Regular (VIRTUAL) Board Meeting
Centinela Valley Union HSD
January 12, 2021 5:00PM
DISTRICT BOARD ROOM 14901 S. INGLEWOOD AVENUE, LAWNDALE, CA 90260
Closed Session at 5:00pm; Open Session follows at approximately 6pm
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| Board president Ramos called the meeting to order at 5:09pm. |
Gloria A. Ramos, Board President
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| Dr. O'Brien led the flag salute. |
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| Board vice president Rojas had connection issues and could not connect for roll call. |
Gloria A. Ramos, President
Hugo M. Rojas II, Vice President
Marisela Ruiz, Clerk
Estefany A. Castaneda, Member
Dr. Daniel D. Urrutia, Member |
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On a motion by Board member Urrutia, seconded by Board clerk Ruiz, vote 4-0, the agenda was approved with Item 16.D.1.1 (Classified Personnel, under Unpaid Leave) pulled from the agenda.
Board vice-president Rojas could not connect virtually for the vote. |
Passed with a motion by Dr. Daniel Urrutia and a second by Ms. Marisela Ruiz. |
Yes Ms. Estefany Castaneda.
Yes Ms. Gloria Ramos.
Yes Mr. Hugo Rojas.
Yes Ms. Marisela Ruiz.
Yes Dr. Daniel Urrutia.
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Approve the agenda for the meeting.
Motion: __________ Second: __________ Vote: __________
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| There were no public comments submitted on closed session items. |
This is the opportunity for the public to address items listed on the Closed Session agenda. All submissions received prior to the start of open session designated as Closed Session agenda will be read aloud at this time.
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| The Board recessed to closed session at 5:12pm to discuss item 6.A. Personnel Public Employments and Conference with Labor Negotiator. Board vice president Rojas was able to connect online to the meeting and join closed session. |
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The Governing Board will meet in closed session for purposes of negotiations pursuant to Government Code Section 54957.6.
Agency Designated Representative: Dr. Stephen Nellman, Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources
Employee Organizations: CVSTA, CSEA, and Unrepresented
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| The Board reconvened to open session at 5:55pm and disclosed that no action was taken in closed session. Direction was given to staff. |
| PUBLIC SESSION to make disclosures of action taken in closed session, if any, as required by Government Code Sections 54957.7 and 54957.1.
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| Ms. Wedermeyer shared, “Good evening. Happy New Year CV family. I am grateful for all the voices and names I see here this evening. CSEA thanks every school board member in attendance tonight. We also thank our marvelous superintendent and that wonderful cabinet of his, all of our great leaders, colleagues, and without a doubt CVSTA. Again, CSEA, we want to praise every student in our district for their extraordinary power to continue to stay encouraged and encourage others during these trying times. Over and over, we witnessed their strengths and what seems gifted of them to stand tall and continue to achieve. CSEA is truly delighted to be part of their success. CSEA is currently in negotiations with the district and we are pleased with some changes I already offered to classify that definitely help us to better plan for our families as well. We are not in denial of efforts to unite and prove and give excellence through equity. We also know we must continue to encourage more of those efforts. CSEA is still saddened and alarmed at the many of district staffs and family that is directly fighting COVID-19 and other tragedies got made in plugging them. We pray for comfort and speedy recovery for all. CSEA is in high hope that with the new national administration coming in, that we can look forward to more productive, healthier equity filled year. Yes, you know, CSEA believes in miracles. We do. But with that common goal that every student will graduate and be prepared for their next journey and our future, we believe that our more pleasant times are at our doorsteps. We thank everyone that's part of this village to ensure our children's success. And thank you for your hard works, flexibility, and all the understanding that comes along with that. I thank every email I got that showed a lot of promising information and love throughout. I love that our district is getting more family oriented every day. And I just want to say thank you. It's an honor to be allowed this time. And I do apologize again for not hearing that it was my turn. Thank you, guys, so much for everything.” |
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| Dr. Brame shared, “Good afternoon, everyone and Happy New Year. I hope that you, your families, and your loved ones are all doing well as we continue to face and manage this ongoing pandemic. We truly hope that better times are in our very near future, not just for our city, our state, our county, but for everyone on earth. As we manage through the challenging times, we ourselves, have been faced with an opportunity with the retirement of Dr. O'Bryan. Dr. O'Bryan's leadership was timely and provided the necessary restoration of our image in the community, our relationships with feeder school districts, and our relationships with stakeholders within our community. We believe that Dr. O'Bryan's leadership will be one of the few legacies in which our district will be left better when the superintendent leaves. We though hope that Dr. O'Bryan's departure would provide an opportunity for fair, open, and fair and open hi- a fair open hiring practice in which stakeholders would have an opportunity to engage with our leadership for our next leader. Unfortunately, we believe that this has been a missed opportunity for our district, and we hope that the previous incidents and previous accounts of mistrust and mismanagement will not be repeated. We do know, and have worked with Dr. Nellman in the past and believe that our comments today is not a reflection of his ability or inability because that's not what the these comments are about, but we believe that the superintendent's position, the role of superintendent, should be open as a process for hiring. We also believe that any remaining of positions within our district, again, not speaking to the magnitude of any personality, should be held on a public stage in which key stakeholders are afforded an opportunity to engage with our district. Being that we will not have an opportunity to engage in the decision-making process on a grander scale. We hope that our board will see fit to, in the future, make decisions that are reflective of our student population and our employee population as a whole. Oftentimes in the past we have not had those opportunities. So we look forward to, if the district makes a decision, to move forward with the recommendations that are before you all today. That we will have greater standing and greater decision-making, a greater decision-making effort in the future. Additionally, we ask that the district be extremely mindful of our population in its decision-making in our spending. We do have subgroups who are continuously and do continuously underperform academically with our student groups. And we have a strong cry for greater representation in diversity with our hiring practices. And we hope that any decisions that you all make today will be reflective of this call to duty. And again, that call to duty is diversity and a greater representation of our student population and employee population within our decision-making body. Lastly, we would like to... Lastly, we hope that we hope that... We hope that the incentive in regards to retirement would be an incentive that is actually an incentive. We do have a number of stakeholders who are interested in possibly retiring, but the, what the offer that is placed before us, even with the extension may not be enough to, one, get questions answered. Two, it may not be enough of an incentive to ensure that folks will be able to retire. So we will ask the district, the district leaders, to consider that as well. And before we go, we hope that there is an opportunity to be more community minded and community engaged as we move forward. This pandemic has highlighted some of the struggles that we have academically. This pandemic has also highlighted some of the struggles that we face in our society, and we hope that our schools can be a hub for the community in which we provide adequate services and a space for the community to be more engaged, more informed as well as have their needs met. And we ask that you all consider those things as we move forward. Thank you for your time. Thank you for the opportunity to speak and have a great evening.” |
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Discussion was held amongst the Board regarding their goals for 2021.
