The Williams Case resulted in a new Education Code designed to address complaints or deficiencies at schools related to instructional materials, emergency or urgent facility conditions that pose a threat to the health and safety of pupils or staff, and teacher vacancy or misassignment.

The Williams Settlement Education Code 35186 requires that a quarterly report be made to the Board of any complaints related to the Williams Case.  There have been no complaints filed for the first quarter of the 2020-2021 school year.

IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES ACCEPT THE QUARTERLY REPORT ON WILLIAMS UNIFORM COMPLAINTS.

The Stepping Stones Group (63 staff) - $2,835,810

Therapeutic Learning Center (11 staff) - $588,252   

Autism Learning Partners (2 staff) - $112,588

Gateway Learning Group (12 staff) - $527,040

Several student toilet rooms at Borel Middle School are in need of updating as they have not been updated in decades.  The work needed includes replacing exhaust fans and adding exhaust fans to those that do not have them, painting of the walls and replacing of the light fixtures.  The toilet partitions and plumbing fixtures will be thoroughly cleaned and in two toilet rooms, the flooring will be replaced. 

Through the California Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act's (CUPCCAA) procedures for informal bids, the Facilities Department solicited bids from general contractors that are in the District's CUPCCAA list.  Only one contractor submitted a bid - Cumisky Construction Corporation.  

A.  Federal and State documents as authorized agents of the Board of Trustees: The Superintendent, Dr. Joan Rosas; and/or the Chief Business Official, Patrick Gaffney: and/or the Director of Fiscal Services, Kamaljit Kalay.

B.  Contract documents following the approval of the Board of Trustees: The Superintendent, Dr. Joan Rosas; and/or the Chief Business Official, Patrick Gaffney; and/or the Director of Fiscal Services, Kamaljit Kalay; and/or Sue Wieser, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources.

C. Purchase Orders: The Superintendent, Dr. Joan Rosas; and/or the Chief Business Official, Patrick Gaffney; and/or the Director of Fiscal Services, Kamaljit Kalay

D.  District Clearing Account:  Any two of the following: The Superintendent, Dr. Joan Rosas; and/or the Chief Business Official, Patrick Gaffney; and/or the Director of Fiscal Services, Kamaljit Kalay; and/or the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, Sue Wieser; and/or the Assistant Superintendent of Education Services, David Chambliss; and/or the Assistant Superintendent of Student Services, Sarah Drinkwater.

E.  Revolving Fund Accounts:  Any two of the following:  The Superintendent, Dr. Joan Rosas; and/or the Chief Business Official, Patrick Gaffney; and/or the Director of Fiscal Services, Kamaljit Kalay; and/or the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, Sue Wieser; and/or the Assistant Superintendent of Education Services, David Chambliss; and/or the Assistant Superintendent of Student Services, Sarah Drinkwater.

F.  Cafeteria Account: Any two of the following:  The Superintendent, Dr. Joan Rosas; and/or the Chief Business Official, Patrick Gaffney; and/or the Administrator for Food Services, Andrew Soliz; and/or the Director of Fiscal Services, Kamaljit Kalay.

G.  Annex Revolving Account:  Any two of the following:  The Superintendent, Dr. Joan Rosas; and/or the Assistant Superintendent of Student Services, Sarah Drinkwater; and/or the Chief Business Official, Patrick Gaffney; and/or the Director of Fiscal Services, Kamaljit Kalay; and/or the Coordinator of the Annex, Danielle Tremaine

Education Code Section 42632 requires that each order drawn on the funds of a school district shall be signed by a majority of the members of the Governing Board of the District, or by a person or persons authorized by the Governing Board to sign orders. The authorized signatures shall be filed with the County Superintendent of Schools. With district personnel changes in 2020-21, the Government Board of the San Mateo-Foster City School District has authorized any of the following administrators' signatures on district orders: 

1) Dr. Joan Rosas, Superintendent

2) Patrick Gaffney, Chief Business Official 

3) Kamaljit Kalay, Director of Fiscal Services 

4) Sue Wieser, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources

IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES APPROVE RESOLUTION 08/20-21 AUTHORIZING THE SIGNATURES FOR ORDERS DRAWN ON DISTRICT FUNDS.

