June 20, 2024
REDWOOD CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Redwood City, California
APPROVED MINUTES OF BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING
June 20, 2024
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
1. Call to Order
President Lawson called the Regular Session to order at 7:00 p.m.
1.1 Roll Call
Present at the Regular Board meeting: President Janet Lawson, Vice-President Mike Wells; Trustees Alisa MacAvoy, 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, and others.
2. Welcome
President Lawson welcomed those present.
3. Changes to the Agenda
Superintendent Baker requested to move consent item 7.4, Approval of Disbursement of Measure U Funds for the 2024-2025 School Year, to Action.
4. Approval of the Agenda
The School Board approved the agenda as amended (MacAvoy, Márquez; 5-0).
Trustee Márquez (Ayes)
Trustee Weekly (Ayes)
Trustee MacAvoy (Ayes)
Vice-President Wells (Ayes)
President Lawson (Ayes)
5. Oral Communication
None.
6. Public Hearing
6.1 Public Hearing and Discussion of the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) for 2024-2025 and the Annual Update for the 2023-2024 LCAP
President Lawson opened the Public Hearing for the LCAP at 7:03 p.m.
Assistant Superintendent Anna Herrera presented to the School Board and Superintendent Baker the 2024-2025 Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) to gather any additional recommendations or comments from the public before board approval. Assistant Superintendent Anna Herrera debriefed the annual update of the 2023-2024 LCAP and the budget overview for parents.
CBO Rick Edson clarified to the School Board and Superintendent Baker the updated percentages and amounts on the presentation's 2024-25 Contributing Actions Table slide.
Speaker Card:
Agustin Espino, a parent of an RCSD student, addressed the School Board regarding his child’s difficulties with education as an English Learner (EL). He inquired about the measures being taken to support Hispanic and Black/African American students facing academic challenges. Assistant Superintendent Anna Herrera responded.
Mr. Espino also expressed his concern regarding the ELPAC meeting start time of 3:15 p.m., noting that this timing makes it difficult for working parents to attend.
Superintendent Baker noted that there will be an extra focus on improving family engagement for the 2024-25 school year. Dr. Baker thanked Mr. Espino for being in attendance.
Trustee MacAvoy praised Mr. Espino for addressing the board and raising his concerns. Trustee MacAvoy encouraged Mr. Espino to also speak with the school leaders to ensure his daughter is given the tools and support she needs to succeed.
Trustee Márquez praised Mr. Espino for being a DELAC representative and for being a very involved parent.
Chief Business Official Rick Edson presented to the School Board and Superintendent Baker the LCFF Budget Overview for parents.
Vice President Wells praised CBO Rick Edson, Assistant Superintendent Anna Herrera, and all those involved in working on the LCAP. Wells inquired about Goal 3 regarding the 4 percent of students needing to reach reclassification. He asked for clarification if it meant 4% per school year. He also asked if the target outcome rates would be updated to reflect the 4% increase, to which Anna Herrera confirmed. Moreover, Trustee Wells inquired if the family survey only included the emerging bilingual students' families, and Anna Herrera clarified it included all families. Lastly, Trustee Wells pointed out the discrepancy between the iReady and CAASPP results.
Superintendent Baker informed the trustees that they would be looking into the discrepancy.
Assistant Superintendent Anna Herrera informed the school board of her discussions with an iReady representative to further understand why there hasn’t been an improvement in the student’s results and to come up with solutions.
Trustee Weekly praised the approach and work being done for literacy progress. Trustee Weekly expressed appreciation for having the data, despite it revealing unsatisfactory results. He requested more explicit and concrete guidance for a course correction to achieve the desired student progress outcomes.
Superintendent Baker, Assistant Superintendent Herrera, and the Trustees discussed various options for improving student academics, including tutoring and addressing absenteeism rates. The School Board also noted that it would take time to determine if the newly purchased curriculum would yield positive results in students’ academic performance.
President Lawson highlighted the urgency of addressing chronic absenteeism and suspension rates, referencing slide 16 of the presentation, which displayed the California dashboard red indicators. She emphasized that students who are absent or suspended are not learning. Lawson pointed out that one school had seven red flags, significantly more than others, and questioned whether this school required additional support in getting students to school and managing behavior leading to suspensions. She suggested discussing offline how to support this school better.
Trustee Márquez inquired whether teachers/parents are not permitted to teach to the test for iReady and CAASPP exams and, therefore unable to assist their students with these assessments and Anna Herrera confirmed.
President Lawson closed the Public Hearing and Discussion of the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) for 2024-2025 and the Annual Update for the 2023-2024 LCAP at 8:06 p.m.
6.2 Public Hearing for the RCSD 2024-25 Proposed Budget
President Lawson opened the Public Hearing for the RCSD 2024-25 Proposed Budget at 8:06 p.m.
Chief Business Official Rick Edson presented to the School Board and Superintendent Baker a presentation regarding the proposed preliminary budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year. He noted that increased costs need to be reviewed. He noted the proposed budget may change as the business department closes the books for the 2023-24 fiscal year.
