Berkeley USD Regular School Board Meeting - June 18, 2025

001Good evening. Good evening. Good evening everyone. Thank you all so much for joining us for the June 18th meeting of the Berkeley Unified School District Board of Education. First, we have to apologize for starting the meeting so so late. But we really want to thank you in advance for your grace because you know that when we start late, we are not just twiddling our fingers, but we are actually handling the important business of the district session. So thank you for the grace that you're providing to us in advance for starting so late and thank you for the for understanding that we needed to take care of some very important very timely items. I know that doesn't feel good because then that means that we impact your time but thank you for understanding. We will begin

002our board meeting as always with a call to order at 8:32 p.m. Uh we need to approve this evening's agenda. Is there a motion to approve? moved by director. Is there a second? Second by director. Misski is joining us online and so what we will need to do actually what we will need to do is actually hear publicly and then after that we will need to enter a motion to accept her participation. So Charles Test director Anna Vasudv. Yes. Director Jennifer Shinowski. We'll try. Director Jennifer Korn. Yes. Vice President Mike Chang. Yes. President Kada Brown. Yes. And uh Director Shinaski should be promoted by now. Can you hear us? She's muted. Yes. Thank you. Thank you, Director Showski, for your vote. Uh, at this time, I'll entertain a a motion for her remote participation. I'll

003move to do so. Moved by Director Chang. Is there a second? I'll second. Seconded by Director Kor. Miss Char, can you call the role again? Director Vasadev. Yes. Director Kor, yes. Vice President Chang, yes. President Brown, yes. Uh, Vice President Chang, can you please report out from close session? Uh, yes. Uh, President Brown, um, 3 point 3.1.1, uh, council provided update and recommendation. Director Korn move. President President Brown seconded, excuse me. Board voted unanimously. 3.1.2 Council provided update and recommendations. Uh, Director Korn moved. President Brown seconded. Board voted unanimously. Director Shinowski was on approved leave. Council provided recommendation with regard to 3.1.3. Board provided input. President Brown moved. Director Korn seconded. Board voted unanimously. Director Shinoski was on approved leave. Um 3.2.1 Council provided update and recommendation. Board provided input. Vice President Chang moved. Director

004of Asadev seconded. Board voted unanimously. 3.3 District provided recommendation. Director of Acadev move. Vice President Chang seconded. Board voted unanimously. Um 3.4 district provided update. Director Shinoski moved. Director Kin seconded board voted unanimously. Uh 3.5 uh board discuss evaluations previously provided. Thank you for the report out. Uh at this time we'll move to our first opportunity for public comment. As a reminder we have 30 minutes for this time. Uh and that includes our public commenters who are both here in person and who are online. I have a few uh public comment cards. And so I will begin. I will call your first name and the first initial of your last name. Um and I'll call people by two. And I'm going to ask that when you hear your name called, can you please uh either

005come directly to the podium to speak or to stand uh in line in the queue to speak? Uh next, Miss Chariz is there any more information that you need to share regarding public comment? All right. We will begin our public comment period right now at 8:37 PM with the first comment from Mildred S followed by um a comment from Ros S. Each public commenter will have one minute. Good evening board. As we close out this school year, I had hoped to stand here with a message of resolution and healing, but instead I stand here with concern because 17 BCCE members are still facing layoffs and the damage from those decisions is already being felt across the district. These are not layoffs caused by a lack of work. They are the result of poor decisions. decisions

006that shifted essential duties away from BCCE positions, created unnecessary high level roles and ignored the warning size ignored the warning signs that we made all year. And I say we, not you, because this is our district. And when we when wrong choices are made, we all feel it some more than others. We still need to find 1.7 million, but let's be honest, that gap could have been closed or at least narrowed if we had let go of new newly added positions and returned that work to BCCE. Instead, we chose a more expensive path and now classified staff are being laid off while the work continues and gets pushed into fewer shoulders. And I just want to end with this if I may. Washington, Longfellow, King, BTE, Ruth Acne, and of Specialists. These people who've supported

007families through legal systems, who've built bridges between schools and communities, who've led programs like adjusting crowns and point collaborated with the middle school. Two school ECE admin roles knowing full well the workload remains on top they the fact that they feel they will have a new supervisor. We're not just eliminating jobs. We're unraveling the trust and support systems our students and families rely on. So tonight I ask the board to reflect not just on the numbers but on the impact on students and on families. Thank you. Thank you. Next we will hear from Ros S. Ros S, are you here? It asks for you to be on the queue. Okay. No. Ros S. We will now move on to Georgia M followed by Jose R. Georgia M. Are you here? Okay. We will move on

008to Jose R followed by Danner D. Hello, Jose. Welcome. Good evening. Uh, my name is Jose Rubio. Um, born Berkeley native and went to King myself. But I'll start with the reading um to get through it. Dear esteemed board members and superintendent, I'm here today with an urgent and heartfelt plea regarding the continued funding for the OIE position at King and for Mrs. Seya. This role is absolutely critical to the well-being and development of our most vulnerable children and immigrant students. The potential loss of this funding would have a devastating and immediate impact on their lives and our community as a whole. The OIE team and Miss Yenya play as an indispensable role in providing direct support to our youth, connecting families with essential resources, developing and implementing the Latinos Unidos Club, the King and

009Equity Family Nights, offering mentorship to children facing significant challenges. Through their dedication and expertise, Yenya and the OP team ensure that the children who need it most receive the guidance, stability, and opportunities that they might not otherwise have. They are often the first point of contact for families in crisis, a consist a consistent source of encouragement for struggling students and a vital link to services and resources that prevent children from falling through the cracks. Withdrawing this funding for this position would be far more than just a budgetary cut. It would be a direct blow to the safety net that protects our children. Without this support, we can anticipate a significant increase in academic struggles. You know, I can go on and on, but I know I'm running out of time, but to get to the

010point, you know, they do a lot more for this families. And uh I will send my the the complete letter. And you know, I might be preaching to the choir, but it's very very important that you guys make the right decision. You know, I was born in Berkeley. My kids I just had a son graduate from Berkeley High. He went to King. I went to King. I have a daughter at King now. And my grandmother raised me to march through these streets and fight for what's right. And um I've helped campaign and and and knock at doors for some of these board members and help get them elected. I've done phone banking and I've also got the people out that have not been, you know, helpful to, you know, our our city and I'm just

011saying that I'll continue to support and get more involved, but please do the right thing. And thank you. Thank you. Uh next we will move on to Danner D followed by EA M. Also, um I know when we get up here and make our comments, you all, we are in it. Uh but once you hear that ding, I'm gonna ask that you just go to the end of your sentence, but I do appreciate the passion and the advocacy and so I don't want to cut anyone off, but if you all can monitor, that's all right. Don't worry about it. If you can monitor yourselves, that would be helpful. Go ahead whenever you're ready. All right. Thank you. Um my name is Danner Dow Martin. Um, I am a parent of an rising fifth grader at

012Sylvia Mendes and a rising eighth grader at Longfellow and formerly the PTA president. I am now out of the job and so I'm happy to announce that. But what I would like to say here is that um I'm very thankful that you rescended um Miss Alejandra's pink slip, but I am here to advocate for full funding for all of our OPI specialists. Um, I just spent the last hour and a half listening to these folks behind me talk about the things that they do on a regular basis. They are bridge makers. They support our families in a way that none of us can. And without their support, we would be absolutely in dire um straits. And so I am asking that you not only consider fully funding these folks, but making sure that we do

013not stretch them across multiple schools. They build trust. they and their work is um creates opportunities for the goals that you have laid out. The end. Thank you. Next, we will go to Yena M followed by Dan B. Good evening everyone. I'm here to support our OPI positions that are being cut and my OPI position at King. I just wanted to express how upsetting it is to hear that our most vulnerable families are being affected in so many ways because you are not just cutting OPI from them, but also other essential programs that support those families. My Opie position is very important at King because I support a lot of students and their families with many resources in our school and our community to make them be able to show up and not have to

014worry about personal things that are going that they're going through. One of the things in our role that I enjoy is when we help our students make connections with their teachers by helping them advocate for themselves and build relationships when they don't feel understood because they don't have connections with their teachers like we do with them. That helps them feel seen, heard, and valued as a student. It makes them want to show up and try even when things are hard at home. I can tell you that students come to my office often to let me know that about their grades, how they gone up, and when they finish a project and they did well, um or even a test. I am a safe space for them and I and and for the families too. I

015have heard from many families how stressed and worried they are thinking that I won't be there to support their students and themselves. Thank you. I'll send an email to you guys. Save Opie. Thank you, Dan B, followed by Namoda A. I'm sure you're all tired of hearing from me, but um when I saw the agenda tonight, I was uh little concerned and frustrated because while we're not preserving um of our own staff, um we are apparently preserving contracts with Amergus Speech Pathology Group, YA Healthcare, and Proare Therapy. Uh, all of them are for-profit corporations. Um, as I've mentioned before, Amerus Healthcare Staffing charges us about 55 an hour for behavior tax and Paris. They pay those people about 2350 an hour. They have 2.4 billion in revenue. I've been filing checks for them for years

016since before they were even called Amerus. Speech Pathology Group charges us 112 an hour for speech pathologists. They pay 40 to 75 for that. They have 180 million in revenue. I healthcare they charge us 108 per hour for occupational therapists. They pay about 82 for the same position. They make 8.9 billion billion with a B in revenue. Thank you. [Applause] Next we'll have Namot A followed by Tanisha W. Hello school board members. My name is Neimoteina and I come here tonight with a simple demand, equal commitment. B USD shows up with resources for staffing intention in many other communities. We applaud you for that. But when it comes to black families, you you ask us to compromise, to wait, to settle for less. Let me be clear. We're not asking for special treatment. We're asking

017for equal investment. Anything less sends a message to black f sends a message that black futures are optional to this district. You know that equality is required. Fully fund the AfricanAmerican success framework. Thank you. Thank you. And our last inerson public commenter will be Tanisha W. Good evening board members and superintendent. My name is Tanisha Walton, a proud member of the Berkeley community and founder of Black Girls United, which is a solidarity program that runs in all three of our middle schools in BUSD. And I want to be clear that the American Success Framework is not just another program. It is a blueprint for structural change. It lays out how we can get from empty promises to real outcome. It centers culturally competent teaching, ensures that our students meet the H throughg requirements, and creates

018space for black families to engage in their children's education as a united force. The framework is about building a future where black students are seen, heard, and empowered to thrive. Our educators have begun to embrace the support of culturally relevant pedagogy and practices, and it's up to you, our board members, to make sure that support continues until the vision of no child being left behind is fully realized. Please fully support and fund that African-American success framework. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I must make the biggest apology. Is your name Jia? Jamaiah. Jamaiah, we do have your public commenter card. And um you're the student, right? Jamai, what's your what's your name? I'm Jaya. This is my son. Okay. A Johnny and Jamaia, I believe, are going to make comments together. Um and because um

019a Johnny is a student, a Johnny should have been given the privilege to go first. Um so I apologize. A Johnny, I do just have um Jamaiah's card, but Jamaiah and AI, please. Jia or Jamaiah? Jamaiah and Ajani, please come at this time to make your public comment. Okay, thank you. I appreciate that. Um, I am Jamaiah and this is my son Johnny Robinson. Um, what I was speaking on was a call for commitment, not just compassion. Again, I am Jamaiah and I want to thank you for the time and energy you put into our schools. I know you care deeply about equity and that's why I'm here tonight to ask you to fully fund the African-American success framework. Um me and my son have both benefited from these type of um these meetings that

020we've um attended and we both have benefited from being able to attend this. So it was important to me that I speak on this tonight. Um the a the African-American um the African-American success framework isn't just a program. It's a communitydriven plan to close opportunity gaps that have persisted for far too long. It gives black students what every child deserves, the tools to support the culturally competent teaching they need to thrive. Again, I'd like to thank you guys for hearing me and let allowing us to speak tonight. Thank you and thank you for being here. We have five public commenters online who will be given the same amount of time for uh the public comment. Um as a reminder, if your hand is raised online, you will be permitted to speak. Um any hand that

