Magnolia Public Schools

Minutes

Regular Board Meeting

Date and Time

Thursday March 5, 2020 at 6:30 PM

Location

MSA-5 18230 Kittridge St. Reseda, CA 91335
The following sites remained open during the meeting:
• MSA-1 18238 Sherman Way, Reseda, CA 91335
• MSA-2 17125 Victory Blvd., Van Nuys, CA 91406
• MSA-3 1254 E. Helmick St., Carson, CA 90746
• MSA-4 11330 W. Graham Place Los Angeles, CA 90064
• MSA-6 3754 Dunn Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90034
• MSA-7 18355 Roscoe Blvd., Northridge, CA 91325
• MSA-8 6411 Orchard Ave., Bell, CA 90201
• MSA-Santa Ana 2840 W. 1st St., Santa Ana, CA 92703 (Mr. Shohrat Geldiyev)
• MSA-San Diego 6525 Estrella Ave. San Diego, CA 92120 (Dr. Salih Dikbas) 
• 1363 Ridgecrest Rd Pinole, CA 94564 (Mr. Serdar Orazov)
• 4701 Patrick Henry Dr. Bldg#25, Santa Clara, CA 95054 (Dr. Umit Yapanel)

Board Members:
Mr. Haim Beliak, Chair
Dr. Umit Yapanel, Vice-Chair
Ms. Diane Gonzalez
Ms. Sandra Covarrubias
Mr. Serdar Orazov
Dr. Salih Dikbas
Mr. Shohrat Geldiyev

CEO & Superintendent:
Mr. Alfredo Rubalcava

Directors Present

D. Gonzalez, H. Beliak, S. Covarrubias, S. Geldiyev, S. Orazov (remote), U. Yapanel (remote)

Directors Absent

S. Dikbas

Directors who arrived after the meeting opened

U. Yapanel

Guests Present

B. Torres

I. Opening Items

A.

Call the Meeting to Order

H. Beliak called a meeting of the board of directors of Magnolia Public Schools to order on Thursday Mar 5, 2020 at 6:38 PM.

B.

Record Attendance and Guests

Please refer to attendance information stated above. 

C.

Pledge of Allegiance

B. Torres, MPS Board Secretary led the Pledge of Allegiance. 

D.

Approval of Agenda

D. Gonzalez made a motion to approve the agenda as presented.
S. Covarrubias seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Roll Call
S. Orazov
Aye
H. Beliak
Aye
S. Covarrubias
Aye
U. Yapanel
Absent
S. Geldiyev
Aye
D. Gonzalez
Aye
S. Dikbas
Absent

E.

Public Comments

No public comments were made. 
U. Yapanel arrived.

F.

Communications: Board/Superintendent

A. Rubalcava, MPS CEO and Superintendent, gave details to Board Members about the annual letter received from the California Department of Education regarding their site visit to MSA-Santa Ana, he presented recognitions to MSA-5 students, staff and parents, he gave an update on the COVID-19 virus and how MPS schools are addressing it. Lastly, he informed the board of S. Geldiyev's MPS board membership resignation effective immediately after this meeting (3/5/2020). E. Acar, MPS Chief Academic Officer, invited the board to the upcoming MPS Symposium. 

G.

Approval of February 13, 2019 Regular Board Meeting Minutes

S. Covarrubias made a motion to approve the minutes from Regular Board Meeting on 02-13-20.
S. Geldiyev seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Roll Call
S. Orazov
Aye
S. Geldiyev
Aye
S. Covarrubias
Aye
U. Yapanel
Aye
D. Gonzalez
Aye
H. Beliak
Aye
S. Dikbas
Absent

II. Closed Session Items

A.

Public Announcement of Closed Session

H. Beliak, MPS Board Chair, announced to the public that the board would be discussing four matters under potential litigation and one public employment matter. Any actions taken will be reported out.

B.

Conference with Legal Counsel-Potential Litigation- Four Matters

These items were discussed in Closed Session. 

C.

Public Employment- One Matter

This item was discussed in Closed Session. 

D.

Report Out From Closed Session

H. Beliak announced that no actions were taken during Closed Session. 

III. Consent Items

A.

Approval of 2019-20 Compliance Monitoring and Certification of Governing Board Compliance Review for MSA-Santa Ana

S. Geldiyev made a motion to approve 2019-20 Compliance Monitoring and Certification of Governing Board Compliance Review for MSA-Santa Ana as a consent item.
S. Covarrubias seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Roll Call
S. Covarrubias
Aye
S. Geldiyev
Aye
D. Gonzalez
Aye
S. Dikbas
Absent
U. Yapanel
Aye
H. Beliak
Aye
S. Orazov
Aye

IV. Action Items

A.

