Berkeley USD Regular School Board Meeting May 20, 2026

001for joining us tonight. I'm apologies for the slight delay. So, good to see everybody. So, firstly, good evening to you all and um if you want to follow along with our online agenda, it's posted on the district website. We just called the meeting to order at 7:10. Um as [clears throat] a reminder, I know people don't do this here in this room, but no person shall disturb the order of this meeting. Disruptive behavior includes booing, kissing, or physical disturbances, speaking out of turn, interrupting speakers, blocking access or observation, entering restricted areas or approaching the dais without permission. Um that is bylaw 9323 meeting conduct. You can take a look at that if you like. If you also have complaints specifically about an employee, um please don't air it here. Um just write to [email protected]. You

002can send an email and someone will respond to it and help you with your concerns. Um so, we have an agenda approval, but before we do so, I just want to tell our folks here that we do want to remove on the agenda 14.1 through 14.4 in the information. Um so, is there a motion with regard to the >> President Cheng, can I do roll call and then we can move? Oh yeah, I'm sorry. I missed Chad is will do the roll call first. Director Ana Asuncion? Presente. Student Director Arnam Aradam? Present. Director Jennifer Shanoski? Here. Director Kadija Brown? Present. Vice President Jennifer Cornice is us remotely this evening. President Mike Cheng? Hello. Vice President Jennifer Corn? Present. Thank you. Good. That That's working and we can see you Vice President Jen Corn. And then

003down the line we'll have a consent issue as well with regard to flagging that right now. Okay. Uh Vice President Corn, can you report out on the closed session? Yes. Um one moment. Found it. Um closed session was called to order at 5:50 this evening with all members of the board in attendance. Directors Brown, Cheng, Corn, Shenosky, and Vasudev. Um item 3.1.1 was approved unanimously after a motion by Shenosky that was seconded by um Director Brown. And item 3.2, um the board requested additional information and delayed the vote for 1 week. And that is the report from closed session. Thank you, Vice President Corn. And now, um we must actually vote on the agenda um with the removal of 14.1 through 14.4 and the reminder that there'll be some changes uh likely requested to the

004consent calendar. For the record, can you state the items from consent calendar that we're pulling this evening? 12. Oh yes, we can flag them out. The items we'd like to pull from consent are 12.3 through 12.7. Thank you, uh Vice President Corn. I'm happy to move uh this agenda with the necessary items that need to be pulled. Excellent. >> I'll second. Great. We've got a first We've got a first and a second. Ms. Charise, did you hear that? We had a first from Director Brown and a second from Director Schnauski. We'll do roll call since Director Corn is joining us remotely. Director Rasulid? Yes. Assistant Director Aramana Ardam? Yes. Director Kadija Brown? Yes. Director Jennifer Schnauski? Yes. Vice President Corn? Yes. President Cheng? Uh yes. Okay, great. Um so, motion so moved. Uh all right,

005we're going to go on down to the I always miss this. Let me make sure I don't forget. What do I need to remember? The Superintendent's comments goes first. Yes. Thank you, President Schnauski. Good afternoon, BUSD family. Oh, no, it's 7:00. Good evening, BUSD family. Good evening, BUSD family. Um I want to start us off with um a celebration #BerkeleyProud moment. Um there was recently a report released um through Stanford University and Harvard University looking at academic performance and growth in school districts across the country. And this report just released shows that Berkeley Unified students are continuing to perform and grow at very high levels academically, especially in the years following the pandemic. So, when many districts post-pandemic have been seeing a decline, Berkeley has been on the incline. And in addition to that, our

006students who are otherwise um marginalized or underrepresented in data are showing consistent progress and growth. We have been named one of a handful of districts in the Bay Area that are districts on the rise. COME ON NOW. >> [cheering] [applause] >> THERE'S MUCH TO CELEBRATE IN THIS REPORT. WE WILL BE posting the report to our website shortly, but also want to be honest and acknowledge the fact that it still tells the story that we still have much work to do. As I think about the outcomes of our African American students, our multilingual learners, our students with disabilities, and other focal populations who have also shown significant and steady improvement towards proficiency. We know that continues to be an area of focus. And we want to celebrate and recognize that this is the outcomes of hard

007work from our educators, staff, students, families, community partners, and we just want to just say that the uh past 4 years of this team has been together have been the years where the report shows has been increased and accelerated growth. So, thank you all for your partnership and for all the support that you've given us to do the work that we've done over the past 4 years. #BERKELEYPROUD. >> [cheering] [applause] >> SPEAKING OF pride and things that we should be proud of as the Berkeley family, I want to make sure that everyone knows that this week is classified appreciation week. Tomorrow, that's right. >> [applause] >> Um tomorrow BUSD is hosting a recognition a recognition for some of our classified team members, including honoring one staff member who's been here over 35 years serving the

008Berkeley students and families. Tonight, though, we wanted to make sure that we announce that this is classified appreciation week. And while Ms. Mildred, who was our BCCE uh co-president, always has a catchy and clever way to celebrate the work of our classified team, our favorite my favorite still is, you cook it, you fix it, you drive it, you paint it, you schedule it, you clean it, you are classified, and we are so blessed and thankful to have you as members of the BUSD family. So, one more round of applause for our classified staff, both [applause] here in this space and those throughout our community. I also want to just take a moment to address something that has been circulating in our community regarding ethnic studies. Um this is not an agenda item tonight, but I

009do feel it's important that we provide some clarity because words matter, and I believe that narratives matter. I want to be very clear that Berkeley Unified is not defunding ethnic studies, nor are we on the verge of defunding ethnic studies. We remain deeply committed to this work and continue to hold the line on that commitment even during a time of significant fiscal challenges and difficult decisions. Perhaps especially during a time when diversity, inclusion, and equity, and efforts to center the experiences, the lives, and the voices of historically marginalized communities is at stake and being challenged. BUSD, as you all may or may not know, and if you don't know, I'm about to tell you. If you didn't know, I'm going to tell you. BUSD has been a leader in this work. And ethnic studies is

010not simply another program area for our district. It is an important part of Berkeley's history and our legacy. Ethnic studies emerged from the voices and advocacy of folks like the people in this room, students, families, educators, and communities who fought for students to see themselves reflected in their learning experiences. And we did not arrive at ethnic studies because it was trendy or convenient like some folks. I'm not going to name nobody. We have invested in ethnic studies because we believe students deserve opportunities to see themselves, understand others, think critically, and make meaning of the world around them. Like every other district across the country, we are exploring how we can continue to sustain and strengthen programs while also being responsible stewards of our resources because even though we're going to give a little update this

011afternoon about the May revise, we still know that public education continues to be woefully um underfunded. Some folks might disagree, but what we've been exploring is how do we continue to do this really important work, this work that is BUSD, in ways that are responsible and sustainable, and think about to how do we can do it differently with a different structure, perhaps staffing models, or approach, but still very much committed to the work itself and making sure that the work does not go unchanged for the babies in Berkeley. So, even though it's not on the agenda, it's something that matters to me, and I wanted to make sure that again, we might disagree with the how, but the fact that BUSD is committed to this work should not ever be questioned and I do not

012want the people to say anything about defunding or being on the verge cuz we are on the verge of great things in Berkeley and we know that great things are happening for our babies because we stay committed to things like ethnic studies. Finally, um as I wrap my comments, I just want to stop and pause. We just talked about the importance of students seeing themselves and understand one another one another and the importance of building community that's rooted in belonging and so I cannot end my comments without acknowledging the heartbreaking news of the shooting at the Islamic Center in San Diego. A place that served and serves not only as a mosque, but also as a school and community gathering place. Acts of violence and hate, wherever it is, impacts all of us, but especially

013the communities that are I've been Sorry, that have been directly targeted by them. And so for our Muslim students, staff, and families, I want to be clear that Berkeley Unified sees you, values you, and stands with you. We believe that every student deserves to come to school feeling safe, valued, and a true sense of belonging. We stand firmly against all forms of hate, including anti-Muslim and anti-Islam hate, and against the othering of any member of our community. Moments like this remind us that schools have a responsibility be beyond academics, beyond what's in that report that I celebrated earlier. We are called to create communities where students feel cared for, where differences are celebrated rather than feared, and where we actively reject bias, exclusion, and the othering of any other group. As always, we have support

014at our school sites for any student or staff member who needs someone to talk to or needs a safe and quiet place, and our OFEE team has resources for any members of our community and our families who need that as well. Thank you, President, for your time for this time. that's the end of my comments. WOO! >> [applause] >> THANK YOU, SUPERINTENDENT. I ENJOYED YOUR COMMENTS, as always. So, we now have public commentors. And um just a couple of quick pointers on the procedure. So, you know, we try to give a minute per person when there are large groups of folks that are speaking of the same topic. Our practice has been to have you all come up and do it all in 5 minutes. So, you have 5 minutes and you can break it

015down. You can seed your time or you know, to to the other persons who are who are speaking. Um that's going to be our practice today. We have a couple of um packets of folks who are doing so. So, I know this is a little bit on short notice, but this is a heads-up to you um for fairness in in terms of um who is going to speak in the time frames. So, um I think firstly, we have lots of folks who are very excited to talk about the important issue that our superintendent What Where's our superintendent? Hello. I'm sorry. Okay, she'll be back. Sorry. Good, I'm so glad she'll be back. Um our superintendent just spoke so eloquently about the important core value of Berk in Berkeley of ethnic studies. Um we do have

016a practice also of having students go first as well. So, first I would like to call up um a student who wants to speak about ethnic studies. Jordan Fennigstein, read by Liz Jackson. And then there's a group of other folks. I think you all know know who you are. Um there's a packet here. If you can get ready to chat come up and chat for about 5 minutes. Hi there. I'm not Jordan, but I'm I have his statement here. So, I'm Liz and I am um here to I I heard Superintendent Ford Morthel's statement and we yes support we may disagree in the how we fully support funding the TSA for ethnic studies. So this is Jordan's statement. I am a senior at Berkeley High School and in ninth grade I took an ethnic studies

017class and it was one of the first classes that inspired me and changed the way I view the world. Over this past year I have had the amazing opportunity to intern under Joey Ito Gates where we created presentations and brought ethnic studies to elementary schools. I witnessed first hand how much of an impact this internship not only created for me but also for the students we taught. Every child was so smiley and excited to learn about the history of people of color which had been hidden in our Eurocentric curriculums. It was something they were truly interested in and the teachers praised how these six to 10-year-olds had never been so attentive until now. Like me in ninth grade they were truly fascinated. If Miss Ito Gates position is cut down to 60% the ethnic studies

018internship program will have to end which is a huge loss for all of us and I believe now more than ever Berkeley and our future generations will not be the same. Thank you so much. >> [applause] >> Um you can always email the board as well and so we're going to name the next folks who are coming up. Uh you guys know who you are. Molly Sampson, Jen up Fotenhour. I'm sorry for the mispronunciation. Yesenia Moran, um Arun Khanna um Cole Krawitz I believe is the name. Christina Call Janice Tanamura, Christina Harb. So if don't mind, you got 5 minutes together. You want to figure out how to best organize this. And next up will be the group on tech use. The same formatting. I have three children in BUSD. And I am here in

019support of fully funding the TSA ethnic studies position. I believe the lessons my kids would learn in ethnic studies, analysis, debate, empathy, global awareness to be some of the most important that any student can take into the world. Of course, we need ethnic studies in our schools. And of course, the TSA absolutely needs to be a full-time position. This board has stated its convictions to ethnic studies. And now is the time to stand by those convictions. This is about more than budgets. Do not be complicit in the rolling back of this education. Be the board that by hook or crook does not let that happen. In the wider context of what is happening in our country, we need to be willing to continually hold the line in Berkeley. Our progressive legacy is an example that

020must be maintained, and it's up to all of you to protect it. I urge you in the name of a real, honest education for our kids to find the way forward. Please support, not ethnic studies. Do not cut the TSA position down, and do not underestimate what doing so would represent. >> [applause] >> Hi, my name is Jen Fontanella. I'm a K-5 literacy coach in BUSD and a 21-year Berkeley teacher and I'm parent of a first and seventh grader. Part of what makes this such a great school district to both work in and send my children to is its commitment to social justice and racial equity. The almost 60-year legacy of ethnic studies in Berkeley deserves to be continued with a fully funded TSA position. Our values in Berkeley are reflected in how we spend

021our funds and 60% is disrespectful to the work itself and not in alignment with Berkeley values. Managing the ongoing projects from TK to 12th grade requires at least one full-time TSA. From the internship program with Berkeley High to a grant with UC Berkeley's Chancellor's office for teacher collaboration and innovation to professional development which has received incredible and atypically high feedback from classroom teachers to curriculum development that centers the lived experiences and history of the global majority, we cannot drop the ball now and reducing the FTE means reducing all of this as well. Ethnic studies addresses glaring gaps in our TK to 12 program and it's a moral and civic obligation. Fully funding the ethnic studies TSA position is about being in alignment with Berkeley's values and it's a small financial decision that has wide-reaching impact.

