SRCS Board Meeting Agenda Analysis - 7/24/19

REGULAR BOARD MEETING
Santa Rosa City Schools
July 24, 2019 6:00PM 
4:30 p.m. - Closed Session 6:00 p.m. - Open Session Santa Rosa City Hall - City Council Chambers 100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Santa Rosa. 
Please take time to review the following abbreviated version of the agenda.  Click here to see the entire agenda. It has live links on many items with more information.  If you want to comment on any items, email agendacomments@srcs.k12.ca.us. Please CC wearesrta@gmail.com on your comments.

Regular meetings are televised on local cable channel 27 and re-broadcast the following Saturday at 7:00 PM and again Sunday at 9:00 AM.  Videos of the meetings are also live-streamed and posted on the SRCS YouTube Channel. Link to livestream and videos of prior meetings

Closed Session Items: 
B.4.Conference With Property NegotiatorThe parcel number provided is not registered with the county assessor's office. SRTA wonders if the district is preparing to sell their Fir Ridge (Fountaingrove) property. This property was intended for a new school or for teacher housing. A few years ago the board explored plans to create low income housing for SRCS staff. There has been no follow up item. SRCS has been urged to develop this land per the original agreement requiring the timely use of the property, or dispose of the property.

C. RECONVENE TO OPEN SESSION (6:00 p.m.)
C.9. Public Comment On Non Agenda Items
SRTA members are invited to complete blue speaker cards to speak to the board for up to three minutes.  Items not on the agenda are addressed at this time. Items on the agenda are addressed during discussion of the item, using the same blue card.

Speakers are needed at the board meeting to put a face to the messages contained here.  Please commit to attending a board meeting, and speaking to an agenda item that impacts you or your students. Speakers are most impactful when they are composed and reasonable.

E. CONSENT ITEMS

E.2. Approval of Personnel Transactions
SRTA welcomes 18 more new hires: Sara Williams (Music Teacher), Asia Jacques (SRHS), Emily Jacobsen (SPSV), Timothy Decker (SRHS/SRMS), Gloriana Diaz (SRHS), Noelina Gomez (MCHS), Nicholas Allen (SPSV), Abel Damkoehler (SPSV), Johana Perdomo (SRHS), Francesca Borin (CCLA), Briana Quintana Barajas (CCLA), Danielle Ullyott (SPSV), Danielle Justin (RVMS), Katrina Santiago (SPSV), Ben Staten (SRHS), Hollie Retzinger (PHS), Justin Long (LCMS), David Fiore (LCMS). We hope you have a long and fruitful career with SRCS.

We welcome back five new rehires: Jacob Boulais (MCHS), Laura Tripp (SPSV), Gregory Houser (Migrant Ed.), Anne Phillips (PTES), Linda Archambault (SPSV). We hope you have a long and successful career with SRCS.


SRTA is appreciative of our new announced retiree: Andrew Jowers (MCHS). Thank you for your 21 years of service to the students of our district.  We wish you a long and enjoyable retirement!

SRTA acknowledges the resignation of another 5 members with 66 years of service: Rebecca Tock (SPSV), Leslie Thomas (HVES), Kathryn Koop (BHES), James Ronan (SRMS), and Samantha Alban (RVMS). 59 SRTA Members resigned this year. SRTA thanks you for your service to our students and district. We wish you well in your future endeavours.

We welcome 7 new classified employees and one rehire. We bid farewell to one retiring classified member with 21 years of service and two classified resignees taking with them one year of experience. We thank them for their service to our staff and students and wish them all the best. 

CLICK READ MORE TO SEE THE ANALYSIS

E.5. Approval of Contracts
SRTA is concerned with many incomplete contracts. It is noteworthy that there is no process for transparency around the evaluation of contracts. How can evaluation information be shared so the board and all stakeholders can be confident of these arrangements? Similarly, how can the utilization of those contract with flexible agreements be shared, so the board and all stakeholders can be informed about what actually transpired. Some contracts are for an hourly rate for unspecified hours, and others are for a set amount plus expenses. What are the final amounts paid on these contracts?

Contract #
Provider
Cost
Description

District Wide


11
Acosta Latino Learning Partnership
$54,000.00
Provide professional development to two cohorts of SRCS educators to learn more about how to provide a culturally responsive, sustaining and humanizing education to our students. Presentation to all staff at Welcome Back Event on August 12, 2019.

