: Exactly. Yeah, and the PO is a form of a contract in a way that obligates the district for that order. And then if you have a service contract, we confirm it and back it up with a purchase order.

[1521] Terrence Grindall: Thank you for the budgeting 101. I appreciate it. There is a lot of confusion. With a contract, we could, for example, attach requirements that people meet the COVID restrictions.

[1536] Terrence Grindall: I have a question in the past. Whereas a P.O., it would be very difficult to do that.

[1546] Marie dela Cruz: But overall, there's a P.O. attached to every purchase transaction. Whether it's an order for materials and supplies or whether it's a contract for an independent contractor, they will all have a P.O. associated with it.

[1567] Aiden Hill: So every warrant that we see is going to match to a PO?

[1572] Marie dela Cruz: Yes. So this is just a brief summary rundown of the basic process of purchasing order. So, you know, the first step usually is, you know, you determine what you need, what you need to purchase, and then you identify your budget source, right? And then from there, the requisition is entered into ESCAPE. And at this point, it's not a purchase order yet, because it still needs to go through the approval process. So the purchase requisition goes through an approval process. And the approvers, this is all done online through our escape system. It could be principals, directors, assistant superintendents, myself or the superintendent.

[1637] Terrence Grindall: And- And that depends on the size?

[1639] Marie dela Cruz: Depending on who's managing that budget and the size, so both. So all of our principals are assigned to certain budget codes, and they're the only ones that can approve their budget items. And usually, Ms. Pierce will approve after that. So the principals will approve it, and then Ms. Pierce will review it, and then we'll go through her approval process. And once all of the approvers have gone through it and approved it, then a PO is generated. If there's any issues in between, let's say, you know, the budget code is incorrect and there's a way to send it back to the requisitioner. So then once it's approved, then an issue, a PO is generated an issue. So that PO is processed and printed or emailed by the business office. And it's sent to the vendor. They will fulfill the order or provide the services. So the district receives the goods or the services. And then we receive the invoice. Our normal process is that goods are delivered to our warehouse. And so our warehouse will verify the order. They'll check in the order. And they'll send the packing slip accounts payable, and then they deliver to the sites.

[1738] Terrence Grindall: Services might be different. Yes, services. Services are going to be the larger ticket items generally, right? We spend a lot more on special ed than we do on paper.

[1751] Marie dela Cruz: Yeah, like transportation is a big one that will have a PO, but the services will be Of course, that wouldn't go through the warehouse, but we verify that the services have been received before the invoices are paid.

[1764] Terrence Grindall: And so you could have a P.O. for $100,000 and receive invoices for $10,000 a month conceivably? Yes. So it's not necessarily, as long as it stays under that P.O., you can process the payment? Yes.

[1781] Marie dela Cruz: Which is where you would see that in the warrant report, all the payments that have been processed against a certain purchase order. Thank you.

[1790] Phuong Nguyen: So I have a question. In regards to, do you allow district employees to create their own emergency purchase orders?

[1802] Marie dela Cruz: There's only authorized users to enter POs, not all employees. Well, certainly. Usually, it's the office managers, admin assistants. They're the ones that will enter their POs.

[1817] Phuong Nguyen: but you don't allow staff like the principles that they needed to purchase something, you know, in an emergency cases, like allow them to give a random generate random PO number to a vendor. Like we're allowed to do that at the city, but we have, and then after the fact we have to clean it up.

[1837] Marie dela Cruz: Yeah. So I think what you're referring to is what sometimes districts will have this instant PO process. And they're assigned a limited number of purchase order numbers, pre-assigned. And there's a dollar limit, so anything not to exceed $100 per se. And then they would have to submit all of the backup and all of the paperwork related to any instant POs that they issue. But we don't have that. Everything goes through the district. So no, the schools do not have any instant or emergency type POs assigned, pre-assigned, per se, to the schools.

[1880] Phuong Nguyen: No, that's really good, because one of our directors issued an emergency PO. I mean, it's for a large amount, but it was approved by council already. It's just that they needed to get that PO number so they can start processing. But today, we had a similar situation where I found two invoices that were charged to that PO, and closely to $25,000. It's supposed to be charged to a different project, but we found that error today on a major project that I'm working on at work. And so I can see why those kinds of issues do happen. So I'm glad that we don't have that here.

[1923] Terrence Grindall: You're probably gonna cover it, but also what are emergency procedures? Or can this escape process work fast enough even for emergencies, you know, where the superintendent determines we need to be able to distribute 1,000 test kits, for example? Hopefully they're free, but 3,000. I think it's free. But so are you going to go over sort of what those, what the emergency procedures are, or does everything run through this process?

[1952] Marie dela Cruz: everything runs through this process, but there is a way that we can expedite appeal.

[1958] Aiden Hill: Because you can't expedite the oversight, right? And so that's all a part of the internal control. So, I mean, you can expedite the process, but you cannot bypass the process.

[1973] Marie dela Cruz: Yes. So we do have a way to expedite the process, and we have received those types of calls where You know, we need a PO today. Can you help us? And then we'll get it going and get the PO out the same day. But it's almost through the same process.

[1989] Aiden Hill: And then a quick question for you, Ms. Delacruz. So in the first step, determine purchasing need, check budget, I would imagine that a lot of times people who are requisitioners may not even know what the budget is. And so is there somebody further along in the chain that is a value

[2009] Marie dela Cruz: Yes, so this system will not allow the PO to be generated or go past any approval without the budget being in place. So if they're not sure what the code is or if there's budget, usually they'll contact our director to verify or to assist with the budget codes or the budget amounts. We do that a lot, so we provide that assistance

[2039] Aiden Hill: Right. Because the question I have is, I mean, obviously, when you're creating your requisition, you have to put in an account code.

[2046] Aiden Hill: And you say, OK, this is the bucket of money that I'm trying to use to satisfy this need. So that's going to start at the beginning. And if they don't know, they're going to ask somebody. Yes. But just because they know that code, they don't know the budget, right? Right. And so they could conceivably, if they don't know that, maybe overspend. So oftentimes, you'll have somebody further down that says, OK, yeah, there's this big transaction, but it's going to cause a major budget variance. And so maybe we're going to revisit this or possibly deny it. So at what point is there some additional oversight that looks at that?

[2086] Marie dela Cruz: That's at that second step. So when they're entering the purchase rack and they're entering a budget code and they try to approve it to the next step and there's no budget, it won't go through. Or if there's not enough dollars. If there's not enough dollars, if the budget is not in the code.

[2103] Aiden Hill: But let me give you an example. Let's say that in a particular budget code for the year, you have $100,000. And when that budget was put together, there was an anticipation that there were 10 different items that would roll up to $100,000. But then somebody who's at a lower level that isn't familiar with the budget they put in one purchase request, a requisition, for $99,000. And so, and if nothing's been spent, okay, theoretically, the system's not gonna stop it, but you've consumed all of that budget, and those other nine items are now, you know, if they come in, you're gonna go over budget. And so is there some oversights further along to say, okay, we're gonna,

[2149] Marie dela Cruz: you know, we're going to watch this. Yes, that would be at that third step where you approve the purchase rec. So the program manager will check that requisition, will look at the budget, and be able to either approve it or reject it at that point. If they're reviewing a PO, for example, like you said, you know, they know they have $100,000 in the budget, and then they're seeing a $90,000 PO, but the plan is to, spend other items under that budget code, at that point, then that program manager can reject the requisition.

[2188] Aiden Hill: And is the program manager the owner of that budget item? Yes.

[2193] Terrence Grindall: OK. OK. Yeah, I was going to ask a similar question, because the budget, I wanted to see how this all fits under the budget. Because the budget is really, in my mind, fiscal direction from the board. And this is more procedurally how it's done and how it's checked. But the budget is where we're saying, with staff's input, of course, what money should be spent where. And so there needs to be a tie-in to that budget the whole time. And as Member Hill was indicating, you could have someone who knows the code for something that's, you know, Chromebooks. and instead puts in a requisition for 17 pallets of paper. And somebody who's not vested in interest in getting that paper needs to be able to check that against the budget, whether that's really what it was intended for.

[2254] Marie dela Cruz: Yes. So every program manager is responsible for their budget. And that's where the approval process comes in.

[2263] Terrence Grindall: And they're all online. Right, but not just the number in the budget, but also what the purpose is in the budget.

[2271] Aiden Hill: Yes. And are there more than one person that are issuing purchase orders?

[2278] Marie dela Cruz: Issuing, actually generating? No. Correct. It's only the business office.

[2282] Aiden Hill: OK. So a requisition in that purple box gets approved, OK, and however many people within that department approve it. And then it goes to the business office and says, OK, we now have everybody approving. We want you to go and source this. And so there's one or more people in the business office that are going to do that. But nobody else, no other entity outside is issuing purchase orders.

[2312] Marie dela Cruz: No. Nobody else. Everything goes. Only the business office can generate a PO.

[2317] Aiden Hill: OK. All right. And then when something gets received in, you know physically it's pretty easy as member Goodell is indicating you know something shows up at the warehouse and you know you got to like get it somewhere usually and so when that shows up somebody is going to notify the business office and then they're going to notify the the person the requisitioner to say your stuff is here and then they'll be ready to then once the invoice comes in sign off on that but then if it's a service they may not be aware of whether the service got delivered or not. And so I'm imagining there will be a report that somebody in the business office runs that says, OK, I've got my aging, and it looks like, hey, I've got this outstanding open PO.

[2371] Aiden Hill: And so then you'll contact the person and say, was this service delivered? And if they say yes, then you'll check the box, and then you can pay against it.

[2384] Marie dela Cruz: Yes. We do that. Yes. So we review open P.O. reports and research anything that's old that hasn't been received or hasn't been paid, whether it's goods or services. And if there's an invoice that shows up for a service, we verify that that service has been provided before we pay.

[2408] Terrence Grindall: And that's not just whether it's provided in a proper way.

[2412] Marie dela Cruz: And delivered.

[2413] Aiden Hill: Yeah, and the deliverables have been. Yeah, they have to accept it. So whoever the requisitioner is has to accept it.

[2418] Marie dela Cruz: They have to accept it, exactly. And that could be us getting the invoices signed by the program manager. We do that, yes. We don't pay anything without any proper backup or verification. And plus, our system is connected to the county. We're not an independent district, which means we have oversight by the county. So everything goes through the county. All of the checks that we process for payment, they go through our escape system. It goes to the county, and then the county will review it and approve it and print and issue the checks. And then the checks are delivered back to the district. And then the district will process and mail them out to the vendors.

[2472] Terrence Grindall: But that check is only up after, once you've asked them to issue a check. They're not interfering in this process. No.

[2480] Marie dela Cruz: And then even with the warrant, the check run, before it's actually moved on to the county, our director of fiscal services will also review it. So there's a step before it even goes to the county. So our council payable may enter a process, and then we also have our director who will review that batch before it actually moves on to the county. And then the county will further review it before they actually print and issue the checks. So we have a lot of checks and balances.

[2532] Aiden Hill: I mean, the only thing that they could say is, I mean, they might look at some weird exception and say you've got a check for a million dollars here. But other than that, I mean, is there any other thing that they're doing?

[2545] Marie dela Cruz: Well, yeah, I'm not sure what other- What they're doing. review process they have, but it does have that extra step of oversight. And then all the checks that are issued, that's what's reflected on the warrant report. That's what you see every month.

[2567] Aiden Hill: But have you ever seen a situation where the county has actually stopped, held up a check, a check being processed?

[2577] Marie dela Cruz: Not that I can recall. Oh, I just wanted to also mention, you know, because you said, you know, you mentioned something about you can't just go out and get reimbursed. That's specifically true for equipment, any equipment over $500 because everything has to be inventory, which is the reason why we have a PO process. We don't allow any pickups or reimbursements for equipment over $500 because it all has to be inventory. So when the equipment is received in the warehouse, then we tag it and put it in our inventory system. So moving on to contracts. Oh, sorry. Sorry, just one last question.