022My children and my students deserve this done right. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Hello, my name is Yesenia Moran. I'm a I'm a parent of students in Berkeley and part of OPY. I'm speaking tonight in strong support of keeping our ethnic studies in district fully funded. This matters because research consistently shows that when students see their own history reflected in their classrooms, graduation rates improve, attendance increases, and overall academic engagement skyrockets. The curriculum isn't about division, it's about understanding. It teaches our youth to navigate a diverse world with empathy, critical thinking, and mutual respect. It prepares them for the future. Please invest in our students' future by voting to support and fully fund ethnic studies in our district. I'm also here to urge you to protect the funding for our after school program site coordinators.

023Onsite leadership is not a luxury, it is the backbone of safe, equitable, and effective student enrichment. Site coordinators provide the vital daily oversight that structure programs require to function function smoothly. Here's why their presence on our campus is indispensable. Crisis management and safety, bridge for families and staff, program quality and accountability. Eliminating these positions to patch a budget deficit will ultimately cost the district more in safety risks, diminishing students' engagement, and fracture community trust. Please invest in the stability of our school by maintaining our site coordinators. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Aroon Khanna, Ruth Acty, 16 years teaching. Um when the partition of India and Pakistan forced my family to endure displacement and trauma, my dad decided to leave and find a place that embraced diversity. And of all the places in the world, he

024came here. Around the time he arrived, the nation's first ethnic studies department evolved from what up until that point was the longest student strike in history. And since then, UC Berkeley and BUSD have continued to trailblaze with educational programs. This is a source of pride for us. That said, getting rid of the ethnic studies uh TSA position or um cutting the funding for it now is equating to whitewashing history, missing opportunities to help kids know their roots, buckling under censorship censorship pressure. It means giving in to the MAGA Epstein class and Project 2025 agenda, which is still being run by perpetrators of unspeakable crimes and their enablers who have faced zero arrests. So, to give in to that by cutting this position down will be to our shame. Please fully fully fully preserve the ethnic

025studies TSA position. Thanks. >> [applause] >> Thank you so much. If you have other commentary, you can of course email um the board as well. Um and next on up, we have um, the group that is here to discuss um, and comment on uh, tech use. Raichi Lee, Allison Bond, um, Paige Passano, Vanessa Vega, Shannon Berman, Megan Werner, Allison Bond. If you guys can come on up in uh, 5 minutes. Thank you so much. Before my time starts Before my time starts, I just want to quickly say that 1 minute is already very short for public comment. The folks who are here, like the the group before us, they all deserve their 1 minute as individuals. And so, we obviously here have more than five people. 5 minutes is not enough. And so, that's just

026something I want to put out there um, for all the folks who um, make time um, to come and speak. They should have their 60 seconds of time um, before you. Um, Good evening, superintendent and board directors. My name is Raichi Lee and I'm a parent of a seventh grader at King and ninth grader at Berkeley High. I'm here with other parents on behalf of Berkeley Unplugged and we would like to read into the record a letter and petition we submitted to you last week. Um, I want you to know that to date um, we have over 625 names in support only after a couple of days and this number is only going to grow by the minute. So, we hope you will seriously consider our request. We are parents across Berkeley Unified working together

027to promote healthy research-informed approaches to screens and digital media in our schools and homes. We are not anti-technology. We are in favor of intentional and mindful use of technology both at home and at school. We urge the board to take action to establish clear, consistent, and intentional standards for how devices, both personal and school-issued, are used during the school day. We face a digital landscape designed to capture and monetize attention of adults and children alike, encouraging us to move faster than ever before. In the absence of clear standards and oversight, it has led to a lot of different problems, but I'll just name two, which is technology companies marketing commercial products as educational with no accountability, children being given devices without proof of developmental appropriateness, collection and monetization of student data for non-educational purpose. The

028list goes on. On April 21st, Los Angeles Unified unanimously passed a landmark um petition or I'm sorry, a resolution to limit student screen time and develop a comprehensive tech policy. Across the country, other districts are being urged to do the same. It is time for BSD to act by taking a deliberate evidence-based approach and examine every decision about how technology is used in our schools so that it truly serves our students. >> [applause] >> In November 2025, the school board adopted a TK through 8 bell-to-bell student personal device policy, an important first step as mandated by California's phone-free schools act. But the work's not done. Its successful depend on clear and consistent implementation and the current patchwork of practices across schools create inequities in students and teachers day-to-day experiences and expectations. BUSD's policy mandates phones

029be turned off during instructional time in 9th through 12th grade, yet practices vary widely across classrooms. Some require students to place their phone in phone homes. Sometimes scrolling is allowed. There are inconsistencies that make the mandate difficult to follow and and enforce. And across the school day, high school students are also expected to be able to access their phones, such as through Instagram posts or text messages that may proceed may pertain to field trips or school activity logistics. And even though this may be well-intentioned, they contribute to an environment that normalizes constant phone and social media use. >> [applause] >> Additionally, we have grown increasingly concerned about the growing reliance on school-sanctioned device use and screen-based learning during the school day. The impact of personal devices and school-sanctioned tech is cumulative. Together, they shape students'

030attention, learning, and well-being. The research is clear. Excessive screen time is linked to inattention and reduced focus, poorer knowledge retention, and negative mental and physical health impacts. In the classroom, internet-enabled devices, app-based learning tools that gamify the learning experience, and artificial intelligence tools fragment students' attention, obstruct sustained focus and deep thinking, and hinder the development of life skills. Off-task device use in the classroom disrupts learning for everyone. Even one student using a Chromebook for games or videos can distract their peers and pull the teachers away from instruction to manage the disruption. Equally important, school tech products pose serious privacy risks through their routine collection, sharing, and monetization of student data without meaningful consent or oversight, often exposing kids' personal information to third parties and advertisers, and leaving them vulnerable to data breaches. Parents must be

031included in decisions about their child's digital exposure and have the right to transparency, consent, and ability to opt in or opt out. Um TK to 8 bell-to-bell implementation by the start of next school year. BUSD policy passed in November 2025 states, "Smartphones and mobile communication devices should be turned off during the entire school day and during district programs in preschool through eighth grade." >> [clears throat] >> Action. We urge the district to specifically define day-to-day personal device expectations for students, including but not limited to which devices are included, where devices go, what off actually means, which circumstances and spaces are included within an entire school day, including including learns and after-school programs, any exceptions or special circumstances, including emergencies. >> [applause] >> Thank you. Are you part of the group? So, yes. So, unfortunately, it's

0325 minutes for the entire group. And you can email, of course, your your portion of your comment as well to the board. Thank you. There's also a part of the board at the end of the agenda where you if you want to stay here, you can come back at the end as well and give public comment. Thank you so much. And for those who want to read the rest of the petition, you can find it on berkeleyunplugged.org. Okay, thanks. Next on we have and I apologize for pronunciation. Araya Yancy Diaz. Is Araya Yancy here? Yes. Cool. Did I spell pronounce your name correctly? Um Araya Yancy. Oh, Araya Yancy. Okay. It's okay. Um hi. Um my name is Araya Yancy Diaz Cortez and I'm speaking on behalf of Latinos Unidos de Berkeley. Um I have

033a fourth-grader and a sixth-grader. And tonight we're asking Oh, sorry. [clears throat] I have a version on my phone that is better. Okay. Tonight we're asking the district to continue demonstrating its commitment to Latino students by ensuring that budget priorities reflect the importance of supporting our students and families. >> [snorts] >> First, we are asking that the after-school position at Mendez Elementary is explicitly require Spanish bilingual qualifications. Sylvia Mendez was intentionally designed to serve a large population of Spanish speaking and ELD families and we must protect not only the staffing structure, but also respect the institutional memory and relationships built. This goes beyond a line item. It's a time when Latino and Latinx families are fearful and feel under attack. The deep trust that Sylvia Mendez afterschool staff have built with families is not replaceable.

034We implore that you do not destroy this trust with students and families. Thank you. THANK YOU SO MUCH. >> [applause] [clears throat] >> IS THERE A STUDENT ON HERE? ALL RIGHT. UM, back on. So, uh, we had missed the student and we always want to get students on up first. Um, and we have L. Weinstein. Thank you, L. Hello. >> [applause] >> Hi, my name is >> L. Weinstein. I am a third grader at Thousand Oaks Elementary School. I'm here to talk about behalf of Mr. Dante, our amazing site coordinator. This is my third year at Revoque and I love it so much. One big reason that why I love it so much is because Mr. Dante. He cares so much about all of the students and goes out of his way to plan super

035fun activities and special events at school. He always makes sure our are included and seen. Without Mr. Dante, Willard would never be the same because he's simply the best. He's a kind teacher that every kid should have. Please reconsider your decision. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank Thank you a lot, Elle. Um Okay, so next sign up, I don't think we have any other students in the room. If there are, please raise your hands. Did we miss anybody? I don't think so. Um Gladys Ocampo Stout. Is Gladys here? Hello, Gladys. Good evening. My name is Gladys Ocampo Stout and I'm speaking on behalf of Latinos Unidos of Berkeley. Latinos make up a little over 22% of the district population and achievement gaps continue to exist. While we are encouraged by the recent improvements in Latino

036student outcomes, we know these gains are a result of culturally responsive programs, bilingual support systems, and staff who have spent years building trust with families. Programs like Bridge, Rise, and Puente have played a critical role in this progress. These programs support large numbers of Latino students, African American students, and students with IEPs. Puente in particular provides additional consideration in the UC application and provides opportunities that many historically underserved students may not otherwise have access to. We want a commitment to protect the barrier programs and positions that help create that success. Also, we're asking tonight for a firm commitment to secure the 0.50 FTE Spanish bilingual district position. A few years ago, the other 0.50 FTE Spanish bilingual position was eliminated without community consultation or school board discussion. If the district truly prioritizes Latino students, that

037commitment must be reflected in the budget and staffing decisions. Thank you. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Um And next sign up, we have Jose Rubio. Hello, Jose. Hello. My name is Jose Rubio and uh I'm a lifetime Berkeley resident, born and raised. I have three kids that are part of the Berkeley school system. Uh one of them that went through the learns program, one of them is going through the learns program now. We were all born in the same hospital, so we're just history repeating itself. And I just wanted to show support for the learns program because it really, you know, Berkeley's really a different place compared to the surrounding cities. And the school system and and to have some place where you can take your kids and have a personal connection. even people I

038went to high school with and going to school, my kids going to school together with their kids. But to have people like coach Jared and Aaron and them to have known my kids for years and and for me to know that I could take my kids somewhere safe and know that they're going to report back to me any concerns that they may have. Uh to see something like that go, it works hand in hand with the OUSD program and I mean, with the department and and other programs that that are very very important and uh to see something like that get, you know, the the leaders like that to see them, you know, get laid off or to be on a I just don't I just know it's not going to be the same. And

039it's really really important that that you guys take that into consideration and know that it took a long time to build these relationships and to have somewhere safe and somewhere you can trust to take your kids. And and and it allowed me to able to even have a job. And and anyways, just I didn't have anything really prepared, but I just wanted to voice that importance to to know, all right? >> thank you. If you got more, you can send it online. All right. Uh next sign up is Venetia Harris. Oh, you you did write a pronunciation right down. Venetia. Venetia. Thank you. Thank you so much. All right, so greetings all. My name is Venetia Harris. I'm a parent of four children here in BUSD. I have three at Ruth Acty, Zora Neale Hurston,

