February 28, 2024
REDWOOD CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Redwood City, California
APPROVED MINUTES OF BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING
February 28, 2024
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
1. Call to Order
President Lawson called the Closed Session to order at 6:15 p.m.
1.1 Roll Call
Present at the Closed Board meeting: President Janet Lawson, Vice-President Mike Wells; Trustee Cecilia Márquez; and Superintendent Baker
Others present during the Closed Board meeting: Director of Student Services Antonio Perez and Assistant Superintendent Anna Herrera
Absent at the Closed Session board meeting: Trustee Alisa MacAvoy
2. Oral Communication on Closed Session Items Only
None.
3. Closed Session - 6:15 PM (Closed to the Public)
3.1 Approval of Comprehensive School Safety Plans (Internal/Non-Public) 2023-2024 (Ed. Code, § 32281)
Trustee Weekly officially joined the meeting.
4. Reconvene to Regular Session at Approximately 7:00 PM
The School Board reconvened for the regular session at 7:00 p.m.
4.1 Roll Call
Present at the Regular Board meeting: President Janet Lawson, Vice-President Mike Wells; Trustees David Weekly and Cecilia Márquez; and Superintendent Baker
Others present during the Regular Board meeting: Assistant Superintendent Anna Herrera, Deputy Superintendent Wendy Kelly, CBO Rick Edson, Director of Student Services Antonio Perez, Mental Health Liaison Ana Paula Garay, Itzel Gloria, Director of Multilingual Learners Katherine Rivera, and others.
President Lawson informed the audience that Trustee MacAvoy would be joining the meeting remotely as a guest and would be abstaining from taking any action.
4.2 Report Out on Closed Session from February 28, 2024
The School Board received information. No action was taken.
5. Welcome
President Lawson welcomed those present.
6. Changes to the Agenda
Trustee Wells requested to move Information Item 13.1, Annual Update to the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) after Discussion Item 9.1.
7. Approval of the Agenda
The School Board approved the agenda as amended (Wells, Márquez; 4-0).
Trustee Márquez (Ayes)
Trustee Weekly (Ayes)
Trustee MacAvoy (Abstain)
Vice-President Wells (Ayes)
President Lawson (Ayes)
8. Oral Communication
Elizabeth Flegel, a parent at Adelante Selby, expressed her concern about the loss of funding within the district and raised concerns about the consolidation of classes. She emphasized that enlarging class sizes could adversely impact student learning.
Siglinda Lemus submitted a speaker’s card but was not present at the meeting to offer public comment.
9. Discussion Items
9.1 Parcel Tax Discussion for November 2024 Ballot
Joy Kummer delivered a PowerPoint presentation to the school board, providing an overview of the timeline and feasibility of incorporating a parcel tax on the November 2024 election ballot. She informed the School Board about how her team at TeamCivX could assist the district in examining the feasibility of a Parcel Tax Measure for the November 2024 election.
President Lawson inquired about when the Ballot Resolution would be presented to the School Board to meet the August 9th ballot deadline. In response, Superintendent Baker presented optional dates.
Vice-President Wells inquired about the cost of the feasibility study and whether it would be covered by the district. In response, Dr. Baker and Joy Kummer provided an answer. Vice-President Wells also sought clarification about the information that would be collected by the feasibility study, to which Ms. Kummer provided clarification.
Trustee Weekly inquired if other vendors were considered for the feasibility study, and Dr. Baker explained why TeamCivX and Godbe Research were the preferred vendors to assist with the study.
Trustee Márquez inquired about the best time to conduct the parcel tax survey whether it be before the school year ends or right before the start of the school year. Ms. Kummer shared why waiting until August might be advantageous.
Vice-President Wells voiced his support for the feasibility study and thanked Ms. Kummer for the presentation. He spoke on the importance of pursuing additional funding.
Trustee MacAvoy addressed Trustee Weekly’s inquiry regarding the possibility of looking into different vendors for the feasibility study. Additionally, she mentioned receiving correspondence from parents and staff members who are expressing concern over budget cuts, and how a parcel tax would help fund support services to meet student needs.
Trustee Weekly also voiced his support for the feasibility study.
Public Comments:
Jessica Shade expressed her support for the proposed parcel tax, highlighting the benefits derived from the COVID Funds. She believes that implementing a parcel tax would alleviate the current budget constraints faced by the district.
Brandon Matthews expressed support for the parcel tax to support the district schools.
Elizabeth Flegel expressed her support for the potential parcel tax. She inquired whether there would be an examination of lessons learned from the outcome of Measure H. Specifically, she highlighted there was online trolling that might have swayed the voting outcomes.
End of public comments.
President Lawson clarified that once the resolution is passed, any matters related to the parcel tax would need to originate from the citizen-led campaign. President Lawson expressed her support for the feasibility study.
13.1 Annual Update to the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP)
Assistant Superintendent Anna Herrera, Director of Student Services Antonio Perez, Director of Multilingual Learners Katherine Rivera, and Mental Health Liaison Ana Paula Garay provided the School Board with an Overview of the 21-24 LCAP goals. Currently, the district is completing the 3rd year of the 3-year LCAP Plan. Mr. Perez presented data on school attendance. Ms. Garay presented information on counseling data. Ms. Rivera presented data on the Newcomer program. Ms. Herrera provided information on the intervention supports for reading and math.
