Six cases

WCCUSD Negotiators: Superintendent Matthew Duffy and Assistant Superintendent Ken Whittemore for the following groups:
  a.    Employee Organizations
         -UTR
         -Local One
         -School Supervisors Association
         -WCCAA
 b.     Unrepresented Employees
         -Confidential and Management

Members of the public are invited to speak to the Board about any matter that is not otherwise on the agenda and is related to issues affecting public education in the WCCUSD.  Approximately 30 minutes will be allocated for this item.  If there are more requests to speak than can be heard within this time limit, “WCCUSD Public Comment” will continue after Item G.  Individuals wishing to speak must submit a “WCCUSD Public Comment” form prior to the beginning of this item on the agenda.  

Depending on the number of persons who wish to speak, from one to three minutes will be allocated to each speaker at the discretion of the President of the Board in order to accommodate as many speakers as possible.  The Board cannot dialogue on any issues brought before it by the public that have not been previously agendized, but may refer these to staff for response and/or placement on future agendas.

The National Boards is a professional development program that seeks to elevate the status, voice, and role of accomplished teachers in shaping a true profession.  This advanced teaching credential compliments our teachers’ California teaching credential.  This credential requires submission of four extensive components, including video recordings and examples of student work.  In addition, teachers must demonstrate in-depth content knowledge in response to rigorous exercises for chosen certificate areas.

Tonight we celebrate the following teachers who have accomplished the significant achievement of becoming National Board Certified Teachers (NBCT): Juliet Solis, Transition School with certification in Exceptional Needs Specialist/Early Childhood through Young Adulthood and Marcella McClinton-Jamerson, Wilson Elementary with re-certification in Literacy: Reading-Language Arts/Early and Middle Childhood.

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Students from the Richmond High Robotics Team recently competed in the San Jose Regional finishing sixth overall against teams backed by NASA, Google, Apple and with mentors form companies such as Tesla, Cisco and Facebook.  The Board will recognize students for their hard work and dedication.

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This resolution honors the commitment and dedication of the more than 8,200 members of the West Contra Costa Unified School District community who give of their time and expertise to enrich the educational program for our students and recognizes April 17 - 21, 2017, as Public Schools Volunteer Week.

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Academic Subcommittee                              Public Employees Local 1
Bayside Council PTAs                                    Safety and School Climate Committee
Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee            School Supervisors Association Local 21
Facilities Subcommittee                                Technology Subcommittee
Governance Subcommittee                          United Teachers of Richmond
Ivy League Connection                                 West Contra Costa Administrators Association
                                                                      Youth Commission

The District would like to take time to recognize the contributions of members of our school community who have passed away.  The District requests the community to submit names to be reported as a regular part of each agenda.

Beatrice Walker was an Instructional Aide at Nystrom Elementary from 1970 to 2003.  During that time she also helped as a yard supervisor.  After resigning in 2003, Ms. Walker returned as a substitute instructional aide.  

May Hee began work with the District as a yard supervisor in 1996 at Olinda Elementary.  She became an Instructional Assistant Special Education in 2001 and worked at DeAnza High throughout her career.

Tina Reese started in 1998 as a Special Education Assistant.  She became a permanent employee in 2001 and worked at Pinole Middle School throughout her career.

Former Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools, Joseph A. Ovick, Ed.D., served for 18 years following his election in 1996.  He worked in education for 45 years, beginning his career as a special education teacher before moving into administration.  Dr. Ovick retired in 2014 and remained dedicated to community service.   

Our thoughts go out to the family and friends in the loss of their loved one.

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On Wednesday, January 18, 2017, Voices College-Bound Language Academies submitted a Charter Petition for a Transitional Kindergarten through eighth grade school. Voices Schools proposes to open in the 2018-2023 academic year with approximately 112 students in grades TK/Kindergarten and first grade using a Dual Immersion model. On full enrollment in 2025-2026, the petitioners intend to serve 504 students.

Staff Findings of Fact and Recommendation attached. 

