(Government Code 54956.95) Number of Cases: One (1)

(Education Code 54957.6) District Negotiator: Debra M. Hendricks and Didi Peterson
Employee Organizations: All Groups (SEA, CSEA, and Unrepresented)

Title: Administrative Assignments

SPEAKER: Debra M. Hendricks, Superintendent

The Board of Trustees received a memorandum from California School Boards Association regarding the Call for Nominations to CSBA's Delegate Assembly.  Please see attached.

SPEAKER: Michael Maaske, Director of Food Services 

Staff will provide the Board of Trustees with information regarding Senate Bill 265.

SPEAKER: Laura Granger, Assistant Superintendent of Ed Services 

Staff to update the Board of Trustees on the implementation of comprehensive sexual education and HIV prevention education in middle school according to California state law, also known as the California Healthy Youth Act (CHYA).

SPEAKER: Lizett Aguilar, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services and James Bates, Datapath 

At the October 29, 2019, James from Datapath delivered a detailed presentation which included a technology update, with progress on technology infrastructure projects for the district that have been completed and that are upcoming.

Those upcoming projects include an update to our switches, a necessary infrastructure component, for our network and also for the consideration of a replacement of our phone system.  In relation to our switches, information was presented for two (2) options to either accept the 2019/2020 E-Rate bid for switches for AMS or to not accept the bid, with pros/cons, timelines and impacts for both options.  

Attached is an update to provide the financial impact of both of these options, as well as additional information on the phone system replacement.

Additional phone system information was also provided in the Board's Friday update on November 8, 2019, providing a comparison of pros/cons between VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) and copper phone systems. 

At the December 10, 2019, board meeting, we will bring forth finalized costs with a recommendation for Board action for the replacement of our switches.  

SPEAKER: Debra M. Hendricks, Superintendent and David Collins, Board President

Per Board request Board Policy 7310: Naming of Facility is being brought forth for review.

SPEAKER: Debra Hendricks, Superintendent and Lizett Aguilar, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services

At this time staff will present an update on safety and facilities as needed.

SPEAKER: Lizett Aguilar, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services and Marti Reed, Director of Categorical Programs/Technology 

Chromebook Replacement

In the September 13, 2019, Board of Trustees Friday Update, Marti Reed provided information on the elementary student device unaudited inventory.   When a Chromebook reaches End of Life the automatic software updates from Google are no longer provided. Without the automatic software updates we are no longer able to manage these through our Google Admin console.  

The inventory that is provided below is a much better indicator of the Chromebook devices we have at our elementary sites as this data is pulled directly from our Google Admin panel.  

The chart below shows the number of Chromebooks at each school site as well as the End of Life by number of devices. 

All elementary sites had devices reach end of life the last few years as shown in the table below.  These devices will be presented to the Board of Trustees on a future obsolete list as they are no longer functional as an instructional tool or for local and state testing.  These can no longer be managed in the Google Admin which poses a security risk. 

Once the devices in the chart above were removed from circulation the number of devices at the sites were reduced as indicated in the chart below. As you can see, some sites have reduced by more than 50%.  

In order to establish device thresholds at the sites, and preparing for future end of life devices, we are recommending the purchase of 4,327 Chromebooks from Arey Jones Educational Solutions.  

This purchase would allow us to provide all middle school students with a new Chromebook, plus 2,800 to elementary sites that would be distributed so that sites have equitable access to technology. 

For this bulk purchase, we were able to secure extremely competitive pricing just under $208 out the door, per chromebook. This pricing is based on piggyback pricing obtained through the HP WSCA CA NASPO MNNVP-133 contract.  Per Public Contract Code 20118 and Board Policy AR 3311, the district can utilize piggyback pricing as follows:  Without advertising for bids and upon a determination that it is in the best interest of the district, the Board may authorize another public corporation or agency, by contract, lease, requisition, or purchase order, to lease data-processing equipment or to purchase materials, supplies, equipment, automotive vehicles, tractors, and other personal property for the district in the manner that the other public corporation or agency is authorized to make the leases or purchases from a vendor ("piggyback"). Alternatively, if the public corporation or agency has an existing contract with a vendor for the lease or purchase of personal property, the district may authorize the lease or purchase of personal property directly from the vendor and make payments under the same terms that are available to the public corporation or agency under the contract.

