>> [roll call] thank you. commissioner mendoza: if you would like, us for the pledge of allegiance. [pledge of allegiance] thank you. i need a motion and a second. >> i move the adoption of the minutes. commissioner mendoza: roll call, please. >> [roll call]

thank you. that's five aye's. commissioner mendoza: we're a littl punchy tonight. superintendent garcia? >> this evening, i would like to remind the public that this coming monday will be first furlough day for the entire school district. due to the cheapness of our stake in the budget cuts, schools, child development centers and offices will be closed on monday. this includes all after-school programs. this is the first of four furlough days that will occur throughout the school year. these are not choices that we like making as we adopted the

budget. our children should be the most important investment, and unfortunately, the state did not find this as a priority. it will reopen on tuesday, november 1 -- november 2. we like to encourage everyone to get out and vote. the next thing i would like everybody to know, many of us were invited to go to the thirtieth anniversary of the richmond district center. we would like to salute them for all of the work they have done in the past. go, giants! [applause] let's go out and win the world series. commissioner mendoza: thank you, superintendent. recognition and resolutions of commendations.

>> this is always the fun part of the meeting. reviews are really to distinguish great service. every day, we have the unsung heroes in the school district. we don't often enough to get a chance to highlight some of the great work that they do. this evening, we will be recognizing a couple of people. the first presenter i would like to come up is mary richards. >> thank you, superintendent. my name is mary richards, i am the executive of the high school team. i would like to recognize her as a -- i have had the pleasure of working with her for the last three months and she is a wonderful person. i am going to accept the award

for her. she could not make it. she was really happy and absolutely surprised. she could not believe she was being recognized. these awards really make a difference in our lives. it indulges them -- acknowledges them in important ways. i know this is an honor for her. i am privileged to accept it for her. maria is a bit better looking than i am, too. commissioner mendoza: we appreciate your work. [applause] >> next, i would like to introduce the principle of the middle school. actually, i hate to embarrass

her, but she is actually a newlywed. [applause] >> oh, ok. it is a pleasure to introduce one of the members of my team that is so well deserving of this rave special service award. he came to us as a security guard, and he is more than that. he is nominated for his mentor should, his role modeling, -- his mentorship, his role modeling, he established flag football and he takes kids out to lunch. he is right there with a walkie- talkie by the class rooms. he is a member of our community. i would like to introduce albert

johnson. [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you. [laughter] thank you very much. i stand here tonight deeply honored to accept this award as i am thankful that my work is not in vain. i would like to make a positive impact, first on the children that i work with, and second on the faculty. and you for nominating me for this award and for the support that the staff to provide to help get the job done every day. thank you very much. [applause] commissioner mendoza: thank you so much. item d is the student delegates report.

>> during our last meeting yesterday, we received the presentation. she explained to us the rights of students when having an encounter with the police, and she gave the flyers to distribute and inform us how to handle a situation. we have the vice president and public relations officer, they stepped down. our pr position has yet to be determined. >> we were reading over last year's resolution regarding bathroom policy. we talked about different things regarding the whole issue.

we unanimously continued to support it. we also have the issue regarding the resolution for military recruitment. we have been reviewing and assisting the draft riding -- writing. commissioner mendoza: wonderful. thank you so much. our pac rep? hello, michelle. >> good evening, commissioners and members of the public. i am a member of the parent advisory council and a parent of two public-school children. along with my fellow pac member,

we will be presenting the report. congratulations to the folks that were honored this evening. as parents, we appreciate the wonderful work that everyone at the school does here at the district. and also, i wanted to reference the superintendent of the mention of the furlough days -- superintendent's mention of the furlough days. we tried to make the best of this really unfortunate budget situation. what we will be discussing this evening, our main topics are the priorities for this year and strengthening communication between the pac and the board of ed. we had a meeting just recently, and we have been working on distilling what the priorities are for this year. we have a process for how we

come to that. what we came away with or middle school assignments and redesign program placements. parent engagement around the school and the superintendent. of the change of transportation policy, and also, student nutrition. we also wanted to work on teacher admin quality in the after-school programs. implementing the parent engagement plan and issues around special ed. a little detail of how we are looking at these. our vision being involved with the middle school project is not simply to come out with a pattern. we know that middle school is often the transition where we lose families, and we want to look at how to better engaged the communities, parents,

students, and educators. and also, which programs we should have. that is all part of it. we understand these things are all closely connected. a round the school improvement grounds and the superintendent of zone -- zones, families would like to know more about what the plans are to engage the community. and the pac wants to know how we can participate. there is a frustration that this has not been as transparent because there is not enough information out there. we would like to see more details. we have already been involved with meetings with the district staff. despite the fact that it is a

difficult and complex process, there is no real win situation and people will lose services. i will turn it over. >> [speaking spanish] >> i am the voice of the parents of the public schools and i want

to talk to you about the concerns we have regarding the goal of social justice. and if it is really taking place in our schools. >> [speaking spanish] >> there are a lot of questions regarding the changes and the effectiveness of the changes within the school. we are complying with those promises, and this is becoming a reality in our school. >> [speaking spanish]