[2626] Aiden Hill: Because when you say inventory, so is it really that you're just like giving an asset tag? Or is it actually like going into inventory and then my stuff is getting issued in and out of a warehouse?

[2640] Marie dela Cruz: Inventory, meaning fixed assets.

[2642] Aiden Hill: Okay, so it's basically an asset. Yes. Okay, all right. Yeah.

[2647] Marie dela Cruz: Okay. Yeah. Okay, so for contracts, board policy 3312. This is the policy that designates the superintendent or designee, which is me, to authorize and approve contracts for professional services. in the amount not to exceed one half of the current bid limit. So the current bid limit is $99,100. So therefore, the authorization is up to $49,550. So this policy gives authority for the superintendent R.I. to sign contracts under $49,000.

[2695] Terrence Grindall: You said if it's a capital project, the bid limit would be $200,000. So if it's a capital project, that also is 50% or is that 49% still?

[2704] Marie dela Cruz: It's still 49% because there's a couple of bid limits. This bid limit is for the purchase of equipment, materials, or supplies. And then there's another bid limit for public construction, which is the $200,000. So in this particular case, the limit is based on the purchase of equipment, materials, and supplies, which is the 99. Right.

[2732] Terrence Grindall: So our threshold. If it was architecture for a capital project, it would still have the 49. It wouldn't have the $100,000.

[2755] Aiden Hill: And so this is related to bids, right?

[2758] Marie dela Cruz: Not bids. This is related to contracts for professional services. So it could be an architect service. It could be a mental health contractor. Those types of professional services.

[2773] Aiden Hill: So the way that- No, no, no. Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm not following up on that question. Oh. Because what you're saying in that yellow is the exception. Right, so you're saying that contracts for professional services, oh, so you're saying that this half only applies to professional services? Correct. OK, so then if it's not that, if you're going to buy $100,000 in, or $99,000 in computers, so then your signing authority is $99,000? Yes. OK. Yes. And then? And then at what point, so this says bid, right? But it doesn't say anything about authorization. So what I mean by that is that what are the essentially the signing limits from an authorization standpoint where at some point the board says no, any contract above X amount needs to be approved by the board?

[2836] Marie dela Cruz: This is where you would have it. This particular board policy was, I mean, is based on half the current bid limit, which is something I wanna say, not unique, but that this board and this school district adopted, because this is not a standard policy for all school districts. And you can see that in the AR, The AR further identifies which items or which contracts the board still has authority to approve.

[2881] Terrence Grindall: So just to understand, the standard, you said it's unusual. The standard would be for the whole bid limit to be something that staff could contract. Yes. That there's a limitation that there's only half the bid limit, you can contract directly. Yes. But still, in every case, the contract needs to be ratified. Yes.

[2903] Marie dela Cruz: Yeah. So in that first policy with purchasing, that provides authority up to $99,000 for materials and goods and supplies. But for contracts for professional services, this BP 3312 only allows the $49,000, half the bid limit. So there's a limitation on contracts. The limit on other items is based on the bid limit.

[2933] Terrence Grindall: Right. I just want to be clear for the public that this is a more extreme look at it. More restrictive. Yes, more restrictive.

[2949] Aiden Hill: So can we go back to that earlier slide? Okay, so, because this is just sort of funky from my experience, because there's a difference between authorizing something and then going out and sourcing it, okay? And so, when we looked at your flowchart earlier, the authorization, right, that's that whole requisitioning process, and then once all of the people have signed off based on their limits, okay, then it goes to a purchaser, all right? But then, but when you start talking about bids, those are instructions to your office manager, I mean to your business office, to say this is a contract that either we can source directly, okay, we don't have to do a competitive bid, or in this situation we need to do a competitive bid. But that has nothing to do with the earlier requisition approval levels. But it sounds like this is kind of blended here. So my question is, at what point, at what dollar amount, does the board actually have to approve spend before it goes in to be sourced?

[3026] Marie dela Cruz: OK. So for other than contracts for professional services, the superintendent has the authority to approve up to the bid limit. And then anything Any contract for professional service that is more than half the bid limit has to go to the board.

[3050] Aiden Hill: Okay. So what, so it sounds like it's blended. And so what we're saying is, can, could we go back to that flow chart?

[3061] Nancy Thomas: Oops, sorry.

[3063] Aiden Hill: Okay. Okay. So determine purchasing. So let's say that somebody decides that they need to purchase Chromebooks in the amount of $110,000. So they put in their requisition. It's going to go through a number of, hopefully, a number of different people who are going to approve it. At least one, but probably more than one. So they're going to enter it in. And in that purple circle right there, approved purchase requisition, a number of approvers. At some point, it's going to get up to both you and Dr. Triplett. Okay? It's not a service. Okay? It's a physical good. But it is in excess of $99,000. So at that point, it cannot go into the, you know, it can't go even into bidding, right? So you can't go into bidding. It has to be brought before the board to say, here is a contract that is in excess of $100,000. because the whole concept is is that again it's and that's when I've been talking about delegation of authority that's what I've been talking about is that at some point dollar amounts basically it gets determined to say that some need to be decided by you know higher and higher powers and so at some point it sounds like what's what we're saying is that once it reached $100,000 level that it needs to be approved it needs to be approved in that purple box or that purple circle before any type of additional purchasing happens. Because you could end up wasting a whole bunch of time going out and getting competitive bids, et cetera, if the board says, hey, we don't approve this.

[3168] Marie dela Cruz: No. We have the authority to go out to bid. But we can't award the bid until it goes to the board.

[3174] SPEAKER_21: That's correct.

[3175] Marie dela Cruz: So if there's an item that we estimate, we know it's projected to be over the bid limit, we have the authority to go out to bid. but we can't award it until we take it to the board. So we don't get approval. We're not required to get approval to go out to bid. So that's also in the board policy. It's not included here.

[3198] Terrence Grindall: That's why you include language typically that says, just because we issued this RFP or this proposal, we're not necessarily going to commit to it because it requires further board action. But you can, because otherwise the processes could, if you run those processes in sequence, it could be a much longer, much more cumbersome. But there is a risk that you'll go down the road with a project that the board doesn't want to do. But again, if it's all happening under the budget, that seems highly unlikely. If the budget already says there should be X amount of Chromebooks, then it's I think staff has sort of a reason to believe that the board would approve it, and then you put caveats in the contract, I mean, sorry, in the RFP that says, you know, if the board doesn't approve it, then we're not going to, we're under no obligation to do anything.

[3251] Marie dela Cruz: Yes, and then our director of fiscal services, who's also our purchasing director, because we don't have one, she will flag those items that are above the bid limit, and if she doesn't have a board approval as backup, it won't go through. So we're aware of what the limits are in the board policy, and what can be approved, and what needs to go to the board. So it will not generate a PO unless we have the board approval on any items that are above the bid limit.

[3288] Aiden Hill: Because I mean, I'll just tell you that writing in business, you would never see this. where literally you would have to get whatever the dollar amount is, you would have to get the approval for everybody determined by dollar amount at that purple circle before you went in and started to do the purchasing. And the whole idea behind it is why are you going to waste a whole bunch of time, right? So you're going to potentially waste those staff resources, time, and going out and putting together a potential product, project, going out and getting all this together.

[3323] Marie dela Cruz: So if it's something that's going out to bid, the requisition will not be entered until it's actually gone to the board.

[3331] Terrence Grindall: Right. By the way, I think that the staff, based on the, obviously the staff, if the staff is going to be doing an RFP for a project that's not in the budget, then it would be true to bring that to the board first because, I mean, it's a new concept, right? But if it's covered under the umbrella of the budget, I think staff should be able to do the administrative processes to move the project along with subject to final approval of the board when it comes to delivering the product.

[3370] Phuong Nguyen: I am in agreement with that, and that's how the processes are at the local state level also, is that during budget session reviews, or building the budget for the next fiscal year, there's already, departments already know exactly what it is that they want to spend next year's budget on, and they're making those requests, and they're budgeting for it. So once the budget is put in place and approved by city council, or in this case, the board, the staff has the ability to go out and bid for those projects and then get formal approval to award the bid in the form of an RFP once the RFPs are approved by the department or whoever's going out for bid, right? And then it comes back into this process where once it is approved by the board, it goes to the purchase order requisition request, and then that's when the PO is issued for that bid. I mean, that's how we've seen it done.

[3432] Marie dela Cruz: Yeah, and that's the standard process. So, you know, we go out to bid, and then we have our bid results. We take it to the board and recommend approval. And once the board approves it, that's when we will enter it into the system.

[3446] Terrence Grindall: Is there a... I'm sorry, we're getting off the subject.

[3455] Terrence Grindall: We usually hear that a project's going to be sent out to bid as part of the superintendent's report or something like that. But is there any systematic way where the board would know that staff was working on an RFP for... Because RFPs are only going to be happening for fairly large ticket items, right? And is there a systematic way for the board to know that so we don't get you know, happened to be mentioned in the board, in the superintendent's report?

[3486] Marie dela Cruz: Yeah, we try to provide those in the staff report. For example, you recall the junior high upstairs. We presented the concept, the idea, and before we went out to bid, made sure that the board understood, you know, what we were trying to do. And until, it wasn't until we presented it to the board that we actually went out to bid. So anything, Like that, the big projects, we will always try to provide the board with background before actually taking the award so that you're not seeing it for the first time as a bid award.

[3526] Aiden Hill: Yeah. No, I appreciate that. But no purchase order will be created for greater than $99,000 in a goods situation. or 49,000 in a services situation without approval by the board. Yes.

[3546] Mark Triplett: Okay. Just being conscious of time, we have about eight minutes. We have, I think, four more slides, but then the discussion, we could certainly... We've been discussing it. That's true. It's been good discussion, so this is good. And we can certainly bring this back for more conversation.

[3566] Marie dela Cruz: So the next couple should be fairly quick. So these are the contracts that still have to go through the board, regardless of the dollar amount. Any employment contracts, any negotiated labor agreements, contracts over half the bid limit, any sale of real property, interagency agreements, any contracts that are beyond the bid limit. or purchase of equipment, and then facilities. And this is where the CUPCA we talked about, that's the $200,000 limit. So any contracts above the California Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act, which is also known as CUPCA, and that's the $200,000.

[3608] Aiden Hill: One thing also, just to clarify, going back there. So the board retains authority for any and all, I mean, retains the authority for everything. And the board delegates that. So if the board decides that they ultimately want to come back and change that, they have the full authority to do that.

[3633] Nancy Thomas: The policy and the ARs, yes.

[3636] Terrence Grindall: As a previous board had, in fact, imposed the requirement that if it's

[3644] Marie dela Cruz: That was something that a previous board had decided was a good practice, and they imposed it regardless of what is typical standard. Yes. So this AR is particular to Newark Unified. Got it. And yes, the board can change it if they wish. So these are the agenda items that are related to these board policies. We present the warrant report on a monthly basis. This complies with the BP 3300 and 3310 with regards to expenditures and purchases. And then the quarterly contract report, which complies with the BP and AR3312 with regards to contracts. And this is where we present the contracts that are professional services contract over $10,000, but under half the bid limit. So this was the optional board agenda item for consideration. There is a purchase order report that could be generated. So this would present a list of all the purchase transactions for goods and services. As compared to the warrant report that shows the payments for goods and services received, the PO report is an opportunity to see POs that have been processed. Normally, before the goods and services have been received. These are all the purchase orders that have been processed. So in a way, you can look at it, you know, this is like before goods and services are received, the warrant report is after. That's the final actual expenditure.

