Berkeley Unified School District School Board - Regular Meeting

Okay, so now we're doing call to roll call. Okay.

Director Ana Vasudev.

Presente.

Director Kriti Gibran. Present. Director Jennifer Shanofsky. Here. Vice President Jennifer Corn. Present. President Mike Chang.

Present. Great. Thank you so much. We're all present. And For those using audible translation option, you can wear headphones. They're available from Ms. Charez up the front if you seek to do so. As a reminder, this is kind of boilerplate. We say every time, I know you're not going to do this. Booing, hissing, or physical disturbances not permitted. Please don't disturb the order of this meeting. Speaking out of turn, interrupting speakers, blocking access or observation, entering restricted areas, or approaching the dais without permission. This is part of our bylaws in meeting conduct, and we often repeat it again before public comments, so I probably won't do it again. I know everybody follows these rules, but you should know about them. Any complaints also concerning employees, it's important that You use our complaint email system. Someone will respond to you. It's complaints at berkeley.net. It's not appropriate to raise complaints about specific employees during a public comment. So we'll now approve the agenda for this evening's meeting. Is there... A motion to approve. I'll make a motion to approve the agenda.

I'll second.

Cool.

There are some amendments that we need to make to the agenda.

I'm sorry, say again.

Amendments needed to be made on the agenda.

Oh, there is an amendment. OK. Was there a request regarding, is it 13.25, Ms. Charez? Yes. OK. I see.

That should be pulled all together.

OK. So we want to, so 13.25. We're trying to see where that is.

Let me just double check. It's 13.25 approval of MOU between the USC and Herrick Hospital.

That's right.

That's a consent item, correct? Then we should address that when we get to the consent calendar.

That's right. If that's a consent item, we could. So we're flagging it now. But yes, that consent, we'll pull that then. So one of the board members, please recall at that point in time to yank that.

Chair, is there anything else that needs to be pulled from the agenda, not the consent calendar?

There's a correction noted, but that's part of the consent calendar, so we can do that at the same time.

Both of them are the consent calendar? Okay. So we don't need another motion or second for the agenda. We can just vote?

I think that's right. Do we have all the ayes for the?

Aye.

Oh.

It was moved by Director Coyne, seconded by Director Brown.

Yes. Do you need to do roll call?

Director Vasudev?

Yes. Director Shenoski? Yes. Director Brown? Yes. Vice President Corn? Yes. President Chang?

Yes.

Motion carries unanimously. Thank you.

All righty. Excellent. So next on up we will have the Vice President Corn to report out of closed session please.

Closed session was called to order at 5.52 PM with directors Brown, Chang, Korn, Chinoski, and Vasudev in attendance. On item 3.1.1, there was a motion by Vasudev, seconded by Chang, and the settlement agreement was approved unanimously. Item 3.1.2 was tabled for the next meeting. Item 3.2 was also tabled. And on item 3.3, the board had a discussion. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Vice President Korn. So now we're going to go move on to the public comments part of our agenda. There are actually two opportunities for public comments now. And then there's one at the end of the meeting, which can sometimes be late. So just like I said before, this is a hybrid meeting. There's some folks on the web. Or I'm sorry. Oh, and then, yes, we have superintended comments, which normally we do first. And I keep forgetting this. So Superintendent Ford-Morthell, please proceed first.

Thank you, President Chang. Good evening, BUSD family.

Good evening.

Y'all had a little rest, a couple of days out of school and all that energy. Thank you for joining us for tonight's board meeting. Tonight's meeting is special for many reasons, three reasons. Reason number one, it's the last meeting of the school year after a marathon of meetings on the budget. Reason number two, it is the meeting during which the board takes action on the staff budget proposals including our LCAP. So you actually hear the culmination of that marathon meeting series tonight and I hope that you actually stay to hear either in person or join us online. I want to remind you that even after tonight's budget presentation and after the board takes action, there are still two more steps in the budget process. And those steps are that staff waits excitedly to hear the governor's final budget that often comes towards the end of June, and then we come back in the fall and do what's called the 45-day revise. We'll make any changes or revisions either based on that proposal or based on feedback from the board this evening. And so those are two reasons for me why tonight is a special meeting, but I'm guessing that there's another reason that we all share, and that is because tonight we have the opportunity to honor Director Anna Vasudev. We honor Director Vasudev tonight, and we thank her for six years of service as the board director for Berkeley Unified School District. Director Vasudev, throughout your time on the board, you have been a steady and thoughtful advocate for our English learners and our multilingual learners, for authentic parent and community engagement, and for ensuring that families closest to the work have voice in shaping the work. You were also known for always asking whose voices were not in the room, and making sure that if they were in the room, that you insisted that the language be in the language of their home language, making sure that authentic engagement and access were truly real in BUSD. And those two things, I would say, have been the hallmark of your tenure here. You have also given tireless attention to the facility subcommittee, making sure that our buildings support the rich learning experiences and atmosphere we want for all of our babies. And through your service on the policy committee, you have helped ensure that our policies reflect our values, support our students and families, and stay aligned with the equity, excellence, enrichment, and engagement that we've promised our district and our community every day. You have championed tennis. I wonder, do you play tennis? Because I was like, maybe she's a tennis champion. But she definitely championed tennis, workforce housing, and programs like Puente that ensure that historically underrepresented students have access, support, opportunity, and a strong sense of possibility. And that was just in the four years that I've been here as superintendent. Again, she's been here for six. So I can only imagine what else you've done with and for our district. And while tonight might be the marking of your final meeting as a BUSD board director, we know that your service does not end here. Now, there's a Spanish phrase that I love, but I'm not going to say it in Spanish. The phrase in English that you could say in Spanish, the phrase in English says to lead is to serve the community with an open heart. Director Vasudev, yours is an open heart, one that beats in service of community. And I trust that you will continue to lead in that spirit as you move into your new role on the Alameda County Board of Education, where you will continue to serve the babies of Berkeley, though in a new capacity, and where thousands more babies and their families will have the pleasure of benefiting from the influence and impact of your leadership. We wanted to send you off a little reminder of your first family, that when you go and sit on that new dais, BUSD, no, that's not true, she's gonna serve all of the students and families in Alameda County. But we wanted to give you a little piece of our hearts. So we have for you this beautiful crystal plaque. Hello, crystal, ooh. Okay. It says, award of appreciation presented to Ana Vasudev in recognition of your six years of vision, dedication, and commitment to the students, families, and community while serving as a member of the Berkeley Unified School District Board of Education. Thank you for your heart, thank you for your commitment, and thank you for your time on the dais.

With a beautiful curiosity.

Oh, sorry. Thank you. That's the end of my comments.

I just want to make sure. Thank you, Superintendent. Those were sweet and thoughtful comments. And of course, when we get to the board member comments, there will be many happy and also sad and thoughtful comments about our colleague moving on to another board, which we're very excited for her. So we're going to shift into public comment now. And As we have done in the past, when there are groups of folks here, we provide five minutes. I know sometimes this can be a little bit discombobulating at the last minute. In particular, we've got a large group here to discuss learns and give us their hearts and minds regarding learns. So as part of that process too, we try to have students come first. So, There are many, many, many learned people here. So of this group, and I think most of you know each other, but I'm going to call your names out really rapidly. So you will figure out who are the students and how you're going to spend your five minutes. And we'll give you a little bit of time to do that. So there's Julian Surrett. And I apologize for mispronouncing your names. And we can't tell who the students are on here because, unfortunately, the card didn't have a check off for this. Eileen Lee. Harrison Bayes. I think the name is. Madeline Noonan, Amado Mahiri, Anna Mahiri, Karina Solomonic, Lauren Martofsky, Leo Anfin, Ziggy Silber Spagnolo, Molly Lee, and there's a BSU student with Molly Lee, Amy Araby, and two Emerson students. Okay, you guys like to come on up? Let me do five minutes. So you come on up and then you have the students go first. Yeah. So I think, so if you have the students go first and then if there's time left over for the parents, that's the way we would do it over those five minutes.

Cool.

Hi, my name is Finn Canarum, and I'm going into fifth grade at Emerson Elementary. I'm here to talk about why I love Kids World and why I don't want it to change. Kids World has made my experience after school so much fun. I get to play basketball and football with my friends every day, which I really need. I also get time to finish my homework so I don't have to do it when I get home. I was lucky enough to get into Kids World in the fall, but all my friends are on the wait list. And that's not fair. Most of them have been going to Kids World every year for the past five years, and all of a sudden they have been waitlisted. Where will they go? Please readmit all returning students back into Kids World. Kids World will not be the same without them and the other 40 kids who are put on the waitlist. Thank you.

Hello, my name is Leo, and I'm going into fifth grade after summer break, and I used to go to Kids World. I play football, basketball, kickball, and more, and I love playing with my friends. I love all the Kids World staff very much, and I was very sad when my parents told me I was waitlisted for Kids World next year. Not only does this change affect me, but it affects so many other kids whose parents are working the afternoons and cannot take care of them. I really hope you think about what I said. Thank you for your time.

I'm Roshan, I'm eight years old, and I'm gonna be in third grade. I've been in Kids World for three years. If I'm not in Kids World, I never see my friends again, and if I never see my friends again, I don't have much fun. I want to be in Kids World.

My name is My name is Ziggy and I'm seven. I'll be going to second grade after the summer and I hope Kids World gets all the staff that it needs and everyone who wants to go to Kids World can go.

Hi, I'm Harrison and moving into fourth grade at Emerson. My sister Parker is moving into first. We have been at Kids World every year, but this is the first time I got in and Parker did not. A lot of my friends or their siblings have the same situation. This is hard for my parents because they don't have time to pick Parker up. I love Kids World and all the staff there like Mr. Evan, Mr. John, and Mr. Terry. And so I ask you to help get kids back to Kids World.

Hi, I'm Amada, and I'm supporting for Emerson Kids World, which is loans. One thing that I like about Kids World is that they have homework centers so that you don't have to worry about it and stress about it when you get home. Another thing I like about it is after Homework Center, they have stuff that you can do. Like, for example, drama, story time, kickball, and dodgeball. You might have to sign up for some of these, but all you adults do paperwork, don't you? But the last thing that I wrote on this paper, since this is the only time that I had time to write on this paper, it was about the staff. Like, for example, Mr. Asante, he joins in the four square games so that some people have a challenge sometimes.

hello i'm karina and i'm the mom of a rising first grader i just wanted to reiterate what the kids said about how much they really really love it my daughter also has an amazing time there she learns a lot she gets a lot out of it so we really appreciate having like a safe good space like that but just also from the parents point of view we're like very very stressed and scrambling because we have to go to work and we have no way to pick her up in the middle of the day or no one to watch her.

So we really, really urge you guys to reconsider and think about what working parents can do to have someone watch their little kids during the day. Thank you.

My name is Isabella and I want everybody who wants to go to Kids World to be happy because Kids World is really fun for me and I want other people to be happy like me. And I appreciate Mr. John and all the group leaders who take time of their day to spend time with us and they're really nice to us so I really like to be at Kids World.

Hello everyone, thank you so much for your attention and for taking time for us. My name is Anna and I'm a mother of a seventh grader that's going to be an eighth grader. I'm a mother of a seventh grader who went through Emerson Learns. And as a kindergartner, he started in drama with Mr. James, who is a famous, amazing playwright and musician. Mr. Evans' ability to piece things together has been amazing. I cannot imagine Kids World without Mr. Evans. I also have Amado here who's- Thank you so much.

I'm sorry, we have to watch the time just to be fair to everybody.

So Kids World, yes, Willard. Yes, Emerson. Thank you.

Got it. And you can email us too. Thank you so much. Thank you, everybody. Appreciate your coming out. Next on up, we have another group, also five minutes. I'm going to call their names. Linda Curry, Kimberly Schroeder, Ginny Hanger, Bethany Laurie, Martha Kane. You guys can come on up. You've got five minutes, and you can sort yourself when you're up here, figure out Who will chat in what order?

Good evening. Here I am again, Linda Curry, part of the climate literacy working group. And I'm here to emphasize how important it is to retain the sustainability coordinator position funded by the parcel tax measure H. We have been informed that the sustainability coordinator position has been eliminated. But this seems to go against the protocols established by the accountability protections for measure H. We are concerned that these accountability procedures are not being followed, which requires two weeks notice to allow for public comment. It is our understanding that any revisions or updates for measure H annual plan budget 2627 need to be heard and approved before June 30. We do not expect this can happen at the school board meeting tonight without providing proper meeting notice, which also violates measure H accountability protections. We really would like to work together with you to uphold the integrity and values of the district. And we just it means so much this position means so much to so many students, and the teachers and the community. Please protect the position. Thank you.

Hi, I'm Kimberly, and I have a background in sustainability, and I support the Fix It Fest and the repair education at BUSD. The sustainability coordinator position has the potential to have tremendous savings for the district, financial savings. Take food waste. From talking with teachers at Longfellow, breakfast especially produces a tremendous amount of waste, like milk. Three cartons of milk are delivered to each classroom and on average one of them is partially drunk and the other two are often thrown out completely unused. And the sustainability coordinator could implement a system to make sure that unopened milks are returned to the cafeteria in time to be reused the next day. This could save the district about $15,000 a year just on milk purchases at one school. Now scale that savings to other schools and other food items, and you could easily cover the sustainability coordinator position and beyond. Having a role whose dedicated focus is on sustainability opportunities like this is how you can have these savings that are also educational opportunities. Thank you.

