Persons wishing to address the Board on matters NOT on the posted agenda may do so. Speakers are customarily limited to two minutes, but an extension can be provided at the discretion of the Board Chairperson. If there are more than five individuals wishing to speak during Public Comment, the Chairperson may choose to hear some speakers at this time and defer the rest of the speakers to a second Public Comment at the end of the Board meeting. In response to comments on a non-agenda item, the Board may briefly respond to statements made or questions posed as allowed by the Brown Act (Government Code Section 54954.2). However, the Board’s general policy is to receive the comment, and/or refer items to staff for comprehensive action or report.

California Education Code places a requirement on elementary school districts to apply a minimum of 60% of General Fund expenditures for classroom compensation. When a district does not meet this minimum expenditure requirement, it must seek a waiver from the County Office of Education pursuant to Education Code 41372. During the 2016-17 fiscal year, the District expended 54.06%. At the request of the County Office of Education, the computation of these expenditures, originally included in the unaudited actual financial reports previously provided to the Board, is being discretely presented discretely to ensure the Board is aware of the deficiency in expenditures for the 2016-17 fiscal year.

California Education Code 41372 requires a computation of expenditures for classroom compensation demonstrating expenditure of 60% of elementary school district General Fund expenditures were for salaries and benefits of classroom teachers. (High school districts require 50% and unified districts require 55%). When a district does not meet the required spending level, a waiver can be obtained by the County Superintendent of this requirement to avoid provisions of State code which would require an amount equal to the shortfall be sequestered by the County Office of Education in the subsequent fiscal year.

As the District is working with the County Office of Education in the formulation of a fiscal reform package, it has been requested that the computation for 2016-17 required by Education Code 41372 be shared with the Board. While this computation was included in the 2016-17 Unaudited Actuals presented to the Board previously, it is attached hereto for Board review.

While no fiscal impact is anticipated from this presentation, if the waiver was not obtained, the use of approximately $1.55 million would have been dictated by the County Office of Education.

FM3 Research conducted a survey of voters on behalf of the Ravenswood City School District, assessing the potential viability of revenue measures.  This survey is specifically looking at both the viability of renewing/increasing the District’s existing annual parcel tax and passing another bond measure to continue implementing the District’s Facilities Master Plan.  Interviews for this survey, which started on January 26, 2018, and were completed on Monday, February 5, 2018, were collected online and through telephone interviews.  Telephone interviews were conducted on landlines and cell phones, in English and Spanish. Results for this survey will be presented by Lucia Del Puppo from FM3.

The Fiscal Reform Package lays the foundation for restoring fiscal solvency on a multi-year basis and will continue to be updated and revised.  The FRP is the best work to date, given the unknown factors from the Governor’s May revision to the State’s budget. The plan also represents an attempt to comprehensively address suggestions made for expenditure reductions and/or revenue enhancement from stakeholders.

However, our analysis to date has been limited by the personnel resources and a short time frame for actions but will continue to examine every budget line item within the timelines imposed on the district by the SMCOE. District staff will continue to monitor budgets seek incorporation of viable suggestions received from stakeholders.

Exercising its fiscal oversight authority under Assembly Bill 1200, the San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) has provided the District with a letter from Denise Porterfield, Deputy Superintendent, Business Services Division to Ana Marie Pulido, President, Governing Board. The letter was dated January 22, 2018 (attached) and informed the District of the need to provide SMCOE with a proposal for addressing the fiscal condition of the District, i.e., the Fiscal Reform Package (FRP) as well as updated financial projections for fiscal year 2018-19 and 2019-20 that reflect the actions of the Board to implement the Fiscal Reform Package.

It is recommended:

(1) That the Board approve the Fiscal Reform Plan, as presented, which includes service and staff reductions effective at the end of the 2017-2018 school year, including ending the District’s operation and administration of the Child Development Center (CDC); and that the Board direct Staff to recommend to the Board appropriate resolutions to implement the service and staff reductions. 

It is further recommended:

(2) That the Board direct Staff to continue the ongoing review of District revenue and budgeted expenditures to identify additional measures to assure the District’s fiscal integrity and report back to the Board with additional recommendations for the Fiscal Reform Plan as may be needed.

Payments to Vendors, January 01 to 31, 2018

Total amount of vendor payments = $1,777,564.91

The agreement aligns with the District's broader goals and mission by providing social-emotional learning (SEL) contributing to the whole child experience.  In addition, it is to continue to further build Health & Wellness capacity for the students, teachers and District Staff

PUBLIC NOTICE: BOARD MEETINGS ARE RECORDED.

NOTE: Board Meetings are accessible to people with disabilities. Individuals who need special assistance or a disability-related modification or accommodation (including auxiliary aids or services) to participate in this meeting; or who have a disability and wish to request an alternative format for the agenda, meeting notice, agenda packet or other writings that may be distributed at the meeting, should contact Nelly Maldonado at least five working days before the meeting at 329-2800 ext. 60109. Notification in advance of the meeting will enable the district to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to this meeting and the materials related to it.