[00:00:02]
[I. Welcome and Introductions]
OKAY, GREAT.IT'S 4 35 ON TUESDAY, APRIL 28TH.
UM, SO WE WILL, UH, KINDA HAVE A VERY, JUST VERY QUICK INTRODUCTION AND GET TO OUR COMMITTEE, UH, PRESENTATIONS.
THIS IS THE MEETING OF THE, UH, BOARD OF EDUCATION'S FACILITIES AND PROCUREMENT COMMITTEE.
IN ADDITION TO MY COLLEAGUES, BOARD MEMBER HENDY NEWBELL AND ORTIZ FRANKLIN, WE'RE JOINED BY, UM, UH, DAVID RODRIGUEZ, A PROCURE, UH, PROCUREMENT WAREHOUSE, REPRESENTATIVE BECKY CUNNINGHAM, A DISTRICT PARENT, UM, ERIC GREER, UH, A DISTRICT PARENT, UM, AND THEN OUR CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER, MATT FRIEDMAN, OUR CHIEF FACILITIES EXECUTIVE, CHRISTINA TOS, AND OTHER FOLKS WHO WILL BE PRESENTING.
UM, I WILL QUICKLY GO THROUGH OUR PURPOSE.
I THINK WE KNOW WE HAVE OUR WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS.
WE ARE GONNA HAVE OUR, UM, UH, FACILITIES ADVOCACY STATE UPDATE FIRST, THEN PROCUREMENT OVERVIEW, DISCUSSION OF PROPOSED FACILITIES PROCUREMENT, DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY.
THAT WAS AN ITEM THAT WAS, UM, POSTPONED FROM THE BOARD MEETING TO THIS COMMITTEE SO THE COMMITTEE COULD DISCUSS AND PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE FULL BOARD AND UPDATE ON SHADE OVERPLAY PROJECTS, AND THEN OUR PUBLIC COMMENT.
UM, SO ACTUALLY, I GUESS I'LL JUST GO THROUGH TO GET TO MARTHA'S MARTHA'S PRESENTATION.
AND, UM, AS WE'RE DOING THAT, I WILL INTRODUCE, UM, MARTHA ALVAREZ.
SO WE OFTEN HEAR IN THIS COMMITTEE OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS THAT STATE REQUIREMENTS ARE PART OF WHAT CAUSES OUR PROJECTS TO BE EXPENSIVE AND
[II.3. Facilities Advocacy Update]
DELAYED.UM, AND SO WE'RE GONNA TURN IT OVER TO MARTHA ALVAREZ TO TALK ABOUT HOW WE ARE ADVOCATING AT THE STATE TO ELIMINATE BARRIERS AND DISCUSS HOW WE CAN INCREASE AND STRENGTHEN THAT ADVOCACY.
I THINK THROUGH COLLABORATION WITH MS. ALVAREZ AND, UM, MS. TOS AND, AND OTHERS WE'VE SEEN WHERE WE'RE ABLE TO ADMINISTRATIVELY REDUCE SOME BURDENS OR AS THE LARGEST DISTRICT BY FAR IN THE STATE, UM, THROW OUR WEIGHT AROUND A LITTLE BIT TO GET SOME MORE LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES, UH, PASSED SO THAT WE CAN MAKE IT EASIER TO, UH, DO FACILITIES, PROJECTS DOWN HERE.
SO I'LL TURN IT OVER TO MS. ALVAREZ.
GOOD, GOOD AFTERNOON, BOARD OF MEMBERS AND C COMMITTEE.
UM, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME THIS AFTERNOON.
UM, AND THANK YOU TO MY COLLEAGUES FOR ALLOWING ME TO GO FIRST ON THE AGENDA.
UM, I ONLY HAVE, UH, TWO SLIDES.
UM, SO I WILL BE, UM, FAST AND HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO FIRST ACKNOWLEDGE, UH, SASHA HOROWITZ FROM OUR SACRAMENTO OFFICE, UH, ELLIE UNIFIED COLLEAGUE ON MY TEAM, AND CHRISTINA, WHO SUPPORTS WITH OUR ADVOCACY ON FACILITIES RELATED ITEMS. UM, AND THANKFULLY WE HAVE OUR CHIEF, UH, FACILITIES EXECUTIVE HERE AS WELL.
SHOULD YOU HAVE MORE QUESTIONS, UH, TO GO INTO DETAIL ABOUT THE DIFFERENT PROCUREMENT METHODS AND CONTRACTING THAT WE PURSUE FOR THESE PARTICULAR BILLS THAT WE'RE, WE'RE, WE HAVE IN SACRAMENTO.
UM, EVERY YEAR OUR BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVES OUR, OUR PRIORITIES FOR, UM, ADVOCACY, BOTH POLICY AND FUNDING THAT WE PURSUE AT ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT, UH, LOCAL, STATE, AND FEDERAL.
UM, THIS YEAR THE BOARD APPROVED FOUR BILLS FOR LA UNIFIED TO PURSUE IN SACRAMENTO.
UM, AND TWO OF THEM, UM, ARE FACILITIES RELATED, WHICH YOU SEE ON THE FIRST SLIDE.
UH, IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT, UM, AS THE CASE THIS YEAR, UM, ALMOST ON AVERAGE EVERY YEAR, WE HAVE, UM, ROUGHLY BETWEEN A THIRD TO HALF OF OUR BILLS THAT WE SPONSOR, THAT LA UNIFIED IS A PROPONENT THAT ARE RELATED TO FACILITIES, UH, ALWAYS LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO, UM, FIND EFFICIENCIES, UM, REDUCE COSTS FOR THE DISTRICT, UM, AND BENEFIT, UM, THE OVERALL, UM, GOAL OF MEETING TIMELINES AND PROJECTS IN A TIMELY MANNER.
UM, SO WITH, WITH THAT IN MIND, UM, TWO OF OUR BILLS THIS YEAR THAT WE'RE SPONSORING OUR AB 1809 BYBERG FONG AND SENATOR BILL 1107 BY SENATOR STERN, UM, AB 1809.
IT'S, UM, IT'S A CONTINUATION OF A POLICY THAT WE HAVE PURSUED IN SACRAMENTO FOR OVER THE, THE LAST 23 YEARS.
UM, THIS BILL WOULD BE LOOKING TO MAKE IT INTO A PERMANENT PART OF LAW.
UM, BUT AS OF NOW, THERE MIGHT BE A, A REASON TO SCALE BACK THAT WE MAY ONLY GET AN
UM, WE ARE, UH, ARGUING THAT BECAUSE WE'VE HAD THIS POLICY, THIS FLEXIBILITY IN PLACE FOR OVER 23 YEARS, UH, IT IS NOW TIME TO MAKE IT, UH, PERMISSIVE, UM, JUST ON AN ONGOING BASIS.
UH, BUT AGAIN, WE MAY HAVE TO SCALE BACK TO BE 10 YEARS.
WHAT THIS BILL DOES, UM, IT WOULD ALLOW SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND COMMUNITY COLLEGES, SO OTHERS THROUGHOUT CALIFORNIA, NOT SPECIFIC TO L-A-U-S-D, UM, TO CONTINUE TO USE THE JOB ORDER CONTRACTING METHOD.
UM, THIS IS AN ALTERNATIVE PROJECT AND DELIVERY METHOD THAT ALLOWS SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND COMMUNITY COLLEGES TO NEGOTIATE A MASTER AGREEMENT, UM, OR DIFFERENT SERVICE TERMS, UM, THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO COMPLETE PROJECTS UNDER ONE SINGLE MASTER CONTRACT.
ONE EXAMPLE TO USE WOULD BE, UM, UH, WHENEVER
[00:05:01]
WE, UH, HAVE WINDOWS TWO, UH, FOR MAINTENANCE OR REPAIR AT SCHOOLS, UM, IN, IN ORDER TO BE EFFICIENT WITH THE PURSUIT OF THE PROJECT, WE WOULD HAVE ONE MASTER CONTRACT THAT WOULD, UM, DELINEATE THE, THE COST OF THE PROJECT, UM, THAT WE WOULD KNOW AHEAD OF TIME.AND SO INSTEAD OF DELAYING, UM, IF WE NEED TO, UH, REPLACE A WINDOW, UH, ONE GETS BROKEN, UM, BROKEN AT THE SCHOOL, OR A SCHOOL HAS A BREAK IN, INSTEAD OF HAVING TO, UH, WAIT, UM, FOR A NEW BID, UM, AND PROCURING A NEW VENDOR, UM, THIS ALLOWS US TO BE ABLE TO HAVE ONE MASTER CONTRACT IN PLACE, UM, THAT WE CAN LEVERAGE AND JUST BE ABLE TO UTILIZE THAT CONTRACTOR WHERE THE COST OF THE, UM, OF THE, UH, PROJECT, UM, OF THE TASK WAS, UM, DELINEATED BEFOREHAND, UM, INSTEAD OF HAVING TO GO OUT AND BID IN, UH, ON A PARTICULAR SINGLE PROJECT.
UM, SO IT ALLOWS US TO DO THE WORK IMMEDIATELY, UM, AND KNOW THAT AHEAD OF TIME.
