BOARD MEETING
Santa Rosa City Schools
January 8, 2025
4:00 p.m. – Closed Session
6:00 p.m. – Open Session
Hybrid: Zoom / Santa Rosa City Hall Council Chambers (100 Santa Rosa Ave, Santa Rosa, CA 95404)
*** streamed ***
A live link will be posted on the SRCS website.
Board of Education / Video Board Meetings
Please take time to review the following abbreviated version of the agenda. Click here to see the entire agenda. It has live links on many items with more information. If you want to comment to the board about any upcoming items, email agendacomments@srcs.k12.ca.us. Please CC wearesrta@gmail.com on your email.
Closed Session Items:
A.1. Public Comment On Closed Session Agenda Items To comment, email Melanie Martin at mmartinsrcs.k12.ca.us.
B.1. Student Readmissions (Case No. 2023/24-01)
B.2. Student Expulsions (Case No. 2024/25-15)
B. 3. Public Employee Discipline/Dismissal/Release
B. 4. Conference With Labor Negotiator (Name of designated rep attending: Dr. Vicki Zands (SRCS): name of organization: CSEA Santa Rosa 75)
Our classified employees with CSEA Local 75 should remain a strong focus for the district negotiators until a new contract can be agreed upon, with significant improvement to wages. SRTA members stand with our CSEA staff in demanding a fair raise now.
B.5. Conference With Legal Counsel – Anticipated Litigation (Number of potential cases: 1 OCR # 09-23-1518 )
B.6. Public Employee Performance Evaluation (Title of employee being reviewed: Superintendent, Associate Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Principals, Vice Principals, Assistant Principals, Directors, Coordinators)
C. RECONVENE TO REGULAR OPEN SESSION (6:00 p.m.)
C.7. Special Presentations for Student of the Month and Employees of the Month
Lewis Early Learning Academy (LELA)
- Gianni Solis, Student of the Month
- Yoni Hercules Pineda, Classified Employee of the Month
- Lacey Helming, Certificated Employee of the Month
Proctor Terrace Elementary School (PTES)
- London Miller, Student of the Month
- Maria Arreguin Castillo, Classified Employee of the Month
- Caitlin Cameron, Certificated Employee of the Month
SRTA members are encouraged to celebrate their own by attending this meeting!
D. Public Comment on Non Agenda Items
SRTA Members are invited to complete ‘blue cards.’ Online comments have been suspended unless a board member is attending remotely. Please be prepared to observe the three minute time limit or the imposition of a possible last minute two or even one minute limit. Only items NOT on the agenda are addressed at this time, with the exception of consent items, which may be commented on.
Comments are requested at the board meeting to bring a member’s perspective and share real experiences of the impact of district policies and practices.
Please commit to watching or attending at least one board meeting this year, and speaking to agenda items that impact you or your students. Speakers are limited to those in person. Comments are most impactful when they are well spoken, composed and reasonable.
E. REPORTS
E.1. California School Employee Association (CSEA) Santa Rosa 75 Report
SRTA members stand with our CSEA staff in demanding a fair raise now.
E.7. School Consolidation / Closure Report
School Consolidation Advisory Committee webpage
There are no attachments or details provided for this report.
Five town hall meetings have been scheduled:
How will the information gleaned from these meetings be utilized?
Has an additional meeting been scheduled before Jan 27 for the closure and consolidation committee?
The Q and A on the district website states “… families will have the option to apply to transfer to any other school of their choice in the district through an Intra-District Transfer. These transfers will be approved, subject to school capacity. Support services will be available to help students adjust.”
What is the intention for these transfer requests?
What set of site capacity numbers will be used to accept transfers?
What is the timeline for this?
How will these requests be prioritized with regards to the transfer requests the district has already received?
What services can be expected for aiding student adjustments?
Who is responsible for providing these support services?
What is the timeline on this support?
SRTA members are seeing effective advertising campaigns from other districts attempting to lure our students away. How is SRCS responding? SRTA has long requested a robust campaign to share the gems our schools are with our community. Students and families residing in the SRCS district are often unaware of the plethora of offerings at their neighborhood school. Many end up leaving our district due to less rigorous graduation requirement options and other flexible programs like hybrid ISP, online school, schedules allowing for more classes, and Alt Ed options that successfully pull them away from SRCS.
