1. Mr. Friedman expresses concerns about electronics policy and enforcement tools. He also is advocating for AI assistance for operations and administration to help improve efficiency and accuracy, while reducing potential for bias or mistakes. 
2. Online comment - faculty concerns about cleaning and testing of Pali campus. They want transparency of testing results. Also requesting board meetings to be on zoom or livestream to improve participation by the community. Requesting information about contingencies if campus is not ready in time.

Carlos Torres from LAUSD Office of Environmental Health and Safety - Update on return to campus. 

• Mid-December building turnover date to get to January 12 opening. 
• They are still completing testing, which may result in delays. 
• USACE and LAUSD contractors have completed all debris removal and environmental assessment of soils. Soil, air and surface testing.
• LAUSD contractor is doing assessment and cleanup of interior spaces. Duct cleaning is almost done.  Air testing was completed. Sampling was designed and conducted by independent certified hygienists. 
• Planning on continued enhanced air quality monitoring in real time with online public access. This will include info on impacts from work in the area around the campus.
• LAUSD will do pre-occupancy testing and inspection.

DLR Group Architects

• Design update on the proposed construction of new buildings. 
• Funding is $266 mm in bond funds. Anticipating partial reimbursement by FEMA and insurance.
• Described scope of new classroom building. 3.5 year anticipated reconstruction timeline. 
• Currently working on design and CEQA and DSA approvals.
• Construction slated to start Q1 2027.
• Discussion of design goals, scope of project and phased timeline.
• 30 total classrooms plus admin offices and support spaces. Integrated design for flow and continuity with existing buildings. 
• Athletic area - restoring the track and field, and replacing the field building.
• Baseball field restoration - will be restoring the field and upgrading features.

Questions and Discussion: 

• Minh Ha Ngo asked if new building will include an elevator for ADA purposes. Architects confirmed.
• Jane Davis asked about building materials and fire resiliency. The architects explained the sealed joint system and fire resistant materials. Non-combustible framing materials. Metal systems. 
• Maggie Nance asked about total square footage - 55,000 for academic buildings and 2,000 for field building. She also asked if there will be another design update. There will be a final design report in December. Community meeting on October 28 to share what was shown tonight.
• Dr. Magee asked about construction cost. This building will cost around $150mm. The total $266mm funding number is not just construction cost.
• Jane Davis asked if they've received bids yet. They have only received estimates, no bids. Still in design phase. Then construction documents. Then DSA review. Will expedite the process by calling for bids while DSA is still reviewing. Bids expected mid-2026. 
• Amir Ebtehadj commended them for removing the old bungalows. Asking about testing process and timelines. They are still waiting for cleaning to be completed before they can do the testing. They don't have a clear timeline because they are waiting for that. 
• Lisa Cahill - what is the timeline for the samples they are waiting on? What percentage has been completed? They are going building by building. They did an initial cleaning of ducts. Now they are physically opening the ducts to clean them, so it's coordination of contractors and testing company. 24 hour turnaround of testing in a lab. Then have to review the results and determine next steps. Then closing everything, flushing the systems and testing the rooms again. Early November they will know if they have clearance on the first building. Then sequence of building by building until December 15 if there are no issues. Starting with the ones that were closest to burn areas, building D.
• Negeen Ben-Cohen - why such delays, why was this duct cleaning not started until 3 weeks ago? LAUSD does not seem to share our urgency in getting the campus turned over while we are in a space that cannot accommodate our physical needs and that is a financial burden for our school. LAUSD representatives responded that they do understand the urgency.
• Amir Ebtehadj - why can't you hand over building D now? They have cleaned the ducts but not run the air. 
• Jane Davis - It sounds like there is a potential that December 15 comes and LAUSD says campus is not ready. This is true because of potential environmental issues.
• Nicholas Albonico - Would it be more efficient to just change the ducts? LAUSD says no because it would require permits, review and approvals. 
• Minh Ha Ngo - This situation will put pressure on teachers during finals. And while she believes LAUSD shares our urgency what she wants is for them to share the financial burden since this displacement is very costly.
• Maggie Nance - there is a huge burden on extracurriculars and it's resulting in Pali losing kids because we don't have access to our sports facilities. Can we get the pool and field and theater and Mercer Hall open sooner. We had asked for that in June and said it was a priority. LAUSD says they are working on the pool and trying to fast track the gym to get it concurrently with building D. 
• Amir Ebtehadj - What is the status of the temporary bungalow village? LAUSD say it will be ready. The first 21 portables are ready now. Then we decided to replace an additional 9 classrooms from the old bungalows so they brought in 9 more portables that have been delivered and hooked up to utilities. These will be ready by December 15. 
• Maggie Nance - we are excited about the new building but we are really hamstrung in this space. Overwhelming urgency of faculty and students to get back to campus. Teachers very upset and emotional about not knowing what happened to their stuff or thinking that it's all been thrown away even though it didn't burn, and also about going back without assurances of environmental safety. It's been 10 months with no information.
• Amir Ebtehadj - the community at the 10/28 meeting will want dates and more concrete information than what has been provided tonight. Families need to make decisions about their housing, transportation, etc. LAUSD say they are committed to turning the buildings over by December 15 but they need to wait for more environmental data. Once they turn over a building the Pali facilities team can start moving into it. Will require coordination since it's an active construction area. 
• Jane Davis asked about contingency planning and the remaining term of the lease. Dr. Magee says we are locked in through December. Will have to exercise an option for February and March 45 days in advance. 
• Lisa Cahill - the ambiguity is problematic. Need better communication from LAUSD including completion percentages and other details. 