040and one at Franklin preschool. And I am I'm here because I have had, as a new parent here moving from San Francisco here to Berkeley. It's just so hard to navigate everything and it's really a problem and it's not just for me. I've experienced conversations with other parents who who have also said that. The website is inaccurate. The the phone numbers aren't up-to-date. I just needed to get even the curriculum. I wanted to know the curriculum that my children were were doing. It took until February, March to get to be able to look at the curriculum. Legally I have the right to do that. And if you even don't have the the website accurate for a new parent coming in where we can know who to call, know who to email, it's impossible for a

041parent to really be an active parent and to be able to support their children. And it's a problem that needs to be addressed. So, thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you so much. Um next sign up is Owen Thompson Lasted. Good evening everybody. My name is Owen Thompson Lasted. I'm a parent of students at Sylvia Mendez and at Longfellow. I'm here to ask you to keep the learns coordinators as an on-site staff for our schools and to and to require a bilingual coordinator for Sylvia Mendez specifically. Our learns program at Sylvia Mendez is great. It is great because of the dedicated experienced staff who provide all the enrichment programs themselves. We need to invest in them, not on expensive third-party vendors. When we had an enrollment crisis at the start of the school year, our

042coordinator was able to take all returning students and she could do this because she's an expert on her program. She's an expert because she's there leading her team every day. Keeping our kids safe is not a job an auditor can do off-site. It's a matter of building trusting relationships day in and day out. Sylvia Mendez needs a bilingual coordinator. We have a lot of families where the parents only speak Spanish. It's essential for our coordinator to be able to communicate with them on site to provide continuity for family and our students as a lot of people have said very eloquently this evening. Thank you very much. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Uh next sign up was Tsang Wu. Hey. Uh my name is Tsang Wu and I have kids at Washington and Longfellow. And my

043comment is about the upcoming math curriculum refresh. Uh I would like the district to take a pause in order to ensure that we make the best decision regarding the new math curriculum and that this decision is based on the latest uh educational and cognitive science research. Um I'm hoping that we can learn from the the lessons of the great work that the district and teachers have done in literacy. Uh when our young child was in kindergarten, he was guessing at words from pictures in the book. Fast forward to now in fourth grade, he's learning about morphemes. He's a voracious reader and a prolific writer as we saw in uh a back-to-school night. Um So, my biggest concern is that the district might be making decision that potentially could be political in nature where you're trying

044to balance differing constituents' views instead of making what I think should be just a technical, scientifically defensible, and non-controversial decision. So, with literacy, we chose among curricula whose effectiveness was demonstrated by research to great effect and we need to do the same with math. Thanks so much. THANK YOU. >> [applause] >> AND NEXT SIGN UP WE HAVE Dan Bronson. I've been given the go-ahead to do union comments. Okay, so you make the comments later. Thank you so much. Um so, we're going to look online. Let's see. Is there someone else that's missing? Do you have a card? Uh let me see. I don't see it. Who Is that Is that Lindsey? Yeah, I'm just joking around. Yeah, I see you. Um If there's a card here, we most certainly Are we missing one? Uh Miss

045Chadderton, can you double Yeah, you and Lindsey, you want to come on up? We trust that you did fill out a card. Did you in fact fill one out? Okay, I'm kidding. Okay. Come on up. Um Thanks, Lindsey. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Lindsey Nofelt. I'm here to urge the district to slow down the math curriculum adoption. BSD promised to mimic our successful evidence-based ELA adoption, yet we've skipped the crucial evidence phase, and we've shut out community feedback. Worse, the pilot options under consideration, Bridges and Desmos, rely on forcing novices to discover mathematical concepts through struggle before they're taught. This is the exact opposite of what the What Works Clearinghouse and cognitive science recommend. We successfully undid the myth in ELA that reading is natural, yet we're sending mixed messages by expecting kids

046to invent the wheel in math. True math creativity depends on fluency. We don't ask a novice musician to discover scales through struggle. We model first, practice second, and generalize later. The Science of Math Movement is here. Slow down, look at replicated evidence, and engage the community. Thank you. Thank you so much. >> [applause] >> Um so, double-checking no one else in the audience has been missed. Okay. Uh cool. We've got three hands up online. Um the uh Domingue Emmanuel, are you you prepared to speak? Oh, I'm sorry. We're going to go I'm sorry, Domingue. We're going to double-check with the student. Whoa, suddenly we have six people. Okay, who's that we want from three to six? Who is the student on that list, Ms. Chaires? >> Student. So, it's just says student. Student. >> Pedro

047Terrero. Pedro Terrero, please um come on up. Um Ms. Chaires is going to get you ready and you should be able to chat in a second. Go ahead, Pedro. You have 1 minute. Okay. 1 minute. Hello. Yeah, we hear you. Uh Thank you. Good afternoon. Um hi, my name is Pedro. I'm a senior at BHS and in the Bridge program. I want to take the time tonight to appreciate the intensive support I have received through Bingham Bridge. I am one of 155 kids who have the privilege of receiving support every day of high school, after school, and during the school day. Because of this, I am proud to say I have been admitted to UC Berkeley. I want to shout out my Bridge teacher, Ms. Chaires, who has been my Bridge teacher throughout high school.

048Without her help, I would not have received the intensive support and opportunities I over the years. Thank you to Ms. Hammond and the whole Bridge team on behalf of the other students in the Bridge program. Here for me after all the difficult generation African American and Latinx students in our cohort. I was a quiet, shy student and Bridge empowered me to believe I could get into college first and help me take the steps necessary to get there on a full scholarship, including housing. I can confidently say that I would never have found my way to UC Berkeley without the counseling and care and constant help I got those 4 years from Bridge. Thank you. >> [cheering] >> It's a lot of clapping going on for you here. Congratulations, Pedro, and and come check me out

049on campus at Cal. Um next one up, uh Domingue Emmanuel. Ms. Chaires going to elevate you and you should be able to speak. Hi, can you hear me? Yes. Okay. Hi, uh yes, my name is Domingo Emmanuel. I have two kids in the BUSD, uh one a freshman and now a senior and I really am here to just um share how important uh programs like the Bridge Program are um for students and uh uh Berkeley High. Uh it has been the one link at uh to the school um for me as a parent and I have seen firsthand, especially after being at the graduation and watching how many kids that started from freshman year make it to senior year and have opportunities to go uh to school um and with this program it it's clearly

050a recipe that works and I really, really ask that, you know, that that through action show that you will only add ways to um make the program um uh stronger or and rather than take anything away because it really is a special program. Thanks. Thank you very much. Um >> [applause] >> And the next sign up with Amy Lewittes. Amy, Miss Chaires will elevate you and she's got got the timer going here. Okay. >> Are you ready, Amy? There she goes. So Sorry, can you hear me? Yeah, we can hear you. Okay. Hello, my name is Amy Wittes. As both a Berkeley High alumni and a Jewish educator born and raised here in Berkeley, I want to emphasize ethnic studies courses and curriculum deserve full-time commitment from teachers and staff who teach them. Ethnic studies

051is vitally important to understanding the world we live in and even more so in times of political division. We should not be entertaining the thought of rolling back ethnic studies in this moment. We should be ensuring that all of our communities' voices are heard and given the resources to be able to be heard. Particularly those who are continually inaccurately labeled as anti-Jewish. Please fully fund the ethnic studies TSA position. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thanks so much. Um next sign-up we have Courtney Kuwano. Hi, can you hear me? Yes. Okay. Hi, uh good evening superintendents, school board directors, and community members. My name is Courtney Kuwano and I am an assistant professor in the Berkeley School of Education. Tonight I'm speaking in my capacity as a university partner with BUSD's ethnic studies TSA on a

052multi-year research practice partnership that was recently awarded a UC Berkeley Chancellor's Community Partnership Fund. I see great potential for BUSD's ethnic studies program, which can only come with sufficient time, resources, and care for the educators and instructional designers tasked with building out a structure to teach students how to engage with the histories and stories of diverse peoples that have contributed to this country and this particular community we all have the privilege of calling home today. I humbly and respectfully ask the school board to support a 100% line for the ethnic studies TSA position not just for this generation but for the next generation and those still to come. Thank you for your time and consideration. >> [applause] >> Thank you so much. Um, next up we have Sagario. Hi, can you hear me? Yep. Thank

053you. Good evening. My name is Sagrario Zepeda. I am the mother of one of our Berkeley High students in Bridge program. I'm here tonight to thank the board and the district for supporting the Bridge program. We know that the district has to make a large budget cuts this year. We also know that the district cares a great deal about the equity. We just heard earlier at this meeting how proud you feel because Berkeley is an is a proud of being an inclusive and and proud to be as an equity even you add my child needs a program because he's the only that offers after school classes, supported Bridge teacher who stays with my student. I just can say how proud I am because my daughter just came from the first year of college and Berkeley

054High School helped her through all those four years to make it happen. We just heard this student. My son is going to be a sophomore next year. We don't need cuts in the Berkeley Bridge program. Please consider continuing funding the program because it's an excellent program for minorities like us. I am Mexican. My kids are Mexican-American. They were born here in Berkeley. We're so proud to be here. Thank you, very much. >> [applause] >> Thank you. And then there is Bridge Parent V.R. Hello, can you hear me? Yes. Okay, sorry about that. My name is Veronica and I'm the parent of a student in the Berkeley High Bridge program as well. And I want to thank the board and the district for supporting the BHS program. I also want I want the district to sorry.

055I know that the district has to make large budget cuts. My child does need this program because it it it offers after-school classes every day with supported bridge teachers who stay with my student and our family all four years of high school and can hold my child accountable for high expectations, talk to his teachers, and help them navigate the school with any questions or concerns. Have regular weekly daily texts and phone communication with parents. College application and college um resources. Support the bridge counselors and coordinate joint the day if when the child needs it. We the parents and students are asking to fund the program for same for the next year and do not make any cuts to the program. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you. Um next and up we have Silvestre I'm

056sorry, Sylvester and Maria Moreno. >> Sylvester and Maria Maria, can you Looks like you're online and Miss Chaddus has made you available to speak. Okay, if you're not able to speak at this time, you can of course come into the end of the board meeting uh when we have a second public comment period. Okay, you've been promoted. And you got to come off of mute. Okay, so um let's move on to Susanna first. Our next. Susanna, are you ready to speak? What? Oh, sorry. Hi. Hi. Um my name is Oh, can you hear me? Can you hear me? Hi. Um my name is Damian Fidalgo. I am a student at Thousand Oaks Elementary School. And I want to say that I really think that you should not eliminate the job coordinate the coordinator at uh

057Laurens because Mr. Dante is the site coordinator at my school and he is just one of the nicest and sweetest people you'll ever meet. Um he goes out of his way to like do stuff as someone else before me said. And he's just really nice and cares about every all of us and every one of us. He also makes sure that none of us are hurt and that we always have a good time and that no one gets too badly injured. That's all I wanted to say. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you. All right, this looks like do we So Sylvester and Good job. Have them go now. >> You can start Sylvester. Are you guys ready? You telling me to go sit down? My son sit down? Uh I'm sorry we can hear

058you. So you Are you ready to go? You got 1 minute. Sylvester and Maria Moreno, you may begin. Maybe you want to wait till the end. That's the final comment. Okay. Well, we're going to push you to the end. You can come back on if you like. All right. Sounds like you're having some maybe technical issues. Okay. So, we're going to move on to the next part of our agenda. So, okay. Um we have um committee comments. Do you have any members of committees uh here in the audience? I don't see any. And do we have committee members online? Yes, Ms. Chavez is signa- signaling >> Casey Robinson, I'm promoting you now. Casey Robinson, you can come on on up. Hi Casey. Hi. Oh, great. Sorry. Good evening, board directors, superintendent, and members of the

