001now opening the February 19th 2025 meeting of the Santa Rosa City Schools Board of Education there an echo all right um please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance and then remain standing our territorial land acknowledgement I acknowledge that the Santa Rosa city schools is on the traditional territory and the homelands of the Pomo people traditional territory and homelands of the Coast Miwok people and honor with gratitude the land itself and the people who have stewarded it throughout the generations this land acknowledgement calls us to commit to learning how to better be better stewards of the land we inhabit by offering this land acknowledgement we in affirm indigenous sovereignty and will work to hold Santa Rosa city schools more accountable to the needs of American Indian and Indigenous peoples thank you Stacy all right thank you
002everyone for being here tonight um to start the meeting off I'm going to have superintendent Morales say a little bit about what has happened since yesterday and what's going to happen in the meeting tonight so thank you everyone for being here thank you to everyone who has emailed me I think I read through last night so anything today I have not read I will not be able to respond as much as my heart desired was to respond to everybody but we we we've read your me I've read your emails and we've taken those into consideration so yesterday we had two scenarios that the board proposed as part of the board study session um so this morning Lis augus and the fiscal team um met with our over our fiscal oversight which is sco and in
003consultation with them um and we have been Consulting with them all along so the idea of like have SC in the picture they've been in the picture they've been with us they the Lisa meets with them at least a couple of times a month we have an executive director from sco that actually works very very closely with us and so in this meeting today and Lisa will go into more detail um after public comment um they provided us additional guidance and suggestions that we can take into consideration and also in listening from the to the committee or to the community um we're taking that into consideration as well so what we're going to present after public comment takes into consideration something in between the two current proposals so kind of stay tuned if you leave
004after public comment please stay tuned so you could hear what that is but we have taken you know consideration everything that has been shared and sco has provided us a guidance and that will be presented after again after public comments so thank you again for being here thank you superintendant so we'll start with public comment um because we are anticipating some new information and because it's really crucial that the board has a thorough discussion tonight I am going to end public comment at 7:30 I think we can get through everyone who I have here so far um I'm going to follow the same one minute as the last regular meeting so again skip the niceties tell us what you want us to hear um and again I'm going to try to prioritize students by going
005back and forth between my two piles um so I will call a student first first will be Lena Moreno and then secet Smith and then Dean Jansen so 1 minute each until 7:30 is Lena here are you Lena I'm Dean you're Dean is um am I saying this wrong no it looks like Lena Moreno I'm wondering if we need to um call for folks outside L Moreno oh he's going to be speaking for you okay so um okay I want to warn you because this has come up if you only get one comment so if you speak for her then you won't get your own comment as well speak for me then sorry Lena Lena would you like to speak all right okay um all right then we'll start with Dean and then sigd Smith
006and then Alisia matunga go ahead Dean hello my name is Dean Jansen I am the asp vice president at San Rosa High School while I am here representing Santa Rosa high I would like to advocate for the specialized programs integrated here into our high schools this District offers many specialized programs across this High School such as AR at s High School FFA both at LC Allen and SS the IB program at Montgomery and LC's Healthcare program among others if the board decides to close a high school it is crucial that all of these programs are made available at different School sites for the for our students these specialized programs create smaller communities within our large schools as a senior in the art Coast theater program I have had the opport to grow alongside my 25
007classmates the small community has allowed me to have a more focused learning experience with my teachers which significantly contributed to my personal growth it is important to recognize how crucial these specialized programs are for our students and grow growth and learning these they Foster creativity critical thinking and prepare students for future challenges I strongly encourage the board to prioritize these their preservation and support as they play an essential role in Sharing well-rounded individuals in our high schools thank you thank you next is secret Smith followed by Alicia matunga followed by Emma Thompson hi my name is secret Smith and I had a daughter that attended here in the early 90s and then my grandson um he graduated about five years ago from Elsie Allen and I just want to say that I truly truly hope
008that somehow we can save every high school because every high school is so important but I really I love elsc Allen High School it has been such a blessing for the South uh West Santa Rosa and it is just a phenomenal place for children to get an education and I immigrated to this country so I can understand what a lot of people at LC were going through I knew low English when I came to the United States and because I was from Germany I was called a Nazi many times my mother was a holocaust Survivor and um I just really I identified with the people from LC because I know that my mother couldn't go to the meetings because she couldn't understand thank you your time is up thank you next is Alicia matanga followed
009by Emma Thompson followed by Leah Gabriel Dr Morales was released from her last District as superintendent after they faced fiscal issues as many of us know and yet the board still voted 5 to1 and she's now making 32,610 more dollars than she previously was This Is Not To Doubt Dr morales's abilities as a leader but to question the district and why it is aimlessly giving people salaries that they have not earned this is a part of our problem and we cannot act like it isn't I'm fully aware that majority of the board members and the superintendent included were not responsible for what anything has happened you guys were dealt you guys were handed this and it's your responsibility to fix it now and to care for the Youth in Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is a
010family City and as a member of this community especially as a board member it is your job to be here for the Youth and it is a privilege to be it should not take a price tag to care about the kids even though they are not yours that being said I think we need to take away middle we need to keep middle schools on the board and take away the option for 7 through 12s because it is harmful for the Youth thank you next is Emma Thompson followed by Leah Gabriel followed by Angel Ortega now is the time to make the difference that you joined the board for our students of Elsie Allen High School need you to fight for them the do says that they want to hold Santa Rosa city schools more accountable
011to the needs of American Indian and Indigenous people yet they want to close the only school that is named after a Pomo woman in 2016 Santa Rosa city schools won an award for the district's equity and social justice initiative but they're now trying to close a school with the highest number of marginalized students please mark please Sarah please Stephany please roxan please Daisy please Jeremy and please Nick these students need you thank you next is Leah Gabriel followed by Angel Ortega followed by Luis Eduardo Casia SRI for for gracias okay I'm going to be reading what Leah Gabriel said um okay um so seen is the only school with the center that um helps out the students that have just gotten here um it is the only school that brings in a folder for the
012first day of school and it is the only school that receives um help and services in ways that you can um attend the school lcen has also been helpful in to the community thanks to the um the school Center all the help that it has given the students that have that have been here for a very little time and the school has also gotten has also given many help thanks to the workers and the students are able to have a lot of mobility and are able to help out other student students around the classes thank you thank you next is Angel Ortega followed by Lis Eduardo casos um followed by Ry Basham Mintz Angel Ortega my name is Angel Ortega school board it is a shame that we are all here today you've all gone
013on the record of wanting to save all the high schools I hope you can stand on business and let your vote reflect that record tonight in a time of heightened racism and constant attacks on education I am disgusted to hear that you now to you now plan to neuter an entire portion of this city of its educational needs your actions will uphold racism and white supremacy shameful if if you vote to close us I implore you to come to my school tomorrow and tell all my kids why they don't need a school if you don't have the courage to do that I strongly urge you to reconsider your position on the board shout out Morin shout out Corby shout out Ro shout out Santa Rosa shout out Rosen shout out alen shout out South Santa
014Rosa thank you next is Luis Eduardo casos amre followed by Ry Basham Mintz followed by Bianca Zaragoza Luis School thank you I'll be translating for Luis Eduardo elsc Allen has not had the opportunity to be visited by you the board members it is Accused being one of the worst schools because it is southwest of Santa Rosa we are the school's most discrimin ated against by the communities and the district I am the face of Elie Allen ELC Allen is not a bad school I dare say it is one of the most United schools it has an incredible community and support center that gives you the opportunity thank you next is Ry Basham mince followed by Bianca Zaragoza followed by Nicole guest is R here or [Music] okay I'll be translating for Bianca Elsie Allen has
015has given us the opportunity wait has not had the opportunity to be seen as a school for what it is in real life or real things Elsie Allen is has it's being seen as a school as the worst school for being the school located in the South part of Santa Rosa we are the school with the low income that's why it has a um low Fame but the question is have you ever have you ever seen the real things elsc Allen is not a bad school um I am here to say that it is a school that is very United has a good Comm community and it has a great Center that has helped um many people people feel included thank you thank you so we'll go now to Ry then Nicole guest then Maria
016Galia at yesterday's study session the topic of the community stigma towards LC Allen was evoked I appreciate Jeremy uh for mentioning that the stigma is no fault of the school itself that being said if LC Allen is voted to be closed does that not does that decision not validate and reinforce that stigma this is a moment where we as a community and you as a board can make a statement that says we will not give into this sentiment please make the right decision Elsie alen forever vamos Lobos thank you next is Nicole guest followed by Maria Galia followed by Cathy Hayes good evening my name is Nicole guest and I'm a proud counselor at elen High School lelen High School serves the majority of school population of the most marginalized cast aside and overlooked students
017in the city please keep LC Allen open to give these students a Fighting Chance at completing their education and at Life After High School today's press Democrat quoted students as saying they're more likely to drop out than be able to transport themselves to any other High School the students families and the community deserve to be treated as equals not less than stands not simply a number on paper that doesn't have a heart sustaining life just as ELC Allen sustains the life of Southwest Santa Rosa you have the opportunity to do what is right by these students and to help end systemic racism classism discrimination and oppression please reconsider and keep L Allen High School open thank you thank you next is Maria Galia followed by Kathy Hayes followed by Diego aretta is IM thank you
018okay I'll be translating from Maria um she said hi my name is Maria I'm from Guatemala I've been here um for 11 months um I just want to say that Elie Allen has made me feel has made me feel welcome since I came here I knew no English Elsa Allen has been helping me since day one um especially the teachers counselors for example the the counselors have been helping us feel less stress um less stressed and anxious because of the new president and for everything that's changing and going on um they have helped us feel they has they have helped me feel less nervous so that is why I ask to keep LSC Allen open thank you thank you next is Kathy Hayes followed by Diego ARA followed by kamla throughout this process Elsie Allen
019supporters have had to hear community members indicating that Elsie Allen students are bad poor school not valued disposable we work to have those comments roll off our shoulders as we've been doing for the last 30 years yesterday we had the pleasure of hearing these comments Amplified with board members sharing feedback from the community nobody wants to send their students to LSC Allen no no one in the community supports LC Allen School students not valued that somehow these students just don't rate what gives me absolute Whiplash is that if LC Allen closes LC Allen students will be told that their new school will welcome them that they're wanted that it won't be scary trust us you're part of the community all I can say is Elie Allen's students were listening yesterday I don't understand why we
020continue to denigrate our Southwest students their hopes their accomplishments their aspirations elsc Allen students your time is up next is Diego aretta followed by Toma Brown followed by Christian Diaz ladies and gentlemen Madame President and my fellow students today it is Judgment Day a lot of us didn't want this scenario to happen and for many of us whether or not our schools Clos down this is going to be a tough day for for everyone since the announcement was made a few months ago I have seen and heard everyone from elementary to high schoolers engaging in basically a civil war of who's going to make it Dre this arm again elementary middle and high schoolers are now going to be face over the decision that the six people over there are will that are going to
021be made ladies and gentlemen I hate to say this but the best we can do is try and heal and listen to wound that's about to hit us and be kind to everyone and I also I hate to say this but like there's no turning back thank you your time is up next is Pamela Brown followed by Christian Diaz followed by Vince Figaroa hi um I'm in my eth year as a science teacher at Elsie Allen I deeply love our school and our students while I understand the appeal of closing Elsie Allen because at a thousand students we have the lowest number of students of the high schools and therefore you might think that you are doing the least harm I beg you to understand that we also have the most students who are least
022able to navigate a school closure because we have the most vulnerable and marginalized students this is an example of equality versus Equity while the most equal thing to do would be to close Elsie Allen because you are hurting the least number of students the truly Equitable thing to do would be to not close us because you would cause the most harm to the highest number of vulnerable and marginalized students this closure also will not save the money that you think it will because some of our students will drop out thank you your time is up next is Christian Diaz followed by Vince figeroa followed by Carolyn Stark and someone um can someone get okay so let's start with Vince fera for now good evening my name is Vince fera I'm a local business owner and
023the president of the El High School Foundation I'm here tonight because closing LC Allen would be a devastating mistake not just for the students but for our entire Community LC Allen isn't just a school it's a Lifeline for first generation students low-income families and atrisk youth who depend on it for opportunity and support I know this because I was one of them I grew up facing the same struggles that our students face today my dad went to prison when I was a teenager my brother was murdered due to drug and gang violence I was on the same path until my school and my community stepped in and gave me a chance that's exactly what LCN High School Foundation is doing for our students this decision isn't just about budgets these students already deal with Transportation
024issues Financial struggles and family responsibilities that make school very challenging for many LC Allen is our only real shot at a better future over the last 10 years thank you your time is up do we have Christian Diaz yet let's go to Carolyn Stark while we wait thank you over the past decade the community support of the LC Allen High School Foundation has helped us transform the LC Allen High School into a place of opportunity and growth for students in South Santa Rosa together we have built a $2 million endowment consisting of private funds that has expanded career Pathways in vocational training medical fields and the trades and provided vital support to teachers and the Campus Community but now all of this is at risk should you choose to close ELC Allen High School if
025it is closed South Santa Rosa will be left without a public high school if it is closed the most socioeconomically disadvantaged students in our district will be disproportionately impacted and programs that prepare students for the workforce will be lost if we keep it open we continue expanding these career Pathways and vocational training and students in South Santa R Roa retain access to public high school education in the incredible momentum of our last thank you your time is up um Can someone just signal me when we find Christian Diaz and I'll just keep going oh we have them now no okay so next is Merl Hayes followed by abriel inosencio followed by John Ley elt Allen High School is a resource that after this many years people still say where is that oh they live over
026there that high school is there Elsa Allen had been reduced to they and them rather than 1,000 students that are enriched daily from their attendance at that school well nobody will go there aren't you afraid to be a volunteer no it's one of the most joyous campuses that I have been on and I've been on all the high school campuses as a volunteer at one time so what are you going to do sprinkle a thousand students around the other high schools like you did with the junior high schools this is the only high school with no feed or Junior High so our kids go to three different Junior highs and so when you criticize the attendance think about that please thank you next is abrio inosencio followed by John Ley followed by Liliana Santiago perect
027I want to start by thanking Stephanie and roxan for being the only one standing up for equity and fighting for all of our students I am a proud first generation graduate of LC Allen 10 years ago I walked those Halls as a student who didn't see my own potential but my teachers and coaches in did because of them I found confidence in my abilities earned my degree and became the youngest investment adviser at a private wealth management firm I am proof of what LSC Allen makes possible the school board's mission is to ensure Equitable access for all students and that promise must be kept to every neighborhood every family and every child closing Elsie Allen isn't just shutting down a school it's shutting down dreams it's telling these students that their future does not matter
028Jeremy Mark Nick and Sarah I am speaking directly to you you are elected to serve all of these students not just the ones who look like you live near you or share your socioeconomic status thank you next is John Ley followed by Liliana Santiago followed by Patrick aeson all right hi my name is John Ley I am an LC Allen graduate from 2020 and I strongly urge the board not the close any High School especially ELC Allen High School ELC Allen right now is the only Public High School South of Highway 12 with ccla moving out of Southwest Santa Rosa next year LC island is the only non-elementary in the South of Highway 12 you close LC Allen our district has zero representation South of Highway 12 this this is a third of the city
029that the district will now decide that we are abandoning because of budget concerns most of the population that is useful live south of Highway 12 we will be throwing this population away ELC Allen has the most students of high school age currently living in the current District to account for this that we will be asking for Northside High Schools to basically Jerry Mander South of Highway 12 to give reach the numbers every single high school will be overc capacity next year even some by 25 your time is up thank you next is Liliana Santiago followed by Patrick aeson followed by shavi forado in thank you your time is up our community feels disrespected and not valued it looks like you made your decision since the beginning and we were played this because bla students really
030never had a chance we need to know why in all the potential scenarios all of them including clo excuse me included closing our school the answer right now looks unfair shocking and heartless our kids are going to be kicked out to move to another school how does this make sense to our children how please explain this to my kid do our CH are our children worthless why can't the these two schools be Consolidated and share facilities please please prove our students that they matter why is this scenario not being considered thank you next is Patrick aeson followed by shant Tavi forado followed by Katherine nen as a white man and a person of privilege with only one job I have had the express ability to advocate for LC Allen High School many of the parents
031at LC Allen can't do that many are afraid of ice and this current Administration many work multiple jobs and do not have time to advocate for their child's school please keep in mind that many of the loudest and sometimes hateful voices have been heard on repeat at these meetings and at our attendance office just because LC Allen parents are working to survive does not mean that they don't care their voices matter too LC Allen students don't deserve to be collateral damage for the district's Financial mismanagement keep all high schools open thank you thank you next is shavi Fernado followed by Katherine nen followed by Ryan Scott shant good evening my name is shant I'm first generation Cambodian raised in in Rosland and I'm here as a former student student body president a Community member a
032mother and someone who deeply understands the impact Elsie Allen has had on generations of young people Elsie Allen isn't just a school it's a home a community a place that has given hope an opportunity to students who are often overlooked for decades it has been a Lifeline for first gen students for immigrant families for kids who needed to see that their future mattered and now once again we're seeing decision makers prioritize profit and convenience over people let's be transparent closing LC Ellen is a direct attack on communities of color on workingclass families on the very students who need the most support this is how systematic racism operates we are not disposable see safe W thank you next is Katherine Wen followed by Ryan do followed by Logan Caper I am a daughter of both refugees
033who have lived in Santa Rosa for over 40 years I was the first in my family to attend college after graduating from LC Allen I have a bachelor's from UC Berkeley my Master's Degree allows me to serve our community as a mental health therapist I grew up in Rosland and called Southwest Santa Rosa home I share these details to counter the Prejudice that has condemned Elsie since its Inception my fellow Lobo serve this County as nurses activists social workers professors and more we will not stand by as you dehumanize us and strip us of our dignity by denying us equal access to resources your actions are the ground on which you stand they will either uplift the residents of Southwest Santa Rosa or further perpetuate the systemic racial and economic disparities that continue to plague
034our communities thank you next is Ryan Scott followed by Logan Caper followed by Noel Tamba hi my name is Ryan Scott I stand before you today as an educator and a concerned member of this community and I urge you to reconsider the proposed closure of LC Allen High School it is a community Cornerstone a vital resource for our students and families to close it would not only strip away the educational opportunities for hundreds of children but also tear apart the fabric of the surrounding neighborhoods LC Allen is the only High School South of Highway 12 closing it would force students to travel much further significantly increasing their commute time time that could be spent studying engaging in after school programs or simply being a teenager for many of these students the school is not just
035a place to learn but a sanctuary providing critical services and a sense of safety these are essential in a community where resources are already stretched thin the reality is the closing out the island disproportionately impacts an already marginalized Community the board proposed action shows a disturbing disregard for the needs of these students to close a school that is a long lifel to these families leaving wealthier areas untouched is a clear example of inequality thank you your time is up next is Logan Caper followed by Noel Tampa followed by Brent Stewart go ahead my name is Logan Caper I'm in my eighth year teaching science at Slater let's talk about numbers using data from the California Department of Education the average number of students enrolled in a 9 through 12 High School in California is 1335
036that's 334 is students per grade level when we look at 7 through 12 schools in our state the average enrollment drops to 650 that's 108 students per grade level we can assume most of these 7 through 12 schools were purpose built to house these students to give middle schoolers the space they need to become young adults ready for higher grades if Slater in Montgomery merge their enrollment would be roughly 2, 2200 three times the state average for a 7 through 12 high school I will create one thing my colleagues have already said to the board if the proposed 7 through 12 grade merger is not just a logistical shift it is a direct threat to the safety and well-being of our middle school students we are throwing our younger adolescence to the wolves no offense
037to the m majority of our high schoolers without a care for thank you your time is up next is Noel Tamba followed by Brent Stewart followed by Risha Ruel go ahead Noel hi I'm Noel Tamba um I want to start by acknowledging the current trustees they did not create this problem they were handed an impossible scenario and are responsible for making an impossible decision one where kids are going to get hurt we do have faith that the trustees will continue to keep in mind all of the students of the district as they come to their decision and they will keep in mind the district and our children as a whole because that is what we are a whole Community we all know that I'm here in support of Montgomery High School when you look around
038and see everyone here in R know I'm speaking for all of us here today as well as those at Round Table watching bunch of our students are over there the campus and the Montgomery Community as a whole as well our campus has endured heartbreak hardship and has spent a very long time facing very difficult things yet we are still here the students are thriving and they are still fighting but more than that the students staff and parents are here to support thank you your time is up next is Brent Stewart followed by Risha Ruel followed by Alandra Alandra aala hello my name is name is Brent Stewart uh Dr Morales and recently added members of the board including uh chairman J Lori this is not your fault I wrote you all emails yesterday explaining my
039views on it I don't have time to get into all the reasons why Montgomery High School cannot close I I I don't have enough time um you're forced to make this impossible task um due to the inaction of the previous board and the ever Rising bloated cost of the district admin District admin needs would be the deepest cut to fix this budget deficit you have the task before you and time is running out whatever you decide it takes time to implement before the next school year progress has been slow this decision is hard but facts are facts and if a 34 isn't logistically feasible if a high school must be closed it cannot be Montgomery for the future of the district keep Montgomery open I truly want all high schools to remain open I really
