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)).

1) Garcia v. SRCS, et al
2) Burbank v. Bellvue/SRCS
3) A.D. v. SRCS

The Board will consider approval of the minutes from the October 10, 2018, Regular Board Meeting.

The Board will consider approval of the minutes from the October 17, 2018, Special Board Meeting.

The Board of Education will recognize our Probationary staff meeting the requirements to become Permanent employees of Santa Rosa City Schools.

Purpose:

Teachers are considered one of the primary factors in a student's learning and success in school. We want to honor this commitment by recognizing them tonight.

Our classified staff is another primary factor in our student's learning and success and in the effective and efficient operations fo our schools and programs.

Considerations:

It is important that our Santa Rosa City Schools teachers are experts in their content areas, in their knowledge of best practices and pedagogy, in their willingness to form and model positive relationships with students, and in their belief in the capability of all students to learn.

Each of the 87 teachers being confirmed as permanent employees has demonstrated their commitment to their professionalism and to our Santa Rosa City Schools students and families.

It is important that our Santa Rosa City Schools staff are experts in areas such as finance, health, and nutrition, maintenance and operations, school services, supporting instruction, and in their belief that they work is important to serving students.

Each of the 6 classified staff being confirmed as permanent employees have demonstrated their commitment to their professionalism and to our Santa Rosa Schools students and families.

This is an opportunity for members of the public to speak to the board on non-agenda items.  Comments on items that are on the agenda will take place during the discussion on that agenda item.  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 3 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)).

All consent items are enacted by the Board in one motion, unless a Board member requests that an item be removed and discussed separately.  

The Board will consider approval of absent Board Member(s), if necessary, due to illness, jury duty, or 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.

Approved by vote on consent agenda.

The Board will consider approval of the vendor warrants submitted.  The attached warrant register lists all vendors for the period September 28, 2019, through October 9, 2018, for a total of $2,773,109.18. 

Staff is presenting the Warrant Register List for Board Approval.

Financially significant vendor warrants that highlight the largest check or invoice paid to a particular vendor:

Warrants (Current): September 28, 2018, through October 9, 2018 = $2,773,109.18
Warrants (Total 18/19 Fiscal Year): July 1, 2018, through October 9, 2018 = $22,264,508.26

Approved by vote on consent agenda.

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.

District-wide donations (Since October 11, 2018): $37,035.07
District-wide donations (Year to date): $165,501.61

Approved by vote on consent agenda.

 The Board will consider approval of the contracts submitted.

Staff is submitting contracts on behalf of schools and departments for specified services to be performed by individuals, contractors or consulting firms.  For fiscal and learning impacts, see the attached summary sheet.

Total value of contracts = $211,355.00

The Board will consider approval of a county-wide foster youth transportation agreement.  The federal Every Student Succeeds Act (“ESSA”), requires all school districts in Sonoma County and the Sonoma County Family, Youth, and Children’s Services Division (“FYC”) to develop an agreement on foster youth transportation.  

Purpose: 

The transportation costs associated with Foster Youth students may include transporting students from a Licensed Children's Institute ( LCI) such as Valley of the Moon but can also include having a foster youth remain at their original school but require the district of residence pay for this transportation. The modes of transportation may include but are not limited to Public transportation, altering or adding a school bus route, mileage reimbursement for parents or students or other contracted transportation providers. The details of these arrangements though established by ESSA were not explicit. On an annual basis, it was left to individual school districts to work out the nuances within their jurisdiction. Santa Rosa City Schools is the district of residence for secondary students at the Valley of the Moon. There are frequently students being transported from Valley of the Moon to our Secondary schools.

Attached for Board approval is a negotiated Inter-agency agreement that was developed between Schools and College Legal Services and the Sonoma County Family, Youth, and Children's Services Division.

Considerations: 

Previous to the change in ESSA, costs for this transportation were assumed by the county agency. Now a model of "shared" funding is required to be worked out by the parties. The agreement is a model Inter-agency agreement that is being approved by all Sonoma school districts during the months of September and October. This agreement has been reviewed by legal staff outside of Schools and College Legal Services and is recommended for approval. 

