Members of the public may address the Board on items listed on the closed session agenda. Speakers are limited to three minutes each (Board Bylaw 9323(5)).

Motion Passed:  Motion to approve minutes of the Regular Board Meeting held November 9, 2016. Passed with a motion by Bill Carle and a second by Ron Kristof. 
Yes      Bill Carle
Absent Laura Gonzalez
Yes      Larry Haenel
Yes      Donna Jeye
Yes      Jenni Klose
Yes      Ron Kristof
Yes      Frank Pugh

The fundamental belief of SRACS is that EVERY student enrolled can learn through a differentiated curriculum that provides her/him opportunities for acceleration depth, complexity, and novelty while also offering learning experiences that tap into her/his significant interests, passions, or talents. At the heart of the program is a focus on "universal concepts" (such as power, change, systems, structure) coupled with having students view a given topic from different disciplinary perspectives (such as sociology, economy, linguistics) in order for them to see the interdisciplinary connections of a single topic, theme, or event. Students are then asked to showcase their "coming to know" through exhibitions of individual and/or collective work. These conceptual lenses provide a new paradigm for students to understand the disciplines they study.

Accelerated Charter Qualification Data:

• 98% attendance rate for past 6 years
• Scored over 900 on AYP for last 8 years
• 2015 ELA/Math CAASPP scores for 5^th grade and 6^th grade (these are students who exceeded or met standard):
• 5^th ELA: 90% Math: 83%
• 6^th ELA: 92% Math: 84%
• Provide curriculum that includes the four pillars of the instructional program: acceleration, depth, complexity and novelty.
• Provide opportunities for Students to be critical, creative, and complex thinkers as demonstrated by the following:                                                                                                                           
• Showcase knowledge through presentations, exhibitions, gallery walks, student displays of work, Power Points, dramatizations, exhibitions, all of which, connect directly to State and CAG Standards.
• Utilize primary source information to produce a finished project, defend an opinion, develop an original idea, etc. ...
• Reason quantitatively, evaluate, solve a problem, synthesize information and ideas, apply knowledge, and make logical deductions and predictions
• Make personal judgments about validity, usefulness, and the ethical nature of information.
• Produce a project that demonstrates analysis and synthesis
• Develop the ability to both of self-assess and peer-assess
• Develop meta cognitive skills and the ability of self-reflection
• Encourage parents and the community to take part in their child’s education through Parent organization, Advisory council, community events, parent nights, regular communication, feedback surveys and tools.

 Santa Rosa City Schools is proud to honor the Accelerated Charter School.

Santa Rosa Accellerated Charter School was recognized for being named a Blue Ribbon School, a prestigious national honor.

The following individuals addressed the Board on this item:
Susan Langer
Karen Littell
Lucas Warnell
Bryna Haugen
Willow Harm

President Jeye will swear in the newly elected board members.

Director Klose called for nominations for the office of Vice-President.  A nomination for Bill Carle as Vice-President was made by Jenni Klose, seconded by Ed Sheffield.  There were no other nominations.  By a unanimous vote, Bill Carle was appointed Vice-President of the Board of Education. 

Director Klose called for nominations for the office of Clerk.  A nomination for Laurie Fong as Clerk was made by Bill Carle, seconded by Ron Kristof.  There were no other nominations.  By a unanimous vote, Laurie Fong was appointed Clerk of the Board of Education. 

Director Klose called for nominations for an alternate as the voting representative for vacancies on the Sonoma County Committee on School District Organization.  A nomination for Ed Sheffield as the alternate was made by Bill Carle, seconded by Laurie Fong.  There were no other nominations.  By a unanimous vote, Ed Sheffield was appointed as the alternate.

Director Klose called for a motion to appoint the Superintendent as Secretary to the Board.  A motion was made by Bill Carle, seconded by Director Pugh.  By a unanimous vote, the Superintendent was appointed as Secretary to the Board. 

Director Klose called for a motion to adopt the 2017 Board Meeting Calendar.  Bill Carle moved that calendar with the change that the study sessions for February, March and April in the third week are in fact now on calendar.  The motion was seconded by Evelyn Anderson.  By a unanimous vote, the 2017 Board Meeting Calendar was adopted.  

There were no statements of abstention.  

Director Kristof requested that consent item E.4 be pulled for discussion.  

In light of there being new members on the Board, Director Pugh requested that a process be implemented by which the Board will review the 9000 series of the Board Policies by bringing a few every meeting with the goal to have reviewed them all by the end of the year 2017.

