2016-05-24 PPS School Board Regular Meeting
| District | Portland Public Schools |
|---|---|
| Date | 2016-05-24 |
| Time | missing |
| Venue | missing |
| Meeting Type | regular |
| Directors Present | missing |
Documents / Media
Notices/Agendas
Materials
05-24-16 Final Packet (142fcab9cbe4b9cc).pdf Meeting Materials
Budget Staff Report (55db1642ecb57755).pdf Proposed 2016-17 Budget Materials
Budget Resolution Packet (4964b9c4bca717fa).pdf Proposed 2016-17 Budget Approval Resolution
05-24-16 Meeting Overview (5ba6b54fda72662c).pdf Meeting Overview
Minutes
Transcripts
Event 1: Board of Education - Regular Meeting - May 24, 2016 (part 3 of 3)
00h 00m 00s
we leave out needed money to supply
extra supports for every student that is
behind grade level we finally got a ton
of data from the district very late and
it takes about an hour to just scratch
the surface here's a couple of examples
in terms of success factors for students
students that are absent 10 or more days
a year out of twelve high-schools for
11th graders fifty percent of those
students are absent 10 or more days in
the year that's only through april of
this year the range is thirty to seventy
percent if you look at and remember
these are just two out of many measures
if you look at students earning level
one or two on the smarter balanced math
test just a grade level 11 sixty-eight
percent of all eleventh graders in high
schools and for both these statistic
that's averaged across all demographics
are performing at an unsatisfactory
level the range is twenty-seven percent
to greater than eighty-nine percent that
is why we need aggressive even risky
intervention strategies and we've left
that behind we've also left behind money
for additional support to expand
successful elementary and high school
programs for at-risk Latino students and
we've also left behind money to expand
and support sustainability programs that
will save the district's the district
millions of dollars in wasted energy and
other resources so at most these
programs could cost somewhere around
four million dollars and easily be
funded by reallocation of unspent
dollars and vacant positions cuts to
administration administrator travel and
training and more efficient use of
contracting dollars this has obviously
been a very controversial topic tonight
will be asked in the next few minutes
which I will object to to approve a 1.2
billion dollar no-bid contract for
Miller Nash to provide legal services
that they've provided as far as I can
tell for decades for decades we've used
one law firm and we've never once made
it a competitive bid here's my
suggestion take five hundred thousand
dollars higher three new attorneys and
save yourself at least a half a million
dollars I'm voting no on the budget for
all those reasons and including what
Paul said that you know I can't in good
conscience support this it's really
disappointing yeah i think the budget
process this year was that we improved
it quite a bit actually got quite a bit
better i got some stuff in there that I
think really helps children I agree with
Paul basically i agree with with mike
basically but what I think that
answering could very possibly be as we
need to go back and restructure the
entire system we need to go back and
restart with the schools and restructure
out it's just we it's been so haphazard
over the years that we're in a position
where we're not even sure really where I
spent tons of time trying to make the
budget clear I I couldn't do it I
couldn't do it even even if Ida and they
answered every question I asked
everything I've got great stuff in them
but I couldn't really make it work we
need to go back and start over good to
schools and say we need the this is our
education we're setting up these are the
surrounding helps that we have in the
wraparound services and go from there
and then move out from there
and I think we need to do it during this
next school year and so in the end we'll
know what kind of education we're
getting because we still have holes huge
educationally in this school system we
don't have holes I like the ethnic style
the ethnic studies stuff I love the
library thank you to my other board
members I think it really helps the
foundational thing it's the it's the
first it is it was the first
comprehensive steps in multicultural and
cultural relevant history curriculum in
Portland Public Schools since 1980 and
we're actually taking a comprehensive
00h 05m 00s
step first step and then there's things
we needed to be on that of course but so
there's some things that we really did
accomplish and it was good and I want to
thank chair curler for his
reasonableness and his willingness to
keep punching away and to treat
everybody well so thank you for that
just I would it's interesting for me to
hear your experience of the budget this
year and for a couple just things i
would contribute one is that as a
largely new board we spent between the
beginning of your time all the way until
februari coming up with what your seven
priorities were and what the metrics
were by how we would measure that and
the charge then that's given to me is to
figure out how we make those priorities
actionable but that we completed that
work in February and we were in the
second year of a biennium and the first
