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Board Highlights
from the February 13, 2018 meeting
Board President opens meetings by recognizing Olympic athletes
Board President Daniel Bobay opened the meeting with a dedication to Olympic athletes and their families.

The PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics are being held February 9 to 25, and include sports ranging from bobsleigh to figure skating, ice hockey, and freestyle skiing.
  
RECOGNITION
The Nuñez Community Foundation donates $19,500 to Calaveras Hills High School
Board Members and Superintendent Cheryl Jordan recognized The Nuñez Community Foundation - Bob Nuñez for donating $19,500 to Calaveras Hills High School for restorative justice programs such as "Fresh Lifelines for Youth."
Trustees honor Spelling Bee winners
Raquel Kusunoki, Director of Learning and Development, alongside Superintendent Jordan and the Board of Trustees recognized all Milpitas Unified School District Spelling Bee participants.

Ms. Kusunoki presented ribbons to the first, second and third place winners: Andrew Ton, Brianna Nguyen, Jibril Moinuddin and Namit Jain.  A plaque was also created so each year the first place winner's name and school they represent are honored.
Student Nutrition Services recognized for serving more than 8,900 over 2016-17 summer
Superintendent Jordan commended Director Sandy Huynh and her staff for their commitment and dedication to serving the students of Milpitas Unified School District.

Over the 2016-17 summer, Huynh and her team served more than 8,933 meals to children in need in the Milpitas Unified School District. Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties sent Superintendent Jordan a certificate of recognition to honor Huynh and the Student Nutrition Services team for a job well done.
CSEA donation to fund Camp Every Town
The California School Employee Association (CSEA) presented Milpitas High School with a $750 donation for Camp Every Town.

The program allows every student in attendance the opportunity to discover amazing things about themselves.
REPORTS
Assistant Superintendent gives LCAP Update
Norma Rodriguez, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services, gave an update on the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) for Milpitas Unified School District.

The annual update process provides a link or bridge between the current year and upcoming year’s LCAP goals and actions. Offering stakeholders information on the progress, the district is making towards achieving goals and actions as well as progress made with specific groups of students.

Based on the LCFF California Dashboard, all local performance indicators were met. For school conditions and climate, Milpitas has consistently reduced the overall number of students suspended from 2.2% in 2015 to 1.5% in 2017.

Child Development Center Coordinator reports it has operated successfully 40-plus years
Dr. Gerald Lopez, Coordinator of the Child Development Centers (CDC), gave a presentation about the success of the CDC programs.

"The CDC programs have operated successfully at the Milpitas Unified School District for over 40 years," he said. "The centers benefit from state and county funding, providing preschool services to just over 120 preschool students. For the last several years, the programs have benefited from district funds to meet its fiscal liabilities and maintain operations. In an effort to maintain the current high quality services while we strive for fiscal solvency."
Rose Elementary Transitional Kindergarten teacher Wendy Lundeen and preschool teacher Raquel Villalobos talked about the success of the students.

President Bobay affirmed that the District is not going to close preschool programs. He wants to ensure that the program is operating within budget, and is actively seeking out students who may not have access to preschool.
Cost Management Study Session addresses structural deficit across a three-year plan
Budget Meetings
In an effort to maintain the District’s excellent fiscal performance, which was recognized by the recent upgrades to AA and AA1 in the District’s credit ratings by both Standard & Poor’s (S&P) and Moody’s, staff and Board have engaged stakeholders in discussions about potential strategies to address the structural deficit illustrated in the December 2017 three-year budget projections.

Superintendent Jordan and Wendy Zhang, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services, held four Budget Study/Cost Savings Stakeholders Input meetings this past fall to gather suggestions and insights from staff about how to realize cost savings in order to achieve a balanced budget in year three of the budget projections. The Budget Priorities resulting from the 2016-17 stakeholders meetings provided the framework for the cost savings discussions.

Superintendent Jordan and Cabinet staff reviewed the results of the stakeholders’ discussions and survey within the context of cost management to determine possible steps the District can take to maintain its strong fiscal standing. 

It is important to note that during the great recession, while other districts chose to make deep cuts all at once, Milpitas chose to work ahead of the recession by making incremental cost savings measures and reductions. While our district is in good standing and the Governor of California has recently reported strong earnings and a positive budget for next year, the District wants to be proactive in reducing if not eliminating the structural deficit projected for Year 3 (2020-21). 

During the Cost Management Study Session, Superintendent Jordan shared a summary of the strategies and their potential impact on learning outcomes for students. The Board asked the Superintendent and staff to determine how to best support student and family engagement with minimal impact to the classroom. The Superintendent will provide a plan to the Board at its next meeting on March 13.