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September 7th, 2022 - Regular Session

REDWOOD CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Redwood City, California

APPROVED MINUTES OF BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING

September 7, 2022

REGULAR BOARD MEETING

1.         Call to Order

Vice-President Márquez called the regular board meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

 

1.1       Roll Call

Present at the Regular Board Meeting: Vice-President Cecilia I. Márquez; Trustees Janet Lawson, Mike Wells, and Alisa MacAvoy; and Superintendent Baker

 

Others Present: Deputy Superintendent Wendy Kelly, Assistant Superintendent Liz Wolfe, CBO Rick Edson, Erin Kekos, Will Robertson and many others.

 

Absent: President María Díaz-Slocum

 

2.         Welcome

 

2.1       Welcome

Vice-President Márquez welcomed those present.

 

3.         Changes to the Agenda

Trustee MacAvoy requested to move Action items 8.2-8.5 to Consent.

 

Superintendent Baker explained Action item 8.3 needed to stay as an action item to be discussed.

 

In response, Trustee MacAvoy recommended moving Action Items 8.2, 8.4, and 8.5 to Consent.

 

4.         Approval of Agenda

The School Board approved the agenda as amended (MacAvoy, Wells, 4-0)

 

5.         Oral Communication

 

Shagufta Mansoor, a parent to a Roosevelt student, expressed her concern for her child regarding the classroom temperature during hot weather days. She explained her child has a medical condition and is prone to dehydration.

 

Superintendent Baker responded a portable AC was ordered and delivered. The portable AC will be installed the following day. Furthermore, Dr. Baker explained that whenever a teacher or student comes forth with a medical condition, the district does provide portable ACs to accommodate the child’s or staff’s needs.

 

Katie Goetz, a parent to an Orion student, expressed her discontent over learning that her child will have a new English Language Arts (ELA) teacher. This change causes a disruption to the students learning. Her daughter’s teacher will be moved to Hoover. Her daughter had already learned the class expectations, and now, a week into the new arrangement, the class is still learning the new teacher’s class system. She expressed her frustration and that it took two weeks to make the necessary changes. She hopes there will be less disruption in the future by having the teachers start the school year at the site.

 

President María Díaz-Slocum officially arrived to the meeting.

 

In response to Mrs. Goetz's comments, Superintendent Baker explained that there is a policy in place in which student enrollment at each school site is reviewed during the first ten days of school. Superintendent Baker acknowledged it is not ideal, but the first ten days give the administration insight into student enrollment numbers to determine if any staff movement is necessary. Reviewing the projection of student enrollment numbers will help determine why some schools will have fewer staff members. The goal is to alleviate staff movement at the start of the school year. Looking at the projections, the district can consider whether the changes be made at the very start of the school year, five days in, or continue with the ten-day policy.

 

6.         Bond Program Consent Items

President María Díaz-Slocum was experiencing connectivity issues and was disconnected from the meeting.

 

The School Board approved the Bond Program Consent Items (Lawson, MacAvoy; 4-0) taking the following action:

 

6.1       Recommendation re:  Approval of Consent Items

6.2       Recommendation re:  Approval of Measure T Bond Program Tracking List of Items Under $20k

6.3       Recommendation re:  Approval of Proposal for Demolition of Asphalt Concrete Around Old Portable Buildings Scheduled for Removal with Duran and Venables at Orion Alternative School (Formerly John Gill School)

6.4       Recommendation re:  Approval of Project Inspector Agreement Amendment #12 with Inspectacon at Kennedy Middle School's Maker Space Project, Orion Alternative School (Formerly John Gill School), and McKinley Institute of Technology's Theater Projection Screen

 

Trustee MacAvoy (Ayes)

Trustee Wells (Ayes)

Trustee Lawson (Ayes)

Vice-President Márquez (Ayes)

President Díaz-Slocum (Absent)

 

7.         Consent Items

The School Board approved the Consent Items (Wells, Lawson; 4-0), taking the following action:

 

7.1       Recommendation re:  Approval of Consent Items

7.2       Recommendation re:  Approval of August 24th Board Minutes

7.3       Recommendation re:  Approval of Non-Public School (“NPS”)/Non-Public Agency (“NPA”) Master Contracts

7.4       Recommendation re:  Approval of Agreement between the Redwood City School District and the Santa Clara County Office of Education