Board member Castaneda shared setting specific measures for an equity policy. She commented, "...routinely assess student needs based on data desegregated by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds in order to enable equity, focus, policy, planning, and resource development decisions, or analyzing [inaudible] and allocating financial and human resources in a manner that provides all students with equitable access to district programs, support services, and opportunities for success and promotes equity and inclusion in our districts and the resources include access to high quality administrators, teachers, and other school personnel, funding, technology, equipment, textbooks, other instructional materials, facilities, and community resources or partnerships… centering on providing space for the aggregate data that we have currently, providing district staff with ongoing research-based professional learning and professional development on culturally responsive instructional policies, practices, conducting program evaluations that focus on equity and address the academic outcomes and [inaudible] of all students on all indicators. And I looked at different school districts that have equity policies and work policies and [inaudible] goals to come up with this. And some of the things that they also had on their specific goals were to engage key community leaders and stakeholders and discussions about how the school district can better serve its promise, students of color and require cultural competency training for current and future CVUHSD employees with a keen focus on anti-bias professional development that goes outside of internal led professional development…. also advocate for expanding our ethnic studies course offerings at our high schools and build workforce capacity to deliver the courses through strong sustained recruitment. Also look towards expanding culturally and linguistically relevant curriculum. And I think that goes hand in hand with the increase in cultural pedagogy and re-evaluating of our current books that we're teaching. I would want a learner strengthened, establish purpose and function of our district English learner, advisories and build committees to really further push that parent and community engagement pieces.” Board member Castaneda later added, “Looking at ways in which we can work with our ed code... How do I put this? There's sometimes legal issues that sometimes don't allow our school sites to go as above and beyond as they would like to with our communities. So maybe looking at ways in which our district can help support families outside of the ways in which we are now, whether by hosting more food drives or more food pantries or any kind of social need resource, that helps with the current COVID situation. And just in general, with the increasing homelessness that's going on, if we can set that maybe as a goal for our board to see how we can bring in outside groups or even just within our district, to host those spaces and give outside of what we normally do with regular lunch meals or with the regular after-school program that we're offering or online programs that we're offering.”
Board vice-president Rojas shared his focus on school safety and public relations. He commented, "...we partner with several entities for the school safety summit and those efforts, after school enrichment, and the arts have been something on my list as well as public relations, marketing now that social media is something that we are all very much in need of these days due to the pandemic, is how we communicate our message. I know that Google has done some work, some great work in PR as well as our principals, teachers, counselors, and staff, whether we're communicating via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, communicating our message via the district website. We've also included newsletters that have gone out to all of the homes. ... also had that relationship with certain media outlets in the past that we've spoken about. I know that recently in speaking to Daily Breeze, they are always interested on writing something about education. They have been supportive as well as you noticed, HCTV Hawthorne cable television has been very press friendly in a sense. We need to continue to let the public know, our stakeholders. We need to be able to communicate directly to students, parents, staff, partners, and stakeholders on the [inaudible] and do that. Are we using the same methods, new methods, different methods? Of course, I can have a conversation with Ms. Vogel and others. And I'm sure they can come back possibly to talk further about our engagement in that area. I can continue on to other topics, but I would say put me on the public relations marketing committee.”
Board member Urrutia shared setting actionable Board goals annually and community outreach. He commented, “…Two-part goals, which one of them, we're starting today. So we can check that off the box, as having some annual system where we can come together and pick a few actionable goals that maybe follow the smart system that we can measure. And something that we can agree to focus on as it relates to our government's team with some time to perhaps review and reflect over the course of the year, to see if we made progress in those goals and if any adjustments needed. So this is already kind of the start of that. My other goal was having more outreach with the community, but specifically, perhaps we can divide ourselves a little better maybe based on trustee areas, to liaise on or interface with cities, community groups, and stakeholders, and then report back to the board. That way we kind of divide up the PR workload, the bridge-building workload, amongst ourselves. An example of that is with the city of Lawndale, the Lawndale school district and CV, we have an annual meeting with those stakeholders. So perhaps we can replicate something similar in our neighboring cities and our partner school districts, in various community groups and PTA, PTO, et cetera, and have those conversations and be able to bring some of that information back to the board.”
Board clerk Ruiz shared her focus on community outreach. She commented, "Personal goal for the school district this year, is for me to connect more with our students. As many of you already may know that I'm a Rotarian, I've been a member of Rotarian Latinos Unidos for over 10 years. And with them, I've had the opportunity to participate in a few charitable events. Like handing out lunch to the homeless, providing Christmas dinner for families in East LA. And even with our feeder schools, I was able to participate at Jane Addams and also Billy Mitchell, to help with the Vision to Learn program. So being in the school board, I just want to be able to find a project where I could help our high school students and their families. I'm sure there's a lot of need and I would just like to help as much as possible.”
