001for e e for I spe for e for of for e for e for for for fr for for as just I the for that's okay spe f what [Music] than the talk problem [Music] spe for for e for some w we had Jacqueline gab from adalante dos and we have Raymond matob who showcase their hard work dedication and impressive spelling skills Raymond stay up here in this highly competitive event there were words spelled I don't think I could even spell with spell checker honestly um but we want to also give a huge shout out congratulations to Raymond standing up here because he earned second place in the entire County earning him earning him his second chance to go to state competition this is not his first rodeo he went for us two years ago
002Raymond yeah so we're excited to see him go to the state spilling be on April 26th in Mantika at the Great Wolf Lodge if anybody wants to join us we applaud all of our students and their incredible achievement and for making arusd proud good luck [Applause] Raymond he's ready to escape he's like no pictures please marer [Applause] thank you thank you yes congratulations so moving on to Teamsters 4.1 any Teamsters in the room The Usual Suspects are Mia so let's move on to 4.2 California School employee Association CSEA um so let's move on to 4.3 Alro Educators Association area good evening members of the board superintendent and Community I stand before you as an educator someone who is deeply committed to the success and growth of our students as well as the success and growth
003of the district as a whole I am here today to remind us all of the critical Truth The crucial no critical sorry critical truth that in the pursuit of educational Excellence we must not put the cart before the horse we all understand the importance of strategic planning of creating visions and goals for our schools but as we set these objectives we must remember that the success of any school system is fundamentally built on the shoulders of its Educators we are the ones who are in the classroom day in and day out working directly with the students we are the ones who have the experience insight and expertise to know what works in the classroom what will support our students and what will inspire them to reach their full potential what is beneficial for one District
004may not necessarily work for all as each Community has unique needs and challenges how many companies have carefully been vetted to ensure quality and Effectiveness it is crucial to recognize that a one-size fits-all approach is not always feasible we have been working to align all stakeholders facilitating open dialogue and collaboration to ensure that we as a district are empowered to move forward in this new Direction with tailored solutions that best meet our specific needs and yet time and time again we see policies and decisions being made without the input or perspective of the very individuals who are responsible for implementing them the teachers it's critical that we do not overlook this vital element of our education system we cannot succeed if we fail to engage the people who are directly responsible for making this system
005function on a day-to-day basis if we truly want to enhance education we need to empower our teachers give us the autonomy to do the work we're trained to do and Trust our expertise in the classroom we can do we cannot do that if decisions are being with made without our voices is being heard without our needs being met and without a shared understanding of the realities of the work that we do when the cart be it new programs initiatives or mandates is placed before the horse the essential work of teaching and learning suffers when initiatives are rolled out without the input of Educators we often see frustration confusion and most importantly a failure to support the needs of our students effectively instead let us move forward with a model that values teachers as instructional leaders
006let us recognize the immense value that Educators bring to the table and let's work together in Partnership to ensure that every decision we make has the goal of truly supporting Student Success without adding undue burden on those who already are doing the heavy lifting and closing I ask the board and everyone involved in the decision-making process that affects our classrooms to consider the expertise of Educators when formulating policy look to us as the instructional leaders we are listen to us support us trust us include us so that because we know what works in our classrooms give us the resources the time and the trust we need to do what is best tonight on agenda item 10.3 you will be asked to approve a contract with ar Renda for $200,000 for outside consultant work to do
007what we as teachers want to do please consider the cost when making this decision for the contract that provides services assuming we move forward with the recommendation suggestion from arenda after this what additional costs will be required to continue this work how is this organization vetted how can we best utilize our curent in-house expertise to subsidize the cost of this work thank you for your time and commitment to education thank you mandra the Alam Rock administrators Association good evening Board of Trustees superintendent Sera Elam Rock staff in alar community my name is di Rosales alaman I'm a principal on special assignment supporting multilingual programs it is a privilege to speak tonight to represent a group of Educators administrators who work tremendously hard in service to our school and Community it has been an exciting and
008eventful time across our schools at Cel they welcome the fifth graders from science camp and that also um goes with other schools who are attending um science camp science camp in the spring um we also know that many of our fifth graders are starting to to tour middle school so they could decide where to go in the fall um many of our schools are also attending field trips with the Tech Museum and Monteray Bay Aquarium we know that these are crucial opportunities that enhance the learning that takes place in the classroom um this week the county is also hosting math week and Alam rock is shining on day three which was yesterday we were in second place country uh countywide logging in an incredible 213 1,95 minutes of math stories and games with one um
009two days to go as of yesterday we're excited to see how high we can climb families can continue engaging through the link shared on parents Square during this week and Beyond as we enter April um we also recognize that it's National bilingual multilingual learner ab pyman and we're celebrating our students who have reclassified thus far in the year we're at 29 three students um that is more than we did last year we still have elpac scores that will come in in May so we hope that this number will go high into the 300s um we honor and we um celebrate the families the Educators and the students for their hard work we look forward to honoring also our biliteracy pathway um recipients in June uh participants from both Atlantis and also um our Vietnamese dual
010language um school got to present at gab they're currently there right now so it's such um you know a great honor to have our dual language and all of our Multicultural uh programs um celebrated thank you very much and we invite you to all of our events thank you uh superintendent s thank you madam president and yenny took some of my thunder so um I have a couple of updates uh Dr Diana JV estto director of early learning participated in a Sacramento briefing on California Universal pre kindergarten upk that was hosted by the Learning policy Institute our Early Learning Program is a model great things happening in alrock that others in the state are learning from from as the state is requiring all districts to expand upk to all four-year-olds beginning next year a practice
011alumrock has had in place since 2016 so congratulations and then March uh is National bilingual multilingual learner advocacy month yes uh and I just want to share that I was a I'm a bilingual learner myself I want to acknowledge you know the accomplishments of our students uh this month yes we had close to 300 very exciting uh students that have reclassified also our Vietnamese imersion immersion program at painter is is representing alumrock at the Statewide California Association of bilingual educators conference about the amazing work being done in our bilingual program so congratulations uh Copita it started today we are very excited to announce our fourth annual Copita I'm very excited I'm looking forward to it this weekend at James lick it actually started here it's happening at uh right here at um schola popular today
012um James Lake High School in collaboration with ton Soo it's my understanding they televis it so I'm excited about that it is a World Cup style soccer tournament with a resource fair and activities for families please come and join us for a weekend of football and Community details are available on our website there was also a parents for message that was sent to All Families uh alumrock is also hosting the annual Cesar Chavez March and celebration uh alumrock students will celebrate Cesar Chavis day in a March uh from dors Elementary to American Heritage plaza where festivities will include performances in keynote by Teresa Chavez Delgado Cesar Chavez's granddaughter and this is uh tomorrow March 28th 2025 thank you very much Madam president uh Board of Trustees comment you know just a few quick remarks uh
013so uh since the last board meeting I was uh invited to the state of the county speech by bo uh County Supervisor OT Lee who serves as uh president of the County Board this year and so you know I'm had the opportunity to with other school board members to speak with him and County Board and you know uh hearten to see that the county is uh even in in these challenging times uh committed to maintaining um schooling Services as well as you know especially as it pertains to this District wellness centers uh so we're you know you know uh you know the county is committed to preserving those programs uh this year and commit still committed to working with school districts like Alam Rock uh secondly uh last weekend uh I had the opportunity to
014join councilman Ortiz and uh truste Chavez and quento at the opening of The alen Rock Little League at the uh newly renovated baseball diamond at uh pter Elementary you know uh these are tangible investments in in our schools to have these uh assets for the community uh you know uh things like this do not happen without your neighborhood public school so um please you know all always always important that to know that uh we are more than just chalkboards in the classroom we are also you know providers of many community services from athletic from Sports to music right and then uh you know uh it was great to uh see the star of Copita at what you know historically is the track and field of Pala Middle School something I haven't been something I haven't
015been on since June of 1998 since I ran my last mile mile out there right so you know great to see our kids you know play even if it was rainy right the scrimmage matches for kopita and I look forward to seeing all of you out uh for this weekend at James Lake Middle School for Copita you know hope you know come out and see which school takes home you know the Alam Rock cup and last but not least you know uh you know in in light of um you know parent comment about Lucha and Lucha has been on my mind and if I may you know share you know my conversations with superintendent Serta we you know heard some of your concerns right Lucha is you know one of the things that was part
016of you know the the school collabor uh consolidation process that this board ultimately adopted was the preservation of Lucha as a distinct school with its own uh California Department of Education numers I we've heard you first on uh so superintendent Ser has assured me that you know the logo will be you know included in the next you know in future um District uh Outreach you know you know uh I get it I you know I've been to Lucha Lucha is a distinct community and you know we we ought to promote it as such uh and yes it should be promoted as as a a small School of Choice as this District you know promised and I think last but not least it's still work in progress so I I you know continue to keep pressure
017on on me and my colleagues on this board because you know um you know we we you know we all want to see you know L you know this relationship work right for for not just San Antonio's students but also Lucha's students as well and their parents and you know the hope is you know as as to borrow uh to borrow from uh Sandra Rivera at the last meeting you know uh you know extending Grace right and as I've mentioned La you know at the last meeting as well it's about trying to meet meet halfway as much as possible so you know it's you know we're still working on luch it's not perfect yet but you know again continue to you know your right as residents of this District to let us know you know
