okay it's four o'clock so we're gonna go
ahead and get started um
button um Evelyn if we can have a roll
call please trusty Marquez yeah trusty
Weekley present trusty makoy present
vice president Wells here president
Lawson here um so welcome everybody
before we dive into I just um want to
acknowledge that hurricane Milton is
about to make landfall and so thinking
about all the people in Florida and if
you have loved ones family friends out
there were hoping for their health and
safety
umro Uno
umur situo Alondo Alondo
deala uh the public is encouraged to
speak to the board on issues of concern
whether or not the issue is on the
agenda to address the board please
complete a speaker's card that's
available I think um at the desk out in
the Boer um and you can bring it up to
Evelyn at the at the Das public comments
are limit to 3 minutes and as a reminder
the board cannot have a discussion on
public comments however we may um offer
clarification or direction to staff for
followup um if you wish to speak to the
board on a subject listed on the agenda
you'll be called on at the time the item
is being considered by the
board um let's see changes to the agenda
I want to ask my colleagues um we when
we design the agenda we put two hours
for presentations with a 20-minute break
and and then another two hours since
then we've had a couple of candidates
drop out so we only have a total of 10
if we have 10-minute presentations with
like five minute followup that's about
two and a half hours total so I'm
wondering if you guys still want to keep
the five and a break in a five or do we
want to do all of the presentations and
then take a 20 minute
break up to you
guys and either
way yeah all the present versions and
then take a break sounds good to me so
all 10 of them yeah so that would be
yeah that would just be moving 10.1 to
following
8.1 I I would prefer that if everybody's
okay with thater to
the thank you uh we need a I would just
say with the caveat for some reason
someone needs to take a break we should
just take a break right
yeah because I I want to make sure I'm
attentive right yeah okay okay um do we
have a a motion to
approve H so moved seconded all those in
favor I thank you uh let's
see we do have oral communication um Pam
swin you can come on up and if you can
hit the button on the right on the
microphone to turn it on
hello can you hear me okay perfect uh
thank you all um for being here this
afternoon uh my name is Pam swin I'm
with the PTO of Kennedy Middle School
school that I passionately love and
that's why I'm here um I'm here to talk
about the high classroom temperatures
that's been going on at Kennedy but I
can only assume it's all happening in
other schools across the the district so
just being a squeaky wheel in this in
this process
um classroom temperatures I have data
from two classrooms one classroom on
October 1st was 92.3 degrees at 3M and
um I have other data from another
classroom um 87 degrees 89 degrees
during the school day and as
temperatures continue to rise many
classrooms in our district become
uncomfortable uncomfortably hot creating
an environment that is not conducive to
learning excessive heat can lead to
several health risks including
dehydration and decreased concentration
studies show that high temperatures can
negatively affect cognitive function and
academic performance and further
jeopardizing the students educational
experience and I'm curious as um will
the uh the board have an agenda item at
some point to discuss this or have a
plan to move forward or a bond that
could be worked on to add um funding for
this or to encourage or how pto's can be
involved with helping with this but um
of course we would love District support
so thank
you yeah thank you for being here we've
we've had a number of discussions um
around this area um and the difficult
part is that it's hot at all the schools
and they all there are different ways
that we will be able to implement
cooling at different sites it's not
going to be just an across the board fix
um and unfortunately it's a slow process
too um so I think we're looking at
Spring to be able to start help me
remember so there is going to be some
further information and I don't know Pam
if you were if you um were or you were
online during a board meeting we had
when our construction company was here
and giving information okay what what we
can do is we can send you the link but
there is a link that there's already a
link on the website uh on that subject
that the board took into consideration
that evening and there is a plan in
place right now where we have um the
devices the thermometers in each of the
classrooms now that we ordered and we
can Visa virtually see which are the
hottest rooms and they're the
contractors who are working with us are
coming back to the board after theyve
reviewed that data to indicate where we
can start with our bond dollars which we
thank the community for passing that
last Bond because the major piece of it
is for HVAC units to get that started
and they gave kind of a timeline plus
they also indicated we have a few sites
where electricity is going to be an
issue and uh that's going to all have to
be redone over again but I'm believing
that the next report is coming
Rick if not the next board meeting will
be the first board meeting in November
and so tune in to that but also we have
the link on our website to the board
meeting I think it was I want to say
four weeks ago three weeks ago but I'll
send it to you I'll make sure you get it
and um the classroom temperature data is
that is that being collected will that
be collected or it's being collected
right now in certain classrooms but not
every classroom all classrooms across
the district fantastic thank you so much
there were certain ther thermometers so
that we ordered them and then we go
virtually and and get the information
fantastic great thank you so much thank
you Pam um Evelyn that's the only
speaker card we have right
okay okay A little bit of business we
got to get through um we are on consent
count consent items we have a motion to
approve I'll move to approve seconded
all those in favor I I thank
you okay it .1 and 10.1 this is what
we're here for let me find my
notes okay so before we get started with
presentations this afternoon I want to
recap the process and and why we're
doing this to begin with um just for the
Public's sake on June 26 2024 the board
adopted resolution 13 calling for an
election on November 5th for three board
seats the three truste areas to be on
the ballot were areas 1 three and four
the filing deadline with the county
office elections was Friday August 9th
2024 if an eligible incumbent did not
file nomination documents by August 9th
2024 at 5 p.m. the filing period is
extended for that office for five
calendar days until August 14th 2024 at
5 PM for any person other than the
incumbent um trusty Mike Wells filed for
re-election in trustee area 4 and no one
else filed for that seat so that was
closed on the August 8th for trustee
Area 1 trustee Alisa McAvoy did not file
for reelection the deadline was extended
to August 14th and during that extended
period period Jennifer in queen king
filed and is
unopposed for trustee Area 3 that's my
trustee area I did not file for
re-election the deadline was extended Ed
to August 14th and no one filed during
that time period because no one filed
it's the board's responsibility to
appoint a candidate and this must be
done prior to the no November 5th
election the application period for
candidates was open from August 30th to
September 30th during which time the
district received 15 applications three
were not eligible for appointment to
Area 3 due to residency requirements of
the remaining 12 applicants uh two have
withdrawn their applications leaving 10
eligible C candidates who we will hear
from this
afternoon the board received all the
candidates applications as they were
submitted and we have had ample time to
review them um and tonight the
candidates were asked to prepare um a
presentation up to 10 minutes long
addressing the following number one an
introduction or brief background two uh
responses to these three key
questions what is your vision for the
future of our dis our school district
particularly regarding academic
achievement and student wellbe being how
will you implement this Vision
considering the district's Financial
constraints uh can you describe a time
when you advocated for equity in a
professional or volunteer
capacity and how would you ensure that
all Community Voices including those
from underrepresented groups are heard
in the board's decision-making
process um the candidates were also told
they may include additional details that
they feel are pertinent and the board is
interested in knowing if the applicant
is fluent or familiar with any languages
other than
English um this afternoon we're going to
hear from candidates in alphabetical
order I will call on each candidate to
come to the podium and I will also let
you know who's going to be following
candidates will be given up to 10
minutes for their presentation and I
will be timing just for fairness to
everyone um candidates following your
presentation please remain at the podium
for follow-up questions that the board
may have um trustees are encouraged to
ask followup questions to maintain only
ask follow-up questions to maintain in
consistency if a new question is asked
it it should be um posed to all
applicants for
fairness um following the presentations
we're going to take a brief recess after
which I will ask each board member for
the name of the candidate they wish to
appoint um a candidate must receive a
majority of votes in order to be
appointed if there's not a majority vote
we will continue to revote until one
candidate receives a majority and the
appointee will be sworn in to take their
seat during the December 17th meeting
and just FYI that's a Tuesday that's not
a normal board meeting
day we're going to throw a curveball at
you to start
with um I think because David's gonna be
out of town
yes
um
okay let me see I am going to now we
will have um Spencer Brooks followed by
Jasmine Dalton um so Spencer you can
come on up I'm sorry I don't know who
everybody is um is Spencer here
okay then we will have Jasmine Dalton
followed by Matthew depri and if you can
hit the red speaker button on the right
to turn the microphone
on hello my name is Jasmine Dalton um
and I'm a resident of Woodside in
California first and foremost I'm a
mother to three wonderful children um
which has been the most rewarding and
motivating roles in my life in addition
to being a mother I am also currently
pursuing further education at San
Francisco State University where I'm
studying interior design and
architect this field allows me to blend
my passions for creativity and
functionality in designing spaces that
are both beautiful and practical
alongside my studies I work for a
designer at a local design firm in
Sano
um I've had the opportunity to work on a
variety of projects that had helped me
grow professional and apply the
