Board Meeting Highlights: July 31, 2024 (Regular)
See the Meeting Agenda for a full listing of items considered and actions taken at this meeting.
Trustee Dianne Jones was not present for this meeting and all votes are among the present trustees.Â
6.1 Report on Action taken in Closed Session
The Board unanimously approved the following appointment:
- Robin Vranesh, Assistant Principal, Bringhurst Elementary
7.1 Superintendent Report
This was Superintendent Erik Burmeister’s first meeting in his role, he started on July 1. He noted the District has an impressive team, and he has appreciated getting to know the team and this community. He appreciated Assistant Superintendent Leticia Salinas and all others for their work to make this week’s Management Retreat a success.
7.2 Student Member Report
Student Board Member Sriya Neti reported that back-to-school events are starting soon, and that fall sports, band camp, and event planning has started at some schools.
15.1 Receive the 24-25 Final State Budget Update and the District's 45-Day Budget Revision
Education Code section 42127 (i) (4) states that, no later than 45 days after the Governor signs the annual Budget Act, the school district shall make available for public review any revisions in revenues and expenditures that it has made to its budget to reflect the funding made available by that Budget Act.
On June 26, 2024, the Board of Education approved and adopted the 2024-25 District budget together with the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP).
The Governor signed the State budget on June 29, 2024.
There are slight changes in the unrestricted revenues for the Fremont Unified School District as a result of the newly released Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) Calculator from the Fiscal Crisis Management Assistance Team (FCMAT). Please note, the estimated funded Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) was formally adopted at 1.07%.
Revenues decreased slightly by 0.04% due to prior year ADA adjustments in the LCFF Calculator.
Salaries and benefits increased by 0.08% as new positions approved by the board on June 26, 2024 were included after our budget adoption.
Director of Budget James Arcala presented the District's 45-Day Budget 2024-25.
This was an informational item. The Board received the 24-25 Final State Budget Update and the District's 45-Day Budget Revision.
15.3 Long Range Facilities Plan Review
The Fremont Unified School District’s current Long Range Facilities Plan (LRFP or Plan) was adopted by the Board of Education on January 29, 2014. The Plan identified approximately $1.6 billion in facility projects at that time. On June 3, 2014, the voters of Fremont approved the $650 million Measure E general obligation bond initiative.
On October 28, 2020, the Board authorized staff to enter into an agreement with AE3 Partners (AE3) to assist the District with updating the 2014 Plan, including a facilities assessment and condition report along with a prioritization of potential projects. AE3 suspended some of their work while schools and staff were geared toward reopening schools for August of 2021.
On May 24, 2023, an update was provided to the Board on the​ work accomplished to date with focus areas for staff and the Facilities Advisory Committee (FAC) on the​ Long Range Facilities Plan. At that meeting, the Board was provided with an update on ​AE3 data collection and​ draft formatting of school site-level information.
On April 15, 2024, Staff and Cumming Group presented an update regarding the LRFP with information on changes to District needs since the 2014 LRFP, changes to DSA project approvals since 2014, proposed timeline & milestones, proposed timeline for a potential General Obligation Bond and the proposed vision for 2024 and beyond. The Board provided staff with feedback and directed FAC to prioritize the project list to above the line and below the line of a potential $900 million mark with a focus on the first $600M considering several factors including but not limited to: TK and child nutrition, equity on the list of prioritization in terms of intended outcomes, contingency strategies, addressing future instruction through design and athletic facilities.
On June 12, 2024, staff presented an update on the Long Range Facilities Plan after continued work on the LRFP and after meeting with the FAC and FAC LRFP subcommittees. The presentation addressed information requested by the Board and provided a draft project list and prioritization framework, both of which were approved by the FAC. The FAC also voted in support of the Board considering a future general obligation bond for November 2024.
On June 26, 2024, the Board approved the Long Range Facilities Plan prioritized project list.
Director of Facilities & Construction Adam Lint presented a review of the Long Range Facilities Plan.
The draft Long Range Facilities Plan was presented to the Board as a first read:
- Part 1 - 2024 FUSD Long Range Facilities Plan
- Part 2 - 2024 FUSD Long Range Facilities Plan
- Part 3 - 2024 FUSD Long Range Facilities Plan
This was an informational item. The Long Range Facilities Plan will return to the Board for approval at the August 28, 2024 meeting.
15.4 Report of the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) 2023-24 School Year Survey Administration Results
The California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) is the largest statewide student survey of resiliency, protective factors, risk behaviors, and school climate in the nation. The CHKS is administered to students in grades 5, 7, 9, and 11. This survey helps promote better health and well-being among pupils, improves the school learning environment, and combats problems such as drug abuse and violence. The CHKS is a voluntary survey, and active consent permission slips are sent home to families of grade 5 and a survey notification letter is sent home to families of grade 7, 9, and 11 students prior to the survey being administered. During the 2023-24 school year, the CHKS was administered at FUSD schools between November 1, 2023 and December 22, 2023. Responses from various surveyed questions are compiled together to generate average positive response rates to CHKS Key Indicators such as School Connectedness, Academic Motivation, Caring Adults, and Perceived School Safety. Individual schools are provided with a School Climate Report Card based on their students' survey responses. District-wide CHKS results, disaggregated by student self-reported race/ethnicity and program groups, are also incorporated into the Local Indicator Self-Reflection Tool submitted in conjunction with the approval of the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) to help inform the the Local Climate Survey indicator on the California School Dashboard.