Ongoing loss of student average daily attendance as a result of WCCUSD students attending the charter school.

Pursuant California Education Code section 17250.10 et seq. (“Design-Build Statute”), the District may utilize the design-build method of project delivery, using either a low bid or best value procurement methodology, for projects that have an estimated construction cost of at least one million dollars ($1,000,000). 

District staff has examined the possible construction delivery methods for the Wilson Elementary School Replacement Project (“Project”) and concluded that the use of a design-build delivery method for the Project offers the following potential advantages to the District, not available under other delivery methods: (1) Reduced Change Orders and Claims – because the designer and builder are part of the same design-build entity, the District is not the guarantor of the completeness and accuracy of the design documents and thus the District may avoid conflicts and disputes as well as the corresponding costs of those conflicts and disputes which can arise between the architect / engineer and construction contractor in a traditional design-bid-build procurement; (2) Efficient and Less Costly Construction – the contractor is involved in the design early in the process and thus can provide helpful insights on construction materials and methods that can make the Project’s design more efficient and less costly to construct; (3) On-Time Completion – because the design work and construction work overlap to a certain extent in the design-build process, the Project could be completed faster than a design-bid-build procurement; and (4) Qualified and Competent Firms – the prequalification process required by the Design Build Statute will lead to a qualified and experienced pool of design-build firms to make a selection from and award the Project to.  Additionally, because the Project’s construction cost is estimated to be $28 million, the Project meets the monetary threshold for use of the Design-Build Statute’s delivery method.   

Pursuant to the Design-Build Statute, the District will prequalify design-build entities in order to develop a short-list of firms whose proposals will be evaluated for final selection.  The Request for Qualifications (RFQ) will be in compliance with the Design-Build Statute and include the methodology to be used by the District to evaluate proposals including the procedure for the final selection of a design-build entity. Based on the RFQ process, the District will then issue a Request for Proposals (“RFP”) to invite prequalified or short-listed entities to submit competitive sealed proposals.  The District intends to use a “best value” selection method which is described in the Design-Build Statute to mean a value determined by objective criteria that may include, but not be limited to, price, features, functions, life-cycle costs, experience and past performance.  Additionally, the District will develop for the Board’s consideration guidelines for a standard organizational conflict of interest code, consistent with applicable law, regarding the ability of a person or entity that has performed services for the District relating to the development of the performance specifications or design criteria to join or participate in the solicitation of the design-build entity consistent with Education Code section 17250.20.  The design-build entity offering the best value to the public for the Project pursuant to this process will be brought to the Board for consideration of award of the design-build contract for the Project.  Should the Board ultimately not award a design-build contract for whatever reason, the District may still explore other delivery methods for the construction of the Project including traditional design-bid-build.

 No fiscal impact or implications associated with the approval of these documents.

On June 15, 2016, the Board approved the Facilities Master Plan and the associated implementation plan.  The implementation plan included the direction to update the District’s Educational Specifications, which were last approved in 2011.  The Educational Specifications guide the District’s architects to design and align school facilities to the educational program. The architect uses the specifications to translate the curriculum and instructional program into an aesthetic, economical, function educational environment.  The update of the Educational Specifications also includes a comprehensive review of the Materials and Product Standards that are incorporated into the school facilities. This entire process was needed to provide consistency, alignment with current and future program needs and objectives, along with an emphasis on cost efficiency and effectiveness.

District staff, along with the planning consultant, will discuss and seek approval of the Educational Specifications on April 12, 2017, along with the Material and Product Standards.

 No fiscal impact.

After the passage of Proposition 30, the Schools and Local Public Safety Protection Act of 2012, schools and community college campuses across California have begun receiving funds through a new Education Protection Account (EPA) which was established by voter initiative. The legislation requires that each district establish a special fund to account for these deposits and restricts the use of the funding to school service expenditures only. An accounting of these funds is located on the district website. The district anticipates receiving $33.5 million earmarked for the EPA fund reporting as a part of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) entitlement. For accounting purposes, instructional expenses related to staff have been placed in the EPA fund for 2016-17 and ongoing in the budget for 2017-18. EPA funds are not separate from the LCFF formula, rather a means of funding it.

