Berkeley USD Regular School Board Meeting November 5, 2025

001Um yes, welcome everyone. You are in the right place if you are uh coming and choosing to attend the BUSD schoolboard meeting for uh this evening, November 5th. We are just waiting for all of our directors to make their way uh into the virtual room and get the meeting set up and we will be beginning shortly. Thank you so much. Again, good evening everyone. Uh you are in the right place if you are intending to attend the BUSD uh board meeting for today, November 5th. Again, we are um asking for your grace and your patience as we move ourselves into this virtual space and prepare to begin the meeting. And we will also make sure to include instructions on how you can uh let us know that you want to do public comments and other

002ways that you can engage in this virtual format. And thanks again for everyone for being flexible and willing to willing and able to pivot uh with such short notice. Hello. Thanks everyone for joining. Um I I'm seeing and and thank you Superintendent Ford Morell for um checking with everybody and ensuring that uh everyone knows that we're in the right site. Uh thanks for uh shifting pivoting as superintendent Ford Moral noted at fairly no late notice to join us. I think we have um Quorum and all of our board directors at least they're they're checked into the Zoom meeting. Um and uh when when they want to can feel appropriate they can jump on to the video uh as as um appropriate. Okay. So, um it is 7:10 [clears throat] and um I'm going to uh

003call the board meeting back in uh into public meeting from having come from closed meeting. Um so, it's a November 5th, 2025 meeting of the school board. If you want to follow along in our online agenda, it's posted at district website. Um please uh just a reminder of decorum expectations during this and all parts of tonight's meeting. I know everyone behaves generally speaking. We much appreciate that. No person shall disturb the order of this meeting. Such behavior includes but is not limited to booing, hissing, creating or participating in a physical disturbance. Speaking out of turn in violation of applicable rules, preventing or attempting to prevent others who have the floor from speaking, preventing others from observing the meeting, entering into or remaining in the area of the meeting room that is not open to the

004public or approaching the dis without permission. Of course, there's no dis today, but you know, we apply this to our online context. Um, this is all in line with bylaw 9323 and meeting conduct. Um, if you have a complaint regarding a specific employee, we encourage you to use the district complaint process via complaints.net as opposed to public comment to address these matters. Um, we will now approve the agenda for tonight's um, meeting. Is there a motion to approve the agenda? >> President Shen, we should um, call the role. >> Oh, I apologize. No worries. >> I always seem to jump over that. Let's call the role. >> Of course. Uh, director Anna Vasuv >> presented. >> Director Jennifer Shinowski >> here. >> Uh, student director Korea Coulson will be joining us shortly. Um, director Vice

005President Jen Korn >> present. >> And President Mike Chang >> appear to be here. Yes. >> Thank you. Um, great. And then you is there a motion to approve the agenda? I think there may be a question about this. Is there a item that needs to be pulled? Not today. Okay. >> I I think we if you're referring to me, I think I pull it when the item comes up. >> Got it. >> So, I move to approve the agenda. >> Okay. Good. Just want to double check. Um there's a motion to approve with Director Schnowasi. Is there a second? >> I'll second. >> Second. Oh, director Vasadev beat you to it. She seconded it. Um, thank you. Uh, how about the eyes? >> President Chain, since we are virtual, we will need to call

006the role for each vote this evening. >> Oh, got it. Okay. >> Absolutely. Director Vasadev, >> yes. >> Director Shinowski, >> yes. >> Vice President Korn, >> yes. >> President Chang, >> yes. >> Motion carries unanimously. Thank you. Well, thank you, Miss Chavez. Um, we have a report out on our close session. Uh, if Vice President Bourne would proceed with that. >> Yes, just a moment. Um, in uh, let's see, close session was called to order at 5:57 p.m. with Chang, Korn, Shinoski, and Vasv in attendance. Um, for item 4.1.1, there was a motion by Shinoski, seconded by Vasude Dev, and the motion was passed unanimously. For item 4.1.2, there was a motion by Vasu Dev, seconded by Korn, and it was also passed unanimously. And for item 4.2, the board received um an update

007from staff and gave some direction. Thank you. >> Excellent. Thank you, Vice President Korn. Um, next on up, uh, the superintendent's comments. The superintendent for Moral, um, would please proceed. Thank you so much. >> Thank you, President Chang, and, uh, good evening, BUSD family. Um, before I begin, I want to acknowledge that tonight's meeting uh, was shifted to a virtual format due to an unforeseen emergency. Um, I want to um appreciate everyone's flexibility and understanding as we made this adjustment, as we are making this adjustment in real time. While the format has changed, our commitment to transparency, public participation, and the important work before us remains the same. And so, I thank our board directors, our staff, and you, our community, for adapting quickly so that we can continue to work together without interruption. Um,

008we have several important topics before us this evening. Uh, one of the key discussion items will be an update on federal program monitoring for physical education. Staff will be sharing critical updates on the findings, the steps the district has already taken, and what comes next as we work to ensure full compliance. The presentation will also outline key considerations as we prepare for this shift, particularly around staffing, budget, master scheduling, and facilities, all with a continued focus on equity and student access. Immediate f immediately following that discussion, the board will hear and take action on a facilities update related to the Berkeley High School CE project. Staff will connect this item to the earlier PE discussion. So, please stick around and they'll also share what we've learned through planning and engagement to date. This project has

009been reviewed by the Citizens Bond Oversight Committee and now comes to the board this evening for approval. Um, I should also note that we've received several um, emails and comments and questions regarding the district's cell phone policy for this evening. And I want to take the time to clarify that while there are several policies on tonight's agenda for either first read or second read, the cell phone policy is not one of them. This is a really important topic. We know and it's one that's top of mind uh, for many of you and something that the community as a whole cares deeply about. And so to ensure that it receives the full attention and discussion that it deserves, the cell phone policy will be presented as its own item at the next board meeting on November

010the 15th. At that meeting, staff will share a detailed presentation and community members will have an opportunity to provide public comment and hear as the board engages in discussion over the policy and the idea of cell phones in our schools in general. um that meeting will be just another opportunity to engage in this timely topic and will also be a time for the community to hear about additional opportunities for engagement as this work continues. And so I want to reiterate again the cell phone policy is not on tonight's agenda. We will have a presentation and discussion um at the next meeting on November 15th. Finally, I want to thank everyone once again uh for the quick pivot to a virtual format. Um, we typically hold hybrid meetings and haven't been fully virtual as we are

011now for quite some time, a couple years actually. And so I am going to appreciate in advance your grace and your patience as we reacquaint ourselves to all that this uh special all virtual format entails. As I mentioned earlier, it is important um for us that we continue this work. We know it's important for you that this important work that we're doing continues. And again, we know we have some hot topics tonight. So, we did not at all want to cancel the meeting and so we switched to virtual. I usually when I'm in person make a plea for our in-person attendees to stay with us until the end. And tonight, that expectation is even stronger since you're already in a comfort in the comfort of your own home or another place of convenience. That means

012I'm looking at the numbers of participants and I expect that number to stay the same or grow um as this night progresses. The topics before us this evening again are meaningful and timely and I hope that you stay logged in and tuned in because I believe that in Berkeley Community Connection doesn't depend on our location. So we are remote tonight but we are in for some great um and robust conversations with board and with staff. So welcome and thank you uh President uh Chang for the time. >> Great. Thank you so much and um we'll now move on to public comments um that component of our agenda. There are two opportunities for the comments at each meeting now and at the end of the meeting. If you do not get to speak at the beginning

013of the meeting, we encourage you to stay and speak at the end of the meeting. You may also email us um to board of ed berkeley.net. If you have complaints against specific district employees again, we encourage you to use district complaint process at complaints berkeley.net as opposed to public comment. The board does not respond directly to comments or questions made during public comment. board members, the superintendent and the staff do not take notes during public comment and may follow up with the speaker after the meeting. They do take notes. I apologize. Um, this is a online meeting. Um, so today is a little bit different than our normal hybrid meetings. Um, we're going to we're going to navigate through this. We've done it before. It's been a while though. It might be a little rusty.

014We have public commenters um uh uh perhaps online. Um, and uh, I think we're going to do what how many public commenters we have today. I'm going to check to see in terms of time. Normally it's two minutes. >> Folks raise their hands. 19. Is that 19 people? >> 18. Just >> we're up to 20. >> Keeps changing. Like 19 20 21 22. It looks there's 22 speakers. So um, uh, Miss Chavez as someone with a lot of experience. How many do you think? One minute or two minutes? I'm just looking at our time. >> Accommodate the 30 minute accommodate them all during the 30-minut period. I think we should do one minute. >> Yeah, that's a good call. Um, we do want to keep on time and there are folks who need to go

015to bed, have jobs, and also have kids have to go to got to go to school. Um, okay, let's do a minute. Um, of course, just remember all the decorum stuff I I told you about earlier. Um, so I'm going to call two names at one time and then you will know when you're coming up next. I I think you can kind of see from the the attendees list here, but it looks like first are there any students? First of all, on this list, >> we have a student request um to come after the translation. Um we have a translation request which should go with that first and be followed by the student at the student's request. >> We have a translation request first. Okay. Salupe um >> Goss I will be promoting you and

016then you can um use your one minute and I will follow with the translation. >> Okay, I see. Thank you for clarifying. Thank you. Can uh Lupe Gleos go first then? >> Yes, I'm promoting Lupe now. >> Cool. And then after that I think is join us Marie Brell. >> We have student Liza. >> I'm sorry. Okay. Okay. >> Do I go now? [laughter] Okay. So, was nozzing uh to the board president Chang and the board of directors and superintendent. Thank you. I'm actually um coming on today as Lupe Goss Diaz co-chair to Latinos Unidos Berkeley and a resident since 1984. I just wanted to come tonight to both to thank our superintendent and Jill who have been very good in partnering with Latinos Unidos for a long time and I wanted to continue to

017uh thank you for that and also look forward to engaging more as I know we've been in difficult times right now that in the new year uh hopefully by the end of the year to keep to engage with the school board on how to better support Latino im immigrant families and of course our undocumented students and our families. amilies in these particular times particularly with tonight the issue of language access and also translation to be sure not only to provide but to our communities to understand as these are difficult times and we definitely need to have various languages. I'm also reaching out to also schedule regular meetings in the new academic year for the new year especially as we approach budget times because I know things are going to get harder. And then finally, I

018really want to thank our director Vasuo and director Korn for their continued advocacy with our immigrant and our undocumented community and their participation in the city sanctuary task force. So, I wanted to come tonight just to again thank for thank you all for those relationships and that I hope we continue them particularly with the budgets um having a timely knowing that things are coming down hard and choices have to be made but that to be sure that our immigrant and our Latino community and undocumented are well represented within um our communities. So, just wanted to thank you and continued our partnership. So, that is my statement for tonight. Thank you so much, Lupe. Um, and next on up, uh, I believe we have a student, Miss Jarez. >> Um, yes, Marina Cruz, apologies that Marina

019Cruz is who requested translation. Marina, if you are online, please raise your virtual hand so we can get you on. Um, in the meantime, >> we can promote the student if the student is ready. Um, Liza >> Medina Cruz, are you ready to come online? Thank you so much. >> You're going to be promoted as a panelist. >> I don't see Marina online. Um, [clears throat] >> maybe she she was on then no longer. >> There may she may be under a different name. We can try this student in the meantime while >> Okay. So, we have um I I do see there's a there's a bunch of students. There's there's Liza. There is further down the line. We also have just to be aware a number of others. Max and Leo Hesterman. Um >>

020some >> Yeah, Liza, please. Thank you. No, I think that's it. Liza and the Hestermans. So Hesterman's if you could be ready after Liza. >> Hi. Sorry. I'm have here with my student. She's going to make a comment and then I have a second comment. So a minute each. >> So Miss Chavez, what do you think you does? >> There's one minute. Yeah, they have to split the one in between. >> One minute. >> No, that's not right. Sorry. No, we're two separate people on you specifying something different than um >> a totally different comment, different item. >> Okay, so this is how we do it. because she's a student, she goes first and then we go to the Hesserman's. Then make sure you're back online and you'll get your time, your one minute separately,

021too. Is that cool? >> You got it. Yeah. Here she is. >> Hi. Um my name is Thea. I'm an eighth grader at Longfellow and I'm also on the youth commission, but I'm speaking as as an individual. Um I learned yesterday that the requirements are going to be different for like um my class and I just want to make sure that um we have like the PE requirements. Um, and I just want to make sure that we have the same opportunities for like electives as other classes, especially for students like me who are part of the TWWI program and the music program. So, I just want to make sure that um we'll have the same like opportunities to take those electives because of the PE requirements. >> Great. Thank you, Liza. And, um, Liza's mom,

022please make sure you can be get back on to the hand raised list so you'll get your one minute. Cool. Thank you. Um, and then we have the I think the Hesterman's who are are students. Uh, Max and Leo. You guys ready? And after Max and Leo, I don't see any other students. Uh, I don't see any noted as students. 22 people. Um, >> I'm sorry, President Jen. I don't see their hand raised. >> Oh, >> they did indicate that they're students, but um, we can promote them and see if they want to speak. Their hand is raised on my participant. >> Oh, I see it now. I see it now. Okay, >> Max and Leo, come on up. Ready? You can be upgraded to panelist. There you are. >> Hey. >> Yep. Hi there.

