001Okay, we're recording So Yes, we have our Partner Amanda Clifford from suffered loss here tonight with colleagues from FM three I believe Lucia is joining us As the direction of the board he asked them to conduct some preliminary polling to learn about the community's opinions regarding I will turn it over to Amanda at this point you hear Amanda and your colleagues She is here that way faster than any of us Well, thank you. Thank you all for having us. Thank you President Park for having us come here to present the poll results So tonight is really no big decisions happening tonight. We wanted to share the information So I'm going to turn this over to Lucia from FM three because she's going to present all the results for you And then I'm we're both here
002for any questions that you have as we think about What the next steps are following this information So Lucia, I'll turn it over to you to share the results Great. Thank you, Amanda. And wow, this is the fastest I've ever gotten to speak to a board It might be a record for me, but so thank you so much for the efficiency And so I'm gonna go ahead and pull up a slide deck that kind of summarizes the the key findings of our of our research Essentially the the research will find you'll see as we go through a lot of things that are really consistent with our Recent survey that we had done in 2023 for the district a lot of the attitudes towards the district have really remained consistent and positive but you know the
003two-thirds threshold that a personal tax requires is a tough one and Both the measures in different scenarios that we tested do reach that two-thirds threshold after communication Was simulated but again, they they really reach it right at the threshold So it's just again as Amanda noted something to consider and think about today But we want to kind of share that information up front And before I dive in just to clarify the two versions of the measure that I will show you and walk through in detail That we did tests where a straight renewal with a cost of living adjustment and then we also tested an increase so Before I dive into the actual findings, let me quickly just touch on our methodology So the survey was conducted in early June. So about a month ago
004We completed the interviews and we spoke to about 400 in 400 voters in the district This was a sample of likely November 2026 voters Which is inclusive of voters who are likely to vote in June because voters who are likely to vote in November Are sorry likely vote June are definitely voting in November and so we can kind of capture both universes by looking at that later higher turnout election date so We we split sampled a lot of questions and I will flag this as we go through But basically for the full sample for the november questions, we had a five point or 4.9 margin of error For the full sample for June. It's 5.7. And then when the split samples, it's a little bit higher So as I noted, i'll definitely flag that as
005we go through to help kind of contextualize the data One last thing the survey was conducted online and via phone and the folks were invited to participate via phone calls to landlines And cell phones email invitations and text invitations and this again mirrors the methodology that we had previously used in our research for the district um, so getting into some of the context, uh, we asked folks if they felt like the The area or the city was headed in the right direction or off on the wrong track And a majority feel like the city is headed on the right direction 55% only about a quarter say it's on the wrong track and about a quarter don't know Um, I will say this is pretty actually positive for um for the bay area right now we
006see a lot of folks Um kind of more negative and so to have about half of your population saying things are headed in the right direction is generally a positive finding Uh, we asked folks if they had a favorable or unfavorable opinion Um of local elementary middle schools the san carlos school district and the san carlos district trustees. These were asked in a random order Uh 79 expressed a favorable opinion of local elementary and middle schools and 75 had a favorable opinion of the school district So highly positive when it came to the school district trustees 37 had a favorable opinion only 7 had an unfavorable opinion So it was much more common that folks just really didn't have an opinion On the board and this was actually highly consistent pretty much exactly the same
007as our prior survey It's not unusual for folks to not have kind of strong Feelings about an elected body, especially if it hasn't been kind of in the news or something for them to capture their attention And the good thing is that they do have quite a positive view of schools um, and as you can see here it kind of compares to um prior years the We also asked folks um If they felt like there was a need for additional funding Um in local schools and we saw that three and five Saw that there was at least some need for funding again. This is really consistent with 2023 Actually, these numbers are within the margin of error Um of 2023 the one thing I would say is um, there's not a lot of intensity. The
008great need is only one in five and again um, I always do that as an opportunity as something that Of the community can kind of learn about right learn what the needs are It just means that they don't really know at this point even though they're a majority do feel like there's a need We did dig into the demographics a little bit to see who it was was telling us that there was a great need and it Did tend to include uh parents of who have children in the district So they definitely probably see that need firsthand relative to voters who are a little bit more detached from the um from the schools We also asked folks to rate the quality of education in the school district and as you can see here Um, it's
009really positive 78 rated schools is excellent or good slightly down from 2023 where it was 84 but frankly, um You know not a huge variation. It's just outside the margin of error. So I wouldn't kind of that's not ringing any alarm bells Um for us, especially since it's not you know, it's not people saying things are poor going up or anything like that It's just a few more people saying it's only fair. Don't know overall. This is a very really good rating We also asked about financial management And again here we saw plurality saying that the financial management of the district was excellent or good um In about one in five saying it was only fair or poor Most folks just didn't really have an opinion on the financial management and that was a similar
010dynamic in 2023 um again I think this is like One of those issues similar to the views of the board that unless there's been something in the news something That's going to really focus their attention on the school's financial management. They don't um, Typically have a strong opinion. So this was not an atypical result This is always a good question for us to ask to make sure there's nothing You know percolating concerns out in the community, but it this really didn't reflect that dynamic We also asked about whether they felt like schools were Enrollment in schools was increasing decreasing or remaining constant and as you can see here Voters were pretty evenly split and then a lot of voters were not able to say whether 55 percent were unable to speak to um to to
011to this issue so in the in the general sense The main takeaway here is that the community is really uncertain about the the district's enrollment whether it's changing or not So looking at the proposed measures So this is the renewal ballot language that we tested So as a reminder of how we do this when we actually Test these in the survey. This is a 75 word ballot language We draft this and have your bond council actually review it and make sure that they are comfortable with it Because we want to kind of test something that is very realistic It is the most important question in the survey and we want to make sure that we're testing something that you know If your community is supportive and you all decide to move forward could then kind