Hi, I'm Bethany. I work at Ruth Acty. And last week I witnessed many pieces of useful furniture from my site go into a dumpster, including wooden shelves, metal file cabinets. And this is not acceptable. And it's just one example of how our district is not yet meeting sustainability goals. As a public institution serving children who will inherit the future, we have a great power and great responsibility to make our schools sustainable. Sustainability is not a luxury. It is a requirement. And failing to meet sustainability goals is as bad as failing literacy and math goals. In passing the sustainability plan, the district made a promise to the students and staff, as well as the community of Berkeley, who continue to vote for taxes like Measure H because they believe in what we do. Institutional change of any sort is hard won. It takes concerted effort across many departments, and that means strong leadership. If we have a sustainability coordinator with knowledge and passion for sustainability and people skills required to communicate, and facilitate change, we will reach our sustainability goals. Cutting this position will cost money in the end and will cost credibility and integrity. It will increase waste and will pause many of the initiatives already in place. If the USC truly cares about sustainability, it must maintain this job. Please fund.

Hi, I'm Jenny Hanger. I am a citizen. Hi, I'm Jenny Hanger. I'm a citizen and taxpayer in Berkeley. I fully support retaining the sustainability coordinator position funded by Measure H. In my many, many years of being involved in business projects, those with clear coordinator generally succeed, however, When there is not a specific coordinator, projects often fail. I am so proud of the successful sustainability gains we have had in the Berkeley schools that I brag about it to people in other communities. It is penny wise and pound foolish to risk the potential savings and the student engagement by eliminating this position. Thank you.

I'm Martha Kane. At 1.30 today, the director of maintenance informed us by email that we cannot see the 2026-2027 Measure H annual plan because it's still in draft form and we do not share drafts. He also wrote that the oversight committee will not meet again until September 10. What's very troubling is that the numbers in the 2026-2027 plan with the sustainability coordinator intact match The numbers on pages 57 through 60 of the detailed budget you are voting on tonight under item 15 action items.

Thank you so much. You can also email us, of course. Next on. Thanks a lot. Next group up, we have Carrie Jewel, Grace Sukaforth, Rachel Lee, and Megan Werner for a total of four minutes with a smaller group. if you guys would come on up and kind of organize yourselves.

Thanks. Hi, everyone. My name's Kiri Jewell. I'm the mother of a rising first grader, Sylvia Mendez, and a rising sixth grader at Longfellow. I'm here to ask you to please implement a K through 8 bell-to-bell cell phone policy by the start of the next school year. I moved to Berkeley with my family so our children could benefit from a BUSD education. We are very thoughtful about the use of screens and access to platforms like YouTube in our home. So as my oldest child heads to middle school in the fall, I am very concerned that there's not already a bell-to-bell policy in place. Our kids deserve a distraction-free learning environment throughout the entire school day, including during learns and on field trips. I urge you to move quickly to implement this policy before the start of the school year. And for any parents looking to get involved, visit berkeleyunplugged.org. We've had over 650 signatures to our petition in the last two months. Thank you.

BUSD repeatedly publicizes commitment to equity, but your delay on the implementation of the phone bans actively widening the achievement gap under your watch. The data is clear, screens distract and learning and mental health suffer. Families with resources can offset this crisis with private tutors and therapy. Families without cannot. By failing to enforce your policy, you leave our most vulnerable students to bear the brunt of this crisis. This is not equitable. If LAUSD and New York can implement bell-to-bell bans, BUSD has zero excuses. history shows this district rarely acts proactively it acts when faced with litigation state law mandates phone free schools next month stop delaying and at a bare minimum we would at least like to see district commit to a timeline starting in the new school year for full implementation

BUSD has a real problem with student access to harmful digital content. Students watch thousands and thousands of YouTube videos and shorts during school time, play video games designed to evade district filters for hours on end during school time. Student email accounts become portals for students to access some of the most harmful content on the internet. Either BUSD is aware of the problem and is choosing to ignore it and do nothing, or BUSD is unaware of the problem. Either answer is unacceptable. School districts across the country have identified this problem and have taken action. BUSD doesn't even seem to know the harm exists. LA Unified, New York, Chicago Unified banned YouTube altogether. It is daily in the local California and national news. I urge BUSD to wake up and realize that student access is harmful. Digital content is a real problem right here in Berkeley.

I'm here to urge the district to implement its TK to 8 policy now and require that phones and smartwatches be secured in a locked pouch or checked in at the beginning of the day for the full school day, including after school. The research is clear that off and away policies do not work. When students are simply told to keep phones and backpacks, many still use them or actively think about using them. In one study, despite phone restrictions, 25% of students were still using phones for more than an hour during the school day and 10% for more than three hours. Students themselves report that they do not consistently follow these policies, but it's not that they want to break the rules. It's not that. It's that the pull of the device is too powerful. A study shows that when we know, adults included, know our phone is accessible nearby, our craving for it increases, focus drops, and learning is disrupted. Please implement the bell to bell right away. These phones need to be physically unavailable all day, including after school. Thank you so much.

You can, of course, send emails. Next on up for a minute, we have Dan Brownson.

Hello I am once again urging you to reconsider eliminating the position of admin assistant to the district registrar at the high school. Well our registrar is a very talented and hard working person. The over 3200 students at Berkeley High and a total of over 9000 in the district at large is too large a caseload for one person to manage as registrar without any assistance. It really is going to cause problems if this position is not restored. even with modern technology and parchment and all that stuff. And as always, free Palestine.

Thank you. And so next on up, we have our last group before we shift online, the most important group. Nancy Yep, Ray Yep, Jay Vasadev, Stephanie Kahina, Gladys Stout. And as a group, you guys have five minutes, a larger group with at least five folks.

My name is Jyotindra Vasudev. I'm here tonight as Anna Vasudev's very proud husband. As this is Anna's last school board meeting, I wanted to take a moment to say publicly what our family has felt privately for a very long time. Anna has poured her heart and soul into Berkeley's children's families and schools. During her time on the school board, Anna helped advance work that I know is especially close to her heart. The Latinx resolution, the focus on closing the opportunity gap, support for college and career readiness for our students, and the launch of the Puente program. I want to say something about who Anna is at home, because it is the same person this community has seen in public service. Anna is an extraordinary mother. Our children have grown up watching her prepare for meetings late at night, take calls with family, show up for community events, and still be fully present for them. They have learned from her that service is not something you talk about, it is something you live. She's also an amazing wife and partner. I'm so lucky to have her in my life. I have seen the sacrifices she has done behind the scenes. Through it all, Anna has remained grounded in her values and in her love for Berkeley students. Thank you to the board, the district and the community for giving Anna the opportunity to serve. And Anna, thank you for everything you have given us. This district is better because of you and our family could not be prouder.

Good evening, my name is Gladys Ocampo-Stowe and I'm speaking on behalf of Latinos Unidos de Berkeley. We'd like to thank board member Ana Vasudeo for her extraordinary service to Berkeley students and families. Ana has been a fierce advocate for all students, leading the way on issues ranging from safe reopening of schools during COVID to supporting students of color, English learners, students with special needs, immigrant students, and so much more. The Latino community is especially grateful for her leadership and commitment to educational equity. Her work on the Latinx Master Plan helped establish a clear roadmap for how the district can better support Latinx students and families for years to come. We also want to thank Anna for something that often goes unseen, the time she took to meet with students and families, answer emails, listen to concerns, and build relationships. It is clear that this work is deeply personal to her. For that and for all that she has done for Berkeley students and families, we offer our sincere gratitude and wish her continued success in her next chapter. Thank you.

Good evening. My name is Ray Yep, and I wanted to come tonight to also thank Anna Vasudev for all her work with the school board and also wish her the best in the future with Alameda County. I have gotten to know Anna on working on some issues, gotten to know her family, and it's truly a blessing to know her. The list of accomplishments is very long, and there are people who know it far better than I. But I have been in front of the school board many times, many of you know, speaking on one favorite subject. And we have filled the room with many students and parents on this particular subject. And if I would have it in my power, I would place Anna at Mount Rushmore for her support of returning tennis courts to Berkeley High. Thank you so much. Best wishes in the future.

Good evening, everyone. My name is Stephanie Kahina, and I'd like to take a moment to recognize my sister, Anna Vasudev, as she concludes her service at the Berkeley Unified School District. First off, thank you, Superintendent Ford-Morselle, for your heartfelt comments. On behalf of our family, we are grateful for the partnership you and Anna have had over the last few years. Throughout Anna's time in this role, she has been a tireless champion for students, especially those whose needs are often She fought for children with learning differences, advocated for English language learners, supported educators, and worked to ensure that families facing barriers to engagement had a voice and a place at the table. What made her leadership so powerful was that it was deeply personal. As a former English language learner herself, she understood firsthand the challenges that many students and families face. She brought that lived experience into every decision, every conversation, every vote, always asking how our schools could better serve those who need support the most. Public service is not easy, and all of you know this up here. It requires long hours, difficult decisions, an unwavering commitment to community. She approached this responsibility with integrity, compassion, and determination, giving this role everything she had. As her term comes to a close, I hope she knows that her work has made a lasting difference in the lives of countless students, families, and educators. We're incredibly proud of your service and grateful for the example that you have set for so many. Thank you for your leadership, your heart, your dedication, and your impact will be felt for years to come. Thank you, sister.

Thank you so much. Those are really heartfelt comments and very, very thoughtful too. Brings almost tears to my eyes. I try not to cry on the dais. So we're now going to go to our online commenters. And there's a number of folks on there as well. So the same process that we use in person, well, there's 52 people online, we use online, which is we try to have the students go first. I don't see any students. OK. Ms. Charez does not see any students. And I'm trying to see if there's... Oh, yeah. I see a third grader. Okay, cool. There is a student, a third grader. Thank you.

We'll start with Sarah Fima, promoting you now.

Okay.

So yes. Hello. Um, my name is Sarah FEMA Rhonda Schulman. I am the mother of a rising third grader. Um, when I, uh, when my son found out that he, uh, was waitlisted for kids world, uh, of which he has been a part since he was a kindergartner, he was absolutely devastated. Kids World has been a part of our life for the last nine years, ever since we moved to Berkeley. It is absolutely essential. We are severely affected by this decision. My husband and I are both working parents and we are not the only ones who, not the only working parents, obviously, who have been affected by this. We strongly, strongly hope that this decision can be changed and the children who absolutely need care can receive it. We cannot continue to hold on to our jobs without it.

Thank you.

Thank you so much. Do we have someone else who is a student online, just to make sure? I don't think so.

No, that was the only hand that indicated they were a student.

I'm sorry. We are online. You're raising your hand. I'm sorry? Oh, on the chat. Oh, on the chat. Is there somebody who's trying to raise their hand? Ms. Chara, there may be someone in the chat who's a student who's trying to raise their hand.

same speaker, now a student will be addressing the...

It's Beatriz is a student as well, would like to speak. Oh, I see. Is it a different... Okay, two other kids and two different people.

If you are online and you are a student and wish to speak during this public comment period, please indicate. Write student at the end of your name so we can prioritize you accordingly.

Yeah, thank you. Just write student at the end of it and then raise your hand, because it's hard for us to tell who our students are or are not otherwise. What are the names of the two students that folks are aware of? Beatriz and Sarah.

Beatriz and Sarah, okay. Sarah Acomaso.

Sara Camacho.

Is that right, Sara?

They're joining. They're joining as panelists now.

OK. Thank you. So Henry.

We have one of your things waiting for you.

Thanks, Mr. Evan. We have this beautiful... You have to talk loud, honey. Thanks to Mr. Evan, we have this beautiful aftercare called Kids World. Mr. Evan... our kid world teacher works so so so so hard to make this place a special place for kids and i love that i think they should let more people in because it's the best aftercare i have ever been to thank you mr rabin oh thank you so much um we got some clapping in the audience here for you and then is is henrietta a student as well we we don't have a i think henrietta

Okay, so she's the mom, but her child's going to speak. Who? Henrietta, or Henriette Akoasare. Apologies for mispronunciation. So H-E-N-R-I-E-T. Promoting him now. Okay. So if there's another student with a hand raised, please rename yourselves. Hi there.

My name's Amara. I go to Emerson. I'm going into fourth grade. I mean, fifth grade. I'm really sad to hear that so many of my friends won't be at Kids World. I think everybody should be able to go to Kids World. I also think everyone that works at Kids World, especially Mr. Evans, should keep their jobs. Mr. Evans is a very important part of Kids World. Without him, it won't be the same. I'm a second grader. My favorite thing about Kids World are all the awesome teachers, especially Mr. Evan, Mr. John, and Mr. Jason. Please help keep Kids World at Emerson for everyone and keep the staff.

Hi, my name is Ella, and I want to say it's not fair that some siblings got in, but the others didn't.

Thank you. Thank you. Good job. Thank you so much. Very brave to get online, on TV. So I don't see any other students, at least no one's renamed themselves. So the next in line, Ms. Charez, is that Lindsay Neufeldt? Okay.

President Chang? Yes. There's a student named Luca who's trying to speak.

Okay, Luca, thanks for letting me know. Do you know, Director Chonowski, what, have they raised their hands? And what their, so they may be named Luca, but their parent may be online with a different name. So that's, folks, that's why it's really important to kind of put students behind you, otherwise Ms. Charez cannot tell. So Luca, Luca's mom or dad or parents? Can you flag for us?

It's Sarah Akamazo's child, Luca. Thank you, director.

Good morning.

Thank you, Sarah Akamazo. That's right. Sarah Akamazo, would you like to have Luca speak?