018what your concerns are and what we can do to address them so on that note thank you so much Madame President yes thank you so much I want to start off by thanking those that um come and speak on public comment you know we cannot be everywhere at every school every day but uh hearing from you all helps um so thank you you know those that spoke and thank you trusty fam for addressing and mentioning that about Lucha um it helps us also ask questions you know we meet with a superintendent on a weekly basis and if there's something new that we haven't heard about you know we ask more and and want to know more so thank you again and I hope to see more and more um people in the audience and in
019public comment um also I want to thank those that attended michiga New Year you know um I saw some of the staff out there was able to take a picture with them and thank them and be in ceremony with our indigenous Community um you know there was a time where there weren't no borders on the Americas you know in the Americas and we as indigenous people traveled up and down the Americas so we are here we are striving we are you know celebrating um so it was great to be out there and unfortunately I couldn't be at um County Board president uh ao's event but I'm glad that my uh peers were able to make it and represent Alam rock as well um also today I was able to be a part of a power
020lunch um led by judge Lo jento who has a special place in for our district in her heart um she uh holds this event where um local female mentors from attorneys to judges probation officers doctors are able to come and share elected officials about their uh Journey um with other uh young girls in our community um so we had several young girls within our community two of our very own students there I was a very proud trustee um judge lento asked any of the audience members if they wanted to share something on the mic uh when the keynote had just finished and she was amazing and one of our very own students raised their hand and got up there um so it's just great to see the leadership you know within our students again you
021know from what who we recognized earlier to you know this afternoon um out out there in at the County Superior Court um so just proud of uh Alam rock and all that our students are doing um and that our teachers and staff are supporting our students couldn't get there without them right without the support um and having the opportunities to learn and learn those skills in class and have the opportunity so thank you all um we're all a part of that um and then of course Copita is here I god it feels like a blink of an eye um and I know many of us in our community look forward to it uh we have a lot of players um I saw many walking out to their games excited with their parents so see you
022out there um I again want to thank tundo uh and NBC for investing in our community investing in alen Rock I know my friend Ed Dias and I once upon a time were having a conversation and she's like what if we bring kopita out there I said let's do it um and so and we you know for me it's not just what people say oh I'm here to invest it's where people put their money in and investment in right so again want to thank Partners like NBC tundo um and all the amazing teachers and staff and everybody who's you know coaches I know a lot of parents ended up volunteering to coach the Copita team too um there's a lot of Investments so thank you all for making that successful and then just want to
023also invite our community tomorrow we're having a black and brown getdown um event at the African-American Community Service Agency from 6:30 to 8:30 there'll be some people here on the panel um discussing important issues that have continue to affect our black and brown community and how do we come together right and work together um and continue to be allies with one another um so having those meaningful conversations sometimes difficult to here but it's a reality um and you know we get to continue to support one another as communi so that our community is uh equal right for all like regardless of of where you're at um so looking forward to see you all it's open to the community 6:30 to 8:30 um at the African-American communi um Service Agency um and yeah I'll see you
024there thank you board president vice president uh yeah um I wanted to U Express U gratitude U to the students uh the teachers on the administrators everybody who uh works the the folks from uh Mesa program uh that um I know that it requires extra effort it's not just part of the the daily uh work it requires people to stay on board and so as an educator myself I know what it is to go out there and have to expend extra effort Beyond um the the regular routine the regular work that you do and so it's for that reason I wanted to be I wanted to express my gratitude and appreciation to all of our students who are standing up and uh getting recognition for that um excellent work that they're doing with regard to
025math and science and all that type of stuff that they're doing Additionally the spaling be participants thank you for uh showcasing your skills and bringing honor to alen brck to yourselves and alen rock and your local schools much appreciated I know that significant amount of work goes into coordinating all that effort and so thank you to all teachers that go above and beyond and put in the work to make that happen um with regard to opening day um really appreciative of the opportunity to go out to alrock Little League opening day looking forward to a stronger collaboration with our little leagues we have uh you know folks who put in a significant amount of effort they spend a massive amount of time and I think it needs to be honored with a stronger uh working
026relationship between the district and those leagues so as to ensure that um uh we can let them know that we're here for them and that students should be at our schools um and that way we have a a good symbiotic relationship there where they're they're making use of our sites but at the same time they're also here with as part of the school district like it used to be obviously we have a lot of competition and it's not it's not very different but um I think that that strong relationship is something admirable and something that we should be working towards all the time I think that it got a little bit um we got a little distant there because you know they're doing their thing alen Rock's focusing on keeping ourselves afloat I think now
027that we're reimagining Ellen rock that we should have uh the little leagues have a a stronger uh role like they used to um and with regard to Pita very excited to u to uh see it coming back and looking forward to catching a game or two obviously got a lot of work to do wouldn't be able to catch all all the games but uh looking for forward to uh to raising those trophies and congratulating the hard work of those winners um I also wanted to uh remind us of the of the past and the decision that we make the field that is being played on there was plans spr it a long while ago and it was um you know was going to be it was going to be significantly changed and uh we pushed
028back as a board and uh very grateful to see that it's being used like it always is but being used for an arusd purpose and uh and that it's still there uh because uh at that time there was different ideas about making it much smaller and and removing um uh access to it and so I'm glad that we still have it as a resource and that it's available and it's being used for our community so those are my comments um Everybody covered everything I'll just make a quickie um thank you all the teachers who really put in all of their support to the students I went to the Mesa program that Saturday and it was like this teacher had so many students to keep track of I was like trying to help but silently right
029um and it's just so much work and effort that they do for these kids because they really care about the kids and I just want to thank them and they don't always get the recognition but um I just want them to know that they are supported not 100% like they should be but we're trying everybody and on opening baseball day it was like deju out there again my kids grew and I both grew up in the fields they had a little parade everybody was was you know chanting and everything that was that was pretty fun the little parade they had and uh you could see and I took pictures so that I could show the superintendent that this was amazing it looked like a professional feel I had never seen it look that good and
030I know sometimes OT gets a bad rap but I got to say they did a really good job and that's because we got a superintendent pushing them now thank you very much and so I hope to see uh a better partnership there and um maybe we can even bring the winners of the if the board approves of course of the alen rock Little League uh that's something to consider so that that way they can know that we're trying to make a greater effort to um to partner up more with them than than what we've been doing and uh the Copita there's another location also that nobody mentioned I just came from the shepherd and so those little girls were playing and they were amazing it's like raining really hard and and I'm like trying to
031run to the rain to get out of the rain but they didn't even you know Miss A Beat they're out there and having fun and so I hope we can also have the winners here and present them with something some kind of award uh later on and thank you everyone and so let's move on to the next item is 5.1 so I have a motion have a second okay I have a motion and a second is there any public comment on the approval of the contract for law offices of roel re uh is there any no public contct comment any trustee comment seeing no trustee comment let's move for the vote all in favor please raise your hand so the motion passes for 5.1 unanimously so uh item six move to approve okay so I
032have a motion for uh to approve and a second for the bond facilities contract s is San sanitary my gosh sanitary I easy with this sanitary SE line replacement award Bond uh 2425 Bond 08 golden Bay Construction Inc do I so I have a first and a motion so do I have any public comment on item 6.1 uh seeing no public comment do I have any trusty comment truste president I just want to um read out that the total contract amount will be 7 12,761 thank you thank you and so uh can we all vote for oh sorry I didn't see you go ahead I just wanted to say you know glad to see this item you know parents you know one of the big one of the big concerns of parents at pain Elementary
033has been the state of the plumbing in the restrooms and this these repairs will go a long way to um Pro you know uh repairing those plumbing problems in the restroom so thank you and also these uh repairs are going to be for Chavez Elementary Okala STEM Academy and painter Elementary and so go ahead um a question Anna yes sorry question yeah we'll see a question for the superintendent yeah for the superintendent um how often does this happen uh like you know once it gets done when's the next I'm sure it's at least you know decades but it yeah I would say Teresa decades I I know probably yeah probably 20 years or so okay yeah and then more and these are clay sewage Lanes it was my understanding from um mad do you have
034anything to add to this for the the replacement how often it's being replaced because I know she worked with the um that sounds crazy no as far as I've been told yeah they would last 25 30 years uh the ones we have are original and they are clay so they're very old yeah and then another question is um when are our other campuses up for like needing something like that or is it is it too early to tell um well those are still being evaluated and recommended by mot it's a collaboration between mot and bond so as soon as we have that list we'll make it available thank you so we when we first did our our early we had a bond program that was active there was a significant effort expended in going out
035there and taking care of telling all the type of stuff that you don't see so some of the stuff was addressed back then um so a lot a lot of other places you'll see brand new buildings and stuff of that sort here given the fact that our assess valuation is relatively low even though everybody's houses are a million bucks and above um it's it's it makes it very difficult for us to be able to access the resources we need uh to be able to make the repairs that you see in other places here it's let's try to maintain these places that were built back in the 50s and 60s and keep them going so a lot of the money that was spended back then was was basically on these things it was the stuff you