The Technology Plan was created to provide direction to the district by creating goals and objectives that support both the WCCUSD Strategic Plan and LCAP. Input from staff, community and business members was solicited and their suggestions were incorporated into the plan. This plan is considered a “living document” and will be reviewed on a quarterly basis to ensure we are meeting the needs of our district and achieving our benchmarks. 

The WCCUSD Technology Plan was approved by the Technology Subcommittee on April 10, 2017.

For fiscal year 2018-2020 - $3,630,000 to be divided as follows:  Bond: $2,800,000; General Funds: $830,000.

Due to a tie vote, the California School Boards Association (CSBA) has issued a run-off ballot for election of a representative to CSBA Delegate Assembly from Subregion 7-A (Contra Costa County).  The re-elected or newly elected Delegate will serve a two-year term beginning April 1, 2017 - March 31, 2019.  The run-off ballot provides for the Board to vote for one candidate. 

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Consent Calendar Items are considered routine and will be enacted, approved and adopted by one motion, unless a request for removal, discussion or explanation is received from any Board member or member of the public in attendance. Items the Board pulls for discussion or explanation will be addressed following disposition of the remaining Consent Items under Section G Consent Items.

Formal action is requested from the Board of Education to accept the grants/awards/agreements, as detailed on the attached sheet dated April 12, 2017. 

As noted per grants summary.

The District has received donations as summarized on the attached sheet dated April 12, 2017.  The estimated values for any non-cash donations (as indicated by an asterisk) are those provided by the donor.  Staff recommends acceptance of these donations.

The planned fund-raising events for the 2016-17 school year are summarized on the attached sheet dated April 12, 2017.

Additional revenue for schools.

Attached are the summaries of Payroll and Vendor Warrants issued during the month of March 2017.

                Total of payroll warrants (March 2017):             $ 11,455,327
                Total of vendor warrants (March 2017):             $ 28,903,123

As noted above.

Permission is requested of the Board of Education to approve the following contracts as detailed on the attached sheets dated April 12, 2017.

The West Contra Costa Unified School District (“District”) contracted with ERA Construction, Inc. to perform the Work of the following project (“Project”):

Greenwood Academy Parking Improvements, Project No. 3581366-07

Pursuant to applicable law and Board policy, the Governing Board must accept a work of improvement for construction projects upon completion prior to filing a Notice of Completion with the County Recorder or issuance of final payment for the Project.  (Civ. Code § 9204; Board Policy 7470.)

The Project was completed on or about February 2017 as determined by District staff upon notification from the Contractor.  District staff is ready to file the Notice of Completion and then issue final payment for the Project accordingly.  Therefore, District staff recommends that the Governing Board accept the Work of the Project and approve the Notice of Completion for filing.

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The West Contra Costa Unified School District (“District”) contracted with Streamline Builders to perform the Work of the following project (“Project”):

Kennedy High School Building 900 Restroom Remodel, Project No. 2016-KHSERP

Pursuant to applicable law and Board policy, the Governing Board must accept a work of improvement for construction projects upon completion prior to filing a Notice of Completion with the County Recorder or issuance of final payment for the Project.  (Civ. Code § 9204; Board Policy 7470.)

The Project was completed on or about March 2017 as determined by District staff upon notification from the Contractor.  District staff is ready to file the Notice of Completion and then issue final payment for the Project accordingly.  Therefore, District staff recommends that the Governing Board accept the Work of the Project and approve the Notice of Completion for filing.

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Hercules High students will be traveling to Ashland, Oregon to attend the Oregon Shakespeare Festival from May 23-26, 2017. Students will have the unique opportunity to experience historically or culturally significant works of drama that reflect and enhance their studies of history and social science.  They will conduct in-depth analyses of recurrent themes. Students will also study the structural features of literature, narrative analysis and experience literary criticism.  

LCAP Instructional and LCFF Parent Involvement Funds.