It is recommended the Board of Trustees approve the purchase of student devices from Arey Jones Educational Solutions. 

The Board of Trustees will consider approving the purchase of student devices from Arey Jones Educational Solutions. 

$899,988.96 Purchase to be leased over 3 years, annual payments to be funded from LCAP funding.

Subsequent board action item specifies the lease terms.

SPEAKER: Lizett Aguilar, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services 

At the October 29, 2019, Board meeting, Lizett Aguilar, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services presented information to the Board on the leasing of student and staff technology devices.  The information provided included preliminary estimates of these technology needs and various types of leasing structures.

The technology needs have been finalized to quantify the exact amount of devices that are recommended for purchase for student devices.  The previous board item for action provided a narrative of how the need was quantified. 

We have continued to seek information and discuss financing details and options with lenders.  Based on this, the attached summary comparison has been updated to reflect a tax-exempt lease financing structure with pricing from several different lenders.  As previously shared with the board, this structure offers the lowest interest rates, is tailored specifically for government entities, and has a non-appropriations clause that allows the district the flexibility of having an "out clause" in case of significant budget reductions.  

The comparison has options from some lenders to start payments in either the current 2019/2020 school year or next year.  This was asked from all lenders but was only an option available from some lenders.  The pricing comparison to forego payments into the next school year, 2020/2021, is not favorable to the district.  It would cost about double the amount of interest over the term of the lease.  Because of this, we do not recommend considering the 2020/2021 options.

In comparing the options for payments beginning in 2019/2020, the best pricing was offered by Santander Bank, N.A. with a very low interest rate of 2.54% and $16,378.83 of interest over the three (3) year term of the lease. Santander has a record of providing very good service and pricing in leases to school districts.  Santander was also very responsive and easy to work with throughout this pricing and comparison process.  

Because of this, it is recommended that the Board of Trustees approve the student device lease financing agreement with Santander Bank, N.A. for Option 1, with a three (3) year term and annual payments of $305,455.93 beginning in the 2019/2020 school year.

It is recommended the Board of Trustees approve the student device lease financing agreement with Santander Bank, N.A.

The Board of Trustees will consider approval of the student device lease financing agreement with Santander Bank, N.A.

Annual payments of $305,455.93 for three (3) years, beginning in the 2019/20 school year. 

Payment will be funded by LCAP funding.

SPEAKER: Lizett Aguilar, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services and Marti Reed, Director of Categorical Programs/Technology 

At the October 29, 2019, Board meeting, Lizett Aguilar, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services presented information to the Board on the leasing of student and staff technology devices.  The information provided included preliminary estimates of these technology needs for staff.

The Board of Trustees has also received information about the required Windows 7 to 10 update that is one of the primary factors in the urgent need to replace many staff desktops and laptops.  It is also important to remember that many of the devices that are currently being used by staff are very old and outdated, compromising the efficiency with which they can complete work on their devices.  These devices are a critical tool for staff to have updated and reliable access to in order to meet the demands of their work and the district has been working hard to evaluate these needs and prioritize them.    

The technology department has been collecting data to complete an inventory of staff devices and looking at ways to maximize resources, upgrading memory for those devices which can be used and re-deploying the devices to other staff.  They have completed a detailed replacement plan for every staff member who is in need of an updated device and they have ensured that every staff person has an appropriate device that is updated and meets their needs.

With all of these things being considered, the technology needs have been finalized to quantify the exact amount of devices that are recommended for purchase for staff devices.

The attached quote from CDW-G is for the purchase of sixty-five (65) desktops, three hundred thirty-five (335) laptops, one-hundred (100) projectors, and one-hundred (100) ELMO document cameras.  

We recommend the board approve the purchase of these staff devices from CDW-G.

It is recommended the Board of Trustees approve the purchase of staff devices from CDW-G.