7.5       Recommendation re:  Approval of Agreement between Redwood City School District and Maxim Healthcare Staffing, Inc. to Fill a Vacant LVN District Nurse Position

7.6       Recommendation re:  Approval of First Amendment to the Agreement Between Redwood City School District and One Life Counseling

7.7       Recommendation re:  Approval of Agreement between the Redwood City School District and Ed Theory for the 2022-23 School Year

7.8       Recommendation re:  Ratification of Warrant Registers, August 1, 2022 - August 31, 2022

8.2       Recommendation re:  Approval of Local Interagency Agreement to Provide Education and Training to Credential Candidates

8.4       Recommendation re:  Approval of Increase of the TK-8th Grade Teacher Substitute Rate

8.5       Recommendation re:  Approval of Personnel Changes for 2022-2023

 

Trustee MacAvoy (Ayes)

Trustee Wells (Ayes)

Trustee Lawson (Ayes)

Vice-President Márquez (Ayes)

President Díaz-Slocum (Absent)

 

8.         Action Items

 

8.1       Recommendation re:  Adoption of Resolution 12, Authorizing Electronic Meetings of the Board of Trustees During a State of Emergency Pursuant to Government Code Section 54953(e)

 

The School Board adopted Resolution 12, Authorizing Electronic Meetings of the Board of Trustees During a State of Emergency Pursuant to Government Code Section 54953(e) (Wells, Lawson; 4-0).

 

Trustee MacAvoy (Ayes)

Trustee Wells (Ayes)

Trustee Lawson (Ayes)

Vice-President Márquez (Ayes)

President Díaz-Slocum (Absent)

 

8.3       Recommendation re:  Approval of Modifications to Educator Effectiveness Block Grant of 2021

 

President María Díaz-Slocum rejoined the meeting.

 

Assistant Superintendent Liz Wolfe clarified an error on the award amount stated on the board memo under public content. The correct amount for the Educator Effectiveness Block Grant award is $1,657,528, which was listed under the financial impact section.

 

The School Board approved the Modifications to Educator Effectiveness Block Grant of 2021 (MacAvoy, Wells; 4-0).

 

Trustee MacAvoy (Ayes)

Trustee Wells (Ayes)

Trustee Lawson (Ayes)

Vice-President Márquez (Ayes)

President Díaz-Slocum (Abstain)

 

9.         Board and Superintendent Reports

 

9.1       Report from Board Members and Superintendent

Vice-President Márquez had nothing to report.

 

President Díaz-Slocum had nothing to report.

 

Trustee Wells reported attending the Bond Committee. He had planned to join Clifford’s Back-to-School Night, which was canceled due to the extreme heat. Trustee Wells was able to attend Hoover’s Back-to-School Night briefly. He also shared attending the Chamber Education Committee meeting.

 

Trustee Lawson thanked Trustee Wells for attending the Chamber Education Committee meeting because she was unable to attend. She reported attending the Bond Committee meeting.

 

Trustee MacAvoy reported attending the Education Chamber Committee meeting. She commented both Measure S and Measure W were presented to the chamber. Both received unanimous endorsement out of the education committee. Trustee MacAvoy also reported there were great updates from local superintendents. Lastly, she mentioned there are a lot of bills sitting at Governor Newsom’s desk which might impact the school district.

 

Superintendent Baker reported attending the same meetings. He attended the bond meeting and the chamber meeting.

 

11.       Correspondence

Superintendent Baker reported receiving a few emails from parents regarding the heat conditions. Moving forward this is an issue that will need to be looked at.

 

Trustee MacAvoy reported also receiving emails regarding the heat.

 

Trustee Wells reported receiving emails regarding pesticide use and pest management at the district which included great suggestions.

 

In response to Trustee Wells’s comment, Trustee MacAvoy added Superintendent Baker and Martin Cervantes will be looking into updating the integrated pest management plan to reduce the use of pesticides.