040do I want to recommend that just go thank you your time is up done next is Risha Ruel followed by Alandra aala followed by Jasmine gudino I'm actually Christina Kramer speaking on behalf of Risha Risha is my friend and former cooworker and she's a little bit too upset to speak tonight so I said I would step up and do it this is a heartbreaking night for you all and for this entire community in this room I hope that this news news that you have is actually good financial news so that all high schools can be spared I live in Rosland I do take my child to Montgomery and I have taken my previous child to Montgomery too who graduated in class of 2020 and she's now trying to be an elementary school teacher this is
041tragic for our community please do the best you can with what you have today I've written with you please support this community please support the high schools go Montgomery thank you next is Alandra aala followed by Jasmine gudino followed by Lily Roman I am an Elsie Allan alumni one of the bad kids and now registered nurse in addition to Elsie I went to Lawrence Cook Middle Lawrence cook was considered a low performing school I was offered um the ability to go to a higher performing school I was enrolled at Slater Middle I was given a bus pass where I walked 30 minutes to a bus stop and took two buses to get to school I felt like an outcast and found it difficult to feel any sense of connection with my peers I begged my
042mom to send me to LC for high school which was the school of my district at Elsie I felt a sense of inspiration to reach my potential from Lisa de carbo's effort in organizing the health fair for Latinos to hearing how Natalie Mendoza an unprivileged Hispanic like myself was in a doctorate program at Berkeley while teaching us I felt a sense of belonging I did not feel in the higher performing school I felt surrounded by people who understood what challenges my family faced one of the challenges I faced was inability to get health care the health center available on campus and allowed me to get diagnosed prescriptions your time is up next is Jasmine gudino followed by Lily Roman followed by concepion Dominguez is Jasmine here yes I'm here my name is Jasmine ginho I'm
043a proud LC Allen Alum and a first year law student at University of California berley School of Law more importantly I'm an auntie of a current sophomore at El Allen I'm here to tell you board members about the legal action we are prepared to take against you if you close El Allen closing Els Allen is a civil rights and a disabilities rights violation closing LSC Allen is a violation of the brown act and squa under the current factors of consideration that you have considered violation of every statutory Duty that you have to represent your constituents I'll make this simple what you're doing is illegal in your inbox and by the way it doesn't take going to law school to know that um in your inbox you'll find a demand letter that uh lays out the
044basis under which we are prepared to take legal action so take notice of that and for the students who are here today from LC Island you are loved and your community has your back no matter what happens today thank you next is Lily Roman followed by concepion Dominguez followed by Erica leanovich is Lily here Lily Roman Lily Roman Roman hi ly Roman nilad attorney general Rob bant School closure guidance pursuant to ab1 1912 mandates and Equity impact assessment and public input and proposed metrics for closure merger or consolidation it appears this process has not been conducted equitably at all throughout this process even if it's not M mandated the Attorney General considers it as best practices to help avoid discriminatory practices and help potential any avoid any potential discriminatory effects on your actions best believe
045we're going to investigate this further our community has sued you before and we won we're coming back again thank you next is concept Dominguez followed by Erica leanovich followed by Jim Ley con for I am a mother of um a couple children that have graduated with honors from Al Allen um in my opinion Al Allen has been the best school and it's it is Injustice of what you doing to our school what you did to cook also has parents questioning what what's going to happen with our students um I also have parents coming to me asking me questions what are my are my students going to do now um since it happened since I happened to the school um Cook Middle School um I would like to know what kind of decision you guys are
046doing and if it's for the better choice where will the students be going with um if the clinic is not being provided it is it is not justice of what you guys are doing to the students that clinic has been provided for all the students and it's been very helpful and and it's been the best um compared to other schools and I don't think it's um it's fair that because most of the students don't know what's going to happen um and where are they gonna be going and I would like you guys to um make a very good decision and keep open thank you next is Erica leanovich followed by Jim Ley followed by Logan Ley thank you Erica leanovich Dr Morales I appreciated seeing your tears when I handed you a card written by
047my seven-year-old daughter offering you the donation of her tooth Fair money to save our schools trusty manieri I appreciated the tears of grief and frustration you shed when speaking about closing Elsie at yesterday's meeting dressy Jenkins the tears that we shared yesterday after the meeting reinforced my view that you really do feel the pain of what is about to be voted on and I thank all of you for your Humanity I trust in my heart that you all really do not want to close a high school and that you want to rightsize our district without putting our most vulnerable students at risk and Dr Morales I can only hope that your speech at the beginning of this meeting means that you and the board took the community's advice to meet with sko and combine the
048two models 330 brilliant thank you we look forward to hearing what the new solution the district and sko has come up with the community is ready to get to work we can do hard things let's do it together thank you thank you next is Jim Ley followed by Logan Ley followed by Luise parom thank you board members if a disaster were to befall this community we pull together in a way that very few communities in America ever do we're on the precipice of another disaster if you were to close any of our high schools the reality is is that they all serve Community functions Beyond mirror education we have to keep them as the Gateway for our youth to our community and our future if we had a disaster that wiped out six of our
049schools we would find a way in the time that's allowed to address that so pulling upon that resiliency I really hope that you can look at the numbers and find a way to keep all the high schools open especially Elsie Allen which serves a community which sees very little of us in Southwest Santa Rosa I want to thank all of you for the work and the pain that I know you are going through in making this decision tonight thank you thank you next is Logan Ley followed by Luis cardo followed by Elizabeth Moreno hello my name is Logan Ley I am a former graduate of lcon high school I understand this is probably the hardest decision that the board will have to make within the last DEC decade or last years however I do feel
050that I do feel that with some of the scenarios there a possibility what I believe is that Southwest Santa Rosa might be abandoned if LC Allen is closed I am in favor of closing no high school at all because I believe that high school is very pivotal to students and sort of where they take in their career so I believe LC Allen's clothes that's will lead to where families are going to have to decide whether they want to go what depending where they live if they want to go to the closest school geographically that means out District or state in the city and try to commute to other high schools and it will mess up the next at least the next four years thank you your time is up next is Luis Paro followed by
051Elizabeth Moreno followed by Emily Conway can someone call for Lise and we'll have Elizabeth Moreno in the meantime go ahead newcomers School School good evening dedicated board members and Dr Morales I am lisabeth Moreno the family engagement facilitator at Al Allen High School I currently run the only newcomer Center available to students at alen high school I witnessed how our students arrive at School soaked because they've had to walk blocks just to get to school on rainy days my students have shared their struggles and how LCN in high school is their safe haven I hope you see your vast violation by considering Els Isen high school as a school to close student civil rights are already in danger with the current new office of the United States let's not fail our our most vulnerable students
052don't violate their civil rights thank you thank you next is Lis Paro followed by Emily Conway followed by Patricia herado my name is Luis perosino I stand before you as a Lawrence cook LC Allen night and soon to be Sonoma State graduate with a degree in accounting and not just an internship with a local firm but also an internship with one of the top four accounting firms not just in the US but in the world ELC Allen has allowed me to reach not just my goals but the dreams of two immigrant parents for their son if you close LC Allen Not only will you be shutting the door on current and foreign students dreams but opportunities for families to be lifted out of poverty please reconsider your decision in closing not just LC but all
053high schools thank you thank you next is Emily Conway followed by Patricia herado followed by Andy Lieberman for the last decade I have watched from the sidelines as LCN high school has been systematically gutted of programs that enrich their students lives still that Community forged through hardship and neglect have grown immeasurably strong with the set program Al classes and a trauma-informed staff they are making the best of a bad situation they have been making the best of a bad situation for years imagine what they could do if for once LC was given the support they deserve instead of closing the school that has been critically neglected reinvest in LC Allen at a time when students and their parents are experiencing unprecedented hardship and threats to their safety under this new Administration this is not the
054time to fracture a community your choices today will be remembered may it be for the right reasons keep LC open thank you next is Patricia herado followed by Andy Lieberman followed by Mitchell Johnson good good evening my name is Patty ortal and I am teacher at LC Allen High School I teach Spanish and I teach introduction to healthcare and public health and I am here because of course I want to ask Elsie to stay open it's very important for them and I want to tell you something because my program is not in the the district's catalog aler price it's two years old I believe that it was um I don't know Miss accidentally or maybe it's because LC continues to be the uh well I don't want to call it RAC racism because I don't
055believe that you have that intention but I believe we are just completely being misunderstood completely laugh you know outside because of where we are and who we are and we're not that school we are amazing my students are unbelievably amazing thank you next is Andy liberman followed by Mitchell Johnson followed by Juan Escobar good evening yesterday I sent an email and here's a summation of some of the concerns I believe represent what you've been hearing from the public over the last few months you've been elected by the people as their trustees they've entrusted you to make the best possible informed decisions for the welfare of the children in somoma county in the communities you serve in my time in San Rosa city schools I saw hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on curriculum software training
056lots of different things most of these programs no longer exist phased down to buy the new one Sona County population has grown from the 2010 census to 2020 three of the high schools have pretty close to the same population as they did 10 years ago with two having a decline meanwhile roner park has increased moving back to the 341 model and closing elsc Allen as a victim will not solve the financial crisis the results will most likely be a lawsuit and a group of angry parents who realize that neighboring analy and roner park are not only closer but more appealing especially since this is a decision for underprivileged youth that they don't care about thank you um I just want to let everyone know we only have half an hour left and I have received
057a number of additional blue cards so we probably will not get through everyone and I am sorry for that um next is Mitchell Johnson followed by Juan Escobar followed by Alandra AA but I thought she already went so okay so Follow by Andy bunnel do we have Mitchell Johnson here go ahead I don't envy the board considering the difficult task in front of them but I will have no sympathy for you if you don't ensure that promises made by District administration result in actual lasting changes in how our district invests its resources the cuts must start at the top and they must stick you have a responsibility to guarantee that thank you thank you next is Juan Escobar followed by Andy bunnel followed by anandi okubo uh hello I'm speaking up for LC Allen High
058School tonight I graduated in 2011 uh LC Allen High School is a staple to uh the southwest community and I can tell you that firsthand as uh being raised in Southwest Santa Rosa um I was homeless when uh when I graduated and uh the support I received from LC Allen was Paramount uh it was it was because of the fact that Southwest Santa Rosa actually had a school right which greatly propelled me to the junior college Sonoma State Cal Del the grad school and even an acceptance letter to a PhD program and which I ironically rejected uh due to my socio economic status uh and so I hope that the community here is take the board is taking into consideration our multil language Learners our newcomers especially since the ad program already lost the middle
059school right uh I hate to see what other impacts your time is up next is next is Andy bunnel followed by anio Kubo followed by Lisa dearbo yeah hi my name is Andy bunnel I'm a social worker therapist with the counseling Rich program at LC Allen go Lobos um I was shocked and appalled uh last last evening to find out that the majority of the board supports closing our school um I've been how can this be I've been paying attention I've been involved um but I never thought it would come to this um how on good conscience can you close a school that is a second home to so many marginalized students we are Community um and we that we desperately need now uh one of my students I work with today said um that
060a lot of his friends was talking about dropping out another student voed who struggles with attendance voice that he doesn't think he'll go to school if if he's too afraid to go to another school so uh do what you know is right I know this is a difficult decision but I know that you also know in your hearts in your minds that closing a high school just doesn't make sense thank you thank you next is anio Kubo followed by Lisa dearbo followed by Alina aparicio hi I'm just frustrated that I have to be here again um because it seems the message I tried to get across previously was not heard um it seems that Equity is not at the Forefront of whatever decision is being made um and apparently Financial isn't either because we wouldn't
061be here today if that were the case um showing up if you understand Equity you understand that showing up for somebody who works two jobs is a lot different than somebody showing up who is maybe a stay-at-home parent um or Works full-time to support their family um it's not as easy and what Equity does it allows that person who's working two jobs to show up and have a voice for their community so that decisions include their voice and this does not at all and having meetings at 5:30 I mean everyone gets off at 5 if you work at typical 9 to5 um please don't confuse inconvenience um with necessity um some parents might be inconvenienced by certain decisions but others might be completely remov their livelihood next is Lisa dearbo followed by Audrina apparicio followed
062by Auggie Nunes Lisa go ahead I am Lisa dearbo strength and courage to make the right decision has been my message to all of my students in 29 years of teaching at LC Allen and in my prior letter and public comments in school consolidation matters I came here tonight to ask the school board how your V serve how your vote excuse me serves every student in every possibility no matter what but sitting in the audience and feeling the intense unrest I now ask all of us will we each have the strength and courage to put our biases aside for every student to help ease the pain of night's decision will we each consider every student at every School site to make future transitions less tumultuous I implore all of you all of you what will
063you do to Ure every student every possibility no matter what I am Elie Allen next is Audrina apparicio followed by Angie Nunes followed by Annabel Nunes okay can someone call for Audrina and we'll have Angie in the meantime hi good evening my name is Anabel Nunes born and raised here in Santa Rosa I am a first generation soyana and I am here and I stand with everyone before me that speaks up for LCL in high school being that we stand on Pomo land and we all stood up to acknowledge that we're on Pomo land we're wanting to eliminate Elsie Allen which is a Pomo woman um also we have over 4,000 indigenous students throughout Santa Rosa city high schools That's not including Junior High and Elementary there is a Ed 506 form with the Native
064American um education which these schools should be t tapping in for funding which may save our schools maybe you guys should look into that thank you and have a blessed night thank you Adrina go ahead name is Adrina paricio um I'm a student I go to L Island I'm a freshman um I say that you guys should consider not closing down L Allen El Allen is a big part of everybody that goes there we're all like a big Community um when I first got there I was super scared and I didn't want to go to LC but after like all the sports that I've done they've all like embraced me with open arms and they were super helpful towards me and then they helped me pick my life up cuz I was kind of like
065in a bad state of mind and everybody in my sports like they all help me become a better person I think um and in in the clubs I'm in too like they've all helped me like learn a lot more than what I actually realize that's it thank you Adina um Annabelle if you're still there were you both Annabelle and Angie ah okay so Angie Nunes followed by Catherine write out followed by Monica okubo I wasn't planning to speak and so I have nothing written but my children um graduated from LC Outland High School my son graduate uh last May and I started to work there in March imagine me working with my child but it didn't bother him and I've gotone to know every a lot of those kids out there I am the campus
066supervisor and it makes me so sad that you chose Elsie Allen I see these kids walking to school in the rain because they have no transportation and um we're a community I know these kids I know some of their struggles and um they feel welcomed and inviting into Elsie and I just wish that you would reconsider um closing Elsie Allen we have good kids and it made me so sad to hear that when you guys said when parents say I will never send my kids there if they only knew what a good school L is your time is up next is Katherine R out followed by Monica okubo followed by Anna Bravo Luis do we have Katherine R out um Monica okubo hi everyone thanks so much um okay I just want to say please
067consider making a high school closure contingent on uh St layoffs at the district level not being able to stay positive or qualified so moving to a 340 or 330 in year one which saves 10 million along with the 8 million in non-school closure savings and looking at up to 20% layoffs at the district level could save a conservative $4 million that would get us to the $22 million Target I appreciate wanting to be fiscally conservative but these are a thousand kids Futures let's not be a community that relies on them pulling themselves up by their bootstraps please support the 34 or 330 model I'm Katherine R out sorry thanks thank you next is Monica okubo followed by Anna Bravo Luise followed by Leslie caral cisos I am Dr Monica okubo proud rosin resident and public
068educator from The District's Mission ensure Equitable access you hold the future of an entire community in your hands and rosaly needs you to know that acknowledge that and own that I am speaking for the brown families from the most underserved area of Santa Rosa who culturally linguistically physically or out of fear cannot be here tonight lack of an equity audit a big term for simply ensuring fairness and addressing inequity no audit is necessary to see that closing the school with the highest unduplicated pupil percentage is antithetical to ensuring fairness or inequity because your lawyer said you won't be legally responsible is not a good reason to avoid doing the right thing we know you need to have an answer but committing an educational extermination in plain daylight in our community is not the answer please
069follow your morals you know closing lsie Allen is not right Santa Rosa I call on you to rise up speak up and stand up for what is right we will not tolerate this Injustice and institutional racism in our stand me now next is Anna Bravo Lise followed by Leslie Carl SOS followed by Shaya Kirk for la thank you your time is up I'll be speaking on behalf of Miss Anna Bravo she says it hurts her very much the government the government wants to close LCA and school because it concerns are a lot for it seems to be more about their own interest than for education and of the students and instead of closing the schools they should invest more in this education of students that I know it signals and they crit they criticize a
070lot these schools that they want to close but the truth is that is not their the fault of the schools not the fault of the school L Allen it's one of the best schools that there are in Santa Rosa it has the best teachers uh furthermore nobody has ever had been concerned about the the concerned parents and their students like the school elaan because the majority of the teachers speak Spanish take to concern that I'm a mother you must keep in mind that I'm a mother with with a single mother of six children of low resources and I don't want you to take away the rights of my children to to continue studying uh and to remember that the first teachers of their students are are are the parents not the teachers the ninos so
071only go to school in order to prepare for their future and and furthermore the majority of the schools that's that are closing uh the majority of the students are Latinos and I see that as racism toward our students to our Latino students toward address to our Latino Community the government the government uh should not criticize it should invest in the education of the children thank you thank you next is Leslie caral SOS followed by Shaina Kirk followed by Meg Peterson I am here as a proud LC Allen alumna without the support of LC Allen teachers and programs I wouldn't be standing here as a first generation college graduate I strongly oppose closing Allen a school that serves the highest rates of Latino socioeconomically disadvantaged and disabled students in the district I invite you to picture
072a town built around a single well that provides water to a neighborhood already struggling with drought the well isn't perfect but it's beautiful it sometimes runs low but it's the only source of water now imagine someone Pur someone proposes shutting down the well because it's not as quote efficient as the wells in other parts of town they argue it's not about the neighborhood it's just about the well we're not against the people who live here we just think think the well isn't working but the reality is shutting down the well doesn't just remove a resource it leaves the entire neighborhood stranded over time the lack of water makes it harder for the neighborhood to grow Thrive or even survive closing El island is shutting down that well it's not just about the school it's about
073the community that relies on it even if the board members state that the decision quote unquote isn't about race class we can see the truth next is Shaya Kirk followed by Meg Peterson followed by Gabriel ala is Shaya Kirk here um we'll go to Meg Peterson while we look for Shaya is Meg Peterson here hi there I'm here to support Elsie Allen tonight I've mentioned in past comment the school district where I grew up ended up in state receivership I'm from Lawrence Massachusetts and if you do a search for Lawrence you'll see they were the first Massachusetts school district to experience State Takeover in 2011 being from a community like that didn't hold me back from achieving goals my life today looks very different and it's not just from hard work and bootstraps I'll be
074forever indebted to those who lifted me up so that I could be here today you may read stories from a community like this and see gangs poverty low achievement but I live there and saw vibrant and thriving Community remember behind bad press there's Beautiful Stories it's disappointing to see the potential closer of Elsie Allen rather than getting creative with Solutions at at the expense of community members who need us truly the most so thank you very much for thinking of that thank you next is Meg Peterson followed by Gabriel ala followed by Jazelle Gonzalez thank you my name is Meg Peterson I wanted to say that I am not a member of Southwest Santa Rosa however I want to speak for their community because I find that it brings so much Vibrance and um creativity
075and and uniqueness to our town please do not take their High School away we all know that education creates doors it creates access it creates Equity it creates opportunities that were not provided in other situations please do not close the door on this community this community more than any other part of Santa Rosa needs access to education this community came to you and said we want 7 to 12 we want to be part of your school district we want to be part of this community we've already turned our back on them so many times with the closure of cook and now with the talk of closing Elsie please we have to find a way to not continue turning our back on Southwest Santa Rosa thank you thank you next is Gabriel ala followed by Jazelle
076Gonzalez followed by Tina Javier good evening superintendent board members my name is G the principal the proud principal of LC in high school I just I just want to touch on two topics everybody's already kind of addressed some of the issues that I was going to bring to the table and I don't have that much time number one U the concern that I feel is that you're taking more into account the people that are threatening you to leave than our parents that have their kids in the school district number two our parents are not going to come here and complain our parents are not going to threaten you because they trust you they trust you're going to do what's best for their students that's really important to understand the last thing I want to say
077there was many times in the years past as a principle that we always left our newcomers out we decided we heard our students who are happen to be right here right now that said they needed a safe space we got them a safe space to be able to communicate and they're up here communicating how they feel about you no other school has had that in our district thank you thank you next is jezelle Gonzalez followed by Tina Javier followed by Holly R singer do we have Jazelle Gonzalez do we have Tina Javier I stand Here representing the West Side once again we are being pushed to the front lines to test out changes knowing there will be less of a fight because our families don't have a luxury of threatening to leave for private schools
078many of us are working multiple jobs just to keep our heads above water striving to provide for our kids and yet we are the ones who are used as test subjects when will the district start making cuts at the top according to transparent California in 2023 the superintendent was making over $350 uh $350,000 including benefits while secretaries are pulling in $112,000 and I heard sorry it's time for the district to start reflecting on its priorities start thinking about our kids and show that you truly have their best interests at heart not just your own Pockets thank it should happen across the board next is Holly retzinger followed by so am followed by Jeffrey Hoffman hly R singer hi Holly retzinger proud pioner teacher and Slater parent I urge you to reconsider this plan to close