The Board will consider approving the purchase of staff devices from CDW-G.

$431,233.26 Purchase to be leased over five (5) years, annual payments to be funded from the General Fund, technology funds.  

Subsequent board action item specifies the lease terms.

SPEAKER: Lizett Aguilar, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services 

At the October 29, 2019, Board meeting, Lizett Aguilar, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services presented information to the Board on the leasing of student and staff technology devices.  The information provided included preliminary estimates of these technology needs and various types of leasing structures.

The technology needs have been finalized to quantify the exact amount of devices that are recommended for purchase for staff devices.  The previous board item for action provided a narrative of how the need was quantified. 

We continued to seek information and discuss financing details and options with lenders.  Based on this, the attached summary comparison has been updated to reflect a tax-exempt lease financing structure with pricing from several different lenders.  As previously shared with the board, this structure offers the lowest interest rates, is tailored specifically for government entities, and has a non-appropriations clause that allows the district the flexibility of having an "out clause" in case of significant budget reductions.  

The comparison has options from some lenders to start payments in either the current 2019/2020 school year or next year.  This was asked from all lenders but was only an option available from some lenders. The pricing comparison to forego payments into the next school year, 2020/2021, is not favorable to the district.  It would cost about double the amount of interest over the term of the lease. Because of this, we do not recommend considering the 2020/2021 options.

In comparing the options for payments beginning in 2019/2020, the best pricing was offered by Santander Bank, N.A. with a very low interest rate of 2.42% and $17,342.69 of interest over the 5 year term of the lease. Santander has a record of providing very good service and pricing in leases to school districts.  Santander was also very responsive and easy to work with throughout this pricing and comparison process.  

Because of this, it is recommended that the Board of Trustees approve the staff device lease financing agreement with Santander Bank, N.A. for Option 1, with a five (5) year term and annual payments of $89,715.19 beginning in the 2019/2020 school year.

Attached is the comparison summary for all leasing options obtained for this purchase.  Also attached is Santander Bank's proposal and a sample lease purchase agreement.

It is recommended the Board of Trustees approve the staff device lease financing agreement with Santander Bank, N.A.

The Board will consider approval of the staff device lease financing agreement with Santander Bank, N.A.

Annual payments of $89.715.19 for five (5) years, beginning in the 2019/20 school year. 

Payment will be funded by General Fund, Technology funds.

SPEAKER: Lizett Aguilar, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services 

This change order No. 3 is for Boyer Construction, the contractor for the Ustach Middle School Modernization project.  The change order includes a variety of items that have been completed throughout the first phase of the project.  There are a few items that are still pending for phase 1 that are not included, most notably the costs of the remediation of the black mold found in one (1) of the classrooms, as shared with the Board at the October 29, 2019, regular board meeting.  

Change Order No. 3 is comprised of the items listed on the attachment. 

This change order will affect the contract as follows: 

Original Contract Amount: $10,523,287.00

Previous Change Orders: ($525,607.00) 

This Change Order No. 3:  ($16,819.27)

Revised Contract Amount: $9,980,860.73

Staff recommends the approval of Change Order No. 3 with Boyer Construction in the amount of $(16,819.27) for the Ustach Middle School Modernization.

The Board of Trustees to consider approval of Change Order No. 3 with Boyer Construction in the amount of $(16,819.27) for the Ustach Middle School Modernization.
 

Reduction of: $(16,819.27)

SPEAKER: Lizett Aguilar, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services 

These services are for the Ustach Middle School Modernization project.  The services are an additional component to the monitoring required by the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) for certain public works project.  Anyone working on a public works project must be paid prevailing wages as determined by DIR.  In addition, projects of $30,000 or more must meet DIR's apprenticeship requirements.  These requirements include detailed monitoring of payroll reporting by the contractor for their skilled and trained workforce.  Failure to comply with public works requirements can result in civil penalties, criminal prosecution, or both.  In order to receive state funding, we must also comply with these requirements.

The Skilled and Trained services include: 

The Team will confirm that all apprentices working are actually registered apprentices by the State, and that contractors comply with the apprenticeship provisions of the Labor Code, including Section 1775.5. We will collect and review all DAS 140 and 142 forms.