[3747] Terrence Grindall: And is that report available to the public?

[3750] Marie dela Cruz: It's not part of our agenda now. That's why we're saying this is another item. And the reason why we're providing this as an option is because it does allow the board to see, other than the warrant report, the POs that have been processed.

[3771] Terrence Grindall: Is that a lot of staff effort to generate this report?

[3776] Marie dela Cruz: No. It's part of our escape system.

[3783] Mark Triplett: Now, supporting what we want to ask of the board tonight, not that the board needs to make a decision tonight, but if that's something that the board would like to see on a regular basis, is that something that we could?

[3796] Marie dela Cruz: Yeah, so it shows the PO number, the vendor name, what location, that code there is what location it's for. And then a brief description of what it's for, and then the budget code in this particular case will just show the fund number and the object code. It's not as detailed as the warrant report, which gives you the full account stream.

[3822] Terrence Grindall: Yes, I'd like to see, I'd like to have that report included, not only for our edification, but it would, it would help the public to understand sort of this whole process of where a PO has been issued. But then, for example, bills might come in every month and it can be confusing to people on the outside when they don't see the overarching issue. So again, with the caveat that I don't want this to take a large amount of staff time. So if you're saying it doesn't, then I would like to see it.

[3854] Marie dela Cruz: Yes. Yeah, that's a good point because, like you said earlier, we might have a $100,000 PO for, let's say, transportation, but then you're only seeing the $10,000 payments. You're not seeing the actual purchase order for that service. So this provides a little bit more information.

[3875] Terrence Grindall: Right, and back to Aiden's, one of his first points, I'm sorry, Member Hill's first points. We also wouldn't know whether the purchase order that we, I'm sorry, the warrant that we just saw just used up 90% of that budget. So if we saw both, we'd be able to sort of put two and two together.

[3897] Aiden Hill: So thank you. And when you say fund object, so that's the account number?

[3901] Marie dela Cruz: That is the account number. So that's the fund number. 010 is general fund. And then the object code 5828, it's 5,800 accounts. So it's for services and other operating expenditures. Right. So all of these are, you can see the object code is 5,000. I can tell you that that's all for services and other operating expenditures, which they are. And then if you see something, the therapy travelers, you see two codes there. That means that PO was split coded. So part of it was coded to 5,100. Another part was coded to 5,825. And then, let's see. Yeah, so that's the general format of that PO report. If there are any other clarifying questions, which we've kind of already answered and addressed along the way, we'll be happy to.

[3957] Bowen Zhang: Yeah, so I just want to ask that, what is our strategy when it comes to purchase order or bid, where you can have several separate purchase orders, There are all somehow related to each other. So let's say three purchase orders, each of them under $40,000. But they are in many ways related to each other. So they add up together, it's more than $100,000. So in that case, conceptually, they are related, so they are over the $100,000 limit. So the board should be approving that. But individually, because there are $30,000, $40,000, so the board doesn't need to approve.

[4000] Marie dela Cruz: So it's, yeah, it's the vendor and the commodity, you know, and the service. So we try to consolidate when we can. So if we know, for example, the Chromebooks, we know that every school needs 50 Chromebooks rather than have the schools order 50 at a time, which is also called bid splitting. consolidate and provide the best price.

[4027] Bowen Zhang: Yeah, because sometimes if you bid split, you will encounter that scenario, that individual bid is not over the limit. Together, they're over the limit.

[4034] Aiden Hill: Yeah. And this is kind of a common thing that potentially happens, right, is that you've got a manager that is trying to avoid having oversight of their spend, and so they take and break it up into amounts that's below their signing level. so that, again, people higher up don't see it. And so, but that's where in your flowchart there needs to be, you know, and there, you know, hopefully there is somebody on the accounting end that's doing a check and balance and saying, hey, hold on a second, right? There's, you know, three, you know, three requisitions for essentially the same thing, right? And then when we add this up, this really needs to be consolidated into a larger PO, which then needs to get brought before the board for approval. So is that happening in the business office?

[4083] Marie dela Cruz: Yes, we do have those checks and balances, and our director does monitor all of those types of purchases.

[4095] Terrence Grindall: And those kinds of issues would be able to be tracked by the board if the report was brought forward? Yes. We'd see those three POs, or ABC, computers that were all $35,000. And even if the staff missed it, the board could raise it as a red flag.

[4125] Mark Triplett: So President Wynne, we are about three minutes over, I believe. Yes. But Member Grindel, you articulated that you would be interested in that report.

[4143] Aiden Hill: I mean if there's a way right because you mentioned that it is an automated report right so it's a pre-built report that's coming out of this escape system I mean if there's a way that we could also just post it on our website right so literally just gets dropped out so that everybody sees it we do it on a monthly basis I think that that would be great from a transparency perspective yeah but in the form of because you know it's part of the board approval process that's also public

[4172] Marie dela Cruz: information.

[4172] Phuong Nguyen: It would be on the agenda.

[4176] Aiden Hill: What I'm saying is why can't we just put it on the website every month?

[4181] Phuong Nguyen: It is technically on the website.

[4183] Terrence Grindall: You could put a link to it. It wouldn't seem that hard to, and maybe the work report as well, just have a link to someone who's interested in that much detail without having to sort through our... Correct. Again, what I'm cautious of is creating a burden on staff in either case.

[4216] Marie dela Cruz: Yeah, I think one or the other. I mean, you're talking about burden. If we have to post it on the agenda and then think about where we're going to post it on the website when it literally is already on the website, when we post it in public for the board agenda, That would be the more effective.

[4235] Terrence Grindall: Yeah, and I would leave that, and maybe the rest of the board doesn't agree, I'd leave that up to your discretion. I would point out, though, that you will see a reduction in public record requests. It's very easy to find. We get public record requests for things that have been part of our agendas, because people don't know where they are. So it goes through that process rather than people simply getting the information that they want.

[4262] Aiden Hill: Into that point, right? I mean, I've seen a lot in many companies that I've worked with where if it's an automated report, literally, you just have a developer write a quick, you know, essentially routine that says, once this report gets generated, it gets dropped into this particular file folder, and boom, it's there, right? And so then after that, there's zero effort. It just happens every month. It automatically runs every month.

[4287] Marie dela Cruz: Okay. We will consider that, yeah. Well, thank you.

[4293] Diego Torres: Very good discussion. Thank you. Thank you.

[4334] Nancy Thomas: All right, next item on our agenda is closed session.

[4337] Terrence Grindall: Are there any public comments on closed session items?

[4360] Phuong Nguyen: So in closed session, we will be discussing items 4.2, public employee discipline dismissal release, 4.3, conference with labor negotiators. employee organizations NTA and CSCA, item 4.4, conference with labor negotiators, employee group NEWMA, unrepresented supervisors and contracted management, 4.5, conference with legal counsel, anticipated litigation, significant exposure to litigation pursuant to government code 54956.9, And we will be recessing to closed session now. Thank you. And we just reconvene to open session. There are no reportable actions from closed session. We'll move on to item 5-1, Pledge of Allegiance. Please stand.

[7571] Terrence Grindall: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God,

[7581] Phuong Nguyen: indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Next up, oh. So item six is report of closed session items. There are no reportable, no reportable action taken. So we'll move on to item seven, a student report. and I will pass it on to our, or do we have our, any students from the junior high tonight?

[7615] SPEAKER_11: Okay. Good evening, board members. My name is Muhammad Lulu, the ASB president of Newark Junior High School. We are currently planning future school events. Some of these include a spirit week at the end of January. We're also planning to sell Valentine grams. These may include roses or another items. Now I'm going pass it on to Purvi.

[7641] SPEAKER_17: Good evening, board members. My name is Purvi Sharma, the ASB vice president of NGHS. We are also planning an art contest for our youth book cover. The winner's artwork will be chosen as the cover, and there will be awards for the runner-ups. Thank you. Have a great evening.

[7659] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you, Mohamed and Purvi. Next up is our representative Okay, next up is our student representative, student board member, Estina Mendiz-Artiz. Go ahead.

[7675] SPEAKER_27: Thank you. Good evening, everyone. I hope we all enjoy the holidays. As Nicaragua High has come back, a lot has been happening, to say the least. First, I'd like to start off with upcoming events. On January 27th, during school hours, NMHS will hold our annual town hall. regarding gender identity and how we as a community and school can become more inclusive towards others and addressing the issues students face with gender identity and how we can become more inclusive about these things. Following this, we will be holding our elections for class and ASB representatives. So I encourage anyone who's interested in running for a position. Additionally, stay tuned for our multicultural week and annual hats assembly on March 18th, where students can represent their culture on a variety of ways. And as of recently, Wing Crew went to freshman classes to help the lowerclassmen understand and learn about the importance of making decisions and how these choices will affect their present and future. They hope to continue on these lessons, and I truly appreciate the efforts. The same can be said about the cheerleaders who are hosting a cheer camp for elementary kids and teaching them all about cheer and even allowing them to perform with them at future basketball games. Furthermore, Newark Memorial High offered free rapid COVID tests to each student in their fourth period class this Tuesday. While the effort will hopefully help our student body stay safe over these troubling times, I would like to bring up the fact that Newark Unified School District should have been far better prepared in allowing students to come back on campus without any conditions set. Thank you.

[7774] Phuong Nguyen: All right, thank you, student board member. And we're moving on to item 8.1, Employee Organizations. There are no representatives tonight. Okay, we'll move on to item nine on the agenda, Recognitions and Celebration, 9.1, Staff Spotlight. I'm handing it over to Superintendent Triplett.

[7799] Mark Triplett: Thank you, President Nguyen. Good evening, board members again. staff as well as community and students at home. So this evening we wanted to shine a light on some of our outstanding employees that have just been doing amazing work. The first one is Ms. Stephanie Schubert. She is a resource specialist in special education at Birch Grove Intermediate. And Stephanie is, she's actually also the, excuse me, the lead RSP teacher for the district. She's an incredible collaborative problem solver. She does whatever it takes for students and families. And so we greatly appreciate all of her work. And so please join me in celebrating Miss Schubert. And secondly, We have Mr. Emilio Lopez Martinez. He is our maintenance technician at the Maintenance Operations and Transportation Department, MOT. And Emilio is an amazing hard worker. He does whatever it takes to get the job done, helps out all of his colleagues, and is really supporting the schools tremendously in so many different ways. So please join me in appreciating Emilio Lopez Martinez. And then last but certainly not least, we wanted to celebrate our NEWMA member for the evening, Ms. Jessica Ricketts. Jessica is in, she's an administrative assistant in the special education office. And Jessica is, just is amazing support for both the department as well as just an incredibly dedicated individual who supports our students and our families and our teachers to, in particular, address the needs of students with special needs. incredible work ethic, and she really ensures the department is running effectively. So please join me in appreciating Jessica Ricketts. And those are our staff spotlights for this evening.

[7933] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you, Superintendent Triplett. On to item 10, public comments on non-agenda items. Do we have any? We have two. Thank you.

[7945] SPEAKER_22: We have two virtual comments. The first one is from Cindy Parks. Ms. Parks, you may begin.

