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Mr. Banuelos congratulated Vicente Bravo, the Chief Administrative Officer, for joining the Hawthorne School District Board, and congratulated the Wiseburn Da Vinci sports teams, who performed well in CIF games.  Most, if not all advanced in the tournaments.  He also congratulated the FRC team, and thanked the Da Vinci team who worked on the policies.

Mr. Mora spoke of attending the Boys' Basketball CIF quarterfinals.  He enjoyed the new facilities.  He'd like to know the standings of each team.

Dr. Brann said that Mr. Diaz, the AD, told him that Da Vinci is in the Mulholland League, but is attempting to join the Pioneer League.  Dr. Brann thanked Ms. Levenson for her support during the times when he brings people to tour the campus.

 

None, however, Dr. Brann mentioned having to reschedule the March Board meeting, as both he and Dr. Wunder will be out of town.

Mr. Chris Ing gave a presentation.  His energy management and finance firm, First Note Finance, only works with charter schools and Proposition 39.  They work with about 140 schools statewide, and are based in San Diego.  His company performed energy audits on all three Da Vinci sites:  Douglas St, Aviation, and Isis Avenue.    First Note Finance looked at one year's worth of utility bills for a baseline, then visited each site to obtain equipment inventories and a sense of operations.  He created energy audit reports for each site.

Prop. 39 ended in June 2018, but the structure extends until 2021.  The funding mechanism is no longer funded upfront, but is now a function of the annual budget cycle.  There are currently zero dollars in Governor Newsom's fund, although that may change.  Thus the firm creates compliant plans that are actionable if funding becomes available.

Solar energy is a focus for the 201 N. Douglas campus. Wish list: $3MM, but can be scaled down.  There would be $200K retro-commissioning costs for the current HVAC and lighting systems.

The firms wrote up nine measures related to lighting, two for the HVAC retrofit, a cool roof, and solar systems on the Isis Avenue campus.

Next steps:  Mr. Ing attended a webinar about a new zero-percent loan program being rolled out by the Energy Commission where the schools could break even on energy upgrades.  The program divides up schools based on geography, free-and-reduced-meal participation, and energy savings.  Mr. Ing can follow up with Mr. Mayotte if this is of interest.

Mr. Mora asked that the proposal from "Kyle" be looked at again and presented to the Board.  Solar leasing was briefly discussed (zero outlay; power is purchased through the solar company, not utilities).  The Board agreed that would be worth pursuing.

The Board thanked Mr. Ing for his work.
 

Mr. Steve Wallis introduced a video on the partnership between Da Vinci Schools, Cal Poly, and Northrop Grumman to feed the STEM pipeline with underrepresented populations.  The videos will be shared with other entities so that the partnership concepts can be executed elsewhere.  Mr. Wallis said that 60% of DVS graduates go into STEM majors.  15-20% are going into engineering majors.  10-15% of DVS graduates are being accepted to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.  Mr. Wallis spoke of visiting the roughly 30 students at Cal Poly SLO who are DVS alumni.

Mr Lofton spoke of his pride in the team, speaking of the initial monumental task to get the relationships started.  The high school, university, and industry partnership is incredibly valuable to so many more people than just the Da Vinci community.

Dr. Wunder praised Mr. Wallis for his hard work.

Mr. Mora also praised and thanked the team, and asked for a copy of the video.

Mr. Bañuelos asked how many students who are accepted to Cal Poly SLO actually attend.  Mr. Wallis spoke of the competition that Cal Poly SLO faces - private universities can offer a full ride to women and underrepresented minorities, so Cal Poly SLO seeks to  offer support and familiarity to  students of those demographics who go through the program.

Note: the video has been uploaded to the Da Vinci Schools website Video Gallery.

 

Mr. Mayotte presented the financial update.
He gave an update on enrollment and ADA.  Mr. Mora asked for a line with the budget added to the enrollment and ADA slide.

Mr. Mayotte spoke about the uncertainty of SELPA allocations, special education reimbursements, and fundraising. 