year of this biennium we did huge
investment in like really significant
school staffing that we've been absent
for years so one of our like when I said
putting together the framework for the
budget largely it was sustaining the
investments we made last year we had
very little and we really work to find
dollars that helped you may
the priorities you had just said
actionable and those were the main
drivers of this budget so it was not and
trying to hold stability in the supports
we had two schools so this was not like
last year was away more active how are
we investing and and what but we did
system-wide librarians counselors
teachers like we did see the educational
assistant secretaries like really core
elements of school staffing that are
fundamental value put forward by me so
you could have disagreed that was not a
fundamental value but that was the
fundamental value in a moment when we
finally got to hold stability in the
system to get to do that because we
haven't been able to do that for years
so I don't disagree with many of the
things that have been said about how do
we want to tackle and go out the budget
and maybe some things that we
fundamentally want to do differently and
I think the work that the CBRC did this
year was awesome in terms of trying to
set policy and some standards that we
haven't had like what do we do with
reserves how are we driving how we do
staffing I think Steve has had some
really significant suggestions about how
he'd like to see staff and these are all
conversations we have to we do have to
start right away if we're going to
tackle them because they are
conversations that take time and take
significant work to do thoughtfully and
to really engage people so just to say I
given where this board is as a group I
actually feel like you know some of the
in been more satisfying I feel like the
staff has worked very hard to be able to
provide you with the data that you've
been asking for and that you need if
there are places where you feel like you
have actually haven't gotten what you
need I want to hear what that is and
anyway so like given what we had to work
with I actually feel like we landed in a
pretty okay place with you being able to
make a mark that was your mark on a
budget that didn't have a whole lot in
it too
work with so i think i just want to say
that and I have the context that you
started the budget when you're working
on your priorities that's what's driving
our budget is what you guys say is
important and that's what you hand us as
staff to work from in terms of what it
is we're trying to make happen so I just
want that context in your mind for all
the frustration they just want me to and
again I want to appreciate CBRC for
having done a really different kind of
work this year about an understandable
budget document and some guiding
principles and priorities and some
policy work around what how do we think
about reserves and long-term health of
the organization because it's a really
different frame coming from our
community so I I think some good works
been done this year yes thank you so um
that's pretty much Thank You Carol what
I was going to say particularly I think
the important pieces pomoch in the small
amount that we actually dealt with and
it was a small amount because we had
investments that we have just made and
so including I have a list like 200 new
teaching positions 80 Education
Assistance literacy coaches library and
media specialist counselors college and
career support more high school teachers
00h 10m 00s
school secretaries high schools to
athletic directors those are all
investments that we just made last year
and we're just starting to see the
benefits of all that and so of course it
doesn't leave with with a whole lot in
the second part of a biennium there's a
there's a benefit to being in the second
half of the biennium because you know
how much money you have now next year we
won't know how much money we have an
answer who knows I also think that we're
there were things in this budget that
we're very important the literacy
funding and I like the framework that
the teaching and learning group is going
to look at I think that's great money
for enrollment balancing is nice to see
that we're putting the money behind the
work that we're doing on that so that we
don't end up in a
a debacle like we had before the
supports for students that were putting
in place and then of course all the
supports that we have under our racial
educational equity policy which is a
policy that drives so much of what we do
the one place that I am concerned is
also something you mentioned Carol and
that is our reserves I'm so disappointed
that we are still below the board policy
minimum of three percent and I know that
we should be at at least five any person
who runs a budget knows that in good
times and these aren't even good times
for us but they're better than they were
in when you have those good times you
have to put some of that money aside
because we know what it was like when we
were cut in 40 million and how the fact
that we had some reserves there saved us
a little bit but not a lot so I'm that's
the one place where I would like would
have liked to have seen us be more
fiscally responsible as a board and
adding to our reserves but otherwise