F. DISCUSSION / ACTION ITEMS
F.1. (Action) Approval of Resolution Recognizing January 27, 2025 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day
- January 27 is the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The UN General Assembly has designated this day as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a time to remember the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and the millions of other victims of Nazi persecution. As we are witnessing an alarming rise of antisemitism around the globe it is more important than ever for us to recognize the critical lessons of Holocaust history as we commemorate the victims and honor the survivors. International Holocaust Remembrance Day
- Resolution
F.2. (Discussion) Special Education Review
The Board will get an update on the Special Education Review completed by Dr. William Gillaspie.
Findings include:
Overidentification of students with disabilities compared to state rates, including English Learner students. (This is a long identified issue.) There is not an exit strategy for students to leave the SpEd program. The overidentification is costing the district $26 million per year.
Lack of Interventions: There is an insufficient Multi-Tiered System of Support. Student Study Teams (SST) are not consistent.
Staffing Strains: SLP case overloads and use of contracted aides instead of district employed staff.
Transportation Costs: Ridership has outpaced statewide averages. $9.6 million per year, with the state picking up 60%.
Recommendations:
Clear direction from the board to enhance special services.
Create a Strategic Plan with clear systems, policies and procedures for service delivery.
Create a task force.
Negotiate to be able to directly hire aides (currently 67% are from outside agencies) and reduce SLP caseload overruns.
Create a procedural manual for all related service providers such as SLP, psychologists, etc. outlining responsibilities, eligibility and exit processes breaking down elementary and secondary.
Immediately addressing these issues seems prudent and doable, eliminating the need for other more draconian solutions to the budget.
What support does the district office need to implement these recommendations?
What does an implementation timeline look like?
F.3. Approval of Board Member School Site Liaison Assignments for 2025
SRTA recommends members reach out to their liaisons. Invite your liaison to your campus, and meet with them.
F.4. (Discussion/Action) Board Subcommittees and District Committees 2025
To provide better governance, the Board of Trustees would like to add two Board Subcommittees, on which no more than three Trustees will serve.
Here is the draft of the purpose of these subcommittees:
1) Fiscal Analysis Board Subcommittee
- Long-Term Financial Planning – Assess revenue and expense projections, including liabilities such as healthcare costs that exceed COLA adjustments, and evaluate the impact of current and future financial trends on district programs.
- Budget Implications & Policy Review – Analyze the financial impact of board policies, such as reserve policies, to ensure fiscal responsibility and sustainability.
- Comprehensive Fund Analysis – Conduct in-depth evaluations of all district funds to maintain financial stability and transparency.
2) Board Policy Update Subcommittee
- Ensure Alignment & Compliance – Review and update board policies to ensure they align with current state and federal laws, as well as district goals and priorities.
- Improve Clarity & Consistency – Streamline and refine policies for clarity
- Support Effective Governance – Provide the Board of Trustees with well-researched policy recommendations that promote equity, transparency, and effective decision-making.
SRTA appreciates efforts of the board to lead effectively.
SRCS eliminated board subcommittees moving instead to special meetings because the board felt they created lopsided information silos. What has led to a change in this thinking?
How often will these committees meet? Are they expected to be permanent? Will these scheduled meetings be shared and open to the public? Will there be public comment? Who else will be invited to be on the committees?
G.2. Approval of Personnel Transactions
EdJoin shows a total of 87 current postings for 197 jobs in SRCS. There are sixteen certificated opening postings for twenty positions (three less than last meeting.) There are seventy current classified postings for one hundred fifty-three job openings (thirty-two more than last meeting). There is one certificated and no classified management positions open.
SRTA welcomes Emma Parks (ABES), Jessica Habr Holt (SLES) and Patricia Maxson (HSMS.) And welcome back to Cynthia Miles (ALES.)
SRTA bids a fond farewell to Matthew Beaton who is retiring from SRHS at the end of the year after three years. (Thank you for your timely notification.)
Mark Ryan who has resigned as Principal of SRHS.
Changes to classified staff include eight new hires, one rehire, two resignations and three retirements. They leave taking with them seventy-four years of knowledge and service to our staff and students.
