September 21st, 2022 - Regular Session
REDWOOD CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Redwood City, California
APPROVED MINUTES OF BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING
September 21, 2022
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
1. Call to Order
President Díaz-Slocum called the Regular Session to order at 7:00 p.m.
1.1 Roll Call
Present at the Regular Board Meeting: President María Díaz-Slocum, 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, Will Robertson, Patrinia Redd, and others.
2. Welcome
2.1 Welcome
President Díaz-Slocum welcomed those present.
3. Changes to the Agenda
Trustee Wells requested to move Action Item 8.4 to under Consent Items.
4. Approval of Agenda
The School Board approved the agenda as amended, (Wells, Lawson; 5-0).
5. Oral Communication
Speaker’s:
Chris Robell expressed his discontent and concern over the district’s practice of using public assets to share information on Measure S. He believes the website banner and the newsletter both publicize Measure S being on the November ballot. He requested the opportunity to share impartial facts on the same forum. Dr. Baker will provide a legal letter with an explanation of why the interpretation is incorrect. Chris urged the School Board and Dr. Baker, to remove the page from the website so there is no mention of the bond measure, and to refrain from mentioning the bond measure in the newsletter.
President Díaz-Slocum clarified the district does not engage in any election activities. All the employees are informed of Measure S matters. She asks that Dr. Baker contact the district’s attorney to respond to Chris Robell.
Barbara Arena addressed the School Board to present herself as a new teacher at Hoover. She shared she is very excited to be in the district. Her philosophy is, “love heals everything.”
6. Bond Program Consent Items
The School Board approved the Bond Program Consent Items (MacAvoy, Wells; 5-0) taking the following action:
6.1 Recommendation re: Approval of Bond Program 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 the Purchase of 13 High Powered Laptops for Security Camera Viewing with CDW-G for All School Sites
6.4 Recommendation re: Approval of Additional Covid-19 Safety Compliance Officer (SCO) Services Amendment #4 for All Active Construction Sites with The Safety Guys
6.5 Recommendation re: Approval of Project Inspector Agreement Project Authorization Form #2.3 for Garfield Community School's CDC, Modernization, and Rear Parking Lot with John Wong
6.6 Recommendation re: Approval of New Buildings, Modernization and Sitework Project Bid, Package G, Change Order #10 to the Agreement with Rodan Builders for Garfield Community School
6.7 Recommendation re: Approval of New Buildings, Modernization and Sitework Project Bid, Package G, Change Order #17 to the Agreement with Sausal Corporation for Orion Alternative School (Formerly John Gill School)
Trustee MacAvoy (Ayes)
Trustee Wells (Ayes)
Trustee Lawson (Ayes)
Vice-President Márquez (Ayes)
President Díaz-Slocum (Ayes)
7. Consent Items
The board approved the Consent Items (Lawson, Wells; 5-0), taking the following action:
7.1 Recommendation re: Approval of Consent Items
7.2 Recommendation re: Approval of September 7th Board Minutes
7.3 Recommendation re: Approval of Agreement between Redwood City School District and Invo Healthcare for a Speech Pathologist for the 2022-2023 School Year
7.4 Recommendation re: Approval of Agreement between Redwood City School District and One Life Counseling Center - Una Vida for the Fiscal Year 2022-2023
7.5 Recommendation re: Approval of Agreement between Redwood City School District and College Advising Prep for the Fiscal Year 2022-2023
7.6 Recommendation re: Approval of Agreement between Redwood City School District and Maxim Healthcare Staffing, Inc for a Behavior Analyst for the 2022-23 School Year
8.4 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 (Ayes)
8. Action Items
8.1 Recommendation re: Adoption of Resolution 13, 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 13, Authorizing Electronic Meetings of the Board of Trustees During a State of Emergency Pursuant to Government Code Section 54953(e) (Márquez, Wells; 5-0)
Trustee MacAvoy (Ayes)
Trustee Wells (Ayes)
Trustee Lawson (Ayes)
Vice-President Márquez (Ayes)
President Díaz-Slocum (Ayes)
8.2 Recommendation re: Adoption of Resolution 14, Resolution to Adopt the Gann Limit
Rick Edson presented Resolution 14. The Gann Limit sets appropriation limitations for public entities, including K12 schools.
The School Board adopted Resolution 14, Adoption of Resolution 14, Resolution to Adopt the Gann Limit (Lawson, MacAvoy; 5-0).
Trustee MacAvoy (Ayes)
Trustee Wells (Ayes)
Trustee Lawson (Ayes)
Vice-President Márquez (Ayes)
President Díaz-Slocum (Ayes)
8.3 Recommendation re: Approval of 2021-22 Unaudited Actuals Financial Statement
Chief Business Official Rick Edson presented the 21-22 unaudited actuals. The information presented was prepared using the Standardized Account Code Structure (SACS) software which complies with the California education code. CBO Rick shared an overview of the 21-22 General Fund Expenditures and explained that 77% of expenditures are to the district employees for benefits and salaries. That percentage would normally be higher, but there are many unfilled positions. If the positions were filled, it would increase the percentage of expenditures for employees, but it would decrease the expenditures from the Services and Other Operating Expenses category.
Trustee Lawson asked if the Services and Other Operating expenses percentage would decrease because contractors fall under that category.
