The Presiding Officer will call the meeting to order at 5:45 p.m. before the Board Recesses to Closed Session.  The Regular Meeting will convene by 7:30 p.m. 

Persons wishing to address the Board should fill out a green speaker card.  Cards turned in by 5:30 p.m. will be given priority. Speakers will be randomly selected based on topic and position, with BUSD students generally given priority. Public Testimony is limited to 15 minutes with a 3-minute limit per speaker per topic although the time allotted per speaker may be reduced to 2 minutes at the discretion of the President. 

The Board may recess into Closed Session before or after the public meeting under the authority of the Brown Act (including but not limited to Government Code section 54954.5, 54956.8, 54956.9, 54957, 54957.6, as well as Education Code section 35146).  Under Government Code section 54954.3, members of the public may address the board on an item on the Closed Session agenda, before Closed Session.

Persons wishing to address the Board should fill out a green speaker card.  Cards turned in by 7:15 p.m. will be given priority.        

Speakers will be randomly selected based on topic and position, with BUSD students generally given priority.  Public Testimony is limited to 30 minutes with a 3-minute limit per speaker per topic although the time allotted per speaker may be reduced to 2 minutes at the discretion of the President. 

Board members and the Superintendent are given the opportunity to address any issue.  

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 

TO:          Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM:     Evelyn Tamondong-Bradley, Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources
DATE:       April 10, 2019
SUBJECT:      Approval of Human Resources Reports

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
On a regular basis, staff presents Human Resources Reports listing employment actions for the Board to approve officially. Please refer to attached reports for details.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 

TO:            Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM:          Pasquale Scuderi, Associate Superintendent, Educational Services
DATE:           April 10, 2019
SUBJECT:   Out-of-State Travel Request

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The following out of state travel requests are being requested:

Great Minds Eureka Math Summer Institute in New Orleans, LA, June 3-6, 2019
Approval for two staff members from Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley School to attend this three day, two night Eureka Math conference which will provide the Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley’s staff members the opportunity to attend various training modules focusing on teaching sprints, math facts and mental calculation.  Requested by Pasquale Scuderi, Associate Superintendent.  Travel and conference cost will be paid by Title II, A Nonprofit Private School Equitable Services Funds

Social Understanding, Gender & Sexuality in the Light of Waldorf Education in Chicago, IL, June 26-28, 2019

Approval for Berkeley Rose Waldorf School’s Director to attend this three day, two night conference which will provide Berkeley Rose Waldorf’s Director with training that will address gender differences, similarities and struggles of the changing social structures around gender and sexuality.  Requested by Pasquale Scuderi, Associate Superintendent.  Travel and conference cost will be paid by Title II, A Nonprofit Private School Equitable Services Funds

POLICY/CODE:
Education code 35330
Board Policy 6153

FISCAL IMPACT:
As indicated above.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Approve the out of state travel consistent with District policies and instructional programs.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:            Donald Evans, Ed. D., Superintendent
FROM:        Pauline Follansbee, Asst. Superintendent of Business Services
DATE:        April 10, 2019
SUBJECT:   Approval of Contracts/Purchase Orders for Services Contracts 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The District contracts with consultants or independent contractors who can provide valuable and necessary specialized services not normally required on a continuing basis. The following contract services are requested. Expenditures are within budget.

1. CTS, to provide special inspection services for VAPA project at West Campus for Facilities Department. The cost will not exceed $25,000. To be paid from Measure I. Requested by John Calise.
2. Eichler Associates, to provide Commissioning services for West Campus Capacity Project for Facilities Department. The cost will not exceed $18,500. To be paid from Measure I. Requested by John Calise.
3. Norcal Community Resilience, to provide waste reduction consulting and grant writing services for the Maintenance Department from 12/6/18 – 6/30/19. The cost will not exceed $14,020. To be paid from Altamont Advisory Board Grant Fund (96.25%) and Measure H (3.75%) Requested by Steve Collins.
   
4. Increase in contract, PO#190673, to David R. Callahan to provide inspection services for the CTE project at Berkeley High School and Berkeley Adult School Project. The Board approved $85,056 on 10/24/18. The additional contract amount will increase the cost by $10,000 for a total amount of $95,056. To be paid from Measure I. Requested by John Calise.
5. Increase in contract to Engeo, to provide geotechnical services for the VAPA Campus. The Board approved $16,500 on 10/11/17. The additional amount requested is $3500 for a total amount of $20,000. To be paid from Measure I. Requested by John Calise.
6. Increase in contract amount, PO#191572, to Pamela E. Mills to provide psychological assessment services for a Special Ed student for the period from 10/4/18 – 6/30/19. The original purchase order in the amount of $8,345 was issued on 1/28/19. The additional amount requested is $8,000 for a total amount of $16,345. To be paid from Special Ed Fund. Requested by Jan Hamilton.