079three middle schools five months is not enough time to prepare our high school facilities to accommodate an entire new student body of a new age group there are no portable classrooms available in California due to the fires Your Capacity model is based upon class sizes of 33 and has factored in the squar space the square footage of spaces that are not meant to be classrooms with the 7 through 12 model in year 1 we will have crowded and unsafe conditions on our campuses such as three classes combined for lecture hall style teaching in any available gym theater space and cafeteria space electives science labs and special programs will be cut for lack of space the district will Hemorrhage money and teacher overages when classes are packed Beyond capacity meanwhile parents of current sixth or eighth
080grade students are already panicked looking for options outside the district these parents know your is is no place thank you next is so am followed by Jeffrey Hoffman followed by alria De La Cruz hello my name is SOA am I'm here today not not to ask but demand that Elsie Allen High School continues to stay open there have been many surrounding stereotypes rumors and misconceptions around Elsie Allen that continue to hurt our reputation today and that is skewing the board's decision our school has been historically underserved and underrepresented yet many believe we have been given a plethora of funds one of which is extremely untrue and unlikely to receive that privilege the board has brought up statistics in the past however those scores do not remain factual nor an accurate representation of our students these
081studies did not fully examine any socioeconomic factors or experiences of our students many of us come from diverse backgrounds but there was always a lack of cultural humidity and competence from s Santa Rosa State schools towards LC Allen High School we need to keep our communities together and not break them El Allen High School is the heart of Southwest Santa Rosa and rosand this is the only School in Southwest area that is up for closure this is in fact extremely extremely preist and biased as this will hurt many of our lowincome workingclass immigrant families this is not fear orical up thank you next is Jeffrey Hoffman followed by alria De La Cruz followed by litson potley and we're nearing the end so that those may be the last speakers Jeffrey uh thank you Madame President
082and members of the board I'm Jeffrey Hoffman I'm the director of uh California rural legal assistance uh the office in Santa Rosa and I'm here tonight on behalf of several of our clients who have just recently contacted us um these are low-income Latino families uh who are either going to be or attending LC Allen High School and I just want to Echo the sentiments of uh our my clients are very concerned about the closure of Elie Allen um and and we're hoping maybe the board can put a stop to this for a while and maybe allow for a more Equitable inquiry into this process um we've started investigating the matter looking at the criteria that the uh committee considered it's part of its final report and we thank you your concerns from a thank you
083next is alagria De La Cruz followed by lorit and potley student that had been called earlier she made her way up now this Christian Diaz lle PR okay go ahead uh hello School Board my name is lesie PR I'm a junior at LC Allen High School and I want to say yes we do have a bad Fame but it comes from small minority and that is unfair that they get to represent us because people are quickly to put out the negative factors and don't put a care to the positive factors LSC Allen has a lot of good programs benefiting the students we have the ucu program Public Health Pathways Public Safety FFA and Avid the district is in charge of putting of charge of promoting this program and you're not doing your job in letting
084schools down elsc is on it in providing help and support for the future of their students like I am in the UC program which is only available at LC it's a big help for students who want to go to universities and as well provide students the opportunity to take university University classes LC is the only school that has has a clinic in the campus which gives students an easily access to healthcare facilities thank you thank you next is alagria De La Cruz good evening board superintendent and beautiful Beloved Community I stand here today as a proud mom of two students in Santa Rosa city schools and once I sat in your seat and I know this is a difficult decision but you know what the right one is to make you cannot close LC Allen
085Not only not only have you not done your jobs tonight by making sure that an equity analysis is done pursuant to ab1 1912 but you also have to do it because it's just the right thing to do elsc Allen is full of students of color of students with disabilities of students who have dreams that deserve to be respected and that is your job to make sure that they have those Futures protected by your actions you cannot close Elsie Allen I bring with me here the energy of all the beautiful people that stand outside that stand here with love and pride and who they are and recognition that their rights need to be respected right we bring that Justice with us and don't make us sue you please just do the right thing thank you our
086final speaker tonight will be liten potley I have no idea if I'm saying that right for lin yes please my name is I am a student State I stand before you today with the critical message to not close LC Allen High School LC is the only Public School serving predominantly lwi income and students of color in Southwest santaa closing the school would jeopardize the futures of countless students drama I Ally reducing their chances of graduating LSC has been a Beacon of Hope for so many providing a space of cultural pride and identity those of you who have been to events at LC have seen the cultural pride of being Chan and Indigenous this school has passionate teachers dedicated to empowering students through programs like ethnic studies they Inspire students to believe that their voices matter
087you frequently talk about the importance of listening and honoring students and Indigenous voices let me remind you that closing elsc Allen would not only extinguish the vital educational resource but also erase the legacy of L Island a member of the Koval raner of Pomo Indians a remarkable native woman and basket Weaver to close this school is to disres guard the honor and recognition of California natives tell me how you are honoring the generations thank you everyone um that concludes public comment for tonight the board is now going to take a 10-minute break before returning for discussion all right if everyone could please find your seats again and if there are folks who have left leaving empty seats now could we please make sure seat is filled maybe scoot in to allow space for other people
088to come in if there are people standing in the back there are some seats available now you maybe raise a hand if there's an empty seat next to you thank you everyone all right I think we're ready to get started um so we're going to start with presentation from the team um take it away thank you president mcnell um superintendent Dr Morales members of our srcs Board of Trustees and our community I know this is a rough night so I just want to acknowledge that um thank you for what you do I know that no decisions are going to be easy and we will do our best to provide the best information possible for you to make your decisions I want to start by saying that the information shared earlier is not necessarily completely new
089it's a further investigation as we were able to narrow scenarios it then allows us to dig deeper into what possibilities are and to continue the conversations that we have regularly with sco and by sko I'm meaning specifically the fiscal side that we work with we work with Felicia giri Sarah lampenfeld and their CBO Greg maniche and so there varying levels of interaction Felicia works very closely with Joel on the day-to-day you know the the details of things in our review and Greg and Sarah and I talk more longterm and today we had the opportunity to do that and so as we go through I'll kind of talk about that a little bit and what um we where where that went um let me go ahead and share my screen so that we can go through
090the presentation a little bit but I just wanted to preface that but that it's not completely new information it's a further it's further details because you were able to narrow the scenarios for us yesterday okay so this evening uh we have two scenarios to talk about which is a 33034 no High School closure um in the in the short term and a 331 with Elsie Allen High School identified as the school to close the 330 or the 340 is really I would describe it more as a 33 pause in that it gives it would allow space to determine if it's necessary to close LC Allen High School in the following year or the year after or to make further adjustments because we have several problems we have a short-term budget issue and we have a
091long-term sustainability issue and in speaking with with sco and talking about potential things that may happen in the future we are um we have we share a cons a we share a concern related to potential future revenues based on on some information that they shared with us as far as opportunities for Santa Rosa city schools um in the next couple of years that that could happen based on changes in our community and so when we look at that if we close if we take LC Allen or any High School off the table as far as having it as as a closure in that first year we don't have space to if we're making such a large transition before we've seen the full drop off of of projected enrollment we essentially don't leave space for potential
092increased Revenue opportunities um if you're looking at it strictly from from the f scho side of things the other side is the service to to to community allowing a space for for students to come to srcs and for families to choose us so there are options with that what that would mean is most likely a short-term qualified status that where we continue to work with sco um as we have in the past um that we are monitoring very closely the cash flow side of things with them and that was part of our conversation today as that piece of it so I I want to make sure that I'm very clear in the difference between a qualified a positive certification a qualified certification a negative certification and a cash flow issue so positive you can have
093a cash flow issue and still have a positive certification it it means that we've actually overextended what we can pay out in any particular time based on different funding sources so internal borrowing between funds borrowing from the state from the County Treasury borrowing from sco or a tax revenue anticipation note which is the most expensive type and we prefer not to do that because it has longer term Fiscal impacts so there's that piece of it those two different sides a qualified status if you remember means that we have we may not be able to meet our obligations in either the current or the up to upcoming two fiscal years that doesn't mean that we won't it means that we have to identify a plan and we have a plan that has been identified should that
094not happen so that's where we've been working very closely with them coming through this a negative is when it is certain that we will not be able to meet our obligations in the current or two fiscal years and negative certification requires the immediate and prescribed intervention of the County office and fmat so those are differences sko right now qualified we continue to work with them as we already do very closely and collaboratively if we go into a negative then it becomes where they have more control and say over what we do but it's not a lack a a loss of local control the loss of local control happens if we go into receivership so if we run out of cash that's when when that is triggered so I want to be careful and cognizant of
095this um as we as we talk about um Solutions and and options for the board to choose from and I will share that in my conversation this morning again um sco so specifically working with Greg menichi their CBO and Sarah lampenfeld they were in agreement that there is a higher likelihood of long-term fiscal stability if we take a pause on the SE on the high school closure looking you know at the expense of a short-term qualified looking at again in a year we could we may be back here having the same conversation about whe whether LC Allen should close since that is the option that the board has chosen to move forward with um but it's fur those further those conversations and based on should those changes not come to fruition over the next couple
096of years that still gives us that in year five so when we do a comparison of our enrollment from 2930 you know between now and 2930 that would be the last step which would be the four which would be the closure of rink and Valley Middle moved on to Maria CIO as that as that step there should that become necessary so again we want to make sure that we're looking into the future for fiscal sustainability so we can make sure that we are providing resources to our students where we can rather than spreading them out between too many sites but we also don't want to be shortsighted in making a recommendation that cuts too deeply at the expense of something later again it's I would you know be happy to answer question related to that
097and there's some additional information that we want to share as to some ways that we've looked at in doing that further analysis as to some other impacts that need to be considered and so one of those is looking at a comparison between the busing costs and so if we were to close LSC Allen we have some or if we were not to close Elsie Allen if you were to pause so in this next year we would see that we would not the difference in busing is an additional 480 students compared to if we were to leave LC Allen open So based on on that difference there the other is that if we were to convert LC Allen to a 7 through 12 and reinstate the former cook boundaries or you know align those we would
098save additionally in busing because right now what we're doing is we're busing those students I think it was mentioned earlier to three different middle schools which is that has um created you know obviously increased costs in that way so we do realize potentially a million dollar savings in in transportation between between those two scenarios the other thing and this is something that obviously there are a lot of negotiable things but specifically there is anou with or memorandum of understanding with elsc Allen related to their um schedule which is 7 period day um that thatou is good until it's in place until June of 27 and so we would um be looking to that would be one way to try and make that minimum to make sure that we stay at least at a qualified and
099not shift into negative is to ask for a um change in thatou to revert to a six period day and essentially that requires less staff for us to operate on a six period day versus a seven period day questions from the board again that would have to be bargained Thank you Lisa um I I do have a question maybe it's more of just like an an emphasis but um you're sharing with us that this is a collaborative kind of idea idea with sko um because they're our partners and they um are also paying attention to what's going on in our community and so I just want to kind of yeah maybe it's not a question maybe it's just more of an emphasizing what you said that this is um information that we're now receiving because
100of the conversation that transpired yesterday so this isn't like information that we could have had before it's it's kind of a part of this process that we have to take it step by step and and as we go through the process we get more information um and so I really I really appreciate this um um actually maybe I did I did have a question and so um can you tell us because it might be different a little a little difficult to go like between um slides what is the difference in savings between this scenario and the original 340 scenario so this um this part particular like looking at it at it more closely takes us to um about 10.6 million versus 8.6 million in the in year one board other questions trusty delator my favorite
101thing to do not a question but I'm limited on opportunities to speak tonight so I need to take this opportunity before we lose our students to hopefully bed time um South Davis West 9th mered Avenue price Avenue Lloyd Madera Avenue Valley West Court hip in circle Joseph Court East Primrose Cecilia Drive Copperfield Chadwick place I am a product of Southwest Santa Rosa so when I speak my words come from experience I was the child that walked through the rain to go to school wherever I could my wife and I have worked really hard to provide foundational support for our children that we did not have from our broken homes in rinken Valley so my perspective as a board trustee is to diligently ask questions and work to provide educational opportunities for as many students as
102possible that being said my decisions are not driven by the emotional roots that I bear but they are driven by what is possible what is fiscally responsible as us stewards of Trustees that what can we provide and the team has worked diligently and I appreciate the partnership with sco to get more answers to those questions on what is possible none of us sitting up here want to close any of our high schools we don't want to close any of our schools we are public educators who have been tasked with keeping public institutions open for public education that are funded by tax dollars through the state if we do not have the funding to keep those open then really painful tough decisions need to be made and we will have to make those and we are
103going to make some of those tonight I want the students to know that you've been heard you are respected we see you and we will do the best moving forward to provide you the opportunities get your homework done get a good night's rest hang in until we get through the through all these questions so we can make a decision tonight but I just want you to hear from who I am as a person and why I'm here to try and help move these decisions forward pragmatically so that all the opportunities are available to our students as much as possible trusty Jenkins yes I did have a question um it's a question and a comment actually the sixth period 7eventh period situation at LC um it's being discussed like this is new information but this has
104been blasted on emails from people with Creative Solutions so this isn't necessarily a new thing um but my question is if we are able to find money again does that mean that we don't have to convert all of our schools to seven to 12s because that is I I that's a real hard one for me as someone who is not far from the middle schools as a parent so what we see based on this is going to be really tight if this is what moves forward with a 33 pause it would mean that Rank and Valley Middle does not convert until at some point in the future depending on on on declining enrollment Trends um but at this point it would require that for the others in order for us to meet those the the
105ongoing for for the following year I don't I don't know that there's a way for us to do that to to meet the fiscal and not close a high school and also not close a middle school so just to put that in into like different words the 330 and the rather the 331 and the 33 pause have the same impact at this moment to they has the same impact to our middle schools at this moment no okay I would like that clar because the 331 if we move over to that one what that does is it actually has because you closed the high school in that first year you realize that larger savings and one of the middle schools shifts to the second year just be space capacity if we're absorbing a high school versus
106absorbing middle schools so there's no opportunity for a 3-2 pause I don't see fiscally how we could make a 3-2 pause work Casten so I want to go back to you were saying cash flow which whether we're CER we're certified and qualified or neg if we don't have cash flow we can't pay our bills we get a loan and then we get T State takeover and we're paying for all the administrative overhead and the loan costs yes so cash flow and what our qualified status are are not interr interrelated one can be an indication of moving towards a cash insolvency so so there's that's the differen is that you can have an immediate cash flow issue even in a positive if you don't have enough funds on hand the other is that as you go
107through a qualified or a negative certification you're more likely to run into a cash flow issue and end up in state receivership so there there's a correlation it's not necessarily caus a causation and then when we're looking at the end result of all of these Cuts we're talking about the net which means that any investment that we want to put in in order to make uh the programs better and I think the community at large has recognized that our programs are not where we want them to be in order to restore the cuts over the last several years that have been made to our programs and athletic positions and things like that that would need to those Restorations would need to come afterwards and those are all tied to many of the reasons that students
108have left for other districts so if we're going to do this we have to hit the net savings if we want to improve our programs as a part of the conversation with sco when you're looking at this I want to know does that contemplate those additions that we're talking about and does it contemplate stopping using our bond interest money as our Reserve fund it does not in the short term in the long term that is the the expectation is that with a pause we have the potential to increase the revenue to then offset that and to be able to reinvest in you know really concentrating our resources and focusing where do we have the most impact what is it that's going to draw students here and how are we going to again have have the
109most impact but but it doesn't contemplate having the funds to do the investment to draw the additional Revenue that would be dependent on what other reductions are made so so we'd have to make okay that's thank you yeah it what it essentially does is it gives us a pause to be able to further determine what those would be and just when you were thinking of the pause trying to contemplate what it looks like to or what could be years have the concept of the school potentially closing over the heads of the students in the community whichever School whichever model uh the heads of the students in the community there how long of a pause was discussed with sco as a part of this one to two years so it gives us next year to determine
110if those um expected changes actually may come to fruition and potenti depending on what that looks like we may be back here having this conversation as to whether to pause for one more year or are we in a in a space to make a decision yes or no so it's really it would be next year potentially the year after depending and I will say that that's likely true with anything because we can plan we can have the best laid plans and the best intentions and still have things not go the way that we expect trusty Kirby yes so just some clarification on the bullet points that were added for this scenario the agreement that again would need be negotiate that that's not guaranteed that's hope hoping that we can work something out is it is
111that a fair statement it would be our um hope that we could do that amicably there are you know there are ways that we get there going through fact finding or things like that I wouldn't want to say it in that way and that it's you know something that would be rammed down you know some sort I think that there's collaboration there to make something happen for for students okay and um the the busing savings I know at some point one of our manyi meetings uh you had said that all of our busing costs uh get reimburse 60% I believe is that is this a after that reimbursement or is this how it's probably somewhere right in between so it's not a full this is a not qu probably a not quite net but not
112the full % because we also have escalation for next year so there's you know an issue there that there would be a slight difference in that okay and and just going back to our conversation yesterday I know that our again it's a moving Target but that had basically increased to 22 to 24 million instead of the 20 million so this still isn't really hitting the mark Cor correct we will that that is we will very clearly be in a qualified status in the short term and again in those conversations the shortterm pause May provide us with more fiscal stability in the long term of course we don't know that that's these are always projections Bas and every decision and every recommendation that we bring forward and the decisions that you have to make are based
113on the best information that we have at the time I mean I just want to say that we've been in and out of qualified status for 10 15 maybe more years it's not the worst thing that's actually how we've been operating and I'm not saying that that's great there's definitely room for improvement but here we are making really critical decisions and if it means that we're in qualified status for one more year to save an entire community I don't I don't even see that as a as a an argument so again our where we were last year and where we would potentially be again is we have a our status is reported at each interim period so at first interim second interim the other times are not a status one way or the other it's
114you know okay un audited actuals is the actual for the prior year and our budget adoption is not there's not a certification that goes along with that and once you have two qualified status in a row if you hit the third then that also just like a negative certification it triggers that further involvement from you know the the more structured involvement from sko and from fake mat so th those are the steps and again we've even though we haven't hit that we've still already been been working with sko and with fmat keeping everybody apprised and talking about what we have going on here um in our conversation earlier today that the you know we we've heard a lot through our public input over the last several months um through town halls and through conversations about
115we'll just have somebody come in and it's more like Greg described it earlier as a hammer that really that's these School closure conversations are much bigger much more difficult much deeper when you go the hammer effect when we end up in that in that situation so again just I want to make sure that everybody on the board and and the public understands kind of the the magnitude of of what we're discussing tonight delor so as I'm looking over the three three pause potential and I'm very grateful to even have the possibility of something to talk about tonight for the pause model um I really really am concerned about this District being able to implement effective 712 models on campuses that cannot accommodate those students um so that's one of my big resistance with this plan
116is seventh and eighth graders are a special generation and to try and fit those into a space that has also taken away some of the most interactive opportunities they need in their educational experiences of Athletics Arts music Wellness Center restorative like to make this work on our larger campuses we' have to take a lot of those spaces away and I I need to find a window I need to find some possibility for us to be more creative with our Charters more creative with um any phasing in potential um which is why I liked the 331 and I was looking for a 3-2 pause because that at least did not close all of our middle schools right out the gate um kids are going to need some time to families Community is going to need some
117time to make sure we can actually do this well not just do it and not just shove a square peg into a round hole but provide space and opportunity for this to actually work I mean I I just want to add to to that that you know we're we're looking at some pretty transformative changes to say the least with any decision that we make but moving seven and eth onto high school campuses is one thing the closure of a high school and moving a third of their population on top of that into those campuses I mean that is so much more of a strain and so I I agree I like I like this um 33 pause um I'm right with you trusty dor that a 3-2 pause would have been even better but I
118understand that you know we also have to to look at our numbers um just wanted to add that you know compound closing a high school specifically closing LC would compound that effect I agree but if we're going to qualifi with a 3 three pause how much more deficit wise would the 32 pause be if we're already it would have the potential to take us negative Caston following up on what juste DEA Tori said but kind of more as a question um the a lot of the logistical concerns originally and I'm going back to study sessions ago when I said I didn't want to talk about closing High School um and I left that meeting still really wanting to be at that place um but I heard that the logistical challenges of converting to a k
119to a 712 were substantial and that and that's where I had to come back and compromise where I wanted to be so can we walk through like I mean is is it now we're very much able to do three campuses as 72s um and that changed in the last few weeks or what's going on here I I will hand it over to um director Odin and um and assistant superintendent Castro um to kind of go through the details of what they've worked through walking sites with principles yeah so we were able as we talked a little bit yesterday uh to walk sites with the the three high schools anyway principles um a lot of the capacity is based upon you know using the room five out of six periods a day so in conversations that