Trustee Weekly expressed satisfaction with the overall progress made towards meeting the LCAP goals. He requested that, in future reports, the data comparison should involve the end of the previous year and the end of the current year, instead of comparing last year's data with the current half-year data. Additionally, he found the curve regarding mental health therapy by grade level surprising, a concern that Ms. Garay addressed. Trustee Weekly also inquired about the Newcomer program and Ms. Rivera responded.
Trustee Márquez expressed gratitude for the presentation. Moreover, she reflected on her own experience as a newcomer. Trustee Márquez requested elaboration about the Opportunity Schools and Mr. Perez responded.
Vice-President Wells sought clarification on the connection between Opportunity School and suspensions, and Mr. Perez and Dr. Baker provided a response.
Assistant Superintendent Anna Herrera emphasized that students who demonstrated the least progress were those with the highest absentee rates. She pointed out that schools are actively monitoring student attendance to ensure that those attending regularly receive the necessary support from the reading intervention groups.
Vice-President Wells also inquired about what changes would be made to the new LCAP plan and Ms. Herrera and Dr. Baker responded. Trustee Wells thanked Ms. Herrera, Ms. Garay, Ms. Rivera, Mr. Perez, and everyone else involved in putting the data together.
Trustee MacAvoy expressed gratitude to Anna Herrera and everyone who contributed to putting the report together. Additionally, Trustee MacAvoy requested that teachers share the data with Long-Term EL students and their families, encouraging their commitment to collaborate with the teachers in achieving the necessary growth.
President Lawson expressed gratitude for the presentation and extended appreciation to everyone who worked on putting the presentation together.
Dr. Baker emphasized the importance of conducting a feasibility study to ensure the ongoing funding of essential resources needed to meet students’ needs.
10. Consent Items
The School Board approved the Consent Items (Wells, Weekly; 4-0), taking the following action:
10.1 Recommendation re: Approval of Consent Items
10.2 Recommendation re: Approval of February 7 Board Meeting Minutes
10.3 Recommendation re: Approval of Comprehensive School Safety Plans (Public)
2023-2024
10.4 Recommendation re: Approval of Disposal of Obsolete Equipment
10.5 Recommendation re: Approval of the Updated Hoover SPSA
10.6 Recommendation re: Approval of the SPSA Addendum Template
Trustee Márquez (Ayes)
Trustee Weekly (Ayes)
Trustee MacAvoy (Abstain)
Vice-President Wells (Ayes)
President Lawson (Ayes)
11. Action Items
11.1 Recommendation re: 2024 CSBA Delegate Assembly Nominations
The School Board submitted nominations for the 2024 CSBA Delegate Assembly (Weekly, Wells; 4-0).
Trustee Márquez (Ayes)
Trustee Weekly (Ayes)
Trustee MacAvoy (Abstain)
Vice-President Wells (Ayes)
President Lawson (Ayes)
12. Board and Superintendent Reports
12.1 Report from Board Members and Superintendent
Vice-President Wells reported attending the Roosevelt Reading Fair, the Mary Poppin’s Musical at Clifford, the Taft Pancakes Breakfast, and the Reclassification Ceremony.
Trustee Márquez reported attending the Reclassification Ceremony and the Taft Pancake Breakfast. Additionally, Trustee Márquez attended the Superintendent’s Advisory Council Committee.
Trustee Weekly reported attending the Taft Pancake Breakfast and the Reclassification Ceremony. Additionally, Trustee Weekly visited Connect Community Charter School and discussed the potential use of AI tutoring with the staff. Lastly, Trustee Weekly mentioned engaging in a conversation with the San Mateo County Dental Society to obtain recommendations on best practices in dental care for use by the school district.
Trustee MacAvoy had nothing to report.
President Lawson had nothing to report.
Superintendent Baker reported attending the Superintendent Advisory Council Committee. Dr. Baker praised Katherine Rivera and Patrinia Redd for their presentations.
13. Information
13.2 RCSD Review of Rocketship Redwood City Charter School's First Interim Financial Report for FY 2023-24
13.3 RCSD Review of Rocketship Redwood City Charter School's Audit Report for FY 2022-23
13.4 RCSD Review of Connect Community Charter First Interim Financial Report for FY 2023-24
13.5 RCSD Review of Connect Community Charter School's Audit Report for FY 2022-23
13.6 RCSD Review of KIPP Excelencia Community Prep's First Interim Financial Report for FY 2023-24
13.7 RCSD Review of KIPP Excelencia Community Prep's Audit Report for FY 2022-23
Vice-President Wells observed that some of the reports contained findings and inquired if there were any concerns. CBO Rick Edson responded that most of them had reasonable explanations for correcting the findings.
Trustee Weekly emphasized that Hayley Dupuy clarified that the findings related to the after-school program resulted from the improper use of sign-out sheets.
14. Correspondence
Vice President Wells reported receiving a few emails.
President Lawson reported receiving emails concerning budget cuts, interdistrict-related matters, and an anonymous letter addressing bullying at a school site. Additionally, Trustee Lawson received a letter from Supervisor David Canepa regarding a resolution on loneliness.
15. Other Business/Suggested Items for Future Agenda
None.
16. Board Meetings Calendar
16.1 Changes to the Board Meetings Calendar
None.
17. Adjournment
The School Board adjourned the meeting at 9:36 p.m. (Márquez, Weekly; 4-0).