2017-06-20 PPS School Board Regular Meeting

District	Portland Public Schools
Date	2017-06-20
Time	missing
Venue	missing
Meeting Type	regular
Directors Present	missing

Documents / Media

Transcripts

Event 1: Board of Education-Regular Meeting - June 20, 2017

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we're going to get started alright the regular meetings Board of Education for June 20th is called to order welcome everyone at present any item that we voted on this evening has been posted by state law director cause cam is absent this evening and director Bill's joining us by phone miss Susan is earning student testimony yes we have three and our first two speakers came externally O'Malley and Moses friends well good evening PPS board my name is hazel Crowley O'Malley and I only be in Benton's class of 2020 I've been heavily involved in Benton's community for the majority of my life because my dad is a teacher at Benson high March dozen eight year old in 2010 to save Benson from being clipped I marked as a 12 year old in 2014 to save Benson sports here I am now a 15 year old and now events in student marching once again to protest the decision that would disproportionately affect the students at my school I've I've just urged my freshman year at Benson I played soccer and I did track I'm hoping to participate in more athletics during my time at Benson sports were a crucial part of my freshman year because Benson is not in neighborhood school people don't know one another when they walk through the doors on their first day sports are how we sculpt our community take away our limit courts we lose the most important way to form our family cutting sports from Benson would force our student athletes to make a big decision a move to a school that has athletics or be somehow travel every day to your neighborhood school for after-school practices I have no intention of leaving my school there for what has to travel an hour to Roosevelt for practice likely missing a huge portion my last period classes if I hope to make it on time to practice what am I supposed to do how is it at all equitable three times in the last seven years Benson and its community has been targeted by PBS this is why I'm here today why why is it in any way equitable to target one school over and over again despite many attempts to limit and diminish our programs we are still a school that works the most diverse school in the district home to one of the highest graduation rates in the district the job of a school administration should be to build and grow schools not weaken or tear them down you are here to serve our students and to ensure that we have all the opportunities for a complete and rich high school experience I hope that you the board and Marshall Haskins understand the overwhelming effect cutting our sports would have and I ask you why would you consider this and how is this at all equitable thank you good evening my name is Moses Tran and I am a junior at Benson high school I offer my remarks as another voice the board should consider before making an inequitable decision that would adversely impact the students staff and all who are part of the Benson community it is absurd to ask students to travel another 30 to 45 minutes after school to participate in sports in addition to their morning and afternoon commutes they can already take anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours practices will be required to start later and later forcing students to take public transportation late at night Benson is one of the most diverse schools in the district and serves a large number of minority students who know that in the current political climate traveling on public transportation poses a greater threat that it previously did the students at Benson high school are hardworking just like their parents who are often working overtime two or sometimes three jobs and many struggle to find sustainable employment these families do not have the luxury to pick up their child after practice or have the money to pay for the additional support to maintain their child's grades cutting bends athletic not athletics not only poses a threat to the safety of our students but their education our students will be forced to stay up later in order to keep up with their academics they will have to wake up earlier than your average neighborhood school student in order to arrive to school on time tired weary and stress we cannot fathom why our students have to go through beyond these examples whether it be a job personal matter family issues and many more so now I ask the board how can cutting Benson athletics be considered at Google equitable decision when I have set up our student athletes in more cell our students of color to fail I am NOT asking but demanding the board reconsider the proposed cuts to Bezeq Benson athletics in the budget because sports are more than just a game
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but outlet and the opportunity for our students next we have Sarah furnace hello good evening my name is Sarah furnace and I'm the current HP co-president along with enrique Talia's I Vincent I am strongly against this proposal for the cut in our sports I have been informed that this is not the first time that this board has considered cutting Benson athletics we as a Benson community are strong and will go to great lengths in order to keep the sports at our school sports have a strong influence in a student's high school experience I myself as a student has participated in soccer and track and I would not be where I am today without it sports has relieved me from my stress and kept me on top of my schoolwork but most importantly has built me into the leader I am today and helped how I understand the concepts of teamwork I am able to take the teamwork skills I've learned and use them in the classroom with my peers and better more be a leader in the classroom and on the field fourth keep kids engaged and happy at school and writing that is just unfair and cruel and so thank you [Applause] so I just want to say how happy I am to see all of you here tonight Sports was always important to me and this was before title 9 when I did sports in high school and you know this isn't it it's an interesting dilemma we have it's a problem and we need everyone to help us find solutions Benson has smaller teams sometimes that's not safe sometimes like thank you they do you're right some sometimes it's safety issues sometimes it's just a competitive issue so this is a non-void and you would let me finish thank you this is an ongoing conversation there have been no decisions made on this and I think that it's really important that you continue to be actively involved in the discussion so make sure that you pay attention make sure you know when those meetings are and continue to be a part of the solution which is what I think you guys are doing tonight so I really appreciate you being here thank you very very much thank you Bob you are safe yes I do first of all I want to thank is my microphone on I can't tell you all here well yeah I want to thank you for being here and I want to especially acknowledge the courtesies that your I mean I've been watching and I know that that's a real serious attempt and I appreciate it I think that says a lot for you and certainly the students I do want to share with you that a memo did go out this afternoon to the Benson community and it reads essentially you may have heard rumors that the sports program of Benson and Jefferson high schools are possibly being cut this is not true the issue is not the agenda for tonight's board meeting and the vote is not scheduled while it is true the district has taken a look at the programs that these schools with the goal of creating opportunities for students to participate in athletics there has not any recommendation made to the district on how to move forward there are no changes planned to the Interscholastic sports program of Benson and Jefferson at this time there is an ongoing process to evaluate these programs when the district moves closer to a decision in the coming months the public will will have opportunities to input and I encourage you to do so I too am a believer in athletic programs and extracurricular activities I believe everybody up here is we recognize it makes a huge difference in the lives of kids so that's the message I see okay thank you I'm miss Susan 9e public comment yes we have six our first two speakers Melinda Samus and Steve Dyer welcome thank you you go ahead and be alright yeah great I am the executive director of and AO which is a local organization established in 1981 that works to facilitate cross-cultural friendship and understanding through international immersion and language programs I was at the board meeting last week and was moved by what Julio Hernandez and Hannah Curtis had to say when they received their seals of by literacy it was a bittersweet moment because at the same meeting Noelle Jackson spoke of the sadness many
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parents and students have in the grant community about French being phased out of their school Noelle Jackson mentioned a change.org petition last week and we'd like to present it to you today we've collected more than 1400 signatures and 600 comments most of them local in support of preserving the French program at Grant our aim in initiating this petition was to demonstrate broad support in our community for retaining existing language options in the schools this budget that you've adopted contains several stated priorities to guide decision making and two of those include learning and achievement and educational equity what emerged in the petition comments is that many community members consider language options to be directly related to learning and achievement and to be considered part of the district's core academic programming additionally the narrowing of language options at schools in some areas of the district but not others creates educational inequity in other words decreasing language options decreases opportunities for learning and achievement we heard from alumni in our petition comments who wrote that the French program at Grant opened doors to their career and educational opportunities we heard from devastated students who say that the French program at Grant brings them joy we heard from concerned parents who are considering pulling their kids out of grant next year and sending them to schools that do offer French we heard from community members who expressed dismay that the opportunities for global learning being decreased at the same time that the United States has stepped away from long-standing treaties and alliances and you can see some of those comments all of those comments in your and your folders there we strongly believe that robust long language programs benefit not only the students at school but the greater community as well many petition signers mentioned how much they value citizens who are able to communicate across cultures and understand issues from a global context some students grow up speaking more than one language but most of us we need to learn languages at school as one petition signer wrote study of another language goes beyond words it encompasses the humanity of another people's culture what the United States needs in particular is world citizens who can interact in a meaningful way with people from other countries go ahead and go ahead and finish up Karen I