POLICY/CODE:
Public Contract Code: 20111
Board Policy 3310 

STAFF RECOMMENDATION: 
Approve the contracts with Consultants or Independent Contractors as submitted.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:              Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM:          Jan Hamilton, Director, Special Education
DATE:           April 10, 2019
SUBJECT:     Approval of Master Contract for Nonpublic Agency Services for the 2018-19 School Year 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The District contracts with nonpublic agencies, when necessary, to provide related services to students with Individualized Education Programs (IEP). The following nonpublic agencies provide related services as defined in Section 1401 of Title 20 of the U.S. Code and section 300.34 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and California Ed. Code 56363 to enable students with IEPs to benefit from their special education. An individual service agreement (ISA) is developed for each student to whom the service provider is to provide special education or related services.

$121,800.00 for BUSD nursing services was approved in 09/26/18 Board meeting, item# 12.10. We are adding $66,000.00 for Occupational Therapy services, which brings the total amount of the contract to $187,800.00

POLICY/CODE:
Education Code 39800
Board Policy 3310         

FISCAL IMPACT:
The fiscal impact of these services is estimated not to exceed $66,000.00 funded from the Special Education Budget which may require an additional contribution from the General Fund.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the Master Contract for the Nonpublic Agency listed above.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:         Donald Evans, Ed.D, Superintendent
FROM:     Pauline Follansbee, Assistant Superintendent, Business Services
DATE:     April 10, 2019
SUBJECT:   Approval of Resolution 19-027 for the Refunding of 2011 and 2013 General Obligation Refunding Bonds

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Economic background; reason for refunding now
The purpose of refunding prior general obligation bonds is to obtain a lower interest rate and create savings to taxpayers. Staff has been in discussions with out financial advisor regarding the best time to refund our general obligation bonds, and has been advised that tax-exempt bonds, BUSD's 2011 General Obligation Bonds (the "2011 Bonds") and 2013 General Obligation Refunding Bonds, Series B (the "2013 Bonds" ), can be redeemed now and can be refunded at a savings to taxpayers on their first optional call date of August 1, 2019. 

Proposed Refunding
The District's 2011 Bonds maturing August 1, 2020 and thereafter may first be redeemed in whole on August 1, 2019 at a price of 101% of par (face amount of bonds), and the 2013 Bonds maturing August 1, 2020 and thereafter may first be redeemed in whole on August 1, 2019 at a price of 100.5%. The 2011 Bonds and 2013 Bonds will be refunded as one transaction with net proceeds of proposed 2019 General Obligation Refunding Bonds )the "2019 Bonds"), proposed to be sold competitively on July 2, 2019 at public offering and close on August 1, 2019, with redemption of the 2011 and 2013 Bonds plus accrued interest due on the same day. This schedule maximizes refunding savings (aside from whatever interest rate movements in the market that may occur). (Bonds maturing on August 1, 2019, plus accrued interest, will be paid by the County from tax levy as normal.

The District's financial advisor estimates that the 2019 Bonds, allowing up to $400,000 in financing costs, including underwriting discount (determined by the bid of the winning underwriter), should not exceed approximately $34,115,000 in total bond proceeds in order to fund a total redemption requirement on August 1, 2019 of approximately $25,140,000 fr the 2011 Bonds and $8,575,000 for the 2013 Bonds. Total proceeds will be comprised of the par amount of the 2019 Bonds plus bid premium, if any, as bid by the winning underwriter. In the current market it is expected that the winning bid will have a premium, perhaps sizable, though in theory there could be zero bid premium or even an original issue discount, all of which proceeds, no matter the configuration, in final sizing will be just sufficient to fund the actual refunding requirement and actual related costs of issuance. 

At AA market rates as of April 2, 2019 plus approximately 25 basis points cushion against future events, for the overall proposed refunding, assuming our proposed schedule, our financial advisor's pro-forma numbers show a present value net savings of over 5.8% or $1.9 million, and actual future value net savings of $2.0 million (results are after paying all allowance for estimated costs of issuance, including underwriting from proceeds of the 2019 Bonds). If interest rates continue unchanged or drop further, plus the existing rating from S&P remains "AA+" (usually slightly lower interest rates than "AA"), the results of the 2019 Bonds ought to be this level or better.

RECOMMENDATION:
Staff is recommending that the Board grant approval for issuing the 2019 Refunding Bonds as outlined. See attached resolution 19-027. Exhibits are available for review in the office of the Assistant Superintendent. 

POLICY/CODE:
California Education Code 15100-15111
Government Code Section 53550

FISCAL IMPACT:
No financial impact on District Funds.  The District will receive up to $34,111,912 in refunding bond proceeds and/or bond premium, which will pay for the cost of issuance of $165,500, and Underwriter’s Discount of $228,187 and the net will be applied directly to the purpose of refunding the 2011 Bonds and 2013 Bonds.

Schedule of Sources and Uses of Funds is attached.

By law, the maximum true interest cost on the bonds shall not exceed 8% per annum.  All present and future tax rate constraints imposed by current law or District policy are expected to be met.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 

TO:        Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM:      Jan Hamilton, Director, Special Education
DATE:           April 10, 2019
SUBJECT:     Approval of Master Contracts for Nonpublic School for the 2018-2019 School Year

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The District contracts with nonpublic schools, when necessary to provide an appropriate placement, special education and/or related services if no appropriate public education program is available.  For students requiring nonpublic school day programs, the cost is for tuition for the educational program and services.  An individual service agreement (ISA) is developed for each student to whom the service provider is to provide special education or related services. 

