Craig Au
The forced resignation of Steve Cifonelli.
Steve did not curse or yell but simply explained the cut off time for wrestlers.  Steve provided laundry service and other things for the student who was being counseled. The girls on the team all went to bat for Steve.  No bat was thrown at any player.  
Steve is often a go to teacher for faculty and he should not be let go. 

Tom Kalili
Regarding Steve Cifonelli
Had two children at the school.  Proud of the diversity that the school offers.  Diversity should be included in the style of teaching. Steve has his own character and he is able to wake up the kids and make him work hard.  He is an Olympic athlete but he is caring and loving.  For Mr. Kalili he found that it was humiliating the way that the parent spoke to him.  The parent was late by four hours.

Hamah Alsaudi:
A wrestler for Mr. C.  He has really helped him athletically and with his grades and he and the other students would not be where they are without Mr. C.

Delilah Chapman:
On February 21st Pali hosted a wrestling tournament.  On that day Coach Steve walked in to thank the parents working in the snack stand.  He said that they were a family and that the kids were like his kids.  Her son Chance have been on the receiving end of coach's thought bonus, his leadership, his compassion.  Coach Steve went to have her son's fever checked to make sure that he was healthy even though she never asked her to do that.  Coach Steve picked up the pieces after Coach Randy's death and was able to help put the team back together.  
 

Amanda Campbell needs to be marked absent for the entire meeting.  Two name spellings need to be corrected:
Carol Croland
Cristina Costa
Under the Finance section:
There was no vote on the College Block Grant.
The vote was on the accounting policy on page 110.  
All items were approved so need to double check the votes to make sure that the is accurately reflected in the minutes.
Vote is tabled to next time to make the corrections.

Myrna Cervantes, the ESL Coordinator at Pali, presented.  
Reporting on changes and changes in assessments that will be taking place.
About 7 years ago, Pali became a program improvement school.  We found out that the ESL students were not succeeding so a program was started to help them succeed.  Over the past 5 years this program has helped the ESL students succeed.  

• Growing in language proficiency
• Proficient in the English test
• Seeing Annual Yearly Progress in the  requirements for the EL Subgroup

New state indicators with a completely different measuring tool

• Suspension rate
• English Language  Progress
• Graduation Rate
• English Language Arts (English class)
• Mathematics

Now the test (CELDT) and reclassification rates will be the consideration for the factors.  
Reclassification is graduating from program

• Achieve a C in English class
• Pass state English test
• Pass reading comprehension test

There are 700 English learners from 27 different languages.  They are achieving at all different levels.  So we need to look at what support system we need to achieve the goals.  
Pali has a English Learner Advisory Committee (ELAC) that meets once a month.
ELAC came up with ideas to help achieve these goals.
Hiring at least one adult teacher's aid in each Algebra I A/B, Geometry and Algebra 2A/B.  
Allocating funds for Writing Center to be open during the entire school day
Adding at least five courses to the existing courses during period 7 and allow English Learners to have enrollment policy.  (This is because students in an ESL class have one of their regular periods taken up by that class)
EL students should receive priority for placement of courses in the Master Schedule.
Grouping EL students in classes together
Hire a new counselor who speaks Spanish 

Jeff Hartman presented.
The agreement and the updated agreement are in the materials.
Pali's decision if students take multiple dual enrollment classes.
The curriculum is decided by SMC.
There is an allowance that the Pali schedule can be different than SMC's.
SMC has a right to send a representative to the class to verify that the curriculum is being followed.
There is an agreement that the teachers enter into.
Pali pays the teachers and they get a stipend from Pali so SMC doesn't have to pay them.
If an SMC professor teaches a class then SMC pays their professors.
If we do ask an SMC professor to do something beyond the agreement then Pali will have to pay the SMC professor.  (For instance if we had the professor agree to spend more time with the students.)
The teachers are required to be with the students the entire class time.
Teachers can lose the ability to be approved to teach through this grant.  SMC has the right to rescind approval for a teacher.
Students must meet SMC deadlines.  Students may drop the SMC class but only by the SMC deadline.  The student can still be enrolled in the Pali class and get the Pali credits.
SMC agrees to provide a roster with the grades so that the student does not have to go to SMC to get their transcript in order to get the credits.
Dara Williams brought up the inconsistency in the contract with the dates of the contract and the fact that says it is a three year contract.  Jeff Hartman said he would raise it with SMC.
 

School Attendance Review Board.
Objective is to find support for parents who are dealing with chronic truancy and absences.
We met as a group including Dara Williams, Emily Hirsch, Chris Lee and others.
Looks like there is an opportunity for us to partner with other schools in our area.
Dr. Magee is in contact with these schools to try to coordinate our efforts.  
This could bring a resource to Pali that we have not had before.