012of really be Translated onto the ballot and kind of make You know really be reflective and consistent with the data So this is the version that we tested for the cost of living adjustment maintaining the current level of the parcel tax rate When we looked at it by November voters, we saw that 62 percent were supportive among likely june voters. It was 65 percent the likely november voters in this case had a seven point margin of error because it was a Half simple there and the likely june was an eight point margin of error here and Generally what we're seeing here is that they're within the margin of error of that two-thirds threshold But they're not quite starting at that base level of support that they would need to succeed on the ballot That said
013the there is a two to one Intensity of definite yes compared to definite no, so there is kind of more intensity to support than opposition And we did see some positive movement as i'll show you later on after we provided additional information When we asked folks why they would vote yes on this measure of those who told us they were supportive It really tended to be centered on the idea of wanting to support public schools and quality education The sense of schools need funding support and they wanted to support kids When we did the same exercise with those who told us they were opposed it really was Mainly anti-tax sentiment Some comments about waste and mismanagement And just the sense that schools already have enough funding and have recently passed bonds I will say those
014two items on top are kind of the most common arguments that amanda and i see when we Test these types of school finance measures on the reasons that opponents don't want to support them And this is the increased version that we tested so here Um same same dynamic Where we tested kind of a version that the bound council was comfortable with and felt like was permissible to to actually appear on the ballot And this tested a four hundred and eighty nine dollar rate So an increase relative to the current rate and also included the annual cost of living adjustments And this one we saw that also similarly doesn't really reach two-thirds Among november voters, it's 63 percent. Yes Again with that seven point margin of error, so it's within the margin of error of that
015two-thirds, but not quite there With the june voters, it's a majority support, but not even within the margin of error Of that two-thirds support. It's it's just outside that so again that two-thirds threshold is really really challenging You know, you can clearly see that a majority of voters in your community are willing to support this increase without additional information, but Um, it does fall short. Um initially Similarly when we asked voters who told us they were in supportive of the increase Um why it was very similar logic as with the renewal, you know The desire to support education wanting to fund schools wanting to support children And also supporting teachers And on the no side, it was also a very similar dynamic a little bit of a change in relative order But in general the
016main arguments were really Consistent, you know anti-tax schools have enough funding and and fear of you know waste and mismanagement so Let's take a look here at some of the elements of this of these proposed measures, so One of the things we did in the survey which will look familiar to those of you who Have been through this process with us before with a bond measure and the surveying process But what we do is ask voters about a series of potential elements of the measure We ask them to rank each one in terms of importance whether it's extremely important very important somewhat important or not too important And they're ranked there on the right by the percentage who say they're extremely or very important As you can see voters place a lot of importance in
017your community on retaining and attracting quality teachers 89 said that was extremely or very important with 69 saying extremely important Other top tier items really related to hands-on science math technology art and engineering Uh high quality education in general reading and writing Maintaining the school's academic excellent and providing art music and libraries So fundamentally the things that were most important in terms of spending areas Among voters were retaining and attracting quality teachers and really supporting high quality education in these really important academic programs As we continue further down the list we see a range of things that 70 or more said were very important So also really high In importance, maybe a little bit less intensity in that extremely important that dark blue bar, but still really prioritize Supporting students with disabilities and learning differences
018was very important to 76 percent of voters Supporting students to becoming self-aware learners and kind citizens 74 Similarly providing students with skills to be competitive in college and career Preventing out overcrowding and protecting small class sizes Providing academic support for at-risk children and supporting student mental and behavioral health programs were also all very important to voters and then as we move down the list um, we see kind of a Interesting dynamic here where again a majority of voters see these priorities as important But they're not maybe eliciting the same level as intensity or support as I the ones I just Um mentioned and these include, you know applying lessons to real world problems and maintaining student teacher student ratios maintaining small class sizes preventing increases to class sizes closing achievement gaps Supporting english language learners
019and increasing the number of counselors We also saw that providing funding for local charter schools was not generally seen as a priority In fact, voters were more likely to say it was somewhat or not too important than extremely or very important Um, I do want to flag you'll notice in affiliate places that we talked about some of these issues in different ways in multiple ways This is mostly just trying to understand how we split sampled some different versions of talking about some of these key elements Again, just trying to identify the way of talking about the district's needs that is most understandable And and resonates most with the community and so that's why you'll see some items that seem redundant But that was done with some intention there we also asked about a series of
020other provisions and these really were more focused on accountability and Yeah, those types of elements that are more Financial so less kind of where the money goes, but how we keep it safe and You can see here We asked voters whether each of these different provisions would make them more likely or less likely or not make a difference In the likelihood that they would support a measure We saw that one of the things that really was important to voters was ensuring that all parcel tax measure funds are spent locally It cannot be taken by the state And i'll tell you that later in the survey we when we did kind of that exchange of educational information Local control was something that was really important to your voters And we see that also the second tier
021item is ensuring all funds stay local 76 percent So that would make them more likely to support the measure Other things that resonated with the majority of voters were ensuring that funds are not used for administrator salaries Prohibiting them from being used for Administrator salaries and pensions. So again, that was one of those split sampled items Requiring independent annual financial audits was also a motivator A majority said providing senior exemptions and maintaining the current tax rate would make them more likely to support the measure We see that plurality said allowing the measure to remain in effect until ended by voters and including cost of living Adjustments would make them more likely to support the measure But it wasn't they weren't necessarily issues that a majority felt were really motivating They kind of seemed to think