059Berkeley community. My name is Casey Robinson. I'm the mother of two thriving Berkeley High students. I'm an educator and a long-time parent leader, as well as a community advocate who deeply believes in the brilliance and potential of every Berkeley student. I'm here tonight representing the superintendent's African-American Success Advisory Committee, also known as ASAC. ASAC was established to ensure that Berkeley Unified followed through on the commitment made when it adopted its Black Lives Matter resolution, a resolution that acknowledged a hard truth. Black students were being disproportionately impacted by systemic practices that affected their academic outcomes and educational experience. In response, the district created the African-American Success Framework grounded in three core principles, that black students must be seen, heard, and celebrated, that their brilliance must be intentionally cultivated, and that the district must remain accountable for

060measurable results. This work was never intended to be symbolic. It was designed to interrupt inequitable outcomes and systems that ensure all truly means all. As the name in the title, the framework is doing meaningful architectural work, and architectural work can sometimes feel invisible. I zoom before you tonight in strong support of the continuation and full investment in the African-American Success Framework as we enter year five. Over the past four years, this work has produced real, measurable results. More than 1,300 students and families have been engaged through targeted supports. Our mathematics dashboard has improved from red to yellow, the California State Dashboard, a 13.3 point gain. College and career readiness has grown from 17.6% to nearly 47.5%, almost triple. All three middle schools are engaged in culturally and linguistically responsive and relevant learning labs. The Step

061Up pipeline is connecting elementary, middle, and high school. These are not small wins. They are signs that the framework is working. April's transition fairs are a powerful example of what this looks like in practice. Designed to support black families, they have become a resource that benefits all families. A SAC members personally called families. If any of you families are listening, I'm the Casey who called you and texted your phone. We encouraged families to participate and listened to what was needed. Families told us they felt more informed, more welcomed, and better prepared. And for those of you who were out at the Berkeley High transition fair, you saw that families came out in the rain and stayed and engaged with one another. This is what it means to build systems with families, not just for them.

062We do understand that serious fiscal challenges are facing the district. We know these are difficult decisions. And yet, a budget decision reflects those values. A budget is a moral document, what we believe in. The African American Success Framework is not an add-on. It's a strategic investment in equity, accountability, and long-term institutional capacity. All partners supporting this work have been carefully vetted and held a clear held to clear expectations. Year after year, they have reduced their contract amounts while continuing to meet and exceed those expectations because they are committed to do this work alongside the district, its families, and its students. Year five is not about launching new programs. It's about making what works permanent, codifying those transition systems, strengthening math support at the fifth to sixth and eighth to ninth grade turning points, expanding college

063bound support, and building the internal leadership capacity that sustains this work beyond a single year grant or an external partner. On behalf of AASAC and on behalf of every black student in Berkeley whose brilliance is worth investing in, I urge this board to fully fund and support year five of that African American Success Framework proposal. The progress is real, the infrastructure is taking root, the community is engaged, and all of our students deserve nothing less. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you so much. Um do we have other committee folks online, Ms. Chavez? No. I don't think so. Yeah, thank you. Um and none in person, so now we're going to move on to union comments. Do you have union members in the audience here? Okay. Is that Mr. Bronson? Come. See, where's my notes?

064All right. Um first of all, I'm going to be unusually friendly and say thank you for working with us to rescind all but a tiny handful of layoff notices that I know are still currently being worked on and hopefully uh those few remaining folks whose positions are in limbo will uh that that hopefully together we will find uh some way for them to continue their work in the district. So, thank you for that. Um it's been a very stressful year. It's been very stressful for all of our members to have to go through this again. I know it's not, you know, really entirely the district's fault due to the mismatch of the state budget cycle with the district's budget cycle. Um and especially this year, uh the politicians in Sacramento playing uh with our Prop

06598 funds that are supposed to be for education. I would encourage um >> [snorts] >> next year, uh the district to prioritize continuing people's livelihoods early in the budget cycle. I don't know if it's possible to do it any earlier than you already do, but would go a long way towards alleviating some of some of the stress and acrimony um that we have unfortunately had to go through for another year. Um I don't know if our local politicians ask school board members or superintendents for endorsements, but if they do, I would encourage any of you who are asked, in the event that you are asked for an endorsement for any state legislative politician to tell them that um you want to see what they are doing to make sure we get that Prop 98 funding

066that is ours. It's supposed to be for education. It's not supposed to be for the governor to squirrel away for whatever purpose. Um I'm pleased to have heard that all of Ofee has been saved for another year. I would strongly discourage uh any consideration of Oufi staff for layoffs next year if heaven forbid there have to be any layoffs next year. Um they do incredibly vital work for our district, for our students, for our families. Um they really put that equity in our in our motto. Um And lastly, I had Oh, wait. No, one more thing before I get to the end. Um Our president has some concerns about the new payroll portal. Um you will be hearing from him about those shortly, I believe. Uh but I can't really go into more detail about

067it, but it has to do with union dues. Uh Now, lastly, I have heard that there is yet another round of educators being summoned to investigatory meetings for various posters, attire, etc. And I want to ask, how long are we going to humor these McCarthyite witch hunts? How long are our staff going to be summoned to time-wasting, money-wasting investigatory meetings that always amount to nothing because it always turns out they've done nothing wrong for simply standing up against genocide. I am tired of having to hear that my colleagues are being summoned to these interrogations. Um We have jobs to do. We very much want to get back to them. Thank you, and as always, free Palestine. >> [applause] >> Take you next on up. Um I don't believe I have anyone online. Oh, so here

068we go. We in person. Thank you. All right. I'm going to That's all right. Okay. Um Hello board, superintendent. Um I've been trying to think of what I would say up here and trying to write things down, trying to just get to the root of it. Um and I thought I would just talk about trying to personalize my experience in Berkeley as a learns employee. Um I'm in year 19 of working in BUSD as IT and after school as a uh instructional specialist PE for much of that time. Um I know you've seen some of these slides, but this is the glaring this is a blinking red light, so I'm just sharing that with y'all, but the coordinator position as a local 21 person but just as an employee of the district was meaningful. It

069was an opportunity where the district said, "Hey, we're reinvesting in something that is so important, is so valuable for our community." Um I had seen the ups and downs, the ebbs and flow of the program over the course of 15 years and I saw so many great things being done and I saw some things that, you know, were like are they are they cutting funding? Are they reinvesting? Are we prioritizing this component of the school day that is so valuable, that is espoused to being so valuable, that does so much to bridge the community to the school? Um and so this opportunity for me myself um felt powerful, felt important, and it felt like the district was like, "Hey, like we have the school day, but now let's really reinvest in the afterschool program. Let's

070put on-site leadership supervisors that can really curate, cultivate, and supervise the programs in a way that isn't dependent on the principals who have a long day, that isn't dependent on an off-site supervisor who I can keep sending notes to the off-site supervisor, keep sending notes, but somewhere some of those notes get lost in translation. So, for me, as somebody who wasn't in a leadership position, but had experience leading other programs at UC Berkeley and getting that experience developing that and cultivating that own personal development, this was opportunity for me to step up into a new role, and it and it felt really valuable, and I love the work that I've been able to do. Taking me away from coaching and teaching, but actually being able to implement and touch more students and influence more students

071through this through this title, through this position that has agency, that has efficacy, that has decision-making power to really, you know, invest myself as much as anything that we're investing in these students. Um So, for me, being dropped in June 5th, 2023 is a traumatic day, a good traumatic day, but also a traumatic day in the other way, where we were tasked with building the ship as it goes out to sea. Summer program started. Now, last year I know that y'all said, "We want to reinvest and really also like see what we can do with summer programs." That can be another form of revenue generating, but it's also a very valuable way to stop the summer slide for our students that might be most vulnerable, that can't afford high-end programs. I'll tell you this, it's

072going 4 weeks this year. That's not a decision we were able to make. That's not a decision that we're even in on, but I'm not going to get into that all that. That's something that I think we need to look at deeply and reevaluate how we're making these decisions to invest in our students. If the people I know we're looked at as managers, but we are people that are on the ground. We are working every day um front-facing. Some of us, you know, call the faces of the program. We want to be able to do more. Every step of the way we've done more. We've tried to do more. We've tried to come up with solutions. Every time we're told, "Hey, y'all aren't making enough money." It's a budget thing last year. We're like, "What

073can we do?" We have some We have some ideas cuz we see we're wasting money on these off these contracts. We see that we have all these vacancies. We can be hiring to get these people off the wait list. We want to be solution-oriented and we have the versatility and the dynamic position to be in both rooms. Right? We can be in the managerial room and we're on the ground, so we really know the pulse of what's happening. So, for me when I look at the fact that we've from the reinstating day of the coordinator that year, we've increased revenue year to year. Um the fact that there seems to be a priority to save $64,000 over maintaining a higher quality reinvestment on our sites. It just doesn't feel right and I understand y'all are

074in a tough decision tough situation, but as elected officials, as people that are the stewards of, you know, saying expressing what this community wants and what this community prioritizes and needs, I hope that you all find it within yourselves to reconsider to actually make this institution express what the values of Berkeley wants for their students in perpetuity. That's all. >> [applause] >> Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Um Mr. Harris, do we have anyone online at this point? I don't think so. There's a line There's a hand raised, but that's for later, I believe. Oh. Um there's a Safiya O'Brien. We are at this point on union comments. I don't believe Ms. O'Brien is a union member. No. So, um Ms. O'Brien, if you want to speak, um you can come back at the end. Um so,

075uh we're moving on on our agenda. So, uh board member comments. Uh we have our student board director, Armana Aradom, who's here. Would you like to go first, Armana? Yes, go ahead. Hi, good evening, everyone. I want to thank the district for doing their best at keeping budget cuts away from the classroom and programs that help marginalized students get into college. With that, I also want to thank the public commenters for coming out today and echo their concerns because I've seen the importance of the TSA ethnic studies position because of Ms. Ito-Gates's commitment to student engagement and ethnic studies throughout the district. I was lucky enough to work with her my sophomore year, where I was a leader in the Black Student Union. We met frequently to discuss improvements to ethnic studies and did read-alouds

076at elementary school. I saw firsthand the impacts of these programs and how they were being implemented far beyond just the freshman year course, but throughout the district. In addition, I hope that we can continue to keep cuts away from the Bridge and Puente and RISE programs at Berkeley High. As a graduating senior, I can confidently say that navigating navigating the college admissions process was by no means simple, and having vast resources available at Berkeley High for free is what made it possible. So, I really hope that we continue these trends at keeping budget cuts away from the classroom and programs. So, thank you all. Thank you so much. Um I'm going to make a very quick uh comment, and then we'll move on to other board directors. Just super fast. Uh Thank you for bringing

077your hearts and minds, of course, as we have I've been said every week and you come every meeting. Much appreciated. That hadn't reflected previously. May is heritage month for APIs. This is an important time for me at least to reflect on the core role that Asian Americans played in in the ethnic studies movement emerging in 1969 at UC Berkeley. Um Uh which resulted in the Department of Ethnic Studies at Cal and at SF State, but also in the first-ever high school ethnic studies program here at Berkeley High School with an Asian American Studies component, African American Studies component, was previously called Chicano Studies and now is often times called Latin Latin X studies. Um and also resulted in my experience, a formative experience as a young person learning under the folks who actually started ethnic

078studies at Cal as members of the student groups that formed called themselves the Third World Liberation Front. Um so this is really not only core to me, but I feel it's I feel very lucky that this set of ethnic studies values that line up with Berkeley is core to Berkeley. And as a superintendent noted, here ethnic studies is not a trend. It really is part of our Berkeley values and I feel so privileged and lucky to be here in Berkeley and to be associated with UC Berkeley and the ethnic studies program and here on the board currently as your president. Um so uh I want to reflect back on the importance again here in Berkeley of the board continuing support as we have voiced today to ethnic studies as an important value for critical awareness