[7954] Cindy Parks: Good evening, and Happy New Year to one and all. I hope you took the time to read through the email I sent you over the holiday break. I attached two documents from the League of California Cities. They were guidelines for the California Public Records Act and the Brown Act. As a governmental agency, it is your responsibility to us, the public, to conduct business as prescribed. The guidelines are clear and concise documents with scenario examples. The Brown Act guidelines pertain to the public comment on non-agenda items states While the Brown Act does not allow discussion or action on these items, not on the agenda, it does allow members of the legislative body or its staff to briefly respond to comments or questions from members of the public, provide a reference to staff or other resources for factual information or direct staff to place the issue on a future agenda. Only recently has the Newark Unified Board deviated from a similar practice. I hope you will also pay close attention to the requirements outlined in the California Public Records Act document, especially those on page 21. Neither the 10-day response period for responding to a request for a copy of records, nor the additional 14-day extension may be used to delay or obstruct the inspection of public records. For example, requests for commonly disclosed records that are held in a manner that allows for prompt disclosure should not be withheld because of the statutory response period. NUSD just settled a court case with Ms. Clinton and had to release records and provide financial compensation. You currently have several outstanding requests. I am missing one of my requests from May, And on November 24th, I requested three documents. On December 8th, when I didn't receive any communication, I sent a follow-up email and Ms. Gutierrez replied, apologizing for the delay in response and said she did not notice the email sooner. However, they would work on this ASAP. I haven't received any other correspondence as of this date. In all of my years submitting requests to NUSD and other governmental organizations, I have never experienced these types of delays or had my requests ignored. Now I would like to address the current guidelines Newark Unified is using when a student has tested positive for COVID. I hope the superintendent will be addressing this during his report. Our County Office of Education just released new guidelines booklet yesterday. In that document, it contained guidelines, a chart with three exposure options. In light of all of the learning loss and social and emotional issues highlighted in your boardroom, I would certainly hope that this district would implement the new seven day in school modified quarantine option. That scenario allows for students, vaxxed or not, who even though they have been in proximity of a student that is tested positive, to continue with onsite education as long as they test negative. To reduce some more learning loss and social isolation, please implement the seven day in school modified- and please attach the study session presentation as it was not legible to the public this evening. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Parks.

[8163] Phuong Nguyen: Next speaker.

[8169] Aiden Hill: Yes, I just like to make a request because no, not at this time.

[8174] Phuong Nguyen: Can you save your request until the end of it?

[8176] Aiden Hill: So I think what What she just read to us indicates that this is a time when we could make a comment.

[8182] Phuong Nguyen: No, point of order. Are you commenting back to her, or are you directing the superintendent?

[8189] Aiden Hill: So I believe that the information that she read from the Brown Act and Ed Code allows us to make a comment. OK. She just cited it.

[8205] Phuong Nguyen: Superintendent?

[8207] Mark Triplett: Sorry, if there's a request, there is a section for requests at the end, and we'd be happy to hear any requests. But the current agenda item was public comment on non-agenda items, not discussion.

[8221] Aiden Hill: But it says that we as a board can respond back.

[8225] Mark Triplett: No, the public commenter said that, but I don't believe that that's what the board is directing.

[8236] Phuong Nguyen: Okay, next, can we move on to the next speaker, please?

[8242] SPEAKER_22: The next speaker is Christine Clinton. Ms. Clinton, you may begin.

[8249] SPEAKER_10: Good evening. Just to be clear, this comment is not an ambush. This is a public meeting where the public has a right to speak and you have an obligation to listen. You had an obligation to listen when community members warned you of a 360 Legal obligation in providing her child with the services outlined in her child's IEP. Instead, you waved her off and dismissed her, later saying you don't listen to public speakers, only to the people who meet with you in private in the days leading up to a meeting. That's convenient for you to have a one-on-one and manipulate the community's messages and keep what's said off the public record. It is not our responsibility to reach out to each of you privately. You've ignored this parent's private emails and her public comments. As a parent of a child with the 19th, my heart breaks for her and all the other special ed families at the way they are being treated by you. Do better board, just do better. You are the reason people are pulling their children from this district in droves. Next, I wanna talk about your legal obligation to respond to CPRAs in a timely manner. On June 17, you shared with the community that you understood the law and have no desire to follow it. The community's only recourse is to file a writ of mandate, which I did on June 28. It took $435 of my own money and countless hours of my own time, but you ended up having to respond to each and every request outlined in that writ. You had to pay your lawyer $450 an hour to deal with my lawsuit, and you ended up approving a settlement to reimburse me for my fees. Did you learn any lesson in this? I don't think you did because I have a newer request that is now three weeks past due, and you now want another 30 days to complete it. Other community members who have reached out to me for help also have past due requests. You said at a study session that you want to minimize your CPRA liability, then do that by fulfilling these requests. It is the only way. Otherwise, you will have more lawsuits. I promise you that. Is that how you want to spend the district's money? Thank you.

[8393] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you, Ms. Clinton. On to item 11, 11.1, Superintendent Report, Superintendent Triplett.

[8405] Mark Triplett: Thank you, President Nguyen. Ms. Gutierrez, can we have the deck, please? Okay, so this evening we have two agenda items for the superintendent report. The first is a celebration and an appreciation. If you could go to the next slide, please. With regard to the holiday giveaways that occurred right before and during the holiday break. And then number two is a COVID-19 update. Next slide, please. So we just want to give a really strong appreciation for some of the amazing efforts that staff and community and students did right around the holidays to really make sure that the holidays were joyous for as many families and students and young people as possible. So this is a picture of a holiday gift giveaway, which I'll speak more about in a minute, that occurred at Newark Memorial. I believe it was on the 20th of December. And this is some of the staff and families wrapping gifts for children. Next slide, please. So on the 20th, this is really just really touching and amazing. There was a family who have children in NUSD and who both graduate, parents who both graduated from NUSD, who organized, of their own volition, organized a gift drive at their home. They were able to collect 759 gifts. And then they brought them to Newark Memorial and coordinated with staff there to set up a distribution. And then NUSD volunteers, students, staff, and families came together on Sunday prior and then also came back again on Monday to set it up, make it just really wonderful, and then distribute the gifts and do like a, they set up essentially like a shopping system so that families in need could come and shop for gifts for their children. It was just really tremendous. 757 gifts were distributed on that day. Next slide, please. The other event that occurred with Newark Memorial teams and clubs, my understanding is that the groups adopted 33 families for gifts. And so they were able to collect gifts for those families and deliver those gifts for their children. So another just amazing effort. There were other really incredible efforts as well that occurred. I know that in partnership with Viola Blythe, There was a wonderful giveaway at Schilling Elementary. And I think there was others that occurred also during and right before the break. So I just wanted to just share that and really appreciate everyone who participated and really thought of others during the holiday season. Shifting gears to COVID-19 and updates here. As you all know, we're experiencing across the world a unprecedented surge in COVID-19, in particular the Omicron variant. So I wanted to share a little bit of data and information about the steps that we've been taking to try to mitigate and support our families and students during this time. Next slide, please. So first, we were able to distribute at-home tests. This is actually not an official photo of the test that we distributed, but it's something I got on Google. But similar at-home tests to every student in the district. We received 5,500, I believe, at-home tests from the county. Unfortunately, this was something that Governor Newsom and the state government was funding. Unfortunately, I think because of the snow in the Sierras, there was a delay in these arriving into county office, but they did arrive and we were able to pick them up and get them distributed to our students on this Tuesday. That in addition to Ms. Gutierrez, next slide please. So this is in addition to our regular testing, which has continued. So we test every, testing is available for students and staff every day of the week on a rotating basis. So this week is, this is the schedule and the number of folks who were tested this week. And so what happens is, for example, Monday, the testing lab, it's a traveling testing lab, and it was at BGI, BGP, and the junior high. And then you can see the following day, it's at Coyote Hills, Kennedy, Child Care, and Newark Memorial. And so it rotates through the week. The thing that we were able to add starting on Monday, which I really want to give a shout out to Ms. Dela Cruz and the whole team for having the foresight to put this together in advance of the holidays. And this is something that other districts honestly just have not done. And I think it's been a real benefit to the community, is that we were able to set up a free testing site at Whiteford. And that's, like I said, started on Monday. You can see every day around, on average, 300 people have been tested. And that's free to the community. It's drive-through. And as I look at the news from around the country and read news about people who have had to wait for four hours, six hours, all day for a test, currently the wait, there is a little bit of a wait at Whiteford, but it's around 30 minutes, I think. And if you drive by, you can see the line and folks waiting. They are offering, again, free tests. It's for students, for families, or community members. And this is both, they offer both rapid antigen as well as the PCR. So really an amazing service. And then you can see, as of today, we've been able to test a total of 2,165 people through this system, in addition to the 5,000, in theory, the 5,000-odd students that received an at-home test as well. Just want to reiterate that there is no current testing mandate. So testing is voluntary, and so students and families For this testing, families have to give permission to test, but families can sign up for this. They've been able to sign up since this began at the beginning of the year, and they can continue to sign up for this and receive this testing every day, or sorry, every week. And likewise, the clinic at Whiteford is open Monday through Friday, nine to five. So really amazing, amazing service. Shifting gears a little bit, so this is data received today with regard to our current vaccination rates. So unfortunately, our ages 12 through 17, despite a lot of work on many, many people, our rates still are in the lower section of our county. So you can see Newark is second to last just before Emeryville in terms of percentage. of young people 12 to 17 who have been fully vaccinated. A little bit of good news, if you go to the next slide. This is the similar data, but for ages 5 to 11 who have received at least one dose. And as you can see, Newark actually has a little bit of a higher percentage there than many of the surrounding areas. And we're currently at 37.7% of those young people having received one dose. So I bring this up just because we want to really continue to encourage vaccinations. If you go to the next slide, Ms. Gutierrez. We continue to have our vaccination clinics every Sunday. It's a free vaccination clinic at Coyote Hills. I went right before the break and got my booster shot there. Super easy. Everyone is really friendly. While I was there, I saw young kids getting vaccinated. I saw older folks getting their first dose. I saw families there. So anybody who needs a first dose, a second dose or a booster is welcome to welcome to come. And as you probably know, they just approved the booster for ages 12 through 17. So I just want to confirm, but I believe that those boosters will be available this Sunday for that age group at Coyote Hills. And flu. Sorry? And flu. And the flu vaccine, even better. And that is the report for this evening.

[8980] SPEAKER_17: Thank you.

[8983] Phuong Nguyen: Member Hill?

[8985] Aiden Hill: Thank you, Dr. Triplett, for the report. So a couple questions. So I've been hearing from a few community members that at a couple of schools when there have been COVID cases that have been identified with students in the classrooms, that the teachers have been dismissing the entire class. And I think it was like a BGI in Lincoln. And I wanted to check and see if that's true. And if so, why are we taking that approach?

[9017] Mark Triplett: Yeah. Thank you for that question. Yes. So, um, what happens when, when there is a positive case in the classroom, then, um, uh, we do contact tracing and that's supported by the county office of public health. If it's determined that, um, there's, there's two reasons why an entire class would be, um, quarantined. One would be if the transmission has spread throughout the classroom, um, that currently, and for this entire year, um, we haven't had one of those situations. But the second situation is when we try to do contact tracing, if we're unable to identify close contacts, and that might be because the students, for example, had some sort of activity where they were all mixed up together, rather than in their assigned seats. In those cases where we can't verify close contact, then the contact tracers have to act with an abundance of caution notify everyone that they may have been a close contact. Those cases are not that frequent, although we have experienced them even this week, that has been the case in a couple of situations, and really just making sure that we are being as safe as possible to stop the spread.

[9096] Aiden Hill: One of the reasons for my question is, so as you know, I work at Cupertino High School, so we face exactly the same situation And our protocol, and literally I just had this invoked today with one of my students in one of my classes, is that if a student tests positive, if anybody tests positive, they have to notify the administration. The administration then goes through a potential contact tracing scenario. So obviously, if a student they're going to look and see which, you know, in upper levels, they're going to look at what classes that student attends, if it's elementary, they're going to be looking at a specific class. But then the immediate essentially focus is not only what class is that person in, but then who were potentially people who were close contacts. And so literally I was asked by my administration to tell me, OK, who is this person sitting next to? And so then the instructions after that are that those people need to go and get tested. So nobody gets dismissed. The assumption, the presumption is, is that you're you're COVID free until until you're proven, you know, COVID, infected with COVID. And so sort of the next steps for me, as well as for a couple of students, is to go and get tested. And then based on that, if you come back positive, then those people need to quarantine. But we wouldn't have to dismiss the entire class. And given the challenges that we've had around learning loss, et cetera. You know, it seems to me that that could be maybe if we're dismissing the whole class, that could be an extreme measure. And could we implement instead a program like this where we when we identify close contacts, we have them test. And those that come back positive, those are the ones that go in quarantine.