036don't see was Behind the Walls just trying to keep the the water clean and and uh the plumbing you know running the sewer lines repaired so this is pro this is just a natural you continuation of that work that was being done back then yeah thank you okay all in favor for 6.1 please raise your hand the motion passes 5- Z motion passes unanimously 7.1 approval of District memorandum of understanding with Teamsters Local 150 move to approve uh do I have a second seeing no second motion dies moving on hold on are you on the same um agenda the amended one second how many amendments were the so there's one that was left in front of us I'm using the book so there was amended one the next one was the bond senior ex description
037I forget that I can't go I No I gave you the copy okay got it so let me go to the amended 7.2 7.1 7.1 wait a minute 7.2 is next thank you and so move to approve the job description for senior executive bonds uh maintenance operations and transportation wait a minute and that was the one that was a ation so 7.1 I just read out for the district memorandum of understanding correct which is not if you moved it from was an amendment to the agenda so I it was my understanding that the things would be moved behind that so that we could not we could follow the order but since it wasn't done like that it will probably done in the future huh okay so we're gonna do 7 so I'm going to start
038again so I'm GNA start with 7.2 correct and I have um 7.1 to go in the order 7.2 okay do you want my Amendment copy so there was I had an amendment to the amendment no it was an amendment to an amendment yeah got it so 7.1 so that's what we're doing right now senior executive bonds yeah so move to approve okay one and I got a second on that correct correct okay do I have any public comment on approval of description of senior executive of bom there was no second oh there was no second yeah there was no second that's why okay okay so do I have a second on the approval of job description senior executive bonss I'll move for purp discussion Okay so is there any public comment on the senior executive
039of bonds for 7.1 there's no public comment is there any trustee comment on 7.1 go ahead just a question to the superintendent this uh senior executive of bonds is an you're it's going to go through a full process that's going to it's going to advertise it there's going to be a committee what we follow for every position correct absolutely yes and that will and then the recommendations will come from uh the committee Pro don't make the recommendation to me and then I'll make the recommendation to the board all right but there's a a committee and we're going to uh Mr T is going to work uh with the labor Partners to invite them to be part of the um uh committee to interview any further trusty comments seeing none uh those in favor please raise
040your hand 5 Z motion passes unanimously and the 7.21 move to approve move to approve the re Vision to salary schedule for classified management so I have a a motion and a second do I have any public comment on 7.2 seeing no public comment do I have any trusty comment on 7.2 seeing no trusty comment uh let's vote all in favor 7.2 approval of the revision of salary schedule please raise your hand 5 Z motion passes unanimously 7.3 approval approval second approval of the district memorandum of understanding with Teamsters so I have a motion and a second is there any public comment on 7.3 item uh seeing no public comment any truste comment on 7.3 seeing no trusty comment all in favor please raise your hands motion passes unanimously 5.0 moving on 8.1 audit or
041rotation and other audit requirements presentation this is an information only do we have um the person here for the okay assisted superintendent of business Dells Mr cells will uh introduce our presenters good evening um I would like to to welcome Jen Aris and Charles Ry from Crow and they will uh be presenting uh regarding the audit rotation tonight and I believe that you have our presentation perfect excellent thank you so much okay great uh yes so as you mentioned uh we're here with just an information item tonight to discuss audit or rotation requirements and then some of the specific audit requirements that we go through on an annual basis so um we have an agenda for you here that outlines that information and we can go as deep on this as we want to or
042say as high level as you'd like uh just by way of introduction you may have remembered me from what was it maybe two months ago that I was here uh presenting the fiscal year 2024 financial statements I am your signing audit partner uh fiscal year 2024 was my first year signing the financial statements for the district uh I am aligned to our public sector Practice Group within Crow and so I spend all of my client facing time serving school districts like yourself and then Public Employee Retirement Systems and so you're probably most familiar with the California State teachers retirement system and I spend quite a bit of time on that engagement uh and then actually run our Northern California public sector practice and am the office managing partner for our Sacramento office Charles is with
043me here he also spends uh 100% of his time in the public sector space he's been the senior manager on the engagement and uh again is very much tied into the uh School District space uh we're actually both speaking at casbo in a few weeks so uh very much tied in within the industry so so uh you may have heard about auditor rotation requirements and you know I think as we talk through the the next two slides here I I really want to draw the comparison between auditor rotation and audit firm rotation and so there's a requirement within the uh California Education Code that we've linked for you here if you'd like to take a closer look uh but this rotation requirement is focused on the signing partner of the engagement and so my role
044and that requires that after six years of being the signing partner there is a timeout period there's there's a year off a cooling off if you will and the purpose of this is to make sure that we are adhering not only to the audit standards but looking at things with fresh eyes and so this is one of the ways that the regulations are built to allow for or to ensure that there's a a fresh perspective at Crow we actually take this a step further and so um there are a few other things that we incorporate with in the audit process that ensure that we are taking a fresh look every year and basically auditing the district new so while we're able to start with a a baseline understanding documentation of the controls that are in
045place obviously built a a strong working relationship with management we throw out last year's file we start a new file the audit standards require that we incorporate an element of unpredictability so every year when we go through our risk assessment for the district obviously we're going to test you know very significant areas like Revenue right payroll expenditures those are going to be tested every year but we are challenged on an annual basis to look at a new area every year and so that allows us to take a bit of a different look a different lens at the district and learn something new it also creates an element of unpredictability in that management isn't um stale with the requests that we're making and just you know in a rote uh way responding to those requests we
046kind of shake things up every year that way we also uh from a scheduling perspective take a close look to make sure that there's some level of continuity right you want efficiency you want for there to be some uh relationship built some reliability but we also incorporate different team members and sometimes that's at the manager senior manager level sometimes it's at the staff or senior level and the idea there is that everyone has a different background different perspective they'll ask a different question they'll look at something differently and so that may allow for us to you know uncover something maybe or have a a recommendation from an internal control Improvement standpoint and then also at Crow we have um a process we refer to it as our uh you know technical or concurring partner review
047and so for every report that we issue it goes through a secondary partner that takes a look at that information and challenges some of our audit approach some of our conclusions and takes a look at those financial statements so really trying to further uh support the Spirit of what the Ed code is trying to get to here I think sometimes it's nice from a regulatory perspective to take a look at well what are the other Industries doing right California Ed code is very clear six years as your signing partner then a year off in the cooling period but you know if you look to public companies what are they doing they actually also have an auditor require audit partner rotation requirement so again not a change in audit firms but a change in that signing
048audit partner they're very closely aligned with Ed code and in that thought process and from an SEC or a public company perspective that's actually a fiveyear period so just a year less than than what is outlined under Ed code but again focused on the change in that lead partner that um signing partner role and so if you think about Crow I explain some of the extra steps that we have in place to ensure um Independence auditor Integrity you know that fresh perspective uh as we think about our relationship with the district um the 2025 uh school year uh Financial year will be the 14th year where Crow has served as the independent auditor but in that time there have been three different signing partners and so there has been that rotation in perspective and approach
049and with Charles having worked with all three of us I'm sure that he would tell you we all work a little bit differently um so the other thing I I wanted to point out as it relates to Crow you know if you were with a firm that was a one or or even two partner uh firm that could create some issues with rotation right um perhaps there's no one to rotate to perhaps you know there there's a conflict um we have three K12 Focus Partners in our Sacramento office so that allows for Effective rotation as needed or as requested by management we also have um eight additional public sector Partners nationally that are focusing in the education space uh across our national footprint and so again allows for that further kind of depth of bench
050in providing that fresh perspective and ability to rotate and meet those requirements for the district any questions as it relates to audit or rotation okay all right then pass it over to Charles to talk about some of our audit requirements Thanks Jen um so we have included this additional section give a little more color uh as to the requirements that we're asked to follow by the state as it relates to the um financial statements the audit report that you ultimately see before you every year as we uh complete the audit process so we um follow the audit guide the audit guide is established by Ed code through the education audit appeals panel every year they issue a new audit guide that implements whatever has been added based on the Education Code through leg legislation it
051has uh requirements for um how we audit what we audit to we audit to the aicpa auditing standards but in addition to that we audit uh to government auditing standards as you know because the district is a government entity we're also asked to audit um to uniform guidance for auditing your federal programs and those uh the compliance with those programs uh the audit guide actually also tells ela's what to include in the audit report and what not to include so that tells everyone what needs to be included in that ultimate document that provides your financial statements um as well as um other components of it sorry so there we go the audit guide also says all the different compliance areas that we have to audit every year there's coming up on 40 different areas that
052are potentially applicable for this this are all the ones for the 2425 year are included here uh that are potentially applicable um I'll say Alum Rock is um subject to most of these we have to audit every one of these These are um audited annually so it doesn't allow for any rotation of these programs every single year as Jen mentioned we look at the audit fresh every fiscal year we have to audit every program if it's applicable to your District regardless if we audited it in the previous year um and so um there are some areas you might see here that says Reserve that's because the uh state has held those uh sections in the audit guide for potential new areas I will say that uh Jen and I sit on the audit guide task
