Telecommuting members of the public who wish to address the Board on the closed session agenda are asked to complete the Public Comment Form prior to the start of closed session. If you are unable to access the Google form, please email lkolacek@srcs.k12.ca.us to submit your comment.  Staff will make all attempts to share and record any submissions received prior to or during the meeting. 

This is an opportunity for members of the public to address 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.

Telecommuting members of the public who wish to address the Board during the meeting are asked to complete the Public Comment Form prior to the start of the meeting. If you are unable to access the Google form, please email lkolacek@srcs.k12.ca.us to submit your comment.  Staff will make all attempts to share and record any submissions received prior to or during the meeting.  

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)).

The Board will consider approval of Resolution No. 2019/20-57 declaring March as Arts Education Month in Santa Rosa City Schools.

Purpose

The Board of Education is being asked to approve a resolution recognizing March as Arts Education Month.

Consideration

California Arts Education Month celebrates arts education which includes dance, music, theater, literature, design and various visual arts. These experiences encourage creative learning in children and young adults. A well-rounded education should include the stimulation and creative thinking that the arts help to develop. It is important that we recognize and celebrate the essential role of arts education in our schools and Arts Education Month helps communicate that intrinsic value.

Previous Board Activity
March 27, 2019 Resolution Declaring March as Arts Education Month in Santa Rosa City Schools

The Board will consider approval of Emergency Resolution No. 2019/20-060 declaring emergency conditions exist at Santa Rosa City Schools and authorization to take any and all necessary actions to prepare and respond effectively to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Considerations

On March 2, 2020, the Sonoma County Department of Public Health declared the existence of a local and public health emergency arising from the coronavirus (COVID-19).

On March 4, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a statewide emergency arising from the coronavirus (COVID-19).

On March 14, 2020, the Sonoma County Department of Public Health and the Sonoma County Office of Education issued guidance regarding enhanced measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, which included measures such as social distancing and canceling or postponing large gatherings, and the recommendation to suspend “in-person classes” Link to Guidance

On March 19, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom issued a Stay at Home Order for the State of California. Link to Executive Order

This resolution will authorize the Superintendent to take all appropriate actions to respond to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic including, but not limited to, any action: 

• To ensure and protect the welfare, safety and educational wellbeing of all students;
  
  
• To ensure and protect the welfare and safety of persons working for the District which shall include its agents, employees, representatives and all others acting for or on behalf of the District;
  
  
• To provide necessary staffing and instruction;
  
  
• To modify school and work schedules;
  
  
• To declare an emergency pursuant to Government Code § 3100 et seq., and to assign District employees (in their capacity as disaster service workers) to perform such disaster service activities as may be assigned to them;
  
  
• To cancel or modify any activities, programs, or courses, up to and including the temporary closure of the District.
  
  
• To protect District property.
  
  
• To make further declarations of emergency and to take emergency action as permitted by law.

Education Code
35161

Board Policy
2210

Approve Emergency Resolution No. 2019/20-060 Delegating Authority To The Superintendent To Take Necessary Action To Protect Students And Staff From The Spread Of Coronavirus (COVID-19)

The Board will conduct a second reading and take possible action on Board Policy 6146.1 with additions of  the one-year waiver for Math and LOTE and the Graduation with Industry Concentration.

Purpose

Second reading and possible approval of Board Policy 6146.1, graduation requirements including new language regarding Graduation with a Concentration and a one year waiver for Math and LOTE.

Considerations

In the Spring of 2018, the Board of Education voted to change the graduation requirements by adding a year of Math and Language Other Than English (LOTE). The change was needed to address the disparity of students who are college and career ready in Santa Rosa City Schools were not equal among subgroups. At the time, the data shows the percentage of students who were meeting the a-g requirements were trending down, while the state and county were trending up. Additionally, Superintendent Kitamura brought forward the idea of the "Certificate Specialist" as an additional opportunity for students to achieve the new graduation requirements.

On January 29, 2020 study session, the Board directed staff to come back with waiver options.

After the February 26, 2020, Board Meeting, each high school counseling team came together with the district Counselor on Special Assignment to give feedback on the "Waiver" and "Graduation with Concentration." All high school teams except Santa Rosa High School were able to meet.