021is raised after the public comment period begins unfortunately will not have the opportunity to speak during this public comment period. But as a reminder, we always have a second opportunity for public comment. Again, there are five public commenters and so we will receive them in the following order. Nicole H, followed by Meline R, then Patricia R, Sarah M, and we will end with Lindsay N. Uh, Miss Chavez, can you please promote Nicole H? Hi Nicole, welcome. You good evening board members. I am Nicole Harris, parent of a King Middle School student and a member of AASAC. I want to speak about the real cost of reducing support for the African-American Success Framework. This is not a neutral act. It is not just a budget decision. It tells black families again that our needs are negotiable,

022our future's dispensable, and our children's success somehow optional. We will not accept that message. We will not accept retreat when we should be advancing. Every cut to AASF Partners is a cut to trust, to hope, and to the promise of equity this district claims to uphold. fully fund the African-American success framework, not just today, but until BUSD proves it can deliver lasting, measurable equity for black students. Thank you. Thank you as well, Nicole. Next, we will hear from Meline R. Hi, my name is Maline Roberts Rich, class of 2012 Berkeley High. I'm calling again because, as you know, I feel extremely strongly that Berkeley High nutritional education program through their nth grade health curriculum is entirely inadequate. And when you want to talk about equity, this is a really important piece of it because if

023you don't properly teach kids, but primarily girls and primarily kids whose families have low incomes how to make smart nutritional choices, they get very much left behind. I'm the survivor of an eating disorder. I had huge nutritional inadequacies for many, many years. I think part of that was I was not educated at Berkeley High, which is an off-campus lunch, by the way, which makes it uniquely vulnerable to not teaching kids how to make nutritional choices. Um, I've overcome that and I feel like it needs to be improved. It could be done so cost-effectively by bringing in a nutritionist to come to give a classwide assembly to nth graders or incorporating it into some nutritional education. any really would help um into the ninth grade PE requirement that is coming up this year. It's very cost-effective

024and it's extremely urgent that kids learn how to um feed themselves and nourish themselves. I can't emphasize this enough. I'll keep coming back. Thank you very much. Thank you as well. Uh next we will hear from Patricia R followed by Sarah M. Hey, can you guys hear me? Well, very well, actually. Okay. Hey, sorry about that. My name is Patricia. My name is Mary Isil. Patricia R is my wife. I must be on her Zoom account. Uh I'm uh first of all I want to just express um my respect and admiration for the passion uh and energy of the panelists the people who have spoken before me. Those are really important topics. I'm here to speak about Oxford school site. You guys have heard from me before. Uh, and at this point, I w I

025want to just uh respectfully request that you fully give due diligence to and uh fully consider the genuine concerns when you're dealing with uh proposals uh for work on this site or development on this site um that those of us in close proximity to that site have already um provided. Uh and a primary concern is the safety of that school. It's located in the an area called the um the Keith Slide and in close proximity to the Hayward fault. So the the potential for impact on the whole neighborhood if something happens on that site is a real concern. Uh and then the other ones are are more minor and they include though um traffic congestion and parking. And I invite any of you to just walk around the proximity or drive around the proximity of

026the Oxford school site. you'll find there's already no parking anywhere. That's all I need. Thank you for your time. Thank you, Mary. Uh, next we will move on to Sarah M, followed by Anika B. Hi there. Um, I'm checking in tonight as a um counselor at King and a parent as King at King. Um, and I specifically want to support full OPI funding and then specifically the position of Yenia Moran at King. Um, first I'll say something about some things about Yenia. She's absolutely amazing. Um, in her really short time at King, she's done so much. Uh, she collaborated with a counselor to secure a Berkeley Ed fund grant for equity family nights that have brought um, large groups of students and families together in affinity groups and they share meals and connect in ways

027that was never possible at King prior to her. Um, she provides personal, deep, and consistent support for newcomer and vulnerable families at King. She's an active member of all of our grade level cost meetings. Um she started and runs Latina Uniditos and she just has so many meaningful relationships with staff and students and parents. All of these things take time to establish and um continue to build and they're not remedied or solved by splitting the job with an OIE specialist from another school. really is tied to Yennia being able to be at King and all the OV specialists being able to be at their sites full-time. It takes time to know what the needs are, to earn the trust of staff and community members, to know the resources, and then to make those connections over

028time. And I think also in this presidential climate that we have, um it's only going to get more essential. Um so much for your comments. Oh, thank you. Next we will hear from Anika B followed by our last uh online commenter which will be Lindsay N. Anika, can you guys hear me? Yes, we can hear you. Welcome, Anika. Hi. Um, just really briefly, uh, thank you guys for your time. I wanted to just speak on the importance, um, of the OFI program as well as the African-American success framework program. My daughter graduated Longfellow and she's very introverted and it really really really helped bring out something beautiful in her. She has made beautiful connections through this success framework program and I just ask that you guys please fully fund this because this program serves directly

029towards black students and our different needs. And I I just hope that um that's understood and fully funded. And I also wanted to speak on the OFI program. My son just graduated from Craigmont and the OFI support up there was beautiful. Beautiful to say the least. So I'm a little disheartened that I'm hearing the lady at King is going to be um it's not really sure what's going on with her. So I pray that you guys could keep her position there and funded. I I'm hearing great things about her and I hope my son could work with her when um he comes to King next year. So, please fully fund these great programs and I'm complete. Thank you. Thank you, Ana. Our last commenter is Lindsay in. Hi, my name is Lindsay Nofel. Speaking as

030a member of Reading for Berkeley, B USD's job is to teach kids to read, write, calculate, analyze, and think critically. We cannot lose sight of that core mission. Our educational system must remain in service of children. That's why I'm asking the board members and the public to read the information item on the literacy action plan carefully. But because 19 pages is a lot to get through, let me summarize. The USD schools have made good progress, but if we want these changes to last, the district has to keep supporting teachers, tracking progress, and making sure that every student gets the reading help they need. There are some schools who are far behind in this work, and we need to make a plan to support these schools. Teachers at all the schools need more hands-on coaching and

031training to make sure the new system is a success. Work will and should last beyond the settlement. We look forward to an update in August along with at that time the recommendation on whether BSD has met its obligation to the settlement. Thank you. Thank you as well. We will continue our public comment period with comments from our committees. If there are comm any committees present who would like to speak to the board of education, this is your time to do so. Please join us at the podium. So, good evening, superintendent, members of the board of education. My name is David Golden. I I have the privilege um of serving on the Measure I and Measure G Citizens Bond Oversight Committee. Uh, for those of you who may need some refreshing, measure I was passed in

0322010 for something like $210 million. Measure G in uh, 2020 for $380 million. Measure I is winding down and measure G is in full swing. Its work can be seen at Longfellow and at Sylvia Mendes and so many other campuses throughout the district. As as part of our role on the bond oversight committee, we have the task of of ex of receiving and reviewing the annual uh financial and performance audit to um satisfy the citizens of Berkeley, the board of education, the superintendent that all of the construction work and all of the services provided and paid for by the bond monies are done so exactly and to the language of the bond measures. And in the times that we live in where most of the news is lousy, I have nothing but good news. And

033the good news is everything the school district has done in the measure I and measure G program has been according to the auditor in accordance with everything we should be doing. And um this has been a trend over all of the years I've been on the on the committee. And it's wonderful news for a school district to report out that everything is done right, the contractors are signed, the bills are paid, the contractors are doing work, and everything is exactly the way it should be. So to that, I would like to thank the members of the board of education, uh Mr. Chang and Jennifer Shinowski who have participated in the work of the committee over the past uh year. It's not the most exciting committee to be on. So, we're grateful for their wisdom. Uh

034I'd like to have special thanks to Mr. Kiss and the entire facility staff for all their hard hard work. Uh for those of you that have listened to to about the projects at Longfellow and Sylvia Mendes, they're difficult uh timeconsuming projects and the staff has done an amazing job. And mostly I would like to just thank the citizens of Berkeley who continue to recognize how important our school district is and how important it is for us to support having some of the best facilities for our students to prosper and learn uh as we can in the Bay Area. So, thank you to all of you and I look forward to another good year of construction. And if you have any questions, I'll answer them. And otherwise, I'll quietly fade away. Thank you. Although I wish

035it was a two-way process, it is not, but I'm sure you will be available by email if the board has any questions, but thank you for that fabulous update. It is always good to hear good news. We will move on to um our commenters who are online who are going to give committee comments. Um, representing the African-American um, success framework advisory committee, we have KCR. Miss Chariz, can you please promote KCR? Good evening, board directors, superintendent, staff, and members of the Berkeley community. My name is Casey Robinson, and I proudly serve on the Superintendent's African-American Success Advisory Committee, or ASAC. I'm here tonight to urge you to continue supporting the African-American Success Framework. The framework matters deeply to families like mine. It provides the targeted supports our students deserve. It keeps them on track to

036graduate. It connects parents with people who truly understand our experiences and know how to help. It supports our stories in brings our stories into the room not just as data points but as people. The framework isn't just a service. It's a promise. A promise that black children in this district will not be overlooked. That they will receive support that is culturally grounded, academically strong, and rooted in community. We always celebrate good news together um and make sure that the joy that is true in black families comes to light in our meetings. The people leading this work are not generalists. They are specialists. This is their calling and they've earned the trust of many families. They've built meaningful relationships and helped students succeed in a system that has not always served them well. As we can

037tell from a lot of the data around black students, this isn't only about tutoring. It's about consistent yearround support from a team that understands the unique challenges our students face and show up for them every time. Families like mine rely on that. We understand the budget is tight and we believe that budgets are moral documents. We are not asking for anything extra. We are asking for what is right. The district has shown that when it chooses to support communities with intention, it can. We're asking you to show that same commitment to black students. Our children deserve that, too. Let's be clear. The partners working with the African-American Success Framework are experts in this work. They've built trust. They've made an impact. This isn't about choosing one group over another. It's about not taking anything away.

038that's finally starting to work. If the framework is cut, the message to our children is that their future is negotiable. That's not acceptable. Not now, not ever. We're asking you to stand with us, not just in words, but through the decision you make about what gets funded, protected, and prioritized. Thank you as well, Casey. Uh I see one other uh hand online misses that is for a Moshi C. Can you hear me? Hi Moshe. Are you making um a comment on behalf of a committee? I can't say that I'm speaking on behalf of DC, the special education um committee, but I am an active member. And at this time, Moshe, thank you for your honesty. At this time, we are only accepting um committee comments. We've m uh already passed our opportunity, our first opportunity

039for public commenters. Um and so, right now, we're on our committee comments. Um what we will have is another opportunity for public comments but that will be towards the end of the meeting. Um I'm sorry that um the opportunity uh for that was missed but thank you so much for joining us this evening. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. We will now move on to our union comments. Uh we will begin with our union comments for BFT, then move on to comments from BCCE, comments from Yuba if there are any, and also comments from local 21 if there are any. Are there any comments from BFT this evening? No, no comments from BFT. So, we'll move on to our union comments from uh the Berkeley Council of Classified Employees. Yeah. Going to have a Hello everyone.

040gonna have uh Romy Taylor speak first for PCC. Good even good evening board. My name is Roomie Terra, one of the six dedicated special education to IIA at Berkeley Police Schools. I have been with the district for 11 years. As reliable employees, we build crucial relationships with our most vulnerable students. It is unclear why the district utilizes overpaid contractors who lack B USD qualifications while failing to meet the need for more district trained spat who are committed to our students. As spread to I is we are uniquely trained and required to complete trainings like PEX CPI behavior and feeding as well as other B USD required professional development days that give each of us skill and compassion in our district jobs. Contractor turnover is high with frequent changes in classrooms. Additionally, many contractors declined to

041work with students whose disabilities need ongoing consistent toileting and diapering according to health and safety codes. It is already hard to keep employees at the current pay rate. How is the district going to hire and retain over 50 new spia positions? Thank you for listening. [Applause] Hello everyone. Um, Superintendent Berkeley School Board of Directors. We are here today to voice our oncuring ongoing concerns regarding staffing for the upcoming school year. The proposed addition of 47.2 two FTE permanent staff primarily sped two positions is a long overdue but welcome step towards reducing reliance on external agencies. For years, the district has improperly utilized hiring agencies to perform the duties of BCCE unit members. Throughout the previous school years, BCCE has consistently highlighted the lack of permanent uh BUSD sped to and after school program IT hires.