Transportation costs are included in the special education transportation budget.  All nonpublic schools must be approved by the California Department of Education. Services are provided pursuant to Ed. Code Section 56034 and 56366. Students enrolled in nonpublic schools are deemed enrolled in public schools.

POLICY/CODE:
Education Code 39800
Board Policy 3310         

FISCAL IMPACT:
The fiscal impact of these services is estimated not to exceed $74,086.05 funded from the Special Education Budget.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the Master Contract for the Nonpublic School listed above.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:             Donald Evans Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM:        John Calise, Executive Director of Facilities 
DATE:        April 10, 2019
SUBJECT: Renew Reciprocal Use Agreement with UC Berkeley  

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
On February 15, 2006, the Board approved a reciprocal use agreement with UC Berkeley.  Since that time the agreement has been updated and renewed every 5 years or when modifications have been required.  The attached agreement is a 5-year renewal with no changes.  The relationship appears to be a benefit to both parties.

POLICY/CODE:
N/A

FISCAL IMPACT:
N/A

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve staff to sign a new five-year agreement. 

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:              Donald Evans, Ed.D, and Superintendent
FROM:        John Calise, Executive Director of Facilities
DATE:        April 10, 2019
SUBJECT:   Approve the Add-Service Contract Fee for Interactive Resources for Architectural services on the Sylvia Mendez roofing projecT

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: 
On May 23, 2018, the Board approved the contract with Interactive Resources for architectural services for the roofing project for Sylvia Mendez ES.  That approval was based on the typical DSA requirements and contract administration work for a total of $66,370.  Since that time, Interactive Resources had been assigned to design multiple solutions to challenges created by unforeseen conditions, more stringent requirements by DSA and additional contract administration created by a myriad of factors to include those listed above.  

This add-service to the original contract addresses the additional design efforts and time required by the architect to ensure that the project received the necessary approvals and that the contractors met the requirements as set forth by DSA. To proceed with the project as outlined, staff is requesting an increased authority of $75,000.

POLICY/CODE:   
Public Contract Code 10510.4 – 10510.9.

FISCAL IMPACT: 
All costs are contained in the Measure I Bond Fund. 

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Increase the authorization for Interactive Resources by $75,000 for the Sylvia Mendez roof project.  If approved, the new authorization for this project will be $1,450,000, and the project will remain within its original budget. 

    BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:              Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM:        John Calise, Executive Director of Facilities        
DATE:        April 10, 2019
SUBJECT:   Approve an Increase to the Construction Management Services fee for Berkeley Community Theater Project

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
As discussed during the Schematic Design approval conversation with the Board on February 20, 2019, the cost estimates for the proposed scope of work on the Berkeley Community Theater project have grown as the conceptual design moved through the Schematic Design process. 

On June 13, 2018, the Board approved a contract with Van Pelt Construction Services to provide Construction Management Services for the Berkeley Community Theater for $1,418,000.  Through the progression of furthering the design through the schematic design process, the construction budget has increased by $13,313,637.  This increase to the construction costs has triggered an additional increase in authority for Construction Management services.  This requires an increase in the VPCS authorization and to the project budget of $604,806.  

While the total amount of fee has increased to align with the project costs, the Facilities Department was successful in negotiating a new percentage between BUSD and VPCS and lowered the overall fee by .25% 

Staff is recommending that we increase the project budget $604,806.

POLICY/CODE:
Board Policy 3310. 

FISCAL IMPACT:
Cost to be paid from School Facilities Program (“matching funds”) which has been allocated by the State Allocation Board and reflected on the OPSC Work Load List.   

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve an increase in the Berkeley Community Theater project budget for $604,806.

    BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 

TO:              Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM:        John Calise, Executive Director of Facilities        
DATE:        April 10, 2019
SUBJECT:   Accept the Completion of the Berkeley High School Turf Replacement Project and Approve Resolution Number 19-025

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
On April 25, 2018, the Board awarded a contract to Valley Precision Grading, Inc. to replace the turf at Berkeley High School.   The project is now complete and staff requests Board acceptance of the project which will allow filing a Notice of Completion with the County and permit release of retention.

POLICY/CODE: 
California Public Contract Code 20110-20118. 

FISCAL IMPACT:
The project was funded with Measure I bond funds. The project had deductive change orders in the amount of 29,780.75.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Accept the project as complete and approve resolution number 19-025.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:                 Board of Education
FROM:              Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
PRESENTERS:  Pauline Follansbee, Assistant Superintendent Fiscal Services
Pasquale Scuderi, Associate Superintendent, Educational Services
DATE:                April 10 , 2019
SUBJECT:             Decisions on Ongoing and One-Time Budget Proposals for 2019-2020 from Base Grant (Unrestricted General Funding) 

PURPOSE:
Decisions on a list of proposals for ongoing and one-time funding from the general fund for 2019-2020.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
With the BUSD Board and staff having approved nearly $2,000,000 in ongoing reductions to the general fund for 2019-2020, the annual budget development cycle has become more complex. 