>> how is the work of the board of education reflecting and making those promises come true? how are you working on those schools to comply with what you have promised? >> [speaking spanish]

>> we would also like to know how can pac to work effectively on communicating with you and also bring you the voice of the parents? and also, any of your suggestions on how we can work on this communication process. >> [speaking spanish]

>> we had a meeting on august -- in august with rachel norton to see how we can continue working with the board of education. okay, so we can make the communication between the board of education and thus more effective. -- and us more effective. >> [speaking spanish]

>> we also would like to see our participation or presence of the pac presence to render a report and be more effective in all communication issues. commissioner mendoza:>> we had l conversation about how we can work together and how we can make these connections a little bit. we came up with some ideas. rachel made some really great suggestions about highlighting questions we would like to discuss during the report. we wanted to get that to you ahead of time so that he would have a heads up. one or two meetings during the

year, it is more of an opportunity for dialogue. that is not always the case because of a really packed agenda. if we could sort of bill that in so it is once or twice a year that we can have that dialogue, something like that. we would really like to have commissioners attend the pac meetings on a regular basis. rachel had some other ideas that maybe she can share with you as we go forward. we appreciate having the designated time space to come before you. and you very much. commissioner mendoza: when are your regular meetings and where are they located? >> usually the third tuesday of every month from 6:00 to 8:30.

we have been meeting here on the third floor. we meet here. commissioner mendoza: third floor, which room? >> the superintendent's conference room. commissioner wynns: i appreciate your report in the reflection. we need some this dilatation -- facilitation. it is ineffective because your purpose is to discuss things before the board. we have to be there one at a time. we can't have a quorum there or a quorum of committee. i just think that we should try to have a schedule and see what the topics are.

i hope that some way we can try to schedule that. u/ hoping s -- i would be happy to discuss with you, our intention is that we would actually get advice on policy things we are considering. we have something like the student assignment changes that are so lengthy in our deliberations because they are so important. components of it go on for months and months. i would love it if we could come up with some way to -- we could be mapping out the issues, and not the specific issues specifically, but policy areas

so that it is not just a matter of commenting on whether we should put that word in or take that word out. rather, policy topics. i'm hoping that we can participate in or have the kind of discussion that will give us meaningful advice. that was always the idea of the pac. we knew that the time frame would make this difficult period that kind of process would be discussed as a topic. -- difficult.

in this month, we are planning to work on this, so there are plenty of things that come up not in that way. it can be kind of difficult sometimes. still, i thank you all so much for your service, it is time for us to talk about how to deepen the process and make advising function for us and therefore, for the school district. commissioner norton: it was a really great conversation, and i would like to come back. it fell short, like people had more that they wanted to talk about. i just wanted to say to the board, one of the ideas that

came out in the conversation was having somebody on the board act as something of a liaison to the pac to kind of coordinate the board members so that we don't have a quorum or whatevr. an-- whatever. and questions coming from the pac and from board members to the pac. if you want me to start taking this role, we can do that. i think it would be a good thing to try to beat in that communication process. -- deepen that communication process. commissioner fewer: i have been to the meetings and i enjoy going just to meet the pac members. i was a facilitator of the

group and we brought this resolution. we never thought it would be at this stage. i think that we should be attending, board members should be coming, at the very least to say hello and thank you for your service. i know that everybody has children in the public-school system and it is very taxing. having said that, yes, we want your opinion on issues. but personally, i would like to hear some things that you have been working on as a group. items of discussion that parents have brought forward that maybe needs to be looked at. collectively, you represent many schools now.

if there is a single issue or topic that is of deep concern to you, i think that you as a parent, board, or body should be able to bring that forward. and work in conjunction with the board on how to address those issues and maybe make changes to make it better. i think it would be great to have a calendar or schedule. i know that your meetings are only monthly. we could rotate. it is just a suggestion. commissioner mendoza: thank you. commissioner yee: can i request that i come to your november meeting? i am just requesting -- i will be first in line to come.

i would like to have a discussion, and i am beginning to ask or groups -- ask groups on the issue of whether or not california should be a state where a kindergarten is compulsory. i have been asking and i have gotten really good feedback. i think this is a good time to pursue this. i want others to take it further in a very serious way. there are other districts that i have spoken to, and they seem to have some interest in that in california. i asked several people, and i have not gotten any push back yet. i am sure that there will be groups that say no, it is

stupid. commissioner mendoza: there is no further comment, thank you very much. >> would it be alright if marco asked a question? >> [speaking spanish] >> i would like to see if we can create a program of continuity. so we can work on that. commissioner mendoza: thank you.

item f is public comment. members of the public are not permitted to sever agenda items for discussion because it takes too much time. consent items shall occur -- only if the superintendent in their discretion, severs the item for discussion. >> good evening, superintendent garcia. ladies and gentlemen. this modification of contract calls for an expense of $94,176 . i have questions about that. i went out to the cdc,