Regular Meeting

Introduction

• Regular meeting held on February 18, 2025, focused on budget reductions, bond issuance planning, and LCAP mid-year updates.
• Key themes included financial sustainability, equity in facility upgrades, and staffing adjustments to address a structural deficit.

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Agenda Items

Bond Issuance & Financial Strategy

• Description:
  • Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc. presented updates on Measure O bond issuance (tax rate extension) and refinancing of older debt.
  • Proposed $30 million Series A bonds in May 2025, with conservative assumptions (4% assessed value growth).
  • IRS requires 85% of bond proceeds to be spent within three years; $29.7M allocated for immediate facility needs (HVAC, plumbing, safety).
• Decisions made or actions taken:
  • Board directed to adopt resolutions on May 6 for bond issuance, oversight committee formation, and certification of election results.
  • Staff to finalize project priorities (e.g., asbestos removal, portable replacements) by May for community transparency.

LCAP Mid-Year Update

• Description:
  • 44% of students met English Language Arts standards; 36% met math standards (per Smarter Balanced data).
  • Focus on reclassification of English Learners (120 reclassified in 2023-24) and reducing chronic absenteeism (94.15% ADA vs. 95% target).
  • DLI program paused, but LCAP funds redirected to support unduplicated students via EL Roadmap strategies.
• Decisions made or actions taken:
  • No formal action taken. Metrics flagged for improvement: A–G completion rates (31.1% in 2024) and suspension rates.

Budget Reductions & Classified Layoffs

• Description:
  • Proposed $5.1M in cuts, including 14.5 certificated FTE reductions (elementary teachers, counselors) and 7.5 classified positions (IT, custodians).
  • BridgePoint program cuts paused after community feedback; counselor position retained (grant-funded).
• Decisions made or actions taken:
  • Approved resolutions for certificated layoffs (17 FTE) and classified reductions (5.625 FTE after amendments).
  • IT technician and 1 custodian position retained following board debate.

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Public Comments

• Key themes:
  • Opposition to classified layoffs (CSEA argued cuts undervalue staff and disrupt services).
  • Concerns about IT restructuring (alleged Ed Code violations for replacing classified roles with management positions).
  • Frustration over transparency in budget decisions (e.g., LCAP carryover funds, DLI program changes).
  • Support for safety and equity in bond-funded projects (e.g., restroom upgrades, asbestos removal).

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Follow-Up and Commitments

• Bond oversight committee recruitment to begin by July 2025 (55% voter accountability under Prop 39).
• Facility priority list (STEM labs, blacktop repairs) to be finalized with community input by May 2025.
• Audit committee to review internal controls and payroll accuracy (report expected March 2025).
• Labor negotiations with CSEA/NTA on layoff impacts scheduled for February 25.

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Conclusion

• The board approved $5.1M in budget reductions but retained key positions after public advocacy.
• Next steps include May bond resolutions, LCAP revisions, and ongoing scrutiny of programmatic cuts.
• Emphasis on transparency and community engagement for bond spending and staffing decisions.

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Target Audience Notes:

• Parents/Guardians: Layoffs may affect class sizes; bond projects prioritize safety and facility upgrades.
• Staff: Certificated/classified reductions finalized by March 15, with potential rescission in May.
• Community: Bond oversight committee applications to open soon; project timelines shared in May.

1.2 Measure O Bond Timelines and Next Steps

[0] Adam Bauer(Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): Yes, and they are monitoring. So yes, should your circumstances change, they will update their rating. And they update downward much quicker than they go upwards. Just remember that. But you are in a good position where the efforts that you've made have made it so that your community can borrow over time. So the most important slide in the whole deck, and the one we spent the most time on about a year ago, was the 1997 and what was taking place with that measure. Where since that one was tapering off, we had the opportunity to do a tax rate extension. And what we did there is we said, we're going to look at the 97 measure, measure B, and we want to look at measure O and have those two maintain a consistent tax rate. We're not going to go up. And that's exactly what you did.

[48] Adam Bauer(Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): So this is the one that will be fading away, and this is the one that we're going to monitor to make sure that we wrap the new tax rate around this measure. And then slide six, 2011, is just working as it should. When the district did a refunding several years ago, there was a piece of that that did not get refunded. And so we are now able to, if rates stay close to where they are now, is add that and provide some taxpayer savings from that other measure at the same time we're doing this measure. If you recall, I presented this to you, and I said you shouldn't do it in time. Because if you would have done it on a standalone basis, you would pay our firm full freight, you'd pay Jones Hall full freight, everyone would have a fixed fee for doing that transaction. By combining things, we all look to reduce our amount. So for example, my fee is somewhere between $15,000 and $20,000 for the extra series versus being $55,000 to $60,000 on the initial series. All our fees, Katie's, everyone's worked that same way so that when you add on your funding, you get to spread the cost amongst more. So now it is time to look at it.

[116] Adam Bauer(Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): Now we're doing a transaction, but it was not the right time to look at it before. And if we now go to measure, oh, page seven. Page seven is a summary of measure O. And if we add this, a new and improved graphic for you. This dotted line with white in the middle, that is the 1997. And that's what we're wrapping around. Before we decided to pull it, we wanted to really highlight it. The red is an item that will come to you in May, asking you for consideration for a new series of bonds. The green would come to you in approximately 2027. All of these can be modified depending on your circumstances. Another thing I want to highlight for you is show you that we have a 4% assessed value growth in here. So if your assessed value keeps growing like it has been, most likely in 2027, We'll be saying, you know what, you don't really have to wait until August, and you can probably do 62 million or 63 million instead of 60. By having conservative assumptions, you're always allowing yourself to then, well, one, if really bad things happen, you maintain status quo. If really good things happen, you get to issue more. and you get to do it sooner than you otherwise, than you originally projected. So we'd really like you to maintain our assumptions that we've been using. But then what we've done here is work with district staff to say, what's the immediate need and what can we realistically get done in three years? These bond, that AAA MMP. acknowledges tax exempt bonds, meaning the investors that buy these bonds, they get, if it's in Northern California, they get both, they don't have to pay federal and state taxes on those bonds. And so they'll land at a much lower interest rate than they otherwise would. In exchange to that, the IRS says, we want you to have some spend down. requirements is one of the things that Jones Hall monitors. And one of them is that we need a reasonable bill expected to spend 85% of proceeds within three years. And so we worked with district staff on what would that number be really reasonable to do. We got to $29.7 million for projects. And then come back, and typically the way programs work, is you start off, you get things rolling, and then all of a sudden, now your program is moving. And so you come up with the bigger ones after that once you kind of get up and running with things. And so then, finally, part of the- Yes.

[260] Aiden Hill: So why, a couple questions. So par amount is per bond. Right? Yes. So if you're going to buy one bond, it would be $30,000 for Series A. So it's $30 million par. Oh, that's a million. Oh, that's a million.

[278] Adam Bauer(Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): I'm sorry. And then the bonds are sold in minimum of $5,000 increments.

[282] Aiden Hill: Okay, so we're selling $30 million in bonds for Series A, and the face value of the bond is $5,000? Yeah, we call it denomination. Oh, denomination. Okay. And then what's project amount?

[297] Adam Bauer(Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): That's the amount of funds that are available for the projects. There's costs involved with the transaction.

[302] Aiden Hill: Okay.

[303] Aiden Hill: And then why, as we're going through the series, is the maturity date staying the same?

[315] Adam Bauer(Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): Because when we ran these was really the 7% assessed value growth. We were projecting 4%. And so you've come in, even in the first year, you've come in so much higher than our original projections that we were able to then shorten the term and keep them under that red line. So if you would have done 4% assessed value with likely projected, they would have gone out a little bit further each time. OK.

[340] OK.

[340] Adam Bauer(Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): Thank you. So the last slide really focuses on the schedule. And so this is kind of funny. We have a credit rating meeting coming up, even though we just had it. But this one's going to be like. It's 10 minutes, right? Like, you guys just did this. You can write the 10-page report. You wrote the one-page report. You can write the 10-page report. But then, okay, so that's coming up, but it'll be much easier if you've already done the late work on that. We will affirm, most likely, the rating on May 2nd. And then on May 6th, it'll be before you again. asking you to consider a resolution of issuance. And maybe I'll pause for a moment and let Katie talk a bit about what goes into that.

[380] Katie (Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): Thank you. So on May 6th, I plan to bring you three resolutions. The measure O was authorized under Prop 39. which allows you to get a 55% vote rather than two-thirds. And in exchange for that, there are some additional accountability measures. So the first resolution will be certifying the results. And that's just an administrative thing that you need to do. The county has already certified the results. But then the district needs to take formal actions to accept that certification from the county. So that's the first resolution. The second resolution will be adopting bylaws for the measure of oversight committee and That appointing members to the oversight committee needs to happen within 60 days of when that first resolution that I mentioned is adopted. And so I talked to Superintendent Backer and suggested that you hold off on that until you're closer to issuing bonds because there's nothing for the committee to review until you start spending that money. And it's a bit of a process to find members for the committee. So it's something that takes time. So I just wanted you all to have enough time to really go through that process. So those are the first two. And then the issuance resolution, which Adam mentioned, It's a long resolution that sets forth all the terms of the bond. It creates accounts with the county to hold your funds, to make debt service payments, and to hold your project funds. And it delegates authority to district administration to take all the steps necessary to actually consummate the issuance of the bonds. In adoption of that resolution, you'll also be approving some form documents. One is an agreement between the district and Stiefel Nicholas, which will be the underwriter for bonds. And they will purchase all of your bonds and then sell them to investors on the secondary market. And the other one is a preliminary official statement which is a disclosure document. And so prospective investors are going to get this long document that's going to describe the district, your community, your tax base for repayment, and the district's finances. So I will be working closely with district staff to have that document ready for you.

[513] Adam Bauer(Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): There's a 100-page document in there called the preliminary official statement. And when you read it, you're going to wonder why there's blanks in it. That's because it's preliminary. We don't have the numbers until it becomes the official statement. So that is to form. About half the time, I get a text on my way to board meeting saying, why is there blanks in the preliminary official statement? So just be ready for that. So then, if you take action to approve that that evening, that will allow us to send that plenary official statement to investors. And then, on or around May 14th, we're going to have our IPO for these bonds. And we do some prep the night, the week, the evening, the afternoon before. And then very early in the morning, about 7 o'clock our time, 10 o'clock Newark time. We have an order period where investors put their orders into the bonds and we can track it. It's a lot like a fancy e-bay. You can see, just like I showed you at MND at 1 to 30, there's orders for years 1 to 30. So unlike our home mortgage where you just have one maturity, that underwriter is so new. They're selling a 2045 bond, they're selling a 2040 bond. They're selling all these different bonds to the investors, and we get to track that. And then our job with the district is to negotiate the final rates. And eventually district staff will sign a bond purchase agreement, and that's when the bonds become basically the unlettered bonds. Two weeks after that, after Katie's done a ton of documentation, we're then going to close those and then the money gets transferred to the county. And then you can start requisitioning against those funds. And then for the refunding piece, the next year is when we have that on the tax roll and test out a slight augmentation to their tax rates. And that's what we have detailed here. So June 4th was our date that we'd expect to have all funds available to the district.

[612] Nancy Thomas: What is the slight augmentation to the tax rate? What's that caused by?

[616] Adam Bauer(Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): Oh, it's very small. It's a very small amount of bonds that are available to the fund. And it's spread at such a small number of taxpayers, it's a few cents.

[625] Katie (Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): Lower. Lower, yeah.

[629] Adam Bauer(Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): If it would have been done with that prior measure, you could have had a bigger number then, but it's just a small amount that was left over.

[640] Aiden Hill: So when do we have to establish the committee?

[644] Katie (Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): So within 60 days of this May 6th meeting, so in July.

[650] Kat Jones: We have to have it done by July, so could we potentially be working on numbers now?

[658] Katie (Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): Absolutely, yes. I have an application that you can use and an advertisement that you can use. And there are certain categories that you need to fill for membership. You need to have someone who's active in a taxpayer's organization, someone active in a senior citizen's organization, a parent, a parent who's active in something like the PTA, and a business, someone who represents the business community in the district. And then you have at least two at-large numbers. So you're aiming for seven. And sometimes certain of those categories can be difficult to fill. But it's great that you have this time to really recruit and try to fill all those categories. And then you receive your funds in June, and then presumably money starts going out the door pretty quickly after that. And then they have something to start reviewing.

[706] Tracey Vackar: Katie, the board's dark in July. So would you be interested in the recommendation that we should be considering? So I would probably make sure we keep to the timelines, that we meet those timelines. Yep. So then at your June meeting? You could appoint numbers.

[718] Gabriel Anguiano Jr: And it's 60 days from the May 2nd or May 6th.

[731] Katie (Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): It's 60 days from the board meeting, so May 6th.

[733] Kat Jones: Yeah, it's when you adopt that certification resolution, that's when it starts.

[745] Katie (Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): Well, that's great. We have four months now for you to really dig into it and make sure you have your committee ready to go.

[750] Adam Bauer(Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): And then, can you at that same meeting, would they also have like the cost of issuance summary and like they could have a summary of the bonds sale and that sort of thing?

[758] Katie (Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): Exactly, yes. So the resolution is going to include some financial projections and with the refunding bonds and the new money bonds. So those will be available to you all and to the community.

[769] Jose Quintana: So we definitely would recommend that to the bond committee, that was a subcommittee that was developed when we went out for bond, to start moving and start identifying some of that modernization, plumbing, HVC, technology, security, so we know what we can earmark positions for, with hard costs and soft costs.

[790] Kat Jones: And we have a new bond committee since the election.

[798] Aiden Hill: Correct, among the board members. So we have to earmark money for specific purposes.

[803] Jose Quintana: Correct, that we put out there when we were going out and campaigning. We put to modernize our technology, infrastructure, security, cameras. Existing HVACs are faulty in that project in the past, as well as dealing with plumbing, restroom issues, electrical issues, as well as standing walls. And safety, one of our current projects, we're moving transites. So there are asbestos in transits that we have identified.

[835] Nancy Thomas: Was there anything in there about demolishing old portals and replacing them?

[841] Jose Quintana: Not exactly. It's more of a replace or repair. So part of that replacement is to take out and dispose of old portables that are no longer their end of life, and we have quite a few in the 1960s.

[855] Katie (Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): And the exercise that your oversight committee will undertake is to look at the project list. And so all of the projects on the list are allowable under law. That's what we did back in last summer. Make sure that everything that you have on that list is allowable. And your oversight committee is going to look at that. And then they're going to make sure that the projects that you spent money on, you're going to present to them the money that has gone out the door, and they're going to compare that and make sure that it's something you told the voters that you were going to do.

[881] Tracey Vackar: For example, one of the things we said that we weren't going to do is we weren't going to build a school. using those proceeds, right? So we wouldn't want to be putting in a project where we're building a brand new school. Now, you might be building a facility on an existing school, especially if you're doing something like with a STEM project or something, like where you might have to refurbish an entire room, right, to be able to provide that.

[904] Nancy Thomas: And we can spend this on a district office. The last bond, we could not.

[910] Jose Quintana: There's no language that we had on this one. There's this language of renovate, upgrade, modernize, which are the key words, but not build a new school.

[920] Nancy Thomas: But I just was making the point last time we kind of hamstrung. Because of the bond language, we could not do anything to this building.

[930] Jose Quintana: Those are excellent questions for the bond committee.

[933] Aiden Hill: So to our bond vendors here, so how specific do we need to be?

[941] Aiden Hill: in terms of identifying the use of these funds. It's pretty specific.

[948] Katie (Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): Well, how specific in terms of what?

[951] Aiden Hill: Well, so here's my concern. So we're talking about, what's the total amount? A couple hundred million?

[957] Jose Quintana: It was $30 million in the first issue.

[960] Aiden Hill: 30 million for the first, right? So we don't have a list. I mean, we have categories that we laid out when we surveyed. But we don't have a list, and we're talking about that we need to have a concrete, very specific list in four months.

[979] Jose Quintana: We do have a list.

[981] Aiden Hill: So where did that list come from?

[983] Jose Quintana: It came from our Renault Clark architects. who they basically identified all our sites. The board approved them back in June, I want to say, to go out to the sites and assess our facility's infrastructure.

[996] Aiden Hill: I don't think that we as a board talked about specific projects.

[1002] Tracey Vackar: We did not talk about specific projects, but I think what we did is we identified on the list high priorities, and I believe that's what's inside the categories there. So, for instance, if HVAC was a high category or asbestos removal was a high category, I think those things are listed like that in there.

[1018] Jose Quintana: Additionally, like end of life, like portables and you could say envelopes of existing buildings that are currently leaking, restrooms.

[1031] Aiden Hill: But the concern that I have is we don't have a strategic plan around

[1038] Aiden Hill: you know, potentially what are the different things that we need to improve and what the priorities are. And it would be irresponsible of us to go out and spend money and assert earmarking until we have a strategic plan and clear priorities that have been discussed and approved by the board.

[1055] Jose Quintana: Correct. We need that on committee to look at these recommendations, whether it be the Clark that has a facility master plan that's going to prioritize priority one. to five.

[1069] Aiden Hill: Yeah, but so these are architects that have never talked to the board about this and have never talked to any of our community members. So they can put whatever priority they want, right? But it's we the people that decide what the priorities are.

[1086] Aiden Hill: I agree with you on that.

[1089] Kat Jones: So can we ask for a time that they could come and to give us, these are the things that we recommend that you do, and this is why, and why is behind that, so that we can understand where they were coming from when they did their assessment? Absolutely. So that would be something to, you know, as soon as we can. I mean, we've got this little tiny window.

[1119] Tracey Vackar: But there are some safety things you need to do.

[1121] Nancy Thomas: Right. I mean, absolutely.

[1122] Tracey Vackar: We know there's some safety issues that we want to go address.

[1126] Nancy Thomas: I think staff should put that list together with your recommendations, but then we Absolutely. And the community might share some more information with us.

[1140] Tracey Vackar: I know the kids were really concerned about their restrooms. There's things that we have heard about that people are very concerned about, especially as we were out talking about the bond. It was interesting to hear what the community had to say, and I don't disagree with Member Hill. We absolutely need to bring you back a document so that you have a living document to be able to work with. That living document, though, can be adjusted because you'll have different things that happen, right? There'll be different things that will occur. And then you'll want to make sure that you send that back out. So your priority list may have to be adjusted, didn't you?

[1170] SPEAKER_28: Well, and my concern, right, is that as I've been on the board, so we've spent a bunch of money and a bunch of time. This is prior to me being on the board, but I did have Vice President Thomas was on the board developing the facilities master plan. And I went very, very thoroughly through all the different needs.

[1192] Aiden Hill: um it was put on hold for I guess a variety of reasons and then COVID hit and we had a new administration come in and they came up with a new list right and so and then that that list was not properly vetted by the board and by the community And that's how we ended up spending 40% of our capital reserves on one project at one school, the track and field, that a lot of people would argue was maybe not the highest and best use. And so I'm just concerned that we're not going to go through the same process again. come up with a brand new list that doesn't reference any of the old lists, doesn't have any community input, and then potentially we start deploying money on something that you know, maybe the squeaky wheel identifies, but that it's not really the most important thing for us to be focused on.

[1252] Adam Bauer(Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): And our bond sale schedule can be adjusted on how long that takes. If you're able to get it done in this time frame, it will be back to May, if not, we'll have to adjust the schedule.

[1266] Tracey Vackar: We will do our best to try to help you get that by May.

[1272] Nancy Thomas: So we don't go out for the sale until we know how we want to allocate that $30 million.

[1278] SPEAKER_08: Absolutely. That is key right there.

[1280] Tracey Vackar: And by the way, that first $30 million is really key because you want to be able to show the community that you're doing certain things, especially before you go out into the next series. You need to be very on target with what that will look like. And I'll be honest, your facilities, as you all know after I went out and took a look at them, The very beginning, when I first got here, I was like, you guys can't wait for a bond. Your schools need help. And there's a lot that needs to be done. And maybe it's not some things that maybe the community can actually see, but it's the things that we see that we can't get to work. Your pool, for example, needs major work over at the high school.

[1313] Nancy Thomas: I'm just saying your pool is

[1328] Tracey Vackar: The lack of prior planning for big dollar investments in your elementary schools really felt like they were not given proceeds from last fall. I know I heard that loud and clear out there in the lawn. So I know you heard it. I know I heard it. We need to consider that because I felt like the majority of it went to the high school to begin with and not to your elementary.

[1349] Nancy Thomas: It was because there was a lack of communication, a lack of planning, a lack of So it was, you know, a group that wanted to have a big project done. They got together and they made it happen without the board really involved in almost any of it.

[1366] Tracey Vackar: It was a really cool idea that came out sometime during when we were out talking about the bond with the community about keeping an active list. and keeping it actually on our agenda so that it was up there and current about some of the high-trend areas that we were actually working on, so the community knew, and that we maybe actually added a timeline, like, where is it at? Currently in the development stage. Is it currently construction stage? Is it done? Being able to track some of those projects. I thought that was a really great recommendation that came out in one of our conversations that we had in the community. So I think for some of the bigger nuggets of things that we wouldn't be able to do, whether that's, I'll just throw out, whether it's to repaint all the schools and give them a freshen up, right?

[1411] Nancy Thomas: In the beginning with our last conference, we had great presentations. every two months on the status of all the projects. They were all listed. They were all talked about their due date. That went away toward the end, and I just want us to bring that back. Okay, bring it back.

[1435] Jose Quintana: So board members, and that's because we have Measure G, and so the CBOC would bring those type things along with your CBO. And that's pretty normal. Since I've been here, I've seen the three facility master plans. And I'm like, oh, these are great ideas. But to your point, Member Hill, they haven't come to fruition. It's like they were brought up. Somebody made the study. But now you have a bond committee, which is great.