The Superintendent brings forward an annual list of current and competing priorities for funding through the base grant/general fund, and then seeks direction from the Board of Education for items on that list that the Board is in interested in funding, or not funding, for the subsequent school year.

These priorities are considered in two categories, those that represent ongoing commitments and expenditures, and those that are proposed for funding on a one-time or limited term basis.

With BUSD having approved nearly $2,000,000 in ongoing general fund reductions for the 2019-2020 school year, following the approximately $1,800,000 reduced for 2018-2019, the amount of funding available for ongoing and one-time investments and expenditures beginning in 2019-2020 is minimal.

On March 27, 2019 the Superintendent made a comparably small set of one-time and ongoing expenditures forward tonight for an initial review with decisions to be made this evening.

 New Ongoing Expenditures Beginning in 2019-2020 ($123,500):

1. Increase Stipends for Athletic Coaches            $50,000

Following a comparison study conducted by the Berkeley Athletic Fund, it was determined that in order to bring BHS Athletic Coaching stipends in line with the median for area high schools, increases for coaches and assistant coaches would need to grow by an overall total of between $70,000-$100,000 annually. Given the current constraints and proposed reductions to the general fund for 2019-2020 the Superintendent is recommending an increase of $50,000 to that stipend schedule which brings BHS stipends closer to the median. 

2. Sanitary Products - $8,000-$10,000 ongoing + ($23,000-$30,000 one-time see item 8 below):

Staff plans to install dispensers in each female restroom at the middle and high schools as well as in 1 female restroom at each of the elementary schools.  Adding dispensers to gender neutral restrooms will cost more due to the variation in site decisions about the use of restrooms. This will exceed the State’s requirement as defined in AB10 which was enacted in January of 2018, as well as address the directions given by the BUSD Governing Board.  The one time startup cost of this is estimated to be $23,000 with an additional $8,000. per year based on 2019 dollars. 

If the products should be sourced to be biodegradable, plastic-free, and free of animal testing the cost will be an additional $15,000 to $20,000 per year. Additionally, there are no dispensers for this type of product and this may lead to additional costs caused by pilferage and waste. 

An additional cost and service analysis will be conducted to discuss placement of products in gender-neutral restrooms available as well.

3. Emergency Supplies - $16,500:

Each BUSD school and worksite needs to have at least some basic emergency supplies; current inventories should be reviewed and refreshed, with an estimated cost of about $5,000 per site. The suggestion is to provide seed money for some basics by allocating $750 each for the 22 containers that sites can allocate to buying supplies. This amount will provide an ongoing source of funds ($16,500) for the many sites that have taken an active interest in improving disaster response supplies. Each year sites can add to the cache, and may also add through their own funding sources and initiatives.

4a. Estimated Ongoing Costs Associated with Administrative Systems Upgrades (see item 4b below). - $47,000:

Upgrading the District’s administrative systems will facilitate improved workflow and processes in Human Resources, Payroll, Benefits, Position Control, Fiscal Services, Special Education, Student Services, Admissions, Education Services, and Information Technology. Following the initial upgrade (projected to cost $85,000 see item 4b. below) an estimated $47k in ongoing licensing, maintenance, and operations costs are projected.

One-Time Expenditures for 2019-2020 ($225,000):

4b. Paperless HR System and Administrative Systems Upgrades - $85,000:

- $20K one time hard costs (of which $10K from Hillside)

- $65K implementation costs

- $47K ongoing costs (see ITEM 4a above)

The District has been discussing moving to reduce paper and use electronic data storage for several years. This work will eventually touch all departments in the district office: Human Resources, Payroll, Benefits, Position Control, Fiscal Services Special Education, Student Services, Admissions, Education Services, and Information Technology at the very least.

Here is a list of projects that have been discussed:

a) Onboarding of New Employees
Scope: turning roughly 50-60 pages of paper forms signed by each new employee into on online form, taking into account the varied needs for new employees based on job type.

During the 2017-2018 school year, HR staff visited and contacted districts currently employing paperless systems. Staff was especially focused on the transition from a paper system to a paperless onboarding one. In addition to contacting other school districts, HR and Technology staff attended various workshops to review the different paperless onboarding systems available. Estimated one-time hard costs of $10,000 (paid by Hillside funds) and $12,000 ongoing, plus one-time personnel to implement. The current system being tested will require additional one-time investment of $10,000 to fully implement.

b) Personnel Requisitions (PR): When a school or department has a vacant position, they start the hiring process by filling out a PR with details about the position including its budget code and Position Control Number.  Three systems are being evaluated with ongoing costs of $10,000 and one-time implementation costs of $20,000. 

c) Electronic Timesheets: The number of timesheets (staff working extra hours, Adult and Independent Study teachers, stipends, etc) has increased significantly during the past decade. In order to pay staff accurately and timely, the district is investigating electronic timesheet systems.

Estimated one-time hard costs of $10,000 and $25,000 ongoing, plus one-time of $30,000 to implement.

d) Parent and Emergency Card information: Parents are routinely asked to fill out by hand similar information at least twice during the enrollment process. Rolled out to Berkeley High this fall, Middle and elementary school this spring.  No ongoing cost.