Board president Ramos shared her wish for a communication app (CV App) and differential shifts/schedules for students, working with staff and unions. She commented, “… we have a variety of ways of getting that information out. And one thing that kind of popped out at me, is why can't we have an app? Now, this is just discussion. I'm not going to throw that on staff to try to do, but something like that if not an app, because it's not just our word that's coming out, right? It's not going to be just what the district says, but we'll have links. This is what the union's saying. So you can go all your information. That would be so helpful for us to work together with both of the unions, so they can get their messages out and it's all in an app, it's all in the same place. Right? But we have these little links. And I know that there's got to be some bugs in what I'm saying, that there might be some legal things that we have to work out, and then we have links to mental health and not just within our district, but if there's something. And then we have all the food banks, not just what we're giving out, but all of those things. So not just educational, but where our employees need to get information. Let's say that we want to retire. We just had that discussion. I think that it was Ms. Brame that was just talking about, maybe we're not giving enough. Well, we could kind of do a workshop through our app, that sign up, do those kinds of things and just pinpoint the highlights and that way we will get that information out. And so we have our app, and then we still do our emails, we have our app and we still do the text messages. We should have everybody's cell phone number and send out text messages or something of that nature. I know that we can get information flooded, but I don't think that we can do too much. I know that we're always afraid of being redundant and sometimes not everybody gets that, because for whatever reason, they were teaching their own kids at home or teaching a class or I'm just tired and I feel like disconnecting from everything. So I love how we all want to communicate. And so my suggestion is, and I'm going to have to listen to staff on this one because it's just like a dream, but I would love to have a CV app. That was one of my goals. The first one sounded crazy. It was a little bit more education oriented. And I think that maybe Dan held back on his goals and kind of kept it more board goals. But honestly, part of what I would like to see the district do, especially if we stay here in this stay-at-home situation, is either shifts or different kinds of schedules. We are a small district. There's lots of setbacks for being a small district. But I think because we're small, we can do some innovative things that other districts can't do right now, or are not willing to do, that are student centric, that are for better, they can absorb the information better… For our kids to absorb the information of school and all these different modalities right now that is a shock to them, we can do things in a different way. And I already know that we're doing it, because every time I talk to Ed services or Greg they're like, "Yeah, we have that. We already have tutoring, we already have the mental health team." Who knows that we have that team already? So if we were to be able to offer different things, like different schedules, we can steal those students back from our neighboring communities that have charter schools. And the second part of that, is not just having a varied schedule right? And shifts of school, but also, and this is just very honest and very like the first edition, my rough draft, but I'm a special education teacher and I have two special needs kids at home. But their differences are very different from not only each other. But they're not not intelligent, they just learn differently. And because this is what I was able to give them and this is my specialty, they have really awesome IEPs, but our students all learn differently. And if we can figure out a way with our unions and with our stakeholders, to actually get them something like a contract, it would be so good for our students. And there's a lot of bugs to work out, but starting it now wouldn't hurt our students. So everybody has a learning style and their education is kind of catered to that. And then we have all this information coming to them. It's a dream, but I think that starting it is doable.” |
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Board member Urrutia shared, “Thank you, Madam President. And just two topics, I think I did enough talking. But the attack on the Capitol or these events that occurred last week. I usually don't comment on national politics at these meetings, but I think these events that occurred on our nation's Capitol really impacted us all in ways that we may not yet realize, including our students. And if I can borrow the words of Superintendent Austin Beutner from LA Unified, "History teaches us that for many individuals, character is destiny. As we work together to right past wrongs and build a better, more inclusive society, we as educators share a special burden because the words we share, and the deeds we model will help shape students' character." I found his phrasing, especially the impact from the perspective of educators, particularly powerful. So I truly remain hopeful that we can heal as a country, that this behavior is held accountable and our leaders model the character we hold in the highest regard and really expect from our students to model. In regard to COVID, we have tragically high levels of transmission throughout Los Angeles County that are greatly impacting our first responders, our healthcare workers. And with such high levels of transmission, we're really likely to see the hospitalization and death rate continue to rise as is are lagging indicators of the virus. Usually as cases increase, within several weeks from that point, we see deaths rise. And then of course as cases increase, it's exponential. One person infects three people, and it keeps on going from there. So I ask everyone to please do their part in reducing the spread. Keep six feet distance wherever possible, wear a mask, and avoid unnecessary gatherings. The data truly is alarming. A Person in LA County is infected every six seconds. 10 Angelinos test positive every minute. So we really must all do what we can to get through this. And particularly if we want to see schools reopen anytime in the near future, starting with our youngest ones, we have to see the transmission rates in LA County decrease. With that said, I'm thankful to all of our onsite staff that continue to prep meals and keep our schools safe, clean, and ready for students. We want to be mindful that even though we're in distance learning, we still have frontline staff that are keeping those programs going. And I'm thankful for all of our teachers and our support staff that continue to provide a high quality distance learning program. I know we flipped the switch almost overnight, and I'm happy to say that I'm proud of the progress that we've made and everything that we've had in place in a very timely manner. The one-on-one Chromebook initiative couldn't be any more timely as is, just perfect. And I see a light at the end of the tunnel. This has been a long year. I think 2020 has aged all of us. I'm hopeful that the availability of the vaccine and with distribution ramping up, I'm hopeful that 2021 is a better year and hopefully by 2022, we have normalcy. And that's all for my comments tonight.”
Board vice-president Rojas shared, “Thank you, Madam President. Just referring back in relation to our board goals, was a great exchange between all of our colleagues here. I would just add that if we, the board, would invite Cammie Vogel to the next board meeting. If it is the board's wish to talk, and touch on that topic as we can be more educated on some of the efforts being done. So with that, I just want to thank everyone for their continued work to support student families of Centinela Valley. Well, I've been wearing my mask more than often. At one point the mask wasn't on quite as much, but hearing all of the news and obviously talking to some doctors and nurses, the situation is very serious and it has obviously now hit close to my home in various ways. So it's definitely tragic times, but we're dealing with it. I'm grateful on the another note, just to see 2021. For some reason that sparks a light in all of us. I'm sure that the times are going to be changing, hopefully here for the better in terms of our health, in terms of our school district, our families, and our communities. So with that, I pledge to you to continue my work here. And thank you very much. Have a good evening.”
Board clerk Ruiz shared, “I just want to say I look forward to the day where we can all meet in person again. And until then, just stay safe, take your vitamin C and zinc. And that's it. Have a good night.”
