August 29, 2024 Minutes

REDWOOD CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee (CBOC)

August 29, 2024
Minutes of the Meeting

Location: Members of the Committee attended in-person at the District Office.
Present: Janet Borgens, Jennifer Givens, Carl Landers, Karl Metz, Jacqueline Rodriguez Luna
and Jitpal Sahai
Absent: Carolyn Chow
Jacqueline Rodriguez Luna left at 6:45 pm

Others present: Olivia Acosta, Supt. John Baker, Ed.D., Martin Cervantes, CBO Rick Edson,
Jennifer Gibb (VPCS), Erika Szallos and Trustee Mike Wells.

1.0 Call to Order
1.1 Roll Call
Meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm. Roll call was taken and quorum was
established
1.2 Welcome – Carl Landers, Chair
Chair Landers welcomed the committee.

2.0 Agenda Review
2.1 Changes to the Agenda
2.2 Approval of Agenda
Motion to approve the August 29, 2024 Agenda
(Janet Borgens/Karl Metz; 6-0)

3.0 Public Comment on Items Not on the Agenda
3.1 At this time, members of the public may address the CBOC on any items of interest
to the public that are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the CBOC but not on the
agenda for the meeting. Speakers are requested to limit their remarks to three
minutes. No Committee action can be taken.
There was no public comment.

4.0 Action Items
Members of the public may address the CBOC before each item is considered. Speakers
are requested to limit their remarks to three minutes.
4.1 Approval of March 21, 2024 Committee Meeting Minutes
(Jennifer Givens /Jitpal Sahai; 6-0)
4.2 Approval of FY2022-23 Measure T Annual Report
The FY2022-23 Measure T Annual Report was reviewed by the Committee and
approved with edits/corrections.
(Jennifer Givens/Janet Borgens; 6-0)
4.3 Approval of FY2022-23 Measure S Annual Report
The FY2022-23 Measure S Annual Report was reviewed by the Committee and
approved with edits/corrections.
(Jitpal Sahai/Janet Borgens; 6-0)

5.0 Information and Discussion
Members of the public may address the CBOC before each item is considered. Speakers
are requested to limit their remarks to three minutes.
5.1 Receive and discuss opinion from district counsel on using independent counsel for
the CBOC | Presented by William Tunick, Attorney from Dannis Woliver Kelley
• Mr. Tunick addressed the CBOC's questions regarding the need for independent
legal counsel. He referred to the CBOC statute, which outlines the duties of the
CBOC.
• The CBOC's primary duty, as stated in the statute, is to inform the public
regarding the expenditure of bond funds.
• Mr. Tunick clarified that if there is a legal question raised by a taxpayer, it is the
court that has the authority to make a binding legal determination. This aligns
with the statute, which was adopted by voters at the same time as the CBOC
statutes.
• The distinction was made that legal issues fall under the court’s jurisdiction, while
non-legal issues are within the CBOC’s responsibilities.
• As a result, Mr. Tunick suggested that the need for independent legal counsel for
the CBOC may not be necessary, as legal matters are outside the scope of the
CBOC’s duties.
• Mr. Metz asked about the specific reasons people state that the CBOC should
have independent counsel.

• Mr. Tunick responded by explaining that the statute mentions providing "technical
assistance," which may be interpreted as potentially requiring an attorney. He
noted a second reason he has heard, which is that a CBOC may need to make
legal determinations, and they questioned how the CBOC could do so without its
own attorney. However, Mr. Tunick clarified that making legal determinations is
not part of the CBOC's duty.
• Mr. Tunick further mentioned that some CBOCs do have their own attorney,
stating that he knows of two districts where this is the case. He cautioned that
just because a district has its own attorney does not necessarily make it legally
required, as the bond measure itself at these districts could contain provisions
that differ from the general statute.
• Mr. Landers raised the question regarding where the CBOC would go for legal
advice if they encountered a legal issue.
• Mr. Tunick responded that the district counsel would be the appropriate source
for legal advice and would provide their opinion on the matter. He further noted
that it was unclear whether it is the CBOC’s responsibility to conduct a
comprehensive legal analysis of the issue.
• Mr. Tunick clarified that if the CBOC disagrees with something within the
measure language, the disagreement should be clearly stated in their report.
• Ms. Borgens stated that the CBOC's primary duty is to report on how the bond
funds have been spent. She emphasized that legal advice is not necessary for
fulfilling this responsibility.
• Mr. Landers read from the bylaws, section 6c “reports of minority viewpoints of
the committee are allowed, all such minority viewpoint reports must be reviewed
by the committee and be faithfully articulated to the public, by the designated
minority spokesperson, to avoid the need for minority reports, due diligence
should be pursued to resolve devisive issues during the review process there by
attaining fullest possible committee support for the content of the report”.
5.2 Receive and discuss Measure S progress, including update on facilities master plan
process
• Ms. Gibb, Program Manager for Measure S, provided an update on the
financial system for Measure S. She shared that the board has approved
the financial system, which has been implemented. The district is currently
working to reconcile this system with the existing district financial system.
• Ms. Gibb also reported that the district has completed a lighting
assessment, and the assessment is now finished.

