Board, staff and guests conducted the pledge of allegiance.

Refer to attendance information recorded above.

G. Serce, Principal at MSA-San Diego, announced that yesterday school staff celebrated being recognized as a California Distinguished School. S. Dikbas, Board Member, was in attendance. He presented recognition plaques to the Board and Student Board Member. 

M. Sahin, Facilities Project Manager, presented that the purpose is to approve the change order from API Construction, general contractor for the 18242 Sherman Way project at MSA-1. He reported that this was not included in the initial RFP which is why staff is seeking Board approval for the addition. He went over the change order requests. Board members questions were addressed by staff. 

This was removed during the approval of agenda.

F. Del Carpio, Chief People Officer, reported it was determined that school funds would be better utilized focusing on parent engagement, support, recruitment, and retention during the enrollment process. She added that currently MPS has six (6) PACE Coordinators, and proposed that eliminating the position and reallocating the funds to partially fund Family Success Coordinator (FSC) positions at the school sites would benefit the schools. B. Olivares, Chief External Officer, added that in her position she identified areas of growth and the FSC position would greatly focus on the enrollment and retention needs and focusing more on the families. Board questions were addressed by staff.

F. Del Carpio, Chief People Officer, reported that the proposed salary band reflects the upper limit of what is being paid to the home office staff within the band and also reflects the budget that was reviewed at April's Board Meeting with the 4% increase. In addition the titles of General Counsel, Deputy Superintendent and Analyst have been added. She added that this will include the opportunity to do salary market analysis to validate current salary bands or adjust to become more competitive. Board questions were addressed by staff. 

E. Acar, Chief Academic Officer, reported that the Board approved the MPS Volunteer Enrichment Programs Policy to explore bringing in partners, operators, and/or providers wanting to extend their services and solutions to MPS schools at a cost-free basis. He reported that the specific operator, Elegant Learning Solutions Inc., provides a program that focuses on the areas of cybersecurity and AI usage. He reported that this can open cybersecurity and computer engineering pathway opportunities to students as part of their expanded learning offerings or afterschool activities. He clarified that this will not be part of the core programs. Board members questions were addressed. 

E. Acar, Chief Academic Officer, reported that similar to the previous item, this volunteer program, Atom Books Inc., carries no cost to MPS. He reported the details of what the program provides such as AI technology and augmented reality (AR) books that can be read using advanced technology, text to speech and visual elements. He also added that this program offers multiple languages. He reported that the goal is to increase students motivation in reading by introducing technology. He mentioned that this would not be a core program and instead be and enrichment for teachers, students and parents to explore. He said that MPS leadership reviewed the program with staff and presented in classrooms for students feedback. Board members questions were addressed by staff. 

E. Acar, Chief Academic Officer, reported that as mentioned at the May 9th Regular Board Meeting, the Board was asked for approval to explore a trip to Costa Rica aligning with MPS vision and mission. He added that the organization of the trip would be at the Home Office level. A Committee consisting of J. Hernandez, Director of Student Services, himself and others are working on all the logistics of the trip with the consultation of legal counsel. Board questions were addressed by staff and clarified on areas of trip logistics, purpose, student, parent and staff communication and costs.  

E. Acar, Chief Academic Officer, reported that MPS is seeking to establish a scholarship program aimed at supporting students participation in the non-programmatic trips based on financial need, without using public school funding. He added that 80% of MPS students are socio-economically disadvantaged and brings in the question of affordability to partake in the experience. He added that this is to ensure that students who would like to attend have access to this unique experience and ensures that this is coming from philanthropic funds. He added that the policy, which was developed by legal counsel, outlines the practices and procedures that MPS will adhere to ensure fairness and consistency in selecting and awarding scholarships, in line with IRS guidelines for charitable organizations. Board questions were addressed by staff.  

S. Budhraja, Chief Financial Officer, reported that in the spirit of supporting international travel for staff and students Finance identified the need to provide logistical support. He added that the existing board policies do not have mechanisms in place to advocate for international travel and the proposed amendment would allow to pay international vendors. He also added that this was reviewed by legal counsel to allow MPS to support and keep within the guidelines. Board questions were addressed by staff.