023We can hear you. >> Wonderful. Yeah. Sorry about that. Um, yeah, my name is Max. I'm a junior at Berkeley High. I've been on boys tennis for two years and we've we've been uh practicing at Hurst Courts, but since they were torn down last summer, um uh there's there's a bit of a question. So, we're Yeah, we're kind of worried about not having a consistent place to practice. Um there's a lot of commuting already with Hurst. Um we're kind of worried about bouncing around between the week. It might be a a hard adjustment for younger um players. >> And I'm Leo. I'm a freshman and I'm hoping to try out going into this um fall. And um you know, I've seen how hard it is for like my brother and all the other players on

024the team to actually go through this process of just getting to the courts. It's really difficult. I think it would really help if um we had a court that was, you know, permanent and also kind of close to home. >> Yeah. Um it's it is tennis is kind of strange um cuz you know, most other Berkeley athletic programs, you know, do have facilities near um campus or on campus, but with tennis, it's a bit um atomized. for the rest, you know, we don't really feel um we don't even feel like we're representing or are represented by school or at school. And um you know, it it'd be it'd be nice especially for um new players to kind of have more spirit about that sort of thing. >> Okay. >> So, we're asking we're asking the

025district to prioritize a permanent site at Mullering. It's close and has a lot of space, so it would be quick and I could I could probably plan the course before I graduate 2029. >> Uh yeah, that's that's all we had. Thank you. >> Yeah, >> thank you so much. >> Appreciate it. And so we have uh so Liza's mom did have her hands up. I'm trying to figure out where to put her in the line because she kind of fell out of line. Um, >> President Cheng, sorry to interrupt. Eliza is the mom. >> Eliza is the mom. I'm sorry. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> She's [laughter] back on the as an attendee, so she can raise her hand now as her virtual hand to to speak. >> Okay. Eliza, please raise your hand. And sorry,

026it kind of pushes you down, but you'll get your minute. Um, uh, I don't see any other students here. Just making sure we respect. >> President Chang, there's another student in the chat. Her name is Maya. >> Okay. So, she's in the chat, but she she's not in the attendance list. Thanks for flagging that. >> Have her hand raised. >> Okay, Maya. >> It does. It says student Maya. >> Student Maya. Do you see um student Maya, Miss Chavez? We can >> student Maya promoting Maya now. >> Okay. Promoting Maya now. Maya, do you are you ready? Go. Hi there. Oh, lost her for a second there. >> Yeah, I don't see my eye anywhere. >> She might have accidentally disconnected. Let's >> Yeah. Maya, feel free to reconnect and um raise your virtual hand

027so we can get you. >> Yeah. Is it was it Maya D? Because she's in the participants list still, just not as a student. Um Maya D, do you want to She has her hand raised. Can you um So, Miss Charz, there is a Maya D in the participants list. Wondering if that's the same person. >> Maya's rejoining now as a panelist. She's Thanks. either you're on mute. >> Yeah, sorry. Um, sorry. I think that was like my mom's [snorts] computer. Um, I am on the Berkeley High tennis team and I have been for four years and um, I just wanted to touch on the same topic. Um like they said it's um it's been like a lot of transportation to courts but basically um I understand there is a simpler plan for tennis courts

028at Mulling and I just wanted to give my support because I think um that sounds like a great solution and it really would just be um amazing to have courts that are accessible um and especially if that can get done in a sooner timeline. Um, that would be great. So, yeah, I just wanted to give my support for the plan and um, yeah, thank you. >> Thank you so much, Maya. Um, so I don't think see any other students. Can you guys flag for me if you see anyone else in the chat or otherwise? I don't seem to see anybody. >> No, but Marina, who needs Yeah, >> you can um joining us as a panelist now. >> Hi, Maria. Hi. Worthly. administr President interpret the laws. Material interpret. Gracias, Marina. Um, translating Marina's comments.

029Thank you, B USD for considering today on your agenda funding the translation and interpretation services for district meetings and agenda item 13.4. We are here to ask the board to support this request for translation and interpretation services with Worldly and to make sure to use the service to dis for district-wide meetings and school board meetings. As many of you know, immigrant communities are under attack by the current presidential administration. Berkeley's Latino community even had to cancel our diutotos celebrations due to community fears of ICE. Right now, more than ever, our immigrant families need support in our schools and need to understand how their children are both educated and protected in Berkeley schools. Translation and interpretation of board materials and meetings have been a long-standing ask of Latinos Unidos at Berkeley since it's hard for parents

030to understand board meetings and and understand important decisions impacting our children's educations. We the Latino Onidos de Berkeley agree with the worldly AI interpretation services and we hope B USD we B USD should invest in this. Thank you. >> Thank you so much Marina. Um do we have any other students here or folks who who are in need of interpretation? Don't see any student Maya is still on the participants list but she's already chatted. The Hestermans are on there too. Uh you can lower your hands. Hestermans and Maya please. Um >> uh President Chang Olga. >> Thank you so [snorts] um Olga Calderon needs has a request for interpretation. Can you elevate her please Miss Chai? Yes. Promoting her now. >> Great. So, we do a timer for one minute if possible. Try to keep

031within those bounds. Okay. Yeah. And in the meantime, as Olga is coming on board, um there's a request that um there some folks are having trouble apparently with the settings. They can't see the panelists. I can't see all the board members. Not sure if there's a setting issue or >> Yeah, I'll change the gallery view. Okay. Berkeley High School. Foreign speech. Foreign speech. for impostor particip. Forecias is a parent in B USC and she uh is commenting in support of the worldly translation services. She feels that this is a small investment that will help impact greatly will have a great impact and allow families who I need translation to be more engaged and participate in board meetings and be more informed about what's going on. Um so she is in support and she is hoping

032that the board votes in favor of of this resource. M chis I just wanted to add another thing that she said there you might have missed was the importance of allowing families to participate remotely which are also part of the comments. >> Thank you so much. Um next on up let's see do we have any more looking in the list here any more requests for interpretation or a new student has popped up and we want to make sure to take care of those. We we want to move through this list. There's there's a good number of attendees today. We got 18. Want to give you your time and also move on to the meeting as well. Meeting content. Uh I don't see any other students or the folks requesting interpretation. If if anyone else uh

033sees so, please let me know. Um so we have a a Jonas uh Matterie Branell. These are a set of folks um uh from the union who'd like to speak. There's also uh Miss uh Padilla Kranor Carrie O Connor Patton in addition to Lamarie Bernell Sarah Carver also would like to speak on behalf of the union but um uh what's the a Miss Chavez in an online context what is the best way to go about the group give them a minute each >> yes as of now um Liza is our last speaker for the evening and we will end there and anyone else who wishes to join after can do public comment at the second opportunity at the end of the meeting. >> Okay. Thank you. Let's go that way. So Jonas um will go

034first and then next we have Adabel Padilla. >> Do you hear me? >> Yep. I, Jonas Lmetri Brownell, work as the district's part-time only Heric Hospital teacher since 2012, serving the learning needs of psychiatric hospitalized adolescence. BSD relies on part-time educators like myself. Part-timers like me who do not get health insurance through a partner often cannot afford the very high premiums for employer-based health insurance in this district. Shall we pay possibly affordable premiums for much poorer quality health insurance through ACA covered California or forego health insurance? For years, I've paid for a covered California plan I can just afford. But last year, the premiums rose 11% while my BUD pay rose 2%. Then in May, I got COVID from my BUSD work. Hospitalized for 4 days, I merged with nine grand of medical debt, a

035third of my financial net worth. increase the hard cap and pay substantially so educators can afford to keep working here and meet our health and financial basic needs. Thank you. Thank you. Um, thanks much. Next on up we have Adabel Padilla. And then after that, Carrie O' Conor. Good evening. My name is Adabel Padilla Cunningham and I've served as a bilingual school psychologist in Berkeley for 13 years. I serve preschool, non-public schools, and legal cases. I'm also a newly single mom of two young girls after my husband's recent passing. Even while on leave, I felt compelled to be here because students needs don't pause. We carry their stories, their family's hopes, and the responsibility to help every child gain independence, their most fundamental right. Our work takes deep expertise in psychology, education, and law. Many

036veteran psyches have pursued advanced credentials and specialized training, often at their own expense, to better serve students and mentor colleagues, bringing consistency and depth that keep program strong. Across 12 nearby districts, the average number of salary steps is 17. Berkeley has 12, and many of our most experienced psychologists have already reached the ceiling. We stay because Berkeley is special. Its diversity and values reflect our own. These are difficult to fill positions and our salaries need to be competitive with nearby districts. Please support additional salary steps so we can continue serving students with the same dedication and heart that defined this district. Thank you everyone. >> Thank you so much. Um next up we have Carrie O' Conor and then after that will be Daniel Kraer. Hi, my name is Kari Okconor. I'm a school psychologist

037supporting Rosa Parks and BTA BIS. I'm here to speak on behalf of my fellow school psychologists. We are asking the district to agree to at least a 500 students to one school psychologist for sitebased school psychologist ratios. Maintaining a 1 to 500 ratio of students to school psychologists is essential to providing comprehensive highquality services for our students. The ratio allows school psychologists to focus on prevention, early intervention, and ongoing support rather than being stretched too thin. With manageable case loads, we can provide in-house counseling, build strong relationships with students, teachers, and families, and complete thorough, meaningful assessments that guide instruction and intervention. By keeping counseling services within our district, we ensure that support is timely, personalized, and connected to the community. When we moved to this model, the district saved hundreds of thousands of dollars

038in services that were being contracted out. The 1 to500 NASP recommended ratio is not just a staffing goal. It's a researchbased investment in student well-being, educator collaboration, and the sustainability of our support systems. The good news is that this proposal is costneutral as it's how we are currently staffed. We want to make sure that we can maintain this level of staffing in the future. Thank you. Thank you so much Krie. Next on up we have Daniel Crassner and that that would be Supra Subra's iPhone. And you you'll there you are. >> Hello. Every month I brace myself for the inevitable. My rent, utilities, and debt will cause me to avoid living a normal, healthy life because I can't afford to go to the doctor, fix my car, take my dog to the vet, or make

039plans for my future. I have been teaching for 13 years and also went to the Berkeley schools, but I can't live as adult lifestyle in the area where I teach. The district needs to contribute much more to health benefits. I can't afford to replace my broken glasses, go to the dentist, or get regular health care. I am also urging the district for salary increase. I can't afford to visit my mother and also pay for groceries. I shouldn't have to leave work and rush off to the food bank so that I can figure out something for dinner. I shouldn't have to decide between eating or being able to get to work. Salary increase and better health coverage should be core considerations because they are investments supporting much neededed teachers to serve students in our teach our

040Berkeley schools. As a former Berkeley student, I know the value of teachers who stay in the community and build valuable relationships. However, if our pay and benefits continue to be substantially lower than other districts, we will lose great educators and in the long run more families as well. Thank you. >> Thank you so much, Daniel. Um, next up is Subatu's iPhone and after that be Erica brought those coming on board. We got a a minute per person. Thank you so much. >> Yeah. Hello. Yeah. Hi. Very good evening. Am I audible? Yep, you're audible. >> Thank you. Thank you respected president uh board members. We're very honored to feel uh you giving me the opportunity to speak today. So I am Subut Mukharji. I am uh the AP physics C teacher for senior classes and

041I am also taking multilingual science programs for a diverse set of students from across three continents, eight different countries and and so on. So my AP physics C students are probably some of the brightest in the area if not the very brightest. But one of the problems I wanted to highlight today is the false alarm system. So far I reckon because of like around 12 to 15 false alarms uh in in the like mostly occurring during the morning hours. We have probably lost around 5 to 7 hours of teaching time. So most of the alarms were proven to be false or because of faulty alarm system and so on. So I would request uh your honor to kindly look at the problem because this is very expensive in terms of our learning time. So if

042we look at the 3,000 student base uh losing five to seven hours means we have lost 15,000 to 20,000 person hours of learning time which is like very really costly in terms of the learning process. being in the heart of Silicon Valley technology is not an issue. Some of my students are actually doing carbon nanot tube sensor based research. So it's a very well uh like uh maintainable program. We can do it. So I request you to kindly pay attention to this. Thank you so much. Really appreciate. >> Thanks a lot. Subrao. Uh ran a little bit over. Next on up is Erica and then Peter Wright. Hello, Erica. >> Yeah. Uh, I can hear me. >> Yep. Erica. >> It shows up as Erica, but my name is actually Manuite. Erica is my wife.

043Uh my name is Manu and I have two kids at Malcolm X. Uh director Cle will be presenting updated Berkeley High capacity and expansion proposals this evening. We want to thank the facilities department for listening to community concerns about both the design and the engagement process. Outreach to BTech and the wider range of options being considered represents progress to a more inclusive approach to meeting student needs. As BSD moves forward with these studies, I have a specific request. I asked the B USD study the alternative of placing tennis courts on top of the proposed classroom and parking facility at Milvia rather than at Mullering Field. It's critical that BD take this opportunity to explore all viable options rather than pushing to a decision that may not represent the best use of bond funds or the

044best long-term outcome for tennis and other uh BHS athletic programs. No decision to construct tennis courts at Mullerink with measure G funds should be made before fully evaluating this option. This option has some significant uh advantages. It would be consistent with the text of measure G which proposed placing tennis courts on top of parking at Milvia. Uh this would allow the tennis courts to also be located directly across the street from Berkeley High providing convenient access for BSD players and families. This option would also preserve the multi-purpose field at Mullering Field which is used for all manner of community and B USD sports. Uh we hope that BD remains committed to strong community engagement and takes our concerns and our ideas seriously. We look forward to continuing to work together toward a solution that meets

045the needs of all stakeholders. >> Thank you so much. Um next up is Peter Wright and after that is keynote. Peter, you pulling on up there. Hello. You Yeah. >> Okay. Thank you. Uh, hello, school board lord. Uh, my name is Peter Wright and I'm here tonight seeking your support to rebuild the Berkeley High School tennis courts that have been missing for 25 years. Do you play tennis? Study after study after study shows that playing tennis extends your life and is one of the healthiest activities we can do for our physical and mental health from youth to old age. Maybe we should just stop this meeting and go play tennis now. Or maybe we should finally vote to restore the Berkeley High School tennis courts for our kids. The time is right. It's been over

04625 years since tennis courts were replaced by parking. Uh the location is right. A short walk from BHS and space for five courts. The price is right. The United States Tennis Association oversees all tennis in the USA. And with the profits from the US open, they help school districts like ours across the country build new tennis courts. and they're especially excited to help establish new courts at Berkeley High School, one of the largest public high schools in America without tennis courts. Please, please vote to build these long- aaited tennis courts so we can take one big healthy step forward for our kids today and in the future. Thank you. >> Thank you, Peter. Uh, next on up is Keynote and then Tom. Good evening board members. Also, good evening fellow educators, students, and parents. My

047name is Kaya Patton. I'm speaking on behalf of BFT and also Longfellow Middle School. Four years ago, when I called my dad and told him I was offered a job at Longfellow, he said, "Baby, this is the best job on the planet. Working at BUD changed my life, and you couldn't have landed in a better place." But safe to say that he wasn't right, but he wasn't wrong. While this job has been one of the most rewarding experiences in my life, my dad forgot to mention the sacrifices I would have to make to hold up my end of the bargain. He forgot to mention all the hours that I would have to work outside of my contracted schedule to fulfill my agreement. Hours and hours and hours and hours of grading papers with no compensation.