[1462] Aiden Hill: But the bond committee does not make those decisions. We, the board, make those decisions.

[1467] Jose Quintana: No, no, I meant your board members' committee. You have our own bond committee, not CBOC, I'm not talking about CBOC. Bond advisory committee. Correct, bond advisory committee.

[1478] Aiden Hill: But again, the bond advisory committee does an analysis, and they bring it before the board, and there's discussion. Yes. And it's not just like a 30-minute agenda item. Right. Right. And the fact is, is that, you know, and as Superintendent Vackar is indicating, there, and I know this, I saw this prior to her joining, that there were a lot of schools that were very upset with how all of a sudden there was this big massive second sound of, you know, taking 8 million bucks and deploying it towards one project at one school. And we cannot do that again, right? And we really need to have input from the schools. And quite frankly, I think that we need to see know input from the schools and the teachers and the parents and we ought to have a list for each of those and you know and those those ought to inform because and and quite frankly it may it may be that those take precedence over some other things we need to evaluate it because I think that if if The community went out and made all this effort to go and promote the bond and to vote for the bond, but then they're not seeing it at their local site.

[1549] Jose Quintana: That's problematic. We'll be real frustrated by that. Well, the good thing is that the bond audit committee will have an arsenal of three fiscally master plans and the last measure project list that was checked off and some that were not completed. And you will have public comment in these committee meetings that would get stakeholder involvement.

[1571] Kat Jones: I think it's going to be really important that we look at... the safety on the school sites, especially elementary sites, the black tops. Just the black top itself has issues, or the patios in between the courtyards. And are there roots that are causing issues in the school?

[1596] Kat Jones: the service that is there and making sure that our kids can run across campus safely. That I think, I don't know where that is in the master plan, but to me, making sure that all of our sites, especially our elementary sites, are really safe.

[1616] Nancy Thomas: Irrigation of our fields were taken care of. Gopher bowls. Our kids are in a trip and someone at one point decided they didn't like the idea of us spending money on irrigation and they turned off our irrigation system. And so all summer long, our fields on many of our schools are from, and the city doesn't do that with their fields.

[1643] Tracey Vackar: No, and they get those little weed things, and those weed things create that nasty scent pot.

[1650] Nancy Thomas: What's that?

[1651] Tracey Vackar: It's that when we turn that off, we get those weeds that come up. So it's really awful. You don't talk about those, like, sticky weeds. They hurt. They hurt. They hurt. They really hurt. Yeah. And they're hard to get rid of afterwards.

[1662] Nancy Thomas: And that's a case where the board set a goal. And we said we put aside money from Russian measure, I mean, fund for it. We set aside money for irrigation. And staff didn't follow through with it. It just didn't happen. And I hope we Board members, we're done.

[1689] Tracey Vackar: We don't want to be that staff.

[1691] Nancy Thomas: You don't want to be that staff.

[1692] Tracey Vackar: We don't want to be that staff. We can take that right now.

[1695] Jose Quintana: We hear you loud and clear.

[1700] Tracey Vackar: I do want to say 30 million goes really fast when you've got nine sites.

[1705] Kat Jones: That's my thing. Can you explain to me a little bit more about why we start with 30 and then move to 60? Is it kind of a proving point? Like we prove to the community that we're good? Is that kind of how it... I noticed the numbers are 30, 60, 60, 60, 55.

[1723] Kat Jones: How are those chosen?

[1726] Jose Quintana: Every project, whether it's 5 million, 3 million, 10 million, it takes bandwidth, it takes work, it takes personnel. So starting with a larger number, you have the time, you know, the clock starts ticking. So we want to make sure we have the bandwidth, the personnel, construction management firms, construction management firms in this case here because we don't have in-house construction managers. One thing that we're doing is smaller projects under a million. like our new Director of Maintenance, Operations, and Transportation. He has construction management experiences.

[1757] SPEAKER_08: Do I. So we're handling a smaller project without CMs, just an architect.

[1762] Jose Quintana: That helps us with some of our soft costs. But a project, once again, we want to start with $30 million and see what our

[1770] SPEAKER_08: And after doing this analysis that we've all talked about this evening,

[1781] Adam Bauer(Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): If the number comes in at $25 million or $35 million, that's fine. There's nothing magic about $30 million.

[1788] SPEAKER_19: It just depends on the kind of size.

[1792] Katie (Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): One of the things that I mentioned was, these are taxes on people. Taxes on cars. These first ones?

[1796] SPEAKER_19: Yeah, all of them.

[1797] Katie (Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): This one is for students eligible to issue taxes on that. which means that investors don't pay taxes on the interest. So they're willing to give you better rates than with corporate investments. So the IRS looks especially hard. I don't know if you can hear me. And that sounds pretty easy, but once you, you know, you've got to line up the contractors and things. Right.

[1834] Aiden Hill: But so where does that rule come from? The IRS, right. The IRS says that you need to spend 85% of your bond proceeds in three years.

[1843] Katie (Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): You have to have a reasonable expectation at the time that you issue the bond. So when you're looking at reasonable expectations. It means that you have a plan in place and you can show the IRS if they ever audit you. One thing that slowed a lot of districts down was COVID. Construction stopped. So if you got audited, you could just show the IRS, look, we couldn't do anything because it was COVID. But if you just issue the money and then they'll have a plan and you sit on it, then they're going to make you pay them.

[1871] Jose Quintana: Right. There's obviously the CDAC reporting as well, Adam. We want to make sure that what we've issued, we are counting to every dollar.

[1878] Adam Bauer(Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): To that point, it used to be somewhat that IRS would have to go searching to figure out whether DSHC did this. But the state in 2017 enacted a requirement that if you issue in California, you have to post spend down your amount of proceeds on hand. So now the IRS, any board of IRS agents, can go down the CDR web page and just see exactly where you're at. So our random audits don't seem as random as they used to. Usually, if there's an audit comes in, I call the district and say, Oh, you have bomb policies, don't you? Well, it used to be like a 50-50, wasn't it?

[1914] Tracey Vackar: The other thing is it gives us a chance to now, for the next three years, especially to have those discussions about some of the larger projects that will require DSA, additional approvals that we need to really spend time on, right? And really for the board to really then you know, we're going to have to. and immediately address some of those immediate safety issues. Those are going to be your first things that you need to do. And then I think you also need to build some public confidences. Some of you have mentioned here, I think that's really important. We heard that really loud and clear on the campaign trail.

[1952] SPEAKER_08: And there is a six-month waiting with DSA back check or anything like that for travel. Once again, the black tops, right? And having, you know... solar that we can connect to, or that accessibility. So there's other components that are going to look at for access for new projects.

[1970] SPEAKER_08: Right, okay.

[1977] Adam Bauer(Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): Well, nice work getting that here along.

[1979] Kat Jones: Thank you. Thank you so much.

[1981] Adam Bauer(Fieldman, Rolapp and Assoc.): Thank you so much.

[1985] Tracey Vackar: Can I just recap the next steps real quickly? I just want to make sure that we all are clear on the next steps. The next steps would probably be to come back here in May, on May 6th, right? Bring several different series of resolutions. In the meantime, I think we need to get out on our website. the bond committee that we need to start, you know, getting names and stuff for so we can get that ready to go, even though you won't wait for them to come in until later. And then what happens with Measure G? I just want to make sure that we talk about the Measure G. oversight bond. Does it go away entirely and we retire it?

[2016] Jose Quintana: So I can answer that question. We're actually speaking to Key Analytics who were over our Measure G and we're closing that out. You don't have any problems, you don't need to have a CBOC for that. And we expressed that to our CDC members last time I met with them that we're closing that out. There's no need to be meeting or having a report. The last reports were pretty concise and thorough. I would recommend, though, to be a final report to be put out by Paralytics, and basically, you know, identify every project and every dollar on that measure, Jane.

[2049] SPEAKER_08: And it pulls us out, basically, so we don't have any more significant reporting on it.

[2052] Nancy Thomas: And maybe come and present to the board. I do believe that we have to have, we have to audit. Our auditor has to audit the bond. Correct, and they have those documents. And that has to happen in the next couple of months.

[2065] Jose Quintana: They do have those documents, correct?

[2068] Nancy Thomas: Yeah, they have to audit it. Yeah, they're aware they have to do that before it changes because we don't want to put it in the system. But they have to work with the CBOC on that. I close it out.

[2079] Nancy Thomas: They've been trying for a couple of years to close it out.

[2086] Jose Quintana: We've got to start it.

[2090] SPEAKER_19: Thank you, everybody. Appreciate you being here. Thank you. Nice to see you all. Have a good night.

[2110] Thank you. Thank you.

[2138] SPEAKER_19: Oh, friends. Thank you.

[2162] Kat Jones: That was interesting. That was probably even better.

[2175] SPEAKER_19: When I hear it, it's like, oh, look, I'm really smart. Thank you. Thank you.

[2207] SPEAKER_19: Thank you.

[2213] Thank you.

[2216] SPEAKER_19: Thank you.

1.4 Recess to Closed Session

[2236] Kat Jones: Coming back at 6.30 for the introduction of closed session. During closed session, We have a couple public comment, but I'm going to read the closed session agenda prior to public comment for closed session, and then we'll take the three cards that I have for closed session. In closed session. 2.1 Public Employee Discipline Dismissal Release Complaint, Government Code 54957. 2.2 Conference with Real Property Negotiator, Property 6 Acres Vacant Parcels. Sorry, I'm going to have to put my glasses on. APNs 901-2002, 901-2003, 901-2004, 901-2005, 2001690020017 at the corner of Sea Turtle Avenue and Cheri Street, Newark, California. Sanctuary property in Area 3. Agency and Negotiator, Kelly Rem, Tracy B. Vacar, Jose C. Quintana. Negotiating Parties, City of Newark under negotiation terms. 2.3, conference with legal counsel, anticipated litigation, significant exposure to litigation pursuant to Government Code 54956.9. Four cases, case one, case two, case three, case four. Resolution number 2024.25.23, resolution to release a non-reelect certified administrators pursuant to Ed Code 44951 and 44929.21. 2.5, resolution number 202425.24, release and reassignment of certified administrative employees pursuant to Ed Code 44951. 2.6, resolution 2024.25.25, temporary employee release, .27. I'm sorry, 2.7, resolution number 2024.25.26, substitute release, and 2.8, conference with labor negotiators, Government Code 54957.6, subdivision A, CSEA, and NTA.

[2424] Kat Jones: At this time, I will call up Cheri Villa with speaking on 2.2, Conference with Real Property.

[2435] Chery Villa: Good evening, board president, school board members, and executive cabinet. are in regards to our 2.8 session. The title of that being conversations with negotiations government 54957.6 subdivision a play organization CSA NTA. School board meeting at the beginning of this year, August 20th, it was item 2.2, closed session. Was not included in September 3rd or September 17th. October 1st, it was 2.1. October 15th, 2.2. November 5th, 2.2. December 2nd, not listed. December 12th, 2.3. January 21st, 2.3. And at the last school board meeting, February 4th, it was 2.2. So looking at today's agenda, kind of surprising to see we got above and down on the list all the way to the bottom, 2.8.

[2497] Chery Villa: So whatever we're talking about, other things besides negotiations with NTA, you seem to fall to the bottom of the list. Trying to point that out. Thank you.

[2514] Kat Jones: Thank you.

[2517] Kat Jones: Cindy Parks speaking on 2.2 regarding Sanctuary Village.

[2527] Cindy Parks: Good evening. We're a tag team. Mr. Knoop is going to read the end of my speech. Thank you. I'm concerned with Superintendent Vackar placing conference with real property negotiator item for area three sanctuary village on the closed session agenda again. It was previously pulled from the November 5 2024 and February 4 2025 agendas under Government Code section 5495 4.5. The Brown Act allows closed session discussion only for negotiations over price, terms of payment, or both. Because NUSD has no price or payment terms under consideration, placing this item in closed session does not satisfy the Brown Act threshold. The school district might benefit from the agreement of these decisions. six-acre property listed. However, you need to be aware the dedication that is contained within the attached agreement between or attached within the agreement is between the City of Newark and Newark Partners LLC and was recorded on November 24, 2015. The following is the relevant language from the agreement. Section 3.03E, the developer shall offer for dedication to the city in it as is unimproved condition six acres of land for the construction of an elementary school adjacent to the park parcel. This offer of dedication shall be made upon the city's assurance of a first building permit for area three. and shall not be rescinded for seven years or the 200th building permit, whichever is later. In the event that the city accepts the dedication and transfers the land to the school district, the city must impose a deed restriction on the land limiting its use to school education purposes. And providing that the school district disposes of the land, it must first offer to sell the land at the appraised value described in section 3.03F. which is below. Back to the developer and if declined to the city. The developer shall not market the project to any party as including the development of an elementary school until such time as the construction of the school is assured. Now I'm going to get to that section F. At the city's sole option during that seven-year period or the 200th building permit, whichever date is later, and in lieu of the dedication described in this section, the city may elect to receive a monetary payment from the developer in the amount equal to the fair market value of the six acres of parcel in 2010. as raw, unimproved land zoned for high-tech development without interest as the value is established according to the written appraisal. If construction of a permanent elementary school campus, not portable buildings, does not commence within the seven-year period, the offer of dedication shall terminate and the developer shall make the school land payment to the city.

[2698] Cary Knoop: Good evening. Continuing. In both the October 12, 2018 communication to Patrick Sanchez and the July 24, 2023 email to Dr. DeLeon, the City of Newark has been clear about the timeline for the Sanctuary Village school site. Newark Unified School District needs to begin building a permanent elementary school structure by August 7, 2025. Another item to note is the August 2014 recirculated draft environmental impact report area three and four specific plan. which I emailed to all of you. In that email I included an excerpt from page S60. There are several references about pesticides and hazardous materials which might require remediation. As I said in my e-mail, I know this is complex and a lot to absorb, which is another reason why staff reports with public discussion done prior to the six-month looming deadline would have been prudent. Along those lines, I respectfully request the board to direct staff to prepare and present a public staff report detailing the district responsibilities, timeline and environmental consideration associated with the six acres. And number two, clarify whether there are any specific monetary terms of payment negotiations. that justify closed session deliberation. If not, remove or revise the real property negotiator item to ensure Brown Act's compliance. That concludes the statement from Cindy Parks. I do have some time, or am I out of time? Oh, I do have some time. So I just want to add that What I think bothers me, and maybe many in this community, is that we need to have a public discussion of what we're going to do with all this land, whether it's Area 3, or snow, or music. And it's been too long. And this is now the third time it's in closed session. I have no idea what you folks discussed. I hope it's conformed the Brown Act. But still, I just don't see any reason why that is. If you negotiate with Newark, I don't see any reason why that has to be in secret. It doesn't make any sense to me. I guess you folks know better. So have a good night. Thank you.

[2848] Kat Jones: Thank you, Mr. Knoop. Could I ask Kelly Rehm to come up and just provide a little clarification as to why we're speaking about this in closed session tonight?

[2857] Kelly Rem (Lozano Smith): Absolutely. Good evening, board members, superintendent and cabinet. Thank you for having me here today. As I mentioned, I'm Kelly Ruhm with Lozano Smith, the law firm. As you all know, there is a Brown Act exception that allows us to go into closed session to talk about, to provide guidance to or authority to the agency's negotiator. prior to the purchase, sale, exchange, or lease of real property regarding price or terms of payment for purchase, sale, lease, or exchange. And prior to doing so, the legislative body shall hold an open session in which it identifies its negotiators, the real property in question, and the person or persons with whom the negotiators may negotiate. So that second requirement was complied with here. You've got all of the information identified on your agenda and allowed for public comment prior to having this discussion in closed session. You just heard a little bit about the background which I'm sure a lot of you are already aware of related to the sanctuary property. There's a development agreement between the city and the developer, the developer from 2015. And it does in fact require the developer to offer to dedicate six acres of land to the city that would then be if accepted by the city transfer to the school district. However, there is no agreement between the school district in the city for transfer of that property. And so there is this possibility of an acquisition by the school district of property from the city, but there are no terms currently between those parties. And that is what would be negotiated and that's what puts us squarely within the allowance to go into closed session and have that discussion. The Brown Act does not say that you need to be in contract with another party in order to talk about terms in closed session. In fact, that wouldn't make a lot of sense because we're typically negotiating the terms before we go into contract. As I mentioned, there is no current contract between the city and the school district related to this property. And so the discussion will be limited to that it's not going to be about terms between the developer in the city that's not the purview of the board and that's not the focus of the closed session discussion. But at the end of the day, again, because there is the potential for an acquisition of land from another entity, and we have disclosed all of that information on the agenda and allowed public comment, it does fall within the Brown Act exception to allow for discussion in closed session.

[3001] Kat Jones: Thank you.

[3003] Aiden Hill: President Jones. So, Ms. Remm, thank you, but I'm a little bit confused here because you're indicating that we don't have terms, but we have an agreement. And so, and it seems to me that the terms are outlined in that agreement.

[3022] Kelly Rem (Lozano Smith): Would you like me to respond? The terms are between the city and the developer and there is again it's not as the agreement is written and we don't want to get into talking about terms and open because that's the whole reason for having the closed session but as it stands right now there is no specific there are no specific terms of allowing for the transfer between the city and the school district. And there are things that would need to happen if that were going to take place. And so that's the subject of the closed session. The school district is not a party to that agreement. And so it is referenced in that agreement, but is not a party and does not have necessarily have the rights to enforce that. Although even that may be questionable, but we won't be pursuing it.

[3066] Aiden Hill: But Ms. Ram, in order for us to proceed, wouldn't the board have had to have made a decision that we actually need to engage in negotiations prior to having a discussion of pricing in terms?

[3080] Kelly Rem (Lozano Smith): I think, and again, I don't want to get too much into what I think is appropriate for closed session. I think the answer is that it's all tied together, right? We need to have a discussion about whether or not there are terms that the district would want to agree to or that the board would want to authorize its negotiators to put out there before potentially having a discussion with the city. And that is the purpose of the closed session.

[3102] Kat Jones: Thank you so much. Appreciate the clarification. I'd like to make one other clarification, and that is, Ms. Villa, when we set the agenda items in closed session, there is not a purposeful lineup in terms of those. They are just added in there, but the number of where it is does not indicate the order in which we speak on these issues in closed session, just for you to understand. Thank you. All right.

[3135] Kat Jones: And with that, we are going to adjourn to closed session at 645.

Pause: 2h 29m 3s

3.1 Report of Closed Session Actions

[12082] Kat Jones: Turning from closed session at 9.15, reporting out on closed session items. 2.1 during closed session held earlier, the board adopted a resolution pursuant to Ed Code section 44929.21 and authorized the district superintendent to notify One teacher of the release from the probationary position by the following vote. Five ayes.

[12113] Kat Jones: Motion by Thomas, second by Hill. Administrator release and non-reelection 2.4. During the closed session held earlier, the board adopted a resolution pursuant to the Ed Code sections 44951 and 44929.21 and authorized the district superintendent to notify two assistant principals of their release and non-reelection from their position by the following vote. Five ayes. Motion made by Block, second by Hill. Administrator release and reassignment, which is 2.5. The board adopted a resolution pursuant to Ed Code section 4491 and authorized the district superintendent to notify an assistant principal and an alternative education program administrator of their release and reassignment from their position by the following vote, five ayes. Motion made by Thomas, second made by Anguiano. 2.6, temporary employee release. The board voted to issue notices of non-reelection to four temporary certified teachers by the following vote, five ayes. Motion made by Hill, second by Thomas. 2.7. Substitute employee release. The board voted to issue notices of release to three substitute certified teachers by the following vote, five ayes. Motion by Block, second by Anguiano.

[12225] Kat Jones: Thank you.

4.1 Pledge of Allegiance

[12234] Kat Jones: All right. Moving on to Pledge of Allegiance. Joy, would you please lead us in the pledge?

[12250] Joy Lee: 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.

[12264] Joy Lee: Thank you.

1.1 Meeting Practices and Information

4.2 Meeting Practices and Information

[12270] Kat Jones: Meeting practices and information. Just as a reminder, we will keep our focus on the best interest of our students. We will work towards that future, learning from the past. We will stay focused on our goals and avoid getting sidetracked. We will build upon the ideas of others and look for common ground. We will paraphrase for understanding. When we have a difference of opinion, we will debate the facts of the situation and avoid personal criticism. We will address processes, not persons. We will respect differences and we will never dismiss or devalue others. On to 5.1, approval of the agenda.

5.1 Approval of the Agenda

[12322] Kat Jones: Would anyone like to pull an item?

[12328] Kat Jones: Okay. I would like a motion to approve the agenda.

[12336] Nancy Thomas: I move that we approve the agenda. I'll second.

[12339] Kat Jones: OK. And Ms. Lemus, could we take a vote, please?

[12346] Toya Lemus: Yes. Student Board Member Lee?

[12348] Kat Jones: Yes.

[12349] Toya Lemus: Member Hill? Yes. Member Anguiano? Yes. Member Block? Yes. Vice President Thomas.

[12354] Kat Jones: Yes.

[12355] Toya Lemus: President Jones.

[12356] Kat Jones: Yes.

[12357] Toya Lemus: Six ayes.

[12358] Kat Jones: All right. Motion results. Six ayes.

[12360] Kat Jones: It passes. All right. Student reports.