Speaker Card:
Catherine Stuart addressed the school board to inquire about how much funding is allocated towards after-school tutoring. Moreover, she inquired how much funding was allocated towards PE, lunch, and recess supervision. She expressed it is an area that could be improved to ensure students feel safe in school.
Superintendent Baker provided clarification to Ms. Stuart’s questions.
Trustee MacAvoy praised Ms. Stuart’s comments and suggested she raise her concerns at the site level. MacAvoy agreed that both supervision and tutoring are crucial for ensuring students' well-being and academic success.
Trustee Weekly voiced his opinion stating he does not agree with extra yard duty supervision and believes excess supervision can have a negative impact on teen mental health.
Trustee MacAvoy praised CBO Rick Edson for the infographics and explanations making it easier to understand the budget components.
Trustee Weekly commended Rick for making the budget overview more legible. Weekly pointed out a typo on slide 14 of the presentation, noting that under "Components of Ending Balance," it should state 2025-26 instead of "2025-27."
Trustee Márquez commended the Business Department for their efforts in assembling the budget. Márquez suggested that organizing a "Town Hall" event would be beneficial for keeping everyone more informed about the budget.
Vice President Wells expressed concern regarding the approximate $1.5 million drop in the cafeteria fund budget and CBO Rick Edson addressed his concern.
President Lawson and Superintendent Baker praised CBO Rick Edson for making the budget presentation clear and easy to understand.
President Lawson closed the Public Hearing and Discussion of the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) for 2024-2025 and the Annual Update for the 2023-2024 LCAP at 8:46 p.m.
7. Consent Items
The School Board approved the Consent Items (MacAvoy, Wells; 5-0), taking the following action:
7.1 Recommendation re: Approval of Consent Items
7.2 Recommendation re: Approval of the June 5 Board Meeting Minutes
7.3 Recommendation re: Approval of the Board Meeting Dates Calendar for the
2024-2025 School Year
7.5 Recommendation re: Approval of the Agreement between the Redwood City
School District and Casa Circulo Cultural for the 2024-2025 School Year
7.6 Recommendation re: Approval of the Agreement between Redwood City School
District and Effective School Solutions, LLC (ESS) Program for Mental Health Services
for the 2024-25 School Year
7.7 Recommendation re: Approval of the MOU between Sequoia Healthcare District
and Redwood City School District for the 2024-25 School Year
7.8 Recommendation re: Approval of Agreement for Service Between Effective
School Solutions, LCC and The Redwood City School District for the 2024-2025 School
Year
7.9 Recommendation re: Ratification of Warrant Registers, May 1, 2024 - May 31,
2024
Trustee Márquez (Ayes)
Trustee Weekly (Ayes)
Trustee MacAvoy (Ayes)
Vice-President Wells (Ayes)
President Lawson (Ayes)
8. Action Items
7.4 Recommendation re: Approval of Disbursement of Measure U Funds for the
2024-2025 School Year
Superintendent Baker requested to withdraw Hoover and Taft’s Measure U applications in order to correct the funding amounts in the plans.
Speaker’s Card:
Karen Linford addressed the school board to express her support for the arts. Ms. Linford commended Mr. Espino for also speaking to the board regarding tutoring needs. Ms. Linford Praised the school board for all of their dedication and hard work.
The School Board approved the disbursement of Measure U funds for the 2024-2025 school year, excluding Hoover and Taft's plans (Márquez, Wells; 5-0).
Trustee Márquez (Ayes)
Trustee Weekly (Ayes)
Trustee MacAvoy (Ayes)
Vice-President Wells (Ayes)
President Lawson (Ayes)
9. Board and Superintendent Reports
9.1 Report from Board Members and Superintendent
Vice President Wells reported attending a few graduations including Clifford’s, Taft’s, and Kennedy’s. Wells also attended the Gardner Center’s Roundtable on Belonging through the Middle to High School Transition event.
Trustee MacAvoy reported attending the Roundtable on Belonging through the Middle to High School Transition event. MacAvoy also attended Garfield’s graduation and Roosevelt’s promotion. Lastly, MacAvoy attended a 3-hour meeting with Redwood City Together where the attendees participated in a strategic planning exercise.
Trustee Weekly reported attending graduations at Roosevelt, North Star, and Roy Cloud. He noted the heat and wondered if the district could provide temporary shade structures for future graduations. Trustee Weekly also participated in various discussions about AI with different parties.
Trustee Márquez reported attending graduations at Henry Ford, Adelante, and McKinley schools. Márquez also attended the Redwood City Together meeting.
President Lawson reported attending Orion’s promotion, Hoover’s graduation, and a Citizen Bond Oversight Committee meeting.
Superintendent Baker noted that all the events he attended were previously mentioned.
10. Correspondence
None.
11. Other Business/Suggested Items for Future Agenda
None.
12. Board Meetings Calendar
12.1 Changes to the Board Meetings Calendar
None.
13. Adjournment
The School Board adjourned the meeting at 8:59 p.m. (Wells, Weekly; 5-0).