• Ms. Gibb shared that power studies are being conducted to assess the
availability of existing sites in preparation for HVAC upgrades to be
implemented district-wide.
• Ms. Gibb mentioned that the team is continuing to review quick-start
projects as part of the ongoing efforts for Measure S.
• Ms. Gibb shared that the Facilities Master Planning process has officially
begun. She explained that QKA, VPCS, and the Maintenance and
Operations teams conducted a thorough walk-through of all sites,
evaluating the overall condition of the buildings, infrastructure, bathrooms
(including toilet counts), accessibility for drop-off/pick-up, playgrounds,
fields, and any other opportunities for improvement.
• The team also conducted an assessment of potential solar array
opportunities or challenges at the sites.
• In addition, meetings have started with individual school sites, and will
continue, to gather input on needs and opportunities identified by each
school.

5.3 Receive progress report on Measure T remaining projects and close-out process
• Mr. Cervantes shared an update on the progress of the remaining bond
construction projects.
• Mr. Cervantes provided an update on the final close-out for the district-wide
management system and security projects.
• Mr. Cervantes mentioned that efforts are underway to report on and audit
the state funding program.
• Mr. Cervantes also shared that for Solar II Phase, the procurement phase is
currently in progress. The RFP has been completed, interviews have been
conducted, a contractor has been selected, and they are now in the
process of contract negotiations.

5.4 Review Measure T Bond activity – April 1, 2024-June 30, 2024
5.4.1 Review the list of bond expenditures since the last meeting
The committee reviewed the list of bond expenditures from April 1, 2024
through June 30, 2024 in an Excel spreadsheet. The spreadsheet had
been emailed to the committee for their review.
5.4.2 Review the list of contractor change orders approved by the District since
the last meeting
There were no change orders.

5.4.3 Review the list of no-bid contracts executed by the District since the last
meeting
The committee reviewed and discussed a list of no-bid contracts that
were executed by the district since the last meeting.
The committee had a discussion on the process of the no-bid contracts.
5.4.4 Review new projects/spending approved by the Board since the last
meeting
The district shared a handout detailing new projects that have been
approved by the Board since the last committee meeting.
5.4.5 Review list of current litigation and disputes related to bond programs
There were no current litigation or disputes related to the bond program.
5.5 Receive the District's financial update on total revenues and expenditures for
Measure T and Measure S bond programs
• Ms. Szallos shared several handouts on revenue and expenditures for the
bond program as of June 30, 2024. Ms. Szallos said that the total expenditures
for Measure T is $213 million. Ms. Szallos shared the Account-Ability report
which showed a budget of $215 million and expenditures of $213 million for
Measure T.
• Ms. Szallos shared a handout detailing the financials for Measure S for the
fiscal year 2023/2024. The report showed interest earned amounting to $3.2
million, with expenditures totaling $1.29 million.
5.6 Receive updates from the District filling the committee vacancies
• Mr. Landers stated that there are currently two member vacancies: one for the
taxpayer organization and one for the business organization.
• CBO Edson mentioned that they have reached out to relevant organizations but
have not received any new applications. Efforts for outreach will continue.
• The committee discussed potential outreach methods, including attending school
site council meetings and/or sending out mailers.
5.7 Discuss meeting dates and agenda topics for the next meeting
The committee discussed on potential agenda topics for the next meeting, which will
take place on December 5, 2024.

6.0 Adjournment
Motion to adjourn the August 29, 2024 meeting
Meeting adjourned at 8:01 p.m.
(Janet Borgens/Jitpal Sahai; 5-0)