Did someone say 10th Site?

While I fully anticipate discussions about the 10th site will take up a good portion of the evening, there are, in fact, other topics on the agenda. 

This week, closed session begins at 5:30pm. The board will reconvene for open session starting around 7pm in the LASD Board Room at 201 Covington Rd.  The entire agenda can be found here.

We will start our evening with Supervisor Simitian's Proposal for Affordable Teacher Housing in Palo Alto.  The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors has voted to set aside a plot of land owned by the county on Grant Avenue, as well as $6 million in affordable housing funds to ensure that there is both a 1.5 acre site and partial funding available to support the project for below market housing for teachers and public servants in the area.  The Board of Supervisors is asking that LASD and other school districts and cities in the area contribute funds to the cause too. This is an action item and Supervisor Simitian's proposal can be found under agenda H.1 using link found above.  Supervisor Simitian at this point is only asking whether LASD is interested and not to commit funds at this time. 

Next up is a presentation regarding the 10th School Site from Jeff Baier.  This is a discussion item and no action will be taken.  His presentation can be found under agenda item H.2.  If you read one thing, this is the presentation to read. Or better yet, come and hear it for yourself and provide us input! The presentation starts with a thorough history of task forces, advisory committees, planning committees and community forums (online and in-person) LASD has convened since 2012 to study the need for a 10th site and the data uncovered, patterns that emerged, and the recommendations and opinions made as results of them.  With this exercise, 3 options for the 10th site rose to the top and they include: (1) place BCS at the 10th site, (2) place neighborhood school at 10th site, and (3) don't purchase a 10th site and reconfigure existing schools/sites.  According to patterns of community input that emerged over the years, in debating these options the board should consider the following important factors: (1) traffic, (2) school overcrowding and future/long term growth, (3) flexibility over time, (4) cost (both operationally and construction), and (5) community impact and benefits.  The presentation then methodically and systematically goes through all three options (and sub options) and considers the pros and cons of each option as it relates to the important factors.  After this presentation, we welcome your comments.  There will be no action, but we welcome your input while we consider what is right for the all the students that are educated in the boundaries of LASD and what is the best for the community as a whole.  We have no easy task in front of us. 

Then, please stay and watch as we consider and determine whether all LASD students are are provided with sufficient textbooks and instructional materials and make a Statement of Assurances on Textbooks pursuant to Education Code Section 60119 based on a presentation from Sandra McGonagle.  This is a discussion and an action item under agenda items H.3 and and H.4.  A copy of the resolution can be found under agenda item H.4.  

Lastly, the board is asked by Randy Kenyon again to approve Renewal of Joint Use Agreements and Findings Regarding Joint Use Agreements with 5 childcare/preschool providers located on LASD campuses.  This is an action item and the leases for the five preschools/childcare providers may be found under agenda item H.5.  Based on discussion and direction from the board at the last meeting, Randy is proposing we approve leases for each of these 5 providers until July 2019 (instead of a 5 year lease).   

Please note, this is just the highlights of what is on the agenda for the 9/24/2018 meeting.  You can inform yourself about the rest of the agenda at the link provided above.  As always, feel free to email me with any questions.