[9207] Mark Triplett: So, yeah, I'm happy to provide to the board another meeting, sort of an explanation of the county guidelines around how how contact tracing works and isolation and quarantine. But essentially, we're following the county guidelines. And so we're doing what's required and mandated. We can't do it any other way. I don't know about your situation in your school, and I do know it's in a different county. It could be that based on the fact that you are with high schoolers that if everyone is vaccinated, then there's different steps, but if we have people who are unvaccinated in the class, then there's certain steps and precautions that have to be taken. And likewise, if, like I said, if it's a classroom where we can identify who are the close contacts, then only those people are in need of communication. But if there's a situation, and again, it doesn't happen all the time, but sometimes it does, where we're unable to identify who the student who has tested positive was close to, in other words, the teacher says, I don't know, I think we had this activity, everyone was running around, everyone was mixed up, so he or she could have been close to almost everybody. those are the situations where we do have to quarantine the entire class.

[9293] Aiden Hill: I went out to the county website and I didn't see those protocols.

[9298] Mark Triplett: I'm happy to share them with you. I'm happy to have our liaison come to the board and share out the processes and protocols and happy to point you to where they can be found on the on the website.

[9311] Aiden Hill: Because, again, I think it's, as you say, there may be a situation where we can't tell exactly if people are moving around who has contact and who doesn't. But it seems to me that rather than bringing in a very harsh measure, that there should be an interim step to say, if we can't determine that, everybody in the class needs to get tested, not that we stop the class.

[9337] Mark Triplett: Yeah, we can't actually force people to be tested. If someone tests positive, then we can require that in order to return in a certain time frame that they have to test again. But we actually can't mandate that people are tested. It's illegal.

[9360] Aiden Hill: So it's my understanding that actually, if you that if you are not vaccinated, that you can require testing. But if you're vaccinated, then there are slightly different rules. And I believe that that's a statewide rule.

[9376] Mark Triplett: No, I'm looking at right now on the California Department of Public Health and some of the guidelines right here, everyone, regardless of vaccination status, previous infection or lack of symptoms. Here's the recommended actions if unable to test or choosing not to test. then they, in this case, in this particular scenario, the isolation can only end after day 10. So just one example, but.

[9405] Aiden Hill: Right, so are we offering them the opportunity to test before dismissing the class?

[9411] Mark Triplett: Oh, we offer, like I showed up there, yeah, we're having all sorts of opportunities for students to test, but we only test with the permission of the families. We do not test unless families have given permission.

[9424] Phuong Nguyen: All right, any other board members who have questions or comments?

[9428] Terrence Grindall: Member Vendel. Thank you. I just wanted to ask how you managed to distribute all the test kits to the children without causing a giant traffic jam?

[9443] Mark Triplett: Yeah, thank you. Yeah, I mean, the person you saw up there in the spotlight, Mr. Emilio, was one of an amazing team in MOT who just jumped right the minute that the tests were made available at the county. I was there 8 a.m. on Monday morning to pick them up and then distributed them all to the different sites. And then at the sites, our office staff and our support staff have just been tremendous dealing with contact tracing while doing things like that, disseminating all of the tests to all the different classrooms and making sure that every student gets one.

[9482] Terrence Grindall: My compliments to that. And in addition, just I'm wondering whether you do or whether you could give out the vaccination location information as a part of the testing process, if they essentially if people could could be given notification of what's happening at Cody Hills. once they're getting their tests, so they, you know, hopefully they get out, yay, I'm negative, but let's go take care of this issue. So just wanted to, while it's on their mind, maybe they could, maybe it's already done, maybe there's already a poster, but perhaps that's an opportunity to reach. Thank you.

[9520] Mark Triplett: Yeah, thank you. It hopefully is, but we can go back and check and make sure that all of our testing sites do have the information around the vaccinations. We have posted all of the vaccination information on our website and then also on social media and in our main offices as well. But I can't hurt to say it all the time, often and a lot.

[9543] Terrence Grindall: Right. Well, you've got you've got a captive audience waiting their half hour to get their test and they've got COVID on their mind. So maybe that's maybe that's a good time to hit them. Yes. Thank you.

[9552] Phuong Nguyen: Member Rundy Sartiz.

[9555] SPEAKER_27: I'd like to ask if the rapid COVID test is something we can hopefully continue on if the pandemic seems to continue. Like, will this be something we give every break if the county allows it, or is that up to us?

[9568] Mark Triplett: Yeah, thank you. So the, as I'm sure all of you know, the home tests right now are almost impossible to find. I've heard rumors of them, you know, in other places in the country being sold on the black market for $200 a test and all this kind of stuff. So we received those from the state, and that was a specific state allocation. When we did receive them, the message that we got was that the intention was for more to be distributed moving forward. However, what I heard today was that there are no more tests at the state level, no more at-home tests at the state level currently. So I just don't know. I guess we'll have to wait and see. But I do really want to strongly recommend the testing system that we have set up. Honestly, it's the lab tests, much more effective than the at-home tests. And we offer it every single day for free, 9 to 5, Monday through Friday. So yeah, I really want to encourage people to utilize the service. It's really tremendous.

[9640] SPEAKER_17: All right. Thank you.

[9642] Terrence Grindall: Can I have one follow-up to that, Madam President? Is that true even over a break? So, like, during the holiday break, were those testing centers open?

[9652] Mark Triplett: No. So, the Whiteford Clinic started on Monday, and then the other ones are in schools. So, the public actually can't go into the school to get tested, but they can go to Whiteford. And the predecent does not offer the service on the weekends. Oh, and Mr. Hot off the presses, Mr. Cruz says we're looking into the possibility of weekends as well.

[9680] Terrence Grindall: That was going to be my follow up. Because member of recenters Ortiz sort of raised a good point of families that want to be sure they didn't catch covid while while they're over a holiday, being able to have that peace of mind. If there's a way for us to fire up a testing process before before a long break, before return for a long break, it might be great.

[9705] Mark Triplett: Yeah, thank you. It is in, you know, it was approached differently by different school districts and some of that was based on there were a small handful of districts in our area that received tests prior to the break as a pilot. So that was not something that was made available to all districts. I will say that in those cases, it's not necessarily the best option. For example, I know where my children go to school, they received, or my daughter actually, my other one's in college, my younger one received the test prior to break with the instruction to use the test in the 48 hours before returning to school. But given a two week break with all kinds of COVID running around and all kinds of worries, she used those before. So she actually didn't have the tests available to use the 48 hours beforehand. So, you know, I think there's, what we all need to be conscious of is that we need to be testing and particularly when we have symptoms. But there is no one best time to test. And, you know, if you test on, on a Saturday and then and you're looking good and then you hang out with somebody on a Sunday, you know, the tests on Saturday means nothing, you know. So I do think I know it's it's sort of like a it's sort of a paradigm shift. But I think we just need to provide the test option as much as we possibly can in as many different ways as we can. And that's going to be the way that with masking and vaccinations that we get through this.

[9807] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you. Any other questions or comments?

[9809] SPEAKER_22: Dr. Triplett? Yes. If I may, when we partnered with Bay Area Community Health over the holiday break during the vaccination clinics, they did offer testing at those locations as well.

[9819] Mark Triplett: Oh, thank you. That's right. Sorry, I forgot about that. There was a testing option during the break.

[9825] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you, Ms. Gutierrez. On to item 12, new business. 12.1, increase in minimum wage. Dr. Triplett? Superintendent Triplett?

[9837] Mark Triplett: Thank you, President Nguyen. I'm going to turn this one over to Ms. Delacruz to talk a little bit about this agenda item.

[9846] Marie dela Cruz: Thank you, Dr. Triplett. As of January 1st, 2022, the minimum wage is going up from $14 to $15. This impacts a few of our positions that are in the unrepresented group. including our campus monitors in the elementary schools, our classified subs and food service, child care attendant subs, and also student assistant. So this recommendation is for the board to approve the increase in the minimum wage.

[9881] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you. We'll open up for discussion. Anybody, any members have a question or comment? Okay. Can I get a motion to approve?

[9894] Bowen Zhang: I move that we approve the increase on the minimum wage to revise the hourly pay rates because of the increase in minimum wage affected January 1st, 2022.

[9906] Phuong Nguyen: Motion made by Member Zhang. Second.

[9912] SPEAKER_24: I'll second.

[9913] Phuong Nguyen: Seconded by Member Grindell. Does student board member get to vote on It's personnel, right? Salary? So unfortunately, you won't be able to vote on this one. Member Zhang, how do you vote? Yes. Member Hill?

[9938] SPEAKER_24: Yes.

[9939] Phuong Nguyen: Member Grindel?

[9940] SPEAKER_24: Yes.

[9941] Phuong Nguyen: And I also vote yes as well. So four ayes.

[9945] SPEAKER_17: Thank you.

[9951] Phuong Nguyen: All right, on to item 12.2, resolution 2021.22.21, overnight field trips, second semester 2021-2022. Dr. Triplett.

[9964] Mark Triplett: Thank you, President Nguyen. So it does feel, I must say, strange to be talking about this agenda item when we are also talking about Omicron and that we're in the middle of a surge. But this is something that we had talked with the board about prior to the new year. And I know we heard from a number of public speakers, teachers, and parents that real interest in continuing with science camp this year. And so what we had said in the fall was that we would hold off on science camps and overnight field trips in the fall because of COVID-19 and that we would reassess in January. And so that's what we're doing is bringing forth this resolution. The recommendation is that we do allow for the spring season, these overnight field trips with these really strict guidelines for COVID. And the reason that we are recommending this is because the county and the state have likewise their guidelines now say that it is OK to go on overnight field trips, provided that the guidelines are followed. And so I know that there is schools very eager to continue with the planning process for science camps. I don't think there's a for sure that there's no science camps planned for January. However, these things require a lot of preparation. And so I know that there are schools that have spoken to me, teachers that have spoken to me that really are looking for the board to make a decision so that they can know whether to continue forward with all of the planning and the communication with families that is required to set up these trips for February and beyond. So my hope is that This is a short-lived surge and thus far the health officials are indicating that that's what they think is going to happen as well. If for whatever reason COVID takes a really bad turn, then the guidelines from the county and the state will reflect that in terms of overnight trips. And so that is all part of this resolution where we're recommending to the board that there's approval of trips in the spring, pending no change in the current guidance from the state and county.

[10122] Phuong Nguyen: Student board member, Rendez Ortiz, do you have any comments?

[10126] SPEAKER_27: Not at the moment, thank you.

[10128] Phuong Nguyen: Member Zhang? Member Hill, you have the floor.

[10133] Aiden Hill: Thank you, Dr. Triplett. So two questions. First, is there an expiration date on this, or is it just until further notice? So that's the first question. And then the second question is, if we do adopt this resolution, will the teachers now be empowered to start planning for this stuff, not only in the spring, but in the fall, et cetera?

[10158] Mark Triplett: Yeah, thank you. Yeah, so this is just intended for this year. unless there's some dramatic negative turn in COVID, then we would anticipate going back to just the regular policies around overnight field trips in the fall. And then your second question was, oh, yeah, this would give basically the green light to teachers to really move forward with the planning.

[10186] Aiden Hill: And so could they even plan you know, further out. I mean, even though this is just for this school year, they could start planning. And then if we needed to update this resolution, you know, for, you know, the fall or whatever, we would be able to do that. Yes, that's correct. OK, thank you.