I've been supporting the budget
and I also want to say thank you to stop
because I got everything I ever asked
for in a timely way I'm going to add one
more thanks to staff to like I will just
say the volume of like people may feel
mean like you didn't get what you needed
staff has been generating more in terms
of information to really try and satisfy
board needs then it was a lot so I'm
just going to say I just had feel great
appreciation for people having made it a
priority and and providing what we said
it before and I'll say it again I am so
appreciative of all of the work that
went into the tremendous volume of
information that was given to us so
thank you everyone and go ahead so i
would also really the the thanks to
staff and superintendent and I guess
where my head is on on this budget is is
that a is learning process be it's it's
it's a process so it's it's not it
doesn't end tonight this morning it
really just begins and so some of the
reforms that you're talking about Paul
that I also agree with and as well as as
fundamentally looking how we're actually
delivering services to the schools as it
is a key point that we because of our
involvement in the budget process this
year will be more equipped at dealing
with these issues going forward
and and that will serve us well so not
to say that we can't do them the better
man but i think this this budget is a
step forward it's since since I've been
on this board it's been this group here
has been more as delved deeper into the
budget then then then any other board
that I've been on so understand the
frustration and think that we that it
provides us a good framework for going
for so with that call the question
resolution five to seven fours approved
all in favor please indicate by saying
yes yes yes yes yes all pose indicate by
saying no no no the resolution passes by
vote of five to two with student
representative yes bogan yes okay great
now we'll adjourn the board is a budget
committee called board back into regular
session the board will now consider
00h 15m 00s
remainder is business agenda having
already voted on resolutions 5 to 7 45
to 75 pull out the legal
okay and those numbers would be
it's a cartoon
jolly do you have the resolution numbers
I've 273 thanks Katie somebody's on top
of things here we go
well we're gonna Steve I think the way
to do this is to just pull out the whole
resolution and you can talk about and
the two items on that the motion i'm
going to make only directly motion i'm
making only directly has to go for it
yesterday that's fine but you can do
that once once we will talk okay you can
do it we'll do it that way all right so
um the board will now vote on the
business agenda minus resolution 5273
all those in favor hi I posed business
agenda minus resolution five to seven
three passes with 720 student
representative voting aye okay Steve now
you can talk about your amendment I want
to pull out those two things and table
them move to table them move the table
both Miller Nash sections of the record
resolution
is there a second to next meeting second
till next week till next meeting my next
meeting we meet it would bring go back
out the next mini-movie speak to it very
briefly sure I think we need to have a
discussion surrounding it I think
there's a people there's concern
surrounding it so it should take a
discussion it doesn't mean that we're
not doing it and but we should have a
discussion surrounding or how are doing
our legal work okay for any other jolly
do you have it is there anyone you want
to say anything on that yeah oh wait
point about our legal work so yeah we
need to vote on the amendment I think
soon um but I've tried to respond to
some of the questions the board members
have raised in the last several days but
if the board wants to postpone until the
June meeting the first June meeting
would be jun 14 every good or I'm happy
to but I'm also very happy to answer
questions now so that we can move
forward with okay let's vote on it on
the table um all those in favor of
tabling this one what's the motion table
this till next week it's a little till
the next me do we have discussion table
2 at I'm sorry why why why do you want
why can't we just don't nasty what
whatever to school you want to have oh I
think we need to look into it I think we
need to have a presentation on it I
think we need to discuss it as a board
and it's pretty late in the evening
right now that's all it's only a week
no they live so that's little ocean I
don't think it's gonna pass anyhow maybe
I think it's gonna be yeah that is the
00h 20m 00s
motion so all those favor tabling the
Miller Nash contracts hi hi hi those are
three although closed no no okay so now
we need a motion to pass resolution 5273
so moved sagem no we did we pulled it
out so it's been moved by anthony second
bi-fuel on all those in favor so just a
just a press this question I'm so are we
voting now on the middle of stuff for
everything else we know they vote on
everything else now we're voting on the
piece that was specifically resolution
which also kit so chair car it's the
number is now five to seven eight when
you're because it's been pulled out okay
five to seventy I thank you um so
includes all these contracts including
ability okay no you're already voted in