048I stand here to urge Berkeley school board members to review the compensation of the comparative districts and see how Berkeley ranks from dead last to below average. My dad sure forgot to mention that when I looked at my paycheck after taxes, I'd be left with the crust of the bread and barely enough to pay or cover my basic needs, rent, food, clothing, health, transportation. So, we need to have a higher compensation. It's a bigger issue when taking into account of pocket health care costs, which reduce actual disposable income. The district says that we are invested in equity, that our work should be student centered, but I ask that the teachers are added to this equation. We barely make ends meet. We spend hours on our feet and many of us work through lunch and we

049don't eat. So, I do put my students at the center and I ask that the district allow teachers to be above average so we could be sure to stay. Thank you so much. >> Thank you, Keynote. Um, next sign up is Tom and then Matt J. Tom, you can unmute yourself. Yeah, by the time I'm ready for you. There we go. There you are. >> Hello, I'm Tom Lint, Berkeley resident and father of a Berkeley High alum. My comments are in regards to agenda item 15, the approval of measure G program update, specifically the Berkeley high school capacity and expansion project. I really appreciate the opportunity to speak with you tonight, but frankly, I have to admit, I'm pretty shocked and deeply disappointed to see the school district bringing back a proposal to build a

050new parking deck in downtown Berkeley after this was so thoroughly investigated, publicly discussed, and properly rejected two years ago. With all due respect, this proposal is an insult to the students, teachers, and us community supporters who work hard to develop our climate literacy initiative and are trying to learn about and address the climate impact of transportation in Berkeley. Critically, it's also a huge waste of taxpayer dollars and the school district resources to build a new parking deck within a few blocks of empty parking decks that taxpayers are already paying for and where the needed parking could be obtained at a fraction of the cost with far greater flexibility to adjust to changing demand in the future. We strongly encourage the board not to approve this proposal, but instead direct the school district to go back

051to work with the city and collaboratively find solutions to use what we have already built. This problem can be solved without more concrete. Also, please direct the staff to do a robust transportation demand management plan to help teachers use alternatives. We need a much richer survey than previously done and assessment of whole's full suite of options. The offers we made two years ago have not expired. There are many of us in the community standing by ready to volunteer resources to make this work. Don't waste those precious bond resources and that valuable land on redundant car storage. prioritize that money and space to uses that actually help our students learn. Thank you very much for your time tonight. >> Okay, thanks Tom. Um, next on up uh we have Riy Lee and then Leo Le after

052Rachie. >> Apologies uh President Chang, I promoted Maj um who was supposed to go next but he disappeared from your attending list because he's already on as a panelist. >> Got it. So Matt and then Rachie >> copy. >> Hello. Thank you all uh board members and uh Superintendent Ford. Uh [clears throat] I've got a first grader at Craragmont. I came in August uh and spoke about buses being cancelled in the hills. We're nearly three months into the school year and we've really received no progress on this issue. In early September, we were promised an engagement session with Superintendent Ford would be scheduled um which we were very excited about and nothing has come of that. We were told that the main concern, the main reason for cancing buses in the hills was safety concerns

053along Grizzly Peak with a very specific list of concerns that allegedly came from CHP. And yet CPA requests that we filed with both BSD and CHP turned up nothing related to Grizzly Peak safety. And CHP told Berkeley in an article that uh this was entirely BSD's decision. Uh furthermore, we see buses traveling on Grizzly Peak every day. There's a short bus that serves my neighborhood. I believe that's for a student with a special accommodation. There's also a longer bus that we see regularly, which I believe is a Longfellow bus. Um, and so if it's a safety concern, we're either putting them at risk or it's not really a concern. [snorts] Um, if it is, let's rent some passenger vans. That's a solvable problem. If it's a budget concern, let's say that you've had multiple parents

054tell you that we're willing to engage on anything up to including a ballot initiative to make this right so that we can guarantee busing. We have busing like we have school choice here in Berkeley, but we don't have the buses to actually accommodate it and make it work. Um, we're willing to engage. We really are. We want to help solve this problem, but we do need transparency about what the actual barriers are and actual engagement. uh it's not working for us. We haven't forgotten about it. We there's dozens of families on a WhatsApp group that talk about this every day and try to coordinate and help each other out, but that's not what it should take to be able to get our kids to and from school safely and on time. Uh so we really

055would appreciate that engagement session. Uh and you've got a lot of motivated parents who I think would be willing to to step up to the plate. So thank you very much for the time. >> Thank you. Um, next on up, Rachel Lee. And then after that, Leo leg. Hello Rich, you're on now. you're a panelist, so you can There you go. Hi there. >> Okay, here I am. Hi, everybody. Um, good evening. My name is Rachie. Um, and I'm a parent in BUSD. First, I want to share my support for the Berkeley High tennis team. Um, it is their tennis courts near or on campus is way overdue. We started talking about this issue when my kids were in elementary. One is in high school now. um and they're not going to be the first

056generation of students who graduate without these tennis courts. So, let's make this happen. Um I'm also here um to talk about California's law AB uh 3216, which makes clear that school districts must engage the community, which includes students, educators, and parents when developing policies around its mobile device use in schools. Now, there's a couple ways to do it, but just having public comment is not enough. So, while I'm excited to hear that it's on the agenda for November 15th, just making public comment available is not enough. It's not the type of significant stakeholder engagement the law requires. Another approach is to issue public forums and issue surveys. And so, that's more than public comment. Um, but the kind of the problem with that is that it can surface a lot of fears and hypotheticals that's

057not grounded in kind of the reality of the day-to-day. Um and so I urge the district um and the school board to consider another approach um which Baltimore City public schools as well as other districts has have done which is to pilot a few smartphone policies on its various campuses in real school settings. Then gather data and feedback from those experiences before adopting a district-wide policy. That way decisions are grounded in evidence and lived experience not just opinions and hypotheticals. Um and we look forward as parents in the community and working with the district to make this happen. Thank you. >> Thank you. Leo Le and Maxim Lo Maxim Loaf. Let's see. Maxim, they don't see Leo. Do we have Leo leg though? Sorry, Max. We just want to double check in terms of order.

058Um, Leo leg is supposed to go in front of you. We just want to make sure he's had the opportunity >> promoting Leo now. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Thanks for clarifying. >> Sure. And then maximum you'll go after Leo. Okay, Leo, you're on board now. You can unmute and come on to video. There you are. Think your camera is on, but it may block. There you go. Okay, good. >> Uh, good evening. Um, I'm actually Douglas Leg. Uh, Leo is my son. Um, and a, um, student at Berkeley High School. I'm um here to speak about the resurfacing of the proposed parking garage on the Milvia parcel across from the high school. Um I um spoke extensively about this three years ago and and like Tom who spoke earlier um had believed that this

059issue had been resolved. Um so it's very disappointing to see it resurfacing as um as a going proposal. Uh I spent 27 years working for the city and county of San Francisco. Recently retired as the uh as a deputy city administrator over assets and infrastructure including capital planning um and had spent years working at public works. It makes no sense for the school district to be spending these bond dollars on a parking structure that um is duplicative of parking that's available nearby um and is going to cost millions and millions of dollars. The proposal today you will probably hear is only to spend money on design. Um but design costs are 3 to 10% of the total project cost. Um the estimated cost of the parking garage 3 years ago was $27 million. Um construction

060cost escalation is huge right now. And so just spending money on this design work is probably going to cost the district between $1 and $4 million. And that's and [snorts] that's to get something that is not going to be of any particular use to the students um the families or the community. And um so I urge you um to eliminate that part of the proposal on the expansion expansion part part of the bond proposal. Thank you very much. >> You want to try to keep within a minute. I know it's short. Um everybody tried to mark your time. >> I have my timer on but I fear it might not be loud enough. So I'm happy to audibly just state, you know, times up for folks who are speaking. >> Yeah, I think I do.

061So because we do have a lot of speakers, we want to make sure everyone has an opportunity. >> Absolutely. >> Thank you so much and uh you know we thanks for the we appreciate the public comment and you know minute does seem rather short but it's it's uh so everyone has that time. Maxim would you like to go next? >> Yes. >> Okay. You want to proceed? >> All right. Hi everyone. My name is Maxim Yofi. I'm a parent of a BUSU student who is receiving reduced bus service from the school district. My son Alex was assigned an elementary school that's far from our house and so he qualifies for the school bus service. However, there isn't a bus stop within walking distance. So, we have to drive Alex to the bus stop. This has

062proved to be a significant hardship for us and I know as Matt had mentioned there are many other families from our neighborhood in the hills that are in the same boat. I'm here to reiterate our request to the school district to fix this inequitable situation. I noticed that mostly kids in all the other neighborhoods live within a few blocks of their bus stop and this is discriminatory to the BD families in our neighborhood. It's been a few months now with no progress, not even a meeting between the parents and the district to brainstorm solutions. Uh I'm asking the district to please work with us to come up with a solution as soon as possible. Thank you. >> Thank you. Uh, next on up Ben Gardstein, walk by Berkeley and then after the Daniel Bronson. >>

063Uh, good evening, board. I didn't think I was going to get a chance to speak, so good to uh, have the opportunity. I really just want to underscore what both Douglas and Tom have already said about the um proposal to re-engage with a potential parking garage on Milia uh for Berkeley High there. We really thought that we'd put this um this idea to rest a couple years ago and it's confusing, frustrating, and disappointing to see it resurface. Um, so we urge the board tonight to not include any design or consideration of a parking garage in item 15 if you approve that expansion project. And let's table this. If we have to have more conversation around it, we're happy to do that. Uh, but we really need to think creatively and not not um move through

064with a goal of of building a very expensive um parking garage on the tax paradigm. Thank you. Thank you so much. Next on up is Daniel Brownson. And then after Daniel is Evan. Daniel, you're going to be elevated now. Just chat. >> And Daniel, you're on board now. >> Okay. Um, >> come on video. >> So, my computer's been acting really slow. It's better if uh >> Yeah. >> Anyway, you know what I look like anyway. Um so um I was told in negotiations that the district's bro district is broke. But what am what am I hearing about a a new parking garage? That that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Um maybe um a better use of of uh bond funds would be to um lower our uh energy costs that

065you know is just money spent on PG& that we may as well be setting on fire. Um maybe by putting solar panels on all the flat roofs of the district or I don't know something. Um, yeah. I don't I I don't see why we need to be talking about an expensive parking garage when we're not out of the fiscal crisis yet. >> Thank you. >> Great. Next up, we have um Thank you, Miss Chars, Evan, and then Mike Mitchiel Nateri. Probably mispronounced your name. You can correct me. new come on board. I apologize. Evan. >> Hello. Uh my name is Evan Cheuy. I'm a Berkeley resident and a local scouting and adventure crew adviser. I'm commenting on item 15 as well. Berkeley High School Cast expansion project. I'm excited to see the district preparing for

066the future, but I'm disappointed to see us back here again discussing parking structures. Uh we already had this discussion. You know, here we are again suggesting we advanced designs that make us spend 10 to$20 million of of our scarce bonding money building redundant parking instead of increasing classroom space, lab space, um better fields. We already have plenty of parking spaces available downtown. Center Street Garage has several hundred free spaces per day. Uh so board members, please don't spend money even on planning this redundant and unnecessary parking. Thank you. >> Thanks a lot. Um, next on up is Mitchil Need Alaraji and then Liza Lutker. Um, Miel, you are on board now. >> Yes. Hello. [clears throat] >> Hi there. We can hear you. Hi there. >> All right. Yeah. Hi, my name is Michael Aharazzi.

067I'm a current senior at UC Berkeley. I'm Berkeley High alum, class of 2022. And as someone who was on the tennis team all four years, uh I'm in favor of bringing the tennis courts back to Berkeley after over 20 years without them. For me, tennis was not only a sport uh as a student there, but it was also an experience and a way to build a community. Some of my favorite memories from high school were being a part of the tennis team and the relationships that I made and the life lessons that I learned on the court were second to none. Uh we it's important that the students are able to get their own courts because as a student there myself, I've missed countless classes and uh time in school just to travel to courts

068that were off campus for home games which a lot of other schools don't have that problem. And we also have to like walk up a hill to get to those courts with our backpacks and our tennis bags as well. And uh for for sure we need our own courts because >> there's a Okay, thank you. >> Thank you. And go >> to email the rest of your comments to board of edbergly.net. >> Thanks a lot. Next on up, Liza Lutzker and then Shashan O'Keefe. Hi everyone. Um, thanks for the opportunity to speak. Um, so Liza Lutzker, I'm also with WalkBike Berkeley. Um, commenting on item 15, the garage. Um, this again just echoing comments that this is really disappointing. Um, I really want to emphasize that the issue is not about building new parking spots.