On March 5, 2020, a meeting was held for all SRTA/CSEA members to provide feedback and ask clarifying questions to the Waiver and Graduation with Concentration. Seven SRTA members and 1 CSEA member were in attendance. Feedback from the meeting is attached. The feedback generated at this meeting and prior meetings are reflected in the attachments. Red equates language that was removed and yellow represents language that is being added as a result of this consultation.

On March 11th, first reading of BP 6146.1 was presented and the board asked for draft scripts for counselors to engage parents and students in regards to the "Waiver" and "Graduation with Concentration."  At this meeting sample schedules were provided and are attached in this report as well as the scripts to communicate about these options.  The Board requested a sample of these scripts.  

Additionally, information was requested regarding a two or three year requirement for CTE courses.  Per the California Department of Education CTE state plan, "The State Plan describes a coherent sequence of courses as a minimum of two or more CTE courses offered in a single CTE program area totaling at least 300 hours of instruction or a single multi-hour course consisting of a minimum of 300 hours of instruction. Program sequences must include a capstone course. Secondary CTE programs may include a Regional Occupation Center/Program (ROCP) course as the “capstone” course.  

On March 12th, Department Chairs for Counseling, Math, and World Language met to discuss and review the exact language of their discipline's requirements in BP 6142.1.

Board Policy  
Board Policy 6146.1

Education Code  
Education Code 51228

Previous Board Activity  

March 11, 2020 Item E.3
February 26, 2020 Item E.3
January 29, 2020 Item D.2 
November 13, 2019 Item F.3  
May 22, 2019 Item F.4 
June 13, 2018 Item G.3   
April 25, 2018 Item F.1  
April 11, 2018 Item F.1

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.

The Board will consider approval of the vendor warrants submitted.  The attached warrant register lists all vendors for the period February 28, 2020, through March 12, 2020, for a total of $4,051,846.70. 

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): February 28, 2020, through March 12, 2020 = $4,051,846.70
Warrants (Total 19/20 Fiscal Year): July 1, 2019,through March 12, 2020 = $60,987,431.12

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 March 12, 2020 = $3,936.10.
District-wide donations year to date = $216,314.96.

 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 = $0.00

The Board will consider approval of the Multi-District Interdistrict Attendance Agreement 2020-21 through 2024-25.

Purpose

The Sonoma County Office of Education requires this reciprocal agreement in order to accept interdistrict transfer students. This is a county-wide agreement that is shared between Sonoma County schools. This agreement shall be effective July 1, 2020 and continue for a five-year term. 

Considerations

The Sonoma County Multi-District Interdistrict Attendance Agreement does not supersede our Interdistrict Board Policies, but confirms the basic parameters that all districts in the county will abide by for Interdistrict requests.

The consequences for not participating in this agreement would not be desirable as every accepted interdistrict student would require a separate district agreement. Knowing the number of districts represented by our students we would be looking to 40+ separate agreements. In addition to not having access to the universal SCOE Interdistrict Transfer Agreement form available on-line. The fact is that parents still have the right to transfer in and SCOE would still oversee any appeals.

In 2016, the Board made major revisions to inter and intra district transfers and the open enrollment process.  These changes allowed for an earlier window of notice which then provided for improved budgeting and staffing.  

While there are no direct costs associated with this agreement in the 2019-2020 school year, the office of Student and Family Engagement processed 1041 requests to exit and 1,686 to enter SRCS. Of those 1,686 transfers, 232 were new requests, 291 were continuing, and 1,163 were enrolled in our Charter schools. The difference of those exiting and those entering into SRCS is 648 which is an estimated cost of $32,400 per day of ADA or $5,670,000 per year gain to SRCS. 

Board Policy
BP 5117

Previous Board History
4/27/11 - Item E7 (see attached)
4/22/15 - Item F3 (see attached)

There is no direct costs associated for this item. 

The Board will consider approval of a Provisional Internship Permit Application (PIP) for Riley A. Burke.

This Education Specialist PIP will allow the district to fill a Special Education Assistant, Deaf and Hard of Hearing position at Hidden Valley Elementary School (.75 FTE Special Services) for the 2019-2020 school year.  PIPs are not renewable and are issued on a one-time basis per applicant in any credential subject area.  Riley A. Burke is currently enrolled in a credentialed program.  This teaching position has been posted on EdJoin, Facebook and job fairs.

These items are presented for informational purposes only.