Previous Board History:
5/10/17 (Item F.5)

The financial impact is unclear because this is a new shared funding model. We currently have 94 foster youth students. Based on the agreement we would only be obligated for a small fraction of that number. We believe that number to be between 10-19 students per year. Our estimated costs will be between $6,000 - $10,000 per year. 

The Board will consider approval of the revised Plan Document 501 for classified employees.

Purpose

American Fidelity administers the Section 125 Flexible Benefit Plan on behalf of Santa Rosa City Schools for CSEA employees.

Considerations 

Plan 502 remains in effect for CSEA employees and is brought forward for annual approval with updates to the District contributions and offered plans.

Previous Board History 

7/25/18 (Item E-6): Approval of Section 125 Flexible Benefit Plan for supervisory employees
9/27/17 (Item E-6): Approval of Section 125 Flexible Benefit Plan for classified employees

The fiscal impact of participating in the IRC 125 Plan is relative to employees only. There is no cost to SRCS although the District could be subject to taxes and penalties without an approved Plan Document.

The Board will consider approval of Resolution No. 2018-19/027 recognizing November 2018 as National Native American Heritage Month. 

Purpose:

To adopt a Resolution recognizing November 2018 as National Native American Heritage Month.

Consideration:

American Indian Heritage Month is a time to celebrate rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native people. It is also an opportune time to educate the general public about tribes, to raise a general awareness about the unique challenges Native people have faced both historically and in the present, and the ways in which tribal citizens have worked to conquer these challenges.

Indian nations have a tremendous stake in an improved education system. Education prepares Native children not only for active and equal participation in the global market, but also to be positive, involved members of their communities. Equally important, investments in education equip the future leaders of tribal governments. There is no more vital resource to the continued existence and integrity of Indian tribes than Native children.

There are approximately 644,000 American Indian and Alaska Native students in the US K-12 system, representing 1.2 percent of public school students nationally (r1).  Ninety percent of Native students attend public schools, while eight percent attend schools administered by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). States, where Native students comprise the largest proportions of the total student populations, include Alaska (27 percent); Oklahoma (19 percent); Montana (11 percent); New Mexico (11 percent); and South Dakota (11 percent).(r2) 

Native students’ academic achievement and educational attainment lags far behind that of their white peers. Over the past 10 years, Native students have been the only population to have not improved in reading or math (grades four and eight).(r3)  Nationwide, Native youth face some of the lowest high school graduation rates, and even fewer enroll in and graduate from college. On average, less than 50 percent of Native students graduate from high school each year in the seven states with the highest percentage of American Indian and Alaska Native students.(r4)

Providing Native children with a quality education is a central component of the federal government’s trust responsibility to tribes, and this commitment must be upheld. Tribes are deeply invested in improving Indian education, and strengthening tribal control over education is key to Native students’ success. Tribal governments are in the best position to address the unique educational needs of our Native students for a simple but intuitive reason: tribes know their children and communities the best.

In Santa Rosa City Schools we have 143 children who are identified as  American Indian or Alaskan Native.  Santa Rosa has an Indian Education Community Worker, Elizabeth Billy, who leads The SRCS Indian Education Program which is designed to address the unique education and culturally related academic needs of American Indian and Alaska Native students, including preschool children, so that these students can achieve to the same challenging state performance standards expected of all students. The federally funded program is the principal vehicle for addressing the particular needs of Indian children.

References: 

1. Status and Trends in the Education of American Indians and Alaska Natives: 2008 (NCES 2008-084). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
2. Id.
3. US Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2005, 2007, and 2009 National Indian Education Studies.
4. These states are Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming. Faircloth, Susan, and John Tippeconnic. "The Dropout/Graduation Crisis Among American Indian and Alaska Native Students: Failure to Respond Places the Future of Native Peoples at Risk." The Civil Rights Project. January 2010. 