Rafael Negroe providing an update. 

Admin had an October 10 meeting at the Pali campus with LAUSD to see how the buildings will look upon turnover. Also to clarify what repairs LAUSD will be responsible for and what Pali facilities team will handle. 

Building D anticipated turnover is November 1. 

4 phases - 

1. pre-move condition and coordination - October - December

once confirmed safe to reoccupy a building, admin will do space planning and walk throughs to assign spaces to teachers and staff. 

facilities assessment with a contractor to get a quote and a plan to do any classroom repairs. includes painting, deep cleaning, flooring or lighting repair, furniture repair or installation. May include damage from prior wear and tear.

2. Packing & Logistics - December - staff coordination and moving company engagement

3. Campus Setup - December - January 

4. Final Prep and Departmental Readiness - January

We have a contingency plan if we can't get the campus back in December. 

We have a total of 12 people between facilities and janitorial team to help with this. 

Some of the furniture at Sears belongs to Pali, some belongs to LAUSD.

Amir asked about Sears building turnover - Rafael says if we are out of the building by mid-December his expectation is that we would continue demolition after the termination of the lease. That is how the buildout was - the lease was signed in March but didn't take effect until April, giving us time to complete the buildout.  

Minh Ha concerned about the timing of moving for teachers and also compensation for their time. They won't have time to pack and move during finals. Dr. Magee says they will work with UTLA and figure out these details. She says there is not that much stuff at Sears to pack up. 

Maggie suggests a survey of teachers to see who wants to handle packing and moving their own stuff and who would rather a company handle it. 

Minh Ha would like them to be working on classroom assignments from now. 

Maggie expresses frustration that they threw away meaningful teacher belongings and personal items even though the ceiling tiles in the same classrooms were deemed safe and didn't have to be thrown away. 

Maggie suggests we should have a special meeting before the next scheduled board meeting to discuss updates to the testing and timeline. 

Homecoming Dance planning efforts - They decided to postpone the dance until January to try to do it back at school. 

Homecoming game this Friday at SMC. 

Senior breakfast will be at Greystone Mansion and they will have an ice skating day.

Parents would like status updates about the Pali cafeteria reopening and the return to campus. Also have expressed concerns about why we are expanding to offer the IB program instead of focusing resources on improving existing courses and programs. 

Fati Adeli sharing information about "The Longest Table" community meal event for Pacific Palisades residents held in the Huntington Palisades. 800 people showed up and it was a hugely successful community event. They will try to make this a recurring event. Would be great to host one at Pali for the whole community. 

