September 14, 2023 Minutes
REDWOOD CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee (CBOC)
September 14, 2023
Minutes of the Meeting
Location: Members of the Committee attended in-person at the District Office.
Present: Janet Borgens, Jennifer Givens, Cameron Hoffman, Carl Landers, Karl Metz, and Jitpal Sahai
Absent: Carolyn Chow, Rodney Leach, Jacqueline Rodriguez Luna
Others present: Olivia Acosta, Supt. John Baker, Ed.D., Martin Cervantes, CBO Rick Edson, Trustee Janet Lawson, Will Robertson and Erika Szallos
1.0 Call to Order
1.1 Roll Call
Meeting was called to order at 6:01 pm
1.2 Welcome – Carl Landers, Chair
Chair Landers welcomed the committee and introduced the new committee member, Janet Borgens. Members of the committee introduced themselves.
2.0 Agenda Review
2.1 Changes to the Agenda
No changes to the agenda were made.
2.2 Approval of Agenda
Motion to approved the September 14, 2023 Agenda
(Cameron Hoffman; Jennifer Givens; 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.
Public Speaker: Mr. Robell said that Prop 39 funds are for school facilities and said that the CBOC should look at the expenses more closely to be sure the funds are used for school facilities when doing oversight. Mr. Robell added that a neutral person should train the CBOC on their oversight duties, and not someone represented by the District.
4.0 Invited Guest Presentations
Members of the public may address the CBOC prior to its consideration of each item. Speakers are requested to limit their remarks to three minutes.
4.1 Presentation on the District's plan for how Measure S bond project ideas will be
solicited, vetted, and prioritized for funding
CBO Edson shared a handout on brief details and the planning and prioritization of projects on Measure S. CBO Edson said that the voter’s approved a $298 million general obligations bond in November of 2022 and added that the Series A in the amount of $90 million were sold in June 2023.
CBO Edson said that the District is in the process on the selection of the bond program manager. CBO Edson added that the District will review and revise the Facilities Master Plan that was created around 2014-15. CBO Edson added that there will be equity objectives based on the site needs in conjunction with educational programs and receive feedback from current school community, parents, teachers and students along with community members who wish to participate to help identify the most important items. These items will then be presented to the board for discussion and approval.
Public Comment: Mr. Robell had concerns regarding the Measure S bond prioritization and perhaps future bonds and parcel taxes.
5.0 Actions Items
Members of the public may address the CBOC prior to its consideration of each item. Speakers are requested to limit their remarks to three minutes.
5.1 Approval of May 11, 2023 Committee Meeting Minutes
Motion to approve the May 11, 2023 committee meeting minutes
(Cameron Hoffman/Jitpal Sahai; 6-0)
5.2 Approval of 2021-22 Measure T Annual Report
Motion to approve the 2021-22 Measure T Annual Report, as edited by the
Committee.
(Janet Borgens/Jitpal Sahai; 6-0)
Public Comment: Mr. Robell shared concerns he had regarding the 2021-22 Measure
T Annual Report.
5.3 Election of Chair and Vice-Chair for the Citizen’s Bond Oversight Committee
5.3.1. Election of Chair for the Citizen’s Bond Oversight Committee
Motion to elect Chair for the Citizen’s Bond Oversight Committee
Ms. Hoffman nominated Carl Landers.
(Cameron Hoffman/Jitpal Sahai; 6-0)
5.3.2 Election of Chair for the Citizen’s Bond Oversight Committee
Motion to elect Vice-Chair for the Citizen’s Bond Oversight Committee
Mr. Sahai nominated Jennifer Givens.
(Cameron Hoffman/Janet Borgens; 6-0)
6.0 Information and Discussion
Members of the public may address the CBOC prior to its consideration of each item. Speakers are requested to limit their remarks to three minutes.
6.1 Receive progress report on bond construction projects
Mr. Robertson shared the slides on Measure T Bond Program construction progress. Mr. Robertson shared photos of the completed projects at Adelante-Selby, Garfield, Henry Ford, Kennedy, Orion Alternative and Taft Schools.
6.2 Review Measure T Bond activity since last meeting
6.2.1 Review list of bond expenditures since last meeting
The committee had a discussion on the list of bond expenditures from April 1, 2023 through June 30, 2023 in an Excel spreadsheet. The spreadsheet had been emailed to the committee for their review.
Mr. Landers asked if the RGMK costs have or will decrease as Measure T projects wrap up? Mr. Robertson responded that currently services and costs have decreased over the summer. However, depending on what the board approves to spend the approximately $1 million left in contingency, there may be a slight increase in their services and costs.