Board member Castaneda shared, “Thank you for everyone who has stayed on this meeting, who got to hear our discussion. I definitely want to start this new year from a place of constant evolving and moving forward to bring about positive changes for everyone. I myself have been quarantined since the first day of the new year. So my family members, including my mom, got COVID. Thankfully they're all recovering. And I feel like I'm probably like some of our students who share spaces, small homes with their family members. And if they have a family member quarantined, then they can only do so much to stay away from the family number to still take care of them and to still be safe and take care of themselves as well. So I of course empathize with a lot of those folks, and I know that a lot of our staff does as well. And I hope that we can all come together with that understanding to help our students still succeed, and be able to succeed mentally as well. Yeah. The attacks on the Capitol I know are a big thing. And the more that things come to light, the more that it puts new perspectives into folks that maybe didn't think about the way other folks are communicating equity across the nation, and are maybe re-evaluating their stances or re-evaluating their perspectives on what they thought moving forward with equity or with black lives matter meant. And that's perfectly fine. That's amazing, as an individual to be able to say, I change my mind, and maybe I was wrong. And unfortunately, it maybe took circumstances such as the ones face off a Capitol for folks to re-evaluate their perspective on things, but they're doing so. And I hope that they can continue to do so, and look towards being allies. I ran across an author and mental health therapist, Alishia McCullough, and they had written about the, this is since back in June of last year, about the seven circles of whiteness. And people can interlap. It can be more than one circle, they can be in the second and fifth tier or simultaneously be even in the seventh tier of accomplishing to be the lifelong student. But some of the big takeaways from that were in the seventh circle to acknowledge, of course, that you're always a lifelong student in terms of, not this fight because I feel like fight always adds these connotations of other perspectives, but just in general. To bring on changes and evolve our systems to center the most marginalized to actively engage in introspection and dismantling racism, even within yourself. To know that you're never going to arrive and to work towards accountability and change behaviors, as well as using your privilege to be key makers versus gatekeepers. And I hope that moving forward throughout the year, we all seek ways in which we can become key makers. And that includes in the lives of our students, of our educators. We all want all of our staff to succeed and successfully be able to advance within their own professions. And we want all of our students to be able to succeed as well within whatever career path or future life path they choose. So I hope we take this year to all be key makers for everyone. And yeah, look forward to having a productive year. Thank you.”
Board president Ramos shared, “Thank you, Ms. Castaneda. So I have a TV, but I don't watch the news. I don't have even on my phone, I've disabled Apple news. But obviously I get things and I don't like to make comments, but I will mention just in the last few years, all the big events that hurt us are usually when other people are pushed out. And so I've always had that theory in my mind, and I had this mantra that we need to include more people. And so now I'm saying it out to everybody, to the board and to everybody who's listening, is that of course, Gandhi said be the change that you want to see in others, but it's also more. It's including the opinions that you don't always like as well. So you understand. What I see is that we have a world, not just a nation, in pain. And as we stop other people, we try to have them not have their feelings or try to convince them not to have those feelings or it's usually because we don't know how to digest their feelings, or we don't want to comprehend what they might be going through. The more understanding that we can be and bring people into the fold, the less pain and the less negative reactions. Again, this is my theory, right? This is what I've lived, and this is what I see. So I may be wrong, but that's what I'm committed to this year. Not as a board goal, but as my human goal. And I'm a fighter, I'm a warrior, I know how to do that because that's what's helped me survive. And that's what's helped me in most of the organizations that I'm part of, is that I'm the one that will be the bold one that will do those decisions. And that's my strong point. But this year, like I said, as a human, as a mother, as a leader in this community, I'm trying something a little bit different, like actually acting out what my theory is. So it is to bring people into the fold more. It is to be more of an active listener. I'm not really doing a lot of the key terms that are going on out there because what concerns me more is the human that I see in front of me, whoever I'm interacting with. So that is kind of where I stand now. And as an active listener, and being part of this board meeting tonight, I've heard a lot of things about community engagement, really understanding. I feel that I understand because I live it, right? I live it, and I understood so much of the pain that Estefany was talking about being in a small home. We have to huddle in a certain part of our house just to get WiFi. And I'm really literally across the street, if even that far from my son's elementary school. And they're supposedly having hotspots. So I understand those kinds of things. Although we haven't gotten COVID in our home, I did have an asthma attack that triggered bronchitis. So I had to ostracize myself from other people too, because I couldn't compound that with anything else that was going on. And I literally couldn't breathe because of that. So I do understand, but I have this goal and so I'm committed. That's why I'm saying it out there, so there's accountability on it, at bringing people into the fold. Kind of using the skills that I've made throughout the year to kind of bring us together. And if somebody doesn't want to bring us together, this is probably not the place. Because all our leaders here, including our union leadership and those that are at this board, we are just by being part of this meeting and sharing our ideas, we are all on the same idea that we are going to heal and that we are going to become better. I believe in our district and everybody here. And so I'm very humbled to share all these ideas. That is all of my comments really, they're much deeper. And I hope that everybody has a takeaway that we're in a great district and we want to see everybody succeed. That's about all I can do or say for this evening.” |
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| Dr. O'Brien shared, “Thank you president Ramos and members of the board, members of the audience. I just have a few things that I'd like to share regarding some special dates that are coming up since we've already shared some of our goals. The first being that January 18th, there'll be no school as we all celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day... and of course for me, the quote that I most appreciate from him that I really hope that we can strive for as a nation is when he said, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." And interestingly, because of my age, I'm probably just about the age of his children. And I just think that in our society, it's going to be so nice when we get to a place where skin color is not the determining factor on how we look at other human beings but by the content of our character and all of us need to continue to strive for those changes and that way of approaching one another. On January 26th, and this is currently tentative, but we are moving forward with plans to do PSAT testing. We currently have 157 students that have signed up to take the PSAT and that is the day that they will need to take it. We have voluntary proctors that would be in place. It needs to be done in person with small cohorts. We obviously are looking at all of the things that are surrounding with the current County conditions. However, if the students do not take that test this year, at that time, they won't be able to take the test. And we want to make sure that if at all possible, we can offer that opportunity to our students so they can qualify for scholarships and other recognitions based on their academic achievement and what they've done. Our neighboring high school districts, our high schools also are looking into whether or not they can do it. Our plan right now is to continue moving forward as if we will do it. And then if we have to cancel, we can cancel up to the last minute. But if we don't plan to have it happen, then we certainly can't decide to do the test at the last minute. Next, on February 1st, we're having our professional learning day. That is a student-free day, but all of our certificated staff are invited to participate in professional learning, where we'll be discussing all of those things surrounding equity, as well as those supports that are needed to help our students with the learning-loss mitigation and how we can help them with their online learning. And then finally, and these two individuals may not want me spreading the news too much, but we have a very unique situation next Sunday on January 17th. It is the celebration of the birthdays of both president Ramos and trustee [Castaneda 00:01:32:35]. So I would just like to say to you, happy birthday, we appreciate both of you, and we're so happy that both of you can celebrate on the same day. Thank you.” |
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| There were no public comments submitted on open session items. |
This is the opportunity for the public to address items listed on the Open Session agenda. All submissions received prior to the start of open session designated as an Open Session agenda item will be read aloud at this time. Each comment submitted will be limited to three minutes. Additionally, the total time for public input on any one item is limited to fifteen (15) minutes. While the Board, the Superintendent, and the Cabinet will listen to all comments, the Board cannot enter into a formal discussion or respond to speakers' comments at this time. However, the Superintendent and District Staff will follow up on any questions or concerns. No public charges or complaints against employees are allowed in open session. You may file a complaint on the District Public Complaint Form and it may be considered in closed session. Statements of charges made in open session can subject an individual to legal liability for defamation.