022things that folks were maybe okay with but not, you know driven by Increasing the tax rate was one that a plurality said that plurality said they would be less likely to support So that was when it was isolated and talked about that way. It was kind of more polarizing So getting into some of the messaging So the way the survey was structured is as I noted we asked early on that 75 word ballot question Then we provided some information about the the measures and the impact they would have We re-asked voters how they would vote on the measure and then we also Provided some critical statements things that you know reasons not to vote for the measure and saw the impact that those statements had And as you can see here the top half of
023this slide Talks about the november 2026 likely voters and this is focused on the renewal with the cost of living adjustment Among november 2026 voters. We started at 62 percent after positive messaging We moved up to 70 percent and that support actually remained consistent after critical messaging at 69 percent Um, so it really um, and we saw this kind of consistently that the critical messaging didn't really have a huge impact So that's you know, a positive sign that the community once they learn about this can be Are interested in it. I will say Again, even though it's 70 is over that 67 percent threshold with the margin of error. It is still pretty close among june voters We saw that it started at 65 percent and then similarly also moved up to 70 percent after
024positives and down to 69 percent after critical statements On the next slide here. You can see the dynamic when we talked about the increased version of the measure And what we did was Here we saw we started on among november voters at 63 percent again after those positive messages They moved up to 68 percent And then after negatives it actually moved a little bit up to 69 percent I think some folks were maybe skeptical of some of those critical statements So again with the messaging we do move over two-thirds, but it is really close to that threshold Unfortunately among likely june voters when we're talking about that increased measure. We never quite reach that two-thirds threshold Um, so just quickly looking at some of those positive messages that really resonated with the electorate as I
025noted earlier Um we That local control message was something that really stood out and was really resonant a message that we consider kind of effective and and something that Resonates and voters really find informative is one that 40 percent or more tell us is very convincing And as you can see here, there's a number of messages that really Matter exceeded that threshold. Um, so again local control Addressing the growth of the community So again a lot of folks maybe didn't really know that the school district is growing But when you give them that information it makes sense, you know, it's clear to them and 45 percent said that was very convincing Uh 43 found an argument Around ensuring that teachers can afford to live in the area To be very convincing. I think folks are
026aware that the cost of living is very high here and you know Teachers need to also need to make a living 42 said Property values was a compelling argument for them Uh 41 percent those who heard the version of the measure that was just an adjustment Liked the idea that it was just an adjustment and not an increase Other top messages included the fact that this is a high performing district that has received many awards and accolades And that's something that folks are really proud of And also a teacher retention message resonated really strongly Um as we move further down the list, there are some messages here that again, I think, you know, we're resonant But it had a little bit less intensity whether it was around fiscal accountability needing to create space for tk
027investing in core academics preventing cuts And closing achievement gaps and also the district's history of financial responsibility Um, oops, sorry, I went the wrong way um As you can see here we combine the variance somewhat convincing and even though there was clearly a kind of a top tier of messages That I flagged a moment ago All of these messages were overall convincing. I think you know the narrative of the district is very strong it makes sense to voters in the community all the Important things that these measures would fund and the great things the district is doing But it is clear that kind of local control and addressing growth and You know addressing cost of living property values those kind of created a top tier there So i'll quickly sum everything up and then I
028will pass it to amanda to kind of talk a little bit about some next steps but I think some of the things that are really were my key takeaways when I was sitting with this data and analyzing was really that There's a lot of consistency Um in how folks view the district and they really have positive views of the schools and the quality of education um A parcel tax measure increase will face a challenging path to approval on the june 2026 ballot It doesn't really seem Uh, very viable at this point, although it is at certain points within the margin of error, but it's just very challenging Um, it could be viable on november again with um, but it does it is always that margin of error Issue coming into the into play but we
029do see a lot of positive movement with um with education um We do see that just under two-thirds Support the increase on the ballot measure language alone And fewer than two-thirds see a need for funding in principle. So there it could be a connection there as well obviously something that we always Frequently notice in the data and notice in your district as well Is that those who see a need for funding are more likely to support a measure? So there is a connection there Um as I noted a moment ago the positive messaging really does lift support to that two-thirds threshold in the november scenario And the positive finding also is that the negative messaging largely falls flat and is not really very believable the only kind of Aspect that maybe did resonate a little
030bit with folks who were a little bit softer Was the fact that there has been recent have been recent measures Um on the ballot by the district and we did see that kind of pop up a little bit in the open ends as well um, the renewal is in a bit of a stronger position as in that June there was less of a disparity between june and november, but similarly, um, there is still always it's always within that margin of error two-thirds Um, it's clear that your voters top priorities really kind of coalesce around a theme of retaining and attracting quality teachers And then also providing really good high quality education strong academic programs whether it was steam reading writing art music and libraries And then also I know I just talked about this a
031moment ago, but I do really want to emphasize How positive it is that the messages resonated so strongly? Um, I think you know the local control addressing the growth that teacher pay and supporting the property values were all themes that Really resonated and and were impactful among voters So I will pass it to amanda to talk us through a little bit about next steps Thank you very much. Um So, you know as we look at this data, you know, a lot is changing very quickly Um, even in the last month since we've we had the data so a poll is a snapshot in time. It's not a crystal ball Um things could you know with information as we saw in the poll There's a lot of things that are moving with when they hear your
