The February 22, 2017 meeting of the Board of Education began with the following announcements out of Closed Session:
- The Board of Education took action to ratify dismissal of a permanent classified employee.
Next, Sally Gonzalez, a parent that has had a positive impact at McCardle Elementary, led the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Board of Education approved the minutes from the January 18, 2017 special meeting and the January 25, 2017 regular meeting.
The Board of Education adopted a resolution naming the month of March 2017 as Arts Education Month, given the numerous investments by the board towards arts education. Trustees are encouraging schools to celebrate the arts with meaningful activities and programs. Catherine Aujero, Director of Visual and Performing Arts highlighted just a few of the arts education projects going on around the district, with the support of representative teams of art and music teachers.
ASB President Savina Olivas and Senior Class President David Sampedro from Hoover High School provided a report to the Board of Education, sharing details of yesterday’s SAB meeting as well as ongoing events at Hoover. They thanked Board President Ashjian, Board Clerk Cazares and Board Member De La Cerda for attending the SAB meeting. In addition, students from Ahwahnee Middle School provided highlights of their activities and career goals.
Next, Interim Superintendent Nelson provided a brief report to the Board of Education including:
- Sharing that applications are currently available on the district website for graduating seniors interested in applying for financial assistance from the Fresno Unified Scholarship Fund. Applications can be found on the district website under both the “student” and the “community” tabs. Nelson pointed out that the application deadline is a little more than three weeks away–Friday, March 16th.
- Interim superintendent reminded those in attendance that the scholarship fund was created back in 2009, when Fresno Unified employees wanted a way to help students realize their dreams of getting a college education. Thanks to community members and our own Fresno Unified family, the district has raised over $300,000 and awarded 181 college-bound seniors. Nelson shared a video to showcase the impact these scholarships have had on previous recipients. Interim superintendent encouraged those interested in making a worthwhile donation to the Fresno Unified Scholarship Fund or setting up a voluntary district payroll deduction, to visit the district website to learn more.
- Nelson indicated that an exciting announcement was on the horizon around the law pathway at Bullard High School. Administration has been working diligently alongside a group of well-respected law professionals to re-establish a sustainable law pathway for students, creating a direct path for employment in the legal field. More to follow.
- Finally, this week marks the beginning of playoffs for our soccer, basketball and wrestling athletes. Nelson congratulated all the teams who have reached the pinnacle of their seasons with appearances in the valley playoffs. The complete list of this week’s playoff schedule is available on the district’s home page. Best of luck to all our district coaches and their teams.
Following Interim Superintendent Nelson’s remarks, the Board of Education took the following actions on the below consent agenda items:
- Approved personnel list.
- Adopted findings of fact and recommendations of the District Administrative Board
- Approved agreement with Wonder Valley Ranch
- Approved submission of grant application to California Dept. of Education for School Breakfast Program and Summer Food Service Start-up and Expansion Grant.
- Approved postponing discussion of award of Bid 17-13, Terronez Middle School Gymnasium Make-up Air Unit Replacement to the March 8, 2017 Board Meeting so the board can review potential costs of providing alternate cooling systems.
- Approved award of Bid 17-16, Food Service Disposable Products
- Approved award of Bid 17-17, Hoover High School Cooling Tower Replacement
- Ratified grant application to the California Dept. of Education for the 2017/18 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, Title II: Adult Education and Family Literacy Act
- Ratified the filing of notices of completion: Bid 16-30D, Installation of Exterior Lighting at Various Sites, Bid 16-32, 2016 Summer Portable Classroom Relocation and Infrastructure Project. President Ashjian abstained due to Board Bylaw 9270.
After the consent agenda, staff made a presentation to the Board in the conference/discussion section of the agenda as follows:
- Presented and discussed the 2017/18 Strategic Budget Development.
- Discussed process for selection of Superintendent Search Firm
The Board of Education received the following information and reports:
- Received Fresno Unified School District’s Second Quarterly Investment Report for
Fiscal Year 2016/17
- Received proposed revisions for Board Bylaws (BB) 9100, 9122, 9123, 9200, 9320,
9322 and Exhibit (E) 9270 - Received Constituent Services Quarterly Reporting
- Received Sierra Charter School Renewal Petition
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Education is Wednesday, March 8, 2017 at 5:30 p.m. at the Fresno Unified Education Center, located at 2309 Tulare St. in Fresno. Complete minutes and agendas are available online at https://go.fresnou.org/board.