Dr. Wunder spoke of DVX projections, saying that the DVX Director position would not be backfilled this year.  He thanked Dr. Ring for her help with DVX.

Dr. Wunder presented a preview of the All Staff Finance meeting presentation. 
Mr. Mora asked to see a comparison with more South Bay districts and the ADA difference (funding DV receives vs. Dana Middle School funding).
DV has about 25% more staff than the average California high school. 
DV faculty teaches fewer periods than the average - four vs. five.
Dr. Wunder is confident in our collective ability to steer away from significant financial problems.

Mr. Mora wants to continue the discussion.  Changes have to be made elsewhere to compensate for the four periods, higher counselor:student ratio, etc.



 

Mr. Bañuelos asked about the third paragraph of the first page. ("...shall review the CSSPs to ensure compliance with state law...").
The text was clarified and revised to read, "...shall review the CSSPs to support compliance with state law..."

Mr. Bañuelos asked for clarification on retroactive diplomas, and a revision of the word "superintendent" to Chief Executive Officer; however, that incorrect wording was only found in a redline copy of the document, and therefore no change was required.

Mr. Bañuelos asked for a definition on seclusion and behavioral restraints.  Dr. Ring explained that the restraints are hands-on holds, and seclusion refers to exclusion in separate, isolative rooms.  She went on to say that these are legal definitions and that the State wants this language used to protect students' due process.  Da Vinci doesn't traditionally use seclusion or behavioral restraints.

Mr. Bañuelos asked about the removal of the expulsion appeal.  Dr. Ring explained the expulsion process, which begins with a pre-expulsion hearing, followed by a hearing before an expulsion panel, followed by a finding/decision by the CEO.  Da Vinci streamlines the process in order to fall within due process time constraints.

It was decided to consider this item at a future Board meeting (this would be a first read of the policy revision).


 

Mr. Bañuelos asked about the "to the extent feasible, DV may provide educational or support services direct ... to meet the needs of pregnant students and their children" and "healthcare and prenatal care."  Dr. Ring said that we currently do this through an outreach and referral program.  DV is not funding the services.  Mr. Bañuelos wanted this reworded.  Dr. Ring pointed out that DV "may" provide services "to the extent feasible."  He asked to remove the words "either directly" and leave "in collaboration."

Mr. Bañuelos asked what the current level is.  $30K  increased to $40K.

Mr. Bañuelos asked for clarification on the amount already spent.  Mr. Mayotte answered that it was a reallocation to help with cash flow.

A legal opinion found that only a credentialed teacher could sign off on student work journals.  The new temporary hires will instruct and sign off on the work journals until the end of the current school year.  

Dr. Wunder proposed a motion to direct Da Vinci Schools' CEO or his designee(s) to establish, advertise, and hire a Dean of Student Success (or other title) to support Da Vinci Communications. The job title doesn't represent all the duties expected to be accomplished.
Mr. Lofton asked why the model is different.  A different population of students requires this Dean of Student Success position.  

Dr. Brann reminded the Board that the decision was consciously made to hire more counselors than the average school.  He feels it makes sense.

Dr. Weatherford said the title of the position may change.  The job entails 50% working on proactive, culture building issues, and 50% intervention coordinator.  The WASC committee responded positively to this idea.

Dr. Brann asked for clarification on this item.
Dr. Wunder said the Year Zero would start in 2019-20 for planning.  

Mr. Bañuelos thanked Dr. Wunder for the answers to his questions.  He suggests/recommends moving forward to the 2019-20 year to allow for philanthropic funding.  The other districts are lined up (ICEFF, WISH, Environmental Charter).  Mr. Bañuelos asked about the number of students/idea of cost to Da Vinci.  Dr. Weatherford answered that four to six students are expected.  

Dr. Wunder pointed out that DV is seeking the funding for the stipends.

Board entered closed session at 8:15

Open session at 8:46 PM.
It was reported that no action was taken.