12
Butte County Office of Ed. /Migrant Ed.
No Cost
Migrant Ed Advisory Program (MEAP) will offer tutoring and counseling services to students who qualify for these services.

13
Caroline Pugh
$15,000
Provide graphic design services to convey various messages from the school district clearly and effectively to our community.

14
North Coast School of Education
$250,500.00
North Coast School of Education (NCSOE) will provide and coordinate services and support to teacher candidates and interns so they will meet the California credential requirements of the CTC.

16
California School Board Association (CSBA)/Membership Dues
$17,966.00
Membership Dues fro CSBA and Educational Legal Alliance (ELA). CSBA has written or developed, and as necessary updates a reference policy manual, including sample policies, regulations, bylaws, and exhibits, based on applicable state and federal law.

17
California School Board Association (CSBA)/GAMUT Online
$8,115.00
Board Policy and Administrative Regulations are currently housed through GAMUT. This allows the District to continue to offer this service/resource to our community.

18
Fagen, Friedman & Fulfrost, LLP (3F)
$240-$335/hour
Legal Services provided for general SRCS business and legal counsel on Bond related issues e.g. contracts, change orders, and bids. Bond legal fees will be appropriately charged to the respective bond measure (I or L).

19
Dannis Woliver Kelley (DWK)
$265-$360/hour
Legal representation to advise and counsel District on Bond and Parcel Tax issuances. Attorney agrees to keep current and in force at all times a policy covering incidents of legal malpractice.

20
School Services of California
$7,584.00
Legislative services: collection and transmission of information pertinent to school finance legislation including, but not limited to all major school finance bills that affect the District. Provide the District assistance regarding legislative advocacy on its behalf.

21
Corrina Hui
$125,000.00
These workshops will engage a diverse group of 20-30 stakeholders (parents, teachers, counselors, site/district administration, and industry/postsecondary partners) in numerous experiences to support the development of the Specialist Certificate. Also, create Student Voice collaborative with Ridgway students.

23
KTR Facilities Consulting, Inc.
$80,000.00
Serve Bond/Facilities Director in all capacities of analyzing, redefining, and organizing. Facilitate facility department processes and procedures. Budgeting and Procurement practices in regard to Construction Management. Project and Construction Management.

24
Maxine Freitas
$5,322.00
Provide the resources and support services to provide certified American Red Cross First Aid and Adult & Child CPR/AED instruction for District athletic coaches and classified professional development.

25
Emics, Inc. dba Informed K12
$22,700.00
Provides ten internal office forms and workflow process to automatically collect, route and track electronic forms. Provides ongoing assistance and staff support with a dedicated primary contact for Human Resources and the district.

27
AssetWorks
$75,500.00
Conduct onsite inspections to inventory and verify all capital assets with an original cost of $5,000 and greater. Provide valuation reports of all inventoried and listed assets including property accounting summary, property accounting ledger/detail, property accounting summary year to date depreciation and asset listing by location that comply with Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) 34/35 financial reporting requirements.

28
LACO Associates
$5,000.00
LACO will provide environmental investigations known as Phase I Environmental report, as is required by the State of California for grants provided to the Head Start program.

31
University of Washington
$56,200.00
Provide PD for principals because student learning will not improve until the quality of teaching improves, and that the quality of teaching will not improve until leaders understand what constitutes high quality instruction along with the role they play in support of teachers' practice.

29
LACO Associates
$2,000.00
LACO will provide special inspection and testing services on materials supplied for concrete seal walls at Steele Lane Lunch Plaza project.

Serving Secondary Students


1
Trellis Education
$12,000
Up to 6 pre-service and first year teachers in math or science content areas

2
Newsela
$98,579.60
Newsela has multiple reading levels and covers a wide array of topics thus providing an information rich platform that a teacher in any discipline can use to support student literacy.

3
Bay Area Writing Project (BAWP)
$89,350.00
BAWP will provide two strands of professional development to meet the needs of our EL students linguistic and academic progress across disciplines as well as to develop critical qualities needed for content learning in English.

4
Learn By Doing
$16,210.00
Learn By Doing will provide supplemental question banks including standards-aligned practice questions for AP/IB courses.

9
Let's Go Learn
$11,700.00
Let's Go Learn provides an outline platform for assessment used to support the English Learner redesignation process. DORA (online ELA diagnostic assessment) is administered annually in grades 7-12. LGL will provide technical support and training to support usage and analysis of data.