don't have very much longer languages teach words but they also teach culture diplomacy and the world's view the more language programs a school offers the more opportunities there are for students to share ideas and perspectives with one another we'd love to see the number of students being awarded the seal of biliteracy increase not decrease moving forward we urge you to include language programs within your definition of core academic programs that should be protected in the next round of cuts and prioritized for reinstatement if the district receives additional funding from Salem we intend to continue the discussion language diversity in our schools is too important to be phased out in the meantime we are going to work with other organizations who have a vested interest in languages to initiate a fundraiser to keep this long-standing and much-loved French program available to students at Grant next year thank you thank you thank you very much [Applause] Gabrielle Mercedes Boulevard and Steve Curley [Applause] my name is Gavin Orsay this Bolivar good evening dr. McCain and PPS Board of Education all too often changes happen to us to circumvent any potential changes my family lives in the Jefferson High School cluster boundary Jefferson demos pride runs deep once a demo always a demo my kids have always known their demos when the pil middle grades program was brought back with jefferson cluster middle school students my kids jump to this opportunity my oldest son spent three years in a Jefferson pil track and field team and he is now student Jefferson high school my daughter is entering her third year in the Jefferson pil track and field team I will be entering Jefferson in the 2018 school year with dance training from the amazing mr. Damon exactly Green middle school a former Jefferson dancer himself my daughter aspires to be a future Jefferson dancer like many families that came before us are now and will be in the future we are demos proud our youngest will be entering Jefferson in 2023 Jefferson High School students of whether too many inequities over the years from potential school closures to small school experiments the middle
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college for Advanced Studies the sei partnership and the PIL spores brought back to Jefferson clustered middle school students were a series of appropriate needed investments into Jefferson after decades of inequities the basketball team won the state championship the Jefferson dancers continued to perform to perfection and the middle colleges open doors for many students who are the first met families to go to college there is literally something for everyone a connection a trusted mentor access to rigorous curriculum the collaboration and team-building from athletics pride and many more opportunities for Jefferson High School students that have not listed here the impact of these investments at Jefferson is measurable with an 84 percent graduation rate soon as thrive when they are provided a culturally responsive environment with programming that connects to through the air where their needs are too often and PBS our students not have meaningful opportunities to be a part of their school community Jefferson High School is and always has been a neighborhood High School audit after audit espoused the importance the significance of Jefferson to the north port and community the district has continued to refer to the Jefferson cluster after the high school redesign and by now we are all too familiar with the Jefferson cluster enrollment balancing from 2012-2013 there was great fear in our community that there was an attempt of PPS to remove the neighborhood designation from Jefferson High School to reconfigure it to a focus option only into close at Jefferson High School neighborhood school this would not be equity this would go directly against a racial educational equity policy adopted by the PBS Board of Education in 2011 we have an aspiring demos now in the Jefferson cluster students that are involved in football basketball track and field that deserve to have equitable access to athletics at their high school athletics can make all the difference for students finding their people and their community in their school please continue to invest in high school athletics in all PPS high schools for many of our historically underserved students access to any program is only accessible when it's at their school they attend thank you thank you [Applause] greetings school board as a Benson teacher and a parent of a Benson student I'm proud to speak on behalf of the Benson community but first I want to start with some recent history just in case we look a little hysterical showing up here tonight in the early 2000s vicki phillips disastrous school choice plans stabilized all of Portland's majority non-white schools including Benson and pitted them against each other for enrollment in 2010 peep has proposed to close Benson during the redesign while we resisted and prevented this the district captain Ruhlman leaving us 400 student short of the ideal number of students as defined by the district I would like to give some respect to the Marshall community and the kids of Southeast Portland who are much less fortunate in 2013 Benson's then principal Carroll Campbell was reassigned to grant in an emotional July meeting in the Benson library head of high school trip Goodall promised that if it took a nationwide search to find the best CT principal available he would do it instead Benson was assigned the vice-principal from Grant with all due respect to Curtis in that moment the Benton community was shocked at the casualness with which the district seemed to value one school and one group of students over another in the spring of 2014 PPS posed to cut sports at Benson this plan was abandoned after community outcry yet scores of eighth graders who had accepted their spots at Benson decided to stay away again the damage was done so here we go again I remind you of these moments to lend context or cause and to illustrate why we are here today and why we will be here tomorrow history breeds suspicion each of the events listed led to lower enrollment fewer teachers limited course offerings and since some seemed to care less competitive sports uncertainty cause students to bail in 2010 eighth graders cut and run in 2014 and the same will happen this fall when and if this proposal is finally allowed to see the light of day over the years talented colleagues have left for jobs at Franklin Grant and Cleveland because no matter how badly PBS wants us to believe they're focusing on the needs of north and northeast high schools it's at these other schools that have remained stable now today the results of PBS years of meddling is being used against Benson as evidence that more cuts need to be made you're too small you're not competitive enough well PBS you made us that way you'll be interested to know that in an 11 years since I've worked at Benson there's never been a single play performed in our beautiful auditorium there has not been a note of music played in a classroom since music was cut it years ago we've learned the hard way that once something is gone it almost never comes back kids accept that there are trade-offs when you choose Benson but nowhere in that contract does it say you should accept less it's always reminded by my friend John last night separate is not equal and if we begin to accept less than less is what we'll get so here we are in our three or four year cycle to drag another if he plan into the light why does this keep happening to the most diverse school in the whitest city in America we want this plan aired publicly and with community input to be taken up by the school board and ultimately to be rejected we ask that nothing be implemented until this
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happens thanks for your time go tech [Applause] lastly we have saison Ramirez and John slaughter as a concerned citizen and active member of the Benson community I am appalled and disgusted by Marshall Haskins gutless decision to cut the majority of sports programs at our school this is not just a spineless attack on our sports community but it's slap in the face to each and every one of our past present and future Benson students sports play a pivotal role in these kids lives Benton is not a neighborhood school which means that many of our kids come here not knowing anybody so so many of our kids make lasting friendships through the different teams offered at Benson countless times I've seen shy and timid freshman join a team at the start of the year and find their family people that care about them people that support them whether they be teammates or coaches but most of all our students grow as individuals learning countless life lessons and finding a home at our school to cut any of our programs and deny students the opportunity to express themselves and connect with their teachers and fellow students on an athletic level is repulsive bigoted and plainly irresponsible over the last decade or so it appears that Benton is attacked more and more whether it be with threats of school closures to lack of funding to the plausible decisions like this one even though Benson has a third highest graduation rate in the district within only a couple of percentage points away from Lincoln which for some reason never seemed to get any of these cuts I know how important school sports are because I benefited from them firsthand growing up on the border of Compton Long Beach California sports provided me an outlet that kept me and many of the kids in my neighborhood out of trouble club sports were out of the question due to the lack of access financial and stability in my home and lack of transportation through the free sports teams that were provided by my district I was able to find a purpose to go to school a reason to do well in classes and a reason to think about my future and success actually means not the final scoreboard but becoming a better person cutting programs because you've deemed them uncompetitive reinforces the notion that students should give up instead of persevering it's a proven fact that sports programs keep kids out of dangerous situations so the notion that this district would even think about eliminating these programs without any input from students parents or staffs shows me that they truly don't care about our kids they don't see them as individuals they see them as burdensome pts loves patting itself on the back for all of its equity work but then once a strict access to opportunities from one of the most diverse schools in the state address to the poorly managed lead situation in the horrible management of our teachers contracts and you have to wonder what the district's motives actually are are they back incompetent or are their intentions that malicious I'll echo Malcolm X when I say that I have more respect for someone who shows me who they really are even if they're wrong then a man presents himself as an angel when he is anything but a damned devil so with the future of all Benton community in mind I asked for the immediate resignation of Marshall Haskins and anybody who is responsible for any of these instances that were mentioned previously so that somebody who actually cares about our kids can step in and do what's best for them [Applause] my name is John slaughter I am the women's head basketball coach at PCC class in 1994 here at Benson high school I spent 12 years coaching high school football here at Benson and mentoring the mentoring program and twitting program here at Benson my wife taught for nine years at Benson high school why are we here we are here today because pio ethic director Marshall Haskins and PPF has absurd and platon malicious ideas Paula did and proposals that cut sports at Benson high school why does our community need to remind the district that backdoor deals will not fly and that snakes in the grass will continue to hide but we will not continue to sit by and allow the district to deny our students access to an equitable free education why do we need to continue to defend our programs and validate our worth while trying to work within this district as a worthwhile functioning school weren't we here three years ago yes why do we need to gather in March well because every four to six to eight years we have to combat the district and you the school board because of Road officials corrupt district employees and bias Superintendent and board members who don't know don't show or don't care about what's going on at BHS regardless of our spineless administration excluding very Phillips our students continue to prosper and that is what we