6.1 Student Report: Student Board Member, Joy Lee

[12367] Joy Lee: Yes. Thank you. Good evening, board members, executive cabinet, and beloved Newark community. Happy Black History Month. We take this month to celebrate the contributions of so many black Americans who, through the struggles and triumphs, have shaped our nation's history. Every week through February, the high school is highlighting an important black figure, and today we recognize Ella Fitzgerald. An American jazz singer, she pioneered jazz music, broke racial barriers in the music industry, and inspired excellence, proudly representing her culture. At the high school, ASB elections happened just last week. Congratulations to all the elected class officers of 26, 27, and 28. Congratulations to next year's ASB cabinet, ASB President Jacqueline Torres, Vice President Addison Wolf, ASB Secretary Harnoor Sayan. We are still waiting on two candidates to be interviewed for our ASB treasurer. And the final congratulations to our next ASB student board member, Jasleen Ayala Torres, who will be succeeding me after the end of my term. On Valentine's Day, ASB's Valentine Graham fundraiser was a huge success. Students, parents, and teachers were able to buy a rose and a bear keychain for each other and were all delivered that day. Thank you to all the student organizers and Mr. Kawabata who helped make this fundraiser a success. The Newark Girls Who Code program is recruiting high school volunteers. It's hosted by our school's hack club, and the program aims to teach Newark elementary schoolers basic computer science concepts. Many of our high school departments are hosting events in the next months. And so the first one is our Newark Memorial Band and Choir's Le Jazz Hot. Tickets are on sale until February 24th. Le Jazz Hot is a dinner gala accompanied by jazz music performed by the band and choir. Dinner is provided by Texas Roadhouse, so if you like Texas Roadhouse, along with dessert and chances to win multiple big prizes with raffle tickets. The concert is on Saturday, March 1st. First, where doors open at 5.30 p.m. You can buy tickets online and I know I personally will be very much attending and highly encourage you guys to also come and support our band program, our band and choir program. Next, the Puente Club at the high school is helping beautify the school campus and improve the environment with the school tree planting on March 8th from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. They want to personally invite the school board members and any executive cabinet members who would like to come as well as any community members who would like to join us. In our drama department, a story of drama and unexpected humorous twists will unfold as the Newark Memorial High School presents live spirit. Explore with Charles Ruth Alvara through a tale of love and heartbreak in the world of the 1920s at the Newark Memorial High School Theater. Now, future teasing to our Hats performance coming up this March. On February 22nd, we will be having our first media day for our club performers. It's a great opportunity where clubs will be getting a chance to have their professional photos taken, something that hasn't happened yet. Thank you to senior Alex Garcia and his father who are donating their time and their services to take photos for us. And the yearly Special Olympics is a time where special education students from the surrounding high schools join at the high school to not only compete with each other, but build new memories and friends. I've been volunteering for the past two years, and I can testify it's an amazing event with lots of smiles, love, and joy that you can see from both participants and volunteers alike. It is happening on February 28th, and I believe Coach K sent the invitations to you guys, so to your Gmail. Next week, the high school will also be hosting an event called Challenge Day for our ninth graders. The purpose of this event is to help students break down barriers and bring empathy to create a community where we all belong. It'll be next Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday from 8.30 to 3.30. We would like to invite the school board, superintendent, executive cabinet members to attend and support our students. Lastly, several teams from Newark Memorial High School have completed and made it to NCS. I'd like to invite you to bring a round of applause for our boys basketball team, boys wrestling, boys soccer, girls wrestling, and girls soccer. Before I end, in a time like this where changes are being decided and decisions are being made, I would like to end reminding not only my fellow board members, but all who are listening, and me too, to stay empathetic, to stay vigilant, to stay creative as each day we make, we will make decisions which will impact the lives and the minds of students. like me and everyone to come, students who will become the next business owners, the next world leaders, and even school board members. Or even be a superintendent. And with the late time, a student left something with me. Her name is Sophia Cruz. And her and her class actually made this poster that I would like to share with you guys. It says, please say think together.

[12685] Joy Lee: So board members, please. And I wonder if you guys would want to put it up somewhere. But every single person, people from their class, people signed this, and they drew this, and they created this, and they brought it to show you. But unfortunately, Sophia had to leave because of the time. But thank you for listening.

[12712] Kat Jones: Thank you for sharing, Joy.

[12715] Joy Lee: Thank you so much, Joy.

[12716] Kat Jones: I appreciate that. We are moving on to employee organizations.

7.1 Employee Organizations

[12721] Kat Jones: NTA?

[12731] Chery Villa: Our budget should be a reflection of our district's priorities. There should be an alignment with what we are spending money on our expenditures and the work that we all do, which is to provide all of our students a quality education. Our NTA members have chosen to stay in this district for many years, did so for a lot of reasons, and so trying to I'll tell you, for a long time, it wasn't just about salary, about money. But unfortunately, now, for some of our NTA members, it is. And if not now, it soon will be. Hearing the word budget deficit year after year, when it comes to talking about negotiations and salary increases, but now what's included with that is the working conditions, you know, resources like Graphics, school site funds, allocations, and supplemental teaching materials, all of that's been cut. Getting a guest teacher or a sub to cover classes, it's all been, it's non-existent anymore. So now it's working conditions and salaries. Everybody in this room and throughout NUSD, they're worried and they're upset about the impacts that it's going to have. These budget reductions again are going to have. on their jobs, their livelihood, and most importantly, the negative impact that it will continue to have on the education that we offer these kids. I think we can all agree that we place too much trust in our prior leadership, our prior school board, our prior executive cabinet. too much trust in not scrutinizing the work that they did.

[12869] Chery Villa: And look at where we're at now. So here we are again. We continue to just talk about, all we do is talk. We don't do anything. And we're losing good teachers because we just talk about it. So let me just say, instead of talking about the same things that we talked about five years ago, 10, even 15 years ago, talking about the same things, It's a, well, let me just say, you know, to get different results, you have to do something different. Be the board that does something different.

[12913] Chery Villa: Stop talking about retaining and attracting, attracting and retaining teachers, and do something that will actually make that happen. I mean, for example, in 2022 and 2023, we had 296 NT members. 75 of those teachers had one to five years of teaching experience. OK, now in 2024-25, we have 246 NT members, and 106 of those teachers

[12944] Chery Villa: have one to five years teaching experience. So attracting and retaining teachers, it's going to take doing something different. So thanks.

[12961] Kat Jones: Thank you, Ms.

[12961] Kat Jones: Villa.

[12965] Kat Jones: CSEA.

[12973] Maria Huffer: Good evening, guys. Board members, executive cabinet, community members. All right. It's been a long day. As I stand before you tonight, I was hoping there'd be a different outcome regarding the CSEA layoffs, classified layoffs. After many of our members that have come forward in the past board meetings expressing to all of you, to all of you what these layoffs would, will mean in reducing service, services to students and to the district. We find that there are many classified employees on this list of reductions. Are these reductions actually necessary? Are these reductions going to right-size the budget and make a difference? The cost of the 1% of the CSEA bargaining unit is less than $120,000. CSEA members are underpaid, undervalued, and disrespected. None of the proposed reduction plans have been bargained yet with CSEA formally in negotiations. CSEA is having a hard time believing that these cuts are necessary. How are these reductions due to a lack of work or a lack of funds? Board members, I ask you to think before you approve these reductions tonight. The district will then come back and propose new positions and state that these new positions are needed after the district just made cuts supposedly due to the lack of work and lack of funds. I hope you remember. administration's claims tonight when they bring forward new positions in the future. If the district is making cuts, why are we hiring management substitutes for BGI and district office at the same time? I know that hiring a permanent classified employee versus a management substitute would save the district money. Filling the business office vacancy instead of hiring a sub would also result in saving money. What is the classified management sub's function? Why are we hiring classified substitute aides instead of posting for and hiring them to the permanent positions? The district needs aides and should start hiring them immediately instead of contracting out. That would be one step in the right direction to save this district money. Why hasn't the search for the permanent superintendent begun? One day there's an urgency to hire someone and then a few weeks later indecision about the hiring process and then time frame. What is the board waiting for? Have you already made your decisions? Or are you stringing the staff, students, and community along to make us believe that you're looking for the best fit for NUSD? It would be a real shame if there's a rushed decision to hire someone at an alarming rate of pay after all. CSEA strongly discourages the Board of Education from approving the proposed classified layoffs. CSEA is the glue keeping this district together and the missing piece of the puzzle. The Board should take a hard look at these cuts and hold the line by saying enough is enough and stop these reductions. Thank you.

[13149] Kat Jones: Thank you, Ms. Huffer.

[13156] Kat Jones: NEWMA?

[13163] Kristi Palomino: Good evening, President Jones, Board of Trustees, and Executive Cabinet members. My name is Christy Palomino, President of NEWMA. Thank you for having me this evening. NEWMA stands in solidarity with our labor partners, CSEA and NTA, in support of them. As we know, this is a tough time for our Newark community. On behalf of NEWMA, we would like to address some of our members concerns around communication from the district. Here are four examples. Number one, last minute changes to schedules. Several members have expressed frustration with last minute cancellations and schedule changes. While we understand that unforeseen circumstances may arise, it would greatly benefit everyone if these changes could be communicated as early as possible. This will allow our members to plan accordingly and avoid any disruption to their commitments and serving their community. Number two. Planning and Agenda Management. There have been instances where meeting agenda slide decks have not been shared in a timely manner or where the planned agenda was not followed during meetings. This can lead to confusion and unproductive discussions. We kindly request that agenda slide decks be created and distributed in advance of each meeting and that efforts are made to stick to the planned agenda to ensure focused and efficient discussions in order to serve our community. This allows us to inform our fellow colleagues if they are unable to attend these important meetings. Number three, interdepartmental communication. There have been instances where members feel that critical information is not being shared between departments in a timely and efficient manner. This lack of coordination often leads to confusion, delays, and inefficiencies in our work. We believe that establishing clear channels for interdepartmental communication and ensuring that all relevant parties are kept informed will help streamline processes and avoid misunderstandings. Number four, budgeting process clarity. Several members have expressed difficulty in understanding the budgeting process, especially when it comes to how decisions are made and how information is communicated. We believe that providing clearer explanations of budget allocations, including budget strings and decisionmaking criteria, would help improve transparency and allow our members to better plan and allocate resources on their end to support our students. We believe that addressing these issues will significantly improve communication and collaboration between NEWMA members and the district, ultimately ensuring that we can continue to work effectively together for all of our NUSD students. The Newark community is looking at our school district to ensure the right decisions for our students and staff.

[13334] Kat Jones: Thank you. OK, moving on to a public comment, we have one for 8.1 non-agenda items. Before we get to that, I would like to ask the board and staff if we can extend the meeting. Don't shoot me until midnight. I hope that it's over before that. At least I didn't say 1 AM. Got to give me that. So can I have a motion and a second, please? I know, nobody wants to do that.

8.1 Public Comment on Non-Agenda Items

16.1 PLACEHOLDER - Extend Meeting

[13374] Aiden Hill: I'm always happy to make those motions.

[13377] Kat Jones: All right. Member Hill, motions and?

[13381] Aiden Hill: I second.

[13382] Kat Jones: Member Iguoda, seconds. And could we have a roll count, please?

[13387] Toya Lemus: Student Board Member Lee? Yes. Member Hill? Yes. Member Anguiano? Yes. Member Block? Yes. Vice President Thomas? Yes. President Jones?

[13399] Kat Jones: Yes. Six ayes. All right, motion carries. We will extend until midnight.

8.2 Public Comment on Agenda Items

[13405] Kat Jones: Okay, 8.1, Zola Rivera.

Pause: 11.4s

[13419] Zola Rivera: Hello, good evening. I come here on behalf of the Spanish parents, okay? And they're asking me to, how come you guys don't translate all these documents, especially at this moment that they're important papers? We don't, I've been translating for them. And sometimes it's kind of hard because the documents are protected and the passwords and everything. So I do it word by word. It takes a long time. I think it's unfair that you guys are not translating for the parents because it's an important document. It's an important decision you guys are making. And you guys are not translating at all. I think it's unfair. And you guys are putting excuses. Because a lot of times, I'd be emailing you guys sometimes, too, volunteering. Because you guys, I know you don't have no money. But there are a lot of parents that will help you guys. So stop putting excuses, please, and let the parents know what's going on. Thank you.

[13483] Carey Sanchez Para (CSEA): Thank you.

[13488] Austin Block: Can we ask a quick question about what it would take in order to make that a regular? part of the process for attachments.

[13502] Tracey Vackar: I had to get back with you and let you know what the assessment on that is. We don't have translators right here directly all the time on staff. We've got limited abilities to be able to do that, and we do try to do the most pertinent documents, I do know. Board documents are typically, you know, have not been done here traditionally, and I'm not sure if there's other support systems that we might have that might be able to translate it in some other ways, like if we put it through like a Google Translate or something. So I have to do some checking on that.

[13535] Austin Block: Yeah, I'd be curious about the use of AI for things like that as well.

[13538] Kat Jones: Okay, thank you.

[13543] Kat Jones: 10.1, Cindy Parks. OK, 10.2, you want to wait for that one too?

[13552] Kat Jones: All right.

[13556] Kat Jones: Cheri Garcia, 10.2.

[13564] Cheri Garcia: Good evening. I'm the school counselor at Bridgepoint and Crossroads High School and I'm here again to ask you to reconsider your proposal to relocate the Continuation High School to Newark Memorial. Remaining at its independent campus and not being moved back to Memorial is crucial to our students' success. At the last board meeting, it was disclosed that should Bridgepoint relocate back to Memorial, the all-dead counselor position would be eliminated. And it was suggested that our Bridgepoint and Crossroads students could be absorbed by the Memorial counselors because it was only 82 students. May I remind you. that these only 82 students are only 82 of the district students with the greatest needs. And only 82 of the students who had previously been at Memorial and were unsuccessful, which is how they ended up at Bridgepoint or Crossroads in the first place. According to the American School Counseling Association, the recommended student-to-counselor ratio for high school counselors is 250 to 1, with the national average being above that at 376 to 1. However, the three memorial counselors have caseloads with an average of 454 to 1, Yet you want to increase their caseloads even more, which would bring them to nearly 500 each. Something else that needs to be taken into consideration is that Bridgepoint and Crossroads are on a quarter system, and students receive variable credit, while Memorial is on a semester system. This means each quarter we have students who have completed a course and then need to be moved into another class to complete grad requirements. This requires daily review of students' credits, student progress, and numerous conversations with students, families, and teachers. to ensure our students are working towards credit recovery? How do you expect the memorial counselors to be able to dedicate the amount of time required to effectively support our continuation high school students and support their already large caseloads of memorial students? The answer is it's not possible. Students will inevitably slip through the cracks and fall behind. And I fear that those students will very likely be the same ones who were already credit deficient, our Bridgepoint students. This is at no fault of the counselors. as they simply will not have the time needed to adequately support all of the students. Finally, it was implied that eliminating the council position at Bridgepoint would save the district money. This is not true. The council position at Bridgepoint is funded completely through the CSI grant. This grant is renewed every three years and can only be used at an Alt-Ed school. Meaning, should you cut the Alt-Ed counselor position, this would have zero impact on the budget, as this salary is not paid through the district. Please consider all of the facts before cutting positions that directly impact our students' success. Please do what's in the best interest of our students and keep BridgePoint's crossroads at its current site and continue to provide them with a counselor who's dedicated to only supporting their needs.

[13758] Cheri Garcia: Our students deserve this.

[13766] Christopher Williams: Just before you leave, if you could, thank you for those comments. I just want to acknowledge that Bridgepoint Transition has been moved off the agenda and is no longer under consideration, nor is that counselor, because of the special funding. So there may be further investigation over the next year to look and have further discussion with staff and students.

[13785] Christopher Williams: For next year, we're staying status quo.

[13796] Kat Jones: Thank you.

[13799] Kat Jones: Contreras?

[13803] Kat Jones: Last name Contreras? Budget reduction, I can't read the signature of the name, I'm sorry. Angel, maybe?

[13815] Kat Jones: OK, all right, thank you. All right, Sophia Cruz? Oh, that was the student. OK, thank you. We did get her message, though, because member Joy helped us out with that.

[13845] Kat Jones: Fabio La Cruz? Is that another student? Is that? OK.

[13860] Kat Jones: All right.

[13863] Kat Jones: Let's see, Raymond Nevezada.

[13873] Kat Jones: All right, we're just going to thank you.

[13883] Kat Jones: Angad Singh. And all right. Moving on to 11.4, which is classified layoffs, Maria Diaz-Mendoza. I'd like to speak before you go over it. You'd like to speak before? OK, thank you. Andrew, is it Herrera? Yes. OK. And the last one is Kari Sanchez-Para to speak. Do you want to speak now on our 11.4?

[13923] Kat Jones: We'll take that as a yes.

Pause: 12.0s

[13936] Carey Sanchez Para (CSEA): Good evening, board. It's late. If you want engagement from the community and from your employees, I suggest you not have study sessions and then open up your open session at 915. It's really ridiculous to expect this. I'm here to discuss the classified layoffs on the CSEA labor relations rep. I've sent numerous correspondence to this district to the superintendent and administration discussing the numerous violations of Ed Code and Government Code. regarding good labor relations, bad faith bargaining concerns. And now I'm here before you to say that the district again has broached some of those laws. by direct dealing with some of our members, trying to negotiate layoffs and impacts and effects. CSEA has a negotiation team, but we have trouble getting your negotiation team to the table. They keep canceling negotiation dates. That's bad faith bargaining. They direct deal with our people. That is also bad faith bargaining. We want this to stop. We've sent cease and desist letters and we have sent demands to bargain. So we need you as the administration of this district to direct staff to stop engaging in bad faith bargaining with our folks, and to come to the table and do it the right way. We're tired of the disrespect. We will not tolerate it, and we will enforce the law and our members' rights to the fullest.

[14039] Carey Sanchez Para (CSEA): Thank you.

[14047] Kat Jones: Thank you.

9.1 Superintendent Report

[14049] Kat Jones: All right, moving on to superintendent's report.

[14059] Tracey Vackar: Thank you. So I recognize that many of the decisions being made here this evening are very, very difficult. They don't come easy for us to make the recommendations. We also recognize that they come with people in many of the positions that we're making some of the decisions on. There are a few things that after listening to the community at the last meeting, we've gone back. We would like to be able to take the Bridgepoint program right now off the table for further exploration for next year. Take a look at what we can do and also be able to work with the staff as we talk about what we can do to help support the programs, ensure they continue to be able to help support our children. And then also to make sure that the other programs that are there on the site actually have either new homes for the future, and that we just spend a little bit more time really kind of working through it. I will say that the budgets around the BridgePoint program were a most interesting conversation as to how some of them were funded. And many of them were quite a bit of a surprise to us as we learned that some of them were actually grant funded and the type of grants they were and whether or not those grants were being refunded. reallocated again for this coming year. Some of them we're still waiting to hear about inside the May revise, but we know they're actually in trailer bill language. So we'd like to be able to take that item off the agenda for future discussion for this year. I'd also like to be able to extend a heartfelt congratulations to Mateo Ariano, he's a student over at Newark Memorial, Memorial, I'm sorry, Newark Middle School. And he has been selected to be on a national team that will be playing soccer. which is over in Scotland, which is really exciting. So it's one of our own students. His name is Mateo Arellano. And so he will be, you know who that is? So very exciting for him. What a wonderful opportunity. And in addition to that, one of his teammates is actually one of our employees, Han Feng. It's her son, who Otto will also be joining on that team as well. And so pretty exciting that two students representing our area here in California.

[14204] Joy Lee: student's name?

[14206] Tracey Vackar: The two students are Mateo Arianna and Otto Fung. And it's really exciting. So I hope that we maybe have Mateo come to a future board meeting maybe to share what his experience was with travel. Yes.

[14222] Joy Lee: Congratulations, Mateo and Otto. I'll see you guys on the soccer field.

[14228] Tracey Vackar: And then lastly, again, I appreciate the comments that have come forward. We truly do listen to what is shared with us. We try to go back and navigate and try to look at ways that we can bring your ideas forward to be able to help and support the district. It's been a very difficult year with trying to make sure that the district budget It was not in the same structural deficit that it was a year ago. We've done a great job. That was not done by just one or two people. It was done by an entire district. And it takes a lot of work to be able to do that. And I do know that we are looking forward to being at the negotiation table. I believe it's on the 25th with CSEA. And so thank you for your comments. That really concludes my comments here this evening. Okay. Thank you so much.

[14291] Kat Jones: All right. We are moving on to 10.1 and the LCAP.

10.1 Annual Update to the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) and the Local Control Funding Formula Budget Overview for Parents (BOP)

[14295] Kat Jones: We have one speaker for this, Cindy Parks.

[14303] Chery Villa: Good evening.

[14305] Cindy Parks: I'm hoping during the presentation that there will be some clarity regarding item 1.3, which is the DLI program. The program was suspended, as you all know, before the school year started. There was $1.2 million in the LCAP that was allotted for that program. And with the program being paused, I honestly thought at the time that that money could have been utilized. for intervention. There were many parents at the Schilling meeting that was held in the library, and the parents were informed that the program was on pause, that spoke about their disappointment in that, and that their children were behind. and that they had thought that because you're trying to learn two languages, you're young, and they were behind. And so I had hoped and advocated at that meeting afterwards for perhaps some types of intervention, was very disappointed to hear that the district continue to pay nine of the shilling teachers out of this pot of money instead of having it revert back to the general fund since they were not a DLI program anymore. And I don't understand how this, in this plan it says that it's been partially implemented. since it wasn't implemented. So again, it's the integrity of the document. And I'd also hope that an explanation would be provided. I know it's also in the budget, which if I don't get clarification here, I'll ask it under that topic. It says LCAP carry over $658,829. I'd like clarity on that also please. So again, the $1.2 million being saying that it's partially implemented in the LCAP update and that $658,000 deficit. that they're showing because it's showing negative.