069The build the issue here is about spending money on car storage instead of money for student classroom space. Um this is something that this district needs to work with the city on. Any construction for this project is many years out and there's going to need to be a new bond from construction and I understand that there have been difficulties with the bond and the in the past in working with the cities. you have the opportunity to rewrite a bond in a way that you can work with the city in a way that you can actually use future bond money to use those spaces that are already vacant. Berkeley taxpayers have been incredibly generous and voters have been incredibly generous and this project is wildly unpopular and there's very likely to be a lot of push

070back from the Berkeley community in terms of supporting a new facilities bond that spends $66 a day per person per >> instead of spending something like about $200 for free transit passes for uh which is exactly what it would cost. That's what it costs at UC Berkeley per per student. >> Thank you. And you can of course email to add on additional commentary to the board. Um, next on up is Shashana O'Keefe. >> Shashana is our last speaker for this first opportunity. >> Great. >> Hello. Last speaker. Cool. Um, hi everyone. Uh, my name is Shashana O'Keefe. I'm um a member of the Berkeley City Council. I'm also a B a teacher at Berkeley High School. I'm also a B USD parent. I do a lot of things, but I'm actually not here in any

071of those capacities. I'm actually here as a taxpayer if anything. Um I know a bunch of speakers have already spoken to it, but I just want to add my voice to the um chorus of objection to the idea that we might build this parking garage. Um it's a fact that there are hundreds, many multiple hundreds of parking spaces at the city-owned garage just one block from campus. Um, and I'm not authorized to speak for the city, but I have it on good authority that the city would be very willing to rent those spaces to uh Berkeley High uh teachers and staff. So, please, it I I'm assuming you're not going to uh actually build this garage. It's clearly financially insane, but I just had to come here and speak out against it just in case

072you were considering it. So, thank you very much. >> Thank you so much. uh council member but not speaking on behalf of the city. Um appreciate it. >> No, not at all. >> Um we don't have any other speakers. I don't see anyone's hands raised. So we're now going to pivot back to our um board meeting. Um we have um committee comments. Do we have any um committee members here who would like to make a public comment? Not seeing any. Okay. Um, union comments. I believe we do have a union speaker from BFT speaking on behalf of Matt. >> Sorry, director. I do. Sorry. Go ahead, Liz. Liz, >> I see Casey Robinson. I I Casey, we see your hand now. >> Oh, obviously we do have a committee. >> Committee. Yes. >> Yeah. Sorry,

073Casey. Apologies for not seeing you. You want to She going to be elevated and you'll go on. >> Thank you, Casey. You'll have five minutes. >> Great. Good evening. Pardon the delay. When you get promoted to panelist, it takes a little while. Um, good evening, board directors, superintendent, and members of the Berkeley community. My name is Casey Robinson. Um, and I speak tonight as a parent of two thriving Berkeley High School students. Um, formerly of Rosa Parks and Longfellow. Um, a former active member of several schoolside councils and PTA and an educator and a community advocate. Um, and I am here representing the Superintendent African-American Success Advisory Committee, also known as ASAC. We want to begin by acknowledging the bright spots and positive momentum that are evident in this year's student achievement data. Um, in

074literacy, BUSD's distance from standard scores improved at every grade level between 2023 and 2025. Clear evidence that more students, including our focal groups, are moving closer to grade level expectations. School level data shows doubledigit gains for African-American students at several sites. Rosa Parks, Craigmont, Willard, Ruth Acti, Sylvia Mendes, and Longfellow. These are powerful examples of what is possible when highquality instruction, intervention, and family engagement align. In science, African-American student performance increased by two percentage points over last year, reflecting stronger tier one instruction and more coherent intervention systems districtwide. We celebrate these gains and we commend the educators and leaders who are driving them. Yet, the ASAC's role is to keep the focus and the pressure on the work that remains. The data also makes clear that progress is uneven. ELA proficiency among African-American students remained

075largely flat even as other subgroups continued to rise. Math proficiency declined by five points with notable drops in grades 3, 5, and 11. and assessment participation rates among African-American students at 88% in ELA and 83% in math fell below the state's 95% threshold leading to dashboard penalties that obscure some of the real growth taking place. These numbers raise important questions and we know the best way to answer them is to listen. That's why on November 12th, ASAC will host a student and family forum to hear directly from those most impacted. We want to better understand why participation rates are lower, why math outcomes are declining, and what supports our students and families believe would make a difference. Their lived experiences will inform our recommendations and our report back to this board in December. In addition,

076ASAC members have committed to partnering with the district on the comprehensive improvement model SIM for SIM dig um for the significant disproportionality plan. We recognize that over representation of African-American students in special education is a systemic issue that demands transparency, collaboration, and sustained community partnership. We look forward to the November 19th community forum where the district will present its plan to reduce and mitigate the disproportionality and we stand ready to be active partners in that process. In closing, we celebrate the progress, but we do not rest. The ASAC remains committed to ensuring that Berkeley's African-American students are not only growing, but thriving, fully supported by systems that see, serve, and uplift them. Thank you for your continued partnership and your dedication to educational equity in BUSD. Thanks. >> Thank you, Miss Robinson. Um, do we

077have other committee comments? I don't see any. Do we I think we have a hand up there. >> BFT. No more committees. >> No more committees. Now we have Sarah Carver of BFT for the union comment. Can we elevate Sarah? >> Sarah's on her way. >> Great. [clears throat] >> Okay. Hello there. Uh, good evening, Superintendent for Morell and Berkeley School Board Directors. I'm Sarah Carver, treasure of the Berkeley Federation of Teachers and a kindergarten teacher at Malcolm X. My fellow members and I had elementary parent teacher conference days last week and every year I find that being provided this time in our schedules to be able to meet with families is critical in understanding each one of my unique students. It also sets a foundation for communication with families about their children's learning for

078the year ahead. In years prior, my colleagues and I had to spend our entire weekend or take sick days in order to work on report cards. Having report cards due only one full day after the end of the trimester gave us maybe one prep period about an hour of paid time to complete these, which was impossible. Thanks to a recent tenative agreement, TK through 5 educators now have four working days after the end of the first trimester to input grades into the district's report card management system. Educators are now given formal, consistent report card deadlines across the district. And such small requirements improve educators working conditions and our ability to use that time to set students academic goals for the second trimester. This is the kind of problem solving that BFT brings to the negotiations

079table and helps us better serve our students. As of October 27th, BFT and the district have already had 13 sessions, each one lasting over an hour. Yet, we still have heard nothing around compensation and benefits. Where's the same level of problem solving, forward thinking coming from the district? Our low compensation and high cost of benefits is a problem that needs to be addressed. As you heard from my fellow BFT members, both compensation and benefits have become a challenge in our own lives as we try to get through each day. I myself can barely afford to live in the Bay Area. With my BSD income, I cannot afford to rent in Berkeley and I'm just squeaking by in a one-bedroom apartment in Oakland. I have a veterary appointment for my dog on Friday. and I'm dreading

080the cost and how I afford this one visit. As a professional with master's degree and over 10 years of experience serving young children, this is just one of many examples of how salary and benefits in BSD are not keeping up with the costs. My story is just one of many hardworking, passionate educators who give so much to serve our students, but are struggling to have enough for themselves in order to continue showing up to serve Berkeley students. The passion the educators have for their work cannot be taken for granted. And yet, we're not paid for meetings that occur after our duty day. Every year, inclusion specialists, speech language pathologists, psychologists, and classroom teachers like myself educate many students with IEPs and 504s in order to serve these students needs and those that are unidentified who

081have needs. We do the work meeting with parents, administrators, and other service providers and continue to set up those needed supports that were discussed in those meetings. They're important. These meetings need to happen. But it's important to note the amount of time that they take and the work that is added to our overflowing plates. In my experience as a kindergarten teacher, I'm on as the only adult with my 21, five, and six-year-olds for almost six hours straight. And after a short prep period to read our new literacy curriculum, create and set up the needed materials for four different subjects that I'm going to teach the following days. I also email families, colleagues, I work to set up field trips, and so much more in that short prep period every day. It's challenging to finish this

082work in our duty day. And yet, our amazing Berkeley teachers get it done. When a support meeting is scheduled after our duty hours, we want to show up. But right now, when we do, we're not paid for that time. And this feels disrespectful and doesn't value the crucial work that we do. Do not take advantage of our devotion for our students and take action with our current proposal that addresses this oversight. I sit with over 20 of my fellow educators on the negotiations team. As a full-time classroom teacher who uses so many hours after work like this to negotiate in our meetings for better student learning conditions and educator working conditions, I'm shocked and disappointed. When the district meets us at the table with those 13 sessions we've had with little to nothing. This is

083precious time that we're giving. It's incredibly frustrating to have sat in so many sessions and still be where we have should have been last May. Why does the district continue to stall? What information are you waiting for? This feels intentional. You will find that neighboring districts have also been forced to declare impass and that we don't know what's going to happen, but we've run into similar issues as they have. Oakland Educators Association, the United Educators of San Francisco, and United Teachers of Richmond have declared impass already. We don't want to do that, but when will BSD show up to the negotiations table with something for us to talk about? Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Carver. Um do we have any other comment here it with the um unions? Do have any other unions present

084BCCE or local 21 or Yuba? I don't see them online. Just want to double check. Okay, not seeing them. Uh we're we're going to proceed to um board member comment. So as is our practice, we'd like to permit the student board member who I think there is is Korea and uh Armana are both here. Um it looks like Armana just got on. Do you want to proceed to do public comment? And then Korea, you can also. >> Yeah, that sounds great. >> Cool. Go. Uh go on ahead, Armana. >> All right. Good evening everyone. So I wanted to highlight a super important change that I've already been discussing with our student body and that's the implementation of the new PE program and how it fits into our current bell schedule at Berkeley High School. It

085is essential that students are included in this conversation especially those with IEPs in the LEAP program and in small schools with specialized courses. Now, these groups of students already face scheduling scheduling constraints and adding another required class would make it harder for students to complete their A throughG requirements. As a student in both the Berkeley International High School Small School and the Berkeley High Jazz program, I've had to take my language requirement at Berkeley Berkeley City College, excuse me, just to make both programs work. Now, if a required PE class had been in place earlier, I wouldn't have been able to participate in music programs like jazz, and many of my peers would not have been able to take elective courses that are important to their academic growth. On top of that, as a track

086athlete with daily practices year round, taking a PE class under the current bell schedule seems unnecessary and overly burdensome. Over 1500 students at Berkeley High participate in athletics. And for many, adding required PE class would create similar conflicts and limit opportunities to pursue academic to pursue academics, electives, or arts programs. I understand that the district must comply with California law, but requiring freshmen to take PE classes under our current bell schedule requires real changes for students. And that is why I'm actively working to communicate with our student body on seeing where we fit in and how we would like to deal with uh changing our bell schedule, which is something the board has been discussing for a while now. And so, um, I really look forward to continuing our conversation today and looking at the

087Measure G program update and diving into those aspects. Um, and also just learning more about, you know, how the tennis courts and these parking lots contribute to that. So, thank you all and I look forward for the rest of today's meeting. >> Thank you, Armana. Um, Korea, would you It's up to you. Would you like to provide public comment? You don't have to if you're not ready. Okay. So, Korea, uh, I don't think is is is going to provide comment this time. That's perfectly fine. Um, board members, uh, who would like to provide comment? >> I'll go first to say that I I'm going to, um, skip my board comments tonight because we're already running so late. Um, and I'd love to hear the presentations that are ahead of us. So, >> yep. Thank you,

088Director Chassis. others. >> I was going to say the same thing in the slowness of of all the Zoom um coordination. I'm happy to forego my board comments and move on. >> Okay. Thank you. Uh Director Vasadev. >> Yeah, I'm happy to keep mine uh brief as well. I just wanted to thank all of the folks that came out to give public comment tonight for the families talking about the cell phone policy. We hear you. We had a robust discussion about having a family forum soon about the policy and look forward to and about the implementation of the policy and look forward to engaging with you and agree with the comments around transparency. So, thank you for writing and thank you for being here. Also, for our immigrant families, we know that this time is

089really difficult. We know that districts may have to flip the switch if there continues to be threat of ICE activity, particularly in Northern California with families having to potentially go on emergency independent study. All sorts of things were discussed at the sanctuary um city task force meetings. I want to thank my colleague, Director Korn, for being there. Um and so we're preparing and part of that is making sure that our families have access to how we make important decisions about their children. And so I'm excited to vote on the worldly contract and we'll save my comments for that. there are comments. Um, and also just wanted to thank the folks that came to speak about the garage. I I have com lots to say as you know about parking in general and so I'll wait

090for that portion of the board meeting uh to give those comments. Thanks. >> Thanks so much. I second the comments Dr. Vasadev. I'm going to also forgo my chatting um but very glad to have everybody here. Um and we're going to move on next to our consent calendar. Is there a motion to approve the consent calendar? >> I move to >> be by director Shinsowski. I'll second. >> Okay. So now we've moved by directors to seconded director Vasadev. Do we have the eyes? >> I think do roll call because we're online. Thank you so much. Um Miss Char, you mind doing roll call? >> Absolutely. Student Director Ardum >> present. >> Student director Coloulston. >> Director Coloulston may be having some technical issues maybe in absentia. >> Uh, director Vasadev. >> Yes. >> Director Shinowski.

091>> Yes. >> Vice President Korn. >> Yes. >> President Chang. >> Yes. >> Thank you so much. Um, okay. So, the consent calendar has thus been approved. Motion approved. Um, next on up, we have discussion item uh 141, if I'm correct, looking at the calendar correctly. I mean the agenda correctly. Um, it's a update on the federal program monitoring with PE Yes, that's us. Um, so I will have I'm going to be joined by a couple of colleagues and then I think Miss Chidz is going to put the slides up for us. >> Cool. Thank you. So, I think we're making okay time. We're at 8:30 4. I guess we'll be done at 9. I'm loading the presentation now. Give me a moment. >> Um, while we're waiting for the presentation to get loaded, uh,

092we are going, my name is Jill Hoganike. I'm the associate superintendent of the educational services department in BUSD. Um, but as we're waiting for the slide deck to go up, um, we we are going to be providing an update on our federal program monitoring with a focus on physical education. And since, um, physical education is the topic, I want to do a quick shout out to our Berkeley High Jackets. We have not one, not two, but three playoff championship games that are happening today. Um, and we're excited to report that our girls water polo team won their game and they are advancing um to the next game on Saturday. We also have a girls volleyball game in conquered and a boys water polo championship game in Marin. So, shout out to our jackets out there.