120Dr castra and I had with um the principles it was around operating each classroom six out of six periods a day or at least a majority of them to end up get gaining the capacity that was necessary to take on seventh and eighth graders as well as trying to find the proper side of the campus to facilitate you know better bathroom use for those kids instead of sharing them with uh nth and 10th graders and 12th graders want to chim in yeah if there's anything more that I can add other than I didn't know if we meant to give off the impression that it wasn't possible just that there were some trade-offs like the Athletics we would have to have figured that out and it would be a couple of years before you would actually
121get um the full impact of or the full access to Athletics on the sub and 12 site they would have to revert back to the Middle School site or we'd have to work something else out and then the Bell schedules would have to be worked out at the new site that would but we didn't mean to give off the impression that it wasn't possible it just there would be some challenges and some trade-offs that's all you you didn't give me the impression it wasn't possible but you gave me the impression that doing it across three schools or four schools if uh we're also creating a middle school track at LC uh would be on that magnitude by August is what I heard and I think that's a part of where phasing it came in yeah
122again a lot of that was based on right the capacity utilizing the spaces as five out of six so again programmatic is not my thing just literal rooms and buildings so um I I needed to rely on ed services to work with the sites to figure out um those types of solutions so oh sorry when you say using classrooms for six periods of the day you mean there would be teachers who would be traveling from room to room potentially and sorry if we can do you want to go ahead manual um we are sharing now the projections for enrollment under this scenario and I want to point out at the bottom where it says three High and the third column these are the enrollment projections for next year based on this year's enrollment number so
123if you go down and compare the third column with the first one you can see that all sites are below the stated capacity so every site that we have and these are considered them being converted to a 72 we should have enough space except a Piner where um there might be a little bit of creative thinking to try to uh figure out space I know that uh we talked about adding um additional capacity there it might become available during the school year so it might be an impact of a you know a few months of and then um there may be capacity being able to be added and come online uh sometime during the fall or the winter of next school year would it be possible with the redistricting to I don't know have LC
124absorb more of the middle school and Piner a smaller amount to ease that burden on the Piner facilities yes um now these numbers do not keep into consideration the possibility of moving the mid school program from ccla and I think we have about two to 300 students there and they are not counted here so if there is a possibility that might happen it might you know add a little bit more there by that you mean the non language immersion yes like the traditional Middle School you know like if LC Allen becomes a 712 campus they will become their home school okay and then uh when you're when you're looking so what you're saying is within the 3 three pause the existing rooms would be able to do that does that contemplate the space for our
125special programs like that have different ratios and and CT so not just special not just special ed but manufact you know Labs manufacturing art Quest IB you know the places where we have different ratios yes so this capacity estimates are based on the facility master plan which took those into considerations based on a facility use at time of writing which now I believe is 3 years ago and so and that is the same or different than what was presented to the consolidation committee uh these are from the consolidation committee so it's the same thing where all the rooms that are currently being used like the stem labs and stuff like that are would go away and become classrooms no this ones keep those classroom uh used the same as they wor three years ago so
126if we were to use for example all rooms that capacity will increase uh about 30% Rusty Tor so can we do 7 through 12 well and provide those other opportunities for our seventh e8th grade students whether it's using previous middle school campuses it's we found ways to be creative and Innovative enough to still provide those opportunities next year this year for our middle school students if they were to be on the high school campus so yes with some really creative scheduling um and use of the athletic facilities and things at middle schools in that first you know it's going to take time we will be crowded at particularly Piner when we when we start um there will need to be creative scheduling related to science labs and different things of that nature but yes we
127can make it work and I would look to to Dr Castro specifically for program and just you know to capitalize on this this we are asking about an astronomical change not only within our district within our community and the reality is is what we have been providing is our grandparents educational style so if we can change gears and change direction and preside something innovative enough that's going to be done well there's some amazing things on the side of this that I'm looking forward to but I cannot continue to say this enough but we need to do it well so that planning and the processing and the implementation have to be ready to go our partners in education our teachers their AIDS our administrators Our Community Partners have to have their sleeves rolled up and ready
128to go with us because it's going to be a lot at once and these are good numbers to look at but just saying 7 through 12 there's going to be some attrition kids are families are going to get pulled and go to other places because they're not sure how we're going to do um until we do something and show that we know what we're doing asy Jenkins I I just want to interject one statement though our scores are going up and that's because we're showing some Innovative approaches especially in math we're we're doing some new things so definitely we're we're on the um we're on the rise when it comes to our our approaches and instruction so I just wanted to point out our teachers um I know trusty deori just mentioned it briefly as
129well but I fear I guess I get to be fearful it's really scary right now everybody um but I fear for our teachers they are wiped right now and the idea of having them float around from class to class and not have like a downtime in their classroom for preps that's really concerning to me as just a Community member who wants to support all of our Educators and all of our students and I our teachers need to be taken care of and so that they can take care of our kids this is a whole entire Community thing but we can't leave our teachers out of the conversation um that just really needs to be said I don't know if if the the using the sixth period has been talked to with teachers how they feel
130about it and I'm also curious if there needs to be some negotiations when things like that come up so all of this there are the impacts of of of closures that will have to be negotiated and so we had a very preliminary just kind of opening the door conversation with SRTA regarding that um and they're ready to to come and and talk and be collaborative in in how we move through whatever this new model looks like trusty Kirby so this model also the way it's reading here assumes that Montgomery is going to be ready for this 712 and I was under the impression that the new building was not going to be ready until end of October at the earliest so how is is that going to work yeah that's correct the new building won't
131be ready for the start of school it will open hopefully sometime in October uh but the capacity shown here does not take into account the the new building anyway already trusty Casten I want to emphasize what um and and has to span on something that trusty delator said um the doing it well part of when we're talking about these budget numbers I think we need to remember because I hear lots of comments about profit or you know just being concerned with the finances but 85 87% of our District budget is people and so the money that we don't and when I talk about wanting to be able to add back services and I want to add back academic support that means people and that means teachers and that means athletic directors that means you know
132um the staff that support our special programs and help with facilitating student enrollment and all those things and so I saying that we're not going to hit the budget numbers on site closures in moving into a qualified status and not having money to add those things we're talking about the people that provide those services on sites so I'd like you to expand on that and if there's any way to give a sense of the context that this is in for the district overall program cuts that we'd be I don't want I mean we have to talk about that next week so to the extent that it impacts what we'd have to add next week I don't want to get outside of our agenda item here but at the same time they're really interchangeable so so
133I'm going to hope that you can turn what I just said into a question and answer it um I can provide a little bit of context I think to what you're getting at um we've reviewed we have 12 priority initiatives in Educational Services and um beginning next year we won't be able to provide a lot of that can you list those please yeah foundational skills math redesign um doated an integrated ELD instructional leadership team instructional rounds the CTE pathways Avid directed studies Avid emerg the tier one um directed studies I'm sorry development and implementation of alternative Ed programs co- teing all of those will be affected immediately because even though people like them and they support these at the on the other side they want people like taken away from the central office so these
134are things that are immediately going to be affected by the cuts that are that are going to be um hitting the central office so a lot of people don't understand that that's what happens when you have to cut from the central office and so those will have to be immediately you know those will be immediately impacted and over the years hopefully we'll be able to build those back up a lot of reasons why um the government actually restricts funding is so these fund these programs don't get decimated when there are Cuts so we have like title two and educator Effectiveness is what we really are going to fall back on next year for professional development but all of these programs will be affected immediately we won't have people to actually provide professional development on a
135in a lot of these cases unless for example we rejigger some of these grants to buy back maybe one person to provide professional development but all of these things are going to be affected because of the fact that we're losing so many people in the central office as a result of this process so I think to add to that and to provide a little context that we've been meeting with sco also in our elcap process to identify what is our base program so what is paid for essentially out of okay here's our minimum that we need to just get by to operate and then anything above that is where we look to for um restricted funding so our lcap supplemental and concentration for restricted funds things of that nature so we're going through that process
136and yes it means that we are making big reductions at at the district office in all areas of of support and so how we how we deliver to sites we're going to have to focus and there may there may not be I I don't want to make this about those district office Cuts it's about what can we still do we will have to focus the efforts that means that we won't be able to continue to offer as many options as deep at every single School site that's exact that's exactly the same we can't replicate programs and options all the way across the board we will have to focus what's you know kind of more of a specialized specialization or or a focus of um content area or programming at each of those schools um the
137Athletics falls under Educational Services as well so the athletic directors and all of that there will likely be Cuts there as well trusty manier I just want some clarity around um these Cuts they would take place I'm assuming regardless of the scenario that we vote on tonight like these are these are the cuts when we're talking about making cuts to the district office and to centralized specialized Services that's totally separate from this and this is what like when I say this I mean closures and consolidations this is what we're talking about yes this is what this is the part where people say it cuts to the central office so this is happening regardless yes yes that is correct trusty dor so I really appreciate that perspective because one of the things this district has failed
138at is attempting to do one siiz fits-all across the board and the fact that we are trying to replicate the same thing at all of our campuses it works some places it doesn't work others so I really we really need to trim down and focus and provide those students what it's working for the opportunity that they're looking to be involved in and the students it's not working for find out what works for them so they have positive educational experience um I'm really stuck on the 712 because it's it's hard to process with this 33 pause model that we are currently discussing with rvms being our only Comprehensive High middle school left in this scenario at least for the first few years um and seeing the capacity has there been any discussion is there any possibility
139of adding capacity at that medal school for the families and students that absolutely need a comprehensive 78 model um even if that's discussing expanding the shras program to 78 so we haven't had those specific conversations if you're looking at at facility wise there there is room so but that would be a conversation as we look at how to appropriately staff for next year okay that that would have to be a discussion that we have because as far as a geography of the site I have plenty of scrape knees and twisted ankles that can remind us all the softball fields are not being utilized and there's a lot of land out there and if we can find smarter ways to use that space to provide opportunities for our students that's something we need to be considering
140as well as we're trying to figure out where these students are going to get placed and how we're going to be able to educate them pres Caston just to follow up the the district W the district wide cuts that we were listing And discussing if we have more resources available through cuts and other places we could have options for targeted reinstatement of those programs so while they are happening the severity of which they are going to happen is dependent on our ability to have revenue and or savings from our places yes absolutely and again there's preliminary and then there's the final plans that come forward later I one more uh so yesterday um in our session we had a a discussion about the charters specifically and the fact that we have them contemplated in here
141in both scenar iOS for year one year two um we discussed the fact that they're not making sure we have a place for them to go is important in this planning but there's lots of other potential things out there like negotiating with right to actually be able to have ccla stay where it is um having to amend the charters uh to be able to move locations and I believe our summary from that conversation was that the tonight's decision needs to have a vision for the charters in the event that other things don't happen but we are not actually voting in need of voting on the charters the tk8 of the charters where they would go tonight correct with the exception that if um so right now we have um French American that shares Herbert Slater
142Middle School and so that might be you know for for 78 oh share teachers and classes and so that might be a move that would need to happen at at the that would need to happen at the same time as Slater so depending on which scenario that you opt for this evening that would have an impact to to make sure it's clear when we get to whatever action it is um is it possible for us with the exception of like if Slater is closed you have to move but is it possible for us to either to leave have a slide that notates that we're not that doesn't that's not a part of the action because I know there's a lot of consternation around tk8 tk6 what about right what you know and I'd like to
143just get that out of the conversation since we don't have to have it be in the conversation yes so the idea would be that the board would be approving what's currently listed on the year one of either one of the scenarios um because that would allow us to prep for year two and then year two decisions could be be made later so for example as you're viewing now um updating the boundaries for um steel Lane that would need to happen this year in preparation for the closure so um anything that's listed in year one is what we would need um approval from the board delete the last bullet point under secondary the 78 uh ccla dual immersion and 78 Sr fact phase into MHS on both on all scenarios um at this point so we
144don't forget when we get to the motion okay so delete the last bullet point the 78 yes I we should very much still do the discussion around phasing and all the planning but just delete it so it's not a part of the motion any but this 78 ccla can be removed but if Slater closes the 78 Sr fact does have to be part of correct so scenario 33 pause delete 78 ccla leave sfac and scenario 331 delete 78 ccla and srf fact so if I sorry if I exit from here we can um what we can do is so that we can keep track how about if we do a strike perfect to here and we go up here oh I never do it that way I I should I just I I think control
145okay thank you yeah it's I'm trying to watch up there instead of here it's not working well I'll let you do it you go to the other one there we go you got it while we're doing that I have a quick question thought about um floating teachers uh what I've seen in other districts is that often falls on the first year teachers um and I don't want to place that extra burden on people who are just getting into the field is there any way could there be like an incentive like if you're willing to be a floating teacher then you get a first or sixth period prep and you can prep from home since you don't have your classroom there something we can do like that so again that would be through the negotiations of
146the impacts okay thank you thank you and we we know that those are going to be there it's going to be rough um you know combining those um middle and high school teachers and so we we know we need to be cognizant of how we welcome them onto the campuses tresse Jenkins um I have a question about the certifications but while we're on the 712 combos um there was something came through today in all of the hundreds of emails uh but I loved loved loved the idea of the kind of the buddy system with both teachers and students so when you know you're coming to a new school and parents too for crying out loud like we all need buddies um and to have people show them the ropes and bring them in and really
147strengthen that Community my question is regarding the certifications how they're called them positive qualified negative right um my understanding is that at first interim in December that was going to be our third qualified is that correct if we if we did not get positive yes that would have been but since we did certify as positive based on the Assumption of all the the closures we now start that cycle over right but so which is great but if not actually following through with what we said we were going to do while that may not result necessarily in a negative that's still an Integrity thing and we do want to I mean I know we're trying our best in any situation that moves forward we are like this is an awful awful awful awful situation and we
148do want to live up to what we're promising though at the same time so just from like an Integrity point but then okay so my actual question question eventually is um we have been overspending um on top of what our what we were budgeted to do and so isn't there still a high likelihood that we will be qualified even kind of either way like there is still that risk right there is absolutely still that risk based on that factors change all the time um and so we know that we have changes in and the projected you know revenues from the state we have the special education impacts there there are all kinds of things that we move in and out and us as well as other districts move in and out of qualified and positive
149that's again where we have to adjust plans and assumptions and so the ass the difference is is that okay our assumption at first interim was that we were going to fully Implement all of this that we weren't going to see these other changes okay now as we go into second interim we have to update our assumptions regardless and so we could be qualified regardless of you know because for one we've already from when we started the process in the original projections we already reduced some of those costs so the savings weren't as large as what we had anticipated you know for for a number of reasons for one depending on which school end up in the combination and also because we did already make some of those reductions so there are multiple factors and that's
150why I share try to try to share loud and far and wide that the only time that our numbers are final and solid and real is it un audited actuals everything else is our best estimate based on the information that we have at the time JY manary um just on this on this subject um would it be true to assume that as we kind of move through this process and figure out what our certification is that if we were to lose Ada students um through closures that that would also affect where we land in our certification and so um is that correct it it is and that was part of the the discussion with sco and where they also thought that we may lose more in in that in the closure scenario versus a pause
151scenario so it sounds like sko is maybe thinking and you can correct me if I'm wrong that um if we were to if we were to close a high school and in this case LC then um we could potentially lose a lot of students from this district and that would affect our Ada yes that that that that is one of the concerns as we're talking about our our projections and in the future in multi in our multi-year yes okay thank you trusty deor so to bring this to the community and to be extremely transparent as possible um public education does not work without the community um we are fighting tooth and nail to look for every dime possible to provide educational opportunities but if the students do not get into our classrooms then we don't
152have the funding provide those institutions for your kids to learn so we need to work together on this we need to continue to hear from you we need to continue to have you involved and we need to know what we can provide within our means that students are going to want to be there and go to school um we can jump through all these hoops and do everything we can to save as many schools as possible and if the students don't show up we're still closing schools so we really need to be partners in this and be more collaborative and um you're angry I I just want to add to that that you know losing students to another school district by closing LSC because let me say I live in the district I've lived in
153the district my whole life I could have easily gone to annaly um I have friends who went to rancha went to annal went to rosand University Prep um these schools are so much easier to get to from my district than it is to get to Santa Rosa or Piner um or Montgomery and so the reality is is that we will lose students simply because of Transportation barriers it's it's as simple as that and so my my concern my my fiscal concern is that in a few years we're going to be talking about closing a high school anyway because we are going to lose students to neighboring districts that they're not going to come back and I know that the same could be said for all of our schools I know that the same could be
154said that for our elementary schools and for our middle schools I know that for a fact but we have our high schoolers for four years and generations of school of of of our students usually end up going to the same schools we've seen it we've heard it we know it and so I just want to say that as for from my perspective from my fiscal kind of concerns my concern is that we're going to we're going to lose kids to realities not because of choice but because of necessity and we're not going to get them back and we're going to be in the same place in a few years since since I want to just highlight as since we have so many people with us today thank you for coming um is that so we
155we are funded by the state on students in seats but we have to plan for enrollment so we have to budget for the number of students that say they're going to come to our schools um and parents this is where you can help us if students are not in school whether it's excused or unexcused we get no Ada and so we a lot of our families think if they're excused we're still getting money we don't whether a student is ABS if a student is absent period we don't get money for that student but we're still paying for the capacity of having that student in our classroom so that's really critical if we're really you know echoing what um trusty deor has said in terms of really working together we need students in school as much
156as possible because that's how we're funded but we are budgeting for enrollment which from day to day it could be a 20% difference between our enrollment and our students in school so that's very important thank you I'd like to point out that if we close LC Allen if those students are having to be busted to other parts of the district that could lower our attendance those kids miss their bus they're not going to walk I do not support the closure of Elsie Allen my my ideal as some of you have said would be a 320 but hearing that that's not possible and feeling much more confident about the answers I'm hearing about a 3 three pause that's where I'm leaning now I'd like to hear how the other trustees are leaning trusty Casten so I
157have my concern about the 33 Paws is every meeting we've had based on our comments up here a community community in our district has tried to read the tea leaves and felt that they were on the chopping block and organized and been here at the next meeting and parents have frantically been trying to figure out alternatives to where they could go and there's been concerns about transfers and it it it's it's been a rolling trauma that keeps rolling back because it happened through the consolidation committee and then it's come through all of our meetings and and I I think we've done this to every single high school at least once over the last few months where they felt that they were the one um and I really feel that I'm really worried about a plan
158that is saying we're going to pause and and restart that process again next year and what that and what just this process has for uh has done for people that are not wanting to enroll here and knowing that we could close a school next year and I mean I'm hearing a one to twoe timeline I'm not hearing you know we're buying ourselves five years here you know it how much are we is a an eighth grade parent or an eighth grader or a sixth grader going to want to transfer into a school any of the schools cuz I I guess that we wouldn't just pick one today that would automatically close we go back through the whole process again uh so like just knowing that we're going to be back that that the pause means
159we do this entire thing again in 12 to 24 months is really concerning to me about its impact on our uh enrollment and and and our mental health and so much else so I I'm struggling I that's but that's that is currently where I'm at I do want to point out that as aside from LC Allen either of these scenarios does require us to come back here on the elementaries and the middles these are both tiered approaches um I hear what you're saying I mean but the Elementary map closure is specifically tiered for intended improvements and I feel like we can include that in our motion tonight because it's the way it's spaced for steel is specifically around the facility phasing so there no that there's not the same intention of will we magically capture