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Approve September 15, 2020 CVUHSD Regular Governing Board Meeting Minutes.
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Approve September 15, 2020 CVUHSD Regular Governing Board Meeting Minutes.
Passed with a motion by Mr. Hugo Rojas and a second by Dr. Daniel Urrutia. |
Yes Ms. Estefany Castaneda.
Yes Ms. Gloria Ramos.
Yes Mr. Hugo Rojas.
Yes Ms. Marisela Ruiz.
Yes Dr. Daniel Urrutia.
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Motion: __________ Second: __________ Vote: __________
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091520 Board Minutes
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Accept October 13, 2020 CVUHSD Regular Governing Board Meeting Minutes.
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Accept October 13, 2020 CVUHSD Regular Governing Board Meeting Minutes.
Passed with a motion by Dr. Daniel Urrutia and a second by Mr. Hugo Rojas. |
Yes Ms. Estefany Castaneda.
Yes Ms. Gloria Ramos.
Yes Mr. Hugo Rojas.
Yes Ms. Marisela Ruiz.
Yes Dr. Daniel Urrutia.
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Motion: __________ Second: __________ Vote: __________
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101320 Board Minutes
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| At the December 15, 2020 meeting, the Board of Education approved a temporary grading system for the 2020-2021 Second Semester/Third and Fourth Quarter to continue to support students' academic success amidst a global pandemic and during distance learning. This revised resolution addresses the omission of the grade of F. The only change to this resolution is the inclusion of the letter grade of F equating to 0-39%, reflecting little or no achievement, and earning zero credits. |
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| Discussion was held and clarified by staff regarding resolution being temporary. |
| Approve Resolution No. 20-21/034 for a Temporary Grading System for the 2020-2021 Second Semester/Third and Fourth Quarter. |
Approve Resolution No. 20-21/034 for a Temporary Grading System for the 2020-2021 Second Semester/Third and Fourth Quarter. Passed with a motion by Mr. Hugo Rojas and a second by Dr. Daniel Urrutia. |
Yes Ms. Estefany Castaneda.
Yes Ms. Gloria Ramos.
Yes Mr. Hugo Rojas.
Yes Ms. Marisela Ruiz.
Yes Dr. Daniel Urrutia.
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| Motion: __________ Second: __________ Vote: __________ |
CV 2020-21 Semester 2 Grading System Board Resolution
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The Governing Board believes that grades serve a valuable instructional purpose by helping students and parents/guardians understand performance expectations and identifying the student's areas of strength and those areas needing improvement. Parents/guardians and students have the right to receive course grades that represent an accurate evaluation of the student's academic performance. Changes are being made to Administrative Regulation and Board Policy 5121 – Grades/Evaluation of Student Achievement. District staff requests approval of the second reading and adoption of the revisions to AR/BP 5121.
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Approve the second reading and adopt the revisions to BP and AR 5121 - Grades/Evaluation of Student Achievement.
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Approve the second reading and adopt the revisions to BP and AR 5121 - Grades/Evaluation of Student Achievement.
Passed with a motion by Dr. Daniel Urrutia and a second by Ms. Estefany Castaneda. |
Yes Ms. Estefany Castaneda.
Yes Ms. Gloria Ramos.
Yes Mr. Hugo Rojas.
Yes Ms. Marisela Ruiz.
Yes Dr. Daniel Urrutia.
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Motion: __________ Second: __________ Vote: __________
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CV AR5121 Grades/Evaluation of Student Achievement Clean
CV BP5121 Grades/Evaluation of Student Achievement Clean
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The Governing Board believes that regular attendance plays an important role in student achievement. The Board shall work with parents/guardians and students to ensure their compliance with all state attendance laws and may use appropriate legal means to correct problems of chronic absence or truancy. The Governing Board believes that absenteeism, whatever the cause, may be an early warning sign of poor academic achievement and may put students at risk of dropping out of school. The Board desires to ensure that all students attend school in accordance with the state's compulsory education law and take full advantage of educational opportunities provided by the district. Changes are being made to Administrative Regulations and Board Policies 5113 – Absences And Excuses and 5113.1 - Chronic Absence And Truancy. District staff requests approval of the second reading and adoption of the revisions to AR/BP 5113 and AR/BP 5113.1
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| Discussion was held and clarified with staff regarding updates did not apply to students on distance learning. |
Approve the second reading and adopt the revisions to BP and AR 5113 - Absences And Excuses and BP and AR 5113.1 - Chronic Absence And Truancy.
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Approve the second reading and adopt the revisions to BP and AR 5113 - Absences And Excuses and BP and AR 5113.1 - Chronic Absence And Truancy.
