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July 11, 2019 (1-3:00pm)

REDWOOD CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Redwood City, California

APPROVED MINUTES OF BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING

July 11, 2019

1:00-3:00 p.m.

  1.  Call to Order

President McBride called the special meeting to order at 1:01 p.m. at the District Office, Redwood City School District (“RCSD”), 750 Bradford Street, Redwood City.

Present at the meeting: President Dennis McBride, Vice-President Janet Lawson, and Trustee Alisa MacAvoy.

Others present: Dominic Dutra from 3D Strategies, Antonio Pérez, Jorge Quintana, Patricia Pelino, Mary Quijo, Gary Johnston, Gracie Muray and others that did not sign in.

  1. Welcome

2.1 Welcome

2.2 Pledge of Allegiance President McBride welcomed those present. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

  1. Changes to the Agenda

No changes to the agenda.

  1. Approval of the Agenda (Action Required)

Approval of Agenda The board approved the agenda as submitted, (Lawson, MacAvoy; 3-2).

  1.  Oral Communication

Jack Hickey, community member, addressed the School Board by expressing he had received correspondence about the Redwood City School District moving forward with a parcel tax.

Jack Hickey, community member, addressed the School Board a second time and conveyed that the rental income should be used to reduce the School District’s indebtedness.

  1. Discussion Items

6.1 Discussion – Lease of District Surplus Properties

The Redwood City School District (RCSD) School Board discussed the steps that the school district will take to identify surplus properties and lease these surplus properties. The properties are 3150 Granger Way (formerly Adelante), 2950 Fair Oaks (formerly Fair Oaks), 909 Roosevelt (formerly Hawes), 815 Allerton (formerly Orion), and the District Office at 750 Bradford Street, in Redwood City. A previous decision has placed two charter schools on the Fair Oaks site. And, there has been some informal discussions about the possibility of studying the District Office in downtown for teacher and staff housing. 

These properties are now vacant due to the RCSD School Board’s vote in November of 2018 to merge and move programs and consolidate schools as part of the district’s process called Planning for our Future to rethink how to focus on the organization’s mission: Educating Every Child for Success. 
 
The Planning for our Future process was undertaken because an independent financial consultant concluded that with declining enrollment, RCSD could not sustain 16 schools with 7,500 students and specifically schools with an enrollment of less than 400 students. The district has lost close to 2,000 students in six years as a result of families moving out of the Bay Area due to the high cost of living and three charter schools that operate within the RCSD attendance zone.
 
RCSD has formed what is known as a 7-11 Committee, comprised of faculty, staff, and parents/community members, which is a California law required committee with the objective to advise the School Board in the use of real property no longer needed for school purposes. (Education Code Section 17388). 
 
As RCSD moves through the process to find tenants for these properties, the district invited friends and neighbors to hear an update from the district’s consultant, Mr. Dominic Dutra of 3D Strategies, and to provide their input for their future new neighbors.

  1. Adjournment (Action Required)

The board adjourned the meeting at 2:38 p.m. (Lawson/McAvoy; 3-2)

Alisa MacAvoy, Clerk