G.4. Approval of Contracts
Summary
| # | Provider | Cost | Description |
| District | |||
| 1 | Soliant Health LLC | $253,600.00 | Due to vacant SLP and school psycologist positions, and a maternity leave this provider will continue to provide special services. This is the second amendment this year bringing the total contract to $425,000. |
| 3 | Educational Strategic Planning LLC | $2,000.00 | This is Dr. Gilespie’s company, and covers the cost of tonight’s presentation to the board. The study itself was contracted for $29,500. |
| 8 | CalState TEACH | No Direct Cost | This is for teacher interns. The contract specifies two hours of mentoring each week. How is the mentor compensated for this work? |
| 10 | Recology | $733,666.38 | This is for a one year extension of a current contract. What is the follow up like when scheduled pick ups are missed? |
| Secondary | |||
| 4 | Synopsys Outreach Foundation | No Direct Cost | A SRMS teacher has recieved this grant of $2,500 to help her students attend a field trip to the Exploratorium. |
| 6 | Sonoma Academy | $750.00 | This was for MHS Choir to rent a performance venue for their Dec 19th concert. |
| 9 | TLC Child & Family Services | No Direct Cost | Provides Functional Family Therapy (FFT) referrals made by School-Based Therapists to secondary students (ages 11-18) and their families with funding from Measure O. |
| Elementary | |||
| 2 | ELITE Early Literacy Program – Made iN Santa Rosa | No Direct Cost | Made in Santa Rosa Foundation is providing a grant to implement the ELITE after-school program. This will include paying for 1 certificated teacher, 2 aides, curriculum, materials and training for BHES. |
| 5 | Lexia Learning Systems | $220.00 | 1 year of subscriptions for 5 students at HVES Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program. This covered by DHH funding |
| 7 | SWANK Movie Licensing | $578.00 | 1 year of public performance licensing for HVES. Per district legal advice, these have not been utilized for other movie events in SRCS. Is this a change in policy? |
| 11 | North Bay Children’s Center (NBCC) | $51,897.60 | NBCC will save 8 (eight) seats for identified SRCS students for 4 hours per school day for 180 days. 4 (four) seats at each SLES and JMES . |
Total value of contracts = $1,042,711.98
G.5. Approval of Contracts – Bond
| # | Contractor | Site | Service | Cost |
| District | ||||
| 1 | HY Architects | various | Fencing projects | $293,000 |
| 2 | Golden State Electric | DO | Site investigation for new DO | $3,125 |
| 3 | STRATA a/p | DO | Architectural services to relocate portable | $67,350 |
| 7 | Ninyo & Moore | DO | Warehouse special inspection | $20,845 |
| Elementary | ||||
| 5 | Ellis Flooring | HVES | New flooring | $12,236 |
| Secondary | ||||
| 4 | HD Supply | PHS, EAHS, MCHS, HCMS | Reimbursed supplies for additional finishing of new gym floors | $20,635 |
| 6 | Brelje & Race | SRHS | Survey for additional drive aisle | $3,735 |
Measure C = $332,822.21
Measure G = $88,373.60
Total = $421,195.81
G.6. Approval of Service Contract with Tad Health, Inc. To Provide Electronic Health Record & Children & Youth Behavioral Health Initiative Fee For Service Billing
Santa Rosa City Schools (SRCS) has been selected to participate in Cohort II of the California Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) Fee Schedule program. This initiative enables Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to receive sustainable funding for behavioral health services provided to students in school settings. Our current system infrastructure is inadequate to meet the needs of documentation and reporting for the Fee Schedule program. We propose to contract with Tad Health, Inc. to provide access to their Electronic Health Record and Billing System. They charge 10% of fees collected.
G.7. Approval of Incident IQ Proposal
The chosen modules will replace the following systems currently utilized by SRCS:
- Civic Permits (currently costs $9,355/year)
- SchoolDude (currently costs $17,200/year)
- ZenDesk (currently costs $24,500/year)
SRCS opted for a 3-year contract for a $1000 per year discount:
Year 1: $60,087.20 (discounted for overlapping services)
Year 2: $71,320.94
Year 3: $73,460.57
The current programs are less than ideal, but is this the right time to increase the costs for these programs by about $20,000 per year, and add the extra work to orient staff to new platforms so their use can be optimized.
G.8. Approval of Resolution 2024/25-23 for the District Wide Electronic Access Control Alternate Design-Build Contract
This is to hire DecoTech Systems under contract to design the District-Wide Electronic Access Control Alternate Design-Build Project for $80,000.
SRCS has far greater facility needs than the bond funds can cover. Bond funds were recently used to replace all locks in the district. At that time electronic locks were considered and not chosen. This contract is to replace these new locks with electronic locks district wide.
This type of project deteriorates public confidence in the district’s ability to utilize bond funds.