042Instead of filling existing vacancies with permanent BUSD employees, the district instead um excuse me, the district employed over 100 agency workers for roles that were not part of the district's established processes, thereby creating a budget crisis that BUSD is currently facing. This raises fundamental questions. What is BUD's strategy for hiring permanent staff? What is the definitive timeline for entirely phasing out in in the use of agencies for work that should be performed by BCCE unit members? Who will be accountable for assuring BUSD makes every effort to fill all necessarily all necessary roles with permanent employees? Can we have a detailed plan including strategies, timelines, accountability measures be provided in written form and made public publicly accessible to all stakeholders including staff, families in the community? Furthermore, BUSD is considering hiring hiring Furthermore, is BUSD considering

043hiring contractors for after school IT positions. We must remind everyone that we still have BCCE unit members who were laid off and have not been have not yet been offered their positions for the 2526 uh school year. It is unacceptable for overpaid and undercommitted contractors to occupy any positions while our while our dedicated permanent classified workers remain laid off. Thank you. Thank you as well. Do we have any Yuba comments? Any local 21? Okay, we will move on to our board member comments. There any board members who would like to start? Director Kin, thank you so much for volunteering. I will keep my comments very brief. Um, happy Junth tomorrow. Happy Pride Month. Um, we have some really important and difficult decisions ahead of us tonight and we are starting very late. So, um, I

044thank everyone for your patience and I think we should, um, get to work. I'll pass it to someone else. Thank you so much. I see your hand reaching for the mic. Are you ready, Vice President Chang? Thank you so much, President Bronze. Um, I I reiterate um, Director Korn's comments. uh an important day tomorrow and also an important month. Um and uh there are some very challenging conversations today and we're looking through them very carefully. you have done a lot of homework and uh very much appreciate you providing your your hearts and minds here in this public forum and I'm going to end it at that and um I hope everyone has a is having a great summer and continues to do so especially all of our new graduates. Thanks. Uh Director Vasadev, I have

045no comments tonight. Thank you, President Bro and Director Shinoski. I also have no comments tonight. All right, I do have comments, so I'll go ahead and share those now. Uh, thank you uh to everyone who came out to speak to the board of education tonight. specifically those who came out to speak in support of OFI, who spoke about our budget layoffs, who um spoke around Oxford, who spoke around um our consent calendar items, who spoke around uh support for OFI, um as well as support to fully fund the African-American success framework. We appreciate you taking the time um to speak to the board of education. and please know that your words do not fall on deaf ears uh but really help us to uh make important decisions and necessary decisions on behalf of the school

046district. So, thank you so much for taking the time to be here this evening. Um we have had a very uh exciting and busy month in the month of June. The last time we were here, I shared uh my excitement for so many upcoming graduations and celebrations that were happening in the district. Um, and I along with my board colleagues got to attend many of those celebrations, including uh, but not limited to the Berkeley High and BTA graduation that took place on June 7th. When we were here on June 4th, we were all gearing up and anticipating that graduation. Uh, but on June 7th, we actually got the opportunity to attend. It is one of my favorite events in the district. not just because it is the culmination of our students educational experience here, but

047because it is such a place of joy, such a place of pride, such a place of love for all of our students um as they have the opportunity to not just reflect on what has happened in their years in BUD, but to also prepare and gear up for what's to come in the future. And so, we wish all of our graduates success um as they begin this next chapter in their life. Additionally, um again, I I said it on the first, but I'll say it again. and happy pride month um to everyone and I hope that you all are engaging uh in many pride celebrations uh that have happened not just in BD but throughout the city of Berkeley and throughout the Bay Area. Um additionally June is the month where we celebrate Junth and

048tomorrow uh we will celebrate uh the recognized holiday of Junth. Uh for those who may not know, uh slavery was abolished on December 6th, 1965. Um but enslave enslaved people in Galveston, Texas didn't know about it until June 19th, 1965, 1865, excuse me. And so tomorrow, um we celebrate and commemorate that event. Um and we celebrate it as a day of freedom, as a day of resilience, and as an additional independence day for African-American people. And so um this year I spent Junth uh which also I spent the Junth uh celebrated holiday on Sunday with my father at the Berkeley Junth Festival which we do every year. Um so we got a chance to both celebrate Father's Day and celebrate Junth. If you have not attended uh the Berkeley Junth Festival, you are missing out

049on an amazing amazing treat. Uh this year they celebrated 35 years of uh Junth in Berkeley and um I'm looking forward to it celebrate to it being celebrated again. I want to take this moment as a point of advocacy. Um a lot of folks walked up to me and shared can you believe that they're going to move Junth yes uh next year? Can you believe that the location is going to be moved up? Can you believe that it's going to be smaller? And no, I actually can't believe that, especially because the event continues to grow year after year after year after year. And so I want to use the platform that I have um to encourage our uh city partners, encourage our mayor, um encourage our planning staff to not minimize the Junth celebration, but

050to think about ways to expand it. It is a family fun, familyfriendly event. Um, but it's also a place to honor what I talked about before, which is the day of freedom, the day of resilience, and the additional independence day for African-Americans. Um, tonight we do have a lot of uh important budget decisions and final decisions that we need to make. This has been a pretty long, tiresome, and in some ways uh a bit challenging budgeting process. Uh but the intention behind this process was to the intention from a board perspective was to make this a um a process that we go through together, a process uh that is transparent, a process that includes many updates um and many iterations of the board and a process that includes our community engagement. And while we may

051not have gotten it all right, while we may have to make some hard cuts that we do not want to make, uh what's important is that we have gone through this process together. Um so we want to thank our community for number one engaging us as a board. There have been so many folks who have sent us emails. There have been so many people who time and time again have shown up to board meetings to advocate, to speak on behalf of uh programs and positions that are important to them. and we do not count it robbery that you took your time to do that. Um, in addition to that, we want to thank our staff for the hard work that they've done. Um, as well as our ESPback committee for the many hours that they

052spent preparing this budget for our district. There are 16 meetings that were held this year by the ESBAC committee um, beginning, I believe, as early as October um, moving all the way up to now. And so uh we want to thank everyone in our district who has played a role and made a h and lended a hand in helping us to get to this budgeting process. In addition, tonight we will see an update uh for our teaching and learning um end of the year update. I think this is really an important update that we'll see tonight because there's so many uh shifts, so many movements and changes that have been made this year uh instructionally as well as uh with the adoption of of curriculum and uh the preparation for new frameworks and new um

053new uh curriculum adoption that will help us to move to um a district that has really really strong tier one instruction as well as um improved tier 2 and tier three construction. And so I'm excited about that um agenda item that we have. And with that, I will end my public comments. Oh, sorry, one more thing to share. Um this is my last meeting actually before I go on maternity leave. And so thank you and thank God. Um and I am very um sad that I'll miss all my colleagues here on the dis uh but very excited to welcome um this new bundle of joy that will come into my life uh this summer. And so you will see some transitions that will happen on the board. Uh there will be some changes that will

054be made um some changes that will be made outside of our normal um board meeting cadence or outside of our normal schedule. And so we again ask for your patience and for your flexibility. Um and we also ask for your grace as we um make these shifts. And I um ask for you to send me good thoughts and positive vibes as I enter into mommyhood for the first time and welcome my first and hopefully only baby into the world. Thank you very much. Uh I'll now pass it over to our superintendent Nikkia for Mortell for her comments. Thank you, Madam President. Um, so this is not only President Brown's last meeting, um, but this, you guys are so dramatic. This is our last meeting of the as a board of education for the 2425 school

055year. That's worthy of applause. This is our last meeting um of the 2425 school year. And I just wanted to take a moment to say um and to extend my deepest gratitude to all of the Berkeley community. um our students, our families, our staff, and our various partners. Throughout the years, your collective efforts have brought the mission of BUSD, which I'm not going to have you recite, nor am I going to say it because you all know it by heart, but you've been able to help us um bring that vision and that mission to life for so for so many of our diverse student body. And as the steward of that vision and mission, as a superintendent, I humbly say thank you because I know that none of it could be possible without each and

056every person who is in this room, but each and every person who makes up the BUSD community. Um, I would say that every single moment that we've shared this year, including our challenges, have really been a testament and embodiment to our hashtag for the year, which you might not remember, but it is hashtag Berkeley together. Berkeley together. and we have done amazing things together and I look forward to all the amazing that we continue to do together um in the school year to come. And so that being said, as you head into summer, I wish each and all of you rest um joy and all the things that bring you energy and recharge. We'll be back together again, Berkeley together again when school resumes on Wednesday, August 13th. But who wants to think about August

05713th? I know I see the staff. We're here right now. But we wanted to let you know we'll be back together again August 13, 2025 for the first day of school for the 2526 school year. So again, humbly on behalf of myself, my amazing executive cabinet, and all the folks in BUSD staff and central office, thank you all for your partnership and all the ways that you make this community amazingly beautiful for the babies that we serve. All right, we will move on to agenda item number 12, consent calendar. Is there a motion to approve? I'll do so. Moved by Director Chang. Is there a second? I'll second. Seconded by Director Korn. Miss. Travis, can you please call the role? Director Shinowski. Yes. Director Vasadev, yes. Director Korn, yes. Vice President Chang, yes. President Brown,

058yes. Thank you. Motion approved and the consent calendar motion carries and the consent calendar is approved. Uh tonight we will begin with our first presentation of the evening which is our teaching and learning uh end of the year update. Um we're excited that we will receive this presentation that will highlight two major focus areas from the 2024 2025 school year specifically around math and ethnic studies. If you all remember we began the school year with a teaching and learning update. Um and in the same way we are ending the school year with a teaching and learning update. So, I'm excited to uh invite um our ass associate superintendent Jill Hogandike um for this presentation and she will introduce um our staff who will be presenting with alongside her. Whenever you are ready, you may begin.