[14425] Cindy Parks: So if I get clarity on that, thank you.

[14432] Kat Jones: OK, thank you. It's all yours, Ms.

[14434] Kat Jones: Allard.

Pause: 12.3s

[14447] Karen Allard: Thank you, Board of Trustees, for the opportunity to share a mid-year LCAP update with you this evening. Before I start, I want to publicly thank LCAP committee members who are passionate and dedicated.

[14457] Karen Allard: I always appreciate their questions, comments, and suggestions. LEAs are required to provide a mid-year LCAP presentation to the board at a regularly scheduled board meeting each year on or before February 28th.

[14479] Karen Allard: In tonight's presentation, I will be including the requirements for presenting a mid-year update, which includes a report regarding the matrix, actions, expenditures, and mid-year progress.

[14493] Karen Allard: There are four key areas that guide our work in the current LCAP, indicating student outcomes, strategic goals.

[14515] Karen Allard: There are four key areas that guide our work in the current LCAP, including student outcomes, strategic goals, and ongoing consultation and comments from LCAP committee members. When NUSD adopted the LCAP budget on June 25, 2024, the state budget was not adopted by the legislature. The adopted state budget impacted the amount of funding that the district received as indicated on the mid-year update column. These are the required components for tonight's presentation. Our current three-year LCAP has 41 metric outcomes. I will be sharing metric highlights for each goal.

[14555] Karen Allard: I have included a link at the bottom of slides to our mid-year LCAP monitoring report where parents and community can view all baseline and mid-year data. I am using colors to denote the status of our metrics data. Red means the outcome of the metric is known. Blue indicates that a metric is in progress. And for the midyear report, we do not have finalized data to share. And green indicates that a metric is known. We have current data to indicate our progress. I'm also using colors to denote the status of our expenditures and the implementation of them. The color red will indicate that an outcome is planned or not implemented. The color blue will indicate an expenditure is partially implemented.

[14603] Karen Allard: And the color green will indicate an expenditure has been fully implemented. The intent of goal one is provide equitable, challenging, and engaging instructional settings, incorporating a multi-tiered system for English learners to promote academic success for all students. Metric 1.1 and 1.2 focus on student outcomes in math. In the 23-24 school year, 36% of all students in grades 3, 8, and 11 were on grade level in math, as indicated on the annual Smarter Balanced assessment. As a district, we use i-Ready to measure K-8 student performance throughout the school year. The last i-Ready assessment was administered in October to students in grades one through eight. And overall, students were at 33% on grade level in math at that time. Currently, kindergarten students are taking their first DiReady assessment and students in grades one through eight are or will be taking their third.

[14667] Karen Allard: Initial results are indicating a strong percentage of students showing significant growth. Metrics 1.3 and 1.4 focus on student outcomes in English language arts. In the 23-24 school year, 44% of students in grades 3 through 8 and 11 were on grade level in reading on the annual Smarter Balanced assessment. When first through eighth graders took their i-Ready October diagnostic, 39% were on grade level already. This year, we set the expectations for students to use i-Ready Reading personalized instructions 30 to 50 minutes a week, and we have consistently monitored this usage.

[14712] Karen Allard: Initial data is indicating a high percentage of students have significantly improved their i-Ready reading scores from the beginning of the school year.

[14725] Next slide.

[14725] Karen Allard: Thank you. This year we have also had a strong focus on outcomes for our multilingual students. Currently we have 986 multilingual learners and 7% approximately 68 students are on grade level. We have a big campaign to reclassify every student who qualifies and for English learners to move one or more levels on the annual LPAC assessment. Last year we reclassified 120 students.

[14751] Karen Allard: I am hopeful we will have a much higher number this school year. A requirement for the mid-year LCAP presentation is to publicly share all expenditures for each action item as well as our implementation progress. On the column titled Budgeted Expenditures, I have indicated the allocated funding for each action item, and the fourth column shares our year-to-date expenditures. I would like to focus on Action 1.3 Dual Language Immersion. This action on the LCAF indicates program and salary for teachers to meet the needs of Dual Language Immersion program for grades K through 4. The intent of this action is to increase outcomes for unduplicated students and multilingual learners in the summit of LPAC, SBAC Math, and SBAC English Language Arts. While we are unable to fully staff a DLA program due to the lack of B-Clad teachers across the state, The teachers whose salary is being paid from the LCAP are teaching 279 unduplicated students, and they are incorporating many of the guided principles as cited in the English Learner Roadmap. This includes a common core aligned curriculum, integrated and designated English language development strategies, and formative and summative assessments to guide and monitor student progress. The LCAP Advisory Committee is aware of this information and the committee will continue to have conversations and recommendations. For the remaining actions for LCAP Goal 1, we are implementing as planned. There are some year-to-date expenditures that we will further explore as funding has not been spent at the pace we would expect. I would like to note that 1.13 is fully implemented as the intent of this action was to refresh teacher devices.

[14886] Karen Allard: We can now start looking at the remaining funds for student devices. LCAP2 centers around a welcoming and inclusive environment for all parents, families, and community as partner in the education and support of all students' success in school. Overall, we are making progress towards our desired graduation rate outcome of 99%. The California dashboard indicates while our percentage of English learners graduating decreased, other student groups are making progress. We have been consistently monitoring our chronic absenteeism data this year. Our Pupil Services Department and Parent Engagement and Health Services Manager have been working closely with principals, office staff, counselors, cost teams, and families to increase the number of students attending school.

[14938] Karen Allard: We are optimistic that the percentage of students chronically absent according to the California dashboard will decrease when made public in December of 2025. This year we are carefully monitoring the number of suspensions district wide. In 2023-2024 school year, we had a total of 414 suspensions. As of January 31st this year, we were at 120. Ideally, we would like our suspension rate to be zero or less than 1% for all student groups. Our average daily attendance at the end of 2024 was 92.6%. As of the last reporting period, our ADA reporting to date was 94.15%, showing that we are making progress towards our desired outcome of 95%. For Action 2.1, we have exceeded our initial funding. We had carryover funds from our previous LCAP, and we used some of this funding for our oral and written translation services to continue. For Action 2.3, we have already had eight nutrition classes, numerous book club discussions, parent cafes, and coffees with principals. The year-to-date expenditure is zero, as we are expecting our invoice from CABE. For Action 2.4, we are working closely with our principals to ensure a welcoming and inclusive environment using their SPSA funds. Goal three has a strong focus on learning conditions and the need to create safe learning environments to enrich the social, emotional, and physical health of students. Two of the metrics in this goal focus on the results from the annual California Healthy Kids Survey. As of last year, a significant number of students did not feel connected to school, academically motivated, safe, or believe they did not have adults on campus who cared about them. We are working hard this year to change these results as we know the importance of building relationships and having connections with students is important in and outside the classroom. These three metrics refer to progress for our high school students. Here we see significant growth in our CTE pathway completion and we have met or exceeded our goal for all student groups with the exception of English learners and students with disabilities. For the AP exam rate, all unduplicated student groups, except for English learners and students with disabilities, have met or exceeded the desired outcome, while the overall outcome decreased from the baseline data. The percentage of students completing A through G requirements declined in 2024. according to the California dashboard. Overall, the actions intended to meet Goal 3 are in the process are being implemented with the support of school site administrators.

[15121] Karen Allard: We are looking forward to a meaningful ceremony to recognize our students receiving the state seal of biliteracy and all students who have reclassified as fluent English proficient later in the year. The inclusion of an equity multiplier goal is determined by a statewide identifier, which shows the overall turnover in enrollment. Any school with a non-stability rate greater than 25% turnover in student enrollment and prior year socially economically disadvantaged pupil rates greater than 70% qualify for this funding. This funding is not included in the LCAP supplemental funding. Multiplier funding is required to be used to provide evidence-based services and supports for students at these school sites. LEAs are also required to document the efforts to improve student outcomes for students at the school sites beginning with the 24-25 LCAP. BridgePoint meets this criteria and this goal was developed in collaboration with school site educational partners. Based on the California dashboard and educator partner feedback, last spring it was determined to focus on the reduction of suspensions and to support students as they prepare for college years and or careers. I would like to highlight metric 4.1 as a high percentage of students were previously being suspended at Bridgepoint. With the publication of the California dashboard in December 2024, 20% of students were suspended at least one day last year. This school year from August to January 31st, Bridgepoint has only had three suspensions, and I want to acknowledge the hard work of the principal and staff to drastically change this percentage. For metrics 4.2 and 4.3, the most recent data was from May 2024. We will have more information in June to share. Goal four has one action item. A homeschool community liaison was hired in late fall, and the budgeted expenditures and year-to-date expenditures are noted. This year we have one year motto, believe, and our LCAP metrics, goals, actions, expenditures, and implementations indicate that we are progressing toward our desired outcomes. In reflection, we have a lot to be proud of, and I want to recognize the certificated and classified staff who are working hard every day to make these changes. We also still have work to do, as I believe that all students can and will achieve at high levels. I know we continue to increase student outcomes district wide. This is because we are committed to implementing our LCAP, providing the necessary services to all students, and preparing them to be successful. now and in the future.

[15293] Karen Allard: Thank you.

[15297] Kat Jones: Great. Thank you so much.

[15300] Kat Jones: Any questions comments. Yeah. We already had Cindy she already did it. Member Hill.

[15312] Aiden Hill: Thank you, Mr. Howard, for the presentation and your continued focus on data, which is great. Three comments and one question. Regarding DOI, I understand your point that that although we have terminated the program, but that the teachers that are being funded through that allocation are still using some of the techniques to help English learners. I think that's what I heard. And that's sort of almost kind of a best practice and an expectation of teachers these days, that we're actually trained in dealing with multilingual populations and how to reach every learner. My suggestion is just that maybe, and it sounds like you're talking about it at the last part of your presentation, that maybe we come up with a new name for that just because it's confusing. So that was one comment. The second comment was regarding suspensions. I would, me personally, and I think we talked about it in our board goals, that we would like to see some more granular kind of reporting around safety issues at the schools. And the reason why is that, and this is maybe not a perfect analogy, but recently you've seen a lot of leaders in cities talk about how crime is down. But when you talk to the average person that lives in the cities, oftentimes they still feel unsafe. And a lot of people are believing that the statistics are down because people have given up and they've stopped reporting. And so, you know, so I think that the key is is to maybe understand what are the potential categories that would merit a suspension and maybe we track those because that would maybe give us, you know, confidence and I'm not I'm not saying that. We're not making progress. I have no idea. I just think it would be helpful to have more granular. And then the last comment was, I did notice, and again, it's wonderful that you have data, because we haven't had this for so long, and that we're honest in our data. But I did notice that in a few different categories, that we are seeing declines from our baseline to kind of mid this year and just curious about what you think might be going on or you know and I get I know that that's probably a broad question and there could be could be multivariate depending on which category but just kind of your sense maybe of Are there, is this maybe anticipated, or are there some things that we're seeing emerge that we now need to address? So, kind of an open-ended question.

[15487] Karen Allard: I think it's just continuing to focus on students whose results have declined since the baseline. mostly our English learners, multilingual learners, and our students with disabilities, and to ask the why behind that, and then to set the action plan for it.

[15503] SPEAKER_28: Great. Thank you.

[15505] Tracey Vackar: Can I just add to one more comment to what you just said? Member Hill, so in regards to the DLI and the nine teachers that were actually embedded inside there, so it's actually salary, right? So really, that salary really needs to be moved back into general fund. It's probably really where it belonged to begin with. And there actually would not have been enough allocation. to have covered actually the DLI program based on how it was actually still funded. It needed to have more funding infused into it for it to really work, quite frankly. And at some point, we would have realized that there was a deficit in how we were doing our spending if we had not done something different with the DLI program. So but I think as far as looking at the strategies and making sure that those are staying on task, I think for not only for Schilling, but I think for many of our schools that have English language learners, we're going to copy. We're going to be looking at CAUBI, what we can do together to be able to look at strategies and be able to bring those back for some best practices across the board. And I think you'll also see some coming up, I think, in March. We're hoping to share with you some additional data with regards to i-Ready and how students are actually doing.

[15577] Aiden Hill: And I think that the key here, right, is that we are committed that every child succeed, right, no matter what, you know, no matter where they're coming from, you know, what particular challenges they face, and certainly from an English language learner perspective. And we have a lot of English language learners in our district. that this is a prime priority. And I think that although we're not pursuing DLI for a number of reasons, and some of it, as you said, is that there are some structural impediments. For example, you know, the challenge with B-Class teachers, et cetera. But that doesn't eliminate our commitment to helping the community. Helping kids with English language acquisition, right? I'm just suggesting that maybe we We look at at a different descriptor because it may it may be confusing to some.

[15628] Karen Allard: Yeah, I understand I Do it does want to recognize to that The third i-Ready diagnostic assessment ends on Friday. And with most teachers being done, the results it's showing are very exciting. So I will be excited to share that information with all of you. Excellent.

[15654] Kat Jones: Anyone else?

[15656] Austin Block: Yeah, I had some questions. Yeah, first of all, thank you again for the very thorough presentation. I learned a lot by reading through it. Do you mind if we go back to a few of the specific slides, starting with 1.1 and 1.2? So one thing I was curious about was the reasoning behind the, when we look at like 1.2 for example, so we're comparing the baseline of a spring iREDI assessment to then a mid-year of the fall. And so it seems like when we're having that kind of comparison, it's natural there's going to be a decline because The fall assessment is before students have had the grade, and yet the level has been raised by a full one. And so I wonder if going forward, is there a way to do more of an apples to apples comparison of fall 23 to fall 24? or winter 23 to winter 24 because otherwise it's difficult to tell to what extent the decline is to be expected because their kids at the start of the grade level and to what extent it's like actually no we need to be concerned about something that's happening. I guess like how can we make that comparison and how do we know what to compare when it's spring data versus fall data.

[15720] Karen Allard: Yeah, I brought that information up myself as I wasn't part of the initial LCAP spring planning or whatever. But it does make sense to have one that is more fall towards, so we can just see what happens within the school year. Agreed.

[15734] Austin Block: Thank you. I was also curious on the for the English learner progress on 1.5 and 1.6 if it would be possible like next year, for example, to include the data on not only on reclassification, but also on the percentage of students who advanced at least one level like from level one to level two or too low to too high, like the way they measured on dashboard, so that we can get a little bit more granular info there. Because going from a level one to reclassified in a year is probably not realistic. But it would be helpful to just get a greater understanding of, the percentage of kids that are advancing at least from one level to the next within each school year?

[15772] Karen Allard: It's not actually part of one of the 41 metrics, but I can include that and interweave it into my presentation.

[15779] Austin Block: OK, thank you. And then the final thing I just was curious about was related to the homeschool liaison and just more of an idea. So one thing that I had talked about with the high school counselors back in the fall was they felt that community outreach to families for whom English was not their first language was really facilitated by robocalls, which evidently used to exist but have been phased out over time. I was wondering if that's something that the homeschool liaison could possibly like look into bringing back. as it seems like it was something that was really popular among community members and that the counselors found helpful.

[15810] Karen Allard: Yeah, I think we can take a look into that and give you some summary answers. I just don't have anything off the top of my head. I'm sorry.

[15815] Austin Block: For sure. Absolutely.

[15816] Austin Block: Thank you.

[15820] Nancy Thomas: Thank you very much for the slide presentation. I have a question on LCAP goal three, A through G requirements. They are both from CDE, but one is 23-24 baseline and one is 24-25 midyear. And this doesn't seem to be, this seems to be one that should be published at a point in time. So, does that mean that we've gone from 43.2 percent of our A through G requirements met to 31.1 percent?

[15857] Karen Allard: As of the December 24 dashboard release, yes. So, but I'm also hearing what Austin is saying about is how can you change this metric or this baseline so it might make more clarity and sense, and I can bring that to the LCAP committee as well.

[15874] Nancy Thomas: But I mean, isn't that data released once a year, so this should be, no?

[15879] Karen Allard: This data was released in December 2024.

[15882] Nancy Thomas: And the 23 data was released when? It should have been December 2023.

[15889] Nancy Thomas: So that means we've gone from 43.2% down to 31.1% of our students meeting A3. How can that be? That's a huge change, and it's really based on on four years worth of work of students. So it pertains to our graduates, I guess, huh?

[15910] Karen Allard: I would think so.

[15911] Karen Allard: And I think that we need to also just take a look at A through G at Bridgepoint as well.

[15918] Nancy Thomas: Yeah, I mean, yeah, I think we need to take a real deep look at how many. That's our default curriculum is A through G. And if we have that few students graduating ready to go to a CSU or UC, that's concerning.

[15935] Nancy Thomas: I can type these into that for you.

[15942] Kat Jones: Any other questions? OK. Thank you so much for the presentation. It was really helpful. And I definitely am interested in what's going on with the A to G as well. All right.

[15960] Tracey Vackar: Yeah. Thank you. I just want to thank Karen and her team. And I want to thank the LCAP committee for spending time and reviewing this as we move forward in the next LCAP. There was a question that did come up with regards to the negative. Did we get that question answered for you, Mrs. Parks? I'm not so sure if she's, Mrs. Parks? I'm sorry, were we able to get that question in?

[15984] Tracey Vackar: Did we get your question? It's OK. I think I can share with you why there is such a discrepancy there. So part of the LCAP budget was looking at what our unduplicated count was on students. And we actually had a lesser number that came in than what we initially had hoped to have. And so I think that's where that number comes from.

[16006] Tracey Vackar: Let me just go back and verify that for you. No, it's not a mistake.

[16013] Tracey Vackar: I think it's what the goal was.

10.2 Budget Reduction Plan

[16022] Kat Jones: OK, let's move on to 10.2, budget reduction plan. Ms.

[16030] Kat Jones: Parks, you have a public comment.

[16039] Cindy Parks: Good evening. Viewing these budget reduction presentations has been a struggle. At least this one has fewer slides containing deceptive information. As I explained to the superintendent on January 22nd, a $13.2 million identified as fund commitments on slide five of this presentation. originated from a March 2021 board resolution. The resolution's purpose was to build district reserves. to a 17% total expenditures for economic uncertainty. The influx of COVID funds helped reach this target quickly. But starting with the 22-23 budget, a 10% cap on reserves was implemented by the state. In June 2022, a board resolution set aside $5.8 million as committed funds under contrived projects to hide surplus, I say in plain sight. Of the current $13.2 million, This board allocated $7.9 million to category MYP savings 2526 and 2627 at your last meeting. This amount was from the 2425 original budget for potential 2627 shortfall. Yet your first interim report showed the 24-25 ending fund balance that was supposed to be $12,691,380 ballooned to an estimated $19,055,128, a $6.3 million increase. Besides this estimated increase, how much more will the fallout be when your unaudited actuals come out in September? I hope during this presentation this evening, there's an explanation for another item on slide five. Thank you for the LCAP. But the reason for the 2.4 reserve for economic uncertainty is shown as a deficit, especially given the ending fund balance.

[16171] Cindy Parks: Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Parks.

[16178] Kat Jones: OK. I will turn it over to Superintendent.

[16184] Tracey Vackar: Thank you.

[16185] Tracey Vackar: At this time, Assistant Superintendent Quintana is going to present a few of our budget slides and try to respond to some of the questions that came up in our last meeting.

Pause: 13.9s

[16209] Jose Quintana: Good evening board members, superintendent, cabinet, and community here at Newark. We are going to go over our revised balanced budget reduction recommendations for approval that were revised for this particular presentation here tonight. Next slide. We're going to quickly go into just our budget reduction timeline, what we've gone through. January 21st, where we presented the proposed reductions in force and no action was taken. And February 4th, our staff, we presented to the board resolutions for reduction in force once again and restructure. Tonight, we're here for recommendations for board resolutions and for reduction in force and in restructuring. March 4th is when I'll present the second interim here to the board. And February 19th through the March 15th, the notification is delivered to employees.

[16263] Jose Quintana: Next slide, please. I'd like to go over revenues and expenditures, basically our operating expenditures, if you will, what it takes to run this district here, all our income and expenses. And in this breakdown, we have our unrestricted and restricted, two different categories, our revenues detailing there. of $61.5 million, expenditures of $49.2 million, giving us an end balance of $12.2 million. But fund contributions were given over to the restricted of $15 million, which gave us a shortage of $3.3 million. And these fund contributions were, in essence, for restricted programs and services and personnel. And most of these are restricted in nature of special ed and as well as routine maintenance that are basically giving you the preventative maintenance for upkeep of facilities throughout the sites. So this gave us a total fund. shortage of 5.1 million dollars and going into the next year we see that the total fund increases to 8.9 million dollars. It's important to keep just a focus on that shortage there. Next slide please. So that's our operating income and expenses. We're now moving into the reserves. These reserves here for economic uncertainties are what the CDE mandates that we keep that percentage there. We do have an ending fund balance of $2.5 million. and that special reserve fund 17 of 2.4 million dollars. This special reserve fund is something that once again it was established back in 2020 and monies were pretty much identified for the sale of one particular property, a Russian property. And when I say established, basically there's an influx of monies for that year. This has been in the books for, gosh, multiple years beyond that. We've looked at 12 13 years back and this is something that special reserve is something that typically there needs to be a circumstance where there is a board action that takes place before any monies are touched there and put into the general fund or other funds that can be used. Our next slide into our ending fund balance here. This is where we have the fund balance reserves of $22.4 of unrestricted and $11 million of restricted, a total fund of $33 million. This is where I ask that you would pay special attention to the shortages of $3.3 398 and the 1.7 and given us that $5.1 million shortage because that gives us a true picture of the ending balance reserve. $19 million in unrestricted, $9.6 million in restricted and $28 million total funds. And this is where the fund commitments play in the unrestricted here, where monies have been earmarked for future years. The board has made excellent decisions in being conservative and putting these funds that are committed for, once again, MYP facilities, technology, furniture, supplies, and giving us that, once again, that LCAP carry over in their 658,000 as was discussed earlier. This is basically from that UPP. We don't have it going into the next fiscal year. So that's why we don't see it on the next category there for the next year. We also, once again, see that number again, that reserve for economic uncertainties, that reserve, giving us an ending balance of $2.5 million in our total fund unrestricted and total fund restricted dollars here. I want you to look at 25 26 year that doesn't quite reflect the same. Once again this is a forecast of what we're seeing into the next year. Fund commitments have a different number on there. Once again, these are assumptions. These are still numbers that we do have of $13.2 million. But if you look at the ending balance there, if we are currently looking at utilizing some of these funds, so that's something that would be in discussion for future board meetings. We have an ending fund balance here that are projected at $600,000. But if we go to the next slide. You will see that into the third year, it's a much less number there at $51,440. The next slide will give us a total recommendation with board resolution at $5,048,976.