160Elementary enrollment to keep steel open we know where that's going and and so it's it's it is different may I may I interject for a moment and I I wouldn't recommend that we go through the whole process again I would recommend that the board make a decision this evening on which school would be coming back for consideration and whether it's just a revisit a checkin as we'll be checking in and providing reports throughout the year on how things are looking whether it's next year or the year after as far as if there needs it needs to come back it would be one or potentially two schools if the board would would like to do that that that would be my recommendation so that we we could have an alternate scenario that we would be able
161to plan for should it look like that's the road that we would need to head down can you restate what the trigger would be like so I mean I hear you and and I very much respect that direction in um in it but like how does the community know what is which direction I mean this that is an awful I'm not aware of anywhere else where they've done a route where they've said if if this school doesn't if if these things aren't set this school is going to close in 12 months like can you just explain how that would work from the side of what triggers that ultimately that would be up to the board to decide what you know when and if we should be bringing this back for consideration I think that the
162thing to know is that we would be providing regular updates on what our fiscal situation is we have our fiscal um subcommittee that now is um coming from the board so I think there are enough opportunities to have discussions in those smaller groups or in the larger what indicators would we want to be tracking and whether it's a okay do we need to revisit next year or is it that we need to revisit in the in the further year we have some assumptions that maybe we can start making towards the end of this year beginning of next year I wouldn't say that we would be talking about this in June and it being a surprise I mean or you know in February and it being a surprise I would say that we will know what
163does enrollment look like in the fall you know what does what what are you know are we seeing these huge transfers are there school districts that are doing something in response to something that we're doing are we you know we have some policy that I know is going to be coming back as well there are multiple things that would be an indicator within the next six months I have a question along those lines could one or more of those indicators also be some sort of upward trajectory upward trends like we're not just looking at it from a deficit model like oh these things are going bad but there are things that are going well and those are the things we should also be looking at correct and along with that what other budgetary impacts are
164there coming down the road positive or negative all of those things tie together and and yes it should be absolutely a holistic approach um as far as trending up and down is this also a process that sko will be supporting us through or can they support us through sko has been really great about when we're when we're reaching out and asking for assistance or even without us asking you know asking for assistance often they are saying how can we support you um so as far as the level of that I think we'll um you know be reaching out depending on I mean regardless of what the outcome is tonight you know I we're we meet regularly and that's across we have counterparts and at services in HR in in you know in wellness and you
165know in the fiscal side so really that I I know that in the past it has not always been a very collaborative relationship and and I will say that it is they're very supportive trusty Jenkins I have significant concerns about putting with those updates and you don't meet this Mark the pressure on high school students the pressure on high school teachers the pressure on the parents who their kids have pushed them away at this point that seems real risky it seems real risky for the whole community and it also feels like it will I mean I I do see the positives of of showing an upward Trend as well and I also see it further pitting schools and that is real risky um for our whole Community when I think that that we really need
166to lean in we need to we've been through so many traumas and so many crisis that I think at this point our community has learned how to get through them we do need to go through and not around um and start healing and I I don't want to put this on our families in our community to go through more trauma I understand that this is going to be this is extremely traumatic but then to to continue it for one to two to three more years even in the offshoot that it could be a positive thing I just think is is too risky um do you want to go you can go but we're discussing tonight whether to close one of our high schools or not we're discussing tonight what schools to close to attempt to
167begin the process of rightsizing our budget and becoming fiscally solvent if there is any opportunity whatsoever for any amount of time to keep those schools open that should not be ignored by this board again reaching out to the community you've asked to be involved you've asked to show what your campuses can do and if we find a sliver of Hope to keep those campuses open then the Community needs to show up and prove that they're willing to help put the work in as well and provide the student base we need to keep these campuses open we cannot make more widgets to make more money students in seats is how public education is funded and if we can find Opportunities to keep some campuses open even if the risk is that one of those campus still
168may be closed in one to two years we can't ignore that opportunity we have to to take the risk our communities depend on it um I I I agree that um it's a lot it's a lot to to to put a community through a school Community through and so I think one of the ways in which we can be more holistic take a more holistic approach um is to have an equity centered model some sort of equity centered Matrix um and and not just for not just for one of our schools I mean we have never really taken a holistic approach to evaluating our school sites I mean talk about transformation and you know bringing education into the 21st century we need to be looking at our school sites and our programs through through a
169sound Equity Matrix that we do not have and this is an opportunity to do that for all of our sites and I think that that that's how we you know that's how we we take a a holistic View at this entire situation and rather than it being you know arbitrary metrics that we're having our teachers and our students and our communities having to feeling the pressure that they have to live up to we can take a much more comprehensive view um to evaluate the effectiveness of our schools and our programs um so that it's it's not it's not just on them it's it also keeps us accountable it keeps the district accountable to make sure that those programs are working we've never done that we've never done that and so I think you know I
170think there's opportunity there I really think that there's opportunity there um if we if we set it up right but we need the time to do that I I agree that if we have the opportunity if we have the chance to give Elsie even a year I think that that is I hear what we're what you're saying about distress of not knowing but I think the material impact the inequity of an immediate closure so far outweighs um that stress I think we have to take a chance so I think I need more clarity than on what the 33 pause proposal is is the 3 three pause proposal that we are saying we are going to close LC if we don't get out of I'm trying to understand what what the pause trigger is because I'm
171hearing that we're not going to have enough money by doing this to reinvest in programs and put in the things that would attract students back uh even to the two to three million that we'd get from this and so I don't understand I'm I'm just trying to understand like are we I'm hearing that we'd pick the specific high school today and then in a year we we'd be back saying yes or no we achieved or didn't achieve what so again we have some opportunities that we won't know more information about until next year and so is it are we saying we have to see X percentage of uh enrollment growth at the campus is it a dollar I that's what like what I know what the opportunities are and a lot of them involve hopefully
172attracting students back but I don't understand the threshold and and what what we would need to do to say that we succeeded or not so that we're not back here in a year arguing over what it meant to succeed or not again I don't know that I can provide you with that this evening I think that that's something that probably will take some work from from this board and us as coming back to you with okay here's what we think would be doable because it's again having that checkin when we're talking something like this there's several different factors it's not I don't know that it's okay did we hit this financial Target okay well that's one piece of it is the Finance side the other side is absolutely the the achievement the where what is
173that measure to say are we being effective in providing programming by Contin by having this model there's many things to to look at with that I don't know that there's something that I can tell you tonight here's what the what the measurement would be and I may not be asking you I mean it may be something that the board members who support this proposal need to articulate is what what what are we expecting of LC Allen's enrollment or or something within the district what is it that our expectation is that would say that that we're at the that that this is not that we're not closing them in the year I think we have to build that I don't think we can we can figure that out in in this conversation right like this is
174an opportunity that's being brought forward to the board as something to consider and to dive into that conversation what have to be a whole other meeting I mean we we would really have to sit down to think about that but what I'm hearing from Lisa is that we have to build that and and again that's gonna that's going to take some time and what I'm sorry and what I'm advocating for is to what what we do build is what I would like to see is an equity Matrix something that this board has been talking about for a very long time being built that we haven't built and it feels like this is the red to do that but we really need a lot of data we really need a lot of expertise we need we
175need some time to build that I don't think we're going to get to that tonight and I think if I can interject I think we can build that as we come together um for our strategic planning aligning it to profit um their profile of graduate districtwide so I think that could be worked into our strategic planning that we're going to do in the next year and I was thinking of it not as a threshold for elc's performance or enrollment or anything like that a threshold for our district as long as we can afford LC we keep LC well and that's what I'm and that's exactly what I'm trying to clarify is because I'm hearing a pause and select a specific school so that's what I'm I'm trying to understand is so if it's the district
176versus a single school then I mean that's kind of the conversation we do need to have tonight because the entire basis of this proposal is that we're pausing for something uh for something positive to happen and so I I get we can't necessarily establish the specific numbers but if we leave here not saying what it is that's supposed to happen I don't understand how we can evaluate the scenario based on that yeah I in I I really I want to be able to leave this from a place of having the space to actually improve the programs but what I'm hearing is that we would be 4 million under Target we' with the changes in the busing patterns we'd be a little under a million dollars up from that so that would be three and then
177we'd have to get a negotiated change to the bell schedule to reduce the um to reduce the schedule to a six perod day so at the same time we're looking for more enrollment we're going to be reducing the educational opportunities on the campus to access electives and we I mean are we saying that those things would have to happen for us to go forward with the 3 three pause let's just start with the things on the slide are we saying that those things would have to happen to go forward with a 3 three pause is that is that is that what's being proposed I don't I didn't understand your question I mean the only thing that seems like maybe is the negotiations the busing is a a yes we will save that on busing I
178heard that we that we had not fully calculated in the reimbursement rate on that it'll be it will be close to that this is you know looking running okay per St you know breaking out our cost on a per student after the after some of the reimbursements so I guess step one about the pause are we saying that that million dollars has to be saved through theou and if it's not is that a retri here we would have to decide that what what do you want I want so what I want I don't want Elsie to close what I want is um if I'm doing the math correctly with this 340 we are coming in at a $118 million um I don't know what you want to call it deficit and so what I want
179is time to figure out how we have conversations about revenue and other ways in which this District can absorb those cost savings we haven't talked about revenues we haven't talked about um you know the forms that were brought up earlier that could help us get more more funding we we really you know haven't talked about um a potential parcel tax like there there are so many things that we haven't talked about when it comes to revenue that those $1.8 million does not feel significant enough to close an entire school and impact an entire Community that's what I want I think the trigger would be our overall finances and we would have to decide together in a future conversation because we cannot do that tonight what exactly that that situation is if I can say from
180a fiscal perspective that's when when we are looking at when we're proposing to make reductions or right sizing things that that um would be from from my perspective would be a more holistic what because it may not only be if there's a significant change there's a potential that we need to talk about something something different than only a high school closure you know I mean that that's the reality as we look at right sizing over the years we need to look at making adjustments from a district level for schools for programs for Staffing for all of those things and as we've been really working hard to identify all of the potential changes outside of specifically School closure so how we are Staffing at the site and District level you know what we are doing to
181change processes there are things that still have not been realized in the short term that we're working on to to bring forward and that we expect to continue to make progress on so I I just want to I after you know sitting in and ruminating for a minute and listening to the conversation that that would be from a fiscal perspective my recommendation would be as a holistic where are we heading as a as a district are we meeting our revenue and reduction projections or are we going to need to talk about is it a school closure and if so then it's here's what we have set in place or is it something else that needs to be addressed just just my recommendation trusty dtor so my whole goal as lofty as unrealistic as it may
182be is to get to those budget right sizings in the least traumatic way possible to our students and staff and we cannot unclose a high school so if we vote tonight to close a high school there's your trauma and it's going to affect an entire Community if we are finding an option to provide a little more time to try and figure that out and that school is still closed or a school is still closed at least we tried I just just we can un we can't unclose a school if we vote tonight to close a school trusty Kirby and then trusty Jenkins I was just going to say and yet we've asked the question how hard is it to open to reopen a closed school and we were told that that is easier to do
183that that is financially easier to do from a fiscal perspective yes from an a community impact perspective it may not be you know that that there's the the trauma on that as as you've shared then again following up on the fact that the 3-3 pause doesn't hit our goal and I just want to clarify this still from our conversation previously we we've been writing this line with the Three Degree excuse me 3% reserve and that is still where we we would be on this right no no wiggle room no it would actually bring us below that which is where we go into the qualified it's if we end up with a that we won't be able to meet to have a reserve if we're going negative and not able to meet our obligations that's what
184would trigger the negative so we would go into a qualified with this scenario but the 331 then took us the cuts were good enough to get us poten well above that right potentially but with the other with all of the combination of different things it's we may be qualified anyway it's the level of how much does that dip down you know it it could be a swing you know one one and a half% one way or the other yeah I really just want to lift that up right that with the 331 that's the Assumption the assumption is that all of the students at LC stay in our district if we lose 30 to 40% of our students someone can check my math but that's about $5 million annually that we're losing in Ada because students
185have left our district so you can throw those 3.8 million out the door because now we just lost 5 million from students leaving which is a very high likelihood we've heard it today so I just I just want to Center Us in in understanding that a 331 does not automatically get us to that Financial goal that we think it's going to get us to there are going to be unintended consequences correct there are likely unintended consequences with any decisions that are made this evening the the enormity of that that the difference in that will vary and and we can't predict it we can do our best to project and a reminder that we do have at least in the first year we have a little bit of a cushion in that we have we are
186funded on either the current year the prior year or the three-year average I know yesterday we talked about we ran scenarios of if we lose further enrollment in Ada and so yes then we will have to make further adjust ments definitely after after that first year so I want to recenter on the fact that the 33 pause and the 331 are not uh are not just the difference between LC being open or closed but there's also the significant difference of immediately closing three middle schools and moving our uh vast majority of the community without phasing to the model I I the Slater part of that with its higher enrollment and and moving that up to year one and the the combination of then the logistics of amending you know the charter aspect of that okay
187can we explore that a little bit more I'm trying to trying to grasp I me there's no scenario up here that doesn't result in us not losing enrollment and we haven't had any analysis that gives us a way point to be able to validate our assumptions on where we're going to lose more enrollment from the other message I heard very clearly in the last 24 hours is a concern around the 712 model being able to work and so the difference in this from being phased and not is the amount of time that we get to do it right in some places and then show success it's a short period of time but we're removing all of that time and so I'm I'm I'm trying to figure out how to estimate where students you know I
188mean we're anticipating student Behavior based on all these different changes and really it's just our personal opinions on what's going to result in more or less Ada so can we talk about those Logistics some more of what happens if all three go in the same first year how is that process work and how are the how are we going to keep those students especially the eighth graders that could be immediately looking at going somewhere else right now so one thing I want to say is as we look at the three three Paws and as we look at the 331 the one Middle School that we're talking about not doing immediately is the one middle school high school combination that has actively been working on a plan to integrate the school and that's the one that
189we're talking about not doing if we don't do that one where they've actually come up with a plan of how they're going to do it then we we may not see as much of the success because the other two sites one p absorbing commstock we have the space issue and Santa Rosa High absorbing Santa Rosa Middle they haven't really developed a plan yet they have space but they haven't developed a plan can you clarify which school has developed the plan yes Montgomery and Slater have been actively working together to put together a plan to move the Slater seventh and eighth graders and to welcome them to their campus so they're not just looking at the size of the campus or where to put them but how to actively welcome and integrate both the staff and
190the students at those schools there could be a greater concern on comck Hiner and and so there may still be a need to do a phased approach just we may have put the wrong phases in here is that what you're saying possibly but also this gives the opportunity if we make this decision it gives the opportunity for that administrative team to work closely with the other administrative teams and share their ideas that they've already put down on paper and also um Dr U belli has um worked out a plan that we can move more students and make it more space at Piner to actually make the 33 pause I don't know if you'd like to mention that or show that it's I know it's hard to show it here because it we don't have access
191to our servers yeah so um sorry just this one sorry um so now looking at the map I know we have looked at these Maps a lot but um what I was uh thinking um is if you look at the current boundary that uh projects the enrollment um up here is on I want to say River Road or something like that up there we could move this boundary down to 101 and they would move about 200 students between Piner and Maria Kio and so it we could create space a Piner by shifting students from in this case uh Mark West from Piner to Maria Kio so there is a little bit of just by changing the tendance boundary to create space a Piner because the constraints is really not driven by the map and the
192attendance boundaries so if that's something we can do uh I won't be able to do it live but we can make sure that is you know memorialized into the minutes and then tomorrow morning I'll make the change it seems to me like keeping LC open also reduces the the space and Facilities constraints of the 712 model because LC can then take some of the comto and I don't know some of the Santa Rosa Middle population um so we wouldn't be facing as severe of a crowding issue at Piner or Santa at Santa Rosa High that's correct if I may I can show those projection so that we have a common Baseline that we are looking at so these are uh the current projections for the three 31 scenario and you can see that we have
193um pretty much all sides at capacity with s Rosa High being at about 1600 student uh six 600 students over capacity and it will require some creative thinking about um space use there and classroom sharing uh to accommodate both a middle school and a high school program once the Santa Rosa High School absorb a part of the um LC Allen attendance boundary and similarly at Montgomery um we did some reworking of the attendance boundaries that we show uh to you yesterday in order order to create space at Montgomery for these later students uh the following year so you can see that f400 that's because we've designed those boundaries to allow for the six 600 students uh as later to move their ear to because we didn't want to create a boundary that would not leave
194space for uh the move of Slater on the momer campus in in year 2 uh the similar space constraints are still there at Piner and that is where I was talking about if you look at the attendance boundary here see how it's more straight down to 101 we could do something similar with the map that we saw before and it should address some of the space constraints that we currently see on that boundary ainer I don't know see a lot of things going on what else do we need to talk through trusty Kirby so when when we redrawing these boundaries are you for example at the high school are are you assuming that we're we're kind of just like we're going to force we're not going to allow any uh transfers we're going to basically
195Force the kids to go to the other high school no so these boundaries assume that students are currently on transfer to a campus will stay there through the duration of their uh you know High School career um it leaves some space for transfers for sites that historically have received an influx so you can see that this map was designed when intend to leave some space and Mar Rio because that was one of the campuses that's the most requested and some space at Santa Rosa High School where um to have you know um intake of more students now we are still the interdistrict transfer is on pause right now so we won't know what will be the projections for next year uh but we should have space to accommodate most of the requests and for oh
196yeah which one sorry sorry sorry there sorry all right um so what um Dr Morales asked us to because this is a topic that comes up every every time we have this conversation um I mapped out here the steps that we're going to have to do to be able to actually answer with some concrete information how do in any of these um scenarios impact this goal of um you know allowing for school transfer so regardless of what uh scenario you recommend tonight the first thing that we're going to have to do which we've already begun the process of is to go into our student information system and reassign school of residence based on any boundary adjustments that come out of your recommendations once we have that we're going to be informing families of their new
197school of residence if you're wondering about the timeline for step one and two in my work with Dr bardelli we are um believing we are going to be able to complete steps one and two by tomorrow afternoon now I'm not saying that that's a guarantee if there isn't you know a final decision tonight then we're not able obviously to talk about adjustments on boundaries but we're prepared to get that information out to families as quickly as we can the third step is to uh contact any families whose school has been named for closure and we're focusing obviously on the families whose schools have been named for closure during year one because we have time to work with other families and um allowing them a short window because typically the transfer request happens in October and
198November for the following year and there may be some families who didn't submit a a transfer request because they they knew their home school was their preferred school and there may be some adjustments so we are right now proposing that there be an additional window specifically to Target and support those families who are impacted by a decision that may have been made tonight um The Next Step you'll see it's listed as 4 a and 4B because those two steps are going to be happen happening concurrently one doesn't happen before the other and it's going to be to work with both facilities and evaluation and information to determine each kind of newly configured campuses capacity to be able to accept transfers and then to continue to work with cabinet to revise the priorities so if we
199discover that a particular school has room for 100 uh transfer requests and we get 150 how are we going to prioritize that because as we discussed in the past our current priorities do not take the current scenario conversations that we're having into consideration and the order with which they are currently listed has some potential impact at the family level that I think we need to have some conversations about we can do that through adjustments to our administrative regulations and it will not require the additional steps to change board policy because board policy allows us as a cabinet and to make those kinds of administrative regulations um once we're able to do that we would inform the families of what those new priorities are and as capacity admits then begin to approve the interdistrict transfer requests
200and be able to notify families this is a lofty goal but we are um ambitiously going to say that with a decision tonight by the um end of spring break or around the 21st of March um we may be able to notify families of the outcome of their transfers transfer requests so if we're moving if we if we decide to move forward with this 3 three pause and try and figure out how to remap and rezone and make this work do we have Target Target hopeful Target enrollment numbers for each campus and if this horrifically nose Dives and we don't get near those numbers do we have a plan in place to not operate another full year in extreme deficit if the students don't enroll and show up we can't make Staffing reductions after March