principles of my learning of academic
Journey uh through my roles as a mother
and student and a designer I've
developed a deep understanding of how to
balance multiple responsibilities while
staying passionate about my work and my
community a little bit about myself um I
was raised by Educators so prior to my
parents becoming Educators my mom was
actually a single Teen Mom and I grew up
within
Milpas
um and then in fifth grade my familial
Dynamic changed and I we became a
converted we converted into becoming a
blended family and relocated to
Sano I transitioned from a tial one
District school mil mil pedus to a
non-title one school in Sano and with
that created challenges and growth
conspired with the transition from
selling academically and converting to
the school in Sano it left me feeling
inadequate and I also had a loss of
confidence but through that I developed
resilience and a deeper understanding of
Education
disparities um my childhood development
experiences I did mentoring and support
I worked as a camp counselor for 10
years guiding and mentoring young
children through educational and outdoor
experiences I focus on building
confidence teamwork work and Leadership
within the campers I also spent a couple
of Summers working at a tile one school
in Winston Salem North Carolina through
a community called communities and
schools where I supported undeserved
students providing academic and
emotional
guidance through motherhood and
Community leadership um about eight
years ago we moved back to California
where I became a coordinator for a local
moms group here in Redwood City that
helped connect and support mothers
within the community I led efforts and
organiz in events creating resources and
fostering a strong sense of connection
among M among moms facing challenges of
Parenthood this role depended my or
sorry depended my passion for or deepen
my passion for community building and
supporting families
well-being so to go through the
questions question number one what is
your vision of the future of the school
district um so my goal is to create a
campus where students safe seen
validated and loved by fostering strong
relationships throughout the um and
throughout my six to seven years on
campus My Hope was to create and build a
sense of security where students can
fill at home when school
becomes sorry the font is small when
school becomes a home away from home
students are more likely to attend
regularly which naturally boost academic
achievement and testing scores part of
supporting and working as a Community to
address these challenges from a place of
love and understanding their supportive
approach with help them focus on their
studies bring strong interpersonal
skills and Foster
Independence question two can you
describe a time uh when you advocated
for Equity within professional or
volunteer capacity I reached out to a
local church here in Redwood City that
hosted our meetings for the mom's group
and we worked to establish a fund that
could assist those that were in need
this involved no negotiating with ch
Church leadership to secure a space for
our bimonthly meetings ensuring that
everyone could participate regardless of
their financial situation by acting as a
spokesperson for a group I communicated
our needs and our missions um to the
church Community highlighting the
importance of the accessibility and
support for all mothers this experience
reinforced my commitment to the equity
and demonstrated the impact of
collective action and fostering an
inclusive environment and the final
question how could to ensure that the
voices of all community members
including those that are unrepresented
heard to effectively represent our
community we must prioritize building
relationships and Trust especially with
unrepresented groups this involves
actively engaging with families and
famili uh familiar settings such as
community centers and churches to bridge
gaps and ensure their concerns are heard
and valued creating accessible feedback
channels is essential and we should
establish both formal and informal
avenues for sharing perspectives
including Town Hall meetings and
multilingual multilingual surveys
partnering with local organizations can
further enhance our Outreach and
inclusivity ultimately education is a
collective effort involving parents
neighbors and local organizations and
decision-making process ensures that the
board's choices reflect the diverse
needs of the entire Redwood City
Community together we can foster an
inclusive educational environment for
all because if motherhood has taught me
anything is that it really does truly
take a
village that's
it thank you um I'd like to open up for
there our followup
questions okay great thank you Jasmine
thank
you um so next we will hear from Matthew
depri followed by Lori
gross if you can I think the mic is off
there we go
apologies I kind of mixed all the
questions up so you'll have to kind of
pull them apart on your own here uh just
start my timer there we go uh good
afternoon my name is Matthew dpri you
can call me Matt I'd like to thank the
board of trusties and president Lawson
along with superintendent Baker and
director kintana for the opportunity to
speak today I am a parent of two
children at the district 2 and fifth
grade both enrolled in the Mandarin
immersion program at Orion and we live
live uh just a Stones throw away from
Kennedy Middle I'm a writer by trade uh
mostly in marketing in digital and
entertainment spaces over the last 15
years I've been writing professionally
I've had at least a hundred people come
up to me and say I was thinking about
getting into writing how do how do I do
that and the first thing I always tell
them is you have to find a way to stand
out um there's a quote I love from the
author PJ oor that everybody wants to
save the world but no one wants to help
Mom do the dishes um I have stood out by
being a Relentless handraiser uh someone
who seeks first to help and someone who
never gives up on trying to find ways to
improve someone who do the dishes um I'm
a product of a strong Public School
System shout out San Juan Unified in
Sacramento uh I was able to find my
passions and gain opportunities that set
me up for success and I believe deeply
that strong societies are built on a
foundation of strong Public Schools
providing educational Equity to each
generation the sense of equity is
something I've strived for in my board
roles for two programs at Orion the
Redwood City Mandarin immersion Scholars
fundraising program and the play Thrive
after school education program R cmis
raises funds for instructional aids to
ensure the Delta of Mandarin learning in
the classroom is limited and students
feel confident in their language
instruction during my T tenure on the
play Thrive board we in instituted our
first scholarship program for families
needing T tuition
assistance um I will always advocate for
Equitable access to resources whether
through securing funding for additional
instructional support or ensuring that
Financial barriers don't prevent
students from accessing
enrichment uh as a trustee I would
continue to work working to ensure all
students receive the support they need
to
thrive as a Redwood City parent I am
deeply aware of the challenges our
district faces especially the ongoing
struggle for resources uh funding and
enrollment were already unique
challenges to our district before the
pandemic and now many pandemic era funds
are now being Sunset um however I have
also been consistently impressed with
how the superintendent and board have
managed these issues with Grace uh
making difficult extremely difficult
decisions while prior prioritizing
students and
teachers uh I recognize that the role of
a district trustee is not just about
addressing immediate concerns but also
shaping the future of our schools uh our
goal must be to improve educational
outcomes for students regardless of
their starting point I believe programs
like our schools of choice meet students
needs in an effective and individualized
way and I would seek more opportunities
to strengthen all our schools
similarly uh using data and research to
guide decisions while always centering
students in these Solutions is key I see
this role as an opportunity to
collaborate with the larger District
Community to find innovative solutions
our district is filled with passionate
individuals and I'm confident that
together we can identify opportunities
for growth and ensure we're meeting the
evolving needs of our
students being a trustee requires not
just hard work not just hand raising but
a willingness to listen and learn and
adapt I would make it my mission to
weigh each decision with an
understanding of the impact to students
staff and the community and I would
actively seek out underrepresented
voices and engage parent groups whether
that's going to PTO meetings whether
that's finding these in the in the
groups in the schools showing up and
saying let's talk um incremental changes
can improve outcomes for all students
and set a course for sustained
progress in closing I am motivated by a
desire to give back to the district that
has given so much to my children and our
community I hope to serve on the board
continue the important work underway
contribute fresh ideas and help meet
both today's challenges and tomorrow's I
want to live in a society full of young
people who are educated passionate and
willing to help with the dishes and
maybe if we all help with the dishes the
world won't need quite so much saving
thank
you thank you
Matt are there questions
questions perfect thank you so much
um Lori gross followed by David
Lee we don't have two people here is
Lori
here yeah they did um
okay you know they all received an email
saying at four o'clock um okay David Lee
followed by Ralph Robinson
trustees superintendent Baker and staff
thank you all for your time and your
consideration of my application to fill
the upcoming vacancy for the area 3
trustee position my name is David Lee
and I'll aim to use the next 10 minutes
or so to provide some context on my
interest in joining the board I'll start
by describing a bit of my educational
and professional backgrounds and then
I'll move on to discuss my values on
education community and public service
and how I Envision them informing the
way work in collaboration with full
board uh to support the Redwood City
Community starting with my background
I've been a lifelong supporter Advocate
and direct participant in public
education as a student I attended public
schools for most of my life I attended
various public schools from elementary
school through High School uh and then
attended UNCC travel Hill for college
after graduating from UNCC I taught math
at a public Alternative High School
dedicated to serving the district's most
academically vulnerable students and
that's really where I began to
internalize the complex relationship
between education and Society that's
where I work to teach 21-year-olds the
concept of adding negative integers as
they simultaneously work to find stable
housing and it's where I came away with