Yep, thanks. Can you hear us?

Sorry, we're having, we can't. Okay, here's Luca. Go, Luca.

There we go.

Hi, my name is Luca Finneberg and I'm here to say that we need, I go to Sophia Mendez, I just finished third grade and I'm here to say that we need a bilingual director for learns because it's really important for the people who speak Spanish to be able to communicate of what to do. Por favor, necesitamos un director bilingue.

Thank you, thank you so much, you even translated for us. Next on up we have, so I thought Lindsey was next, we have a... Okay, she's a panelist. Ms. Nofelt, would you like to speak?

Yes, thank you. Good evening, my name is Lindsey Nofelt and I'd like to talk about protecting Berkeley kids from corporate exploitation. When the tobacco giant Philip Morris owned Kraft Foods, they used marketing strategies honed on cigarettes to hook school children on Lunchables, highly processed addictive foods. Today, we see that exact playbook deployed in our classrooms supposedly for better outcomes in math and reading. But the K through 12 instructional ed tech sales market is now a massive $20 billion industry. Vendors are raking in historic profits by selling us gamified solutions packaged in slick marketing, buzzwords, and false claims of efficacy. But the data is clear. Products like Math 180, YouTube, and Edpuzzle are driving corporate bottom lines, not improving student outcomes. Please take a holistic, human-centered, evidence-based view of how children actually learn. Thank you.

Thank you. Got lots of clapping in here for you. Sarah, FEMA.

They've already spoken.

They've already spoken. I apologize. There is an anonymous iPhone. Typically, we'd like you to kind of post your name. Ms. Chavez, what do you think is the policy on this with anonymous iPhone?

Hello.

Hello, can you hear me?

Yeah.

Hi there.

Hi there. I'm sorry. My name is Hillary Kelnick. I did not mean to call in as anonymous. Thank you for letting me speak tonight. I am here because I'm really disappointed that the board has failed to act with urgency regarding the K-8 Bell Bell phone policy. This issue is really um it's going to bring in being a meaningful change for our students in their classroom experience my rising ninth grader had regular access during class time to school she's chromebook and she would use that to shop online and i know this because she would sometimes send me emails from her during class with links of things she wanted to buy this wasn't happening secretly it was happening during sanctioned non-instructional screen time so if our students are spending their instructional hours browsing and shopping or playing video games instead of learning that should really concern all of us and every month of delay has consequences our teachers are continuing to compete with devices for attention and students are losing opportunities for learning connection and engagement We were told this policy mattered, and yet we are approaching another school year.

You've hit a minute. I apologize for this. But you could email us on important messages. Thank you so much. So for fairness, we need to keep people at one minute. And you'll hear the buzz. There's no impoliteness intended. I have to cut you off and ask you to send by email. We have a whole bunch of public speakers here as well. We want to make sure everyone can get in. Dante Galan.

Sorry, can you hear me okay? Yeah. Okay, great. My name is Dante Gallen-Odoi. I am a coordinator. I'm speaking tonight because LEARN's programs that families and students relied on is being dismantled piece by piece. This restructuring has been a failure. By making LEARN's overwhelmingly PK and kinder focused, you are removing a community that older elementary students depend on. The message that's being sent to them is clear, that they do not matter. for years learns was more than child care it was a place where students built friendship found mentors developed leadership skills and felt connected now those opportunities are disappearing we were told repeatedly by samantha that a level was phased out but yet we are hearing that a level is coming back that is not a plan that is instability and our families are paying the price parents are frustrated staff are exhausted students are losing opportunities and unless something changes it will only get worse Coordinators were eliminated to accommodate more students, so why the wait list so extensive? And let me tell you, this is a result of something that you guys voted on and that you guys approved. And if you want to change it, you need to make the changes.

Thank you. Next on up we have Jennifer Hammond. Jennifer, are you available to speak? I think you've been, there you go. I can hear you.

Oh, great. Hi, everybody. Good evening. I'm ready. Yeah, so I just wanted to talk tonight about the urging the board not to reduce resources for the bridge program, particularly the bridge coordinator position, which is central to the program's success. I've been involved with the bridge program for the past eight years as a volunteer teacher and counselor. And I'd like to share that the coordinator's role is far more than administrative. She leads and supports a highly collaborative team of teachers and counselor, and creates the systems, vision, and culture that makes Bridge work. She ensures that our approach is student-centered, responsive, and timely. When students face challenges that don't fit neatly into existing systems, the coordinator helps the team think creatively, bringing together families, teachers, mentors, tutors, and community partners to find solutions. She keeps our historically underrepresented students from falling through the cracks and helps sustain intensive support throughout the years of high school. Thank you. If anything, yes, you got it. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Next on up, we have Spencer Pritchard. Spencer, you're probably here for committee, yeah. I'm here for a public comment today, thank you. Okay, great, please proceed.

Yeah, so dear school board members, my name is Spencer Prichard. I teach at Berkeley High and I'm also a second cohort teacher for Bridge. And today I'm asking you to reject any bridge reduction proposal. My current cohort are rising seniors, and tomorrow I finish two weeks of daily intensive college support preparation over the summer, for the first two weeks of the summer with my cohort, where students learn PIQs, EOPs, Common App, FAFSA, CSS profile, letter rec, and college research skills. It's a pleasure to serve these students and to see their growth in ninth grade. Any reduction in funding means we lose the quality of our services to our black and brown students. Our students deserve quality support programs. Cutting means A through G rates will decline. We won't be able to continue to level support and our team that we've carefully cultivated will not be as successful. Please don't reduce bridge. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Spencer. Next on up, we have Juliana Calderon-Gonzalez. Jolana, are you ready? Okay, so we'll move to the next person. Oh, there we go. Jolana, are you ready?

Hola, buenas tardes. ¿Me escuchan?

Sí, te escuchamos.

Thank you. My name is Juliana Calderon-Gonzalez. I am the mother of a child who is going to second grade for the program after school in Silvia Mendez. Y bueno, estoy aquí para apoyar la cuestión de tener un coordinador bilingüe en el programa Después de Escuela, debido a que, pues, como sabemos, es una escuela bilingüe, en donde, pues, la mayoría de los padres de familia necesitan también el apoyo para poder obtener toda la información en el idioma que más dominan, en este caso, el español. y también sobre todo por el apoyo que se les debe de proporcionar a los niños en la cuestión de la calidad y el servicio que hasta el momento ha ofrecido el programa. Considero que es muy importante para que se les proporcione toda la debida información, orientación y servicio.

Juliana is a parent at Sylvia Mendez and is advocating in support of the after school program. That support is necessary for parents to continue to receive the communication and be able to know what is happening and she's hoping that that support is not removed. Thank you.

Sorry, President Chang. Ms. Chara's point of clarity. Is the worldly feature working for translations on captions?

Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Fannie Gray would be next. Randy, are you ready to speak? And then after that will be Filippini Studio. And after that would be iPhone 510 365. Hello? Yes, Franny.

Hi, my name is Frannie Gray. I'm the Assistant Director of Counseling at BYA Community Partner, BUSD. I'm here to talk about Bridge. In the seven years I've been at BYA, I've supported many clients that went on to graduate from Berkeley High and pursue meaningful opportunities that I know would not have been possible without the Bridge program's dedication and support. Bridge doesn't only focus on academics and college, they provide all-day hands-on support for the emotional and mental well-being of the kids who need it most. As someone who benefited from a program just like Bridge at a different high school and works directly with this underserved population, I know these kids won't have the same chance unless a high-quality intensive program like Bridge exists. When you come from a low-income family whose main focus is survival, it doesn't matter how smart you are or how capable you are or even how motivated you are. What does matter is the people who believe in you, who show up every day and remind you that you're worthy, cheer you on, and demonstrate a real commitment to helping you get where you are and deserve to be. Bridge truly does transform young people's lives, and if we want a better future for ourselves, our kids, our community, then essential funding for Bridge is where we have to start. Thank you.

Thank you. I think we're gonna, due to the number of comments, we've shifted over time for comments. We're going to do one more and then the rest of the folks, you can keep your hands raised and we'll shift you to the end. We have one person coming up on a subject matter that just was in support of our outgoing director. And then the rest of the folks, you can keep your hands up. And at the end of the board meeting, there's a second opportunity. Unfortunately, we have exceeded our timeframe for public comment, except for this one person. Beatriz.

Hello. Good evening. Buenas noches. My name is Beatriz Leyva Cutler. I'm a former school by Berkeley school board member and from 2008 to 2020. I'd like to join tonight Latinos Unidos, the school board, the superintendent's words, the parents and the families and many here tonight in acknowledging school board director Ana Vasudev for her service and advocacy on behalf of Berkeley schools, our students, teachers, families and the district. The director has helped move forward with the update to the master plan for English language learners, ensuring that funding are aligned with the master plan, maintaining a focus on most vulnerable learners, and ensuring that our Office of Family Engagement has the support to continue welcoming and supporting families. And also thank you, Ana, for ensuring with the school board, superintendent, and the school district that the Latina X resolution remains alive, funded, and an annual priority to the district. We look forward to her continued advocacy for Berkeley Unified on a county level, particularly for students in juvenile, homeless, and those in foster care.

Thank you so much, former Board President Beatriz Levia Cutler. And with that, we're gonna move on to committee comments. Do we have committee folks here in person? Yeah, I think we have someone from ASAC. Would you like to come on up, Nicole? Thank you.

Good evening, board directors, superintendent, district staff, and members of the Berkeley community. My name is Nicole Harris, and tonight I am speaking on behalf of the African-American Success Advisory Committee. I also want to acknowledge that I'm not standing here alone. Members of the ASAC are here with me because this work has never belonged to one person. It belongs to a community of people who deeply care about black students, black families, and the future of Berkeley Unified. As the school year ends, we recognize that this has been a year of important work honest reflection and urgent continued urgency the african-american success framework has helped move this district toward a clearer understanding of what it means to support black students with intention it has created shared language strategic direction and important opportunities for action at the same time we know there is still much work ahead this past weekend the asac spent focused time together in retreat We took seriously the superintendent's recommendation that we thoughtfully think about our next steps. We did not gather simply to talk. We gathered to listen, reflect, assess, and clarify how we will move forward. We used our time well. We examined what has been built, what still needs to be strengthened. We considered how other advisory groups engage, organize, and influence district direction. And we were honest with one another about what we observed. We have observed that our voices, our recommendations, and the lived experience we have we bring have not always been considered with the weight or urgency this work deserves it is not a statement made lightly it comes after years of watching listening participating and learning because we have been paying attention we are clear that the asac will show up differently moving forward not loud for the sake of being loud and not oppositional for the sake of being opposite oppositional We will be more organized, more grounded, more strategic, more unified, and more deeply connected to our guiding purpose. That purpose is simple and sacred. Black children in Berkeley Unified must be well. They must be seen, heard, protected, and prepared. They must have access to every opportunity that Berkeley Unified has to offer. and they must experience school as a place where their brilliance is expected, nurtured and sustained. That is the purpose that brings us here. That is the purpose that will guide our next steps. We also recognize it's a difficult time for the district. Resources are limited. Everyone is making sacrifices. Hard decisions are being made. for the system. But limited resources make clarity more important, not less. When resources are constrained, we must even make discipline about our priority and how we measure impact. Black student success cannot become optional when budgets tighten. It cannot be treated as an add-on, a special project, or something we return to when conditions are easier. The needs of black students are not seasonal. The commitment made through the African American Success Framework cannot be seasonal either. ASAC is prepared to continue doing its part. We are prepared to work. We are prepared to partner. We are prepared to ask better questions, review information more carefully, communicate more consistently, and hold ourselves accountable to the students and families we represent. But partnership must be real. It must include timely information. It must include transparent decision making. It must include meaningful engagement before decisions are made, not after they have been finalized. It must include a willingness to hear what may be uncomfortable, especially when those truths come from the people closest to the impact. We are grateful for the progress that has been made. We are grateful for the superintendent's willingness to encourage reflection and thoughtful next steps. The ASAC is ready to move forward with focused, stronger intentional alignment and greater clarity about our role, our voice, and our responsibility. Our students deserve consistency. Our families deserve communication and respect. Our educators deserve partnership. When we are honest about what black students have experienced and discipline about building what they deserve, the entire district becomes stronger. Our feet are on solid ground and we know what we need, why it matters, and we will proceed accordingly. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Do we have other committee comments in person? I don't see any, do we have any online? Ms. Chavez, you want to double check? Okay. How about union comments? I see some union in the house. Okay, and one online as well.

Hello.