[10202] Phuong Nguyen: Member Grandel.

[10204] Terrence Grindall: Yes, provided that as as the resolution indicates, the that if the rules, if the rules change, if the recommendations change, that our process changes, then I have no problem with this.

[10217] Phuong Nguyen: I'm also in support of this resolution. So with that said, may I get a motion to approve?

[10225] Bowen Zhang: I move that we approve the resolution 2021.22.21, overnight field trips.

[10232] Phuong Nguyen: I second the motion. Thank you. So motion made by member Zhang and seconded by student board member Rendise Ortiz. Student board member, how do you vote?

[10242] SPEAKER_27: Yes.

[10245] Phuong Nguyen: Member Zhang?

[10246] SPEAKER_25: Yes.

[10247] Phuong Nguyen: Member Hill?

[10248] SPEAKER_24: Yes.

[10249] Phuong Nguyen: Member Grindell?

[10250] SPEAKER_24: Yes.

[10252] Phuong Nguyen: Myself, yes. Five ayes. Thank you. OK, onto consent agenda, non-personnel items. Oh, sorry. Onto item number 13, consent agenda, personnel items. We have item 13.2, the personnel report. Superintendent? Oh, it's on consent. I'm sorry. Sorry about that. So since the item is on consent, may I get a motion to approve the personnel action?

[10296] Bowen Zhang: I move to ratify the personnel report as presented.

[10299] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you.

[10299] SPEAKER_24: I'll second.

[10301] Phuong Nguyen: So motion moved by, motion made by Member Zhang, seconded by Member Grindell. Member Zhang, how do you vote? Yes. Member Hill? Yes. Member Grindell? Yes. And I'm also yes, so four ayes. Thank you. Okay, on to consent agenda items 4.2, contract and purchase orders authorized under resolution 2020.21-025. delegate authority to procure necessary materials, equipment and services to provide distance and or in-person learning to staff, teachers and students to mitigate the effects of COVID-19. 14.3 resolution 2021.22.19 declaring surplus equipment. 14.4 minutes of the December 16, 2021 special meeting of the board of education and 14.5 minutes of the December 16 regular meeting of the Board of Education. May I get a motion to approve?

[10369] SPEAKER_30: I move to approve.

[10372] Phuong Nguyen: May I get a second?

[10373] SPEAKER_24: I'll second.

[10380] Phuong Nguyen: Motion made by Member Zhang, seconded by Member Grindel. How do you vote, Student Board Member Rendiz-Ortiz?

[10388] SPEAKER_27: Yes.

[10389] Phuong Nguyen: Member Zhang? Yes. Member Hill? Yes. Member Grindel?

[10394] SPEAKER_24: Yes.

[10395] Phuong Nguyen: I myself is a yes also, five ayes. And then on to item 15.1, Board of Education recognition and announcements. Student board member, would you like to start?

[10413] SPEAKER_27: I would like to give a recognition to all the counselors who are still helping students with college apps and all the teachers who are really putting through everything that's going on right now and thriving for our students. I truly appreciate it.

[10428] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you. Member Zhang.

[10430] Bowen Zhang: Happy New Year's. I hope everybody got a great break. Welcome back. Today's January 6th and it's one year anniversary of what happened last year at this date. As a country, I think all of us should do a little self-reflection on what really happened a year ago at this time because in a democratic republic, things like that don't happen very often. And throughout our history, we do have much closer and much more contentious presidential election, particularly the ones after the Civil War. And we never had anything close to this happening. So I wouldn't want to assign blame to anything, but I think this is a day that our entire country should be doing some soul-searching on what happened a year ago.

[10475] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you. Member Hill?

[10479] Aiden Hill: Yes, thank you. So I'm not familiar with all the details of what's happening at our different schools right now as we've come back from break. I can only comment on what's happening at my own school where I'm teaching. And obviously Omicron is very contagious and spreading rapidly. And it's causing a lot of challenges for students. It's causing a lot of challenges for teachers and for the staff that are supporting the teachers. And I just want to give a shout out to all those people that are navigating through this because it is a very challenging issue. I think everywhere and it's very difficult and so I just want to acknowledge everybody's efforts.

[10521] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you. Member Grindel.

[10525] Terrence Grindall: I'd like to echo Member Hill's comments about the people dealing with this surge of Omicron and I have heard that there's reason to believe this is going to be a sort of a short-lived spike and hopefully we can start to put the pandemic in our rearview mirror, but I've said that before and it's been a while. But anyway, so I do want to second, I want to second Member Hill's recognition of that. I also want to recognize the Alameda County Office of Education. Apparently they received this supply of testing kits, and they weren't notified until after the break. So their staff had to come back in from the during the holiday break to make sure that they got to us as quickly as they did. And so I really, I really appreciate that effort.

[10583] Phuong Nguyen: Yes, I too echo the same sentiments as all my fellow board members up here, especially to all the staff, the teachers and the students who are back in school having to deal with this surge and really persevering through the whole process. And then our additional staff to help process the COVID tests that were supplied to us and managed to coordinate and hand those out in a timely manner this week. So just wanted to thank everyone for all their hard work and effort and trying to get through this whole thing together. So thank you for that. And on to 15.2, Board of Education Committee Reports. Is there anything to report from the Mission Valley ROP?

[10639] Bowen Zhang: No, we'll have our meeting probably mid-January for this year.

[10643] Phuong Nguyen: Anything from SELPA?

[10644] Bowen Zhang: Oh, actually, member Grindel will be attending the ROP meeting for me, not me anymore.

[10649] Terrence Grindall: That is correct.

[10651] Bowen Zhang: And I guess, yeah.

[10653] Phuong Nguyen: Anything from SELPA? No. Anything from Teachers Induction Advisory Council? No. Anything from the Audit Committee?

[10665] Aiden Hill: Yes, so I had a chance to have a conversation with Dr. Triplett and Ms.dela Cruz a couple of nights ago regarding delegation of authority, since this was the issue that I brought up and this is what was one of the, I guess, the genesis of this most recent study session. basically I gave them further clarification around what I was looking for. I think that we as a board got a high level viewpoint and how that interacts with the board. But my request was really a much more detailed one because it connects potentially with the audit. And so they've assured me that they're gonna provide reporting around the desktop procedures that show, you know, we saw the high level flow chart, but I requested that they send on The desktop procedure is just so we can understand who specifically, and when I say who, I'm talking about roles, what roles get pulled in at different points in the process, and especially as it relates to dollar amounts and signing authority, and also as it relates to internal controls, so we make sure that, again, everything is copacetic. and that we won't have any material findings from an audit perspective. So I'm looking forward to those reports. So thank you.

[10747] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you, Member Hill. And then lastly, oh, the last two, the Bond Parcel Tax Committee. There's nothing to report yet. Yes?

[10757] Terrence Grindall: No, there's nothing to report.

[10759] Phuong Nguyen: And then the Liaison Committee.

[10762] Terrence Grindall: There is a meeting scheduled for, I believe, the 24th of January.

[10766] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you. And then on to item 15.3, Board of Education requests. Student board member, do you have any requests?

[10775] SPEAKER_27: I don't necessarily have a request. And I don't believe where this falls under, I suppose, perhaps a discussion. But I was wondering what goes on with the request that the public comment does have. I forgot the word that they request. A certain, ooh, the word just crossed my mind.

[10798] Phuong Nguyen: Are you talking when they make a public comment, why can't we respond?

[10802] SPEAKER_27: No, I'm wondering the things they request. Oh, the public records request? Yes, public records request, what's going on with that, and if there's any way we can better the process of getting things out to the public.

[10815] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you. Member Zhang?

[10818] Bowen Zhang: No request.

[10819] Phuong Nguyen: Member Hill?

[10822] Aiden Hill: Yeah, I'd like to make two requests. So one is related to the Public Records Act requests. And this has been kind of an ongoing issue, you know, for much of last year and now into this year. And I think that the only way that we can make sure we get our arms around it is to be able to track it. And so I'd like to make a request that on a monthly basis we get a report of all of the public records requests that have been submitted and then the dates and then sort of the status so we can make sure that we're following basically the law in abiding by that. So that's my first request. And then the second request is when we looked at the COVID update from Dr. Triplett, there was good information talking about the number of sites where we're doing testing and then also the vaccination rate. But one piece of data that's missing, and I think that would be very helpful, is actually where we are finding positive tests and being able to report that at a minimum at a site level on a monthly basis and then ideally even at sort of a classroom level and obviously we can keep the personally identifiable information private. I don't think we need to do that but I think that this would be very helpful in understanding how prevalent the virus is and where we're seeing outbreaks. I think it will help with contact tracing and it will also help the board if we see that there's an issue and maybe taking you know, additional action or suggesting additional action. So those are my two requests. So reporting both on CPRA requests, as well as reporting on positive COVID tests.

[10931] Phuong Nguyen: So do we have consensus on the first request from Member Hill?

[10935] Bowen Zhang: Yeah, I think the CPRA superintendent report once a month, I think that that should be fair. So the board can also keep track whether we are at any risk of potential litigation over that. That's for the first one.

[10950] Phuong Nguyen: Member Grindel?

[10951] Terrence Grindall: Yeah, I was going to say I'd like to hear from I'd like to hear from staff whether it's at this time or at a further follow-up as to what the impact would be and whether the impact on staff effort would be as well as whether or not this what's being requested by Member Hill is something we can do legally.

[10972] Phuong Nguyen: For item one or item?

[10974] Terrence Grindall: Item one.

[10975] Phuong Nguyen: Okay.

[10979] Mark Triplett: Just so I'm understanding, is that the consensus of the board is to come back with... No, we don't have consensus yet.

[10987] Terrence Grindall: I was looking for information either tonight or later about what the impact of the list of PRA requests would be on your staff effort and whether or not it's appropriate and legal to do so. If you could speak to it now, that's great. Otherwise, a report back would make sense.

[11008] Mark Triplett: Yeah, I think we would need to... report back on that.

[11011] Phuong Nguyen: Okay, so it's 2-2.

[11017] SPEAKER_22: At this point there's no consensus, but it sounds like Member Grindel is asking for additional information. Correct. So if the remain, the other two more members agree with additional information, then this can come back.

[11035] Bowen Zhang: So member Grindel, when you say additional information, you want to do it in a superintendent report or just a staff report?

[11040] Terrence Grindall: I would leave that up to the superintendent. Sorry, I would leave that up to the superintendent.

[11046] Bowen Zhang: Because six or seven months ago, there was a superintendent report where we did talk about the information about CPRA. So that was something I was expecting.

[11056] Terrence Grindall: My question is, maybe I should be more clear. My question is what the impact on staffing, on staff effort, as well as any challenges legally and procedurally.

[11069] Bowen Zhang: Yeah, that's fine with me as well.

[11072] Aiden Hill: And I'd like to just comment that fulfilling these requests is a legal requirement. And we are obviously in breach of duty there, and we've been in breach of duty for a long period of time. And so I think it is our right and our responsibility to make sure that that gets driven down because we hear this, we literally get emails all the time and we hear this in every board meeting. And the only way that we're gonna be able to address that is to start to get a handle on status and watching that status go down. And I think that we can certainly omit any particular detail that is private, but simply being able to identify here's a request, here's the date that it came in, and here's the status, and when is it due, and when do we actually start violating CPRA rules. I think it's as simple as that.

[11127] Phuong Nguyen: So do we have consensus for a report out before we decide on whether or not the request for the report is made?

[11138] Terrence Grindall: Well, I agree with that, that there be a report before we make a decision.

[11144] Phuong Nguyen: Do we remember?

[11145] SPEAKER_27: I agree on that as well.