Passed with a motion by Dr. Daniel Urrutia and a second by Ms. Estefany Castaneda. |
Yes Ms. Estefany Castaneda.
Yes Ms. Gloria Ramos.
Yes Mr. Hugo Rojas.
Yes Ms. Marisela Ruiz.
Yes Dr. Daniel Urrutia.
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Approve the second reading and adopt the revisions to BP and AR 5113 - Absences And Excuses and BP and AR 5113.1 - Chronic Absence And Truancy.
Passed with a motion by Dr. Daniel Urrutia and a second by Mr. Hugo Rojas. |
Yes Ms. Estefany Castaneda.
Yes Ms. Gloria Ramos.
Yes Mr. Hugo Rojas.
Yes Ms. Marisela Ruiz.
Yes Dr. Daniel Urrutia.
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Motion: __________ Second: __________ Vote: __________
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CV AR5113 Absences and Excuses Clean
CV AR5113.1 Chronic Absence And Truancy Clean
CV BP5113 Absences and Excuses Clean
CV BP5113.1 Chronic Absence And Truancy Clean
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In an effort to allow eligible employees to retire at a lower personal cost, and to realize an overall cost savings for the District, an Early Retirement Incentive Plan shall be extended for the 2020-2021 school year. See attachment: |
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Approve Resolution No. 20-21/045 to adopt the extension of the 2020-2021 early retirement incentive plan to current and eligible employees. |
Approve Resolution No. 20-21/045 to adopt the extension of the 2020-2021 early retirement incentive plan to current and eligible employees. Passed with a motion by Dr. Daniel Urrutia and a second by Ms. Estefany Castaneda. |
Yes Ms. Estefany Castaneda.
Yes Ms. Gloria Ramos.
Yes Mr. Hugo Rojas.
Yes Ms. Marisela Ruiz.
Yes Dr. Daniel Urrutia.
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Motion: __________ Second: __________ Vote: __________ |
To be determined based on the actual employees who elect to take advantage of the retirement incentive. |
Resolution 20-21/045 Extension of Early Retirement Incentive
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Due to the growing educational needs and the district's commitment to equity, it is necessary to revise the job description for Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources to Assistant Superintendent, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The District is aligning the job description qualifications and functions with current California Education Code and Title 5 California Code of Regulation education standards. This position will follow the Assistant Superintendent Salary Schedule. See attachment.
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Approve the revisions to job title and updated job description for Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources to Assistant Superintendent, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
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Approve the revisions to job title and updated job description for Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources to Assistant Superintendent, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Passed with a motion by Dr. Daniel Urrutia and a second by Ms. Marisela Ruiz. |
Yes Ms. Estefany Castaneda.
Yes Ms. Gloria Ramos.
Yes Mr. Hugo Rojas.
Yes Ms. Marisela Ruiz.
Yes Dr. Daniel Urrutia.
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| Motion: __________ Second: __________ Vote: _________ |
General Fund; Assistant Superintendent Salary Schedule
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Job Description - Asst Supt Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
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Dr. O’Brien announced his retirement at the end of the current school year. Dr. Stephen Nellman has been offered and accepted the attached employment agreement for the position of Superintendent for a 4-year term beginning on July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2025, for a salary of Two Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand ($225,000.00) based on a 240-day work year. The Superintendent will receive health and welfare benefits (the same as provided to all certificated employees) in the amount of Sixteen Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($16,500.00), along with a doctorate stipend of One Thousand Two Hundred Dollars ($1200.00) per year.
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As required by Government Code section 54953 prior to taking final action, Board president Ramos orally reported for the record the summary of recommendation for a final action, "As you may know, Dr. O’Brien announced his retirement at the end of the current school year, and the Governing Board has decided to hire Dr. Stephen Nellman as the District’s next Superintendent. Dr. Nellman’s contract will be for a 4-year term beginning on July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2025, for a salary of Two Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($225,000.00) based on a 240-day work year. The Superintendent will receive health and welfare benefits (the same as provided to all certificated employees) in the amount of Sixteen Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($16,500.00), along with a doctorate stipend of One Thousand Two Hundred Dollars ($1200.00) per year." A roll call vote followed with a unanimous vote 5-0.
Dr. Nellman was congratulated. |
Approve the agreement for employment of Dr. Stephen Nellman as Superintendent, effective July 1, 2021.
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Approve the agreement for employment of Dr. Stephen Nellman as Superintendent, effective July 1, 2021.
Passed with a motion by Dr. Daniel Urrutia and a second by Mr. Hugo Rojas. |
Yes Ms. Estefany Castaneda.
Yes Ms. Gloria Ramos.
Yes Mr. Hugo Rojas.
Yes Ms. Marisela Ruiz.
Yes Dr. Daniel Urrutia.
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Motion: __________ Second: __________ Vote: __________
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General Fund; $225,000.00 annual base salary. The Superintendent will receive health and welfare benefits, the same as provided to all certificated employees, in the amount of $16,500, along with a doctoral stipend of $1200.
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Employment Agreement for Supt - Nellman, Stephen eff. 07-2021
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The recommended contract for the Assistant Superintendent of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion will be for a 3-year term beginning on July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2024, for a salary of One Hundred Seventy-Four Thousand Eight Dollars ($174,008.00) based on a 240-day work year. The Assistant Superintendent of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will receive health and welfare benefits (the same as provided to all certificated employees) in the amount of Sixteen Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($16,500.00), along with a doctorate stipend of One Thousand Two Hundred Dollars ($1200.00) per year.
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As required by Government Code section 54953 prior to taking final action, Board president Ramos orally reported for the record the summary of recommendation for a final action, "The recommended new contract for the Assistant Superintendent of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will be for a 3-year term beginning on July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2024, for a salary of One Hundred Seventy-Four Thousand Eight Dollars ($174,008.00) based on a 240-day work year. The Assistant Superintendent of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will receive health and welfare benefits (the same as provided to all certificated employees) in the amount of Sixteen Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($16,500.00), along with a doctorate stipend of One Thousand Two Hundred Dollars ($1200.00) per year." A roll call vote followed with a unanimous vote 5-0.