UM, THAT'S FOR THE, THE FIRST BILL FOR SENATE BILL 1107, UM, LOS ANGELES UNIFIED.
WE HAD A BILL THAT WE SPONSORED IN 2023, ALSO BY SENATOR STERN SENATE BILL 5 1 5.
THAT BILL, UM, UH, WAS, UH, OUR ATTEMPT TO, UH, REDUCE THE COST AND THE, THE BUREAUCRACY, UH, FROM THE STATE LEVEL, UM, THAT MAKES, UH, SHADE STRUCTURES MORE EXPENSIVE TO COMPLETE ON A SCHOOL CAMPUS.
UM, SINCE THEN, THAT BILL BECAME LAW, UM, IN 2023.
UH, WE'VE ALSO BEEN, UH, WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH OUR, UH, LEGAL COUNSEL WITH OUR FACILITIES DEPARTMENT, UM, AND OTHERS, UH, TO BETTER INFORM HOW CAN WE CONTINUE TO, UM, MITIGATE ANY COSTS THAT MIGHT BE, UH, COMING FROM THE STATE LEVEL.
UM, WE, THIS BILL WILL BE AMENDED IN THE COMING WEEKS.
UM, RIGHT NOW IT'S HEADED OVER TO THE ASSEMBLY.
UM, BUT THIS BILL, UM, WOULD, UH, UNDER THE AMENDMENTS THAT WE'RE PURSUING, UM, UH, OUR GOAL WILL BE TO REDUCE COSTS.
UH, ONE WAY THAT WE'RE EXPLORING DOING THAT IS BY, UM, AUTHORIZING SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT HAVE, UM, THE PURSUE SHADE STRUCTURE PROJECTS, UM, ALLOWING US TO BUNDLE MULTIPLE PROJECTS, UM, AS PART OF, UH, ONE SINGLE BID.
UM, SO INSTEAD OF HAVING TO BID OUT INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS THAT'S, UH, LOW, UM, SMALLER ECONOMIES OF SCALE, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE MULTIPLE DESIGN BUILD PROJECTS, UM, INTO, INTO ONE BID.
UM, AGAIN, WITH THE PURPOSE, UH, THE GOAL OF HAVING LOWER COST AND BEING ABLE TO, UM, EXPEDITE THE, THE DELIVERY OF THE PROJECT.
UM, AND AGAIN, UH, SHOULD YOU HAVE MORE QUESTIONS, UM, AFTER I GO NEXT SLIDE, UM, UM, I'M GRATEFUL THAT MY COLLEAGUE CHRISTINA TALKS, UM, IS HERE SO SHE CAN ALSO EXPLAIN MORE ABOUT OUR, OUR THINKING, WORKING WITH HER OFFICE AROUND THIS, THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE.
AND THEN THIS LAST BILL IS ONE THAT WE'RE SUPPORTING.
IT'S NOT THE ONE THAT, UM, THAT WE ARE THE SPONSORS OF, UM, BUT IT IS ONE THAT WE WANT TO HAVE AS OUR BACK POCKET AS AN OPTION, UM, FOR FUTURE USE BY LA UNIFIED.
UM, THIS BILL, IT'S ALSO A SUNSET EXTENSION THAT WOULD CONTINUE TO ALLOW, UM, SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO USE A COMPETITIVE, UM, BIDDING PROCESS FOR AWARDING THE LEASE LEASEBACK CONTRACT FOR SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.
UM, THIS IS, UM, AGAIN, UH, AN OPTION THAT WE WOULD WANT TO HAVE, UM, SHOULD WE WANT TO LEVERAGE THIS IN THE FUTURE.
BUT, UM, MORE RECENTLY, LA UNIFIED, WE'VE BEEN USING THE, UM, BEST VALUE PROCUREMENT METHOD, UM, AS A WAY TO, UH, HAVE MORE COST EFFECTIVENESS AND, UM, AND HELP US WITH MEET THE GOALS OF THE FACILITY CONSTRUCTION TIMELINES.
UM, SO WITH THAT, I WILL, UM, WRAP UP MY SLIDES.
AND AGAIN, UM, UH, LET ME GO BACK AND LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS THAT I WILL DO MY BEST TO ANSWER.
AND IF NOT, I WILL, UH, DEFER TO CHRISTINA.
UM, BUT REALLY WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE MY COLLEAGUE SASHA FROM OUR TEAM IN SACRAMENTO, WHO'S THE LEAD ON FACILITIES ISSUES FOR US.
AND I'LL TURN TO COLLEAGUES FOR QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, MS. RODRIGUEZ? YEAH, I'M, UM, WE DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY THROUGH OUR MNOS TO REPLACE WINDOWS.
I'M, THAT'S A QUE I'M, I'M ASKING, IT IS A QUESTION.
I, HI, CHRISTINA TOKS, CHIEF FACILITIES EXECUTIVE.
MOST OF OUR, LIKE WINDOW REPAIRS ARE DONE BY, IN IN-HOUSE M AND O FORCES.
SO THEN, SO TYPICALLY LIKE WE WOULD USE JOCK IF, UM, WE'RE DOING A REPETITIVE PIECE OF WORK, UM, THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE SUFFICIENT IN-HOUSE LABOR TO DO AT THAT TIME, AND THEN IT'S GONNA BE OVER.
SO LET'S SAY, UM, I'M GONNA USE A MADE UP EXAMPLE, BUT WE ARE GOING TO DO, UH, REPLACE THE MATTING UNDER PLAYGROUNDS, AND WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH INTERNAL RESOURCES TO, LET'S SAY, SPEND NINE MONTHS TO JUST REPLACE PLAYGROUND MATTING.
BUT WE COULD USE JOCK TO SAY, OKAY, YOU'VE ALREADY GIVEN US KIND OF A MENU OF A PRE-APPROVED PRICE.
THERE'S NOT A LOT OF SPECIALIZED ENGINEERING, THERE'S NOT A DESIGN COMPONENT, THERE'S NOT A DSA, WE WOULD LIKE YOU TO JUST EXECUTE 20 SITES USING JOCKS TO GO DO THIS WORK, AND THEN YOU'RE DONE.
UM, AND THAT WOULD BE AN EXAMPLE OF SOMETHING THAT WE COULD USE JOCK FOR.
BUT THE WINDOW REPLACEMENT, TYPICALLY, THERE'S NOT LIKE
[00:10:01]
A LARGE SCALE WINDOW REPLACEMENT PROGRAM.AND WHEN WINDOWS ARE LEAKING AND OR LIKE DAMAGED, WE JUST HAVE OUR OWN M AND O SHOPS GO OUT AND REPAIR THEM.
SO THERE WOULD BE SOMETHING LIKE, IT'S AN OUTDATED SCHOOL, WE NEED TO GO AND DO THE WHOLE SCHOOL.
SO ONE, YOU KNOW, PROCESS WISE, UM, I WOULD HOPE, YOU KNOW, GIVEN HOW MUCH THIS COMMITTEE AND THE BOARD AT LARGE HAS HEARD JUST ABOUT DELAYS AT THE STATE LEVEL, I MEAN, THESE THREE, AND I'M GONNA ASK ABOUT THE STERN BILL IN PARTICULAR ARE IMPORTANT, BUT I, I WOULD ASSUME THAT THERE ARE MORE LEGISLATIVE FIXES THAT WE MIGHT NEED OR WANT.
AND I KNOW WE ARE WORKING ADMINISTRATIVELY, AND THERE ARE SOME MEETINGS COMING UP AROUND DSA REVIEW AND SOME OF THE EXPEDITED TIMELINES AROUND THE PALISADES REBUILDS AND SEEING IF WE CAN EXPAND THAT.
BUT I'M CURIOUS, LIKE, WERE THESE, HOW, HOW DID THESE BECOME THE, THE ONLY THREE BILLS WE WERE WORKING ON? WAS IT JUST A CAPACITY ISSUE? WAS IT WHAT WE HEARD FROM FACILITIES? OR WHY NOT, YOU KNOW, MORE ADVOCACY? SURE.
SO THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
AND WE WOULD BE HAPPY TO TAKE NOT ONLY ISSUES THAT WE CAN START EXPLORING NOW AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO THROUGH THE BUDGET, UM, CYCLE, OR ALSO THROUGH ANY OTHER VEHICLES, OTHER, OTHER BILLS THAT MAY BE NOT PURSUED BY US RIGHT NOW, BUT THEY MIGHT BE, UH, PURSUED BY SOMEONE ELSE.
SO WE DON'T HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THE BOARD TAKES ACTION AGAIN IN DECEMBER FOR US TO EXPLORE THOSE ISSUES.
UM, SPECIFIC TO A QUESTION ABOUT THESE THREE ISSUES, UM, TO CLARIFY, THE ONLY TWO BILLS THAT LA UNIFIED IS SPONSORING ARE THIS FIRST TWO THAT YOU SEE ON THIS SLIDE AS AB 1809 AND SB 1107.
THE OTHER THIRD BILL IS ONE THAT WE'RE SUPPORTING.
WE, UH, ARE TRACKING OVER 500 BILLS ON ALL DIFFERENT ISSUE AREAS.
UM, AND THERE'S A LOT OF OTHER FACILITY BILLS THAT WE'RE TRACKING.