093>> Yeah. Amazing. >> Okay. All right. So, we are here to provide an update on federal program monitoring. Um, and this is a a follow-up, but not the last conversation that we will have um regarding our federal program monitoring review and the work that we need to do to address um some of the issues that were raised with regard to physical education specifically at Berkeley High. If you go to the next slide, please. Um, just want to ground this work. Um, our mission in BUSD is to enable and inspire our diverse student body to achieve academic excellence and make positive contributions to the world. Um, and part of that does have to do with um ensuring our students have uh the opportunity to exercise and learn all about um how physical education can benefit um

094them in their in their lives. Um for tonight, uh we are going to be sharing the status of our federal program monitoring findings from spring of 2025. Uh we were last before the board in April of 2025 and at that time um we still had some unresolved issues. Um so we want to give you an update on that. uh we are going to outline some considerations that we have for um the Berkeley High School master schedule planning and then we'll share next steps and um a rough timeline for the work ahead. Next slide. So just a reminder about where this is stemming from. Um we uh Berke the Berkeley Unified School District was selected for a federal program monitoring review. These are periodic reviews that are conducted by the California Department of Education um and

095include um anyone uh include the following. They're either an on-site or an online review. And for BUSD, that was an on-site review. We had members of the California Department of Education or CDE um who spent a week with us here in Berkeley um reviewing u data and documents. They had interviews. They had classroom observations. Uh in this case it was uh physical education observations. Um anything that is related to categorical programs or other state requirements. Um the process is uh one that ensures that school districts are meeting their physical their fiscal and their programmatic requirements um for um any of those state or federal mandates. And if uh people are interested, the link to um the California Department of Education or CDE website is there on that slide. Um next slide. Uh for B USD

096uh and back. Yep. We um oops that one. Yep. We were reviewed in nine different areas of which physical education was one. Um and so just want to start by saying on the next slide um BUSD uh did update their board policy with regard to physical education in early 2025. Just again recognizing the positive benefits of physical education um that and and those benefits that extend to student health and well-being and the connections they have to academic achievement. So, uh, our board policy and the related administrative regulation are also linked on on this slide. I'm going to, uh, I failed to make introductions at the top of the order, um, when we're sitting in this virtual space. They weren't sitting next to me physically, but joining me today, um, at the at the virtual DAS

097are principal Aan Ryosa. He is our principal of Berkeley High, and one of our vice principles um, Kell Cle. So, I'm going to turn it over to Principal Regosa just to provide an overview about our findings in uh physical education and some of the work that we've done uh starting last spring but really completed uh at the beginning of last week um to resolve all of the findings that we had um from this FPM review. Uh Principal Regosa, I'll hand it over to you. >> Uh thank you so much, Jill. Uh good evening members of the board of education, superintendent and broader B USD community. Thank you once again for allowing us to provide this important update on our physical education program. Uh we view the federal program monitoring process as a critical opportunity to

098confirm our strengths and to identify clear actionable areas for systemic growth. The next two slides outline the four findings that resulted from the monitoring visit. Our first finding PE04 testing fitness gram highlighted a need for us to refine our practice concerning the California physical fitness performance testing program. The monitoring determined that our existing process must be strengthened to confirm that every student in 9th grade at Berkeley High School is administered the fitness gram test specifically within the mandated testing window of February through May of each school year. The second finding, PEO06 pupil exemptions, um, centered on the precise application of California Education Code criteria for student PE exemptions. This specifically addressed our need to ensure that when we utilize the permitted exemption options, such as the 2-year or permanent exemptions, we are meticulously documenting and

099meeting every condition, including the requirement to offer appropriate PE courses. Next slide, please. Third, the CDE issued a finding regarding PE07 focused on teacher teaching and evaluation at the high school level. This finding emphasizes that our PE course of study must demonstrate comprehensive instruction and evaluation across all eight statemandated content areas, including aquatics, gymnastics, rhythm and dance, and the mechanics of body movement. While our students engage in robust activities, the finding compels us to refine our curriculum mapping and documentation to explicitly show the developmentally appropriate sequence and the evaluation methods for each required component. Finally, the finding under PE9 addressed teaching credentials. This ensures that all instruction in physical education at BHS is provided by staff holding the appropriate physical education credential issued by the California teaching um commission on teacher credentiing and we make

100sure that happens through a review of staffing assignments to ensure that the primary teacher of record for every P class holds the necessary credential and we clearly distinguish the supportive role of any instructional aids or pair of professionals. Next slide. Now that we've reviewed the findings, let's turn our attention to the immediate and comprehensive actions we have taken since last spring. Our goal was not just compliance, but strengthening the long-term integrity of our physical education program at BHS. To address the fitness grant requirement, we have successfully developed a single plan of implementation to ensure that every 9th grade student is tested whether they are enrolled in a PE course or not. Our 9th grade families and students will learn more details in the coming weeks about what that will look like. We reviewed our exemption

101practice and crucially the board adopted BUSD policy and regulation 6142.7 to solidify this new process. We have also refined the flow for receiving, reviewing, and securing board approval for these exemptions formally known formerly known as waiverss. ensuring every exemption is handled with adherence to California Education Code. Once again, beyond compliance, we see this as an opportunity to reinforce the entire PE program foundation. This includes developing a new physical education scope and sequence that explicitly covers all required state standards for the course of study. In support of this curriculum, we began a process to review and develop student evaluations to ensure they align directly with that updated content. Finally, we focused on staffing and scheduling. We've reviewed and updated teacher credentials for our PE team, and we initiated an internal data review to look at potentially

102necessary changes to our master and bell schedule. This final step is to ensure that our school structure can fully support the state's requirements moving forward and support our students. We're confident that the actions we've taken since last spring to resolve these findings establish a higher standard for the BHSP program. I'll now bring in Vice Principal Kelvin Kle to further speak to master schedule considerations. Thank you, Principal Regosa, and good evening. Uh on this slide, what you can see is uh us drilling in a little bit more of what master schedule considerations would be once we looked at our data around implementing the changes for PE. So on this slide, that asterisk is going to be key because this is just looking at the nth grade slice. If we were to use this year's data and

103ask ourselves the question, how do we solve for ensuring BHS students are enrolled in PE and all nth graders take the physical fitness exam? We could look at what it would mean for us to have every 9th grader enrolled in a BHS 9th grade PE course. That would mean an increase in enrollment in 9th grade PE by 571 students, which is 16 unique sections of PE and an additional increase of 3.2 FTE. That immediately raises it raises some budget considerations. That's an increase in staffing cost. And as we begin exploring PE, questions came up about where it would fit into the master schedule. That also raised questions about facilities considerations. An increase in demand for PE is an increase in demand for spaces where students can participate in PE. And that means an increase in

104demand on our gyms and our field space while considering the limited access we have to shared facilities. From this, the question became not one of how do we resolve questions in PE, but how do we ensure that all Berkeley High students have access to an equitable master schedule that provides them the opportunities to both meet graduation requirements and A to G eligibility. Next slide, please. So, master schedule work requires deep collaboration and a number of voices. And as we began to look more into our question of master scheduling, our partners in visual and performing arts, career technical education, world language, special education, multilingual student programs began raising questions with us about what the student experience would be with these changes and what access to courses would look like. Our questions are now ones asking us

105to consider how do we balance our required courses, our electives, and PE. How do we make sure that we fulfill our guarantee to equitable access to courses for all of our learners, especially our students receiving special education services and our multilingual program? How do we continue to support our robust CTE pathways, our 2-year required world language sequence for college eligibility, and our incredibly diverse and robust VAPA program while also offering these PE changes? and how do we simply address the challenges in meeting A to G requirements? Showing that it's not a PE question. It's a question about the schedule more broadly. It raises questions about what is our class timing, the structure of our classes, how we allocate our FTE and align it to those course requests from students and even where our professional development

106would fall. It raises questions beyond just simply our gym and field access, but classroom accessibility. and it brings up important questions about sustainability and the cost and resource implications for building a master schedule. From there, we've developed uh an idea and a plan for moving forward. And with that, Principal Regza, would you take over? Yes. Next slide, please. So, as we look ahead to bigger changes to our master and bell schedules, I'll bring us back specifically to our PE program this year and over the next couple years. As a reminder for everyone, California Education Code states very clearly that all students are required to successfully complete two years, that's 20 credits of physical education in order to be eligible to graduate from high school. to support our BHS students to do so. This 2526 school

107year, we will be administering the fitness grant to all 9th grade students, again, whether they are in PE course or not. We are also maintaining the current exemption process, including athletic and community program PE exemptions. These two facts will remain true in the coming 2627 school year. Looking towards the 2728 school year, all 9th grade students at BHS will take PE at BHS and will therefore be able to carry out all fitness gram testing in a PE course. By then, also, we will update our exemption process to align with state requirements. First, in order for students to be eligible for a 2-year exemption, they must take and pass the fitness grant. Second, in order to be eligible for a permanent exemption, students must be 16 and complete 10th grade. I will now pass it back

108to Associate Superintendent Joe Hugen. >> All right. Thank you, Principal Regosa. Um, so in terms of moving forward and next steps, um, you can see a couple of things outlined here. wanting to move uh through continue our internal analysis between now and winter 2026, which is uh this this time period that we're in now. Um we're going to focus on communication and information sharing so that we can keep our staff and families informed um and then um begin to plan for broader community engagement in early 2026. Um this is a complex shift and we want to make sure that we are responding carefully and accurately. We know that many in our community are eager for answers and many who are eager and ready to support the district in this effort. Now that uh CDE has

109cleared BUSD's FPM findings, we will continue on to the work to address some of these related program components. Um and as you saw uh the in what uh Vice Principal Kle shared some of the complexities that we are going to be navigating as we start to formulate plans for the work ahead. Um considering the factors that we have highlighted tonight, including but not limited to the resource and staff capacity, financial constraints, particularly uh given um some of the budget balancing work that will likely continue uh this year. Um and our facilities work. You're going to hear a little bit about that um tonight. Uh we're extending the timeline for implementation for a new Berkeley High master plan schedule. And you saw that timeline outlined in the slide that uh principal Ray Goa reviewed. Um it's

110important that our internal working groups fully analyze the schedule, staffing, budget, facilities implications so the options that we bring forward are realistic and thoughtful. Um once that foundation is in place, we'll engage broader stakeholder groups and families to gather input and refine recommendations together. um including input from our students. Uh so we're going to continue our internal analysis through the end of this C calendar year. Um we did send staff and community messaging earlier this week both to the Berkeley High community um and to our middle school communities because we know we heard from one of our uh middle school students this uh this evening. Um and we're going to be updating a frequently asked questions page on our district website. Uh we know that there have there will be some questions from the board

111tonight. So we want to make sure that we can um capture anything that's coming up as we um prepare for that update um by the end of the business day on uh Friday. Um our Berkeley High team is also preparing to include information about PE at the 9th grade info night for our rising 9th graders that will uh will occur at the first part of December. And then in early 26 2026, we will review our internal findings and gather additional feedback um from families, students, and staff to inform recommendations to the board. Um similarly to the spring, we are prioritizing accuracy over speed, and we're taking the time, and I hope you saw that in what was shared tonight, to understand all of the considerations in this complex issue, and we'll look forward to opportunities

112to engage our broader community in those conversations. Um and then on the last slide, just as um uh just so everybody is aware about where to find updates and information, um there is a uh physical education FAQ that is posted on the Berkeley High website. It's also linked from the main website page on the BUSD um website page. And if you have uh any questions, you can send them to uh BHSPE. We won't necessarily be responding to each individual question, but we'll be pulling um themes that come out of those questions to help inform future updates on the FAQ. Um there's also a link there to the California Department of Education website about physical education requirements should anyone want additional information. And with that, we will take questions from the board. >> Thank you so

113much. Other questions from board members? Thanks for that presentation. By the way, >> I have a question, President Chang. >> Um, uh, can you show slide 11 again? I um I I'm just trying to un I want to understand the exemption process that you all are working toward. I guess I'm trying to I'm trying to understand whether we are ultimately expecting that the the ultimate plan that is developed in a couple of years will mean that every ninth grader and every 10th grader takes PE or will it only be every ninth grader and then some 10th graders will take PE? Um, I'm trying to sort of understand this eligibility for a permanent exemption after 10th grade and how that connects with the requirement that you take two years of PE. I see Kelvin uh Mr.

114Kle nodding at me. Perhaps you can explain more. >> I'm just excited about everything. uh [laughter] so um to start off on it and and please uh join me my fellow presenters on here um from my understanding that's on the bottom of the slide is that all 9th graders would take PE but the exemption process looks a little bit different in 10th grade um there are sports that will qualify for an exemption based upon their relationship to CIF and those would be exemptions in 10th grade and the other piece to note is it has the the double asterisk there is that in order to have a permanent exemption, you need to be 16, have completed 10th grade. And for the 2-year exemption, you must have to pass the fitness grant. So there there's multiple kind

115of levers that are being pulled here because it's not simply can I get an exemption? It's well, which of the exemptions am I touching? Am I doing an exemption for 10th grade because I'm in a B USDC athletic? And is that exemption the same as earning credits? So, I think that's where we're we're we're doing the work is clarifying there of the difference between a waiver, an exemption, earning credits, the difference between a CIF, B USD sport versus a club sport. And and that's really complicated. Um, many of our sports, it's hard to tell where the line between club and CIF intersect. So, I think that's some of the clarity that we're going to be working on as a team to identify early for families and students, what are the sports that would count for

116it. But we would see a different enrollment in 10th grade PE than in ninth grade. That currently my understanding of the exemption process would be if I'm in 10th grade completed nth grade course of study 1, my 10th grade physical education could be with my CIF sport, but I still may have to pass the in the fitness and reach 16 and complete sophomore year to still get that exemption that follows afterwards. >> And so can I ask a follow-up question? So, does that mean if I'm a 15-year-old junior that I am going to be required to take PE unless I'm in a CIF sport if I happen to be younger than most of my peers? >> Yes. >> Wow. That was me when I was in high school. >> Yep. >> Yeah. I think there

117and so one of the nuances that you'll hear uh Berkeley High has for many many years been using the term waiver. That was one of the corrections that needed to get made in all of the related documents. The CD is the only entity that can issue waivers. So we have exemptions. So if you hear exemption that those are the two things and I don't know that we have as a as a district and particularly at Berkeley High have been uh utilizing or sharing information as broadly about the two-year exemptions and permanent exemptions that are now in the board policy at the same level that folks um in our community understand the athletic exemption and our community programming exemptions that have been happening. And I I just wanted to make uh make a comment also uh

118board vice president Korn that if we zoom out the reason why um associate superintendent's comment about accuracy over speed it's so important is because the CDE requires that all high school students actually take 400 minutes of physical education every 10 days for all four years of high school. um even though two years are required for graduation. And so getting these exemptions right matter for our students, especially those that successfully complete the fitness, complete their two years of credit and and or 16, so they can be exempted from that requirement for their junior and senior year. >> I had a quick question about that exemption for like junior senior year. Does that apply to like outside of Berkeley High club sports? Like if you're not involved in CIF, will that work if let's say a student

119plays like club soccer or something through like a local Berkeley team? Like how does that fit in? >> Right. So right now those are included in what we call um the community program exemptions. Um and though it as we move through this process of making sure that we've got um the requirements met for the different grades that require PE, we might need to be making some shifts in those community program exemptions. Um but we will um again that's an that's another nuance that's really requiring us to dissect it um before we put that out more broadly. But what's important to know right now is that um those community exemptions are still a current part of our process and as you saw on that slide um that Vice President Korn just has put back up on

120that would continue then also for next year. Um and then as we look at the other schedule implications um we will be communicating out what that may or may not look like um depending on what our scheduling options are. Thank you. We had two questions from um board members. I don't know if Director Chinasi or Dr. Based was first. >> It is a really short question. I just wanted to know I see on the implementation timeline first. Thank you so much for the presentation and really nice to meet you, Mr. Kle. I um had a questions just about like during the implementation phase. I'm sure there's going to be internally some work on like hiring for next year. when is that expected to come to the board of education? Like within the budgeting process, like