[16590] Jose Quintana: That would then bring us into our general fund reduction recommendations. Any questions?

[16600] Nancy Thomas: Member Thomas? I noticed the total recommendation with board resolutions is primarily salaries. That's correct. Usually when we do budget reductions, we try to look at our other areas, books and supplies and services and other operating. Are we not targeting any reductions in those areas?

[16626] Jose Quintana: We are.

[16627] Nancy Thomas: So are they not? Are they reflected anywhere here in the recommendations?

[16633] Jose Quintana: Well, we don't need resolutions for supplies and services operating all of those services. Those are those are RFPs that are going on out there within the administration's ability to do so and reduce those operating expenses. Once again those services we've looked at technology once again one example I gave As far as hotspots no longer being used, some AT&T services, we just, matter of fact, today received $140,000 credit for some services. So those are, don't really take resolutions, just looking through a fine-toothed comb at all of these services and operating expenses and how we can actually cut back on some of these costs.

[16677] Nancy Thomas: So really, we would hope that that $5 million is just part of what we will be seeing because there are cuts that aren't reflected in these other areas. That's correct.

[16689] Jose Quintana: And Mr. Williams will go into this as far as what's really in that $5 million with vacant and unfilled positions and actual positions that are being affected.

[16708] Kat Jones: Oh. I'm sorry. Member Hill.

[16711] Aiden Hill: Thank you, President Jones. Thank you, Mr. Quintana. So as I mentioned in the last meeting, these numbers still don't make sense to me. And the reason why they don't make sense to me is that I understand that our revenue is going down. And so that would then, if your revenue goes down, but your expenses stay the same, then you're going to have a deficit. So you're going to end up spending more. plan right we're talking about the structural deficit but the part that I don't understand is that we've been talking about making cuts and we claim that we made like six million in cuts last year but when we look at our projections for 2425 and 2526 we don't see expenditures going down, we see them going up. And so what that means is, is that either the deficit is bigger than we're saying it is, or we have some, you know, some, apparently we have, we are, cutting in some areas, but we are adding in other areas. And that's very problematic to me, because we should be looking at, well, if we're all of a sudden spending more, I mean, let's just think about it in terms of our own personal budget. If I know that I My hours have been cut at work, and my paycheck is going down. Well, I'm going to have to cut expenses. And if all of a sudden, if I'm projecting that not only are my expenses not going down, but they're actually going up. So I've decided I'm going to go buy a new car. Well, then we need to look at why are we buying the new car. And so these numbers don't really make sense to me. This is not, I think, really the place to go delve into it right now because we have a very tactical operational decision to make. But what I would like to suggest is that we go back to the presentation that we had from the last meeting. where we had the specific cuts because I think that we need to understand because there's a lot of moving parts around what exactly are we cutting now and let's just make sure that we're all clear before we vote on resolutions and so that's my recommendation but I want to leave it to

[16863] Aiden Hill: know other board members if they have additional questions but I don't I don't feel comfortable voting for things until I understand exactly where we're cutting.

[16875] Kat Jones: Any other questions comments?

[16884] Tracey Vackar: Let me see if I can provide some additional clarity. So I just want to make sure that the program cuts that were on there, I think, still are under study. So there was a page that had all the program cuts. The action before you this evening is to take a look at staff reductions because we have a timeline of where we have to go off and make those decisions now before the March 15 timeline hits and so that we can get notices out in a timely manner to staff. That's a requirement by the law. The other piece is we can still continue to sit there and study as we sit there and make those other decisions. And then your final decision on whether or not you continue with all the layoffs could be changed in May. You can rescind the motions. But you only have one timeline to be able to make sure you give appropriate notices to staff. So the recommendations before you this evening are geared towards that. My hope is that we find other places that we can go off and do additional savings and some other kinds of things. But I think that's going to take time over the next couple of months for us to be able to get there. as we go through some of those. I think many of them are programs that are important to our students, are important to staff, important to the community. And they are difficult decisions that ultimately we need to get to about ideally $6 million. But before you this evening. The majority of what we've done staff reductions really has been through attrition for the majority of it. And really what's left is what's currently on for your consideration this evening with the resolutions. But I understand what you're saying. I get the fact that you still want to be able to go through the programs.

[16990] Aiden Hill: Well, so I mean, because the challenge, right, is that in the last presentation, we had a high level view and we had a number, right? So it's okay. We're roughly cutting 5.1 million. And then you go in afterwards and you see the detail to how that number went. Actually, it was 5.8, right? So it was 5.8 million in the last presentation. Now we're saying in this presentation that it's 5.1. Roughly five a little bit over five million, but so the question the million-dollar question is well, okay? what went out and what's still in. And we don't have any detail here. And so in good conscience, I can't vote for this until we understand. I need to be able to do apples to apples. And I think we can do it relatively quickly. We just need to understand what's still in and what's out. So can we just pull, I mean, I literally have that presentation pulled up right on, you know.

[17048] Tracey Vackar: I think we can actually go through those numbers relatively quickly as to what we did. We really were listening to you and to our community at the last meeting, and so we made some adjustments. The big one probably is the Bridgepoint, which I believe is at 500. 500,000. And then we've got a couple of staff positions also that we have not put on the list.

[17067] Christopher Williams: Two custodians, we took from four to two as well.

[17070] Aiden Hill: OK, so we took the custodians off.

[17073] Christopher Williams: Two of them out. We had four on there. We reduced it down to two.

[17077] Jose Quintana: OK.

[17078] Christopher Williams: Total.

[17079] Jose Quintana: We also took out one software support specialist instead of two. So it's one IT tech and one software support specialist and not two. OK.

[17089] Christopher Williams: Which gets you to your $5.1 million. And just to keep in mind, everyone, that 1.345 million has already been cut and reduced with open positions and certificated before we brought this resolution forward. We had the other costs that were built in with contracted employees, which was just under 1.1 million. So ultimately tonight, the remaining positions we have on the teachers is 1.8 million. So your total tonight is about 2.6 million that you're voting on. And it's actually going to be new reductions based on reductions in force with people attached to it. And we've already done the director, for example. The directory has been eliminated, which is 213,800 and some change. We've already made the action on reducing a principal to an assistant principal. And we also made the adoption of the resolution that already eliminated one full-time assistant principal, which came out to 434,000, which has already been done. So now you're just remaining as the approximately $1.8 million in certificated teachers. But remember, out of that 1.8 million, we've already had eight that have either resigned or left and exited the district or will be at the end of the year. The final notices is going to be under six that go out to certificated teachers. And then you have the 7.5 FTEs that are in classified that I'll be happy to go over each one of those. So we know there's a new one that was added on there that I'm going to go over that was an instructional aid that we found. That's an employee that's been working remotely from San Diego for the last four years, getting paid $1,150 a month, which we met with her, talked to her, put that on the additional layoff spot. And I'll get into more details on those when we get to the classified resolution.

[17195] Aiden Hill: OK, so as we get into the resolutions, you're going to give us detail?

[17200] Christopher Williams: Yeah, we'll give you more detail. Absolutely. That's why we're going to segue in from the reductions into the exact positions that are attached with money. OK. Next.

[17212] Kat Jones: OK. Any other questions?

[17214] Gabriel Anguiano Jr: No, I just wanted to mention, thank you for the clarification, that piece of revisiting some of the programs that we will, you know, take a closer look at it. Thank you. And thank you for, Mr. Williams, for rementioning that.

[17230] Jose Quintana: And just to add to this, these numbers here are our first interim numbers that were presented back in December.

[17237] Jose Quintana: These are not anything new that we've not looked at before.

[17244] Kat Jones: OK. We are moving on to 11.1. And Ms. Parks.

[17251] Kat Jones: public comment.

[17255] Cindy Parks: First of all, let me just say that I'm very in favor of this idea. I think it's a wonderful idea. It helps HR by getting these retirees, or notifying, enough retirees, notifying them early. But I respectfully request that if they are going to have these incentives, that they be done a little bit earlier. I think that at this point of the year, you already are dealing with layoffs. There are retirees out there that may be sitting on the fence. would be able to take advantage of this, a little bit of money in their pocket, knowing that they are probably going to retire, and maybe it'll lessen the number of layoffs that you're going to potentially do. So I would really respectfully request that you do this more in the December, January time frame. and start getting those retiree notifications earlier. Thank you.

[17309] Kat Jones: Thank you.

[17311] Kat Jones: All right, 11.1.

11.1 (1)Memorandum of Understanding Between the District and Newark Teachers Association Regarding Early Retirement Incentive (2)RESOLUTION NO. 2024.25.19: Early Retirement Incentive Program

[17318] Kat Jones: Mr. Williams, is this your?

[17322] Christopher Williams: Thank you very much. First, I want to present, as we know, it's a difficult time of what we're facing. And we were able to meet and confer with NTA to come up with a resolution to assist us in reducing the number of FTEs that we would have to recommend on the resolution tonight. I do also want to say thank you to Cindy for making that comment about doing it early. But I also want to add, remember, this is original notices by March 15th. We can resend any notice up to May 15th as our final timeline. So we do have excess time. There's been a lot moving at one time with the first interim, getting everything aligned. But I do highly regard her comments. But as we're getting to this point, if we only have six out of the 14 remaining, I do feel with this incentive for retirees that we'll get some additional people. And what we're asking for tonight, there's two items that you actually have to vote on. First, the district and NTA met and agreed on an early retirement incentive program for certificated staff meeting eligibility criteria. If you look at the second page, it's your memorandum of understanding between Newark Unified School District and Newark Teachers Association. and it gives the criteria. For example, if anyone does submit a letter of resignation, retirement, and they're at least 55 years or older, they resign from the district and retire with CalSTRS no later than June 30, 2025, and they submit to the district on or before 3 p.m. on May 1, 2025, An irrevocable written notice of resignation or retirement from district employment within an effective retirement date on or before June 30th, they would get an incentive if they notified us by March 1st, they would receive a $2,000 one-time bonus. If it's a full-time FTE, if it's a half-time FTE, then that would be pro rata of half of that. right, based on the FTE. Secondly, if they turn it in by April 1st, 2025, a $1,500 one-time payment. Again, if they're a .5 FTE, I just want to recognize this, then they would be paid $750 because it's half of one full-time FTE equivalent. And then the last one's by May 1st, 2025, which is $1,000, which is a one-time payment as well. And again, if it was a halftime FTE, it would be $500. I will say the good news is where we're at right now with a number of people that have either submitted resignations So we've had a retirement for a school psychologist, which then removed that off the list. We had one additional school psychologist that was a contracted employee, which we're going to eliminate that contract, which was the baseline of that still providing the additional services. The list that we have here. gives you the 14 plus the three administrators that you've already taken action on. But we want to formally eliminate those positions so it's on the record and it's very transparent. In addition to that, remember we did have four temporary teachers that were eliminated earlier this evening through the resolution. So we're in a really good spot. It's not like we're going to be noticing more than, you know, more than five people when we're done with this, right? And if we, anybody that comes in that does submit an early retirement would then reduce that list one by one, right? So if you have five and you get an early retirement that comes in, then you're down to four. and another one comes in, you're down to three. So we're trying to reverse map it and get to the number of zero if we can. Ultimately, we're still probably going to be providing, like I said, five to six notices max, but in a pretty good spot considering we had 18 on this list when we began with. So we're requesting and first like to say thank you to Cheri and NTA. for signing the MOU, so we need action on the MOU as an independent item. And then we actually need the board resolution voted on secondly as a separate item as well. And we need to make sure that it's a vote by vote as we're going through one person at a time. Roll call. All right. Any questions? A lot of information, but OK.

[17570] Kat Jones: OK, so I'm going to ask for a motion for the MOU between the district and NTA regarding early retirement incentive.

[17581] Kat Jones: Could I get a motion for that, please? Unless someone wants to discuss anything first.

[17588] Austin Block: OK. I'll make a motion to approve 11.1. I'll second that.

[17596] Kat Jones: OK. And could we do a roll call vote, please?

[17599] Toya Lemus: Yes. Member Hill?

[17602] Aiden Hill: Yes.

[17603] Toya Lemus: Member Anguiano?

[17604] Aiden Hill: Yes.

[17604] Toya Lemus: Member Block?

[17605] Aiden Hill: Yes.

[17606] Toya Lemus: Vice President Thomas? Yes. President Jones?

[17608] Kat Jones: Yes.

[17610] Toya Lemus: Five ayes and student board member Lee is absent now.

[17614] Kat Jones: Yes. All right, motion passes with five ayes. Now we are going to, I'm looking for a motion for the resolution number 2024.25.19, Early Retirement Incentive Program. Could I get a motion for this one, please? I thought we did the MOU.

[17640] SPEAKER_01: We did the MOUs first and then a resolution has to be voted on separately. Right. So it's two for this for 11.1 we have to take two different votes.

[17650] Kat Jones: That's correct.

[17650] Christopher Williams: As it says in the background there.

[17652] Kat Jones: Right. So do I have a motion for the second half of 11.1.

[17659] Austin Block: Sure, I'll make a motion to approve the second half of item 11.1, resolution number 2024.25.19.

[17666] Kat Jones: Thank you. A second?

[17667] Austin Block: I second that.

[17669] Kat Jones: Okay, thank you so much.

[17670] Kat Jones: Could we have a vote please?

[17676] Toya Lemus: Student board member Lee absent. Member Hill. Yes. Member Anguiano.

[17681] Austin Block: Yes.

[17682] Toya Lemus: Member Block.

[17682] Austin Block: Yes.

[17683] Toya Lemus: Vice President Thomas.

[17684] Kat Jones: Yes.

[17685] Toya Lemus: President Jones.

[17686] Kat Jones: Yes.

[17686] Toya Lemus: Five ayes.

[17689] Kat Jones: Five ayes. Motion carries. Thank you. We are now on 11.2, resolution number 2024.25.20. Reduce the number of certified employees due to the reduction of particular kinds of services for the 2025-26 school year. Ms.

[17710] Kat Jones: Parks, we have a public comment.

[17719] Cindy Parks: Because where I understand that you have until May 15th, but these March 15th notices are going out and I do understand that there is that timeline. But I still think that it's imperative that that MOU go out earlier. Because even though you do have that time to retract, you have 10 teachers here at just the elementary site. Then you've got the middle school and high school. It impacts them, you know, they get that pain slip and then they're starting to look and it affects morale because maybe Susie didn't get one, but Billy did, you know, using kids terms, but you know what I'm saying is that, you know, and that's their best friend. That's the one that they sit and have lunch with every day. You know, it affects the morale at the specific site. So I think that We need to be cognizant of that, of the effect that the pink slips, maybe that person didn't get one, but a colleague did and it affects. So I think that definitely on the MOU and you need to have your organization looking at all of this stuff on a better timeline. I just feel like A lot of this stuff is last minute, and then you are retracting. And I know that's the reason for the extra 60 days, but it does affect everyone. So for sure. Thank you.

11.2 RESOLUTION NO. 2024.25.20: Reduce the Number of Certificated Employees Due to a Reduction of Particular Kinds of Services for the 2025-2026 School Year

[17796] Kat Jones: I can remember. All right. So on this, may I ask for a motion?

[17804] Aiden Hill: Can we have Mr. Williams go through the categories that he said he would go through?

[17819] Christopher Williams: So to look at the resolution itself, we're presenting this to do a reduction in force, which are certificated employees. There are 10 within multiple subject credentials in elementary schools based on staffing and student ADA of attendance within each of the elementary schools. There's one middle school social studies teacher that's basically we're overstaffed by one on the ratios. And there's two, one middle school math teacher as well as one secondary math teacher that our classes and sections do not need those based on our ADA and the student enrollment at those schools with our projections. The last one is the adaptive physical education teacher. These are all the certificated teachers that would be formally noticed. And then I've added the other three on here, again, so that we have the resolution showing that we're closing these out legally. And there's no more money attached to the administrative program director of education services. Although that's on here, I've already shared with you, she has submitted a letter of retirement. The second one is the alternative education program administrator went from a principal to an assistant principal for a savings of $10,642. And then one elimination of a secondary assistant principal. So currently there's four. But we'll be down to three total, and then one of them is gonna remain in that position at the high school that's doing the master schedule. The other two will actually have been noticed by March 15th based on our resolution tonight. And anyone can apply or reapply for those positions if they choose to once we go through that. So again, the elementary positions based on staffing and overstaffing that we've had for quite a few years. It's getting it down to our baseline with class size and our class size language, which is in the collective bargaining agreement.

[17927] Aiden Hill: Thank you, Mr. Williams. So that we can eat the elephant in bites. So the first resolution is dealing specifically with certificated. And we're saying that we're proposing to reduce by 17 FTE. We're indicating that that 17 FTE needs to be laid off or reduced because of a combination of class sizes and sections. Is that a correct statement? 100%. OK. And we have talked with NTA about this. And there's an understanding that, yes, we face those issues. Correct. OK.

[17979] Austin Block: Can I ask one question about the high school math teacher in particular? So I know one of the elements of Project Connect has been to reduce class sizes in math in particular to provide extra support for students who enter high school who may be behind in math. Would reducing that one FTE for the high school math teacher have a knock-on effect? on that program, or would we still be able to service that program?

[18003] Christopher Williams: Great question first. So we actually had three additional FTEs in math. So we kept one to provide additional support at the high school. In addition to that, we have some teachers, not always in math, but that are 0.80 or 0.60. That may increase to 0.80. And we also have some buyout periods. So example, if you're on a 6-5 buyout, it means you're working six periods and you're being paid six. So we're reducing the six down to five. So they're teaching their normal load. So it still offsets it, but you're still providing the direct instruction necessary based on the student level. secondary both sites middle school and high school.

[18041] Kat Jones: All right any other questions? Okay so let's look at getting a may I have a motion for Resolution number 2024.25.20, reduce the number of certified employees due to a reduction of particular kinds of services for the 25-26 school year. Could I get a motion, please?

[18064] Nancy Thomas: I move that we vote in favor of 11.2. All right. A second? I second.

[18070] Kat Jones: All right, thank you. And can we do roll call, please?

[18074] Toya Lemus: Yes. Student board member, Lee Absent. Member Hill? Yes. Member Anguiano? Yes. Member Block?

[18080] Austin Block: Yes.

[18081] Toya Lemus: Vice President Thomas?

[18082] Kat Jones: Yes.

[18082] Toya Lemus: President Jones?

[18084] Kat Jones: Yes.

[18084] Toya Lemus: Five ayes.

[18086] Kat Jones: All right, five ayes. The motion carries. Thank you so much. 11.3 resolution number 20 24 25 21 determination of tie breaking criteria. Mr. Williams.

11.3 RESOLUTION No. 2024.25.21: Determination of Tie-Breaking Criteria

[18102] Christopher Williams: Yeah. So this provides us an opportunity if people are starting on the same seniority day. And you have that happen quite a bit at the beginning of the year. You have to have a tie-breaking criteria. So if we both have the same hiring date, then what you would do is you would look at our ranking here, A through D. So example, if I had a preliminary credential or lifetime credential, you would earn one point or two points. So if we were equal higher and I have those and I have three points, then I would have the more seniority based on the tie-breaking criteria. If we were still tied after the first criteria, then we would jump down to the next one. If you had a B-CLAD, because it's very hard to find our B-CLAD teachers, or CLAD, which CLAD now has been embedded into your credential anyway. But if you have a B-CLAD, then you would earn three additional points and you would be higher on the seniority list to be able to sustain your job. And then the third criteria is supplemental authorizations. For example, if I have a multiple subject credential, but I also have a single subject science credential or math credential or English credential, You would also get additional point for that. And you also have flexibility if you're equal, because we may need a spot in single subject that you could fall into, which will meet with those employees and give them that option if that does happen. And then the last one is any additional degree with double masters. Some people have two masters. Some people have a doctorate, and they would get an additional point on that. And then that point total would then predicate if the two people were tied on who would have the higher seniority data as you're moving forward with. So it's pretty simple. I hopefully didn't over complicate it, but we would need this required as a board resolution approval tonight. So with the handful of people that we do have tied, is this the criteria we would use to get to the next level?

[18205] Kat Jones: All right. May I ask for a motion for resolution 2024.25.21, determination of tie-breaking criteria?

[18216] Austin Block: Motion to approve resolution number 2024.25.21. Great.

[18219] Kat Jones: And a second?

[18222] Austin Block: I second.

[18223] Kat Jones: Thank you. Roll call.

[18226] Toya Lemus: Student Board member Lee absent. Member Hill? Yes. Member Anguiano? Yes. Member Block? Yes. Vice President Thomas?

[18235] Kat Jones: Yes.

[18236] Toya Lemus: President Jones?

[18237] Kat Jones: Yes.