Our District ERATE consultant, Infinity Communications and Consulting, Inc, posted RFP415-16A-9 providing for a managed Cisco VoIP solution for all District sites.

The District solicited competitive bids for the Project. The Request for Proposals was advertised on January 5, 2017 and closed February 3, 2017.  Four telecommunication companies submitted proposals with pricing based on a three-year contract with 2 year renewal options as follows: 

Masergy:  $556,716;
NWN:  $587,184;
Jive: $836,653; and
GigaKom:  $1,252,665.

Pursuant to Public Contract Code section §20118.2, the District may consider, in addition to price, factors such as performance reliability, standardization, life-cycle costs, support logistics, fitness of purchase and similar factors in the award of contracts for technology. 

The District evaluated the proposals based on the Selection Criteria set forth in the RFP and price. Masergy was lowest in overall monthly cost but the proposal had non- recurring costs and required replacement phones at no cost, which is against E-Rate regulations.  Based on this evaluation, it was determined that NWN proposed both the lowest price for the services and received the highest score on the selection criteria. The lowest responsive, responsible bidder is NWN.

It is therefore recommended that NWN be awarded the contract. 

$587,184.00 Funded from General Funds.

Staff is seeking ratification of Change Orders on the following current District construction projects:  Pinole Valley High School New Campus and Grant Elementary School Portable Restroom. Change Orders are fully executed by the District upon signature by the Superintendent’s designee.  Board ratification is the final step required under state law in order to complete payment and contract adjustment.

In accordance with Public Contract Code 20118.4, the Board, by ratifying these Change Orders, finds that it would have been futile to publicly bid the work in question because of the tight time frames to complete this work without affecting the operations of the District, and that the public is best served by having this work completed by the contractor on the project.

 Total ratification by this action:  $17,677.00. Funded from Bond Fund.

Staff is seeking ratification of Change Orders on the following current District construction projects:  Madera Elementary School Kindergarten Portable Classroom (Fund 25). Change Orders are fully executed by the District upon signature by the Superintendent’s designee.  Board ratification is the final step required under state law in order to complete payment and contract adjustment.

In accordance with Public Contract Code 20118.4, the Board, by ratifying these Change Orders, finds that it would have been futile to publicly bid the work in question because of the tight time frames to complete this work without affecting the operations of the District, and that the public is best served by having this work completed by the contractor on the project.

Total ratification by this action:  $8,480.00. Funded from Fund 25.

The West Contra Costa Unified School District ("District") previously adopted Resolution No. 27-0607, directing staff to expand the District’s efforts to ensure that every new school, new building and modernization project, from the beginning of the design process, incorporate the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) design criteria.  Effective January 1, 2015, as a result of Senate Bill 869 Chapter 39, Statutes of 2014, the State Allocation Board no longer allocates or approves High Performance Incentive grants.  Accordingly, the District no longer incorporates CHPS design criteria into the District’s school construction program.

Notwithstanding CHPS, the District is required to comply with the California Green Building Standards Code, California Code of Regulations, Title 24, Part 11 (CALGreen). The purpose of the CALGreen code is similar to the purpose of CHPS in that the CALGreen code seeks to improve public health, safety and general welfare by enhancing the design and construction of buildings through the use of building concepts having a reduced negative impact or positive environmental impact and encouraging sustainable construction practices in (1) planning and design; (2) energy efficiency; (3) water efficiency and conservation; (4) material conservation and resource efficiency; and (5) environmental quality.

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The Williams Lawsuit requires that a quarterly report be brought before the Board of Education reflecting the number of complaints filed with any school in the district during a particular quarter.  This report reflects the time period from January 1, 2017 through March 31, 2017.

Lovonya DeJean Middle School - April 26, 2017

At 10:00 PM, any items remaining on the agenda that require immediate attention will be moved to this time.  All other items will be tabled to another or the following Board meeting in order to make fair and attentive decisions.  The meeting will adjourn at 10:30 PM.  The meeting may be extended by a majority vote of the Board of Education.