Good evening, school board, superintendent, and everyone joining us tonight. So now before I begin, I know when many of you see me walk to this podium, you probably brace yourselves a little and wonder, all right, what is Moja going to say tonight? Well, tonight you can all relax, because for once I did not come here to challenge, question, or fight for anything. Tonight I simply came to say thank you from the BCC Executive Board. As we close out the 25-26 school year, tonight is about appreciation. Tonight is about recognizing the people who may not always stand in the spotlight, but are the very reason BUSD continues to shine. Tonight I am proudly wearing a shirt that says, we cook it, we fix it, we drive it, we paint it, we schedule it, we clean it, we are classified. And tonight I want to remind everyone exactly what that means. We cook it. Our nutritional services professionals show up consistently making sure students throughout this district are fed and cared for. Their work is essential and for many students the meals they provide are a critical part of their day. And we also recognize the cooking and gardening programs that help teach students life skills, healthy habits, and create learning experiences far beyond the classroom. We fix it and we paint it. Our maintenance professionals work diligently, ensuring our schools are safe, functional, operational, and ready for learning. Their work often happens quietly in the background, but their impact can be seen throughout every school in this district. And tonight, I want to recognize someone who represents that same spirit of service in a very special way. Our BCC President, Frank Hernandez, is an electrician by trade, and anyone who understands skilled labor knows that kind of work requires precision, patience, problem solving, and knowing exactly how to handle things when systems are not working the way they should. Funny enough, those same skills seems to apply pretty well when representing over 600 classified staff. Now I know for a fact you probably would not want me doing this tonight, but after working with me long enough, you should know by now that I do not listen. And on this one, I am definitely not listening, because I believe people who dedicate themselves to serving others deserve to be recognized. So tonight, we want to say thank you, Frank, for your leadership, thank you for your service, and thank you for setting up every single day for classified professionals throughout this district. Now, we drive it. Our transportation professionals carry one of the greatest responsibilities entrusted to classified employees, safely transporting students with skilled professional in care. And let me say this, we are fortunate to have an incredible transportation department right here in our district, reminding us that sometimes the best resources we need are already within our own BUSD family. We clean it. Our custodial professionals are often the first to arrive as early as 6 AM and the last to leave at 10 PM, sometimes even later when this district hosts evening events, including meetings like this one. All while making sure every campus remains clean, safe, welcoming, and prepared for students and staff throughout the school year. We schedule it. Now, this one is especially close to my heart. Because right now, as we approach year-end closing, there is tremendous work happening behind the scenes in the business services department. Invoices are being processed, budgets are being reconciled, accounts are being balanced, financial reports are being finalized, an entire fiscal year is coming to a close, and there is an incredible team of classified professionals working diligently to make sure every detail is accurate and every account is where it needs to be. What many people do not realize is that these are also the professionals who provide the board and district leadership with the data, the numbers, the reports, and the financial information needed to make critical decisions that impact our schools, our staff, and our students. So tonight, I want to give a very special shout out to the incredible business services team, Sadie, Richard, Miguel, Monica, Harvey, Ben, Mario, Janine, Russell, and Craig. Thank you for the long hours, the teamwork, the commitment to accuracy, and for carrying responsibilities that help keep this entire district moving forward. And before I move on, I want to acknowledge one classified professional whose work often happens quietly behind the scenes. Miss Vivian Ferguson serves as executive assistant to the assistant superintendent, Pauline Follingsby. And anyone who understands district operations know that that is no small responsibility. Supporting the office that helps oversee the financial operations of this district, the work connected to our budgets, our salaries and raises, and the countless decisions that keep this district financially moving forward. And tonight is also the final board meeting for Director Anna Vasudev. Director Vasudev, BCC cannot let tonight pass without acknowledging your service to this district. Thank you for your dedication, leadership, and commitment to the Berkeley community. And if I may say, your beautiful red lipstick has always brought a signature confidence and style to this boardroom, and I have always appreciated that. So please know this. To classified staff, we see you, we value you, we appreciate you, because at the end of the day, without classified professionals, there is no district. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Other union comments?

Hi. Good evening board members and the listening public and classified employees of Local 21 and BCC. My name is Paula Phillips, chapter president of Local 21. As the school year ends, I want to remind the board that we were constantly given a false choice. We were told we can either have our hard fought negotiated wage and benefits increases, or we can have a fully implemented classification and compensation study. We were told that because the budget is tight and the district faces a multimillion dollar deficit, we had to pick one. When I'm here tonight, members of Local 21 and DCCE, we were forced into a false choice. We have already swallowed a double standard that we should have never had to accept. You were told there is no money to fix your broken outdated job descriptions. Yet just last month, the school board reviewed contracts to give additional salary increases to the top cabinet members, including a retroactive raise for the superintendent. When the district needs to retain executive leadership, they magically find the funding. But when classified staff ask for a structural equity, the pockets are suddenly empty. But this double standard goes much deeper than executive raises. Look at the devastating disparity in the budget cuts themselves. When the district decided to play musical chairs to handle the deficit, who was left without a seat? It didn't fall on the central office cabinet and it didn't fall... I lost my place. And it didn't fall on executive bonuses or administrative perks. No, the district issued over 120 layoffs and reduction notices directly targeting classified positions. They put the after school coordinators, the professional development coordinator, and BCCC rank and file classified employees on the chopping block. They targeted the workers who have the absolute least say in this district's finances, forcing them to pay the highest price while top management protects itself. The message from leadership is loud and clear. protect the top and let the bottom absorb the impact. They tell us to absorb structural cuts and then they expect us to accept a structural freeze on our job classifications. Let's be clear about what our negotiated raises are or were. There are standard wage increases that are designed to help us survive inflation. They keep our heads just above water, but a standard raise does absolutely nothing to fix structural unfairness. If you are doing the workload of two distinct positions because your department was cut, but you are still getting paid for the lower title, a standard contract increase doesn't fix that. It gives everyone a slightly higher version of an already broken pay structure. Cabinet members receive tailored contract increases to match their market value. You should demand that same impact, that exact dignity. Non-implementation of a comp and class study means the district chooses to stay blind to underpaying its most vital workforce. It allows structural inequities to bake into the system permanently. Classified employees, you keep these schools safe, clean, fed, and running. You are the backbone of Berkeley Unified. You demanded your negotiated wages to survive today. You should demand an end to a system where workers take the cuts while executives take the raises. And you should demand a fully funded rollout of the comp and classification study. Ensure equity tomorrow. Do not let them give additional raises at the top while telling the bottom to wait. You earn both and you deserve both. So every member of the classified staff who are listening to this speech tonight and to everyone watching at home, your silence is their permission. You cannot just sit back and watch them vote away your livelihood. Let them know exactly who keeps these schools running. Let them see your collective power. You must pack every single board meeting next year and flood their inboxes today, tomorrow, and the days to come, and refuse to back down until your value is fully recognized. Organize, speak up and demand what is yours. Thank you.

Okay, thank you very much. Our next union speaker I think is in the house.

Hello, Berkeley Unified School Board Directors and Superintendent Ford-Morthell. I am Matt Meyer, President of the Berkeley Federation of Teachers. I wanted to take some time tonight to thank Anna Vassadev for her many years serving as a Berkeley Unified School Board Director. Your leadership during the pandemic was instrumental in making sure our students and staff had the resources they needed to operate safely in that first year back. We had many, many conversations. Without your leadership, the Latinx resolution would not really be operational, right? It's successful because you've made it a priority. You have a commitment to our newcomer and multilingual communities, and it shows through all the district programs that now exist. There's FTE for ELD coordinators and many school board presentations that I'm not sure would have been here without your advocacy. And our students can achieve at high levels because of the attention that we pay to them. And that is, you know, thanks to the work that many board members do, but I know of a special attention with Ana. You leave behind a much stronger program than when you arrived and we'll miss your advocacy on this board and know that you'll be fighting for students just in a different venue. Best of luck in your new role at the county office. Thank you.

Thank you so much. And next on up, we have Director Ana Vasadev, who is going to speak on her transition, which we can't roll it back anymore.

We can't roll it back. It's a done deal. The voters have spoken. They spoke. Again. They made the right decision. We can't change it. I hope so. Thank you, everyone, for coming tonight. Special thanks to our students, parents, labor partners, and education workers for your advocacy up until the very last meeting. Just so grateful that you're here and that you're paying attention to the important decisions that we make on this dice. Tonight is bittersweet for me because it's my last full board meeting with BUSD. Starting in July, I will start a new term as a trustee for the Alameda County Office of Education representing Area 1, which encompasses Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, and portions of North and West Oakland.

I'll be the only new member on that team, and I've had to hit the ground running as a newbie.

And yesterday I took part in some professional development with our county superintendent in San Diego, and I know all too much about charter school oversight now. So it was a very exciting day. I had three cups of coffee at that training. And so serving Berkeley schools has truly been an honor of a lifetime. And I want to thank the voters of Berkeley for trusting me these last six years with that huge responsibility. I'm proud of many things during my tenure, including implementing a collaborative approach towards problem solving. And I think, Matt, you referenced the many conversations we had during the pandemic. I was elected in 2020 during the pandemic and remember getting sworn in socially distanced with the clerk really far away from me Thinking to myself, is this legit? Because it's so far away. But it was. And I remember lots of folks telling me, you're so crazy for wanting to serve on a school board right now. And I thought, well, Khadija was here. So you're the only one else on this diocese who was here. And I know that our superintendent and associate superintendent were also serving in a similar capacity to help schools reopen safely. So after getting elected, my initial work focused on working collaboratively, and I learned that you really can't do anything on this dice alone, that it requires teamwork. And so collaborating with Matt, collaborating with Senator Richard Pan to help shape Senate Bill 1479, it was the first time I ever worked on a Senate bill, which directs all school districts to have a plan in place to provide free COVID-19 testing to our students and education workers. That process taught me the unique power of true and authentic collaboration with labor partners, parents, and education leaders. Working with Latinos Unidos at Berkeley, educators, and the school board trustee and SFUSD at that time was also incredibly powerful. We drafted during the pandemic and passed and funded a Latinx resolution, which sets annual goals from pre-K to 12th grade and indicators that will lead to the elimination of the gap between Latinx students and all students in the district. And we'll look at data from grades three to fifth grade math proficiency, eighth grade math support, and college and career readiness. And we'll ensure that we're helping our students fulfill their UC and CSU course requirements. And we also promise to improve our reclassification rates, which we have done.

Thank you to the amazing work of our staff.

Another thing I'm really proud of, and has been referenced tonight, is updating our multilingual learner master plan in 2022. When I came onto the board, it had been nearly 10 years since it had been updated, so that's a source of pride for me, and I know that many of my colleagues, Khadija, you are here. Again, I'm gonna reference you, because you were there with me when I started. We're really proud of that work. I was also really excited to help spearhead the Disability Equity and Special Education Advisory Committee. As my sister referenced in her comments, a lot of this work is deeply personal to me. And I don't know how many folks know, but I'm a mom of a child with special education needs. And so that compass guides a lot of my works, particularly fighting for our SPED students. Another source of pride during my tenure has been passing our first pride resolution to celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer pride month in our schools. And I'm also grateful to have a new partner, Director Koren, to help update and strengthen that resolution. I was also very excited to start off in collaboration with our then new AAPI parent group. Not so new anymore, but at that time when I got elected, we worked on a resolution denouncing hate crimes and bigotry to combat anti-Asian racism, supported affected families, and ensured that the AAPI students would feel safe in our schools. And we also worked on our first AAPI Heritage Month event in BUSD and was really honored that the community trusted me to do that. I remember Dr. Chang, you were just a parent at that point, a very active parent, but thank you for collaborating with me on that. Very proud of our work to establish and help fund our district's First Puente program, a national program that has helped thousands of first generation black and brown students go to college and attend top UC programs. This program contributes to Berkeley High recently being ranked number two statewide the University of California's admissions performance and so I'm proud of that stat not just because we get a lot of kids into the UC's but because of our intentionality and making sure that our black and brown students are also getting in at strong rates And none of this work, none of this work that I referenced would be possible without the amazing staff of BUSD, without Superintendents Ford, Morthell, and Stevens, who trusted me in all of my shenanigans, thank you, our amazing Associate Superintendent Hogan Dyke, previous Associate Superintendent Aurelio, our parents, community partners, and above all, for our students. Without our students, none of this is possible. In Spanish, we have a saying, ,, for them, is why we do this work. Most importantly tonight, I want to thank my husband, and my children, and my family who make it possible for me to serve. My husband for cooking meals and tucking my kids into bed during those late school board meeting nights. To my boys, Kavi and Sebi, for knowing that fighting for others is a non-negotiable in our family. And I would be so proud if they did the same. In fact, I expect them to do the same. For my sister, my mom, and father-in-law for always being there for me. And for my dearest friends, including my tennis familia. I don't play tennis, but I love the tennis folks and pickleball folks. and for my Latinos and the Berkeley partners and for all the community groups who worked with me during these last six years. Thank you so much and thank you for trusting me. Lastly, thank you to my board colleagues, and Director Shenoski, thank you remotely for being partners in this work to fight for the best education for our Berkeley kids. I'm switching over into the county office, but make no mistake that I do intend to make us hashtag Berkeley proud, and I'm excited to fight for all our students in the county, and in this new role, I will also work to uplift the educational well-being of students in our juvenile court systems. That's a new challenge, but something that I'm really looking forward to and it's very near and dear to my heart since they are truly among the most vulnerable of our students. Thank you all for your support today and always. This isn't a goodbye. I think the former Director Leyva Cutler said it in Spanish too, but in Spanish we have a saying, it's an hasta luego. I'll see you later. And I know that I'll be seeing our staff, the county office, dealing with inter-district transfers and lots of fun issues. And I'll always be thinking about the wellbeing of Berkeley, of our community. And thank you for trusting me for these last six years.

And I know the good work will continue with this amazing team.