[11147] Phuong Nguyen: OK, great. So we have consensus for a report out prior to making a decision. Thank you. And then on the second item in regards to identifying the location of the positive COVID cases at school sites, do we have consensus on that?

[11166] Mark Triplett: Sorry, if I may, I believe this was something that came up prior and that the board already made consensus on not wanting that information. And I will say, I mean, I can go back and explain again why we don't give that information and why, yeah, I'm happy to explain that again if the board wishes to go over this again.

[11190] Bowen Zhang: I guess it has to do with if you report one particular site that say has a lot of COVID cases, the problem is you are raising social stigma about that particular school site. That's number two. If let's say one school site only have one or two COVID cases, even without identifying the name and person on a school, you sort of are identifying the person because everybody knows that one person is the one that got COVID.

[11212] Jodi Croce: Yes.

[11213] Aiden Hill: That's correct. Thank you. So I'd just like to, again, circumstances change, right? Obviously, we're dealing with a very contagious situation here. The only way, again, that you solve any problem is through data. And I think we can put protections in to, again, avoid identifying individuals. And even if it's just at the site level, but if the state were taking the same type of approach and saying, well, we can't actually measure what's going on in a particular city because we've got you know, again, who knows, maybe lower socioeconomic status and somehow that's stigmatizing people, then we would never, the state would never be able to get its arms around the situation and be able to solve it. And so I think in our situation, we have to see what's going on and to identify what potential types of mitigations need to be put in place.

[11265] Phuong Nguyen: Okay. Member Grindel?

[11267] Terrence Grindall: The staff is already looking at that information and uses their professional judgment. And I'm comfortable with that approach. I don't I don't support the idea of disclosing on a site level for the reasons stated by the superintendent and member member Zhang. I don't support I don't support the idea of proposing of listing the particular sites and their impacts. We have we have periodically received information about the overall rate of infection in our school district, and that's appropriate, but I don't, for the reasons already stated by President Nguyen and Member Zhang, I don't think we should be doing, I don't think we should be doing a school-by-school report.

[11314] Phuong Nguyen: And again, there is no consensus at this time, so can I just make one comment?

[11319] Aiden Hill: I don't think that we're done discussing, excuse me, pardon me,

[11323] Phuong Nguyen: There is no consensus.

[11324] Aiden Hill: So ma'am, ma'am, I'm still making my case, OK?

[11328] Phuong Nguyen: We've already went through this.

[11330] Aiden Hill: So ma'am, per Robert's Rules of Order, I'm allowed a rebuttal. OK, per Robert's Rules of Order, so I'm providing a rebuttal. So my comment here is if we're concerned about we have an oversight responsibility, we do not delegate everything. We have an oversight responsibility. There's a difference between delegation and oversight. If we're worried about sensitive information, can we put this report in closed session?

[11364] Phuong Nguyen: There's no consensus, so therefore we're moving on to item 16.1, superintendent concluding comments, updates, and future agenda items.

[11374] Mark Triplett: Thank you, President Nguyen. So I did want to just point out that we do release the case rates every week. It's on our website. It's public, so anybody can see that. But we don't do it by school nor by classroom. Just wanted to end by Again, deeply appreciating our school site staff, the office staff, between contact tracing and receiving families in and students coming to the office, our teachers and all they're doing right now in the classroom. all of our support staff, as well as all of our district office staff who have been going out to schools, subbing in classrooms, helping in any way they can. It's just tremendous. And this is the only way that we're going to get through this is if we're all in this together. And so really, really deeply appreciate them. And I will say, I myself have been out to classes and to schools. And when I interact with the young people, I was at BGP today, as well as Kennedy. And just seeing the young people, seeing them there, seeing them learning, interacting with each other, it makes it all worthwhile. It's just tremendous to have our students being able to be in school and in person. So thank you.

[11455] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you. With that, we move on to item 17, adjournment. May I get a motion to adjourn? I move to adjourn the meeting. I second. Motion made by member Zhang, seconded by myself. How do you vote, student board member?

[11472] Carina Plancarte: Yes.

[11473] Phuong Nguyen: Member Zhang? Yes. Member Hill? Yes. Member Grindel? Yes. And myself as a yes. So five ayes. Thank you. Meeting adjourned at 8.05 PM.

1. CALL TO ORDER

Meeting Practices and Information

Type Information, Procedural IN-PERSON MEETING INFORMATION

NUSD has opened its boardroom for in-person meetings and will follow the State's and Alameda County's safety guidelines for public gatherings. Please refrain from attending in-person meetings if you have any of the following symptoms: Loss of taste/smell Difficulty breathing Vomiting Diarrhea Fever Cough Headache Sore Throat Runny Nose

For additional COVID-19 information please go to https://www.newarkunified.org/covid-19 or https://www.acoe.org/guidance

OBSERVE THE BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING

Members of the public may observe the meeting via the NUSD YouTube Channel, live transmission on Comcast Channel 26, or in- person at the NUSD Boardroom. Spanish translation will be available via Zoom.

PUBLIC COMMENT

The public will have the opportunity to address the Board of Education regarding non-agendized matters and agendized items with a live audio-only comment via Zoom with advance notice requested by email at PUBLICCOMMENT@newarkunified.org, a written comment by submitting a speaking card via email at PUBLICCOMMENT@newarkunified.org, or with live in-person comments by submitting a speaker-card with the Executive Assistant.

Roll Call

Type Procedural TRUSTEES:

President Bowen Zhang Vice President/Clerk Phuong Nguyen Member Aiden Hill Member Terrence Grindall Member Alicia Marquez

STUDENT BOARD MEMBER:

Member Estaina Resendiz Ortiz

2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Approval of the Agenda

Type Action

Recommended It is recommended that the Board of Education approve the agenda for this meeting. Action PURPOSE:

Members of the Governance Team may request that the agenda be amended or approved as presented.

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

Motion by Bowen Zhang, second by Terrence Grindall.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Phuong Nguyen, Terrence Grindall, Aiden Hill, Bowen Zhang
Not Present at Vote: Estaina Resendiz-Ortiz

3. STUDY SESSION

Board Policies on Purchasing and Contracts

Type Discussion, Information PURPOSE:

To review Board Policies and Administrative Regulations related to purchasing and contracts.

BACKGROUND:

Warrant Reports are provided to the Board on a monthly basis.

Contracts for professional services over $10,000, but under one-half the current bid limit for purchases of equipment, materials or supplies, are reported to the Board on a quarterly basis.

Staff will provide an overview of the Board Policies and Administrative Regulations related to the Warrant and Contract Reports presented to the Board.

4. CLOSED SESSION

Public Comment on Closed Session Items

Type Information PURPOSE:

The Board of Education encourages the community's participation in its deliberations and has tried to make it convenient to express their views to the Board. If a constituent wishes to address the Board on any agenda item, please fill out a virtual speaker card via email at PUBLICCOMMENT@newarkunified.org.

PUBLIC EMPLOYEE DISCIPLINE/DISMISSAL/RELEASE (Gov. Code, � 54957, subd. (b)(1))

Type Action, Information, Procedural

PURPOSE:

Information will be provided by the Superintendent and Executive Director of Human Resources.

CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATORS (Gov. Code, � 54957.6, subd. (a): Employee Organizations - NTA and CSEA

Type Action, Information, Procedural PURPOSE:

Information may be provided by the agency negotiator, Executive Director of Human Resources. Assistance from the legal firm Dannis, Woliver, Kelley, Attorneys at Law may be provided.

The employee organizations include NTA & CSEA.

CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATORS (Gov. Code, � 54957.6, subd. (a)): Employee Group - NEWMA, Unrepresented Supervisors, and Contracted Management

Type Action, Information, Procedural PURPOSE:

Information may be provided by the agency negotiator, the Executive Director of Human Resources, and the Superintendent. Assistance from legal firm Dannis, Woliver, Kelley, Attorneys at Law may be provided.

The employee organizations include NEWMA, Unrepresented Supervisors, and Contracted Management

CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL � ANTICIPATED LITIGATION Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to Gov. Code, � 54956.9, subd. (d)[(2) or (3)]

Type Action, Information, Procedural PURPOSE:

Information may be provided regarding significant exposure to litigation pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 54956.9: One case

Recess to Closed Session

Type Procedural PURPOSE:

The Board will recess to Closed Session, and reconvene to Open Session on or about 7:00 p.m.

5. RECONVENE TO OPEN SESSION

Pledge of Allegiance

Type Procedural PURPOSE:

The Governance Team will recite the Pledge of Allegiance

6. REPORT OF CLOSED SESSION ACTIONS

Report of Closed Session Actions

Type Action, Procedural PURPOSE:

If available, a report of the closed session will be provided by the Board President.

7. STUDENT REPORT

Student Reports from Newark Junior High School, Alternative Education, and Newark Memorial High School

Type Discussion, Information PURPOSE:

At regular Board of Education meetings, a spokesperson of each secondary school may make a brief presentation.

Discussion items may include updates, celebrations, and upcoming events.

1. Newark Junior High School - Mohammen Lulu and Poorvi Sharma

2. Alternative Education - Alexis Blanco-Barron

3. Newark Memorial High School - Estaina Resendiz-Ortiz

8. EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATIONS

Employee Organizations

Type Information PURPOSE:

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

BACKGROUND:

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

1. NTA: Sean Abruzzi

2. CSEA: Sue Eustice

3. NEWMA: Vicenta Ditto

9. RECOGNITIONS AND CELEBRATIONS

Staff Spotlight

Type Information PURPOSE:

To recognize the wonderful accomplishments of our NUSD Team.

BACKGROUND:

The presentation will be provided by the Superintendent.

10. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS

Public Comment on Non-Agenda Items

Type Procedural PURPOSE:

The Board of Education encourages the community's participation in its deliberations and has tried to make it convenient to express their views to the Board.

BACKGROUND:

Please see the instructions 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=C4Q2D4019F40

11. SUPERINTENDENT REPORT

Superintendent Report

Type Information PURPOSE:

The superintendent will provide the Board of Education with district information, updates, news, or anything in the jurisdiction of the board or the superintendent.

BACKGROUND:

The presentation and information will be provided by the Superintendent

12. NEW BUSINESS

Increase in Minimum Wage

Type Action

Recommended The recommendation is that the Board approve the revised hourly pay rates for classified non- Action management, unrepresented employees as presented to comply with the increase in minimum wage effective January 1, 2022. PURPOSE:

To update the rates for classified unrepresented employees to comply with the increase in the minimum wage from $14.00 to $15.00 per hour effective January 1, 2022.

POSITION CURRENT RATE NEW RATE Campus Monitor, Elementary $14.00 $15.00 Classified Substitute - Food Service Assistant $14.00 $15.00 Classified Substitute - Child Care Attendant $14.00 $15.00 Student Assistant $14.00 $15.00

BACKGROUND:

    The State of California minimum wage will increase from $14.00 to $15.00 per hour effective January 1, 2022.
    The hourly rates for the Elementary School Campus Monitor, Student Assistant, and Classified Substitute positions for the
    Food Service Assistant and Child Care Attendant are currently below the new minimum wage.
    All classified CSEA unit employees are currently paid above the minimum wage.

Motion & Voting The recommendation is that the Board approve the revised hourly pay rates for classified non-management, unrepresented employees as presented to comply with the increase in minimum wage effective January 1, 2022.

Motion by Bowen Zhang, second by Terrence Grindall.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Phuong Nguyen, Terrence Grindall, Aiden Hill, Bowen Zhang
Abstain: Estaina Resendiz-Ortiz

Resolution 2021.22.21 Overnight Field Trips (Second Semester 2021-2022)

Type Action

Recommended The recommendation is that the Board of Education approve the Resolution 2021.22.21 Action Overnight Field Trips. PURPOSE:

The purpose of this resolution is for the Board of Education to approve a resolution adopting new safety guidelines for overnight field trips for the second semester of the 2021-2022 academic school year in alignment with Alameda County Public Health Department guidance.

