April 20, 2022 – Board Meeting Recap

Summary of the Board of Education Meeting on April 20th, 2022

The April 20th, 2022 meeting of the Board of Education began with the following announcements out of Closed Session:

  • The Board took action on one worker’s compensation case.
  • The Board took action to promote Lisa Mitchell to Executive Director in the African American Academic Acceleration department.

Next, Superintendent Nelson provided a brief report to the Board of Education, including:

  • Superintendent Nelson started his remarks acknowledging our Board’s proclamation of April as the Remembrance of the Existence of the Armenian Genocide Month. Superintendent also recognized Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day which is this weekend on April 24th.
  • Superintendent Nelson then congratulated and recognized our Department of Prevention and Intervention. DPI will receive an “Influencing Systems – Education” mentoring award and be recognized in New York next week. Fresno Unified was one of five recipients nationwide and the only school district to win a National Amplify Award, given by MENTOR. The district was selected because of its early and ongoing dedication to systemically scaling relationship-based supports across the district.
  • Superintendent then congratulated and recognized Edison High School for being recognized as one of the top 24 schools in the state for this year’s Race to Submit campaign. The Race to Submit campaign aims to increase the number of high school seniors who complete their FAFSA or CADAA applications, which provides important financial aid opportunities for college. Almost 87% of Edison seniors completed their FAFSA or CADAA.
  • Superintendent Nelson reminded all of the 15th annual Middle School Tournament of Technology happening this Saturday for more than 300 of our middle school students. ToT is the largest contest of its kind in the state. It’s been almost three years since the last in-person event was held, and he shared the district’s excitement to be back together in-person for this exciting competition. Students can compete in 15 events in three categories: Robotics, Video Production, Design, and Coding. This year, for the first time, the Tournament of Technology will also feature a Drone Exhibition, and Fresno PD will be flying their Maverick Drone used in law enforcement. The competition kicks off at 8am, with an award ceremony at 1pm at Hoover High’s Event Center – parents and visitors are welcome.
  • Superintendent Nelson shared the Climate and Culture department’s upcoming 4-part professional learning series – “Responding to Student Misbehavior Like an All-Star”. Superintendent encourage staff to register on iAchieve by this Friday, April 22nd. Participants will be compensated at the supplemental pay rate.
  • Superintendent Nelson shared his pride in Fresno High’s students who hosted an awesome Unity Rally back on April 6th. Students from many different clubs and leadership came together to put on a lunchtime event with music, poetry, and more to show unity amongst students.
  • Superintendent thanked our Gaston students who recently participated in the California Avenue Neighborhood Design Challenge with Fresno Housing. Students dreamt up the improvements and amenities that they would like to see in their own neighborhood and created models and presentations to share with district and community leaders.
  • Superintendent Nelson congratulated Sunnyside for having the most Dell Scholars in the nation. With this year’s four awardees that takes Sunnyside to a total of 66 Dell Scholars since the inception of the program back in 2005. Superintendent shared this great video highlighting a few of our recipients. Superintendent congratulated this year’s four awardees, Gao (Angie) Yang, Luisa Torralba, Sheng Xiong, and Joanna Sayaseng, and thanked the Sunnyside team including Tony Fiori, AVID coordinator.

Next, the Board of Education took the following action on the below consent agenda items:

  • Approved Personnel List
  • Adopted Findings of Fact and Recommendations of District Administrative Board
  • Approved Minutes from Prior Meetings
  • Adopted Resolution Proclaiming May 2 – 6, 2022 as Teacher/Substitute Teacher Appreciation Week
  • Approved Revised Job Description for Chief, Human Resources/Labor Relations
  • Approved Revised Teachers on Special Assignment and Librarians 197 Duty Days Salary Schedule (8 hours)
  • Approved Agreement with Born to Shine with Mike Sullivan
  • Approved Agreement for The Foundation of California Community Colleges Guidance Initiative Platform
  • Approved Grant Application to the Federal Department of Education- 2022 Teacher Quality Partnership Grant
  • Approved Award of Bid 22-28, Ventura and 10th Site and Parking Lot Improvements Phase II
  • Denied Claim GL21-1027-6832
  • Ratified Retiree Contracts with Jill Barkdull, Maureen Doyle, Sharon Melson and Arlene Rowan to Provide Extra Support to the Health Services Department
  • Ratified Grant Application to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing – 2022 Teacher Residency Expansion Grant
  • Ratified the Renewal Grant Application to the California Department of Education for the After School Education and Safety Program

Next, the Board of Education discussed the below conference/discussion agenda items:

  • Presented and Discussed the Early Learning Department Expansion Plan for 2022/23 and Beyond
  • Presented and Discussed the 2022/23 Strategic Budget Development
  • Discussed of the California School Employees Association – Chapter 125 Initial Proposal to Fresno Unified School District for the 2022-2023 Reopener Agreement
  • Discussed and Adopted of the Fresno Unified School District Initial Proposal to California School Employees Association, Chapter 125 for the 2022-2023 Reopener Agreement
  • Discussed of the California School Employees Association, Chapter 143, Food Service 2022-2023 Initial Proposal to Fresno Unified School District for the 2022-2023 Reopener Agreement
  • Discussed and Adopted of the Fresno Unified School District Initial Proposal to California School Employees Association, Chapter 143 for the 2022-2023 Reopener Agreement
  • Discussed of Fresno Area Substitute Teacher Association – SEIU Local 521, Initial Proposal to Fresno Unified School District for the 2022-2025 Successor Agreement
  • Discussed and Adopted of the Fresno Unified School District Initial Proposal to Fresno Area Substitute Teacher Association – SEIU Local 521 for the 2022-2025 Successor Agreement
  • Discussed of the Service Employees International Union – Local 521 Initial Proposal to Fresno Unified School District for the 2022-2025 Successor Agreement
  • Discussed and Adopted of the Fresno Unified School District Initial Proposal to Service Employees International Union – Local 521 for the 2022-2025 Successor Agreement

The Board of Education received the following Information or Reports:

  • Received Proposed Revisions for Board Policies

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Education will be on Wednesday, May 4th, 2022. Complete minutes and agendas are available online at board.fresnounified.org.

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