UM, BUT FROM A PRIORITIZATION STANDPOINT, I, WE THOUGHT SASHA AND I, THAT THIS WOULD BE THE MOST RELEVANT FOR THE GROUP HERE, UM, THAT WE CAN PROVIDE, UM, A MORE DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT OTHER BILLS.
UM, THERE'S SOME ABOUT MAIN, UH, MAINTENANCE OPERATION.
THERE'S ABOUT OFFICE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY.
UM, THERE'S SOME ABOUT SCHOOL, UM, UH, HOUSING, UH, JUST HOUSING AS A WHOLE, MAKING AFFORDABLE IN CALIFORNIA.
UM, SO THERE'S A LOT, MANY OTHER BILLS THAT WE'RE TRACKING.
UM, WE CHOSE THOSE BILLS WORKING WITH FACILITIES, THE ONES THAT, FOR ONE, BECAUSE A B 1809, IT SUNSETS IN JANUARY OF 2027.
SO WE COULD NOT, WE, WE DON'T HAVE A, UH, WE CANNOT DELAY FURTHER IF, IF THE LAW SUNSETED, WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO LEVERAGE THE CURRENT STATUTE.
SO WE WANTED TO MAKE IT PERMANENT OR AT AN AMENDMENT FOR 10 MORE YEARS.
UM, 1107, UM, IT IS, UH, GIVING, UM, ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BOARD MEMBER, UH, CHAIR MELVOIN.
UM, IT'S AN ISSUE THAT HE AND OTHER BOARD MEMBERS HAVE BROUGHT UP TO US IN THE PAST.
SO WE WANTED TO WORK WITH OUR ITIES DEPARTMENT TO DETERMINE OTHER WAYS TO, UH, TO MAKE, UM, SHARED STRUCTURES MORE, MORE COST EFFECTIVE.
UM, AND THIS IS WHAT WE, WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON.
UM, SO THERE'S NOT REALLY AN ISSUE OF CAPACITY.
MY TEAM AND I WILL WORK ON ANYTHING THAT WE DETERMINE THAT WE CAN PURSUE PER THE BOARD, UM, DIRECTION EVERY YEAR.
UH, TYPICALLY WE DO A SURVEY TO OFFICES, UH, OUR BOARD OFFICES, OUR DIVISIONS, UM, AND OTHERS.
UH, AROUND AUGUST, SEPTEMBER, WE DO RESEARCH.
WE, UH, MEET WITH COMMITTEE CONSULTANTS, WITH OTHER STAKEHOLDERS THAT MAY BE IMPACTED BY THE POLICY PROPOSAL.
UH, WE MEET WITH THEM IN THE FALL, AND THEN THE GOAL IS TO COME TO THE BOARD IN DECEMBER.
SO, UM, ANY IDEAS THAT WE BRING TO THE BOARD, UM, WE DO OUR DUE DILIGENCE IN THE FALL TO RESEARCH THEM AND VET THEM AND SEE WHAT KIND OF SUPPORT OPPOSITION COSTS, UH, BARRIERS WE MIGHT ENCOUNTER ALONG THE PROCESS.
UM, BUT TO UNDERSCORE, LIKE I MENTIONED AT THE BEGINNING OF MY COMMENTS, UM, EVERY YEAR BETWEEN A HALF TO A THIRD OF THE BILLS THAT WE SPONSOR ARE RELATED TO FACILITIES.
UM, IN MY TENURE WITH THE DISTRICT, I CAN TELL YOU THAT THERE'S PROBABLY BEEN A MINIMUM OF TWO BILLS AT LEAST EVERY YEAR RELATED TO FACILITIES.
SO GIVEN THAT IT IS, UM, A SIGNIFICANT, UH, AMOUNT OF FUNDING THAT WE, UM, WE HAVE BEEN ENTRUSTED BY THE VOTERS IN, IN LA, WE ENSURE THAT WE'RE PURSUING POLICIES IN SACRAMENTO THAT CAN HELP US, UM, DELIVER ON THOSE PROJECTS IN A TIMELY AND COST EFFECTIVE MANNER.
AND THAT, AND, AND THANK YOU FOR REMINDING FOLKS THAT YOU'RE THERE TO KIND OF EXECUTE ON THE DISTRICT'S PRIORITIES.
I WILL SAY THAT I FOUND EVEN IN THE LAST 48 HOURS, THERE ARE SOME KEY PRIORITIES OF THIS BOARD AROUND HOUSING, WHICH I WON'T, I WON'T OPINE ON NOW, WHERE WE ARE FEEL LIKE WE'RE LIMITED BY STATE LAW, AND NO ONE HAS CALLED SOMEONE AT THE STATE LEVEL TO SAY, LIKE, IS, ARE WE LIMITED? CAN WE GET A FIX? IS THERE A WAIVER? AND SO I JUST WOULD REITERATE AGAIN, TO THE BOARD AND TO THE, THE ADMINISTRATIVE COLLEAGUES THAT LIKE WE, UH, SOMETIMES JUST DON'T ASK QUESTIONS, AND THEN WE COULD BE PUSHING AGAINST AN OPEN DOOR.
UM, ON THIS, THE STERN BILL SPECIFICALLY, UM, IN ADDITION TO THE, UH, BUNDLING MULTIPLE DESIGN PROJECTS, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT IT ALSO, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THIS COMMITTEE HAS DISCUSSED AROUND SHADE STRUCTURES IS THAT SO MUCH OF THE COST IS THE A DA IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE TRIGGERED BY THE SHADE STRUCTURE.
AND IS, IS IT TRUE THAT THE LAST BILL WE RAN BROUGHT IT DOWN TO 25% AND THIS ONE IS BRINGING IT DOWN TO 20%, OR IS THERE ANY MORE MOVEMENT AROUND THE KIND OF 80 DA PERCENTAGE FOR SHADE STRUCTURES? SO, UM, I'LL, I'LL, UM, ANSWER BRIEFLY, AND THEN I'LL ALSO INVITE CHRISTINA
[00:15:01]
TO CHIME IN ON THIS SINCE WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH HER AND HER OFFICE ON THIS.UM, THE BILL, AS I MENTIONED, CURRENTLY AS PROPOSED, UH, IS THE WAY THAT YOU DESCRIBED TRYING TO, UM, REDUCE THE REQUIREMENT EVEN FURTHER FOR THE PATH OF TRAVEL, UH, REGARDING, UM, THE, THE, UM, A DA COMPLIANCE.
HOWEVER, AS MENTIONED IN THIS BULLET POINT, UH, WE ARE WORKING ON SOME AMENDMENTS.
THEY HAVE NOT BECOME, UM, PUBLICLY AVAILABLE YET AS WE'RE STILL REFINING THE LANGUAGE.
BUT THE GOAL WE TRY TO, UH, WOULD BE TO, UM, MAYBE PIVOT THE STRATEGY AFTER FURTHER DISCUSSION WITH CHRISTINA AND OUR LEGAL TEAM.
UM, THERE MIGHT BE A BETTER WAY TO BUNDLE PROJECTS.
UM, AND THE WAY THAT, UH, I DON'T WANNA SPEAK ABOUT CHRISTINA, BUT THE WAY THAT SHE DESCRIBED IT TO ME, AND SHE CAN FURTHER ELABORATE, IS THAT PERHAPS IT WOULD BE PURSUING ONE SINGLE BID FOR THREE SCHOOLS.
THAT TOTAL WOULD BE ABOUT A MILLION DOLLARS.
UM, BUT RIGHT NOW WE'RE LIMITED BY THE CONTRACTING RULES AT THE STATE.
SO WE'RE LOOKING TO AMEND SB 1107 TO ALLOW US THAT BUNDLING OF MULTIPLE SHADE STRUCTURED PROJECTS FOR LET'S SAY, THREE DIFFERENT CAMPUSES THAT COLLECTIVELY MIGHT BE A $1 MILLION PROJECT.
UM, BUT RIGHT NOW WE CAN ONLY USE SOME OF THOSE BIDDING, UM, POLICIES FOR IF IT'S OVER A MILLION DOLLARS OR MORE.
SO BY BUNDLING PROJECTS, WE'D BE ABLE TO, UM, THAT CAN HELP WITH COST EFFICIENCY AND SELECTING A VENDOR THAT CAN HELP, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH THE PROJECTS.
BUT CHRISTINA, DO YOU WANNA ELABORATE OR CLARIFY ANYTHING I JUST SAID? I'LL ONLY ADD TO, UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT VARIOUS WAYS THAT WE CAN REDUCE COSTS ON SHADE SHELTERS.
WE DON'T YET HAVE A, UM, INPUT FROM THE INDUSTRY MARKETPLACE OF WHETHER OR NOT THIS WOULD HELP, BUT WE NEED TO KIND OF REACH OUT TO THEM.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE LEARNED WHEN WE'VE DONE DESIGN BUILD IS WHILE WE'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF RESPONSE FROM THE MARKETPLACE ON LARGE DESIGN BUILDS, WHEN WE'VE TRIED TO DO SMALLER DESIGN BUILD PROJECTS, UM, BETWEEN THE THREE TO $5 MILLION RANGE, WE DIDN'T SEE A LOT OF PARTICIPATION.