BACKGROUND:

Many of our Newark Unified schools make plans for outdoor overnight experiences. Most notably, many of our 5th grade students get the incredible opportunity to attend "Science Camp" as a longstanding NUSD tradition. These experiences are seminal educational experiences and align with the district's focus on environmental literacy.

However, during the past eighteen months, the COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted these types of enrichment opportunities due to local, state, and federal safety protocols. Safety protocols, such as mask-wearing and social distancing, have resulted in the cancellation of overnight field trips during this time.

Although the Covid-19 pandemic continues, we know more than we did a year ago about how to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 and its variants, thus in December of 2021 Alameda County Public Health Department (ACPHD) released new school-sponsored overnight field trip guidance in alignment with new regulations and learning.

We are excited and eager for students to have outdoor educational experiences once again and are deeply committed to growing Science Camp programming vertically and horizontally across NUSD. If passed, this resolution will allow schools to attend overnight field trips during the second semester of the 2021-2022 academic year with specific ACPHD safety guidelines in place (for both students and chaperones) that will promote the safety of all attendees.

File Attachments NUSD Board Resolution No. 2021-22-21- Travel Guidelines During COVID-19.pdf (249 KB)

Motion & Voting The recommendation is that the Board of Education approve the Resolution 2021.22.21 Overnight Field Trips.

Motion by Bowen Zhang, second by Estaina Resendiz-Ortiz.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Phuong Nguyen, Terrence Grindall, Aiden Hill, Estaina Resendiz-Ortiz, Bowen Zhang

13. CONSENT AGENDA: PERSONNEL ITEMS

PLACEHOLDER - One Consented Vote

Type Action

Recommended It is recommended that the Board of Education approve, under one consented vote, the Action agenda items under Consent-Personnel, except for agenda items: PURPOSE: (This is specifically a placeholder, and will only be used if multiple agenda items are approved under a consented vote.)

BACKGROUND: Items within the Consent Agenda are considered routine and will be approved, adopted, or ratified by a single motion and action. There will not be a separate discussion of these items; however, any item may be pulled from the Consent Agenda upon the request of any member of the Board and acted upon separately.

Personnel Report

Type Action

Absolute Date Jan 06, 2022

Recommended The recommendation is that the Board of Education ratify the personnel report as presented. Action All personnel activities including new hires, changes in status, resignation, leaves, and retirements are routinely submitted to the Board for ratification.

File Attachments HR PAL 01-06-2022.pdf (222 KB)

Motion & Voting The recommendation is that the Board of Education ratify the personnel report as presented.

Motion by Bowen Zhang, second by Terrence Grindall.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Phuong Nguyen, Terrence Grindall, Aiden Hill, Bowen Zhang
Abstain: Estaina Resendiz-Ortiz

14. CONSENT AGENDA: NON-PERSONNEL ITEMS

PLACEHOLDER - One Consented Vote

Type Action

Recommended It is recommended that the Board of Education approve, under one consented vote, the Action agenda items under Consent Non-Personnel, except for agenda items: PURPOSE: (This is specifically a placeholder, and will only be used if multiple agenda items are approved under a consented vote.)

BACKGROUND: Items within the Consent Agenda are considered routine and will be approved, adopted, or ratified by a single motion and action. There will not be a separate discussion of these items; however, any item may be pulled from the Consent Agenda upon the request of any member of the Board and acted upon separately.

Motion & Voting It is recommended that the Board of Education approve, under one consented vote, the agenda items under Consent Non- Personnel.

Motion by Bowen Zhang, second by Terrence Grindall.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Phuong Nguyen, Terrence Grindall, Aiden Hill, Estaina Resendiz-Ortiz, Bowen Zhang

Contracts and Purchase Orders Authorized under Resolution 2020.21-025 (Delegate Authority to Procure Necessary Materials, Equipment and Services to Provide Distance and/or In-Person Learning for Staff, Teachers, and Students to Mitigate the Effects of Covid-19)

Type Action

Fiscal Impact Yes

Budgeted Yes

Recommended The recommendation is that the Board of Education accept the update on costs associated Action with the implementation of Resolution 2020.21-025 (Resolution of the Board of Education of the Newark Unified School District to Delegate Authority to Procure Necessary Materials, Equipment and Services to Provide Distance and/or In-Person Learning for Staff, Teachers, and Students to Mitigate the Effects of Covid-19) PURPOSE:

To update the Board on costs associated with the implementation of Resolution 2020.21-025 (Resolution of the Board of Education of the Newark Unified School District to Delegate Authority to Procure Necessary Materials, Equipment and Services to Provide Distance and/or In-Person Learning for Staff, Teachers, and Students to Mitigate the Effects of Covid-19) from December 1, 2021, through December 31, 2021.

BACKGROUND:

On April 1, 2021, the Newark Unified School District Board approved Resolution 2020.21-025 delegating authority to the Superintendent or designee to procure necessary materials, equipment, and services that are needed to provide distance and/or in-person learning to mitigate the effects of Covid-19. Language in the resolution states "the Superintendent/Designee shall make periodic reports to the Board of Education and the public regarding implementation of this resolution and the costs associated therewith"; requiring the update provided here.

On September 16, 2021, Amended Resolution 2020.21-025 was approved. The amendment extends it to on or around June 30, 2022, and states that updates will be presented at the first Board meeting of each month.

Updates have been provided to the Board June 17, 2021, for contracts and purchase orders between April 2, 2021, and May 31, 2021 October 7, 2021, for contracts and purchase orders between June 1, 2021, and September 30, 2021 November 4, 2021, for contracts and purchase orders between October 1, 2021, and October 31, 2021 December 6, 2021, for contracts and purchase orders between November 1, 2021, and November 30, 2021

VENDOR DATE PO NUMBER DESCRIPTION AMOUNT N/A *

*There were no contracts or purchase orders to report for the period of December 1, 2021, through December 31, 2021.

Resolution 2021.22.19 Declaring Surplus Equipment

Type Action

Recommended The recommendation is that the Board of Education approve Resolution 2021.22.19 Declaring Action Surplus Equipment. PURPOSE:

The purpose of this item is to obtain Board approval of Resolution 2021.22.19 Declaring Surplus Equipment, which lists items to be declared as surplus equipment as recommended.

BACKGROUND:

Surplus materials will be disposed of per Board Policy and Administrative Regulation 3270 Sale And Disposal Of Books, Equipment And Supplies (Personal Property) which states in part that if the Governing Board, by a unanimous vote of those members present, finds that the property, whether one or more items, does not exceed the value of $2,500, it may be sold at private sale without advertising, by a District employee empowered for that purpose by the Board; the property may be donated to a charitable organization, or it may be disposed of in a public disposal facility (Education Code 17546).

The personal property as described in Resolution 2021.22.19 includes equipment used in the Information Technology Department. Staff determined that items are obsolete and/or beyond economic repair.

File Attachments Resolution 2021.22.19 Declaring Surplus Equipment with Exhibit A.pdf (745 KB)

Minutes of the December 16, 2021 Special Meeting of the Board of Education

Type Action, Minutes

Recommended The recommendation is that the Board of Education approve the minutes of December 16, Action 2021, Special Meeting of the Board of Education. PURPOSE:

For the board to review and approve the minutes

BACKGROUND:

The attached minutes are reflective of the December 16, 2021, Special Meeting of the Board of Education. The meeting may be viewed on the NUSD YouTube Channel HERE

Minutes of the December 16, 2021 Regular Meeting of the Board of Education

Type Action, Minutes

Recommended The recommendation is that the Board of Education approve the minutes of December 16, Action 2021, Regular Meeting of the Board of Education. PURPOSE:

For the board to review and approve the minutes

BACKGROUND:

The attached minutes are reflective of the December 16, 2021, Regular Meeting of the Board of Education. The meeting may be viewed on the NUSD YouTube Channel HERE

15. BOARD OF EDUCATION: COMMITTEE REPORTS, REQUESTS, AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Board of Education Recognitions and Announcements

Type Information PURPOSE:

The Trustees may acknowledge or recognize specific programs, activities, or personnel at this time.

Board of Education Committee Reports

Type Information PURPOSE:

The Trustees will provide an update, if available, on the committees of which they are members.

BACKGROUND:

Each year the Board of Education members liaise with schools and committees in order to build relationships, hear from staff, students, and families, and act as a conduit for information to and from the schools.

Board Committees 2020-21

Board Adopted on 12/16/21 Representative Alternate

Mission Valley Regional Occupational Center/Program (ROC/P) 1. Terrence Grindall 1. Bowen Zhang Executive Board

Regional Policy Board of Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) 1. Bowen Zhang 1. Alicia Marquez

Newark Teacher Induction Advisory Council (Formally EBIC) 1. Alicia Marquez 1. Aiden Hill

                                               1. Alicia Marquez

Audit Committee 2. Aiden Hill 1. Terrence Grindall

                                               1. Terrence Grindall

Bond/Parcel Tax Committee 2. Phuong Nguyen 1. Bowen Zhang

City of Newark � NUSD Liaison 1. Phuong Nguyen Committee 2. Terrence Grindall 1. Bowen Zhang

Board of Education Requests

Type Action, Discussion, Information PURPOSE:

This is an opportunity for the Board of Education to suggest items for placement on future agendas and to review Board requests.

Approval from the majority of the Board will be required for direction to be provided to the Superintendent.

BACKGROUND:

The following derives directly from the Board approved "Governance Team Handbook"

Authority is Collective, Not Individual: The only authority to direct action rests with the Board as a whole when seated at a regular or special board meeting. Outside of this meeting, there is no authority. A majority Board vote provides direction to the Superintendent. Board members will not undermine the ability of staff to carry out Board direction.

Bringing New Ideas Forward The Board will be open to having "brainstorming" discussions, or study sessions, around any idea that a Trustee may feel merits exploratory consideration. "New Ideas" are defined as any proposal brought forward by a Trustee, at their initiative or at the request of a constituent, which was previously discussed during a board meeting. Trustees will first notify the Board President and Superintendent of their interest in bringing forward a new idea at a board meeting. When initially agendized, the preliminary discussion of a new idea will not require staff research time. Initially, staff will be expected to respond to new ideas based on current knowledge. Only a majority of the Board may direct the Superintendent to conduct research regarding the exploration of a new idea. The Superintendent will decide on the delegation of assignments to District staff. The new idea may be agendized for discussion only. The Board majority will decide if the new idea should be further developed and studied by staff. The Board majority will decide if staff time should be invested in the "fleshing out" of new ideas. Individual Trustees, in the course of interactions with constituents, will be careful not to make or imply the commitment of the full Board to explore or proceed with implementing new ideas.

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

Superintendent's Concluding Comments, Updates, and Future Agenda Items

                       AGENDA REQUESTS

Type Information PURPOSE:

This is an opportunity for the Superintendent to make any concluding comments, updates, agenda requests, or provide information of future meetings.

17. ADJOURNMENT

PLACEHOLDER - Extend Meeting

Type Action

Recommended The recommendation is that the Board of Education extends the meeting to ____P.M. Action PURPOSE:

This is a placeholder, only to be used if the Board adds a motion and action to extend the meeting.

Adjournment

Type Action, Procedural

Recommended The recommendation is that the Board of Education adjourns this meeting. Action PURPOSE:

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.

This action will conclude the meeting.

Motion & Voting The recommendation is that the Board of Education adjourns this meeting 8:05pm

Motion by Bowen Zhang, second by Phuong Nguyen.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Phuong Nguyen, Terrence Grindall, Aiden Hill, Estaina Resendiz-Ortiz, Bowen Zhang

No minutes available.