Martha Monahan - we have transitioned to a back office for a lot of financial items. Alexis and Jeff Roepel have played a big role in making this transition go smoothly. 

The teachers, staff, and students really came together today in the rain. 

Nick Albonico - adding PDSA to PLC groups is redundant and an unnecessary extra layer.

Minh Ha Ngo - concerns about safety and moving back to campus. Performance Matters is not teacher friendly. Nick and Maggie agree. It makes exam writing much more difficult.  Teachers want a better assessment platform that will help inform instruction and give usable data. 

New state bill 848 - impacts hiring. Every new certificated employee has to provide full background and we have to contact all of their prior schools. This has been expanded to classified staff now as well. Not clear yet how it has to be implemented. Expands mandated reporters to include board members and volunteers. We will have to have a training in the spring. 

We are also transitioning to a new payroll system as of November 10. Improves visibility to employees regarding pay and benefits. Switching to Innova instead of ADP. Minh Ha asked about financial impact. Martha says this will cost us around $2,000 less a month than the prior system because it's included with our back office services.

Does phased building turnover impact technology restoration? They have access to the Palisades campus now and the wifi is working there. 

New student devices distributed 9/25 to the students who had not received laptops.  

Archer school offered to donate around 60 laptops plus several power supplies, Pali is going to pick them up this week.

• We are estimating $1.7mm out of general fund to cover costs at temporary location through move date.  Insurance only covers the first $10 mm and we have $11.7 mm of costs. 
• Expecting $1.6mm of additional revenue to offset most of that via student support and professional development block grant (SSPD), hold harmless order and LCFF funds. 
• Additional insurance revenue will be offset by additional costs. They need to take a closer look at costs like security, cleaning and overhead. 
• If we stay  in Santa Monica beyond January the costs will be steeper. We would take a big hit on bathroom rental cost because it's a one year agreement beginning March. 
• Financial forecast - will have a more detailed report next month with a full set of financials. Focus right now is on cleaning up 24-25 books. 
• Maggie Nance asked about teacher belongings - John says he will need detailed lists of the items such as books, reference materials, etc. in order to make insurance claims and request reimbursement. 
• John says they are still exploring sub policies to see if we can get any recovery beyond the $10 mm. 
• Minh Ha Ngo asked about professional development funds from the SSPD grant. John says we have PD funds from 5 years ago that are still not depleted so this grant is not needed for PD. 
• Minh Ha asked about Employee Retention Tax Credit - John says we are still waiting on those funds. 

• Current Enrollment - 2383. Started at 2500. Anticipate some families will leave and others will come when we transition back to campus. 
• Enrollment lottery is now open. 
• IB and other new programs are because we are trying to draw families into the community.  We are talking to families about what they want and what would draw them to join Pali. 
• Performance Matters system - we picked this system via an open process a few years ago. It's mandated by our charter authorizer that we have a system. We can look at other systems but there will be a learning curve to have that transition.
• Gensler slide deck for the Sears building - they featured Pali south at their national conference. They are donating a mural at the Pali campus when we go back. We will have a community vote on design options and we can be part of the painting and creation. Location is TBD. 

Randy Tenansnow and Michael Friedman - 

They want the committee to dig deep into the departments and assess what's going on internally. Focus of the committee is supposed to be on student achievement and data. Shifting attention to analysis instead of just reporting. They will make recommendations based on this process. They will study intervention needs, make curriculum recs, course offering recs, etc. and make reports to the board so the administration can execute on these recommendations. 

Fati Adeli suggests that we need attention on alignment within departments and within PLCs re grading, testing, homework, etc. 

There is a challenge with the loss of paraprofessionals and math lab instructors. Also that department heads cannot enforce policies for their teachers. 

Minh Ha Ngo - part of the issue with returning exams is work flow. Teachers don't have time to make 10 versions of a test. 

Their report stands as submitted. No discussion. 

nothing to report

nothing to report

We are going to shift Grade Appeal and Risk Management and Audit to be ad hoc committees.  No longer standing committees of the board. 