079and critical thought for our students and in our community. Um at a time when ethnic studies has been deeply politicized and diversity and inclusion has been deeply politicized. Um so I just want to say that and I want to thank folks for continuing to do all the hard work that you do as advocates in the district and coming to the board and making us honest. Um thank you. Who else would want to speak? Yes, Director Vasudev. Thank you. Yeah, I'm going to keep my comments short, but also wanted to thank everyone who came for public comment. Particularly all of our committee members, the families that came. Appreciate the comments on safety issues like our cell phone policies. And also wanted to join your Director Chang and wishing everyone a happy API Heritage Month. I had

080the privilege over the weekend of sitting on stage for the Chicken Next graduation at UC Berkeley. It was awesome to be able to hear a lot of the student speakers, particularly inspirational to hear a lot of first gen students. I'm a first gen student myself, first woman in my family to graduate from college. So brought back really beautiful memories of my own graduation from college. And I'm excited to celebrate our own graduations here at Berkeley Unified. I'm thrilled to be attending our multilingual student graduation tomorrow. And I'm sad to have missed the Puente graduation today, but my heart's with all the Puente students that are graduating. I know that a lot of members of our Latino community are there tonight. >> [snorts] >> Next week also for the Latino Next graduation, unfortunately, we are going

081to be here, so I'm going to miss that, but making important decisions and having important discussions like the one that we're having tonight about the budget. I'm looking forward to tonight's discussion and also wanted to echo appreciation for all the families that came to speak about the various programs that they're concerned about. These are not easy decisions, but agree with a lot of the comments that our student director made because we're here to serve our students and it was really I loved how you centered us on the college and career readiness programs, particularly those that support our most vulnerable students. So when they arrive, college round, all of these programs that are meant to make a very complicated process a little bit easier to navigate for high schoolers. It's the college application process. I feel

082like it's gotten more intense every year. And particularly our students that, you know, our first-gen students can't afford fancy educational consultants. They need as much help as they can to be able to get to the same places that other students can get to more easily, whose families have many generations of attending college. And so centering us around our equity work and our equity principles as we're making these tough calls, I appreciate the comments from our student director tonight and look forward to tonight's discussion. Thanks. Thanks so much, Director Vasudev. Um, who would like to speak next? Dr. Fnasci. I think most of my comments have already been said elsewhere. I just want to point out that we still have quite a bit of Prop 98 funding that's being withheld by the governor and cannot be

083used for our ongoing budgeting. So the best way to advocate for the people and programs and things that we want is to pick up the phone and call the governor, call your assembly member, and call your senator, your state assembly and senators, and ask them to keep their promises and fully fund Prop 98 as it was intended. Thanks. Thank you so much, Director Schnauski. Um, do we have any [clears throat] other directors who would like to speak today? I have some comments, Director Chang, or President Chang. Sure, Vice President Corn. Please proceed. >> Thanks. Was Director Brown I I can't tell what's going on. Is it all right if I go ahead, Director Brown? Um, okay. Go ahead, please. Um, I So, I want to start by saying thank you to everyone who came out

084this evening. I'm looking forward to our discussion of the budget tonight. I am also very excited about the education scorecard that the superintendent mentioned in her comments, naming BUSD as a district on the rise. And I also echo her appreciation for our classified employees. Um, and like the superintendent, I want to acknowledge the shooting earlier this week at the Islamic Center of San Diego. My heart goes out to the families of the three victims, Mansour Cazija, Amin Abdallah, and Nadir Awad. And I want to assure our Arab and Muslim community members in BUSD that we remain committed to ensuring that our schools are places where every student feels seen, valued, and safe, where our communities reflect the dignity and dignity and humanity of all people, and where we stand always against Islamophobia and all forms

085of hate. Finally, I want to take a moment this evening to acknowledge a long-time and beloved BUSD teacher who is currently in hospice in her final days and has been surrounded by BUSD community members, including her former colleagues and her former students over the past weeks. Her name is Flora Russ. She retired in 2018 after 50 years of service to BUSD. She's now nearing the end of her life journey. Flora has been a beloved educator in Berkeley Unified having taught thousands of students since 1968. She is well known throughout the Berkeley community for her unending well of patience, love, and belief in every single student who crossed her path. Flora taught math, science, computer arts, credit recovery, and work experience at the middle and high school levels in BUSD. In Flora's honor, I invite each

086of you to hold the people that you love the most in your hearts this week. Thank you. Thank you, Vice President Cornyn, and thank you, Flora, for your many years of service. Um Director Brown, would you like to go next? Um I'm really taken aback by the news of Ms. Res. Um wow. Um I'll pass, actually. Thank you. Um we are now on to our next item, uh which is the consent calendar. As a reminder, we have already had a motion with that regard with removing 12.3 through 12.7 on the consent calendar. So, Ms. Charas, I don't think we need to do a secondary vote on this, do we? Yeah, we need to approve the consent calendar. I move to approve the consent calendar with the items previously identified removed. Excellent. I'll second. Great. Um

087Director Cornyn, I'm sorry, Vice President Cornyn. Uh yes, I. Director Vasudev? Yes. Director Brown? Yes. Director Sharsky? Yes. Director Orato? Yes. Um President Chen? Yes. Okay, so uh so moved. Um okay, uh we now have our discussion item at 13.1 with a budget update. Good evening, board directors and members of the public, both in person and who are joining us remotely. We are here to provide an update on our progress towards presenting you with a balanced budget to take action on later well, not later this month, but in the month of June. Next slide, please. Always grounding ourselves in every convening in our district's mission to enable and inspire Sorry, I was mean. I was saying next slide. >> [laughter] [clears throat] >> Luckily I know by heart. So, enable and inspire our diverse student

088body to achieve academic excellence and make positive contributions to the world. I don't know what's going on with the with the um That's okay. Um in our objectives for this evening is not for the board to take action, but to engage the board in a discussion, hear feedback and response as we review the BUSD budget target and the progress that we've made um thus far um to realize or or meet that target, sorry. Specifically focusing um primarily on the first half of the presentation on our unrestricted general funds. Um we're going to also during that time provide a very brief and high-level highlight of the governor's May revise and initial implications on our budget and our budget target. And so though we know that the governor has released the May revise, we are still in

089the process of collecting the information and understanding the various components of that revise and more importantly wanting to make sure that we are clear on the implications of the revisions to Berkeley's budget as well as Berkeley's budget target. And so we have prepared to come before the board and our community at our next board meeting next week to share more information and detail about the governor's May revision. We also during this presentation going to provide an update on state and federal resources and the status of those one-time and expiring grants that you may recall that we presented and shared with you all back during the board study session. As reference, we have linked both for you as Board of Education as well as members of the public the prior board study session decks which include

090budget and resource allocation part one and part two. We will not revisit those in in the sake of time and well, is that a in the sake of time. For the sake I knew it. For the sake of time and because this is a continuation of previous conversations, we wanted to make sure you have that resource for your own reference. We will not be referencing content of those slides during tonight's presentation. We do want to though start by saying that the presentation that we are going to do and all of our work towards presenting a balanced budget is not something that we do in isolation. We actually do it in collaboration with a number of community partners through the various advisory committee structures that BUSD has and so though SPAC is highlighted because that is

091the the group that I think most folks expect and understand give input and engage with us around resource allocation. We want to give a nod to the fact that we have a number of other advisory committees that also make recommendations that also respond to our proposals and that also give us input that ultimately inform that ultimately inform what we put in the final budget. Apologies to the members of the public. It looks like there's something strange going on with the presentation deck. But this slide really again just highlights the various committees. And those are both district level advisory committees including our PAC, our DELAC, our PNO which has purview of our BSEP dollars, our African-American Success Advisory Committee that you heard from this afternoon, our GSHAC, our Disability Equity and Special Education Advisory Committee or

092DSEAC, as well again as SEBAC, but it is also inclusive of advisory committees that are at the site level. And that includes our school site councils. It also includes partnership with Berkeley Parent Teacher Association. We have a number of community partners that sit on those various committees and give input. And we have regular convenings and an official structure for input from our labor partners who are also on a number of those advisory committees as well. And then of course we look for input and thought partnership from our site leaders. And so just wanted you to know that um though the three of us are here presenting this information today, it is information that um usually reflects a lot of the feedback that we've gotten over time through these various structures. I stalled as long as

093I could. There we go. Okay. So I'm going to now give the mic to Pauline Falan Spey, our Assistant Sup of Business Services, who is going to quickly remind you all of our target and the various factors that inform the target before we share before I share some of the proposals that the staff has created to move towards that target. Thanks Superintendent. So on the next slide, um next slide. Oh, that's you. Keep looking over there. Um so we had we have negotiated with various various partners. And on this slide we are summarizing the overall cost of each of each agreement and the impact year-over-year. The next slide This one this should look familiar to everyone. We have shared this information before. This is the cost of the settlements on the unrestricted general fund and

094we actually broke it up in two parts and we did 25 26 the impact of all our agreements and this was less the million dollars that the board had already authorized in the budget. So in 25 26 we're actually um paying for that technically in 26 27. So the impact of that is 4.2 million in 26 27 and in 27 28 and 28 29 it's a 2.1 million dollar impact. And then when when we're looking at 2 2026 and 27 and 27 28 the salary increases were either 3 or 4% and that was a cost of 3.8 million dollars for ongoing from 26 27 or health costs. You can see that um for half of the year it was 0.7 and because that's only 6 months of the increase the additional health is a million

095dollars in 27 28 and 28 29 and the total cost of the TAs or the tentative agreements we're looking at 8. Actually they're no agreements they're no longer tentative. So it's 8.7 million dollars in 26 27 7.6 in 27 28 and 7.6 in 28 29. And uh does this impact the multi-year proposal? Again, this should be familiar. This is what we shared at the second interim. And the COLA that we're sharing in 2026-2027, that was the governor's COLA when he did the January budget. So, this is the information we knew at second interim in terms of the um assumptions for COLA or ADA funded or unduplicated pupil count. And then we're looking at the revenue, the projected revenue um for LCFF state and and local funding um based on the second interim. On the next

096slide um you can see that on the next slide, you can see that we're looking at the impact of the um on the agreements that we reached with our unions. What did that do to the target? And the main takeaway from this slide is that our target for 2026-2027 is $10.4 million, and that's the amount that we and that's the amount that we um determined would um would allow the district to meet our obligations with our unions as well as our ongoing expenses and um have an uh positive ending fund balance, which we'll see on the next slide. So, with that um the target of 10.4 that we shared earlier um we're looking at an ending fund balance undesignated of $2 million in 2026-2027 and 4.25 in 2027-2028 understanding that in 2027-2028, we don't have

097all our um unions agreements, the cost of that in um reflected in 2027-2028. So, that's So, again, the first part of this uh presentation is focused on the unrestricted general fund. I mean, with that being said, it is important to note and remind the board and the public that that $10.4 million budget uh budget balancing target was not inclusive of um what you heard Jill speak about at our last board study session and what she'll speak about this this evening, um which is the fact that we have um a number of our categorical dollars where uh the expenses are either exceeding what we currently have or those uh particular funds or those grants are expiring. Um we did not include those dollars in the budget target for a number of reasons. The primary reason is

098because we didn't want to assume um that we would continue to do uh the work that was being done with those dollars um as we go forward. Um with expiring grants, good practice is to plan for the expiration and think about um how you would continue that work or change that work or even stop that work when the funds end. And so, we're using the time to be reflective of what work we want to continue. Um if so, how we would how we're going to fund it, what work we might want to stop, or if there's areas of work that we would do differently. And so, just to be clear, that 10.4 is not inclusive of uh the dollars that Jill will speak about later this evening. Um what's important is that for all of

099our dollars, for all of the budget balancing decisions that we've made, uh this year we introduced a budget a number of things to support us with our resource allocation decision-making and um with the goal of being more coherent and transparent. One of those things is this decision-making triangle that you see here. And it was really because for every decision or change that we made or explored even, um and this should be familiar to members of the board as well as the public, we wanted to ask ourselves questions about that particular program um or services um equity impact, if you will. We wanted to look at the equity and and is it really an equity initiative? And equity does not just mean that it serves a diverse population, or even quite honestly that it serves uh