Wow, that was amazing. I can't believe Director Vasudev has done so much in the span of six years, quite incredible. And I think I'll go next just as transition. All the kudos that have been provided are so well earned. And I just wanna speak briefly on the importance of my work with Director Vasadev as a colleague that I think on this board, you know, really supported the professionalism of this board, which I have deep respect for my colleagues here on the board and also the administrative team. I've been really, really impressed in my number of years here. And I think that Director Vasadev was really critical to ensuring the workings of this board. And also for me as a new board member, I was junior to her. coming onto the board and she really supported me and gave me a lot of like tips and we chatted a lot and we don't always agree, but we always have a constructive outcome of some sort. And so I really appreciate that time of chatting with her about these board issues, but more and also meeting her family. I remember Jay was so welcoming when I was first running for school board and super supportive as well. helping with some tech stuff that I was very confused about. So I do want to say, of course, that we are both very happy for you. We're sad that you won't be here, but we know that you're off to great things. And I'm really excited for all that you're going to learn and the service you're going to provide for students at the county level. So thanks so much for your service and also your friendship on the board too. Thank you. I'm gonna pass it on to other board members. Director Pram.

i'll go next and then i'll let uh director brown bring bring it up from the rear since she was your mentor but like mike i had the opportunity to be mentored by you um i first got to know you and also jay and your sister knocking doors together in 2024 and um Yeah, we had, and sitting next to each other at candidate forums answering everyone's questions, and it was a delight. From the first time we met, I have been impressed by your thoughtfulness, your integrity, your dedication, and your big heart. I don't know if you will remember this, but I believe the first time we met you cried talking about your service on this board. And I have particularly appreciated partnering with you in our shared commitments to multilingual learners and also students with IEPs, which are student populations that are really important to both of us. I am grateful not just for your deep care and your dedication to all of our Berkeley students and families, but as Mike mentioned, for your detailed attention to policies and procedures and ensuring that everything functions the way it's supposed to. and I just want to end by echoing the words of your family and friends and all the many community members who spoke tonight in expressing my deep gratitude for your service to this board and your mentorship to me as the newest member of this board I think congratulations on your election as a trustee in the county office of education and I wish you all the best as you transition to your new role and I have no doubt that we will continue working together in the future.

Thank you so much, Vice President. And I think we don't want to forget Director Shinoski, who's on. Would you like to go to speak? We also have Director Brown. So we have two left. OK, Director Shinoski is suggesting that Director Brown would. OK, thank you.

All right. Good evening, everyone. Thank you so much for those of you who came out tonight to speak to us about after school, sustainability, the sustainability coordinator position, the use of technology and the harms of overuse for students in the district, the need for bilingual after school teacher, protecting BUSD students from corporate exploitation, as well as speaking to us about the bridge program. Thank you to our committee members for our ASAC comments. And thank you to BCCE, Local 21, and BFT for your comments. As we move through tonight's agenda, I want to first begin by acknowledging the tremendous work that happened across BUSD this school year, as this is our last school board meeting for the year. Despite the many challenges that we're facing public education, I am so proud of this district for the ways that we've moved forward, for all of the gains that we made, and for the successes that we've seen. Whether we were discussing, and here on the dais I'm proud of the work we've done as well, whether we were discussing student achievement, fiscal sustainability, staffing, facilities, after school, transportation, or future planning, every item before us ultimately came back to one single question. How do we best support our students? And as we move to the end of the year, I want to thank the BUSD community for continuing to echo this question across every classroom and every community in Berkeley. Tonight's agenda reflects both the opportunities and responsibilities we carry as board members. We are tasked with making decisions that balance immediate needs with long-term sustainability while remaining grounded in our values of equity, inclusion, excellence, and belonging. I'm grateful to our staff, to our educators, to our classified professionals, administrators, students, families, and community partners who met with the Board of Education, spoke to us during board meetings, emailed us, and provided recommendations for our consideration that will help us to get to this evening's final vote on our budget. These recommendations help the board to think about not only what is financially possible, but what is also educationally meaningful. And I'm glad that we do not make these decisions in a silo, but as a real community. I also want to take a moment to recognize that this evening marks Director Vasudev's final meeting as a board member for the Berkeley Unified School District Board of Education before she begins her work on the Alameda County Board of Education. Ana, we have served at 140 board meetings together. Somebody say, wow. Wow, it's a very long time. And in that time we've served together, there are a couple of things that I just want to point out that I'm so thankful to have experienced with you. First, I want to thank you for your dedication to BUSD students, your dedication to our families, and for your dedication to our staff. You always recognize and remember our staff, and that's something that we should all learn. Throughout your time on the board, you have fought for children's safety by establishing a district-wide safety committee and also highlighted the opportunity for a position out of that work. You also worked to safely reopen schools with a strong focus on public health. advocated to increase safety on our campuses, focused on bike safety and access. Nobody talked about that. They all forgot about it, but I didn't. Focused on bike safety and access, been an advocate for students with disabilities, sponsored the Latinx resolution, been an advocate for Puente and the Multilingual Learner Master Plan, and focused on closing the opportunity and achievement gap for our most vulnerable students. all while asking your favorite question, will there be translation support for families? Ana, we will certainly miss your voice and miss your perspective at the dais, but we are incredibly proud to see that you will continue your service on the county level, and we know that you will take Berkeley with you wherever you go. Congratulations, we cannot wait to see the things you do.

Thank you. I'll let that taking Berkeley with you wherever you go. Um, would you like to go next?

Sure, um, I want to just highlight that we do have an update on the cell phone policy. So I'm hoping that the folks who came to talk about technology will stick around and, um. and see that update. I'm grateful for the superintendent and board president and vice president for agendizing that for tonight. And I will be brief since so much has already been said, Ana. I don't know that I could say any of it any better. I'm really grateful for all that you have taught me, taught us. We first met when I was volunteering on your campaign and it's been an honor to watch you on the board and serve next to you. So best of luck at ACOE. Say hi to all my friends over there. And I look forward to our paths continuing to cross.

Thank you so much, Director. And next on up, we have the consent calendar. So there is a request as we flagged at the start, to remove agenda item 13.25, which is the approval of the MOU between Brooklyn Unified School District and Herrick Hospital. There's also a request to amend the agenda to correct the title of agenda item 13.30 as listed online so that it matches the title on the posted hard copy PDF agenda or PDF agenda. The corrected title should be, quote, approval of contract with ELEVO, E-L-E-V-O, coast to coast to provide services in support of after school programs 2026-27 school year. Is there?

I move that we remove 13.5 as well as make a correction to 13.30 on the agenda.

Excellent.

I think it's 13.25.

13.25. Thank you.

And 13.30 is the second one.

I second.

There's a second. We'll call the roll.

Director Shinoski? Yes. Director Vasudev? Yes. Director Brown? Yes. Vice President Corn? Yes. President Chang?

Yes.

Motion carries unanimously. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Now we're going to move on to 14.1. So is there anyone here to speak during this hearing dedicated to the district's budget reserves, 2026, 2027 budget reserves? Just looking. Anybody? Nope. How about online? Nobody either. All right. Thank you so much. Not seeing anybody. We're going to move on to the next item. For our action item 15.1, we have the LCAP of 2427.

All right, good evening, members of the board. Again, congratulations, Director Vasudev, on your new position in the county. We'll look forward to all the good things that you will do across the Alameda County in the future. I'm Jill Hogendyke. I'm the Associate Superintendent of the Ed Services Department. And I'm joined here at the dais by Ms. Joya Bock, who is our Director of State and Federal Programs and Special Projects. at the request of board leadership, we have a brief LCAP adoption presentation. If you go to the next slide, Liz, we're just going to remind the public why we're here today with a brief overview of the LCAP, and we're gonna review updates since the first meeting and then request board approval for the 2627 LCAP. With that, I'll turn it over to Joya.

Great, thank you so much. So this next slide. just provides a brief preview of our Local Control and Accountability Plan, or our LCAP, which serves as Berkeley Unified's strategic plan for improving student outcomes. This year represents year three of our current three-year LCAP cycle, which goes from 2024 to 2027. Next slide, please. And so again, here is our timeline that we share regularly because it provides an overview of the entire development cycle. We are at the green arrow where we're presenting the LCAP tonight to seek board approval. This slide is a reminder of our goals and our actions. Holistically, they remain unchanged for this next LCAP, with the exception of AVID focusing in on just the middle grade, sixth through eighth, and adding the translation to all of our advisory meetings. And then finally, as shared during the first reading, the governor's May revision resulted in a modest increase in our projected local control funding formula supplemental allocation. But even with this increased revenue, the projected investments in our LCAP actions continue to exceed the available supplemental funding. So we do anticipate some shifts in these numbers depending on the final state of the state budget allocations. and the end of the year budget reconciliation.

And we'll come back to the board with those updates.

At this point, I'm going to turn it back over to Jill.

Oh, sorry. You're like sending me hand signals, and I'm like, no, no, go back. Sorry about that. OK. So we're going to talk about some updates from the first reading. Overall, there is not a change in our recommendation for the LCAP budget. and that said we had been proposing a reduction on the FTE for the bridge TSA the teacher on special assignment who serves as the bridge coordinator and we've now identified a way to keep that it's a technically a .997 FTE for the bridge TSA coordinator intact while maintaining the five bridge cohorts. Maintaining the bridge TSA coordinator position would keep this role's full attention on supporting the bridge program that can also include teaching a bridge section. Additionally, we have responded to all of the feedback from the Alameda County Office of Education. As we had shared in the first reading, we met with them on May 21st and they had identified some technical changes and required actions that needed to be addressed in the LCAP. Our team has been working on those adjustments with the shout out to our business services department who was instrumental in helping us get to those technical corrections and all of that has been completed and we've got the green light from ACOE. So before we ask for LCAP board approval, we'll take any questions.

Board members, questions? Director Vasadev.

Yeah, I just have a question. I know there's been a lot of advocacy around bridge, and I know that there was an earlier proposal to reduce that position. So I just want to, I know you mentioned it, associate superintendent, but it might be good just to highlight. So like that coordinator position will be at 1.0. Can you just like talk a little bit more about just where we are on the funding for that?

Right, so as you saw, we're still deficit spending in the LCAP. As we shared with the board at first reading, there are a number of expenses that we, with one exception, because we do have an ACOE grant to cover one of the RJ positions at the high school, but almost entirely we're moving those extra expenses into the Learning Recovery Emergency Block Grant. When we had originally talked about the proposal of reducing the TSA coordinator position to a 0.6, we would still have been required, we still are required to make that position whole. Remember, we talked a little bit about this with some of our other TSA reductions. At the time, that proposal was a split of a 0.6 coordinator position and then picking up the 0.4 in other course content. Since then, just recognizing that the role of the TSA is defined by the site or the supervisor of the work that we're doing, We can include a bridge cohort as part of that TSA, which would keep that position 100% focused on bridge.

Got it. Thanks, Associate Superintendent. That's helpful.

Thank you. I'm hearing, I see your hand up, Director Schanofsky.

Yeah, just to follow up on that. It's my understanding though that adding a cohort to that position inherently changes the position and changes the amount of time available for the coordinating. So those are my concerns about that position is that it's been presented as a difficult, it'll be difficult to maintain the services that are available right now if there's an additional component added to that position.

So that is definitely a perspective and an opinion. It's not one that we necessarily agree with, nor is it one that we see that's supported by our data in terms of time allegation and capacity. We continue to say that we want to reduce some of the administrative duties that are assigned to the coordinator position currently or have been assigned in the past and actually have a thoughtful strategy to do so and have engaged the current TSA coordinator as well as admin of BHS to make sure that's possible. Again, reminding the board that the bridge program in terms of the time with students, we talk about a section or a cohort of students. It is about a 50 minute block of time every day. And so we do believe that in collaboration with the entirety of the bridge team, BHS admin and the TSA coordinator, that we can identify a way for that 50 minutes to be spent in taking care of the babies in the program without significantly impacting the coordination duties that also take place in support of those babies.

Thank you. Are there other questions or comments? I'm not seeing any. Thank you so much. Board members, is there a motion? This is an action item.

I move to approve the LCAP plan. I'll second the motion.

Okay. So we have a first and a second. And do we have the roll call?

Director Schanofsky? No. Copy. Director Vasudev? Yes. Director Brown? Yes. Vice President Korn? Yes. President Cenk?

Yes.

Motion carries 4 to 1.

Thank you. Next on up, we have 15.2 with approval of the 2026-2027 budget and the 2025-2026 estimated actuals.

spacebar okay all right let's see how that works all right all right okay So good evening board members. Well, some people. We'll be presenting the adopted budget, but before we do, just want to say all the best, Anna. And we're going to miss you, Anna. Remember when you joined the board. And now I'm seeing you leave. So all the best wherever you're going. You will be missed. So we are tonight representing the adopted budget for the board to vote on as well as a resolution for budget adjustments in the out year as well as the public disclosure for the reserve requirement. um when we came to you two weeks ago we had shared the process for the preliminary budget we hadn't shared numbers so tonight you'll be looking at actual numbers for the um for the adopted budget and in the as um as always representing our budget um with our mission in mind and our four e's in mind as well tonight uh we go back Oh, this one is not going back.

How do we go back?

