BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES Governing Board of the Los Angeles Unified School District

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1 BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES Governing Board of the Los Angeles Unified School District SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES 333 South Beaudry Avenue, Board Room 3:00 p.m., Tuesday, November 15, 2005 The Board of Education of the City of Los Angeles, acting as the Governing Board of the Los Angeles Unified School District, met in special session on Tuesday, November 15, 2005, at the Los Angeles City Board of Education Administrative Offices, Board Room, 333 South Beaudry, Los Angeles, California and via teleconference from Flatotel Hotel, 135 West 52 nd Street, New York, New York. President Marlene Canter called the meeting to order at 3:19 p.m. The following Board Members were present: Ms. Marguerite P. LaMotte, Mr. Mike Lansing, Mr. Jon Lauritzen, Ms. Julie Korenstein, and President Marlene Canter. Mr. Huizar arrived at 3:42 p.m. Mr. David Tokofsky was absent. Superintendent Roy Romer was present. Mr. Lauritzen led the Pledge of Allegiance. INSPIRATIONAL REMARKS The Honorable David Cunningham, Jr., former Los Angeles City Councilman, gave the inspirational remarks. He stated that quality education to all District students requires patience, thoughtful deliberation, as well as compromise, to meet the common. He concluded his remarks by reading a poem from Marguerite Wilkenson entitled Time. President Canter modified the Order of Business. STUDENT INPUT Ms. Vicky Delgado and Ms. Yesenia Cortez representing Garfield High School presented a video and slide show highlighting the points of view of students, teachers, and administrators as well as providing a view of the rich history of the school. Ms. Joanna Flores from Jefferson High School expressed concern regarding the distribution of food with the new two lunch schedules, the malfunctioning surveillance cameras, the lack of school police patrolling the entire campus, and the overcrowding conditions at the school. Superintendent Romer summarized the changes to be implemented beginning with the school year, one of which is the return to traditional calendar. Bd. Ed. Special Meeting -1- Minutes, 3:00 p.m.,

2 Ms. Vianne Enriquez from Wilson High School gave a Power Point presentation highlighting the school s goals, programs available to students such as after school extended learning, community activities, and athletic events. She named the small learning communities available to students and inquired about the installation of the surveillance cameras promised two years ago. President Canter congratulated Mr. Huizar for his successful election to the Los Angeles City Council. Mr. Huizar will be sworn in as a Member of the Council on November 29, REGULAR CALENDAR DIRECT BOARD OF EDUCATION NO /06 (Direct) Approval of Robert F. Kennedy Pantry Preservation Method. Mr. Lansing moved that the report be adopted. Ms. Korenstein seconded the motion, which by general consent was adopted. Mr. Tokofsky was absent. SPECIAL REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS Discussion of Filling of the Board of Education Vacancy Ms. Georgina Verdugo from the Office of the General Counsel stated that the Los Angeles City Charter, Section 410, provides that the Board may fill the vacancy by appointing a person or calling for a special election. She explained the Board options and mentioned the pros and cons as well as the costs associated with each of the options. Mr. Jefferson Crain, Executive Officer of the Board, stated that Board Members will receive the minutes and process followed on two previous occasions when the Board decided to fill the vacancy by appointment. Staff responded to questions from Board Members. Ms. Maribel Medina, Special Counsel to the Board, indicated the District has a memorandum of understanding with the City of Los Angeles calling for a proportionate share of the cost of an election where the District is involved. President Canter announced that the Board District 2 Office will continue to operate and serve the constituents until a new Board Member is elected. This matter will come to the Board for action at a future meeting. Bd. Ed. Special Meeting -2- Minutes, 3:00 p.m.,

3 POSTPONED REPORTS FROM REGULAR MEETING OF OCTOBER 25, 2005 President Canter announced: BOARD OF EDUCATION REVISED REPORT NO /06 Textbooks and Instruction Materials Certification Resolution Before action is taken on Board of Education Report No /06, regarding Textbooks And Instruction Materials Certification Resolution, a public hearing must be held. This constitutes a public hearing and those individuals who wish to address the Board on this item will be heard. Speakers should go to the recording booth at the back of the auditorium and fill out a card. Those individuals will be heard after any speakers already on the list. The following speakers addressed the Board on the report: Ms. Linda Guthrie representing United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) Ms. Naomi Haywood in place of Mr. Ryan Johnson, Community Asset Development Redefining Education (CADRE) Ms. Gloria Escobedo in place of Ms. Maria Daou, CADRE Ms. Mary Johnson representing South Gate High School Site Council Mr. Brooks Allen representing the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California on behalf of the Williams Plaintiffs Mr. Joe Fulton Ms. Guadalupe Aguiar Ms. Korenstein moved that the report be adopted. Mr. Lauritzen seconded the motion. Mr. Kevin Reed, General Counsel, explained the legislation regarding the Williams Settlement and the intent of the Resolution before the Board for adoption. Dr. Roger Rasmussen, Budget Director, Mr. Robert Collins, Chief Instructional Officer for Secondary, Ms. Ronnie Ephraim, Chief Instructional Officer for Elementary, and Mr. George Silva, Director of Purchasing, responded to questions from Board Members regarding one-time funding provided in the Williams Settlement, the process for ordering books, textbook costs, the major funding source for textbooks, and the allocation of books to students. Bd. Ed. Special Meeting -3- Minutes, 3:00 p.m.,