Contract is not part of the materials.  But this program provides the tools to look at data in an easily accessible and digestible platform.
Other schools are very satisfied.
 It takes about 3 months to build the dashboards in the way we need them.
In the process of meeting with the Schoolzilla reps to begin the process.
The contract is under the amount needed for a vote.

Materials provided 2016-2017 Points of Pride relating to the accomplishments at Pali thus far this year.
The administrators provided this information to Dr. Magee.
Also included are the accomplishments of the athletic teams.
Wellness is a huge focus, including mindfulness and a positive mindset.
Henry Winkler came and conducted an assembly and he was so impressed with the students that he wants to come back.
Andy Paris is the one who brought him here and the students really connected with him and enjoyed it.  Thanks to Andy for doing this.
All the things that the school is doing to support our students.
Leslie Wooley brought up an article in the New York Times highlighting things that schools have done to make a difference and these are the things that we are already doing.

Rocky Montz presented.  The updates to the policies are in the materials.  The timeline is set in stone.  Some policies were reviewed but no policies were changed.  The goal is to try to increase the number of candidates that we have.  Trying to get the parents to update their Infinite Campus and that will serve as the voter registration.  This also helps to push people to update their information.  
Thank you to Rocky Montz for taking over and chairing this committee.

An announcement was made at the faculty meeting that there are open seats.
We do have six open seats.
Dara Williams cannot run due to the fact that her current student is graduating and having an incoming 9th grader does not qualify her to run.  There was a thought to changing it but it was decided that it is better to keep the current policy.

None to consider.

Rocky Montz presented.  He had a meeting with Mike Rawson, Greg Wood, and Jay Schroeder.
No contracts have been signed.  The issue remaining is financing the project.  The Budget & Finance Committee suggested raising funds but financing what needs to be financed.  The latest we should go in signing the contract is April in order to have the work completed over the summer.  Ellen Pfahler inquired as to whether there was a discussion about the specifics of financing and fundraising.  Rocky Montz brought up that the field and the track are the priority and they cost $1.2 million finance that and then raise funds for the stadium, which is another $300,000.  The company we want to use don't finance directly so we would have to use a third party.  So as soon as we have a contract in front of us then we will have a better idea.  Dara Williams inquired about whether fundraising is already in the works. Rocky Montz and Mike Rawson indicated that fundraising is already underway.
The field is also one of the biggest fundraising generators that we have the field raises over $300,000 a year.  The 4th of July fireworks was for the community and did not raise funds.  The next step is to have the contract as well as financing options with sufficient time to have it considered at the next board meeting.  Ellen Pfahler discussed that we need permission to finance approximately $1 million given the amount that we have set aside.  Then we will need to discuss whether the funds generated from the permits for the field will go to pay off the loan for the track and field.  There will be a discussion of raising the rates due to the improvement of the facilities.  So there is an expectation that at the next meeting there will be a realistic plan on paying off the financing as soon as possible.  Rocky Montz is of the opinion that we have reached the maximum life expectancy of the track and field and that we need to replace it this summer.  Dara Williams brought up that if it is going to cost significantly more as a two step process to do the track and field and then the stadium the Board should know this so that we can make an informed decision as to how much to finance.  

Last year in order to consolidate the pool loan the Board voted on a loan from the lifetime health benefit account to the pool loan.
It is a 5 year loan paid back at 4.5% interest.  
Each year we have to approve the loan because it is an intrafund loan transaction.  So we have to approve the resolution continuing to support the intrafund loan.  It is page 65 of the materials, the Cash Borrowing Resolution.
[Robert Rene arrived at 6:24 p.m.]
 

Six people retired last year, which is a relatively high number.  There doesn't seem to be as big of an interest this year.  The incentives this year don't make as much sense.  There are some people who take it on a day by day basis.  This year more people seem to be enjoying their year so that is the positive.

