Regular Meeting

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[84] Phuong Nguyen: Good evening and welcome to the March 3rd Newark Unified School District Board of Education meeting. In regards to public meetings, we are holding in-person board meetings at our district boardroom and are following the state's and Alameda County's safety guidelines for public gathering. Please refrain from attending in-person meeting if you have COVID related symptoms. If you're not able to attend the meeting in person, you may observe the meeting via the NUSD YouTube channel, live transmission on Comcast channel 26, and there is Spanish translation via Zoom. Public comments, if you are attending in person, you may fill out a public comment sheet at the back of the boardroom and submit it to our executive assistant and she will get that to us. If you'd like to request a public comment, via Zoom, please submit your public comments to publiccomment at NewarkUnified.org. Okay, thank you. Roll call, please, Ms. Gutierrez.

[150] SPEAKER_33: Member DeJong.

[153] SPEAKER_39: Here.

[153] SPEAKER_33: Member Marquez. Here. Member Hill.

[156] SPEAKER_39: Here.

[157] SPEAKER_33: Vice President Grindle.

[158] SPEAKER_39: Here.

[159] SPEAKER_33: President Nguyen. Here. All present.

[162] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you. On to approval of agenda. Yes, Member Hill.

[168] Aiden Hill: Could I make a request regarding the agenda, just the order of items? So we've got agenda item 12.4, which is the second interim report. But before that are 12.2 and 12.3, which are resolutions. And I'd like to request that we move 12.4 before those, since obviously the resolutions are tied to the results of the interim budget or financials. So I'd like to make a request that we move the resolutions after we hear the report.

[207] Bowen Zhang: I second that request. So I'll move the agenda with the switching of 12.4 ahead of 12.2 and 12.3.

[216] Phuong Nguyen: So we have a motion to make adjustments to the agenda. I second. And motion made by Member Zhang, seconded by Member Hill. Please, we will rearrange item 2.4 to go ahead of 2.2. How do you vote? I'm sorry, 12.2. So please move item 12.4 in front of 12.2. Thank you for the clarification, Ms. Delacruz. Member Zhang, how do you vote?

[253] SPEAKER_39: Yes.

[254] Phuong Nguyen: Member Marquez? Yes. Member Hill? Yes. Member Grindel? Yes. And I am a yes as well, so five ayes. Okay, on to closed session items. 3.1 will be in closed session. Is there any public comments on closed session? No, okay. In closed session we will be discussing 3.2 public employee discipline dismissal release, 3.3 conference with labor negotiators, 3.4 conference with labor negotiator, oh I'm sorry, 3.3 conference with labor negotiators NTA and CSCA, 3.4 conference with labor negotiators NEWMA, and 3.5 conference with legal counsel anticipated litigation. 3.6 conference with legal counsel existing litigation. And now we will be recessing to closed session. Thank you and welcome everyone to tonight's open session meeting. We just came back out of closed session and we'll be reporting out. There is one item to report out on item. 3.2 Public Employee Discipline Dismissal. The board took action on a vote of five ayes to release and reassign a certain Certificated Administrator, employee ID number 3612, effective at the end of the 21-22 school year. The superintendent or designee is directed to provide the required notice to the employee per Ed Code 44951. Thank you. And please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. Please begin. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. On to item 6.1, student report from Newark Junior High School, Alternative Education and Newark Memorial.

[3794] SPEAKER_33: Do we have our... Can we start off with the high school student? Sure.

[3799] Phuong Nguyen: Hello, student board member Estina. Hello. Please go ahead.

[3809] SPEAKER_37: All right. Good evening, fellow board members. We are 91 days away until school ends. And saying that, North Memorial High has been busier than ever. We are currently working on finalizing our HATS multicultural assembly standing for hands across time and space, during school and after school hours for the first time. We invite you to our evening assembly on March 11th at 7 p.m. for parents and other family members, where a variety of clubs will be performing, including the K-Pop Club, the Teijin Club, Creators University, and so many more. This is a beautiful event, and my bad. I truly encourage everyone to attend. Additionally, the class of 2023 will be having a Chipotle fundraiser at Newark this Saturday, so please attend if you can. Furthermore, the ASB class is currently planning the Cougar Olympics, where fellow students from different grades compete against each other in fun and creative games, so stay tuned for that as well. Moving on to athletics, there has been so much going on. We are proud to announce the senior Nico Barajas won third place in the NCS Championships last weekend, and in doing so, has earned a spot to compete in the State Wrestling Championships Tournament. Additionally, Taka Barberi placed sixth at the NCS Championships last weekend. Hence, all Cougar wrestlers were absolutely amazing. Furthermore, NMHS, JV, and Varsity Boys Soccer Team are MVAL champions, with an MVAL Boys Soccer League MVP, Diego Ochoa. Last but certainly not least, our girls soccer team also had a couple of first-team all-league selections, including Chiara Gutierrez and Ashley Amaya. And four second-term all-league selections, including Lainey Lombana, Kylie Gutierrez, Sophia Lowe, and Mikayla Soriano. Thank you so much.

[3919] Phuong Nguyen: OK, on to our next speaker.

[3924] SPEAKER_33: President Nguyen, can we come back to them? I think just give them some time to log on and I can let you know. Okay.

[3929] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you. We will move on to 7.1 staff spotlight. Dr. Triplett.

[3937] Mark Triplett: Thank you, President Nguyen. Good evening, board members, staff and community. We would like to celebrate three staff members this evening. If we could put up the slide deck, please. So in each of our different labor organizations, starting with Ms. Yesenia Pinedo, she is the community liaison at Music Elementary. And Yesenia goes above and beyond to support students, staff, and families, not just at Music, but at many sites in the district. She's kind, she makes all feel welcome and supported, and she is the heart of Music. We've also had her, I believe, here and at some other engagements supporting with translation. So please join me in appreciating Yesenia Pinedo. So that is appreciation from our, regarding our CSCA staff. We wanted to also celebrate Ms. Lisa Meyer. She is a fifth grade teacher at Birch Grove Intermediate. She's also a long time sixth grade teacher. She is a long time member of the SSC. She supports new teachers and veterans alike. She's committed to pushing her own practice. I had the pleasure of being in her class many months ago and saw her engaging with students around really amazing art projects. And she has been one of the tremendous leads on the science camp. So she was up there at Camp Campbell just last week with the fifth graders. So an amazing teacher and we're grateful that she's a part of our family. Please join me in appreciating Lisa. And last but certainly not least, Ms. Holoka, who goes by Bree. She is one of our behavior specialists. So she works at many different schools throughout the district. A longtime Newark employee, a parent in the district. She works closely with staff. She provides support and training to principals, aides, and teachers, really focusing on positive behavior and supporting students to make good decisions. So, tremendous support across the district and we're really grateful to have her on our team as well. Please join me in appreciating Brie. And she's a member of the NEWMA organization. And those are our staff spotlights for this evening.

[4108] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you, Dr. Triplett. On to item 7.2, school spotlight, New Memorial High School, Dr. Triplett.

[4120] Mark Triplett: Thank you, President Nguyen. So I'm delighted to introduce Principal Rangel. So she is going to be presenting all of the tremendous work that is going on at Newark Memorial. And I think she has some great props slash student artwork to share, as well as all of the different things that are happening there at the school. So I'll turn it over to her.

[4148] Olivia Rangel: Thank you. Good evening, Board President Nguyen, Board of Trustees, Superintendent Triplett, and Executive Cabinet. I'm Olivia Rangel. I'm the principal of the Flagship High School, which I'm going to highlight this evening. At Newark Memorial, we want to meet our students' needs. As you can see, we leverage district goals to make progress on academics. At Newark, we are in our eighth year of implementation of PBIS, in which our students are expected to show pride on campus, participation, respect, integrity, drive, and excellence, not just on campus, but also in the community and in the classroom. We acknowledge students who are highlighting, who do use these attributes through either weekly student spotlights through communication or by earning tickets so that they can be chosen for different prizes or even for an ice cream social. We had 349 students acknowledged for principals honor roll in the first semester and 288 in which they earned certificates and cupcakes. We also have our students acknowledge our staff members as well. At Newark Memorial, we want to engage our students in meaningful learning. We've had our teachers embed new technological skills that they learned over the pandemic, as well as student engagement strategies chosen by departments. As you can see around the room, we have Mr. Vontae's Spanish classes who brought us some pinatas and some artwork that they did. We also have Mr. Dominguez using his geometry students to bring items to scale. So those aren't just art projects. They actually, if you could see the Skittles box. We have our rockets from our rocketry group, and we'll talk about that a little bit more later. We have AP US history, I believe, in the back, and then also photography. Here you can see students engaging in modules in their sports anatomy class to really assess for learning and their understanding. There is a video. I'm hoping it shows. This was done in one of our media community

[4287] SPEAKER_15: It has come to my attention that I could possibly be drafted into the military. I purchased a journal just in case I get picked, but I really hope I won't be using it. But if I do get picked, I just want to say, Mom, I love you, and Pa, I hope you're doing all right. So please, RNG guys, I'm praying that you don't pick me for the war. Hello.

[4308] Sean Abruzzi: Are you Mr. Rosenberg? Yes, I am Mr. Rosenberg.

[4312] Olivia Rangel: You'll have access to this so you can watch the rest later. It's a long video. But just a different way of students showing their knowledge in the class. Be your mom and dad. I didn't realize I had access. There we go. There we go. Thank you. Tonight I'd like to present a more accurate data of our student level and performances. Students were able to take this assessment after being in person for over two months in October. So our 10th grade students, 48% met the English goals and benchmarks, and 18% met it in math. Our 11th grade students performed a little bit higher, 52% met the benchmark in English, and 26% met it in math. As you can see, we're a little bit closer to those state averages, but we still have some work to do. For students who are not meeting those standards, we do have a couple of support teams in place. We've had 252 referrals to our cost team, in which 100% are connected to some support, but 84 have been connected to a tier three support, which could mean more in-depth counseling, one-to-one counseling. We also have a student advisory team for students who are not performing academically well and may need some more intensive services, such as a 504 plan or an IEP. And so our team meets weekly to discuss students who are brought forward. We meet our students' needs in a variety of other ways. I won't list them all, but I want to draw your attention to PAWS. PAWS is an embedded time in the middle of the day for an equitable approach to tutorial, because it is in the day. Our students do get to choose which one of their classes they want to go receive help in. This year, we've added an additional level, which is called the PAWS Advisory, which students who are getting two Ds or Fs were assigned to a course. Now, they had to buy into that, but they were assigned to a teacher who can provide more individualized help with accessing their Google Classroom and really making the one-to-one connection. In the last couple of years, we moved a lot of our course selections to online, which was a big feat, but was really exciting. And we also have a course selection fair, so students really can understand what type of course that they are signing up for. I want to address equal opportunity schools. We do work with equal opportunity schools, which does allow more students to have access to our courses. This does not mean that they're not prepared for our courses. It just means that if we have some C or D students who maybe are not interested in math, but would be more interested in computer sciences, that they have access to those courses. We added one additional AP course this year, which is our first ninth grade AP course, which is human geography and has been quite a success. But as you can see, making our AP courses more accessible does not mean a reduction in our performance. We have had our enrollment go up by 3%, and our students passing with a three or higher go up by 10%. We also want our students to be college and career ready. This year, we've had the ability to add a fourth counselor, which has reduced our ratios. Our counselors have been wonderful in also being able to provide more workshops to our parents so they have a better understanding of college and career readiness. In addition, we've added an additional college and career specialist who in March will start presenting to ninth through 11th graders. They will begin to do college and career inventories to start mapping out their future. I have been fortunate at Newark Memorial to have a wonderful community to support and a number of ways to engage our families. They keep me informed and I keep them informed by addressing any of their concerns they bring forward. And they also ask for different presenters, such as our SRO has presented to some of our families, as well as our counselors. I can't talk about Newark Memorial without talking about the fun stuff, sports and ASB. We have more than 40 clubs on campus, and I'm starting to kind of took my thunder around inviting you all to our Hats Assembly, which is on March 11th at 7 p.m. But this is just one of the multiple ways that we highlight the diversity of Newark Memorial High School. I also wanna mention athletics. We offer 18 sports and 44 teams and our athletics program does require students to be champions of character. And what does that look like? Not just on the field, but also in the community. Lastly, I'd like to talk about the learning communities on campus. We have, sorry, MCA, Media Communication and Arts, This program uses multimedia projects to illustrate understanding of standards. We also have Puente, which is a nationally award winning program that helps underrepresented students have access to college. And then we also are bringing back our Ohlone College Connections program. This allows 12th grade students to access courses off campus. So they are taught by a Newark Memorial teacher at Ohlone campus and they do start to begin their college journey by taking college courses. We also have a wonderful partnership with Mission Valley ROP in which students can have different CTE pathways and leave with different certificates as they head towards their career. But at Newark Memorial, we can continue to grow and plan. And so tonight, I'd like to acknowledge two people who have worked on the Starr Academy. That's Daniel Johnson and Jacob Goldsmith. At this time, it's OK if we press? OK. Just want to show a video.

[4755] SPEAKER_20: I'm going to bring up a few recommendations now. So, I'm going to count to nine. So, we're going to count to five. Six, five, four, three, two, one. And we're off and running. We're at the top. We're at the top. We're at the top. We're at the top. ♪

[4811] Olivia Rangel: star space, our star, what can I think of? Our star lab. Thank you so much. What is the word? It'll also bring an opportunity for our students to earn different Masters of Code certificates, and we are still working with this team to hopefully bring forth a bigger presentation on what it'll look like. So thank you so much. It's been a pleasure.

[4833] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you, Nathaniel. Do we have any comments or questions for Mr. Rangel? Member Hill?

[4846] Aiden Hill: Thank you, Principal Rangel, for your presentation. I have some questions that are maybe unrelated to the presentation, but as I think you know, I as a board member have been receiving a number of are a lot of input from different community members about safety at the high school. And I wanted to ask you a few questions about kind of status. And so one question is, like you talked about pause. And so it's like tutorial where you're not necessarily assigned to class. But then even for when you're assigned to class, how do we know that everybody is actually where they're supposed to be and that they're not kind of roaming around the campus? potentially, you know, getting into trouble. I mean, do we have a mechanism for tracking that? So that's, I'd like to maybe take these questions one at a time, but that's sort of the first question. How do we make sure that kids, when they're in class, that they're in class and that they're not where they're not supposed to be?

[4907] Olivia Rangel: So we do have a way to check in students. It's called Teach More. So as students enter a class, they are checked in by a scanner. That being said, of course, we have some concerns still that we're addressing on getting students to class. If students don't sign up after a certain time, we are moving them to the Commons, in which we are requiring them to do work while they're there. It's not been an easy feat. And yes, we do have some trouble. But again, we have, if we're talking about 40 students out of 1650, I still see that as success.

[4938] Aiden Hill: OK, great. And then the other question was, I mean, I've gotten a lot of reports from different people that there's kids, you know, even though Newark Memorial is a closed campus, that there have been a lot of kids that have been leaving school. So do we have a sense of, you know, how many kids are leaving school? And then what happens when, you know, we do catch kids that are off campus? So what's the status and sort of the protocol there?

[4963] Olivia Rangel: So when we catch students off campus, they do receive a cut, which then leads to a detention. Specifically for seniors, there are harsher punishments, such as not going to the major events, not going to, even for other class grades, they can also not go to any dance or prom or anything like that. But if you have enough, there are parent meetings that occur. If you don't go to detention, it's a progressive discipline, right? If you don't go to detention. But in some cases, we also fill out a cost referral. Something else must be going on that they're not connecting to school. So sometimes it's a meeting to determine what's next for the child.

[5008] Aiden Hill: OK. And kind of what I'm driving at is when individuals come to me and talk about this, it's anecdotal information. But, you know, but I'm more interested, I'm always interested in data. So do we have any sense of how many kids are, you know, leaving campus on a daily or weekly or a monthly basis?

[5029] Olivia Rangel: I don't have it with me. I can check attendance records, but that would be more than just the ones that are cutting.

[5037] Aiden Hill: Okay. And then, and then when you mentioned that when we do catch them, oftentimes we give them detention. And, and then, but, but I know kind of from my own school that You may give a kid detention, but maybe they don't show up. So do we have a sense of how many detentions we're giving out and how we're making sure that they're enforced?

[5061] Olivia Rangel: Yes, I don't have that data with me today. We have it all tracked in one area. That being said, again, sometimes we have to look at other alternatives besides detention. You know, some things may equate to suspension depending on the severity of it. Did you leave campus and engage in other inappropriate activity? Then it's all very varying.

[5082] Aiden Hill: Okay, sure. But, you know, but again, data would, you know, be helpful because I think that there has to be sort of a, I mean, if we're going to get our campus to being, you know, a really safe and productive environment, that we want to make sure that if we have a spirit and rules, et cetera, that they're being followed. And again, people understand that there's consequences if you don't maintain the code of conduct. So again, it would be helpful. I think the only way we can solve the problem is to track it and then to work it.

[5110] Phuong Nguyen: Member Hill? Yeah. If you have additional questions, I would ask that you make that at a request at the end of the item. OK, sure. Thank you.

[5119] Olivia Rangel: OK, yep, we'll do it. Any others? Thank you. I do just want to say that we're talking about 40 students, approximately. And I feel what goes missed is the hard work of the 1,600 others at the campus, including the one that's sitting right here, who can say that there are a lot of positive things going on at Newark Memorial as well.

[5137] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you, Ms. Rangel. Any other comments or questions? Go ahead, Member Marquez. Go ahead, ma'am. Oh. Dr. Estes.

[5146] SPEAKER_37: Student board member has the floor. All right. I would just like to say, I know Ms. Dr. Triplett does attend school sometimes. So Mr. Hill, if you would, I mean, I don't know the reasons, like the way it works, but you could definitely attend. Come and visit North Memorial High to see how that works and pause, because it truly is a great thing, at least in my opinion.

[5167] Aiden Hill: I'm a teacher, though. So when you guys are in session, I'm also teaching.

[5172] SPEAKER_37: Hopefully one day. I would just like to say thank you, Ms. Rangel, for the amazing presentation. I know there's so much more amazing things that do happen at North Memorial High. So there's great things. And let's not let that outweigh small negative things.

[5187] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you, member Marquez.

[5190] SPEAKER_26: Well said. And thank you. Good evening. I just want to refer back to the slide that presented with slide number six with regards to PSAT. I want to applaud you for the fact just that knowing that during the pandemic and everything that the students are going through that they were still willing to work with staff and to actually create, which unfortunately we know we're often driven by is data. the data speaks for itself. So to applaud you and the staff members that during this pandemic, that you're actually able to get the students to take the time and take such an, which is a preliminary, right, serious and to produce the type of results that what you said is an increase, right, of up to 10% or 3%. So I wanna make sure that the teachers and the staff that are proctoring the assessments or the actual PSAT, that they are applauded and for your staff for making sure that the students regardless of what else is going on, that they're still able to come back full circle and hit the bullseye and work on tasks. I wanted to make sure that you were aware of that.

[5251] Olivia Rangel: Thank you. I get the pleasure of standing up here and talking about this school, but I don't get to applaud the work of everyone that is working hard to make sure that our students have a wonderful education. So thank you.

[5263] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you, member. I will ask, I just have one comment to our audience members. We still do have a mask mandate and if you're in indoors, so please make sure that your masks are properly on. Thank you so much. And then Ms. Member Grindel.

[5282] Terrence Grindall: Yes, I'll keep it short, but I just wanted to thank you for the excellent presentation and all the information. I very much appreciate the information on the assessments and the fact that you're using those assessments to target resources to help the children. It's not just a grade, it's a tool to increase academic performance, so I really applaud you for that. And I have had the opportunity to tour the college, to tour the high school and really appreciate your time that day and see the energy of the students and the dedication of the teachers. So I'm very happy to hear that, to hear your presentation. You know, we don't want to let a few anecdotes about a few students color the work of all the teachers and administrators, and most importantly, the students who pushed through these really difficult times to be extraordinary learners. So thank you. Just I wanted to really point that out and to thank you for coming and speaking to us.

[5352] Julienne Sumodobila: Thank you.