100a focal group. It's really about does it serve focal populations, but also does it intentionally remove barriers that might exist for those populations or otherwise help them to navigate our system or advance in ways that historically they have not been able to. And so equity was a key focus, but it was not our only focus because we do believe that equity that it cannot be sustained or equity initiatives that cannot be sustained um end up doing harm as you set expectations and start folks getting excited about something only to not be able to to fund it. Um and so we said that sustainability and stability were also important things for us to consider as we make decisions and review services and program. That means do we have the funding to continue it? Um do we

101have the capacity and bandwidth in terms of our human uh talent and capital to continue the work? Um and do we have a plan and an infrastructure to make sure that it actually is implemented in ways that it's intended to be in ways that will get the impact. And then that takes us to the the last area of the triangle, which is impact. We want to um fund things that actually make a difference for our babies. Um and so we we look at and we evaluate impact, and that's both in terms of implementation um fidelity as well as outcomes academically. Um multiple measures in fact. And so um wanted to present this or represent this to you all so you all can know and understand that regardless if it was general funds, categorical dollars, a

102service, a program, or a you know, a matter of personnel, uh we took these decisions very seriously and evaluated them within this triangle. We also want to remind the board that um last year we um identified and shared out a number of strategies that we implement um to engage in budget decisions. Um these are not unique to Berkeley. This is actually what many districts do. And they're not in any particular order except for we always start by evaluating and removing vacant positions. And we try our best to the point of public comments as well as you all in the day is um to to have the last thing that we do uh be about consolidating reducing positions and/or programs. And then there's strategies in the middle. That's important because as we share with you some

103of our proposals, we'll share with you the proposals as they relate to these particular strategies. Okay. And a reminder to you as Pauline said, we had a budget balancing target of $10.4 million, and the strategies that we're going to share with you this evening are from what we have called phases 1 through 3, and they total about $7.8 million towards that target. These proposals have been shared with our superintendent's budget advisory committee, and some of these proposals are also proposals that have come from or been explored with our other advisory groups as well. It's important to name that they are just proposals as we were doing our work to try to move towards the target to be able to present you with a budget a balanced budget to vote on later this school year. So,

104the first category of strategy again is eliminating and removing vacant positions. We were not able to identify any vacant positions to remove or eliminate towards the target. That is not for lack of effort, but you might recall that this is BUSD's third year in a row of making significant budget balancing decisions, and so we actually exhausted this in last year's budget balancing. So, we had $0 to score for this particular strategy. Oh. Something happened with I think you went back. I don't I just pushed it one time. It did kind of skip several slides. It skipped several slides. So, we're on slide 14. Sorry. While Liz is getting the keyboard, the next strategy is shoring up program costs. That's an opportunity for us to evaluate the cost of various programs and make sure the allocation

105actually matches that cost, matches the numbers of students served, etc. What you'll see for this particular strategy are two things, one of which one could argue is not a chewing up of costs, it's actually a revenue. However, we scored it under chewing up cost and that is our staffing formula, our 26-27 teacher template um gave us an additional 1.1 million that we scored towards the target. And then we also had some changes in our enrollment projections in the positive direction direction, so we scored $194,000 for proposal um sorry, for this proposal uh for a total of $1.3 million in service of our $10.4 million target. Um just so you all know, we're going to go through all the strategies and the proposals under each strategy and then pause for questions before going to categorical. If

106you like us to do something different, please just let us know. Next slide, please. And so the next category was eliminating expenses. Um we we find that we have expenses that are uh redundant or sometimes can be um covered in other places and so we identified $215,000 um in service of this one. Uh the first one is to re-evaluate how we do our ergonomic evaluations. Um previously and this year that work is done with a contractor and that contract costs about $6,000. Um this year we've identified ways that we can move that work in house and moving the work in house still same quality of work and still same services to our staff um would save us $4,000. We also um explored the idea of having furlough days and again, I'm sorry, let me pause.

107All of these like Pauline said are recommendations and proposals towards the original target based on what we knew about the governor's budget come second interim, right? And so [clears throat] we know folks are already thinking about May revise. We have not made any changes to this um with the new information from the May revise. Um and so at the time we're trying to get to $10.4 million and again explore this idea um that we presented also last year of furlough days for our employees who are making $125,000 or more. Um, five furlough days to be exact and that would uh give us $211,000 towards the $10.4 million target. Our next category was to uh look for inefficiencies in our system, um ways that we can improve how we do work. Um, we identified $17,000 that

108we could score um with a upgrade of our website. You just heard public comments about the website and we were very clear that there our website is not as um user-friendly as we like um and all of our systems don't talk to one another and so this is actually an upgrade that does not require a new contract. It requires us to refine how we do it and we can save $17,000. Um, and we can move some of those costs to BSEP as well. Um, and so that's looking for an inefficiency but also transferring it to another source. We also have a print shop here in Berkeley Unified and the expenses of the print shop each year are about $850,000 plus. That is inclusive of the copiers that we have at our school sites and at

109our district offices as well as copies that we make and produce for um our educators and staff. Um, we've identified a way to save about $150,000 um by reducing the number of copiers not at school sites but at the central offices as well as having some stricter protocols and eliminating some of the special printing. Next slide, please. We continue to look for inefficiencies and identified a couple more areas we can tighten up. Um, we have a report that goes out to our families uh yearly. This report is um in color and provides a lot of information but we've actually identified the fact that we can actually do it digitally um and save $30,000 and had actually feedback from families that encouraged us to go this route. The digital format actually is much more nimble and

110provides more information than the printed out copy. And so we had a lot of support from our families to say we can move this to digital, but we can still have digital I'm sorry, a hard copy prints available for families who need them and that would save us $30,000. We also can save money by making some changes to our home hospital instruction hours and that is $75,000. We had an opportunity to right-size some clerical support at our BTA campus and that scored for $7,500. And then that was all of the inefficiencies that we looked to address these phases. Thank you, Liz. Our next strategy was to transfer expenses to other funding sources. And so again, because this is primarily looking at how we're going to move towards the $10.4 million target for general funds, we're

111looking to see if there's other funding sources that can consume or assume the various services and programs. And so we identified $187,000 that can be handled in BSEP from our comms department. And so we were paying [clears throat] for a number of positions from our comms team on our general funds and BSEP has a bucket for communications and that bucket had not been exhausted. So moving those dollars to BSEP, the services and again, the programs will continue. We also have the language line contract that is $4,400, something that we adopted this year under the board's direction and provides, you know, support for our our various multilingual language speakers and continue with that program, but moving it to BSEP again under that comms bucket and off the general funds. Then we also identified 1.1 FTE less

112of indirect costs that we can transfer to other funds from the general funds of $194,000. Remember that FTE is not the same as individual people. So 1.1 FTE can be a number of folks percentages towards full-time equivalent. Next slide. And then again, the strategy that we try our best to stay away from is the consolidation and reduction of positions and programs. However, we did identify some savings there as well. We have a district office clerical support that was not a vacancy at the beginning when we were saying no vacancies, but that position is now vacant. Eliminating that position will us $120,000. We also are eliminating a BHS school admin assistant position for 96,000. We're right-sizing the teacher leader model at Berkeley Technical BTA. That FTE reduced by 0.2 would save us $31,000. And then we

113have an expiring grant at BHS for the wellness center and we explored right-sizing that. Again, this is capturing a moment in time and since then we've gotten a little bit more additional information about the possibility of that grant being renewed. So this proposal might actually come off, but we wanted to give you what we presented to SBACK and other groups. The final slide towards budget balancing that 10.4 million dollars for phases 1 through 3 are actually revenue generators, whereas the other ones were either cost savings or cost reductions. As you recall the SPED BUCS block grant, we knew early on was going to be 4.6 million. Take the May revise out of your head. This is SPED BUCS of past and we scored that towards our target. We also revisit the idea of charging fees

114for transportation. Want to clarify this is not the two and from proposal that we brought to you all last year. This is proposal that for our students who are taking bussing to from school to after school programs, non-BUSD after school programs, considering charging those programs. Some of them are non-profit and some of them actually do get a profit. Charging them a a day uh for the students. And so, that would generate about $242,000. Um I will say that that was one that was the one that had a lot of pushback from some members of our community, whereas others were really championing it saying that we have families who can pay. We're not trying to charge our families, we're trying to charge the programs themselves. Um also PG&E, we had a a tax that we were

115paying to uh the city of Berkeley um that we recognize now that we should not pay and should not have been paying. Um one time we will save $200,000 from not paying that tax, but then ongoing we'll save $100,000. [clears throat] Oh, there's one second. Okay. Um and then finally, this is also a another one that we brought to you all last year. Uh we have our CYBHI program or partnership with ACOE. That is the fee payer reimbursement where as our educators do things that they do all all day every day with our babies and provide services, we're able to bill for those and get reimbursed. And we've scored that for $250,000. Um that number is conservative because the system is still getting up and running. We do have this year um as a as

116a learning year to understand what actually is reimbursable and what the kinks are with regards to the system with ACOE, but we do feel confident that we are able to score 250. Um so, the total of those revenue generators is $5.3 million. And then Paulina will do a quick review um and we will pause to see if you have questions about this particular No, we won't pause. We'll do May revise first and then we'll pause. Okay. Thanks, Enikia. So, um so, this format should look familiar to the board. This is our tabular format that we usually um present all our um various budget balancing solutions. So, it's it's um it's separated um between um we have central operations, office reductions. So, this looks slicing the pie a little differently from how Aneeka just presented it.

117We thought just looking at in that area, we're going to score $993,000. Some of that is ongoing and some of that is one-time. You also see if you can look really closely that we're looking at different phases. So, there are a lot of budget balancing solutions, some significant in dollar amounts, but it demonstrated the it demonstrates the work that went into this process because we did it in different phases, there are different amounts, and we're looking in different areas. At school sites, we determined we could save $209,174. This is ongoing. The previous section $781,000 was ongoing and $211,000 was one-time. And then we also looked at um staffing formula considerations. >> Next slide, Liz. >> Um Next slide. Yeah. So, that actually totaled $1.3 million and that's all ongoing. And Aneeka shared with you our

118revenue projections. That was $5.4 million, but when you're looking at the one-time and the ongoing, you can see 592 of that is ongoing, 4.8 of that is one-time, and this is significant because whatever is one-time, we have to readdress it in the following year. So, we're basically kicking the can down the road. So, it's assisting us in in this year for '26-'27, but we'd have to revisit it in '27-'28. So, looking at the $7.8 million a little differently, we have 2.9 in ongoing budget balancing solutions, and almost 5 million in one-time. So, this is just looking at it um in a little different format. And the next slide, Liz, um it it kind of shares with you our target and the different um phases and the different dates that we actually shared these with um

119SBAC. And that's the 7.86 7,864 that we shared earlier, the same number. Um and that means at that point after phase three, we're actually 2 .5 million dollars away from meeting um the target overall. Actually, I think it's probably best for us to pause here and see if the board has any questions about phase one to three because phase four is really May revise. Is that okay, then? See if y'all have questions. Keep going. Okay. Um Michelle, do we have questions? Do you want to like to ask now? Keep going. Keep on going. Thank you. So, again, that was a moment in time and now we are here this week and actually this afternoon, [clears throat] uh we presented to SBAC um and and we'll start sharing with some of our other advisory committees high-level

120information from the governor's May revise that is still hot off the presses. Um big picture for 2026, this is a cut and paste from another site. So, this is not us saying that this is what Berkeley is getting and it doesn't tell the entire story um but 6.4 billion dollars increase in Prop 98 funding from the governor's January budget. 2.4 billion additional ongoing state funding for special education. 10.3 billion um to nearly to nearly fully fund Prop 98 rainy day fund. Prop 98 rainy day fund uh with an additional set aside of 6.2 billion and then 4.31% um is a discretionary increase on top of the statutory 2.87% COLA or cost of living. Um and so that'll raise the COLA to nearly 4 billion dollars. Um what I want to make sure that we stress

121is that this is what everybody is seeing, so we wanted to show it and and make sure you know that we've seen it, but again, we are still working to understand all the nuances of it and what it means for Berkeley's budget and we'll be coming back on the 27th to share more about that. Um, but we did go ahead um, and take advantage of what we do believe we have a a pretty solid understanding of and that is both the COLA and the implication and and the spud bug and the implications for the budget. So, um, we did go ahead and score um, those for our uh, stage or sorry, proposal phase four and Pauline will do an overview of those. Okay, thanks, Enikia. So, um, with the COLA, um, well, before I start