Greg Wood presented.  The materials begin on page 66 of the materials. Page 67 is the projected balance sheet.  We would have to
$17.7 million and estimated liabilities of $7 million and excess of about $10.5 million.  But we can't pay the teachers with assets and this includes all assets not cash assets.  Some of our monies come in the form of restricted buckets, such as special education and they have to be spent on that.  We have to report to the state what the related expenses are for these items.  You would expect to spend the entire amount of these restricted pots.  The cafeteria fund has $37,000 deficit, which is why there is a proposal to change the service. Ideally we should not be in a deficit for that.  Regarding the Special Ed revenue received $1.7 million from the state but we have $3.4 million in expenses.  So that is encroaching on our general fund.  But we are measured on providing the right services so we have to do that even if it means going over the Special Ed budget and utilizing funds from the general budget to ensure that we are providing the appropriate services.  Emilie Larew pointed out that there are many laws in place that require schools to do specific things and these are not fully funded but we are still required to comply with these laws.  Doing what is best for students is not only the right thing but also avoids litigation, which potentially saves the school money.  
Andy Paris brought up that there may be a perception that Pali doesn't want these Special Education students but we have open enrollment and whether a student is a Special Education student is not a factor.
We have about 270 Special Education students.  Ten to twelve percent is the norm.  For Charter Schools we are above the norm according to Greg Wood.  
Page 78 is an internal document with our budget information.
Page 88, through January we had an excess but we still have to meet payroll for the remainder of the year.
At current pace, we would have approximately $650,000 increase in assets, with $350,000 being cash.
We have increased our transportation costs to cover more students.
Page 91 is a multi-year projection of our budget.  We will lose some of our funding because some is being cut.
Pension and health benefits will have significant (double digit) increases over the next few years.  With the salary increases it will be a significant increases so we just have to be careful with out budget.  This is something that all school districts have to deal with.
LAUSD is indicating layoffs for teachers as well as for their administration.
Ellen Pfahler brought up that employees on the budget committee realize that there could be budget issues in the future based on this. We need to start communicating with the faculty and staff that this is coming and that there may be shortfalls in the future.  
The three year plan shows the potential for going into the negative over the next three years.  So the Budget Committee is very much aware that there will need to be changes to stay within our budget.  This is one reason why Mike Rawson was hired so that we can find outside sources for funding.  One thing that has to be discussed are that salaries should really be considered as salaries plus benefits for future negotiations. Incumbent upon us to have these discussions now.  
Benefits are skyrocketing and our funding is remaining static.
Teachers realize that there are things that will have to be cut.  Even the teachers brought up that perhaps Pali cannot afford the auxiliaries. Better to have these discussions now than when we are in an emergency situation.

Greg Wood presented.
Tax return is included in the materials.  The form has to be presented to the Board prior to being filed.
Board member information and names have to be provided and some information regarding board member employee compensation.
For board members who receive no salary that is noted. 
We have an extension through May 15th so if there are any corrections or questions please provide them by the end of the week.
The booster club donation is what they gave directly to the school.
If there are any issues, Greg Wood will present it to the Board again.  Otherwise it will be filed.

Report on student transportation is in the materials.
The budget has increased due to a significant increase in scholarships to ensure that those in need have access to the transportation. Some of it is also due to an increase in cost.  
We have had some service issues with Tumbleweed.
So there is a need to put this contract out to bid (request for proposal).
There have been some discussions with some other transportation providers. 
We put out the request for proposal and then companies respond.  
We are subsidizing even the students who are paying by $15 per month.  
For the service issues we do have built into the contract a credit for service issues and service issues will be considered.
Drivers for school buses are becoming scarcer with the advent of Uber.
Deanna Hamilton asked why we are not passing the costs onto the students. 
Discussion about passing along the cost to the students and making sure that the 9th grade parents are told realistic costs for this transportation.
Ellen Pfahler discussed contacting public transportation to determine if we can get dedicated buses to Pali much like Paul Revere does. Greg Wood pointed out that communicating the transportation options is the key to providing alternatives.
Robert Rene brought up the fact that we do have to prioritize things and that perhaps transportation may need to be cut rather than cutting something else.  So the tradeoffs have to be considered.
At this point we are putting out a request for proposal.  One benefit of Tumbleweed is that they collect all the monies and Pali just has to pay the difference, which is a benefit of their contract.  If a transportation provider doesn't do that then we may need a dedicated staff person or persons to do this.  Athletic transportation is included in this budget as well.
Leslie Wooley brought up having an ad hoc transportation committee to look into arrangements with public transportation.  
Emilie Larew brought up that an ad hoc committee has to consist only of board members otherwise board committees that have other members on them are required to comply with the Brown Act.  The administration could also form a committee.  
Any interested Board members can contact Dr. Magee if they are interested in assisting.

Greg Wood presented. 
Participation in purchasing food from the cafeteria has dropped significantly
Projected that we are losing $37,000
Sodexo has lost approximately $100,000. Sodexo cleaned house of employees to try to save on the labor cost but then there have been challenges with that staff.
We are putting out a Request for Proposal for a new food service vendor.
There are protocols that have to be followed because we need a vendor that is qualified and has knowledge of the laws with regard to nutrition for educational institutions. 
So the specific requirements will need to be spelled out.
Pali serves 800 meals a day; Birmingham is serving 2800 meals per day and there isn't a corresponding difference in student population. Using the CDE format for the proposal.  It has to be advertised in newspapers and potential vendors have to be offered a tour. Engaging the students in tastings is part of the plan for the proposal.  
Ellen Pfahler brought up that studies have shown that presentation is often an issue.
Some schools have biometrics so they can just make the purchase using their fingerprint, which speeds up service.
Leslie Wooley brought up that there should be an app for the kids to purchase their food.