THIS ONE, AS MARTHA WAS SAYING, WE'RE LIMITED.
UM, WITH THE WAY THAT DESIGN BUILDS CURRENTLY WORKS IS THAT YOU HAVE TO HAVE IT BY SITE.
AND WE DON'T PLAN ON SPENDING A MILLION DOLLARS ON A SHADE SHELTER AT A ONE SITE.
SO WE ARE LOOKING AT HOW DO WE, UM, GO OUT TO THE MARKETPLACE AND MAYBE BUNDLE BY REGION OR AREA OR COMMUNITY SO THAT WE WOULD HAVE MULTIPLE SITES THAT WE WOULD PUT UNDER ONE DESIGN BUILD CONTRACT.
BUT WE DO NEED TO GO OUT AND SEE WHAT KIND OF APPETITE THERE IS FROM CONTRACTORS WHO DO THIS TYPE OF WORK.
THEY'RE NOT THE BIG GCS, AND WOULD THEY BE INTERESTED IN DOING LIKE 15 SHADE SHELTER PROJECTS WITH ONE CONTRACT RIGHT NOW, WE DON'T HAVE THE FLEXIBILITY TO EVEN EXPLORE THAT.
UM, THIS TO US IS A VERY LOW RISK, YOU KNOW, PROPOSAL.
AND EVEN IF WE DON'T SEE THAT, UM, NECESSARILY INTEREST NOW, WE COULD BUILD IT IN THE MARKETPLACE, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT.
YEAH, I GUESS MY DISAPPOINTMENT IS THAT I THINK WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR MONTHS, AND SO THE FACT THAT WE HAVEN'T GONE OUT AND ASKED THE INDUSTRY IF IT'S POSSIBLE IS FRUSTRATING.
I ALSO, I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY IT'S A DESIGN, LIKE THERE ARE OFF, WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT IN THE SHADE STRUCTURE PRESENTATION, BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF OFF THE SHELF SHADE STRUCTURES.
I DON'T THINK THEY NEED TO BE DESIGNED.
MY FINAL RISK REQUEST, BECAUSE I HAVE NOT GOTTEN CLARITY ON THIS, IS ONE OF THE THINGS WE DID WITH THE STERN BILL LAST TIME IS WE REDUCED THE A DA PATH OF TRAVEL, YOU KNOW, DOWN TO 20.
AND I'VE BEEN TOLD MULTIPLE TIMES THAT 20 IS THE FEDERAL MINIMUM.
BUT I, NO ONE HAS SHOWN ME WHERE THAT'S FROM.
WE DO HAVE A LITTLE WRITEUP THAT, UH, WE CAN FOLLOW UP WITH YOU AND YOUR STAFF.
WE, WE HAVE A, UM, UPDATE, UH, AND I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE BOARD MEMBER AND, UH, CHAIR MEMBER MEL MELVOIN, BECAUSE IT IS ONE OF OUR FEDERAL ADVOCACY THAT WAS BROUGHT TO US, UM, AS DIRECTOR OF THE BOARD IN DECEMBER.
UH, LOOKING AT WHAT WE COULD DO AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL.
UM, THERE IS, UM, A CONCERN THAT, UH, JUST WITH DISABILITY RIGHTS THAT WE MIGHT BE OPENING UP AN UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE ABOUT THE PERCEPTION THAT WE'RE TRYING TO STEER AWAY FROM DISABILITY RIGHTS AND ACCESS TO PATH OF TRAVEL.
AND SO WE WE'RE SENSITIVE ABOUT THE, UM, THE OPTICS ABOUT, UM, THAT ADVOCACY IN DC BUT, UH, I CAN FOLLOW UP WITH YOU AND YOUR STAFF ABOUT, AND THE BOARD MEMBERS HERE WITH THEM, THAT INFORMATION.
AND BEFORE EVEN DISCUSSING THE OPTICS OF THE ADVOCACY, I JUST WANNA KNOW WHERE THAT, IS THAT REGULATORY, IS IT STATUTE IT'S RE REGULATORY.
SO IT'S NOT STATUTE, IT'S A REGULATION.
IT'S, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING, UH, UH, YES, I CAN FOLLOW UP WITH YOU, BUT WE HAVE A, A RIGHT UP TO THE DELINE NEEDS WHERE THIS CAME FROM, BECAUSE I THINK AS THIS COMMITTEE WILL REMEMBER, LIKE SOMETIMES 30 OR WELL, NOW IT'S 20%, BUT 20% OF A PROJECT, WHICH COULD BE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, UM, THAT SCHOOLS CAN'T AFFORD, IS GOING TO A PATH TO TRAVEL UPGRADES UNRELATED TO THE SHADE STRUCTURE THAT ARE TRIGGERED.
AND I THINK YOU CAN MAKE THE ARGUMENT THAT THIS ISN'T AN ANTI DISABILITY PLAY.
UM, YES, I KNOW I WANT BE, WANT TO GET OUT MS. ALVAREZ OUT OF HERE IN THE NEXT FEW MINUTES.
PUT MS. GEIER QUICK, MR. GEIER.
AND THEN, MR. EDWARD, JUST REAL QUICKLY IS THE LOCATIONAL ELEMENTS THAT YOU MENTIONED, UM, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT IS STATUTORY OR IS THAT A PRACTICE? UM,
[00:20:01]
AND I MEAN, BY THAT I MEAN, WE DISCUSSED DESIGN BUILD AS FAR AS CURRENTLY ONLY BEING IN ONE LOCATION AND NOT MULTIPLE LOCATIONS.AND ANOTHER QUESTION, UM, RELATED TO THE 20% FOR A DA, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT IS, UM, IF WE WERE TO LOOK AT, UH, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE DISTRICT AS AN AGGREGATE THAT LIKE THE 20% COULD BE SPREAD AROUND AT DIFFERENT, TO ADDRESS DIFFERENT A DA ISSUES AT DIFFERENT CAMPUSES AND NOT JUST THE CAMPUS WHERE THE STRUCTURE IS BEING BUILT.
SO, UH, WE WILL LOOK AT THAT SPECIFICALLY, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE 20% IS ON EACH PARTICULAR CAMPUS.
WE, NOT THAT WE CAN SPREAD IT OUT AS YOU JUST, UH, SUGGESTED, BUT WE CAN LOOK AND AND CONFIRM THAT, UM, TO YOUR FIRST QUESTION.
WE'RE NOT, UH, UNDER CURRENT LAW, UM, WE, WE DO NOT HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BUNDLE PROJECTS.
UM, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE THINKING ABOUT AMENDING SB 1107 TO GIVE US A FLEXIBILITY SHOULD WE BE ABLE TO DO WHAT ECONOMIES OF SCALE AND BE ABLE TO GET CONTRACTORS AS, AS CHRISTINA MENTIONED, THAT WOULD BE MORE INTERESTED IN, IN PURSUING DIFFERENT PROJECTS AT MULTIPLE CAMPUSES.
UM, BUT RIGHT NOW, UM, THERE'S NO OPPORTUNITY TO THAT THE CURRENT LAW.
QUICKLY, MR. RODRIGUEZ, UM, MY QUESTION'S TWO PART, YOU MENTIONED THAT, UH, A LOT OF TIMES YOU'RE LOOKING INTO THESE CONTRACTS AND THINGS IN THE FALL.
IS THAT BECAUSE YOU'RE, YOU'RE DOING IT THERE BECAUSE THEN WE'RE GONNA TRY AND GET THE CONSTRUCTION DONE, OR THE ON THE PROJECT IN SUMMER WHEN THE KIDS AREN'T THERE, OR IS ALSO HAS TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT MOST LAWS GET PASSED LATE IN THE FALL AND TAKE EFFECT IN JANUARY? IT, IT'S MORE OF THE LATTER.
SO RIGHT NOW, THE LEGISLATURE, THEY START THE LEGISLATIVE CYCLE IN JANUARY EVERY YEAR.
AND THEN THEY COMPLETE THE PROCESS, UM, BY AUGUST, SEPTEMBER EVERY YEAR.
SO WE KIND OF REASSESS WHAT HAPPENED DURING THIS COURSE OF THIS YEAR, WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR LAWS THAT WE WERE PROPOSING THOSE CHANGES.
AND THEN WE, UM, DO A RESET IN THE FALL WHEN THE LEGISLATURE'S NOT IN SESSION BETWEEN SEPTEMBER AND JANUARY TO COME UP WITH, UH, RESEARCHING IDEAS, UH, DISCUSSING THOSE IDEAS, AND THEN COMING TO OUR BOARD OF EDUCATION FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF WHAT WE PURSUE IN SACRAMENTO.
SO IT'S, IT'S A, A CYCLICAL PROCESS.
UM, BUT JUST TO UNDERSCORE THE, THE COMMENT FROM CHAIR MEL GOING BEFOREHAND, UM, MY OFFICE, IF THERE'S ISSUES THAT YOU ALL BRING UP AND WE CAN CONTINUE TO WORK WITH OUR COLLEAGUES HERE, THE BOARD MEMBERS HERE AND STAFF, UM, WE DON'T HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THE FALL.
WE LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES, UM, AND TO GIVE SASHA FOR MY TEAM SOME CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE.