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are about the students shouldn't this be about the students the students are here the students and their ability to have an access full fledge holistic high school education and sports that is a big part of it just like all other schools in this district building teams and competition is an obstacle but that is out of our control and is not that is no bearing to the root of this evil what happened to all the recommendations from the high school redesign what happened to three years ago William bar should save our sports well maybe God with the oats or Intendant maybe but what is not gone is our spirit together to fight and be heard but we would not just be heard we will work to make a change a change for the better a better district with directors and supers who are held accountable and will reprimand when needed why are we back here and why won't the district just leave us alone why because there are still individuals and groups within this district who hate and continue to poke at my community and my alma mater there are still people in this district who want to see Benson shut down Marshall hassles continues to break our school with ridiculous proposals and a tonight ideas that oppress and deny availability and opportunity for our student athletes it is the students rite of passage to be able to play sports with their peers our I t e fact our students want what they have been given for over a hundred years and that is the ability to go to Benson high school and just like all the other students across this district period they want to be at Benson and yes they want to play sports to not at their neighborhood school but at Benson so in response to this continuous threats and proposals and floating ideas that continue to hinder our schools that related function as the magnet school we the community of Benson High School will be filing a civil lawsuit against Portland Public School District the Cuttino harassment has got to stop PBS has got to allow the PIO athletic office to run wild carefree without proper sanctions for authority that is ridiculous schools interest involvement and application will go down even in the hint of accusations or false ones this lawsuit will serve as an opposition to the class's oppression and it will deliver an exclamation to the city of Portland that we care about our school our kids our community here and abroad there is no other school like Benson High School in the nation so I'll be Eva the centennial celebration in the midst of sporting calendar I please ask you to review my open post trades and possible waivers to get Curtis Wilson out of Benton high school give us a new principal lesson text go [Applause] all right miss Susan anybody else that's it all right Bob hey so I'm not responding know anything I'm just going ahead with my report where Janis report yeah and I'm first thing okay what I'd like to do is I'd like to start by recognizing some people that have been in the district for a very long time we have Harriet dr. Harriet Adair are you back there Harriet would you please step forward if you are and little in zopo with a to V step forward I would I would just like to say a few words about these stellar individuals because this is their last formal full board meeting let me start with Lorenzo little Enzo's been with us for a while and as a member of the school district but he's been in the community forever he is in such an architect of the equity policy and is actually known at this point nation Lee for his work on a personal level he's been a terrific advisor to me during this interim year and I just I would like us to give a round of applause to little Enzo Poe for his effort Harriet Adair this is the end of her 47th year Harriet has sort of literally she told me in almost every
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position in the district and I am proud to know Harriet she has like no one else and has advised me on numerous occasions based on the history of the district and it's been very helpful Harriet they were both honored last night at a really wonderful Sarah celebration some of us were there and there's not enough superlatives for for me to even come close to what was said to them up and about them last night these are people that have dedicated their professional lives to helping other people to helping kids and I just been very proud to know them and ask that everyone give them a round of applause I think the district and the city and his community forgiven me an opportunity to deserve all my life on my profession life really has been about giving back to community and kids who often in the public's mind were disposable and so some boys someone needed to stand up for those kids and communities this district in the city has given me an opportunity to do those things professionally that lined up my passion so I think each and every one of you as I said last time I was here I commend you for your board service I know how difficult it is so let me thank you and I also unsay to Bob thank you for stepping into a very difficult situation and bringing some stability and hope back to this district so thank you I appreciate it and I'll be around might actually save me okay I don't have much to add after what my colleague has said who actually I've known most of my life and I will say to you that all the goodness that you see in me or all the praise that was reaped on me I want to remind all of you that I'm a product of the Portland Public Schools I grew up in Portland Public Schools went to Vestal grade school Madison High School my family taught in Portland Public Schools and I always have wanted to be remembered as the work that I did helped make Portland Public Schools better for all of the students that are there this has been a wonderful experience I'm not going anywhere we're still here a part of the community and I want to say thank you very much for 47 years where I have felt that I have been able to do good things for all of these students good things for all the staff that I've touched and good things for the community at large it has been a true honor and thank you so much and thank you Bob and it makes my 38 years look pretty short by comparison I'd like to take a moment introduce the new general counsel Jim Harris is back there Jim would you wave your hand at Jim comes to us Jim comes to us by way of Pittsburgh where he was the general counsel for the housing authority he has been now on board for about a week and it's digging into things very deeply and we're thrilled to have him so thank you Jim I would like to what next we may take you can I take just a minute alone yeah I don't know that no don't imagine I'd also like to take a moment and introduce Sharon Rhys and Sharon would you a raise your hand please Sharon is filling in as our personnel HR person and we're thrilled to have her as well and I've had several conversations with her already and I'm really thrilled that she's here with us so thank you Sharon for filling I'd like to take a few minutes tonight and since this is the last public board meeting and and just have sort of my comments for the year so I asked that you bear with me and I want to take a few moments to thank you the board for this opportunity to have been the interim superintendent of Portland Public Schools beyond family my life's mission has to make then make a positive difference in the lives of our youth to have had these short 10 months to employ one more time the skills developed over my 37 years as an educator and in the service of so many has been an honor and I'm profoundly grateful for it I also want to thank
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staff PPS operates in a bright media and public spotlight that is often focused on where we fall short what is too often myths are the literally thousands more instances where staff of Excel and students have been served well PPS has wonderful teachers administrators and support staff I am proud of these people and proud to serve with them this has been a challenging year of transition for Portland Public Schools but it's also been a year in which we made significant progress while it is true that more remains to be done so that PPS can excel in the service to all students we have accomplished a great deal in a very short period of time I believe the future of Portland Public Schools holds great promise and I will share some ideas about how to attain that promise and later in my remarks many many wants of you accomplishments as individual I guess it's part of our culture however most accomplishments are not most accomplished accomplishments require many people working together sometimes as in the case of the recent passage of our bond it requires the collective effort of the board staff students parents and the community in short all of us there is power and synergy and real teamwork there's power and synergy and real teamwork and that is what is required for excellence in that vein I would like to take a few moments and point to a few of this year's accomplishments first work on a 2012 bond is progressed nicely the second of four stages of construction is nearing completion at Roosevelt High School Franklin High School remodeling is nearing completion as is construction at favi in the school all a beautiful state of the art facilities that will serve generations of students all are on schedule for completion all are within budget and recently ground was broken at grant for the incredible modernization work that step that will be done their second significant work is taking place toward resolving the health and safety issues that emerged so prominently last year all water fixtures have been tested problem areas have been identified and contractors are being retained for significant work that is planned for the summer work is underway to address lead paint safety issues a lot of that happened last summer but it's ongoing an additional work will continue PPS is also aggressively addressing radon and asbestos problem areas of course these issues including seismic concerns are addressed in the school modernization construction projects third the three to PhD work with Concordia University Trillian Family Services Kaiser Permanente and PPS has progressed in is