122um, with the COLA, I actually attended a CBO meeting at ACOE and they had school services present some of this information. This So, this is a preview of the actual um, workshop that we're going to go to tomorrow. So, we feel fairly confident in sharing this information ahead of time. So, um, so with the COLA, um, the buzzword for the COLA is that there's a um, there's actually a tale of three COLAs. So, um, good news from the May revise is that the statutory COLA went from 2.41 in January. It's now 2.87. That's the statutory COLA. Well, the other COLA is that we have a COLA of 2.1 for state's preschools and then we have an additional LCFF investment of 1.44. So, for our LCFF, the total COLA that we're looking at is 4.31%. Um,

123and of course, for the state preschool programs, we're looking at 2.1 and um, the final COLA um, of 2.87 will be applied to our set our categorical programs. So, we're comfortable scoring the additional 2.1 million dollars based on what was shared with us um at the CBO meeting from ACOE. Um and this is just a little bit more on the statutory cola that was shared. Let me just ask you guys a question. Um did you have a question? If it's okay, on the slide before I just want to make sure I understand. The one before that. 26, yeah. Perfect. So, that 2.1 million dollars, that is the total cola, the 4.31%? Thank you. >> Even though we want to say it's a statutory cola plus the investment, so yeah. Okay. >> Got it twice. Yeah,

124that is, yeah. Yeah. No, four, we're going backwards. >> [laughter] >> So, the other thing that we talked about, um this is just more of a cola on how we actually came to the 4.31 LCFF increase. Um on the next slide. So, this SPED bug, um and Nico mentioned that um we are getting more for the SPED bug, um a significant increase actually from the January proposal. Um the proposal is now 936 dollars per ADA. Um previously it was 512. However, um based on negotiations, we had negotiated um part of that increase um for with various unions. So, we're getting a third of the increase, um which is what was um proposed in for two unions. So, our third of that increased um SPED bug, if you will, is 1.3 million dollars, and we're scoring

125it at this time, um just based on the information that we had. We will be bringing back additional information because some of this money that we're getting has additional cost and we will get the details of that tomorrow and we'll share it at the next board meeting. So. Break down. Oh, so this is this is a small on Spud bug and what's the what is allowed? It's still fully discretionary. Which is good. So. So after applying all four phases including this fourth phase with the revise, phase four is 3. 3 million dollars or 3.4 million dollars and the total at the bottom right is 11 million 243,549 towards our 10.4 million dollar budget which gives us a So we'll be in the black 843,549 and we should have put a big fat asterisk. That's our

126thing. It's going to be on the next set of slides and the reason why is because again, as Pauline said, there's some additional nuance to some of these funds that we are scoring specifically the Spud bug and they're also as we know with every year comes expenses that we need to make sure that we're able to address. However, we were we were happy that the May revise allowed us to uh hit and exceed the target as shared previously. We have the next slide just in case there were questions and so again, we'll pause to see if there's questions because this is the end of the section on the unrestricted general fund that's 10.4 and the moves we made towards the 10.4. We're prepared to now move into our categorical dollars. Um But I want to

127pause first. >> [clears throat] >> Are there any questions board members? No. Thank you so much. All right, we'll turn our attention to um our categorical dollars. I um just wanted to provide a few reminders and then some updates. So, if you go to the next slide, um as we have shared Oh, and then click one more time because apparently I didn't turn the animation off. Thank you. We um have some expiring grants and grants on reduced capacity. So, um we have had uh the three grants that you see there on the left-hand side, um the arts, music, instructional materials block grant, um our educator effectiveness grant, and the A-G block grant, all of which expire in June of this year. The ASES grant had the asterisk there because we had to apply for that.

128Um so, while it was expiring, we now have renewal. Although, as you heard from our after-school program updates, um we will have a slight reduction in the ASES grant based on um some attendance calculations at one of our schools. We're also anticipating um some reduced capacity on our LCFF funding and our learning recovery block grant because we had more expenses than we had revenue, um and our expenses are increasing. So, for the most part on our LCFF supplemental funds, we are paying for staff, and so accounting for the negotiated raises and the upcoming benefit shifts um is going to uh stretch our not stretch our dollars as far as we want them to go. Um the updates from um the federal government um at sometime I think it was in March was to assume level

129funding for our Title I, which is the largest of those four funding sources, Title II, Title III, and Title IV. Again, recognizing um that uh uh much of what is carried on some of those title funds is also staffing, so level funding means that those dollars won't go as far because the cost for staff has increased. We're also anticipating level funding for WIOA, which is one of the funding sources for our adult school programs. Um when we came to you in uh I think that was February when we had that second um update, we um were sharing projected expenses um against these revenues with our projected expenses with anticipated revenues. And so, we've updated the revenue side of that um that column as of May 18th. So again, um we have expenses on the three

130grants that are expiring. We will not be getting any more revenue from there. We are working really hard to spend down those grants. Um and we have some slight upticks in LCFF supplemental and our learning recovery block grant, which I'll go into in a minute. Also, as a reminder, we do have um so the next slide um some uh local grants and or reduced capacity. Um we have a city grant uh that's expiring in June. We have a number of staff members there. Uh that care navigator that's listed there is one of our OFIT members. So, we will be moving expenses based on the board vote at the last meeting um into one of our other funding sources. Um and as you know, um we've made some staffing reductions on the cooking and gardening program.

131And then also some adjustments to um shift the timing of those program service deliveries into the after-school, which is going to enable us to um maintain um some of that work um as a signature program for the district. So, the next slide is the big fat asterisk. So, just recognizing that as we're going through these next few slides, um these are numbers that we are going to see shifting over the course of the next couple of weeks for a number of reasons. Um our personnel costs are shifting as staffing is being confirmed. In some cases, we have open vacancies. What we are seeing on some of the staffing for these particular resources is that the staff, which is great, we're hiring more experienced staff members into these positions, but that also means that they the

132cost of them are above our staffing average. So, we're trying to account for some of those nuances as those staff members are being confirmed. Adjustments are being made to spend down expiring grants. In some cases, we have not fully spent out the expiring grants for a number of reasons. We've had a couple of people go on leaves. And so, we are shifting expenses from specifically from LCAP and learning recovery into those grants as allowable. So, remember with any of these grants, they come with rules and regulations, and there are some things we can we can move into those funding sources and other things that we can't. We also are working to make sure that we're attending to the calculation because there will be a mid-year budget increase to cover negotiated benefits that will kick in

133in in January of 2027 that we'll need to pay for on any of these staff members that are in these budgets. All right. So, where are we now with the LCAP budget? You have some historical information that you see there. Liz, if you can click one more time, I just want to call attention to that top right-hand column. We with the governor's May revise last week, we've added capacity in our LCAP supplemental budget by about $100,000, which is bringing our projected revenue at this point in time to about $6.7 million, which is great. Our projected LCAP supplemental costs um, are currently scoring at about $7.3 million, which still means that we have a deficit of about 600 uh, thousand dollars. We're currently projecting unspent at $200,000, but this is where the asterisk is applied because

134any of these expenses that we can move into our expiring grants to spend down for June is going to increase that projected unspent, but we're also sort of holding those funds until all of the personnel action forms are complete and we see what staff have landed in these positions in case they are coming in more expensive than the average. So, we're still maintaining a deficit target of about $600,000 for now. Again, that's going to shift um, as we're making those adjustments as I've previously mentioned. Um, we want to give you a high-level overview of some of the shifts that are happening with regard to particular actions in the LCAP budget, um, and what you see there are the LCAP expenses on the left-hand side with our projected um, costs in that second column. I wanted

135to articulate what staffing was there and where we are currently seeing those shifts to be made. So, our OFI staff inclusive of the eight um, staff members uh, eight OFI uh, liaisons and the supervisor um, cost about $1 million. This does not include any of the operating costs um, for OFI or um, the projections that will increase the staffing costs because of the bilingual stipend that will kick in next year, um, but we are looking to cover the cost of OFI across LCAP and then moving some expenses, so this gets to the stability component into BCEEP communications budget and the BCEEP student achievement strategies budget. Um, there has historically been a line item for family engagement, but we have not had any costs in um, the that particular category for quite some time. So, we're

136going to but the resource code is there. So, we're going to be shifting some expenses to cover part of those OFI costs in the BSEP budget, which will then help to stabilize um, those stabilize the resources for those expenses. And then we will um, pick up the remainder of that in our learning recovery fund. So, again, the big asterisk there is learning recovery will expire in June of 2028. Um, so that is not a long-term sustainability solution. Um, the math intervention, we've worked with our middle school teachers. Um, we currently staff uh, 0.6 FTE per middle school site. And we're going to be splitting the expense of that across three different funding sources, the LCAP, BSEP, and site-based funds. So, sites are going to pick up um, um, part uh, uh, each site will pick

137up one section. Um, so they will be covering the cost in their budget. Um, the Berkeley High intervention counselors, um, we had a slight reduction because of an unfilled 0.5. So, we're going to close that out. We'll maintain the 0.2 and we'll split that across LCAP and learning recovery. Again, as of now, depending on the shifting of expenses. Um, we did some work uh, uh, Principal Rigosa and his team of teacher leaders. We heard a little bit about that before with the teacher leader reduction. Um, really working to align the teacher leader allocation for departments and small schools to be more equitable. Also, opening up teacher leader positions in the English department, which is a pretty significant department. And social studies. Um, with that uh Berkeley High absorbed the ELD teacher uh teacher leader position

138that was on the LCAP, um but we did increase the ELD coordinator, which is uh which we felt was a priority area given the number of English language learners and particularly long-term English language learners at Berkeley High. We're still doing some work with Bridge, but really working to um decrease the program management component. So again, want to be clear, we have five cohorts of Bridge students. We are not anticipating any reduction to those five cohorts. What we are looking at is the oversight and management of each of these programs, um not just Bridge, but across Puente, AVID, uh RISE, LEAP, and the EAOP um program at Berkeley High. Um and then um the Berkeley High uh RJ coordinator, um there are two classified positions in our Wellness Center. Um we are anticipating at this point

139that we'll maintain um both of those positions, one of which will be funded on um the LCAP funds and the other is on the ACOE grant. We're working on that extension. Um so those are the shifts in the LCAP budget. Um I'm going to talk a little bit about learning recovery emergency block grant. There are um some intersections again between LCAP and learning recovery um funds. Um the learning recovery emergency block grant was a block grant that the state allocated to districts about three three years ago. Um you know, and it was one of those situations where they said, "Here is all of the money for the learning recovery block grant." And then right before the beginning of the school year started, they said, "We're going to take some of that back." Right? So we've

140been navigating that adjustment, but that is um one of the restoration uh dollar amounts that you see up there in the May revise. So, we have projected learning recovery funding of about 3.3 million dollars with a projected expenses of 1.8. Again, these are going to shift as we have to work across the different resources anticipating a remaining budget for 26-27 at 1.4. Again, if that moves anywhere, that remaining balance will go up because we've moved some of the expenses into the grants that are expiring to maximize the cost here. And the restoration that was announced in the governor's revise last week was about $600,000, which is pretty significant chunk for us to consider. Also, you know, wanting to attend to the longevity of the grant because the sooner we spend it down, which we're on

141track to spending down before the end of the grant, then we won't be able to sustain some of those expenses in the long term. So, we are looking at projected revenue at least at this point of about $2 million. Again, if anything, that will go up. As a reminder, there was a court case that required us to include learning recovery funds as a component of our LCAP, and so those are tagged in the LCAP as learning recovery block grant funds. That was based on a needs assessment that we were required to complete last year. So, on the next slide, just at a very high level, we had shared this with you as we were presenting the 25-26 LCAP last spring, but the overall synthesis of our BOSD needs assessment, and this was inclusive of taking