[18238] Toya Lemus: Five ayes.

[18239] Kat Jones: Great. Motion carries. Thank you so much. 11.4, resolution 2024.25.22, classified laid-offs. Ms. Parks.

[18254] Cindy Parks: Good evening. So the number one listed person is an administrative secretary. I'd like to know how this is a layoff since she's being laterally transferred to the business office. The business office currently doesn't have that position. The positions that are open in the business office is the district accountant and the procurement person, the position that was created last year. Glad to see that you're going to keep one of the software specialists, at least one of them. The number three, the informational technology, with all of the technology needs in the district, I don't quite understand the need to reduce that position. I would think that if anything, you would be adding more. The custodians, I know that you were originally at four, you dropped it to two now since you're keeping Bridgepoint. But I know Mr. Williams brought up a very interesting idea to have two as floaters. And I know that there have or at least I've heard that it's been very difficult and I know you have posted on EdJoin custodial subs. So I would think if maybe if you don't want to bear the burden of two that you would at least consider having at least one floater because I'm sure for those of you that are in education, you know, Everybody wants Thomas, though. How important it is to have a custodial service when the students are on site, especially, and for the evening cleanups. And then what I did not understand was eight and nine, the child care, how will these sites handle before school care needs? And that that might be an enrollment factor for some of the parents if you don't offer this service before school starts. But another thing that I wanted to say, it was disturbing to sit back there and listen to the budget presentation and take these questions. these cuts when it's because of a picture that's being painted regarding the financial situation of the district. And to hear, with all due respect, I have to say this, though, because it really was shocking to me to hear, the chief business official Describe your fund 17, your special fund, and saying it was from the sale of Russian. Sale of Russian is your fund 40. That's where the 19.2 million went, and you're down to just about 8 million now. It is not fund 17. And it's disturbing to see these presentations with this information that I know you've heard from several of us, that it's, we don't feel that they're accurate. And I had to go back and listen to the, I couldn't believe that I heard it. I had to go back and watch the video. And that's what was said. And it's disturbing.

[18433] Cindy Parks: Thank you.

[18437] Kat Jones: Thank you, Ms. Parks.

[18440] Kat Jones: Andrew Herrera.

Pause: 11.7s

[18453] Andrew Herrera: Good evening, board members, interim superintendent, and Newark community. My name is Andrew Herrera, and I have worked as an IT technician for NUSD for the past two years and five months. Alongside my colleagues Yong, Barbie, and Maria, we provide critical IT services that keep the district running, work that extends beyond our official job titles. The district has decided to eliminate my position as an IT technician and Maria's position as a software support specialist, citing a lack of work or lack of funds. Yet the district is immediately rehiring for identical roles under new titles. If there is truly a lack of work, why are our jobs being reposted under different titles and not under union protections, NEWMA? This move appears to be in violation of multiple education codes that simply put, require that layoffs for lack of work or funds be genuine and not a loophole to replace employees under different titles. Beyond the legality, this decision directly harms the district. I do the work of both the network engineer and system administrator, while alongside my coworker, Yong. We are the only two people who manage the entire district's IT infrastructure. We handle everything. server management, network equipment, device deployment, the phones, cameras, bells, and many other critical systems, ensuring that students, teachers, and staff have access to secure and reliable technology every single day. For just two technicians to support nine school sites and two work sites, it is no easy feat. Our department has already been advocating for more staff to meet the district's growing technology needs. Yet instead of adding support, the district is choosing to replace Maria and I. Any position they hire for will be performing the same exact work we do now. Meaning this is not a layoff due to lack of work. but a deliberate maneuver to replace employees under a technicality. I urge the board to reconsider this decision, not only because of its questionable legality, but because it directly impacts the students, teachers, and staff who rely on the services we provide. By replacing us under different job titles, the district is not saving money or reducing work. It is simply replacing dedicated employees over a loophole.

[18592] Andrew Herrera: Thank you.

[18598] Kat Jones: Thank you, Mr. Ferrer.

[18601] Kat Jones: Maria?

Pause: 10.9s

[18613] Maria Diaz-Mendola: Good evening, Interim Superintendent Bacard, Executive Cabinet, board members, and student member Lee, who is not here. My name is Maria Diaz-Mendola, and I am here tonight to address the board regarding the proposed layoff of my position as software support specialist. I was informed on Tuesday, February 11th, that the district would present my position for layoff this evening. During that meeting, I was told that I could apply for the SIS slash CALPADS analyst position, but that it would be a NEWMA position. Respectfully, I would like to remind the Board of California Education Code 45308 which states, classified employees shall be subject to layoff for lack of work or lack of funds. These are the only two reasons for laying off classified staff. Nowhere in this Ed Code does it say that you can lay off a classified employee and take that work to create a management position. The fact that the district wishes to create a new position confirms the need for my position. I strongly encourage the board to reconsider taking this action as it will be in direct violation of Ed Code 45308.

[18673] Maria Diaz-Mendola: Thank you.

11.4 RESOLUTION NO. 2024.25.22 Classified Layoffs

[18678] Kat Jones: Thank you. OK, so we are now looking at resolution 2024, 25.22, classified layoffs. Any questions or comments?

[18695] Kat Jones: Member Hill.

[18698] Aiden Hill: So this is an area that, just my personal viewpoint, that I feel that we might be starting to cut into the bone. And I've heard the comments from the various speakers that are coming forward, and I have some concerns. And so I understand that we've reduced our initial position around the custodians was to lay off four. We're now reducing it to two. But my sense is, again, that we still face issues with keeping our schools clean. up-to-date and so you know that's not something that I that I really support I mean I would like to get the board's input and maybe we make a modification there because I think that the custodians are important and then and then I also think that IT is is very important. My experience in my work life is that there is always more demand for IT than there is supply of IT. And I've seen that here. And I think that I would like to see a plan first around how we're looking at reorganizing and what we're expecting to get out of it. And I just don't see enough of a plan at this point. And what I'm very concerned about is I know that when when you don't have sufficient resources in IT that a lot of things start to, a lot of issues emerge because we're so reliant on IT. And then I know that I think that there's also some, I think there's a, I know we've talked about SPED. So she's assured us that she's looked carefully at her department, have great respect for her, and so I feel more confident in you know, accepting that recommendation because she's ultimately the one that has to live with that, too. But I know also, I mean, an area that we've historically been understaffed in has been HR. And so talking about potentially taking an employee out there, you know, concerns me. And so these are areas that concern me. I'd be curious how my fellow board members feel and if we want to maybe provide some alternative recommendations.

[18864] Kat Jones: Member Block.

[18867] Austin Block: I mean, I might be in favor of modifying this resolution in some way. I think I agree with some of these cuts, but not all of them. I think we're already going to be generating a lot of savings through the cost cutting that has already occurred and through the resolution that we Sadly had to approve previously regarding certificated employees.

[18891] Austin Block: So I'm open to the idea of passing this resolution with some modification, if that can assuage the board's concerns and find a middle ground.

[18903] Nancy Thomas: Member Thomas. I, too, have concerns about dropping the number of IT technicians, and the software support specialist is going to be replaced by a NEWMA position, but we haven't gotten a job description or any plan to reorganize that department, I would like to see that happen maybe before we get rid of or, you know, rip one of these software support specialists. In terms of the custodians, I don't know. I've seen many proposals or many suggestions that custodian work can be handled in certain ways. I hope we're really looking into the number of classrooms or buildings that a custodian has to clean and make sure we're not shorting ourselves with custodians needed to do more of the work.

[18973] Nancy Thomas: And the classroom aid remote position, that seems strange that we even have that.

[18982] Kat Jones: And custodians need to be doing custodial work, not helping with drop-off. We have one school site where literally the custodian helps with drop-off every morning. That is not a custodial job. And they should be doing their job, not helping with drop-off, opening car doors.

[18998] Kat Jones: I mean, it's nice, but that's not what they should be doing.

[19003] Christopher Williams: And I want to clarify something that Ms. Parr said. There's been no one given a position, because we haven't done a restructure. But we have talked to employees, which is really good practice to talk to your folks, because they actually gave us some really good ideas. So example, that administrative secretary, somebody said they're going to the finance business department. That has not gone to the board, so I want to make sure you guys all hear that loud and clear. We have talked to that person. So reality, that person would have bumping rights and would bump out another admin secretary, which I've talked to Maria about, and then that would cause another bump, and then that would cause another bump. So if we're going to stick to the plan, we would highly recommend the admin secretary be on that list. I understand there's some concerns with the technology piece is what I'm hearing. The school secretary, it's a vacant position that's been on the books. We have two clerical spots that have been open because lack of position control at one time or another and one has been sitting there. So it's going to be an eliminated position that no one's been in. The human resource tech, without hesitation, that role and function should have been a manager spot. But when we reclassed that, it went down to a bargaining unit position, which we're paying out of class pay now to do managerial jobs in that role and function. The custodians with the ratios that we have right now with 30 custodians and Jose you went through the ratio of per square foot. You made the professional recommendation to reduce two custodians based on the demand and where we're at. That still would give us two floating subs that we can have backfill on that. So I'd highly encourage you to stay the course on that. The classroom aid was the one I had shared that we found randomly, that we saw someone as an instructional aid working out of San Diego, California for the last four years. Thank you, Trudy, for finding that. So I've already talked to her and met her. She has no plans of moving back to Newark. And she said, I knew it was coming sooner or later. The two lead custodian or the lead childcare, there are no more students to serve there. We've already met with both employees. It's less than an hour a day for one and less than 45 minutes a day. So we're going to have fallback where they're actually going to be put in another position and actually still serve. So all the people that think we're not caring and thinking about people, We're actually spending time. Barbie, I sat down with you for a long period of time. I sat down with Maria. So whether people like it or not, I'm not here whether you like me or not. And the reality is when you say that we canceled negotiations twice, you canceled them the week before that and never contacted me. I found out through the secretary. Hey, I'm just saying, listen, you can say something real quick. But listen, when you bring that up, make sure you know your facts. Because you canceled, listen, you canceled, listen, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. You canceled it. Can we stop this please? What is the point of this right now? When we cancel we want to make sure we tell the whole story.

[19179] Kat Jones: Thank you. I appreciate your clarification Mr. Williams. That was great on the different positions. It sounds like You've had conversations with all of these folks. They understand. I know it's very, very difficult, but I think You know, you did listen to our recommendations. You made some adjustments. This was a smaller list than what we saw at the last meeting and the meeting before that. I do feel, you know, March 15th is a horrible day. I, you know, as a teacher, I remember a horrible day. So it is a difficult, it's a difficult position for us to be in when we have to make decisions now that potentially in 60 days we are going to be able to rescind this, but if we don't Vote for this now, we don't have an opportunity to be able to rescind, we're stuck. And I'm not talking about people, I'm talking about physicians when I say stuck. So it feels to me that, I mean, I appreciate the clarification, I'm hearing what you're saying. And I think it's potentially time. Are there modifications to this list that anyone feels it's the hill to die on that they could not vote without making an alteration to this? Member Block. And then Member Thomas.

[19284] Austin Block: I would request removing the IT tech from this list. Okay. Member Thomas.

[19292] Nancy Thomas: I think I agree with Mr. Block, but I would like to have staff explain why we don't need that IT position.

[19304] Jose Quintana: I'd be more than happy to answer that question, Member Thomas here. We, what we need today is with all the cyber attacks and phishing we're getting on our sites here, not only do we need someone in cyber security, but someone who can actually take the time to analyze every site and set up every site with our new systems in place. That's something that this IT director has been asking for time and time again. We're under a constant attack. And we don't have that bandwidth. We don't have that knowledge base or that skill set. And that's why we're going after a new position that would provide that for the district and give us that security that we're all looking for. Once again with the SIS analyst, that is more of a management position, once again a new position, but that helps us once again with the new dashboards we're implementing with all these online enrollments. We do give the offer to our employees to apply for these positions. That just seems fair. And so I just want to make sure that that was clear when it was conveyed to them. And we really had some open discussions. Many hours have been put into this. But once again, that is why I would demand an IT analyst that would give us that cybersecurity component that we're desperately missing in this district.

[19388] Nancy Thomas: When will when will we be getting information about the restructuring in IT and in the March 4th next board meeting. So we would be asked to approved job descriptions and.

[19403] Jose Quintana: Correct. That's what we were already we're already working on them. But we can't present anything until March 4th.

[19409] Nancy Thomas: OK. But what you're saying is that this IT technician is not needed no matter what you do.

[19417] Jose Quintana: Right, what we're looking for is cybersecurity more on the NEWMA management side. With that, once again, we're dealing with, when you're dealing with NEWMA, it's all hours, different times, whether it's in the evening, whether it's the weekends. We've had systems go down where we're currently adding more to overtime because whether it be servers that are going down, whether we've been attacked, whatever it is, there's been ongoing hours currently of overtime for the last two weekends now. It's just mounting to more and more.

[19454] Jose Quintana: bottom line to the district.

[19459] Gabriel Anguiano Jr: I just wanted to add just in regards to that position talking about the description would that be a field agent as well be out there That's correct.

[19470] Jose Quintana: That's correct. Not only here at the site but would be at the sites as well. Just working on all our locations. So it's not someone that's just going to be a desk job here at the deal.

[19484] Kat Jones: Member Hill.

[19486] Aiden Hill: The challenge I have with the IT part of this is that as I look at the slides from the prior presentation, you know, essentially it says that we're swapping out one set and swapping in a new set. And, but then ultimately the savings are, the projected savings are $23,000, right? And so, but the missing part of this, right, and this is an important part of doing, you know, a, you know, a complete analysis. is if we're saying that we're spending more money in other areas, that needs to be included in this presentation. Right? So if we say that we're incurring overtime, that needs to be included. If we're saying that we're having to bring in contract personnel, that needs to be included. But I don't see this here. Right? And so this is sort of the heartburn. And I just know that, you know, that IT is the glue that holds things together, and that you want to be very careful when you make adjustments there.

[19559] Aiden Hill: And so I'm not feeling warm and fuzzy about this.

[19565] Gabriel Anguiano Jr: Just to add on that, I mean, I have a couple of children across the district, so I'm Technology is really important, right? And most of the time, technology is broken or it's not functional, right? So that's a field tech. That's an individual working on the computers themselves, which we totally understand the position of the cyber attacks. These individuals are working directly with the children. So it makes a direct impact as well. So we have to consider looking into that particular portion.

[19601] Jose Quintana: I'm not saying that this would solve all of our issues. We definitely need more. You know eventually as we're getting more and more into you know, being technology driven, but what our immediate needs are right now is for an IT analyst that would handle the cybersecurity side as well as doing the IT tech side, if you will. It would be somebody that's going to be not only troubleshooting our systems or our IDFs and MDFs, but as well as user technology.

[19634] Jose Quintana: So it's someone who's going to be hands on. Our current director is hands on as well. So you can call her field tech, but she's a director and she runs a department.

[19648] Jose Quintana: But it's all hands on deck right now.

[19659] Nancy Thomas: I'm sorry. I'm just wondering if keeping the IT technician for another year and after restructuring with another person, we can keep the IT technician. I'd rather do that.

[19682] Jose Quintana: I'd rather do that.

[19697] Aiden Hill: Yeah, yeah, I mean so yeah, I would say that in this situation that Maybe we need to spend a little more money That maybe this is not an area where we want to cut that we want to find savings in another area And if I can just add to that just to pour it back into our

[19717] Gabriel Anguiano Jr: technicians or IT, we need to provide professional development. We really need to make sure that we're sending and connecting them and really uplifting them to make, you know, make a decision and empower them as well. So I agree with Member Hill.

[19735] Jose Quintana: Absolutely. We're on board with that. And I know they're concentrating this week and previous weeks as well. But it's always evolving, always moving with technology. So I'm right with you on PDI.

[19747] Tracey Vackar: So you can modify the resolution and still vote on it this evening? So that's an item that you want to take off. The district can support that, and we respect your insight on that and understanding also that there's also a need to do some additional things with cybersecurity.

[19763] Nancy Thomas: I would like to make a motion.

[19765] Aiden Hill: Hold on. Hold on. Sorry. I wanted to just lobby for one more area, and that's the custodians. And so my feeling is we've gone from four down to two. But I would like to lobby that. If we really need to make a cut, then maybe reduce by one. But just my feeling is that when I hear teachers and and various people at the sites talk. I never hear them say, our sites are too clean. And one of the things that we've talked about is the fact that In order for us to become great, we have to have pride and part of pride is with the place where you go to work or that where you study that that that things are taken care of. And I think the custodians are essential for that and And if we have issues where maybe they're not being totally utilized correctly, and as President Jones has indicated, if they're handling drop-off, OK, so that's probably a problem. And I shouldn't say probably it is a problem if that's happening. But what I would like to suggest is that let's try to keep as much of the existing staff as we can. But raise the bar in terms of essentially the outcomes that we're looking for that, you know, we really want to have our schools be places that people are really happy to come to, proud to come to. and set the expectation and if individuals can't deliver that then I mean in my opinion that's more of a performance issue rather than a structural issue.

[19876] Jose Quintana: I agree with you. Member Hill. We are looking at formulations of how much time it takes to go to each restroom, what are the first things to clean up in there, first things to get to the site, throwing out the trash. We are enforcing those and we have our new director of MOT. is really spearheaded that and there's been a shift that's been taking place. We're slowly seeing it. But because of most custodians not being directly under site supervision we're currently looking at that as well. So there's more oversight. And I think that's one of the concerns. that we're just discussing. So thank you.

[19920] Nancy Thomas: Yes, could I ask a question about if we were to reduce custodian to only one one FTE. I think I heard that we have We're trying to hire subcustodians. Couldn't that person be a floating custodian? So it's not like we can't make use of that custodian. The work's not there. It's just that it may not be in the right place. So I would amend my motion that I wasn't able to make to say that we remove the information, one information technology technician off of the list and one of the two custodians. That's my motion.

[19967] Jose Quintana: I'll second.

[19968] Nancy Thomas: All right.

[19969] Jose Quintana: And we keep the IT analyst and SIS count.

[19974] Kat Jones: No, we're keeping three and we're keeping half of six.

[19979] Tracey Vackar: It's on the resolution right now. We need to bring that back at another time.

[19982] Kat Jones: Yeah. So the motion was made to keep the information technology technician and one of the custodians on the list.

[19993] Kat Jones: Could we have a roll call vote, please? Yes. Yeah, we got a second. It was. Thomas and Block. Yes.

[20008] Toya Lemus: So to confirm, I have member Thomas as first motion, member Block as second.

[20014] Tracey Vackar: Yes.

[20014] Toya Lemus: OK. Student board member Lee absent.

[20017] Tracey Vackar: Can you please read what the modification was into the record?

[20020] Toya Lemus: Yes.

[20022] Tracey Vackar: Or, I'm sorry, did you want me to do it? I just want to make sure that we repeat exactly what the motion was. I just want to make sure that's clearly articulated.

[20029] Kat Jones: Okay. The motion is for resolution number 2024.25.22 to accept the full list except For number three, the information technology technician, and number six, changing custodian to one FTE, not two.

[20052] Tracey Vackar: Bringing the total of FTE down to 5.625. 625, yes.

12.1 PLACEHOLDER - One Consented Vote (Approved on Consent)

12.2 Personnel Report (Approved on Consent)

[20057] Toya Lemus: Thank you. Student Board Member Lee absent. Member Hill.

[20065] Aiden Hill: Yes.

[20065] Toya Lemus: Member Anguiano. Yes. Member Block.

[20067] Aiden Hill: Yes.

[20068] Toya Lemus: Member Thomas. Yes. Sorry, Vice President Thomas. Member Thomas. President Jones.

[20078] Kat Jones: Yes. Five ayes. All right, 5 A's, the motion passes. Sorry. Let's see, we are down to the consent agenda. Personnel item 12.1. Does anyone want to pull this item?

[20094] Kat Jones: Member Hill.

[20099] Aiden Hill: Yes, thank you. Let me just pull it up here. Yeah, I just had a question because I didn't know what some things were. So under employment of classified substitutes, there's a classified management sub.

[20116] Aiden Hill: Can somebody explain to me what that position is?

Pause: 12.6s

[20132] Christopher Williams: This was actually an FTE that was removed out of the classroom that Mrs. Vackar informed you guys about and brought back as a classified managerial spot to support kids in the classroom at BGI.

[20152] Aiden Hill: OK. But they're not like a substitute teacher?

[20158] Tracey Vackar: No.

[20158] Aiden Hill: No. They're like a para?

[20160] Tracey Vackar: There is a substitute teacher in the classroom.

[20163] Aiden Hill: OK. So are they like a para? I don't know what that is.

[20175] Tracey Vackar: Yeah, so the position actually supporting a classroom over at BGI, we had a teacher change over there due to some credentialing issues. And so in order to be able to keep the classroom whole and be able to help support it, for the remainder of the year and to be able to help the students. We have a substitute teacher who will be providing the services through the end of the year. In the meantime, we have also brought on a management substitute employee to also help and assist in that classroom.

[20210] Christopher Williams: OK. Thank you. And then Madam President, I have to remove Penelope Samarano because it was placed in the wrong one. So we need to reduce that off that list and I'll bring that back to the next personnel or the next power report. So that got misplaced on the certificate and it should have been classified. But it's a voluntary resignation, but I'll bring that back to the next board meeting. OK. We can just make an addendum to that.

[20235] Kat Jones: OK, thank you.

[20236] Christopher Williams: Thank you.

[20237] Kat Jones: Any other questions? Okay, so may I have a motion to accept the PAL with the exception of Samarano, Penelope Samarano, who was listed under certificated when she is a classified employee and that's the only change, correct? Yes, ma'am. Okay. May I have a motion?