Attached is the proposal for services and more detailed information regarding the Skilled and Trained Workforce requirements.

 Costs for these services have been included in the soft costs allocated for this project.

Staff recommends the approval of Kurey & Associates services for skilled and trained workforce monitoring requirements for the Ustach Middle School Modernization project.

Total: $7,980.00

Funding Source: Deferred Maintenance Fund 14 (as a part of "soft costs" calculated for project)

SPEAKER: Lem Vergara, Director of Human Resources 

Presented for the Board's approval is the Modesto Junior College (MJC), Yosemite Community College District, Internship Training Agreement. This Agreement was provided by MJC as part of their Division of Business, Behavioral and Social Sciences department programs. MJC students participate, as part of the Elementary Education, courses and program, in observation hours of elementary classrooms. In addition, students have the opportunity to meet with teaching and school staff to gain more information about education. Students meet other requirements such as TB and fingerprinting clearance as part of their participation. We continue to work to build professional relationships with our local community college.

Staff recommends the approval of the Modesto Junior College, Yosemite Community College District Internship Training Agreement. 

There is no financial impact.

The increase for noon duty supervisors from $12.45/hour to $13.00/hour is an increase of $.55 per hour

The increase for food service substitutes from $12.67/hour to $13.00/hour is an increase of $.33 per hour. 

The overall financial impact will depend upon substitute utilization starting January 1, 2020. The impact will not exceed $1,000 for the remainder of 2019-2020 school year. 

SPEAKER: Laura Granger, Assistant Superintendent of Ed Services

The District Science Adoption Committee selected Building Blocks of Science 3D as one of two (2) programs for piloting in grades K-5. In order for the piloting process to commence according to our committee timeline, the publisher required that a signed agreement be completed prior to shipping materials to teachers. The agreement outlines the steps to a successful piloting partnership between the district and the publisher. Furthermore, the agreement outlines the discounted cost the district will receive in the event that Building Blocks of Science 3D is selected for adoption. Following the pilot, If the program is not chosen for adoption consideration, the district agrees to return the pilot materials to the publisher at no cost to the district.

Staff recommends the Board of Trustees approve the pilot agreement with Carolina Biological Supply Company for the purposes of piloting science curriculum in grades K-5.

It is recommended the Board of Trustees approve the pilot agreement with Carolina Biological Supply Company for the purposes of piloting science curriculum in grades K-5.

None

SPEAKER: Marti Reed, Director of Categorical Programs 

Our Special Education Information System, SEIS, houses all of our special education students individualized education plans (IEP) information.  SEIS is currently not integrated with our student information system, Aeries. In past years SEIS has been a stand alone system that was manually updated by various special education staff. Some of the student information in SEIS is then manually updated in Aeries by special education staff, office staff, and site and district administrators.  This manually updating of information can lead to errors in reported data. To manually compare the data to ensure that both systems’ data matches is a very laborious task that would take many hours.  

This year CALPADS, the state student information database, is pulling data directly from SEIS.  The district special education staff has been working on correcting data that does not match CALPADS.  This is a time consuming process.  

The SEIS Integration Service will automatically update forty-two (42) data fields in SEIS as long as the student’s date of birth and ID numbers match. If this data doesn’t match, then once that information is corrected, the fields from Aeries will update nightly in SEIS. Once we have done the initial implementation, district Special Education team and I will determine up to fifteen (15) additional custom fields that we will implement.  As this data integration won’t correct all errors in SEIS, this will eliminate much manual entry that is currently being completed by various staff members. The cost for this service is a one-time $3,000 set up fee and then seventy-five (75) cents a student based on our SEIS enrollment numbers, which are currently 1,511. So the approximate cost per year will be less than $2,000 per year.

Staff recommends the Board of Trustees approve the contract with SEIS Integration Services. 

It is recommended the Board of Trustees approve the  contract with SEIS Integration Services.