Approval of MPS Board Meeting Protocols Policy

B. Torres, MPS Board Secretary, briefly explained the details of the policy and how it would be used. All questions were addressed. 
D. Gonzalez made a motion to approve the Magnolia Public Schools Board Meeting Protocols.
S. Geldiyev seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Roll Call
S. Dikbas
Absent
S. Orazov
Aye
S. Geldiyev
Aye
D. Gonzalez
Aye
S. Covarrubias
Aye
U. Yapanel
Aye
H. Beliak
Aye

B.

Approval of 2019-20 Second Interim Financial Report and 2019-20 Revised Budget

This item was discussed and approved by the MPS Finance Committee. S. Orazov, MPS Board Member and MPS Finance Committee Chair gave the board and overview of the financial report, he pointed out important information and addressed all questions. N. Montijo, MPS Chief Financial Officer added additional information. A. Rubalcava, MPS CEO and Superintendent, went over all approved expenses to be paid from reserved funds and how these expenses were reflected in the interim report. Staff addressed all questions from the board. 
S. Orazov made a motion to approve the 2019-20 Second Interim Report as attached and to approve the projected budget presented in the 2nd Interim Report as MPS Revised Budgets.
S. Geldiyev seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Roll Call
S. Dikbas
Absent
H. Beliak
Aye
S. Orazov
Aye
U. Yapanel
Aye
D. Gonzalez
Aye
S. Covarrubias
Aye
S. Geldiyev
Aye

C.

Approval of MSA 3 ASES Program Subcontracting to ThinkTogether

MPS Chief Operations Officer, S. Acar presented the ASES item to the board, he explained how the services would be transitioned, how this was beneficial to the school and he addressed all relevant questions from Board Members. 
S. Geldiyev made a motion to approve Magnolia Science Academy 3 (MSA 3) to switch ASES Funds from MSA 3 in-housed operations to the vendor ThinkTogether, Inc to operate the MSA 3 ASES Middle School After School Program as a board approved subcontracting vendor and assign the CEO & Superintendent to sign the MOU.
D. Gonzalez seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Roll Call
S. Covarrubias
Aye
S. Orazov
Aye
S. Dikbas
Absent
H. Beliak
Aye
S. Geldiyev
Aye
U. Yapanel
Aye
D. Gonzalez
Aye

D.

Approval of Intra-Organizational Loan to MSA-San Diego and Reduction in Home Office Fee

N. Montijo, MPS Chief Finance Officer, explained the details of the intra-organizational loan and the reduction of home office fees. She explained what the loan funds were needed for and how it would be paid back. All questions were addressed. 
D. Gonzalez made a motion to authorize an intra-organizational loan not to exceed $100,000 to meet the cash requirement for MSA San Diego to fund payroll and other operating expenses, as needed and to approve interest rate of 1.9% per annum applied to the temporary loan and approval of reduction of home office fees in the amount of $34,000.
S. Geldiyev seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Roll Call
S. Dikbas
Absent
S. Covarrubias
Aye
S. Orazov
Aye
U. Yapanel
Aye
D. Gonzalez
Aye
H. Beliak
Aye
S. Geldiyev
Aye

E.

Approval of MSA 4 and MSA 6 Dean of Students Position for Remaining 2019-20

M. Avsar, MSA-4 Principal, explained to the board that there was a vacant position at MSA-4 due to a resignation and the school was going to replace this position with a Dean of Students for the remainder of 2019-20. The Principal went over the responsibilities of this role and stated that there were no budget implications just a title change. All questions were addressed. 
S. Covarrubias made a motion to approve the addition of Dean of Student position at MSA 4 and MSA 6 for remainder of 2019-20 school year.
S. Geldiyev seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Roll Call
D. Gonzalez
Aye
U. Yapanel
Aye
S. Geldiyev
Aye
S. Orazov
Aye
S. Covarrubias
Aye
S. Dikbas
Absent
H. Beliak
Aye

F.

Approval of MSA-2 Full-time Aide/Paraprofessional Using General Unrestricted Funds

D. Garner, MSA-2 Principal, presented the full-time aide/paraprofessional item to the Board. He explained that this position was not part of the approved school's budget but there was funds available in the unrestricted budget for this position without using reserved funds. He elaborated that this position was needed for support to the increase number of English Learner students at MSA-2. 
S. Geldiyev made a motion to approve an increase in staffing at MSA-2 by hiring one (1) full-time aide/paraprofessional using General Unrestricted Instructional Aide category of funds.
D. Gonzalez seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
Roll Call
S. Dikbas
Absent
U. Yapanel
Aye
S. Geldiyev
Aye
H. Beliak
Aye
S. Orazov
Aye
D. Gonzalez
Aye
S. Covarrubias
Aye

V. Information/Discussion Items

A.

Verbal Update on Back Office Request for Proposal

N. Montijo, MPS Finance Officer gave a verbal update on the Request for Proposal for Back Office vendor and addressed board questions. 

B.

Facilities Updates

P. Ontiveros, MPS General Counsel & Director of Facilities gave the board updates regarding each school's facility projects. 

VI. Closing Items

A.

Adjourn Meeting

There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 8:08 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
H. Beliak