Note:

The Board will convene at 6:30 p.m., approve the agenda and after the Annual Reorganization Meeting go into Closed Session.

They are expected to resume Open Session at approximately 7:15 p.m.

The County Counsel has and continues to provide legal service and advice to the District and many other school districts within the County of San Mateo.

County Counsel shall perform legal services and legal representation, including the handling of litigation, as may be requested by the District. Litigation services shall not include litigation for which the District has insurance coverage or is otherwise the obligation of the San Mateo County School Insurance Group.

County Counsel shall periodically update the Board of Trustees and the Superintendent on legal issues pertaining to school districts and shall be available to provide staff training as is mutually agreed upon.

This agreement is for a term of five (5) years commencing July 1, 2018, and ending on June 30, 2023.

As you probably know, our enrollment has declined over the last several years. When I joined the district as a teacher twenty years ago, we had about 5,000 students. Today, we have just over 2,000 students. Because state funding is based on how many students we have, our budget is getting tight. Even with funds donated for specific programs from foundations and the federal government, we have to spread our money too thinly across schools that are half-empty. 

That means we need to merge elementary schools next fall, so we can concentrate more resources on each student.

Community members and Board of Trustees identified four major priorities: 

1. Special Programs: Protect programs like dual-immersion, turnaround arts, makerspace, music, school-based mental health supports.
2. Location: Keep neighborhood schools, spreading the three schools out as much as possible so more students have a school nearby.
3. Number of Students: Reduce disruption for how many students would have to move sites and how much would they be disrupted.
4. Facility size/features: Keep larger sites with more resources considering the number of classrooms, special features (large gym, full stage, kitchen) and condition (recently renovated?). 

Cabinet considered more than 12 scenarios and also checked the final scenario against extra factors such as:

1. Does each school have enough students to be sustainable long-term?
2. Did this disproportionately impact any specific ethnic subgroup?
3. Is there a significant difference in school performance?

Based on the input from the community, RSCD leadership has developed a proposal to merge schools next fall:

• Los Robles / McNair remains at current site as a dual immersion school

• Brentwood & Costaño merge, and locate at Costaño

• Willow Oaks and Belle Haven merge, and locate at Belle Haven

• No change to the middle school

• District will explore options to lease out Brentwood or Willow Oaks sites with one site reserved for Prop 39.

Board of Trustees will discuss the proposal and continue to collect and consider feedback. 

Additional school-based meetings are scheduled as follows:

1. Willow Oaks - December 9th at 6pm
2. Brentwood Academy - December 10th at 6pm
3. Los Robles Ronald Mc Nair Dual Immersion - December 11th  at 6pm
4. Belle Haven School - December 16th at 6pm
5. Costano School - December 17th at 6pm

The Board of Trustees will review and discuss the school mergers proposal again on December 12th before they take action on January 9, 2020. 

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 one working day before the meeting at 329-2800 ext. 60111. 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.