059All right. Um, as we are uh getting the PowerPoint uploaded, um, I am Jill Hoganike, associate superintendent. Good evening, members of the board, superintendent, and members of the public. Uh, we are You You stole my line. I was going to say we were bookending. Uh, we started the year with teaching and learning. We We moved through the year teaching and learning. We are all about teaching and learning and we're we're going to be bringing you an update on our math our work in mathematics and ethnic studies. I'm I'm joined here this evening by director Albeck alongside of Joy Etho Gates who is our teacher on special assignment for ethnic studies and Mandy Hubard who is one of our teachers on special assignment for mathematics. Um as always we start our presentation grounding in our district's

060mission. We enable and inspire our diverse student body to achieve academic excellence and make positive contributions to the world. And we do that through the vehicle of content and engaging uh instruction that happens in the classroom. So the goal for tonight's presentation is to share some highlights on two um of our content area ma areas mathematics and ethnic studies. And um at the end of the presentation we'll give a nod to uh uh preview of coming attractions for 2526. And with that I'll turn it over to director Albec. Uh good evening board directors, superintendent. Congratulations, President Brown. Uh we thank you for the opportunity to share some end of the year highlights with you all in the areas of mathematics and ethnic studies um with you this evening. So the slide before you um is

061our department of curriculum and instruction's purpose statement. Aligned with our district's mission statement, our goal is to improve academic achievement outcomes for all students while working to disrupt the patterns of predictability and inequity that exists within our districts. As we close out the 2425 school year and the second year with the curriculum and instruction department, I am filled with pride in the strides made towards our department and district's cause as in the acronym that you see before you. While literacy has and will continue to be an academic priority for our district. We know that our students develop in their reading, writing and or writing. Uh there are many other demands and opportunities for them to demonstrate their brilliance. From showcasing their climate literacy at one of this year's three fixit fest to being among the

062100 plus students recognized as newly fluent in English to representing BUD in our first ever STEM logo Lego League competition. There is much to be proud of in our district. However, there is still much work to do. What we know and what research demonstrates is that closing opportunity gaps requires schools and districts to work deep and build deep trusting relationships with families and communities. It is in this Dr. Nggera quote and in the S in our cause that brings us to highlight the department of curriculum instruction's work in math and ethnic studies this school year. As you'll hear from my colleague shortly, both the meeting of the math minds and the ethnic studies unit development efforts have been rooted in engagements with educators, families, and the broader community. These have been collaborative spaces where stakeholders

063from diverse backgrounds and perspectives have come together to create a shared vision, develop actionable plans, and strengthen the quality of teaching and learning. At the heart of this work is our commitment to ensure that every BUC student feels safe, seen, and heard in their classrooms. I'll now pass it off to my colleague and elementary math lead, Mandy Hubard. Thank you. Thank you for letting us share our work this evening. Um, this was my first year on the job, so I'm excited to share about three projects that are helping us move toward the goal of creating more alignment and coherence in the mathematics experience of our students. So this starts really with ensuring that all educators have a shared vision of what highquality mathematics instruction looks like. And so we convened, as Chris mentioned, the meeting

064of math minds. This was a group of stakeholders representing many groups across our district. There were educators across the K12 spectrum, leaders from elementary, middle, and high school, as well as family and community partners. And this group met monthly to achieve three key outcomes, which you can see on the slide in that red arrow across the top. Uh we worked to conduct an inventory of the current experience of math, teaching, and learning in our district. And that not only included analyzing a lot of existing achievement data, but we also surveyed teachers, students, and families to really try to better understand the perspectives and experiences of folks in our community, as well as meeting with some groups like the African-American uh advisory success advisory committee um to really learn from their work and try to figure

065out how to increase equity and continuity for our students. Uh so this um we learned a lot about the new California math framework that was released and will guide some of our work. But then our team really worked on the third outcome of developing our own BSD vision and framework. So on the next slide you'll see an excerpt from what our group created a vision statement. You'll see here that in Berkeley Unified, we are guided by a vision for teaching and learning mathematics that leverages students assets, engages them in meaningful work, and supports them in becoming collaborative problem solvers with the power to use math to understand and positively impact our world. And then you'll see on the right there that we identified four commitments around rigor and reasoning, relevance and belonging, engagement and joy,

066and access and agency. This um work, I believe, is really going to help us support all students to develop positive math identities and improve achievement outcomes. But it's just the beginning of the process and will really guide our decision- making around resource allocation, the design of ongoing professional learning and an upcoming adoption considering um using our framework to consider new materials when the time comes. Um, as we learned from our ELA process, to lay the groundwork for a successful adoption process, we really needed to work on building common language and a shared understanding of evidence-based practices. So a subset of that um meeting of math minds or ncubed committee the elementary math teacher leaders um were also doing a lot of extra hard work uh planning and facilitating four common professional learning sessions across all

067of our elementary schools which I had heard uh hadn't happened in a little while. Um, so we got some pretty fabulous feedback from both teachers and site leaders and are excited to continue that work and trying to really improve our readiness for uh a coming math adoption. Um, and we're going to have a similar series next year. So lastly, the third project is a group, a newly formed group, the math impact team um which are working to create alignment and coherence around elementary math supports and that's really writ large. There's a variety of folks um in different roles. So some that are more focused on studentf facing uh intervention work and some that are focused on adult learning and coaching. But we really brought together representing right now seven of our 11 elementary schools all

068the math focused minds um to really think about what's happening uh with math supports. So we started with really sharing the variety of systems and structures across sites and learning from one another and trying to create our theory of action reading research as you see pictured like the what works clearing house summary of how we assist students who are struggling in mathematics. So this year the group piloted the universal screener for number sense which is an open-source and norm referenced tool that really helped us to get some more detailed and actionable information to help us determine student learning goals and we had a lot of success with a variety of implementation attempts at different buildings. Um some interventionists took all kids who were identified by STAR. Um we were working in conjunction with Brea as

069they rolled out star in the primary grades. Um so they many um interventionists took a focal grade level like first or second grade that we are just getting data on and did the universal screener for number sense interviews and paper and pencil tasks with um all students identified by star in those grade levels. There were other buildings that actually had all teachers select a focal group of students and interview them and learn about their own students. So we felt like that was a really successful first attempt and then also we determined the need for some more targeted assessment tasks. So we began exploring options and the team is very motivated and excited to continue that work next year. So thank you. Good evening. As a followup to when we were here in the winter, I

070am picking up from where we left off with our process of piloting, developing, and implementing our ethnic studies curriculum for BUSD. As a reminder, I'd like to take a moment to review the current in-house pilot curriculum we have for Berkeley Unified. For third grade, we have a fall unit titled Our Stories Connect Us: Celebrating Our Community, as well as a new spring unit titled Who Came to Berkeley? a spotlight on African-American and Asian-American stories. For fourth grade, we have a unit called What Was the Mission System: Decolonizing a California History Perspective? Fifth grade, we have a unit titled From Jamestown to Revolution. For eighth grade, there's a unit titled Abolitionism and the Fight for a Multi-racial Democracy. And for ninth grade, we have two units, a racial solidarity unit and an ArabAmerican studies unit. At

071the end of each unit, we asked the pilot teachers to send out online feedback forms to parents and caregivers. Students and teachers also completed feedback forms. And here are a few highlights. 85% of fourth grade family respondents stated that yes, they thought the unit helped their child learn about the California missions from an indigenous perspective. 14% um excuse me, stated maybe. 71% of respondents also stated that yes, they thought the unit helped their child learn about ways to be anti-racist and celebrate differences. 21% stated maybe. A parent also wrote, "Thank you for developing this curriculum. It's very timely to be completing this survey while also processing the presidential administration's executive order on US history. As a product of the CA public school system, I am deeply moved to see that my child is learning a

072more complete and complex picture of California history in comparison to what I was taught in the9s, a celebration of the CA missions and European settlers. Ninth graders who piloted the Arab-American studies unit provided positive feedback. Overall, 83% of our students rated the unit a three or four on a 1 to4 scale. 75% agreed that the unit helped them be more aware of anti-Arab racism and 19% said maybe. 64% agreed that the unit helped them understand more about ArabAmerican history and lived experiences. 34% said maybe. Uh for some fifth grade pilot teacher feedback, one teacher wrote about the unit. The discussion after each lesson um was impactful. Many of the students were able to engage in conversations that reflected a high level of critical thinking. It was a great opportunity to highlight concepts such as hypocrisy,

073perspective, nuance, oppression, etc. For the creation of materials, we worked with teacher-led groups to co-create these units with an outside expert ethnic studies organization that was thoroughly vetted and approved via a consensus process um by the district's ethnic studies advisory committee. An example of an artifact from one of the pilot units is an eighth grader's painting, the beautiful painting that is purple and black and yellow in the upper right hand corner. Uh this was part of an art activity where students selected from a choice menu how to artistically demonstrate their understanding of the various forms of resistance and resilience of enslaved people. In her painting, the eighth grade student depicted the forms of resistance that she learned about with a focus on human dignity, represented by the woman singing and wearing yellow, a color which

074to her represents hope and joy. For each pilot unit, we had a year-long piloting process with groups of piloting teachers at each grade level. At the end of each unit, teachers, students, and caregivers were provided with feedback forms so that we could both solicit and incorporate their feedback into updates for the final versions of each unit. During the 2024 to 2025 school year, we also worked to create a seventh grade pilot unit titled Shattered Pillars: Decolonizing Histories: Reclaiming Futures, which will help to establish a framework for the seventh grade school year. This fall, we will be training uh second, third, fourth, fifth, and eighth grade teachers to teach the new ethnic studies units. Um specific dates are listed on the accompanying slide. After the professional development sessions, as the ethnic studies teacher and special assignment,

075I will be supporting teachers in implementation throughout the year. And I want to end by saying that this is an exciting time for Berkeley Unified as we continue to uphold and expand our ongoing commitment to ethnic studies, which was established in 1968 with our African-American studies department at Berkeley High and our 9th grade ethnic studies requirement, which was board approved in 1990. On a personal note, I want to share that as a parent in this district, I am both proud and grateful that my child and all our children will benefit from this powerful and important ethnic studies curriculum. Thank you. A few items as we look ahead. So, coming back in the fall, uh we will share our draft math vision and framework with district committees and community groups to get additional feedback. Shortly after

076and after the state of California releases their new instructional math materials, we will launch a district-wide math curriculum adoption in the winter of 2025. Uh, additionally, in October, we will host a ethnic studies teachin and showcase. Um, also literacy implementation update presentation will come in August 2025. In the fall of 2025, we will be initiating our pathways to proficiency, which is going to be an action group focused solely on a long-term English language learners. And lastly, uh, next year will be our third and final year of elementary FOST implementation. So, some things to look forward to. Uh, thank you for hearing us out tonight and we wish you a great summer. [Applause] Thank you all so much uh for your presentation. I just want to remind the community and the board of education uh that

077there are actually no questions from the board during presentations only for discussions and action items and so we will receive your presentation as information and thank you for uh your hard work. I do have a number of questions but I will be sure to email them to you directly but thank you again for uh your work and for this exciting work that's happening in our district. All right, we will move on to uh our next agenda item uh which is action item 14.1. Um as you all know uh Senate Bill 858 uh tells us that school districts have to provide um a public com public hearing uh for the budget adoption process. And so we have reached that time in our agenda uh to do so. And so I will open up the hearing at

078this time and invite any public commenters who will spec who will speak specifically on that item to please join us at the podium. You will have one minute uh for comments as we will uh provide five minutes for comments uh on the uh public hearing for fiscal for reserves of fis for the fiscal year 2025 and 2026. Are there any commenters? Okay, seeing none, we will close the hearing and begin with our action items. Our first action item of this evening is the approval of the 2024 2027 to 2027 LCAP. Uh as another reminder, uh we recently had a board meeting where um our LCAP process as well as our LCAP goals were shared with the board of board of education and the board of education provided information and direction around um some of the

079things that we would like some of the shifts that we would like to see made um and provided some questions and um asked for some updates. Uh and so tonight we will receive the presentation um and hopefully see those shifts being made as well as receive the updates. So associate superintendent Oandike whenever you are ready you may begin. Great. Well hello again. Um I am joined here uh with Dr. Sweeney who's our director of the Bura department and Dr. Bonduras who is our interim director of our state and federal programs and special projects department. Um and we are here today. Are you clicking for us? Thank you. Um to uh provide a a brief overview in case members of the public were not able to attend the prior meeting. We're going to provide a brief

080overview of what the LCAP is um and you know how we use this as a lever to um actualize our district's mission. We are going to review updates since the first meet uh first reading which happened on June 9th and then we will request approval for the LCAP. All right. With that, I'll turn it over to Dr. Bundor. Okay, great. Thank you, Jill. So, the purpose of the LCAP is to address opportunity and achievement gaps for focal student groups, specifically our unduplicated students. BUSD's LCAP sits in the context of the emerging strategic plan and other district initiatives and resolutions. BUSD receives receives funds via the local control funding formula. And a requirement of receiving these funds is that we must complete an LCAP. The LCAP is a three-year district plan that connects students needs with

081actions, metrics, and services and supports to meet their needs and student outcomes. The LCAP cycle is three years, but districts are required to update the LCAP annually. Do the Thanks. Um, seen here, you can see that our LCAP has five goals. Goals one and two are around academic excellence and equitable outcomes. Goal three is wellness and belonging. Goal four is partnership and engagement. And goal five is is specific to BTA. It's our equity multiplier goal. Next slide, Lena. You can skip to the next slide. Thank you. Good evening board and good evening superintendent. Um based on our LCAP presentation on June 9th, I will update two metrics, two metric areas for our local control accountability plan. The first is here our equity multiplier focus goal for the Berkeley Technology Academy goal five. We have three