20115 giving um preliminary not we have to give preliminary notices by March 15th so if we saw that we've received all of a sudden all of these requests out then we could potentially add to that list um but it before March 15 so essentially our first meeting in March would be our only next opportunity past next week on the 26th which is the 26th is when we are projected to bring or plan to bring reductions to across the board for preliminary because remember again that's also why we've talked about the over you know that we have to notice as many as could potentially be impacted on a preliminary basis and then finalize by may but as we have every year we can't make reductions in Staffing other than not filling vacancies past that that date
202this last year we moved people um at the beginning of the year rather than filling vacancies as we had done in the past and as we talk about attrition like transferring in and out of District um don't both districts need to agree to that transfer and if we choose not to agree what do we have any consequences for that or can we actually hold them to any of that um right now the way that our administrative regulations because you're talking about inter District transfers which are different than inra District transfers so if you can explain both so the Public's aware of what we can and can approve and if we don't approve it do we really have any power to do that right so when we talk about the intra District transfers those are students
203who live in our district and want to stay in our district and want to attend a school other than their neighborhood school we have full control over our ability to say yes or no and there have been years where we have had to limit based on a school's capacity um there have been schools where we have always had the freedom to be able to say yes so if we got 10 requests one year yes to every if we got a hundred yes to every because the schools typically have been operating under their full Staffing ratios so they had lots of room to be able to say yes when we look at inter District transfers the way that we currently have it set up um there are about 12 different reasons that family may request um
204to attend a school other than Santa Rosa city schools these are people who either live in Santa Rosa and want to attend a school that is not one of the Santa Rosa city school districts or students who live outside of our attendance boundaries and want to attend one of our schools it is important to know that kind of the unknown piece to all of this are Charter programs because Charter programs have a separate application process and they don't go through the traditional inter District that was one example of where we got caught off guard where one of our local districts expanded their 78 Charter uh to from one class of seventh graders and one class of eighth graders to having additional sections and because they don't go through the inter District transfer process we were
205caught off guard and did not realize that there was going to be 100 fewer seventh and eighth GR in our district but typically it is a three-step process to be approved for an inter District transfer the parent fills out the application the um exiting school district has to approve that request and then the intering school district has to approve that request if there is one of those two schools that says no we do not have capacity um the family can apply for an appeal they appeal to somoma County and we regularly do attend appeal meetings either because another district has said no to one of our families who wanted to attend their school or vice versa the most common request falls into one of basically three big areas I have always been outside the Santa
206Rosa city school district and I want to continue doing so that's the first and kind of most frequent reason that we hear I started this program in kindergarten I'm now a fifth grader I want to stay with that program the second is I have a sibling that is in this other program and I don't want to split up my family an older student was going through the process they got approved now I want the younger child to be able to go with them the third and um kind of the most um kind of unique situations that we're hearing is that there are programs outside of Santa Resa City schools that we cannot duplicate there are programs like um the uh new program called uh Sonoma County Virtual Academy that is run by Windsor Unified School
207District which is uh basically an online model it's called Sova and we are seeing an increase in the number of students who want to attend Sova because because when they asked for independent study in our district we had to say I'm sorry we have 40 students on a waiting list and there won't be space available to give you an alternative option within our district so that is one area that if I were looking in the you know the crystal ball and saying what is an opportunity for us it would be looking at what kinds of alternative models could we start offering and to piggyback on that there is actually some that is one of our plans as far as how we recoup and increase the revenue side is to look at at those things we've
208had a lot of work done in ed services to make that happen um so at any rate that so that you know that that is something that we are working on a couple of questions this um and first off I really appreciate you writing this down because our conversation on it yesterday I think was really important but uh us verbally saying it in the middle of a 4-Hour meeting that the number of people that will be able to digest it compared to having on a slides important um for the intradistrict transfers one of the things we're talking about in both scenarios is further specialization of programs at the individual campuses and we have different feeders contemplated for those different programs um several are Charters that then head into a non-charter 712 or 9912 depending on
209future actions not tonight um and that's not just the language programs but obviously the Arts Charter has a very blatant intent to feed into art Quest where in within this process are we prioritizing and enabling the choice we're actively trying to create like are we going to tell people that they are only going to get access to the IB language school if they live in the IB language regardless of where they had gone for for those feeder intents and then I'm hearing you say no so can you explain how within the policy yes it's no if we're getting close to capacities here absolutely um so one of the things that uh we do have as one of our current priorities is acceptance into specialty programs and uh there are right now four unique programs that
210have been identified under the current policy which is one of the reasons why step 4B exists right now the four uh specialty programs are specifically identified in our current administrative rigs which is 511 6.1 if you like to read policy like I do 5116 511 6.1 thank you yeah um but uh the four programs that are specifically called out are the art Quest program which requires an additional application process the Early College magnet program at Hiner High School which requ requires an additional application process the um uh International Balor program at Montgomery High School which does not require an additional application process but under today's current model is available at the junior in the senior year although one of the discussions that has been coming out of all of these conversations because yes this is
211incredibly impactful and very uncertain but there are some opportunities for some improvements and uh Montgomery has been talking about trying to expand the international baloria program whether that's you know going wall to- wall at certain grades or even pushing it all the way down to grade seven the fourth program that is specifically called out is the University program there are other specialty programs but the way that our current administrative rigs are written right now those are the four so when a family is interested in a specialty program they pursue that alternative uh application process and if they are accepted then that helps approve their priority of the transfer requests it is important to know that um at least one of the those uh specialty programs does have in it that if you apply to attend
212that specialty program and then decide this is not the right fit for me you don't grandfather into the school then you return back to your home school but that is the work under 4B is to evaluate are we naming all of the specialty programs that need to be called out and are we taking a look at ensuring when we look at capacity that we have the ability when a family has been accepted in that specialty program to be able to support their successful matriculation through that program and this plan is for um the closures and the impact of students from the closures but a part of our followup is the intent to do a strategic plan where we're talking about specializing not programs but entire campuses and so so I'm going to use Piner Spark
213Center because it seems like a good example uh with you know if someone wants to go to the Science school that the specialty Science school with the Sparks that re theming the campus that way are are we contemplating that we're going to have open enrollment where the neighborhood school doesn't entitle you to that preference s similarly my understanding is that koreo uh maybe not Tech but definitely AP um graduate Focus for for that campus is a focus does that mean that if you live there you have first right or does that mean that we're saying that throughout the district as we're specializing the schools we're giving an ability to transfer in into there with equal access since we're intending to theme the campuses that way well and and I know that we might be getting
214deep in the weeds here and it may not be something that we can answer all of the questions tonight because as um the 712 models begin to really flesh out do some branding do some program development I see that as being kind of a year two and year three problem that we don't necessarily I I don't think it would be possible for any of us to write a plan that both anticipates predicts and resolves all potential growth areas so that is something we're going to have to be able to look at I think it's also important to acknowledge that when we say the access to AP classes that's not one campus every single one of our campuses gives our students the ability to take AP classes they may have different AP offerings but I want
215to be aware of the fact that we we should not name any one campus as the place that prepares students to go to college we had a huge number of public comment today with students you know former students and alumni uh touting their success stories and so I just think it's important for us to acknowledge I agree with that I only say it because that's one of the things I heard after I said the words Tech High and I got a flood of emails saying we'd actually prefer to be the AP you know you know there's a process here and I I I heard that um I guess the concern I'm saying is is within all of this in just yesterday there was a tremendous amount of blame put on parents for not transfering or
216going to certain schools um and if we're intending on theming schools to not do everything everywhere which I do think is the best way that we're going to be able to do things really excellent in the some places of we do do them I'm concerned about the concept of the transfer process restricting the ability for parents to be able to send their kids to where the kids are going to thrive best because we're now not we're now trying to specialize and so that's what I'm getting and I hear that we can't fully answer it but it is a it is something we are starting today um with some of these votes and so I have another more detailed question but I want I want to give you an opportunity to respond no I I just
217want to say that um regardless of the outcome of any decisions that are made today this specific conversation is not something that started okay due to the consolidation and closure conversation this is something that I've been working with the team in Educational Services and in information and evaluation um for the three years that I've been in this position and I know that my predecessors have been working on this as well because allowing you know just kind of open reain to transfers is a double-edged sword it benefits and it harms and I think that we have to be very cognizant of both sides of that coin so two specifics then on this plan for the impact in the next um month hopefully uh 6 weeks at most for people to get certainty sooner one is and
218in specific to Steel but any other second year there anyone who is going to be outside of the steel Reb boundary chain uh boundary change in year one but wanted to stay there for year two would have a priority to stay there and in the reverse anyone who would be in the steel boundary but wish to start their off at their future School based on because we have the year 2 map and want them to have a priority to transfer into where their school would be in year two and let them make the choice of whether they move year one or year two yeah and that is why we have to do step 4B there because right now our priorities do not even acknowledge that a school closure or consolidation exists and there is not
219a current process for prioritizing that so just making especially in the steel and I'd say anywhere where there's certainty in EN closure in year two that the parents have the option to go in year one or year two and then I within capacity but yes within capacity but you know to the extent possible um and then in the supports for this and I appreciate reach out uh to families because it's the proactive language I'm looking for um I'm I'm figuring out how to encourage or coax stronger language for the proactivity you know is it you know because it's not just the reach out like you know here's an email and a phone call but like some students may need to be pursued not all parents get parents Square uh you know double working family house
220like you know how do we really proactively do it and is are we contemplating like an OMS person for you know the grades where there's focus on because the proactivity key for making this work especially for the families where they're not able to be tracking this whole process and with us here till midnight many nights in a row right well and right now the plan is to have two separate letters go out tomorrow one letter is going to the entire Community updating them on this transfer plan because some of the people who need to hear this aren't technically or directly being impacted by decisions that are being made tonight they still need to know the information the second letter that will be going out tomorrow is planed to go only to those families whose boundary
221lines have changed and then the next step in this is I like that word we're doing Outreach I prefer the the phrase search and serve and one of the strategies that we did when we had the adjustment and the impact of the close of cook is that not just for one year but for a number of years we had an active connection process with the school counselors having conversations with families having school administrators call in families and say um you remember that you used to be on a feeder line that said that you went from this school to that school you're now in a feeder line that has you go from this school to that school were you aware of this so so that during those traditional Windows where families will be applying that there
222would be that additional support so it's not just the families who already have their calendars marked because there are some families that are like that but that we would be doing some search and serve to support those families impacted by decisions tonight if you're asking for the specifics of that it's very difficult until I know how many campuses how many students and we're going to be able to be working on that as the spring continues I'm asking for the commitment to the Full Throttle proactivity not the specifics um we need a motion to extend the meeting I move to extend to 11:30 second all those in favor say I I any opposition right meeting extended to 11:30 trusty Jenkins um yes regarding the boundaries and Outreach um and the whole process does that also include
223literally everyone in Santa Rosa because the High School boundaries will impact everyone as long as they are one of our students yes they are not our students yet the feeder districts all of the feeder districts this impacts every single one of our feder districts I'm hoping that they are getting plastered with information we we have we have gone through their superintendent but that's suppos my I know that there were have been discussions about our process we have not had those Outreach until we have a decision to be able to share anything there there's not much for us to to go on other than we did share with them that we were having the town halls we've had you know there are spaces we are having conversations at cabinet levels um when we're interacting with people
224um then maybe a request that we're working with the other with the smaller districts who are coming into us to make sure like proactively getting that information out personally I know I've said this before but coming in from a feeder feeder district and giant decisions being made that impacted my kids and I didn't know about it it it just continues to create divide and um break that trust so this conversation about notification and transfers is really important but I'm wondering if this is a genuine question is this NE necessary to go further into this in order to decide between the scenarios some of it is I specifically for the 33 pause it looks to me like there's about 200ish capacity spots at rinken Valley Middle School for families that in year one year one being
225when we haven't had the opportunity to develop or approve a 712 program uh what would we contemplate as a transfer request process if we were to receive more than 200 uh requests and what in what would the expectation be for how that would be prioritized so just like we do in every year once we identify how many requests are for being at the school then we identify um how many how many spaces are available so let's say we have 250 requests we have 200 spaces available we would then start with the highest priority and we would approve those first then we would go to the second priority then we would go to the third priority there have been years where we've had to limit it to only certain priorities because we just simply didn't have
226the room for for the sake of this specific example so 78 students wishing to transfer to rinken Valley Middle to stay in a 78 model in year one under the 3 three pause can you state those priorities one two three well and again um if I were to I because yes I could absolutely tell you the seven priorities as they are written today they do not address the question that you're asking because we have not yet revised them to acknowledge the impact of closure and consolidation so that would have to happen then we would I my recommendation to our cabinet team is to reorder some of them to um account for some of the potential impacts of this but it you know just telling you how they are currently written won't answer your question is
227there a way to get a sentiment on with the priori so wanting to stay in a 78 model would that be a priority it I I think that right now the way that it is currently written absolutely it falls under the any reason not listed of the ones above that's what we would be taking a look at is how to rewrite those priorities to be able to acknowledge some of the different impacts like what you're talking about we don't have it written yet because we have to look at what the decision is to be able to do that justy Kirby well just to I guess follow up a little bit on that just so we're not surprised again um obviously you said we're we're counting on comto and uh San Rosa Middle 78 students to
228fill the 712th model at Elsie um are they are we assuming that those students are going to can I make a clarification El hasn't had a feeder right since we closed ccla in 2019 and so I mean you can correct me if I'm wrong yes and it would open up a feeder for students who haven't been able to go to Middle School in a public Middle School in southw Santa Rosa go to Els well exactly exactly why I was bringing it up but yeah so yes um some of commstock and um as well Santa Rosa and SL sler because they were they were dispersed to those three so yeah yeah but I mean are they going to want to come back if we if we vote tonight that Elsie is going to be the school
229to close are we certain that those parents are going to want to start their students at the school we we aren't certain there there's not any way that we can be certain of any of the of the enrollment projections so yeah absolutely What specifically to the LC question would we be contemplating in year one having the non- language immersion neighborhood preference students at ccla uh be able to choose to stay at C CLA or would we be moving all of them to LC in the 33 pause from a f fiscal perspective regarding Staffing we would recommend consolidating with the LC model so that would mean discontinuing comprehensive Middle School services for the middle school students at ccla with the 3 three pause because otherwise we have to over staff at ccla we have to essentially
230duplicate staff at ccla compared to um Santa Rosa high and that's one of the areas where we do contribute from our general fund to ccla is related to the the non-d Dual emergence students so in the current plan which obviously could be amended but that that is our recommendation would be to to assume the transfer of those students into LC Allen because that's and I attended a parent meeting on Monday night and there was unity and thought on wanting to maintain a tk8 model but there was a strong uh Divergence in whether or not that would work with or without the comprehensive uh Services the comprehensive program the band uh the sports the basketball team and so that's a very real consequence of right now it can be that does not preclude because at e
231at seventh and eth grade they're not in CIF so there's not any reason that you can't have some joint Athletics and and things like that and so similar then I guess to the Montgomery pre-planning have we pre-planned how we would be how that we how we' be doing that transition how we would be keeping the comprehensive clubs band um Athletics and all those things for the ccla students that would be losing that that could be uh losing them with the transfer out of over like 300 of their because you you said comprehensive Middle School needs at least 300 middle schoolers we're saying we're not going to have that now in year one under the under this plan so I'm trying to understand what the plan is to to to what does that look like so
232um we haven't really talked about it in those terms I think that just off the top of my head um if the sth eth graders were to go the non dual immersion seventh and eighth graders were to go to LC those seventh and eighth graders along with the seventh and eighth graders from ccla would form joint teams so those kids would still be together um to do athletics and whatnot it would be harder with band and things like that where we would have to probably split a teacher between ccla and another School site um in order to maintain that program unless it was a before school or after school kind of thing in which case it would be easier um like we were saying earlier in the beginning we are going to have to use
233the fields and the gymnasiums from the middle schools even if the schools don't have students and I think that would be the same thing with Athletics for the um seventh and eighth graders that would be attending LC I mean those are my questions on the transfer yeah [Laughter] so I mean it's it's it's revealing more consequences of the of the choices tonight and so fully flushing this out I think is important because you know that's uh in one way we're saying we're not having to move the charters or or do anything like that um now but we are saying we're moving a huge cohort now and and that's going to have I mean that between now and August similar to the current enrollment patterns at the Arts Charter where seventh and eighth grade we get
234a drop off and the same thing we saw with the French American school before they split to have the classes at Slater we saw that drop off because then we're saying these students aren't going to have access to those uh programs anymore and I so that that's a big deal and so I appreciate having the conversation and revealing it now it's more for me to be thinking on so absolutely and it is something that again the board can provide a preference on how we move forward with that if it's that that is not what we do then then that's how we move forward so it is 10:00 at night and we have students here who are waiting to hear about the fate of their school it's it's important that we talk through everything but I
235need to know what it is that you still need to talk through or if anyone is ready to make a motion for a particular scenario I mean I'm ready to make a motion but I don't want to take away the opportunity for questions or discussion if that's still needed I not seeing a scenario that gets us to the budget cuts that we need to have the extra program staff for allot of the things we're talking about you know we just in this one conversation around LC and ccla we talked about needing to have teachers potentially split between campuses travel Athletics programs being coordinated between that and earlier we had a conversation about the fact that next week we're likely going to cut all the people that would actually be doing those things and then we're
236talking between to scenarios where one shows a higher budget save savings the other shows a lower budget savings a slightly better difference if we successfully negotiate away the seventh period with SRTA um but still both of those could result in us not having the money to actually do the things we're talking about needing to do to make some of the logistics here work so the the the struggle with that is which you know which direction we go like we're talking about how far into the 3% Reserve that we're funding right now with bond interest we we commit to going to be in a non-qualified status um so I I don't want to close any of the seven schools being proposed here this isn't about one school um it's about all of them and and a
237part of this is also a massive transformation that I do believe from all of the research and all the studies will work of the 712 model um but that's a massive transformation and we're talking about the speed at which we're going to be making that transformation and having ex the difference of being able to do it over two years um versus one year and having roughly 200 spots a 78 for parents that still have fear about it and so I'm just I I'm I really want a path forward that doesn't close Elsie I really want a path forward that doesn't close our midds I want a path forward that doesn't close beella um and fundamentally we're at a place where there have been decisions made for years where we didn't in where the district didn't
238make hard choices just last year there was 67 layoff notices and I believe only seven of them were actually followed through on if we had laid if we had actually followed through on more of those layoffs we could have entire school campuses not being talked about this year um you know I I bring up the you know we were talking about the cook closure and you know trustee close at the time called was the one vote against it called it irresponsible said it was short-sighted and said it could lead to today and that was a decision that was made back then I was a a parent and we were there was not a need to move ccla away from comto that wasn't something that anyone asked for they just asked for a bigger campus so
239the program could grow and the board said we're going to move you to cook which created all these Elementary District issues and created this this whole situation and so we're here struggling with decisions that have been made before us and I'm being faced with options that continue to PO to Kick the Can down the road and I want to have that hope but but I'm also hearing like we have a trustee who helped create this process that we're in today coming to us tonight and saying that we didn't do an equity analysis that she didn't put into the process like we are struggling here yesterday was our TW Monon anniversary of being sworn in and we're struggling with 10 years of bad decisions I don't want tonight to be one when we're sitting here next
240year making another bad decision because we didn't make a good one today um so if I can address kind of the Staffing question um so in terms of last year people that we brought back um most of which were brought back due to vacancies meaning that you know through attrition people left people retired and whatever and so we had to bring people back so that's why some of them were um were uh pulled back but in terms of Staffing for this upcoming year um the way that we are calculating in order to rightsize the district has to do with the actual need not based on a specific School site but based on districtwide how many Math teachers do we need how many biology teachers do we need how many of each of those and actually