nearing completion the new fabien school again will open this fall and will provide wraparound services for families and students who attend the school additionally as part of the partnership Concordia University will be able to educate their students on-site this will provide fabien with additional resources in the district with a cadre of well-trained teachers for in May the historic 2017 bond for seven hundred and ninety million dollars was passed and by an overwhelming majority of over 66 percent the bond will provide for the modernization of Madison Lincoln Vinson high schools as well as construction of a new facility for Kellogg middle school it will also allow along with ongoing maintenance funds for us to resolve many of our significant health and safety issues at schools across our district this was a clear message from our voters that they see the need for this work and that they have the confidence and Portland Public Schools to do it well v equity work as a part of the fabric and soul of Portland Public Schools in May the office of equity and partnership presented to you or report demonstrating that equity work has permeated every corner of the district everyone we know that correctly work to have full effect of closing the achievement gap it must be ongoing and PBS is committed to that end that said PBS is a national model that others look for look to follow in terms of how we initiated this work six recently you passed the 2017 18 operating budget of over six hundred and seventeen million dollars this is a difficult budget because it included reduction of 18 million dollars however it is a solid budget because it was true to the budget goals you set in providing for student achievement closing the achievement gap and providing for student health and safety additionally significant funds were redirected from central administration reorganization to more effectively meet the needs of the district number seven the central office was reorganized to be more efficient and effective for example in 2015-16 there were 13 direct reports to the superintendent now there are eight further reorganization recommendations for the 2017 eight here 18 year have been completed which if implemented will reduce direct reports to the superintendent to five eight middles level education middle level work has been substantial a middle level framework has been developed and implementation planning is underway for the opening of Harriet Tubman and Rose
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Way Heights middle schools in 2018-19 the middle level framework will also be used as a template to assess and improve district-wide middle level education I believe it has application well beyond PPS it most certainly is being used in the implementation planning of Harriet Tubman and Rose Way Heights middle schools nine in December you passed a resolution that initiated the implementation of a salary schedule for non represented staff development of this comprehensive salary schedule was difficult yet very important there was considerable inconsistency in the former schedule and many staff were not being paid at market levels this was one of the problems we have faced in competing quality staff 10 commencing with the 2015-16 year last year there has been significant turnover in key central office personnel while this is a situation that remains critical we have added some key personnel examples include our communications department which is added staff and is clearly on the rebound additionally our new general counsel Jim Harris is with us this evening as I mentioned 11 comprehensive plans developed for several of our struggling schools have been largely affected these plans were developed with among others the involvement of of the p80 central office administrators in the build and building principals and others the plans and processes may be used as a template should other schools face similar issues in the future 12 a workflow plan was developed to organize and track all major district level work it has since been updated twice you will be receiving the second update at the work session next week in addition to these accomplishments there are too many others that have taken place this year both of the district and school levels to recount on any given day our teachers principal school support staff and central office staff might have to respond to an event that is disruptive or threaten student safety two examples illustrate the critical nature of our response first we lost nine days to snow and ice this year just imagine if you will for a moment all of the immediate logistics planning and actions that occurred at every level at every school and in central office during those days to protect our students and families second gas line broke in North Portland this year and we had to evacuate all schools I'm sorry all the students from one school immediately we did that successfully again consider the immediate logistics and planning and actions that were entailed in that effort finally and most importantly our students grew and thrived this year and thousands graduated at increasingly higher rates and that increasingly higher rates over the past several years PPS is a district where incredible things happen but we all know that much remains to be done if we want to realize our full potential for example we need to make central administration as effective as possible and support schools and students looking forward here are some things I think about and ask you to consider will PPS become a highly functioning School District rather than a district to schools more importantly will it be that become that district a lighthouse district where graduation rates far exceed state standards and where students are highly successful irrespective of their race religion ethnicity national origin sexual of sexual preference or socioeconomic status I would encourage you to aspire to goals of this nature dream big then create a plan to get there working together we can attain you can attain more than you might imagine I want to talk for just a moment about some of the assets of Portland Public Schools that will help you get there first we have an amazing and wonderfully diverse population of students I'm always proud when I'm among them this is a profound strength and an opportunity for students learning in an ever-shrinking world where our success will depend upon our ability and theirs to work with others while examples of this strength abound nothing illustrates it better than the International Youth Leadership Conference we hold each fall second PBS has dedicated parents and a dedicated community who individually and collectively believe in public education and are one our schools to excel nothing illustrates this point better than the fact that most students in Portland go to public schools and the passage of the 2012 and 17 bonds is further proof of that support third PPS has outstanding educators and support staff clearly dedicated to doing the right thing for students that said your administration particularly your central administration remains fragile with too few individuals trying to do too many things and it is not sustainable excellence is not easily won but it is absolutely achievable and I can think of no urban district that is better situated to achieve it than Portland Public Schools none to that end I submit the following suggestions about where such a journey might begin excellence particularly in organizations does not occur without teamwork absolutely does not
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and teamwork must start and be perpetuated from the top your power as board members your powers board members is through your work as the board of the whole the alternative approach will not win you the excellence you seek excellence will also not occur without extending leadership at executive levels please consider how you as a board of the whole and as individual members can create conditions that will attract and retain the most gifted leaders so that they will help you realize the course you will set without them you will not be successful again and I say this from the heart thank you for this opportunity I'm grateful so Bob thank you we're we're grateful for you at the board we have a token or two to show that but I just personally want to say that you've done just a very very incredible job you came in advertised a smokejumper you didn't let us down you you helped bring stability you helped bring support to the staff which was very needed your list of accomplishments with the board I think speaks for itself and I know that you've got you got into the beginning of the reorganization and are pointing ways to go forward and most of all you provided leadership so I just like to say thank you very much yes anybody else wanna say anything for retail you know my personal thank you also as I said in in your card I think that this job I mean we only learn challenge it was going to be and it took a lot of courage to come and face what our issues are you provided you know really that leadership but the motivation of you treated this job as the important gave it the importance that it is but also gave the respect that our staff deserves and gave us the ability to really come together this year to look at doing some important reorganization that you've mentioned there we've had a lot of successes well we have challenges ahead we're well on our way and I think your leadership for helping us to you know kind of spirits in turn directions that we need to go in don't be a stranger I'm going to miss you who and you well deserve this retirement this is number three for me I'm re retired three times thank you [Applause] Wilke will Photoshop Steve in the hospital and Amy out okay and lacrosse Bo thank you for that wonderful token so just so everyone knows the description reads with appreciation for interim superintendent Bob McCain for your services for public schools and its students staff and community and we have not only does Bob but also there's some little retirement gifts in your system and actually there are free so you can use one for each 150 okay tonight we will receive our fourth bond