5. EXPLORATION OF AUGMENTED SPECIAL EDUCATION  DELIVERY MODEL ($30,000):

While the District is considering longer-term capacity increases in Special Education (see proposed Assistant Director or Coordinator position below) as well as increased special education teacher staffing, the District has an immediate need to explore ways in which we might make more immediate service delivery and program changes. Changes that can potentially aid with the current and pronounced challenge of maintaining high-levels of support to students with special needs while at the same time containing the sustained and impactful increases in special education program costs the district has experienced over the past few years.

6. DEMOGRAPHIC AND ENROLLMENT STUDY 10-YEAR PLAN ($20,000):

The study will provide projected multi-year pupil enrollments based on different assumptions about the future. This process includes the community, and the governing authority of such being analyzed and engaged to identify changing factors. In addition to the community, the individual neighborhoods are equally analyzed. Some of the demographic features that are studied are the population structure, size, geographic distribution and composition. Additionally other factors such as new and planned development are considered as well. This student demographic study would permit the District to better plan for any student enrollment changes. 

7. POLLING COSTS - $90,000:

The Bond and Maintenance Tax expires in 2022 and could go before the voters in 2020.  A Measure planning committee is reviewing options for the bond and tax, and is also considering issues related to the timing of these measures and other measures which might be on the ballot in 2019, 2020 or 2022.  As with the BSEP Measure of 2016, it will require significant staff time, planning and public process in order to construct a tax measure which meets the needs of our students while continuing to receive the support of Berkeley voters. It will be necessary to engage the services of an independent polling firm to conduct focus groups, survey and telephone polling, possibly as early as the spring of 2019. The anticipated cost is $50,000 for polling/focus groups and research stipends, and $40,000 for contract work. The Superintendent is recommending that these costs be funded through the base grant of the general fund. There may be additional needs for further polls and contract work for research, synthesis of input, and writing will be needed to summarize extensive stakeholder and staff process and input. This estimate is preliminary. 

8. Sanitary Products - $23,000-$30,000 one-time implementation costs + $8,000-$10,000 ongoing (see item #2 above in ongoing funding section):

Staff plans to install dispensers in each female restroom at the middle and high schools as well as in 1 female restroom at each of the elementary schools.  Adding dispensers to gender neutral restrooms will cost more due to the variation in site decisions about the use of restrooms. This will exceed the State’s requirement as defined in AB10 which was enacted in January of 2018 as well as address the directions given by the BUSD Governing Board.  The one time startup cost of this is estimated to be $23,000 with an additional $8,000. per year based on 2019 dollars. 

These are the proposed one-time start-up costs associated with the ongoing costs proposed in item #2 above). 

Ongoing Expenditures not Proposed but Representing Long Term Needs and Considerations:

9. Assistant Director or Coordinator for Special Education Systems $125,000-$150,000:

In a December 2017 report to the Board about Special Education Services in BUSD, Strategic Planning LLC, among other recommendations, suggested the hiring of an Assistant Director, or a similarly situated administrative position to support the work of the Director. Dr. Gillaspie's December 2017 report recommended that an Assistant Director was an essential component to supporting the reorganization and change process of the Special Education Department.

This suggestion was based on the observation that “the present director of special education has found that the department is not organized in a manner that allows the director to work on conceptual planning and organizational procedural policy development.” That situation has changed substantially since the December report and the current Executive Director continues to be deeply immersed in the everyday responsibilities of running the department and providing direct support to the schools sites, parents, teachers, other agencies, and a sustained high volume of legal proceedings.  These legal proceedings can  include resolution sessions,  mediations, and Due Process Hearings at the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH).  Additionally, settlement agreements approved by the Board of Education require detailed compliance monitoring at the various levels of the district departments i.e. Special Education, Transportation, and Business Department.   Moreover, settlement agreements also require interfacing with responsible outside vendors, agencies, and legal counsels.   The current model and work volume still leaves minimal time for the director to work on development of systems, policies and procedures because of her heavy workload. The support of an assistant director would be beneficial to the organization and potentially create efficiencies and clarity that would reduce ongoing legal, settlement, and service costs.

10. Instructional Materials Increase $40k Ongoing:

The District’s instructional materials budget has not seen a significant increase in the past 10 years while the annual costs of instructional materials have risen. BUSD, like most districts, receives its instructional materials monies from both restricted Lottery funds (allocated based on ADA), and Tier III Instructional Materials. Those funds currently constitute a budget of approximately $681,000 annually, to buy, replace, adopt, or maintain instructional materials at all BUSD school sites K-12. Lottery funds for 18-19 account for $517K of that total with Tier III representing $164K. Current cost projections for 19-20 preliminarily show us to be $9K over budget.   

