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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 2020-10-15 @2:00MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT LIAISON STANDING J O COMMITTEE OF THE CITY COUNCIL c'�LIFOR�1� P.O. Box 711 (City Hall, 400 Grand Avenue) South San Francisco, California 94083 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020 2:00 p.m. Teleconference via Zoom Housing Standing Committee conducted this meeting in accordance with California GovernorNewsom's Executive Orders N-25-20 and N-29-20 and COVID-19 pandemic protocols. Call to Order. TIME: 2:02 p.m. Roll Call. PRESENT: Councilmember Matsumoto, Councilmember Nagales, Trustee Baker and President Murray Agenda Review. None. Public Comments. None. Matters for Consideration 1. Discussion of services for students who are homeless. (Dr. Spaulding, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources). Assistant Superintendent Dr. Spaulding advised enrollment of homeless families was done expeditiously as information was received. He stated they made sure the child or children were enrolled in their nutrition program, technology devices and/or hot spot connectivity as soon as possible. Councilmember Matsumoto advised the City's Homeless Outreach Team was very effective in placing homeless individuals into food and shelter. She added that the YMCA also provided services to help the homeless but required preregistration. Councilmember Nagales stated he was contacted by members of the Mother's Club and were concerned of a mother living in her car at Orange Park with her three children ages 3, 8 and 10. Councilmember Nagales shared he got involved to make sure as a City, was able to provide as much services as possible. He was happy to report that the City was able to get her in contact with Life Moves which provided her with a social worker to help her and enroll her children into the South San Francisco Unified School District (SSFUSD). Currently, she is living in a hotel in San Mateo. His concern with that was she would now have to enroll her kids in the San Mateo Unified School District. Councilmember Nagales asked for clarification on how the process worked when they have a parent similar to this situation. Assistant Superintendent Dr. Spaulding explained that SSFUSD registered families with children that were homeless and does not require registration documents like PG&E bill or proof of residence. He advised that school districts did not turn children away because they were homeless and worked with other school districts to ensure the children have a way to get to school. 2. Discussion of use of Westborough Middle School's Soccer Field. (Mr. Ted O, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services) Assistant Superintendent O updated the members on the Westborough Middle School's soccer field. He stated that in 2018, Mr. Kraus presented a cost estimate for each of the fields to determine which fields the board would like to move forward with. At the time the Westborough field had a cost estimate of $1.8 million but was not one of the fields the board wanted to move forward with. Councilmember Nagales spoke about potentially using the field for the soccer league and how they would be able to accomplish that. He wondered whether the School District and City Council could partner and using the JPA in terms of maintenance and insure that the field was playable for the soccer league. Assistant City Manager Ranals mentioned that the City was currently focused with the renovation at Orange Park for the multi-purpose synthetic field which would be for soccer, softball and baseball. She was not surprised at the $1.8 million price for renovation. City Manager Futrell inquired if the City was willing to devote the funds to rehabilitate and maintain the field would the School District entertain adding it to the JPA as one of the fields the City programed and paid for giving the current shortage of soccer fields in South San Francisco. Assistant Superintendent O advised there were a number of challenges at the moment which included the School District not having anyone overseeing the facilities projects currently. Another challenge was the COVID-19 pandemic and trying to get the schools ready for reopening. Trustee Baker supported to bring the item back to the school board for discussion to authorize entering into a discussion. 3. SSFUSD's plan for reopening schools with in-person classes, extra -curricular activities and clubs. (Superintendent Dr. Moore) Superintendent Dr. Moore stated the School District had met the 14 -day criteria in the red tier of the new COVID-19 monitoring system for the State of California. She advised the School District had been proactively exploring ways to transition to Phase 2 which meant bringing students with the SCHOOL DISTRICT STANDING COMMITTEE MEETING OCTOBER 15, 2020 MINUTES PAGE 2 most needs back to campus to receive academic support. She stated that the School District would continue to monitor health data and work with their sites to make sure safety protocols are in place. Councilmember Nagales asked whether parents could still request to have their kids to continue to do distance learning. Superintendent Dr. Moore confirmed that parents would have the option. 4. Update on potential teacher housing at Foxridge Elementary. (Superintendent Dr. Moore) Superintendent Dr. Moore advised the last update provided was on February 23, 2020 to this subcommittee right before COVID-19 hit and there hasn't been an update since. 5. Update on City parks and joint use fields, including Buri Buri School and Parkway School fields. (Greg Mediati, Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation) Deputy Director Mediati provided an update on City parks and joint use fields. He mentioned during the pandemic they reduced staffing levels by about 75% with most parks open to the public along with all playgrounds, trails and dog parks. He added organized game play or practices were not permitted on City facilities. He stated playgrounds were sanitized daily by hourly staff by doing complete spray downs with a chlorine fogging gun. He advised pools would reopen once the County goes down one more tier to moderate. Assistant City Manager Ranals advised the City was running childcare at Buri Buri and requested for the City to be able to use the field. Assistant Superintendent O advised the School District was open to having the filed be used again will would consult with the field supervisor to see what could be done to open the field for use. 6. Update on City childcare programs, including fees, wait list, enrollment and distance learning challenges. (Sharon Ranals, Assistant City Manager/Parks and Recreation Director) Laura Armanino, Recreation and Community Services Supervisor provided an update on the after school full day program operated on five campuses soon to be six. She advised the program started on August 17 and reached out to currently enrolled families to see which families were essential employees and needed childcare. She advised that out of the 83 kids currently enrolled 57 were in different classrooms which presented challenges in time management. All of the staff participated in the School Districts distant learning program which was very helpful. Trustee Baker thanked the City for maintaining the program and asked whether the City would be able to accommodate distant learning during the day and the kids that come in after school. Supervisor Armanino advised the City would have to look at what those number would be depending on how many children choose to distance learn. 7. Report regarding an update on City -Wide Wi-Fi. (Tony Barrera, Information Technology Director) SCHOOL DISTRICT STANDING COMMITTEE MEETING OCTOBER 15, 2020 MINUTES PAGE 3 Director Barrera provided an update on City -Wide Wi-Fi. He advised the indoor public Wi-Fi locations were at City Hall, Community Learning Center, Grand Library, Orange Memorial Park, Municipal Services Building, Main Library, Magnolia Senior Center and TerraBay Recreation Center. Future expansion consisted of building a 10 year Broadband Master Plan to help plan and build the necessary infrastructure to provide a fiber backhaul. The City recently partnered with a private company which would be laying over 77,000 feet of conduit for the City. Trustee Baker asked whether the Wi-Fi signal would be strong enough so kids could use it that live in older homes not made out of steel. Director Barrera other Bay Area cities doing a similar project noticed the Wi-Fi signal only reaching the front door of the homes due to the different homes construction. Older homes with concrete and brick walls would not get a strong signal compared to new homes made out of lighter materials. He added that they would work with the vendor to try to combat those issues when installing Wi-Fi in South San Francisco. Director Barrera advised AT&T, Comcast and Wave all had similar programs where if you qualify for low income they could get internet service for $10 a month. Items from Committee Councilmember Matsumoto advised that the Thanksgiving Food Program would be at Orange Park on November 23, 2020 and the Christmas Food Program would be held on December 21, 2020. Adjournment Being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 3:38 p.m. Submitted by: 41-1� Gabriel Rodriguez, Deputy City Clerk City of South San Francisco Approved by: Mark Addiego, Mayor City of South San Francisco Approved by the School District Liaison Committee: 03 / o 2- / 202-1 SCHOOL DISTRICT STANDING COMMITTEE MEETING OCTOBER 15, 2020 MINUTES PAGE 4