Skie Villafuerte (Luther Burbank Elementary School)
Eva Moore (Santa Rosa French-American Charter School)
Lourdes Sanchez (Cesar Chavez Language Academy)

Director Carle presented the following student of the month awards:

Skie Villafuerte (Luther Burbank Elementary School)
Eva Moore (Santa Rosa French-American Charter School)
Lourdes Sanchez (Cesar Chavez Language Academy)

Claudia Lily (Luther Burbank Elementary School)
Melissa Van Prooyen (Santa Rosa French-American Charter School)
Patricia Ramirez (Cesar Chavez Language Academy)

Parent Organization Updates were given by:

Claudia Lily (Luther Burbank Elementary School)
Melissa Van Prooyen (Santa Rosa French-American Charter School)
Patricia Ramirez (Cesar Chavez Language Academy)

Members of the public may address the Board on matters within the subject matter of its jurisdiction. Please submit a Speaker Card to the Board Secretary prior to the meeting being called to order. Upon recognition by the Board President, please approach the podium. The Board shall take no action or discussion on any item not appearing on the posted agenda, except as authorized by law (BB 9323(2)). Speakers are limited to three minutes each (BB 9323(5)). Should a member of the public have comments that pertain to a complaint against an employee of the District, the Board advises that the matter should first be pursued using the appropriate district complaint procedure (BB 9323(6).

The following individuals addressed the Board:

Tracy Cooper regarding open enrollment
Erik Ohlson regarding Proposition 51
Rosalinda Brady regarding home and hospital
Varnika Kailash regarding open enrollment

A report was given by SRTA President, Ola King-Claye.  Ms. King-Claye reported on the past five months of school and the positive activities between the district office and SRTA.  She reports that even with half the school year over, there is still much to do throughout the district. She reports that SRTA is grateful for the 900+ educators in the district.  She closes by saying that we are all in this together and together we will succeed.  

No report was given.

No report was given.

No report was given.

No report was given.

No reports were given.

 A report was given by Director Pugh. Mr. Pugh opened by congratulating and welcoming the new board members. Mr. Pugh sits on the Board of Directors for CSBA and reports that they are focusing on increasing grass roots advocacy efforts. He reported on his NSBA meeting in Mississippi and the visits to school sites. He reported on the concern of the future of education when it comes to our nation's new president, the new Secretary of Education and the challenges that will arise. He also reports that he is running unopposed for Vice-President of NSBA. That confirmation will come in January.

Motion Passed:  Motion to approve consent items E2, E3, E5 and E6.  Passed with a motion by Bill Carle and a second by Ron Kristof.  

Yes      Bill Carle 
Yes      Ron Kristof
Yes      Frank Pugh
Yes      Laurie Fong
Yes      Evelyn Anderson
Yes      Ed Sheffield
Yes      Jenni Klose

Motion Passed:  After discussion by the Board, a motion was made to approve consent item E4.  Passed with a motion by Ron Kristof and a second by Bill Carle.  

Yes      Bill Carle 
Yes      Ron Kristof
Yes      Frank Pugh
Yes      Laurie Fong
Yes      Evelyn Anderson
Yes      Ed Sheffield
Yes      Jenni Klose

The Board will consider approval of the absence of Board Member(s), if necessary, due to illness, jury duty, or due to a hardship deemed acceptable by the Board in accordance with Education Code Section 35120.

The Board will consider approval of the personnel transactions submitted. 

Staff is presenting Personnel Transaction items for Board approval.

The Board will consider approval of the vendor warrants submitted.  The attached warrant register lists all vendors for the period 11/1/16 through 12/1/16 for a total of $4,804,073.77. 

Staff is presenting the following Fiscal Services’ items for Board Approval:

1.  Warrant Register Summary
2.  Warrant Register List

The financially significant vendor warrants include:

Warrants for the period of November 1, 2016 through December 1, 2016 total $4,804,073.77. Total warrants paid from July 1, 2016 through December 1, 2016 for the District total $29,809,177.48.

The Board will consider approval of the donations and gifts submitted.

Parents, students, community members, and businesses make donations and give gifts to the schools on a regular basis. Donations come in the form of money, goods, or services. These donations are appreciated and welcomed by the schools and departments.

Donations received since the last Board report on November 9, 2016 is $38,078.41. This brings the year to date total for donations District-wide to $246,176.70.