10
Hollie Fortkamp
$5720.00 (increase of $1100.00 from May 22 approval)
Create lessons that incorporate math and science into the culinary profession while also covering the basics of business ownership.

22
Social Advocates for Youth (SAY)
$257,324.00
SAY Work Based Learning Team will provide support and resources to the College and Career Centers at our high schools SAY Work Based Learning Team will provide support and resources to the College and Career Centers at our high schools.

32
2Teach LLC
$33,874.95
Provide training in co-teaching, to a cohort of 40 middle school English, math and special education teachers so that SRCS can begin co-teaching implementation at the 7th grade level in the school year 2019-2020.

Serving Charter Students


15
Collaborative Solutions for Charter Authorizers
$27,600.00
Collaborative Solutions for Charter Authorizers (CSCA) will provide support, guidance, and oversight with regard to charter schools for SRCS.

30
Matrix HG, Inc.
$47,124.00
Matrix has investigated the AC units at the CCLA - Cook project and found four units replacement and three other units requiring parts replacement.

E.6. and 7 Approval of the 2019-2020 Instructional Minutes
SRTA stipulates that across the district, each grade level should have a relatively similar number of total instructional minutes for the year, based on grade level, in order to avoid an inequitable situation for teachers and students.

The minimum number of instructional minutes per grade level is determined by 

• California Education Code sections 41420, 46200–46208, 47612.5, 
• California Code of Regulations, Title 5, 11960
• Administrative Regulations 6112

SRTA is concerned that our Administrative Regulations do not reflect California Ed Code, specifically our middle schools are asked to have over 10,000 more instructional minutes than is required by law. 

CA Ed Code minimum instructional minutes for Elementary
K = 36,000 minutes | Grades 1-3 = 50,400 minutes | Grades 4-8 = 54,000 minutes
An extra 1500 minutes is more than the equivalent of more than four and a half additional days of instructional time.

SCHOOL
KINDERGARTEN
GRADES 1-6

Burbank
45,300
55,680

Monroe
46,055
54,155

Lehman
43,832
54,152

Steele Lane
42,800
54,152

Biella
44,520
54,115

Brook Hill (1-3 / 4-6)
42,640
54,065 / 54,105

Hidden Valley
43,644
54,079

Lincoln
44,400
54,054

Proctor Terrace
44,864
54,009

Cesar Chavez Language Academy
46,200
56,339

Santa Rosa Accelerated Charter
(5-6 Only)
NA
54,360

Santa Rosa Charter for the Arts
(K, 1-3 / 4-5 / 6-8)
46,240
52,999 / 54,340 / 
58,390

Santa Rosa French/American Charter
51,424
54,004

CA Ed Code minimum instructional minutes for Secondary
Grades 4-8 = 54,000 minutes | Grades 9-12 = 64,800 minutes
One high school has the equivalent of 16 days of additional instructional time.

SCHOOL
MINUTES

SCHOOL
MINUTES

Santa Rosa Middle
65,100

Elsie Allen
71,189

Rincon Valley
64,899

Ridgway
65,267

Cook
64,825

Maria Carillo
65,134

Comstock
64,816

Piner
64,961

Slater
64,815

Montgomery
64,889




Santa Rosa High
64,873



E.10. Approval of Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English in CTE Culinary Arts (SDAIE) Variable Term Waiver for Kameron Nicholas Rose
When SRCS substantially addresses our attract and retain issue, SDAIE waivers won’t be needed for teachers.

E.11. and 12 Approval of Two Provisional Internship Permit Applications (PIP)
SRTA applauds that this is a significant decrease in the number of PIPs the district has been forced to ask for in past years. SRTA hopes the district provides the supports these interns need to become successful educators and that the issue of retaining highly qualified staff through fair total compensation is addressed in a substantive way.

E.13. Approval of the Tobacco Intervention & Prevention Grant Job Descriptions
The District successfully consulted both SRTA and CSEA on these new positions after the Board pulled them from consideration at the last Board meeting.

E.16. Approval of Titan School Solutions Child Nutrition Program Software for the 2019-20 School Year
The implementation and first year of support will cost $67,590.
Annual support starting in the second year will cost $35,910.
The vision for our Child Nutrition Services use of this system does not seem entirely clear. This causes concern when purchasing a program with an ongoing cost of over $35,000 a year. 