Yeah. uh okay okay so um so looking at the agenda um i covered briefly what you're going to be approving tonight but we're going to be looking at the unrestricted general fund is that that's the focus we'll be looking at the budget highlights revenue recognition and prop 98 variance report ada and enrollment multi-year projections we talked about the public hearing before and then the next steps So in looking at the highlights, the board voted on budget balancing solutions totaling $11.3 million, and that exceeded the target by $0.8 million. Tonight's budget has in 10.8 million dollars of budget balancing solutions. 0.5 is still being reviewed and we will actually bring this back at the first interim for the latest. So we were not able to get all of the budget reductions in the adopted budget because we needed additional information to implement them. For the undesignated, no, back again. Did that work? I think. Yeah, I think you, did you do the last one? I think Liz did the last one. All right, you do the best. Okay, thanks. So we haven't talked about the LCAP reserve for a while. The last few budget presentations, it does not have in the reserve, which is usually a million dollars. We have not put it in the preliminary budget and we have not put it in this budget. in this budget presentation either, and we can wait for board recommendations in terms of the LCAP reserve. Right now, we don't have the funds to set that aside and still maintain a positive budget. And another highlight is that you will see in the multi-year projections, we're back with budget balancing solutions, largely because we had one-time budget balancing solutions in the 11.3 million. So we've basically kicked that can down the road. So we're looking at up to $7.5 million in budget balancing solutions to balance the budget for 2017. 2027 28 and 2028 29 and the board will have to approve the resolution agreeing to these budget reductions. I think we'll let her do it. So we will have a positive certification, which means that we will meet our obligations for the current year and the two subsequent years. But we will need to be implementing budget balancing solutions as I mentioned before. The adopted budget shows that we have an undesignated ending fund balance of $1.1 million, but we have no reopeners or salary increases in the out years. And again, we always are gonna be faced with budget balancing solutions as we try to solve the district structural deficit or cover additional expenses. Next slide. Okay, so, no, I think we missed one. Can you go back one? So what's in the budget? We brought to you the May revise, and the May revise had some significant revenue numbers included in it. The revised COLA had an additional LCFF investment of 1.44%. percent both are included in the calculation of the LCFF revenue. The discretionary student support and professional development grant or spud bug that's included as one-time funding and that's because they were included as part of board approved budget balancing solutions. It's important to note that this revenue comes in as restricted funds so for the district to be able to take advantage of it in the unrestricted general fund, we have to transfer expenses to the restricted resource. And you will see the impact of that later on in the presentation. Spud bug funding is projected at 936.98, which is an increase over the 424.5 Per ADA that was in the January budget, we are receiving 30% of the increase, or approximately $1.3 million, and that amount is included in tonight's presentation. We also increased the SPED revenue by $2 million. We think this is going to be higher when we get the SELPA calculations, but as before, any changes or any significant changes will be brought back in the 45-day revise. And what's not in the budget, on the next slide. We need Liz. So what's not in the budget is actually the pregnancy disability leave. Part of the reason why the governor gave us additional funding was to account for this additional cost. We have not estimated what that cost is. And this slide actually should be familiar because we presented it at the May revise. And as before, there is no eligibility requirements to access this leave, and we have to provide a maximum of 14 weeks for certificated and classified employees. So that cost is not included in the adopted budget. So she had said the space bar. Sam, next slide.

You want me to do it?

Oh, that's... Yeah, this is.

Next in there. Yeah, next right there. Mm-hmm. Yeah, this is the next one.

May I? So this is an opportunity for us to talk about revenue recognition and GASB and Prop 98. The district actually has to follow guidelines established by the governmental accounting standards board. which is GASB and they in fact established generally accepted accounting principles or GAP and that school districts have got to abide by these rules. This is actually what our auditors audit us on to make sure that we are complying with generally accepted accounting principles. And this ensures that the districts maintain transparent, uniform, and publicly accessible financial statements for all our stakeholders. And it's important to note that revenues are only included in our financial statements when they're both measurable and available. And this Measurable and available is something that when I was going for my CPE license, everybody, that was kind of drilled into our mind. Is it revenue? Is it measurable? Is it available? So that's when we recognize revenue, only when it's measurable and available. Next slide. Oh, she went too far. Go back one. You did it today, she did it. So on the next slide, it talks about the influence of Prop 98. Sam is getting us back there. Where did Liz go? Right, so yeah. The other one, okay. So as a reminder, California school districts can recognize Prop 98, settle up revenue only after the California legislature officially passes a budget or budget act or trailer bill that appropriates this specific settle up amount. We cannot recognize revenue simply because state tax revenues came in higher than expected or because the minimum guarantee rose. so in a in alignment with generally accepted accounting principles the district shall maintain its established practice and prudent fiscal policy for revenue recognition so that's important that everybody understands it because this is how we have transparency in our budget and this is how we make sure that we don't have audit findings when we're in creating phantom revenues, they have to be something that is real. So this is just a reminder because there seems to be some misunderstanding about when we recognize revenue. And it's important to know that for us to get the settle up actually given to school districts, we continue, we have to continue to lobby to make sure that we do get the revenue that's owed to the districts. But until it actually becomes a law, we cannot include it in our revenue.

Next slide.

So I'm going to turn it over to Mehdi to do the variance report.

Yes, so in this variance report basically we go into the summary of what is available in the unrestricted general fund and the first section that we have is revenues and there are two main columns. the estimated actual for 25-26 and the adopted budget for 26-27 and the last column is the variance and as you could see and which is the most important for us as to what is happening on the LCFF front both as Pauline just mentioned, there was some additional investment by the state in LCFF. So we have seen that our base revenues will increase and our supplemental revenues are going to increase as well. So the effect is that the total LCFF revenues, we hope that these will increase by around $5.5 million. and on the other state revenues and other local revenues in in this same area we are projecting those a little bit lower as we are We don't have all the information about those areas, so it is better to project those conservatively, but we will continue to work on those, and as more information becomes available, we'll update those lines. Next slide, please. Moving on to the expenditure side of this again unrestricted general fund. So you could see that there are additional expenditures in particularly in the salaries. for the certificate for the classified and the employee benefits. This is the result of those TAs that we agreed and the benefit that we are going to increase, and the impact of those benefits actually is for half month, half year. So in a full year it would be higher. uh for the other services and other areas we hope that we will be able to control some of the expenditures and as pauline has highlighted that some of those expenditures will be absorbed in the spot bug so that we will have some savings there so it's still what we believe that it would be higher bottom line for the expenditure by around 3.9 million dollars. So next slide please. This is another important area for the general fund, what we are doing with other financing sources and their uses. So what we have been doing that we transfer out to our self-insurance fund, $550,000. And that was done in 25-26. And same number is being projected for 26-27. But for in 25-26, there was an inter-fund transfer in for the general fund from the post-employment fund, which is fund 20. That was in 25-26, and no such transfer has been proposed for 26-27. Next slide, please. Next slide, please. And here comes to the contributions. There are some contributions which are coming in from the parcel tax measures, those funds that we have. And around 21.4 million will be available from those parcel fund measures, which is around 1.2 million more compared to 25, 26. But on the contribution side, I mean the contribution out, that is mainly what we contribute to special ed and a little bit to other areas, but special ed is the main contribution out area where we believe that we will be contributing more by around $1 million. And due to all those additional services that are being considered, then that we will be providing. Next slide, please. And here, what we are trying to do is we are trying to provide a summary for the fund balances. If you see that we will have a beginning balance of around $3.8 million. But after accounting for all those expenditures that we discussed, we will have an ending fund balance of around $1.5 million. around the 3.4 million is amount which is already committed and assigned so we will have an undesignated fund balance of 1.1 million dollar and this is a little bit more details of the components of the ending fund balance so you could see that our uh revolving cash that remains the same hundred thousand but then economic uncertainties so the it would be around 0.3 million dollars and that the undesignated as we discussed is around 1.1 million dollars And we have a reserve balance in Fund 17, which is $5.1 million in the year 26-27. Next slide, please. So average daily attendance trend, as you could see, it has increased compared to last year but then we are keeping it flat and which is better and conservative but still what we will see that the trend of ada and enrollment is not going down whereas in california most of the districts they are facing a downward downward trend both for the enrollment and for the ADA. So at least this is positive for us.

Okay. So thanks, Mehdi. So we have to remember the important points in the variance analysis. We saw a significant decrease in expenses, and that's because we were transferring out expenses to one-time funding. So you would expect to see it coming back when we're looking at the multi-year, which is what I'll be showing you on the next slides. So this is a multi-year projection for the adopted budget and we're looking at the budget year 26-27 and the two subsequent years. You can see that we're getting not only a COLA in 26-27 but we're getting the additional LCFF investment of 1.44. That's largely driving the five million dollars increase in LCFF revenue that Mehdi mentioned in the variance report. We're looking at our ADA. That was also explained that we're keeping it flat and we're not actually having a decrease like most districts are. We're actually seeing a slight uptick. And then our unduplicated pupil counts, that went up very slightly from the projections from the year before. So with all of those assumptions and with the assumptions that we discussed earlier in the May revise, we're looking at LCFF funding of 122.9 in the first year, 126.7 and 130.5, and that's being driven by the COLA that we're expecting to get based on the May revised numbers in the governor's budget. When we're looking at expenses, you can see that the first column for expenses is $118.3 million. That's all our salaries and all our $5,000, our contracts and our services that Mehdi discussed in the variance report. However, when we look at $27.28, you can see that that amount increased by about, what, $9 million? Is that $9 million? yes so a lot of that is due to the fact that we transferred funding over to the spot bug in the current year it's one time so now those expenses are back in the budget in 27 28 and a slight uptick in 28 29 due to various increases like second column. I want to draw your attention to the budget reductions that I mentioned earlier that you're actually there's a there is a resolution that you will have to sign for that as well. And that's up to $7.5 million in 27-28. So it's $7 million ongoing in 27-28 and an additional $500,000 for 28-29. This is the amount that's needed to keep us solvent, if you will, and to have a positive certification. Next slide. So our sources and uses, Mehdi explained the various sources and uses in 26-27. That has not changed in 27-28 or 28-29. So with this, we're looking at a deficit spending in all years, a 2.3, which is the blue row, the change in fund balance. So that means that our expenses are outpacing revenue. And even though we're making a reduction in the out years, we're still deficit spending. um with these changes and we're looking at the beginning balances we're facing 1.1 million dollars which we talked about for the current year however in the out years we can see that this is declining 0.6 and 0.5 is are the ending balances for those years next slide um did you want to do the reserve disclosure okay med is going to take us through the reserve disclosure

So basically what the law says, or the court says, that a district of our size, we should keep a fund balance of 30%. And that was from the past. And they changed it when the state developed those reserves at their own level. still our requirement is three percent but because we are not going beyond the 10 per 10 percent which now they have changed in the law so we don't have to go into those details at the moment but we are only required to have three percent if there is something which is more than 30%, then it has to be brought to the public board meeting and presented and get approved by the board. So this is what we are doing here.

So we can look at the next slide. So this form actually will be in our packet, and it lists the amount that's over the minimum percentage. And this is taking into account the amounts that's over the reserve cap, and we're looking at all funds. So remember, BSAP is included. So that's what the public hearing was referring to. And on the left, I don't know if you can see it very clearly, but we're over the 3% based on the ending fund balances in the various funds. And we have to provide an explanation. So as a reminder, 3% is a real low amount. It probably doesn't even cover our payroll. So districts are encouraged to have a higher fund balance. But as Mehdi mentioned, it's capped at 10%. And that's because of certain requirements in the state budget. But right now, we are exceeding it. That's not necessarily a good thing because a 3% reserve is not a very healthy reserve or adequate. Next slide. So I kind of took over. Sorry. So we are... We are basing our budget on the governor's May revise, but the final budget will be what we'll be using to determine what our final numbers will be, and that's expected to be out by the 30th. The governor should be releasing his final budget. We will be bringing a 45-day revision to the to the board for approval if there are significant changes or in the assumptions in the governor's final budget. We'll be bringing that to the August 5th board meeting. Another significant financial event will be that we're closing the books by September 15th and that will help us determine the ending fund balance for 25, 26 and in turn the beginning balance for 26, 27. We continue to face near and long-term challenges. Our ADA, we're no longer benefiting from state mitigating measures. We're always facing one-time expiring grants and we are trying not to put ongoing programs on these grants and of course our costs continue to outpace our revenues hence the need for budget reductions or budget adjustments in the out years 26-27 and this last little section is an important reminder that for us to safeguard our financial health We have to continue to formulate and execute strategic plans for long-term fiscal stability. So that's the end of our presentations. We'll take questions.

Thank you. I'm going to... take the opportunity to ask a question while my board members think about stuff too, because you just raised in, I think it's slide 24, and it's helpful for me and I think for members of the public to understand the position with regard to deficit spending and, you know, the out years that you're referencing, 26, 27, to prepare for those. Yeah, thank you. So you have this minimum reserve, which is a legal requirement. What I'm understanding is that when there is more, tell me if I'm wrong, more than 3%, but with a cap of 10%, which we're nowhere near is my assumption, you need some form of approval, is that correct? And so remind us what the purpose of the minimum reserve is for.

Well, the minimum reserve, as many mentioned in a district our size, they determined that we would need a reserve of 3% to meet any economic uncertainties. That number does not, I mean, that's the required amount, but most districts have a higher reserve because given the cost of our payroll, a 3% reserve will not even cover. It's not right. But that's the state required amount. So we're meeting a letter of the law. But we are a little bit over that amount. And most districts are significantly over that amount. um but the county wants an explanation and our explanation is to mitigate we have a little bit more to mitigate deficit spending in the out years which is just like to meet any unforeseen expenses as well sure it's a kind of you're balancing you know and kind of um being ready for the out what you're referencing as the out years um so um what percent is there a percent there for where we were at we are at that you are asking us to approve no there isn't um if you have you would have to look at the effective rates it's a little bit more than three percent a little bit more than how much it's one million more in 26 27 it's 700 000 more in 27 28. okay And 586,000 more in 2029.

That's right. I see those. But yeah, it's hard to do the math for the percentages. But it's not, it's nowhere near 10%. And did you say, did I hear you say it's maybe less than three and a half?

Is that what you're saying? It's about three and for the first one, I think I calculated it briefly. It's a little over 3%. Okay.