032story of need with information But we also know a lot can happen in our economy at the national level at the local level Um So really making sure we you know Get that information out to your community, uh in this process and we want to think about a tracking poll So if you decide to go forward with looking at a june election in november and you have other options with a parcel tax um, you can look at a um Special election as well and we can talk a little bit about the costs associated with some of those But unlike the bond Um, you don't have just the november june Uh, even your elections you have different options, but I will say that the special elections are a lot more expensive, um to place a measure
033on the ballot and You know with with the june option november option, they're a lot less expensive and it gives you um the time So as you're thinking about, you know, what election date you want to pursue and again, you don't have to make a final decision Today you can tell us or give jennifer direction that we want to continue looking at pursuing a june or hold that as A good option and then do that tracking poll closer to potentially making that final decision in maybe january So we can still hold some of that after we've done some more education and outreach Your parcel tax is not expiring This year or even next year so we have a little time but there's that need for an increase there is that need for a Cost of
034living adjustment and so we're trying to pace that out so we don't overwhelm your voters all at once So as we think about you know holding on to potentially a june or looking at the november You know, there are positive and negatives for both. Obviously the polling is not looking great for an increase In june right now, but that doesn't mean we can't potentially move the dial You're not alone in this. We are seeing that across the state Especially in some of our more tax friendly communities There is there's a dip and I think that has a lot to do with where we are In the economy and at the national what we're seeing at the national level is having an impact on our voters So keeping our option open, you know for election day
035I think is important But also, you know, what are your real needs and I know that you know from my conversations with jennifer and the district team Having that increase you you need additional funding So just going out for renewal may not be Exactly the path you want to take? And so if that increases is the important piece, you know We may want to push for it and try to test it in november again But you know, we don't we november is a better option for that increase And there are other complications with the november election. I know the the city might be going out There's board elections so there can be more competition in a november cycle. So there's things to think about there as well Tax rate, you know when your community understands
036the need They move with that information. So I think you know, you're not completely off base With the rate necessarily Um, they don't want to you know, most communities are like tell me what you need and let's just let's do it And so if they're going to be supportive, it's not necessarily having to tweak the number right now It's really we need to educate them and you guys did an incredible job On the bond really educating about what was needed and then continuing to educate about what has been done and that you're accomplishing the things You set out to do We need to replicate that on the need front with the parcel tax So that really would be the the next step there is you know focus on those program priorities Get the outreach going.
037Um talking about attracting and retaining your teachers talking about some of those hands-on programs in stem steam Reading and writing So everything that the polling has basically told us your voters need to understand to be supportive of of this will be important over the coming months And then of course, you know continuing to build that with the district communications build that awareness And there will need to be an independent campaign whether you go in june november or special You know, that's all part of the decision making process Is that independent the district can't fund it as you know, and I apologize there You know, we have some newer trustees on and I don't know if you've been through this before But if you haven't The district can provide informational outreach and can continue to educate
038your community But it cannot fund an advocacy campaign. And so there needs to be that independent group San carlos has been incredible with its its team And campaign coming together in the past That will be very much needed in a parcel tax election going forward so We definitely have a lot of opportunity here But it's you know, it's not a slam dunk in june and it's not a slam dunk in november We have to do the work and really help your community Understand your story of need But you have a great story to tell and I think the polling has shown that here So I will now be quiet as well and open it up to to questions sort of I think if someone's asking us a question you guys are muted and I don't
039know about you lucia. I can't hear anybody Yeah, that's great that's better for me Yes now I can hear you okay Do we know right now and we remember what percentage yes I believe we landed. Uh, jennifer krugman if i'm wrong, I think it was with 72 For the bond. I have to go back and look but we were Let me go back and look real fast I can tell you exactly I think it was closer to the threshold. I mean actually closer to the threshold. Maybe I was thinking we were higher Let me go look Yeah, um You remind me because our existing person And then my final question at the moment is how did we come up with the amount for an increase so There are a couple parts of that chris help
040me out on this We we Know that originally when we went out it funded 25 teachers So that was the sweet spot for us is could we get ourselves? To the level that if we had had an increase all along it would still fund that because Um today when we looked at it, we were reminded this is still this single biggest funder In our budget other than lpf And yet it doesn't go as far as it needed to but then we also thought over 500 with the 2000 bridge too far, so this is a 24th feature 489 with the cost of working I guess we don't know but it wouldn't be worth it to consider a smaller And I just looked at the bond we passed at 63.22 percent. That's right. We were a little
041lower than the 70 Yeah, we had thought about that We just figured if we were going to put that much work into it Um, especially with the federal government funding uncertainty that we should Pass Like it is with a possibility adjustment and we'll try to go for funding that it's as closer to where It's interesting that so like whether it's the renewal of easy in your matter It's more than just june If you have the same number of staff One of the previous ones half And then greater Lower i'm thinking more about what percentage of the staff has the price of time Yeah, we do We just have the total numbers Uh and hampers and hoes really been full of our enrollment numbers from 1920 Of course a little bit Is it from what I
042remember the roman does that right around like like 29 Planners again something like that But what I don't know the book that size was running um And then as you'll recall is following that up, but we got a lot of one-time funds So we did a little box size because we were starting to run out of both kids would be one another so That's a little spurious also remember that 1924 coming up Um a couple of years of either a very low or zero percent so um Salaries were very flat coming from that bell measure um, when I say one and a half one and a half Like 2007 And then in 2018 1923 And then in 2005 So and since then the increase in It came a little bit very small we had three
043classes Um, can I ask a question for amanda and yeah, uh just looking at sort of deltas between the November in june for the uh across the looking adjustment versus the increase It looked like the fall off In june was greater on the increase Do you have any theories of? What is behind that and what should we make of that the better effect of? June ballot demographics or what's what's driving that? Yeah, it's typically demographic driven Primary voters just tend to be a little bit older And more conservative politically which does tend to align with a little bit more reluctance to support finance measures particularly increases and then also frequently that kind of coincides with folks who maybe Don't currently have children in the district or a little bit less engaged with schools. So prioritizing