082priorities under this goal. Graduation rate, preparedness under the college and career indicator and our suspension rate. We have areas of progress with decreased suspension and overall improved college and career indicator percentage and continue to demonstrate need areas of need specifically and for example here with our decreased um graduation rate. Next slide. In our presentation on June 9th, we shared a screenshot from our appendix that reflected an asterk that stated based on incorrect A throughG reporting. Although the metrics were correct in that appendix, when we researched the cause of this, we determined that the asterisk should have been removed, but may have been there based on reporting errors in the 2122 and 2223 school years for students who had met the A throughG requirements. Our metrics appendix has been updated to remove the asterk and I'll

083pass to you John. All right. Um so as we head into the budget section of this presentation want to um remind uh the members of the public that we have um been anchoring all of our work on the budget um through ESPback through budget development through the budget balancing solutions in these core values of resource allocation. Um the next slide we had shared with you um at our June 9th presentation that um we had some good news with the May revise because our LCFF our LCAP supplemental funds were adjusted uh with an increase of about $300,000 due to the ADA and the UPP adjustments. um that is still situated on the next slide in a gap that we have between our projected revenues and our projected expenses on um the LCAP. So that gap is

084at $886,000. Um and we shared with you um at that presentation how we had been identifying some grant funds so that we can um work to cover that gap. While this is not an ideal situation um because it provides but would provide for temporary stability, it does not provide for long-term um sustainability because grant funds expire and they're not ongoing. Um I we kept these next few slides in here. These have not changed. Goal one here um uh is not changed from the last presentation, but just a note that we're we've identified across each of these goals where we are moving alternative funding. Goal two has also not changed and neither has goal three. Um we did make some adjustments um on goal four based on the discussion um mostly for clarity not in the

085dollar amounts. Um there was an incorrect FTE on that last slide for our family engagement specialists. Um it was coded as 5.94. We actually had 6.47 FTE family engagement specialists um in um that uh projected budget along with our full-time supervisor. Um so that's what the $915,000 reflects there. and we separated out operating costs um for goal four. This is not inclusive of uh an OFI operating budget. Of does have additional expenses um inclusive of overtime um materials and supplies etc. We have some contracts for uh interpretation and translation um for our work with project to inspire and um some and some of our mental health workshops. So we've we've separated those line items across two goals just to provide um that clarity. And so that has been updated in the LCAP that is before

086you. On the next slide, the other update um as we've been working to close out the school year, there are some carryover funds um for the um equity multiplier on goal five and that $81,000 has been included um in the budget and we'll be working with the new principal on the spendown of those funds in the 2526 school year. We the state still has not posted any new allocations for 25 uh 26 school year or the list of schools that have been identified as equity multiplier schools. So we will be keeping our eye on that as we head into the new school year. Um one of the big topics of conversation at our last meeting was about the learning recovery funds. Um, so as a reminder, the learning recovery emergency block grant funds um are

087funds that um are districts across the state have been allocated. Um, and there was a new requirement for any unspent funds as of June uh 2025 need to be um need to be allocated based on a needs assessment and included in the LCAP. Um one thing uh the next slide we have an overview of where uh one back yeah overview here of expenses that we have coded to the learning recovery block grant funds. Um and you can see that indicated there on the right hand side. This includes um some of those expenses that you saw from our LCAP actions that were moving on to the learning recovery funds. the biggest expenditure we've had are our mental health contracts. Um so as a reminder and for members of the public who were not here earlier, we

088um have supported mental health contracts at the elementary schools. Um there were these were smaller contracts before COVID and the costs of these contracts have grown exponentially coming out of COVID. Um but basically that million dollars covers about the equivalent of a full-time FTE at each of our elementary school sites. Um some of the counseling supports from the LCAP we have moved um on to learning recovery student welfare and attendance support. Uh the point program has been an ongoing budget item for our learning recovery funds um since those were received as part of the Latinx resolution. We also have supplemental instructional materials and some um ELD support. And then there are variance and indirect costs that are are coded as part of that $2.3 million. Um where that leaves us um we are projecting um

089learning recovery funding um at the at the close of this fiscal year at about $2.9 million. That amount is likely to change as we close the books on the 2425 school year. As you saw from the previous slide, we have about $2.3 million of expenses that we have tagged to learning recovery, which leaves us with a remaining amount of $636,000. Um, so again, we are going to be headed into the 2526 school year uh temporarily providing stability for some of the actions that are um in our LCAP and in uh other area focus areas. Um, but this does not allow for long-term sustainability as we think about budget development for the 2627 school year. All right. Yeah. Because the learning recovery block grant expires in 2027, but some of the other um alternative funding sources,

090educator effectiveness and the A3G grant expire at the end of the next school year. So, um, we will entertain, uh, any questions and comments, but our next steps, uh, tonight is the night for the LCAP and budget adoption. Um, we will submit the LCAP and our local indicators to the Alama County Office of Education. They will review it, as we shared in our last presentation. They have done an initial review. There were some technical corrections that we needed to make, but they will review it again um, just to make sure everything landed where it needs to land. Um and then uh we will initiate continuing implementing our actions as we begin the 20 2526 school year. Thank you very much for your presentation. I have a few questions. Do you all have questions as well?

091Okay. Well, thank you. I guess I'll begin. Um first I want to ask a question around um the measures for goal five. Um, so thank you for for sharing um those updates as was my uh request at the last meeting. But I did want to know if um I want to know a couple things. So let me first start with the information that was shared and then I'll move on to what wasn't. So from what was shared um we can clearly see if we talk about the uh state college and career indicator we can see the baseline and we can see um the end of the year progress for 2425 but the target for year three is 15%. Um when I look at the um end of the year progress for African-Americans says 5.8%. um

092for socioeconomically disadvantaged it says 7%. But then when we move to tour races it says 25%. And so help me to understand how um that 15 is it that we're looking for a 15% increase? I know the base is 15% which would make sense for our African-American students for our students experiencing homelessness for our students experiencing so who are socioeconomically disadvantaged. But for our students who are two or more races who have already met that goal area, how do we then capture what would be an appropriate goal for them? And um is that is the 15% what you're looking for for everyone? So at the point um that the goal was was created, the goal was 15% overarchingly for for the groups. Um the baseline it it it says 2425 baseline but that's based on

093um 22 23 numbers and then the current end of year the most current data for that is um is based on end of year actually last academic year. Um so overall we see that we went from 0% prepared on the college and career indicator to to 5.8 8 overall and we still have areas with um with our focal populations that are at zero as we can see that maintain at zero. So the goal overarchingly was 15% for the three-year which has not been attained for any of the groups except for the two or more races. Maybe I should ask the question differently. So for the um specifically for two or more races since they have not just met that 15% goal, they've exceeded that 15% goal. Is there another goal that needs to be made

094for that um for that ethnic group area? So um so so one of the things about the three-year LCAP is once you set the metrics and the targets those don't change in the three years. So it is great that we have we have met that target in the first year but there won't be any metric adjustments until after until we until we do the next threeear LCAP. So we are we want to keep our eye on it make sure it stays at 25% or higher. So, it's definitely a a a positive trajectory um for that group recognizing that there is a lot of movement in the enrollment in that in at BTA. That was going to be my next question. Um if we could share the success stories that helped us to get from 0%

095to 25% um in that category, that would be great. Besides movement at PTA. Yeah. Yeah. I so we can or if there were there maybe my question should be were there intentional um intentional shifts that were made that helped to move towards that. So um one of the things that was outlined in the 2427 LCAP in terms of the actions for goal 5 was to ensure that all students at BTA had an individual learning plan and that is something that they put in place that becomes an important part of the process because it means that we have uh teachers and parents and students who are coming together to review a student's progress and to set specific goals and to outline specific support. So we are happy to report that at the midyear all of the

096students at BTA had an individual learning plan. So that definitely has been one of the levers um there uh so that's as a starting point as an example. Thank you. Uh because that was going to be my next question um because goal 5 doesn't just cover college and career ready supports but it also covers the individual learning plans and it covers the student counseling. um and um the last presentation didn't share uh measures around that and uh we wanted to see that in this presentation as well. So thank you for highlighting um the individualized learning plans but we do want to see measures around that and so what um the measures and the metrics around that. So what happened with the individualized learning plans was going to be the next question. So if it was

097100% implemented that's great to hear. Uh and then the only item that's missing from um goal five is student counseling. So an update. Yeah. So there were a number a number of avenues for school counseling. As you know BTA has an academic counselor. Um but we had contracted with circles for social change. So there were some infinity groups that were also being run. Um, in addition, there are a number of other adults um at school that meet individually um with uh uh with our BTA students. I think one area for um us to be paying attention to, which is work that we have been doing in other areas across the district, is the how do we know that's happening? um and how do we utilize our existing system in educ we can bring data forward

098to say this you know this many students participated in counseling etc. Uh thank you for that. And then my last question and I'll uh turn it over to whoever like would like to go next. Uh is first a thank you for giving us the update around the um the block rent funds that are left over. And I just want to make sure I understand clearly that um we will have uh around 636,472 left over after making all of um our after meeting all of our um allocation needs for uh mental health contracts, counseling, student welfare and attendance support, the Poente program, supplemental instructional materials, and EL support. Is that correct? Correct. Okay. Um can you please uh help me understand just what is the difference between um or is there a huge difference between the

099mental health contract what is done through our mental health contracts and through our counseling? Yeah. So the mental health contracts that are coded there are for elementary school. The counseling supports that you see there reflect counselors at Berkeley High. So, the two intervention counselors at Berkeley High along with the bridge counselor. Perfect. Thank you very much. Um, it's good to and exciting to know that we have so much money um left over in that learning block grant because we were nervous about how much money uh we would have before or maybe nervous is not the word, but we were uncertain um about how much money there there would be left over. Um, we heard from a lot of groups tonight who are really calling on the district um to use um some funds or to

100find a way to support uh important programs and important positions in the district that are being cut um from our general fund but could potentially uh be supported through the learning recovery emergency block grant. when we were uh here on the 4th, I gave a recommendation um to restore to use some of that money to restore what was uh going to be uh potentially cut from the African-American success framework. And I think I heard clearly from director Shinowski um and supported uh that uh clear request to use that to to support um some of what to support OFI. Um, you all said you needed to go back and look and see how much money we had, uh, where the money was being spent and allocated, what our, uh, needs assessment areas were, as well as

101the activities that aligned with them. Um, and seeing as though we do have money, I'm wondering, uh, if the board feels a little bit differently about providing direction for how the rest of this leftover money uh, could be used. I still would like to um adhere to what has been advocated uh for tonight from the African-American success uh framework advocates as well as OFI advocates uh to use that money, use some of that money to support those positions and to support those programs. And so I'd like to hear from each of my board members to see where you stand. Um, thank you, President Brown. Uh, you know, I I would like to understand more in terms of the LREBG, learning recovery emergency block grant. Um, if the district had notions about where um that block

102grant would go um already and if they had a a a perspective on the prioritization of the needs of the district. Um given this broader conversation we're having or specific conversation we're having right now about regarding OPI and the African-American success framework. Um I guess what I would say I you know our the work that our the African-American success framework does the work of our OT members um are extremely valued and play an important role. Um I think the it's the long-term sustainability question that I think is being called here. So, what's important to know is that we have we already have $2.3 million worth of costs that are tagged to the learning recovery block grant funds with about $600,000 remaining for the 2627 school year. Um, absent knowing an additional funding source, that means

103that we're going to need to make reductions in the 20 for the 2627 school year. So, it will be important for us to know how we want to prioritize those remaining funds knowing what is currently tagged um to the learning recovery block grant funds. Yeah, thanks. And what is currently tagged to the learning recovery emergency block grant funds is mental health services for elementary schools in that slide 20. Yes. So, the mental health contract. So if we do not have another funding source coming in um then we will need to make reductions on those contracts for the 2627 school year. We have um three counseling positions at the high school that are currently tagged for the learning recovery block grant funds along with the student welfare and attendance support um point and those other items