In response to Trustee Lawson’s question, CBO Rick responded, yes those are contractors.
Trustee MacAvoy was glad that was clarified. There are many difficult-to-fill positions, therefore, the district is unable to hire individuals directly as employees. The alternative is to hire contractors, which typically costs the district more. Unfortunately, there is no other choice, because those positions include positions in SPED, specialists, and/or teachers that need to be filled. Thankfully, these contractors are available to meet the student’s needs.
Trustee Wells thanked CBO Rick for the presentation. He also asked to confirm whether the decrease in revenue was not a carryover and if it would show up elsewhere.
CBO Rick responded some things would carry over from 21-22 to 22-23 and the changes would be reflected at First Interim.
President Díaz-Slocum thanked Rick and his department for all their work and the report.
The School Board approved the 2021-22 Unaudited Actuals Financial Statement (Lawson, MacAvoy; 5-0).
Trustee MacAvoy (Ayes)
Trustee Wells (Ayes)
Trustee Lawson (Ayes)
Vice-President Márquez (Ayes)
President Díaz-Slocum (Ayes)
8.5 Recommendation re: Approval of Classified Fact Finding MOU
Trustee Wells and President Díaz-Slocum commented they are glad the issue has been resolved.
The School Board approved the Classified Fact Finding MOU (Márquez, Wells; 5-0).
Trustee MacAvoy (Ayes)
Trustee Wells (Ayes)
Trustee Lawson (Ayes)
Vice-President Márquez (Ayes)
President Díaz-Slocum (Ayes)
9. Board and Superintendent Reports
9.1 Report from Board Members and Superintendent
Superintendent Baker reported he chaired the Redwood City Together Executive meeting. He stated Trustees Lawson and MacAvoy will be chairing the leadership group. The North Fair Oaks Council, Ever will be stepping into the leadership group as opposed to the executive meeting group. Superintendent Baker added, another change happening, as the budget is reviewed, the district is in favor of moving in the right direction as there have been more donations granted to Redwood City Together. There are Stanford alums who are also supporting the system. This was the first in-person meeting, and overall, it is starting as a very good year. Lastly, Superintendent Baker reported having a site administrator meeting, and moving forward, the meetings will be held in person.
Trustee Wells reported attending the Mid-Autumn Festival at Orion MI, Don Dias’s retirement celebration at Garfield, and Clifford’s Back-to-School night. He thanked Jude and Tiffany for showing him a few classrooms.
Trustee Lawson reported attending a Workforce Housing meeting with Trustee MacAvoy and Superintendent Baker.
Vice-President Márquez reported attending the Unaudited Actuals meeting with CBO Rick and Superintendent Baker.
Trustee MacAvoy reported attending the Workforce Housing meeting.
President Díaz-Slocum reported attending the budget meeting with CBO Rick, Vice-President Márquez, and Superintendent Baker.
10. Information
10.1 Review the Health and Wellness Department's Vision and Plans for 2022-23
Patrinia Redd, Director of Health and Wellness, presented updates from her department for the previous and present school year. The Wellness Committee reconvened last year. The committee completed the Triennial Assessment in June 2022, which looked into the strengths, opportunities to grow, and concerns to address this year.
Vice-President Márquez thanked Patrinia for the presentation and also thanked the wellness team. Vice-President Márquez if the parents are notified before the health screenings are conducted.
In response to Trustee Márquez’s question, Patrinia responded the communication department created flyers that have gone out to the school sites to notify parents of the screenings.
As a follow-up question, Vice-President Márquez asked if the flyers were translated into Spanish.
Patrinia confirmed the flyers were translated to Spanish.
Trustee Wells thanked Patrinia for the presentation. He expressed it was awesome to see all the work being done by the wellness department. He commented, it is amazing that vision and hearing screenings are happening to help meet the needs of the students. A lot goes into teaching the students.
Trustee Lawson thanked Patrinia for the presentation. She expressed that Patrinia has been very busy since she started at the school district, and her work is evident through the presentation.
Trustee MacAvoy also thanked Patrinia for the presentation. She stated it is clear that Patrinia is doing a lot. It is a reminder to everyone in the call and all community members about how much the school district does to help with the overall wellness of the students, staff, and community. She expressed being pleased by the renewed focus on the staff, who are equally important.
President Díaz-Slocum expressed her appreciation towards Patrinia for her positive and collaborative attitude. She is pleased that the district continues to provide dental and vision check-ups. Lastly, she thanked Patrinia for her collaboration with the Child Nutrition Committee.
Superintendent Baker expressed being grateful to see how Patrinia has revamped the Health and Wellness Department. He commented, Patrinia brought her expertise as an educator. He thanked her for all of her great work, her collaboration with other departments, and for helping meet the needs of all of the students.
Deputy Superintendent Wendy Kelly commented that Patrinia’s one-year work anniversary is in late November. It is remarkable to see all the work she has done in the last ten months that is making a great impact on the district.
Patrinia thanked everyone.
11. Correspondence
Superintendent Baker reported receiving a few emails.
12. Other Business/Suggested Items for Future Agenda
None.
13. Board Agenda Calendar
13.1 Changes to the Board Agenda Schedule of Items
None.
14. Adjournment
The board adjourned the meeting at 7:56 p.m. (Lawson, Wells; 5-0).