UM, WE ARE, FOR EXAMPLE, ABLE TO MAKE ONE CHANGE, UH, RELATED TO A FACILITY PROVISION, UM, UH, ABOUT THE, UH, COST OF INFLATION, UH, ADJUSTING A A METRIC IN, IN STATUTE THAT'S SUPER OUTDATED.
INSTEAD OF WAITING FOR A BILL NEXT YEAR, WE ARE ABLE TO GET A CONFIRMED INTO AN OMNIBUS EDUCATION BILL.
SO WE DIDN'T WANNA WAIT UNTIL JANUARY.
WE WERE ABLE TO CONVINCE THE LEGISLATIVE STAFF TO ADD IT INTO A MORE TECHNICAL BILL.
UM, SO, SO WE'RE ALWAYS EXPLORING FOR OPPORTUNITIES CURRENTLY, SO WE DON'T HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR, BUT THERE ARE TIMES WHEN THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEES, UH, THE CHAIRS, THE STAFF, THEY WILL TELL US, BE THIS A SUBSTATIVE CHANGE.
IT HAS TO GO THROUGH A POLICY CONVERSATION AND YOU HAVE TO DO YOUR OWN BILL NEXT YEAR.
UM, BUT HEARING THOSE IDEAS NOW, AND I KNOW WE'RE MEETING, WE'RE WORKING WITH THE BOARD MEMBER, UM, MELBOURNE AND THE TEAM ON SOME OF THOSE ISSUES WITH DSA, WE'RE GETTING THOSE IDEAS NOW SO WE CAN BEGIN THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND THEN BE ABLE TO DETERMINE CAN THEY BE RESOLVED THROUGH THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS OR DO THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH THAT
UM, UH, AND THANKS FOR YOUR FLEXIBILITY AND TIMING.
I'LL ACKNOWLEDGE, UH, OUR SUPERINTENDENT IN THE AUDIENCE.
AND ANDREAS, THERE'S A PLACE FOR YOU UP HERE IF YOU'D LIKE TO
[II.1. Procurement Overview: Request for Proposals (RFPs) and Benches]
UH, AND WE'RE NOW GONNA GO BACK TO OUR, UM, PROCUREMENT, UM, PRESENTATION.SO I'LL GET THE SLIDES SET UP FOR MR. FREEMAN IN A MINUTE.
BUT, UM, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF CONVERSATION IN THE PAST FEW WEEKS AND MONTHS AROUND THE, HOW THE DISTRICT CONTRACTS FOR GOODS AND SERVICES WE'VE DISCUSSED IN THIS COMMITTEE, UH, IN THE LABOR CONTEXT MORE GENERALLY.
WE DISCUSSED IT A A LITTLE THIS MORNING DURING OUR COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE, UM, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS WE'VE HAD IS HOW DO RFPS GET CRAFTED? UM, THERE ARE, UH, THE, YOU KNOW, THE BOARD PUBLICLY APPROVES OR RATIFIES THE CONTRACT WHEN IT COMES BEFORE US, BUT LIKE, THERE'S A LOT OF WORK BEFOREHAND TO DETERMINE HOW WE FIGURE OUT HOW WE'RE GONNA CONTRACT FOR PENCILS OR FOR CHICKEN OR FOR FACILITIES, UM, FACILITIES SPECIFICALLY, WE'LL TALK ABOUT, I THINK IN MAY.
UM, BUT UH, WE WANTED TO JUST HAVE AN OVERVIEW, UH, ON THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS.
SO I WILL TURN IT OVER TO MR. FREEMAN AND MS. GREER, UM, AND I WILL GET THE SLIDES.
WELL, HELLO, GOOD AFTERNOON COMMITTEE MEMBERS, UH, COMMITTEE CHAIR MELVOIN.
I SUPPORT THE DEPARTMENT AS THE DEPUTY CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER.
AND I'M GONNA TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE SOLICITATION STRATEGIES AND HOW WE OBTAIN CONTRACTS.
IT'S GONNA BE A PRETTY HIGH LEVEL DISCUSSION.
SO WE'LL BEGIN WITH THE STRATEGY.
WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT SOME OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE RECOGNIZE AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING GOING FORWARD.
[00:25:04]
SO THIS SLIDE IS GOING TO CREATE A BASELINE OF THE DISCUSSION.YOU ALREADY MENTIONED THAT IT'S A SEVERAL STEP PROCESS.
WE'RE GONNA CALL IT A SEVEN STEP METHODOLOGY.
SOMEONE HAS TO INITIATE THE NEED, AND THAT STARTS WITH WHAT WE CALL THE REQUEST FOR PROCUREMENT ACTION.
IN THAT WE'RE ASKING VERY BASIC QUESTIONS THAT INCLUDE THE FUNDING SOURCE WHEN IT'S NEEDED, AND WHO'S SPONSORING THE PROJECT, WHAT IS IT GONNA BE USED FOR? THE FUNDING SOURCE IS IMPORTANT AS WE ARE TALKING ABOUT IDENTIFYING THE BUDGET.
SO WE ARE KNOWING HOW MUCH WE'RE SPENDING, WE WANNA KNOW HOW LONG WE'RE GOING TO NEED IT, AND ALSO IF THERE'S ANY RESTRICTIONS RELATED TO THE FUNDING SOURCE.
WHEN THERE'S GRANT FUNDED INITIATIVES, USUALLY THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT ARE ALREADY OUTLINED, AND WE HAVE TO SET OUR STRATEGY RELATED TO HOW THE FUNDING ALLOWS US TO PROCURE.
MOST OF OUR CONVERSATION IS GONNA BE ON THE SOLICITATION PREPARATION, AND THAT'S WHAT MOST PEOPLE THINK PROCUREMENT'S ROLE IS.
BUT OUR ROLE GOES WELL BEYOND THAT IN THE SEVERAL STAGES THAT FOLLOW THE SOLICITATION.
WE'RE NOT JUST TAKING IT TO MARKET.
WE'RE SHOULD BE, UH, STRUCTURING THE EVALUATION AND THE SELECTION CRITERIA TO MAKE SURE NOT ONLY THAT IT'S COMPETITIVE, BUT IT'S GONNA YIELD THE BEST RESULT FOR THE DISTRICT.
AND THEN OF COURSE, WE'RE PREPARING IT FOR BOARD APPROVAL.
WE SHOULD ALSO BE MONITORING THE CONTRACT AS IT'S BEING UTILIZED FOR SUPPLIER SATISFACTION, FOR SATISFACTION OF, UH, THE USE AND TO SEE IF ANY MAJOR CHANGES HAVE OCCURRED.
WE'RE GOING TO CLEARLY DISTINGUISH THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PURCHASING AND STRATEGIC SOURCING BECAUSE IT IS A KEY DIFFERENCE.
PURCHASING IS JUST, UH, ACT OF BUYING.
IT'S VERY TRANSACTIONAL, UH, SOLICITATION THAT HAS A, AN ENTIRE ACQUISITION STRATEGY COMES WITH A PLAN, UM, AND INCLUDES A FOCUS.
WE'RE DEVELOPING RELATIONSHIPS WITH SUPPLIERS, AS YOU HEARD IN INDUSTRY FORUMS. AND WHEN WE'RE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT SOME OF THE DRIVERS ARE IN THE MARKET, WE MAY EVEN ASK SUPPLIERS WHAT IS NECESSARY FOR THEM TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE DISTRICT'S OPERATIONS SO THAT THEY CAN CREATE A COMPETITIVE PROPOSAL.
AND WE DON'T ONLY WANNA DO THAT WITH AN INCUMBENT, BUT WE WANT TO DO THAT WITH OTHER PLAYERS TO TRY TO ATTRACT MORE COMPETITION.
SO OUR APPROACH IS MUCH MORE ANALYTICAL.
UM, IT TAKES A LOT MORE TIME TO BE STRATEGIC THAN IT DOES JUST TO TAKE A REQUEST, UNDERSTAND WHAT TO PUT ON THE DOCUMENT AS FAR AS THE STATEMENT OF WORK, AND TO TAKE IT OUT TO MARKET.
UM, AGAIN, I TALKED ABOUT TRANSACTIONAL VERSUS STRATEGIC.
THE OUTCOME IS MUCH DIFFERENT.
UM, WE BELIEVE THAT IT'S GOING TO BE MUCH MORE SATISFYING WHEN WE TAKE A STRATEGIC APPROACH THAN WHEN WE TAKE JUST A PURCHASE AND WE'RE FINDING OUT THE GAPS ALONG THE WAY.
WE WANNA RESOLVE ANY QUESTIONS IN ADVANCE BEFORE WE GO TO MARKET.
SO WITH A STRATEGIC SOURCING, UM, PROCESS, WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS WE'RE BUYING, WHO ARE WE BUYING IT FOR? WHY ARE WE BUYING IT? WHO'S GONNA RECEIVE IT? BECAUSE WE'RE NOT JUST THINKING ABOUT GETTING INTO THE CONTRACT, WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THE INVOICING.
WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THE LEVEL OF DETAIL THAT WE NEED TO CAPTURE DATA IN OUR PURCHASE ORDERS.