[20258] Austin Block: I'll make a motion to accept with the aforementioned change.

[20264] Kat Jones: Second. And may I have a roll call, please?

[20273] Toya Lemus: Sorry, can you confirm the second?

[20276] Kat Jones: Yes, Hill.

[20277] Kat Jones: Member Hill.

[20281] Toya Lemus: Student Board Member Lee absent. Member Hill.

[20283] Aiden Hill: Yes.

[20284] Toya Lemus: Member Anguiano. Yes. Member Block. Yes. Member Thomas.

[20288] Kat Jones: Yes.

[20288] Toya Lemus: President Jones.

[20289] Kat Jones: Yes. Five ayes. Motion carries. Thank you. OK. I'm sorry, it was Hill and Block, is that right? I'm sorry, Block and Hill. Thank you very much. All right, so we are down to consent agenda non-personnel items. Does anyone want to pull anything off of this, the lists?

[20320] Austin Block: I'd like to pull 13.6. 13.6.

[20324] Kat Jones: All right.

[20324] Nancy Thomas: I'd like to pull 13.6. OK.

[20327] Kat Jones: Two for 13 points. Do I have three? Going for three. All right. Three pulls for 13.6. All right. May I have a motion to?

13.1 PLACEHOLDER - One Consented Vote (Approved on Consent)

13.2 POLICY UPDATE: Board Policy and Exhibit 4040 Employee Use of Technology (Approved on Consent)

13.3 Report: Donations Report (Approved on Consent)

13.4 Report: Warrant Report for January 2025 (Approved on Consent)

13.5 Report: Contracts (Approved on Consent)

13.7 MINUTES of the December 17, 2024 Organizational Meeting of the Board of Education (Approved on Consent)

[20336] Kat Jones: Approve 13.2 through 13.5. And 13.7, excuse me, yes.

[20349] Nancy Thomas: Motion to approve.

[20350] Nancy Thomas: I'll second that.

[20353] Kat Jones: OK. All right, so that is a Thomas seconds, and I'm sorry who Thank you.

[20362] Toya Lemus: All right Okay, student board member Lee absent member Hill. Yes, remember Anguiano. Yes member block. Yes member Thomas.

[20373] Kat Jones: Yes, I

[20373] Toya Lemus: President Jones.

[20374] Kat Jones: Yes.

[20375] Toya Lemus: Five eyes.

[20377] Kat Jones: All right. And discussion for 13 point six member block.

[20385] Austin Block: Can I can I make a motion that we just table this one for now that we're getting pretty close to our meeting deadline and we may want to have some further discussion on this one before. signing off on a 40-year easement, which is a pretty long-term commitment. So maybe I would just make a request that we table this one for now and bring it back later.

[20401] Kat Jones: Is that OK? Can we table it, or is it timely?

[20406] Jose Quintana: You can table it. Yes, we can table it.

[20407] Kat Jones: All right. All right, and so 13.6 is tabled until the following meeting. All right, moving on to- For a future meeting. Oh, for a future meeting, excuse me, for a future meeting. Moving on to 14.1, Board of Education Committee Reports, Announcements, Requests. Debriefs and discussion. Member Hill, we'll start with you.

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

[20434] Aiden Hill: Thank you, President Jones. So as the board and staff know, I'm kind of have a one track mind in a lot of respects and just keep beating the same drum. But one of the things that I think is really important for excellence is focus. And I know that in any aspect of life, it's easy to get distracted and especially in a school district where we're a large ecosystem and there's so many things going on. But in my mind, the number one thing that we need to be focused in on is educational outcomes. And everything else needs to be aligned to support those. And so related to that, I would like to make a request. And that request is, I think I've spoken in prior meetings about some of the interesting things that are happening over in Palo Alto and East Palo Alto as it relates to, but specifically Palo Alto, as it relates to improving test scores and specifically for for people in the various subgroups, right, kids in the various subgroups. And they've been doing some interesting things and they've actually achieved some amazing success in a short period of time. One person that I know over there who is involved in this, just reached out to me literally I think it was like over the weekend and indicated that one of the teachers that they are or one of the resources that they've been using over there has developed an interesting math curriculum program And they want to try to actually road test it with some of the subgroups. They have some interesting, exciting ideas. And they're looking to potentially maybe pilot it over the summer in a very targeted fashion.

[20547] Aiden Hill: And so I would like to request the board, if you feel comfortable and interested, that we maybe have this person come and speak and explain more about what they're doing and if we think it might be applicable to us.

[20568] Tracey Vackar: Actually, I'm very interested, but kind of for like a different kind of a direction. So I would actually like to be able to talk with that person sooner. Because I have some idea around some extended opportunities that we'd like to be able to offer to kids. And so that might just meet some of the plans that we're actually talking about doing. So if I could have maybe Karen and her team. you know, meet with that individual if you could help make that connection. We would be very interested in having that conversation.

[20597] Aiden Hill: Okay, great. I will make the connection.

[20601] Gabriel Anguiano Jr: Member Aguano? Yes, I'd just start off by saying thank you to everyone. Thank you for your time and also for the cabinet. You guys explaining and going back and really just emphasizing the importance of, you know, saving and also trying to keep our families together. It's really important here because many of the families are employees, but they also live in in our community, so we have to really think about that as well. But really, I just wanted to say that at this point in time, you know, it's the decisions that we're making are really hard and we just have to take a step back and sometimes just take a breather, right? really analyze and let's communicate. Because if we understand each other, really, we can come together and really just make something happen. So thank you for that. And also just a student member, Lee, she mentioned that they're celebrating Black History Month. at the Newark Memorial High School. And we have to do a lot more celebrations to share diversity, to share equality, to share what we're going through, especially nowadays with the difficult times that we're living in. So I really appreciate all the schools that are staying intact. God bless. But just for us to go ahead and continue to make that effort.

[20691] Gabriel Anguiano Jr: Thank you.

[20694] Austin Block: Yeah, I just wanted to acknowledge the difficulty of the decisions that we had to make today. Obviously layoffs are really difficult and They're not something that we take lightly. And I want to acknowledge the anxiety that it causes among people as we're going through this process. I know it's really hard for everyone. I just want to reiterate, from January to April is this really crucial period attendance-wise. when ADA is calculated based on these three months, as per my understanding. So just really encouraging, really boosting our attendance as much as possible, which can really help solve a lot of problems, budget-wise, in terms of school morale-wise, and just an idea to float maybe for future calendar years. I know at this point of the year, students get really burnt out, teachers get really burnt out. I know a lot of districts have like a ski week that would be happening ordinarily this week, including, I believe, Member Hill's district and Member Anguiano's district. Sadly, Fremont does not have it, nor does Newark. But I think it might be a way to alleviate some burnout in this really difficult time of year and help people feel more rested and motivated going into you know, the standardized testing season and all of that. So just a thought for future consideration as well.

[20765] Kat Jones: Good luck. Thank you.

[20769] Nancy Thomas: Member Thomas. Thanks everyone for a very productive meeting. I will be meeting with Mr. Anguiano and I will be meeting tomorrow night for a special audit committee meeting. And I just wanted to say that this has been a long time coming. We're going to be talking about internal controls and hopefully talking about next steps. This was brought up in June 12th with the audit committee. It was brought up at the regular meeting on June 25th last year. September 11th, it was again discussed. And November 13th, we took action and asked staff to come back for a report. I look forward to having an update on the progress against that. But I think we really need to start paying a lot more attention to the business of running the district, the business fundamentals. And having payroll be correct is first priority. If you don't have payroll correct, you're not doing anything right. So that's my thought. Anyway, thank you.

[20843] Kat Jones: I want to just thank everybody for all their really hard work. We made a lot of very difficult decisions tonight. There was a lot of really good dialogue and discussion that went along with it. Listening to people's different viewpoints and understanding that we all come with our own perspectives and thoughts and You know, as I think about our guidelines, I think we did a pretty good job tonight of, you know, really listening and hearing what people were saying out here and in closed session. So I thank you all for, you know, just sharing your thoughts and being willing to listen to others. And staff, again, just there was a lot of hard work on your part in working with everyone in your departments and the school sites to come up with the cuts that we had to consider tonight. So thank you for all of your very difficult work in that.

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

[20899] Kat Jones: So that's it.

[20903] Tracey Vackar: Well, first of all, I'd just like to extend my thanks to the board for your patience and your dedication, helping guide us as we were working through this, and also to our community for speaking to us. These are not easy decisions. They were really difficult ones. There were many that were sitting out on the list that we really went through to try to vet. Even as we work through moving towards our new adopted budget for 2025-2026 and we look at information that we learned from the May revise and various funds that may be coming back into our district that We're not sure if we're going to receive today, but hopefully we'll know more as the time progresses. Those will help us with some other decisions that we might be making for May, right? That's going to be another important. And it also will help us with guiding us for how we build our budget coming up in the future. There's been a lot of hard work that's been put in this year with trying to come up with cost savings. and try to be able to identify those and be able to be transparent about them. I know some people don't feel that we're being transparent. We are working hard to try to provide that information and make sure that we keep our eye on the ball. We really want to make sure that we're very focused. It's one of the reasons why within the One-time restricted funds, we very carefully called out the MYP savings for 25, 26, and 26, 27 so that we can carry that money over and be able to help with it. The one-time funds. have helped us in many different kinds of ways. One of the things that was shared earlier this evening during the study session is that the district moved from a double A minus to a double A credit rating. That's like really great news. It's good news for our taxpayers. It's good news for our district. It's good news on the interest rates that we'll receive for the future on our bonds. I look forward to bringing back information that we talked about earlier today in our study session about what does that focus look like on the priority things that need to be done. You definitely need to have that report before you move forward with actually commencing with the bonds. I'd rather take an extra month or two if we need to, to make sure that we have a complete list for you. I have no problems with that. I think this is one that we want to make sure that we do right. We made a lot of commitments to our community. When we talked about the need for the bond, there are great needs for it. But that first $30 million that we're talking about spending and being able to contribute to our schools, we need to make sure that's a really clear priority list. Because I think there's going to be a lot of expectations that come out of it. There's not going to be enough money for all the things that people wanted to do. But we do want to make sure that every school has an opportunity to be able to have access to those funds. And that we are actually able to share in that in some kind of an equal kind of a way. So I think it's going to be important for us to bring that back to you in that manner. It was a great study session. I'm glad that we had it. I'm glad Adam was able to come and speak in person. And Katie Dobson was able to explain a little bit about Prop 39, how that works, and then exactly some of the next steps that you need to do. We will get to work on advertising for that committee. that needs to come and what that committee makeup looks like, we can start working on that. And then there's also some board policies or some other things that the policy committee will be able to work on as well that we'll have to introduce at that time. So there's a lot of work still yet to be done. But I do know that the decisions that were happening were very, very difficult to make. I just really want to thank staff for your time and efforts that went into this, for really reaching out to people and spending time with them. Those were not easy conversations. They were difficult conversations. But one that we really talked about, the fact that we're small. We're a small district. We know these people. We see them every day. We pass them. We run into them. We know what's happening with their families. And it's personal. It's personal to them. And it's really personal to other team members that work with them, because we work in such a tight knit. community here in our school district. So again, very difficult decisions and I do truly respect and greatly appreciate everybody's time, comments, and suggestions. They were really most welcomed. So thank you.

16.2 Adjournment

[21153] Kat Jones: Thank you. All right, and with that, I am going to adjourn the meeting at 1144. Thank you.

1.3 Public Comment on Closed Session Items (Closed Session)

2.1 Public Employee Discipline/Dismissal/Release/Complaint: Gov. Code, § 54957 (Closed Session)

2.2 CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATOR - Property: 6 acre vacant parcels (APNs 901-200-2. 901-200-3, 901-200-4, 901-200-16, 901-200-17) at the corner of Sea Turtle Ave. and Cherry Street, Newark, CA (Sanctuary Property in Area 3) Agency Negotiator: Kelly Rem, Tracey B. Vackar, Jose C. Quintana Negotiating Parties: City of Newark Under Negotiation: Terms (Closed Session)

2.3 Conference with Legal Counsel regarding Anticipated Litigation - Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to Gov. Code, § 54956.9- Case 1, Case 2, Case 3, Case 4 (4 cases) (Closed Session)

2.4 RESOLUTION NO. 2024.25.23: Resolution to Release and Non-Reelect Certificated Administrators Pursuant to Education Code 44951 and 44929.21 (Closed Session)

2.5 RESOLUTION NO. 2024.25.24: Release and Reassignment of Certificated Administrative Employees Pursuant to Education Code 44951 (Closed Session)

2.6 RESOLUTION NO. 2024.25.25: Temporary Employee Release (Closed Session)

2.7 RESOLUTION NO. 2024.25.26: Substitute Release (Closed Session)

2.8 CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATORS (Gov. Code, § 54957.6, subd. (a): Employee Organizations - CSEA, NTA (Closed Session)

13.6 Verizon Cell Tower Lease (Removed by Board)

[0] 1.2 Measure O Bond Timelines and Next Steps

[2236] 1.4 Recess to Closed Session

[12082] 3.1 Report of Closed Session Actions

[12234] 4.1 Pledge of Allegiance

[12270] 1.1 Meeting Practices and Information

[12270] 4.2 Meeting Practices and Information

[12322] 5.1 Approval of the Agenda

[12367] 6.1 Student Report: Student Board Member, Joy Lee

[12721] 7.1 Employee Organizations

[13374] 8.1 Public Comment on Non-Agenda Items

[13374] 16.1 PLACEHOLDER - Extend Meeting

[13405] 8.2 Public Comment on Agenda Items

[14049] 9.1 Superintendent Report

[14295] 10.1 Annual Update to the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) and the Local Control Funding Formula Budget Overview for Parents (BOP)

[16022] 10.2 Budget Reduction Plan

[17318] 11.1 (1)Memorandum of Understanding Between the District and Newark Teachers Association Regarding Early Retirement Incentive (2)RESOLUTION NO. 2024.25.19: Early Retirement Incentive Program

[17796] 11.2 RESOLUTION NO. 2024.25.20: Reduce the Number of Certificated Employees Due to a Reduction of Particular Kinds of Services for the 2025-2026 School Year

[18102] 11.3 RESOLUTION No. 2024.25.21: Determination of Tie-Breaking Criteria

[18678] 11.4 RESOLUTION NO. 2024.25.22 Classified Layoffs

[20057] 12.1 PLACEHOLDER - One Consented Vote (Approved on Consent)

[20057] 12.2 Personnel Report (Approved on Consent)

[20336] 13.1 PLACEHOLDER - One Consented Vote (Approved on Consent)

[20336] 13.2 POLICY UPDATE: Board Policy and Exhibit 4040 Employee Use of Technology (Approved on Consent)

[20336] 13.3 Report: Donations Report (Approved on Consent)

[20336] 13.4 Report: Warrant Report for January 2025 (Approved on Consent)

[20336] 13.5 Report: Contracts (Approved on Consent)

[20336] 13.7 MINUTES of the December 17, 2024 Organizational Meeting of the Board of Education (Approved on Consent)

[20434] 14.1 Board of Education Committee Reports, Announcements, Requests, Debrief and Discussion

[20899] 15.1 Superintendent's Concluding Comments, Updates, and Future Agenda Items

[21153] 16.2 Adjournment

[99999] 1.3 Public Comment on Closed Session Items (Closed Session)

[99999] 2.1 Public Employee Discipline/Dismissal/Release/Complaint: Gov. Code, § 54957 (Closed Session)

[99999] 2.2 CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATOR - Property: 6 acre vacant parcels (APNs 901-200-2. 901-200-3, 901-200-4, 901-200-16, 901-200-17) at the corner of Sea Turtle Ave. and Cherry Street, Newark, CA (Sanctuary Property in Area 3) Agency Negotiator: Kelly Rem, Tracey B. Vackar, Jose C. Quintana Negotiating Parties: City of Newark Under Negotiation: Terms (Closed Session)

[99999] 2.3 Conference with Legal Counsel regarding Anticipated Litigation - Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to Gov. Code, § 54956.9- Case 1, Case 2, Case 3, Case 4 (4 cases) (Closed Session)

[99999] 2.4 RESOLUTION NO. 2024.25.23: Resolution to Release and Non-Reelect Certificated Administrators Pursuant to Education Code 44951 and 44929.21 (Closed Session)

[99999] 2.5 RESOLUTION NO. 2024.25.24: Release and Reassignment of Certificated Administrative Employees Pursuant to Education Code 44951 (Closed Session)

[99999] 2.6 RESOLUTION NO. 2024.25.25: Temporary Employee Release (Closed Session)

[99999] 2.7 RESOLUTION NO. 2024.25.26: Substitute Release (Closed Session)

[99999] 2.8 CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATORS (Gov. Code, § 54957.6, subd. (a): Employee Organizations - CSEA, NTA (Closed Session)

[99999] 13.6 Verizon Cell Tower Lease (Removed by Board)

1. CALL TO ORDER Study Session

1.1 Meeting Practices and Information

Type                       Information, Procedural

IN-PERSON MEETING INFORMATION:

Please see the attached meeting information in English and Spanish.

OBSERVE THE BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING:

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

PUBLIC COMMENT:

The public will have the opportunity to address the Board of Education regarding non-agendized matters and agendized items by submitting a written comment speaker card with the Executive Assistant.

File Attachments
Board Meeting Protocols_ENG(1).pdf (69 KB)
Protocolos de la Reunion de la Mesa Directiva_ESP (1).pdf (65 KB)
Original Board Meeting Guidelines (3).pdf (263 KB)

1.2 Measure O Bond Timelines and Next Steps

Type                       Discussion, Information

PURPOSE:

For the Board of Education to hear from our financial advisor Fieldman, Rolapp & Associates, Inc regarding the timelines for Bond Issuance and next steps for bond issuance and formation of the Citizen Bond Oversite Committee.

BACKGROUND: At the November 5, 2024 the voters of Newark passed the Measure O Facilities Bond.

File Attachments 2-18-25 Board Workshop GO Bond.pdf (749 KB)

1.3 Public Comment on Closed Session Items

Type                       Information, Procedural

PURPOSE:

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

If a constituent wishes to address the Board on any closed session agenda item: In-Person Comment: please submit a completed speaker card to the Board's Executive Assistant before the start of the Session meeting, or prior to the calling of the section for public comment.

1.4 Recess to Closed Session

Type                       Procedural

PURPOSE:

The Board will conduct a Study Session, recess to Closed Session, and reconvene to Open Session on or about 8:00 p.m.

2. CLOSED SESSION

2.1 Public Employee Discipline/Dismissal/Release/Complaint: Gov. Code, � 54957

Type                       Action, Discussion, Information

PURPOSE:

BACKGROUND:

Subject
                           2.2 CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATOR - Property: 6 acre vacant
                           parcels (APNs 901-200-2. 901-200-3, 901-200-4, 901-200-16, 901-200-17) at the
                           corner of Sea Turtle Ave. and Cherry Street, Newark, CA (Sanctuary Property in Area
                           3) Agency Negotiator: Kelly Rem, Tracey B. Vackar, Jose C. Quintana Negotiating
                           Parties: City of Newark Under Negotiation: Terms



Type                       Action, Discussion, Information

Fiscal Impact              Yes

Budgeted                   No

Subject                    2.3 Conference with Legal Counsel regarding Anticipated Litigation - Significant





Type                       Action, Discussion

Fiscal Impact              Yes

PURPOSE:

To discuss four potential litigation for HR, 4 cases

BACKGROUND:

2.4 RESOLUTION NO. 2024.25.23: Resolution to Release and Non-Reelect Certificated Administrators Pursuant to Education Code 44951 and 44929.21

Type                       Action

Absolute Date              Feb 18, 2025

Recommended                The recommendation is that the Board of Education approve Resolution No. 2024.25.23 to
Action                     release and non-reelect certain certificated administrative employees pursuant to Education
                           Code 44951 and 44929.21 for the 2025-2026 school year.

PURPOSE: The purpose is for the Board of Education to approve Resolution No. 2024.25.23 to release and non-reelect certain certificated administrative employees pursuant to Education Code 44951 and 44929.21 for the 2025-2026 school year. BACKGROUND: The provisions of California Education Code section 44951 require that a certificated employee holding a position requiring an administrative or supervisory credential be notified by March 15 of the preceding year if the governing board determines that he or she may be released from his or her current position for the following school year. Education Code section 44929.21 authorizes the Board to give notice to a probationary certificated employee of the Board's decision to non-reelect the employee for the next succeeding school year at any time on or before March 15th of the employee's second complete school year of probationary certificated employment

2.5 RESOLUTION NO. 2024.25.24: Release and Reassignment of Certificated Administrative Employees Pursuant to Education Code 44951

Type                       Action

Absolute Date              Feb 18, 2025

Recommended                The recommendation is that the Board of Education approve Resolution No. 2024.25.24 to
Action                     release and reassign certain certificated administrative employees pursuant to Education Code
                           44951 for the 2025-2026 school year.

PURPOSE: The purpose is for the Board of Education to approve Resolution No. 2024.25.24 to release and reassign certain certificated administrative employees pursuant to Education Code 44951 for the 2025-2026 school year.

BACKGROUND: The provisions of California Education Code section 44951 require that a certificated employee holding a position requiring an administrative or supervisory credential be notified by March 15 of the preceding year if the governing board determines that he or she may be released from his or her current position for the following school year.

2.6 RESOLUTION NO. 2024.25.25: Temporary Employee Release

Type                       Action

Absolute Date              Feb 18, 2025

Recommended                The recommendation is that the Board approve Resolution No. 2024.25.25 to notify certain
Action                     temporary employees of their release from employment upon the close of the 2024-25 school
                           year.