Director of Assessment & Accountability Elie Wasser presented the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) 2023-24 school year survey administration results.
This was an informational item.
15.8 Approve a Budget Decrease for the New Construction and Modernization Project at Hopkins Middle School
On June 3, 2014, the voters of Fremont approved the $650 million Measure E general obligation bond initiative, under the requirements of Proposition 39 (2000) the School Facilities Local Vote Act. The scope of the bond work includes upgrading and repairing neighborhood schools by updating technology and aging classrooms; upgrading electrical wiring to current safety codes; fixing or replacing leaky roofs, aging plumbing, and restrooms; removing asbestos; and repairing, constructing, and acquiring equipment, classrooms, sites, and facilities.
On January 17, 2024 the Board authorized staff to file a Notice of Completion (NOC) for the New Construction and Modernization Project at Hopkins Middle School.
Staff has worked with the program management team to review the budget, encumbrances, and remaining balances on the Hopkins Middle School Conversion project and are recommending decreasing the project budget by $11,000,000.
This is not the final budget update with regards to recouping unused savings, contracts are being reviewed for savings.
The savings will be transferred into the Measure E Bond Program Contingency.
The Board voted 4-0 to approve an $11 million budget decrease for the New Construction and Modernization project at Hopkins Middle School.
15.9 Approve Budget Decrease for the New Construction and Modernization Project at Centerville Middle School
On June 3, 2014, the voters of Fremont approved the $650 million Measure E general obligation bond initiative, under the requirements of Proposition 39 (2000) the School Facilities Local Vote Act. The scope of the bond work includes upgrading and repairing neighborhood schools by updating technology and aging classrooms; upgrading electrical wiring to current safety codes; fixing or replacing leaky roofs, aging plumbing, and restrooms; removing asbestos; and repairing, constructing, and acquiring equipment, classrooms, sites, and facilities.
On June 26, 2024 the Board authorized staff to file an Notice of Completion (NOC) for the New Construction and Modernization Project at Centerville Middle School.
Staff has worked with the program management team to review the budget, encumbrances, and remaining balances on the Centerville Middle School Conversion project, and are recommending decreasing the project budget by $5,000,000.
This is not the final budget update with regards to recouping unused savings. The final costs for multiple vendors are still being finalized, and there will be further savings recouped at a future Board meeting date.
The savings will be transferred into the Measure E Bond Program Contingency.
The Board voted 4-0 to approve a $5 million budget decrease for the new construction and modernization project at Centerville Middle School.
15.10 Approve the Revised Scope and Budgets for Measure E Bond Program Groups 2 and 3 Elementary School Modernization Projects
On June 3, 2014, the voters of Fremont approved the $650 million Measure E general obligation bond initiative, under the requirements of Proposition 39 (2000) the School Facilities Local Vote Act. The scope of the bond work includes upgrading and repairing neighborhood schools by updating technology and aging classrooms; upgrading electrical wiring to current safety codes; fixing or replacing leaky roofs, aging plumbing and restrooms; removing asbestos; and repairing, constructing and acquiring equipment, classrooms, sites, and facilities.
On February 22, 2017, the Board of Trustees (Trustees) approved the revised Measure E Bond Implementation Plan.
On May 23, 2018, the Board received a presentation on the updated Measure E Bond Implementation Plan.
On December 10, 2019 the Board approved the updated budget allocation for the Group 2 and 3 projects and authorized staff to proceed with the Group 1 projects.
On October 25, 2023, the Board approved updated Measure E Group 1 project budgets and scope.
Director of Facilities & Construction Adam Lint and Cumming Group have prepared a presentation on the Group 2 and 3 elementary school projects after reviewing the scope, budgets, roofing reports, escalation, and the current Group 1 projects which have similar scopes of work.
A net increase of $5,265,933 is estimated for the Group 2 and 3 projects. This increase will be deducted from the Measure E Bond program contingency, which was increased by $16,000,000 earlier in the July 31, 2024 Board meeting using savings from the middle school conversion projects at Centerville and Hopkins.
Brier ES Modernization does have a budget allocated, however it is staff’s recommendation to not spend money on this project until later in the year once it has been determined whether additional funding will be made available to potentially do a larger, more encompassing project, as recommended by the District’s Long-Range Facility Plan prioritized project list.
Staff requests that the Board provide approval to proceed with the Groups 2 and 3 elementary school modernization projects revised scope and budgets as outlined in the presentation.
The Board voted 4-0 to approve the revised scope and budgets for the Measure E Bond Program Groups 2 and 3 elementary schools modernization projects.