11. Tech Budget impacted by increasing costs $20,000:

Providing the base services to schools through the systems that run mission-critical district systems has increased over the past five years with no increase to the budget that provides that service. To pay for the increases, money has been subtracted from the Tech department’s discretionary budget, which has been decreased by over 60% to $27,000, decreasing flexibility to maintain or improve systems. Increases in the QSS Contract as we move to the Linux version, support for our phone system (partially offset by reducing costs by moving to a VOIP system), and increases in other costs. Staff is requesting $20,000 in ongoing costs.

12. Section 504 Plan Coordinator $125-$130K:

A Section 504 Coordinator (1.0 FTE) would help  ensure compliance with Section 504 plans and improve how we we respond to and assess students relative to requests. As of January 1, 2009, the American with Disabilities Act of 2008 expanded the scope of disabilities under the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as well as protections to employees and students.  

BHS has long depended on a variety of counseling and district resources to maintain and monitor section 504 plans. Training and professional development of site personnel and more centralized district monitoring and management is needed to improve evaluation and assessment related to 504 requests, calibrate district-wide around accommodations and modifications within Section 504 plans, etc, 

A coordinator would also help examine and address the equity issues related to Section 504 Plans.

13. 7th period-day for Middle Schools  Approximately $1,000,000 per year:

Beginning this year, two significant changes in scheduling and program structure have occurred; namely, the increase of preparation and planning time for teachers in grades 1 through 3 as well as the universal 9th grade program at Berkeley High School. Those program changes, at annual added costs of approximately $1,000,000 and $600,000 respectively to the general fund represent substantial structural and scheduling changes both at K-5 and Berkeley High School. In contemplating a comparable programmatic upgrade with principals at the middle school level, a 7-period day would allow for both the expansion of elective, intervention, and support opportunities for students within the school day. A 7-period day would allow for on-track students to expand their elective choices while allowing struggling students to maintain their elective choices while also accessing academic or social/emotional support classes during the school day where research shows those supports to be most effective.

14. HR GENERALIST $115k-$125K:

The HR Generalist will focus on transactional and administrative duties to increase the efficiency of customer service delivery.  A Generalist assists senior management by providing human resources services including talent acquisition, employment processing, compensation management, training and development and records management.  In addition, develops human resources solutions by collecting and analyzing information and recommending courses of action. This includes organizational data maintenance, leveraging knowledge base to troubleshoot and resolve a variety of system challenges, conducting regular audits and reconciling data to ensure accuracy and compliance, leveraging workflow tools, and collaborating with other departments to establish sound operational systems and procedures.  The position prepares reports by collecting, analyzing and summarizing data and trends.   The Generalist also ensures compliance with federal, state and local legal requirements including STRS and PERS by studying existing and new legislation, anticipating legislation and enforcing adherence to requirements and advising management on needed actions.  

15. Maintaining Chromebook/Computer Inventory District-Wide (Cost TBD):

A serious analysis before the Board involving both Educational Services and the Technology Department is warranted either in the spring or fall of 2019. As the District has increased the inventory of devices for students over the past few years, the long term maintenance of those devices and the costs attached to doing will mean significant resource considerations moving forward.

QUESTIONS FOR THE BOARD:

1. What additional questions do you have about the proposed ongoing expenditures?
2. What additional questions do you have about the proposed one-time and limited term proposals?

NEXT STEPS:

Decisions on onetime and ongoing expenditures for 2019-2020 school year.

FISCAL IMPACT

Budget Priorities total $141,500 for on-going expenditures and $238,000 for one-time expenditures to be paid from Base Grant Funding, and $10,000 to be paid from Other Funding Source.  Long term needs total $1.5 million.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:             Donald Evans, Ed.D, Superintendent
FROM:        John Calise, Executive Director of Facilities
DATE:        April 10, 2019
SUBJECT:  Update on Workforce Housing

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
In accordance with Board direction from the February 6, 2019 Board meeting, Director Julie Sinai along with staff from BUSD, and BeHOME have begun the process of planning for the predevelopment work for this project. This work included some initial research around opportunity sites and constraints, developing a Request for Proposal (RFP) for predevelopment services and to begin collaboration with the City of Berkeley.

BUSD has four properties where the parcel sizes and City zoning are large enough to accommodate multifamily housing development. Each site has unique constraints and other potential uses which will ultimately dictate the scope of the final project if they proceed. Initial consideration of each site has allowed staff to bring forth a recommendation to narrow the predevelopment study to consider 2 of the 4 sites. 

Additionally, the RFP for predevelopment services has been attached for Board review

POLICY/CODE:
None

FISCAL IMPACT:
None at this time

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the future study of Workforce housing at the San Pablo Avenue or University Avenue locations and authorize the release of the attached RFP.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 

TO:        Board of Education
FROM:          Donald Evans, Ed.D, Superintendent
Pasquale Scuderi, Associate Superintendent
DATE:          April 10, 2019
SUBJECT:    Initial Discussion About Possible Middle School Rezoning

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Our middle school assignment process has not been updated since 1999.

Currently, the city is divided into two zones for the purpose of middle school assignments. Students who live in one zone are assigned to King and students who live in the other are assigned to Willard.  Longfellow is considered a “magnet”/choice school that can be requested by any Berkeley resident (although it has been over a decade since it received any magnet funds).  Longfellow is also home to BUSD’s two-way immersion (TWI) middle school program.