Mid-year review of the ASES program at the following sites Albert F. Biella, Brook Hill, Luther Burbank, Helen Lehman, Abraham Lincoln, James Monroe, Steele Lane, Lawrence Cook Middle School, and Hilliard Comstock Middle School.

Consideration

The After School Education & Safety (ASES) grant was established by the California Legislature to develop and operate partnerships that provide academic and literacy support, and safe, constructive alternatives for students in grades kindergarten through eighth. At Santa Rosa City Schools, the following sites have been awarded this grant: Albert F. Biella, Brook Hill, Luther Burbank, Helen Lehman, Abraham Lincoln, James Monroe, Steele Lane, Lawrence Cook Middle School, and Hilliard Comstock Middle School.

This grant is to provide targeted students with literacy support through tutoring and/or homework assistance as well as enrichment opportunities, which may include, but are not limited to fine arts, recreation, physical fitness, career/technical education, and prevention activities. In this report, we will provide information on the mid-year monitoring and evaluation of the ASES contract.

The Coordinator of State and Federal Programs has been visiting sites to monitor the ASES program being provided by the Boys' and Girls' Club of Sonoma-Marin since the beginning of the 2019/20 school year. An evaluation process has been developed to determine if the vendor is implementing the program in accordance with the mandates of the state program. Site Administrators were also asked to provide feedback. The following items were reviewed:

• Safety
• Meal Adequacy
• Communication
• Enrichment Programs
• Education Literacy

Site Administrators and the Coordinator have concluded that the Boy's and Girl's Club of Sonoma-Marin is providing acceptable services to the students attending the program. There is a clear sign in and sign out policy and clubs are adequately staffed to ensure student safety. Meals are well balanced and enjoyed by the students. Club directors meet with their site Principals at least monthly. Enrichment programs observed have included art, music and physical activities. Education Literacy is addressed during each clubs Power Hour. 

This Mid-Year data will be added to the remaining term of the contract and a final recommendation will be brought to the Board in May.

Board Policy
AR 5148.2 Students/Before/After School Programs

Education Code
CA Ed. Code 8482-8484.65 After School Education and Safety Program

Previous Board History
Board Report August 14, 2013, Item E-6
Board Report October 26, 2011, Item, E-4
Board Report December 14, 2011, Item E-7
Board Report January 24, 2007, Item E-11
Board Report March 28, 2012, Item E-8
Board Report June 13, 2012, Item E-8
Board Report March 28, 2018, Item E-7
Board Approval June 13, 2018, Item F-7
Board Report September 12, 2018, Item F-6

Total Grant Amount: Elementary:  $1,081,124.23
                                 Secondary:    $95,454.12

Staff is providing information about a Transition to CalPERS Medical Insurance for Employee Groups: SRTA, Management, Confidential, Supervisory and Board Members.

Purpose:  To provide information to the Board regarding a transition to CalPERS medical insurance for the employee groups, SRTA, Management, Confidential, Supervisory and Board Members.

Consideration: Next to compensation, Medical Insurance is likely the most important benefit for our eligible employees at SRCS.  Care of employees and their families is a crucial part of what SRCS provides. Therefore, keeping up with any changes that would improve this benefit is very important. This Item is a recommendation to transition to CalPERS for our Medical Provider effective January 1, 2021.

Representing a potential of more than 1000 employees at SRCS, the employee groups listed in the title have had Kaiser Permanente as the exclusive Medical Insurance option since the late 1990’s. The District transitioned at that time due to the closure of the Health Plan of the Redwoods Medical Plan.  

Historically, the District provided a Health and Welfare Benefits Subsidy to eligible employees and the subsidy was separate from employee salary compensation. Beginning in approximately 2003, the Santa Rosa Teacher’s Association (SRTA) elected to have this subsidy added to the salary schedule. This affected the Management Group as well as SRTA.

Therefore, unless salaries increased, there was no increase in the benefit subsidy. Kaiser rates after 2003 continued to increase as many employees opted out of District Insurance, creating a less viable pool. (Slide 5) In 2015 the District began providing a separate Annual Subsidy for Medical Insurance for SRTA and Management. (Slide 4) Between 2015 and 2020, the subsidy has increased by 172%.

The District has continued to seek bids from other insurance providers such as RESIG, Western Health Advantage and PERS. Although PERS has been an attractive option due to the variety and quality of plans, until we reached a higher subsidy level, it was cost prohibitive.