[5353] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you, Ms. Rangel. And yes, I too had had the opportunity to work with a lot of the student members and you guys are there they are all doing great work and your staff is doing great work and just wanted to emphasize that yes there are going to be situations where there's going to be negativity. But for the majority of what's going on at the high school, there is a lot of positive stuff. And we have a student board member here who can really attest to that. And she's exceptional herself. And that's all due to the fact that we do have staff at the high school that is performing well and engaging with our students. So thank you so much.

[5398] SPEAKER_26: Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity.

[5410] Phuong Nguyen: We are going to go back to our student reports. And this is with Newark Junior High.

[5421] SPEAKER_42: Good evening, board members. My name is Muhammad Lulu, the president of NGHS. As we come closer to the end of the school year, we have started our ASB elections for both upcoming eighth graders and soon to be ninth graders. We are also planning two events for the students. a spring social for 7th and 8th graders, and an end-of-the-year social for 8th graders only. We plan to cater pizza and purchase ice cream. We are also planning to have games and fun activities for everyone. Next, we have started to roll out our brand new Cougar coupons. Students can redeem these coupons at our student store for many different items. Also, working at the student store has helped our students be able to learn more leadership skills. Last week, we have been having music on Fridays, which the students are loving. Thank you so much for listening, and have a great evening.

[5475] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you, Mohamed. Any other student speakers from the alternate? OK, great. So we will be moving on to employee organizations, starting with NTA. Is there a representative from NTA here tonight? No? Okay. Is there a representative for CSCA? No? Okay. No CSCA. And is there a NEWMA representative? Thank you and welcome.

[5517] SPEAKER_36: Good evening, and thank you for this time. I'm Vicenta Ditto, principal of Birch Grove Primary School and president of NEWMA this year. And joining me at the podium is our secretary? Yes. Who's really our outgoing president, so I rely on her for a lot of things since our former president before her abandoned us mid-year. Just kidding. But I am here tonight to do some amazing celebrations of the leadership here in Newark Unified. And with your permission, we have some NEWMA nominated and voted Administrator of the Year awards to present. So first up, if I could have Ms. Julie Calderon join us. Ms. Julie Calderon is being presented with Administrator of the Year in Adult Education for the 21-22 school year. And my Vanna back there, thank you. Next to join her is, you just heard some of the amazing things she's doing, Ms. Olivia Rangel. who has been voted Secondary Principal of the Year. And to round out our amazing principals, Lizaday Rancap-Perez, Principal of Lincoln Elementary and Administrator of the Year for Elementary. We have one more present tonight, Administrator of the Year for Curriculum and Instruction, Ariel Dolowich. So these are four of our present. I do have a couple other to present, but I am hoping that I can invite our administrators of the year to come around the dais and shake some hands or give some knuckles, depending on where your comfort level is. All right. And I have some other people to recognize, I hope, are watching at home because they did get some special invitations to join us or to watch. and I'll hand the certificates to Ms. Gallaher so that we can make sure we get these to our folks. Our Business Services Administrator of the Year is Kim Lola. Our Confidential Manager of the Year and somebody I know I couldn't have done this year without, Jessica Ricketts in Special Education. We have a tie for Classified Manager of the Year So my philosophy on that is celebrate more people. One of the two is Mary Sayers in Child Nutrition. And VIP to all teachers, no matter what grade level they teach, Michelle Oliveira in Graphics. our central office administrator of the year, somebody that we all know well because of her hand in so many pots, Leonor Rebosura. And rounding it out this evening is our secondary co-administrator of the year, Rachel Coach K. So we have a lot to celebrate, amazing leadership, and thank you for this time. That concludes the NEWMA update. Thank you, Ms.

[5792] Phuong Nguyen: Ditto. On to public comments on non-agenda items. We have quite a few speakers. Ms. Lori Eddings.

[5813] SPEAKER_21: Welcome. Thank you.

[5815] Guadalupe Lopez: Thank you.

[5815] SPEAKER_21: I feel like I'm taking cuts in front of all these people. I put my, I was like last to come in, but sorry. Dr. Triplett, President Nguyen, board members and cabinets, don't worry this is going to be short and sweet. I want to be a trusted voice here and I want to earn that trust. I came to let you know at the last board meeting I was given information that I shared and did in fact check it myself. The $30,000 number I gave out was inaccurate as you all know. For that I came to apologize. I also want to let you know, I don't begrudge anyone getting a raise. I just hope that raises will be given out to the teachers and support staff just as equitably. I would be happy to get a 2% cost of living raise. Lastly, I want to thank Dr. Triplett for dropping in and observing my class today. The fact that you stayed for almost the whole class period, I take as a compliment. That you enjoyed my class as much as my kids did today, and as much as I loved teaching that particular lesson. Thank you, have a good evening. Thank you, Ms. Eddy.

[5893] Phuong Nguyen: Ms. Faith Bowe. Welcome.

[5906] SPEAKER_32: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I hope that you are in good health. My name is Faith, as you already know. My daughter currently attending Newark Memorial High. I'm here today asking you to lift the mask mandate and make it optional for teachers and students. The latest by March the 12th since the governor has already announced mask mandate lift throughout the state and for all schools starting March 12th. Long-term mask wearing can cause many health problems. Furthermore, data have shown masks don't help with COVID cases. The fact that Newark State has the strictest mask mandate but COVID cases are soaring last winter, while Florida has lifted mask mandate a long time ago and it has the lowest COVID cases in the entire country. Our students especially the young ones, need an abundant amount of oxygen at all time for their development brains. The adverse effect of long-term mask wearing are detrimental to brain, which would lead to hypoxia, the lack of mental sharpness, chronic lethargy, headache, depression, brain damage, et cetera. And it's absolutely worse when the student-athlete have to wear a mask when they exercise. It is so sad to see them exert their breathing through the dirty mask they wore all day long. While spectator at the Super Bowl was mask free in a fully packed stadium. Plus, most students are already vaccinated and young people have the lowest risk of COVID complications. I urge you to lift the mask mandate so that our student can breathe better, so that they can feel better, pay better attention and participate in class. Six hours long breathing through the mask is devastating for young brains. My daughter is one example. She is a very smart and hardworking student, but her physical and mental conditions just go downhill ever since school started. She suffered from the lack of oxygen, shortness of breath, heart palpitation, chronic tiredness, and depression. She had to visit doctors for these problems, but they couldn't help. With strict math mandate, some teacher didn't even allow her to drink water in class. As a result, she was suffocated and severely dehydrated. I know that she's not the only one. In fact, her friends have been complaining about the same thing and more. I've talked to some parents, and they feel the same way. I have doctor's records of my daughter's health problems, and I also have published peer-reviewed studies International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health to back my claim. I actually have a copy right here. I will email it to you later if you need it.

[6093] Phuong Nguyen: Your time is up.

[6095] SPEAKER_32: Can I have just a few more seconds? Sure. Yeah, so on behalf of many concerned parents I implore you to quickly lift mask mandates now that Omicron variant as mild as just a common cold. Please give the parents, you know, the decision to make the choice. Thank you.

[6126] Phuong Nguyen: Brianna Ackrey. I'm sorry if I pronounced your last name wrong. Acker. Oh, Acker.

[6135] SPEAKER_31: Hello, my name is Brianna Aker, and I would first and foremost like to state that tonight, I'm not only speaking as a Newark teacher, but as a former student of Newark Unified, a current homeowner in Newark, and I also have a son who will eventually be attending Newark Unified schools. I'm supported tonight by my colleagues at Coyote Hills Elementary, who have hit a breaking point. The reason I'm here to speak today is to address the lack of support that we've gotten from the district at Coyote Hills Elementary. When Snow and Graham were combined, we begged for the admin support in the form of a vice principal. We knew from the beginning of merger talks that there was no way one person could do this role. It was mentioned at multiple points during design team meetings, staff and parent input sessions. Based on just our student numbers, even covering IEP meetings is a huge undertaking for a single administrator. We were told that there was no room in the budget for a vice principal and that the district understood the high level of need at our site and would be providing additional support for our site, especially during this first year. In the first months of the school year, it became quickly evident that the support we needed was not coming. We have all heard from angry parents in these meetings, office staff and teachers who feel these questions on a daily basis and have no way to respond. Now we've entered a crisis with Ms. Tomasini's entirely understandable absence. And as teachers, we are working so hard to give our parents the information they desperately need and deserve. In the past week, as we attempt to repair and rebuild our communication with our school community, we've had several instances of miscommunication due to district error that have made us as teachers look incompetent and careless. When the district sends us wrong dates and misspelled malfunctioning links for input meetings, We end up being the targets for angry messages and feelings from parents who are rightly frustrated. As a staff we are working incredibly hard to build a new school community from two schools that feel betrayed and being undermined in this mission from the district is not helping. I would like to recognize Ariel Dolowich for making an effort to be present on our site regularly responding to our concerns and supporting our admin designees. Our admin designees have been left to manage all IEPs run meetings, respond to parents, communicate to staff, and manage very concerning behaviors on campus while they also continue to teach their own classes. You are lucky that our staff is committed to building a positive school community despite and not because of intervention from the district. Even with all of these issues, we believe in our staff and in Ms. Tomasini's ability to lead us. We work hard every day for the support of our students and to create engaging and safe environments for learning, despite the lack of substitute teachers, administrative support and functional communication from the district. Keep these issues in mind as you continue planning the new middle school design. Keep these issues in mind as you move forward, closing music elementary and to move these families to other schools in the district. He made promises that we feel he was not kept. Thank you very much.

[6321] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you, Ms. Aker. Thank you, Ms. Aker.

[6328] SPEAKER_21: Emery?

[6332] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you. Welcome. Thank you.

[6339] SPEAKER_35: Good evening, Board Trustee, Superintendent Triplett and the Executive Cabinet. My name is Emery and I've worked at NMHS for 16 years and have attended Newark Public Schools for my own K-12 education. I'm speaking to you tonight as a concerned employee specifically pertaining to the high school and to remind you of the board meeting about a year ago, where it was voted to reopen schools against the wishes of the majority of teachers. Most of the board members at the time claimed receiving additional funding was the major deciding factor in reopening schools and that the money would, quote, go to the kids. I'm very confused that there is money in the budget to ensure a few individuals at the top, those who are the most removed from direct student interaction, continue to see more and more compensation, while those who work directly with students day in and day out are grasping at straws for getting adequate resources. such as copy allowances on the copy machine, teacher editions of textbooks, or even basic things like proper functioning equipment. Since the beginning of the school year at the high school, staff do not have readily available access to printers. The classroom emergency buttons don't work in all the classrooms. Telephones aren't functioning without constant interference and static, and the internet speeds are pathetic. The handout I just gave you allows you to see screenshots of internet speeds that was done throughout the instructional day on Tuesday and Wednesday from various locations across the NMHS campus. One screenshot is from a computer a student was using that was as low as 0.77 Mbps for download speed. The highest screenshot submitted to me from those two days was at 12. A decent download speed should be at the very least 25. Teachers and students are struggling to log on to Synergy, Student View, Google Apps, and other programs when they are on campus. So again, how is the district and board trustees ensuring that money is going to students when staff and students cannot even have basic fundamental working conditions to allow for safety and educational success while on the NMHS campus? Thank you.

[6470] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you, Emory. That concludes our public comment on non-agenda items. Oh, do we have one online? Sorry, I apologize.

[6485] SPEAKER_33: The first online statement is going to be from Elizabeth Guerrero. Elizabeth, you may begin.

[6497] SPEAKER_18: Buenos noches, Dr. Tripp, de mi mesa directiva. Nosotros los padres representantes para mejores escuelas de Newark hemos estado repitiendo los mismos comentarios públicos en inglés y en español para garantizar que nuestra comunidad y la mesa directiva esté informados de los problemas que aún tenemos en este distrito y que no están tomándose en cuenta. communication. ¿Cómo se atreve a afirmar que la comunicación es muy efectiva en todo el distrito cuando no informan a los padres y a la comunidad de las reuniones de manera oportuna o realizan reuniones en un momento en que los padres no pueden asistir? that the money is for because it's and say I'm not saying that's not good. But you see that's that's what I'm not going to see that one of the public that in the city of the way that the people is the scene, but what I don't know that you know, but I can't go. But I'm not going to be on the plan that is possibly that they can't go look at that even then it's going to be your deals. It's a lot of all of us want to think that I mean, you know, Then you're on the last thing correct. Okay. So can we just buy this? No, put it on. Okay. That's it. No, I won't say one, don't plan that responsibility that I control local plan is color. Okay. Play program model. But I don't know the muscle say come say come here. And then what do you want me to talk? There's a muscle. They don't say put in a court. Lady, I thought I didn't project as bestial. I think you're Abby Karen's me. La administration de la escuela estaba. Yeah, but I call more. El intérprete del distrito. Luca, but it's you. I'm not going to be able to get it done. I'm not going to be able to get it done. I'm not going to be able to get it done. I'm not going to be able to get it done. I'm not going to be able to get it done. I'm not going to be able to get it done. I'm not going to be able to get it done. I'm not going to be able to get it done. I'm not going to be able to get it done. I'm not going to be able to get it done. I'm not going to be able to get it done. I'm not going to be able to get it done. I'm not going to be able to get it done. I'm not going to be able to get it done. I'm not going to be able to get it done. I'm not going to be able to get it done. I'm not going to be able to get it done. I'm not going to be able to get it done. I'm not going to be able to but I'm not going to be at the most of that. But that is it's got to be the South Coast. But I mean, the fact that the public that's you know, it's not going to miss this yet. But I think that it'll but I It was announced at the last minute. It makes us wonder how transparent everyone is, especially when they keep telling parents and the community that they need to make budget cuts. We are contributors and voters and we want the school district to respect and respond to our communities. Thank you. And the next one should be

[6700] SPEAKER_33: The next public comment is from Catherine Darden. Catherine, you may begin.

[6705] SPEAKER_19: Hi, good evening. I'd just like to check that the mic does indeed work. Yes, we can hear you. And I'd also like to make a statement. I apologize. I would just like to speak on 9.1 for this time.

[6719] SPEAKER_33: OK. We are on 9.1.

[6723] SPEAKER_19: Yes, but in my initial email, I had another one added. Yeah. OK, we'll cross you out from the other one. OK, thank you. Good evening, Dr. Triplett and the Board of Trustees. We the parent representative of Newark Parents for Better Schools have been repeating the same public comments in English and Spanish to ensure our community and Board of Education understands the problems we will continue to have in this district and are not being addressed. Communication. How dare you claim that communication is a very effective across the district when you don't inform parents and the community of meetings in a timely manner or you hold meetings at a time when parents cannot attend. You post meetings on school marquees that do not match the dates that you post on the district website, i.e. DLEC meetings. For instance, first, the Coyote Hills Local Control Accountability Plan meeting that was held at 11.30 a.m. on Friday, February 25th had the wrong link, which caused many parents to not be able to connect. Then the second Local Control Accountability Plan at school site plan that was scheduled for March 2nd was changed at the last minute to March 3rd. But it gets better. The director of special projects nor administration from the school were there and to top it off the district interpreter never showed up. The director of special projects nor admin from Coyote Hills were not present. You had the principal from music direct the meeting. We thank her for showing up, but unfortunately she had no answers to any of the questions or concerns. Where's the professionalism in respect to the community? Is WhatsApp the platform that the district uses to communicate with parents? Who are these famous promotoras? You introduced them at one of the board meetings, but the community nor the school sites are familiar with their work. Again, lack of communication. The last special board meeting on February 23rd to approve the contract for Mrs.dela Cruz where you approve a raise of 19% to Mrs.dela Cruz was announced at the last minute. It makes us wonder how transparent you all are especially when you keep on telling parents and community that you will need to do budget cuts. We are taxpayers and voters and we want the school district to respect and respond to our community. After years of such treatment, we are not sure the district is capable of solving the problem of inclusion and effective communication. We will continue to be present and vocal at school board meetings. Thank you so much for your time.

[6885] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you. That concludes our public non-agenda items, public comment. On to item 10.1, superintendent report.

[6901] SPEAKER_33: And if we do have a public speaker for this one? Yes.

[6905] Terrence Grindall: Madam President.

[6906] Phuong Nguyen: Oh, is it online?

[6908] Terrence Grindall: Quick question. I'd like the executive assistant to confirm that the, at the best of your knowledge, the two comments, the one in Spanish and the one in English, were conveying essentially the same information.

[6919] SPEAKER_33: And almost exactly the same verbiage, yes. Thank you. OK. The next speaker is for superintendent report. This, okay, here we go. Elizabeth Guerrero, you may begin.

[6937] SPEAKER_18: Good evening, Dr. Triplett and Board of Trustees. We the parents representative of Newark Parents for Better Schools. We hope that the district interpreter does a decent job in doing the interpretation. If you would like for me to pause to make it easier for him or her, I am happy to do so. We will also send a copy of the Spanish and English version of our comments so the board has an accurate translation and it also part of the minutes. Interpretation is a critical piece of our community. We have expressed concern to you all multiple times. Again, you continue to have unqualified interpreters for the IEPs and at the board meetings. The constantly do not do an accurate translation. For example, the interpreter interpretation of parents representative Newark parents for better schools are here to address the ongoing problems are still happening was interpreter to a Spanish ask the parents of children's of special needs are here to complain. IEPs, we have heard several complaints from parents across the district not having accurate or appropriate interpretation. We tried to contact Dr. Hamilton, but again, she was out of the office from February to now. We were supposed to have coffee with the special education director Tuesday, March 2nd. However, it was canceled. Parents received a notice that 4.36 PM informing them that it was canceled. We are wondering who is in charge of special education. To whom do we address our concerns? Services for our special ed students are not being provided and our SPED teachers are starting to get frustrated. How dare you claim that communication isn't going well? Board members, Dr. Triplett, district staff. We continue to be very concerned with the selection process of the principal of Coyotillos because it was not fair and equitable. As of now, Ms. Tomasini has been out now for eight weeks. And after many complaints to the school and addressing it to you and to the board, Dr. Triplett sent a letter yesterday, March 2nd, informing us. How dare you? Where is the communication and transparency Where is the leadership and support? We still don't get answers from you or your admin. Design this Palomino's. In fact, we don't, we don't get answers from you or the district leadership. Again, we are taxpayers and voters, voters, full district, respect and respond to our community. After years of such treatment, We are not sure the district is capable of solving the problems, inclusion, and effective communication. We will continue to be present and vocal at the school board meetings. Thank you so much for your time.

[7107] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you, Ms. Guerrero. Any other public comments? OK. On to superintendent report, Dr. Triplett.

