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August 30, 2020
Board of Education Update
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August 25, 2020 Regular Board Meeting
The Board of Education held a regularly scheduled public meeting on Tuesday, August 25, 2020 at 7 p.m. Below are summarized highlights of the meeting, but for detailed information about all agenda items addressed during the meeting, please click here to access the agenda and referenced documents, and click here to access a digital recording of the Open Session meeting. The next regularly scheduled meeting will take place on Tuesday, September 8, 2020 at 7 p.m. Superintendent Dr. Jeff Wilson provided the Board a brief update on the following: -
Right at School is currently providing child-care services on campus for about 20 students. In response to increased interest among parents, another parent information night will be held on Tuesday, September 1, 2020 at 6:00 p.m.
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At this moment, the County of Los Angeles Public Health Department is not accepting waiver requests for reopening of elementary schools, but once such waivers are allowed and the various stakeholder groups have agreed (e.g., Board of Education, employee associations), the District will be ready to submit a waiver request.
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Dr. Wilson has received positive feedback about the beginning of school via distance learning and the enthusiasm of teachers and students. While there have been glitches, everyone is working hard to address any issues.
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One glitch that has been occurring in other school districts as well is "Zoombombing," where someone posts inappropriate and racist comments in "classroom" chat rooms. The District has taken steps to address these breaches and has provided instructors with information about how to deal with these infractions. In addition, both the District and the San Marino Police Department are investigating to determine the identity of any perpetrator(s) and will take all necessary steps.
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Dr. Stephen Choi explained that students must log in to class using their SMUSD email addresses in order to help the instructor identify unauthorized participants and prevent "Zoombombing." He confirmed that the District has lent about 900 Chromebook computers and provided about 200 WiFi hotspots to parents who requested them.
Action Items Information Items -
Introduction of Larry Tramutola, Campaign Strategist: On August 11, 2020, the Board approved the recommendation of Board members Chris Norgaard and Corey Barberie to hire Tramutola LLC as a campaign strategist for possible parcel tax and bond elections. Larry Tramutola has many years of experience working with school districts, including helping SMUSD pass its first successful parcel tax. Mr. Tramutola provided some preliminary thoughts for the Board as it begins considering a future campaign, including timeline concerns, ways to obtain community feedback before the national election, and resources issues. Mr. Tramutola will provide more detailed information during the Special Board Meeting on this subject scheduled for Friday, August 28, 2020, at 5 p.m.
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San Marino Center Renovation Project: As part of the City of San Marino's community engagement process, San Marino City Manager Dr. Marcella Marlowe and Parks and Public Works Director/City Engineer Michael Throne made a presentation to the Board about the proposed renovation of the San Marino Center. They encouraged the Board and the community to answer a questionnaire with seven renovation questions in order to provide guidance to the City Council as it makes design decisions at its September 9, 2020 meeting. They confirmed that the City will keep student needs in mind when configuring meeting and program spaces and that they share the District's and Board's concern for student safety when construction begins.
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Resolution on Equity, Inclusion, Racism, Implicit Bias and Diversity: The Board conducted a second reading of a Resolution to Address Racism and Inequity as part of its ongoing commitment to stand against racism and discrimination on school campuses and in work environments. Each Board member had provided input into a revised Resolution, and the Board discussed the suggested language changes. With the assistance of Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) consultant Sharon Harvey, the Board reached consensus and will bring back proposed Resolution No. 5 for a third reading at the September 8, 2020 meeting.
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Opening of School Year Reports: Each principal enthusiastically discussed highlights of orientations and distance learning instruction at their respective schools. Valentine's Mrs. Alana Faure, Carver's Dr. Michael Lin, Huntington Middle School's Mr. Daryl Topalian, and San Marino High School's Mr. Jason Kurtenbach all lauded the extraordinary efforts of teachers, counselors, staff and PTA leaders to prepare for this new way of starting school and distance learning. While they all recognized that there were some glitches, they were very pleased with how well everyone transitioned to the new normal, especially the students. Board members thanked all who have worked so hard to prepare for distance learning and to provide students with the best educational experience possible under the circumstances. Please click here to view the presentation and here to listen to the principals' discussion (1:35:41).
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Academic Advisory Committee Focus: Dr. Lin reminded the Board of the role the Academic Advisory Committee (AAC) plays and listed many of its past research topics, such as college acceptances and preparedness, dual immersion, homework, block scheduling, and AP access. In response to Dr. Lin's request to obtain input from the Board about possible focus areas for the coming year, there were suggestions such as focusing on college acceptances or researching what education should ideally look like. One Board member was concerned about giving the AAC work when some past AAC members have expressed frustration because their recommendations have not been fully implemented, while another Board member stressed that the AAC is advisory only and that many factors play into whether a recommendation by the AAC is actually implemented, such as resources or a need to negotiate schedule changes with employee associations. The Board will consider next steps at its next Board meeting.
The Board congratulates Classified Employee of the Year Jean Garcia and Teacher of the Year Laura Pollard. Thank you for your excellent service to the District and its students!
August 28, 2020 Special Board Meeting The Board conducted a Special Meeting on Friday, August 28, at 5 p.m. in order to hear from Larry Tramutola, its newly hired campaign consultant, and Chet Wang, a financial strategist from Keygent, regarding a parcel tax renewal in March 2021. To hear a digital recording of the entire meeting, click here . To view the agenda of the public meeting, click here . Mr. Tramutola explained that parcel tax elections require a different approach than traditional elections or bond elections, and their success depends on having a clearly articulated plan and the necessary resources of money, time and people. He provided some statistical information about San Marino voters and discussed the different ways to identify and educate voters. Although having a parcel tax election campaign during a pandemic and a contested national presidential election creates logistical difficulties and distractions, Mr. Tramutola has identified major steps that will hopefully lead to a successful result. These steps include obtaining voter data and history, determining priorities and options for a parcel tax, conducting polling of the community, adjusting priorities after obtaining community input, educating and engaging the community about the need for a parcel tax, and ensuring legal compliance. Once the Board has made a decision about the parcel tax, the last step would be to transition to a campaign committee to advocate for the parcel tax. Data was provided about the existing parcel tax amounts, renewal dates, budget shortfalls and revenue lost due to senior citizen exemptions. Given that SMUSD parents desire and expect small class sizes and varied curriculum and programs, such as CTE Pathways and Dual Enrollment, but that the District's budget cannot afford these expected programs without support from parcel taxes, the San Marino Schools Foundation and PTA donations, the Board needs to consider whether to increase the parcel tax amount or extend the term presented to the voters. With regard to polling, given the distraction of the upcoming presidential election, Mr. Tramutola suggested accelerating the polling of the community to September instead of November. He will contact some polling companies to determine availability and cost and will report to the Board's subcommittee of Chris Norgaard and Corey Barberie with his recommendation. Mr. Tramutola will continue to meet with the Board to discuss the timeline and next steps as the Board moves toward a possible decision on the parcel tax renewal at a meeting in November or December.
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San Marino Unified School District Board of Education
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C. Joseph Chang
President
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Vice President
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Chris Norgaard
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