June 30, 2021
REDWOOD CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Redwood City, California
APPROVED MINUTES OF BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING
June 30, 2021
REGULAR BOARD MEETING VIA TELECONFERENCE
1. Call to Order
President MacAvoy called the Closed Session meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. via Zoom Teleconference Meeting.
Present at the Closed Session Meeting: President Alisa MacAvoy, Vice-President María Díaz-Slocum; Trustees Cecilia I. Márquez, Janet Lawson, Mike Wells, and Superintendent Baker.
Others Present: Deputy Superintendent Wendy Kelly and Chief Business Official Priscilla Aquino-Dichoso.
2. Oral Communication on Closed Session Items Only
None.
3. Closed Session 5:00-7:00pm
3.1 Closed Session for Public Employee Performance Evaluation (Superintendent’s Evaluation)
3.2 Update on CSEA Negotiations
3.3 Public Employee Leaves of Absence (Government Code §54957)
Consideration to Approve Unpaid Personal Leave for Office Assistant, effective 8/4/2021 through 6/16/2022
4. Reconvene to Regular Session at Approximately 7:00pm
4.1 Roll Call
4.2 Report Out on Closed Session from 6.30.21
Report Out on 3.1 - President MacAvoy reported that the School Board convened with Superintendent Baker to review the Public Employee Performance Evaluation (Superintendent’s Evaluation).
Report Out on 3.2 and 3.3 – President MacAvoy reported that the School Board received updates from administration.
5. Welcome
5.1 Welcome
President MacAvoy welcomed those present. The School Board dispensed with the Pledge of Allegiance.
Others Present During the Regular Board Meeting: Wendy Kelly, Linda Montes, Priscilla Aquino-Dichoso, Will Robertson, Liz Wolfe, Itzel Ramírez, and 19 additional attendees.
6. Changes to the Agenda
6.1 Changes to the Agenda
Trustee Wells requested that Information Item 15.3 be moved subsequent to 13. Action Items.
7. Approval of Agenda
The School Board approved the agenda as amended, (Wells, Díaz-Slocum; 5-0).
8. Oral Communication
Jean-Francois Barther, Orion parent of a rising 6th grader, addressed the School Board and Superintendent Baker by expressing his frustration about Principal Sabrina Adler moving to a different school district. Mr. Barther commented that the Redwood City School District continues to lose great principals and would like for the School District to come up with a solution in order to avoid losing staff to other districts.
Lilli Milton, parent at Orion Alternative, commented that she and many other parents are disappointed about Kennedy Middle School’s Principal Sabrina Adler moving to a different school district. Ms. Milton expressed that she would like to know what is the School District doing to retain highly qualified staff.
Frank Wasilewski, parent at Orion Alternative, commented he is disappointed at losing Kennedy Middle School’s Principal Sabrina Adler. Mr. Wasilewski expressed that Ms. Adler leaving to a different school district is a huge loss to RCSD. Mr. Wasilewski commented that RCSD is losing a lot of great staff. Mr. Wasilewski added that he wants to see a great leadership and does not want to see great administrators leave RCSD.
Deputy Superintendent Wendy Kelly commented that she is more than happy to speak to parents individually. Deputy Superintendent Kelly stated that the average tenure for administrators is 5-10 years and added that the School District does a great job in retaining staff.
Superintendent Baker commented that the School District worked closely with Principal Adler to address any of her requests.
Furthermore, Trustee Lawson added that Superintendent Baker had done a great job in keep the School Board informed about the changes that were taking place. Trustee Lawson commented that she is also a Kennedy Middle School parent and looks forward to having Principal Nick Fanourgiakis, as he too, is a wonderful principal!
President MacAvoy also noted that losing Principal Adler is indeed a loss; however, she is confident that Principal Nick Fanourgiakis will do a great job at Kennedy Middle School.
9. School/Community Reports
9.1 Showcase of the Redwood City School District 2020-21 Promotions and Graduations
Superintendent Baker introduced the 2020-21 Promotions and Graduation video showcasing all the promotions and graduations district-wide.
President MacAvoy, the entire School Board and Superintendent Baker thanked Director of Communications’ Jorge Quintana for putting the video together and also thanked administration for organizing wonderful promotion and graduation events.