Previous Board History:
10/25/17 (Item F.1)

The Board will conduct interviews of four candidates for a Trustee Area 2 vacancy.  The four candidates who will participate in the interviews are as follows:

1. Carolyn Cole-Schweizer
2. Robert Reece
3. Jeff Poulos
4. Jill McCormick

This order was determined using the Randomized Alphabet Drawing for the November 6, 2018 General Election Ballot from Secretary of State Padilla.

Rationale:

Trustee Area 2 is vacant and the Board of Education will select through an application and interview process a candidate to serve on the Board from 2018 to 2022.   

Considerations:

February 2018, Santa Rosa City Schools Board of Education changed the method by which school board members are elected. Instead of "at large" elections, candidates are now elected by "trustee areas." This means only voters within a given trustee area can vote for candidates who reside within that same area. The Board approved this Trustee Area Map.

Three seats on the school board are up for election in November 2018: in Trustee Areas 2, 4, and 6 with no candidates for Trustee Area 2.  The person selected by the Board would occupy the Trustee Area 2 seat on the Board until the next regular election of this Trustee Area in 2022.  

The timeline for an appointment to the SRCS governing board for Trustee Area 2:  

• The Community was first notified on September 17th about the vacancy and opening for a Board Member.

• Application forms and a copy of Resolution No. 2018/19-015 was made available to all interested persons.

• Applications were submitted to the District Office by 4:00 p.m. on October 8, 2018.  

Applications requested:  11
Applications received:  5
Applications withdrawn: 1
Total applications for review: 4

• A Board sub-committee made up of Jenni Klose, Laurie Fong, Evelyn Anderson screened the applications to ensure that the applicants satisfy the legal requirements for appointment.

• Pursuant to Board Bylaw, the date of appointment will be October 24, 2018, upon completion of interviews during the Board Meeting on October 24, 2018.  The appointee will be seated at the organizational meeting on December 12, 2018, as if elected during the district election.

• Following the Board’s action to make an appointment, the Superintendent is authorized to publish the name of the applicant as required by Board Bylaw No. 9223.

Board History:
9/12/18 (Item F.3): Approval of Resolution Declaring a Vacancy

Board Policy:
Board Bylaw 9223

The Board will conduct a legally-required public hearing on the proposed Santa Rosa City Schools District "Sunshine" proposal with the California School Employees Association chapter 75 (CSEA 75) for contract reopeners for 2018-2019. 

Purpose

Following the public hearing, the Board will consider approving the District's "sunshine" proposal for contract reopeners with CSEA 75 for 2018-2019 in the next item on this agenda.  The initial proposal for 2018-2019 contract reopeners include the following articles to negotiate:  

Article 13 Compensation

Considerations

Financial impact potential. Positive budget certification and governor's proposed budget. 

Board Policy
BP 4143.1

Government Code
Gov Code 3547

Previous Board History
F.4 & F.5 CSEA 75 Reopeners 2017-2018 2/14/18

The Board will consider approving the Santa Rosa City Schools District "Sunshine" proposal for contract reopeners for 2018-2019 with California School Employees Association Chapter 75 (CSEA 75) of which said proposals will be addressed through the meet-and-greet negotiation process. The District looks forward to working collaboratively with CSEA 75 to serve the staff and students of Santa Rosa City Schools.

Purpose

Per Government Code Sec. 3547, and Article 17.6 of the CSEA 75 collective bargaining contract, the district has "Sunshined" their initial proposal for the 2018-2019 contract reopeners to negotiate the following: 

Article 13 Compensation

Considerations

As part of the collective bargaining process, the district annually submits contract proposals they wish to discuss and negotiate with the bargaining units. This is the district's initial Board activity on the 2018-2019 contract reopeners.

Board Policy
BP 4143.1 Public Notice-Personnel Negotiations
AR 4143.1 Public Notice of Personnel Negotiations

Government Code
Gov Code 3547 and 3547.5

Previous Board History
F.4 & F.5 CSEA 75 Reopeners 2017-2018 2/14/18

The Board will conduct a legally-required public hearing on the proposed Santa Rosa City Schools District "Sunshine" proposal with Santa Rosa Teachers Association (SRTA) for contract reopeners for 2019-2020. 