121when can we know like how much this is going to cost? >> Right. So, that's what we're really hoping hoping to have by spring of next year so that we've got a year to plan for that because there are some pretty significant budget implications. the slide that um vice uh vice principal Kle shared um had the big what I call the big fat asterisk even though it was tiny and print at the bottom that those were numbers really based on nth grade enrollment. If you're looking at a 3.2 to FTE increase that is about $400,000. And if we're looking at a master schedule change that would have implications for additional classes, then you can kind of do the math about what that might look like. Um, and then considering a number of the budget uncertainties,

122uh, we just want to make sure that we've got a long enough um, runway to plan for what those additional costs are going to be because they won't be small. Yeah, >> thank you. >> Uh, Director Shinowski. >> Yeah, just quick question. So, on the second to last slide, uh, where you have moving forward, next steps, I just know that there's quite a few, Kell, I know that you know, and and Jill as well, um, there's quite a few families that are really engaged and have been spending a lot of time thinking about all of this and would like the opportunity to to sort of engage and talk about it. um more deeply with the district. So, I I don't see any specific sort of community engagement sessions or anything like that. And I'm wondering

123um if that's something you've thought about and and what that might look like. >> It it's definitely something that we've thought about. When we had come before you in April, um the big fat asterisk on that slide was that we had anticipated doing some community engagement this fall. Um, as uh we've shared tonight, that was an original engagement thinking about what it would look like uh to consider PE and what a master schedule might look like to address some of the concerns that many of our community members surfaced in the spring, particularly with regard to um our VAPA programming and our world language programming. Um as you could see that as we started to have these internal conversations the complexities of other areas that we needed to attend to um it was sort of like

124peeling back the onion. So we I do recognize that there are a number of families that want to engage but we needed to get um some of this internal thought process and analysis done before we start that. So, we're looking at broader community engagement, which would be inclusive of our families and students beginning in early uh 2026. That's what that's the bottom of that slide. >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you. Other board members have questions. >> Um, thank you. Oh, sorry. I just have one additional question that might be better answered in the next presentation about facilities, which is sort of about do we know what our current square footage of gym space per student is and in order to kind of project how much gym space we would need for these additional

125sections of PE and additional students. But again, that might be better held for the facilities discussion, >> better for the next I'm not I'm not guaranteeing that assistant superintendent Kis will have the answer off the top of his head, but it's definitely more appropriate for that presentation. >> Thank you so much. Um, thank you team for your presentation. Much appreciated. An important issue and nice to meet you uh vice president as well. Um, thank you. So, I think we're moving on to 15.1. It's 9:05. Uh, we have action item. Um it's approval of measure G program update including Berkeley high school capacity and expansion. Um C& um so who do we have who [clears throat] is speaking on this? I would assume that's me, President Chang. I originally had my whole team on the hook.

126I let them off just in the interest of brevity trying to pass it around on Zoom. Um it's I think it's just going to be more direct for me to speak to it. >> Um >> uploading the presentation. Yes, >> thank you. Um, there's a number of slide uh slides in this presentation that sort of cover the past of how we got to where we are. I think it's important that that's in there. I will try to move through that very quickly because I'm sure you all remember it, but it's there more for your information and then uh take you to where we are. Thank you. Okay. So, uh our first slide is always not this one, the next slide is always our mission. um which it is important as it does align with BUSD's

127mission which is the facilities division is committed to supporting the mission of BUSD by creating environments that promote a positive learning experience create safe and welcoming schools and afford and to afford our students staff and neighbors a community hub to embrace the four E of BUSD. Um so tonight we're going to talk about a few things. We're going to talk about the Berkeley High School capacity and expansion project. We're going to talk about the Berkeley High School special day class facility. Uh special day class facility is a naming convention that came up with our special ed team, but obviously we're open to discuss that. And then just some general program budget updates. Next slide. So Berkeley High School capacity and expansion. Um this picture I use just because it really it's it's a great example

128of the overcrowding that we have at Berkeley High. Um, I can talk to you all day about how we're really limited on classroom space and the master schedule shows that, but even when you look at the conditions, this is a normal passing period in the G building and it's just absolutely packed and it's it's not a safe environment, nor is it conducive because our teachers are running through those halls as well, typically changing classrooms between periods. Next slide. So, um, project history and needs. I don't think I need to spend too much time on this, but you know, the facilities needs assessment and master plan uh showed the outstanding need for additional classrooms at Berkeley High. The master schedules for the last several years have showed the the need for that. Um current campus, what

129it lacks, no tennis courts and mowering field that it lacks infrastructure. Next slide. Um why don't we jump ahead a little bit here if we can Liz and we can keep going uh keep going and we can go past this cuz we will talk about that and we can go past this one as well. So the original plan showed a capacity and expansion project which afforded us uh a couple of different things. One of those was actually triggering a need to move the softball field over to Mullering Field. This would greatly impact the uh the green space over at Mullering Field. There was a lot of community input about this just around the clank of bats and the noise that goes with softball and this absolutely had a negative effect on uh BTA and BIS.

130So, uh next slide. We also heard when we studied that first option from athletics that the implications to the right field line of the baseball field were going to make it nearly impossible for baseball to continue to compete there. So we looked at some other options and we came up with this option which it gave them the field lines back that they needed. But once we studied it a little bit further, what this did was put the prevailing winds always at the batter's back, which now there's no field that we can really put in that limited space that would actually prevent almost every good hit on a windy day from going over that fence. So, next slide. Um, also the capacity expansion project, it added by moving the softball field, it added room for the

131five tennis courts that are needed for Berkeley High athletics as well as the community, but also the it addressed the need for more classrooms. Right now, um, this original project as it was designed, it added a 5,000 square foot CTE lab for advanced machining and robotics. uh excuse me, advanced machining, manufacturing, and robotics. It added the robotics field that was necessary. It also added nine additional uh or five additional gened classrooms in this building as well as four in the existing G building um which uh currently is used for CTE among other things. Uh it gave the campus additional restroom space, additional ancillary space and offices. Next, next slide. So, as I said, the existing proposal gave us those nine classrooms, cross-campus supervision, dedicated CTE space, priority between B or par, excuse me, between baseball

132and softball, tennis courts, and restrooms. So when we listened to all of the community feedback, one of the things that we quickly realized was that if we [clears throat] were to address the desires of the community, the wishes of the board and the the needs of the school, right, the project was exponentially growing. So instead we went back and we said what is the overall need of the school? Um let's look at this sort of from a groundup approach and take another look. And the new CE proposal, what it does is it actually adds 28 additional gened classrooms, plus four in the existing G building for a total of 32 new classrooms. The additional office space and conference space, dedicated CTE and advanced machining, applied manufacturing, robotics, all those labs, uh four to five tennis

133courts, and I'll get to why it says 425, and potentially parking. I'm going to harp on that for a second because what we're not doing is asking we're not just saying we want to build a parking garage there and nothing more. What we're proposing tonight is a massing diagram. And in that massing diagram, the massing study shows us what can fit. And one of the challenges that we had is we worked for over a decade with our city partners around parking permits. And about a year and a half uh two about a year and a half ago, the city really stepped up and they gave us parking permits for Berkeley High. We currently get about 200 parking permits, I believe, per year for Berkeley High or we currently purchase about 200 parking permits, but with

134that we still are able to offer parking spots for 144 spaces. So, what we did study was not to add parking or anything like that, but really how can we offer some level of replacement parking so that we're not going backwards. You know, when we solved the parking problem for Berkeley High with the 200 parking permits, that did a lot of things. And the primary thing that it did was prior to that, many of our educators, roughly 200 of our educators were leaving their classrooms every 1 hour, every 2 hour to move their cars. This solved for that. But based on the parking study that was done leading up to the parking permits, we pushed the city's neighborhood parking with permits to, I believe, and please don't quote me, I don't have the numbers, but

135I believe just over the 90% limit. if we displace another 144 cars into the neighborhood, I actually think we exceed the 100% permit. But now we act the 100% capacity, but now we also have a struggle with how do we make sure that our educators are getting to work on time. So for that reason, we did a massing study. We looked at all of them. We wanted to show that tonight and we'll we're welcome to take feedback and we can amend however the board wants to give action to move forward. Next slide. So, we looked at three different massing studies um for the Milia Street lot, which is currently where the parking is for Berkeley High, and it was the former home of the tennis courts many years ago. Option one, uh this added um

136[clears throat] excuse me, this added our 25 classrooms. It it still left some parking in the space, uh and it added the CTE and robotics lab. The next slide and these were discussed and vetted at subcommittee. I just want to point that out. Uh option two, what this did was it offered again 94 spaces of replacement parking um 28 classrooms uh and as well as the needed uh circulation space on the outdoor area in the center there and go to option three if you would. So option three, this was born out of the need really to once we started to understand the results of federal program monitoring and how it impacted PE. Uh it was very clear that there's not enough gym space to actually support the needs of Berkeley High. So we said, how

137can we incorporate a gym? So what we showed here is in brown on the bottom right of that uh you have two levels of parking that offers 110 replacement spots for the existing 144. Above that in that uh purple color what you see is a PE gym. To the left of that is three levels of classrooms up above which is 28 classrooms. And beneath that is the uh the extra height that's needed for the 5,000 square foot CTE lab as well as for the uh the robotics field that they need to to continue to build and compete. When we looked at all of the options, this was the option that was uh chosen by the subcommittee as it offered the most use for Berkeley High and it truly actually solves all of the problems. Now,

138one of the things that I want to point out because like I just said, the board can give action with direction on what to further study, what to design, what to commit to, and that includes pulling pieces out if the board chose to do that. If the board did not want to include a gym, tell me, John, figure out what it's going to take to do it without the gym. If the board didn't even want to have conversation around the replacement parking, you can do that. And then what you also see kind of crossing the street there in all three of these options is a bridge crossing over Milvia. And I know that we have uh from subcommittee some concerns around that. The reason for the bridge is one first and foremost is during the

139day when kids are at school we are responsible for their safety. So that includes getting them across Milvia. But two, it's also around funding. When we eventually, if this building were to be built and were to be opened, you will require some additional staff, for example, some additional SSOs to be placed in this building across the street. But if you make it an open campus for every period for students to move back and forth across Milvia, now you're increasing your staffing even more because you're opening and closing that campus between every single period. Right now it's an open campus at lunchtime. So I point this out just because it's in there and it's something that can be discussed. But the primary reason why it's in there again is this is just a massing study. It's

140to see what fits and what fits where. And when we first considered the idea of a bridge, obviously what we don't want to do is make it that that bridge removes a classroom from an existing building as a pathway. And what we saw was that it actually lines up perfectly to implement something like this. So next slide. So Mullering Field, we looked at three different proposals and I want to give credit where credit is due and that is you know we have a very active tennis community in Berkeley and with that um there there are some architects and designers who work here and originally what we were hearing from our design team was that the maximum number of courts that you can fit in that space was four and the Berkeley community they spoke up

141and they were very vocal about telling us no we've mapped it out you can fit We did go back and we pushed back on our designers to figure it out and they were able to figure out how to fit that and actually how to fit more as you'll see you go into the next slides. So why five courts? One of the things that we've also learned from all this programming is working with tennis coaches and our athletic directors is really to continue or to be able to host matches per CIF. We do need to offer five courts so that that can happen. The first option shows five tennis courts in the current green space. Um, no real changes uh to the baseball field itself as far as size or anything like that. on the bottom

142left under the tennis courts, and I apologize that it's not shown on these these drafts, these sketches, there would be a uh uh an infrastructure building that includes restrooms and changing rooms, but it does relocate the existing basketball court that's used very heavily by BTA and BIS [clears throat] to the far right of the field. That creates several challenges in the sense from BTA's perspective as they lose sighteline for uh supervision while that court is in effect, but it also chews up half of the green space that's been still left available as open for the community at any time. So, next slide. Option two. What we looked at was is there a way to possibly offer even more for our BTA and BIS students and the community and implement a track. And if we did

143that, then we would absolutely be limited down to four courts. Um, and we had a track option. And then we also would have the basketball court on the far side of the field. Option three, which is what the subcommittee uh approved on the far right of your screen there, we're able to maintain the all of the green space that's existing on that end of the field for community use. We are able to fit five tennis courts and move the basketball court to the far side of the field where BTA still has direct line of sight even with the infrastructure building in place. Um, this does allow us to bring back tennis to B USD facilities. It allows us to maintain basketball. Um, all of this can be used by BTA and BIS. and it also

144keeps softball in its existing home at Berkeley High since what we're talking about now is a potential new building across the street. So, next slide. So, this is something that I talked about at subcommittee meeting just to really show the community that we are listening. One of the we we heard a lot of concerns, right? And there were a lot of repetitive concerns around Mullering Field. But one of the things that we even heard is in that neighborhood, not only are they most pressed for community space, but that open green space at Mullering Field is currently the only place that a lot of people have to even walk their dog, right? We have this tiny little parcel of land, and I recognize that it could be taken as like, wow, you're going to offer us

145that, but it's something in an effort to try to find a solution. Um, behind BTA on the corner on MLK where the arrow is pointing to, there's a very small lot that's currently paved and fenced in and it's not offered as additional parking for BTA uh to extend their parking lot just because we can't get into it. Uh, going from the BTA parking lot, we have a large PG& transformer and we're too close to the curb to offer curb cuts. So, it's really a waste of land. So if we were able to do a partnership with the city around maintaining it, we can even turn that into a community dog park. Next slide. So another piece that we did talk a lot about in the past is community engagement, but I think it's important to

146note here because I was listening to the comments tonight even about please don't do this and so on and so forth. And I I don't disagree, but what I would say is that the the way that community engagement and board approvals work for facilities in education is that facilities is required to come and talk to the board prior to making any decisions or to moving forward to even spend dollars to study things, to design things, etc. So we're a little bit broken or backwards, not us, but the education system as a whole in the sense of we have to publicly talk about something, but then we're asked to engage before we've had the opportunity to even truly study it. So that's why the engagement started out very slowly on this project. Right? Moving forward, what

147you see on the left is a list of the engagement that happened. But even taking comments out of that engagement, what we heard was that when we did offer like a listening session at BTA is that not enough time was afforded. So one of the things that we would like to do or that we're planning to do around this is as far as community engagement goes, we plan on doing two sessions right off the bat that are actually nothing but listening. And what we want to hear is really the community's concerns, the input, either the support for or the opposition of the project and the reasons why. We plan on doing two 2-hour sessions to start. Uh the first one being virtual to allow for people to show up. It's a little bit easier sometimes