So we're just like a little bit teensy above even the minimum. So I want to make sure everyone understands that because You know, we're all looking at the possibility of, you know, in June, of somehow funds getting additional funds. Some of it you referenced as revenue. And then certain programs or positions, you know, looking at whether or not some of those funds can go back to refund them. so to speak, that's probably not the best term.

I think at that point we'll be bringing back whatever budget balancing solutions we're unable to implement as well as any new revenue that will be presented either in the 45-day revise if it's needed or in the first interim. So that's when we'll be doing another update.

Okay, thank you. And then the state won't finalize its budget until sometime in mid-June is what I'm hearing.

Right. By the end of June, they should, we should know.

You'll be able to analyze it more then. Okay, I'm trying to kind of put out the big picture kind of issues there. And you have reminded us that we're in a situation of deficit spending where our revenues are not covering our expenses.

Right, which is why we have to make budget balancing adjustments in the out year.

Okay, thank you. Board members, do you have questions? Vice president?

I have a quick question that might be better directed actually to assistant superintendent Calise. I'm wondering about the measure H budget that is included within the budget that we're being asked to approve this evening. We heard some public comment about that. I'm wondering if you can speak to that budget item.

Yeah, thank you. So what, so Assistant Superintendent Follensbee, she does include that in the district's budget because she is responsible for all finances. So at the high level, our budget for Fund 2 is in there as well. What you heard talked about tonight was the annual plan. The annual plan is something that's developed and it really gets into the granular minutia of how that money is spent. Like everywhere across the district for years, maintenance has also been deficit spending out of their fund balance, primarily just because of rising costs. So understanding that that's part of what they dig into with the annual plan with the facility safety maintenance operations committee okay unfortunately the last few committee meetings they have not had a quorum and because of that they have not been able to finalize. their plan nor publish it. So they don't publish the plan until they finalize it because it's still in draft form and then the language actually says that we publish it two weeks prior for public feedback prior to bringing it to the board. So what that means is in Pauline's budget while the measure H fund two which is maintenance not to be mistaken with the other measure h while that overall budget is reflected in there the granular level of like how each dollar is spent that's part of the plan and furthermore if the board chooses to say hey we want you to add this or take this away that's something that we can adjust then with first interim additionally might be a little bit out of turn but just to be clear we've never said that we're cutting a position the person who fills that position is resigning and we are considering deferring the refilling of that position primarily because of the deficit spending and we're looking at more efficiencies as we are across the district. So I hope that answers your question. so you're saying that that decision hasn't been made about that position and it will it be made by that committee when they write their annual plan so the committee is an advisory committee it will be discussed at that committee level i would imagine this is something that will be considered discussed at our cabinet meetings but also several others we are working with the person who's in that position right now to create a transition plan A lot of the work that that position was really designed to do has already been done or the groundwork has been laid. That's not to say that the work is done. There's always more work to be done. But like everywhere else across the district, we're looking for efficiencies of program. So it's still a little bit up in the air right now, but we know at the minimum we are looking to defer the refilling of that position just in an effort to try to absorb some of the costs that we're spending.

Thank you for clarifying.

Thank you.

Thank you. Are there board member questions? Director Brown?

Yeah. Thank you so much.

Sorry, let me use the microphone.

Thank you so much for your presentation. And as always, thank you for your work. I wanted to ask a question about some things that were said earlier in this evening's presentation, specifically around slide number three. There is a place that talks about the .5 million in budget balancing solutions that need to be revisited at the first interim because of some additional information that is needed. And I just wanted to inquire about what that additional information is.

So in one of the things that we were looking at, we think one position was double counted when we're transferring expenses to other funding sources. That's on row 20 of our budget balancing solution. And we think it was also included in the section for in 30. So that was one position that was double counted. We're re-evaluating the cost, the savings that was projected for the printing costs. We don't think we're going to realize as much as we had thought. And then we had for the furlough days, we have to spend additional time to determine which employees will be impacted, which days are actually be not working and get the final cost. Bearing in mind that we've given two salary increases, so we may have to inflate that $125,000 that we had because that was before we did raises.

$125,000 or $221,000? Over $125,000. Oh, I'm sorry.

I thought the number we looked at was $221,000. That was a total amount, but that was for staff earning over $125,000. Okay, that's okay.

Thank you. That makes sense. And then I also wanted to take a little bit of time to talk about the second overall bullet point on this page as well that is in regards to our LCAP reserves. So it's my understanding that there are some insufficient funds that we really need to be able to set aside money for the LCAP reserve. And I wanted to just spend a little bit of time talking about that as well as the plan of action and my understanding, hopefully it's not a misunderstanding, but my understanding around board policies that require us to have money in that LCAP reserve.

So you're correct in that there is a board policy that requires us to set aside a million dollars towards LCAP. But during budget, when we're making significant budget cuts, we just made one of $11.3 million. We have to reconsider whether that policy will actually apply when we're facing significant budget balancing situations. In the past, we had not done it because we just didn't have the money. After doing $11.3 million, we do have a fund balance, but we have to be re-evaluating costs and see how we close the books. And of course, in the out years, we're looking at budget balancing solutions of $7 million. So it's hard to save. money when you have to make cuts so that's kind of where we are with that with that reserve.

Yeah and I can understand that and I think that hopefully it's something that we look at in our out years and the reason I'm bringing this up is because for the last couple of meetings I've been talking about my fear and putting a lot of stress on specifically on BSET and as well as on one time funds because we've you know, kind of eating up the L cap reserve that we've that we used to have in the past that would be able to support those specific programs. I'm not maybe I am living in the past where we would be able to rely on that. But I'm also hopeful that one day we'll be able to build that reserve back up. And so as we think about budgeting for next year, and for the years prior, I'm hoping that we will be able to have that specific reserve built back up, especially when we think about at the students that it's intended to serve.

Correct. Thank you. And I just want to mention also that in the good old days, COVID funds, we had a lot of extra funds. And we were able to actually fund that amount set aside. And those days are over. Yeah. It's unfortunate.

If none of my colleagues have other questions, I do want to ask one little question about, first of all, I'm really happy that we benefit this year from the increase in LCFF. specifically the 1.44, 1.4, 1.44%, 1.44% that we will see. And in your conversations with other CBOs or even attending some of the sessions led by the governor for the May revise or just around budgeting, is it a possibility that we will see more increases like that in the future. I know we cannot count them now, can't score them because they're not, I wish we could, but not provide it to us. But it makes a significant increase for us specifically, I think you said 5 million or so, and it's important and necessary. So are those conversations had about what's to come in the future?

Mary, you had heard something.

Yes, so see what is being done here and there. With Governor Brown, you remember? He introduced this. If there is additional money, he will usually put it into one-time funds, which they are doing for . So on June 15, it was the deadline for the legislature, which means the state assembly and the Senate. to bring their proposal together and then forward it to the governor. So what they did on June 15, they said, OK, we believe that revenues could be still higher by around $2 billion, what governor has proposed. But then they did not say anything. They did not say that it could go into LCFF. They just looked. for some one-time fund they said okay this is what where we could use those monies so they are not touching the lcff and what we are hoping that they will do something for the saddle up money and they did not say anything they only are asking some questions with the governor as to what are the some of the details about the settle up so they have not at least on june 15th they have not changed anything for us. But let's hope until June 30th, something will change. But until now, nothing has changed.

Yeah. And then for the future, because there's going to be a new governor, we're now facing a whole new, you know, we have a lot of unknowns.

Entirely different budget and budget priorities as well. Exactly. Yeah, that scares me a little bit, especially because it's my hope that this one time one-time opportunity for us is it meant to help us for this year and the ongoing years and I hope that it is my hope that with this new governor that the priorities around education are greater than what we've seen in the past because we definitely need it we need the resources so anyway I will step back but thank you so much for your presentation for answering my questions.

Thank you so much. Are there other board member questions? And I did forget to say at the start, thank you so much, both of you, for your presentation and over the school year, keeping us updated and preparing with the superintendent and her team various budget retreats that we had held, which were super helpful for for this board. And I also am hearing you on the issue of some kind of strategic plan, I think you called it, or action plan for budget. And I think it'll be important for the board moving forward to think about that and how to work with you and the superintendent to effectuate some form of plan or process to consider the various out year type of considerations that you've been addressing to maintain financial stability. So, I don't see, does that mean that board members are ready to have a motion?

I move to approve the 26-27 budget and the 25-26 estimated actuals.

Second.

Okay, we have a first and a second. Roll call please.

Director Schanofsky? Yes. Director Brown? Yes. Director Vasudev? Yes. Director? That's it. Vice President Korn? No, Korn. President Chang. Sorry.

Yes. We also have to, with the resolution for budget balancing, it was on consent, but I think it may be a good idea. to take a vote on that as well.

So Ms. Chares, it's OK. We had it on consent, but maybe also address it explicitly.

It was already approved. It was already approved. OK. Yeah, it was approved as part of consent.

OK. So that's not serious. It was approved on consent, and all folks understand that. OK. You want to flag the number for us just for recordation purposes? Which consent item is this? Let's take a look.

It's resolution number 20. I think it was the first resolution on the list. President Chang, is that correct, 13.21?

Let's see.

The approval of resolution number 26046 for budget adjustments. That's right. That should be right. And 26-27 multi-year projections. OK. I move that we approve this. Reaffirm, really. I move that we approve this resolution.

OK. I'll second.

Second. OK.

I'm sorry, do you mind doing the roll call, Ms. Charles? It is just to do it.

It was approved during the consent calendar approval. Thank you. For the record. Thank you. Point of order? Brown, yes. Director?

Director Shemasky.

Two future lawyers.

I'm confused. Are we voting on something we already voted on?

If I could make it a little bit clearer, the ask from Associate Superintendent Follinsbee is that we just reaffirm the vote. The vote was on the consent calendar, and it was asked just for clarity that we reaffirm that vote so that we can make sure that it is clear and voted on, which is fine for us to do. It was moved by myself, I believe seconded by Director Corn. And right now, Ms. Charez will call the roll. It will be reflected on the record.

Accordingly. Director Schamasky?

Yes.

Director Brown? Yes. Director Vasudev? Yes. Vice President Korn? Yes. President Chang?

Yes.

Motion carries unanimously. Yes again.

Yes again. Board intent is established, recorded twice. Thank you so much. So we, and then next on up we have 15.3.

This is a fun twist. Just a fun twist, yeah.

I'm singing for you, kind of. So for 15.3, we have our ad hoc committee on potential board leaves with Vice President Korn and Director Brown. So nicely had volunteered for this ad hoc committee and are now presenting on it for the procedures. Thank you so much.

They're so happy to be here this evening as your ad hoc committee. So we have 2 pieces of work. Are you really taking a photograph of us. We have 2 pieces of work that we did to present to you for your approval and and engagement and we can make any edits to the proposed timeline and procedures that we are offering here, yes.

I don't even know how to work this.

I know. We don't know how to spacebar. Okay.

Okay. Okay. All right. As always, we begin every presentation in our district grounded in our mission, which is to enable and inspire a diverse student body to achieve academic excellence and make positive contributions to our world. Also thinking about our four E's. This is important to highlight because this is what we considered as we move forward with this process.

Are we trading slides? Our purpose this evening is to establish a process for filling a board vacancy through a provisional appointment. As we discussed this evening, starting in July, Director Vasudev will be joining the County Office of Education. So we will have a vacancy on the board. So given the upcoming vacancy, we have we are proposing a process for making a provisional appointment our guiding principles for this process include transparency public participation a fair consideration of any applicants a consistent evaluation process compliance with timeline and process requirements

and speaking of process director corn and i as the ad hoc committee took some time to develop a process that we would like the board to both discuss and approve tonight the first point of our process was to talk about and develop application materials we took the time between june 10th our last board meeting and this board meeting june 17th to do so our next phase in the process will be to send out information and recruit publicly between the period of July and August 5th. We also will disseminate that information through an application that will be posted on our website. From there, the board will review nominations and also nominate between the period of August 7th and August 14th. We will then begin our public selection process and approval of our candidate list on August 19th, begin our public interviews on September 2nd, move to a public provisional appointment of a new board member either at our September 2nd or September 16th board meeting.

So we'll move on to step one. so just to so from here we're going to go through each of those steps in a bit more detail so for step one developing application materials as you all know you appointed the two of us to be an ad hoc committee we have developed some developed a proposed application that we will share with you after we finish this slide presentation and we would appreciate your feedback about it And also we have been engaging with Yasmina to look at CSBA's model policies for board bylaws about resignations and filling board vacancies, which align closely with what we're proposing here. And we would like to see the policy committee take up those bylaw changes in the new school year.

All right, we'll move on to step three. So on August 7th, we will after we take a step back just a little bit. We plan to advertise this vacancy publicly. So we've already shared this information in our board meeting. But we also plan to have it advertised on our website. And that will also be where our application materials are posted. So anyone interested in working with the Board of Education and becoming a board director and resuming the vacancy that we will have, encouraged to please go to the website, receive the application that is on there, and begin to fill it out. What will then happen after the application is a little Some things are a little wrong with the dates, but that's OK. What's important is the information. So our application will, of course, be distributed and posted. And the applicant list will be publicly posted so anyone that is interested in knowing who the applicants are, you will have access to that information on the BUSD website. And board nominations will be due to the Board of Education, which is correct on August 14th. In order for nominations to happen, so in order for the board to think about those who we want to nominate to move forward for interviews, there has to be at least two nominations that a person receives from the Board of Education. So for example, if we receive a list of applicants and we would like to move them forward for interviews, both Director Korn and I should have encouraged an applicant and voted for them to move forward, or Director Chang and Director Shenoski, the person needs at least two nominations to be able to move forward.