 The Board will consider approval of the contracts submitted.

Staff is submitting requests from various schools and departments to hire individual contracts or consulting firms to provide specified services.  For fiscal and learning impacts, see the attached summary sheet.

The Board will consider approval of the Addendum to the original Funding Agreement for the Charter School Facilities Program.

On April 25, 2011, the District, on behalf of Santa Rosa School for the Arts (“Charter School”) , entered into a Charter School Facilities Program Funding Agreement (the “Agreement”) with the State Allocation Board and the California School Finance Authority (“CSFA”).  Under the Agreement, the Charter School received financing of its charter school facilities project under the Charter School Facilities Program.

Section 2.1.A.6 of the Agreement stated that “The Charter School may elect to repay the State using the payment process set forth in Education Code section 17199.4,” which utilizes the intercept mechanism as a condition for a determination of financial soundness and subsequent fund releases.  Thus, under the Agreement, utilizing that mechanism was optional. 

On September 22, 2011, the CSFA adopted Resolution No. 11-36, which stated that all program awardees will utilize the intercept mechanism as a condition for a determination of financial soundness and subsequent fund releases, thus making it mandatory.  Accordingly, CSFA requested the District to execute an addendum to the Agreement stating the same. 

Legal counsel has recommended that the Addendum be signed.

The Board will consider approval of the material change to the Abraxis Charter School governance structure.

The Abraxis Charter School, an independent charter, has requested a material change to its charter’s governance structure.  Its current non-profit corporation, RHouse, would become a subsidiary of California Human Development (CHD) and CHD would select the RHouse governing board members.  The RHouse Board would consist of 5 CHD board members, and 2 community members selected by RHouse.  Abraxis has stated that the rationale for the governance change is to take advantage of CHD’s organizational infrastructure and capacity.

Under Education Code section 47605 and 47607, the Board conducted a public hearing on the request for material revision on October 26, 2016. The Board receives Staff’s recommendation on the request at tonight’s meeting, and will take action on the request for material revision.

California Human Development (CHD) is a non-profit organization with roots in Santa Rosa that offers services targeted towards low-income individuals in the areas of drug-rehabilitation, immigration, disability services and affordable housing for nearly 50 years.  Although CHD does not specialize in operating charter schools, it appears to have a more robust organizational infrastructure than RHouse, the prior organization that was operating the Abraxis Charter Schools. 

Staff recommends that the Board approve the material revision for the following reasons:

• CHD appears to have superior infrastructure to provide governance to the Charter School;

• In light of a potential Notice of Violation (see, next agenda item), the District will need the Charter School to have access to sufficient organizational capacity to meaningfully respond to the Notice of Violation, and address the deficiencies in the Charter School’s performance, as set forth in that Notice.

April 12, 2013 Board originally approved the Abraxis Charter.

October 26, 2016 (Public Hearing) Abraxis Charter School Material Revision.

Motion Passed:  Motion to accept staff recommendation to approve the material change to the Abraxis Charter School governance structure.  Passed with a motion by Bill Carle and a second by Laurie Fong.  

Yes      Bill Carle 
Yes      Ron Kristof
No       Frank Pugh
Yes      Laurie Fong
Yes      Evelyn Anderson
Yes      Ed Sheffield
Yes      Jenni Klose

The Board will receive information regarding the District’s transition to West County Transportation Agency (WCTA) for services that began in July 2016.

SRCS transitioned to West County Transportation Agency in July 2016. Beginning in the fall of 2015 District staff has and continues to work with WCTA to ensure there is a smooth transition and that students are transported safely and on time.

October 22, 2014  The Board received information regarding the state of transportation in SRCS
May 27, 2015        The Board approved the hiring of PTI to conduct a comprehensive transportation Survey
July 22, 2015         The Board received a copy of the Draft Transportation Study
August 26, 2015    The Board received a copy of the Final Transportation Study
Sept. 23, 2015       The Board received an update on transportation
October 14, 2015   The Board approved a change in transportation providers
February 24, 2016 The Board received an update on transportation
May 25, 2016         The Board received information regarding the District’s transition to West

County Transportation Agency for services beginning in July 2016.

The Board heard a presentation by staff regarding the District’s transition to West County Transportation Agency (WCTA) for services that began in July 2016.

The following individuals addressed the Board on this item:
Kathy Shanklin
Kristin Colgrove
Jolene Sola

The Board will consider approval of the recommendation to the Superintendent of the Fiscal Recovery Plan Committee.  If approved, the Fiscal Recovery Plan will be submitted to the Sonoma County Office of Education with the SRCS first interim report as required.