Will receive the funding by the end of the year for this block grant.  We have until the end of the 2018-2019 school year to spend the money but we need to have a budget for it in place.  So a plan should be arrived at by the end of the school year so that we can spend it over the next two years.  
Vote will be tabled for now and it will be brought back when the 2017-2018 budget comes up for approval, with this being a separate item.

This was brought to Budget & Finance Committee.  They would like some modifications made and some additional forms to be generated.

This document is in the materials.  Pali was asked to participate in a roundtable discussion with LACOE.  LACOE has an antiquated payroll system.  LACOE has signed with a software company called CGI.  LACOE has chosen us as the school to try out this system and is hopeful that other charters will as well.  This is an MOU between Pali and the County for a five year commitment to fund this. We would pay approximately $4 per ADA per year over the next five years to develop this system.  The benefit would be that we would be able to help design the system.  The total cost is $13,000 per year.  Greg Wood believes that this would be an overall benefit to Pali. The Budget & Finance Committee recommends approval.

Tabled until April Board meeting

There were some issues with the transitions.  Dara Williams suggested that an email tutorial might be in order so that parents understand how to navigate the site.

Stands as submitted.

Stands as submitted.
Attending the California Charter School Conference next week.

Stands as submitted.

Stands as submitted.

Mike Rawson presented.
Approached the company for the track and field to see if naming the stadium after them whether they would do it for cost.
They indicated that at this juncture that they would not be able to do that.
The vendor has indicated that they have given us the lowest price that they can give us.  The vendor is awaiting approval to perform work in California but the documentation to do that has been submitted.  The expectation is that it will be approved.
The vendor does want this to be a marketing piece so they are giving us a good deal.  If they do use it as a marketing tool, we are negotiating for a finder's fee if others use the vendor after seeing our field.
Raised over $24,000 so far for a press booth.
Bricks are being sold for a donor wall.  $250 for a brick.  $400 with an insignia.  $1000 for an array of four bricks with your own design.
A donor can buy a row for $5000.
Going to LA84.
Corporate sponsors are another option on the website or on the field.
Rich Wilkinson of the Alumni Association is behind it.  
AYSO is not in the position that they were ten years ago when they gave $500,000.  AYSO may want to fundraise to sell bricks here as well.  He is not in favor of long term financing so he is very motivated to fundraise.  We may be able to get a favorable interest rate based upon our expected income from the field permits.
Bricks for sale began at the auction last weekend.  
They are developing a 3D presentation.  
Mike Rawson had a conversation with Myrna Cervantes because there are grants available to the underserved, including English Language Learners.  Need about 8 months of work prior to grant submission in order to prepare it with sufficient faculty input.

Spring sports started.
Swimming won their meet.
St. Patrick's day activities are planned.
Unity Day this Thursday.  Activities begin then and will continue throughout the month.

Senior Day is being planned and parents are being asked to assist.

Since classified are required to sign in there is a request that staff be paid every two weeks as a good faith gesture.

A teacher wants consideration of giving students partial credit for late or incomplete assignments because it gives the students better motivation to try.
Amanda Campbell resigned from the Board.

No further discussion.

Nothing to report.

Meeting was set for May 3rd but Dara Williams, the chair, cannot attend at that date and time so the meeting will be moved.  It will likely be in June.

Discussed in conjunction with a previous agenda item.

The meeting was scheduled for March 7th but Susan Frank and Amy Nguyen are working on gathering the information that we need to have a meaningful discussion.  So the next meeting will be scheduled when we have sufficient information. 

Nothing to report.

Working on the survey.

Nothing to report.

See consent agenda approval.

May of this year is the Charter Oversight visit.
WASC is April of next year.

Closed session began at 9:44.
No action to report out.
Back into open session at 9:50.

Going into closed session at 7:57 p.m.

Returning to open session at 9:04.

The non-interested board members by a unanimous vote took action to terminate the contract of a management employee.

Closed Session Agenda Item:
Public Employee Discipline/Dismissal/Release (Govt. Code section 54957)
The Board took action to issue a notice of nonreelection to probationary certified employee Identification No. 006671, pursuant to Education Code section 44921.21, subdivision (b), effective at the end of the 2016-2017 school year, and directed the Executive Director/Principal or designee to send out appropriate legal notices.  The roll call was as follows: Ayes 5, Nays 0, Abstentions 0.
Closed session ended at 8:50 a.m.