the convictions that educational support
requires more than just a good
curriculum uh and that high quality
Early Education is critical to academic
and life success down the road after
three years at the head of a classroom I
started thinking about ways that I could
have a broader systemic impact in
education and I eventually pursued a JD
at Harvard Law School where I studied
the interplay of Law and policy and
that's also when I started getting more
exposure to the different parts of the
education system where I spent time at
each of North Carolina's state board of
education and the US Department of
Education and it's also when I was able
to advocate in front of the
Massachusetts state legislature for laws
that would provide safe and support
environments in schools across the state
I have remained in public education
since graduating from law school
including by volunteering as a board
member for a public charter school in
New York and by working on the strategy
team at Rocket Public Schools currently
I'm part of the policy and governance
team at the alamina County Office of
Education where I'm able to engage in
direct advocacy for better educational
outcomes and that could range from
supporting measures for adequate
Educational Funding to those for better
transparency and accountability from our
Charter
Schools outside the chart outside of the
education field I've also spent several
years as a corporate restructure
attorning restructuring attorney
attorney uh managing competing
stakeholder groups to achieve a common
goal in a fishable environment and I've
also spent several years as a Management
Consultant with MacKenzie where among
other things I supported governance
relationships between management and uh
Boards of
directors uh that's all context for
where I've been and what I've done but I
also want to talk about the values and
beliefs that underly my decisional and
analytical processes specifically there
are two core beliefs that drive my
actions first education is one of the
key pillars in society that shape the
arcs of our life
trajectories second we in the public
realm have a moral obligation to help
close the opportunity cap between the
Hales and the Have Nots in keeping with
those values in my vision for the
district all students will have ready
access to the resources necessary to
achieve academic success that means safe
and supportive environments with
highquality Educators health
professionals and other
staff and we'll know we've gotten there
when we see all of our stud students
demonstrating academic Readiness by
meeting or exceeding C standards with a
narrowing academic achievement Gap
across student groups and all students
will have access to a range of
meaningful enrichment activities that
peque their interest outside the
classroom and all of our families will
feel empowered to navigate wraparound
services that they need to support our
students that said I imagine the path to
get there will take work and creativity
and while we should seek steady forward
progress it may only come incrementally
but I am optimistic and that's in part
because it's clear that this is already
at the top of all of your minds given
the notable progress discussed just at
the last board meeting so there were a
few things that I saw first the district
has been doing incredible work already
on the mental health front in
partnership with Stanford and I'm
excited to join the board and help find
ways we can keep up the good work to
ensure that all of our students have
access to appropriate Mental Health
Resources that enable them to thrive
second the district is clearly being
thoughtful about where we stand on
academic performance and identifying
areas where we need to focus but one of
my key takeaways from the last meeting
was that across a number of filters
we're seeing the academic achievement
Gap actually growing rather than
shrinking and I think we can all agree
that we need to focus on turning that
Trend around it's doable the district
has done it before and I'm looking
forward to being part of a board that
does it again specifically in my vision
for the district's future we're being
even more data informed and action
oriented on top of what was presented
last meeting I've seen student data by
school sites that show clear patterns of
maintaining or improving academic
performance in certain schools and
declining performance in others and
those types of insights can be crucial
in helping understanding uh helping
understand whether devoting more
resources to a subset of schools with
higher needs could help us get closer to
academic parody but my point isn't that
that's necessarily the right answer
right it's only several uh it's only one
of several potential hypotheses and the
District staff um have expertise that
far exceed my own instead my point is
that we can move from Simply using and
collecting data to tell us where we are
to instead synthesizing data to drive
decisions on where we need to go now
obviously we operate in a world of
finite Resources with declining student
enrollment and some open questions on
education funding and there's a good
chance we'll have to prioritize certain
initiatives over others uh we'll have to
take things as they come but there are
two Notions that will guide my thinking
first on the cost side of the equation
I'm going to be student focused and
Equity oriented in prioritization so the
most Salient questions in my mind will
be how will this decision impact our
students education and does this
decision improve equity for students
across our
district second on the revenue side of
the equation I think we can explore some
out of thebox thinking we live in an
area with a number of individuals and
companies that have an abundance of
resources and that I'm sure want to help
the community so we don't need to be shy
about identifying opportunities to tap
into their support when
appropriate and in all this I see us
having a good grasp on what the entire
community's needs are there's obviously
already been a good amount of work put
put in on that front for example knowing
that there is a sizable Spanish speaking
population among our students and
families we should celebrate all the
efforts to ensure board and District
Communications are consistently
available in both English and Spanish
but I think of really effective
Community engagement in a few steps
first the brown Act made these
discussions available
then these translation efforts made them
more accessible and I think the next
step is to make them even more directly
engaging and that means for board
decisions that can have material impact
on families we're not just posting about
it on our website we're also meeting
families where they are so we're
coordinating with schools to get the
message out and to open multiple venues
for communication and feedback we're
posting on social media we're sending
email blast we're showing up at schools
we're making announcements at other
community events and again I can already
tell that much of this is happening so
I'm thrilled by the prospect of joining
a board that's ready to keep our feet on
the pedal with our entire community in
mind to wrap this up I know you're
looking or you're working from a rubric
but if I were looking to fill a seat on
the Board of Trustees here's what I'd
look for competence to perform the job
passion for education and the success of
our students value alignment among board
members and Readiness to serve on the
board I would submit that I meet all
those criteria at the very least
hopefully I've made clear my dedication
to serving
and advocating on behalf of our public
school students I've been a teacher an
analyst and an advocate I've been on
boards before and I'm ready to serve
again I remain immersed in the education
ecosystem for which I have no plans to
remove myself I understand the trustees
are also interested in language
background so I'll note that I have some
conversational Proficiency in both
Spanish and Mandarin Chinese I studied
Spanish in Middle School through college
and I grew up with Manor in Chinese
spoken around me but to recap I believe
I'm the right choice for the district
and now I'm happy to take any additional
questions from board members with
whatever time remains thank you you
David all right all questions go
ahead could you explain about your role
with uh rocket ship rocket ship I worked
at the corporate office for uh through a
fellowship with education Pioneers so a
lot of was doing some strategic thinking
about the network as a whole um so Less
Direct School oriented but more about
the organization and whether there would
be good opportunities to expand into
other areas of the nation
so without getting into too many details
a lot of the analysis originally was
looking at where the highest needs are
based on a variety factors including
Title One funding uh academic scores Etc
and then also analyzing the feasibility
of moving into different
places anyone
else okay thank you very much thank
you um next we'll hear from Ralph
Robinson followed by Thomas Rogerson
good afternoon and uh thank you for your
time today my name is Ralph Robinson I
live on St Carlos Avenue in Redwood City
with my wife and we have a
kindergartener at atlante Selby a
two-year-old and one more on the way
this spring and we are uh going to be
sending all of our kids through district
schools um brief time at atlante so far
but so far it's been a really um
terrific experience and just been very
impressed by the community overall and
especially the staff there um so thank
you for your excellent work so far
there a a bit of background so um I am
the son of a kindergarten teacher um I'm
still working as a kindergarten teacher
in the Boston area so growing up I spent
a lot of time not just in my own
classrooms but in classrooms in general
uh certain a lot of summer jobs as Camp
counselors tutors after school programs
and of course the yearly ritual of
packing up my mom's classroom for the
summer and then getting it ready for the
fall so certainly spent a lot of time in
schools um my first professional
experience after college was working in
schools in New York city so first as a
teachers assistant and then as a
classroom
teacher I soon after went in a different
direction but that experience certainly
re enforced and hardened my um
appreciation for just how much we put on
our teachers and especially our our good
teachers I currently work as a city
planner for a good City company right
here in Redwood City um we get
contracted for um planning services for
jurisdictions all throughout the
peninsula and the Bay Area now to get
into your first question I think it
comes back to that appreciation for our
teachers and the work that they
do you know we can talk a lot about
technology and and Innovation and new
approaches but ultimately the most
effective thing for students and for
closing those achievement gaps is to
have experienced teachers um who are
well qualified and and feel confident in
what they're doing so to the extent we
can listen to those people and make sure
we have the most resources available to