053force with the state of California we listen to those coming down the line that are going to be added to the audit guide as a a spoiler alert of sorts we've got some significant new areas being added for reporting and for compliance in the next uh two years um as I mentioned we also audit your federal programs uh we look to see in this case your comp with internal control structure and also just uh overall uh you know appropriateness of the expenditures of federal grants and the titls if you spend over $750,000 in a given fiscal year you're subject to this Federal audit and we're asked to do this every year for Alam rock as you might guess based on that threshold so we have to audit a certain threshold percentage of the total expenditures
054if you are what's considered a highrisk district we have to audit at least 40% of your expenditures if you're not high risk we audit at least 20% of your expenditures um and I've listed here I won't go through everyone but list all the criteria that we consider in identifying whether you are considered a high risk or not high risk and in the audit report every year we identify whether you're considered highrisk or not high- risk some of the big criteria is if we have a material weakness in internal controls uh that we've issued in the prior to fiscal years you're high risk if you uh file your audit report late to to the uh Federal uh audit clearing house uh you're considered a high-risk District um if you had any significant Federal findings in the
055prior two fiscal years you're considered a high risk so those are some of the big big uh rocks if you will of us considering how much we've need to test of your federal programs so um and then how do we identify what programs we need to test real quick high level it's which ones have not been audited in a while it's which ones have been identified as high- Risk by the federal government or by the agency within the government that says they are uh that's administering those programs if we've had any findings in those programs in the pre previous two years we have that I uh will dictate whether or not we need to audit a given program in the case of uh for example your um Esser funding that came around for the last
056several years the federal government said doesn't matter if we audit it the last two years we need to audit it every single year because it's considered high-risk dollars as an example of of something that would give a criteria for that so um that's uh something that comes and goes and fluctuates the um you know number of programs we audit every year so any of those questions that we ask ourselves and ask you will dictate whether we have to audit a program and how much um of your total federal programs we need to audit I know we went through quite a bit we try to keep it relatively brief but those are some important components as we look through and think about uh rotating the audit partner and some of the guide uh components that we
057have to follow every year I do welcome any questions that you may have I know it's a it's a information item but we can address questions if you have is there any trusty question vice president I just want appreciate the brevity and the executive summary here I I the the uh you identifying the pertinent laws and all that stuff is exactly what was looking would I look for in any presentation thank you thank you okay see no more trusty comment um or sorry pres okay are are we um highrisk do you out of the 40% for us uh I think there have been a number of years where we did identify as highrisk we had some findings that went through for a few years I think for 2425 I think you're going to be not
058high but we'll be evaluating that here in the next few months and asking those questions of ourselves as we look through um you know and risk assess this year so we're still in that process right now maybe one important to add on is um when you are deemed to be high risk it's essentially two years then that you are in that category yes and so I I believe Charles is correct that this year Bing any unforeseen circumstances this will be your year out of that category hopefully thank you very much for the presentation you're very welcome thank you for your time thank you okay moving on to 9.1 okay second so we have a motion and a second do I have any public comment on the resolution 56425 National Environmental Education week from April 20th
059to April 26 2025 uh seeing no public comment oh do we have um I just wanted to add something sure in in the board clerk uh there are two men fams the tale of two mens so one is just just a correction when uh we left uh Mr mwin uh lasting so we can make that we'll make that correction thank you um thank you so uh is there trusty comment go ahead thank you board president I just want to um acknowledge I know in our one-on-one with uh superintendent SDA um I mentioned uh you know I think it's important that we highlight our uh Russo mcen Community um they got an award for the Golden Bell um for this work you know they're doing a u a lot of focus on National Environmental uh issues
060that they're tackling learning about um and so I just want to highlight the community there um and did ask Mr s that to bring in our award winners um because the Golden Bell uh award is a big deal and I don't think we've brought them here I was able to hold the Bell out in Anaheim um and you know we were very honored to be recognized there uh but also to you know come here and show off our Bell so I look forward to having them also come out here thank you uh just you know I guess also I say in light of Russo mckinty serving as our environmental science goool yeah you know uh I think it you know to encourage you know to en to continue to encourage Russo mckinty to uh do
061its good work you know uh as well as providing Community Service uh you know you know just a few examples a community healing Garden this District's only out you know Outdoor Classroom as well right to to off you know to offer things to our kids and families that they wouldn't get anywhere else I mean couple weeks ago uh you know was reading under the stars and we were you know they were able to have you know the San J astronomical Association come out and set up telescopes so that you know our kids and our families have a chance to look at the stars and you know I look forward to April 23rd when they are hosting their I believe their third Earth Day uh Festival since they're redesigned as our District's Environmental Science school so
062you know um you know we you know we want going to continue to encourage that good work and also to encourage uh all our schools to you know to find ways to uh fit Environmental Education into their curriculum as well thank you thank you I need further trustee comment on item 9.1 seeing none all in favor please raise your hand motion passes unanimously five uh 5 to Zer or 9.1 moving on to 9.2 approve uh School sponsor field trips motion to approve okay so I have a motion in a second is there any uh public comment on 9.2 M ton two minutes he's going to do it from there go ahead okay all right good evening uh trustee superintendent Serta and the Alan Community I just want arise and say thank you to the board
063for all of the school sponsor field trips that you have approved this year and I want to acknowledge all the people who have assisted me in doing six field trips this year um I want to acknowledge the state and federal department Angela Maya who's inot and works with the uh Department of the transportation for us my building administrators casturi Basu and Jackie monano the office managers who assist with all the paper work Claudia Escobar and Magdalena Grimaldo and the trust also trusty fam who assisted us with the 1619 club and incorporating it as a BSU this year my students the 1619 BSU went to the Silicon Valley African Film Festival on October 11th my second and third graders went to uh downtown to the California theater for The Nutcracker ballet uh Christmas in the Park
064with the Joseph George Middle School choir was on no uh November 14th I'm sorry November 14th was the second third graders December 1st was Christmas in the Park and the Joseph George Middle School choir for the first time ever sang the national anthem at the Santa clar University basketball game on December 18th that's awesome the 1619 BSU attended uh the crowns production sponsored by the Sal Silicon Valley African uh I'm sorry Alliance of black Educators on February 14th and tomorrow the Joseph George Middle School choir will sing at the Alam Rock un uh Union School Caesar Chavez Day so we're very excited about that and I just wanted to acknowledge that all the field trips that I've done are specifically for my students and the National Education Association says in their study 89% of students
065who went on educational trips had a positive lasting impact on their education and these trips make them more engaged intellectually curious and interested in and out of school so thank you thank you thank you for that appreciate it thank you uh so any go ahead sir thank you madam president I I just want to add it it was your request we added a little bit more detail to the table uh for the field trips for um Madame president's request where now you actually see the actual cost of the field trip so you'll have the dollar amount or range so just wanted to point that out to the rest of the board thank you for saying that cuz I was going to thank you for for for doing that but glad you beat me to it
066but um I think I'm going to take it first on the trusty uh comments um and I want you to know just like she said that the the students get a more positive lasting impact and more so when I seen that they're going to the pie Ranch oh heck yeah they're going to remember that for the rest of their life so um we have a motion in a second and is there any Trust other okay so trusty fam is next and then trusty yeah uh always good to see our kids going places right you know you know education can't be just solely in the classroom and also yes please keep sending the fundraisers up here you know uh you know those caramels at you know caramel so add up to kids on kids on school
067buses and and as as my tradition bone voage thank you I just want to um thank sponsors like San Jose State University who funded uh one of our uh field trips um you know that that make it easier for our students to fund things like transportation and to get to places so um just want to encourage more of that from our partners and you know we're open to partnering and having our more of our children exposed to all the uh wonderful um events and activities out in our communities thank you thank you so uh all in favor please raise your hand uh for item 9.2 motion passes unanimously 5 point uh excuse me 5 to0 uh 9.3 approval start okay so I have a motion and a second do I have any public comment on
068item 9.3 okay I have several so we're going to time you all each uh two minutes okay please put the timer on L you got the timer yeah okay so uh go ahead and start a recent change in start time across the district is expected to have a significant impact on traffic for Lucia and San Antonio one driveway two schools and over 500 students the increase of vehicles during morning hours will likely lead to more congestion School Traffic Safety is a big concern Vehicles not yielding to pedestrian or designated drop off areas including pedestrian injuries and vehicle collisions I have witnessed many close calls myself especially at the entrance on San Antonio going into the driveway everyone will not drop off their students at 7:30 this will also affect the after school programs particularly for
069students enrolled in what I need also known as win time students rely on after school sessions to improve their language skills and receive additional academic support parents May face difficulties or r ing Transportation or managing pickup times and might might conflict with their own work times uh commitments for families where both parents work during the afternoon some parents May no longer be able to leave their children in after school programs without an adult to pick up their children these families May struggle to find other Solutions which could impact the students well-being and academic progress the impact on traffic on traffic and the strain on after school programs highlights the need of further consideration please keep Lucha start time at 8:00 a.m. thank you thank you next speaker we have a petition from okay hi Bo
070me again um as as a Lucha parent as I said um a lot of concern concerns and uncertainties have surface since this since combining San Antonio and Lucha um the one that would affect my family directly would be the start time of 8:30 um originally I'm already struggling as I said I'm not part of the I don't live in the elmrock School boundaries um and again I always have to do it in District transer um to so I live in the Franklin mckenley District I request to be part of the alen Rock School District but I work in Sunnyville School District kutino School District so again um I choose to be part of elen rock and now that now it's being considered to move the St time T and later will further conflict not only