148virtually. And then there was also a strong need for in-person engagement. So, understanding how December is very difficult for a lot of people with the holidays, we wanted to do a two-hour virtual listening session in December with a in-person followed up in January. Following that, we would do a report out in February. That would be just anformational meeting and it would also help us define what the future community engagement looks like and when that would happen. In addition to those community engagement meetings, there's opportunity for design input and programming meetings. So from January to March, we would do an internal stakeholders design input meeting around the building. And we would follow that from March to June. And these are these dates can be fluid, right? For external stakeholders, we want to hear their input on

149design. And really, it's it's going to land in the neighborhood. It's going to land in the downtown district directly across from Berkeley High. This is a very visual area. So, we want to give the community the opportunity for that input. In February of 26, we would have an internal stakeholder design meeting with athletics. That includes the administration at the high school, BTA, and BIS. It includes our athletic directors, our coaches, etc. And then from March uh to May roughly is an external stakeholders design meeting around just the athletics which in this case is mowering field. Now it's not to say that it'll absolutely happen at mowering field. I've heard desires to say hey put the tennis courts up on the roof of the new building. Um, just at a quick look, it doesn't fit as

150far as we can see it just because the footprint is while we're still taking up the whole lot, we're not building a rectangular cube and dropping it on the lot. But it's not to say that it definitely doesn't or we can't design it so it will. That's something that we have to further study. Um, next slide. So, estimated costs. The current CE project is trending at 49.7 million. Um, and that is a board authorized project. What we're suggesting is that we do not move forward with that and instead we ask the board to consider moving forward with the larger project. So, what does that look like? Well, as we showed you option three of the building as well as option three of mowering field, both subcommittee approved. Right now, all we can give you is

151a conceptual cost based on conceptual design. That project can range anywhere from 130 to 180 million. And if the board had a desire to say, you know what, we don't we we have no interest in putting parking there, right? We don't want to put parking there. The teachers are going to have to figure it out or whatever the answer is. What we estimate we can reduce that by is roughly $20 million. So with that, I'm going to stop the presentation for a few minutes. I think we should go to questions or any conversation around this and then we can come back to pick up the next part of the presentation. >> Board members, it looks like Director Schnowki has your hand raised. Um, Director Schnowski, and then [clears throat] >> please proceed. >> I'll I'll

152ask a couple of questions. I might want to ask a couple more. Um, but I'll leave some space for others. Um the first thing is um with the PE facilities, I mean this is going to be a long-term project. So I'm just wondering like do we have an estimate of the cost per student for the PE kind of or sorry the gym square footage required per student so we understand the need for a new gym. And then also, do we have a sense of what we're going to do in the interim until this new building is built, where all the students will go to do their PE? Um, just as an understanding of why the space would be needed. That's my first question. And then I have a question about [clears throat] the parking as

153well. >> Okay. So the requirement around what's needed for PE, I would have to dig into Title 5 a little bit more to really understand that the square footage. But what I can tell you is based on my conversations with the high school, based on my understanding of the master schedule, so on and so forth, right now our gym space is absolutely maxed out. And the saving grace is always and has been is the field that's outdoors, the athletics plaza, etc. But what that doesn't do is solve for rainy days. It doesn't solve for when the field is wet, etc. So, right now, without adding all of the new ninth graders or all of the ninth graders into PE, they're really pushing the gyms beyond capacity. What will happen once you add and uh director

154Hugen or I'm sorry, Associate Superintendent Hugandike, correct me if I'm wrong, I think you said about 560 9th graders, right? What'll happen is what happens at a lot of schools, which is on those rainy days or on the days that it's wet, you get 140, 150 kids in a gym walking in a circle and they're walking in a circle so that you can check the box of physical education, but it's not providing education and we're trying to solve for that sooner. >> Great. Thank you. Um, my other question is around the parking. So, I think, you know, we've heard it loud and clear from community members that no one wants to build parking. Um, but we have, you know, this real constraint. Um, parking was built was written into this bond as a top priority

155for Berkeley High because our teachers and staff need uh the parking. They're they're driving in. Um, and so I would like to understand more about the possibilities around um different options for parking aside from the option of simply saying we're not going to do it. Um, and and if that can be studied um so that we understand and maybe some more community engagement around that. >> Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead. Well, the and then the last question just so that I can shut up or I mean be quiet um is um what exactly are you asking for us tonight? Because I think there's some confusion about what it is, what the action actually is tonight. So I I want it to be very clear what you are asking of us as a board tonight. >>

156Yeah, absolutely. So, the the parking, you know, we did a lot of research on it and we spent a fair amount of legal dollars working on that when we were discussing it a few years ago. Um, as far as there was an there was a request for us to rent spaces from the city. There was a request for us to buy spaces in the city garage and renting spaces unless it's for an a an an interim condition. Meaning like if you were redoing the existing parking lot, right? and you needed interim housing for those cars, you can rent that out of in a short term out of the bond just like you would rent a modular or a mobile, but you can't rent them long-term or in perpetuity with bond dollars. So, the only way

157that that would get done is uh unfortunately either an encroachment to the general fund or it would come directly from staff. We were also asked to research if we could buy the spaces from the city and under the current bond, we cannot. What we learned is that we would actually have to pass a separate bond. So, let we've talked about the possibility of going out for a facilities bond in 2028. As I understand it, uh we would actually have to go for potentially two bonds. There would have to be a general obligation facilities bond and then a general obligation bond to actually purchase spaces from the city. But whether or not that's an option or how we would af at this point cuz years have passed, right? Or how we would even afford to partner

158with the city on their ongoing maintenance costs because the city operates a commercial garage which is very different than what we're looking at here. And I remember in 2x2 when we discussed their maintenance cost several years ago, it was exponentially higher than what it would cost us to operate a private garage. So the those operating costs also cannot be bond funds. So then we have to figure out if those operating costs are X per year, how are we funding that? So at the time the you know when we determined right off the bat we couldn't afford it. The question was well pay for it out of the maintenance tax. Well okay but if you do that now you can no longer afford to upkeep your buildings, right? So, it's it's it's a problem because to

159buy them is one thing, but then to pay the operating costs that continue to move on is a bigger problem for us, right? Not to say that we won't re-engage and continue those conversations. I think we should I think we should resurface those conversations and they start at the 2 by 2, right? And we can have them, but I don't have the answers. I don't I don't have a a blank checkbook, right? [snorts] So, that's the first. And then, um I apologize. It just slipped my mind. It's getting late. What was your next question? What am I asking you for? What's the action? Right. Thank you. Sorry. Uh so really the action on this particular project is we're asking the board for authority to begin with the design. Now let me be very clear. What

160we can afford to do out of this current bond is actually design out this project. Whether it be the entire project that we see as option three across the street and mulling field or maybe it's something smaller than that. We can engage if it's the board's desire with our design team if you give action to say hey go ahead and move forward with designs but only start the designs on really the CTE cuz that building if you look at it in the in in the massing study is sort of broken into sections right so can we begin the design work that we would really need at least on the classroom side of the building with further community engagement further conversations with the board with city council with 2 by two and everyone everyone else to

161then really determine do you want to incorporate parking into it. The same holds for mullering field by authorizing the the the concept of option three for mullering field. It's not telling the community this is what we're doing yet, right? It's telling the community that we are committing that we're going to do something, right? facilities is authorized to do the work that it needs to do, but we wouldn't start the design work around Mullering Field until that community engagement is scheduled to end which is I believe it was around May I said earlier. Does that does that capture all your qu Okay, good. Thank you. >> Okay, great. Thank you. And then Director Vasadev. [clears throat] >> Yeah, thank you so much for the presentation tonight. I you know both at the committee at the subcommittee

162meeting now for the rest of the board who wasn't there I continue to have concerns about the bridge design so for me yes to CTE yes to Mullerfield but I do have concerns about the parking spots right because today we found out new information there's there was a council member who wasn't here in the capacity of a council member but did share that she has it on good authority right that there's openness to engage in the garage and maybe can maybe the conversation has changed now from where it was previously and I remember being part of the 2 by 2 when those initial conversations took place and we couldn't get to an understanding on how to how to use the kur garage in a situation where it was going to be a win for the

163district and a win for the city and so I know we have a new city manager and we have like new leadership I would you know urge the staff if we can to have those conversations since so many people showed up today um around the the potential use of the garage at the 2x two to see how if conditions have changed right and and if there's more willingness particularly on behalf of the city which there could be because we have a new city manager now and also right I do have concerns about the bridge because it would go over a protected bike bike bike lane and also I think it's important to when for a design element like that that it doesn't have a negative impact on the current bike lane and also um that

164we explore things like you know the crossing at Washington where we've closed the street there's there's city input that we need to know to really know what are other potential alternatives and I know that we had this conversation in facility sub that maybe we're not there yet but when we put a a schematic like that out there right I think it's it's worth um having those conversations with the city to see what other creative solutions could be found besides the bridge so those are the two elements both the parking garage and the bridge that I have concerns with. But I do also understand that there are staff members like, you know, sped teachers or IAS or, you know, folks that have to come in quickly, find a spot and go serve our children, right, who

165may need parking. And so I think reopening that conversation and in the 2 by two where there seems to be more willingness to support now on on the city side and I and I am grateful for the residential parking permits that the city um supported us with last time but there seems to be there seems to be more willingness to to support even more and so um let's entertain those conversations at the 2x two before making any final calls around the parking lot. >> Oh absolutely I absolutely agree. So to to director Schnowski's question earlier, right, hearing director Schnowski and director Vasadev, not hearing from the rest of the board yet, but the direction on this could be the action can be, hey, move forward with design, move forward with community engagement, leave the parking

166structure out of it for now, right? And you know what, the bridge is a maybe, right? I hear you. The the I understand where you're coming from and you and I had a little a chance to speak about this following the meeting, director Vasadev, right? But one, the parking, and it is semantics, and I recognize this, right? But we're not building a parking garage to add more parking spaces. We're trying to offer replacement parking so that we do not walk backwards, right? The last thing we want to do is over a decade worth of work and partnership with the city around those residential parking permits, right? And then find ourselves back in the same place where we once were before. And in regards to the bridge, I'm not married to it, right? it. But keeping

167in mind the bridge is really designed to ensure student safety with minimal operating costs as well. Right. So it's it's it's a conversation that can be further had. It wouldn't impede upon the the bike way the the bike lane the protected bike lane that's there. It wouldn't impede, you know, there's restrictions that we have to follow just around height clearances and whatnot to allow for trucks for fire trucks, etc. So it it I I hear what you're saying and I I I get your concern, right? and it's something that will all be part of that community engagement but also those meetings that are to come with the city. >> Okay, thank you so much. Um, director Schnowski has a question and then Vice President Korn, >> is it okay, Jen? Director, Vice President K. Um,

168just really quickly just following up on that. I think that um John, you made a good point. It's like we the previous project that we that we pulled was [clears throat] building a parking garage that was actually expanding the number of spaces available for parking for our staff and that was pulled with community input and for good reason. But I I think that there is a very big distinction between this proposal and that proposal. Um, and and so I just want to point that out. And then the other thing is I would be remiss if I didn't say, you know, I really support exploring. I think that it's fine to explore putting the tennis courts on top of any building we build, but I also would like to understand the costs associated with um further

169putting those tennis courts at Mullering and utilizing that space a little bit better. Again, I I really appreciate preserving that green space along Milia for the community there and the creativity of the um dog park area. Um but especially the girls tennis team. We we heard a little bit from some of the tennis players, but I know that the girls tennis team right now is practicing on two different sets of courts every week and then their matches are on a different court. there's no place to store any of their equipment. Um they have had tons of overturn of the coaches on of that team and it just it seems to me that it really is in our best interest to move forward with that as quickly as possible if it's viable and we can use

170the current bond funds to do so. So I I >> and we're going to touch on that a little bit later too, just so you know. >> Okay. I I would like to explore that and I also as you know and I've mentioned at facility subcommittee with Anna um have concerns about the bridge. So >> thank you. I'll hand it over to uh Vice President Cord. >> Um thank you to all of the great questions that both of you already asked. You asked many of the things that I was already going to raise. I just have one additional question about parking. Um, in this conversation when we were talking about the parking permits, um, it was sort of implied that the city has given B USD all of those parking permits that are now being

171used by Berkeley High teachers and staff. But didn't Berkeley High teachers and staff actually have to pay for their own? Yeah, they gave us the authority to purchase them, which previously because of the zone that it's in of the downtown business district, Berkeley High was actually always excluded. So, yeah, I believe the the current cost and I don't know if uh principal Goza is still on right now, but I if I remember correctly, the the cost was right about 13,000 a year for the parking permits, >> but I believe this year teachers paid for it themselves. Yeah, the first year there was a benevolent donor who helped because the the permits were everything was passed with the city council long past budget development and it was, you know, was coming up into the summer and

172it was like, okay, great. We're going to get these permits and how do we fund it, right? Cuz there was absolute concern around going to staff that late and so on and so forth. So, we did reach out and uh and a benevolent donor had had offered to help that first year with us with those funds. Great. So, I just raised that to kind of stamp the need to continue these negotiations with the city um in the hopes that we can work together to solve these parking issues that are that are really real for many of our staff who are commuting from far away to serve our kids. >> Yeah, absolutely. >> Absolutely. Thank you. And just reflecting what Vice President Warren said, I do agree as well. um of the uh importance of the

173parking issue and engaging with the city to ensure that there's a partnership um to to figure out, you know, whether it be the permits and or the spots in the existing parking spots. But I also understand as director Shinasi noted that um we do need parking availability for our teachers and staff. They they they drive in. Um so uh I do want to are there any other questions? I'm going to let um uh the presentation move on because we're we still have more. Okay, great. If we could proceed, that'd be great. Thank you. >> Great. Next slide. having a temporary technical issue. Pull up this next slide. Apologies, my laptop like Hold on just a second. >> That's okay. Thank you, Miss Charas. >> Yeah, >> Miss Charizard, I believe if you escape out of

174uh presentation slideshow mode and then go back into it, you should be able to work through that. >> Thank you. Let me try that. There we go. >> Okay. >> So, the next piece of it is our uh measure G budget update, but it also plays to director Schnowsky's question around doing Mullering Field sooner than later if Mullering field is where the decision lands. Um, and the really the the short answer of that is maybe. There's still a lot of variables and unknowns right now. Um, particularly there's there's three that are really sort of the biggest ones that we have to think about. We still don't have a final guaranteed maximum price or GMP for Longfellow. Um, we anticipate having that early next year. We should be out of DSA finally with everything the end