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performance audit Bob you like to introduce this item yes bill Hirsch and Dick Tracy are here this evening to present a summary of their 4th annual performance audit of the 2012 school building improvements bond program I'd like to ask us to Tracy a missed rehearsal present the honor welcome thank you thank you that's not going to work it's not going to work today yeah all right so over we had a PowerPoint well but we can talk you through it oh there you go oh here it is now yes so I'm I'm bill Hirsch and this Dick Tracy and I we met most of you last year where we did our third annual performance audit so this is the fourth and last one on our contract so just in terms of some quick background this year we not only looked at the at the program over the past year but we try to look at a overall we tried to look at add assessment of the four year program to provide it a little more context of what happened over the last four years we'll focus on on the scope of the projects with whether they were done whether they were done on schedule and when they were done on budget that was kind of our focus and as this report like her other reports includes a number of recommendations to to reduce risk and put improve controls and overall hopefully improve performance of the bond program as you already heard and had you already talked about the last the 2012 bond program is reaching reaching conclusion that three of the large projects will be done by the end of the summer as you know Grant High School begin construction this summer as well most of the summer improvements projects have been completed and planning has been completed master planning for Lincoln and Benson and Madison so that overall is the the background and then get into the audit results for this year's report so the first topic which is has to its schedule and we we also address scope the major projects as promised in the ballot measure should complete in time for school openings Roosevelt Franklin and Fabien complete this summer and by that intimate substantial completion they can be used there's going to be some additional groundwork and some pickup work and Roosevelt has this like scheduled phase to go and there is the CTE space yet to build there grant is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2000 and 1950 one of the schools this is the the non major high schools that the receiving work under this program and Fabien 51 other schools have received various improvements such as seismic upgrades updated science classrooms and quite a bit of roofing work ten schools that were part of the original potential list for modernization work will not receive work at this time due to budget constraints so they have been deferred projects have an excellent safety record the program as a whole is at risk of completing over budget and there's several elements to this we address this quite a bit in our report Franklin Roosevelt have experienced significant cost increases and we go into the specifics again in the report grant is estimated at a final cost which exceeds current available resources and that number as of approximately March 1st was about 23 million dollars several factors have contributed to the cost increase one significant factor is that the the high schools are bigger but they originally there was going to be a 1,500 capacity at Franklin and grant and 1,200 students at Roosevelt and all of those numbers have been increased and this including me of potential to increase Roosevelt to even seven hundred seventeen hundred students in the future so the Corps is larger escalation has been very high when the when the program was begun the OSM estimated that inflation might be as high as approximately three percent just under that number industry-wide escalation has run about five percent and the district has received even higher cost than that and we addressed that in our report as well and then there have been very expensive change orders at Roosevelt in floppy and approximately thirty million
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dollars break right oh yeah it's correct I'm pologize for that one of the things we've done over the past four years is is look at program management systems processes how they go about running the bond program and we have found a number of strengths in this program and I'd like to talk about those and I'll then I would like to talk about where we find there are opportunities still for improvement in the strength side we believe the blended organizational structure that we put together for the program representatives from finance and preparing them for purchasing and communications and bam and osm working together as a blended group was an effective way to manage the program that provided independence it provided expertise and that seems to have been a very strong program management approach the Financial Accounting the invoice reviews the accountability the approval processes for for-4 finances and payments or as strong we feel that they were timely they were accurate we didn't find in any bond spending that was not authorized and it was appropriately done under the bond we think the purchasing systems have led to fair in impartial vendor selection they followed for the most part according to state law there were a few things in terms of selection here and there where we recommended some changes some tightening of some contract language and that was all concurred with by purchasing and implemented in recommendations in prior years we also think they have strong project management software the Builder system works very well it takes a little bit to get up and running on it but it has been a very effective system for them it's a project management system internal external internal and external reporting has been we feel excellent the benchmarks report ten reports to they met reports to the board quarterly reports the the to the BAC i've also been strong management system we believe and also a number of program policies and procedures that are that are working well that will well will will help them as we move forward to a new Bond program there are also some some other opportunities for improvement specifically I mentioned four we think they're strong stronger management of the cmgc contracts could hold firms more accountable for the GMP that's the guaranteed maximum price those have been exceeded both for Roosevelt and for for Franklin we think there are ways of tighten in that language is coming up with better systems so that we can hold the cmgc firms accountable for that for that target price we could think there's ways of controlling staff turnover there was a lot of turnover an executive staff and in project management staff there are certainly risks when you when you have executive management and high level individuals turnover they were able to handle those risks but one of the way they had we had to do that is rely on hearing our consultant program management consultant fortunately they were there it also means we spent more money because they're more extensive than employees we could also continue to upgrade and improve our policies and procedures in particular something called a project team management client which was not conducted for any of the projects that's a very important policy that the OSM identified but never carried out we hope that would be something they would do in the next Bond in a more consistent way bleeped way and also holding architects and CMG firms more accountable for meeting milestones oftentimes there was even though the schedule is on track the actual they were delays in bidding there was delays in getting a GMP targeted and that probably impact a little bit on the costs of consultants and sub consultants in terms of the goals for equity the district equity in purchasing and contracting the goals of equity are nearly met in terms of the percent of invoices that are paid to MW ESB firms they've averaged 14 percent over the past two years now that short of the 18 percent aspirational goals so it's much better than it was earlier in the four year program so they've made some improvements in that area over 19,000 students participated in some way in the bond program either career fairs internships job shadowing other kinds of activities that give students an opportunity to see what this business is like and also 25 percent of all the labor hours are were performed by minority or female registered apprentice apprentices which was part of also the
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goals in the equity program so though the equity goals get pretty high marks and as a programs ending list the 12th 2012 program is ending in the past this this year we have 15 recommendations in the past we had more recommendations and the board asked us that believe was two years ago to prioritize and so we did last year and what we're doing this year is we're listing in this process right now five key recommendations the number one is that before any significant program is added and in the case in point for the the bonnet is just completing our nearly complete was the addition of quite a bit of square footage and student capacity to high schools one of the consequences of that is considerably more cost and and then and part of that then is also the right now the deferral of 10 projects on on the improvement list because there simply is not enough money at this point anticipated to complete the program so in the future before additional scope is added and it's certainly appropriate to add it if it's important is to ensure that there's sufficient budget and understand the consequences too and dick talked about this in management of the cmgc contracts we've made recommendations that should help the district to have fermer guaranteed maximum prices to have the true guarantee there we also are recommending that the district comply with district policy and state rule in so far as how amendments and changes are done to geo cmgc contracts a fourth important recommendation is to reach out more in additional ways to the contracting community that's both general contractors and subcontractors to identify ways to make SM projects more attractive for bidding there's a perception now by OSM that some general contractors and subcontractors are choosing not to work on OSF projects and then our final key recommendation is that the district continue to work potentially with HR to identify ways to create a greater amount of career growth within within osm now the opportunity for what are now the project coordinated positions to be able to move up to be project managers in the event of turnover we're also recommending that the promotional opportunities be increased within the within the department we make 10 additional recommendations and they're on the report to date osm is acted on 57 of our 77 past recommendations and is still so that's approximately 75% complete and is still working on 14 others the district's provided a management response that's included within our report and as of yesterday morning the back the the bonnet accountability committee has not provided a written comment on the audit report so that completes our presentation of the board the the actual report will be on the the bond website I believe it will be posted in the near future so we're open any questions thank you very much for those questions they're coming yeah thank you both for your hard work over the years my last time to have an opportunity to talk to you so I'm going to do that I just wanted to comment on I think it was your first thing about the size of the schools being increased and I think I think I'm the only one here who was on the board at that time were you were you anyway and I and I don't disagree with what you're saying I just want to be clear for the public that at the time we did do that we did take under consideration the things that you were talking about and at the time we thought that we would have enough money we had a bond premium I think 57 million dollars where the bond premium coming in we knew that we were going to have we felt we were going to have money given the way things were going at the time unfortunately or maybe fortunately for the city things are going much better and it cost a lot more to build now and the escalations gone up and as a result we are in a difficult spot but