[7117] Mark Triplett: Thank you. Ms. Gutierrez, can you please put up the deck? Okay, so this is the superintendent's report for the 3rd of March school board meeting. Go to the first slide. First thing I wanted to just update you on our enrollment process for 2022-23. If you go to the next slide, Ms. Gutierrez. So we are now in the middle of our priority placement window, which will end on March 11th, and then we'll move into the open enrollment season. Priority placement window is when anyone can register and enroll for the upcoming school year. And in doing so early, then we'll receive priority in terms of placement in the school that they are hoping to have their children at. We have also already begun dual language immersion accepting applications for that. So we have many applications already. And we have been conducting, just yesterday I believe, it was tours of Schillingen Elementary for families who have already submitted their application. So we'll continue that process as well. Wanted to give you an update on the middle school design plan. Notice this says Newark's Middle School. That's not the name of the school. It's just literally this will be Newark's Middle School. But we will be going through a naming process in the upcoming school year. And so some of the things, the highest priority things we've been working on, I wanted to give you an update here. I'm not going to go through this, but we have been busy working on designs of the master schedule for the sixth grade with the middle school design team. And we have shared out different iterations with the Newark Junior High School teachers, as well as administrators, and as well as the elementary school teachers. So we've been getting a lot of really good feedback. This is one iteration. Again, this is just a draft. But I want to just give you a sense of the different plans that are happening. Next slide. Likewise, we've been drafting facilities utilization plans. We had a chance to meet twice already with the Newark Junior High School teachers. So again, this is just a draft. But we first met with the junior high teachers a couple weeks ago to get their initial input into the configuration of the school when the sixth graders come. And we had a chance on Monday to reconnect with the junior high school teachers, get a lot of additional feedback, which was really helpful. So we're continuing to iterate on this. And again, this is just a draft, but just wanted to give you a sense of some of the artifacts of what we are working on currently. I know the board was interested in getting these ongoing updates. So I have linked here the complete document that you see a portion of on the left side. But it's very comprehensive, so I'm not going to go through the whole thing. But this is what we call the Middle School Gantt Project Timeline, and it includes timeline and project items in different categories, including communication and engagement, as well as enrollment and budget and HR staffing and facilities. So again, it's linked here in the presentation. Happy to share it with you so you can look at the entire thing. In January and February, some of the highlights, not all, but some of the highlights included we have multiple design team meetings looking at vision, electives, semester schedule. We also completed enrollment and staffing projections, including the special ed enrollment and staffing projections. We had, like I said, engagements with Newark Junior High School teachers, as well as the elementary school staff. We've drafted master schedule and facilities utilization plans, and we've been conducting ongoing negotiations with labor in terms of the transfer and assignment process. And then this is what's coming up. So on this chart, which again is linked in the document, the things in green, oh, sorry, will you go back one second, Ms. Gutierrez? So this is color-coded, and it's by month. So the things that are in green are things that are on track or have been completed. Yellow is in progress, and red or pink is upcoming. So this first part, and again, this is, I wasn't going to go over the details of this here, but you can see that these are the things that we have completed or are on track as of February. And then if we could go to the next one, please. These are the items March through, I believe, I just took a snapshot of March through April. The things in the same categories that we are planning to implement. Some of the highlights include another community town hall in March and April, continuing to conduct design team meetings. We have a guest panel that's coming up at our next design team meeting next week of different school leaders and school representatives from other districts, successful middle schools from other districts. We're also concluding our first work groups from the design team, and we'll be then breaking into new work groups in the design team. We're doing furniture needs assessments in these next two months. We'll finalize the facilities utilization plan, and we hope to have a final MOU with our labor partners. So those are some of the items that we'll be doing in the next couple months. And then just to recap, so some immediate next steps. Continuing to iterate on the draft master schedule, we're going to be building out our elective wheel plan, including an academic flex option, continuing to negotiate with our labor partners, holding other community engagements, and continuing to develop our facilities utilization plan based on the really valuable input we've gotten from teachers, both at the junior high and in elementary school. So moving on to COVID updates. Next slide. So just wanted to give you the regular update on our positive case rate. I'm pleased to say that for the second week in a row, our rates have stabilized. We had 14 positive student cases last week and two adult cases. As you can see, it's about the same as we had the week prior and much less than at our peak, which was January 10th through the 16th, where we actually had 180 positive student cases. So we're really happy that we seem to be going in the right direction. Understanding from the health department that things can change, but we're pleased that we're heading in the right direction. Wanted to highlight some of the vaccination and testing opportunities that are coming up or that have happened. We had a vaccination clinic at Schilling on the 25th of February. We'll have a second one on March 18th. I believe that was a really good opportunity. Next slide. We also have a vaccination clinic in partnership with the city that's going to be happening on the Saturday, March 12th, and then again, Saturday, April 2nd. And that's going to be at the firehouse. We should have a lot of speakers. I think there's going to be some entertainment even. It's going to be a really fun event. And then lastly, I just want to share out our COVID testing to date. As of this past month, we had administered over 2,000, sorry, 23,624 tests district wide. And then of those, 11,343 tests were administered to the public at Whiteford. So we've been really grateful for our partnership with Predison and the ability to provide testing for both our community, our students, and our staff. And that is the superintendent's report for this evening.

[7664] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you, Superintendent Triplett. Any comments and questions from the board? Member Grindel.

[7674] Terrence Grindall: I just want to compliment you and the city for working together to get vaccination. Going forward, reading the governor's messages and the health department information, we're moving to an endemic part of this disease. And what that means is vaccination is actually more important than ever. And I'd like, there was a commenter earlier today that said we had a very high vaccination rate. That's actually not accurate. We have a, we're lagging other areas. So, I really compliment you, you know, district staff as well as the city staff in making vaccinations available and cooperating in that way. So, I just wanted to compliment you on that. Thank you.

[7728] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you. Any other comments or questions? Member Hill.

[7733] Aiden Hill: Thank you, Dr. Triplett. So regarding the middle school, so ever since we identified this during our annual goal process, I've been pleading for a comprehensive project plan. And I know from experience, having spent, again, 20 plus years in the project management business, that one of the number one reasons that projects fail is because of a lack of proper planning. And we formally, as a board, asked you to present a comprehensive plan, and we asked for this about three board meetings ago. And what was presented here is not sufficient for successful execution. And I can say that with confidence, having been, having had to come in and rescue many projects that did not have a proper plan. And what I'm looking at here is, you know, number one, we can't even see the detail out beyond April. It's like we're going through the forest and we can't see the trail. And in every project that I've ever been a part of, I've never seen a statusing where you have completed, in progress, and upcoming. It's usually red, yellow, green, and what it indicates is these are the items that are on track, these are the items that are at risk, and these are the items that are late. And literally, even the best run projects always have items that are in the yellow and the red. And these are the things that you are paying attention to and you are communicating because that's how you manage risk. And yet, I don't see even a slide that discuss what are the potential risks, what are the things that could go wrong. I mean, I feel like this is healthcare.gov in education, and I can say that with confidence because I was a part of the rollout of Cover California here. And I was, I came into a project six months prior to go live that did not have a project plan. It actually had about this level of detail. So I think that if we don't get this together very soon, because I mean, I have no idea what the flight, what the, the glide path is for this. I think we're going to be in big trouble. And so I really think that we ought to start sharpening our pencil and getting a lot more details because we're not seeing it here. Thank you.

[7902] Mark Triplett: Sorry, with all due respect, sir. So I don't believe that you've seen the link that is in the documents. I don't believe you have actually seen the details of the plan. I certainly didn't want to go comprehensively through the entire plan here at a board presentation. That doesn't seem appropriate, nor does it seem like what the board is actually interested in. But you do have access to it. And so I welcome you to take a look. And if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

[7935] Aiden Hill: So if you can provide access, because I don't have it currently. Nobody sent me anything. But then number two, from a protocol perspective, because I have given project updates to many executives, and I never give them the detailed plan unless they're interested, but I do give them the highlights, and I show them major bullet points, major phases, and key things that need to get accomplished. We have no visibility, even at a 30,000 foot level, around what needs to happen in May, what needs to happen in June, what needs to happen in July, what needs to happen in September. And this is a best practice.

[7973] Mark Triplett: So I think what I just heard you say is you never show, as a businessman of 25 years with outstanding success, that you never show a complete project plan to your executives, although that is what I've provided because I thought that's what you asked for, and that you show highlights, which is what I just did tonight. So happy to speak with you more, Member Hill, offline if there's additional things. Happy to speak with you more, Member Hill, offline if there's questions or more information that you'd like.

[8011] Phuong Nguyen: Any other comments or questions for the superintendent? Member Marquez?

[8014] SPEAKER_26: I have a comment. Thank you. Oftentimes what I have found that when we're repeating the same, let's say, job or skill that we're applying on a daily basis, that we're so caught up in what we're doing that we can't see from the outside in. So I want to applaud and I want to recognize the fact that asking other districts who have already successfully gone through a transition of junior high or middle school to junior high and having someone else and hearing the input and the information from someone else from the outside looking in, I think is extremely effective. So I want to applaud the idea. I'm not sure who made the choice and invited the school district, but I do want to applaud the idea because oftentimes, like I mentioned, we're so in here because we're so deadline or we're so working with the families and we're so focused here that the little things might be overseen. So at this point, having them having new districts come, I want to acknowledge that. And thank you.

[8074] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you. Any other comments or questions? Thank you, Superintendent Triplett for the report. And we will be moving on to old business, item 11.1, 2022 general obligation refunding bonds. Dr. Triplett.

[8096] Mark Triplett: Thank you. So we're delighted to have a guest speaker here tonight to share out information about the general obligation refunding of bonds. We wanted to really, we're very eager to demonstrate good stewardship of the taxpayers' dollars, and so we've been really pleased to have been able to complete the expenditure of the Measure G bond project. And we were grateful to have the opportunity to engage with Mr. Blake Bohm to get a lower interest rate on the remainder of the bond so that taxpayers would actually be saving money on this project that we've completed. So I'm going to turn it over to Ms. Delacruz, and then I believe Mr. Bohm also is going to be presenting.

[8152] Marie dela Cruz: Thank you, Dr. Triplett. Back in November, if you recall, we presented some information regarding the opportunity to refinance the Measure G bond. And then in December, the board approved the authorization to move forward in the process to refund and refinance the bond as a savings for the community. So Mr. Beam is here tonight to give us an update on the outcome of the refunding. So Mr. Beam from K&N, if you would like to proceed.

[8192] SPEAKER_02: Of course. Thanks, Ms. Dela Cruz, and good evening members of the board and community. It is with great pleasure. I get the fortunate job of reporting out on a very successful refinancing that the board so diligently took an opportunity in a low interest rate environment to save taxpayers money on outstanding measure defunds. It couldn't have been a better window of time, frankly, as we've seen rates continue to increase throughout the course of the early part of 2022. So a little bit of fortune there to take action in late 2021 and execute a refinancing, which I'm going to share some more details that far surpassed our expectations of what was presented to the board in November of 21. So with that, first page of the presentation, just touching on some of the highlights. We refinanced two of the three series of outstanding Measure G bonds, Series A and Series B. There will likely be an opportunity to refinance the third series at some point down the road, recognizing those were the latest series of bonds. It will make more economic sense to wait until we get closer to the point at which those bonds can actually be called. But by refinancing the series A and B bonds, we were able to sell roughly $35 million of refunding bonds, the proceeds of which will be used to pay down or pay off those Series A and Series B bonds, leaving behind the new bonds, which have a lower interest rate. And just by way of furthering that, the outstanding bonds had an average rate of approximately 4.718%. The new refunding bonds reduced that rate down to 3.096. I do want to make just a correction on this first slide. On the third bullet, it says that the refunded bonds had a rate of 3.321. That is not a correct number. It's actually 4.718. So the difference there is what's generating savings for taxpayers. We are not extending the term of repayment. In fact, we shortened the repayment of the Series A and B bonds by two years. So those are just some of the highlights. on to the next slide. Excuse me. There's a slide either way. On page two, we'll summarize the savings that taxpayers will realize over the remaining repayment period. In our preliminary analysis that I presented to the board back in November, we anticipated issuing Again, roughly the same amount, roughly $30 million worth of refunding bonds that would generate savings of, at the time, estimated to be roughly $4.9 million. What we actually realized is, by issuing these refunding bonds, taxpayer savings of $8.617. And so, again, there was some conservatism built into the rates that we could actually realize back in November. We didn't know by the time we hit January where rates would be at. But it just, you know, there was a lack of supply at that time in early January. There was a lot of demand from investors and very favorable rates that were secured. generating a true interest cost, which is an aggregate borrowing cost of these refunding bonds of just over 3%. And so the savings that will be generated are going to hit homeowners each year for the remaining period. The estimation of total taxpayer savings per household is estimated to be just under $200 over the remaining repayment period. So that's how that $8.6 million gets allocated out to all the homeowners within New Work Unified. Moving on to the next slide. One of the highlights from this transaction was the credit rating process where Dr. Trippett and Ms.dela Cruz joined me and other members of the financing team in presenting to Moody's Investor Services, which is one of the major rating agencies. We presented a comprehensive report to them encompassing district finances, tax base, local economy, and management. And the conversation went extremely well and resulted in a rating of AA3 for the district. Achieving a AA3 rating was certainly an outcome that we were hoping for but did not know for sure. It puts the district on par with other strong K-12 districts throughout the state, that AA3 rating is on the higher end, recognizing their strongest rating is AAA. And then it goes to the double A rating category, single A, and then down below is in the triple B categories where you start getting below what's considered investment grade. So the double A three rating is a strong rating and represents a couple of key notations within the Moody's rating report of a large and growing economy, above average resident income levels, and solid financial performance or financial management within the district. And on the last slide, just to conclude, and part of education code is to report out on the final cost of issuance that associated with the refunding. These are not costs that are paid out of the district's general fund, but are actually paid for through the refunding itself. And so you can see here, I won't go through each line item because that will take quite a while, but you can see here on page four, all of the corresponding costs in order to execute this successful refunding. So that concludes my report. I'm happy to answer any questions that the board should have.

[8578] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you so much. Any comments or questions? Member Hill?

[8585] Aiden Hill: Thank you, Mr. Bean. Yeah, just one question. So when we did the refinancing, did the maturity date stay the same? The maturity date's actually shortened by two years. Oh, it is? OK, so we're saving more money then, potentially. Or are we?

[8601] SPEAKER_02: We're saving the amount of money that I just represented within the report itself.

[8606] Aiden Hill: Okay, so part of that $8 million is coming from the shortened maturity date.

[8610] SPEAKER_02: That's right. And actually, that's one of the contributing factors to the amount of savings that was reported in November versus the actual savings realized as we were able to take an opportunity to shorten the term, which enhanced savings. through the course of that process.

[8625] Aiden Hill: So the savings were really a combination of the short maturity date and then also a slightly better interest rate? Correct. Okay. And then just thank you for this and thank you for doing all this work. And I'm actually teaching my kids in a different school the stock market, and we're actually covering bonds right now. And so we're going to look up this bond.

[8648] SPEAKER_02: So thank you. If you ever need a guest speaker, by all means. Okay, great. Thank you.

[8653] Phuong Nguyen: Member Grindel.

[8655] Terrence Grindall: Yes, I wanted to I'm really happy to see this news. This is this is what we more than what we what we go for. Well, some of us hope for this, but more than what we were told the conservative we expect. So I really appreciate that. And also that to be able to shorten the timeframe is is fantastic for the taxpayers of the city. So I really want to thank Ms. Dela Cruz for her dedication to getting this done. The timing isn't an accident because she worked hard on it. And so I wanted to compliment her and, of course, Dr. Triplett for working with her and supporting her in doing that. So I wanted to make sure that she was complimented for this hard work.

[8702] Phuong Nguyen: Any other comments or questions? Thank you so much. And I echo the sentiments of Member Hill and Member Grindel. So thank you so much. OK, on to new business. Item 12.1. Are there any public comments online? OK, thank you. OK, so 12.1, presentation of the A through G completion improvement Grant plan, Dr. Triplett.

[8733] Mark Triplett: Thank you, President Nguyen. So I'll turn this over to Ms. Pierce, we're really, and Ms. Cairns. We're really excited to have the opportunity for this A through G completion improvement grant from the state. And so this is the first read, public discussion, and then we'll be returning with with a complete plan for the board to vote on. So I'll turn it over to Ms. Kearns and Ms. Pierce.

[8766] Nicole Pierce-Davis: Well stated. You took my intro, so I'm going to turn it right over to Ms.

[8768] Abbey Keirns: Kearns.

[8770] SPEAKER_19: Thank you.

[8771] Abbey Keirns: Good evening, Board of Trustees, Superintendent Triplett, Executive Cabinet, and the community. I'm black for another grant, which is available to us through the Assembly Bill 130. The purpose of the fund is to provide additional supports to LEAs to increase the number of California students, particularly unduplicated students who graduate from high school with A to G eligibility. So this is like Dr. Triplett said, the first presentation allowing for public comment on the proposed use of these funds and will return at the next scheduled meeting to seek adoption prior to the state's April 1st deadline. So I'm just gonna go over a little bit about what the fund is composed of. So there are three buckets of funding. So in the green column here, there's one portion for all school districts, whether our district is eligible for either of the other two is based on the A to G completion rate being either above or below 67%. Newark's most current A to G completion rate is at 36.1%. and our projected allocation is based on that is $375,061. Information related to Newark Unified School District allocation and related data is available for review at the link at the bottom of the slide deck. I also just wanna put an asterisk on this to say that in the middle of February, we were notified that the state had made an incorrect calculation in its allocation and so has since said the actual allocation is to be determined and we have yet to hear back from them. However, they still are requiring us to put in a plan and have a plan approved prior to April 1st. Okay. So that being said, we are using the original allocation that was given to us as an approximation. In the turquoise column here is the allowable uses of these funds. So the goal is to provide students with the opportunity to retake A to G courses for which they receive non-passing grades and funding activities that directly support completion of A to G course requirements. And lastly, the orange column is the requirements. per the ED code, the LEA's A to G completion improvement grant has to be developed on or before April 1st. There's no requirement to conduct community engagement. There's no plan submission to the ACOE or the CDE. However, there is a requirement to discuss the plan at a meeting and to adopt at a subsequently scheduled meeting. Then there are two required reporting dates in the future, which is December 31st, 2023 and August 31st, 2026. Okay. So part of the pre-work for this A to G completion improvement grant, we referenced and utilized the A to G subject requirements from the University of California. So to meet minimum admission requirements, students must complete 15 year long high school courses with a letter grade of C or better. At least 11 of them have to be completed prior to the students last year of high school. Keep in mind that taking approved A to G courses isn't the only way to satisfy requirements. Students may also meet them by completing college courses or earning certain scores on various acceptable exams. A link to the A to G subject matter requirements is linked also on the slide and is available for your review. The other thing that we conducted in development of the plan was a A to G self-assessment. The self-assessment is composed of four parts, course catalogs, a review of our course catalogs and UCOP verification, student information system and CALPADS coding, tracking student progress and transfer review and transfer courses. Newark completed this self-assessment and it's linked also here for your review. And we also met with all of our, get input from all of our counselors and both high schools. So we found in the internal review, which involved, that we have strong practices with regard to the course catalog and verification in the UC doorway system, but that we have some areas for growth. And those areas for growth are in the areas of that verification with CALPADS, the monitoring of student progress over the four years and this transcript reviews. So that's, really informed how we developed this plan. And so I hope you will see that in what's next. So this is just a visual of the draft. The draft itself should be in your packet. And it's also accessible at the bottom of the link there. So the plan itself is composed of four parts. Pretty simple overview, activities, and measurement. It asks the district to respond to the following, just describing the way the improvement funds would increase improved services for unduplicated students and improved A to G eligibility. We also are required to include information about the number of students identified for opportunities to retake courses. So those who received a D, F, or fail grade in any A to G approved course in the spring semester of 2020 or 2021 school year. and include information regarding how the services supplement and do not supplant services identified in the LEA's LCAP in-person instruction plan and the expanded learning opportunities grant plan. We also were asked to include a description of the extent to which all students within the district and particularly unduplicated students will have access to those A to G courses, approved courses. So I guess I would like to point out that we really focused that the activities on a coordinator of access and equity. We really believe that this role would support us in the following ways to provide one, of course, oversight of this A to G completion improvement grant focused specifically on the following. Development of data tools and reports to monitor the enrollment and pass rates in all A to G courses, particularly for students that are unduplicated. To monitor and analyze the four-year cohort graduation rate for students, particularly those who are unduplicated and those who are enrolled in A to G courses. Review course placement policies and engage labor partners and ed services in recommendations to ensure equitable access. Provide comparative analysis of grades for high school students, particularly unduplicated students that are enrolled in A to G courses. Lead a Newark Memorial High School counseling team to conduct regular transcript audits and ensure students maintain on track to graduate status and are provided multiple intervention opportunities to reestablish on track status. To audit the ATG tracking mechanisms and correct inconsistencies to ensure that all ATG courses are being correctly reported and represented across our platforms. partner with Ohlone College, Mission Valley ROP to establish a robust set of course options for students, including A to G course credit recovery options, develop communication tools and practices to annually communicate on track status in those requirements and graduation requirements to students and families. That's just within the scope of that A to G improvement work. So the following bullets are additional work beyond that. To coordinate and direct support to unduplicated students enrolled in A to G classes, this is kind of connected to our multiple tiered systems of support. Collaborate with Ed Services to strengthen the protocols for A to G course development and course management. Support the development and implementation of MTSS with a specific focus on early intervention for 9th and 10th grade students in mathematics and English courses where we saw the majority of our D and F rates in that chart that's in the plan itself. And to coordinate existing teams, plan and lead presentations related to college and career readiness for K-12 students and families to increase understanding of the academic pathways, opportunities and requirements with a specific focus on understanding A to G. Co-plan and facilitate professional learning for teachers and counselors as it relates to strengthening equitable grading practices, course access, transcript audits and reporting structures. And lastly, collaborate with college and career specialists to ensure that all students have completed a four-year plan that is reviewed annually. I apologize if all of that talking lulled you to sleep. I just want to outline that we have proposed two options for discussion tonight. So one option is that we fund this position for three years. It would be at a lower salary rate and NTA coordinator position. would require a PPS credential. Job description would be the same, but it does not include any additional funds for other activities. I think there would be a little bit more left over for materials. Option two, the funding for the position is only two years via slightly higher salary. Potentially a NEWMA or a CSCA coordinator position would need a PPS credential, admin credential. Again, job description is the same, and it would allow us to have funds for extra hours and materials, around $2,000 per year, and include funds for equitable access to AP exams for students facing financial hardship, so around $20,000 per year for the four years. So that's for discussion tonight. And I just want to close by saying we do have, this slide is terrible, I greatly apologize, but we have metrics that are required for reporting that are also in the plan itself. I will not read over these in detail, but they essentially say, we will track A to G. We will track four-year graduation rates. And there's an accelerated, what I want to point out in this slide is there's an accelerated rate for our English learners, foster youth, and socioeconomically disadvantaged students. So you see I sort of, not across the board, same percentage. We're looking for accelerated percentages.