142into account surveys, some of our focal group group work, and our advisory committees, I'm really wanting to focus the learning recovery block grant funds on enhancing the social emotional and mental health supports. The biggest line item we have on the learning recovery block grant are is about close to a million dollars for the mental health contracts that we have at our elementary schools that provide about a full-time FTE at each of our school sites. I'm wanting to strengthen family and community engagement and we had tagged a couple of our OFT members into that grant when we brought back a couple of those positions last spring. Really wanting to build out a robust MTSS for attendance and I would add as we're thinking about our SIM for SIG dis work for our significant disproportionality. It's inclusive

143of social emotional learning on an MTSS too. So we have been building that out. And then focusing on high needs grade levels really thinking about these transition grades. So those are the some of the costs that were tagging to learning recovery. You can see there. Again, don't I'm not putting the These are the total amounts of the projected cost of these things recognizing that they are likely to get split across multiple resources. Some of them are going to going to move. So the supplemental digital instructional materials, there's no staffing involved there, but we are going to be spending down as much as we can on the AMIM grant. We are looking at reductions on the mental health contracts if we can you know trying to move one way or another to make sure that we

144can maximize our dollars there. Our Pointe costs are split across the learning recovery block grant and BSEP currently. BSEP holds the contract and some of the hours and the learning recovery will hold the staffing of the Pointe counselor. Again, some of the OFT staffing will move here, depending on the reconfiguration of bridge. Um that will cross over L Cap and learning recovery. And then the wellness counselor um has been partially funded um by a city of Berkeley grant that is also expiring and on the Berkeley High funds. The Berkeley High School Site Council has confirmed their portion of that. We're waiting for the city um in but will tag that into learning recovery um to uh make that whole because we know that that counselor is an integral to the current staffing model that we

145have at the wellness center. Um I just want to go through quickly um where things are landing with the expiring grants. Um we did a really good job with AMIM uh not taking very much staff um there. We've talked about the climate literacy TSA before. We are um going to be closing that position. We'll be moving back to the original model with stipending some teachers to help support the work. There's been a lot of good infrastructure that has been built um to support um the focus on climate literacy um and uh we anticipate all of that will uh you know, all of that will continue but in a different format and it might not be as big as it has been before but those are some of the reductions that we're looking to make. Um

146we have also we we spent a huge chunk of our AMIM money on instructional materials. This is building a pocket of fund balance in BSEP that we'll be able to use to attend to any materials costs and it's building a savings in our textbook lottery funds. Our textbook lottery fund allocations are woefully underfunded um and so we do know that we've got some big purchases on the horizon. Uh depending on how that goes, we'll be able to cover it in what's remaining of textbook and the fund balance for BSEP but it also then might generate a need to um have allocated general fund to expend that. And then we'll be closing um some of our contracts, the literacy monitoring. Uh we will be continuing a very small portion of the work um with Dr. Gibbons

147relative to um not the literacy monitoring specifically, but um her work and expertise with our team to build out our MTSS, and we'll be closing contract for LCAP support as we're building capacity of our staff um internally to navigate that work. Um our educator effectiveness grant, um as you have heard in previous positions, the teacher induction program is an significant and required investment to support our the growth of our our teachers. We'll be moving those expenses into um BERA. Our school climate uh TSA, we will be closing that position. Some of the work streams will be um distributed into other TSA positions. Um we have a significant investment in our ELD training and materials. We're going to be purchasing next year's materials, and then uh moving expenses into BCEP and or other grant funds as

148they're available. Um and uh we had moved our district literacy part of our district literacy and math TSAs into educator effectiveness, um but we're going to be moving those back into LCAP, um which is where they were um before. And then on the A-G grant, we have been supporting um some of our programming at Berkeley High, inclusive of Bridge and Puente, but again moving some of those expenses back. Um and that will close out those three grants um for the 25-26 school year. Again, that's the end of that section. Um some of that might have been new information for members of the board and the public, so pausing to see if you all have any clarifying questions, things that capture, or additional information that you would like staff to gather. Thank you, board members. Do

149you have questions? Oh, looks like Director Vasudev. I just have a question about the college and career readiness programs. I seems like we're just like shifting how we're funding them, but my question is around the number of students served like in those various programs. How will these shifts have any implications on the number of students served for Bridge and Puente that are two programs that come top of mind. Uh not for a Bridge and Puente. Um what we are looking at um with the college-bound program, we've been in discussion with program manager there just tracking the attendance of the program over time. Um and so we have um we're looking at a modified contract based on a a fewer number of students with an option to increase that cost if more students are interested. And

150just to clarify and add that is That is not a reduction in the number of babies who are involved in college-bound is to make the contract with more reflective of what we've seen over the years has been the average attendance. And so if that does go higher, then the contract would also change. It's just like right-sizing the service. Got it. Okay. >> Right. But for all the programs, we anticipate serving the same number of students with the same level of of service. Um other Director Brom. Yes. Thank you. Um thank you for the first couple of parts of the presentation. I did want to ask about um the shifts being made um into El Cap, into BSEP, into Bear, but specifically into um El Cap. It seems like we are um uh putting some heavier

151things into El Cap um given, you know, what we have to do in terms of making those shifts because of um because of the grants, but I just want to ensure that we are able um to ensure continuity and transparency um when our funding responsibilities move and when they shift, especially thinking in mind uh the purpose of LCAP the the um services that LCAP provide. And so, what are we going to do to ensure that? Um and then I have another question after you answer that one. So, I would I will say it so we we are we are going to be entering year three of a three-year LCAP, right? So, we had set a course in 2024 um that articulated a revised set of goals inclusive of two new goals. Um one around family

152engagement and then one for the equity multiplier school, which is specifically BTA. So, I'm we always take that sort of a separate, right? If we had multiple schools that qualified for equity multiplier funds, that would be a different question. Um what is true is there are a lot of important bodies of work that we are covering um through the LCAP. And again, it's almost entirely staff. And so, that's we entered into this LCAP knowing that we were um working at a deficit. We had asked the board for permission to tap into the LCAP reserve in that first year, which um we I think we had a deficit of about $290,000 and we covered that 250, somewhere around there. Um that we covered that through um the LCAP reserve, which when then wasn't available as we

153um entered year two of that LCAP. What was what was helpful was that we did have these grants that were in alignment with number of the actions that we've had. So, we are in a place right now um even across our advisory bodies um um our advisory group saying, "Oh, well, all of the work that we've articulated in the LCAP is the work that we should be doing. It It It costs more." And so, I do think, as we're looking ahead, um one of the things that I'm aiming to do is making sure that we're doing that prep work for the next 3-year LCAP because that's what the board will be doing next year. We'll be voting on a 2027-30 LCAP. Um is that we can get ahead of that and have some of that

154architecture built out with um by the end of that first semester, so that these um these things are factored into that decision-making because we also have a couple of other big ticket items um coming down the pipe. And then, um the other question that I have is what um criteria do we use to decide which programs or positions move in will move into other funding sources versus which ones are going to be um eliminated and not supported in the future? Yeah, I think there are a number of things that that we have been thinking about, right? So, all of the all of the activities that we have tagged to LCAP supplemental are in alignment with the requirements of that grant. I think what we're looking at is then what are the available resources, which are

155also often grants, and those things then have to line up. So, as you saw for learning recovery in particular, we have to make sure that the expenses that we are identifying for those funds are in alignment with that needs assessment. Um and so, that's helping us make some of those decisions. I'm also hopeful that next year we will begin to realize the revenue from the fee payer schedule, um and really looking at if our counseling and mental health services are the programs that are generating those funds, then those would be the line items that we could tag for those funds that are being generated. So, wanting to be strategic about what we're moving that could then get picked up in a revenue stream that hopefully will be more stable. Thank you. Are there other questions,

156board members? Thank you very much. That was um helpful as a a strong preliminary review of some of the challenging decision decisions we have to make in the next few weeks. >> Oh, there's a there's another question. >> Yeah. I'm so sorry. I wanted to ask just one more question, and I'm sure you've already run this by the P&O, but I I did want to ask. Um in the same vein that I asked the question around LCAP, I'm also interested in learning um more about um what sustainability will look like for BSEP as we move um all these costs into BSEP. And then I hope that we are not, but are we creating s- uh somewhat of future pressure for ourselves for um or putting future pressure on the parcel tax that we hope will

157continue to be supported by our community. Um but what what position are we putting ourselves in? So, I can I can give a high-level answer. I want to acknowledge and appreciate the work of um Kathy Fleming and the P&O team. Um They are very They are making a very clear distinction between what capacity will be ongoing and what will be one-time fund balance. So, we are not moving any positions into uh fund balance that is is basically carryover, but only into funds that only into the set of funds that we know we can carry and sustain through the end of that grant. So, we're going to have to have that conversation a few years from now, but there's there's a very clear distinction between those two funding buckets within BSEP. Does that Does that answer

158your question? Kind of. It kind of answers my question. I think that um we could definitely talk a little bit more offline, but when I think and I think that this will also you'll be able to answer a little bit more after talking to PNO, I guess about um just what the future will look like for the parcel tax um because we're putting this into it now and when we get to 20 6 27 27 28, the story may be different. And so, I worry about um what all BSEP can carry and hold and what shifts we'll have to make in the future. But, that's my I'm thinking ahead of time um to be able to kind of save us and to prepare us to position us for when we need to get ready for

159the renewal coming forward. >> Yeah, and I would say that's real and you you you asked the question about are we putting additional pressure? And I think the answer not just for BSEP but across a number of our, you know, buckets of dollars is we are putting pressure because we still have not gotten good at deciding what we will stop doing, what we would do differently, what we might do less of um and and all for good intention, but you hear it when you're here it on the board, you hear it in the community, everything is important, everything is impactful, everything matters to somebody. And so, what we end up doing like many districts do is figuring out a way that to keep everything and then moving the sources. And I do think that we

160we our hope was and is that decision-making triangle will help us start to make those decisions in more informed ways. And I think we have some evidence of that happening, and still it is real that we are still trying to do all the things. And so, that's what applies the pressure, right? But what we start to prioritize or or be more your help folks understand how we can do the work, but do it differently and do it ways that are more efficient or maybe do it ways that are not as impactful on our resources, we might go further. But I guess helping people understand that has been a challenge, and we continue to try to tell the story of how are we redesigning, how are we rethinking, how are we trying to be innovative and

161creative, but still providing the service. And that's hard for many communities when you've had such amazing services and they looked a certain way. And so, that's that's a part of my and my team's story to figure out how to tell. And then there's the reality of you cannot continue to do everything. Remember the saying from 2 years ago, you can do anything, but you can't do everything, and we have to accept that um in our current funding, you know, reality of of public education. We're happy about the May revise, but we're also not really happy with the May revise cuz there's still more due to us. And so, until we get to that point where public education is funded as it should be, we have to be comfortable with the trade-off conversations and the priority

162conversations that I don't think yet we're all the way ready to do. Thank you. I appreciate you saying that because we we aren't all the way ready to do that, and we're not all the way there not just as a board, but I think as a community overall because our programs are great and they make a difference in the lives of our students and our staff and our faculty and our Berkeley community overall. So, I I do want to go on record to publicly thank you all and acknowledge the work that you all have done and the many many hours that you've put in to even be able to give us options that don't close doors to programs, don't close doors to positions. So, thank you for [clears throat] that. Absolutely. Yeah, Director Shnosky. I

163just want to echo that. I think it's been a lot of work, you know, and now with the May revise coming out and it's like, oh, and now maybe there are options. So, I look forward to next week's discussion where we have a better understanding of what those May revise numbers look like and we can make more strategic decisions about which pieces that you all have identified as maybe places that um we could have savings with just to be smart about what we decide, you know, to bring back. So, thank you. Any other board member questions? Uh thank you so much and again, um I think it uh all board members want to thank you and reflect our appreciation for all the work you've done during this very challenging school year um and in past

164recent school years um and in particular with the budgetary issues that were we are faced with. Thank you and we look forward to our um conversation next week. Okay, so um moving on with the agenda, you know, I I don't think we have anything else except for are there um extended public comment? Anyone online? No. Other extended board member comments? No. So, we are adjourned. Thank you. >> [clears throat]