what they're asking for um that's kind
of the job we need to do so it's less of
a specific policy or a uh specific
stance as far as the future as much as
just doing the simple things so that we
can have um what our teachers need
available to them at all
times now getting into the equity
questions so I spoke a little bit about
my own experiences in education and
certainly encountered this Equity
question a lot and still encountered a
lot in my role as a planner
it is of course a
um Ru irony that the people who have uh
the greatest need and the students who
have the greatest need tend to be in
those schools where there are the least
resources and I think it's a a further
irony that um as we of course
justifiably so focus on serving those
students uh we continue to lose students
of lesser need if you will which then
exacerbates that challenge of serving
the students um with low needs and
closing those opportunity and
achievement gaps so to the extent
possible we really need to you know
borrow a sports
analogy it's really about hitting
singles and really just doing the simple
things well and continuing to
demonstrate good management uh and good
competency in our decision- making and
to make sure we're serving all students
because we need to keep our high
achieving we need to keep our high
resource student St as well as our low
resource students so again so we can
keep serving
everybody lastly as far as hearing from
all voices in the
community that's another
uh condition that of course those people
who need the most representation tend to
be the least represented in these
conversations but of course their voices
are there just not directly we see it in
the data we get from testing we get we
hear it in the feedback we hear from
staffs and schools so it's the board's
role it's our role as involved
individuals and people who are
representing that process to really
speak to the needs of those people uh
and again make sure they're being met
even when their voices aren't directly
heard in the
conversation so that is the gist of what
I want to get into today I do want to
thank you for your time and I will admit
as far as applying I think I was
motivated at first just as I'm sure you
all see there are some interesting
stories out there in the world about the
people who get involved in school boards
and school decision- making process so
certainly just want to make sure you
folks have uh plenty of qualified
well-intentioned folks to pick from and
I think it's obvious you have a lot of
good choices here today but I do thank
you for your time and uh yeah here for
any
questions thank you so much are there
any followup
questions okay thank you thank
you so Thomas Rogerson followed by Aran
San good evening or maybe I should say
afternoon it's a little earlier than I
thought board members and community
members my name is Thomas Rogerson and
I've been a proud resident of Redwood
City for over 10 years my wife and I
settled in dis in trusty Area 3 and our
two children attend Henry Ford
Elementary our son is a second in second
grade and my daughter just started
transition
kindergarten tonight my wife is coaching
our son's AYSO soccer team and no doubt
our daughter is eagerly trying to join
him we actively participate in the Henry
Ford PTA as a founding member of the
dad's club I'm chairing the hometown
holidays parade and co-chairing the camp
out committee my wife is president of
the school site Council and serves on
the measure s school advisory committee
one of my my favorite part of the day is
walking to school with my children as we
did today along the way we connect with
other families and often ret have
principal who welcomes everyone at drop
off and I tell you it wasn't until our
son started at Henry Ford that we truly
felt a part of a welcoming and diverse
Community I see Redwood City School
District's Rich diversity as the perfect
environment not just for academics but
but for teaching our children how to
live and flourish in a diverse
Society I moved from England as a child
and I'm now a proud US citizen the
private school my parents sent me to
prepared me academically but did not
connect me to a
community they thought French was the
key foreign language to learn so
unfortunately I never learned Spanish
and forgot any french I might have
learned I believe that as a board member
my role will be to amplify all voices in
the community especially those from area
three the Henry Ford Kennedy and
adalante communities as well as
underrepresented groups
districtwide I am I am I aim to keep
everyone informed about District plans
so that community members can
proactively be involved in decision
making my vision for our district is to
provide equal and high quality education
to to all students by training
recruiting and retaining those
exceptional Educators that I see working
tirelessly every day we need Educators
such as those to implement proven teach
teaching strategies with High
Fidelity with my background in
Neuroscience research I understand the
power of data I believe we can use
granular longitudinal analyses to
identify Trends and tailor
interventions tracking individual
student progress over time to predict
and then enhance outcomes without adding
to their financial strain on the
district while many
conclusions from statistical analysis
may be common sense to experien teachers
data provides the confidence to
implement these strategies in different
contexts and assess their effectiveness
over time for instance if we notice
absenteeism spikes on certain days due
to weather we can proactively engage
those students most likely to miss
school in the days before extreme
weather is
forecast anecdotally I know from members
of the community that this is happening
now I know the board discussed
implementing environmental controls such
as air conditioning and window shading
at length during your September 10th
meeting and I recognize there are many
factors at play however when I gave my
practice speech to the Henry Ford PTA
last night this was the number one
concern that came out of our community
and I want to give voice to it now among
the many challenges faced by the
district I know that the phasing out of
federal covid relief money money is
imminent I hope that by leveraging
existing data and focusing on targeted
cost-saving strategies we can maximize
operational efficiencies and minimize
the impact on our children and educators
when I was a graduate student
representative on the UCLA Neuroscience
PhD committee I advocated for Equity by
recognizing success isn't just about
grades or test scores but also about
perseverance and potential while on that
committee we adjusted our evaluation
criteria to equally value summer
research experience from students at
non-research universities those who
disproportionately come from
underrepresented backgrounds with
research conducted during the Academic
Year by students at research
universities this taught me that
systemic changes can open doors for
talented
individuals that who might otherwise be
overlooked from my experience those
candidates who demonstrated their desire
and aptitude despite socioeconomic
challenges excelled once they're at UCLA
but I worry that there were still many
more equally talented students who never
applied because their Community didn't
support them or didn't believe they
would be supported once at
UCLA I think this is tragic and will do
everything I can as a trustee to
strengthen the community encompassing
our school district with the goal of
making all families feel welcomed and
all students feel supported within it I
want to emphasize that Henry Ford my
children's school is a title one school
representing the full range of
demographics in the district it is an
ideal place for me to hear the widest
possible range of
voices I love attending and contributing
to Henry Ford's ever growing list of
community events uh with recent
additions being the family dance
International par luck camp out and
steam night like all other attendees I
become AER in our wonderful diverse
Community fostering relationships
sharing ideas and concerns all the while
watching our children grow into the next
generation of our community
I will also seek out community events
outside of Henry Ford so I can hear from
an even broader swath of the Redwood
City School District I especially look
forward to attending events at Kennedy
Middle School which has an equally
diverse student body and faces similar
challenges with English language
learning and attendance as we have at
Henry Ford I would advocate for a peer
assisted learning strategy where native
English speakers and naked Spanish
speakers learn from each other while
reviewing research articles available on
Eric APA psych and Google Scholar I came
across a 2023 study that demonstrated
the benefits were bire and Fascinate and
fascinatingly stronger When the Children
considered themselves best friends
though the study couldn't conclude this
I wonder if the effect works in Reverse
might learning from a foreign language
speaking buddy promote
friendships what what a wonderful way to
Leverage The diversity of our community
for good
I would also love to see more
connections form between our diverse
schools as there are a limited number of
after school activities especially for
younger grades I'd like to explore
implementing Afterschool activities that
span schools to promote interschool
community
building but those are just some of my
ideas to the community members in the
room those listening on the live stream
and those yet to make my
acquaintance uh I am committed to
listening to your ideas big or small and
giving voice to them on the board with
the diverse perspectives and different
backgrounds and needs within our
community I know the best results will
and must come from collaboration built
upon open trusting dialogue that can
only come from a strong
Community after 20 years at
UCLA and now at Stanford studying the
mechanisms of learning the figurative
nuts and bolts the wheels that spin in
our brains I realize I hunger to use
that knowledge and my skills to make a
direct and meaningful impact on our
community last year I became a board
member and Scientific Advisor to a
nonprofit Media company that funds
popular media with the aim of raising
public awareness of how Science and
Technology positively contribute to our
lives as an advisor I identify impactful
primary research and summarize it in
easily accessible terms in collaboration
with the board we develop strategies and
actionable plans to further our near and
long-term goals that experience showed
me how challenging it is to affect
positive change and how vital it is for
our CH children to be exposed to diverse
cultures and ideas so that they can grow
to understand and appreciate them I will
take our students success personally
Embrace their diversity
and bring a data focused approach to
support Educators and to promote
Community engagement by strengthening
connections among families Educators and
administrators we can foster a
supportive environment benefiting all
students as your board member I will