[9392] Phuong Nguyen: Just a quick question. Yeah. On the cumulative change, is that the target percentage that you guys are

[9398] Abbey Keirns: The cumulative, yes.

[9401] Nicole Pierce-Davis: And the only thing I would like to add to that is this, many of the data that you saw that is attached to the essential duties of what this position would be came out of a cycle of inquiry that Ed Services team started at the beginning of this year, really going deep around our college and career indicator data and really looking closely at the A to G. And what we found is that there were some gaps in sort of processes and procedures and systems that if we implement, the cycle of inquiry, right? Our theory of action is that if we implement those strategies, that we would see growth over the next two years. So this is a temporary position by design because it is intended to empower the positions that are already there to sort of strengthen those systems and those skills so that it can be ongoing on time by those professionals.

[9446] Phuong Nguyen: So basically bringing in a trainer to train the trainer. Training the trainee in that aspect.

[9453] SPEAKER_26: The trainer, trainer.

[9454] Nicole Pierce-Davis: They're called TOTS. Except in this case, it wouldn't necessarily be one person. It would be team and integrating different departments in the work.

[9466] SPEAKER_26: I have a comment. Thank you for the acknowledgment. Good evening. So I have three really quick items. The first one, so one-time funding, or are we aware that this might be funding that will be available in 2024? or 25.

[9480] Abbey Keirns: This expires in 2025, 2016.

[9483] SPEAKER_26: So same thing then, 2025 as an ESSER, we have to use it or lose it. Yes. Correct? And then number two, since you mentioned with regards to the following of the students who are in these A to G courses, if they're receiving the Ds or the Fs, early on this evening, I don't know if you were here, where Principal Olivia Rangel mentioned how they are implementing PAWS, right, which is an embedded tutorial that they have at the high school currently. So would this be something that would also apply and support those specific students that are growing within to make sure that they are also receiving the same type of support or there'll be additional?

[9522] Nicole Pierce-Davis: So that's a great question. It would be, again, this responsibility would be to integrate those systems, right? So you've got this intervention and pause, but how can we strengthen it? And how can we maybe take the opportunity during that time to be pulling small groups, maybe to do transcript audits? Pause. To have conference. Yeah, exactly. To almost have that individualized time that that's needed. But again, also kind of from a systems approach, be thinking about how are we regularly doing this? Not necessarily in 12th grade year when you go, uh-oh, I need 20. OK. But as early as ninth grade year, and how are we setting those systems in place so that it is not that even the student can then respond back to you saying, this is exactly what I need to do in order to graduate on time and be on track to graduate? And what are those tools and systems and progress monitoring tools? We talked about that a lot last time. How can we strengthen those in order to make progress before 12th grade year?

[9576] SPEAKER_26: Awesome. And then my last item that I have there is, Is there any idea that the money that we know that we're waiting for that you mentioned on April 1st, are we erring towards the side of a lesser amount, or are we being extremely optimistic and hoping for more?

[9595] Abbey Keirns: I asked that exact question to the ACOE, and I got a very neutral answer. Okay. Which is that they could not determine. They said that it would be close to the current amount, though that wouldn't be dramatically up or lower than. All right.

[9613] SPEAKER_26: Thank you for that.

[9614] Phuong Nguyen: Member Grandel.

[9616] Terrence Grindall: Yes, so just so I understand this properly. First of all, thank you for the presentation. It wasn't boring at all. It's very important. It's very important. It's very important work that you're doing, so thank you for all that information. So my understanding is that this is the first step that this is being. This plan is available for the public for review and will be formally taking action on it probably will be, it sounds like we'll have to take action on it before we have that exact number from the state. So the time that we would choose between option one and option two would be at that formal adoption. You're not looking for direction tonight on that approach.

[9658] Abbey Keirns: I think it's worth the discussion. discussion if the board would like to discuss it, it would definitely help us and I think the public. Sure.

[9667] Terrence Grindall: Well, in that case, I'll start that with I think the two year plan or a more robust two year to really address and attack this problem is something that I prefer.

[9684] Bowen Zhang: So my question is the waiving of the prerequisite for the AP classes Is that only during the duration of this grant, or this is going to probably going to last a bit longer?

[9697] Nicole Pierce-Davis: So I can discuss. I've been actually kind of surprised to hear the kind of re-advent or re-talk around prerequisites around AP classes. Because in the last 10 to 20 years, you've really seen a lot of research come out suggesting that prerequisites are not effective, specifically for AP classes. This would not, for all intents and purposes, be just for this grant. It would be a philosophy. And I can definitely go into why, if this is the right time for that.

[9727] Phuong Nguyen: Yes, I would like to hear.

[9728] Bowen Zhang: And is that only for the unduplicated people, or this is for everyone?

[9732] Nicole Pierce-Davis: No, for all students. So this would be for all students, but there would be a focus on unduplicated students. There generally is for most grants. You can add anything if you need to. Yeah. But in terms of prerequisites, there's really three reasons why you've seen the kind of going away of prerequisites, specifically for AP classes. I want to be clear on that. There are certain classes where prerequisites are needed because you're building on curriculum. But for many of these AP classes, they are standalone courses. So one, it is an equity. It is for equity. There's evidence that shows that students taking AP courses and exams in high school are more likely to succeed in college. And that is after controlling for other variables, particularly success in sciences. So maybe you didn't do well in science. Maybe you did well in science. It actually does not impact, according to research, how well you do when you get to that AP science class. Also, taking AP classes can make college more affordable. There's evidence that when you complete a four-year college degrees earlier when you've completed an AP course in high school. And then I think the most important part here, and I'm going to kind of elaborate on this last part a little bit more. is that when it is part of a larger instructional improvement effort, universal access to AP programs actually address the achievement gap. And that's for three main reasons. One, for tracking. We know that tracking actually just doesn't work. And I would never normally discuss students in terms of high, medium, and low and be clear when I'm saying this, I'm addressing standards and not the kids themselves because we all believe in multiple intelligences. But for the simple in it for, again, a simple sort of understanding of why this is. When you put low students performing low with low, medium with medium, and high with high, what you see is high make the growth that they would normally make, and medium make moderate growth, and low stay low. When you actually have mixed groupings, What you see is that the high make the same amount of growth that they would normally see, the low make faster, more accelerated growth, and the medium make slightly more faster, moderated growth as well. So tracking, and we actually saw that at Newark Memorial High School. When they did remove the prerequisites, their enrollment went up by 3% and the achievement went up by 3%, right? So we didn't actually see a dropping all of a sudden because we're increasing the amount of enrollment to students. The other reason is when we apply that restorative lens, when we talked about that study session last week, we talked about that restorative lens. If we are really expecting to have high expectations for all students, we simply cannot say we don't think that you can make it. We don't think that you can achieve at that class. Essentially what it does is it actually lowers rigor and it lowers standards for kids. When a student is saying, I want to take this AP class because I want to challenge myself, despite how they've done in the past, if we are taking a restorative lens, we're going to say, yep, we also think you can do well in this class. And instead of thinking about how we create a barrier towards taking that class, we want to think about how we can support them in taking that class. And then finally, when we think about it, in all honesty, representation matters. I normally don't talk about my own resume, but while I was the principal of a large comprehensive high school, larger than Newark Memorial, I was able to raise the A to G pass rate by about 20% in two years. So this work is very near and dear to my heart. And one of the reasons for that is because we've seen it work. So I actually brought in some researchers from Cal Berkeley who sat in some classes. And what they noticed over the course of two years, and they were particularly looking at black students in AP classes, what they noticed is AP classes with three or more black students in them, the black students participated more, they engaged more in class, and they actually achieved at higher rates. When there was less than three students, they tended to be silent. They tended to sit in the back, and they tended to not participate. And so just by increasing the amount of access to classes, you're going to see people feel more comfortable. And there's a ton of research on this. And again, I can provide some resources for that. It was a bit shocking for me to hear that, because it felt like kind of going back to kind of what we experienced when we were kids in high school. And you just don't see that as much anymore.

[9989] Bowen Zhang: So my last follow-up is, will there be a separate vote for the board to actually adopt this AP policy going forward for everyone in the entire district.

[10000] Nicole Pierce-Davis: In terms of dropping prerequisites? Yes. I'm not sure if that's needed, but I will defer to my supervisor.

[10012] Mark Triplett: We can come back and revisit that with the board. We'd have to look into what is necessary in terms of being passed by the board with pre-reqs or non-pre-reqs.

[10028] Phuong Nguyen: Member Hill.

[10029] Aiden Hill: Yeah, thank you, Ms. Kearns. So we as a district have had a long history, and I think that it goes past, quite frankly, all of our tenures. of coming up with programs and then implementing them, and then not really having clear goals and metrics, and not really achieving a lot, and then quietly they just sort of disappear. And so, you know, kind of my concern, and as some people may remember, I was the sole vote against the DLI program, and it wasn't because I was opposed to DLI, it was because we didn't have any goals and metrics. And in my mind, how you focus the mind and how all great people achieve great things is by having goals and having a plan to achieve those goals and tracking them. And so I really would like to see, if you guys are going to bring this back, you know, some very specific goals. And it's not just kind of, you know, excuse my French, make work goals. It's like, you know, we're specifically, you know, as I think Ms. Pierce is indicating, we're saying we're going to try to increase the pass rate. And it sounds like you have maybe some experience so you can maybe calibrate and say, okay, based on my experience, here's sort of a reasonable plan. And then let's put something together, right? Let's put some commitments together to do that. And then the only other thing that I think that we need to do is to balance and to make sure that we don't achieve those goals by cutting corners and maybe having great inflation or that kind of thing, that it really is truly academic improvement. And so I would really appreciate when you bring this back that we have some type of you know, trajectory and some type of specific, you know, metrics that we're committing to.

[10147] Nicole Pierce-Davis: So I think the metrics are in the plan as is. There will be progress monitoring metrics that we develop with the new employees should this be passed. I think the nice thing about this is it is a part of a cycle of inquiry. And the reality is sometimes part of cycle of inquiry and part of learning is you have to try something and see if it works. My hope is that with the experience I'm bringing to the district and with the team that we have in Ed Services, that we can make growth in those areas, but I would be hesitant to predetermine what those goals would be or what those progress monitoring tools would be, because part of this position would be to pull together our team of counselors, pull together our team of college and career... Professionals, I'm drawing a blank on their exact title, but would be coming together to develop a team instead of predetermining it and then basically employing somebody and saying, okay, just do this checkbox list of things. I need them to actually bring something to the table, right? And I need this to be, if we develop it collaboratively, then it's more likely to get legs and actually be successful.

[10214] Aiden Hill: And so then what I would say is, I mean, I understand that maybe you need to get, you know, some data initially. But the concern that I have here is when I look at the measurement section, here's the metrics that we currently have. NUSD will monitor the number of all students who are enrolled, right? That's measurement number one. NUSD will monitor the number of unduplicated students, the third one. NUSD will monitor and analyze, fourth one. NUSD will monitor and analyze. NUSD will monitor and analyze, right? So in my opinion, How can you identify success there, right? And so what I would say is that if we're going to do that, then fine, you have a year one or a base year where you say we're going to analyze a monitor, but then year two is we're going to commit after year one to putting goals together that we're going to actually see, is this worth the money? Is this worth the time?

[10271] Nicole Pierce-Davis: Yeah, so that would be a part of those progress monitoring tools that I talked about. I'll give you an example maybe that would help just to clarify. One example of that would be when we see a big goal like we will monitor four-year graduation rate cohort data for all students. One of the progress monitoring tools might be back again with a team, because we do not want to do this in isolation, but we want to do this as a team. One of the progress monitoring tools would be to backwards map what is on track to graduate 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th grades. and then pulling reports and transcripts along the way. So that's kind of what we're talking about. The purpose of bringing this person is to bring those systems to the table so that we can have some of those smaller metrics that you're looking for. But we don't want to make those in isolation. We want to bring other people to the team. OK, thank you. Yeah, thank you.

[10316] Phuong Nguyen: Member Grindel?

[10319] Terrence Grindall: Yes, I just wanted to weigh in on the on the prerequisite idea. The key is the rigor of the course itself, not the process by which the students get into it. So certainly if we're talking about if there's any discussion of weakening the rigor in order to make it to make it more pleasant or easy, then I have serious concerns. As long as the rigor is there and staff is working on how to expand opportunities and at the same time even increasing the rigor and the amount of learning, then I'm all ears. And I understand that's not the case, but it's very important that we hold to the rigor. And that's from my perspective.

[10375] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Pierce. I mean, I know that we had, it was the question that I had broached to you and you gave us a really great explanation offline, but for you to reiterate it again tonight, it does give us another perspective because we tend to do hold on to our old, our old, you know, way of thought process and what we went through and experienced ourselves. So, and I just really appreciated that. So thank you.

[10407] SPEAKER_37: May I ask a question? Yes, sorry. Student board member? I was wondering if this position would be taken at school. And I ask this because I feel like this position is amazing, and it sounds truly impactful for all students. But that connection with students and seeing how our school works and how the students work is key for this position. So I ask, will this position be taking place at school with Counseling Center?

[10436] Nicole Pierce-Davis: That's a great suggestion. We will keep that in mind. We have actually discussed placement specifically at Newark Memorial High School, but we haven't set that particular. But I appreciate your lens around making sure that personnel are where the work is happening.

[10453] SPEAKER_37: All right. And my second question, has this been discussed with the Counseling Center or Career Center?

[10458] Abbey Keirns: Yes, we met with the Newark Memorial High School counselors. not last week, but the week prior, and got their input on that self-assessment and also got their ideas about what they thought would be the best use of these funds. We weren't able to meet with the counselor at Bridgepoint, but we got their input via survey.

[10479] SPEAKER_37: All right. And my last question, echoing Member Hill's comment, like I said, this sounds like a great position, but I do want to know, how will this position be ensured that they complete everything? Because everything sounds amazing, but I fear that not everything will be completed in the two years or three years we choose.

[10502] Nicole Pierce-Davis: We won't. I'll be clear. We won't. This is a lofty goal, in all honesty. But again, I've got the experience. We were able to raise it. Can I guarantee that growth? No, we can't. But we can certainly, what I can guarantee is that Ed Services team is working together again. around a tight cycle of inquiry, trying to put things in place, and then measuring to see if we're noticing growth. If it doesn't work, we're going to have to pivot. The nice thing about this particular grant is that we're not using our own money to do this exploration work, right? And what we can say is, when it comes to student achievement, I think we've been saying over and over this year, it's time that we start transitioning and focusing around academic achievement. And we're hoping that this is starting that pivot in that direction.

[10552] SPEAKER_37: Great. And additionally, for unduplicated students, I know that counts also for English learners. Is there extra work set for English learners and allowing them to actually achieve A through G courses and eventually apply to AP courses or actually get the chance to apply to college? Because I do know currently there is a kind of misunderstanding breakthrough between English learners and achieving A through G requirements lessening the chances of getting through college.

[10581] Abbey Keirns: So this connects to other things we're doing with regard to the course path, course options, course placements for English learners depending on level. And I think this also goes back to that ongoing work with a counselor. So for the academic counselor to have a deep relationship with English learners, to let them know, like, here's where you're growing, here's where you need to, in order to reclassify, remove yourself from ELD courses, so you continue to have that extra slot for additional coursework, per se. But that ongoing work, I think, does need to happen with someone who really knows the student well and helps them set goals for sort of being reclassified, especially if they've been a long-term English learner.

[10624] Nicole Pierce-Davis: And again, I don't think we're trying to, this is not a case where we're trying to hide the gaps. This is one of those cases where we're actually opening those gaps and saying, we're trying to bring in someone that can really help us address it in a real way. And I think what we've noticed in our cycle of inquiry, again, is we have noticed some gaps there. And that's what we're hoping this person can come in and support us with. All right. Thank you.

[10649] Phuong Nguyen: Great. Thank you, student board member. In terms of the discussion that's open for discussion is the three-year versus two-year option. Does any of the other board members want to weigh in? Member Grindel had already mentioned that he is in favor of option two. I myself am also in favor of option two.

[10676] SPEAKER_26: I agree with option two.

[10678] Phuong Nguyen: Member Zhang, do you have any comments?

[10681] Bowen Zhang: I don't really have a particular preference on that.

[10684] Phuong Nguyen: Student board members?

[10687] SPEAKER_37: I do support option two more likely than option one. However, like I said, I would definitely love to see the ensuring-ness that if we're going to have less than one year in option one, two years, that this will be at maximum potential of this job and maximum doing everything we can in such a short, limited amount of time, unfortunately. Yeah.

[10711] Phuong Nguyen: Yeah. Member Hill, do you have any any comments?

[10717] Aiden Hill: Yeah, I share the student members viewpoint so that I don't have a strong preference. I'm, you know, either way. But again, I just want to make sure that we have goals and metrics that we're trying to shoot for, even in, you know, sort of a beginning phase. You know, we can say, here's specific deliverables that we're going to come up with, you know, in year one and year two. That would make me feel comfortable.

[10740] Phuong Nguyen: Okay. Great. And also wanted to hear from staff of, you know, what preferences you guys prefer.

[10752] Abbey Keirns: Oh, I see the benefits of both. I think that like the student board members shared that a longer presence, it can really kind of assure that something takes hold. And at the same time, we don't want to create a sort of dependency. We want this to be like a kind of restart or reset, create systems that then capacity is built around and survives for a long time in the school. So in some sense, I think within two years, especially at the higher pay scale rate, we might be able to get someone who's like just the right person to be able to bring that level of expertise, so.

[10794] Phuong Nguyen: Member Grindel.

[10794] Terrence Grindall: I was gonna say that the decision can come after the community's had a chance to review it, and so I have a general preference for option two, but we have a chance to hear from the community and process this information, but that's, That's where I'm leaning. I did have one question. Do you envision that it would be easier to recruit someone for a three-year position than a two-year position?

[10823] Nicole Pierce-Davis: Good question. You sort of, yeah. That is why it was, that's why I declined to answer when you said, do you have a preference? What we have found in the last year is it's just been hard to staff all of our positions. And so that is a real concern. And I think, you know, in a perfect world, we would have both options out there. And when we found the perfect candidate, but that's not the way it works. So unfortunately, I think staffing has been a challenge. So I'm not sure if we'd have a better, I think as, as Ms. Karen's already said, the three year position may be, it just depends on the candidate. You just never know.

[10866] Phuong Nguyen: Great. Thank you so much, Ms. Kearns. I really appreciate the time. Okay. We're going to move on to item 12.4, since we had an adjustment to the agenda. So, item 12.4, 2021-22, second interim budget report. Dr. Chiplett.

[10895] Mark Triplett: Thank you, President Nguyen. So, Ms. Dela Cruz is going to be sharing the result of an extensive amount of work on the part of herself and the team. to pull together the second interim budget report and we'll see how the distinction between or the changes that have occurred between the first interim and the second interim and the impact of those changes on the current budget report. Ms. Delacruz.