WE'RE THINKING ABOUT WHAT THE SUPPLIER'S GONNA BE, UM, CONSIDERING WHEN THEIR PACKAGING, THEIR PROPOSAL AND THEIR COST METHODS.
UM, THE MORE INFORMATION THAT WE CAN GET IN THE BEGINNING AND TO PUT THAT INTO THE BACKGROUND HELPS TO GET THEIR UNDERSTANDING AT THE TIME THAT WE TAKE IT TO MARKET.
SO WE WANNA BE VERY CLEAR THE QUESTION ABOUT WHERE IS THIS PURCHASE OUTSIDE OF L-A-U-S-D IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO SET A BASELINE.
WHO ELSE IS BUYING THIS AND HOW DO THEY BUY IT? WE'RE USUALLY NOT GOING TO BE THE ONLY ONE WHO'S GONNA USE A, A SIM, A SIMILAR SERVICE OR COMMODITY.
SO THEN IT GETS TO HOW DO YOU BUY IT? AND THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS TO GO ABOUT IT.
YOU HEARD ABOUT PIGGYBACK CONTRACTS, YOU HEARD ABOUT, UM, BENCH CONTRACTS, AND WE CAN HAVE INDIVIDUAL CONTRACTS.
SO DOING THAT, THAT MARKET RESEARCH HELPS WHEN WE TALK ABOUT WHO ELSE IS BUYING IT, A LOT OF TIMES THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION OUT THERE.
UM, EVEN GETTING DOWN TO WHAT THINGS COST, WHO THE MAJOR MARKET PLAYERS ARE HOLDING INDUSTRY FORMS, IT GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY
[00:30:01]
TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS.WE CAN ISSUE REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION, EITHER FORMALLY OR INFORMALLY.
SOMETIMES IT CAN BE DONE, UH, WITH PHONE CALLS AND CONVERSATIONS, ASKING THE SAME QUESTIONS TO MULTIPLE SUPPLIERS.
WE LEARN ABOUT TERMINOLOGY BECAUSE WHEN WE SET OUR STANDARDS AND PUT OUR, OUR STATEMENTS OF WORK TOGETHER, WE DON'T WANT TO USE OUR LANGUAGE.
WE WANT TO USE LANGUAGE THAT THE INDUSTRY IS GONNA UNDERSTAND.
UM, IT MAKES US A LOT MORE SOPHISTICATED WHEN WE'RE SPEAKING IN THE LANGUAGE OF THE INDUSTRY.
UM, WE HAVE TO CREATE A MARKETABLE SCOPE OF WORK.
A LOT OF TIMES WE'RE FACED WITH CHALLENGING, UM, OUR OWN INTERNAL TEAM MEMBERS ABOUT WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE BUYING AND WHY WE NEED IT.
SO IF WE SAY WE WANNA TENURE WARRANTY ON THIS, UH, SHADE STRUCTURE, I'LL JUST POINT THAT OUT.
IF WE WERE GONNA ASK FOR A 10 YEAR WARRANTY, BUT IN OUR HISTORY, HAVE WE EVER NEEDED TO CALL IN A WARRANTY CLAIM? DO THE SHADE STRUCTURES TYPICALLY HAVE A FIVE YEAR WARRANTY? WHY WOULD WE ASK FOR A 10 YEAR WARRANTY? SO WHEN WE ASK FOR THINGS THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF WHAT IS MARKETABLE, IT'S GONNA COME WITH A COST BECAUSE IT CREATES A RISK FOR THE SUPPLIER.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF CERTIFYING BODIES.
WE TALKED ABOUT TUTORING OR I HEARD ABOUT TUTORING IN EARLIER CONVERSATIONS TODAY.
WELL, THERE'S CERTIFYING BODIES THAT TALK ABOUT BEST PRACTICES FOR TUTORING.
AND HAVING JUST A LITTLE BIT OF TIME FOR THE PROCUREMENT PROFESSIONAL TO UNDERSTAND WHAT SOME OF THOSE NUANCES ARE HELPS US TO BE BETTER PARTNERS AND ADVOCATES FOR OUR SPONSORS, AND HELPS US TO LOOK MORE CREDIBLE WHEN WE GO OUT TO DO THE SOURCING AND WE'RE SPEAKING TO SUPPLIERS, STANDARDIZING REQUIREMENTS IS VERY HELPFUL.
UM, AND THAT COULD BE ANYTHING FROM THE ELECTRICAL SUPPLIES, PLUMBING SUPPLIES, CAN'T DO IT SO MUCH WITH FOOD.
BUT WHEN WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE BUYING, UM, WE'RE JUST NOT ASKING FOR A MARKET BASKET OF EVERYTHING THAT THE SUPPLIER HAS AVAILABLE.
WE SHOULD AT LEAST HAVE SOME IDEA OF THE TYPE OF EQUIPMENT THAT WE'RE SUPPORTING AND HAVE FROM OUR HISTORICAL SPEND, WHAT WE'RE BUYING, HOW MUCH WE'RE BUYING IT, OF DO WE PICK IT UP? DO WE HAVE IT DELIVERED? DO WE NEED IT ACROSS EVERY SINGLE REGION? CAN WE HAVE ONE CENTRAL HUB? THAT INFORMATION IS CRITICAL.
UM, IT DOES GET TO THE POINT ABOUT HOW DO WE GET THE, THE RIGHT PRICE.
UH, IF WE CAN BUY BASED ON VOLUME, IF WE KNOW THAT OUR COMMODITIES ARE GONNA, OUR CONTRACTS ARE GONNA BE FOR THREE YEARS, WE SHOULD HAVE SOME IDEA OF HOW MUCH WE BUY OVER A THREE YEAR PERIOD AND BE ABLE TO SCALE IT.
UM, WE TALK IN OUR TEAMS ABOUT PARADE, PATO PRINCIPLE.
WE ARE ALSO LOOKING AT TRYING TO NORMALIZE WHAT WE BUY.
SO IF WE SEE THAT ACROSS THE DISTRICT, WE'RE USING SEVERAL SYSTEMS TO MANAGE, UM, ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE.
THAT SHOULDN'T BE SOMETHING THAT EVERY SINGLE TEAM HAS TO GO OUT AND NEGOTIATE ON THEIR OWN.
WHEN WE SAY, OKAY, THESE ARE THE FIVE MODELS THAT WE WANNA BUY IN THE DISTRICT, THAT HELPS US TO GET THE BETTER PRICE AND HELPS, YOU KNOW, FOR THE SUPPLIER TO REDUCE ANY COMPLEXITY WHEN IT'S TIME TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS.
SO STANDARDIZING CAN BE HELPFUL.
UM, WE DO PREACH CONFIGURATION, NOT CUSTOMIZATION.
WE DO A LOT OF CUSTOMIZATION WHEN WE FIND THAT WE'RE RETROFITTING TO OUR PERSONAL TASTE AND PREFERENCES.
INSTEAD OF BUYING SOMETHING THAT CAN EASILY BE, UM, DISMANTLED OR UNPLUGGED, WE HAVE A FIVE YEAR RUNWAY.
AND WHEN WE ENTER INTO THE CONTRACT, WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE'RE GONNA GET OUT OF IT BECAUSE THERE'S A COST THAT COMES TO BE BORN WHEN IT'S TIME TO, UM, INTEGRATE INTO ANOTHER SYSTEM OR TO TRANSITION TO ANOTHER SYSTEM.
SO WE WANNA MAKE THAT AS EASY AS POSSIBLE.
PLANNING FOR THE TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP.
IF WE KNOW THERE'S GONNA BE COST TO, UM, GET RID OF EQUIPMENT ONCE IT'S PULLED OUT, IF THERE'S COST ASSOCIATED WITH THAT, MAYBE WE WANT THE SUPPLIER TO BEAR THAT INSTEAD OF HAVING THAT BE A COST THAT WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT LATER.
SO JUST THINKING ABOUT IT AS A TOTAL PICTURE, NOT JUST WHAT DO WE BUY, WHEN DO WE NEED IT? AND GETTING IT HERE AS QUICK AS POSSIBLE.
SO WHAT WE SEE AS AREAS OF OPPORTUNITY IS OF COURSE, MAKING DATA-DRIVEN DECISIONS.
UM, I HOPE IT'S NOT A SURPRISE IF I SHARE, AND I'M HONEST WITH YOU, THAT WHEN WE GO TO BUY
[00:35:01]
THINGS, WE HAVE TO SOMETIMES ASK OUR SUPPLIERS HOW MUCH DO WE BUY AND WHERE DO WE HAVE IT DELIVERED? AND WHAT IS IT THAT WE NEED GOING FORWARD? WE WANTED TO GET SOME SALES REPORTS AND WE WANNA UNDERSTAND AND HAVE A PLACE THAT WE CAN KEEP A REPOSITORY AND HAVE A WAY TO PULL THAT DATA SO THAT WE HAVE THAT HISTORY IN THE FUTURE AND WE CAN SEE WHAT THE NUANCES ARE AND OUR COSTS AND OUR HABITS.UM, WE SHOULD HAVE A CONTINGENCY SO THAT WE'RE NOT DEPENDING ON JUST ONE SUPPLIER.