044it may be a little bit less Yeah, exactly what lucia said it's it's older voters. It's more you're more conservative voters less likely to be parents Um, and so even though we have you know, you've had a senior exemption which helps bring some of those seniors along There's a fraction in there of you know, they're not quite 65 and over so they're not getting it But they're still getting closer to living on a fixed income Um, so they're they're taking this very seriously. Um, and they're just a little more sensitive than your your november voters Looking at these sorts of things Uh with a number like 60% support a year out which is where we are on the increase in June right now um You know the effects of campaigns, you know, have you seen
045Uh, yeah for that overcome that sort of, you know, completely out of reach you're crazy You don't even think about it territory and then what is you know, where would you put that? Lucia you want me to take this one first or you definitely yeah I mean I I can go first. I think it just is so variable I mean there is a reason that we try to simulate that conversation right to see how high we can push something And it does always concern me when we clearly our messages are effective and they're not we're not hitting that threshold yet um That said, you know We did learn from the survey some things that could kind of strengthen that base case of the measure and as you noted we are A year out, although obviously,
046um, the board would have to decide whether go or no go by march roughly, so It is a a faster clip than it feels like right now. Um But i'm not yes, that's my that's my evaluation Yeah, I would I would say you know It's a big margin of error, you know for june and You know, I don't like the gap But do I do I think you should take june completely off the table No, you've got five months where we can do some substantial education And then I think we could you know, like I mentioned do that tracking poll and see have we moved the dial Did we move it enough? Um, you guys have been successful, you know, you were successful in march of 2020 Which was a terrible time to be on
047the ballot with the parcel tax and you were successful Um, you know, we were talking very different numbers at that point and you know, we had an incredible campaign effort that went forward So, you know if we see all of those factors coming forward in june we move the dial and we see that team You know coming in the in the background You know june is still potentially viable I want to see what the data says in a tracking poll if we if we take the next five months and are serious about education Communication on on your story of need Do we move the dial then I think june could be viable But we're going to be data driven and we will be candid to say, you know, I we have not moved that dial
048enough And you really should hold for that november option because even november right now is not a slam dunk You need to educate either way So it's going to help you no matter what You do that tracking poll and then you you know We can move forward in june and we get to hold that that time or we really do need to pivot to a november Or later depending on what your your you know comfort level is with you know, what might be what else might be on the november ballot? But I think that right now that gap is an is an uncomfortable gap for me You know, we're all about reducing the risk But you know, I think if we see the data change over the next five months, then I think you have
049a viable option potentially Yeah, the one thing I wanted to say is our annual report just went out and we've been getting a lot of really good feedback Uh, the nice thing about this poll is completely clean. We have not really been talking about a parcel of facts um We settled with our union talking a lot about it That was kind of the beginning of talking about it and amanda was helpful with our talking points that you know now tracy and i're Thinking about every possible opportunity that we're in front of people where we start to talk about it and make understanding of that um And if you want to just remember how much work we did on facility master plan before we went to polling about a bond This is not that it's not
050the same thing where we've had lots of people come and engage with what we do our impact Improvement, uh that we have the full plan approved then we did polling It does really impact people's learning As you saw in the marginal difference once they heard oh gee, did you realize your district's a pickle? so one of the things we put for instance in our In our annual report is the fact that our enrollment is growing This is not the case across california for instance And so if you're mostly reading the paper and you're not hearing from your local district You don't realize our enrollment's growing our attendance is up like is there two things to come to school every day here? So all of that can help and the other other early feedback on our
051end of the court is really good And i've started to hear some questions about oh gee Um, including the education foundation if you're doing their marketing material around the important role or education foundation Plays in closely. Yeah, so so I put that out that this is a really clean Hole without a lot of influence yet and any kind of tracking would really give us some idea about does it matter In this environment if I would if I could comment through that the last time um You you probably remember because many of your parents in the district, but we were talking a lot about all the time and the level of you know sort of I don't know what we call the crisis level, but it was It was in sort of the number of space
052a lot about what's happening. Okay, so we have So you know I think a little more information like I said before convincing voters on some level But they thrive on education A lot of my questions were answered that I had this one more which is did you have any thoughts on? How it would impact our success being on a november ballot with other issues like Justice running Indian city measure More likely that more people are engaged and more of our folks vote That's a great question um, you know the the good news for you not to you know Take away from the city because I know they want to do great things Um their measure is they want to have a nice to have Yours is viewed by your voters Generally is a need to
053have Schools when they're looking at a ballot and they're feeling overwhelmed by taxes schools are more likely the ones to get the yes vote And the city might get the no That's why we see a lot of you know, as lucia was talking about, you know mismanagement of funds They just assume any government entity cities rank higher in that in that realm of maybe there's a lot more mismanagement there Um, that is not to say your city is doing that in any way. It doesn't have to be true But I think the school district if you're on the ballot with the city or any other measures You're going to have a better chance of success As a school district going out for a parcel tax than what they might be going out for But if
054it is an extremely crowded ballot that will have an impact on your measure still With the board races and other things going on, you know If it's if it's a very positive run and there's not a lot of controversy There's not a lot of folks running against each other creating hey the anti-tax message or i'm for taxes I'm against taxes if that's not happening It probably could be seamless, but if that becomes the case Then that will definitely hurt you Um, so those are risks to consider as you as you think about in november for sure In march 2020 was there much of a negative the no campaign? There was not that I can remember To the point where You did have there what I mean there's our standard person that does all of your