071my schedule but the rest of the Lucha families all of us are used to most of us by 7:30 you'll see us already lined up we already see our parent our parents ready to go um in Silicon Valley you know that most people that work it's a early start time um so again pushing it back to 8:30 is only going to not only conflict with the drop off and pickup but again our school our kid our Lucha leaders um schedule particularly my daughter's as well um so again continuing to add to the incon inconsistencies in their schedules the famili the familiarity of the campus not bringing along their admin team again this can cause a lot of anxiety for our students which I'm already experienced it with my kindergartener asking why why is you know
072our principal not going to be there next year well what's going to happen with Miss Liz and how come like and she's only in kindergarten and again we hear it all over our campus within our parents or CFOs parents that we have been Lucha families for such a long time were very concerned about our start time being 8:30 instead of 8 so I please encourage you guys to consider reconsider thank you thank you go ahead good evening my name is Kimmy Rim I'm a teacher at Lucha for the last nine years with the consolidation next year we're still continuing to be two schools and so we should really have two start times stfy and traffic is definitely an issue right now even with the 25 minute difference the same start time will create an even
073more dangerous situation for both schools allowing for our children to put be put in dangerous situations with near accidents um between cars and also between pedestrians and cars so we want to keep our 8:00 start in order to create a saf environment for our children for both schools also at Lucha we provide an after school intervention time regularly by pushing out our start time it also pushes out our intervention time the later intervention goes the more ineffective it is because the children were more tired because it's later in the day so we want to make sure that students are working at their best and that we're meeting their needs um there's always intentionally been a separate start time and we would like to keep it that way thank you thank you um my name is
074Patricia sarz and I have the privilege of teaching kindergarten at atlantan so I come to you today with my concern regarding the proposed schedule for the next school year particularly the latest start times for students many of our kindergarten students are already part of the before school program which means that they are waking up early attending the school and often have very full mornings before the regular day even Begins by starting that school day even later at 11:50 these young children will be fatigued both physically and mentally before they even enter the classroom I respectfully ask you to the board consider the late start times for our youngest students while I understand that the scheduling decisions are made with many factors in mind I believe we must prioritize the needs of our youngest Learners it
075um I ask you to consider the needs of each school and ensure that your plans will work for all of us the schedule that we have now that our Le students starts at 9:40 it's working for us and even give us the opportunity to do the give and take for kindergarteners please consider it before make a decision good evening again I just wanted to um if you could go to the San Antonio and lucha in the morning you're going to see that there is a um a left turn that people take illegally and that's where a lot of the traffic it can occur and having a having this all start at 8:30 is going to cause that even to occur more often um and it's just in a lot of students I was looking at
076where it says you consider student safety if you're not seeing what's happening at the schools you're going to see that the different times are going to be help ful so that a legal left term that many parents do is going to cause um a lot of student safety so I recommend that you guys go to the schools and really see how it works with the times now so you can make sure you're giving the correct times for not just luchan San Antonio but for the whole school district because this is a lot to consider have everybody start at the same time when we have programs that need to be giving at later times as well so thank you good evening one of the concerns that was brought to me as the union president is with
077the AM PM Kinder times um as you know Alam Rock has a 41 schedule which means that we add 15 minutes four days a week so that on Thursdays we have a minimum day that can be used for planning and collaboration for those lower grade teachers who do not receive preps twice a week by going back to the AM PM traditional Kinder schedule it does not allow for TK and kindergarten teachers to have any time together during the week or at all to collaborate that early Thursday is used by multiple teachers as a time for the grade levels to get together and to be able to plan and do their thematic units and all of that by going back to this traditional schedule I do not see on the Thursday only dismissal time any wiggle
078room in there for the TK and Kinders to be accepted into that 41 schedule this was an issue in the past and by switching to doing the 1H hour different start times we were able to alleviate that but by going back to this it's created some anxiety in your Early Education teachers thank you thank you good evening I just wanted to um ask the district to please consider prioritizing the safety of our students and I don't know partner with the city to make sure we have crossing guards everywhere I remember last year lindel went for a significant amount of time without crossing guards we now have everything covered but with next school year with whatever the decision that's made I just ask the district to please consider making sure you raise the salary or do
079something to ensure that our students our parents that are walking those that are driving are demonstrating patience in the morning and in the afternoon so no one is hurt thank you thank you uh to the comments um I know one of my questions um to superintendent Serta was uh if um this schedule was agreed by our unions well area um and so the answer was yes and I'm hearing maybe otherwise uh did we consult with unions before making this proposal were there meetings did you all um yeah meet and and agree because uh that was one of my main questions and concerns I don't know if to so they could answer yeah I'll turn it over to assistant superintendent Miss Garcia and Mr Torico as well so um our um director Dr bigford did meet
080with our Union president to um review the reasons for the change in bell schedule and also the um the times that were proposed thank you I see her coming up that's in case you have any other questions because she worked with them yeah we worked with um several of our groups of people who are involved in this too I sat with um several of the area members at the last board meeting actually and went through it and try to listen to the concerns that came up we also have met with our CNS staff and our transportation staff as we deal with more Transportation needs across the district as we consolidate our CNS staff working with less staff to serve more kids on each site and the really need to tighten up that difference we also
081have itinerant staff that needs to be used more efficiently within their time frames so right now we've had start times across the district anywhere from 8:00 a.m. to 9: so you're losing a whole hour of efficiency in there so what we've tried to do is tighten it up where Elementary are meeting um and starting around the same time with the buffering of those who need the early care we're going to be offering 7:30 early care at all of our elementaries and that was going to be my next question so thank you for that yeah so we will have parents can drop off as long as they're enrolled with our early care um as early as 7:30 and then we'll of course have our expanded learning time in the afternoon so they can also leave late
082those early Kinders and late Kinders the late Kinders can also come to the early care and they're going to follow through all the way to their PM learning time with our teachers same thing with our am Kinders they would be um with our teachers in the morning and then they go into expanded learning for those parents who need that extra time on our campuses thank you and sorry I was just going to say we did meet with multiple people and there's no perfect answer to this unfortunately but we're trying to be the most efficient and it also gives our teachers some time to collaborate which we haven't been able to do cross schools because of the time differences you lose travel time you lose um that time difference as well thank you and then last
083I add something to that um truste um the other thing I wanted to add is uh part of the transportation plan that we're working on is we're looking at we're very close to securing to additional buses large buses because one of the um what we're offering is the early drop off and we have a lot of families that we will now be able to transport once we uh purchase additional buses that would have to come to the board of course uh for approval but it will increase the number number of families and also shuttle stops uh that we have to take in order to ensure that families are arriving uh for the early start and it gives us more time 7:45 8:00 so more more opportunities to pick up students from sites to drop them
084off and offer them Transportation just wanted to add that thank you just last thing uh I love the idea you know making sure that at all of our sites we have enough crossing guards um so if we can just follow up with the city I'm sure you're all on top of it and then I know that eventually you know safety number one um so I look forward to seeing the presentation about you know um just the safety and the routes uh not soon I'm sure but when you all get that together maybe a presentation to the board um safety will be first thank you board president any other okay I've seen both at the same time so you guys choose okay so I guess my question would be for the second half of that which
085is dismissal pickup you know for so District dropping on you know the 6 PM drop off that that that were advertised so um so with this you know since there have been there's mention of after school programs right so uh H how how does it accompl omate you know after school Services um let be well I I just wanted to say we currently have after school programming now and they release at 6: PM so there would be no difference in in that next year we would still dismiss at 6 pm and parents pick their children up at that time um we don't have all students attending our after school programs but those that do stay I mean there has I don't see that there has been a problem with pickup at 6: p.m. oh okay
086um so is the biggest issue with um allowing Lucha an earlier start time um related to the CNS staff having to serve everyone everyone there that is a major component with um some of our Consolidated sites um so San Antonio Lucha being a major one they're going to be serving basically the full 6 hours those CNS staff are there they start with breakfast and through recess and second chance breakfast and then into um lunch they're serving and they've only got six hours with their staff to prep the meals serve them and get them out to the kids so the time is very tight in what they have a window to serve they are figuring out a system to separate like how to they have to calculate the CDs numbers per site for the food calculations
087but they need as tight of a schedule as possible because of the limited staff they have okay thank you the shuttling of students would also be the other concern the transportation go ahead yeah and uh superintendent thank you for the the breakdown of um the implications of shuttling and how that because it's something new and hasn't happened since what the 90s probably the last time that we operated a comprehensive bus program um at least that's when I was on on the bus well I should i m president if I remember that the last time there was a comprehensive bus service was the fall of 1991 hence the '90s and so therefore um I it makes it um it makes it um yeah these are the things that we're now going to have to deal with
088that haven't been dealt with in years um and it's all part of a I I I think that when folks can can understand that these are the that as well as the lunch implications that needs to be properly uh I guess better explained that way folks can get can understand that this isn't just Alam Mark trying to be mean or trying to make your life more difficult but it's Alam Rock dealing with a $20 million deficit trying to figure out how to um meet the needs of those kids who are in areas where they're no longer schools and they're going to have to be be be be taken to a site that's really far away from them all these are contending um uh needs and so I it I'm sure we're doing a good job