F. DISCUSSION / ACTION ITEMS

F.1. (Action) Accept the Measure I and L Citizens' Oversight Committee Annual Reports
Oversight means this committee authorizes the use of bond funds to pay bills. They have no part in deciding how we go about spending our bond funds. Those decisions are completely up to district staff, with guidance from the board. If this committee were to deny payment on a bill, the expense would impact our general fund. 
We have district staff hired with bonds funds to oversee and implement bond spending for facilities and technology. We hire firms to help us with project development, design, the bidding process, and project management. How much of our bond spending is for all this management?
How much of our spending is for work on sites?
How much spending is for additional work required beyond our original contracts?

F.2. Child Nutrition Services (CNS) Operations Update
This will be the introduction of our new CNS Director. The quality of meals provided on our campuses directly impacts campus culture and student learning. SRTA supports improvements in this facet of our services.

F.3. Public Hearing to Waive the CBEST Requirements for Teachers from Other Countries to be Authorized to Teach in the Santa Rosa French American Charter School.
SRTA supports this waiver to solve the problem continually facing the Santa Rosa French Charter. Most instruction is in French following the educational standards of France. These teachers are fully credentialed, highly qualified teachers who can provide excellent instruction to Santa Rosa City School’s students.

F.4. (Action) Approval of the submission of a Waiver to the State Board of Education (SBE) from the CBEST Requirements for Teachers from other Countries to be Authorized to Teach in Santa Rosa City Schools Dual Language Immersion Schools (Santa Rosa French American Charter School)
SRTA encourages the Board to approve submitting this waiver to the State Board of Education.

F.5. Presentation of the Santa Rosa City Schools Strategic Plan for 2019-2024 (Version 1.0)
2. SRCS Strategic Plan 2019-24 (Ver 1) Vision Mission Priorities
SRCS’s draft proposal of the strategic plan for the next 5 years should be read. SRTA encourages the community to participate in the Community Meetings and the online survey. The district plans to bring the Strategic Plan back to the school board at the October 14th meeting after gathering feedback. There should be a revised copy of the strategic plan in the Board agenda packet. We encourage SRCS staff and community members to look it over and come to the board meeting to speak about the direction the district is proposing to head and how that reflects the needs of our community. The district proposes to commit to fair compensation. Fair total compensation will dramatically help our attract and retain problem. The district proposes to encourage innovation and differentiation in teaching. The board and district should ensure that collaborative structures to support such changes are in place to make this a successful initiative. Finally, SRCS commits to working towards sustainable funding for Public Education. This is an effort that SRTA has been supporting for a while and we commend SRCS for making a commitment to this idea.

G. INFORMATION ITEMS

G.1. Administrative Regulation - Child Care Waitlist Protocol
This issue affects both Santa Rosa City Schools staff and the students and families of our community. A clear process is an important step in creating a fair and equitable result when there are waitlists. The district states that waitlists are a necessity because of lack of staff. SRTA acknowledges staffing problems in Child Care Centers statewide, however the district must address the attract and retain issue through fair total compensation for these care providers.

G.2. Williams Settlement Quarterly Report 
SRTA is pleased that the Williams Act issues are being addressed. These complaints are filed when there is frustration over issues not being resolved at a lower level. It would be preferable for facility and safety issues to be completely resolved on a timely basis utilizing internal district systems. 
Logging into School Dude to file a request is nearly impossible. Once one has entered the program and completed a request, they are required to enter a password before the program will accept the request. When there are issues with this second authentication, the request is lost. This process takes more time and patience than most staff can devote to it. Far too often these requests are abandoned, and ill will is increased.

G.3. Board Conduct and Code of Ethics 
SRTA commends the SRCS School Board for creating a process that will help them be more effective.


 Future Board Discussion Items
No future discussion items were posted.

SRTA looks to the future scheduling of the following tabled items:

• CTE Update
• College and Career Center Update
• Gap Year Sonoma Course at PHS
• Student Voice Policy
• Dress Code
• Fir Ridge Update 
• Financial Aid Awareness Month
• T & L K-12 Update
• Illuminate Update
• Emergency Preparedness Discussion
• BEST Plus Update
• ELPAC Update
• PE update
• Student and Family Engagement (SAFE) update
• Goal 2 update: Suspensions, Wellness Center, intras/inters, toolbox