4 Mr. John Walsh from the General Counsel s office suggested the following change to the last Resolved in the Resolution: Resolved further, That the Board of Education declares that it has timely and fully complied with the requirements of Section of the Education Code for the school year. The suggestion was accepted by the maker and seconder as a friendly amendment. By general consent, the report was adopted as amended. Mr. Tokofsky was absent. President Canter resumed the Order of Business. RECEIPT OF REPORTS FOR ACTION AT NEXT BOARD MEETING Board of Education Report No /06, Approval and Award of the Construction Contract for Central Los Angeles New High School No. 11: Assigned to the Regular Calendar Mr. Guy Mehula, Deputy Chief Facilities Executive, New Construction, made a brief presentation regarding the award for the construction contract for Central Los Angeles High School No. 11 (Vista Hermosa). He stated the project includes the existing buildings, a 500 seat academy, the administrative and cafeteria buildings, the fields and the park. Mr. Mehula mentioned the project is $59 million over the original construction budget allocated in 2003 mainly due to the increase in material costs after the Katrina hurricane. He explained the funding sources and the alternatives available to the Board should the project not be approved. Mr. James McConnell, Chief Facilities Executive, Ms. Medina, Superintendent Romer and Mr. Mehula responded to questions from Board Members. President Canter modified the Order of Business. REGULAR CALENDAR (Continued) BOARD OF EDUCATION REPORT NO /06 (Direct) Student Expulsion Issues Ms. LaMotte moved that the report be adopted. Mr. Lauritzen seconded the motion, which by general consent was adopted. Mr. Huizar and Mr. Tokofsky were absent. Bd. Ed. Special Meeting -4- Minutes, 3:00 p.m.,

5 POSTPONED REPORTS (Continued) BOARD OF EDUCATION REPORT NO. 92 Authorization to Enter into a Grant Agreement with Discovering the Arts, Inc. This item was postponed to the Regular Board meeting of November 22, President Canter resumed the Order of Business. RECEIPT OF REPORTS FOR ACTION AT NEXT BOARD MEETING (Continued) Board of Education Report No /06, Reactivation of the District s Human Relations Education Commission and the Office of Intergroup Relations as One Branch to be Known as the Human Relations/Instructional and Educational Equity Branch: Assigned to the Regular Calendar Ms. Sharon Curry, Assistant Superintendent of Student Integration Services, acknowledged the members of the Task Force and Ms. Jeannie Akashi, Administrator, Human Relations. Ms. Curry made a brief presentation regarding the proposal to reactive the operations of the Human Relations Education Commission in response to the Board motion adopted July 12, She explained the program and budget with the modifications for its first year implementation in Ms. Curry, Superintendent Romer, and Mr. Dan Isaacs, Chief Operating Officer, responded to questions from Board Members. President Canter introduced the Members of the Los Angeles City and Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission who were in the audience. BOARD MEMBERS MOTION INITIAL ANNOUNCEMENT Mr. Lauritzen s motion regarding Support of the California Health Care Coalition of the California Workers Foundation for Greater Performance Accountability and Transparency in the Health Care Industry will come for action at the Regular Board Meeting on November 22, 2005: Whereas, Skyrocketing health care costs are creating serious problems for workers, consumers, unions, employers and municipalities by undermining wages and pensions, escalating the number of uninsured and underinsured, placing a significant strain on public health and public dollars, and contributing to economic stagnation; Bd. Ed. Special Meeting -5- Minutes, 3:00 p.m.,

6 Whereas, The health delivery system is characterized by a bewildering variation in provider costs and charges, and lacks a standard definition for the quality of services that are purchased; Whereas, Americans spend more for health care than any other country in the world, yet there are no assurances that the quality of medical care is anywhere near the quality of service that the most advanced medical science can offer; Whereas, While health plans and insurance companies have reaped enormous profit from the premiums established, yet they have failed to stabilize costs and develop reliable base standard of services delivered; Whereas, Working Americans can no longer afford to write blank checks to health care providers or intermediaries without knowing what the base standard quality will be; Whereas, Working Americans can and must reform health markets so that costs are stable and predictable, and that a high standard of health care can be provided to our families and communities; and Whereas, Our greatest opportunity lies in combining our strength as purchasers, working together to challenge the excessive charges, questioning the excessive and unjustified costs, demanding an end to the poor quality of care of hospitals, medical groups, and the health industry in general and focusing our purchasing power directly on providers; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Board of Education of the City of Los Angeles supports and joins the California Health Care Coalition, and will participate with other public and private employers, health benefits purchasing entities, and employee organizations to bring significantly greater performance accountability and transparency to the health care industry. Ms. Korenstein moved the following motion: That Mr. José Huizar, a Member of this Board, be found absent from the Closed Session and Regular Board meetings of October 25, 2005, due to hardship. Mr. Lauritzen seconded the motion, which by general consent was adopted. Mr. Huizar and Mr. Tokofsky were absent. Bd. Ed. Special Meeting -6- Minutes, 3:00 p.m.,

7 ANNOUNCEMENT President Canter announced that Friday, November 18, 2005, is the Substitute Educator Appreciation Day. Ms. LaMotte announced that on Thursday, November 17, 2005, there will be a gala at the California Science Center School naming it after Dr. Theodore T. Alexander, former Associate Superintendent of Student Integration Services, who recently passed away. On motion by Ms. Korenstein, seconded by Mr. Lauritzen, the meeting was adjourned by general consent at 6:25 p.m. Mr. Huizar and Mr. Tokofsky were absent. APPROVED BY THE BOARD: April 25, 2006 MARLENE CANTER PRESIDENT JEFFERSON CRAIN EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE BOARD Bd. Ed. Special Meeting -7- Minutes, 3:00 p.m.,