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the alternative would have been opening schools that were too small it would not have enough room for all of our students so we really I don't think had much choice and at the time I think it was responsible action on the part of the board to increase the size of those schools and we did take into consideration of things who you were talking about so thanks thanks for clarifying this so thank you very much is this the work that you've done throughout the bond has been it's part of continual improvement and it's it's very very helpful so appreciate it I guess I would like your comment on on this the management response I mean you did read it and as its asked factory to you can give him what you will give you a report well management has a has said that they concur with all of our recommendations or in some cases they're already complete so that shows the willingness to improve yeah okay thank you it has always been that way happened mostly so last year there were several instances where staff did not concur it wasn't so much with what we found was about how to how to go about fixing it we had we had focused more on at the system's level and they fell in some cases it was instances of compliance the point being staff is listening to you yes there was only been a few instances of pure non concur in the four years that we've done the work that's amazing well disagree yeah it's pretty good thank you very much okay thank you for everything you do yeah welcome and best wishes on retirement well yes that had on the new buck and the new Vaughn young all right so we're going to hear from the bond accountability committee and Kevin Lewis you want to come up welcome back check curler board members superintendent McCain we are back to report on our quarterly regular report the BAC met as long ago as April 18 this year the number of reasons has taken a little while to get here so we're going to try to not we're going to try to avoid giving you a whole lot of old data that has been overtaken so we'll do our best at least one thing that was I did want to comment on from our meeting we heard public comment from a subcontractor from one of the major projects and he raised some serious questions about a couple of things one specific site security protocols and he had some good suggestions as well as maybe abroad on a broader basis in the inclusion of certified businesses and appropriate accountability and we committed to work with staff to be sure that the lessons are learned from not just his experience but all the current projects for the remaining 2012 work as well as the new BOTS we also met with staff on June 7th for an update on the construction progress since that's coming to a conclusion and also for an initial briefing on the scope of the 2017 box so we could start to get our arms around that a little bit at this time as you know PPS staff is managing the following work completion of construction these days - at Roosevelt high school completion of construction of Franklin completion of construction at Fabian subcontractor buyout and development of the GMP for Grant High School and closeout on some IP 2016 work now that level of activity is reduced from the last year or two but the reason I wanted to list them off is this is still a significant amount of work that's ongoing and I think sometimes we tend to take it for granted that we're over the peak therefore everything's easy from this point and of course layered on top of
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that is commencing now with the 2017 box so major challenges the the 2012 bond program now stands at five hundred and fifty seven million dollars of which as of April 1 three hundred and forty four million between spent sixty two percent we share some of the concerns that I just heard from Bill and dick as you know I think maybe a little bit of a broken record we've been concerned for some time about the level of contingencies reserves etc and that continues to be the case there are significant challenges ongoing as we speak at Grant High School and they're working through those so we don't have a conclusion but that's where the major risk exists at this point we do also expect as you know to get some additional bond premium from the remaining sale for the 2012 our staff is also continuing to work on the cost ramifications of the winter issues we have and that may have been done now I haven't heard of it has but nevertheless there are implications to that substantial risks those still exist in the program was still closing out three major major projects and as I said grant high school we're just getting going with the project budgets and schedules them significant construction project construction progress has been made past few months and some of the effects of this winter's weather events have been mitigated Fabien Franklin and the second phase of Roosevelt will all be opening up for the school year the logistic challenges during the summer during this summer rising from the opening of three schools plus relocating grant to Marshall during the same window are all significant and will put great stress on the Portland Public Schools staff and therefore patients will be required of school staff and administrators during this period as far as the stance or completion now the ones that are scheduled are franklyn's the end of June with exception of their fields which will happen in mid-july fabien also completion at the end of June with the exception of their fields and those skills were delayed due to weather and could not dis complained at the time and Roosevelt will be substantially complete at the hindered you lie and you'll recall that plan always called for much of the site work to become phase three and to be completed after the school opens now project budgets continue to be pressured and the staff is continue to qualify all those costs related to the weather delays and other changes the largest exposure as you've been hearing is Grant High School going forward since that contract price is still being developed on the construction market as a whole is that anything is even more stretch now than it has been in recent years and that is resulting in on the challenges on every element of the budget the IP 17 work is the design has been complete but it as well as IP eighteen and nineteen will be are entirely dependent upon the availability of budget we're continuing to track the equity piece of the program as you know stuff gave us good reports on student involvement one caution I'd give you when you see the the balanced scorecard it currently or at least in April showed red for 2017 recall though that that's tracked on an annual basis not a school year basis so the summer activities will start to flip that back to BM to be green as dick mentioned a few minutes ago employment of apprentices is well ahead of the goal certified business involvement is challenging remains challenging but also remains a priority and we've asked staff a report on the efforts that were made by the contractors on Roosevelt and Franklin so we can learn lessons from those activities particularly as their results was so different between those
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two schools so we want to know why and we want to take those lessons forward to Grant High School where we think the results are going to be much better but also on to 2007 our 17 part um with safety of fabien has experienced its first reportable accident but thankfully it was Manor and the person that was involved in it returned to work the next day there were no accidents at any of the other sites during this quarter and overall the program safety record remains outstanding the audit you just heard from the auditors they have commenced and completed their review of expenditures for the Franklin Roosevelt contract and which is the standard practice for cmgc contracts and we definitely support the process the final report was presented however unlike previous years the bond accountability committee had not yet had the opportunity to review the report but will certainly work with stamp on any recommendations and will track the progress accordingly in addition to that I understand the RFP for the next phase of the performance audit is currently under development and will be issued shortly on top of the 2012 bond we now have the 2017 bond happily to be to be looking at as I said we met with staff on June 7th for an initial briefing on the scope and we committed at our next regular meeting in July to give some serious consideration about how we should organize ourselves for this additional oversight this is good at least for a couple of years here there's a lot of overlap and we want to make sure that we can handle that appropriately we'll also quiz start frankly about how they are going to do that I will already mentioned 2012 on this summer is very very busy and now we've got planning for the 2017 as well and we need to know how that's going to transpire nevertheless it's an exciting time three schools will be open when did that last happen in Portland public not not even Bob remembers 1844 so thank you that yeah right late forties I know many of you have toured the schools and I think you probably agree with me that the staff and students and taxpayers will be very happy with the end products and it'll make a difference in the lives of those students finally I'd like to express appreciation to the outgoing board members particularly director Knowles who was the first board liaison to the BAC back in 2012-13 and I think you've sat on to design active design advisory groups and three excuse that's right I just remembered the other one J Carlo of course has said the day you were elected I think you called me and started with a series of questions and you haven't really stopped doing that so that's great we really appreciate it and director Buell of course has been a great advocate for the teachers voice in the design of these schools so thank you and we'll be happy to take questions for members questions comments I would just say thank you to both of you and please extend my thanks to the rest of the committee it's been a pleasure working with you and particularly because of your the skills and the knowledge that you all bring through your professional positions I really think that it was a it's been wonderful to have someone with off so much expertise a group with so much expertise to help us through these things so thank you so much thank you thank you um okay I would just echo those thanks Kevin I think I told you if this on election night that you and your group deserve huge credit for giving the public the assurances that they need that that the district is proceeding in