104that were listed on that slide. So again, if we we don't know exactly where the governor's budget is going to land or where we'll be a year from now with another May revise. And so um we are hopeful that the payer fee system that we are going to launch is going to generate funds. We've projected about $250,000 although Dr. Bonduras is saying that, you know, we we might be underestimating that, but we that's an unknown factor of what other revenue sources we're going to be generating. So, we can make a decision to use um uh some of that $600,000 um for the priorities that the board articulates this evening. But we just need to realize that the long-term impact of that is that we will we will likely need to make additional reductions in the

1052627 school year. And just a reminder to the board that that is two budget cycles from now. It's not um anything that we have to do uh in the future. It doesn't impact um us going into this next budgeting process. And if we're being completely honest, if the mental health contracts are a million dollar, the $636,000 is not going to be able to cover that anyway. So, we shouldn't think about that $636,000 being used um for what we're currently talking about this year. I think if we have the funds, if we have the money, there are things that we are saying we want to support, we should use that money to support, knowing that in two budget cycles from now, the governor's uh the governor's budget could look completely different, could look incredibly better than

106the situation that we are in now. Could look, I don't know if it will, but could potentially look better than the situation um that we're in now. But there are priorities in the district that we we can support now instead of just having those funds sit for years. Can you clarify why you're saying two budget cycles from now? I thought we were talking about the next budget cycle. Well, right now we're right now we're um in the uh 2024 2025 academic and fiscal year. Next year we'll be in the 2025 2026. And what she's speaking to is 2026 2027. Okay, I got you. My mind is already in 2526. Dad, stay here. Stay with us. I think the the only thing that I would add to that um as um Assistant Superintendent Fallensby foreshadowed in

107the presentation on the 29th, we are cutting some really thin margins on our overall budget with not a whole lot left in the reserve. Um and so any uh unexpected expense that comes in um we don't have a lot of capacity to to cover that. Um I think we are just um talking and I we didn't get a chance to hear from director Basudv so I don't want to skip the opportunity to hear from you before I speak again. No, I appreciate hearing the staff's perspective and know that um we have more expenses than what we we're going to have in 2026 2027. So, I don't think I'm ready to make a specific recommendation right now. I will say that I'm concerned about the long-term impacts on the point program in particular because not having

108a sustainable funding stream worries me. This is a program, it's the only program that serves college and career readiness within the context of the Latinx resolution. It's the largest minority group in the district. So, I'm concerned about the longevity of that program. And um one of the things that I think I would love to do earlier on versus waiting for the spring of next year to have this conversation is to have the prioritization conversation for the learning recovery emergency block grant earlier in the year. So, as we get more information, I would love to have another conversation in the fall about priorities for that once we have more information, but I don't think I can. I'm concerned about the impact on Poente and I'm also concerned about the mental health programs. I know that during

109the pandemic that was something that we took on as a district. was new to add those BA this is the BACR counselors right for the elementary schools for the for the most part we have three for the most part and and I know that the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive both you know neurotypical and sped children being able to have a space to decompress and has been really helpful for the teachers at the elementary school level really concerned about the longevity of that because I think we've gotten used to it we're really lucky that we offered that service a lot of schools don't have that um but what's going to happen and we know that the impacts from the pandemic on mental health are like continue, right? Um, so that's something that's concerning. I think,

110you know, I'm not ready to make any recommendations. I'm really going to look to staff and would love to have another prioritization discussion once we know more for what could potentially come in the future, but I think waiting until the spring to have the discussion on the block grant feels a little late for me. Um just uh to share, Director Shinoski actually had to um to jump off. Um so she won't be able uh to comment on this or on other items uh this evening. Um and so I'd like to I guess circle back and hear from um the rest of the board. Thank you, Director Vasadev, for sharing um where you currently stand and maybe we can hear uh from the the rest of the board. I I I do want to just maybe

111I'll ask it in a question form. Um can you please share how um these areas that we've already identified? So, mental health contracts, counseling, student welfare and attendance support, the Poente program, supplemental instructional materials, and EL support, the money for those are already identified um for the rest of the LCAP season, correct? Okay. And so that means that the funds well they're they're identified for the for the next year. The LCAP is a three-year plan. So we still have a structural deficit issue for the 26 27 school year, right? Which is why I said LCAP season versus saying the next financial year. So um it's good to know that those those programs are protected and we don't have to worry about um the money being allocated to those programs because they the money is already

112allocated. The money is already um what's Pauline's favorite word? the money is already scored scored for th for those specific um programs. So, we don't have to to worry about supporting those programs because for the LCAP season, the money is already scored for those. I just want to make sure we have that clarifying point. But, we do have $636,000 left from the um learning recovery uh block grant. I know that I'm I'm pushing, but I want to push us in um I want to I want to push us in a in a direction to do what we say we're going to do to meet our priorities, to support um important things in our things in our district that we say in in word are important, but also could show that it is important um not

113just in practice or in theory, but also in resource allocation. Director Korn, I appreciate your pushing. I appreciate your passionate advocacy. And we also have a fiduciary responsibility. And I'm hearing from the staff that the reason that they did not allocate these $600,000 for the 2526 school year is because they anticipate needing those for the 2627 school year. I hope I'm getting the years right. Um, in order to continue to sustain services that are also really important and what's the phrase you used over and over again in this presentation, temporary stability. Yeah. and and that the concern is that with the narrow margins that we have that that we are passing a budget that is temporarily stable but that isn't really long-term sustainable and if we reallocate these $600,000 to other expenditures that it makes

114it it jeopardizes that long-term sustainability even more. That's my concern. Yeah, let me be very clear. Um I I hope it isn't misunderstood that we I do not think that we should use the entire amount of the money, but I do think that we should use a portion of it um to support the things that we need to support. For example, if you all remember, there was um a $60,000 cut or so that we were talking about for the African-American um success framework. And so when I think about 60,000 versus the $636,000 that we um have and remember we will get more money, right? And so that that's not um significant. I'm not talking about using that whole amount of money. Um, I could also ask um the superintendent to please share her thoughts um

115around uh financially what would be needed um for OFI to maybe not be able to reinstate every position but to be able to um like what is the financial need there? Um and it would just be great to hear from you as the superintendent on your thoughts on this. So, one, the the presentation from the from the staff in front of you definitely reflect my thoughts and we purposely put that box there to the left. Um, really calling out the temporary stability um and the the fact that this budget as is does not prepare us to have long-term sustainability, two of our core values of resource allocation. Um we we did go back and forth about the order of these presentations thinking that it might have been and still might be um better for the

116board to be able to engage in this conversation after seeing the presentation about the adopted budget and getting a true sense of where we are. Um there is still a lot of uncertainty about where we are and so so there's that. So so I definitely recommend that we maintain um the the balance that we see here of 636 because of the uncertainty and um I have heard the conversations of course and the things that are of concern. One of which is the framework. Um, one of the when we presented the framework uh reductions at at the last meeting, the meeting before the last meeting, um, what we did not share um, because it was not still yet fully clear is that one of our strategies is to transfer uh to other expenses or to true

117up expenses. And BP actually has $60,000 set aside for the framework. And at least two of the three years that I've been here, that entirety of the 60,000 has not been used. In fact, um, this year and then in the 22 23 school year, less than even 10,000 was used. And so there is an opportunity for us to still buffer, if you will, the framework and the works that are being done in the framework with that resource. And so wanting to share that information with the board now. It wasn't shared with you prior if that will help you at all with the conversation. In terms of the OPI staff, I'm looking to Jill because she's definitely better versed than I am in terms of the the average um the average salary because that is how

118we create the budget. And I would say for the remaining four it would be um you looking at Pauline for the remaining four of um it would be 120 per so 480,000 480,000 with benefits and that's that's an approximate just a based on a you know a base salary. Um there's of course some variance that we need to account for for how many position for four and just can I follow up really quickly the numbers there's you're referencing BP has those funds and what did you reference what did you refer to those funds as? So BP has dollars set aside 60,000 to support the African-American success framework. And so one of our strategies when we were doing budget balancing was to transfer um the resources to different funding sources. In this case, we're not transferring.

119We're actually utilizing a resource that was underutilized in support of the framework. And so that the the recommendation proposal that came to you all that you all are looking at we'll look at this evening can be offset by the 60,000 set aside because two of the three years um those dollars have not been fully um so in two of the three years those uh set aides for the framework have not been fully used. So that does that mean that there is 60,000 left or less than 60,000? So each this is what the allocation is for each year for BEP. So it'll be 60,000 for the 2526 school year unless B unless the P&L made a different decision and they have not made a different decision. So there's still dollars set aside to support um the

120f the African-American and there's nothing else from the prior school years left over. It's a little bit complicated to explain how the BUP carryover works. And so what you want to do is do a year at a time and there is there are dollars set aside for the framework. So you could have $60,000 to offset cost. Yes. And so that's why I want to share it while you all are having this conversation in terms of how do we continue to support um the framework in particular. We did identify those dollars but looked at now that we're towards the end of the year how much of that was actually used. 60,000 is encumbered and about four or 5,000 was actually used for the 2425 school year. And then similarly for the 22 23 school year I

121would say less than 10,000 was used. um in the 203 24 school year, the majority of that 60 was used and that was actually used to bring in um another partner to support um an an equity equity focus from the department of equity um achievement and belonging. Okay. Which we no longer have the director of. Exactly. And the the um the uh number was how much again? About 120 including benefits per Mhm. So we said 480. I'm sorry. So we said 480 for four. 480. Okay. For four positions. 110. Okay. Do you mind uh just saying that into the microphone so that people online could hear? The average that we've been using is about $110,000 which includes salary and benefits. So for four people it would be 440 and just because there is going to

122be just if people are doing the math on that $900,000 we've included a personnel variance in that calculation. One of the things that happens that we've been noticing because we're carrying a large number of staff particularly on our LCFF dollars is that if we have staff that go out on leave, we're paying for the leave plus any substitute and that is also contributing to the very shrinking and negative carryover amount that we've had. So for all of our positions, we've been calculating in a personnel variance in the event that that that happens. Okay. Um, thank you all uh for engaging on that. Thank you to the superintendent um for that information because this is my first time hearing uh that that information tonight and I think it's um really important to share all of our

123um opportunities and I worry that if I hadn't asked then we we would be in a a different situation having a different conversation. So um what' you say? I was going to say it. I was waiting to Oh, okay. Well, thank you. Thank you. Thank you for sharing that. Um there are still things that remain um on the floor and so I don't want to beat the dead horse, but maybe we can um just go through one more round. I know Director Kin has a little bit more to share, so I'll call on you next. I was going to ask a different question if you want to continue that. We're not done with mine. So we'll we'll continue this and then we'll move on. Um, so, uh, one last I I I gave the the

124proposal. We heard the amount. We heard the amount for one Oie position. We heard the amount for four OPE positions. We heard, um, the $60,000 need. And so, if we could just go around very quickly, yes or no, that would be great. And then we can move on. Yes or no? Which way? I do not support reallocating the learning recovery block grant funds. Um I I would support the staff recommendation given the long-term fiscal challenges. Director Ch. So can you you mean yes or no in terms of using all of the funds to cover all of the positions? Now hold it or some of it? Some of some of it. I never said all of the funds and I think I was trying to my best to be very clear um that there was still

125enough money uh to to leave over and so it is the decision of the board. Um our superintendent and our assistant superintendent uh just told us how much it would cost to fund one OPI position versus funding four OIE positions. We know again that there's $636,000 $636,472 um dollars and so what is your pleasure director Korn shared um no what I'm going to do uh Vice President Chang is maybe give you a minute or so to I ask a question in under that question in response to that question. So if we're talking about four OPI positions each at 110 for a total of $440,000 if that were I'm not saying that's the position I'm taking from a fiduciary perspective but if that were hypothetically taken out of the 636472 that means 196472 is remaining what