Purpose

Following the public hearing, the Board will consider approving the District's "sunshine" proposal for contract reopeners with SRTA for 2019-2020 in the next item on this agenda.  The initial proposal for 2019-2020 contract reopeners include the following articles to negotiate:

Article 6 - Hours and days of Employment
Article 9 - Evaluation Procedure
Article 16 Compensation

Considerations

The Board received the SRTA "sunshine" proposals for 2019-2020 on October 10, 2018.  Exhibit material related to this issue appears in the following agenda item.

Board Policy
BP 4143.1

Government Code
Gov Code 3547

Previous Board History
F.3 October 10, 2018

The Board will consider approving the Santa Rosa City Schools District "Sunshine" proposal for contract reopeners for 2019-2020 with Santa Rosa Teachers Association (SRTA) of which said proposals will be addressed through the meet-and-greet negotiation process. The District looks forward to working collaboratively with SRTA to serve the students of Santa Rosa City Schools.

Purpose

Per Government Code Sec. 3547, and Article 18 of the SRTA collective bargaining contract, the district has "Sunshined" their initial proposal for the 2019-2020 contract reopeners to negotiate the following:

Article 6 - Hours and Days of Employment
Article 9 - Evaluation Procedure
Article 16 Compensation

Considerations

As part of the collective bargaining process, the district annually submits contract proposals they wish to discuss and negotiate with the bargaining units. This is the district's initial Board activity on the 2019-2020 contract reopeners.

Board Policy
BP 4143.1 Public Notice-Personnel Negotiations
AR 4143.1 Public Notice of Personnel Negotiations

Government Code
Gov Code 3547 and 3547.5

Previous Board History
F.3 October 10, 2018

These items are presented for informational purposes only.

Attached for reference is a list of educational acronyms and abbreviations. 

The update to Administrative Regulation (AR) 3311 Business and Non-Instructional Operations: Bids revises language for the protest of bids. 

Current language allows a bid protest within five working days after the Board has awarded a contract to a successful bidder.

The update to AR 3311 (Bids) changes the language from "receipt of notification of the contract award" to "receipt of the Notice of Intent to Award". This will ensure that any bid protests are addressed prior to staff submitting a bid to the Board for award. 

The attachment highlights the changes to AR 3311.

Board Policy

BP 3311 
AR 3311 (Current)

Previous Board Activity

September 13, 2017 (Item F-10): Board Policy 3311 Update
June 8, 2016 (Item F-8): Board Policy 3311 Approval

Purpose

The CDE monitors local school districts for the adherence to over 812 components in an Individual Educational Plan (IEP). Based on audit findings, school districts may be required to provide training or policy and law clarifications to address "corrective actions" noted by CDE.

In addition to the compliance issues, the special services team within SRCS works to implement the LCAP Goal 1:

• Provide a coherent, rigorous and relevant teaching and learning program to graduate students who are ready for college and career.

Relevant teaching and learning is the focal point when developing the IEP for each of our students receiving special education services.

Considerations

Between May 21-23, 2018, the CDE compliance review team conducted an on-site review. The process the CDE followed was collaborative and transparent. The goal is to support our students through the IEP process. The CDE team interviewed five parents and team visited eight schools; interviewing twenty-four SRCS staff members. They also reviewed at a variety of IEPs at random and found areas of noncompliance.

As a result, all Education Specialist and Speech and Language Pathologists in the district are required to attend a mandatory training focusing on how to consider and write a compliant IEP. This process is referred to as Education Benefit Training.

The SRCS Program Managers and over 136 Special Education staff; including speech and language pathologists and education specialists have met to have in-depth training around detailed compliance concerns.  Attached are the sign-in sheets, and the PowerPoint presentations that outline the scope of the training. 

Board Policy
AR 6159 IEP Process

Education Code
Education Code 56043 et. al