Board, staff and guests conducted the pledge of allegiance.

Refer to attendance information recorded above. 

No public comments were made at this time.

A. Rubalcava, CEO & Superintendent, thanked all the schools for their hard work as the approach winter break. He also welcomed Corri Ravare as MPS Chief Schools Officer. C. Ravare shared that she was looking forward to support principals and academic outcomes. G. Serce, Chief Academic Officer, thanked all college counselors and schools leaders for their support in students submitted college applications. He reported that the N. Bayraktar, Student Board Member, was also in the midst of submitting applications and he was able to visit him at their school to speak about their projects. Board Members welcomed C. Ravare to MPS. 

A. Rubalcava, CEO & Superintendent, expressed appreciation to the Board for their committment and involvement. U. Yapanel, Board Member & Chair of the Nominating/Governance Committee, went over the language in the Bylaws that stated the terms and number of Directors in MPS. He highlighted that both D. Gonzalez served since 2014 and S. Dikbas served since 2016. He also mentioned that their 3rd term renewal start would be retroactive since their term ended December 9th, 2024. Board Members thanked them for their dedication, service and time to serve on the MPS Board.

M. Muhammedov, Board Chair, announced that the Board will be going into closed session to discuss conference with real property negotiations and conference with legal counsel - anticipated litigation.

This item was discussed in Closed Session.

This item was discussed in Closed Session.

M. Muhammedov announced in Open Session at 10:34pm that the Board has discussed conference with real property negotiations and terms of the potential purchase including the price was discussed and no actions were taken. Board had also informed staff to take further action. Additionally, Board had conference with legal counsel in which they took no action.

Presented at the Finance Committee Meeting in which the Committee recommended for their approval. S. Budhraja, Chief Financial Officer, reported on the fiscal benchmarks given by LAUSD on actions MPS had to take and implement that related to internal controls, fiscal policies and procedures and others. He reported that in terms of consolidated financial systems, MPS has implemented Netsuite Oracle as the primary software system which was implemented in July 2024. Schools and the Home Office have access to the system. He added that with this action it would remedy all the concerns brought in the fiscal benchmarks to possibly close this item. Board Members questions were addressed by staff.

Presented at the Finance Committee Meeting in which the Committee recommended for their approval. S. Budhraja, Chief Financial Officer, provided an overview of the first interim in which he discussed ADA, revenues, expenditures and disclosed that some schools and Home Office are at a deficit at this time. He added there would be plans to address the school's deficits by working with the Principals to ensure staffing are in line with enrollment. A. Rubalcava, CEO & Superintendent, spoke upon the deficit at the Home Office. He provided context and the challenges faced. He also added that there have been positive indicators such as enrollment, and the retention and recruitment of students that was brought by promising practices and initiatives'. He added that this would be addressed to reduce the deficit and to have a net income for all. Board Members questions were addressed by staff.

P. Ontiveros, General Counsel & Director of Facilities, reported that an RFP was issued for the design and engineering services needed for the MSA-2 project at 16600 Vanowen Street. Three proposals were received by Berliner Architects, HED, and Rafael Franco & Associated. He added that they reviewed the proposals, sat down with the applicants and after review staff recommended that Berliner was the best selection. Representatives from Berliner spoke and introduced themselves. Richard Berliner was on the line. He spoke on their history with MPS such as the MSA-Santa Ana project, and others like MSA-1 and MSA-7. Board Members questions were addressed by staff. 

P. Ontiveros, General Counsel & Director of Facilities, provided background regarding the MSA-5 site in which originally it was a build-up construction which switched to a modular construction and further evaluation of the costs. He explained that increment 1 plans were submitted and approved by the Division of State Architect (DSA). Increment 2 plans for the academic building have been submitted to DSA and awaiting approval. He explained the bid process and the change from a multi prime delivery method consisting of several packages was bundled up to on one in an effort to address not receiving much interest in the bid and to get more traction. The resolutions would allow staff to engage in a negotiated bid and at the next board meeting staff will submit for Board approval a proposal to approve the contract for the the increment 1 work. Board Members questions were addressed by staff. 

P. Ontiveros, General Counsel & Director of Facilities, reported that this is to approve a change order for the Architect of Record for the MSA-5 project, DLR Group. He pointed that in order to receive a final apportionment for the Office of Public School Construction (OPSC) of the remaining funds from the Charter School Facilities Project (CSGF) award, the complete project must be approved by the Division of State Architect (DSA). He added that OPSC requires DSA approved plans for all phases of the project. He went over DLR Group's proposal with the services and fees outlined. He added the scope of work is necessary in order to receive the final apportionment for the project. Board Members questions were addressed by staff.