[10929] Marie dela Cruz: Thank you, Dr. Triplett. So I'm pleased to present the second interim budget report tonight. The brief background, the second interim report covers the period from July 1st through January 31st, whereas the first interim ended in October 31st. This report has to be submitted to the Alameda County Office of Education by March 17th, where they will do their review. And it is a snapshot in time of the district's revenue and expenditures for the current year. as well as a projection of the two subsequent years. So it does include revisions since the first interim report. The second interim report, just like the first interim, needs to be certified either positive, qualified, or negative. A positive certification means that the district will be able to meet its obligations in the current year and the two subsequent years. A qualified certification means the district may not be able to meet its financial obligations in the current year or in the two subsequent years. The negative certification means that the district will not be able to meet its financial obligations for the remainder of the current year or the subsequent year. In our particular case, in the end, I will be recommending a positive certification. So first of all, I'm talking about enrollment and ADA. So this year our enrollment is 336 students below last year, which is about a 7% decline. We are funded based on ADA, the average daily attendance, not enrollment. And the ADA that we've been funded on has been based on our 1920 ADA for the last couple of years because of COVID. It was a hold harmless provision that the state allowed. And our ADA in 1920 was 5,483. And that ends this year. So at second interim, our ADA is projected at 4,794. This is 689 less than the hold harmless of 5,483, which is about a 13% decline. At first interim, we had a projection of 5,045, because what we normally do is look at our historical ratio. And historically, our ADA to enrollment ratio was 97% to 98%. So that's how, at first interim, we had the 5,045, but since then, We filed our P1 attendance report, which is based on our actual attendance, that ended in December 2021. And at that time, our ADA was 4,794, which is 93% ADA to enrollment ratio. So you can see just on the chart there how the gap has gotten wider in 21-22 between ADA and enrollment. That's why it's important to make that distinction. We are not alone, however. School services just shared some data with us and the state ADA overall has declined 8.5%. School districts have declined by 9.07%. The county offices of education have experienced the highest decline at 50%. And charter schools are at 3% decline. I just want to share that our neighboring districts are also declining about the same rate that we are. anywhere between as far as their 88 to enrollment ratio from 88% to 91%. So even lower than us. At the last board meeting or the meeting before that, I shared the governor's proposal on how they proposed to resolve the ADA cliff that all districts will be experiencing. Currently, our funding is based on either the current year ADA or the prior year ADA, whichever is higher. So he's adding a third option, which would be computed based on our average ADA using the prior three years, whichever is higher. And how that would impact our district. It would provide us with 459 more ADA. So under current law, if you can see on the left side, that's our actual ADA up to 21-22 and then projected to 22-23. So under current law, our funding would be based on the 4,794. But under the governor's proposal, the average would give us the 5,253. So that would be 459. more ADA, which if you estimate it based on $10,000 per ADA, it would be $4.59 million in more funding. And we should hear more about the proposal at the May revise. In terms of our revenues, our revenues are almost $79 million. 73% of that is unrestricted. 27% is restricted funding. Our local control funding formula is about 56 million and that represents 97% of our unrestricted funds. We have 9.4 million in federal funds and that this year it's higher than normal because it does include about 6.7 million in one-time COVID-related funds such as our ESSER and our ELO grant. And in state revenues, there's $8.8 million, which also includes about $2.3 million in the ELOP, Expanded Learning Opportunities Program, and also the Educator Effectiveness Block Grant. The changes to revenue since first interim are unrestricted revenues slightly increased about $127,000 because of an increase in other local revenues, which is local grants and donations. Restricted revenues increased about $814,000, and that includes the A to G Improvement Grant that Ms. Cairns just talked about, about $375,000, plus some special ed learning recovery support of about $334,000. We continue to contribute to our special education program because it's, significantly underfunded. We contribute $7.3 million from our general fund to special education. We're also required to contribute 3% of our total expenditures, which in this case is about $2.1 million to our routine restricted maintenance to maintain our school buildings. And there was a net increase in contributions of $765,000 due to lower SPED revenues. which is also related to our lower ADA, as well as increases in our expenditures. Our total expenditures is almost $81 million. 70% of that is for salaries and benefits. And we have 22% for services and other operating expenditures, which includes all of our utilities, legal services, and contracts for professional services. There's $9.9 million in expenditures for one-time restricted COVID and grant-related expenditures, such as ESSER and ELOG and the Educator Effectiveness Block Grant. So in summary, looking at our unrestricted funds, our net increase to fund balance is about $416,000. And our total reserves is $13 million, which is 16% of total expenditures. just slightly less than the board goal of 17%. In our multi-year projection, the assumptions include a cost of living adjustment at 5.33% for next year and 3.61% in the following year. The Hold Harmless ADA ends this year, so our ADA funding will be based on the $4,794 at this point, unless something changes with the governor's proposal and if the legislatures pass one of the proposed solutions for the ADA cliff. Our projected deficit now, because of the lower ADA, is at $4.5 million in 22-23 and $4.7 million in 23-24. Our reserves will be down to 5% by 23-24, which is still within the state standard. I just want to point out, if our district only maintained a 3% minimum, we would have been certifying a qualified budget. In our other restricted reserve funds, we do have nine other funds, including adult ed, the child care program, our cafeteria service, the special reserve for emergencies, our building fund, capital facilities, the bond, and the special reserve for capital outlay, which is also known as our Russian funds. We've spent all of our Fund 21 Measure G bond. You can see our ending fund balance is zero. Our developer fees, we still have a fund balance of $15.1 million. And the capital outlay fund 40, Russian funds, we have a fund balance of $9.3 million. So as a final summary, our budget is projected to end with a net increase in unrestricted of $416,000 with a 16% reserve for economic uncertainties. Our projected deficit for next year is $4.5 million, and the year after that is $4.7 million for a total of $9.2 million. We will reduce our reserves down to 5% by 2023-2024. It's below the board's goal of 17%, but it is within the state standard of 3%. In a couple of agenda items, we do have a resolution that will commit us to balance our budget for next year and the following year. And with that, we are recommending approval of a positive certification for this second interim budget. Thank you. And do you have any questions or comments? be happy to address them.

[11687] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you, Ms. Dela Cruz. Questions and comments from board members? Member Grindel?

[11696] Terrence Grindall: Thank you for this report and the presentation. It is great that we're a positive certification. Certainly, there is a looming problem. If there was another column on this chart, you'd see some red ink. And so that tells us that although we can celebrate this positive certification, we have to keep our eye on that issue. And going forward, we have to find a way to get our enrollment up. And, you know, part of the gap between ADA and enrollment is, of course, COVID, right? So that gap should shrink. But I don't think that's going to solve that whole problem. So I'm glad we're at a positive certification, and I appreciate all your efforts. But I just want to make it clear that we do have that further cliff, because our reserves, based on the long-term projections, our reserves are going to shrink. And of course, the longer you look, the less clear things are. But I did want to highlight that problem. So that's all I have.

[11773] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you, Member Grindel. Any other comments? Member Hill?

[11779] Aiden Hill: Thank you, Ms.dela Cruz. Three questions. The first one is, on the page that you have where you show enrollment and ADA history, and then you show the big divergence at the end, The question is, do we have any theories about why that's happening? Why ADA is not following that same, basically, trajectory? So that's question one. Question two is, does this first interim include the fact from the recent audit that we have to potentially pay the state back $660,000? So is that factored into this analysis? And then third, if we're going to be signing up for a resolution that basically says we're going to have to start doing budget balancing and cutting, do we have plans on how we're going to achieve those numbers? So those are my three questions.

[11841] Marie dela Cruz: So in terms of the attendance rate, I would have to attribute it to COVID. Again, historically, we've had a great attendance rate, 97 and 98%. And we just have to work harder to get that back, because that will make a big difference. In some cases, too, excused absences count towards our ADA. So maybe we need to go back and check to make sure that if students were out because they were ill or because of COVID reasons, We need to make sure that those are documented properly as excused absences. So maybe there might be some opportunity there. But I just think it really does have to do with COVID. If all the districts are going through it, then it has to, that has to be.

[11894] Aiden Hill: That's happening to everybody?

[11896] Marie dela Cruz: Yes. So our neighboring districts, I know, are even worse. 88% in one, 90% in another, 91% My colleagues and I compare notes, so I know. In terms of the audit finding, no, that has not been incorporated in this report. And yes, if we are asked to adjust our funding because of that. And then your other question was?

[11935] Aiden Hill: Do we have a plan for how we're going

[11938] Marie dela Cruz: Oh, yes. So we are planning to have a study session with the board and also work with our teams to get some input and feedback on where we could balance our budget and that could either be opportunities to increase revenues or it's reduction in expenditures. So those are basically the main ways to balance the budget. You either increase your revenues or you reduce your expenditures.

[11972] Mark Triplett: Thank you. If I may add and the things that we'll see later on in the agenda tonight around the staffing resolutions and reducing staff, of course, is one of the most critical ways, difficult but critical ways to be reducing our expenses.

[11991] Phuong Nguyen: Member Zhang?

[11993] Bowen Zhang: So my question is the projected deficit, does that include the most recent governor's proposal of this ramp down ADA laws? That is not considering that's sort of a one-time suite proposal, right?

[12007] Marie dela Cruz: No, it doesn't include the governor's proposal, because it hasn't been passed by the legislature. And we're always advised by the county to base our budget on what we know today and not on hope.

[12024] Phuong Nguyen: So the actuals from December, which was $4,794, is what's used for the protection?

[12029] Marie dela Cruz: Yes. Because historically, the P1 report is pretty close to the next reporting period, which is P2. And there's only like maybe 1% difference, but it's always very close.

[12045] Terrence Grindall: Go ahead, member. Thank you. But of course, the governor's proposal, because it's kind of a running average, is really more of a soft landing than it is a long-term adjustment.

[12057] Marie dela Cruz: Correct, unless they make it a permanent adjustment. Right.

[12065] Phuong Nguyen: Any other questions or comments? I just have one question or comment. Can you please remind us when we have to use the one-time restricted COVID and grant-related funds?

[12081] Marie dela Cruz: They all have different timelines. Some of them end next year. and others have two more years. So depending on the funding, it could be one to two years more.

[12098] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you, Ms. Dela Cruz. There's no further questions or comments. Thank you. Oh, we do have to take a motion. We do have to make a motion to approve the recommendation.

[12111] Bowen Zhang: I move to certify the second term budget with a positive certification.

[12116] SPEAKER_26: I second the motion.

[12118] Phuong Nguyen: Member Zhang, moved. Member Marquez, second. How do you vote? Student board member? Yes. Member Zhang? Yes. Member Marquez? Yes. Member Hill? Yes. Member Grindel? Yes. And myself is yes, too. So six ayes.

[12142] Marie dela Cruz: Thank you.

[12144] Aiden Hill: Should we, just thinking ahead, should we put in Should we make a motion to extend our time period?

[12155] Bowen Zhang: This is like 9-20. OK. How about we do that once we get closer to 10? Because you probably wouldn't know how long we would really need to extend.

[12162] Phuong Nguyen: OK. OK, great. So onto item 12.2. We do have a public comment. for the resolution on number 2021- I mean 2021.2022.23 classified layoffs. Ms. Angela Lee.

[12192] SPEAKER_16: Welcome. Hello, good evening. I like to speak on 12.2 and I'm going to do this a little differently because We've said the same thing over and over again, so maybe this way we'll change it a little differently. In each meeting about the deficit, the classified get cut and cut and cut. We're forced more work to make the best of it, yet someone's pay goes up and up and up. Do not touch classrooms. Our students are first, yet we serve them every single school day. So few are we in this district were cursed We need more help is what your studies say. But still further, we sink into this mire. Your strategy, we plead you, please review. The situation feels only most dire because we see each meeting what you do. The classified get cut and cut and cut, yet someone's pay goes up and up and up. Thank you.

[12258] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you, Ms. Lee. Okay, item 12.2, Dr. Triplett.

[12268] Mark Triplett: Thank you, President Nguyen. So Ms. Catherine Ingham-Watters will be discussing this item and the following one as well.

[12280] SPEAKER_25: Good evening. The resolution for your approval tonight is for classified staff due to lack of work or lack of funds. As you may know, the timeline for this process has been changed from a 60-day notice in years past to now mirroring our timeline for certificated layoffs, which is a notification by March 15th. Included in this resolution are classified positions that were staffed this year with one-time funding, like the ESSER and COVID funds, positions that are included in the sites SPSA plans, as well as positions that will be closed due to the closure of Music Elementary. For the SPSA funded positions, the school site councils at each site will need to review their budget allocations and approve their site plan for student achievement, their SIPSAs. It is our hope that once this process happens, we will be able to rescind notices for some positions. They are included in this resolution at this time due to the requirements of AB 438, which require a March 15th notification. We have approximately 30.4 FTEs included in the resolution. Of those approximately 30.4 FTEs, six of those are currently vacant positions. The rest are split up in this way. COVID funding, one-time funding, approximately 14.7 FTE. Those that are due to, funded by the SPSA plans at the school sites, 9.2 FTE. Enrollment due to lower enrollment, 0.47, which is a food service temporary increase. and then music consolidation 5.9 approximately FTE. We are working with our classified labor group to determine layoffs, including those who can move to vacant positions, such as our special education aides and our food service assistants, and those who may have bumping rights per our collective bargaining agreement.

[12435] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you, Ms. Singham Waters. Any comments or questions from the board? Member Zhang?

[12440] Bowen Zhang: Yeah, so I know we're eliminating roughly 31 FTE and six of them are vacant. Do we have any idea about how many people are actually going to be losing their jobs?

[12454] SPEAKER_25: Well, it depends on using the seniority list and what other positions they may be able to go into. There could be vacancies and other classifications. They could be noticed. And then the site council does confirm that they want to continue with certain classified personnel. And so they can be rescinded and asked back. So there's a lot of variable. There's a lot of variable reasons. We could get resignations, we could get retirements, which would open positions. But the ones that were hired most recently, I would say, are the ones with the one-time ESSER and COVID-related funds. And so, yeah, I would say... So, yeah, that's the 14.7 position, right? That's correct.

[12507] Phuong Nguyen: Yeah. Member Hill.

[12510] Aiden Hill: Thank you, Ms. Waters. And this might be a little bit of an overlap with Remember Zhang's questions. So understand that, obviously, music is being closed, right? And so, again, that part makes sense. It's very unfortunate, but it makes sense. The parts that are temporarily funded, where we got additional funding for COVID, et cetera, again, it was temporary from the beginning. It's very unfortunate, but understand it was temporary. But how much of this maybe is expense that we had from prior to COVID and prior to all this? Can you give us a sense of this? And are there other options, if this amount is significant, that we could consider in helping to preserve those jobs?

[12567] SPEAKER_25: Again, from what you mentioned, I would say the CPSA funded positions, that is a variable budget that the sites get a budget allocation for every year. Again, it's based on enrollment. And so as a site leader, you would get your budget allocation and develop your school site plan, which could include certificated personnel, it could include classified personnel, it could include programs and purchases and technology. It's really depending on what the needs are at the site level. And so anticipating possible reductions in those budget allocations. It is not safe to assume that all of the sites can continue with the staffing as they may have had in past years. And so with AB 438 requiring this early notification, we just don't have the luxury of time for sites to get their budget allocations and determine what staffing they would like to continue to fund in their SPSA plans. And so for that reason, we included all of those classified positions that are funded with the SPSA. So I would say to answer your question, yes, the COVID funding was the one-time funded, the music consolidation because of the closure. So for the SPSA piece, it's about 9.2 FTE. That may certainly well continue, but the sites have to look at their budget allocation and make their plan accordingly.

[12662] Aiden Hill: Right. And so I understand that you do, you know, you're required by law to give notification if it's, you know, a possibility, right? But at the same time, there still is maybe a window to still evaluate and look at it. And then also maybe if we, as we do this study session, we can also evaluate that as a, you know, one variable. You know, maybe there's other scenarios we could look at. Is that correct?

[12690] SPEAKER_25: Other scenarios meaning?

[12692] Aiden Hill: Meaning cutting from somewhere else.

[12700] Marie dela Cruz: In terms of these positions, it's all based on temporary funding. Is that so?

[12710] Aiden Hill: Right, but on the SPSA piece. So if their funding gets reduced, I mean, do we have the latitude to maybe make it up from somewhere else, that we cut somewhere else and provide, you know, the gap in funding for those positions?

[12729] Marie dela Cruz: It would be difficult because then you would have to look at your general fund because the SPSA funds are your restricted, your Title I funding and your LCAP funding. We also provided some ESSER money as part of their SPSA last year. So if you were to do that, you'd have to look at the general unrestricted funds possibly. Okay.

[12758] Aiden Hill: All right. Thank you.

[12762] Phuong Nguyen: Member Grindel?

[12764] Terrence Grindall: Yes. I hear the interest from staff in trying to find a way to keep as many of our people on board and understand that this process is a little awkward in terms of the timing that the state law requires. But I do hear a desire to keep as many of our people on board and I support that.

[12793] Phuong Nguyen: Student board member.

[12796] SPEAKER_37: This is more of a comment rather than a question, but I would like to stay and remind all of us that we are here for the students, thousands of students. But when I say we, I do not mean only the district, the board members and executive cabinet. I also mean the teachers, the community, staff, everyone. And it saddens me to see people of the community come up continuously to these board meetings and essentially plead with us to not cut staff and not do this, and hearing we have these one-time fundings, but still seeing these raises, it doesn't add up sometimes to me, and I might not understand the numbers, but it feels very strange to be up here and hear these people, hear our community, but not really take action based on this.

[12845] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you. Member Marquez.

[12848] SPEAKER_26: Thank you for the acknowledgement. I'm not asking now but maybe in the future or if we could receive the information is finding out. I'm just curious to see how many of our actual school sites or site council has met and concluded or they're ready to vote or go ahead and approve their actual SIPSAs, right, to support what it is the board is trying to do without until we know what's going on. Is there any way that, not today, but You know, maybe within the next week or so that we can get a report knowing where it is, where they're at as far as their steps. Do they have another meeting? What's holding them up? Do they need some type of support? Do they need clarity on how the fundings can be expensed so that we can get their approvals?

[12892] SPEAKER_25: Yeah, thank you for bringing that up. The principals are awaiting their budget allocation. So that's coming this month. And then the process of school site council is to really look at the data and the needs of the school. So even though we're more than halfway done with the school year, you don't want to rush that process because you really want to evaluate programs throughout the year. And so the SPSAs come for your approval usually right at the end of the year, one of the last meetings in May or the first meeting in June. So you'll be able to see how they as a school site council develop their plan, including staffing considerations. So that's when it would come to you, but really the process for when they receive their budget allocations and the next several months is really reviewing the needs, the data, the goals, and then writing the plan.

[12950] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you. Any other comments or questions in regards to this resolution? May I get a motion for approval?

[12963] Bowen Zhang: I move to approve the resolution.

[12966] Terrence Grindall: I'll second.

[12967] Phuong Nguyen: Motion made by member Zhang, seconded by member Grindell. How do you vote, student board member?

[12975] SPEAKER_37: No.

[12977] Phuong Nguyen: Member Zhang?

[12978] SPEAKER_39: Yes.

[12979] Phuong Nguyen: Member Marquez? Yes. Member Hill? Yes. Member Grindell?

[12984] SPEAKER_39: Yes.

[12986] Phuong Nguyen: And I vote yes as well. Five ayes and one no. Okay, onto item 12.3, resolution number 2021-.22.24, resolution to reduce the number of certificated employee due to a reduction of particular kind of services for the 22-23 school year. Superintendent Triplett.

[13023] Mark Triplett: Thank you, President Nguyen. So Ms. Catheerine Ingham-Watters will speak on this as well. This is the certificated resolution in conjunction with the classified resolution in 12.2.