Our middle schools have had persistent disparities in demographics over the past several years, as demonstrated below. (“Unduplicated students” refers to students who are either low-income students, English learners, or foster youth.) King’s overall population has also been roughly twice the size of each of the other two middle schools.

Longfellow has been an outlier in terms of a higher concentration of unduplicated students. But Willard’s and King’s demographics have also been disparate, likely a reflection of the zoning boundary for middle school assignment (which has not been updated in over two decades).  In sum, while the populations of each elementary school in Berkeley, and the population of Berkeley High, reflect the demographics of the District as a whole, that is not the case with our middle schools.

While the District has made efforts to provide equitable and proportional funding where possible, it may be that the most equitable approach in the long-term, and the one that is most consistent with the District’s proud history of racial and socio-economic integration, is to make a structural change to the assignment plan to balance out the demographics of each middle school.

Proposal:

It is time to explore an adjustment to our middle school assignment plan to determine whether or not we should create three zones and assign students to each of the three zones according to residence. (Presumably, the TWI program could remain at Longfellow, and could have a separate admissions process like the process currently at Sylvia Mendez Elementary, open to all Berkeley students regardless of residence. Also, any changes to the process would presumably be prospective - i.e., no current students would be moved from their school.) 

The idea would be to draw three zone boundaries in the city that resulted in three middle schools that reflected the racial, ethnic, economic, educational, and linguistic backgrounds of our City, and reinforces our core BUSD value that diversity in our student population enriches the educational experiences of students.  It is also possible that such a move could reduce some of the capacity constraints at King Middle School by reducing the population of that school to some extent.

Admissions staff has already been working to develop possible middle school zoning maps that would account for the capacity differences at each middle school and would result in proportionally similar demographics at each school. 

If we began a process now (one that includes ample opportunity for community input and engagement), the Board could make a decision by November 2019.  If the decision was to create a third middle school zone, that change could be made effective Fall 2020 for the 2020-21 school year. 

Recommendation

Direct staff to conduct review of steps that would be necessary, including a timeline, to consider a possible revision to the middle school assignment plan, and return to the Board in late May with a recommendation for a process to begin over the summer and early Fall, culminating in a Board decision whether to make this change by November 2019 in time to take effect for the incoming 6th graders in Fall 2020. 

Fiscal Impact
None

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:           Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM:                Pauline Follansbee, Assistant Superintendent
PRESENTERS:   Pauline Follansbee, Assistant Superintendent
DATE:                   April 10, 2019
SUBJECT:         Notice of Intent to Revoke for REALM Charter School

PURPOSE:
To approve a Notice of Intent to Revoke to REALM Charter School, which must be approved by the Board in open session as the first of a three-step process.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The revocation of a charter is governed by Education Code § 47607. Education Code § 47607(c) sets forth the grounds for revocation: A charter may be revoked by the authority that granted the charter under this chapter if the authority finds, through a showing of substantial evidence, that the charter school did any of the following:

(1)     Committed a material violation of any of the conditions, standards, or procedures set forth

in the charter;

(2)     Failed to meet or pursue any of the pupil outcomes identified in the charter;

(3)     Failed to meet generally-accepted accounting principles, or engaged in fiscal

mismanagement; or

(4)     Violated any provision of law.

The charter-authorizing agency precedes a revocation with a Notice of Violation and a reasonable opportunity to remedy the violation under Education Code § 47607(d). Prior to revocation, the charter-authorizing agency provides the charter school with a Notice of Intent to Revoke, and conducts a public hearing on the potential revocation (Education Code § 47607(e)), before deciding whether or not to revoke the charter.

On February 6, 2019, the Board approved the issuance of a Notice of Violation (NOV) against REALM Charter School as REALM committed following instances of fiscal misconduct:

1)         Failed to submit its final audit report by December 15, 2018 for fiscal year 2017-2018.

2)         Failed to pay its employer contributions to the State Teachers’ Retirement System (STRS) for the months of November ($43,855.23) and December, 2018 ($44,267.37).

3)         Failed to pay $1.5 million dollars in financial obligations to vendors and other creditors.

4)         Failed to reflect the negative fund balance of REALM Middle School in the budget of the

consolidated REALM Charter Schools after the Board granted a material revision to

consolidate the REALM Middle School and REALM High School.

REALM provided a response to the NOV on February 21, 2019, claiming that it had cured all instances of financial misconduct.  On March 12, 2019, REALM submitted a request for material revision to be taken over by Compass Charter Schools. Staff recommends that the Board consider the Notice of Intent to Revoke and the Request for Material Revision concurrently, since staff’s evaluation of both procedures will focus on REALM’s financial condition. 

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE BOARD

Staff has reviewed REALM’s response and recommends bringing a Notice of Intent to Revoke to the Board for the following reasons stated in the attached Notice:

1)         REALM’s response to the Notice of Violation, and its Request for Material Revision, fail to contain the required detail and assurances that the Charter School would be able to remedy its dire financial condition. 

