April 6, 2022 – Board Meeting Recap

Summary of the Board of Education Meeting on April 6th, 2022

The April 6th, 2022 meeting of the Board of Education began with the following announcements out of Closed Session:

  • The Board took action to promote Xai “Liz” Torres to Executive Director, Health Services.
  • The Board took action to promote Annarita Howell to Administrator, Human Resources/Labor Relations.

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

  • Superintendent Nelson started his remarks recognizing a press conference earlier in the day discussing the importance of our current and future investments in mental health supports and social emotional learning for our students. Superintendent shared that sadly, the second leading cause of death for students ages 10-14 nationally is suicide. Superintendent shared his gratitude for the Board’s support and investments in our Department of Prevention and Intervention.
  • Superintendent recognized April as Autism Awareness Month, Occupational Therapy Awareness Month, School Library Month and the Month and Week of the Young Child. Superintendent asked all to take some time to appreciate our staff who work in our libraries, our early learning staff and educators, our occupational therapists, and staff and educators who support our students receiving special education service. He encouraged all to celebrate our early learners, our students on the autism spectrum, and reading.
  • Superintendent then shared that Preschool registration started this week and our enrollment for Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten continues, including dual immersion opportunities. To learn more and enroll 3- and 4-year-old children in our free preschool programs head to our website at earlylearning.fresnounified.org, call 457-3416, or contact the appropriate neighborhood school.
  • Superintendent then congratulated Board Clerk Islas who was honored as a Woman of the year by the Fresno City Council. Clerk Islas was recognized alongside all the women who have led the COVID-19 Equity project by district 3, with Trustee Davis also being honored as Woman of the Year by district 5.
  • Superintendent recognized the cadets from Duncan High for marching more than 14 miles on March 20th in memory of the soldiers who died during the forced Bataan Death March during World War II. Twenty-eight of our Air Force Junior ROTC students started their march at 6:30am, stopping along the way at the 9/11 memorial at Buchanan High School to pay their respects, spending part of their walk in silence to focus on their purpose, and ending after 1pm.
  • Superintendent then thanked the FBI for selecting Roosevelt to bring forth their first FBI Youth Experience in California. Our students had the opportunity to learn directly from active FBI agents and practice skills in evidence collection, bomb threat response, SWAT response, and much more. Superintendent also thanked our Public Service Pathway team at Roosevelt for making this great real-world learning experience possible for our students. You can find a video highlighting the experience here.
  • Superintendent also thanked the Assistance League of Fresno for donating $100 to each student at Roeding Elementary to shop at Burlington last month. Our students were able to get new shoes and clothes for school and we are all grateful.

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 April 2022 Autism Awareness Month
  • Adopted Resolution Proclaiming April 2022 Occupational Therapy Awareness Month
  • Adopted Resolution 21-38 in Support of Full Day Transitional Kindergarten and Full Day Kindergarten Instruction and in Support of Applications to the California Preschool, Transitional Kindergarten and Full Day Kindergarten Facilities Grant Program
  • Approved Employment Agreement for Dr. Natasha Baker, Chief Academic Officer
  • Approved Agreement with ProSolve
  • Approved Grant Application to the California Department of Food and Agriculture 2022 California Farm to School Incubator Grant Program
  • Approved Award of Additional Vendors for Request for Qualifications 20-14, Professional Services – Construction Related Consultants
  • Approved Proposed Revisions for Board Policies
  • Approved Proposed Board Meeting Dates for 2022/23 and 2023/24
  • Ratified Retiree Contract with Ralph Meza to Provide Extra Support to the Transportation Department
  • Ratified an Agreement between Fresno Unified School District Early Learning Department and Fresno County Superintendent of Schools
  • Ratified an Agreement between Fresno Unified School District and Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission
  • Ratified Grant Application to the No Kid Hungry Grant Opportunity
  • Ratified Memorandum of Understanding and Independent Contractor Services Agreement between Fresno Adult School and the San Joaquin Valley College of Law to Implement the 2021-2023 Citizenship Assimilation Grant through September 30, 2023
  • Ratified Change Orders
  • Ratified Purchase Orders from January 01, 2022 through January 31, 2022

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

  • Presented and Discussed the 2022/23 Strategic Budget Development

The Board of Education received the following Information or Reports:

  • Received the California School Employees Association – Chapter 125 Initial Proposal to Fresno Unified School District for the 2022-2023 Reopener Agreement
  • Received the California School Employees Association – Chapter 143 Initial Proposal to Fresno Unified School District for the 2022-2023 Reopener Agreement
  • Received the Fresno Area Substitute Teacher Association – SEIU Chapter 521 Initial Proposal to Fresno Unified School District for the 2022-2025 Successor Agreement
  • Received the Service Employees International Union – Chapter 521 Initial Proposal to Fresno Unified School District for the 2022-2025 Successor Agreement
  • Received the Fresno Unified School District Initial Proposal to California School Employees Association, Chapter 125 for the 2022-2023 Reopener Agreement
  • Received the Fresno Unified School District Initial Proposal to California School Employees Association, Chapter 143 for the 2022-2023 Reopener Agreement
  • Received the Fresno Unified School District Initial Proposal to Fresno Area Substitute Teacher Association – SEIU Chapter 521 for the 2022-2025 Successor Agreement
  • Received the Fresno Unified School District Initial Proposal to Service Employees International Union – Chapter 521 for the 2022-2025 Successor Agreement

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Education will be on Wednesday, April 20th, 2022. Complete minutes and agendas are available online at board.fresnounified.org.

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