[13039] SPEAKER_25: The resolution for your approval tonight is for layoff reductions in certificated staff due to lack of work or lack of funds. Included in this resolution are certificated positions that were staffed this year with one-time funding, like the ESSER and COVID funds, positions that are included in the site's SPSA plan, as well as positions that will be closed due to the closure of Music Elementary. For the FTE reduction due to changes in enrollment, The majority of this includes temporary teachers, as well as those who are resigning and retiring, what we call natural attrition. We will need to notice approximately 10 FTE. And as of today, that number decreased as we receive more resignations and retirees. Noticing approximately 10 FTE based on the seniority list as well as the certifications and credentials they hold. We are hopeful that once the sites determine their CPSA funded positions later in the spring, we will able to bring back those noticed. A breakdown for certificated FTE, the total resolution is 31.9. For SPSA, LCAP, and COVID, those one-time funding positions, 17.1. And then due to enrollment and music consolidation, 14.8. So a total resolution of 31.9 FTEs. But as far as the anticipated question of how many people are actually going to be noticed, is down to less than 10 at this point. We are working closely with our certificated labor group to review the seniority list, the credential areas, et cetera.

[13175] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you, Ms. Singham-Waters. Any questions or comments by the board? Member Zhang? Student board member? Member Hill?

[13184] Aiden Hill: Thank you, Ms. Waters. And yeah, just like with the prior resolution, I mean, it's frustrating. And I share the student members' frustration. And thank you for voting your conscience on that. And so I understand we're at a time where we have to make some tough decisions. But at the same time, I'm a real believer in that the power of human ingenuity and sometimes coming up with a solution that maybe seems intractable And so although we've got to give notice right now, you know, if there's a way that we can be really, really creative in thinking about, you know, how to preserve as many jobs as possible, you know, I think it would be helpful. And I think also maybe an admonition to all of us that I think we should be very careful in the future if we get temporary funds and really considering bringing people on. because, you know, in some ways we're just setting us up for this kind of situation in the future. And these are people's lives and, you know, and again, we want everybody to feel like they're a part of the team. So, you know, I understand that it's necessary right now, but, you know, if we can pull a rabbit out of the hat or somehow, you know, look at alternative ways to balance things, that would be wonderful. Thank you.

[13262] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you.

[13262] Bowen Zhang: Member Grindel. So, I think based on what missing one water just said if it does feel like there's a high chance to notice we're going to send out will be brought back.

[13278] Phuong Nguyen: Member Grindel.

[13279] Terrence Grindall: Yeah, I just wanted to echo the comments I made about the last item. You know, I hear from staff that the efforts can be made to keep as many people, many of our people on board and the it sounds like since people are retiring that it could possibly would be none of the people who were noticed would actually end up departing the district. So I also echo a member Hill's desire to sort of sharpen our pencils and see if we can be creative. And also really applaud the staff for thinking about trying to keep our people on board. So thank you.

[13321] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you. Member Marquez.

[13324] SPEAKER_26: Thank you. accepting a position that's oftentimes funded with soft money or with one-time funds is a huge position that the person who's accepting the actual job is making not only for themselves, but for their family and loved ones. So I can only imagine, because I know that when the funding is provided, just like it's broken down for us during presentation, it's very specific and tells us this is going to be a one-time funding, or this is only going to last for two to three years. While I clearly understand the sentiment and the emotion that our student board member shares with us, oftentimes as human, we take these risks because we have that hope, right? We have that hope that the position that we're in will continue and that the school district will do and the board itself and the elected body will go ahead and make determinations to keep them employed after the two to three years or whatever the deadline is, when the funds actually end. So I want to applaud the executive board for working hard, because when you go from 31, almost 32, and you're down to 10, and we're still working towards less, this is when we have to show that teamwork. This is when we need the site councils and the principals, no pressure, that come together and to really make sure that they, too, are working as a team and as a unit to allocate the funds where they feel that are best suited. to keep some of that soft money or to keep some of that funding that was already available to continue the employment of the valued personnel. So our support's there. And I applaud for the amount of work that's being put into just the reduction in the number itself. And the genuine vote and from the heart from our student board member, because then that shows the empathy, that shows that we do care. And when you get old like me, And with the experience and over time, this isn't anything new. It happens. I've seen it. We both work in Alameda County as well as out in Modesto in the Office of Education that this is a part of the business. And it's no easy task. But I just want to acknowledge the fact that it's difficult, right? And applaud you for just the fact that it's almost 22 reductions. you know, from when the documents being made to being able to report out to the public and to the board that we're down to 10 and we're hoping there'll be more. So thank you for that.

[13477] Phuong Nguyen: Yes, I think it's just really difficult. You know, we have to make this decision now, even though the actuals, we won't be able to see them much later. So that part of it is always disheartening. And unfortunately, this is the time that we have to make that decision. So

[13495] SPEAKER_25: And I would like to clarify Ms. Marquez's last comment just to make sure that you understand the reduction from 31.9 to less than 10. Let me just clarify that. There are a number of teachers that are on temporary status and temporary funding. And so later in the consent item, that is the release of temporary teachers. And so the 31.9 minus the list of temporary teachers, my description of the less than 10, I was talking about those with status above temporary. So interns, probe ones, probe twos on the seniority list for certificated.

[13547] SPEAKER_26: And I appreciate the detail. I'm sure that the public does as well. Thank you.

[13551] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you. OK. Yes, student board member.

[13555] SPEAKER_37: I would just like to echo Ms. Marquez's comment that thank you for the work that everyone is doing. And I would also like to echo the fact that we're all appreciating the human ingenuity, as Mr. Hill mentioned, and the careness. But it's ironic to some of our actions. And I am aware I do not represent the teachers or any union. I represent the students. for the teachers and the staff that I know and are dear to, they are my mentors and I look up to them and it seems that, I don't know, it's strange and it doesn't feel right at times and it's just interesting.

[13594] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you for your perspective. Okay, at this time, I'd like, would somebody make a motion to approve

[13605] Bowen Zhang: I move that we approve resolution number 2021.22.24.

[13610] Phuong Nguyen: May I get a second?

[13613] SPEAKER_26: I second the motion.

[13615] Phuong Nguyen: Motion made by Member Zhang, seconded by Member Marquez. Student Board Member, how do you vote?

[13621] SPEAKER_37: No.

[13623] Phuong Nguyen: Member Zhang?

[13624] SPEAKER_39: Yes.

[13625] Phuong Nguyen: Member Marquez?

[13626] SPEAKER_39: Yes.

[13628] Phuong Nguyen: Member Hill? Yes. Member Grindel?

[13630] SPEAKER_39: Yes.

[13631] Phuong Nguyen: And myself, yes as well. We have Five yeses and one no. At this time, Member Hill, would you like to make the motion to extend the meeting? Yes.

[13646] Aiden Hill: Yes, I'd like to make a motion. And because I am a glasses half empty kind of person, people haven't figured out, I'm going to move that we extend the meeting to 12 in anticipation that it will be sooner than that.

[13660] Phuong Nguyen: OK, I second your motion. I second the motion. How do you vote, student board member? And of course you are excused if you don't want to stay. Yes. Member Zhang? Yes. Member Marquez? Yes. Member Hill? Yes. Member Grindel?

[13677] SPEAKER_39: Yes.

[13678] Phuong Nguyen: And myself, yes as well, unanimous. We will be extending the meeting till 12 a.m. Thank you. Okay, on to item 12.5 resolution 2021.22.29 to commit to a budget balancing solution for the 22, 23 and 23, 24 school year. Dr. Triplett.

[13702] Mark Triplett: Thank you, President Nguyen. So this is in conjunction with the second interim budget report and the presentation that Ms. Dela Cruz made where we clearly have some belt tightening that unfortunately needs to happen. And so this resolution is a commitment from the board and the district to make those difficult decisions. And this is something that is then presented to Alameda County. Ms. Delacruz, did you want to add anything?

[13738] Marie dela Cruz: No, just to summarize, this resolution will commit the board and the district to address the four and a half million dollar projected deficit for next year and then the 4.7 in the following year.

[13753] Phuong Nguyen: Member Grindel.

[13755] Terrence Grindall: Yes, just to just to be clear that the addressing of these years could come out of our reserves. So we're not necessarily looking at having to make having to make direct cuts in this regard. That said, it is important that we have a balanced budget, so I'm in support of this resolution.

[13776] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you. Member Hill?

[13779] Aiden Hill: Just to clarify, your assumptions around the $4.5 million for the following year and the $4.7 million, that's an assumption that we are taking money out of reserves and we're going to be bringing down the reserve amount from 16% to something like 5%, is that correct?

[13795] Marie dela Cruz: Yes, that is correct. Great, thank you.

[13798] Phuong Nguyen: Any other questions or comments?

[13802] Bowen Zhang: I move that we approve Resolution 2021.22.29.

[13807] SPEAKER_26: I second the motion.

[13808] Phuong Nguyen: Motion made by Member Zhang, seconded by Member Marquez. Student Board Member, how do you vote?

[13815] SPEAKER_37: Yes.

[13816] Phuong Nguyen: Member Zhang? Yes. Member Marquez? Yes. Member Hill? Yes. Member Grindel? Yes. Myself is yes as well. So, six, six ayes. Okay, on to item 12.6, 2022 ballot for CSBA Delegate Assembly. Dr. Triplett.

[13842] Mark Triplett: Thank you, President Nguyen, and I'm actually going to ask Ms. Gutierrez to do a little explaining on this one. But essentially, this is the School Board Association Delegate Assembly vote that every school board in California then makes. And I'll turn it over to Ms. Gutierrez to explain.

[13862] SPEAKER_33: Sure. Thank you, Dr. Triplett. So this is an annual thing. There are four seats available and there are four candidates. At this point, the board does have to decide make one vote so together you guys decide whether you want to select one person, two, three, or select all four since there are four vacancies available. If there are any questions, I'm available.

[13888] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you, Ms. Gutierrez.

[13889] Bowen Zhang: So given we have four vacancies and four people all want to serve, so I would move that we nominate all four people.

[13896] Phuong Nguyen: I will second that. Motion made by Member Zhang, seconded by myself. Student board member, how do you vote? Yes. Member Zhang? Yes. Member Marquez? Yes. Member Hill?

[13909] SPEAKER_39: Yes.

[13910] Phuong Nguyen: Member Grindel?

[13911] SPEAKER_39: Yes.

[13912] Phuong Nguyen: I myself is a yes, so six ayes. We will be voting for all four candidates. Thank you. On to consent agenda personnel items. Member Hill?

[13930] Aiden Hill: Vote 13.3, please.

[13933] Phuong Nguyen: 13.3, okay.

[13934] Bowen Zhang: I move that we approve 13.2 personnel report.

[13939] Phuong Nguyen: I second. Motion made by Member Zhang, seconded by Member Marquez. How do you vote, Member Zhang?

[13946] SPEAKER_39: Yes.

[13947] Phuong Nguyen: Member Marquez? Yes. Member Hill? Yes. Member Grindel? Yes. And I myself as a yes, so five ayes. Okay, item 13.3, release of temporary certified employees.

[13965] Aiden Hill: Go ahead. Do I just ask? Okay. Yes, so just, I mean, I think we understand the context for, you know, for why we're doing this, right? It's all a part of our budgetary issues. But the only question I have is, do we have a sense of what the impact is going to be to, like, class sizes or sections as we're proposing to eliminate these positions.

[13993] Mark Triplett: Yeah, so the way that we determined the number of FTDTE that would be required to be reduced was based on the projection number for next year. So the total enrollment projection. And then what we do from there is we look at each school and their projected enrollment. And then from that, determine the FTE needed to serve those students at the state ratio. So depending on the grade level, that's anywhere from 31 or in some cases, a little bit higher to 26 or lower, just depending on the grade level. So we're trying to staff, to maximize staff, and maximize our budgetary allocation from the state by having all classes enrolled to the highest capacity.

[14055] Aiden Hill: And again, kind of my question is, depending on the subject, especially when you get into secondary, you could have different enrollment numbers, you know, especially when it comes to electives and that kind of thing. And so I'm just curious of, you know, did we set a certain target that said every single, you know, class, every single subject has to have this minimum number class size, and then we're truing that up, or were we making differentiations based on subjects? I'm just, again, a little bit curious.

[14094] Marie dela Cruz: The class sizes are all based on the CBAs. So it's depending on the grade level.

[14105] Aiden Hill: I mean, the only reason I mean, for example, my own situation in the school where I teach, you can have variations. And so I have some classes that are oversubscribed, and I have some classes that are undersubscribed. And so again, I'm just trying to understand kind of, you know, was there some particular mark that we were trying to achieve?

[14129] Bowen Zhang: Yes, we're trying to achieve what the 2019 bargaining result. So I think that's sort of a bargaining agreement about maximum size for the elementary and the secondary. That's probably not determined by this. It will be going back to the next round of bargaining.

[14144] Aiden Hill: I'm not talking so much about the maximum. I was thinking the minimum.

[14149] SPEAKER_25: I mean, I think when we look at staffing projections for next year, we're looking at utilizing our class sizes to the capacity per the CBA to determine what staffing is needed. But I want to redirect this item is release of temporary employees, which is the status of an employee. So a lot of these here on this list were folks who were hired to backfill a permanent person. So if an employee, a permanent employee is on leave or is doing a job share, they have rights to their permanent position. So we're allowed under Ed Code to hire that person as a temporary teacher. So it's really, this is really a formality and that's why it's on the consent part that they aren't promised anything more than the contract for this year. In addition, it includes specially funded positions like the COVID funds for our crossroads independent study. That is a special contract for one year because we didn't have a guarantee for funding for those crossroads positions. So I think maybe planning for a master schedule and staff allotments is one thing, but this is the status of a certain group of employees who are backfilling, covering leaves of absence as job shares and specially funded. positions.

[14237] Aiden Hill: And I understand the temporary status, but what I was just kind of driving at is there could be situations where maybe they were taking over for a permanent employee, but that permanent employee didn't come back. They're not anticipated to come back. And so I'm just trying to figure out, are we trying to figure out how to basically increase to the best we can the average class size? But then also, there are some types of classes that always have issues with class size. And so you potentially can, they may not always meet that minimum number. But the question is, do you actually cut that particular program? Do you cut that subject? So that's what I'm just kind of curious about. But I don't need to belabor the point.

[14289] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you. OK, may I get a motion to approve?

[14291] Bowen Zhang: I move that we approve the release of temporary certificate employees.

[14295] Phuong Nguyen: Motion by member Zhang. May I get a second? Seconded by member Grindel. No, no. Member Zhang, how do you vote? Yes. Member Marquez? Yes. Member Hill? Yes. Member Grindel? Yes. I myself is a yes. Five ayes. Thank you. On to consent agenda, non-personnel items.

[14323] Bowen Zhang: I move that we approve 14.2 through 14. Do we have any public comment on the item?

[14327] Phuong Nguyen: Yes, we have public comment on item 14.7, so we'll be pulling that one. Go ahead and make your motion.

[14334] Bowen Zhang: I move that we approve consent agenda, non-personnel items, 14.2 through 14.8, except 14.7. I second.

[14345] Phuong Nguyen: Motion made by Member Zhang, seconded by Member Marquez. Student Board Member, how do you vote? Yes. Member Zhang? Yes. Member Marquez? Yes. Member Hill? Yes. Member Grindell? Yes. I myself as a yes, so six ayes. And Ms. Parks, for item 14.7, minutes of the February 17th, 22 regular meeting.

[14372] Cindy Parks: It feels good to stand after three hours.

[14376] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you for saying this one.

[14380] Cindy Parks: So the minutes here, though, and I honestly don't usually read the minutes, but for some reason I did on this one, and it just seems like actually the last couple of times that I've looked, I found things. But anyhow, on this one, on item number, under the approval of the agenda, item, action item 2.1, this does not show my public comment regarding the contract being pulled. It does indicate that you did decide to pull, but it doesn't say why you decided to pull. And so that is lacking. So I just wanted to bring that to your attention. Thank you. Thank you.

[14417] Bowen Zhang: So is there any mistake on the minute? Because these things are not urgent. If there is a mistake, we can bring it back next time.

[14428] SPEAKER_33: The correction can be made. Direction can be given to provide correction and approval can be made if the board so wishes.

[14436] Phuong Nguyen: Make the motion with the correction, and then we can approve it.

[14439] Bowen Zhang: OK. Now, I'll move to approve the minutes with the correction requested.

[14447] Phuong Nguyen: I second. Motion made by member Zhang, seconded by member Marquez. Student board member, how do you vote? Yes. Member Zhang?

[14457] SPEAKER_39: Yes.

[14458] Phuong Nguyen: Member Marquez? Yes. Member Hill? Yes. Member Crandell?

[14465] SPEAKER_39: Yes.

[14466] Phuong Nguyen: I myself is yes, so we have six, yeah, six ayes. Sorry, hold on one second. I logged myself out. Okay. Next item is 15.1, Board of Education Recognitions and announcements. Student board member, do you have any comments or announcements?

[14506] SPEAKER_37: I would like to recognize all the people that came today for public comments. I truly appreciate their input and we would love to hear more voice from our community. Additionally, I would also like to recognize our amazing staff and teachers who are truly dedicated despite any hardships, and they're amazing. That would be all.

[14531] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you. Member Zhang?

[14533] Bowen Zhang: I want to echo what Student Board Member just said. In addition, I want to offer my thoughts and prayers to the Ukrainian people, who displayed extraordinary courage and patriotism and resolve in defending their freedom, their country, and their democracy.

[14550] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you, Member Zhang. Member Marquez?

[14553] SPEAKER_26: Yes, I echo my fellow board member's sentiment, and I'd like to make one announcement, if I may. This month represents Women's History Month, which is a celebration of women's contributions to history, culture, and society, and has been observed annually in the month of March in the United States since the year of 1987. Women's History Month, which in 2022 will take place starting from this last Tuesday, March 1st, through Thursday, March 31st. Please know that this actual celebration of Women's History Month grew out of a week-long celebration of women's contributions to both culture, history, as well as society, organized by a school district in our neighboring Sonoma, California, which in 1978. So presentations were given at dozens of schools, hundreds of students participated in a real woman essay contest, and a parade was held in downtown Santa Rosa. A few years later, the idea was caught on with communities, school districts, and organizations across our country. Please know that in 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8th as National Women's History Week. Furthermore, the U.S. Congress followed suit the next year, passing an actual resolution establishing a national celebration. Six years later, the National Women's History Project successfully petitioned Congress to expand the event to the entire month of March. So here we are. So this year's 2022 Women's History theme, Providing Healing and Promoting Hope, which is both a tribute to the ceaseless work of caregivers and their frontline workers during this ongoing pandemic, and also a recognition of the thousands of ways that women of all cultures have provided both healing and hope throughout our history. So in honor of women's history, as well as all of the teachers and staff members from NEWMA, CSCA, NTA, that we're honored this evening, congratulations in kicking off our National Women's History Month.

[14687] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you, Member Marquez. Member Hill.

[14691] Aiden Hill: Thank you. I also want to echo my fellow board members' sentiments. And then I would like to also show appreciation for the public that was able to come to the last special meeting last week. So I was not available for that meeting. I didn't find out about that meeting until less than 20 or just about 24 hours before the meeting happened. And I'm really kind of disappointed. I don't think that that particular item needed, that we needed to call a special meeting for that. I think that we could have pushed the final review and decision on Ms. Dela Cruz's contract to this meeting. And we've kind of been having a history of, you know, calling special meetings and canceling regularly scheduled ones and having to consult lawyers and pay lawyers fees. And it's really not a good look. It's not a good look. And we've heard this evening from community members saying that they've also had issues you know, and being able to find out when these meetings are. It's not a good look. It doesn't promote transparency. I don't think it makes people feel like their voices are, you know, and their input is welcome. And so I hope that we, as a board, don't continue these practices. Thank you.

[14778] Phuong Nguyen: Member Grindel?

[14781] Terrence Grindall: Yes. I want to thank Member Marquez for that eloquent description of Women's History Month. And I'm excited that we're going to be celebrating that and acknowledge that. Also, I want to echo the thoughts of a student member, Resendez-Ortiz, and her compliments of the students, teachers, and all the staff in dealing with these difficult times. And also, to echo the comments of Member Zhang, in really applauding the Ukrainian people for fighting for freedom and defending their country, where our hearts go out and our hopes go out to all of them. In addition to that, I want to say it was my great pleasure to celebrate Read Across America Day this week, yesterday. I was able to read to eight classrooms at three different schools, and it was really It was a really enjoyable experience. In fact, by happenstance, one of my favorite books was handed to me to read at the junior high school. So I really enjoyed reading a portion of The Alchemist, which is a high school book, apparently. So the kids had a chance to hear that book read by someone who loves it. So I really enjoyed it. So thank you. Thanks to the principals and staff and students of those schools.