055your argument against In san matteo, they they write the same argument in san matteo san jose santa clara and santa cruz Um, and so i've you know, it's it's a pretty generic argument against And it's not really a well-funded opposition um, so Yeah And as a reminder in 2020 Uh, it was extension slash increase. I think you were the one that told me that $100 was the kind of threshold and you stayed right under a hundred dollar increase in other words We've had a parcel tax for a really long time and in 2020 it was an extension plus an increase Um, maybe irene told me this regardless. I think that was everybody decided we better not push over a hundred But there were some who thought oh gee, here's evidence that we should have But
056really in other words, we've had a parcel tax in the city supporting the school district for some time It's just been renewed slash increased Uh through those stuff Thank you for the insight and To me this is sort of uh, you know, this is the starting time but yeah, we this is the Starting point of nobody knows anything nobody talks about this then you know, we think And so I think if we want something to happen, it's you know, plus plus it wouldn't help Start to have that conversation and put that forward and you know see how far we can get from that to the question and then What's viable and what's not? um, so I think this is a I don't think we want the way so great to see where we are, but
057uh lots of work to do and You know because we're What is the next So before we go there I actually But I'd like to ask um so, I mean I'm Yeah, I But I was curious like, you know you said the prime I was I was Related to like a juneberry voter or something November voter, but um, if there is a school district ballot on or measure on the ballot, this is the profile still very Much the older more conservative um less likely to be current voter or I imagine that with like a independent campaign that kind of will push That the profile back So we're kind of basing the data off of sort of a typical Spring voter, but like when you have school district measure On the ballot is that going to
058change and what could be actually is the estimate actually? You know, it's always it's always tough. I mean, I think you definitely can you can alter I think you make a good point You can really shift the how that that electorate looks In june more or like with specials We always say, you know, you really have an opportunity because very few people show up in the in a special I wouldn't say june's quite the special but you know you we if you have a well-funded independent campaign and a hard working volunteer You know effort you really can shift who turns out in that electorate A november 2026 is going to be you know, just people will show up on the natural It's still not a presidential you will have to do some work to turn
059out those voters Because there isn't the presidential draw Um in the november 2026 election, so there's still work to be done whether it's there or in june I would say june, you know is going to still be harder to turn folks out because there's just nothing Hard in the phrase, but there's nothing sexy happening in the june 2026 election So you really have to convince folks to turn out that are going to be in that Younger more, you know tax friendly environment, but it is very it's it's possible But I will say that what we've been seeing across the board is Voter turnout is not great So, you know, it's it's getting harder to campaign. It's getting harder to fundraise and get volunteers to do the work Um, and it's and people are not showing
060up as often to vote Which you know makes that climb a little bit harder. So I do think the numbers are accurate But I think you make a really good point tracy that you can shift the tide If you if you have the time the money and the people to do the work It is it could be viable, which is why I don't think you have to throw june out I think you know if you do the work over the next five months and we see Did we move the dial to get at least closer? You know to be kind of closer that margin of error and then I think that gives you more of like, okay Let's see if we can shift the tide now Let's put this on and I think in a
061community like yours based on my knowledge of of what your parents your teachers Your district team has done in the past You could um But it you know, it's definitely there's there's risks involved no matter when you go Um answered, um, so I think but yeah, there's a question related to Next step it sounds like you're recommending Potentially because we want to think we want to move forward to track and fold in january And then um What amber and I are working on is a superintendents advisory committee And so i'll be coming to all of you for some recommendations I know tracy helped me but here's some people you might consider a small group But representative of our community that I share this with I share our messaging and our talking points We come up
062with a few that we would all use for like the tk step events Anytime we're in front of any audience when you go to ptac So we really build all the messaging and then ideally we would do a tracking poll And then a spend session for the board to deliberate and decide You know what next did I leave anything out amanda? for next steps Uh, and I think you're right on it. That's exactly that it's continued to to do that I think the the superintendent's advisory committee is a great way to bring in You know the inside community the outside of the district community some of those skeptical skeptical, you know, not honestly Anti-tax but some credible skeptics out there that we we could talk to and understand better where they're coming from um direct
063mail Online social media everything we can do to get your story of need out and really help your community understand Why you're asking To potentially go out for an increase on this parcel tax. Um just go around so Um, yeah using the next five months, uh well to then see if we can push the dial We might even be able to depending on lucia. I don't want to speak for you You know, I think it's it's as close as we can get to when you might be voting But you know if you're going in in june the you have to be the board has to vote by march 6 I believe it is um, and then you'll they'll likely need another couple meetings in there so Getting those polling results back to you in in
064february Um, we'll be skating the line, but it'll give us that you know, it's much time to do the education While also getting you the data to say we've moved the dial or we need to pivot to november Yeah, the other thing I wanted to say is uh, based on the response we're getting on our and or report Amber and I brainstormed some other audiences because we have city staff for instance We don't live here so they wouldn't receive this mailing making sure all the real estate brokers have extras in their offices The the chamber so kind of the key communicators making sure that we get our message out There's a really nice sort of layout about our need But then it becomes an echo chamber that we can use anytime like during a two
065plus two meeting or when I go to the chamber Uh to make sure that we're just telling everyone about our need. I think will be really important So learning backwards about Trafficking or in between like the five months of education and trapping in june where you like to be then beginning I don't know about whether we are going to do the traffic or if it's a lot of the board between the things We would Yeah, I think that sometime in the fall we would because right now this is an action item But then at the board's direction we would get our team ready so that they could do the tracking poll at the time You know, they think is appropriate and then about things related like I guess we did we we pulled related to