089but we probably could do a better job at explaining it I've got I've received in the community questions about how is it that kids are going to be able to get access to their sites and so that's if there's a um I was going I meant to ask you for a point person or somebody who can turn to uh because that's kind of a common theme I'm in an area where there's no more schools left who do I talk to I want to know how am I going to get my kid because it's too far for they used to walk to school and now it's they're going to have to travel really really far and it's not feasible for them to do so so um yeah shoot me over the point of contact but also
090if we can begin a more uh a bigger better more robust uh public information campaign about this is what's going to happen or at least to the affected kids that are the families great may I respond to vice president thank you madam president uh yes the transportation securing of buses we were working on that plan and so we didn't want to overpromise and underd deliver and so we were very careful with like okay have we secured them now they and so we finally did and so now we're we're we're going to begin to work and we have Community update meetings where we're going to be sharing this information we actually shared it with families this week this week right yes let me add we're going to send out a transportation interest survey I believe it's
091going to go out tomorrow so then we'll we'll be able to um see the numbers of students that we will need to transport okay and and I think we're giving them through the end of April to uh give us back the information so we won't be able to get routes together until the May time frame but at least we'll be um we'll have that information so would we accommodate the staff and make it a little bit easier if we didn't have the second chance breakfast if we just made the first one a little bit longer and because parents know if if they're going to miss out on the second chance then they're more likely to bring them to school a little bit sooner right I mean we only have so much money we only have
092so much staff we only have so much resources can the parents make an extra effort to bring them in 15 minutes earlier and we stretch it a little bit later and omit the second chance breakfast is that doable uh if there was that consideration though I'm not CNS but I know this came up in our meetings with um CNS and there has to be very specific parameters to either ensuring every single kid is allowed to grab that breakfast on their way in or you have to give the the second chance breakfast because of the way we're funded and so most of our elementary sites opt for that second chance breakfast um because we need that ability that if they're coming in late or something else that they've gotten that chance to get the breakfast and
093if I can also share my experience as a a principal of a school you know you you want students to come in early to get that breakfast many aren't hungry when they first get to school but rest assured by by uh recess time they're looking for food and so you really need to have something to offer those kids so does that mean that you change the menu on the second chance and make it easier to just grab and go or or how does that look like Second Chance is literally that it's usually the second chance or second round of the breakfast me myself as a former fifth grade teacher I used to have fifth grade that would take care of their little siblings and they would bring them to school and probably cut it too
094close to timing because they were the caregiver for their little sibling dropping them off they'd get to my class starving and before we had second chance breakfast I would be as a teacher giving my kids food in my classroom because my kids were starving and so when we got Second Chance breakfast in our district it opened up this great opportunity that kids weren't starving through the day they're able to learn better um and it gave them the food that some of them only get their meals through us they may not have that food security at home okay and and if they don't can we provide something for those that don't have that security at home is there something else I I don't know maybe this should be off off the dest conversation thank you um
095one more okay so I seen that hand then that hand hand then that hand your hand okay three and then we'll go for the boote because I think everybody's had a round thank you go ahead I just think it's important um you know for our children everyone to have food and unfortunately we live in an area with where a lot of our families don't have that F food security and so I'm proud to be a part of a of a district that you know during Co was able to like cover that and then now continues to because again we talk about Basics right we talk about hiring our academics and our scores and all that we got to start with the basics our children must have food in order to you know learn so um
096yes the and thank you to the CNS staff who are able to like cover it all within six hours and you know follow all the guidelines and the number of students and um have enough food so much props to them all I don't know how they do it but you know they they get it done so yeah just shout out to them as well VI president King Madam president I think that it's important to take a note of the situation that we Face here we have a workingclass community that doesn't have a luxury of having nannies that go and drop off the kids uh or a parent who make up their own schedule because they're lawyers or whatever um we have folks that are jumping on the bus to the tech sectors they're contractors and
097they provide food to all the people that are um you know keeping Silicon Valley going and so taking that into account and I appreciate the story that was shared about the uh older siblings look at after younger sibling I think that's important to note that that's why second uh chance is is important in our community um probably in other areas it's not as important you folks have more flexibility with their schedules or they got other stuff going on I think it's important here additionally those uh breakfast and the the funds for the staff are paid for by federal dollars and so it's it's funding that's uh intended for that purpose and so I'm very comfortable with um the sites the sites ultimately make that DEC decision is to do they have uh this need for
098a second chance and so leaving it up to them to determine what's uh what's best for um for their particular kids that they're serving uh before you go I just didn't finish my questions so um on the second chance is there a way to alter it just a little bit to accommodate you know or does is that a set time and we're not budging or can each school and ask you know all of the parents and Guardians what works best for them is it like a on a school to a sight to sight basis or are we just flat out this is for everybody what can we do Second Chance breakfast takes place during the students's recess okay all right so it's built into the staff work day that's good thank you okay go ahead
099okay answer for her so I guess the you know I was going to request the administ you know when you know you know by by may you know if possible provide the board you know uh information on the routes and the schedule for uh The District bus service coming up so let may I just um uh assistant superintendent Sal uh the buses we've secured the buses by when do you think we will be bringing it to board for approval um I do not have that information at this time um I was able to sign the letter of understanding but my it they're coming from Georgia so they are still working on the buses and then they will be um transporting them to us so I believe we won't receive the buses until probably late May
100or June but they are still in the process of being worked on in terms of bringing it to the board um I I would have to check with the transportation d a manager so we can potentially work on getting on the agenda if it's if not the first board meeting in May the 2nd if that's okay with the fine you know I should have said me you know by the second meeting in in may like information on routes and schedule okay and I'll work with uh President Chavez to add it to the agenda can we actually see that in June first the first meeting in June yeah I think it will be more solid then than in May because it seems like we're not going to get it in time why put it on there
101we're not going to get everything in placeat let's just say June I I appreciate that board President Chavez um because once our transportation department gets the information it will take her probably two to three weeks to figure that out and as you know we need to um have the information one week before the board meeting so that is a little tight so the first meeting in June would be great yeah cuz I would like to see the buses do little trial runs and see how long it actually takes them because it's one thing when you're going in a car and timing it it's a whole different story when you have a big old long bus that you're driving around and people do not you know aren't courteous and they don't let you in so their
102time is different than a usual car time so I would like to see that too you know how long did it take them to go around at that hour not an hour that there's no traffic at the actual hour thank you okay so I guess we're going to vote on this now 9.3 all in favor of uh approval please raise your hand so it's 5 Z unanimously thank you um under contracts approved the thing together summer school Services contract 2024 2025 this contract was to provide non-instructional day services for 180 students across elro Union School site District submitted by state feder federal for $125,800 second I have a motion and I have a second do I have any public comment on item 10.1 seeing no public comment any trustee comment on 10.1 seeing none let's
103vote all in favor please vote for 10.1 5 Z motion passes unanimously 10.2 approval of the second okay I have a motion in a second any public comment on 10.2 item seeing none any truste comment seeing none all in favor please vote uh 5 motion passes unanimously 10.3 the approve the arenda services contract for the 2024 2025 this contract will provide a baseline study across 13 schools and facilitate an admin Retreat for leadership and admin power Clinic submitted by academic services for $198,800 seeing no second second for purpose discussion okay I um is there any public comment on this item 10.3 saying no public comment any trustee comment questions yes vice president uh superintendent uh some questions were raised by some of our stakeholders regarding uh orenda um Can can you respond to them some
104of the ones that are uh kind of sure we're concerning where um how is it that we're going to um ensure that we're not just being pulled into something where we're going to continue to spend more and more and then also are there areas there where we could um make use of our internal expertise at the district so if you could respond absolutely uh and I'm going to ask um uh Dr rickord also Step Up ter brickford she's uh she's been working with arenda to secure this contract um there are two parts to this contract one of them is a baseline study and the Baseline study I'll I'll turn it over to you in a second is really uh they're going to collect data you know Shadow students they're going to collect um data regarding
105our current system okay um and they're going to present those results which will be part of the Strategic plan that uh I'm working on with my staff to set goals so this is the Baseline study piece um as far as the implementation we're all part of the this contract is also we're going to also train our administrators at the district level at the site level for principles assistant principles so that we can then train them on the methodology and so I'm going to turn it over to to um Tera can you go over the actual uh goals of of this contract because there's multiple steps to it so go ahead yeah so um good evening back again uh so really this contract as superintendent C said covers really three components two are very similar but
106three components one is the Baseline system study and that's grounded in methodology that addresses a really big question on what systems are within our control at the school and the district that best explain the patterns of what we're seeing happen or the student achievement in that context um this question is the first important step into the acceleration model that is heavily grounded in research best practices um through this study we aim to identify the systems and conditions that best explain these achievement patterns across different demographic groups so we're also looking at student groups within our demographics and really our goal to shatter the inequities that exist within the systems that we've built right um so they're going to be looking at what is our student achievement profile across the district what systems best explain the