In June when the 2016-17 budget and the budget for the following two (2) fiscal years was presented all three (3) budgets showed that SRCS has a structural deficit. It was indicated that SCOE would require a fiscal recovery plan be submitted with SRCS’s first interim report in 2016-17. Multi-Year Fiscal planning is the first step in the development a Fiscal Recovery plan.

On August 24, 2016, the Board approved a process under which the Fiscal Recovery plan would be developed. The Recovery Plan will be the road map for addressing the structural deficit and current fiscal realities. Board approval and subsequent implementation of the plan will allow the district to maintain financial sustainability. A key element of the Fiscal Plan was the creation of an Ad Hoc Fiscal Recovery Plan committee. The membership and roles of this committee are detailed in the attached documentation.

The committee met on 9/21, 9/27, and 10/20. During the meetings committee members learned the roles of the committee and reviewed cuts recommended in prior years. Not all of the cuts recommended and implemented in prior years are applicable currently as a number of previous cuts were to categorical programs that no longer exist. After submission of the 2015-16 Unaudited Actuals to SCOE, SRCS was informed that the Fiscal Recovery Plan would not need to include details of all recommended actions.

Therefore, the Fiscal Recovery Plan worksheet contains general areas of actions for possible implementation. The committee will continue to meet and discuss and identify specific areas and actions to increase revenue and/or decrease expenditures. These recommendations will be completed prior to January 31, 2017, and brought forward to the Superintendent for inclusion in the 2016-17 2nd Interim report.

Motion Passed:  Motion to approve the recommendation to the Superintendent of the Fiscal Recovery Plan Committee.  Passed with a motion by Ron Kristof and a second by Bill Carle.  

Yes      Bill Carle 
Yes      Ron Kristof
Yes      Frank Pugh
Yes      Laurie Fong
Yes      Evelyn Anderson
Yes      Ed Sheffield
Yes      Jenni Klose

The Board will consider approval of the 2016-17 First Interim Report,

California school districts are required to submit two major financial updates throughout the fiscal year, the First Interim Report which is based on activity through October 31 and the Second Interim Report which is based on activity through January 31. After receiving the information, the Board is required to certify that the District “will” (positive certification), “will not” (negative certification), or “may not” (qualified certification) meet its financial obligations for the current fiscal year and/or the two succeeding fiscal years.

This Interim Report updates the 2016-17 budget and revises the projections for the two subsequent years. The budget reflects the third year under the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). It is extremely important to understand the assumptions built into the projections, as they continue to change and may dramatically impact the financial projections. The actual LCFF calculation continues to be updated with the latest available information. In addition, the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) is expected to guide the District’s budget.

Assumptions used in the development of the projections are described in the staff report.

Based on the current assumptions, it is expected that the District may not be able to meet the financial obligations for the current and/or succeeding two fiscal years and, therefore, it is recommended that the District file a qualified certification.

June 8, 2016      Board held a Public Hearing regarding SRCS' 2016-17 budget

June 22, 2016    Board adopted SRCS' 2016-17 budget

Dec. 19, 2015    Board approved the 2015-16 First Interim Report

Motion Passed:  Motion to approve the 2016-17 First Interim Report.  Passed with a motion by Bill Carle and a second by Ron Kristof.  

Yes      Bill Carle 
Yes      Ron Kristof
Yes      Frank Pugh
Yes      Laurie Fong
Yes      Evelyn Anderson
Yes      Ed Sheffield
Yes      Jenni Klose

The Board will consider approval of Resolution 2016-17/031 to exempt SRCS from City of Santa Rosa Ordinance Code 20-38.080 regarding the Installation of Moving, Flashing/Digital Signs on SRCS sites.

District sites are seeking to replace their existing manually operated marquees with electronically operated signs that will allow them to better communicate, and update in real time, with parents, students, and the community. As per City of Santa Rosa Ordinance Code 20-38.080, moving, flashing, or electronic/digital signs are prohibited within the City. 

To enable the replacement of the existing manually-operated message boards throughout SRCS's sites with electronically-operated message boards, the Board of Education may, by a 2/3 vote, pass a resolution to exempt the District from City of Santa Rosa Ordinance 20-38.080 that otherwise prohibits electronic signs. 