066it because you know Well, we're not completely constant, but if that's not When we when we Ask I mean is that information useful like it's kind of in that's not really something that Okay, that is Or is that still part of the play is that something we would do that would be when we discuss that Okay, so when we do the same That's right, so we just fill out the different questions So correct me if I'm wrong on polling We wouldn't measurably change what we asked in this poll because otherwise it kind of Skews whether or not we got improvement to our communication. Am I saying that right? Amanda that if we did tracking poll or the chia, maybe you can speak to this It's my understanding that we've used similar questions. We just assess
067if it moved the needle Yeah, um, typically a tracking poll might be a little bit shorter One of the things we'll do is we'll take some of the learnings from the provision sections that voters told us were important to them and kind of Revisit the 75 words to see if there's any places we can tweak to kind of Get a little bit of a stronger starting point and then I think Yeah, the other kind of biggest difference might be if we're more focused on an increase Maybe we would just test the increase versus trying to test both measures in the in the survey But we could still test both it's just I think if you focus on one measure you get a lower margin of error because you're doing fewer split samples And then you'll
068have more confidence in that data as well But obviously if both measures are in consideration, we can kind of repeat the structure that was done here as well And I think if the amount you know, if they're for some reason the amount you're you're looking at drastically changes We we obviously can test that change You know so that you know, obviously if it's consistent it's great because you get to see that Whether we really move the dial specific to that amount But if for some reason you decide we we need more or we need you know It actually we reevaluated we can get by with less. Let's test a little less and see if that also helps move the dial That that's absolutely possible But in terms of like direct tracking, you know, keeping it
069as close to consistent is Is helpful, but it's not required if something changes on your end because we obviously want to test what is reflective of your need Not yet Options so I just um, I guess with me what i'm thinking about is that I think the messaging on Why an increase makes sense because it's coming back to what the part of the fact that we're doing provided in terms of what? I would keep running with that essentially. So, you know should be proven that that's too good enough It's about you know, whatever backstop Whether it's Well, i'm just having similar thoughts and wanting down the road to feel confident about You know if an increase doesn't seem viable What is the strategy? Because I don't need the funding but this is when the fish
070we wait in here for two what's right like I guess I'm kind of wondering In november has to approve Whether it's the renewal Or increase the increase could actually be the funding that we need So Thank you So the other thing to remember is that we're in a scenario of massive That I don't expect to get a lot clearer in the next, you know, five to six months But it seems like this board will be looking at some budget information From the finance office that can also be helpful and start considering You know the options the good news is that we do have Uh till 2028 the current parcel tax we have The bad news is that there's a point where there's a three million dollar gap in the multi-year projection And so it seems
071like there'll be some other things that can help you before we get to a session about what you decide Including some additional information about whether or not our communication strategy has to be off Because it was pretty clear from the information I saw they just don't know That we have a need, right? It just passed it on and we know that some people just think all I need to read But we will be massively Uh, you know sending a lot of information about look what this paid for We now have the hvac in our schools and it only pays for hvac and we'll be clearer about all of that So it seems like they'll just have a lot more information to inform what our notes are It is an option and amanda did you uh
072get me the cost for that because that was a question from the board Man, I couldn't put my fingers on that Amount I want to say it was like 289 or something. Yeah It was 300 so the for this special. Sorry. I'm just fine. I've got the picture here. I'm pulling it up um, so for a Special election you're looking at the low end About 286 000 at the high end and again They could the registrar voters can only give us an estimate because it really depends on who turns out But at the high end you could be closer to three hundred and forty three thousand Dollars to put that election on the ballot for a special for a november you're looking at somewhere between ninety six thousand and a hundred and fifteen thousand And
073june's right in there For a low end. It's a hundred and eleven thousand versus a hundred and thirty thousand at the high end. So a significant Your over two hundred thousand dollar, you know savings to go in a june or november versus a special Sometimes specials have to happen But if you can avoid it, it definitely is a cost savings for the district Well, so if we just if the numbers aren't coming in and then we'd be tracking full and then 2027 which isn't off here that would be the rationale to avoid I mean then it seems to me there would be a position where the board Of feels compelled because we're going to be a fall by budget with a million dollar gap, right? So there are scenarios under which that happens and then
074there's a there's another option Which is the citizens committee? I know that redwood city either citizens committee that was thinking about running a parcel tax That's outside the district then and then they have a lot they have massive say about how you would spend it Um, so that's not something that we've necessarily considered But I think it's important that you know the full range given that there could be a status of the budget where The super thing of schools in the county gives us, you know I think Thank you Thank you, thanks everyone We are happy to present To come to this after The president we made significant progress after each meeting and where they have a progress Process Yeah Thank you very much for For allowing that so listen to our presentation tonight about
075the major age and just that district-wide public meeting to You tonight is involving a resolution number one so that unifies our first resolution of the Cycle and so i'm thrilled to be presenting tonight the results of our robust and party rfp process that We engaged in in the month of june and july and it's now coming forth for the recommendations tonight And as we put together our budget for this project, we looked at all of the facilities master plan contingency costs and all of the soft class and put them into an estimate for the bidders to Consider and so tonight is really focused on the entire project As a whole but really the design costs are what you'll be approaching tonight. So you'll see that the budget for this project is in That we've got
076So here we go the budget from the fmc estimate For the building and below and that includes all of our schools Is 61 million one hundred seventy two thousand 800 818 And so the design costs were estimated to be three million nine five eight oh five six And so we're thrilled to bring to you tonight Um And so we are Um, very appreciative of all the firms that participated in this. It's almost three of them brought forth um Wonderful proposals and we're happy to select and report clint who has been our partner in the HVAC project as well And so we had a participation with sarah and boris who think our facilities can So with additional staff that we do all of this for and our partners with our construction They have help as well.