[14878] Phuong Nguyen: So I'm super jealous of all of you guys because I get to go last and I have the same sentiments as my fellow board members here. And then also wanted to express appreciation for Mayor Alleneghi and City Manager David Benune for also participating in Read Across America with our students. I haven't myself yet been able to, but I'm hoping to next week to go and do that. And then also wanted to give a huge shout out to all of our student athletes, the winter sports. They really did well, soccer, boys soccer, girls soccer, the boys basketball team, the girls basketball team. I believe wrestling did wonderful. And then also our cheerleaders made it to nationals and I just wanted to congratulate them for a great effort even though they did not place, but that's okay. They did, they had a great experience and I just wanted to express my gratitude for Coach Johnson and Ms. Christina Cortez who chaperoned the students while they were down in Los Angeles and I was able to participate because my daughter is part of the cheer team. So It was really exciting to see them all there and just wanted to congratulate all of the students who participated in all the sports activities at school for doing a wonderful job and working really, really hard. So thank you. And for all the teachers who support them too, thank you. And onto item 15.2, Board of Education Committee Reports. Anything from Mission Valley ROP? Member Grindel?

[14995] Terrence Grindall: Nothing to report at this time.

[14997] Phuong Nguyen: Anything from SELPA?

[14998] Bowen Zhang: Nothing with SELPA.

[15000] Phuong Nguyen: Any from EBIC? Nothing at this time. Oh, sorry. Anything from the Audit Committee?

[15009] Aiden Hill: Yes. So we, there's a couple of things. So we, so we're, we've been holding an application or solicitation to get applications for the public members. And the due date was tomorrow. And I have a couple updates on next steps. But before that, just wanted to do a check-in with Ms. Delacruz since the applications were due. I'm sorry, the applications were due yesterday. So how many do we have at this point?

[15043] Marie dela Cruz: Yeah, they were due March 1st. We have three applications.

[15046] Aiden Hill: We have three applications. And then can we get those posted on the website?

[15052] Marie dela Cruz: I want to say that if they're not yet, yes, we will have it on the website.

[15057] Aiden Hill: OK, because I want to make sure that the public is aware of who's applying and has an opportunity to provide input, if possible, if they're interested. I don't know if we could do that, but it'd be great. And obviously, you know, we're not going to publish their personal information, but their statements for, you know, I mean, we ask them three key questions about what's their experience and, you know, financial experience and what's their community experience and what do they hope to accomplish. And I think that that's important for everybody to see.

[15087] Marie dela Cruz: It will be posted with the agenda.

[15090] Aiden Hill: Well, so we only have to, so is that going to be enough time for people to see it? Because the meeting's on Monday.

[15099] Marie dela Cruz: Yes, so that it meets the three-day requirement. So we'll be posting it tomorrow? Yes.

[15105] Aiden Hill: OK. OK. So it sounds like we've got three applications. We're going to be meeting tomorrow for a special meeting to just discuss the actual final decision-making process. We'll be meeting at 530 for anybody that's interested. And then on Monday, we will have our regular audit meeting, where we will have have them come in and we need to notify them as well, right? Because I don't think it was clear to everybody that they potentially have to come in to meet with us. So notify them, they'll come in, they'll meet with us. We'll give them questions and then after that we'll make a decision and then we will come forward with the recommendation to the board at the following board meeting and that's the status.

[15155] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you so much, Member Hill. Any updates on the Bond Parcel Committee? We don't have one, right? There aren't one right now. And then for the City of Newark and USD Liaison Committee, would you like to report out, Member Grindell?

[15176] Terrence Grindall: Nothing in particular to report out, unless you can think of anything.

[15181] Phuong Nguyen: Member Grindell is

[15183] Terrence Grindall: Well, I'm going to be the vice chair.

[15186] Phuong Nguyen: Yes. That's news.

[15189] Terrence Grindall: That's substantial. That is non-substantial, in my opinion.

[15195] Phuong Nguyen: No, but we just really want to thank the partnership that we do have with the city of Newark. And it's been, you know, I really enjoyed being on that committee with member Condell and also with the other members from the city of Newark. the superintendent. So it's been great serving that committee. And then also, lastly, I did forget to thank Chief Anderson for also participating in Read Across America. So I just wanted to say thank you for that. And then on to item 15.3, board of education requests. Student board member, do you have any requests for future meetings?

[15240] SPEAKER_37: I do. Here it is. First of all, I'd like to begin that I've never done an actual request, so I may not know how to exactly phrase this. I would like to echo, first of all, an earlier public comment made by Ms. Wassertongue regarding the fact that the Wi-Fi at Newark Memorial High is far more below than average. I, personally, attending the school every day, have to continuously hear my teachers and peers having to ask each other, how slow is the Wi-Fi? Does the Wi-Fi work for you? we often end up having to use our own personal hotspot, which is sometimes outrageous considering this is a public school. And these are just to log into Google Classroom. I can only imagine sometimes what the teachers have to deal with. With that being said, I would like to request that there be an investigation or more information on school Wi-Fi and if there are possible better solutions as to how this can be helped for the teachers and the students while they are using Wi-Fi at school.

[15299] Phuong Nguyen: So I do have a comment on this. We did have recently reported out, we did have a IT assessment of. I recall. Yes. So in that report, there was the issue of the Wi-Fi was brought up. So we will be looking at that because those are some of the items on there that is being prioritized. So in terms of the additional investigation, Are there any other board members that would want to? We need to get consensus three.

[15337] Bowen Zhang: Well, maybe we can get the status update on what is the current status of improving the speed of Wi-Fi.

[15343] Phuong Nguyen: Well, the issue is that the district's internet is going through the county. So they're not running their own. internet service provider through the district office is not running its own internet. Yeah, it's not standalone.

[15364] Mark Triplett: So. If I may, this issue, thank you, Member Resendiz-Ortiz. This is an issue that we're definitely aware of and are really concerned about and the IT department has been doing extensive work to try to put together a plan to rectify it. So happy to report out I think we have some actions that are going to be taken in the next two weeks. Is that right, Ms. Delacruz? Yes. Yeah, so we can report out on the status at the next board meeting, if that would be helpful. And if there's more additional work that needs to be done at that point, we can also share that.

[15407] Terrence Grindall: I share the student members' interest But that's not going to be the end of it either. That's correct. It's very important. It's a very important thing. So that update and then further updates is something we look forward to.

[15427] Phuong Nguyen: Yes. So are you OK with that report? Yeah. Thank you. Member Young?

[15435] Bowen Zhang: Yeah, I do have two requests. Number one, I think Superintendent mentioned in today's report that Newark's Middle School will need to go through a naming process. I think the board probably should Yeah, I request the board bring back an agenda just for the board agenda to go over our board policy when it comes to naming school. Let's say we have any preferences on naming school. For example, top preference will be naming school after a person in Newark. Second preference will be naming a school after a location within Newark. Last preference, let's say naming a school. with a location outside of Newport, I think we should clearly set up, if we do have preferences, since we're going through another naming process very soon. That's the first request I have, to bring back a board agenda to go over our board policy. If we don't have, if we have ambiguity on preferences, and the board does think we should have a preference, then we should set it in our board policy.

[15494] Phuong Nguyen: Okay, we do have consensus on bringing back.

[15498] Bowen Zhang: Second request is, does it need to be a study session, just a staff report update on the AP prerequisite policy on the district? I want to know what is the current policy for this school year and what will be the policy for the next school year? Are we officially dropping the prerequisite AP classes for everyone in the district? So that can be a pretty simple thing too. Doesn't need to be a study session, it can just be two-paragraph update on the staff report.

[15526] Mark Triplett: You said on a staff report?

[15532] Bowen Zhang: Or you can be part of the superintendent report. What is today, the school year 2021 to 2022 policy? Are we rolling out the dropping of prerequisites for everyone starting next year? What is the current status of the prerequisite for AP courses?

[15547] Mark Triplett: OK. There currently are not prerequisites for AP courses.

[15551] Aiden Hill: There aren't any.

[15553] Mark Triplett: But if, Member Jahn, if you'd like for us to sort of share more about that.

[15559] Bowen Zhang: Yeah, share more of all.

[15564] Terrence Grindall: I would agree, although I would think it should be in a form that the board would be able to discuss and comment on it if they want to, rather than just as part of your superintendent report.

[15576] Phuong Nguyen: I think there should be clarification on what classes do require prerequisites and what classes don't.

[15586] Bowen Zhang: Yeah, because one interesting thing I'm asking this is, remember that math pathway we set? If you'd read that math pathway report, that certainly looks like there's prerequisite for the class.

[15598] Phuong Nguyen: Yes. So are we in agreement for clarification on Okay.

[15606] SPEAKER_35: Yes.

[15607] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you.

[15610] SPEAKER_37: Okay. Board President, I had one more request to make. Yeah, sure. Additionally, I would also like to echo yet another comment made by one of the Coyote Hills teachers, which has not been the first, and I fear it will not be the last. Hearing the struggles that Coyote Hills is going through as a new school with an absence leave of the principal, the frustration of parents, and the overwork that teachers are putting in to make this a positive community while not having the support they have requested previously. I don't know necessarily where I would be requesting this as in what type of information to receive, but I would like to know more about Coyote Hills and what support they are in need of and how to better get support students and staff there.

[15656] Phuong Nguyen: Do you have consensus? We have consensus on that also.

[15665] Mark Triplett: I assume that includes what support they're currently getting, what they have received this year, is that right?

[15671] SPEAKER_37: Yes, please.

[15673] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you, student board member. Member Hill? Oh, I skipped over. Member Marquez?

[15682] SPEAKER_26: The one item that I wanted to reflect on and make a request is SUDA report item 6.1. I want to thank Mohammed for letting us know the updates about the ASB and for next year. What I did capture during this conversation and what he discussed is that they are getting ready for their ASB. and for their seventh and eighth grader. And I think this would be an excellent time that they do the wraparound and inclusion with the sixth graders that will be attending next year. And I'd like to make a request that they have a report to see if there's any changes that can be made to possibly include the sixth graders that are coming in from the various schools that will be attending the middle school, if that's at all possible.

[15725] Mark Triplett: I'm sorry, Member Marquez. I don't think I understood. Could you restate the request?

[15729] SPEAKER_26: So the request is, I would like to have the ASB at the junior high, because they're switching to the middle school next year to include the sixth graders in the voting. So they have representation as well. Because they're only mentioning seventh and eighth graders, but they're not mentioning sixth graders being representative.

[15753] Mark Triplett: So in the elections for the upcoming school year?

[15756] SPEAKER_26: Mm-hmm. Correct. OK.

[15761] Terrence Grindall: Isn't that like next week? They're doing the election?

[15768] Mark Triplett: I think so. I would need to go and check what the timeline is on that and the process.

[15773] SPEAKER_37: I have a feeling that would, sorry, not to interject, but from what I recall back in elementary, it would be like sixth graders would obviously have their own election, but now that they're moving to middle school, I would assume that once they enter middle school, they'll have their own election the beginning of the year. to choose from there and then proceed with ASB? Because there would be no way to gather all the sixth graders right now and get a consensus of vote?

[15799] Bowen Zhang: Well, I guess this time is the current fifth grader will be moving to middle school next year. And they will be having their own election. The current fifth grader will be in the middle school next year.

[15812] Mark Triplett: Yeah, the current fifth grade and the sixth graders will be in the middle school. Honestly, I don't know what the process is normally for the sixth graders currently who are now going to become seventh graders. I'm assuming there is a process for that, but I'm not sure. But I could say that we are part of the middle school design process is looking into the setup for the rising sixth graders, in other words, the ones that are currently fifth graders who will be sixth graders, and how leadership within them will look, and we're considering a possible integration of a leadership class, for example. So that part, I think, is part of the design process, but it's not complete yet. Were you referring to the rising, what we call the rising seventh graders? In other words, current sixth graders who are going to be seventh graders?

[15873] SPEAKER_26: the actual students that would become 6th graders next year because now they'll be rolling over, right? So if they're, he mentioned that they're already voting for 7th and 8th graders, but there was no mention of the 6th graders that will be attending next year. I just want to make sure that they're included and not left out and that they have that wraparound.

[15890] SPEAKER_39: Thank you. Yeah.

[15892] Phuong Nguyen: I think the election at the junior high is that 7th graders are voting for their class presidents for 8th grade and then 8th graders are voting for class presidents for 9th grade. incoming students who were 7th graders this year did not participate.

[15911] Mark Triplett: But we do intend to create a leadership pathway.

[15915] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you. Okay. Member Hill.

[15923] Aiden Hill: Thank you. So I have two requests. So one is So in my school district at Fremont Unified, or Fremont Union High School District, we got a notice, what day was it? It was March 1st, so it was Tuesday, that basically indicated that our district, based on basically input from the state and from Governor Newsom, has decided that effective immediately, and this was as of March 1st, that all outdoor mask requirements would be optional going forward. And then also beginning on March 14th for students, or no, 14th for staff or for all teachers and staff and March 15th for all students that masks indoors would be optional. You could decide whether you wanted to or not. And so this has already gone into effect, and this is in Santa Clara County, which has been one of the most aggressive in combating COVID, and it is in alignment with their guidance. And our county has just come out with guidance as well that says that masks are recommended but they are not required. And this literally came out today from our county health officials. So I would like to request that we actually get maybe some formal input from NTA and CSCA to see their viewpoint on potentially moving in that direction, as well as getting input from students, and then maybe have a town hall where we can have parents and that we could maybe try to get input for the next board meeting to decide if we want to make adjustments to our masking policy. So that's my first request.

[16034] Bowen Zhang: So if I understand correctly, the county that came out today, the notice, it says starting on March 11th or March 14th. everything will, I mean, indoor, even for the unvaccinated will be strongly recommended, meaning optional. So by the time we have that board meeting next time, I think we should just be optional already at that time. I don't think we will have a mandate still at that time, right? If I understand correctly, we always follow what the county says as well.

[16062] Terrence Grindall: Yes, our existing direction to the superintendent is to follow the county's rules. So whatever the county does, that's what the superintendent's empowered to do.

[16079] Bowen Zhang: But I do want to say that if, let's say, by the next time we have this forming, the county said max is optional but we somehow still have the mandate, then we probably should discuss more. If at that time we're completely optional already, then I don't see the need to discuss this anymore. Because obviously we don't want to bring back a mandate when the county said you don't need a mandate.

[16101] Mark Triplett: Yeah, so the county did come out today with an announcement about K-12 school masking. And so we intend to review what they've published and work with them to develop the adequate policies moving forward. But we do need to do that in conjunction with our labor partners. And that's something that I believe we intend to be in negotiations with them about. So the next board meeting, I believe, is the 14th, 17th? 17th. 17th. So I would anticipate that we I would think we want to act a little bit more expeditiously than that and make a decision with regard to following the county.

[16156] Bowen Zhang: So what is the thing you said you would discuss with the labor group? Because I think that's probably one member he was talking about, the discussion with the labor group.

[16165] Mark Triplett: Yeah, so we always want to negotiate the impacts or the effects of different things that impact working conditions. And so we are going to be in conversations with labor with regard to the change in policy that's occurred. We want to partner with them versus just unilaterally making decisions without consulting with our labor partners. coming to an agreement with them about what's most appropriate moving forward.

[16200] Terrence Grindall: So my understanding is that that's that's your normal operating procedure, so to speak, not that anything's normal in these times. But and that there's really no board action required for that. The hallmark, my my opinion and hallmark in this whole time is to is to have the scientists and the and the health experts guide these processes, not politics. or public opinion necessarily even. So that's why you've been empowered to follow those health guidelines. And so I'm not seeing a need for any kind of board action at this point.

[16247] Aiden Hill: So maybe I rephrase my request. So if we're simply going to be following county guidance, which has come out today and basically is offered as a signal, the recommendation, but not a requirement. So it's optional. And if we're just going to follow that, then there probably is no need for board action. But if we're going to deviate, then maybe we have all the input from all the parties.

[16273] Bowen Zhang: Yeah, I would agree. We're different from the county guideline. We should have a discussion as a board.

[16279] Mark Triplett: Yeah, we intend to follow the county guidelines. There's nuances, of course, to those guidelines. But we're intending to follow what the county has articulated.

[16291] Aiden Hill: So that was question, or request one. And then request two is just bringing back the questions I was asking earlier. So again, I've been getting reports. I think other people have been getting reports about safety issues at the high school. And I really think that the best way to address this is, you know, if they're anecdotal, then let's get data in place that demonstrates that, you know, it's not a big problem as maybe people perceive. Or if it turns out that it is an issue, we're now going to have data and it's going to be actionable. Like we can figure out and we can measure here's where particular problems are. And then we can we can act on it. And so I'd like to request that we start to track this and we really Identify, I mean, we've got a closed campus, you know, how many how many students are we actually finding? violating that you know and and then you know if we're giving them depend attention how many kids are serving detention and you know and basically You know, are we having any issues with kids not being in class? Because, again, there's a perception, and I think that the only way that we can deal with the perception is with reality, is with data. So I'd like to make a request that we have the high school start formally tracking this and reporting on this.

[16373] SPEAKER_37: I would like to add on to that request, if it is to pass, that we don't overstep Ms. Ringel's work, because I do know she has a lot of impact with students and how that works. And she always tries to make sure that we're on time and there's fewer people skipping class. So if that request is to happen, I would like to add on that we work with Ms. Ringel and cooperate. And don't overstep her part in all of this.

[16398] Aiden Hill: Yeah, of course. Yeah, I just want to have her track this data so that, again, if it's a small issue, then we don't need to worry about it. But if it's a larger issue, at least we can understand it. we can support her in taking action on that.

[16413] Terrence Grindall: I think this request oversteps the authority of the superintendent and the principal. This is not a board issue to be directing that we collect.

[16423] Bowen Zhang: Actually, I think today the principal sort of told us that she will get back to us when the member will remember. So I think when it comes to not overstepping our boundary, what I want to modify that request is Whether that is an anecdotal problem or any issue, if we can have a plan just to present to us what is our plan, if that is indeed a problem, what is our plan to reduce that problem, any progress we're making. And then we settle this issue.

[16459] Mark Triplett: Yeah, just to be clear, so we track all kinds of data with regard to student culture. A lot of that is confidential data that is not really appropriate to be sharing in public forums.

[16479] Bowen Zhang: But if I hear the most recent request from Member Jeon, it's about some of the actions and the steps that we're taking to address... Because to be honest, I also feel like there are a lot of noises or voices from different angles of our district and our community that seems to paint two very, very different pictures. And both of them feel like they were actually telling the truth.

[16504] Phuong Nguyen: Well, we have a student board member who is actively on campus daily. She can give you the full perspective.

[16512] Bowen Zhang: Yeah, but just because we have such a polarized information, I think we should settle it.

[16519] Aiden Hill: But just as, right, we have a proposal right now that is going to be brought back where we're looking at A to G and how we can improve that. And literally the proposal says we need to collect data. And so it's the same thing.

[16533] Phuong Nguyen: Which I understand, but there's two different, you're asking for student safety versus.

[16537] Aiden Hill: Hold on a second.

[16537] Phuong Nguyen: Requirements for college and career readiness.

[16541] Aiden Hill: So what I'm saying is, is that, so number one, right, the board is the ultimate authority. Okay, so we, you know, we have purview over everything. If we decide it's an important issue and it's confidential, we can discuss it in closed session. But I think that rather than dealing with all this, you know, he said, she said, we need to have data. And the fact is, right, as we've just talked about with our second interim budget, that our biggest issue right now is ADA, enrollment in ADA. And we right now have a lot of community members that are saying that they're pulling their kids from schools because of safety issues. And so there's no bigger issue. And we, the board, are actually obligated. This is an issue that we need to address. And we need to have data to inform our position on that. So I think that we start collecting. We can report it in and discuss it in closed session. But I think it's very important.

[16598] Mark Triplett: I don't think it's actually allowed to discuss, it's not a personnel issue, so it's not something we would discuss in closed session, to my understanding. If the board, we are actively collecting data around school culture and discipline. And we are taking steps. If the request currently on the table is, Member Shuns, ask for sort of a report out about what are some of those actions, what are the things that we are trying? I think that's what I heard.