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a professional accountable way and the oversight and the communications that your group gives is very very important to us and I'm glad you're going to be considering that the 217 bond and what I would like to see is is is essentially what I'm hearing you're going to be doing which is evaluating what worked in terms of your group what didn't work what can we do better and bring that conversation to the back to the board and proceed accordingly so thank you very much thank you [Applause] all right Jerry and Dean yeah office quarterly report from the office of school modernization good evening board members and tortue outgoing thank you very much last 18 months working with you is then a pleasure and I've enjoyed serving you Jerry Vincent chief operating officer for the school district that with me Dan young our senior director for the office of school modernization when I walk you through our quarterly report and I'm going to turn it over to Dan here ok I want to run through some program and some project details if you guys have any questions obviously please feel free to stop me at any time we're entering what is going to be a very busy summer or four and a half years into the 2012 capital program the current budget is just over 560 million we've expended over 360 million and about half of that we've done the last 12 months alone the projects have worked over a million man-hours to date and we've had only a handful of minor safety incidents so we are very happy about that fact to give a little perspective on the amount of work that's being managed right now osm averages roughly 12 million dollars of work a month that we put into the buildings we have a staff of 17 so we have a very a lot of very hard workers down in osm I'm happy to report all projects aren't scheduled to open in August as planned plans are placed for construction completion permit sign-off installing new furniture and equipment moving staff materials and completing trainings with building and meetin stuff with building and meet and staff we do have some grand openings that will be coming up so on to show you what those are we just completed the groundbreaking I grant we have three of the grand openings here towards the end of August and beginning September and then Roosevelt it is towards the excuse me yeah Roosevelt is towards the end of September this is a recent aerial photo of Franklin High School you can see that the field and track are nearing completion the auditorium and black box they are complete and they're just being set up right now the old auditorium which is now the new media center that is almost completed as well we've started new equipment trainings for the maintenance staff already already completing that final complete the final cleanings are underway in that building it's roughly 90% furnished already so removed along very well Franklin all the work will be done in the next few weeks with a couple of exceptions we have some grandstand work and we have a covered walkway to have solar panels on top that looks like that is going to carry over into fall we're working on minimizing any impacts that ones need to students or staff here's just a couple photos of Franklin you'll see Ben is back home in his house and some work on the outside completing the auditorium entrance of the dance class and then a view from the from the football field so the field is complete we're still working on the track here is a recent overhead from Roosevelt this is going to change very dramatically very soon so the next one is going to look a lot different than this Roosevelt has the busiest summer ahead largely in part to the main building was occupied with students twelve months ago and fourteen months from that point in time we're going to have a completely renovated 1921 historic building for students site fencing is now up for phase 3 which is our site work demolition has already begun on the old cafeteria building the baseball field excavation work has begun also inside the building's largely flooring ceilings the finishes that are going on right now and there will be still some work going on in the building's come fall pretty minor work that'll be happening in the building's a bunch of stuff and there are some certain areas where we need to finish up so there won't be much impact so staff and students there but of course our phase 3 which is the vast majority of our site work will continue almost until
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the end of the calendar year I like the three that are coming down that they're kickin it's working ok it should happen Yeah right right here we have the old library building that will be coming down this visiting as well which are they're working on actually today and our 10 flex which are our portable units they're being moved out right now we actually sold those units and then these two over here we're keeping they're going to be repurposed sneezed elsewhere some interior photos of Roosevelt a lot of works still going on there primarily finished work and drywall work and things like that and so once we get into those phases we can pick up speed pretty quick so everything is still looking good out at Roosevelt here is an aerial photo of Grant this shows what our summer plans on some plans are grant construction actually began today so they are mobilized they're out there working today lots and lots of moving is going on we had three full-size 18-wheeler trucks out there that we were loading up we continued to go shoot the GMP with the contractor out there and we're also continuing to finish the construction drawings and the permitting process we have a phase permitting process so we've pulled some permits moving in construction will get the the full permits later on in the process we've also begun work at Marshall to prepare for students and we'll be moving the staff out of Marshall as we speak also and they'll be lots more to come on grand the next coming months and years fabien here's a recent aerial photo fabien will be substantially complete this week we're going to have a few lingering things that we need to finish up over the next month or so but we should we'll take care of that without issue Concordia in our partners will be occupying the building soon the lease agreement is being reviewed tonight the operating agreement will follow shortly thereafter we have furniture coming in July we'll start filling in the building or moving staff out of Tubman right now the playground up front is complete the bus loop is complete the gym is also done the field offices have left the site so we've put our staff the site staff they're actually in the building they're doing all their final cleanings right now we still have some site work and some site improvement work out in the street and that's going to be happening but we will be ready for staff and students come August there are some photos you see the playground up front is complete we've got very nice gym and our solar panels up there a couple other miscellaneous items I think people may know that we received three state reopen rehabilitation grants for total four point five million dollars we've got awarded those in April two of those so three million dollars are specific to grant another one point five is for Lewis Elementary and we'll be completing Network next summer this summer we'll be completing the elevator at Cesar Chavez we started that last summer put it on hold during the school year and over completing that here over this summer as well and with all that going on there also we're starting to plan for the 2017 bond work you will see we're capping the summer has we're brief last week you'll also see RFPs and other solicitations come out for design services and construction services as well in reapplying for potentially we'll have to look at what the options are we have applied for the projects in the past that we did not get some of them is because of the maximum right now is 1.5 million the grant consumed those projects are quite a bit more than that unless we have the funds to cover we won't be applying for them that said they may actually increase that amount we've been indicated but we don't know they and then that's any question okay any other questions thank you all right Steve can you hear it yeah all right so you're being okay yep we're going to consider a few resolutions that you've brought to us this evening and Joe so I think we'll start with resolution five four eight zero see if there's a motion in a second then we can discuss it at which the
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large live the five four eight zero is a resolution created comprehensive professional development plan do I have a motion move moved by director Rosen and seconded by director Anthony to adopt resolution five four eight zero Steve you want to give us your explanation about this these we got yes we've got a lot about getting ourselves with a clear direction and organizing well and what this actually do forces to do that with our professional you know we're not sure let me come over a me for my professional I'm sure are we aiming for PBIS are we aiming to do professional development around our in school in school say around multicultural education are we doing professional development around things like trauma and trauma trauma informed on education right what's what our goals and where we go and all this doesn't say that we should have a plan a district-wide plan and a planet each school I've actually talked to you may consider things abated idea yeah I was under the impression but we were moving in that direction mid cursor so I hadn't had to written up again but we have not gotten there and this time is a service that we get it's high priority do we get married and making people understand and we have an actual pipe without touch other one this is really this install the polish where they're going in the professional office not this pendant well this week we might do them it gives that some school official meetings there's a fun personality all right any discussion you want to say some true yeah this as a well-intentioned idea I with Chris about this particular resolution and he and I both share the same concern you're about to go through a huge mentorship transition and I would I would encourage I would encourage you to permit the new leadership team and particularly the new superintendent to work with the board to develop a strategic plan and then from that would logically flow a toss the staff development so I would I would not be supportive if this is a suit protects at this time in the FP anywhere else one thing I chime in on a detective on top I think Mike was about to say something then okay and then you can okay go ahead Steve well what I agree to the bottom yeah we should be we hash it out the same they're not saying we shouldn't have to plan what they're sir what they're saying let's go holed up in here without a plan it's not that difficult for us to sit down and just say for up the school to say here's our plan for the end and then we can look and people will know and don't know whether going to have no direction which is where we basically are now for a whole nother year it's not a good idea and yeah I do ba yeah let's do it but this says let's do it and let's please get plan for this year and then we can work on a plan a stronger one for the next year no problem no plan is what we have no plan that's not one Julie yeah hi Steve so I hope you're feeling better my comments are again to reiterate what Bob says I think it's hard to to know as we're looking for leadership I think we have to certainly develop a shared vision and a plan and I think it's I don't want to I think it's important for us to think through eclis in terms of a whole district where a district is going rather than individual school so I just think it's premature to say that that we just we have to give ourselves time with new leadership to really be looking at