Public Comment: Mr. Robell shared his concerns regarding a bond management fee approved by the board in December, 2022 and the administrator fees paid from bond funds.
6.2.2 Review list of contractor change orders approved by the District since the last meeting
The committee reviewed the contractor change orders approved by the District since the last meeting.
Mr. Landers asked that for the next meeting two columns be added to the change order list, one that shows the percentage of the contract cost and the percentage of the project cost.
Mr. Metz said he would like to see a description of the change order on the list of contractor change orders.
6.2.3 Review list of no-bid contracts executed by the District since the last meeting
The committee had a discussion on the list of no-bid contracts executed by the District since the last meeting.
The committee had a discussion on the no-bid contract process.
The committee discussed regarding line items on the list for the same vendors at different school sites which total above the $60,000 board approval threshold for contracts. Mr. Jitpal said that most vendors submit their quotes separately to keep track of the site projects.
Mr. Jitpal added that for no-bid contracts vendors do have the ability to petition/protest if they feel they were treated unfairly, and were not given a chance to bid for a project.
Ms. Hoffman asked if the District has received any protest regarding no-bid contracts? CBO Edson responded there have not been any petition/protest against any items on the no-bid contracts list since the last meeting.
Ms. Hoffman said she would like to know if there have been any protest regarding no-bid contracts for the fiscal year? Mr. Robertson responded no.
6.2.4 Review new projects/spending approved by Board since last meeting
The committee received a list of new project/spending approved by the board since December, 2022.
6.3 Receive District’s financial update on total revenues and expenditures for Measure T and Measure S bond programs
Ms. Szallos shared the handout on Measure T Bond Fund Income and Expense Summary as of June 30, 2023. Ms. Szallos said that the total expenditures for all funds is $211,439,876.
Mr. Landers asked regarding the classified salaries on previous years was higher than the 22-23 fiscal year. CBO Edson said that it was for the Bond Director who retired in August of 2022.
Ms. Szallos shared three additional handouts from the District’s financial system and the Account-Ability system, showing the summaries as of June 30, 2023 for the Measure T fund and Measure S fund.
The committee had a discussion on budget increases and adjustments in the bond budget. Mr. Metz said it would be helpful for the committee to see original total project cost estimate to compare against the current budget.
Ms. Szallos shared the handout from the District’s financial system of the Measure S fund which shows a balance of $89,568,008 as of June 30, 2023.
Public Comment: Mr. Robell said that the CBOC should consider removing the reference of “being under budget” from their annual report.
Ms. Hoffman responded that she reviewed the report and found the reference “being under budget” was stated in specific projects and the funds were moved to other projects.
6.4 Receive update from District filling the committee vacancy (representative of business organization)
Mr. Edson stated that the district has continued outreach to the community via the District’s communication department and also have reached out to several local organizations, including the Chamber of Commerce.
Ms. Hoffman suggested that the bond committee be reduced in size in the future.
6.5 Discuss CBOC website suggestions for improvement
The committee had a discussion on suggestions for improvement of the website.
Ms. Hoffman suggested having the CBOC website translated to Spanish.
6.6 Discuss agenda topics for the next meeting
Mr. Landers asked if there were any items that the committee members would like to add to the next agenda.
Ms. Hoffman said she would like to receive the demographic study, materials presented to the board of trustees and narrative description of change orders.
CBO Edson said the District could send the committee the link of the board meeting agendas where the CBOC is then able to review all the bond agenda items and attachments. Mr. Landers said that he would work with the District on this request from the committee.
Ms. Hoffman would like to have a discussion on the CBOC having its own independent counsel for Measure S.
Mr. Metz would like the District to inform the committee of any litigation or claims regarding the bond.
The Committee had a discussion regarding a minor edit to the cover of the 2021-22 Measure T Annual Report and to re-open agenda item 5.2 Approval of the 2021-22 Measure T Annual Report in order to approve the edit.
5.2 Approval of 2021-22 Measure T Annual Report
Motion to reopen item 5.2 Approval of 2021-22 Measure T Annual Report
(Cameron Hoffman/Jitpal Sahai; 6-0)
Motion to approve the 2021-22 Measure T Annual Report, with an edit to the cover to show members’ names during 2021-22 and the current committee members at report approval at 2023-24
(Janet Borgens/Cameron Hoffman; 6-0)
7.0 Adjournment
Motion to adjourn the September 14, 2023 meeting
Meeting adjourned at 8:48 p.m.
(Jennifer Givens/Jitpal Sahai; 6-0)