this you voted on everything no we
didn't know we did just molded to table
it or not yeah um all those in favor of
resolution five 278 say I but can I have
to spit oh absolutely discussion so my
questions are about the Miller Nash
contract or contracts you in in the
email where you responded to perceived
questions you suggest it I wasn't clear
on your suggestion about the exemption
for a contract for leave legal services
to be considered as a no bid so we make
a better way to say that
what I want to understand better is I
took from information you had in that
email that the contracting policy
delineates specifically a contract like
this for legal services as not needing
to go through a no-bid justification so
the procurement the the district's
public contracting rules which the board
past two months ago in March provides
that legal services are exempt from the
competitive bidding process and so the
language specifically is but it's number
46 0525 selection by negotiation the
stoop intended may procure personnel
services with contractors through direct
negotiation in any of the following
circumstances there's a couple
provisions and then this is the one that
applies here the nature of the work is
not project driven but requires an
ongoing long-term relationship of
knowledge and trust examples of such
work include legal services so the
board's procurement rules that you pass
two months ago explicitly exempt legal
services from the competitive bidding
process and so that's the part that I
wanted to clarify it says the
superintendent may procure the
superintendent reports to the board so
the superintendent can recommend to the
board that we go through no bid process
but it's the board's decision whether or
not to go through a bit process I don't
I don't I don't read it that way I think
that there's a there's also different
provisions where you do we do need to
come to the board for that okay but if
it says the superintendent may procure I
think that that's indicated the
superintendent so may do that thank you
so that's your legal opinion of what the
contracting rules say of what our
and I don't think we have us yeah yes I
am and so Tom I'm officially requesting
that we get the advice of outside
counsel clearly not Miller Nash to tell
us what the legal requirements are I
don't think based on discussions I've
had with other attorneys that it says
anything except that Carol can may
recommend to do this I don't think well
but here's the deal Mike if we want to
contract it out the board can do that so
I mean that's that's chasing that's I
don't want to spend any time on that
question personally so you're so you're
saying that if you won't allow you won't
allow outside counsel procured by the
board to assess whether this legal
advice is correct no it's not allow just
I personally it's a simple question but
00h 25m 00s
you know we can your relatives I don't
agree with to Holly and so then let's
let's all vote and say no in other words
it's okay to this disagreement with
jolly is irrelevant because the board
has the authority to say we want this
thing contracted out and the board has
the authority to know but I yeah I get
that I'm not I'm not challenging that
yeah I'm challenging jollies conclusion
that the contracting rules and the
manual that we passed don't give us the
authority alright so let's send it to
let's send that issue didn't do business
operations yes ok so I just want to I
just want to clarify that we just agreed
that the business and operations
committee can research whether jollies
interpretation
of the contracting rules is correct so
anyway I want to respond to director
Khan's dams yeah well request that I
read the language again and then I want
to clarify one way that you restated my
words so the language says the
superintendent made procure personal
services with contractors through direct
negotiations in any of the following
circumstances this is on page 35 and
goes on to page 35 36 of them manual I
did not say that it prohibits the board
from procuring or from changing meaning
bills it doesn't prohibit the board
through I'm going through a competitive
process to procure the services it
clearly establishes the authority of the
superintendent to contract directly
however it doesn't prohibit the board
from choosing a different path so for
instance the first the first
circumstance in which the superintendent
may do that is that the contract price
is not more than fifty thousand dollars
so for instance we often procure without
going through the competitive bidding
process for services that are under
fifty thousand dollars we don't need to
come to the board in each of those
contracts and request the right to go
through that process so the legal
services are are within those those
circumstances are so so the
superintendent can recommend to the
board that we hire a you know procure
Miller Nash or any other law firm
without going through a formal bidding
process that's exactly and the board can
decide whether they want to approve that
recommendation
and the that's what we're doing right
now so because then the contract is over
a certain amount then the board has to
approve it so the board can determine
whether you want to approve this
specific content after not great I just
didn't think that was the way you answer