[16636] Aiden Hill: So it's my request, right? So I'm the one that's making the request. It's my turn. And so in the request that I'm saying is, I don't want to report on actions. I want to report on what's going on, and then we talk about the actions that are going to result from it. And what I want to know is, how many issues do we have of kids not being in class when they're supposed to be? How many issues do we have of kids going off of campus? How many issues do we have of where we're putting people on detention? And how many issues do we have with tardies and people not showing up? That's very concrete data. And by the way, our school safety plan, which was recently put into consent calendar, was actually tracking some of this data. So none of this stuff is confidential. The only time it will be confidential is if you identify specific individuals. But this is all stuff within our purview. And I think it's going to create an enormous benefit for the community and for everybody if they feel like this is something that we have under control. But if we don't report out, people feel like we're hiding stuff.

[16697] Mark Triplett: Is there a consensus from the board to bring this?

[16699] Bowen Zhang: So today, based on what Principal Reinhart's response, it does feel like she will get back to us. So she's willing to answer the question regarding whether this is really anecdotal or we do have a stable, consistent number of things. I mean, is there a way that we can get the data about whether it's cutting classes or exiting?

[16722] Terrence Grindall: I don't support the request.

[16727] Aiden Hill: Sounds like member John does.

[16729] Bowen Zhang: So it looks like we only have two.

[16732] Phuong Nguyen: OK. All right. Member Grindel, do you have any requests?

[16739] Terrence Grindall: I do not.

[16742] Phuong Nguyen: Since there were so many on the table, I'm going to pass mine for the next meeting, but I will. I will have six of them. OK, perfect. But no, in all seriousness, I do take the the IT assessment really seriously, and that's something that I'm going to be looking over very closely, and we'll make the request at the next meeting. Thank you. Okay, on to item 16.1, superintendent concluding comments, updates, and future agenda items.

[16775] Mark Triplett: All right, thank you very much. I just want to, I know we're way over time, I just want to appreciate the board and staff with regard to the really difficult decisions needed to be made in order to be fiscally responsible. These are like the hardest and most emotional, weighty decisions. And I know it's weighed very heavy on all of us. In particular, I just want to appreciate the HR department who's sort of at the front having to make some of these and the way that they do it with such empathy and care and the fact that the recognition of how heavy and difficult these kind of decisions are. So I wanna appreciate HR and Miss Ingham-Watters for all of that. And also really, I wanted to thank the board, board Member Grindel for going to read to the students And then also congratulate Member Grindel for being the new vice chair. And a deep thank you to President Nguyen for her year of service as chair of the City Liaison Committee.

[16856] Phuong Nguyen: Thank you. May I get a motion for adjournment, please?

[16860] Terrence Grindall: So moved.

[16862] Phuong Nguyen: Motion. I would definitely second that. Motion made by Member Grindel, seconded by student member Resendiz-Ortiz. How do you vote, student board member? Yes. Member Zhang? Yes. Member Marquez? Yes. Member Hill?

[16879] Aiden Hill: We still have an hour and 20 minutes. Yes.

[16883] SPEAKER_39: Yes.

[16884] Phuong Nguyen: Yes. Member Grindel, yes. Yes, as well. Six yeses. Meeting adjourned at 10.40 PM. There's still food.

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

STUDENT BOARD MEMBER:

Member Estaina Resendiz Ortiz

2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Approval of the Agenda

Type Action

Recommended The recommendation is 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 The recommendation is that the Board of Education approve the agenda for this meeting, with item 12.4 moved to 12.2.

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

3. 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

CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL � EXISTING LITIGATION (Gov. Code, � 54956.9, subd. (d)(1))

Type Action, Information, Procedural PURPOSE:

To discuss the following case(s): Bretz vs Newark Unified School District Keenan Claim # 569505

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.

4. 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.

5. RECONVENE TO OPEN SESSION

Pledge of Allegiance

Type Procedural PURPOSE:

The Governance Team will recite the Pledge of Allegiance

6. 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 - Mohammed Lulu and Poorvi Sharma

2. Alternative Education - Alexis Blanco-Barron

3. Newark Memorial High School - Estaina Resendiz-Ortiz

7. 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.

School Spotlight: Newark Memorial High School

Type Information PURPOSE:

The School Spotlight gives the Board of Education and the public an opportunity to hear the highlights, achievements, and initiatives at each school directly from the principals.

BACKGROUND:

The presentation and information will be provided by the Newark Memorial High School Principal, Olivia Rangel.

File Attachments 2022 NMHS School Spotlight .pdf (3,074 KB)

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: Maria Huffer

3. NEWMA: Vicenta Ditto

9. 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

10. 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

File Attachments Superintendent's Report 3.03.22.pdf (4,376 KB)

11. OLD BUSINESS

2022 General Obligation Refunding Bonds

Type Information PURPOSE:

In the current low-interest-rate environment, the District acted on the opportunity to refinance a portion of the outstanding Election of 2011, Series A and B bonds to generate taxpayer savings. The sale consisted of $27.135 million taxable refunding bonds and $7.47 million tax-exempt refunding bonds (forward delivery). The Board will be receiving an informational report from Blake Boehm of KNN Public Finance providing post refunding sale results.

BACKGROUND:

District voters authorized Measure G in November 2011 providing $63 million of General Obligation bond funding for school facility projects. The District subsequently issued three series of bonds in 2012, 2014, and 2016. Property taxes are levied by the County and are ultimately paid by homeowners in order to make annual debt service payments on the outstanding bonds. Refunding bonds, which are similar to refinancing a home mortgage, pay off existing debt with funds borrowed at lower interest rates. The savings are then passed on to taxpayers in the form of lower property taxes.

File Attachments Newark USD Sale Results Board Presentation - 2022 GO Refunding Bonds 3-3-2022_vFN.pdf (1,106 KB)

12. NEW BUSINESS

Presentation of the A-G Completion Improvement Grant Plan

Type Discussion PURPOSE:

To provide the Board of Trustees and the public with an opportunity to discuss NUSD's A-G Completion Improvement Grant Plan prior to the adoption by the Board at a subsequent regularly scheduled board meeting.

BACKGROUND:

California AB-167 states the A�G Completion Improvement Grant Program is to "provide additional supports to local educational agencies to help increase the number of California high school pupils, particularly unduplicated pupils, who graduate high school meeting the A�G subject matter requirements for admission to the University of California and the California State University."

Assistant Superintendent, Nicole Pierce-Davis and Director of Special Projects, Abbey Kerins will present the A-G Completion Improvement Grant Program plan for NUSD.

File Attachments 2021_A-G_Completion_Improvement_Grant_Plan_Newark_Unified_School_District_20220203.pdf (98 KB) _NUSD A-G Completion Improvement Grant Presentation.pdf (1,249 KB)

2021-2022 Second Interim Budget Report

Type Action

Recommended The recommendation is that the Board of Education certify the 2021-2022 Second Interim Action Budget Report with a Positive certification. PURPOSE:

The purpose of the Interim Report is to advise administrators, the Board of Trustees, the public, and other interested agencies of the District's current financial condition at periodic intervals during the fiscal year.

BACKGROUND:

The Second Interim Budget Report compares the General Fund and other funds' anticipated revenues and expenditures with the current operating budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year, along with actual receipts and expenditures as of January 31, 2022. At each interim reporting period, the District must certify whether the District will be able to meet its financial obligations for the current and subsequent two years.

The current year budget is used as the base year and multi-year projections are made based on a number of factors and assumptions for the coming two years. The primary drivers of the budget are the State's fiscal health and District student enrollment and attendance.

The multi-year projection indicates the District can issue a POSITIVE certification as the District will be able to meet its obligations for the current fiscal year and two subsequent fiscal years.

File Attachments Full Book_2nd Interim 21-22.pdf (4,280 KB) 2nd Interim Board Presentation 2021_22.pdf (2,003 KB)

Motion & Voting The recommendation is that the Board of Education certify the 2021-2022 Second Interim Budget Report with a Positive certification.

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

Resolution No. 2021.22.23 Classified Layoffs

Type Action

Preferred Date Mar 03, 2022

Absolute Date Mar 03, 2022

Recommended The recommendation is that the Board approve Resolution No. 2021.22.23 to lay off or reduce Action hours of certain classified positions for lack of work or lack of funds. PURPOSE:

Resolution No. 2021.22.23 will be presented to the Board of Education for approval to lay off certain classified positions for lack of work or lack of funds. This resolution gives authorization for the District to formally notify certain classified employees that they are being laid off. This process is required under California Education Code 45117, which requires permanent employees to be notified by March 15, 2022.

BACKGROUND:

The Musick positions are due to the school closure. The other positions were temporary funded positions, i.e. one-time COVID funding, Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA), and Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP). The district reviewed the layoff positions with CSEA. Employees affected by layoff will have 39-month re-employment rights and the process will be governed by the collective bargaining agreement.

File Attachments California Education Code 45117.pdf (277 KB) Amended Classified Layoff Resolution 03.03.2022.pdf (126 KB)

Motion & Voting The recommendation is that the Board approve Resolution No. 2021.22.23 to lay off or reduce hours of certain classified positions for lack of work or lack of funds.

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

Resolution No. 2021.22.24 Resolution to Reduce the Number of Certificated Employees Due to a Reduction of Particular Kinds of Services for the 2022-2023 School Year

Type Action

Absolute Date Mar 03, 2022

Recommended The recommendation is that the Board of Education approve Resolution No. 2021.22.24 to Action reduce the number of certificated employees due to a reduction in particular kinds of services for the 2022-2023 school year. PURPOSE:

Resolution No. 2021.22.24 will be presented to the Board of Education for approval to reduce the number of certificated employees due to a reduction in particular kinds of services for the 2022-2023 school year.

BACKGROUND:

As the administration has reviewed staffing and projected enrollment for the next school year, it has been determined that these positions will be eliminated from the general fund budget and will not be filled in the 2022-2023 school year. The Musick positions are due to the school closure. The other positions were temporary funded positions (e.g. one-time COVID funding, Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA), and Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP). Education Code section 44955 permits the Board of Education to reduce or discontinue particular kinds of service and terminate the employment of certain certificated employees of the district as a result of those reductions or discontinuances. The Board of Education is required to take action and to direct staff to notify affected employees of the reduction in force.

File Attachments Ed Code 44955.pdf (212 KB) Reduce Certificated Positions 03.03.2022.pdf (34 KB)

Motion & Voting The recommendation is that the Board of Education approve Resolution No. 2021.22.24 to reduce the number of certificated employees due to a reduction in particular kinds of services for the 2022-2023 school year.

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

Resolution 2021.22.29 to Commit to Budget Balancing Solutions for the 2022- 23 and 2023-24 Fiscal Years

Type Action

Recommended The recommendation is that the Board of Education adopt Resolution 2021.22.29 to Commit Action to Budget Balancing Solutions for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 fiscal years. PURPOSE:

To address the deficit projected in the 2021-22 Second Interim Budget Report.

BACKGROUND:

    The Board and staff continue to work together to maintain the fiscal stability of the district.
    On October 17, 2019, the Board approved Resolution #2158 committing to $1,850,000, and $668,000, in expenditure
    reductions for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 fiscal years respectively.
    The District filed a Qualified certification of its 2019-20 First Interim and Second Interim Financial Reports.
    The Board held a study session on February 20, 2020, to discuss additional budget-balancing solutions and subsequently
    approved Resolution #2061 on March 5, 2020, committing to additional budget reductions of $2,500,000 in 2020-21 and
    $1,000,000 in 2021-22.
    On December 3, 2020, based on the First Interim Report, the Board approved Resolution 2020.21-014 committing to
    $742,000, and $3,200,000, in expenditure reductions for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 fiscal years respectively.
    On March 4, 2021, based on the Second Interim Report, the Board approved Resolution 2020.21-022 committing to
    $819,000 in expenditure reductions for the 2022-23 fiscal year.
    On December 6, 2021, based on the First Interim Budget Report, the Board approved Resolution 2021.22.14 committing
    to $2.5 million in expenditure reductions for the 2022-23 fiscal year and $2.5 million in the 2023-24 fiscal year.

File Attachments Resolution 2021.22.29 Second Interim Budget Balancing Solutions.pdf (13 KB)

Motion & Voting The recommendation is that the Board of Education adopt Resolution 2021.22.29 to Commit to Budget Balancing Solutions for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 fiscal years.

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

2022 Ballot for CSBA Delegate Assembly

Type Action, Discussion

Absolute Date Mar 02, 2022

Recommended The recommendation is that the Board of Education nominate the following candidates for the Action CSBA Delegate Assembly. PURPOSE:

For the Board to review the candidate applications and nominate no more than four (4) candidates.

BACKGROUND:

Enclosed is the ballot material for the election to the CSBA's Delegate Assembly from Newark's region. The Board may vote for up to the number of states to be filled in the region or subregion as indicated in the ballot (4 seats). The Board may cast no more than one vote for any one candidate. The ballot also contains a provision for write-in candidates; their name and district must be clearly printed in the space provided. Results will be published by May 11, 2022.

All re-elected and newly elected Delegates will serve two-year terms beginning April 1, 2022 - March 31, 2024. The next meeting of the Delegate Assembly will take place on May 21 and May 22, 2022.

File Attachments SKM_C65922022811500.pdf (172 KB)

Motion & Voting The recommendation is that the Board of Education nominate the following candidates for the CSBA Delegate Assembly. (all 4)

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

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 Mar 03, 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 03-03-2022.pdf (366 KB)

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

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

Release of Temporary Certificated Employees

Type Action

Absolute Date Mar 03, 2022

Recommended The recommendation is that the Board of Education approve the release of Temporary Action Certificated Employees.

PURPOSE:

The purpose is for the Board of Education to consider approval of the release of Temporary Certificated Employees.

BACKGROUND:

Each year temporary teachers are hired to fill positions for permanent staff that may be on a leave of absence, in a job share, or in a special assignment. Permanent teachers have the right to return the following year to an assignment for which they are credentialed. Temporary employees do not have automatic rehire rights and may be released by the district at the conclusion of their temporary contract.

File Attachments California Education Code.pdf (110 KB) 2021-2022 Temp Release List.pdf (129 KB)

Motion & Voting The recommendation is that the Board of Education approve the release of Temporary Certificated Employees.

Motion by Bowen Zhang, second by Terrence Grindall.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Phuong Nguyen, Terrence Grindall, Aiden Hill, Alicia Marquez, 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, except for agenda items: 14.7.

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

Curricular, Overnight Trip for Kennedy Elementary fifth-grade class to travel to Occidental, CA.

Type Action

Preferred Date Mar 03, 2022

Fiscal Impact Yes

Dollar Amount $14,636.00

Budgeted Yes

Budget Source Fundraisers and Parent Contributions

Recommended The recommendation is that the Board of Education approve the overnight trip for Kennedy Action Elementary fifth-grade class to Occidental, CA. PURPOSE:

The Kennedy Elementary community requests permission to take fifth-grade students on a curricular, overnight field trip. Students will travel to Occidental, CA for an outdoor science education camp. Transportation will be by district bus. Students will study content standards in ecology, resources, ecosystems, and conservation while experiencing team building with their peers.

     School: Kennedy Elementary
     Dates: April 11 - April 14, 2022
     Location: Occidental, CA

Chaperones for Science Camp:

     The ratio of adults to students on school-sponsored trips shall be based on the following formula:
            K-3 1 adult for every 5-8 students
            4-9 1 adult for every 10 students
            10-12 1 adult for every 10 students where strict supervision is required (tours, theaters, etc.)

     Overnight trip supervision must be gender appropriate. However, in the event that the supervisors, who stay overnight in proximity to
     students, are of a gender other than that group of campers, adequate planning, and preparation of campers and the physical
     arrangements of the camp shall be made to ensure optimal safety and privacy of students (AR 6153).

No student will be denied due to a lack of funds

BACKGROUND: According to Board Policy, all trips in excess of 100 miles, non-curricular trips, and overnight trips require Board approval. The site principal and fifth-grade teachers request permission to take students on an overnight curricular trip to attend an outdoor education/science camp program that is articulated with grade level curriculum. The programs are taught by credentialed staff members and camp staff and are viewed by the sites as a valuable part of the students' educational experience.

2022-2023, 2023-2024, 2024-2025 School Calendars

Type Action

Absolute Date Mar 03, 2022

Recommended The recommendation is that the Board approve the 2022-2023, 2023-2024, 2024-2025 Action School Calendars. PURPOSE: The purpose is for the Board of Education to consider approval of the 2022-2023, 2023-2024, 2024-2025 school calendars.

BACKGROUND:

The District Calendar Committee worked for several months last school year to draft and consider various calendar formats for the 2022-2023, 2023-2024, and 2024-2025 school years. Drafts have been considered and evaluated based upon their education practicality, analysis of daily student attendance data, the requirements of the Education Code, and the District's collective bargaining agreements. All employees have had the opportunity to review and provide feedback on the drafts. Based on this feedback, the Calendar Committee has developed these calendars. Through the efforts of the committee, the Newark Unified School District and the Newark Teachers Association have reached a tentative agreement on 2022-2023, 2023-2024, and 2024- 2025 school calendars pursuant to the collective bargaining agreements. The calendars are presented to the Board for approval.

File Attachments

2022-2023 NUSD Academic Calendar 03.03.2022.pdf (143 KB) 2023-2024 NUSD Academic Calendar 03.03.2022.pdf (144 KB) 2024-2025 NUSD Academic Calendar 03.03.2022.pdf (141 KB)

Resolution 2021.22.27 Declaring Surplus Equipment

Type Action, Discussion

Recommended The recommendation is that the Board of Education approve Resolution 2021.22.27 Declaring Action Surplus Equipment. PURPOSE:

The purpose of this item is to obtain Board approval of Resolution 2021.22.27 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. Education Code, Section 17546 states 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.

The property as described in Resolution 2021.22.27 includes equipment used at elementary schools for Child Nutrition. Staff determined that items are obsolete and/or no longer working.

File Attachments Resolution 2021.22.27 Declaring Surplus Equipment.pdf (13 KB)

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 February 1, 2022 through February 28, 2022.

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 January 6, 2022, for contracts and purchase orders between December 1, 2021, and December 31. 2021 February 3, 2022, for contracts and purchase orders between January 1, 2022, and January 31, 2022

VENDOR DATE PO NUMBER DESCRIPTION AMOUNT N/A *

*There are no contracts or purchase orders to report for the period of February 1, 2022, through February 28, 2022.

Monthly Purchase Order Report

Type Action

Recommended The recommendation is that the Board of Education approve the Monthly Purchase Order Action Report as presented. PURPOSE:

The purpose of this item is to present a monthly report on Purchase Order transactions per Board Policy 3300, Expenditures and Purchases.

BACKGROUND: Based on the discussion at the Board's Study Session on January 6, 2022, staff is providing a monthly report on Purchase Order transactions per Board Policy 3300, Expenditures and Purchases. The policy states that "The Board shall review all transactions entered into by the Superintendent or designee on behalf of the Board every 60 days."

File Attachments Monthly Purchase Order Report 3-3-2022.pdf (111 KB)

Minutes of the February 17, 2022 Regular Meeting of the Board of Education

Type Action, Minutes

Recommended The recommendation is that the Board of Education approve the minutes of the February 17, Action 2022, Regular Meeting of the Board of Education.

Minutes View Minutes for Feb 17, 2022 - 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 February 17, 2022, Regular Meeting of the Board of Education. The meeting may be viewed on the NUSD YouTube Channel HERE

Motion & Voting The recommendation is that the Board of Education approve the minutes of the February 17, 2022, Regular Meeting of the Board of Education. (with correction to 2.1 - add public speaker cindy parks to agenda approval)

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

Minutes of the February 23, 2022 Special Meeting of the Board of Education

Type Action, Minutes

Recommended The recommendation is that the Board of Education approve the minutes of the February 23, Action 2022, 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 February 23, 2022, Special 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

                                                                         1. Phuong Nguyen

City of Newark � NUSD Liaison 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.

Motion & Voting The recommendation is that the Board of Education extends the meeting to 12:00 A.M.

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

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 at 10:40pm.

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

No minutes available.