With the change in District personnel, the District’s bank, First Bank, requires new signature authorization from the Governing Board of the San Mateo-Foster City School District. The resolution will authorize the following administrators to sign bank deposit accounts on behalf of the District:

1) Dr. Joan Rosas, Superintendent

2) Patrick Gaffney, Chief Business Official 

3) Kamaljit Kalay, Director of Fiscal Services 

4) Sue Wieser, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources

IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES APPROVE RESOLUTION 09/20-21 AUTHORIZING THE SIGNATURES FOR DEPOSIT ACCOUNTS WITH FIRST BANK.

With the change in District personnel, the Local Agency Investment Fund Account (LAIF) Administrator requires new signature authorization from the Governing Board of the San Mateo-Foster City School District. The resolution will authorize the following administrators to sign on behalf of the District:

1) Dr. Joan Rosas, Superintendent

2) Patrick Gaffney, Chief Business Official 

3) Kamaljit Kalay, Director of Fiscal Services 

Per Board Policy 3312, the Board may, by a majority vote, delegate to the Superintendent or designee the authority to enter into contracts on behalf of the District.  To be valid or to constitute an enforceable obligation against the District, all such contracts must be approved and/or ratified by the Board.  Contracts are available for review upon request in the Business Services department.

IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES APPROVE THE LIST OF CONTRACTS AND CONSULTANTS OF $45,000 and UNDER.

Board Policy 3314 states the following: It shall be the practice of the administration to present the Board of Trustees with copies of all warrant registers for information and review at each regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Trustees. As Policies 3100 (budget) and 3110 (transfer of funds) provide criteria for Board authorization of all expenditures, both personnel and non-personnel items, prior to the actual payment of the obligation, warrants will be distributed to the vendors and employees after audit by the County Superintendent of Schools.

Education Code Sections 42631-36 requires the Board of Trustees approve all expenditures made by the District.

IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES APPROVE THE ATTACHED DISTRICT EXPENDITURES.

None – Expenditure provided for in the 2019-2020 budget.

The San Mateo – Foster City School District continues to focus on the health and safety of students and staff in its continued efforts to reopen schools during the COVID 19 pandemic. In doing so, the District has provided in person instruction and services using a staggered approach.

The San Mateo – Foster City School District’s subsidized preschool and several Annex classrooms  were the first to return in person and are open in accordance with preschool and childcare guidance received last spring.

Per the recent guidance provided by California Department of Public Health, the District’s next step is to open “Learning Support Hubs” for students with urgent needs in what had been termed “Equity Groups” .  Students in Equity Groups include homeless, foster youth, economically disadvantaged, English learners and students with exceptional needs. On October 21, 2020, seven Learning Support Hubs located on the College Park Campus will open.  If approved by the Board of Trustees, Newton will open five additional Learning Support Hubs at Laurel Elementary on October 26, 2020.  There are also plans in process for opening additional Learning Support Hubs at Bayside Academy.  All of these hubs will serve students with urgent needs who were recommended by staff and will follow the guidance from the California Department of Public Health.

Now that our County is in the Red Tier according to the Governor’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, districts are required to write a Reopening Plan prior to moving forward in the next phase of an in person return to school. This Reopening Plan predominantly requests information on health and safety protocols that will be implemented in the hybrid model. The areas that must be addressed in the plan include:  Cleaning and Disinfection, Cohort Sizes, Entrance, Egress and Movement, Protective Equipment, Healthy Hygiene Practices, Physical Distancing, Health Screenings and Testing, Identification and Tracing of Contacts, Triggers for Return to Distance Learning, Staff Training and Family Education and Communication.

Staff recommendation is to begin grade level returns for elementary aged students and Special Day Classes by utilizing a staggered approach in a Hybrid Model starting on January 19, 2021 with the youngest students returning first. 

IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES APPROVE THE SUBMISSION OF THE REQUIRED REOPENING PLAN AND APPROVE A REOPENING START DATE OF JANUARY 19, 2021 STARTING WITH THE YOUNGEST STUDENTS FIRST.

The Next Steps Advisory Committee held 55 town halls and forums with the San Mateo and Foster City communities on behalf of the San Mateo-Foster City School District to provide an overview of the need for new facilities due to increasing enrollment and to gather suggestions for addressing the need.   In addition, 4,692 community members and staff responded to two surveys about various options that the Next Steps Advisory Committee was considering based on initial input about facilities needed for increasing enrollments.  

The Next Steps Advisory Committee then presented its work and recommendations to the Board of Trustees in June 2015.  In August 2015, the Board of Trustees voted to place a bond measure on the November ballot which included the addition of an elementary school in the North Central area of San Mateo.  The school in North Central was to be a small elementary school placed on a District-owned parcel at the corner of North Humboldt Street and East Poplar Avenue.  The majority of students living in North Central are bussed to schools in other neighborhoods in the District as part of a voluntary desegregation effort that began in the 1960’s. The Next Steps Committee recommended that the new school be planned for 250 K-5 neighborhood students.

As the Next Steps work was completed just over 5 years ago, the current Board of Trustees sent out a Request for Professional Services to engage a consultant to bring forward recommendations and options for a successful educational program for the new school in North Central San Mateo for the Board’s consideration. As part of this process, the consultant would gather community input through listening sessions with families and key stakeholders in the North Central community.

The Request was sent out following the September 10, 2020 Board meeting and there were three interested parties.  However, all three stated that the timeline listed in the proposal was unrealistic.  They also read the statement that a special board meeting would have to be held for any proposal over $45,000 as meaning that $45,000 would be the cap to the project and none felt that they could do the work in that budget range.  Assistant Superintendent Chambliss told all three parties that the timeline could be changed and that $45,000 was not a cap.  As of this writing, the District has not received any proposals.

Staff have rewritten the Request for Professional Services addressing the areas of question, included a new due date and will resend the Request following the October 22 Board meeting.  See attached Request for Professional Services. 

Williams vs. State of California and Education Code Section 60119 require school districts to annually hold a public hearing regarding the appropriation of instructional materials throughout the District.  In particular, the Williams settlement requires that each student is in possession of a standards-based textbook in each of the four core academic areas of Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Science for use in the classroom and to take home.  (This requirement does not equate to two copies.)  All English Learners will have required English Language Development textbooks.  Abbott Middle School, The Bayside Academy, Borel Middle School, Bowditch Middle School, Audubon, Baywood, Beach Park, Beresford, Brewer Island, College Park, Fiesta Gardens International, Foster City, Highlands, George Hall, Laurel, LEAD, Meadow Heights, North Shoreview Montessori, Parkside Montessori, San Mateo Park and Sunnybrae Elementary Schools do have sufficient textbooks for all students in each of the content areas of Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Science.  All English Learners do have required English Language Development textbooks.

IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES HOLD A PUBLIC HEARING TO RECEIVE COMMENTS REGARDING THE SUFFICIENCY OF PUPIL TEXTBOOKS AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS AT ABBOTT MIDDLE SCHOOL, THE BAYSIDE ACADEMY, BOREL MIDDLE SCHOOL, BOWDITCH MIDDLE SCHOOL, AUDUBON, BAYWOOD, BEACH PARK, BERESFORD, BREWER ISLAND, COLLEGE PARK, FIESTA GARDENS INTERNATIONAL, FOSTER CITY, GEORGE HALL, HIGHLANDS, LAUREL, LEAD, MEADOW HEIGHTS, NORTH SHOREVIEW MONTESSORI, PARKSIDE MONTESSORI, SAN MATEO PARK, AND SUNNYBRAE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS AND APPROVE RESOLUTION NO. 11/20-21 FOR THE SUFFICIENCY OF TEXTBOOKS AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS AS REQUIRED BY WILLIAMS VS. STATE OF CALIFORNIA.