work tirelessly to ensure all voices are
heard especially from area three and
underrepresented groups thank for your
time and consideration I look forward to
the opportunity to serve and contribute
to the future of the Redwood City
Schools School
District look forward to answering your
questions thank you I was just looking
at my timer you had five seconds left I
wonder you're gonna draw it out um are
there any followup
questions thank you very much it a
pleasure presenting you okay we have
Aran San followed by Lis
Velasquez and just do we have a team in
here
yeah okay I didn't see you sitting back
there thank
you uh hi thank you for giving me an
opportunity to uh talk and giving me an
opportunity to serve on the board uh we
have moved to Redwood City in 2008 we
have been uh proud C Redwood City
citizens for the last 16 years we have
two kids one an eighth grader in Kennedy
and a fifth grader at in
Roosevelt um I
uh unlike many of the other applicants I
am not born and brought up here I was
born in India and uh close to the
poverty line and my background is that
my parents instilled from the beginning
that education is always the way out for
betterment and that has inra in been
ingrained in My DNA and I worked my way
through college and uh came to the US
for my PhD uh graduated from uh LSU and
did my post doog at uh scripts in
Southern California and had a faculty
position back in the south in Auburn for
three years as a faculty member at
Auburn one of my
uh jobs was to try to increase the
diversity of the student
population uh so I it was my PRI one of
my uh priorities was to do that and we
took it upon ourselves to go around to H
because it is the South it's
predominantly the underrepresented
minorities are in HB HBCU so we would go
to uh historically black community
colleges and schools and try to
encourage them and show them the value
of Education
and how education is a path to improve
life in general after 3 years of doing
that I got married to another PhD
scientist and we moved over here to
redwards now we have uh two wonderful
children and uh here we
are uh that's my uh background and uh in
the past the last year I was the site uh
council president I served as the site
Council ccil president for Kennedy
Middle School and also the uh president
of the AL uh elac committee at at
Kennedy
um one of the things that I have uh
experienced while doing doing all of
these things is
that there is uh uh the Redwood School
city school district has a lot of
schools and there is a if you look for
schools there is a wide range of rating
for the schools and this disparity
exists and it should not exist there is
no reason why all some schools should be
at 9 out of 10 and some should be at two
out of 10 they so we should as a
community work towards improving and
getting all schools all students to be
at a level of you know having Casp
scores of greater than 80% in ela and
math why not so the as a if given the
opportunity to be part of a of the board
that is the focus that I would put set
myself for and as I uh evaluate what is
the need for getting us there one of the
things that I walk away with this is
that money is short and money is needed
for a a lot of things but that is not
the only thing that helps we need more
something more than that
as when we had the meetings for the site
Council or the particularly the ELA
committee one of the things that I
always noticed was the number of parents
that participated compared to the number
of students that belong to the to Second
English as second Lang English learner
Community it is very little it is
because the parents
who uh need to be there are not there
because they don't they don't have the
time they don't have the opportunity
they probably some of them don't even
know that there is this committee so
what I feel is that the what it
takes one of my co- applicants used
something that I was going to say which
is it takes a village to you know to
raise a child we have to convert
ourselves into a village that raises all
of the children of Redwood City to give
them the same level of opportunity and
Equity is not giving everybody the same
uh level of support and expecting them
to see the same thing it's the fence is
the same height some kids do need a
shorter stool and others need a big
ladder to get to the same place that's
the disparity that exists and that's the
disparity we need to resolve and what I
feel is that one of the biggest things
that we need to engage in to get there
apart from there are creative ways of of
bringing in more money to more to
support all the schools but the most
important thing that we need to do
according to me is to engage the
community community engagement getting
the Community to engage in the
importance of bringing up every kid to
the same level recognizing the
importance of raising the standards of
every school I would say that just like
John F Kennedy did we can also put give
give ourselves a target of saying that
in 10 years every school in the district
every single School in the district will
be rated 9 out of 10 and every student
graduating through every school in
Redwood City School District should will
be comfortably be above 80% on Ela and
math but it takes work that work
requires not just the teachers not just
the school district bringing in more
money both of which are extremely
important but what it also needs to
needs to happen is community engagement
and recognizing the value of
communicating to the community knowing
that the schools which are far behind
have a large population of students
whose parents don't really get to be
engaged in this path engaging that
finding out that that group of of
parents and giving them the wherewithal
the support the help that they need to
provide to their kids because the
schools can engage the students all day
long but once they go back home they
need to have the same level of support
in continuing on to be ready for the
next day to take on the the next day's
challenge of learning and that support
this the parents may not have the
opportunity to do so without the
community's engagement so providing the
community the identifying that
population of uh parents and students
and
identifying and encouraging volunteering
from community that has the wherewithal
to provide that be able to hold hands to
the to those in need and make them walk
along is the most important thing that
would get us there is what I
feel in uh to some of the questions that
uh are in here I already kind of
addressed
so so uh as I said that uh as a member
of the uh faculty of at Auburn
University I uh had advocated for Equity
by going around for uh you know bringing
in students uh from of underrepresented
minorities and within the three years
that I was there I had managed to
increase the graduate student uh
recruitment to the all the Departments
that are under the College of Science
and Math by about 20% and within the
same time frame we also were organizing
a Science Olympiad which essentially is
to engage uh underrepresented minority
kids to see the get them interested and
engaged in understanding uh and excited
about science and math so every year we
would have this science competition and
we would go and uh advertise that and
encourage that through the year for a
competition that would happen in spring
so that's that those are my activities
that wherein I contributed to for a more
uh Equitable and inclusive learning
environment
and the way I think that we can uh make
sure that uh all voices are heard is
again just like I said that uh engaging
the uh community that is not at all
participating in anything because they
don't have the opportunity to do so by
actively seeking out those families your
10 minutes are up yeah so that's this is
the last thing I want to say so that's
that's the way to do it so thank you
very much if you have any
questions no okay thank
you uh Lis Velasquez followed by uh Tina
Yim good afternoon uh members of the
world trustees thank you very much for
the opportunity today uh I am here to um
uh be the candidate for the trustee and
uh I know that as a presenter number
nine I think um I know that is I am the
only one standing between you and get
this over with so I'm going to make this
as quickly or as painful as possible
depending on how you choose
it I am as a parent with children
enrolling in the Mandarin immersion
program Mion uh I have had the joy I
mean literally I want I have watched the
joy of watching my kids flourish you
know they're uh where they have learned
uh Mandarin and they call it their
secret language because neither my wife
and I speak Mandarin so that's what they
speak to each other when what they want
us to know what they're talking
about but beyond the the linguistic
skills I have seen the positive impact
that this school has got on my family I
am grateful uh in my professional life I
have worn many many hats I have uh I am
a former University Professor I have a
PhD in molecular biology and
biochemistry um
I am an entrepreneur I bankrupt a
company I sold another one and now I'm
running a third one which I am very
happy um I'm an author I recently uh
wrote a book that is called Ordinary
resilience rethinking how effective
leaders are adap and
Thrive uh and uh I am an executive coach
that is my living you know I help uh
people adapt and Thrive
and be successful in what they want to
achieve in in the in the careers um but
the most important thing is I am a
dad I'm also a man of color married to a
woman of color and raising to multi
Multicultural kids I call myself a
resilient human and believe me
resilience is needed when you're dealing
with two ramb Bion
kids uh my vision for the
future I want I want to I want to I want
to address this uh uh from taking
consideration two pillars that I think
that are important I believe that the
key to our district future is number one
is academic achievement and second is a
student
well-being on the academic side we all
want our kids to be to succeed of course
but success looks different from every
child some are future scientists some
will be artists others will be Trail
placers in ways that we can even imagine
what is important is that we create
environment where they can find those
strengths and feel support in their
Journey as I often say to my clients and
children resilience is built by adapting
to challenges if we can equip them to
our students to be resilient and
adaptable they will Thrive not only in a
school but in life I would like to see
initiatives that blend traditional
learning with innovating approaches
ensuring that our students are prepared
for the real world not just the next
test but as seing my own kids academic
success means little without a sense of
well-being
we all seen kids struggle with anxiety
feeling like they don't belong wellbeing
has to be at the center of everything we
do if we don't ensure our students feel
supported emotionally all the a in the
world won't matter let's make sure that
when our kids think of a school they
think as a place they belong where they
are seen for who they are by the way my
kids get upset when I pick them up early