 

10.       Information

 

10.1     2022-23 Adopted Budget & LCAP for KIPP Excelencia Charter School and RCSD's Fiscal Oversight Review Letter

 

Chief Business Official (CBO) Rick Edson informed the School Board that Information items 10.1-10.3 are the district’s fiscal oversight letters for the charter schools. The Business department reviewed the charter schools adoptive budget and LCAP. The charter schools LCAPs will continue to be monitored.

 

Trustee Wells thanked CBO Rick Edson for reviewing the charter school’s plans. He commented he noticed multiple inconsistencies mentioned in the KIPP letter and asked if those get fixed or if it is something the district is responsible for noting it. He mentioned last year’s letter had the same comments.

 

In response to Trustee Wells question, CBO Rick Edson answered for the most part, the district is responsible for noting it. He added there is opportunity to talk to them about why they are doing some of those things repetitively to have a cleaner letter in the future.

 

Trustee Wells mentioned it was interesting to see the projected ADA for the 2021-22 school year was higher, and they have seen enrollment decline across all three charter schools.

 

10.2     2022-23 Adopted Budget & LCAP for Connect Community Charter School and RCSD's Fiscal Oversight Review Letter

No questions or comments.

 

10.3     2022-23 Adopted Budget & LCAP for Rocketship Redwood City and RCSD's Fiscal Oversight Review Letter

No questions or comments.

 

10.4     Review the Human Resource Department's Vision and Plans for 2022-2023

Superintendent Baker informed the School Board they would receive an overview of what is currently taking place in HR department. He elaborated there will be further discussion regarding percentages at a later time.

 

Deputy Superintendent Wendy Kelly and Director of HR Erin Kekos presented a slideshow to discuss where the HR department is, the goals for the department, staffing data for all three groups (Certificated, Classified, and Management), and updates from the department.

 

Trustee MacAvoy thanked the HR Department for providing a lot of data regarding staff vacancies and transfers, teacher experience at different sites, and racial and ethnic make-up of teachers relative to the students. This data will be beneficial in deciding how to move forward to ensure the kids and staff needs are being met.

 

Trustee Wells also thanked Deputy Superintendent Wendy and Director of HR Erin for presenting, and thanked the whole HR department for getting the district to the start of the school year in such a difficult hiring climate. He appreciated seeing the representation slides.

 

Trustee Lawson also thanked the HR team for the presentation all the work the team does. She acknowledged the HR Department is a small but mighty department. She thanked Erin for the HR Newsletter. Trustee Lawson noted that one of the slides presented how there has been a significant increase of mental health counselors in the district. In 2 years, the amount of mental health counselors increased from about 6 to about 23. Trustee Lawson commended the district for recognizing the need for those counselors and for filling those positions.

 

Vice-President Márquez also thanked Wendy, Erin, and the HR team for all they do. She appreciates the effort in thinking ahead and working towards strengthening and supporting the staff. She added she also likes receiving the HR Newsletter. Vice-president Márquez inquired if HR asks the staff their opinion on what kind of training(s) they would like to receive.

 

In response to Vice-President Márquez’s question, Deputy Superintendent Wendy Kelly answered, for classified and management staff there are a few requests of topics that are important to be trained on, but there are also absolute must-do trainings required. Most of the trainings on the agenda are already preformed, but there is an option to add items based on employee input.

 

Vice-President Márquez also asked whether equity trainings were held for anyone to attend or if they were offered separately for certificated and classified staff.

 

Deputy Superintendent Wendy Kelly responded that typically there is separate Professional Development for classified and certificated mainly because of different topics that need to be covered. There are a few crossover topics which are discussed with both groups. However, what has proven to be effective is when the direct supervisor works with their employees directly.

 

Trustee MacAvoy expressed her concern with the HR department regarding the two vacancies and all of the work that needs to get done.

 

Deputy Superintendent Wendy Kelly explained that it is important to find a qualified candidate. Unfortunately, the vacancies came at a bad time. Currently there are a few candidates. Also, retiree Trish Perez has been helping the HR department.

 

12.       Other Business/Suggested Items for Future Agenda

None.

 

13.       Board Agenda Calendar

 

13.1     Changes to the Board Agenda Schedule

There were no changes reported.

 

14.       Adjournment

The board adjourned the meeting at 8:03 p.m. (MacAvoy, Wells; 4-0).