We currently have 625 employees, out of a possible 1073, on the District Kaiser plan. 448 employees have waived our plan and are covered by qualified group plans through a family member or by Covered California. Our Kaiser plan with the greatest participation is the Kaiser Low HSA Plan. (Slide 6)

Health Benefits Committee PERS Analysis: In September, we formed a Health Benefits Committee to discuss the possible transition to PERS Medical. The committee has representation from SRTA, Management, Supervisory and Confidential employees.

PERS represents Over 120,000 Enrollees, including 180 School Districts. PERS operates as a pool so the increases are the same for all groups in a region as opposed to Kaiser that is specific to the employer. Historical, cumulative PERS increases for the last five (5) years are 11.6 percentage points less than our District Kaiser plan. (Slide 8)

In addition, PERS offers a variety of seven (7) insurance plans (through Kaiser, Health Net, Western Health Advantage, Anthem and PERS). Currently, our employees only have access to Kaiser which only covers those persons living in the Kaiser service area in Northern California. This has been particularly difficult for our District Retirees who move out of the service area and do not have an option to continue their medical insurance.

Although monthly premiums are higher for some of the PERS plans than some of our current Kaiser plans, the PERS plans typically have much lower out-of-pocket costs at the Point of Service than all but our Kaiser High Plan.  For example, the Office Visit for the Kaiser Low HSA Plan is $140 before the deductible is met. For the PERS Kaiser HMO, it is $15.00. (Slide 12)

Summary and Recommendation: Initially the Committee proposed making the transition to PERS in July 2020 to coincide with our normal open enrollment. Due to the significant task list (Slides 19-25); the Committee is proposing a January 1, 2021 transition date, which corresponds with the PERS Medical Insurance Open Enrollment Date.

The January 1, 2021 transition will allow necessary time to complete all tasks in a smooth and focused manner. We will have comprehensive pre-education for our staff and will offer an extended open enrollment period to make decisions.

The Health Benefits Committee supports the transition to PERS Medical plans effective January 1, 2021 and recommends Board approval for this change.

The Health Committee was comprised of representatives from SRTA, Management, District Office, Supervisory, and Confidential. Specifically, Cindy Brennan Director of Human Resources, Joel Dontos, Executive Director Business Services, Danita Haynes, Kathryn Howell, Ian Myers, members of SRTA, Mark Mitchell, CTA, Jeanine Wilson, Principal, Eric Lofchie, Supervisory, and Renee Jackson, Confidential.

The committee met September 19, October 14, February 3, and march 10 in addition to regular and on-going virtual meetings and revisions.

Fiscal Considerations: First, PERS views an eligible retiree different from the current SRCS definition. (Slides 13-16). Therefore, in Year One of the transition, SRCS must contact approximately 800 retirees of PERS and STRS, who were not previously eligible for SRCS Retirement Benefits and offer them a subsidy and enrollment in a PERS plan. SRCS will be able to offer a minimum ($1.00 per month) Subsidy for the first year and it will increase by 5% each subsequent year.

SRCS will still be able to maintain a higher subsidy level for those who meet the SRCS Retirement definition outlined in a Bargaining Contract or determined by past practice for non-represented groups. In addition, retirees who are not eligible for a District Subsidy, but are eligible by PERS standards, may select a PERS plan by paying the full premium

Although we do not anticipate that there will be more than a few people who will join PERS Medical from this target group, please see Slides 15 and 16 for example scenarios.

To mitigate any further additional financial exposure for subsequent years, SRCS will:

• Create a School Employer Vesting Schedule with each employer group moving to PERS. (SRTA, Management, Confidential, and Supervisory). The Schedule will designate how many years the employee (who would otherwise not have been eligible for SRCS Retiree Benefits) would need to work to receive a subsidy. (i.e. 50 years)

Second: SRCS will need to set up a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) or other reimbursement vehicle via a Third-Party Administrator at an estimated cost of $10,000 per year. This is because PERS automatically deducts the entire medical premium from the retiree’s check and SRCS must reimburse the amount for which they are eligible for as a retiree.

The following are future board update items:

• Fir Ridge / 7-11 Report
• Youth Truth Data / LCAP
• Cook/CCLA Board Requested Information
• SRCS Openers for CSEA Bargaining

Attached for reference are the Board's Codes of Conduct and Code of Ethics board policy. 

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