PURPOSE:

Resolution No. 2024.25.25 will be presented to the Board of Education to release and non-reelect certain temporary employees for the 2025-26 school year. This resolution gives authorization for the District to formally notify certain temporary employees the District will not retain them for the 2025-26 school year. This process is authorized under California Education Code sections 44954.

BACKGROUND: Education Code section 44954 provides that the governing board shall notify temporary employees in a position requiring certification qualification of the District's decision to release the employees from such a position prior to the next succeeding school year. Education Code section 44954 authorizes the Board to give notice of release and non re-election to certificated temporary employees.

2.7 RESOLUTION NO. 2024.25.26: Substitute Release

Type                        Action

Absolute Date               Feb 18, 2025

Recommended                 The recommendation is that the Board approve Resolution No. 2024.25.26 to notify substitute
Action                      certificated employees of the Board's decision not to retain them for the 2025-26 school year.

PURPOSE:

Resolution No. 2024.25.26 will be presented to the Board of Education to not retain certain substitute certificated employees for the 2025-26 school year. This resolution gives authorization for the District to formally notify certain substitute certificated employees the District will not retain them for the 2025-26 school year.

BACKGROUND:

Education Code section 44954 authorizes the Governing Board to give notice to any substitute and/or temporary certificated employee of the Board's decision not to reelect the employee for the next succeeding school year to such a position by the end of the school year.

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

Type                        Discussion, Information, Procedural

PURPOSE:

Information and update will be provided by the Interim Superintendent regarding CSEA negotiations and NTA negotiations

BACKGROUND:

3. REPORT OF CLOSED SESSION ACTIONS

3.1 Report of Closed Session Actions

Type                        Action, Procedural

PURPOSE:

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

4. RECONVENE TO OPEN SESSION

4.1 Pledge of Allegiance

Type                       Procedural

PURPOSE:

The Governance Team will recite the Pledge of Allegiance

4.2 Meeting Practices and Information

Type                       Information, Procedural

IN-PERSON MEETING INFORMATION:

Please see the attached meeting information in English and Spanish.

OBSERVE THE BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING:

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

PUBLIC COMMENT:

The public will have the opportunity to address the Board of Education regarding non-agendized matters and agendized items by submitting a written comment speaker card with the Executive Assistant.

File Attachments Board Meeting Protocols_ENG(1).pdf (69 KB) Protocolos de la Reunion de la Mesa Directiva_ESP (1).pdf (65 KB) Original Board Meeting Guidelines (3).pdf (263 KB)

5. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

5.1 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.

6. STUDENT REPORT

6.1 Student Report: Student Board Member, Joy Lee

Type

PURPOSE:

The Student Report gives the Board of Education and the public an opportunity to hear the highlights, achievements, and initiatives from the viewpoint of the student board member.

BACKGROUND:

The information will be provided by the Student Board Member, Joy Lee.

7. EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATIONS

7.1 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

2. CSEA

3. NEWMA

8. PUBLIC COMMENT

8.1 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:

If a constituent wishes to address the Board on any agenda item:

In-Person Comment: please submit a completed speaker card to the Board's Executive Assistant before the start of the meeting, or prior to the calling of the section for public comment.

8.2 Public Comment on 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:

If a constituent wishes to address the Board on any agenda item:

In-Person Comment: please submit a completed speaker card to the Board's Executive Assistant before the start of the meeting, or prior to the calling of the section for public comment.

9. SUPERINTENDENT REPORT

9.1 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 of Schools.

BACKGROUND:

The presentation and information will be provided by the Superintendent of Schools.

10. STAFF REPORT

10.1 Annual Update to the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) and the Local Control Funding Formula Budget Overview for Parents (BOP)

Type                           Information

PURPOSE:

Ed Services will provide the Board of Trustees with a midyear update on the use of federal and state funds and engagement, actions, and outcomes related to (Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) funds.

BACKGROUND:

Annually (AB 114, section 124(e)) the superintendent of a school district presents a report on the annual update to the LCAP and the local control funding formula budget overview for parents on or before February 28 of each year at a regularly scheduled meeting of the governing board. The presentation must include mid-year outcome data related to metrics identified in the 2024-25 LCAP; and mid-year expenditure and implementation data on all actions identified in the 2024-25 LCAP.

File Attachments 2024 - 2025 Mid Year LCAP Board Presentation.pdf (681 KB) 2025 LCAP Mid-Year Monitoring Report for the 2024-25 LCAP Newark Unified School District.pdf (318 KB)

10.2 Budget Reduction Plan

Type                           Discussion, Information

Goals                             VISION: The Newark Unified School District, in partnership with the community, will be a
                                  model of world-class education that develops the unique abilities of every student.
                                  MISSION: The Newark Unified School District will inspire and educate all students to
                                  achieve their full potential and be responsible, respectful, and productive citizens.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this item is to continue the Budget Reduction Plan discussion with the NUSD Board and community to identify the anticipated fiscal impacts and changes.

BACKGROUND:

At the January 21, 2025 Board Meeting, the first Budget Reduction Plan presentation was shared with the Board and community. At the February 4, 2025 Board Meeting, the second Budget Reduction Plan presentation was shared with the Board and community.

Newark Unified School District has faced significant financial challenges in recent years due to a variety of factors, including declining state funding, rising costs, significant declining enrollment, and the elimination of one time funds. These financial challenges have necessitated a comprehensive review of all expenditures, as the district makes adjustments to avoid deficits in the upcoming 3-year budget cycle and at the same time remain competitive to retain and attract staff for essential positions, necessary to support our students. The district staff and administration team have worked on an analysis of district spending in an effort to identify areas where reductions can be made with minimal disruption to student learning and district operations.

Last year the district implemented a budget committee to assist in identifying strategies and reductions during the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years. The board invested in experts to assist with identifying accounting errors that were double booked or incorrectly administered. These strategies have been successful in assisting the district with right sizing and reducing the 14 million dollar structural deficit that it faced in December 2023. Efforts included cleaning up account codes, billing for services, shifting resources, attrition, accurate reporting, and maximizing class size, etc.

There is still more budget reductions needed as we close out this year, and begin to develop the 2025-2026 budget and to ensure a positive three year Multi-Year-Projection. File Attachments Revised Balanced Budget Reduction Reduction for Approval 2.18.25 R2.pdf (464 KB)

11. NEW BUSINESS

11.1 (1)Memorandum of Understanding Between the District and Newark Teachers Association Regarding Early Retirement Incentive (2)RESOLUTION NO. 2024.25.19: Early Retirement Incentive Program

Type                       Action

Absolute Date              Feb 18, 2025

Recommended                The recommendation is that the Board: (1) Ratify the MOU between the District and NTA
Action                     Regarding the Early Retirement Incentive; and (2) approve Resolution No. 2024.25.19 to
                           create a one-time early retirement incentive program for certificated staff meeting eligibility
                           criteria for the 2024-25 school year

PURPOSE: The District and Newark Teachers Association have agreed upon a one-time early retirement incentive program for certificated staff meeting specified eligibility criteria for the 2024-25 school year. The MOU sets forth the parties' agreement regarding the early retirement incentive, and will be presented to the Board of Education for ratification; Resolution No. 2024-25.19 will subsequently be presented to the Board to create the one-time early retirement incentive program. The resolution sets forth criteria and eligibility information for employees, consistent with the District's MOU with the Newark Teachers Association.

BACKGROUND:

The District is facing significant budget cuts and will need to reduce designated programs and services, including by issuing layoff notices to some certificated employees. The MOU and Resolution 2024.25.19 creates an early retirement incentive program in order to minimize the impact of proposed reduction of program and services on certificated staff.

File Attachments Early Retirement Incentive MOU.pdf (85 KB) Early Retirement Incentive Bd. Resolution.doc.pdf (62 KB)

11.2 RESOLUTION NO. 2024.25.20: Reduce the Number of Certificated Employees Due to a Reduction of Particular Kinds of Services for the 2025-2026 School Year

Type                       Action

Absolute Date              Feb 18, 2025

Recommended                The purpose is for the Board of Education to approve Resolution No. 2024.25.20 to reduce the
Action                     number of certificated employees due to a reduction in particular kinds of services for the
                           2025-2026 school year.

PURPOSE: The purpose is for the Board of Education to approve Resolution No. 2024.25.20 to reduce the number of certificated employees due to a reduction in particular kinds of services for the 2025-2026 school year.

BACKGROUND:

District administration has reviewed staffing and projected enrollment for the next school year and it has been determined that these positions will be eliminated for the 2025-2026 school year. This has been reviewed with the Newark Teachers Association. Resolution 2024.25.20 includes any specially funded positions, including those positions designated by School Site Councils/SPSAs and positions being eliminated due to declining enrollment.

Education Code Section 44955 permits the Board of Education to reduce or discontinue particular kinds of services.

File Attachments Certificated PKS Layoffs Resolution 4932-3026-9207 1.docx.pdf (105 KB) EDC_44955.pdf (16 KB)

11.3 RESOLUTION No. 2024.25.21: Determination of Tie-Breaking Criteria

Type                        Action

Absolute Date               Feb 18, 2025

Recommended                 The recommendation is that the Board approve Resolution No. 2024.25.21 regarding
Action                      determination of tie-breaking criteria for the District's certificated PKS layoff.

PURPOSE:

Resolution No. 2024.25.21 will be presented to the Board of Education for approval of seniority tie-breaking criteria for the District's Certificated PKS layoff.

BACKGROUND:

Generally, certificated employees are laid off in reverse order of seniority; those with the least seniority are laid off first. In regard to employees who share the same seniority date, Education Code 44955(b) requires governing boards to determine the order of layoff solely based on the needs of the district and its students. Therefore, the District must adopt tie-breaking criteria to comply with this provision. With the adoption of this resolution, District Human Resources staff will be directed to apply the criteria set forth in the resolution to determine the order of layoff of certificated employees who share the same seniority date.

File Attachments Tie-Breaking Resolution - Cert. Layoffs 2025 4921-4569-9095 1.docx.pdf (84 KB) EDC_44955.pdf (16 KB)

11.4 RESOLUTION NO. 2024.25.22 Classified Layoffs

Type                        Action
Absolute Date              Feb 18, 2025

Recommended                The recommendation is that the Board approve Resolution No. 2024.25.22 to lay off or reduce
Action                     hours of certain classified positions due to lack of funds/lack of work.

PURPOSE:

Resolution No. 2024.25.22 will be presented to the Board of Education for approval to lay off certain classified positions due to lack of funds/lack of work. This resolution gives authorization for the District to formally notify certain classified employees that their positions are being reduced or eliminated. This process is required under California Education Code 45117, which requires permanent employees to be notified by March 15, 2025.

BACKGROUND: Per Assembly Bill 438, the timeline to notice classified staff is March 15. The positions included are being eliminated due to lack of funds/lack of work. The District has reviewed this list of positions with CSEA.

Resolution 2024.25.22 eliminates positions due to lack of funds/work. Permanent employees laid off for lack of work or lack of funds are eligible for reemployment for a period of 39 months and shall be reemployed in preference to new applicants. Such persons have the right to participate in promotional examinations during the 39-month period. In addition, such persons will have preferential hiring rights over new applicants to a new or different classified position, if the person on the rehire list is qualified for the position, even if they have never served in that class or classification. Permanent CSEA employees affected by layoff may have displacement rights to other lower classifications in which the laid-off employee has previously served. Permanent employees who accept voluntary demotions or voluntary reductions in assigned time in lieu of layoff shall be granted the same rights as persons laid off and shall retain eligibility to be considered for employment for an additional period up to 24 months.

File Attachments Classified Layoffs Resolution 4910-7649-4615 1.docx.pdf (103 KB) EDC_45117.pdf (24 KB)

12. CONSENT AGENDA: PERSONNEL ITEMS

12.1 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.

12.2 Personnel Report

Type                           Action

Recommended                    The recommendation is that the Board of Education ratify the personnel report as presented.
Action

PURPOSE:

The purpose is for the Board of Education to ratify the Personnel Report as presented.

BACKGROUND:

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 2.18.2025.pdf (145 KB)

13. CONSENT AGENDA: NON-PERSONNEL ITEMS

13.1 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.

13.2 POLICY UPDATE: Board Policy and Exhibit 4040 Employee Use of Technology

Type                           Action, Procedural

Recommended                    The recommendation is that the Board of Education approve the updated Board Policy 4040
Action                         Employee Use of Technology and Exhibit 1 .

PURPOSE: The purpose is for the Board of Education to review the recommended changes and approve the updated Board Policy 4040 and exhibit (1).

BACKGROUND:

The attached policy language is sanctioned by the California School Board Association. California School Board Association notations can be seen in the documents for the benefit of the Board. These notations will be removed from the final, Board approved policies.

The Ad Hoc Policy subcommittee and the administration have reviewed the recommended updates for accuracy and made revisions to reflect district practice. If any revisions are recommended by the Board, the policy will be brought back for an additional reading.

Board Policy 4040 Employee Use of Technology Policy updated to provide guidance related to the appropriate use of artificial intelligence (AI) by employees. Additionally, policy updated to expand the Governing Board's philosophical statement related to the recognition that technological resources enhance employee performance to include the enrichment of curriculum and the enhancement of student learning. In addition, policy updated to include "software as a service" and "AI apps" in the definition of "district technology," specify the prohibited and permitted uses of technology, and provide for professional development in the appropriate use of technology resources. Policy also updated to (1) add material related to the regular review of current guidance regarding cybersecurity, data privacy, and digital media awareness and incorporate recommended practices into the districts processes and procedures, and (2) provide that employees may access their mobile or other communications device if there is a need to seek emergency assistance, assess the safety of a situation, or communicate with a person to confirm their safety.

Exhibit (1) 4040-Employee Use of Technology Exhibit updated to incorporate by reference the accompanying Board policy, BP 4040 - Employee Use of Technology. Additionally, exhibit updated to include that districts may not prevent or restrict access to an employee's mobile or other communications device(s) if there is a need to seek emergency assistance, assess the safety of a situation, or communicate with a person to confirm the person's safety. In addition, exhibit updated to include internet searches, browsing history, and use of artificial intelligence in the list of district technology that districts may monitor and record, and expand the list of security problems an employee may become aware of, and is then required to report, to include a cyberattack or phishing. Definition of "technology" has been updated to match BP 4040. Final edits to adoption dates will be made once approved by the Board.

File Attachments JP_Exhibit 4040-E PDF Employee Use Of Technology.pdf (420 KB) Policy 4040 - Employee Use Of Technology.docx (1).pdf (238 KB)

13.3 Report: Donations Report

Type                       Action

Fiscal Impact              Yes

Dollar Amount              $19,050.00

Budgeted                   Yes

Budget Source              General Fund (Fund 010) Donations

Recommended                The recommendation is that the Board of Education accept the Donations Report as
Action                     presented.

Purpose:

The purpose is to acknowledge receipt of donations to the District and thank the donors for their contributions to NUSD. Background:

Throughout the year community members, groups, parents and other individuals make monetary and in-kind (supplies and equipment) donations to NUSD. The exact nature of the source of the donation is submitted to the Business Office on a standard form. It is critical that any restrictions on the funding be indicated and the budget developed based on the donor restrictions. If there is no indication of the school or use of the funding, any proceeds or cash donations received are placed in the NUSD local revenue in the unrestricted general fund. It is recommended that the donations be processed through the Business Office and ultimately approved by the Board so that the funding can be publicly acknowledged and budgeted properly according to donor restrictions. There is acknowledged and budgeted properly according to donor restrictions. There is acknowledgement at the public Board meeting and a letter of thanks is sent to the donor by the Business Office for NUSD.

File Attachments Summary of Donations 2-18-2025.pdf (22 KB)

13.4 Report: Warrant Report for January 2025

Type                       Action

Fiscal Impact              Yes

Dollar Amount              $5,812,273.86

Budgeted                   Yes

Budget Source              Various Funds Per Warrant

Recommended                The recommendation is that the Board of Education approve the Warrant Report as presented.
Action

Purpose: The purpose of this item is to present warrants, for the total amount of $5,812,273.86, made from District funds for January 2025.

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

File Attachments Warrant Report January 2025.pdf (446 KB)

13.5 Report: Contracts

Type                       Action

Fiscal Impact              Yes

Dollar Amount              $19,239.00
Budgeted                   Yes

Budget Source              Various Funds Per Contract

Recommended                The recommendation is that the Board of Education ratify the contracts as presented.
Action

PURPOSE:

For the Board to ratify the contracts presented on the report.

BACKGROUND:

On February 4, 2025 the Board was notified that a report of all contracts for professional services under $57,400 (50% of formal bid limit), be presented at the Board meeting following the contract for ratification. This report only includes contracts that have not been previously approved by the Board. (Reference Board Policy 3312)

Contracts for Purchase Orders issued between January 1, 2025 and February 10, 2025 are included in this report.

Contracts are on file in the Business Office.

File Attachments Contracts Report 02-18-2025.pdf (9 KB) Foster and Foster_formerly Demsey Filiger_GASB 45 Actuarial Valuation_signed.pdf (287 KB) Toward the Real, LLC.pdf (202 KB) Dee Hankins Service Agreement_NMHS_1.21.2025_fully executed.pdf (1,420 KB)

13.6 Verizon Cell Tower Lease

Type                       Action

Fiscal Impact              Yes

Dollar Amount              $560,870.00

Budgeted                   No

Budget Source              Revenue for General Fund

Recommended                The recommendation is that the Board of Education authorize Jose C. Quintana, Assistant
Action                     Superintendent of Business Services to sign the Letter of Intent and accept a lump sum
                           payment for a 40-year easement for the Verizon Cell Tower at Newark Middle School.

PURPOSE:

To authorize Jose C. Quintana, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services to sign the Letter of Intent for the District to accept a lump sum payment of $560,870.00 for a 40-year easement for the Verizon Cell Tower at Newark Middle School in lieu of monthly lease payments.

BACKGROUND: Verizon is looking to secure the Newark Middle School site long-term and make it a part of their network portfolio. They are working to support the 5G rollout that is causing them to greatly expand their network infrastructure. The shifting technology that comes with switching from low frequency antennas (4G) to high frequency antennas (5G) has caused the current macro sites to have a reduced range of coverage. This is causing Verizon, and other carriers, to greatly expand the number of cell sites in any given area. Verizon has also had to take into consideration the drastic change in technology that is hitting the roadways with autonomous cars and semi-trucks that rely on 5G connectivity in the way networks are designed. They are working to ensure that their current macro sites are built for long-term sustainability.

Verizon is able to offer two options for cell site retention at this location.

Option 1: They have partnered with MD7 to be able to offer a lump sum prepayment option to purchase the rights to keep equipment at this location. The prepayment amount offered for this site is: $560,870.00. This would simply draw an easement over the tower/equipment space that Verizon occupies at Newark Middle School. This easement would last 40- years. This transaction would be through the financial institution MD7.

Option 2: This would amend/extend the current lease and help Verizon achieve the operational sustainability long-term. New Rent Amount: $2,250.00 per month, commencing on 6/1/2025 New Rent Escalator: Ten Percent (10%) every 5 years (next increase on 6/1/2030) Additional Renewal Terms: Five additional 5-year renewal terms

By approving Option 1, and signing the Letter of Intent with MD7, Verizon's financial company, the process to generate the Easement Agreement begins. The draft agreement will be forwarded to the District for review. Once the Easement Agreement is acceptable to all parties, it will be brought back to the Board for final approval. This process can take anywhere from 60-90 days.

File Attachments 79848 - Verizon Cell Tower - Retention Options R2.pdf (99 KB) Newark-Unified-Verizon-79848-Letter of Intent-Feb2025.pdf (105 KB)

13.7 MINUTES of the December 17, 2024 Organizational Meeting of the Board of Education

Type                       Action, Minutes

Recommended                For the Board to review and approve the revised minutes of the December 17, 2024 Regular
Action                     Meeting of the Board of Education.

PURPOSE:

For the Board to review and approve the revised minutes of the December 17, 2024 Regular Meeting of the Board of Education.

BACKGROUND:

The attached minutes are reflective of the December 17, 2024 Regular Meeting of the Board of Education. The Meeting may be viewed on the NUSD YouTube Channel HERE

File Attachments December 17.2024 Revised Meeting Minutes.pdf (181 KB)

14. BOARD OF EDUCATION: COMMITTEE REPORTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS, REQUESTS, DEBRIEF AND DISCUSSION

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

                             AND DISCUSSION

Type                         Action, Discussion, Information

PURPOSE:

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

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

REQUESTS: 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.

DEBRIEF AND DISCUSSION: The Trustees may debrief and discuss items.

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 2025-26

Board Adopted on 12/17/2024 Representative/Liaison* Alternate

Mission Valley Regional Occupational Center/Program (MVROP) 1. Nancy Thomas 1. Katherine Jones Executive Board

Regional Policy Board of Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) 1. Katherine Jones 1. Nancy Thomas

Newark Teacher Induction Advisory Council 1. Austin Block 1. Aiden Hill

Audit Committee 1. Nancy Thomas 1. Austin Block2.Gabriel Anguiano Jr. Citizens Bond Oversite /Parcel Tax Committee (CBOC) 1. Austin Block *2. Nancy Thomas *1. Joy Lee (Attendee)

City of Newark � NUSD Liaison Committee 1. Katherine Jones2. Aiden Hill1. Austin Block LCAP Advisory Committee 1. Katherine Jones *2.Gabriel Anguiano Jr.*1. Aiden Hill

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.

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

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

                              AGENDA REQUESTS

Type                          Information

PURPOSE:

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

16. ADJOURNMENT

16.1 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.

16.2 Adjournment

Type                          Action

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.

No minutes available.