126would be the district's position and how that affects your 2627 fiscal output. Um, if we took that $400,000 to remember, we have projected expenses already of $2.3 million. That's inclusive of items from the LCAP that we've already moved on to learning recovery and other expiring grants next year. So 2.2 plus or 2.3 plus $400,000 is 2.7. That means absent getting any additional funding from the state or other revenues, we will be looking we will either be reducing all of those expenses, the 2 point whatever is what's currently coded um and those will need to be reductions that will need to be scored as we go through budget development for the 2627 school year. We won't be able to sustain it. We we as you've seen we have a a deficit in our LC have LCFF

127actions that are tagged for LCFF actions that started last year and the board had voted to use one time the LCFF reserve that is money as you'll see in the next presentation that is not available to us for this year. So again we're cutting really narrow margins. So any any additional expenses that we add lowers the amount available of learning recovery funds which then means the potential impact is decreased uh actions and potentially staffing um as we look at the 26 27th school year. Thank you. I was trying to understand because is the the appearance of a L rebg in a column like that while it refers to temporary stability on the side of it. It gives the appearance that there is a pocket of extra cash sitting there. So I'm trying to make sure

128everybody is transparent whichever way they vote or decide so they understand what that means in terms of 2627. And thank you very much. Give your please give your direction. I'm gonna uh think about it right now as you move on to the next person. Okay. I'll I've already shared where I stand so I'll go back to director Vasu Dev and then we're coming right back to you. So you only have 30 seconds. I'm going to be fast so you don't have a lot of time but let me know. Um I think based on with the current information that we have now I'm going to support the staff recommendation. So in agreement with director Korn. Thank you. I also want to support the staff because I want to make sure that we're in a strong fiduciary

129position moving forward. Thanks. I I don't know what to say, so I'm actually not going to say anything, but you can go ahead with your question if you have it. It's an abrupt transition. Um, I have I wanted to ask well I was going to ask the question about the math. Um, so I appreciate you explaining the personnel variance because I I did I did do the math and what you've budgeted here amounts to 141,000 per OIE position, not 120,000. It's 110 per OIE position plus the supervisor position and that is is more this. You pulled out the supervisor position as a separate line, didn't you? No, we operating cost for goal four. Oh, okay. Thank you. Oh, you're right. Okay, thank you. Um, and can you explain again? This is.53 FTE more than what

130we saw last week. The the 5.94 that was indicated as the FTE on the slides from last week was not correct. It should have said 6.47. That's the amount of the O of staff that we had already pulled off of the layoff list. Thank you. Um and my last question I guess is really about the the impact of these cuts. Um, I it is very painful to have to cut four OPI positions and I am wondering what the what the plan is to continue to support students, families and schools given the reduced staffing. Um, I imagine it isn't all sorted out yet, but what is the best thinking at the moment? Um, it isn't all sorted out. I think we do have some priority areas that we will have that we need to consider. Um

131we have based on the amendments made to the Latinx resolution. Um there is a commitment to ensure that we have Spanish-sp speakaking um OPI liaison available centrally and also uh time that is uh prioritized for schools that um meet a language requirement. So, it's it's obviously not an ideal situation. Um, we've grown the OFI program since I've been here. Um, and we again, not discounting any of the important work that they do for our students and our families. Um, and that is work that we're going to have to do to make sure that we can prioritize um, specific schools and that programming. Um, which does mean that we're going to have reductions in other places. And I don't have a question, I have a comment though. As we're thinking about the longevity of certain programs,

132we know that BACR is really costly. Um would love to have a conversation in the fall about what other districts are doing around mental health for elementary school students and if there are cheaper contracts out there that other models that we can look at that would be more affordable for the long term. That's it. So, uh, this is an action item, right? You know what, Vice President Chang, you can because the president's out. The president took a took a break and, um, I want to make sure to be respectful of her her her, um, leadership. I think she was meant to come back here uh before we made the decision. So, I want to make sure there's no further questions. Are there further questions here? There there's been a recommendation right by the the uh

133district. Um here comes our president. Uh President Brown, we were looking at the action item. We we wanted to make sure you had time for your so sorry my bladder needs are very different these days. All right. Um so we have reached um the point to vote is I'm assuming that's where we are. Yes. Okay. So you've heard the uh recommendations from staff. You've also engaged in what I feel is very thoughtful discussion. So thank you uh for that discussion and for taking the time uh to engage. And so now we are at the moment um to uh vote to approve the LCAP the 2024 through 2027 um LCAP plan for Berkeley Unified School District. Is there a motion to approve? I'll move that we approve the LCAP plan. Moved by Director Korn. Is there

134a second? I'll second. Okay. Because um Director K had to drop off. We don't need to do a roll call vote. Director Schnowski, the other because the other Jin has dropped off. Uh we don't need to do a uh roll call vote. And so all those in favor, please signify with the sign of I. I. Opposers have the same sign. Abstensions. The eyes have it. The motion carries and the plan is approved. Thank you all so much for your hard work. Now we will move on to our uh budget presentation. Uh we will receive a presentation this evening for the 2025 2026 budget as well as the 2024 2025 estimated um actuals. And so um if it is the pleasure of the board, we can actually just uh roll through and not take a break

135at this point, but we can roll through and receive the presentation. And so I'm excited to invite assistant superintendent Pauline Fallen to be for this evening's presentation. Welcome. You may begin whenever you are ready. Thank you. So this evening I'll be bringing the um the the budget the 2526 budget as well as the estimated actual. So 2425 we're bring we're bringing it to the board for action for approval and what I'll be highlighting will be changes since the preliminary budget that the board saw at the special meeting on on June 9th. Can we actually just take a fivem minute recess? Let's do that. Okay. I'm sorry to interrupt you, but let's take a 5m minute recess and we'll begin. Somebody left their glasses. [Music] All right, we will continue our presentation uh for our 2025

1362026 budget at this time. So, hi. Hello again. Um, so um we'll be I'll be continuing the um the presentation for the 2526 budget and the um estimated actuals. So um as I mentioned um we I had brought the preliminary budget to the board at the meeting at the special meeting on June 9th and at that time we were um it was and we also brought the budget balancing solutions. So the board actually voted on June 4th um they approved $6 million of budget balancing solutions. We removed the furlow as a as a proposal. So that $6 million is actually $700,000 less than staff proposed and that's because of the furlows. But now what that means is that we're $1.7 million away from the $7.6 million t target that we had set for 2526. So

137this has a ripple effect obviously in our budget. Um the 1.7 is very significant um in our budget at this time. Um and along with the change um to the 2526 budget, we also um brought back increasing program costs for 25 for 2425 and we identified there was a $1.8 million gap um in meeting expenses. So what we're bringing to you tonight um has the $1.8 $8 million in 2425 as an expense. But what this does, it reduces our ending fund balance to $500,000. And for us to afford that, we actually had to transfer another $700,000 from fund 20, which is our reserve for postmployment benefits. In both cases, we are unable to set aside the LCAP reserve um from our ending fund balance. Um with an ending fund balance of 500,000, we cannot set

138aside 800,000. So we don't have the LCAP reserve, which is what associate super superintendent Hoganike was referring to. We are unable I think for the first time that I'm presenting our budgets we're unable to make that LCAP reserve that was a board um the board policy. So it's a very tight budget. Um we're it we're just barely financially holding on by a thread. Um we are certifying positive because we do have a positive ending fund balance. Um and we're hoping that we will get additional money from the governor's enacted budget, but we will not know that until um after um tonight's presentation. So um what we'll be doing then is be we'll be presenting a 45day revision to the budget that will reflect reflect any additional revenue that we may get from the state. um

139the undesated. Can you go back to the one we were before? So when we're looking at um I mentioned earlier that our fund balance was 500,000 for 2526 the undesated fund balance is 104,000 and this is um because we've set aside amounts for um for the um negotiated um increases as well as the um the class and comp. So those are obligations that we had before. So, we've set that aside. So, after setting that aside from our ending fund balance, we're looking at a $104,000 ending fund balance, which is possibly the cost of one FTE. So, it's a very very very tight budget. Um, additional reductions will be necessary to increase the district's struct structural deficit and in additional costs and this may include midyear cuts if we're finding costs coming in um higher than

140we projected. So, next slide. Um, and as a reminder, this is what um is in the governor's um proposal, the May revise. Um, we are looking at additional funding for the TKLCFF. Um, and if we get 100% of what we think he's promising, um, we're looking at $819,000 ongoing. There is also this discretionary block grant. Um, at this time, we're not sure how it's going to be distributed, but if we get 314 per ADA, it's one time, but that's $2.8 8 million. So again, we're acting on the recommendation from ACE. Um we're not including any of this revenue in our budget and even if we did include it, it would have to be designated. So we're not actually um so it would not be scored against expenses. So we're waiting for the state's enacted budget

141and we will include the changes in a 45day revise. Um any questions before I I move on? Okay. So, let's move on to the next slide. Um, another thing that um is a threat or a um a thing that we're keeping an eye on is obviously federal funding. So, this is a an a highlight of what we have budgeted in the various funds um for federal funding. And at this time, we're advised to budget federal funding like we did in the year before. and um we will adjust our budget as we get additional information. So when we're looking at the variance report, what is different from the variance report that um that I brought um to the June 9th meeting? No changes in revenue on this slide. So um and we explained the difference between

142the estimated actuals and the adopted budget when we did the preliminary budget on the 9th. So next slide. So in this slide um the certificated salaries and benefits we no longer have the impact of the furlows on the unrestricted general fund. So you can see that um our expenses have gone up slightly here and also um in 2425 we have the additional um costs baked in and that impacts the ending fund balance for 2425 and the beginning fund balance for 2526. Next slide. Um we can go to the next slide. Actually wait this one I need to um I need to backtrack. Sorry, backtrack. So, um, no. So, I just want to point out, um, on the contributions out to special ed, um, you can see that, um, we actually increase that contribution. That was

143one of the changes that we had in ter terms of what the increasing costs were in 2425. So, we did increase the contribution. Um, the $1.8 million. A lot of that actually had to do with increasing spread costs. Next slide. So, this is this looks um at our ending fund balance. Um what we're how much we're deficit spending um in the first um heavy barred area. um our ending fund balance um is actually um $500,000 for 2526. You can see that our ending fund balance in 2425, the $1 million is helping 2526 because we're actually deficit spending by 500,000. So, um, an ending fund balance of 500,000, like I said, is a very, very thin, um, we have a very thin margin in terms of a positive balance. Um, next slide. So, this looks at

144our um our labor adjustments or what we're setting aside for labor adjustments, which is the um the salary increase for one of our unions, as well as the class and comp. Um we you can see that um nothing for LCAP in either years. Usually you would see an $800,000 there because we had used some of LCAP for bridge, the LCAP reserve for bridge. Um we do not have the $800,000. Um hopefully if there's funding coming in from the state, we would be able to set that aside. Next slide. um no change in our average daily attendance. Um we're hoping for an increase that would obviously impact us positively, but at this time no change since the slide that I brought on the 9th. Next slide. Um and this is our multi-year projections. Um as a

145reminder, this does not have negotiated increases included and this is still based on the May revise because we have not received the governor's budget as yet. Next slide. Um assumptions are the same in terms of our cola or ADA or unduplicated pupil count. Um where we actually and and our LCFF funding, the changes in the expenditure and the um contribution line. So um it was mentioned um for LCFF funding, we're we're getting $4.4 million every year. Um it's dependent on the colar. So right now we're projecting 4.4 for 25 26 and another 4.4 um oh wait no I'm in the wrong place. Sorry 6.4 don't have a heart attack Jill. 6.4 for supplemental um for 2526 6.7 for 2627 and 6.9 for 2728. So, not only is the base funding um being affected by the

146increased cola, obviously our supplemental funding as well. The number that I quoted earlier was actually our state funding which we anticipate that would remain pretty flat. Next slide. Um sources and uses. Um in terms of looking at our special ed program, um we are holding that amount pretty flat um for 31.4 4 million. And again, this is a program that we're watching closely in terms of the um increasing costs and making sure we're um putting steps putting um steps in place to mitigate the the increasing cost by working closely with the program um side of the house. Um ending fund balance. Um, we have $100,000 in 25 26 26 27 doesn't look that much better. 2728 1.4 million, but remember we have no, um, increased negotiated increases in this. So, um, next slide. Um this