In the past, the Board has approved similar resolutions exempting the District from the City Ordinance. Approvals included the installation of electronic marquees for the following sites:

May 8, 2013- Exemption for Santa Rosa High School Marquee

April 9, 2014- Exemption for Maria Carrillo High School Marquee 

District Staff is recommending a blanket resolution exempting the District from the City of Santa Rosa Ordinance Code 20-38.080 in an effort to save time and resources.

Motion Passed:  Motion to approve Resolution 2016-17/031 to exempt SRCS from City of Santa Rosa Ordinance Code 20-38.080 regarding the installation of moving, flashing/digital signs on SRCS sites.  Passed with a motion by Frank Pugh and a second by Bill Carle.  

Yes      Bill Carle 
Yes      Ron Kristof
Yes      Frank Pugh
Yes      Laurie Fong
Yes      Evelyn Anderson
Yes      Ed Sheffield
Yes      Jenni Klose

Government Code Sections 66001(d) and 66006(b) require districts to provide an annual accounting of the fees to the public. The Board must then review the information no earlier than 15 days after the information has been made available to the public. The document presented herein was made available for public review in the Business Services Office on November 18, 2016.

January 13, 2016   Board approved the report for 2014-15  
December 9, 2015 Board approved the report for 2013-14
January 15, 2014   Board approved the report for 2012-13

This is an annual report that has been required for years. In addition to this annual report, financial reporting on the collection and expenditure of developer fees regularly occurs as part of other required reports such as the budget, the interim reports, and the annual audit report.

                        Fees Collected           % Change Over Prior Year

2004/2005                $ 2,773,044                                                       
2005/2006                   2,581,103                           -7%
2006/2007                   2,200,176                           -15%
2007/2008                      985,406                           -55%
2008/2009                      400,296                           -59%
2009/2010                      363,893                           -9%
2010/2011                      532,077                             46%
2011-2012                      870,504                             64%
2012-2013                      775,089                           -11%
2013-2014                   2,185,609                            282%
2014-2015                      447,388                            -80%
2015-2016                      903,564                             202%
2016-2017                      294,263                         As of 11/14/16

Developer fees have been an important part of the District capital facilities program. During the economic downturn, the District experienced a significant decrease in the amount of fees collected. However, beginning in 2010-11 we began seeing annual increases through 2013-14. There was significant decrease in 2014-15, but then 2015-16 brought a 202% increase over 2014-15.

Motion Passed: Motion to approve the Annual Capital Facilities and Developer Fee Report and Resolution. Passed with a motion by Ron Kristof and a second by Laurie Fong.
Yes      Bill Carle
Yes      Ron Kristof
Yes      Frank Pugh
Yes      Laurie Fong
Yes      Evelyn Anderson
Yes      Ed Sheffield
Yes      Jenni Klose

The Board will elect their choice for the CSBA Delegate Assembly.

Each year, member boards elect representatives from 21 geographical regions to CSBA’s Delegate Assembly.  The Delegate Assembly is a vital link in the association’s governance and sets the general policy direction for the association.  Working with local districts, county offices, the Board of Directors, and Executive Committee, delegates ensure that the association promotes the interests of school districts and county offices of education throughout the state.  

President Klose called for a nomination for a delegate to serve on the CSBA Delegate Assembly.  Ron Kristof was nominated by Frank Pugh with a second by Ed Sheffield.  No other nominations were made.  By unanimous vote, Ron Kristof was nominated to serve on the CSBA Delegate Assembly.

The Board will receive the Sonoma County Office of Education School Visitation report for the first quarterly report for fiscal year 2016-2017 as required by Education Code section 1240(c)(2)(G) pursuant to the Williams Settlement.

This report presents the results of the Sonoma County Superintendent of Schools, Steven D. Herrington, Ph.D.  The Superintendent of Schools' October 2016 report presents that there were no instructional materials insufficiencies, each school was in “good repair”, no facility conditions “of an emergency or urgent threat to the health and safety of pupils or staff” was noted, there were no misassignments reported and accurate data was provided for the following schools:  Piner High, Elsie Allen High, Lawrence Cook Middle, Abraham Lincoln Elementary, Steele Lane Elementary, Hilliard Comstock Middle, James Monroe Elementary, Brook Hill Elementary and Albert Biella Elementary.

At 9:58 a motion was made by Bill Carle to extend the meeting past 10:00.  The motion was seconded by Ed Sheffield and passed by unanimous vote.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:10 p.m.