241having a 712 together we already have teachers that are traveling between sites we have two teachers that are going from ccla to LC every day so we already have teachers that are having to do that at least if the 712 was on the same site they wouldn't have to do as much traveling as they're doing but terms of not um in order to to staff appropriately regardless of whether we do 712 or whether we kept all the middle schools open we would still have staff that would be going between two sites because financially there's no other way to do it trusty Jenkins I just have a process question um so since there are I guess we have two options on the table what is the process for a vote like this when there's six people
242like are we doing one at a time are we I know you're you're ready to make a motion but I'm just wondering like the process I know still new namita can you speak on this Nita is our lawyer so someone would make a motion on of the scenarios and we would do a roll call Vote Yes or no on that scenario um the motion can be for one of the scenarios as is it could be with amendments modifications um yeah so it would be for a specific scenario the motion would pass or fail if it fails then we would continue discussion there could be a motion for a different scenario any other questions can we um I had if you know we're kind of thinking about this still I had prepared some words and a
243statement and have been kind of finding the right time to share this and maybe as we're thinking about what our votes are going to be this might be this might be the right time um I'd like to speak to the history of our community the story of Southwest Santa Rosa's educational landscape is one of continuous change and often continuous challenge in 2019 we closed lawren Cook Middle School disrupting a crucial feeder pattern over the years we've seen the growth of charter schools in surrounding areas drawing students away from their neighborhood schools not necessarily because families preferred those schools but because they were made to feel it was their only choice for a quality education this perception this stigma has been perpetuated despite evidence to the contrary yet through all of this LC Allen has remained
244steadfast serving 900 to a th000 families who actively choose to be a part of our community the portrait of Sonoma County describes our city as A Tale of Two Cities living side by side yet a world apart what's often missed in the and social Mobility barriers while local government Social Services nonprofits and Healthcare Systems have worked to address these inequities closing LC Allen would unravel Decades of progress look at what LC Allen means today it's where 30% of our students 30% one in three of our students are English language Learners supported by specialized staff and schedules it's where our award-winning marching band Bal FICO and Mariachi programs keep cultural Traditions alive it's where nearly 100 students participate in our health career pathway program with Suter Health it's where our nextg Trades Academy creates path to
245high-paying jobs it's where our foundation Awards over $170,000 in scholarships annually consider Daniel nwin he's actually a friend of my younger brother's class of 2017 who went from our Halls to Har yep Katherine's little brother who went from our Halls to Harvard and now works as a software engineer at Google think about udith gorea Class of 2004 Who Rose from student board member to Chief Operating Officer at Santa Rosa Community Health these aren't exceptions they're examples of what's possible when we invest in our community let me address some persistent myths that have clouded this entire conversation first there's a myth that families don't want to send their children to LC Allen the reality 900 to a th000 families have chosen our school many aren't defaulting to Elsie they're choosing it for its unique programs its
246supportive environment and its role in their Community but yes some families face barriers not from lack of Desire but from systemic inequities we should be working to dismantle not reinforce second there's a myth that despite District Investments the school is failing the facts tell us a different story our graduation rates are rising postco our AP scores exceed National averages our foundation Awards so much in scholarships from our nextg Trades Academy to our Public Safety career pathway we offer unique programs that serve our communities very specific needs third there's a myth that lower enrollment makes LC students easier to relocate this fundamentally Mis understands our community many of our students already face significant barriers to getting to school we've seen it our kids talked about it in the Press today removing their only public high school
247option won't just create inconvenience it could lead to dropping out entirely or leaving our district for more accessible options finally there's a devastating myth that closing El Salen would cause the least harm let's be absolutely clear about the reality first the financial assumptions don't hold up the idea that we'll save 3.8 million assumes our students will simply transfer to other srcs schools but our community is strong and they identify with schools in Rosland many families will likely choose rosand district schools Oro or others closer to home this doesn't just erase our projected savings it could actually deepen our deficit second the transportation impact would be devastating there are only three options within Southwest City Limits to cross Highway 101 Hearn Baker and Sebastapol downtown only four routes to cross Highway 12 I'm not going to
248go through all that again for many of our families who already face Transportation barriers this isn't just an inconvenience it's an insurmountable obstacle that could lead to dropping out entirely third we're not just closing a school were dismantling a community Hub the Santa Rosa Community Health Clinic wasn't placed at LC Island by choice or by chance it was position their by choice specifically to serve an underserved Community this Clinic provides vital health care services that aren't read readily available elsewhere in Santa Rosa moving it defeats its purpose entirely fourth we risk creating the only truste area my area in our district with no schools within its boundaries this isn't just just about administrative lines on a map it's about Equity representation and Community identity my trusty area will be erased some suggest they don't want
249to roll the dice on keeping Elsie open it's heartbreaking but tonight I implore you my fellow board members to question what we're really gambling with I ask you to go beyond whatever thoughts you have about Elsie what your concerns are and look at the whole picture one that includes students with the deepest needs and who have the hardest Hills to climb when we talk about stigma when we hear statements that some families would never send their children to LC Allen we must ask ourselves are we change leaders or are we perpetuating the systemic racism that has historically been forced on marginalized communities we've seen what intentional efforts can achieve look at at look at how our music program has built strong connections between ccla and LC Allen creating a pipeline that's already showing results through
250intentionality we have been able to make change happen but these changes need time and this is what we're being offered is time the 340 scenario offers us a path forward our community and schools already look to elsc as a model for building belonging where students feel supported regardless of their background or how recently they joined our community where 70% of classes were a through G compliant before it was mandated where specialized program serve students labeled as severely Disturbed with care and attention they can't find anywhere anywhere else tonight's decision is about more than numbers it's about whether we'll be the board that understood the true cost of closing a community's only public high school or the one that CHS expediency over Equity it's about examining our own values and ensuring our decisions truly reflect our
251stated beliefs about Equity closing El Allen would be a disaster to our district in ways we can't yet imagine both historically and practically ripping away the support system from students who don't have access to Transportation health services and the sense of community that a neighborhood school provides would be devastating this isn't just about where these students will attend school this loss will have Ripple effects throughout our city and our County our district will be recognized either for its commitment to all of our students and families or for catering to those who have the means to mobilize within a System created to give them the most power to begin with we can be the board we can we can be the board that recognized that 900 to a thousand families choosing Elsie Allen means something we
252can be the board that understood that a community's identity hope and future are worth fighting for we can be the board that chose to stand with our most vulnerable students when they needed us most I think we all know what the right decision is here we do please let's keep Elsie Allen open Maneri do you have a motion for us go ahead one of the areas that we've been talking about is attendance and the importance and the the importance of our community and our students showing up up and Dr barard Del just did a quick calculation while we were while you were sharing and if we were to have a 4% increase in attendance at LC Allen from 88% which is an increase over so they have been increasing and I'll let Dr Castro speak
253to that um essentially it would erase the I mean it would cover the difference in in in savings the just quickly the difference with or without the seventh period that would be based on their current on on 9th through 12th 4% would also keep the seventh period that would get that would get if you're talking about the the difference in the in the scenarios that that would cover that easily negotiated $1 million it would it could cover that it's essentially if I mean if that didn't happen we're just talking about today's dollars mhm 88% attendance to 92% attendance would essentially cover that they've been involved in a on an attendance initiative actually the over the last five months actually that's been raising their attendance regularly I don't have the specifics right now at the moment
254but I was just on their campus about a week ago and they um gave me those the numbers I was actually quite impressed by them so I'm very hopeful about that yeah I just want our I just wanted thought that it was important we thought that it was important to share the impact that the community can have in encouraging students to attend you said it's grown the attendance has grown recently is that this year it's grown or from last year over I know that there's been a significant change over the last I think it's four to five months I met with their um their um Administration and they have a new initiative the the four um administrators on staff they're working very hard on that they have um very detailed steps that they're taking um
255with their counselors and um some incentives and whatnot I mean actually to if I'm able to speak uh freely there are a number of things that the campus is doing that have really um shown on a number of different ways that both culturally and academically they' um made some significant improvements so I mean not like there was anything that I could say negative about it but there's some like real significant changes so yeah let me throw out a scenario if we took actions today on this pause and I have lots of reservations about what I'm going to say so this is a scenario not a recommendation if we were to go with a so a 3 three pause and we were to specifically say we're looking at a combination of this negotiation and rest of
256this year attendance changes to close that Gap because 4% is also the Gap that we were talking about yesterday in attendance between Montgomery and LC that was a part of the discussion so you know if we were to move with the pause scenario that was specifically looking at that particular change and we got the 4% when we're looking at cash flow you're saying that that would give us confidence that our cash flow and I'm talking cash flow I'm talking certification I'm talking money to pay for people to do things better so across all three of those criteria you're saying that a 4% bump in attendance of the current students so we're not talking about traction we're talking not talking about retention um we could use that as a way to have faith in having those
257savings so again we have to think about where we are in the year we have very little time between now and P2 so as far and that's what we're funded on so I wouldn't expect to see that increase for what we're funding on next year when we're looking at the calculation but as far as trending in the right way to actually make a true impact on on the bottom line yes and that would be important to see across the board I'm saying as an indicator so we we were saying as an indicator by the end of the year we saw that change and that would give us faith that the trend line would continue to next year that if that Trend continued into next year that would that would be the funding that we're talking
258about here 4% that yes in that yes it would be and IND I I have a sorry I have a a concern with t with tying to one specific School's attendance rate the Fate yeah that's why I'm resing yeah but I'm trying to flesh out because that's a very real way to that's one potential real way to discuss this I mean it could be a similar type of average across the entire District but you know a first tangible element of this pause scenario where I can see something me it's something that we can do by the end of the year we could notice we could notice in March pending so you know it would give us the ability to it give us an indicator that give us the ability to know I don't like it
259I don't like a lot of this but I'm I I have a question because I'm not are you saying for next year a closure for 2425 determining between now and and may because I'm trying to figure out what the 4% you're talking about is meaning right so that it wouldn't mean that so we'd still be looking at one year out okay yeah that yes definitely so I I appreciate the advocacy for Elsie I do also did not sign up to close a high school I do want to say though that nobody signed up to close a high school and it has been something that has been pushed forward again and again and again and any of us would be doing the same thing if it were the high school in our that was our community
260was our was our single community um I think it's really important to say that um we still need to be fiscally responsible and I still want our kids to have programs and I still am not for all of the seven to 12s just to put that out there and but I truly appreciate the advocacy in this room up here um so I guess we're it sounds like we're probably ready but I just needed to say that because it's really important to know that everyone has a huge Community behind them in in Santa Rosa all of the schools have a huge Community behind them all of them will be would be coming forward with lawsuits if if people were faced with closures um so thank you so the two scenarios we're looking at tonight and we
261need to take some action on and everyone's sitting on pins at needles is we're looking at a 3-3 pause with plenty of reservations and we're looking at a 331 with detrimental immediate consequences and Trauma um my main issue is that second number that three are really really struggling with pushing forward 712 campuses and we're removing our comprehensive Middle School option but that's in both scenarios what we're talking about tonight we have to do something painful with our comprehensive middle school programs um that being said is incumbent upon us to all do better and at a district level ensure that we are checks and balances and not having oves and being very intentful with our future and current spending so we're not in in these situations so that we can use what funding we have available
262to provide these educational opportunities um this cannot be another Miss shot in the barrel we've got to get this is this is our time to get it right and we have an opportunity to put it out to the community to help us get it right and if we miss the Mark again next year we're not going through this eight-month process again to re-identify we know where we're at tonight can we get better in the next one to 2 years or are we closing so that's what we're faced with and we all are in this together to move forward and to do better I just I just want to say kind of in response to you Sarah that you know I know my community really intimately and I can speak to it in this way because
263of that and this is my community but I have been adamant from the beginning that closing any of our high schools would just be so so detrimental to any quadrant in the center of our of our city I would be advocating for any High School any high school that that would that is facing this I wouldn't it sucks that it has to be my my Community High School um and and and so you know this is the position that I'm in but honestly I would I have been advocating from the beginning for no closures of any high schools I can't make any of you make a motion but we need a motion I think it's because we feel like we're talking in circles and we're not um Can Can we flesh out instead of In
264Motion form can we flesh out the 330 proposal so so it's currently it says 330 we've now caught a 33 pause um are we saying it's 33 pause LC Allen or are we saying it's 33 pause come back to re-choose a high school because I think that's not written down and we said that what we're voting on is what's written down so I need to know because if we're coming back if we're coming back and going through every high school again that's very different than having picked one tonight so what is the intent I'm I'm wondering if staff has a recommendation because you're the ones in talk with sko this is you know something we we're doing collaborative collaboratively with them I'm just not that that'll be I'm not saying that that's going to be
265what we motion but I'm just curious if you have a recommendation I don't feel that that's necessary we haven't talked about anything other than this since yesterday because this was the direction that the board asked us to go to so I did not have that conversation with sco as far as choosing Elsie over a different high school we did have the conversation about the specific um issues surrounding Elsie and the lack of options within that area within srcs that would likely Drive um further um enrollment to other districts other programs um so that was what we talked about but we did not have the conversation about any other high school or whether we should go back through the process because at that point based on yesterday's direction from the board it was moved forward with
266with bringing Elsie I I don't want to say that I could be there on the 33 pod by just with just making it specific LC but I definitely can't be there on a 3 three pause if we're saying we're going to reinitiate a process of evaluating the schools in next year because like it has been so traumatic for them going through it so I I need to get this down to more certainty um I feel like the two places where the biggest amount of uncertainty is is is what you know picking a school now and then I feel like the other one is the collective bargaining um agreement element which I I feel like is a necessary litus test cuz if we don't have that million dollars then we don't have that million dollars and
267that's an entire that's almost an entire Elementary campus um so I can get to a place with a one year 3 three paw with certainty on a campus in the 1 million and I need to hear more conversation around the middle school impacts from my fellow trustees before I can go all the way down there but those would be necessary for me to con consider this option what if it was a 3 three pause and we evaluate as a district like as a whole District I would believe we'd be evaluating as a whole District the funding available I'm talking about the the the evaluation of which school would be closed if it wasn't so I'm not talking about specific enrollment changes at LC I think we've heard a scenario where enrollment changes could resolve it
268just at LC but I I think the indicators need to be on the district side um and overall and need to be taken in conjunction with reinvestments in programs um it can't it cannot exclude our need to restore our academic rigor and other enrichment programs but across the district I think makes more sense from a what we have available but what I would want to decide today is that we're not going to come back and reevaluate all the schools again and we're making a decision on what the closure would be if we didn't see that change I am also curious about the impacts because it was flushed out with the like the charter removal part of the S eights going to places um that it's seems like that would still be a pretty significant factor
269with specifically like surfax um how there charges written in the charter stuff so they are dependent Charters you are the board for the charter so there's a revision process that that comes forward but again it is you as their board um implementing that as well um as far as far as any changes um however the I guess that's something that I would look to um Vicki on the Staffing piece for any you know questions about whether there's a right now with srfax specifically their seven and eight is already at Slater and so there's not room at their current location to move seven and 8 onto the Doyle Park Campus to separate that to uncouple it from the Slater movement so I think that's one of one of the things to talk about as far as
270that I don't see a way around moving them um at a separate time from Slater ccla I think that's where we would have to have the discussion about what would the number of sections be if we were to say okay the non-d Dual language doesn't go or the whole thing goes I think that's a bigger conversation that that I really need Staffing from do we we does the comprehensive non-comprehensive immediately for next year has a huge impact on the that part of the ccla does that have to be decide like is there an immediate fiscal impact if the comprehensive stays into year two well the thing is we can't then at that point force the kids if if we're offering a 78 option at LC the kids that are not in the dual immersion at
271ccla would have the option then of staying at ccla or going to LC the more kids from the comprehensive program from the non-d DU immersion that move out of ccla the less sustainable the program is as a comprehensive Middle School um it also puts a real strain in terms of um Staffing it because if we don't have enough kids to staff a full English teacher or a full science teacher then that means that that's another person that needs to be split between sites in order to maintain the program just for for those few students so it's really unpredictable until we see what the movement of the non-u immersion kids is and a part of my thought process here is a seventh grader who just transferred in could literally move schools I mean that's a lot
272of movement and so similar to the steel conversation of letting it be a choice in that first year and this is the thing I liked about the phasing on it is it's the same conversation for the program at at Slater with ASR facts but someone of steal having the phasing on it and the choice they'd have you having the ability to go there but not being forced to move um could give the ability for that cohort to transition out so so different from what happened with the French American is that the French American never had a 78 as their kids got old enough they would leave French American and go to a traditional Middle School um because they weren't able to sustain a program so by having those kids go to Slater they got their
273French they're getting their French three periods a day the other three periods a day it allows us to better staff at Slater because those students are Incorporated with the rest of the population um so different though from ccla where we have maintained a 78 program comprehensive program that wasn't the case at um at French American just like it's not the case at Arts Charter where we're maintaining a comprehensive middle school program it's more of an extended kind of Elementary program at Arts a couple of my concerns on the on the 330 and I think I need to hear from other trustees on things that they would want to see if there's a way to make this something that's there's a way to craft something that's more addresses some of these other issues so as far
274as the the issue of a year from now if we still need to close a high school which if we can say now that it would be LC I don't I don't want to go through this whole process again I don't want to go through the committee um but I I also don't really feel comfortable with I mean I I was against closing LSC to begin with but you know especially with not knowing what numbers are going to be next year I don't feel comfortable like saying definitely that it would be LC so I'm wondering I guess this is a question for staff if there's a shorter version of the process um of deciding a high school if we get to that point in one or two years thank you I was just getting some
275guidance and that is that from a legal perspective if we are holding that conversation a year from now we should be choosing between more than one school so it we could re bringing two schools but it should be more than one and I don't know I'm kind of coming back to what I said earlier that I what I asked for and what I agreed with with Sarah on is that this this is this is a lot to put our community through and therefore we need to be looking at a more comprehensive holistic through a more comprehensive and holistic lens and and we just don't have that built yet but I I do believe we can build that um I I also can we just say can we just say that we're going to that three
276three pause and we're going to build a matrix through which we are going to evaluate this I mean I we just I don't have enough it just it feels like the pending Doom right like it's like okay if we don't reach a certain number then then we're going to close Elsie we're still doing this on the back of elsc like it's that that that still does not that doesn't sit with me that's not what that's not what I asked for so my main concern with that is to build that Matrix that our district lens does need who are we asking to do that work because if we're tasking our team to figure out 7 through 12 on all of our campuses in the next few months um and figure out the finances and keep the
277checks and balances going so we know who's doing well and what's working and what's not working um who can we work with to make sure that Matrix is built and built properly and not it's not put on the same staff that will be going through Cuts as well yeah I mean what I heard superintendent Mel say earlier is that the board would do that and that we actually have built time already that we can use to do that I don't know look if you want to say more to that so yes it could be a process that we can bring the community in to do it together um and that's what I would suggest um I have a I have a lot of Partnerships with Consultants who are doing this work across the state um
278and if we want um to maybe hire a consultant that would you know kind of guide the board in that direction or guide us in that direction so that's an option so just giving options um or you know we can look into our community Our Community Partners are also an option of who in our community is doing that work that's also another option so we the board would just have to need to select the option that they would like to use as as part of this process I think this issue is critical to not just our srcs community but to our community at large and I'm I'm sure I mean I I really do believe this that that there would be Community Partners that that would be willing to come forward and support pro bono
279I I do believe that any further discussion questions man so I just want to be clear again on the metrics that you were talking about including I heard the 4% what what else was there I mean I I don't I don't know I think that's what we were just talking about that that's something we would build with Community with experts um so that we and we just heard gu legal guidance that we should be looking at more than one school um and so I think that it's a process that we need to go through so so you're is is it just going to be some kind of nebulous I I just I don't understand I get having to I want more concrete kind of uh metrics I guess I in my mind I just I
280I need to like truste Caston was was talking about I just I need something more concrete down the road some some gates that need to be met the triggers to decide what happens when we don't or if we exceed where it is what happens then and if we don't make it then what happens I I'm just I'm not I'm unclear as to what is going to happen down the road and and do we do we set a date for this like when this decision needs to be happened is there a specific time frame or can I I just keep hearing a year I don't know is may I just clarify a point um I think you heard that my guidance was that you should have more than one school what what my guidance was is