147is just a reserve disclosure that we just had the um the public hearing on and this is a requirement um based on the Senate bill um 858 and um we are required to do this by the county and the state. Um next slide I'm not going to go over that. So, I mentioned that we actually transferred in some funding from fund 20 to be able to um to account for the um the reduction in budget balancing solutions um and not being able to meet our target. So, this is an interesting slide because it shows the history of our fund 20. Back in 2021, um we had $8.9 million and every year when we run payroll, we kind of contribute to this um fund and then we actually pay for our um retirees on a pay

148as you go system. So you can see that we've gone from an $8.9 million balance to a projected balance of a million dollar um in this since 2021 to and um a large investment or a large spend actually came in 2425. Um usually we are spending we started off by spending 2 million in 2021 1.4 4 in 2122, half a million in 2223 and less than that in 2324 and 5.7 million in 2425. So this just demonstrates this is a one-time source of funding. It cannot be used for ongoing expenses. We've dipped into it to kind of assist and help our ending fund balance. But again, this is not sustainable. can't be using one-time funds for ongoing expenses. So, the $700,000 that we're using for 2526, that is actually helping the fact that we did

149not meet the target of the 7.6 million. Um, next slide. So, this is just a summary of um of next steps. Um, as I mentioned several times, we're waiting for the enacted budget. It's due anywhere from the 15th through the 30th. We will be doing a 45day revision to the budget and this this will be taken we brought back to the board um at the August 6 meeting. Another thing that's going to impact our our fiscal um position is when we close the books um that's due by September 15th. That's going to inform the beginning balance for 2526. So right now we've taken as much savings as we could to um to meet the increasing cost in 2425. So we will have a better idea when we actually close the books whether we came out

150ahead or not. So that's also going to impact um our 2526 budget. Uh so next slide. So again, um the the state to our budget um near and long-term challenges. Obviously, we're depending on state funding and the state itself has issues with their budgets and their forecasting. Um at one point, we're benefiting from our ADA mitigating measures for our ADA. That's no longer there. Um we have expiring one-time funds and grants that would impact um our our LCAP and our restricted programs. And of course the overall summary is that our costs are outpacing revenue and contributions. We need to develop comprehensive plans to maintain fiscal solvency and preserve the integrity of our educational programs. So it's a very bleak budget. Um and um we need to really um pay attention to increasing costs and try

151to identify additional revenue. Um and then staying informed and engaged. We do a budget book. I know there's been um some concern or some interest in terms of understanding our budget. Every time we present one of these budgets, we have a book of I don't know 200 pages with a lot of exciting information. It's also on our website. Um and this explains not only the current year, but we have look back at um in very detailed um by each account and in every most funds we have a um a comparative analysis. So, I'll encourage you to Excuse my interruption. I need to entertain a motion to extend the meeting. I'm sorry. Okay. I move to do so. I'll second. Oh, I'm sorry. I I'll move it to midnight just in case because we're not going

152to get there. We don't want to have to do multiple motions. Oh. Time do you think that? Would you like to make a motion to extend to 11:30? 11:30. Okay. Would you like to second that motion? Sure. Okay. All those in favor, please signify with the sign of I. I. Opposers, abstensions. The eyes have it. You may continue. I'm wrapping this up really quickly right now. Um, so just mentioning that we do have budget books that have a lot of information if you're wanting to find out additional um get additional information about our budget. And then on the next slide, um this is an extract. Next slide, Liz. um we're just saying that we're in a critical financial position and this is actually in our um overall summary in that um in the budget book

153and without additional revenues or um reduction in expenses is unlikely we will maintain or receive a positive certification. So, we're really on the edge and having um not having a positive certification means that we're unable or we may not meet our fiscal obligations for the current year and two subsequent years. Um, we're again we're presenting this to the board tonight for approval with the understanding that the state has not finalized or presented their budget and we're hopeful that there will be additional funding um which will be a cushion for increasing costs and um it will be presented um at the first August meeting um with the 45day revise and that concludes my presentation. Thank you so much for your presentation. We will go through um a quick discussion of the board before we uh take

154action on this item. Are there any board um questions? Any board comments? Uh if so, this is the perfect time to to do so. Go ahead, Vice President. um just like a a big picture overview. Your last slide that um where you you've presented a pretty stark um uh perspective on how close to the edge we are in terms of the budget. Um what does that mean in the last slide when you say that we won't be able to what's can you bring that last slide up again this make sure I understand the language here. Um I'm sorry I had in front of you before but I don't now we won't be able to we may not without additional funding right without additional funding or or reductions in expenditures we will not be able to

155have a positive certification but also um pay for our costs. Here we go. Uh unable to meet our fiscal obligations. Um, can I know this sounds kind of obvious, but what does that mean? Unable to meet our fiscal obligations in the current able to pay our bills or stay be solvent. We'll be broke. Bills that are due during the We'll be broke. Actually, we shouldn't be laughing, but um it means that we'll we'll be upside down. We wouldn't be a viable organization. We'll be we won't have the funds to pay for bills that have come due. Yeah. Yeah, is that what? Okay. I mean, we won't be able to meet our fiscal obligations for the current year and subsequent two years. So, instead of having a positive ending fund balance will be negative. So, it's

156it's more it's an immediate type of impact versus descerti what is it called? Deacreditation descertification which takes some time. Well, um you remember we're still waiting on the state budget, but based on what we have now, if we have an expense that comes in that's more than $100,000, if our projections are off by $100,000 based on our current situation, we will be negative. And that's negative. We won't have the cash on hand for that cost. Yeah. This is not this is not the position we want to be in. So we're hopeful that there will be funding coming in for state fin the state the final state budget but with increasing costs and reduced revenues it's not sustainable like any budget you know we want to we want to spend what we're bringing in and not

157overspend our revenue. What happens in uh 45 days if there is a positive change where we have more range? We will still have a positive certification. We are certifying positive now. Um I brought as I mentioned in the summary um or in the introduction we are certifying positive because that number is still positive but only barely positive for increasing costs. Yeah. our increasing costs for all our programs um and reduce revenues. So, okay. Thank you. You're welcome. Director Korn, any questions? Director Vas, do I have any questions? All right. No other questions? I think that we've uh in the last couple of I think the reason why board directors don't have any questions um is because we've done all of our question asking and all of our advocacy um in the last couple of budget

158meetings that we've had um and so we've kind of reached the point where we've seen all the recommendations um from ESPback we've seen the recommendations from staff we have um done our own work to engage with our stakeholders um to try our best to reach um the best best place for us to be um as far as it relates to the budget season. What I will uh share with my board colleagues, it doesn't relate to uh the vote tonight for this budget. Uh, but I really want to encourage the board of education, um, as we get ready to go to the next budgeting cycle, receiving the information that we received tonight, to really think about our own priorities as a board, um, and to come up with those priorities alongside uh, the call tonight for

159um, a framework or a roadmap around um, our staffing plans. I think that we are uh in a place where we're hoping for a cushion, but next year there's there's stormy weather ahead of us and that's what we've been using um pretty much this budgeting season, but there is going to be stormy weather ahead of us. And so, um, in my absence, it would be the in the board's best interest to really think about priorities early, to engage early, um, and to make sure that we reach this budgeting, reach the end of next year's budgeting process, um, a little bit more aligned, a little bit healthier, um, and to have made decisions earlier, which won't be as impactful. Uh I mean they're all it's always going to be impactful but impactful in the end feels

160different than impactful in the beginning and um helping the district to move forward um collaboratively to get to a a good budgeting place. And so again, uh, Director Shinoski has called for budgeting workshops. And so I hope that that will happen for the board so the board clearly understands um, our role in budgeting and the board could develop their own budget priorities that you can look at that we can look at alongside of the SPback priorities alongside of the superintendent and staff's uh, recommendation. Um, so I'm just going to, you know, put that out there. we've already discussed it, but I think it's important to to share that publicly. So, with that being said, uh we have now reached the opportunity for a vote on um the information that was shared around the 2025 2026

161budget as well as the estimated actuals. Is there a motion to approve? So, moved. Okay. Moved by Director Basuv. Is there a second? I'll second. Seconded by Director K. All those in favor, please signify with the sign of I. I. I. Opposers, extensions. The eyes have it. The motion carries and the budget is approved. Thank you so much, Assistant Superintendent Finsby, for your hard hard hard work. There have been so many different iterations of uh this budget. There's been so much engagement that you as well as the superintendent and other staff have done with the ESPback community um as well as our other uh stakeholder groups. So, thank you for bringing us through this very difficult budgeting process and we're hoping that one day the sun will come out and that these rainy days will

162will clear up. But thank you so much for your hard work. There are a couple items uh tonight uh information items that I want to ask the board uh to please govern yourselves accordingly uh regarding uh 16.1 through 16.3. Uh so please take some time to review those uh and prepare for those uh as I'm sure they will come up in your August meeting. We have now reached the second opportunity for extended public comment. Miss Chavez, is there anyone online who will make a comment? And we do have uh some public commenters here in the room. So as soon as Miss Chavez tells me uh there's one public commenter online and one public commenter in p in person. Uh, Namoto, whenever you are ready to begin, you will have two minutes for your comment and

163then we'll move on to our online commenters. Thank you for staying to comment to the board. Of course. Um, first I just wanted to say happy um, leave. We can't wait to see that ba amazing baby. Um, and then I wanted to say a special thank you to Miss Rebecca and Miss Landry who were both Longfellows um, OIE reps that I guess now we're losing. Um, and I just wanted to ask the board to be cognizant of um, trying to things that you keep removing because at Longfellow you keep ripping things out of our school. like uh we we have um bilingual, you know, and you took our bilingual Opie person tonight and um and also the other four people or total four people. Um that's family engagement. Um the students and the families are

164what make us be able to have a school district and have a school board. And um and I know there's hard decisions to be make, but we're always saying like we're doing stuff for the babies. Um, but you know, those four people represent a lot of babies that now are having their hearts ripped out. And um, and just as someone who keeps going through transition, it would be nice if it wasn't always happening to Longfellow. Um, just as a parent. Um, anyway, have a good summer. Nice baby. Um just let's think about some of our decisions. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Uh we will move on to our one um online commenter. Miss Chariz whenever you are ready you may promote them. Hi can you hear me? Hi Katherine. Yes we can hear

165you. Welcome. Hey this is Lily Howell. Katherine is my government name. So now you all know my full name, but this is Lily Howell. I'm a OFI specialist. Um, and I will say that my heart is completely shattered with the decisions that the board made tonight. Um, I want to thank um, Director Brown for her fierce advocacy for our department and her flexible thinking, trying to support the families within our district and keep our OFI staff staffed as full as possible. I'm deeply disappointed with the actions of the rest of the board. Um I'm really surprised with all the ad advocacy after the advocacy from Latinos Unidos de Berkeley with um some of the actions of the board. Um but I also just want to dispel some myths. For one, personnel variance. Um none of

166us have ever had a sub in the time that I've worked for BUSD. Uh we had a a co-orker have a baby last year and there was never a sub. So there was never a sub paid. we actually all covered her site when any of us is sick. Um, it's not a subable position on frontline. So, there's not actually a sub ready and able to take that job. So, that's not actually a cost that's incurred. I feel like there are lots of missteps um misspeaks and misinformation that's been given to you all about um the cost of OPI. I also will say that the four OFI staff that were cut are on the lower part of the salary scale. So, they don't touch the average cost of OFI. below average. Um, so again, the cost

167would probably have been lower. Um, but thank you, Director Brown, for your advocacy and hopefully there's a way to save some of our staff in the future. Thank you for your comments. Uh, are there any other public commenters? Okay, hearing none, um, I will call for adjournment right now at 11:14 p.m. Thank you all so much for joining us. Thank you to the ones who stayed.