G.9. Approval of Proposed Increase of Minimum Wage
The Board will consider approval of the proposed increase of minimum wage from $16 to the state mandated $16.50 per hour for:
- Accompanist
- After School Athletic Program, Elementary
- Auditorium Supervisor
- Ticket Taker/Timekeeper/Scorekeeper
- Student Workers
- And, the revision of the Extra Duty Hourly/Miscellaneous Salary Schedule for 2024-2025 to reflect this increase ordered by the California Legislature.
Projected cost: $3,000.
This falls short of the Santa Rosa City minimum wage of $17.87. It would cost about an additional $8,220 per year to approve this local requirement.
G.10. Approval of Resolution 2024/25-31 Authorizing Filing of Applications for State Allocation Board-Administered Facility Hardship and/or Seismic Mitigation Programs
This resolution says the SRCS Facilities Master Plan is sufficient for applying for these grants.
G.11. Approval of Resolution 2024/25-30 Authorizing Filing of Applications for State Allocation Board-Administered Programs
Similar to the above, this resolution about the SRCS Facility Master Plan is necessary to apply for $39,000, 000 of funding from the state for current project reimbursements.
G.12. Approval of 360-Degree Customer Inc. Professional Services Agreement
This is for an additional 25 special ed aides at $44 per hour for the rest of this school year. This contract is not to exceed $300,000.
When is the line in the sand going to be drawn ending the continuous use of contracts for outsourcing aides instead of hiring them directly?
The agendized report states that there are too many aides currently utilized.
G.13. Approval of Critical Mention Agreement
This is for media monitoring and media contact database software. It provides a suite of tools designed to help users manage their earned media effectively.
$5,800 annually.
Is this part of a strategic communication plan? The results of the communication audit have not been shared with the public. Is monitoring media the top priority for moving SRCS communications forward?
H.1. Approval of Minutes
December 11, 2024 Minutes and Supporting Documents
December 18, 2024 Minutes and Supporting Documents
J.1. Future Board Discussion Items (not included in this agenda)
SRTA Members are encouraged to prepare for the upcoming agenda items.
- Resolution Recognizing Week of School Counselor
- Resolution for February as African-American History Month
- Resolution Recognizing February CTE Month
Can this item include updated data on program utilization (enrollment) and pathway expansion plans from the new grant.
- 24/25 Governor’s Budget Proposal
- Resolution for Reduction or Discontinuance of Certain Particular Kinds of Service (PKS)
- Deferred Maintenance Update
SRTA looks to the future scheduling of the following items:
- Special Education Report (December 2024)
- SRTA members expect the report commissioned from Dr. Gillespie to be shared in this meeting, along with timeline and implementation plans specifying which of his recommendations SRCS is expecting to adopt.
- Alternative Education Update (December 2024)
- There is a strong need for Alternative placements for secondary students who need more services than our comprehensive schools are able to provide. How can SRCS meet the needs of these students during these tough financial times?
- Open Enrollment & Intradistrict Transfers Update (December 2024)
- SRCS students are applying to other schools outside our district in case their school is closed. How will SRCS expedite the enrollment and transfer process to retain as many students as possible?
- Superintendent Morales’ Listening and Learning Tour Update (November 2024)
- SRTA members would like to understand the expected impact from momentary drop ins, and how this use of time and resources is evaluated.
- Approval of Instructional and Classified Calendars (November 2024)
- Public Hearing and Approval of Teamsters Union 665 “Sunshine” Proposal (delayed from Oct 2024)
- First Draft of the District Safety Plan (delayed from September 2024)
- Board Update of Strategic Goals with input from sites (begun June 2024)
- Sharing the support plans for PIP and Variable Term Waiver hires. (Board request 8/14/24)
- Sharing the updated EL Master Plan with implementation expectations
- Sharing the Library Master Plan with implementation expectation
- Officially Closing Learning House
- SRACS Accelerated Charter Material Revision Request (delayed)
- Unification/Redistricting Decision
- Renaming of Sites Update/Decision
- Plan for Staff Housing support program from the proceeds of Fir Ridge
Until the district makes a decision, the proceeds from the sale of the Fir Ridge property are just sitting and losing value as the cost of housing continues to rise. Getting a program started could help SRCS attract and retain CSEA staff. The potential impact of the funds diminishes as time passes.
- Student Voice Policy
- BEST Plus Update
- Does SRCS still self identify as a BEST Plus district?
J. 4.
- LELA
- PTES