107achievement profile of those students and What needs occur to really shatter those inequities or break the inequity within the system we know we're in oppressive systems within education we're built on oppressive systems right so how do we start to break some of those barriers and allow for the growth of and closing that achievement Gap while also accelerating even further we want our students to not just walk into High School ready for a through G requirements we want them leaving High School ready to walk into any UC they want any tech school they want and be the top we want our students to be the best and often times in lowincome communities we don't give them the access to do that and so we want to get to that point where our students have the world
108at their fingertips and so that's what this is looking at is what do we need to adjust within our system I think another really important part is all of this work is being done with our community members so building it with them getting their information on what they think's going on what are the amazing things that are happening we saw it tonight there's amazing things happening in alumrock but we're still getting low test scores right and I know test scores are one measure of many but we there's explanations for it within our systems and we need to figure out what those system pieces are and we need to work alongside our teachers to figure out what those are so a lot of this work while it sounds right now we're doing the study we're going
109to have a teacher survey go out within the study we're having principles interviewed there's going to be student shadowing being done where we're identifying students who are low mid high from every demographic group represented within our school districts that a team of like two people plus the principal are going to go into these classes experience what the those students are experiencing in the classes look at the work that's being provided to the students and analyze kind of their day in and day out situation to be able to see where these systems are doing really well and where we need to do some work and then what we're going to do is then train our administrators in these power clinics and a retreat around best practices to facilitating learning and collaboration with their staff moving forward
110to address those systematic barriers and next steps that are suggested from the base line study I think it's really important that we also have a neutral party doing this system study that way we can get a really comprehensive look at what's going on instead of having power Dynamic situations that exist within if I were to give a survey to somebody am I getting genuine authentic input probably not because there is a power Dynamic whereas if you bring in a neutral third party sometimes you can be a lot more um thorough in your response because you're not afraid of those different power dynamics that might exist so those three parts hopefully will give us a really strong Foundation to moving forward into next steps um where we work with our teachers we want everybody to want
111this we want you to want this um but it's also work with the teachers by the teachers for the teachers to help move the systems forward so that we are not facing this constant struggle of we're putting so much on the table and getting these lower test scores in the end right so we want to recognize the powerful work that's being done highlight that but also fix the inequities that are in there and and to add to that your question about can we use our our staff that's the goal with this work and so uh one of the things the experts that will be working with our teachers they will be working with our teachers to build their capacity but also the principles the assistant principles right to better understand the unpacking of the standards
112and also have them identify the Flor of standards across the district in our entire system like for Kinder for example what's the floor for our Kindra what's the floor for first grade all the way to eighth grade and the subjects what's the goal but but there's also the vertical articulation that will have to take place and having uh a districtwide set of standards that now we can assess with assessments that are now developed by teachers for teachers that is very powerful because it will include five cycles of consistent assessing of okay what were the first five standards right what did the assess tell us and teachers will identify and select which of the standards for each of the grade levels content areas across the district not District staff not orenda but teachers and they will
113build the assessment so we're building their capacity so that they can now carry that work and also build their assessment literacy is it the right assessment do are we building that capacity I don't know if I yeah I mean absolutely and we have gone years with mandated assessments alongside that sometimes we feel they're being productive sometimes we feel like it's just another assessment to have an assessment so we want to look at how to align these progress monitoring pieces alongside what we're doing so that we can ensure we're having every student accelerate up that we can and not missing some marks along the way if if I can add to um the other piece to this is um really looking at the support um the resources that we provide our students to support their um
114achievement and we have very meaningful supports in our district uh we need to align those resources to support the students in the way that they need to be supported and that's all part of this work is how do we align our special ed services our RSP services our counseling services our tutoring services our after school Services how do we align everything in this system to benefit the students in the way that they need to be supported so that's all part of the work that will be done within this and so just to wrap up just want to this is a standalone thing it's not like here's 198 and then for $39.95 you're going to have to you know you're going to have to I've been through too many uh sessions that uh csba where promis
115the Moon Star sky and then it's for this fee and then but you have to get pulled into a separate program another module and Stu like that it it well it'll be in phases though it will so this is part one is to really conduct your Baseline study to better understand your system and now to plan right and then work with teachers and principles and District staff because we want to build District staff across the board right for everyone and then now we would contract with them or work on phase two and strategize not do everything at once because if you want to do everything at once we're not going to have the the the the people power right but really strategize okay where do we Target now and Where Do We Begin identifying right
116the floor of Standards do we start in ela math those are the two that are being assessed right by the state by the esack and so maybe beginning with that small and then evaluating that right creating the assessment Matrix the floor of standards and the deel and the assessments and then building from that when do we bring in the other subjects because Ela and math it'll be all inclusive it'll be for all the subjects the grade levels to better support our special education students our resource students right um our emerging multilingual students across the board across the system so doing it districtwide but it will be go ahead I just wanted to add one more piece that we're going to be using categorical funds that are directly kind of earmarked for professional development um so
117this is perfect usage of the professional development lens we're increasing student achievement looking at standards align instruction um and it's all categorical which is geared towards professional development of our administrators and teachers uh before you say something I was go ahead and then I'll say it you sure yeah got it okay um uh in the spirit of um yeah not wanting to be on the hook of you know a series of but also uh recognizing you know that we have a lot of different schools that are performing um you know within a range pretty wide range of um performances um would we consider um not doing 13 schools but you know kind of limiting the scope making it more targeted the schools that we've selected are the schools that will remain open next year and
118so we want to sample the schools that are going to stay open so those are the schools that we're focusing on we're not including the schools that are closing so that's why we're we're targeting those specific schools across more narrow than that even than than all the remaining schools is what I'm asking well I mean we can but I think I I'd rather not I think it's it would be having those principle because those principles will be participating uh at those schools that they will continue as principles and so you would you would exclude some principles from going through that experience right uh and assistant principles if they have assistant principles of going through the actual Baseline system study so you want to get a pretty good sample and this would be a recommendation I
119was also going to say the Baseline study is looking at both school systems and districtwide systems so our report that we're going to get back is a district wide glance it's not going to pin pick at like specific School site issues per se it's looking at a bigger holistic picture so if we're just pulling a smaller sample School are we leaving out some of that systematic issue that we might have sure uh and I would hate for any of our students to miss out on um hiring their scores and their academic so um I think let's see first our I'll start with my experience as a mother and some of you it's like bro broken record those of you that have known me uh my daughter went through this district and and struggled a lot
120um and I want to thank the you know staff and teachers who sat and we supported and interventions but none of those worked I'm going to just say it out loud right even with my time and it just wasn't the right match and so you know I I'm able to hire outside tutors and things like that but not all of our families have that um and even you know with the supports that our our students are getting outside you know I look forward to hearing back recommendations of even outside support of what's going to help our students better um and it's also no secret that um our students need this support and that our teachers also need the support so that our teachers can focus on the teaching and all the amazing things they do
121and not have to worry about qualitative quantitative data data collection shadowing interviewing surveys work sample analysis culminating into a report to us right we want to make sure they're focusing on teaching and we're not adding to their plate um because they are a part of the they will be a part of you know putting this um together and we want to make it easier for them because maybe there's something that can be taken off that they're doing that they don't need to do anymore um and not adding to their plate um so I look forward to hearing that too not adding to our teachers plate right but how do we take away the things that are just not going to work they're not working so why are we even doing them um so if we
122can put that note you know for arenda and I and I probably will be a part of that um and if I could just finish uh superintendent because it might be an addition um we all I think all five of us agree that our academics need to raise right we're on the bottom I mean Alam Rock unfortunately for different reasons right whether it's you know our our families we serve um the money we're getting compared to other districts I mean X we we can go down the list we need to raise our academics um and so for me when I support this is thinking of that and um you know ensuring again as uh you mentioned that all of our students are prepared not just a few not just the ones that are you know
123good at raising their hand and being at the front you know and answering every question correctly and um you know can sit there quietly and you know all the things all students all students and that were able to um Support also the families so hopefully my peers will help in supporting this I look forward in investing in that work so that we can see the outcomes in the future thank you trusty men okay thank you madam president you know first just want to say never want I never want to say bottom right because that sound you know there's always room for improvement there's lots of places for improvement movement right but but I you know never ever want to say bottom because that's a you know it's not a very encouraging term right we we