because they want to stay there that to
me is incredible and I wish that every
kid will have the same feeling now I
know the question is in in in in our
minds is how are we going to pay for all
the things that that that need to happen
in the school uh I think that we already
have everything that we need to take the
first step and sometimes the first step
is just making the commitment to make it
do to to to to do it the second step is
making the most with the resources that
we have right
now our city is growing and the success
of our school district will ensure the
families who might otherwise look for
private schools are invested in educ in
public education one idea is to deepen
Partnerships with local businesses in
nonprofits to bring additional resources
to our schools and
sometimes it's about getting out of Our
Own Way streamlining processes cutting
red tape for example you know in an
example that that we were talking at the
beginning she was talking at the
beginning of about the heat that kids
under going to I mean my my has been in
the school for five years and it seems
that every year we haven't having the
same conversation and what I would like
to do if I am if I am part of this is
invite you to go and have this
meeting in their in their school at the
at the time of when this the hardest and
see how that feels because that's how
they feel so I think that and there are
parents many parents that want to do
want to contribute you know I I I have
heard parents saying you know I want to
buy this I want to buy this and the
school says no we cannot do that because
to to to your point you know the
electricity is different this is that
and I think that trying to solve the
problem overall is not the right
approach but rather do it the school by
school where the parents can actually
take act uh action and and and and
provide for their
kids throughout my career I've been a
big believer of equity and inclusion
ensuring that all voices are heard
especially those from marginalized
community
in my work as a coach I have had clients
navigate barriers and find their
strengths regardless of the challenges
they face and let's be honest we all fa
challenges life is
hard right and sometimes life gives you
lemons and sometimes they throw it the
Cales my curbal came in a in a form of
brain tumor you know I had to REM myself
and that's okay but I think the reality
is that we as a as as a society as a
school we need to be able to adapt to
the to the pressures that we have
as a person of color I have felt the
hesitation of speaking up many times not
just for myself but for others who may
not have the seat at the table I want to
make sure that our district every child
whether they come from a loow income
background a different ethnic group or
have unique learning uh needs is given
the opportunity to thrive Equity is not
about giving everyone the same thing as
somebody said
earlier it's about giving a student what
they need to succeed whether there is is
uh they are nar NE diverse come from a
different background or just need extra
support we owe it to them to be The
Advocates ensuring uh one of the most
important roles of the board is to make
important decisions that impact many and
we uh and we want to make sure that all
community members have to say let's face
it we can do better at communicating for
example my daughter was placing in a
combo class last year and when I asked
how uh how how the kids were
selected I got
nothing nothing and let me tell you
parents have theories parents make
stories about that you know the schools
can do better by being transparent with
families clear communication build trust
and Trust builds a stronger School
communities and it's just it's not just
about transparency for those who are
already engaged for under represented
groups we need to go beyond traditional
Outreach sometimes it's not just about
inviting people to the table it's about
making sure they know they belong at the
table that could mean breaking down
language barriers ensuring access to
technology whatever it takes to ensure
through
participation um in addition to my
professional experience and what I would
like to do I also I'm influen in Spanish
and Portuguese which means I can help
engage with other uh large Hispanic
communities making sure language isn't a
barrier to participation uh which is I
think that is key uh to creating a to an
inclusive
District I am deeply invested in the
success of the district not just because
I'm a parent but because I want my
children to succeed but because I
believe that education is the foundation
upon which we build a
community I think that I cannot do this
on myself we need we need each other to
do this I've written about resilience
for leadership but I also believe that
resilience it starts in our own
classrooms it's about creating
environments where our kids can grow
Thrive and yes bounce back when they
when when life thrust them
aural so I'll be uh honored uh to be to
serve I understand also that there are
some several members that are already
part of the Orion school so if that is a
something that uh will probably not be
on my
um on what is it what what I'm looking
for if
on my advantage because of the we want
equal representation I understand that
but if but if that but if I'm selected
you know that I will not U definitely be
a advocate for a particular school but
rather for everyone so thank
you thank you very much are there any
questions thank you thank you um and
finally we will hear from Tina Yim
well hi my name is Tina Yim I have been
a resident here in Redwood City since
2009 I have a child who is in
kindergarten over at Mi Orion I am an
attorney I do um litigation work but I
am now going into this field of assisted
reproductive technology practice
surrogacy donor um embryo contracts um I
am a product of growing up in public
schools and so is my husband I am also
an IM a daughter of an immigrant and
unlike some a number of people my my
parents were one of those people who
were busy they were working they had to
work ex they had to sit here and work
long hours they didn't have time to be
involved and this is what I feel the
opportunity to sit here and actually
have input into not only my daughter's
education but education for the children
of the district I think we all agree we
want our kids to have you we we want to
sit here and see increased academic
standards we we want our kids to have
you know wellbeing to be mentally well
off um and to
succeed my f for me the foundation is
that public education is right and it's
a right and they should have access to
excellent public
education I'll be the first to admit
there are people here who have a long
background in public education and
serving on school boards what I can
offer here is somebody who is willing to
look at database studies see what has
worked with other school districts what
hasn't worked I what I am offering here
is somebody who is willing and open to
listening to different
ideas um collaborating with people
because I really think that is something
that we're going to need if we want to
have a long based planned for our
children's success as well as what
things can we address immediately to
help our schools and our students at the
presence um I know that funding is
something which is short and it's a
challenge that all of us have to deal
with even at our school whether it's you
know fundraising reaching out to the
community um I think one of a couple of
the co- applicants have mentioned this
but I I really do believe and I agree
with this that as a school district we
should come together and we should work
together as a community whether it is
sitting here and finding solutions that
we can do inhouse such as peer-to-peer
um tutoring to sit here and find ways to
offer support to students who need it
but also I think by having students
engage with each other learn and be
empathetic
um from the different
perspectives I um used to be a mock
trial coach in San Francisco and I was
on the mock trial committee the it's a
was a volunteer position and mock trial
in San Francisco was something that was
based on diversity it was only open to
the public schools not to private
schools and the reason was so that we
could offer um those from under
historically underrepresented schools a
chance to step up and gain confidence
and learn skills such as public
speaking one of the one of the issues
that we had come across was declining
enrollment from certain schools because
of the fact that the reality is is that
kids have you have parents who work
multiple jobs they have to work
themselves you know we are work we need
to find
Solutions within that Fe that we can sit
here and reach out to students and their
families um who normally can't get
involved because you know we have our
lives we we got to sit here and work and
make a
living um I think some of the ways we
can do that is um going through local
advocacy groups we can go through pto's
we can go through churches we can even
start at the lower level and go with
daycares you know sit here and reach out
to people who are you know in preschool
looking to go into the prek and K
classes um I think there are
opportunities and ways to reach out to
the community and as somebody and I just
want to pitch myself as somebody who is
open and
flexible and um driven
by um the need to have my children and
the rest of the children in our society
succeed thank
you thank you um are there any
questions thank you very
much um sorry Tina can you actually turn
the microphone off since you're thank
you very much
perfect um it was great to hear from the
eight of you we clearly were expecting a
longer meeting tonight um this is our
planned break time I think that it would
be good to take a break um to just
process and um as one of the speakers
mentioned we do have a rubric that um
was given to us it's more of a guide
It's not like a formal grading um rubric
so you know some of us might want to go
through that and and look at numbers and
whatnot too so um 20 minute break yeah
and just as a reminder jna I don't know
if you said this in your opening remarks
but we did receive an application this
is partly for the public you all know
this who are in the room um we did
receive an application and there was an
opportunity to provide a resume or a
LinkedIn link so we got all of that and
I know many of us have been doing our
homework um the last couple of weeks in
terms of looking at applicants and
talking to people and that sort of thing
so so just know that it's not just the
presentation today although we really
appreciate the presentation that was
super helpful um to kind of get the
summary um but anyway just that just so
particularly for the people online who
maybe didn't don't appreciate the whole
process that it's not just the
presentation it's other things there
were also background checks anding of
Megan's list so like all of the
applicants here eded and I just I also
want to just separately before
deliberations begin really thank all of
the applicants man it's a lot to put
yourself out there in like this so just
