The September 27, 2017 meeting of the Board of Education began with the following announcements out of Closed Session.
- Appointed David Chavez, Administrative Analyst, Superintendent’s Office to Chief of Staff, Superintendent’s Office
- Reclassified Tressa Overstreet, Principal I, Design Science Middle College High School to Principal III, Design Science Middle College High School.
- Promoted LeAnn Nowlin to Director, Fiscal Services
- Promoted Eugene Trofimenko, Analyst II, Fiscal Services to Director, Fiscal Services
Next, Rosie Estrada, a parent who has had a positive impact at Muir Elementary School, led the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Board of Education approved the minutes from the June 8, 2017 special meeting and the June 14, 2017 regular meeting.
Next, students from Gaston Middle School shared with the board the activities they enjoy participating in and why they love attending their school. Next, Aimee Khanchareun, Mikaela Ruiz-DaSilva and Eric Martinez, students from Edison High School, provided an update to the board about what is happening at their school including hosting the first ever Regional Leadership Retreat where roughly 200 elementary and middle school students from the Edison region participated in various sessions facilitated by Edison high students to establish community service goals for students to bring back to their campuses. The students are also planning for homecoming which has the theme “Decades.” More than 500 Edison students are involved in creating skits to make homecoming memorable. The students are also working on several activities to spread kindness.
Next, Superintendent Nelson provided a brief report to the Board of Education including:
- Thanking students, families and staff of Fresno Unified who jumped in to help those impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Together, more than 1,000 boxes full of school supplies, clothes and other donations were collected for students and families of the Houston Independent School District.
- Thanking Papé Kenworth Trucking Company for their generosity. When Fresno Unified put out a call for help in shipping the donations collected by school sites for Houston Independent School District and Hurricane Harvey relief, Papé Kenworth stepped up to arrange for two semi-trucks, which included trailers from DTL Transport, to bring the items to Houston at no cost to the district. Nelson also shared a video of the donated items being loaded onto Papé Kenworth’s trucks.
- Sharing the launching of the district’s first Unified Sports League where students in special education play alongside varsity players. The new league promotes inclusion and understanding through sports training and competitive experiences. Here are pictures highlighting the first Unified Soccer games held at Hoover last week.
- Providing an update to negotiations with Fresno Teachers Association (FTA). Yesterday, the district provided FASTA, our substitute teachers union, a revised proposal which included up to $500 per day for substitute teachers in the event of a teacher work stoppage. As educators, the district is committed to ensuring supports are available every day to the students we serve. This “special pay” provides the Board of Education and the district the ability to recruit substitutes and fulfill its efforts to keep schools open, safe and functional for student learning in the event of a teacher strike.
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 Fresno Pacific University Center for Peacemaking
- Approved award of request for Proposal 17-35, United States Department of Agriculture Commodity Processed Food Products
- Approved provisional internship permits
- Denied Claim #17-0825-0281
- Ratified grant funds from the California Department of Education for Supporting Inclusive Practices Project for Fiscal Year 2017/18
- Ratified Change Orders for the following projects:
- Bid 16-09, Baird Middle School Classroom Wing Addition
- Bid 16-31, Turner Elementary School New Classroom and Administration Buildings
Next, staff made presentations to the Board in the conference/discussion section of the agenda as follows:
- Presented and discussed implementation of actions delineated in the Master Plan for English Learner Success
- Presented and discussed Fresno Unified School District’s Mathematics Instructional Program
- Held public hearing and adopted Resolution in the Matter of Sufficiency of Instructional Materials to Comply with the Requirements of Education Code Section 60119
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Education is Wednesday, October 11, 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.