10. Bond Program Consent Items (Action Required)
The Board approved the Bond Program Consent Items (Lawson/Díaz-Slocum; 5-0), taking the following action:
10.1 Recommendation re: Approval of Modernization and New Building and New Building Project Change Order #4 for Orion Alternative School with Sausal Corporation
10.2 Recommendation re: Approval of New Buildings, Modernization and Sitework Project Change Order #2 for Taft School with Dryco
10.3 Recommendation re: Approval of New Buildings, Modernization and Sitework Project Change Order #4 for Taft School with Sanco Pipelines
10.4 Recommendation re: Approval of Measure T Bond Program Tracking List of Items Under $20K
10.5 Recommendation re: Approval of Project Inspector Amendment #8 for Various Sites with Inspectacon
10.6 Recommendation re: Approval of Maker’s Space Design Proposal for Kennedy Middle School and Boiler Replacement Design Proposal for Garfield School with HED
10.7 Recommendation re: Approval of General Site Safety Support Proposal for Active Construction Sites with The Safety Guys
10.8 Recommendation re: Approval of Classroom Furniture Purchase Proposal for Taft School with Virco
President MacAvoy (Ayes)
Vice-President Díaz-Slocum (Ayes)
Trustee Márquez (Ayes)
Trustee Lawson (Ayes)
Trustee Wells (Ayes)
11. Bond Program Action Items (Action Required)
11.1 Recommendation re: Approval of Program Management Team Amendment #5 with Brailsford and Dunleavy, Inc. and RGMK, Inc.
The School Board approved the Program Management Team Amendment #5 with Brailsford and Dunleavy, Inc. and RGMK, Inc. (Márquez/Wells; 5-0).
President MacAvoy (Ayes)
Vice-President Díaz-Slocum (Ayes)
Trustee Márquez (Ayes)
Trustee Lawson (Ayes)
Trustee Wells (Ayes)
12. Consent Items (Action Required)
The Board approved the Consent Items (Lawson/Díaz-Slocum; 5-0), taking the following action:
12.1 Recommendation re: Approval of the Agreement between the Redwood City School District and Boys and Girls’ Club of the Peninsula for the Fiscal Year 2021-22
12.2 Recommendation re: Approval of the Agreement between the Redwood City School District and Citizen Schools
12.3 Recommendation re: Approval of Disbursement of Measure U Funds for the 2021-22 School Year
12.4 Recommendation re: Ratification of Warrant Register, June 1, 2021 – June 25, 2021
12.5 Recommendation re: Approval of Board Policy 0420.42 – Charter School Renewal
12.6 Recommendation re: Approval of Board Policy 0520 – Intervention for Underperforming Schools
12.7 Recommendation re: Approval of Board Policy 1431 – Waivers
12.8 Recommendation re: Approval of Board Policy 3230 – Federal Grant Funds
12.9 Recommendation re: Approval of the Special Education Teacher Induction Agreement with San Mateo County Office of Education for 2021-22
President MacAvoy (Ayes)
Vice-President Díaz-Slocum (Ayes)
Trustee Márquez (Ayes)
Trustee Lawson (Ayes)
Trustee Wells (Ayes)
13. Action Items (Action Required)
13.1 Recommendation re: Approval of the Annual Update for Developing the 2020-21 Local Control and the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) for 2021-22
The School Board approved the annual update for developing the 2020-21 Local Control and the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) for 2021-22 (Wells/Márquez; 5-0).
President MacAvoy (Ayes)
Vice-President Díaz-Slocum (Ayes)
Trustee Márquez (Ayes)
Trustee Lawson (Ayes)
Trustee Wells (Ayes)
13.2 Recommendation re: Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) Budget Overview for Parents
The School Board approved the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) budget overview for parents (Lawson/Márquez; 5-0).
President MacAvoy (Ayes)
Vice-President Díaz-Slocum (Ayes)
Trustee Márquez (Ayes)
Trustee Lawson (Ayes)
Trustee Wells (Ayes)
13.3 Recommendation re: Approval of 2021-22 Proposed Budget for Redwood City School District
The School Board approved the 2021-22 proposed budget for Redwood City School District (Díaz-Slocum/Márquez; 5-0).
President MacAvoy (Ayes)
Vice-President Díaz-Slocum (Ayes)
Trustee Márquez (Ayes)
Trustee Lawson (Ayes)
Trustee Wells (Ayes)
13.4 Recommendation re: 2021-22 Statement of Reasons for Reserves in Excess of the Minimum State-Recommended Level
The School Board approved the 2021-22 statement of reasons for reserves in excess of the minimum state-recommended level (Díaz-Slocum/Wells; 5-0).