To be paid with General Fund:

.75 cents per Special Education Student

1,151 students

First Annual Maintenance Fee: $ 863.25

SPEAKER: Debra M. Hendricks, Superintendent and Tedde' Vaupel, Principal of Sylvan STEAM Academy

Blake Brandes, Ph.D., Co-Founder of Motivational Millennial LLC will present two (2) student assemblies and one (1) parent education event at Sylvan STEAM Academy.   Dr. Brandes is a youth motivational speaker and presenter on TEDx. 

The content of the assemblies is growth mindset and grit to help students feel excited to learn new things (rather than feeling afraid or discouraged) and to help them keep going when they encounter challenges in their educational and personal lives.  The presentation is based on the research of Carol Dweck (author of Mindset) and Angela Duckworth (author of GRIT) and presents the neuroscience to students in fun and engaging ways.  For example, students will learn how to beatbox and then analyze the learning experience as an example of the growth mindset.  There are easy-to-remember call-and-response phrases to help students retain the key concepts after the assembly ends so that they feel empowered to learn, explore, and overcome obstacles for the rest of their lives.  

The parent night is a forty-five (45) minute presentation followed by fifteen (15) minutes of Q&A, and it gives parents and guardians practical ways to support their students with the Growth Mindset.  Dr. Brandes will reference language that the students have learned in the assemblies to help parents reinforce the messages that help students persist in the face of challenges.  There are many easy things parents can do to set their students up for success by using the Growth Mindset, from “praising the process, not the person,” to “using the Power of Yet” and helping students transfer the Growth Mindset from one part of their life (like sports or video games) to school.  They will even do an interactive resourcefulness exercise to help parents change “I can’t” to “How can I?” for themselves and their students.  

Staff recommends the Board of Trustees ratify the Motivational Millennial, LLC contract for the assemblies at Sylvan STEAM Academy.

Site Title IV Funds: $2,750.

It is recommended that Board of Trustees approve the minutes of the October 29, 2019 Regular Board Meeting and November 5, 2019 Special Board Meeting.

SPEAKER: Carrie Albert, Director of Student Services 

On October 6, 2015, the Board of Trustees approved the Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) Contract with Stanislaus County Office of Education (SCOE) for a three-year training and implementation program for Somerset Middle School.  Staff would like to renewal the agreement for SCOE to deliver a four-day training for one Tier 2 training at Somerset Middle School.  This renewal period is from July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020.

Staff is requesting the Board of Trustees approve the training agreement with Stanislaus County Office of Education (SCOE) for the Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) training at Somerset Middle School for the period July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2020 which consists of a four-day training for Tier 2.

Staff is requesting the Board of Trustees approve the training agreement with Stanislaus County Office of Education (SCOE) for the Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) training at Somerset Middle School for the period July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2020 which consists of a four-day training for Tier 2.

Title 1 Site Based Allocation: $6,000

1. The donation of $10.00 from YourCause Corporate Employee Giving Programs to Freedom Elementary School for instructional materials, curriculum or interventions for students. 

2. The donation of twenty-one reams of colored paper, staples, white-out, two hole punch, and mini disposable cups valued at $250.00 from Aneeta Kumar to Freedom Elementary School for students and staff at school. 

3. The donation of $475.00 from Standiford Parent Teacher Association to Standiford Elementary School for 2nd grade class field trips.

4. The donation of Makerspace items, including origami paper, pencils, colored copy paper, staples, tape and gel pens valued at $323.40 from Donors Choose to Sylvan STEAM Academy for the school library's imagination lab.

5. The donation of forty-five scholastic books valued at $863.71 from Sylvan Elementary PTO to Sylvan STEAM Academy for the school library.

6. The donation of poetry books from Gillian Wegener with Modesto-Stanislaus Poetry Center to Sylvan STEAM Academy for the students and staff to enjoy. 

7. The donation of a flute and three (3) recorders valued at $200.00 to Dan Savage Middle School for students to use in the music department.

8. The donation of $3,000.00 from the Education Foundation of Stanislaus County to Somerset Middle School to help sixth grade students attend Foothill Horizons Outdoor School in the 2019-20 school year.