281that if you say today that you're only going to look at LC next year and the Law changes and the law requires you to look at more than a school there are other metrics that come into play that talk about looking at the disperate impact or uh whatever the law may require by holding on to one school you're actually limiting your choice and maybe even engaging in engaging in an illegal um action there and so I'm I'm just trying to get us to a place where you get to exercise options but you don't limit yourself to such a narrow band that you have nowhere to go that that is the point and in terms of creating a major um it could be community-driven there are as uh daisy as Dr Morales said there are other
282um third party entities and I'm not talking about um just Consultants you have UC Berkeley you have Stanford that actually come to the community and create Matrix so San Francisco Unified used Stanford to create their Matrix because they were looking at uh big big districtwide consolidation efforts so there are many options here here uh but I wanted to clarify that uh the the point about limiting to one school is just that you're not backed into a corner where you have no choice just in case the state changes what the metrics ought to be can I ask a quick question on that so we went through an eight-month process with Consultants that came in and professionally guided us using a process that was set up with guidance through the Attorney General's process and I'm trying to
283understand what this what the equity Matrix what's the difference between that and all of those criteria and Equity Matrix is what what is the tangible difference of this new evaluation system uh you know I I don't know how the equity M Matrix is being used in this District the Attorney General's process is the Attorney General's process that most districts are utilizing but that is not because there are so many districts that are going through consolidation process there are so many districts that are going through layoffs what we can't predict is if there are going to be new metrics that come arise out of changes in the legislation and if that happens and you're evaluating next year based upon this year's data and process is it going to comply with what the law requires next year
284that is my only concern I I absolutely hear that and I I made that request and it's everything you've said makes sense so I wouldn't have that request but it it then drives a need for more certainty because what I'm hearing is we're going to do a process that sounds an awful lot like a process that the previous board including my fellow trustees up here right now voted to do that specifically laid out a process to look at Equity including it didn't but it didn't you vote this is the process that okay I need to I'm going to turn this off right now because we to clarify we are not talk what what theia is talking about is not going back through the school consolidation advisory committee we would not do that whole process over
285again it is specifically looking at the other piece of it when the if there's something that comes in a change through law or should the board decide through your strategic planning of what that Equity Matrix looks like or whatever those parameters are there's no change in law you've laid out what how it is that you would determine that I think that's the thing we wouldn't be talking about the whole eight-month process again it would be looking at this data that would be gathered between now and the time that you would make a decision and it would be the board making the decision the tool the tool would be the process right like we build the tool we don't go through the whole closure and consolidation committee process again we don't have to it sounds like
286at this point lock of change that's what I'm hearing it the tool would be how we evaluate and make the next decision and so we I mean I'm thinking theoretically could go through that process a lot much a lot much quicker um if the data is ours and it's and it's at our disposal um than going through an eight-month process we wouldn't have to do that all over again and the Matrix could be created as part of the Strategic plan it could be embedded as part part of that plan because that's how we're talking in the Strategic plan what are our outcomes and how we're going to measure it so it could be embedded in the Strategic plan so I just want verification legally we would not have to go through this process again you're
287saying I mean are we opening ourselves up to a to a lawsuit down the road if if we don't go through the the steps that we just took to go through and then we get eight months down the road and like oh wait we actually do have to go through the whole process again so what kind of process you select is within the prerogative of the board that is your prerogative as a elected body are are there going to be challenges to the process that you utilize yes you went through an eight-month process we heard today that the people would challenge the process um so uh you know I just I'm a lawyer I'm sorry I'm going to say it depends um but I can't guarantee that you would not face um any potential uh
288challenges anybody can challenge that doesn't mean a challenge is meritorious I mean this process that we went through this time that was our choice right we wanted the most transparent option if we need to revisit this next year we do not have to choose that same option thoughts questions emotion it's the uncertainty I understand that everything is going to be uncertain But continuing on is more destructive it it really truly is I I the kids the students grades are being impacted all year this long their sports are being impacted all year this long because literally no one can keep their head in the game it's too impactful I think that we need to make a decision tonight and move forward closing LSC would also have impacts and and I hear you Sarah like I'm I'm
289I'm right there I'm right there with you honestly and and I think and I think that there's a way forward through through what we're kind of considering right now potentially through the the three three Paws there's there's a way forward if we choose it where there's a will there's a way if we choose it there there will be a path forward and either way there's going to be so much healing and so much restorative work we're going to have to do I mean either way we have to do that and plan for that either way but the impacts of of closing again of closing the only Public High School South of Highway 12 that's I make a motion to approve the 33 pause model with the caveat that the district spends a little more time
290to see if there's any phasing ability possible for our middle schools and our charter school programs can I second that with an amendment just that will also build the Equity M Matrix through which we will evaluate the next step of this process a nice second thought great motioned by trusty deor seconded by trusty manieri any further discussion is there any time again any time frame on this are you putting to develop the matrics to again any metrics we can make the commitment to finish the the Strategic plan that would include that by December we could do it in the fall if we start it actually in August any other discussion roll call vote student board member Zinga hi trusty de la Tor hi trusty manieri hi trusty Casten no trusty Kirby no trusty Jenkins no
291president MCN I motion fails I can't vote to support a process that's going to put Montgomery and Santa Rosa and Elsie in a place of continuing to read the tea leaves up here which let's be honest about what we're saying up here what we're saying up here is we're going to go because we didn't like the outcome of this process that three of us didn't get any saying what it was going to be we didn't like the pro the outcome of this process so we're going to go create another process and if we don't hit a growth projection that we're not anticipating or funding is not being anticipated we're going to come back here and pit the three schools against each other again and I'm not saying that we're intending that I don't think you're
292intending that but I think a lot of the things that happened after each time we said things up here simply from even some director Kirby simply asking to see an additional scenario uh got interpreted as the tea leaves changing and US planning on closing a different school so that that motion in my opinion would have led to a yearlong version of what's happened over the last two years between Montgomery St Rosa and Elsie and I'm not willing to do that to our community if there's another motion to entertain I'd love to hear it because I'm not willing to shut a high school if there's any opportunity to keep it open even for another year I want to say that I support the 33 pause not because I want to put this off by a year
293but because I I believe that it is the more fiscally responsible option I want to keep our enrollment open I believe that our community can work together to bring us to the point where we need to be to keep LC open permanently not just for one more year and I really really really appreciate that at I do I really do appreciate that I just am very concerned about specifically the kids who are coming from a feeder Elementary into our district with no heads up and going into a 7 to2 model that's not done well we were told just a week and a half ago that it could not be done well I know things have changed today but that's not what we were told two weeks ago so I I I want LSC to stay
294I want to have five comprehensive high schools that do well I also want middle schoolers to be taken care of I also want Sports and extracurriculars extracurriculars and CTE and all of these programs that we've worked so hard to get into our schools in all of the schools I want all of those things but I I I don't think we're gonna I don't think it's going to work out and I I know that sucks to not have faith in our in our community in our entire Community it does suck it sucks to say that but I think we're gonna we're going to end up back here and it it just continues to put people against each other and I think we need to move through it so we have 25 minutes could someone on staff
295um speak to the consequences we're currently at 3:3 what are the consequences if we don't come to a decision tonight the consequences if I mean we would have to obviously come back with another meeting it would have to be a special meeting or next Wednesday but with the timeline for layoffs it means that we would be noticing any possible schools so it increases the number of notices that we issue substantially and I if I can clarify that again the reason that we brought additional information forward as far as the fiscal impact is once we had that decision to be able to to have that conversation with sco and talking about there are they interpreting things like you know reading potential for revenue and expenditure issues and enrollment issues the same way that we are which
296is that the likelihood of us being back here to close another school if we move if we move forward with the closure of a high school and particularly because of Elsie's location that we run the risk of actually further degradation of our fiscal status rather than pausing for a year and determining whether essentially we we believe with their guidance and the collaboration and sticking to the things that that we put forward and and not not adding staff where we don't need to yet um making sure that all of those fiscal things are in place we believe that we will be okay for next year in a qualified status and we have a real concern that it will be a further worsened status in the out years even you know the year after so again I
297just need to share that piece of it as and I understand not wanting to have our our sites worried about that and and what what that's going to leave us like but we may be back here in that same situation anyway if we don't look if if we don't have that pause that that's that's a a possibility in the next couple of years that's hearing from sco today that's they you know their guidance they were not recommending because that they provide oversight but that was their their guidance in terms of what we should do if I can make a motion that I think would address the parts of this that would at least enable us to not have everyone in the district getting notice next week um I'd like to move in Parts both scenarios
298year one Elementary and you're two Elementary for steel Lane so the first bullet point under year 2 Elementary and the five bullet points under year one Elementary and I believe those are exactly the same on both scenarios can I be confirmed all right with the corresponding maps in the map in year one is the one that solidifies the Proctor uh Lincoln and Burbank uh boundaries and and provides the two-year phasing of the Northern District boundaries based on the outcome of which campuses can receive the additional capacity um and I'd incorporate that into a motion so yeah I'm taking because that way if we end up hitting 1130 and having to automatically adjourn um they don't have to come back with the full Elementary District we can actually give in the same we're it's the same
299scenario in both so if we can at least give them that guidance if we continue debt loocking then we're going to you it'll be better for next week so that's my motion if I have a second I'll second any further discussion roll call vote student board members Zinga no trusty Caston hi trusty Jenkins hi trusty Kirby hi trusty de laor so is it just approving the elementary portion of both scenarios I trusty manieri no president MCN hi motion passes right B count okay so we can continue to discuss and hopefully come to an agreement we have minutes truste Jenkins so if we can slow down what would it look like if we did the two pause instead of all three having the the scenario of what's in the 331 with keeping ELC but having two
300comprehensive midds next year there is a higher likelihood that we go into a negative certification that's what we need to avoid it it would be almost it would be almost certain to be a negative certification what's the number that that almost certain threshold is again we're looking at many different things but the likelihood is we if we do not do that then the number of the what we have to staff at to operate an additional site is likely going to push us it it's not a hard and fast number but I don't know that we could make up enough closures I mean enough reductions in other places that it wouldn't take us past the point of essentially no no return yeah it would be it would be very difficult to find another place to to
301absorb that so both scenarios left let's be very clear about that both scenarios are on the table for our secondary programs we could be having a discussion next year about closing more campuses regardless with either scenario we move forward so as we spend the next 17 minutes talking about this does LC all get a Lifeline or not is what we're deciding we're also doing it based on each of our own assumptions about which scenario is going to have the biggest impact on Ada and attraction and it's really challenging because I think we're all using our own perspective of the data and I don't see how we're going to retain students if we don't change and improve our current academic and enrichment programs and I'm not seeing in the pause whether it's the 32 the 33
302or the 34 whatever pauses I'm not seeing the resources for us to do anything that's actually going to retain our students and maybe I'm not or and by retain I mean a tracked back and so maybe I'm not understanding the plan here and that might help me like what is the plan under any of these scenar scenarios to use the the 2 million less or that we're presuming off these numbers how do we actually do better programs to get the students to come to our schools so essentially by not duplicating programs at every site across the district you can focus better on on improving the programs that you are offering at each site and I know I just want to chime in I know it's been said and I'm just going to say it one
303more time and I I appreciate you saying your our own perspective of the data but I think listening to sco today where they know stuff that's happening in the county that we're not aware of if their perspective is we would do more harm for closing Elsie because of what they know might be happening in the county that we don't yet know I think that's that outside perspective that has a more global view of our County than we do that's that's that's what I'm I I we're counting on that perspective that is different than ours because I they know stuff about the county that I don't know that we don't know so I think that's why it was valuable to hear their perspective today because it they again they know things that we can't we don't
304know yet right in terms of movements that might be happening in the county so if we're going to trust their oversight and their guidance this is the point that we would do that I think in my again in my opinion if we're looking for a perspective that is not our own and is a perspective that is bigger and more Global in the county but but it's us as in this board trust in their perspective and guidance so then we need to get them in here like that if all of if this conversation this morning with SC is the major Game Changer in all the data that we've gotten over these last few months then then they need to be here yeah is it is this some secret that they're keeping I mean why can't we
305get them here to I don't think it's a secret Lisa no I I think that they would be willing to come and speak I don't think that that's it and I and I want to caution that it's not that this is all new information it it's really that as we are getting more information on what the board's direction is that then impacts where those conversations go let me rephrase it to the impactfulness of this data in this conversation I think it's important that we're receiving it directly so I can't specify when they would be available to come and speak or what information they would or wouldn't be be able to share about other districts um or potential moves I think that that is something that that we need to be cognizant of that you know
306they are providing guidance to us on our fiscal Outlook based on what are possibilities for us and I think I I just want to share that and and caveat you know the the information being brought forward I don't I they said yes it was absolutely appropriate to share that we had those conversations I think that it's I I don't want to overstep and speak put words into their mouths either I very much agree with Nick as far as I I would like to hear information directly from sko um in a setting like this whether that be you know whenever they can make it work um because I I feel like the the numbers and the data and the information changes it seems like it changes dayto day and I personally as a trustee I need
307to trust everything that's coming into me and if it's constantly changing it's pretty hard to it's hard to have that trust that I want to have in the information that's coming at me and so I I would like to also um I know it's going to extend things but I would like to hear this from sco so I just want to make sure that everybody understands that whatever is not approved in um cuts to school sites is going to need to be brought next week as layoffs so if we've done um two Elementary sites which is what about $3 million Max then that's $17 Million worth of layoffs that are going to have to be brought to the board next week and they're going to have to be approved because the longer that we move
308further away from this March 15th date to approve school closures those notices need to be issued because if they're not issued by March 15th we can't go back so just understand that we will be bringing at least $17 Million worth of layoffs next week then uh may I make a motion that we also approve because this also in both scenarios um the closure of commstock and Santa Rosa middle school campuses is there a second so can I unless we finish the other conversation there's nowhere for them to go so we can't approve them to close if we're not approving where they may go we can correspondingly we essentially can't make a motion to close schools and put them on the streets because we haven't decided on other use of campuses the motion is obviously not
309intended to do that the corresponding uh 712 high school campuses that are also in both scenarios be the part the other part of that motion so the the both scenarios have some of these things here I'm trying to address what Vicki is saying with 11 minutes left to try and narrow this down because and so yeah the issue is that without the determination on this on the high schools we can't determine boundaries which would determine the enrollment and the Staffing does the closure vote have to take place in a regular board meeting could it theoretically happen tomorrow in an emergency meeting with sco present not an emergency meeting that it would not be an emergency it has to be a special at least with a 24-hour notice 24-hour not so could that happen before layoffs
310so the board agenda posts on Friday and so by Friday I need to have the uh resolution done with all of those layoffs on the resolution which has substantial bumping there's there there are major impacts is is there anything we can add to direct truste deat tor's motion to convince someone to change their vote I I understand it's not a perfect scenario but I am feeling very concerned about the harm of not making any decision at all right now yes is there any version of the pausing that does make sense to be able to come back this year where we do noticing on the that doesn't solve the Middle School issue would you consider saying that this you know putting a deadline to The Matrix being created um in December is that something that could
311be added to a 33 pause is saying you know the Matrix must be completed by I don't know December 1st we can start working on it you know middle of July um is there you know anything that could be added to give it a deadline in terms of the pause so that it's only a year that we're considering the pause instead of two years um any of that criteria that we could that could be added to a 33 pause that would get any anyone to kind of get on board with that plan cuz the work's going to get done I guarantee you the work's going to get done um it's just if you want a deadline of when that work gets done we we could have it done by December 1st or you know before
312Thanksgiving um before the first inim which is December 15th um to then make decisions for the following year so I want to go back to this additional information because I'm hearing from trusty Jenkins and Kirby and myself and I'm interpreting here that we're hearing about data and changes that are giving significant confidence and increased enrollment um and we're not hearing the specifics of that and I would say that we have a decade worth of decisions that cause us to have I think good reasons in our fiduciary responsibility to want to know it specifically but we're off in a path forward that requires a delay more information where we might be comfortable with actually going with the 33 pause how it is depending on the quality of that information and I mean my wife is a
313special education assistant we went through years of receiving pink slips every year and having to go through the trauma of trying to figure out what is going to happen uh if we get laid off so I I do not say it lightly when I suggest that if waiting a week to get that information and resulting in a bunch of unnecessary notices going out is not an impact unto itself because it absolutely is and is that impact something that we can do to get to a place where we can get this more certain information that could lead to a place where we can all vote for what we want to vote for because my heart says 330 pause don't close any High School um and I don't want to make a decision though that continues this
314Reckless pattern that's led us to this fiscal cliff today so can we get a week I'm sorry I'm looking I appreciate all the work you'll have to do with that suggestion but and and all the TR I mean for the teachers out there like this is not a suggestion that that that is a good one but making a reckless decision here not having the opportunity to not close LC but also not having the opportunity to prevent going into negative certification and not have the programs like we clearly need this information there's no guarantee any that information going to come forward when and if sco is able to visit us that's the issue we are attempting to make a decision on faith faith that we are going to keep the ship steered correctly to make the
315right adjustments and make this work with or without Elsie that is what we're trying to decide tonight so no matter who comes to the table and gives us data none of that's going to be concrete none of that's going to be solid proof of what may or may not happen we are all working on assumptions so how do we move forward and we probably can't in the next 3 minutes at this point and it's beyond frustrating that we're going to send all these families home this community home without an answer when we need to decide as Leaders of how do we want to lead not how long we've been on this board not who made bad decisions before us how do we want to lead collectively how do we want to steer this ship I
316would like to lead with the data that appears to show more certainty and increased enrollment and I don't have that data so that's how I want to lead is with facts and data that show me that these decisions are being made with intention and with the future of our students in mind and us having enough resources to give them a good education that's better than one today and good enrichment opportunities that they're not getting today that's caused them to go to neighboring districts we have to improve this district and if I can clarify that it's not going to be more certain data and that's something that I I need to be very clear about it's not that it is a a likelihood of increased enrollment versus a substantial decrease in enrollment and and that that's
317where the guidance is coming from I mean that's plain and simple that that's what it is and Lisa maybe I'm just throwing it out there just listening to this but just kind of thinking about how things work sometimes is it possible that we're being vague about this because sko might not want to put this information out there about a neighboring School District who might have you know some issues that they're also dealing with like that opens up a whole can of warms for that district and I can understand if sko might be very judicious being very judicious about how they share that information is is that I would say that that is a likely um Asser yes that that would be a likely um reason for it the other thing um I don't want to
318overstep but maybe if we could explain what happens if we leave an empty School site kind of just sitting there in the high in our high school district it does become available to neighboring districts should they wish to move a charter into it and look at that okay so let me bring this scenario up we close Elsie that means that the rules in school district can come and just take all of trustee area sticks because we have no schools in that District potentially aside from the the change in law so there's there's issues around that as well but currently it would only be a revision to their petition I believe Nita are we able to recess until tomorrow even if our board policy says we can only extend once what what would that look like
319like we're recessing until a certain time [Music] tomorrow so basically what that would be is that we you are just continuing tonight's meeting into tomorrow you would have to take a vote and if the majority agrees with that you can continue this discussion tomorrow um but that would depend upon the purview and availability of the trustees so we would we need a with does it need a specific time tomorrow at this moment or can we make that motion saying that it'll be out of time to be announced tomorrow um I I would I would think you would want to have a time in the motion that uh for example you could say that we recess until 2 o'clock tomorrow and we shall reconvene but if you're reconvening we should know where we are reconvening because
320the public has a right to know where we are reconvening and I don't know if we know if this space is available so just FYI those are the logistics that you need to include in notification again we recess to our district training room we make it available tomorrow um I don't know about this space we would have to talk with City Chambers but definitely are I I can't speak to the gyms around the campuses because there's those are impacted but we could definitely make the training center available tomorrow anyone want to make a motion Dr Morales there is something in the training room tomorrow that apparently yes kick them out can't unfortunately being deadlocked I don't know how to how a night sleep changes that we're not going to get the information that's needed to
321change people's opinions overnight I I need to adjourn this meeting are we adjourning or are we recessing I mean I'll move to recess but I can't give the details so we can figure out if that's legal or not later so I move to recess no we had we we're at 11:31 we we're already past our time to make motions so sorry everybody meeting adjourned