President MacAvoy (Ayes)
Vice-President Díaz-Slocum (Ayes)
Trustee Márquez (Ayes)
Trustee Lawson (Ayes)
Trustee Wells (Ayes)
13.5 Recommendation re: American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act Elementary and Secondary School Relief Fund (ESSER III) Safe Return to In-Person Instruction Local Education Agency (LEA) Plan Template
The School Board approved the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act Elementary and Secondary School Relief Fund (ESSER III) Safe Return to In-Person Instruction Local Education Agency (LEA) Plan Template (Wells/Díaz-Slocum; 5-0).
President MacAvoy (Ayes)
Vice-President Díaz-Slocum (Ayes)
Trustee Márquez (Ayes)
Trustee Lawson (Ayes)
Trustee Wells (Ayes)
13.6 Recommendation re: Approval of RCAA Compensation Proposal
The School Board approved the RCAA compensation proposal (Lawson/Díaz-Slocum; 5-0).
President MacAvoy (Ayes)
Vice-President Díaz-Slocum (Ayes)
Trustee Márquez (Ayes)
Trustee Lawson (Ayes)
Trustee Wells (Ayes)
13.7 Recommendation re: Classified General Leave Request(s)
The School Board approved the Classified general leave request(s) (Lawson/Díaz-Slocum; 5-0).
President MacAvoy (Ayes)
Vice-President Díaz-Slocum (Ayes)
Trustee Márquez (Ayes)
Trustee Lawson (Ayes)
Trustee Wells (Ayes)
13.8 Recommendation re: Discussion on Conducting Board Meetings in Person and Approval of the 2021-22 School Board Meetings’ Calendar
The School Board approved the 2021-22 school board meetings’ calendar (Márquez/Wells; 5-0).
President MacAvoy (Ayes)
Vice-President Díaz-Slocum (Ayes)
Trustee Márquez (Ayes)
Trustee Lawson (Ayes)
Trustee Wells (Ayes)
14. Board and Superintendent Reports
14.1 Report from Board Members and Superintendent
Trustee Márquez reported receiving from Kyle Brumbaugh, Director of Technology, the response to the Grand Jury report.
Vice-President Díaz-Slocum reported receiving from Kyle Brumbaugh, Director of Technology, the response to the Grand Jury report.
Trustee Wells reported receiving from Kyle Brumbaugh, Director of Technology, the response to the Grand Jury report and he also attended a CSBA Master’s in Governance session.
Trustee Lawson reported receiving from Kyle Brumbaugh, Director of Technology, the response to the Grand Jury report. Trustee Lawson also attended a Policy Committee meeting and a Workforce Housing Committee meeting. Trustee Lawson, together with Trustee Márquez and Superintendent Baker tour the summer school program.
President MacAvoy reported attending the Superintendent’s Advisory Committee meeting. President MacAvoy also reported having a conversation with the Redwood City Education Foundation Executive Director, Jason Galisatus. President MacAvoy expressed that she had invited Mr. Galisatus to provide the Redwood City School Board with an update on the Redwood City Education Foundation at a future board meeting. Furthermore, President MacAvoy reported attending virtually many California School Boards Association meetings. President MacAvoy also attended a virtual meeting on Equity and attended a Board Policy Committee meeting.
Superintendent Baker reported attending many of the same meetings as School Board members and also attended a Superintendent’s Advisory Council meeting.
The School Board and Superintendent Baker honored Assistant Superintendent Linda Montes for all of her years of service and leadership at the Redwood City School District. Each and every board member, together with Superintendent Baker shared personal anecdotes and expressed immense gratitude for her continuous effort in providing high quality education and support for students and families.
15. Information
15.1 Contract Update Information and Credit Card Summary
There were no comments and/or questions from the School Board and Superintendent Baker.
15.2 Quarterly Williams Report, 4th Quarter, April 1, 2021 through June 30, 2021 –
There were no comments and/or questions from the School Board and Superintendent Baker.
16. Correspondence
Trustee Lawson reported receiving many emails from parents.
17. Other Business/Suggested Items for Future Agenda
President MacAvoy commented that Superintendent Baker would be working on the proposed agendas and reports for the 2021-22 school board meetings.
Trustee Márquez expressed that she would like to see communication go out for parents inviting them to board meetings when special board agenda topics are discussed.
18. Board Agenda Calendar
18.1 Changes to the Board Agenda Schedule
President MacAvoy commented that the first board meeting has been scheduled for August 11th.
19. Adjournment
The school board adjourned the meeting in honor of Assistant Superintendent Linda Montes at 8:30 p.m. (Lawson/Díaz-Slocum; 5-0).
Cecilia I. Márquez, Clerk