077So we've got staff from them and finding us in line of the way and so, uh just wanted to Bring this forth for you tonight for your consideration and hopefully so that we can get started honoring the fleet Track record Um, yeah, I was impressed it seemed like a very robust RFP process, um And three of the nation's three final applicants advance through the interview phase which I And the facility steering committee As you said, they were all very solid applicants. Um, what really stood out from those proposals Um was their scoring in terms of price and then their prior experience in looking for Um, you know them already being familiar with our campuses And then what it takes to do the project based on their HVAC Really pushed them a little bit ahead of
078the other two Um some of the everything that was scored Um was their proposals around scheduling and how they would access campuses Um, but they were all very thoughtful but I So first of all, thank you for continuing to move us forward and continuing to be ahead of The one that actually happened and coming to me time to time work and et cetera. This is It's great to see some web is moving forward Um, my only kind of question was just been looking at the resolution um under the third or as cause there's a list of I think publications where we might have published the Um that they can say that was available It feels like you're saying that i'm going to change Is that where it's supposed to be yeah, well we're supposed to
079list them out, um as we advertise too and so Yeah, we are trying to prepare this and It's not supposed to be under the next order which talks about the publication Oh, yeah Technically that um needs to be under the next whereas Uh, that is a point of order it dawns on me that we could approve it with that adjustment And then jen can just move it the list it seems jen i think that Uh, those publications would go under the whereas but exhibit a the resolution is a copy of the paper publication Yeah, I don't know. It just seems like there's some wording that That sounds right Hey, there's an exhibit a and it's just right of fun. So whether you put it above or below, um You know, I I you feel like
080you can go to You know Then i'm bringing it next time Okay Yeah That's why I started with you know All right, that's great we can certainly make that fair fair fair adjustment and did you catch up Sure I would like to move the item with a direction in for just an individual solution to move the list of publications, but uh exhibit a was published in under the whereas That's a little By the way, uh I'll second Yes, and thank you and um, just want to bring you up to see this is a project that is related to another Project was where we had the portables added to our campuses and we had some ada Dsa direct work that we needed to complete and so we put this out to bid And to be as
081competitive as possible to get those best price we could for the accessibility Projects that are at these two schools. And so we did You see the winner is just presented there with a cocoa. You have to go So Do that. However, the big ball both came in about 220 and so that's about our cup fill in it, but there is um The way we pass a resolution that we're able to is one of the features we can do to be 35 problems 100,000 Then we're able to go ahead and like this without receiving A bit of a project due to cost of escalation Their price that it's over You are very busy this summer and Trying our best to get into all the sites before school sets And so this is something that we put
082off for several years and haven't been done since And so we did go out for our For this job, and so we were two bits for this work and so we went with a loan spitter which is still so We have a strict timeline for this that has kind of been Created with our partners who rent this property and so You may have a specific month that we've all agreed to you didn't work on the contract or was that to adhere to that or not? And so we didn't have several Respondents to this and so I think the strict timeline Um, maybe have an influence for response, but we didn't get you know, too successful and qualified Kids on this so we're thrilled to you know Get this one done and also just uh reiterating
083the fund 40 in our revenue from the facility rental We're able to just put it back into here for the fourth step. We are renting out So it's august 7th at 18th august 18th until december Yeah, um, thank you all for Additional availability Scheduled for retreat and we are meeting on september 8th Lock it in Don't do it Okay First year I'll send a caliber right for sure That was a lonely sara It's lovely to see you back But we're able to put that into the camera. So it's kind of interesting And no missed you Hey, I wrote that too It was that I think of the order yesterday Uh Very excited I do have comments. We are finishing up the fourth week of summer school tomorrow. At your spots is the recent communication from
084summer school principal Jay Richards to families. We had 150 students in summer school programs. And one of the beautiful things about summer programs is it's a beautiful example of our inclusive practices. We got 50 of those children outside of the extended school year because they have qualifying IT for that. And then 100 of our other students. We landed at VA this year, which resulted in a little bit better attendance. We think that families could walk to VA. The principal, Jay Richards, sent a glowing review of all of the teachers there and the ways in which they got right down to business. They were doing group work. They had students writing. I know many of our staff visited. He was very complimentary, very fond of the support he had there. Amber Brina did a visit yesterday.
085Looking forward to a post on that. And Jay will be preparing a presentation for the website. I am really proud of our summer programs because of that. And whether or not we get actual results out of it, what it does is it gives us a sense of life for youngsters who don't have the same opportunities regarding reading, writing, being with amazing teachers like Strayzomer and our Cudar. We had really good staff on there. They gelled and talked about a nice program. So I just wanted to make sure you all knew about that. He said you can believe how their time came by. And again, for me, what a wonderful opportunity to have an excellent teacher like Jay Richards.