Goals were created in the board retreat and have gone through some committees. 

The goals are set forth in draft form in attachment to agenda.

1. Academic Goals - Amend to add item 3 from the specific action items into the academic goals here - "Examine, evaluate, and clarify expectations for PLCs and singleton courses in regard to grading practices, curriculum alignment, and instructional strategies, and consistent timely feedback to students and families on educational progress." 
2. Academic Goals #2 - Amend language to say "Prioritize smaller class sizes for introductory level classes" 
   1. Discussion - Minh Ha - would like to amend academic achievement goal #2 re class sizes to actually commit to reduce class sizes and not just say to re-evaluate maximum class sizes. Martha is not comfortable with that. This is something that needs to be negotiated and should not be a board goal even though it's a theoretical goal. And possible ramifications of this could be to prevent raises because it diverts funds. There are a lot of elements that go into class size decisions even though we all agree that it's a goal theoretically. Jane says we are already mid school year where salaries and budget have already been set for this year so this discussion would be for planning for next year. She doesn't see room in the budget for a change like this. This is a financially complex issue that ties into funding formulas. We are not sure what the state norm number is for students per class. The intro level classes are the ones with higher enrollments and a broader range of abilities including underperforming and high achieving students. 
3. Fiscal Budget and Operations - amend to change "GPA" to "JPA" to avoid confusion as this refers to purchasing groups, not grades. 

Diana Kim - 

• Overview of this year's changes in curriculum - New course offerings, IB program planning
• 2025 CAASPP Data - Math results improved slightly but ELA dropped significantly. Many students did not take the exams, only around 50% participation. We got a waiver from the state but we need federal waiver to avoid penalties because they mandate 95% participation. 
• NWEA testing - around 1% decrease in scores across ELA reading, ELA language and science. Larger drop in Math scores. 
• Performance Matters - each PLC will come up with common assessments to see where we are and what needs to be changed. PDSA instruction plan (Plan Do Study Act) to identify issues and solutions. 
• Academic Interventions - Math Lab with Peer Student Tutors, Credit recovery on APEX, Pali Period, Office Hours, Study Skills course, Homework Help.
• Amir Ebtehadj - questions about intervention class enrollment - Ms. Kim says there was a hard deadline so there is no possibility now to enroll for this semester or to drop their classes but they will work with the student and their teacher to provide support. They may have opportunities to change for second semester. Maggie Nance says there should be more flexibility to move kids out of courses when the class is not a graduation requirement and they are not going to be able to perform. No point in keeping them in there and making them fail. They should be able to move into a study skills section. Dr. Magee wants it to be a data based decision. 
• Minh Ha Ngo - this issue of kids failing is a big issue for Algebra 1 as well as English and science classes.
• Minh Ha Ngo - what is the differentiation between the old non-honors English 9 and the new honors English 9? And if we have kids that are failing English, Math and Science, why don't we have more differentiation opportunities? Maggie says world languages differentiates within a class rather than segregating classes.  She says honors classes can move through material more quickly. Ms. Kim says they can have higher level analysis and evaluation based on ability in the same class. 
• Negeen Ben-Cohen - Why not have differentiated classrooms so you have proficient classes and honors classes?  
• Minh Ha Ngo - The kids who are struggling don't do the homework or show up for help.  How do we improve the intervention? 
• Fati Adeli - Before covid we worked with Paul Revere to have incoming kids tested. Can we bring back a placement test for English and Math? See if kids are really prepared for the honors classes. 
• Negeen Ben-Cohen - Revere is beta testing a new math curriculum this year, there are issues and families complaining about the lack of instruction and effective learning. These kids will need more support coming into Pali. 

Dr Magee and Maggie Nance made binders of governance documents for all board members to have a hard copy. We will table discussion of this for a later meeting. 

Compliance visit is broader than this checklist but it gives you an idea of what they are looking at. This has to be submitted by admin in January. Important for board members to review. 

We would like to pick a date for a visit. Will be scheduled by email. May have to be after school hours.