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an overarching district vision mission agenda and goals in order to develop professional justjust think ahead about professional development class I think that it's premature premature given where we're at right now and looking for leadership Steve I wanted to know if you would accept a friendly amendment and that would be to the plan would be completed October 1st 2017 if we move that back to February 1st 2018 do you yelling sure I'd accept that that the whole idea is that get a plan in place of a some sort for this year which we don't have our damn are not holding over here with no idea where we're going just not moving to either in the district or in each school so yeah if that's if you don't work that way but not the other way sure but it just is a its own something that needs to be done for instance what about trauma-informed are we going to teach all our teachers how to deal with that this year well no because we don't have any idea ourselves all right so go yeah in the area February 1 2018 I think those accommodate some of some of the principles that or not okay so any other testing then we'll pick flow all right all those in favor of resolution five four eight zero please indicate by saying yes yeah that's all posed okay resolution five four eight zero passes for two - all right resolution five four eight one to create a comprehensive ESL plan do I have a motion someone then moved by director Anthony and second side director Rosen Steve you want to say anything on this one is just that this is the most critical educational probably having the district and this plan forces us to address it it's not addressed for a long time and it's a great it's just saying let's sit down and address this issue and that's all yeah it just says let's do it and I'm up for doing it I'm making sure it gets done okay comment my comment is I am absolutely concerned about the achievement if our of our second language learners if I think the appropriate place for this and where we can discuss it in depth is on the teaching and learning through the teaching and learning committee which I plan to have this on the calendar in the fall to examine our this year's elf data and progress graduation rates of our English learners grades particularly high school grades through grade reading indicators kind of the overall picture of where we're at and that as well as look at the curriculum on and the instruction that happening not just at the secondary level but across the grades so yes I think it's deserved than it needs to be addressed I think teaching of learning is their appropriate place to do that okay so if this resolution passes can we I mean we can't say which would be the appropriate thing is is that it goes that that work goes to that the teaching and learning well perhaps but it is not just saying to look at ESL achievement this says an analysis of intensive English language instruction so I'm not clear on what that means I guess and what the impact would be but that needs to be described by director rules Steve did you hear that yes women in tennis often say that the teaching of money the intent is to have a broad very comprehensive study dozen teaching running committee which I really like them on meets once a month I'm talking about getting something let's go on this weekly at the very least we bring in
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professionals we bring in our top ESL people we bring in here so people from this we actually do a comprehensive really girls thing and the point about the analysis is just it makes sure that that gets looked in and that needs to be looked at carefully and it's your special needs is that that's part of what we're looking at so this this that is is critical and it needs to be done not by board members and now they have that committee but by really bringing in even maybe some outside professionals so we really didn't do much right but then that's at that work done by professional staff would get vetted in to be clear would be that it's a channel learning commitment say that in here Michael no I know but that's the way whatever the board decides to do it once it's go time any other comments yeah go ahead so this comment really goes to both of these proposals while I appreciate the work that director Buell is asking the district to do I have several concerns about that the first one being that here again we have a resolution coming to the board that has not been through any kind of a committee or had any kind of in-depth discussion and we're asked with just I think I got this this afternoon to look at this and to vote on it when we really haven't had the time to flush out any of the details that we should be doing which is why we have a committee structure and so I'm Kant who did this last week - I can't be supportive of something that is not had some discussion by other board members we in fact are even missing a board member tonight so that's one the second one is I really feel that this kind of decision is something I'm similar to what Bob was saying I think it's a role for the new board to take on I would hate to already start telling the new board from the grave what we want them to do I think that it's important for them to have that opportunity with their superintendent to set their goals and their strategic vision and move forward in that way so I can't I can't really be supportive of either one of these and it's no comment on the validity of the ideas it's just I don't believe that we should be acting in a way that is we're not informed and we're just doing something because it sounds good and I can't go on with that okay um Thank You Pam why this one very small comment on yeah I want very small comment go ahead I first brought this before before I first brought this before the board and in a month of the first being caught me school board which is over four years ago so this has been an issue that I have there for four years we had less time with me I just want to get it done before I get awesome more okay I'm going to support this because I think it it starts the conversation and it's an important conversation and the next board will have everything to do with it as it comes back and evolves so any other comments all those in favor of resolution 5 4 8 1 signify by saying aye aye Steve are you and I aye yes all opposed no okay resolution taxes for two - all right before we go into the business agenda I know Steve you wanted to say through farewell comments and anybody else wants to as well you're more than welcome do you want to UN out on go for it first of all I want to thank Roseanne pal and Karen Hughes who did such great work and we're so helpful to me on the school board there both time and helpful and we're wonderful second I also I want to thank three of our administrators who
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treated me with particular respect to listen well and often acted with intelligence and common sense use up a lot and Tony Lopez in Christmas although I wish will and is new endeavors I also wish to thank the p80 people particularly the two presidents Lynn Sullivan and Suzanne Cohen their help was invaluable for making things better for children I'm not going to list what I accomplished much of which never made the newspaper you came out of meeting but I want to outline some of what we have left to do we have two major problems as a school district we continue to make way through many decisions based on what mitts are adults comfortable instead of what is best for children still trailing to address many issues that can make things better if you would just admit we need to change set away we move way too slowly taking years to do things you should take months and much to do things that should take weeks and weeks to do things that should take days instead of addressing problems in a timely manner we often allow them to fester and expect this Court this of course is no longer true under used up a lot on the financial and facility side and I am hopeful we will take the work bears model and use it on the educational side of BBS there are some very important issues which we need to address yet we need to continue to attack disparities in our school by following through on establishing a foundational program for special programs intentionally layered on on top there is no good reason George middle school should not be as good as West still in middle school secondly we need to reform our human resources department so it is truly a human resources department not as it seems to have become a data to resources to fund our hiring processes are very weak and we pay a great price to this we could for instance settle our grievances there is no reason to continue with a large number we have third even in the face of overwhelming evidence many key people in the district refuse to acknowledge and address a huge negative impact testing is playing and educating our children as well as our continued misuse of things like common corn our corporate education approaches which made eating harder not easier fourth we need to straighten out our relationships with our fine community based organizations in our equity work so the benefits go to our children in our classrooms directly and not to some vague and less connected objectives five we need to continue to strengthen and build those Millbrae programs which engage children in school programs both during school and after school and six of course we need the straightened out our ESL program for where we took a step tonight those older children the work school with little or no English skills by making sure they run enough English fast enough so they can be successful in school within their school board coming I am hopeful we can address all of these problems I and I particularly wish my replacement Rita more good luck she is smart and a fine person so I expect she will be great I hope the newborn is given a chance to do this including by the social media critics who happen to go up and act like that journalist by personalizing and drawing conclusions without enough information to do so I wrote once on social media that being on the school board was a hard job if someone held back a hard job it looks like an impossible one to me I had to chuckle at neck and thank you throw those out there who helped me through the these years of trying to make things that you don't all right Thank You Steven Thank You chief and we rooting for we get you out of the hospital anybody else wanna say anything no okay the what we did we did have a little Steven your absence we had a yeah celebration of the of the retiring board members so you were you were definitely thought of and Bob made some very kind
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words about you and I'd also just like to echo thanks Pam for your services of eight years is an incredible service on this board so thank you board members will now consider business agenda are there any items anybody like to kill all right do I have a motion to second a motion and second to adopt a business agenda so moved by director anthony seconded by director safar's of brown the to any public comment all right all those in favor business agenda vote signify by saying aye aye our United Steve I haven't seen that agenda because everything that's in Olmsted to the hospital so I have to obtain okay um the business agenda is approved by a vote of five to zero with one abstention and the next regular meeting the board will occur as the new borscht on July left and meetings adjourned

Sources

PPS Board of Education, Archive 2016-2017, https://www.pps.net/Page/10970 (accessed: 2022-03-24T00:57:51.375732Z)
PPS Communications, "Board of Education" (YouTube playlist), https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8CC942A46270A16E (accessed: 2023-10-10T04:10:04.879786Z)

2017-06-20 PPS School Board Regular Meeting

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Event 1: Board of Education-Regular Meeting - June 20, 2017

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