2)         The Budget Summary contains significant discrepancies and omissions, and is based upon unrealistic increases in enrollment.  For example, the Budget Summary is premised upon an increase of 200 students by the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, while REALM has seen significant declines in enrollment over the past 4-5 years. Also, between 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, teacher salaries drop from $1,824,258 to $16,000 without explanation or any corresponding reduction in program or expenses. 

3)         The Budget Summary projects that the Charter School would recover from a budget deficit of $889,517 in FY 2018-2019 to achieve a surplus of $1,135,589 in 2019-2020 without satisfactorily explaining how the Charter School would satisfy current financial obligations in excess of $1,000,000 or reduce expenses.

4)         Instead of committing itself to reducing expenses and reconfiguring the scope of its

program to improve its financial viability, the Charter School continues its pattern of attempting to sustain a financial model based upon unsustainable enrollment increases, excessive expenditures, and nonconforming budget practices.

NEXT STEPS

1)         Conduct public hearing on Request for Material Revision; take Board action on Notice of Intent to Revoke (Tonight)

2)         Public Hearing on Notice of Intent to Revoke (including REALM opportunity to respond to the Notice of Intent to Revoke) (May 8, 2019)

3)         Board action on whether to revoke the REALM Charter/Action on Request for Material Revision (if necessary) (May 29, 2019)

If the Board revokes the charter, REALM would have the right to appeal the revocation to the County Board of Education and, if necessary, the State Board of Education.

FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact

RELATED PAST BOARD ITEMS:

February 6, 2019- Action Item 18: Notice of Violation for REALM Charter Schools

September 26, 2018 – Action Item 16:  Notice of Violation for REALM Charter Schools

February 2, 2018 – Action Item 16:  Notice of Violation for REALM Charter Schools

January 25, 2017-Action Item 12.1: Notice of Violation for REALM Charter Schools

ATTACHMENT:
The proposed Notice of Intent to Revoke is attached.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:                Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM:                  Pauline Follansbee, Assistant Superintendent
PRESENTERS:    Pauline Follansbee, Assistant Superintendent
DATE:                    April 10, 2019
SUBJECT:              Public Hearing for REALM Charter School's Request for Material Revision

PURPOSE:
To Conduct a Public Hearing on REALM Charter School Request for Material Revision 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
On February 6, 2019, the Board approved the issuance of a Notice of Violation (NOV) against REALM Charter School as REALM committed following instances of fiscal misconduct: 

1)         Failed to submit its final audit report by December 15, 2018 for fiscal year 2017-2018.

2)         Failed to pay its employer contributions to the State Teachers’ Retirement System (STRS) for the months of November ($43,855.23) and December, 2018 ($44,267.37).

3)         Failed to pay $1.5 million dollars in financial obligations to vendors and other creditors.

4)         Failed to reflect the negative fund balance of REALM Middle School in the budget of the

consolidated REALM Charter Schools after the Board granted a material revision to

consolidate the REALM Middle School and REALM High School.

REALM provided a response to the NOV on February 21, 2019, claiming that it had cured all instances of financial misconduct.  On March 12, 2019, REALM submitted a request for material revision to be taken over by Compass Charter Schools. Staff recommends that the Board consider the Notice of Intent to Revoke and the Request for Material Revision concurrently, since staff’s evaluation of both procedures will focus on REALM’s financial condition.  On or about April 4, 2019, the District sent to REALM a letter containing several questions about REALM’s request for material revision.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE BOARD
Conduct the public hearing on REALM’s Request for Material Revision and provide REALM an opportunity to answer the questions posed by the District regarding the Budget Summary, enrollment projections, and other components of the Request for Material Revision.

NEXT STEPS
Conduct public hearing on Request for Material Revision tonight.

FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:              Donald Evans, Ed.D, Superintendent
FROM:        John Calise, Executive Director of Facilities
DATE:        April 10, 2019
SUBJECT: Public Hearing for and Approval of Resolution 19-026 to Enter Into an Energy Service Contract with Clear Blue Energy Corporation for Lighting Projects Covered Under Proposition 39 – TIME CERTAIN: 9:45PM – Action (5 min)

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The District has an Energy Efficiency Expenditure Plan approved by the California Energy Commission. Each of the BUSD sites has identified energy efficiency projects, including electrical lighting retrofits.

In accordance with Government Code 4217.10 et. seq. BUSD may enter into an energy service contract to construct energy efficiency projects when the cost of the work is less than the anticipated marginal cost to the District of the energy that would have been consumed without the project. The procedures under Government Code 4217.10 et. seq. allows the District to utilize a Request for Proposal and price/qualifications selection process for a design-build Contractor.

POLICY/CODE:
Government Code Section 4217

FISCAL IMPACT:
All costs are contained within the Clean Energy, Proposition 39 allocation. The total cost is $463,630.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve Resolution No. 19-026

Persons wishing to address the Board should fill out a green speaker card.  Cards turned in for the earlier open session public testimony will be given priority.  Speakers will be randomly selected based on topic and position, with BUSD students generally given priority.  Public Testimony is limited to 15 minutes with a 3-minute limit per speaker per topic although the time allotted per speaker may be reduced to 2 minutes at the discretion of the President.