175of this year. Um, so that right there is an unknown because while we know what we're trending towards, what we don't know is the final DSA comments and those DSA comments will impact schedule as well as pricing. We also don't know final GMP for the theater. We know that the theater right now is trending at about total project cost at about 130 million. Um that theater again just to remind everybody because we hear that and there's a little bit of sticker shock right when we look at all of the buildings across B USD that theater had the greatest seismic risk and was actually in the greatest need of modernization just from a safety standpoint besides for usability. Why is it up to 130? it's predominantly driven by all of the seismic factors that have to

176be done that we continue to find as we go through and finalize the design on that project. And then lastly is uh state income and state funding. So we qualify for the SFP or we participate in SFP the school facilities program under the state which is uh they call it a 50% match. It's usually about 25 30%. under that um state facility program. We know that we are currently conceptually approved for 43 million and change for the theater and roughly for another 30 million is what's anticipated just for Longfellow. But there's several steps that have to happen in that one is you have your conceptual approval with the Office of Public School Construction. Then you actually move to DSA concurrence and approval of that. Then you have to wait for the state allocation board to

177put you to to give you your dispersement. Once you make the workload list, it's not a question of if you're going to get the funds, then it becomes a question of when. And that's really determined based upon when the state sells their bonds. Now, we can predict when that is, and we have predicted when that is just based on their trends and how they're moving their bonds, but what I don't want to do is say, "Okay, the decision is to put the tennis courts here or wherever it is." But, and we're going to have more money in a year and a half. Let's build it. And then there's a delay with state funding because then we're writing checks that we can't cash, right? So the the the short answer is yeah, we'll move it forward,

178but we can't say for sure that when we'll move it forward because there's these three factors that are really playing into that. Um, so and what you see here is just sort of the cash flow and how we figure out because when and I've talked about this to the board in the past, but when we just because we authorized the community authorized $380 million of general obligation bonds in 2020, we don't put $380 million in the bank. when we sell those bonds is very strategic not only as to when we need the money but it also has to do with doing everything we can to keep the tax base as low as we can because ultimately it's the property owners that are paying that back. Next slide. So on that actually do we have any

179questions around the the cash flow and whether or not we can make those adjustments right or make those commitments right now or why or should I move to the next part of the presentation >> or members any questions I'm not seeing any proceed please okay next slide [clears throat and cough] so this last one is around the what we're calling the BHS SD SDC facility. Um, and what this is is there was a need that's been communicated by our superintendent, our ED services team, as well as our special ed team to really be able to add greater capacity at the high school to serve some of some of our special ed students. um currently we don't have the space to actually serve them and a lot of times the space that we have is not

180necessarily appropriate. So when we when we started the programming on this we started with the why and what came out of ed services but particularly special ed was we needed to offer something that was more structured but also restrictive than a CEC class but less restrictive than a non-public school. We also needed to help students and I I underline this because it's so important but create a facility where it's not only the education but it's also the facility that helps students transition back to general ed classes. So if you take them and you if you silo our students outside of the high school, it does become a little bit harder like if you were to put them into an NPS to transition back later. whereas this is sort of being thought about and designed of

181how do we create sort of a satellite campus within the campus and then be able to work that the special ed team is able to work to transition these students back to general ed classes when they're ready. So we talked about just the different design features once we understood the programming needs what those core components looked like to really build out a proper facility um and then instructional design and that's what you see here. So what we came up with, if you move to the next slide please, is where [clears throat] we used to house the portables in the athletic plaza behind the uh stadium. We housed portables there for a few years while we were under construction for the community theater. That's actually not only the ideal space, but it's the only space on

182the campus where we could build this without taking away the one area of campus green that we have that basically serves 3,200 students, which is the quad outside the C building. The benefit of this is the athletics plaza is relatively a quiet space with little activity during the school day. Now, after the school day, that's not the case. That area is absolutely bustling with activity but during the day it is probably one of the more quiet spaces on if not the quietest space on the campus. So next slide. So what we looked at based on the programming needs from those meetings were there was a need for two classrooms. There was also a need for some independent study space. There's a need for counseling offices to support this our our students. Um, there is a

183need for what you see in green towards the left is a large genderneutral bank of restrooms, but then also what our special ed team was calling some anxiety pods, some sensory pod areas where students who had high anxiety could go to be able to come down and not necessarily have to leave for the school day. Additionally, there's not only a desire but a need for outdoor space for al for all of the classrooms, but also some secluded counseling outdoor space. So, that's what you see here on the floor plan. Next slide. These are just and I put a few slides together of renderings of what we could potentially do here um for the cost that I am proposing. Next slide. And this is the exterior of the building as well as what those courtyards would

184look like. And I think there might be one more slide. I don't remember. I'm sorry. Next slide. Yeah. So, um, what we're proposing to do here is actually use a product called Cube, which these are not portables. They're they're modular, but where they stand apart from all other modular buildings. Most modular buildings are trucked on site and put together on site. These are actually sticku built buildings. So they're built the same way as all other buildings on the campus, but some sections actually come modular. And by doing this, we can actually keep our costs low. And right now, the total anticipated project cost for this SDC facility, as we show on there's an attachment to the presentation, our updated budget sheet, uh, is right about 6 million to build out this facility. So with that,

185um, Miss Chadz, if you want to stop presenting, uh, we can definitely take some questions. >> Thank you. Board members, you've got questions. >> Thank you. And so I've got a quick question. Um, where where the funds for the 6 million, they would come from, just so everybody understands, where would they come from? uh they'd come from our existing funding in measure G because what we would be doing is that 49.7 that we had earmarked um under the the attachment which is the budget update some of the changes is like the 49.7 there was a little bit of money I don't recall the amount I'm sorry uh that was already allocated to the CE project right that that we've already spent on the initial designs uh it would be allocating the design dollars for the

186CE project as a It would be allocating the dollars here and it would also be used to really offset what was being advanced funded for the state and what we have to continue to fund until we get state funds coming back in. So it would come out of measure G. Okay, great. Thank you. I mean my feeling is that um you know having a uh you know whatever you want to call it SEC or learning center a space that provides a further um a variety or scope of individualized education for inclusivity um uh is a I think it's something that is important to the district um and may support our sped programming uh to provide more flexibility um to have that separate building at $6 million dollars seems um like a very reasonable uh value.

187Um but uh you know I think it may may involve a little bit more conversation but it's a it's a great to me it's a very interesting start. Um Director Shinowski and then Vice President Korn. >> Yeah, I'm really excited to explore that possibility too. Um Director Chang's question actually prompted me to just want to make a quick comment and that is I think that it can be confusing. um to the public in general when we're talking about these kinds of dollars and these kinds of allocations while at the same time talking about like budget balancing solutions and uh difficulties meeting the needs of our labor partners and their um and their contractual requests. So I just want to emphasize that this is a different funding stream that's very restricted. So, um, all of these

188construction projects are, you know, bond measure dollars that are specifically earmarked for these types of projects and can't be used for any of those other things. So, it just prompted me to say that because we had a couple public comments that I think confused um, those resource is a little bit and I I think it's important to just emphasize that again and again. I appreciate that because I've talked about that so much that I don't even think to sort of start with that and that's important. Um, you know, we've done we we are super restricted with how we can spend these dollars, right? This is this is a building fund that it's used for just that. We've done the projects to actually upgrade our efficiencies and things like that. Uh, the bill is what it

189is, right? We only have so much of a footprint to offset the PG& bill any further. Um, so we've done a lot of those, but ultimately, yeah, we cannot use this money when we talk about contract negotiations or for any other funding other than building. So, thank you for that. >> That's super important. That's legally binding based on the measures. Uh, Vice President Korn. >> Yeah, I it's um I think this is a really exciting idea. Um, and it's raising a bunch of sort of programmatic questions for me, which maybe you're not exactly the right person to to answer them, but I'm I'm well, first I'm wondering how many students would be would be served by these two classrooms. Second, I'm just sort of wondering about flexibility of the space and whether it would just

190be two self-contained classes of students who would be served or whether there might be other students who would have access to those spaces as needed during the day. To your point actually about like sometimes students with high anxiety need a place to deescalate. And to President Chang's point about more of a learning center model, like I'm wondering how we might be able to use that space more flexibly to serve needs of many different students. And then the third question that's coming up for me is whether having a space like this would enable programming that would help us to bring back students who are currently going to non-public schools or being served in other settings. >> Yeah. The third question that you had is one of the things that really sparked my curiosity and why we

191started looking at this, right, is can we bring those students back to BUSD. The first two questions, while I think I can answer them, it's it's not my Bailey Wick, right? So, I'm I'm definitely going to defer to Superintendent Ford Morell or Associate Superintendent Huggenike uh to help answer those questions. They we did talk about different models uh during programming, but I'm going to pass to them. Yeah. Um, good evening again. Um, so in those conversations, what we were looking at is some variation of a of a more like an SDC type class for the high school. Um, because we don't really have anything between Berkeley High and then NPS. Um, I think what was helpful in the conversations that we had with John and his team was how space might be used to be

192more flexible. Um, so we talked about spaces um that would enable um counselors to meet individually with students um to have small groups. So I think in you know and that we didn't want it to be a space that felt like it was totally isolated from the rest of the campus but how do we address some of the bigger concerns that we have been hearing from families that Berkeley High is too big for some of the students that have specific needs um in a way that would also allow them to be part of the broader Berkeley High community. Yep. That's why I deferred to Jill. Definitely said more eloquently than I can explain it. >> Yeah, thank you to both of you. Um, are there any other comments or questions? Just for the board here,

193just as director Schnowski previously asked, you want to make sure you understand what the ask is here. >> Yeah. So, so really I think based on the feedback that I've gotten from the board, I would ask for action on the following. I would ask for action on updating our measure G budget sheet as as it was submitted. I would ask for action on moving forward with a contract around this uh SDC facility or whatever we're we you know we want to call that. Um and then I would also ask for action around allocating the money that we're asking for for design um around the CNE project with the caveats that the parking is still going to the parking and the bridge are still going to continue to be studied and we'll start that work while

194we're studying that and working with the community as well as our city partners and same with Mullering field that we'll continue to engage with our community which is really just it's about another 7 months months uh prior to actually pulling the the trigger on the design portion of that. Um so that'll allow us also to sort of get in the queue with our architects as far as when they can start planning their staff to do the appropriate design work. Okay, everybody understand the three kind of pieces here? Any any questions about those three piece? I know there's a lot going on here. >> No. Oh, sorry. Director Corn, I was going to say just for specificity that the exploration of the parking lot and the bridge that that's going to happen at the 2 by

195two that it's important to engage. My direction is that it's important to engage with city partners, not just the community. >> Yeah. No, I thought I said city as well if I didn't. >> That's okay. No worries. That's what I clarified. [laughter] >> It's community and city partners. >> Okay, [clears throat] that's great. Thank you. So, just to be very specific, we're talking about the 2 by two, putting them into 2 by two as a formal committee um to have that engagement any other questions or comments on the ask? >> And John, as part of that, you're going to explore the um the tennis court, the possibility of the tennis courts being on top of the building as well as the cost associated with the mullering field upgrades. >> Yeah, that's why. Yeah. So we'll

196continue to explore all that and that's why we wouldn't hit design of the athletics piece of this till much till another seven months or so. >> Great. And as part of that I'd love to understand a timeline for that project. You know the the two options and the potential timeline. >> Sure. >> But otherwise I'll make the motion. >> Please please do proceed. >> Would you like to make the motion directors? I just did. I'll second. >> Oh, you just moved it. [laughter] Okay. I'm accustomed to people stating it out very specifically, but that's cool. I think we heard a lot of it. It's been moved. First by director Shinoski, second did by director Based. Um, I think we have to do a roll call because we're online. >> Correct. Um, student director. >> Yes.

197>> Director Basv, >> yes. Director Shinowski, >> yes. >> Vice President Korn, >> yes. >> President Chain, >> yes. >> Motion carries unanimously. >> So, thank you. And what I will say also because it has come up in conversations around the SDC facility or the learning center or you know when can we potentially turn this and by you know I wanted to point this out earlier but by doing this as what's considered to be a pre-check DSA modular we still have to go to DSA but it's a lot easier and with modular construction there's no way I can actually turn this for August of 26 but it is very possible that we can actually have a ribbon cutting around January of 27, right? So, no guarantees yet. We have to start contract uh full-on contract

198negotiations, but this is something that unlike most of our DSA projects that that last facility is something that we should be able to move relatively quickly. >> Okay, that's great to know. Thank you so much. and thanks for um uh working to uh you know be innovative and in managing the different space and needs concerns in a flexible manner. >> Okay. So we are at um extended public comment. I'm going to pull up my thing here to see who we have for public comment. There seems to be 52 people online. Is that possible still? No. And we have um one we have two Lindsay Nofelt and Jane Logan who have their hands raised. Do have anybody else here hands raised? I don't see anybody. And of the two the two are I'm assuming they're not

199students. They haven't stated. So Oh, Lindsay just Oh, she's being elevated. Lindsay is coming up. >> Hi um board members. Thank you very much for the robust discussions. I just have one really quick question. Um, I'm a voting member on DC, the disability equity, and I forget what the acronym really stands for, but it's something like that. And um, this this special day building, the special day classroom seems to be an important part of something that this committee would be interested in understanding and knowing about and engaging on. and this board presentation was the first we've heard of it. So, I just want to add that as something that in the future um I think it would be nice to use our committees for this kind of thing. >> Thank you. >> Great. Thank you

200so much. Um, next sign up is Jane Logan. Jane should be elevated now. >> Sorry. I think I'm >> There you here now. Um, as a tennis parent, I just wanted to re-emphasize the timing of the decisions and I know the need for engagement with the Mullering Field project, but um, we've looked at, I think, almost six full generations of tennis players that have been homeless. And so, the longer it takes to make a decision and to decide how to move forward, the more players are displaced in their tennis careers at Berkeley High. So, I'd just like to um encourage the board to look at how they can move more quickly on that piece of the project. And there is a potential, as one of the other speakers said, for private public participation and funding

201um for the courts themselves. US is very interested in helping to support urban courts and has worked with a lot of other districts on these types of projects and so I'm sure they'd like to engage if funding is an issue. Thank you. Um let's see. I don't see any other speakers online. Uh unless I've missed something. Uh do board members have extended comments? I do not. So I think we are adjourned. Thank you so much for great conversation and pivoting online today too successfully. Bye-bye.