SO SOMETIMES THAT WOULD BE A REASON TO HAVE MORE THAN ONE SUPPLIER UNDER CONTRACT.
MAYBE ONE THAT IS OUR PRIMARY AND ONE THAT'S A SECONDARY.
SO THAT IF ONE WANTS TO INCREASE THE PRICE, MAYBE WE HAVE A SECOND SOURCE OF SUPPLY TO GO TO.
KEEPING THAT COMPETITION FLUID EVEN AFTER THE CONTRACT IS, UH, AND IMPLEMENTED, PROMOTING SIMPLICITY IN THE SCOPE WHEN WE GET VERY SOPHISTICATED AND WE'RE ASKING FOR A LOT OF, AGAIN, PERSONALIZATION OR CUSTOMIZATION OR WHAT I WOULD CALL WHITE GLOVE SERVICE DELIVERED TO EVERY SCHOOL IN THE REGION BY AUGUST 1ST.
INSTEAD OF MAYBE HAVING THINGS GO TO ONE CENTRAL LOCATION A MONTH IN ADVANCE AND GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO DELIVER IT, UM, AS NEEDED OR STILL BY A AUGUST 1ST, BUT NOT EXPECTING THE SUPPLIER TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN FOR US.
SOME OF IT MAYBE WE CAN MANAGE ON OUR OWN AND INITIATING PROCUREMENT'S A MINIMUM A YEAR BEFORE IT EXPIRES.
THERE'S NOT TOO MANY THINGS THAT WE BUY THAT AREN'T COMPLEX, THAT DON'T REQUIRE ADVANCED PLANNING.
AND EVEN IN CHANGE MANAGEMENT, IT REQUIRES COMMUNICATIONS, ORDERING INSTRUCTIONS, GETTING THE INFORMATION OUT TO SCHOOLS AND OFFICES ABOUT THE CHANGE.
SO IF WE HAD AT LEAST A YEAR, I THINK WE COULD DO A LOT BETTER IN ALL OF THOSE AREAS, MAKING IT MORE COMPETITIVE, MAKING IT MORE SPECIFIC, AND, UM, MEETING OUR CUSTOMER'S NEEDS.
SO WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT BENCH CONTRACTS.
I KNOW WE SAID RFPS, WERE GONNA BE ON THE AGENDA, BUT WE WOULD MAYBE WANNA, UH, TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MASTER AGREEMENTS AND BENCHES, IF THAT'S OKAY.
SO WITH OUR BENCH AGREEMENTS, YOU CAN SEE THE LIST THAT WE HAVE.
IT'S AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE.
MOST OF THE BENCHES HAVE 20, 30, 40, 50 SUPPLIERS ON THE BENCH.
SOME OF THIS INFORMATION CAME ABOUT WHEN WE LEARNED FROM OUR ARE EASY TO DO BUSINESS WITH FORMS, WHAT SOME OF THE PAIN POINTS ARE.
SO I THINK THE THOUGHT PROCESS WAS GREAT.
AND YOU DO ALL OF THE PLANNING IN ADVANCE.
YOU GET THE CONTRACT IN PLACE, YOU FIGURE OUT THE COST.
YOU FIGURE OUT, UM, GET THE INSURANCE, GET EVERYBODY FINGERPRINTED, AND THEN THEY SIT ON THE BENCH.
WELL, THERE'S COST TO GETTING ALL THAT IN PLACE AND THERE'S NO GUARANTEE OF WORK.
AND THEN WHEN WE TAKE A ITEM TO BOARD, WE'RE SAYING, WELL, WE THINK WE'RE GONNA SPEND THIS MUCH, BUT WE DON'T HAVE ANY COMMITMENTS.
AND REALLY NOT A PLAN OF WHO'S GONNA USE WHAT AND WHICH SUPPLIER AND WHAT PRICE.
SO THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE MOST ADVANTAGEOUS APPROACH.
THERE'S DIFFERENT APPROACHES THAT WE CAN TAKE AND THERE'S SOME THAT WE WANNA EXPLORE.
SO I DID HIGHLIGHT THE THOUGHT BEHIND A BENCH IS THAT WE WANTED TO BUILD GREATER FLEXIBILITY AND PROVIDE SCHOOLS AND OFFICES WITH AN EFFICIENT WAY TO PROCURE THE SERVICES THEY NEED.
AND WE THINK THERE IS A DIFFERENT WAY TO DO THAT.
SO THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE'RE EXPLORING, UM, INCORPORATES GETTING AGREEMENTS WITH SUPPLIERS BY QUALIFYING THEM, PUTTING THEM ON A, IN A POOL BASED ON THEIR QUALIFICATION AND THEIR SPECIALTIES.
IT COULD INCORPORATE NOT TO EXCEED PRICING.
IT COULD INCLUDE, UM, THEIR BASKET OF SERVICES, THE REGIONS THAT THEY PREFER TO SUPPORT, UM, THEIR CAPABILITIES, WHETHER THEY CAN DO LARGE GROUPS OR SMALL GROUPS.
SO ALL OF THAT CAN BE PART OF THE QUALIFICATION PROCESS.
AND THEN THEY ARE AVAILABLE TO SELECT IN THE SELECTION.
THERE STILL COULD BE LEVELS OF COMPETITION.
OUR PROCUREMENT CODE ALLOWS US TO SELECT WHEN IT'S LESS THAN THE BID LIMIT, UM, SELECT ONE IF IT'S UP TO $250,000.
THERE COULD BE A LEVEL OF COMPETITION THAT PROCUREMENT COULD MANAGE BY ENSURING THAT THERE'S ROTATION IN SUPPLIERS AND FAIR SELECTION PROCESSES.
AND ONCE A SUPPLIER IS SELECTED, DEPENDING
[00:40:01]
ON THE DOLLAR VALUE, IF IT'S LESS THAN 250,000, IT COULD BE RATIFIED.BUT AT THAT POINT, THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT THE COMMITMENT LOOKS LIKE.
SO THEY CAN NOW GET THEIR INSURANCE IN PLACE.
THEY'LL HAVE THE CONTRACT TO GET THE FINGERPRINTS OR WHATEVER'S NECESSARY TO PROVIDE THE SERVICES.
THEY CAN DO THAT FOR MORE THAN ONE ENTITY.
WE, WE CAN DO THAT WHEN IT'S, UM, REGIONAL OR SCHOOL SPECIFIC.
SO IT DOES GIVE A LOT OF FLEXIBILITY, BUT WHAT IT DOESN'T DO IS COMMIT A SUPPLIER TO WAITING WHEN MAYBE THERE'S NO PHONE CALLS AND THEN THEY'RE ANXIOUS AND EAGER TO MARKET THEIR SERVICES.
UM, SO WE THINK IT IS GONNA CREATE MORE OF A BALANCE.
UM, I BROUGHT UP THE TUTORING SERVICES.
IT'S A 75 PAGE GUIDE, SO THE SCHOOLS HAVE TO SORT THROUGH ALL 75 PAGES THEORETICALLY TO FIGURE OUT WHERE THE DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES ARE.
UM, WE THINK JUST PROVIDING A LIST AND CONTACT INFORMATION AND SOME ORDERING INSTRUCTIONS MIGHT BE THE EASIER APPROACH.
AND I CAN PAUSE IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS ALONG THE WAY, OTHERWISE I'LL JUST CONTINUE TO SHARE.
YEAH, I THINK WE'LL LET YOU FINISH THE PRESENTATION AND DO QUESTIONS AFTER.
UM, SO THE OPPORTUNITIES, OTHER OPPORTUNITIES WE SEE, UM, I USE THE TUTORING BENCH.
IT WAS AUTHORIZED FOR 285 MILLION.
SO THE TUTORING BENCH IS INTERESTING FOR MY VIEWPOINT BECAUSE WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT TUTORING, YOU THINK ABOUT MORE OF THE ONE-ON-ONE RELATIONSHIP.
AND THIS BENCH ALSO INCLUDES, UM, IT SOFTWARE AND DIGITAL TOOLS.
SO IT TALKS ABOUT, UM, SATURDAY AND WEEKENDS AND SUMMERS.
AND THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE CORE OFFERING.
THE CORE OFFERING IS REALLY TUTORING FOR ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE, AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS INDIVIDUALLY OR AS GROUPS.
UM, SO WHEN WE TRY TO THROW EVERYTHING INTO THE, THE BASKET OR THE BENCH, THEN IT SEEMS TO DILUTE ITS APPROPRIATENESS OR YOU'RE PROBABLY GETTING SUCH A MIXED BAG THAT YOU'RE NOT ABLE TO FIGURE OUT THE COMPARISON BETWEEN RATES.
THE OFFERINGS ARE JUST SO DIFFERENT AND SHOWING THE EXPENSES.
SOME VENDORS HAVE HAD ZERO AND SOME HAVE HAD 92 MILLION.
UM, THERE'S STILL SOME VENDORS, SIX SITTING ON THE BENCH THAT HAVE HAD NO FOR SERVICES.
12, LESS THAN A MILLION, A HANDFUL OVER A MILLION, BUT LESS THAN THREE.
UM, THREE OVER 30 MILLION, BUT LESS THAN A HUNDRED MILLION.