Sure. So step four would be at the August 19th board meeting, we would review All applicants so it would there would be a public review of all people who had applied and then we would review and approve the short the shorter list presumably of applicants who are approved to be interviewed publicly based on the nomination procedure that director Brown just described.

And then on the 2nd of September, the board will host in person interviews so that those interviews will happen just a part of our regular board meeting. And we'll just have a special agenda item for those interviews to take place. After that, the board will engage in public discussion. We will also deliberate. And it's important to note that all of this process will happen publicly for for the opportunity to engage with the process and for transparency purposes.

And so finally, step six will be the decision about a provisional appointment. Depending on how many people we're interviewing and how the deliberations go on September 2nd, we may be able to come to an agreement and vote on the provisional appointment on September 2nd, or we may need to wait until the following meeting on September 16th. We will wait and see how things unfold.

Yeah. And just to add a little bit more to that, it will really depend on how many candidates we have and how many people we move forward with an interview to determine what action will be taken on the 2nd or the 16th.

Yeah. And how much time we'll need for deliberation.

Yeah. So before we move on to talk about the actual application, are there any questions that we can entertain from the Board of Education regarding the process overview?

No, no questions. Looks great.

Okay. Any additions? Is there anything that you feel like we missed or anything that should be included that was not?

No, this is great. We really appreciate your work on this. I know you're both very busy. And just in general, just for members of the public, so they remember from our prior conversations, is it a It's like a 60-day time frame from a resignation or a provisional appointment.

Yes, that is correct. So as you can see, our outline falls in line with the 60-day timeline that we have from resignation to appointment. Our counsel, Combs, described this process to us. And so when we were beginning our work on this, the ad hoc committee considered that information. and ensure that our timeline reflected that.

Thank you so much, Dr. Brown. And for folks who are just seeing this, if they haven't been in prior meetings, we know you're not always seeing in every single meeting. In the past, I think it's like three meetings, we've had Director of Council Combs check in with us. And he also conducted a legal analysis with a memo that he produced to the board upon which this ad hoc committee has based its work and its chronology getting the applicants, providing notice, receiving applications, and then going through a process where they will work with the board members to establish the appropriate candidates, and then a process for reviewing the candidates and voting for them. nominating them and then getting them on to the board and within the 60 day timeframe. Thanks so much for your work. I really appreciate it. And trying to, oh, Director Chonowski is online and she has her hand up. Director Chonowski.

Yeah, I want to thank both of you for doing this work and it looks great, but I do have a question about the timeline because my understanding was that the resignation had to happen prior to July 1st. So if I'm counting 60 days,

all of July and all of August if we don't make the appointment until September isn't doesn't that exceed 60 days or am I missing something in the accounting the I'm reviewing the legal memo that we have again and it says that within 60 days of the vacancy which will occur when director Vasudev submits her resignation the board must either make a provisional appointment or order order a special election i believe that our vote to declare that we're going to make a provisional appointment is the thing that has to happen within 60 days we can clarify that with those sound like different things to me so um yeah i think it would be good to get clarification on that okay i think that

is correct and we can get clarification on it and we can also send a memo to the Board of Education if we need to make an update to our timeline because then that would significantly impact when the applications are due. So if our interpretation of that is different than what your interpretation of it is, then we would need to make those adjustments. And we're willing to do so and willing to work through the summertime to make sure that it meets that understanding.

And just to clarify, if you two have explicitly asked that particular question of our council, I trust that you got the answer correctly. I just, it doesn't, I think we should be reading the language. I don't read the language the same way you're reading the language.

I think we should circle back with him to explicitly ask the question.

Yeah they'll double check and if and if there is a circumstance where it is in fact 60 calendar days from the um resignation and in the circumstance where um a um an elected person were to elevate to the county um the expectations would be on July 1st would be the elevation date to the county um so that this set certain time frames.

To the resignation be June 30th.

Yeah.

yeah we're not pushing her to do so and we might even roll her back again and she'll stay here for you know two more years no way that it already went out on the county so um 60 days calendar we will confirm that with council comes and we can adjust the timeline if needed okay um yeah and and communicate with you all about the

And luckily for us, we have both August 5th and August 19th to take action should we need to. And we can move up the date of when the application is due in order to do so.

We could sort of move each step one meeting sooner.

okay we got this 5th and 19th and we could also just everybody understands this if necessary we can do a special meeting too absolutely yeah always yeah and we we may have to have to so we'll keep that in mind what i will say is that for us in order to take action tonight i know we need to move on to the actual application but maybe we can deal with this in two parts If you have no other questions about the process outside of the timeline, which we will make adjustments to that, I'd like to ask that the board entertain a motion to approve the process and send the ad hoc committee back to agree or clarify or redefine the timeline if necessary.

OK. Great. Is there a motion to do so?

So moved.

I will second that.

Director Shenoski. Yes. Director Vasudev.

Yes.

Director Brown.

Yes.

Vice President Korn. Yes. And President Chang. And just for clarification, the question is whether, what triggers the 60-day timeline, whether it's the vacancy or the resignation?

Well, the question is really what has to happen within the 60 days. Do we have to make the final decision on the person who's being appointed within 60 days, or do we have to jumpstart the process?

start the process and agree that we are pursuing a provisional appointment within 60 days copy thank you Mr. Harris so Mr. Harris will ask that send that question to council combs thank you so much so we do so I said yes as well to the motion as a motion approved great with that direction that's right

So we have one more piece of work to share with you, which is a proposed application, which I think Ms. Charis can project for us.

As she's projecting, we'll just speak in. The Berkeley Unified School District Board of Education invites interested community members to apply for appointment to a vacant board seat. This application is intended to help the board learn about each applicant's background, experience, and interest in serving the students, families, staff, and community of Berkeley. As it currently stands, applications must be submitted by 4 p.m. on August 5th, 2026. All completed applications will be provided to the Board of Education for consideration as part of the public appointment process. Please keep in mind that this date may change. The application will come up soon, but we will, here, you can have this keyboard. The application will come up soon, but we will just continue with what is in the application. So the first part of the application begins with candidate information. This is just basic contact information that would appear in public records. From there, we move on to

Eligibility certification. These are the requirements to be eligible to serve on the Board of Education per Ed code. So we'll ask people to confirm their eligibility.

Next we will ask applicants to provide a statement of interest that is no more than a thousand words.

And then question number four. We'll ask applicants to describe their qualifications and experience by describing their professional experience in relevant fields such as public education, governance and policy, budget and finance, community engagement, equity and inclusion work, nonprofit or public service leadership, labor relations, youth development, and or strategic planning.

From there, we'll ask the applicant to talk about their vision for, we'll talk about their understanding of the role of a board member and what they believe are the most important responsibilities of a school board member.

Question number six asks applicants to describe the current challenges and the most significant opportunities facing our school district in the next three to five years.

Next, we wanna hear about the applicant's commitment to equity and we asked the applicant how they would advance educational equity for all students while ensuring that historically underserved student groups receive appropriate support.

Question number eight is focused on community representation and asking applicants to reflect on the particular perspectives, experiences, and relationships that they would bring to the board, particularly with relation to stakeholders who are currently underrepresented or perspectives that would strengthen our collective work as a board.

Question number nine inquires about the applicant's highest priorities and what they plan to accomplish as a board member.

Question number 10 is about the applicant's approach to decision making and how they would balance community concerns, student needs, state and federal law, staff recommendations, and their own values and beliefs when making decisions on the dais.

Next for 11 it talks a little bit about the time commitment as you all know this is a big time commitment we meet at least two times a month and sometimes three times like we've had we have in the month of June four times in the month of June excuse me but we also are assigned to committees and have responsibilities around there we also visit school sites attend community events and attend professional development trainings. And so this question asks if the applicant is committed to the time necessary to be an effective member of the Board of Education.

Question number 12 asks the applicant to disclose any potential conflicts of interest. And just to be clear, these conflicts of interest would not prevent an applicant from being able to successfully be appointed to the board. But they are information that we would like to receive as part of the process.

Number 13 asks the applicant to list 3 references.

14 asks the applicant to attach their resume.

And finally, the application closes with the certification and signature from the applicant that all of the information provided in the application is true and correct to their best knowledge and informs them that this application is a part of public record or will be made public record and may be shared during the selection process.

there any questions that we can entertain from the board of education regarding the application or any feedback about this application thank you so much this is a great application that's really detailed with the various questions that cover the different focal groups and also the type of governance responsibilities across labor etc that the board is responsible for board members do you have questions

There are comments or additions.

There are interview as part of this too. In addition to filling out. Yeah, so the the process would be that first people would submit this written application. As board members we would review the written application and based on that we would nominate applicants to participate in a public interview at a board meeting. Great, thank you.

Director schnafke do you have a question. She does not. I do not have questions either.

If there are no questions, we're seeking a motion to approve this application so that it can be distributed beginning in July. So moved.

I'll second it.

Director Shenoski? Yes. Director Vasilev? Yes. Director Brown? Yes. Vice President Corn? Yes. President Schenck?

Yes.

Motion passes unanimously. Congratulations. Thank you, thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Thank you for your work and moving this forward. Do we have extended public comment? Two online. I'm sorry? Two online. And there were two online, thank you so much. Can we have the, of the two, are there students online? Doesn't appear to be so. OK. So should we have the first person who raised their hand? Proceed.

Filipino Studio, I am promoting you. You may speak when you're ready.

David. Hello, my name is David philippini BSD board members, I urge you to support the creation of the bilingual specialist position designation for Sylvia Mendez. David. Once and stated this position will provide safety and support for all our babies at the time at this time. Our community has been informed by Joya and other leadership within BUSD that in order for our critical bilingual specialist role to be active by the start of fall 2026, the current specialist employee will need to vacate their role at Celia Mendez. Such a vacancy requirement would make sense if BUSD was replacing services in kind. However, The current specialist role will not meet our critical bilingual needs, nor has it ever served our community in this way. The current specialist role should be removed. Once removed, let union seniority take place. 11 specialist positions will remain. One new bilingual specialist will finally be instated for Sylvia Mendez. We urge the board, the UC staff, and unions to serve our community the way it needs to be served. Thank you.

Thank you so much. You can also email us. Thank you. We have a second person online, I believe.

Brett Mendel is up next.

Brett Mendel.

And you'll have one minute, Brett.

Thank you. Brett, are you ready?

Hi, can you hear me?

Yes.

Hi. My son graduated from BHS this month. Among the images in his yearbook is a protest sign that reads, quote, October 7th was a response, not an attack. That's from a photo on the social justice page. You've heard from our community who were offended by this glorification of terrorism. In response, we've gotten excuses for doing nothing about it. The image wasn't offensive, it was free speech, and so on. The same could have been said when neo-Nazi pamphlets were distributed to Berkeley homes two years ago. Instead, the district sent a letter to all of BUSD condemning the speech. Hate arrived on our doorsteps and you spoke out. Now, hate has arrived in our yearbook, a school sanctioned publication that will live on for decades, containing the morally depraved message that October 7th was justified. The least you can do is publicly acknowledge the harm to our community. If not, your message of indifference will be louder than anything you could have said. Thank you.

Thank you. Next sign up is, Ms. Chavez, I see three additional folks. Okay, great. So one minute apiece, just keeping aware of the time, it's 1019. Okay. Norre Aguilar, apologies for mispronouncing your first name.

And Eileen Lee should be our last speaker.

And then Eileen Lee will be the last one. So Nori, and then Nicole Harris, and then Eileen. Nori, are you ready?

Nori declined to be promoted.

OK. Nori is not going to speak. Nicole from African-American Success Framework. African American Success Advisory Committee. Apologies. Be more specific.

I just want to add a couple of things to note that I wasn't able to add earlier. I want to say the success of our comprehensive African-American success framework is making a difference. We have fewer students in the red, progress is happening, and we're also showing that it is making a difference in not only African-American students, but also to other benefiting other families across the school district and families and proof is in the number of participants that we had in our transition fair, middle school and high school. And I just want to make sure we add that on the record. Thank you very much for your time.

Thank you. Eileen Lee. Eileen, are you ready to chat?

Can you hear me now?

Yes.

Okay. Thank you so much for giving me this time to speak. My name is Eileen Lee. Because of the Learns Kids World program at Emerson, my grandchildren come home from school with their homework done, well-exercised, relaxed from supervised time with their friends. They are happier kids and better students because of the afterschool program. Please continue it and expand it. And please make your use of the term babies more than lip service by providing quality afterschool care for every baby who needs it. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Eileen. Nori, do you two want to come on? Your hand is still up. Try Nor again.

Hi, good evening.

Hello.

Hi, my name is Norey de Aguilar and I'm here, I'm a member of Latino Sonido's committee from Proyecto Inspired and I want to thank Ana Mazudeo for all the support she brought to Nuestra Comunidad Latina and during these six years that she was serving. and i would like to mention some of the accomplishments that she did it was like a multilingual learner master plan and the latinx resolution and i really want to wish her good luck and her new job, and I'm very excited for her. As well as, I would like to support the bilingual specialist, Sylvia Mendez, and I think it's crucial for a bilingual school to have a bilingual specialist. Thank you. Good evening. Good night, everyone.

Good night. Thank you so much. I think that's our last person. So we have adjournment. We are adjourned. Thank you.