all of you should be commended for your
desire to serve the community and I hope
that we can tap the energy in each and
every one one of you to go and improve
the lives of our students so thank you
so much for showing up tonight and
putting yourself out there I know that's
hard thank
you thank you very much okay so we're
going to take a 20 minute break um and
then we will
resume okay thank you everyone um so
before we resume I David said this but I
do I do want to thank everybody here for
your time your thoughtful consideration
um um during the application process um
like David said it really does take a
lot to put yourselves out there so thank
you for um putting your name in and for
being here tonight and um engaging with
the board um I do want to encourage all
of the candidates to please stay engaged
if you are not appointed tonight please
do consider how else you might um
support the district we have a lot of
committees and opportunities to be
involved and um I also want to thank the
district for facilitating the
application process up to this point hor
hey who is online right now um made this
a very smooth and transparent and easy
process for the board um collecting all
information and distributing it to us
and he made it especially easy for me as
board president to be able to guide this
meeting smoothly um so thank you Jorge
for all of your work
here um so per the brown act the board
has not been able to discuss any of the
applications um we have not had any um
public or private conversations about um
who any of the candidates so um I guess
before we go to a vote I'd like to ask
if there's anything anybody wants to
discuss publicly prior to
vote I mean it's weird this is a very
different process than is used to apply
for a job in the corporate world um
normally hiring managers would get a
chance to uh review and deliberate in
private before making an offer and we we
don't have that opportunity because of
interesting restrictions that we're
under so we're going to make a best
effort to do right by people in this
process but just want to acknowledge
that um if this feels different than how
people are hired in the corporate world
it it it is um so yeah yeah and on that
note um because of the number of
applicants we have it's possible we
won't come to a consensus on the first
vote so that's normal that's expected
don't think it means that we have some
contention here um
so I think
oh okay yeah oh do you mind if I just um
yeah I also just feel a need because
probably as soon as we make a decision
some people may leave or your you know
Minds might be in other places but I do
just want to say thank you very much for
all of you applying uh this is not an
easy decision I do not take this lightly
I know none of us do in the in the
normal world of course there would be a
couple of candidates that would be out
there in the community making their case
to the voters having coffees get getting
to know people getting Endor you know
all that kind of stuff so you're more
vetted in the program so this is a very
interesting process because of course
you had an application and a resume and
then this presentation which um and then
you know some of the research that that
we may have done but uh and then it all
has to be done in this public forum so
you are definitely putting yourself out
there uh tonight so I just want to say
thank you really appreciate I do hope
that you'll continue um and I just want
to say before we get going that this was
not it's not an easy decision for me
because I think any one of you would
bring a lot to the table and could add a
lot to you know the diversity of our
board and what what we do and as you
know for any of you have watched
meetings and been involved it's a very
collaborative process you as an
individual board member have no power um
you have influence of course you have an
opportunity to to work directly with our
superintendent um who's the chief
operating officer and gets to really uh
work with all the staff um you certainly
get to hear from the community and help
make the best decision you can so it
really is a collaborative effort and
that definitely came through in
everything that you all said and I
really believe that each of you could do
a great job um if given a chance and so
there can we can only choose one of you
so we'll do that tonight but I do want
to just reinforce there are so many
district committees that will come your
way many of you have younger children so
you're going to have a real opportunity
to be involved which is great um so
anyway thank you very much yeah and I'll
just I'll Echo that as well yeah thank
you I mean it's a wonderful pool of
candidates that are here tonight um a
lot of experience uh at at for people
that are at the site you know or have
kids at the school you know involvement
in PTO the School site councils Ela uh
parents clubs whether it's a parent Club
at the site or parent Club outside of a
School site um just seeing all that
involvement um all the schools
represented Roosevelt uh Kennedy
adalante SB Henry Ford uh Marion uh just
a good good selection of schools that
have have been here and uh many of you
actually have education experience which
I think is something that I was hoping
to see um in some of our candidates some
experience with it but at the very least
all of you have education kind of
centered in your lives one way or the
other and that's uh that is really
outstanding to see um I do want to echo
on the um on the involvement um I think
for people that are you know are at the
site uh that you already know about elac
and and School site councils and of
course parent organizations that might
be there pto's measures advis committees
things like that but at the district
there are some longstanding ones um that
are around like for for the board level
committees there's a citizen Bond
oversight committee uh measure you
oversight uh those don't require um
those are not even like you don't have
you just have to be part of the of the
Redwood City Community to be on that um
you know I guess the budget renewal
committee is coming up um yeah starting
tomorrow night uh so that again I think
is geared towards um people that are
that have uh kids in school um but then
beyond you know I mean education I think
a lot of you talked about creative ways
to be able to find new funding um be
able to put that in I mean there's
opportunities not even on the board for
State advocacy uh for local advocacy um
for example you know here we've changed
our food really our whole attitude
towards food and a lot of that came out
of local advocacy from um you know
community members that were uh as you
know interested in it were able to do
the research and able to bring um the
board and the cabinet and outside
parties together to be able to help make
a change um you know and being able to
provide um you know that that had the
it's it wasn't that the district didn't
care about free tasty healthy meals for
for all the kids in the district it's
just a question of bandwidth and being
able to come in and do that advocacy was
really important and then even here in
Redwood City if you're interested in
doing fundraising um where's the the
Redwood City education fund that works
across the district and is able to do
fundraising so there are there are so
many opportunities and I'm really
looking forward to being able to engage
with you all um as Redwood City
neighbors um as people that are involved
in our Redwood City School District uh I
just I'm I'm grateful that you're all
here and I really really appreciate uh
hearing from you and uh you taking the
time to
apply okay with that I'm gonna just go
one by one and um ask each of you to
name the full full first and last name
of the candidate that you would like to
appoint um and I'm just going to take
notes as we go each give our Top Choice
yes yep so
Cecilia Matthew
dupry David David
Lee Alisa uh Thomas
Rogerson and
Mike well as you you said we probably
were gonna bee on the first
one I I I was going to pick Luis
Vasquez okay and my vote goes for David
Lee so we have one for Matt
Dupri uh one for Thomas Rogerson one for
Luis Velasquez and two David
Lee so we're gonna go around
again starting with
Cecilia and we're going to run
again we need um a candidate that has
votes at least in order to appoint so we
are going to keep rev voting until we
have a
consensus can you just explain to me
when you're saying rev voting so round
two of voting basically because we
didn't have a candidate that had three
votes the top candidate only had two
votes so so like for example my first
choice am I going to continue to vote
for for I wor choice or am I going down
that's up to you okay yeah okay I see I
will stick with my
math
David
David Alisa okay Thomas
Rogerson Mike I I had two in my top spot
um and it was for me it was really close
for different different reasons and
actually for overlapping reasons um but
my my two top piics was were David Lee
and Luis Velasquez so I could you know I
I think we'd be well served to have
David Lee on our school board um you
know I think that he's got a lot of
experience that that could work here um
and you know I'd be okay with i would
support that as our next School Board
candidate so your vote in round I would
vote for David Lee for the record Luis
was my second by a very narrow margin
yeah and my vote is also for David
Lee so that is shall we look to see if
we can understand if there's a
possibility for consensus here yeah
okay um I just want to say that um my
top two choices I had Thomas Rogerson
and David Lee so um I'm fine with David
Lee I mean we we have a majority vote so
we don't I know I know you do but I just
wanted wanted to to clarify that because
I think there was some um you know
similarities and so yeah okay so that
was uh one vote Matt Dei and then I also
just think that um I think there's
always something to a more unanimous
decision um than not I mean we don't
have to have one but that's just sort of
my philosophy and I know our board has
often worked towards unanimous decisions
if we can by having a conversation so um
anyway I would be Absolut well and
actually as I said I would be happy with
any of the candidates in the room
because I thought we had a really strong
showing and similar to Mike I think what
you just said is I had there was
different reasons why I chose different
candidates and so um the top two for me
that I just named but I would be
absolutely fine with David Lee if that's
the majority vote one vote Matt Dei one
vote Thomas Rogerson and three votes for
David Lee so David Lee does have the
majority vote we don't need to vote a
third time yeah I think I will change my
vote to David Lee then I think is what
I'm saying yeah
right um
so congratulations David um we look
forward to welcoming you on the board in
December um for next steps I I suppose
your office will reach out and get
things
going for next steps what we'll do and
we'll move forward uh we have a process
which we must adhere to that is um
directed by the state of California so
David you will definitely be notified
formally and then we have to move