the question in the email I'm glad I had
the opportunity to clarify I am really
appreciate that too thanks okay okay oh
wait I had one more question so jolly
the services that were procuring with a
no-bid contract for 1.2 million dollars
to the law firm that we've been using
for decades decades is inaccurate
absolutely okay what's a long time yeah
so are there other ways to provide the
legal services that this district needs
aside from you know spending a million 2
on Millar Nash so I really appreciate
that question so a couple of things I
just want to clarify is that while
Miller Nash does provide the bulk of our
legal services and it's fairly typical
for organizations to have a main firm
that they work with we do work with a
number of other law firms we for our
workers compensation special education
so where it's appropriate we do you know
farm out that work to other places and
what information was provided to you
during the budget process in terms of of
is there a more cost effective way to do
that so your suggestion earlier of could
we just hire more a few more in growth
counsel and save those funds I
appreciate the question performing your
own litigation work is highly labor and
personnel intensive so I just for
instance the city does most of their own
litigation and I just pulled up their
website and they have 38 attorneys so
and as you pointed out you know we're in
some ways a comparably sized
governmental agency and so so we
couldn't just hire three more attorneys
and and
00h 30m 00s
and reduce our costs that substantially
further over time that's not really cost
effective because there are times when
we don't need the amount of legal
services that we are currently using
things it goes up and down and so that
would be an excess of in-house counsel
in comparison is that since we have an
equivalent general fund budget to the
city and the city has 38 attorneys that
litigate we need something like 38
attorneys I don't think we wouldn't need
38 attorneys to litigate I'm just saying
that it's it's more than just hiring
okay nobody attorneys to do the
litigation so so over can you tell us
like over the past five years how much
we've spent I mean as it consistently
been 1.2 million dollars on Miller Nash
you know this is um this this has been a
year where we've had more substantial
litigation um in past years it's been
you know i'd say anywhere between
probably 600 and a million dollars with
you know with miller nash and the other
thing i would just like to take the
opportunity to say is that Miller Nash
provides excellent excellent legal
services for the district and has for a
long time one of the things that's in
your in these rules is where there's a
ongoing long-term relationship of
knowledge and trust and they are a they
provide the yeah I believe the best
education law services in the state
they're known nationwide there they
understand our operations and our people
and our strategies they have a very
strong equity lens both when they are
providing services to us and in there
um you know firm and they are seen as
bar leaders and that and so I just I
want to take the opportunity to really
appreciate appreciate the nature of the
relationship with them but they're not
the only law firm in the city that could
provide the same services and they're
not the only nationally known law firm
in the city no although there's no other
firm in portland ore in really in the
metro area that provides education law
services in the way that they do there's
firms in a firm in salem there's a firm
in oregon city but there's no firm that
has it anywhere near a comparable
education law department so then my last
question is how does the minority women
owned emerging small businesses goal
that the district have applied to pursue
this particular service we're procuring
so we would you know I'd be happy to go
back and look at that I don't we'd have
to go probably go back alone but isn't
that isn't wisdom fine right ship
ownership is ain't that part of though
the equity lens I mean aren't all art
contracts don't they all go through that
line and so one of the things for
instance Miller Nash I think it was
either there a partnership class last
year or the year before promoted seven
women into partnership on their entire
partnership class was women and so
there's other ways in which amongst the
bar they are they are very strong in
terms of their
attorneys color and women one of the
efforts that I'm personally involved
with is looking at how we do diversify
the bar Oregon has a very white bar and
there's a lot of efforts about it in
Oregon and so creative efforts in how to
do that and there are many ways in which
miller nash's a very strong bar leader
in that okay thank you thank you okay
thanks any other all right all those in
favor think Thank You Joey thank you
yeah all those in favor of resolution
527 85 by saying hi hi all opposed no
passes 61 with student rep hi Davis
who's voting I um and this meeting is
Sources
- PPS Board of Education, Archive 2015-2016, https://www.pps.net/Page/7356 (accessed: 2022-03-24T00:57:52.304471Z)
- PPS Communications, "Board of Education" (YouTube playlist), https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8CC942A46270A16E (accessed: 2023-10-10T04:10:04.879786Z)