Dr. Brown was congratulated. |
Approve the agreement for employment of Dr. Pamela Brown as Assistant Superintendent, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, effective July 1, 2021.
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Approve the agreement for employment of Dr. Pamela Brown as Assistant Superintendent, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, effective July 1, 2021.
Passed with a motion by Dr. Daniel Urrutia and a second by Mr. Hugo Rojas. |
Yes Ms. Estefany Castaneda.
Yes Ms. Gloria Ramos.
Yes Mr. Hugo Rojas.
Yes Ms. Marisela Ruiz.
Yes Dr. Daniel Urrutia.
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Motion: __________ Second: __________ Vote: __________
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General Fund; $174,008.00 annual base salary. The Assistant Superintendent of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion will receive health and welfare benefits, the same as provided to all certificated employees, in the amount of $16,500, along with a doctoral stipend of $1200.
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Employment Agreement for Asst.Supt. - Brown, Pamela eff. 07-2021
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The recommended first amendment to the employment agreement for the Assistant Superintendent of Business Services will be for a 3-year term beginning on January 12, 2021, through June 30, 2024, for a salary of One Hundred Eighty-Five Thousand Four Hundred Twenty-Four Dollars and Seventy-One Cents ($185,424.71) based on a 260-day work year. The Assistant Superintendent of Business Services will receive health and welfare benefits (the same as provided to all classified employees) in the amount of Sixteen Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($16,500.00).
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As required by Government Code section 54953 prior to taking final action, Board president Ramos orally reported for the record the summary of recommendation for a final action, "The recommended contract amendment for the Assistant Superintendent of Business Services will be for a 3-year term beginning on January 12, 2021, through June 30, 2024, for a salary of One Hundred Eighty-Five Thousand Four Hundred Twenty-Four Dollars and Seventy-One Cents ($185,424.71) based on a 260-day work year. The Assistant Superintendent of Business Services will receive health and welfare benefits (the same as provided to all classified employees) in the amount of Sixteen Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($16,500.00)." A roll call vote followed with a unanimous vote 5-0.
Mr. Hacker was congratulated. |
Approve the first amendment to the agreement for employment of Ronald Hacker as Assistant Superintendent, Business Services, effective January 12, 2021.
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Approve the first amendment to the agreement for employment of Ronald Hacker as Assistant Superintendent, Business Services, effective January 12, 2021.
Passed with a motion by Dr. Daniel Urrutia and a second by Mr. Hugo Rojas. |
Yes Ms. Estefany Castaneda.
Yes Ms. Gloria Ramos.
Yes Mr. Hugo Rojas.
Yes Ms. Marisela Ruiz.
Yes Dr. Daniel Urrutia.
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Motion: __________ Second: __________ Vote: __________
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General Fund; $185,424.71 annual base salary. The Assistant Superintendent of Business Services will receive health and welfare benefits, the same as provided to all classified employees, in the amount of $16,500.
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Employment Agreement 1st Amendment for Asst.Supt. - Hacker, Ron eff. 0112-2021
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The recommended first amendment to the employment contract for the Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services will be for a three-year term beginning on January 12, 2021, through June 30, 2024, for a salary of One Hundred Eighty-Three Thousand Two Hundred Forty-Eight Dollars ($183,248.00) based on a 240-day work year. The Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services will receive health and welfare benefits (the same as provided to all certificated employees) in the amount of Sixteen Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($16,500.00), along with a doctorate stipend of One Thousand Two Hundred Dollars ($1200.00) per year.
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As required by Government Code section 54953 prior to taking final action, Board president Ramos orally reported for the record the summary of recommendation for a final action, "The recommended contract amendment for the Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services will be for a 3-year term beginning on January 12, 2021, through June 30, 2024, for a salary of One Hundred Eighty-Three Thousand Two Hundred Forty-Eight Dollars ($183,248.00) based on a 240-day work year. The Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services will receive health and welfare benefits (the same as provided to all certificated employees) in the amount of Sixteen Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($16,500.00), along with a doctorate stipend of One Thousand Two Hundred Dollars ($1200.00) per year." A roll call vote followed with a unanimous vote 5-0.
Dr. Santos was congratulated. |
Approve the first amendment to the agreement for employment of Dr. Kelly Ganzel Santos as Assistant Superintendent, Educational Services, effective January 12, 2021.
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Approve the first amendment to the agreement for employment of Dr. Kelly Ganzel Santos as Assistant Superintendent, Educational Services, effective January 12, 2021.
Passed with a motion by Ms. Marisela Ruiz and a second by Mr. Hugo Rojas. |
Yes Ms. Estefany Castaneda.
Yes Ms. Gloria Ramos.
Yes Mr. Hugo Rojas.
Yes Ms. Marisela Ruiz.
Yes Dr. Daniel Urrutia.
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Motion: __________ Second: __________ Vote: __________
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General Fund; $183,248.00 annual base salary. The Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services will receive health and welfare benefits, the same as provided to all certificated employees, in the amount of $16,500 along with a doctoral stipend of $1200.
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Employment Agreement 1st Amendment for Asst.Supt. - Santos, Kelly eff. 0112-2021
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| Discussion was held and staff clarified questions regarding change orders. |
Passed with a motion by Dr. Daniel Urrutia and a second by Ms. Marisela Ruiz. |
Yes Ms. Estefany Castaneda.
Yes Ms. Gloria Ramos.
Yes Mr. Hugo Rojas.
Yes Ms. Marisela Ruiz.
Yes Dr. Daniel Urrutia.
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All items appearing under the Consent Calendar are adopted by one single motion, unless a member of the Board or the Superintendent requests that any such item be removed from the Consent Calendar and voted on separately.
Motion: ___________ Second: __________ Vote: __________
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The attached list of commercial registers represents payment to vendors in the total amount of $6,720,340.03 for Dec 1 through Dec 31, 2020. |
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Approve warrants as designated. Please see attachment. |
Fund 01.0-$731,666.18; Fund 01.3-$1,629,264.00; Fund 11.0-$10,952.00; Fund 13.0-$91,416.47; Fund 21.1-$1,910,023.11; Fund 21.2-$791,085.03; Fund 21.3-$1,296,964.10; Fund 25.0-$37,853.04; Fund 76.0-$221,116.10 |
Commercial B Warrants - 12-2020
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Soil and sunlight conditions in planters at Lawndale High School have created the need to replace plants with ones that that are better suited to the soil and specific sunlight conditions in each of the planters, as well as to upgrade irrigation to an above-ground system.