forward and also put this in a
newspaper along with our website and
also on a social media so um that needs
to happen within the next 10 days and
then he'll be seated at our board
meeting on December the six 17th
17th okay thank you everyone we really
appreciate um everyone being here and um
all of your efforts thank
you um we have a little bit left of our
meeting that business to follow you guys
are welcome to go if you want to or you
can stay Thank you thank you thank you
thank you
again thank
you
um just wait just a second yeah
r on 11.1 reports from board members and
superintendent is there anybody that
would like to
start oh the reports yeah I could I
could go ahead and go
um let's see it's kind of
hard
moment um okay uh all right so I did
attend the uh csba board meeting uh not
you know two weekends ago as I mentioned
I was going uh you know we always have a
lot of business just to kind of keep the
organization going but one of the things
we did get an update on is the
artificial intelligence task force
they've gotten a lot of expertise um you
know from around the state uh who are
advising them and then you've got
Schoolboard members and superintendent
and Technology officers anyway they have
a whole lot of resources on the website
and I don't know did I send the link
already I think I was in the meeting and
I anyway I'll make sure I wanted to send
the link out to different folks and you
can share it with maybe staff
development um but I think there's some
good resources there also they're coming
up with some policies that we'll want to
implement as a school district and that
sort of thing and then I know there's
just a lot going on in the county and of
course we have uh people who know a lot
about it already but I was impressed
when I looked at the website just the
amount of resources already and there'll
be a final report they're kind of
putting stuff out but there'll be a
final report in the next six six to nine
months or
something um and then we did on the
legislative side of things we heard
about you know prop two which is the
facilities bond which our school
district has already put forward a
resolution I believe we were one of the
first ones to do that so I was very
proud of that um and then we talked a
lot about the annual education
conference I was curious um who's going
who's able to go this year AC yeah a
you'll be going I'm still checking the
calendar okay trying to get there that's
great um all right anyway and hopefully
uh uh David Lee we do have an so csba
has an annual education
conference oh there you go okay all
right well we can talk um so I've been
on the csba board of directors the last
eight years and pretty involved with the
organization so that's great I just you
know it's a great educational thing and
then I attended the 2 by two by two with
Janet and then uh the climate Summit um
I went to yesterday climate Summit with
Sano County and actually it's great it's
a lot of community- based organizations
that put this on and many are in the
north far Oaks Rood City area so that
was good to hear from them and that's
it I don't have anything to
report and I attended the superintendent
advisory committee but the Spanish at
Hoover um and we talked about the budget
we a
lot we talked a lot about the budget and
so here we go and I was telling the
parents do you see why it's important to
go to our meetings I mean we've been
talking for over like an hour and a half
in one topic can just imagine we as
board members have this amount of time
to talk about different topics so they
understand that understood that and then
uh Michelle rmon brought money so we
actually had kind of a cool game going
so that they could understand how much
money difference schools get for you
know Title Nine and title one and all
this other stuff so that was fun for
them to actually understand and see it
so that was great awesome and that's it
um on the 2 by Two by Two Chief of
Police Christina Bell was there um and
gave an update on the speed limit pilot
project at Henry Ford and um Roosevelt
the 15 miles an hour and she said for
the first two weeks they gave out
warnings um um and and then the
following two weeks after that I think
this was all in front of Henry Ford they
gave out 17 speeding tickets one illegal
urn and then there were several I think
were driving without a license I think
yeah um was like yeah in two so yes um
but grateful to the city for that pilot
project and um hoping we can expand it
to other schools too um and then Sicilia
and I met with Dr Baker and Rick to uh
review the applications for the budget
renewal committee um and selected um
representation from as many school sites
as we could um and we have our first
meeting tomorrow that's great that's all
I have good I'm sorry I forgot one thing
I I went to um the safe routes to
schools today I was just going to pull
up the notes um you know of course that
was talked
about uh oh I think
shoot there's some various grant money
that's coming in I know AR the school
Orion has been successful there's going
to be some additional signage that I
think is going to go up just to help
with
trafficking in that area um you know
they also mentioned at the 2 by two by
two the uh some of the traffic calming
measures
at kind of that Northstar MIT Sequoia
area um they've got a lot going on I was
just going to so they did do an
international walk today I think Orion
was really involved along with Kennedy
Garfield Clifford Roy Cloud um they have
a bike repair station that just went at
Red Morton Community Center they were
asking for suggestions for another one
so I mentioned maybe over near Hoover
school because I think it has to be in
rid City so somewhere east of El
Camino uh they are going to get ready to
do some walk audits um around some of
our
schools
so that's a committee that you know
Martin goes to so it's not really a
requirement that a Schoolboard member
goes to but when I'm off the board it
might be one that somebody you know they
have an interest it's just every other
month for an hour like 10 to 11 am and
then um actually csba is another one
that I think our board we have a
position that that's supposed to be the
lay on with csba and Sano County School
boards Association but they haven't
really had to do much the last probably
12 years so I'm just going to say that
that positional probably have to step up
to once I'm off the board you won't have
the direct so I was just sort starting
so I'm just putting a plug now to the
public and to our newest board
member and I'll be talking to Jennifer
too who's our other newest board member
and I know she has some interest in
different things as well so between all
five of you there'll be plenty to do as
usual also at the 2 by two by two they
mentioned um yeah we're going to both go
off that so that's right um they'll
they're installing flashing crosswalk
lights at yes Kentucky and Massachusetts
so it's just towards Woodside Plaza from
Henry Ford what's the one that's bywood
and Brewster Brewster by Sequoia but
some of the Northstar and MIT kids come
that way and then there's one at um by
Roosevelt where those two
streets right over by Roosevelt
School I can't even think the name of
the streets is it and ID up I think it
is and actually the safe routes to
schools they did talk about uh they are
I think they've got a grant they're
going to be doing more looking at the
James and El Camino Crossing and again
that's one that our North Star MIT
kids anyway there's a lot going
on I went to a meeting that was for the
annual Coalition of safe schools that
was put on the County Office of Ed and
all the police Chiefs
[Music]
Sheriff's Department fire departments
were all there to talk about you know
the the safety in our schools and then
went through the new edition of the big
five which is through the County Office
of adet gives us specific directions how
to handle these different types of
situations that may occur on site uh RCF
meeting last night where they are moving
forward with some activities that we'll
all start learning about shortly to
raise additional dollars for our school
kids
um then we had a an and I had a meeting
with some parents regarding uh
screens in schools and um we are going
to bring that back but not until after
winter break because I did explain that
we had some really important things to
do prior to then but we'll meet again
after that but they did send me their um
slides so I will send you the slides
because there's a lot of data on the
slide so you have them also all right
getting back to the Spanish
superintendent
uh advisory Council I just heard today
from one of the parents laora
umth I don't remember her last name but
anyway she's very involved along with
um one of the others and I can't think
of her name right now but I have to yeah
I have to change that date because these
parents have gone out to the other not
only Hoover but to the other schools to
say they want to change our date that's
November 1st that we know two
have it in the evening I can't do the
evening so we're going to have to have
to change the whole day so they've got
like 50 some parents coming to this
meeting and they want to have daycare
and food and stuff so I said yes we'll
do it we just do you agree to change the
date and I'll we'll do it in the evening
so you two are definitely going with me
and any other board member that wants to
go with me it'll be all in Spanish
there's no
translation well what I did what I did
for what I did for the
meeting normally it's superintendent
advisory Council but what I wanted to do
was really get our Latinos involved in
budget decisions and so I chose to go in
a Direction Where We will be there not
only superintendent's advisory committee
but the budget committee is also the
same information that's presented
tomorrow night is going to be presented
to them so we will come up with a new
date and Michelle is working with them
on that because I can't do that
that uh Friday in the evening so it's an
evening meeting because remember we
changed them because they wanted
everything in the morning they didn't
want evening so now we have a magnitude
of parents coming which I wanted we all
wanted so we're going to do it we'll
have child care we'll have
food I'll let you know when the meeting
is all right so it I think it'll be
great yeah that's
it thank you there's no information
items correspond
pop classrooms
emails um that's it I got corresponden
about uh somebody in the Roosevelt
neighborhood who was upset that the
school bells were ringing on days when
schools was not in attendance um so we
close the loop with that and we're going
to make sure that the bells don't ring
when there aren't students to hear the
bells seemed like a reasonable proposal
thank
you U where are we uh other business
items for future
agenda a lot coming up so um there's no
changes to the board meeting
calendar okay well we started early and
we're ending at
605 yeah we could have done our regular
but just a six o'clock start yeah do do
we have a motion to aurn yeah I'll move
toour seconded all those in favor I now
that