124want you know you know we want them we want our kids to be able to you know get up in the morning and you know try their very best and same with our teachers you know who who do a a a was it um difficult job in a district with you know uh with many opportunities and challenges right so the thing is um so you know as a professional educator myself you know one of the things you know I agree with the general thrust of this study uh you know obviously we we have to figure out you know where we can improve where we can move move the needle I I just wanted to um first of all you know clarifi clarify you know be because you you mentioned superintendent Sera that you know this
125is going to be a teacher-led process we're going to ask our teachers to identify the standards right we're going to ask our teachers to to determine you know what's what what is the base level of knowledge needed to move to the next grade to the next level so uh you know superintendent how um so so one with this B you know with this Baseline study with with District admin and principls going through you know going through this Retreat you know you have a you know if you wouldn't mind in a in a SC or a nutshell kind of you know say uh H how do you imagine T you know our our teachers take you know taking the lead you know taking the lead in you know identifying the standard determining the standard and you
126know designing the assessment correct so so what'll what'll happen is it you would bring your teachers together for that specific either grade level or subject right across the district so now there's going to be that collaboration across sites where you will have some expert facilitators let's say let's start with uh math and so what they'll do is they'll walk them through the actual blueprint standards uh we have claims right in the blueprints uh blueprint standards for for the espac they will then walk them through the Clusters and also the target tget standards but what they're going to do is they're actually going to unpack the target standards that are being assessed and one of the things that they will go to is to the spec level which is to the level of our kids score
127one two three or four right four exceeding three is the goal right to get them to proficiency or meets and so they will have them unpack and understand what a level one looks like what a level two looks like what a level three looks like what a level four looks like right and then they will take them deep into that standard and actually have them develop assessments uh questions so they will walk them through that and then have them go through a process while they were they will then engage in now let's work on identifying what are the Flor of or or of Standards or expectations across let's say math 7 right and so they will then engage in that conversation and will discuss with each other and say hey okay we need to select
128this standard do we all agree and so they will walk through that process principles will be a part of it we will be a part of it but teachers will be the ones in that particular grade level or subject that will identify which standards they will focus on the assessments they will develop them you will have expert facilitators who are experts in assessment literacy that will help them and walk them through developing those assessments and so those will be created by teachers for teachers to better support their students and also identify right where are your students are they mastering all the standards are they missing or in certain areas do they need support so that will help us with identifying the intervention that we can offer them right whether it's after school during the day
129during summer so so that's kind of in a nutshell and I appreciate and it you know and this end you know we're you know you're you know and that this is you know a a teacher L you know this we we are you know approaching our inhouse professionals right in in this you know and um uh reexamining our curriculum thank you um now uh I do believe I think there's benefit to going out there um finding out where we're at that hence the Baseline however uh in your experience and I know I think you've worked with them in the past yes um I let me preface it with yeah we um we can't continue to do the same thing expect different results right so obviously something has to be done however we also um can
130expect a organization to come in and say you know this is the way this my my way or the highway you also have to know how to work with the folks that you're working with in your experience does arenda have a good track record at uh recognizing the organizational culture figuring out how to work within it to achieve the the results that they're promising because I wouldn't want to go with an organization that says there's a new sheriff in town I'm gonna this is the way it's going to be done no that's a very good question I appreciate you asking that vice president GTO actually they work with the teachers to address the needs of teachers right based on the data and the results that and your system that you've identified and so as you're
131going through this process they will listen and tailor those discussions uh to the needs of the district right or that teachers are are are are dealing with um and so so they're very good at that it's not a lock step thing where you're going to have to teach that no teachers will and they will just facilitate those conversations because even with them there's a lot of rigor and engagement that's going on through that process and it's great to see them in action and engaging with one another around okay this works this doesn't work but it also what I what I was very impressed in my experience and watching because every every district is different alrock is very different and they will will tailor it to your District but it's very beautiful to see uh our
132teachers because there are a lot of and the Baseline uh study it's also going to highlight things that are working and celebrate those successes so it's not just focusing on oh these are our needs of negative things no it's really just taking everything in and working with teachers here in this District right and then working with them to address the concerns and then putting together the the the floor of standards that students should uh you know master or become fluent in to better support them but the beautiful part is the vertical articulation they will get to interact with second grade if they're a first grade right or Kinder with first here's where they're at and they get to get give each each other feedback so that they can vertically articulate well this is what we
133need kids to be ready with maybe you might want to change this standard so they will have that flexibility they will just facilitate those conversations so thank you um so I'm glad you're saying that they're going to highlight the good things because too many times you are F people focus on the negative things and there are a lot of good practices that are happening and that should be shared and if sometimes you may not take um the advice of a colleague but you might take the advice of another professional and it's good because you're not worried about whether the administration your superintendent your boss is the one you know bringing this down the line it's going to be I guess to me an easier fit for the teachers that they think that they're going to
134be more involved and so um I see this being good because um one is coming out of the categorical funds and um that I think should be highlighted there know every single time no but like in bigger Bolder things but but um I I just think everybody said it all so I think we're going to go for the vote now okay so all in favor of 10.3 please raise your hand five zero motion passes unanimously okay 10.4 Mo approval of the four service contract 2024 2025 school year in the amount of $175,000 do I have a second second okay so I have a motion and a second by trusty corera do I have any public comment on 10.4 seeing no public comment any truste comment no trusty comment uh all in favor please raise your
135hand for 10.4 motion passes unanimously 5.0 10.5 approve approval the Silicon Valley Education Foundation Services contract 2024 2025 school year provide Elevate math for incoming third and seventh grade students and the CSI program for sixth to eth grade students to introduce a foundation of computer science and the grant is in the amount of 209 $ 29,6 44 so I have a motion and a second do I have any public comment on item 10.5 seeing no public comment on 10.5 any trustee comment seeing none let's go for the vote all in favor of approving please raise your hand for 10.5 5 motion passes unanimously going on to 10.6 approval of the YMCA zicon Valley summer school service contract 2024 2025 school year in the amount of 24,000 24,800 second okay I have a motion and second
136any public comment no public comment on 10.6 any trustee comment no uh trustee comment all in favor of 10.6 please raise your hand motion passes unanimously 5.0 consent calendar I'd like to pull item 11.8 and approve the B remove approval balance of the conent calendar second okay so I have approval of all except for 11.8 which will be pulled uh so so do we have any public comment on the cons oh wait a minute I need a second did I second okay I hear I heard you both the time um who wants to be second okay so Min has the second um so any public comment on uh the consent calendar except for 11.8 no public comment on the consent calendar any trusty comment on the whole consent calendar except for 11.8 seeing none we'll
137take a vote right now on the whole consent calendar except for item 11. just to clarify M president it would be items 11.1 through 11.7 thank you so much um and then 11.9 okay so um all in favor of approving 111 through 1 11.7 and 11.9 please raise your hand 5 motion passes unanimously now we will take 11.8 go ahead vice president k um I move approval of everything except for the contract of LZ and Smith uh and that we and that we direct Administration to talk to our um legal counsel Helia Ru to pull in services uh through his contract that may be necessary uh for the support that's being sought out in this item okay so I have a motion do I have a second second okay so I have a uh motion
138and a second is there any public comment seeing no public truste comment see no trusty comment all in favor of trusty K's motion to direct uh could I just make a comment could I just make just that a comment um uh sure so so one of the reasons we were asking for this is we're going to be going through a lot of uh appeals with HR um uh with the layoffs and so I actually did check in with with uh with our general counsel with uh Roo Ruiz regarding this uh and so we need the support my staff needs the support for the HR side of the house uh the other reason I was recommending the other one with realy uh was we've been working with the uh uh realy realy I keep on mispronouncing
139it realy advisers uh Lisa Gilmore and Paulo Hernandez whom uh expressed interest in working with Lozano and Smith who they've been working with uh and they've had good success in um you know just securing Revenue generating ideas for districts and so so it was really to work with them on that and also help the H HR side of the house and I did did run it through uh Council okay so um see no more trusty comment uh let's go for the vote all in favor 5.0 motion passes unanimously uh we follow okay close session the board reconvenes to public session adjournment of the public session no later than 10:30 p.m. so right now it's 7:55 uh let's say we're going to be an hour and a half I can ask for a 10-minute break oh
140yeah oh 10 minut so we will have a 10minute break before close session starts and so we will need that'll be 8:05 we will be back at let's say 10: okay hopefully really no I'm giving you Dr just in case okay just just in case yeah all right everybody 10 minutes for a break session is there anything Mr to to report out thank you uh mad board president item 12.4 on a motion by clerk fam seconded by vice president kto the board by unanimous vote approve resolution number 572 2425 resending the release of one classified management employee per Ed code 45117 and accepting the retirement of that employee effective September 30th 2025 for Ed code 5 4201b there are no more items to report from close session thank you the future board agenda items requests
141shall be submitted in writing please do according to board by board bylaw 9322 next meeting will be April 24th 2025 at 5:30 and the adjournment is at 9:48 good night folks