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Ratify acceptance of estimate #2427 with South Bay Landscaping to replace plants, and to upgrade irrigation systems.
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$59,250.00; Restricted Funds
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Ratification of Estimate #2427 with South Bay Landscaping for LW High School
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Ratify proposal #2408 from ACM for the CVCA Install Drives with Bypass on Air Handler #2 and #3.
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Ratify acceptance of proposal #2408 from Air Conditioning Mechanical-ACM for the installation of drives with bypasses on Air Handler #2 and #3 at CVCA.
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$42,065.00; Restricted Funds
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Ratification of Proposal #2408 from ACM for CVCA Install Drives
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Request to approve the Deductive Change Order #01 to the agreement with Best Contracting, Inc. Bid Package #17 for the cost impacts related to the out of sequence work of the glazing curtain wall and window systems. Various prime contracts submitted cost impacts for additional labor and materials due to the delay by Best Contracting for the Hawthorne High School Phase 2 – Classroom Addition project. |
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Approve the Deductive Change Order #01 for the services that were provided by various Prime contractors which created cost impacts to the District work activities of the glazing curtain wall and window systems being performed out of sequence by Best Contracting, Inc. Bid Package #17 for the Hawthorne High School Phase 2 – Classroom Addition. |
($60,032.15); Bond |
HW Ph 2 - Best DCO #01
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Request to approve the annual fee for the storm water permit for the Hawthorne Ph 2 – Classroom Addition Project. |
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Approval of annual permit fee for the storm water permit for the Hawthorne Ph 2 – Classroom Addition Project. |
$597.00; Bond |
HW Ph 2 - State Water Board Invoice
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Request to approve Change Order #02 for COR#08 & COR #09 for abatement of additional materials (transite pipe and chalkboards) that were not accounted for in the asbestos/lead survey report provided at the time of bid. |
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Approve Change Order #02 to the agreement between Centinela Valley Union High School District and Peña Grading & Demolition for the services that were provided. |
$ 64,635.67; Bond |
HW Ph 2 - Pena CO 02
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Request to approve the agreement between Centinela Valley Union High School District and with Klassic Engineering & Construction Inc. for Leuzinger High School Practice Gymnasium Remodel - Bid# 20-004. |
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Approve the agreement with Klassic Engineering & Construction Inc. for for Leuzinger High School Practice Gymnasium Remodel - Bid# 20-004. |
$1,202,908.00; Bond |
LZ Gym - Klassic Agreement
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Request to approve Change Order Number One to the agreement between Star Hardware Inc. and Centinela Valley Union High School District for the Leuzinger High School Phase III Historic Main Building & Media Center Modernization Bid Package #01. This Change Order is for additional wood and metal door/ frame preparation and new electrified hardware for access control, as directed by the District. |
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Approve Change Order Number One to the agreement between Star Hardware Inc. and Centinela Valley Union High School District for the Leuzinger High School Phase III Historic Main Building & Media Center Modernization Bid Package #10. |
| $23,108.82; Bond |
LZ Ph 3 - Star Hardware CO #01
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Below are recommended personnel actions presented to the Board of Trustees for consideration.
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Approve the personnel items: 1. Employment; 2.Working out of Class; 3. Retirement; 4. Unpaid Leave
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The salary placement for the individuals employed will be in accordance with the salary regulations of the district.
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Classified Agenda
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Below are recommended personnel actions presented to the Board of Trustees for consideration.
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Approve the personnel items, as presented: 1. Extra-Duty Assignments 2. Authorization to Teach out of Credential Area
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The salary placement for the individuals employed will be in accordance with salary regulations of the district.
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Certificated Personnel Items
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| There were no public comments submitted for non-agenda items. |
This is the opportunity for the public to state your views regarding Centinela Valley Union High School District on any item NOT listed on the agenda. All submissions received prior to the start of open session designated as Non-Agenda Items will be read aloud at this time. No public charges or complaints against employees are allowed in open session. You may file a complaint on the district public complaint form, and it may be considered in closed session. Statements of charges in open session can subject you to legal liability for defamation.
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| Board president Ramos requested a presentation from M.s Cammie Vogel and the Equity Team Update. |
(1) Distance Learning Student Achievement Update (2) Governor's “Safe Schools for All” Re-Opening Plan (3) State COVID-19 Vaccination Plan (4) Equity Team Update (5) Other
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There being no further business to come before the Board, on a motion by Board vice-president Rojas, seconded by Board member Urrutia, Board president Ramos adjourned the meeting at 7:50pm. Vote was 5-0.
Respectfully submitted,
Gregory O'Brien, Superintendent
Secretary to the Board |
Passed with a motion by Mr. Hugo Rojas and a second by Dr. Daniel Urrutia. |
Yes Ms. Estefany Castaneda.
Yes Ms. Gloria Ramos.
Yes Mr. Hugo Rojas.
Yes Ms. Marisela Ruiz.
Yes Dr. Daniel Urrutia.
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Motion: __________ Second: __________ Vote: __________
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| Notice: Any person with a disability may request this agenda to be made available in an appropriate alternative format. A request for a disability-related modification or accommodation may be made by a person with a disability who requires modification or accommodation in order to participate in the public meeting to the Executive Assistant to the Superintendent (District Office, 14901 S. Inglewood Avenue, Lawndale, CA 90260) between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (at least 48 hours before the meeting). All efforts will be made for reasonable accommodations. ----- If Members of the public would like to speak about an item on the agenda or a non-agenda item in Spanish, the assistance of a Spanish interpreter will be available. |
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| Present | Ms. Estefany Castaneda |
| Present | Ms. Gloria Ramos |
| Absent | Mr. Hugo Rojas |
| Present | Ms. Marisela Ruiz |
| Present | Dr. Daniel Urrutia |
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