SO BIG WIDE RANGES WITH A, THE SCENARIO THAT I SHARED, THE SUPPLIERS WOULD GET QUALIFIED, THEY WOULD BE IDENTIFIED BASED ON THEIR CAPABILITIES.
IT WOULD PROBABLY NOT BE SUCH A MIXED BAG.
IT WOULD PROBABLY BE THAT CORE.
UM, SO WE WOULD UNDERSTAND THE COST OF TUTORING INDIVIDUALS, UM, BY REGION WITH THE ECONOMIES, MAYBE BASED ON GROUP PRICING.
UM, WE WOULD UNDERSTAND IF THEY OFFER SERVICES IN THE SUMMER, THEY WOULDN'T, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE THEIR OWN INDIVIDUAL CATEGORIES.
SO WE THINK IN THOSE KINDS OF IMPROVEMENTS, UM, THE SUPPLIERS ARE GONNA BE ABLE TO OFFER BETTER PRICING.
THEY'RE NOT COMMITTING TO PROVIDING THE INSURANCE AND THE FINGERPRINTS.
OUR TEAM WOULD SEE THE EFFICIENCIES WHEN WE SET UP A BENCH WITH ZERO COMMITMENT.
MOST OF THOSE ORDERS ARE MANAGED IN A SEPARATE EXCEL SPREADSHEET BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO TRACK THE CAPACITY WITH EVERY SINGLE PURCHASE ORDER.
SO IT ALMOST BREEDS ITS OWN INEFFICIENCIES BY TRYING TO, TO KEEP IT SIMPLE AND FLUID.
ONCE THERE'S A COMMITMENT, THAT COMMITMENT IS ENCUMBERED, IT'S IDENTIFIED WHO, WHAT, WHEN, AND THEN THAT PURCHASE ORDER CAN BE DRAWN DOWN AND IT'S GONNA HELP US TO TRACK THE COMMITMENT, UM, A LOT MORE CLEARLY.
SO THE CONTRACTS WOULD EITHER BE RATIFIED OR WOULD HAVE TO COME TO BOARD WITH THE SPECIFICS AROUND THE SCOPE.
SO THERE'S A FEW THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE THIS YEAR TO GET US IN BETTER ALIGNMENT.
UM, THE FIRST QUARTER WE DID AN
[00:45:01]
INVENTORY OF ALL OF OUR CONTRACTS TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET AHEAD OF THE CYCLE TO TRY TO PLAN A YEAR IN ADVANCE.SOME OF THEM WERE STILL MAYBE ABOUT SIX MONTHS AHEAD OF IT, BUT WE'RE DOING BETTER 'CAUSE WE AT LEAST HAVE A FORECAST IN MIND.
UM, WE'VE STRENGTHENED OUR COMPLIANCE AROUND THE CONTRACT CAPACITY.
SO I SHARED VERY TRANSPARENTLY WITH YOU, THERE'S SOME TRACKING ON AN EXCEL SPREADSHEET.
THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT WERE MANAGED THAT MAYBE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ON CONTRACT THAT WERE IDENTIFIED AS OFF CONTRACT, BUT NOW WE'RE SETTING HARD LIMITS ON OUR CONTRACT AROUND THE CAPACITY USING WHAT WE CALL A PARENT-CHILD AGREEMENT.
SO IT'S HELPING US TO MAINTAIN A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHEN WE REACH THE BOARD'S, UM, LIMITS THE LIMITS THAT WERE SET.
AND ANOTHER THING WE'RE PROUD OF IS THAT WE'VE STARTED TO CAPTURE OUR REBATE A LOT BETTER.
SO WE HAD A POINT WHERE WE WERE CAPTURING LESS THAN 50% OF OUR REBATES FROM SUPPLIERS.
THERE'S AN AMA ADMINISTRATIVE FEE THAT'S PAID, UM, WHEN DOING BUSINESS WITH THE DISTRICT, AND WE'RE CAPTURING CLOSER TO 70% OF OUR REBATES NOW.
SO OVER $3 MILLION HAVE BEEN CAPTURED.
UM, IN THE SECOND QUARTER WE STARTED TO ALIGN OUR BUYING STAFF'S ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.
SO DISTINGUISHING WHO CAN BUY WHAT BASED ON THEIR TITLES AND THEIR POSITIONS AND INVENTORY CONTROL, SUPPORT TEAMS SUPPORT WAREHOUSE, NOT CUSTOMER SERVICE AND NOT DOING THE ROLE OF AN ASSISTANT BUYER.
ASSISTANT BUYERS AREN'T DOING WHAT BUYERS DO AND BUYERS AREN'T DOING WHAT CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION ANALYSTS DO.
SO THAT'S WHERE THE ALIGNMENT IS.
UM, WE'VE INCREASED OUR TECHNICAL SUPPORT TO THE SCHOOL, HAVING DROP IN SESSIONS, GOING OUT TO THE SCHOOLS.
OUR TEAM, UH, WAS ON A FEW CALLS THIS WEEK AND WE'VE CLEANED UP OUR TEMPLATES.
SO TEMPLATES USED TO BE HUNDREDS OF PAGES LONG, AND NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT 30 PAGES WITH MORE HYPERLINKS AND, UH, A LOT MORE CLARITY WITHOUT ALL THE BUREAUCRACY EMBEDDED.
AND WE'VE DONE SOME LEADERSHIP TRAINING.
WE'RE SETTING NEW EXPECTATIONS FOR OUR TEAMS AROUND METRICS AND CYCLE TIME.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO DO A LOT TO CHANGE OUR POSTURE AND POSITION.
AND WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO GOING FORWARD IS ENCOURAGING THE THOUGHT PROCESS AROUND TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP.
SO WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE TO GET OUT OF THE CONTRACT? HOW COMPLICATED IS IT GONNA BE? UM, WE ARE GOING TO APPLY THE REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS PROCESS WITH A FEW DIFFERENT OUTCOMES THAT ARE STILL BEING, UM, VETTED THROUGH LEGAL.
OUR TEAM MEMBERS ARE LOOKING AT LEGACY APPROACHES INSTEAD OF JUST USING A COOKIE CUT APPROACH.
WE'RE TRYING TO BE THOUGHTFUL, UM, OFFER DIFFERENT ALTERNATIVES, ASKING MAKE OR BUY DECISIONS.
UM, CAN WE BUY THIS OFF OF A PIGGYBACK AT A RATE THAT'S PROBABLY AS COMPETITIVE? CAN WE BE A LEAD AGENCY OR A LEAD ON A AGREEMENT AND OFFER IT TO OTHER AGENCIES OR OTHER SCHOOLS? WE'RE FACILITATING COMMUNICATIONS.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE QBR, WE'RE GONNA ASK FOR SALES REPORTS, AND WE JUST HAVE A RENEWED FOCUS ON OUR HABITS AND OUR BUYING PATTERNS AND, UM, WE'RE GONNA DO THINGS DIFFERENT.
SO I THINK THAT'S MORE OR LESS THE CONCLUSION AND I'D BE HAPPY TO ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS.
CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN ON YOUR CONTRACT RENEWAL AS WELL TODAY.
I APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT THE, THE TEAM IS DOING TO IMPROVE BASED ON FEEDBACK FROM THE MARKET, FROM INTERNAL DIVISIONS, FROM THE BOARD.
UM, I'LL TURN IT TO MY COLLEAGUES, MAYBE STARTING WITH MY BOARD, BOARD WITH COLLEAGUES FOR ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, IF THERE ARE ANY THAT YOUR LEGAL I DO, I DO.
SO ON THE, UH, AREAS OF OPPORTUNITY, MAKING DATA-DRIVEN DECISIONS BASED ON TRADITIONAL VALUE VOLUMES AND ANTICIPATED FUTURE VOLUMES WHEN POSSIBLE, WHERE YOU GONNA GET THAT DATA FROM? WE HAVE INFORMATION THAT WE'RE CAPTURING FROM OUR PURCHASE ORDER HISTORY AND AT THIS TIME WE HAVE TO GO BACK AND ASK OUR SUPPLIERS FOR SALES REPORTS.
WHEN WE START TO GET THAT INFORMATION QUARTERLY, WE'LL START TO BUILD OR PORTFOLIO OF WHAT WE'RE SPENDING WITH PARTICULAR SUPPLIERS.
[00:50:02]
I, I THINK A, A GOOD THING TO ALSO POINT OUT IS THAT, UM, WE'RE A CUSTOMER, RIGHT? AND, AND WE SHOULD ALSO RELY AND LEAN ON, ON THOSE SUPPLIERS TO PROVIDE DATA TO ADD VALUE TO US AS A CUSTOMER.AND SO A LOT OF THAT DATA SHOULD BE READILY AVAILABLE AND IT HELPS US TO MAKE BETTER DECISIONS.
IF, IF WE'RE BUYING THAT ALREADY, DON'T WE ALREADY HAVE THAT INFORMATION? DON'T WE ALREADY HAVE THAT DATA OURSELVES? SO, I'M SORRY DAVID, I WANNA JUST EXPLAIN THAT NORMALIZING WHAT WE BUY, IF WE BUY FIVE DIFFERENT BRANDS OF PENCILS, THEN IT'S ALL GONNA HAVE DIFFERENT NUMBERS.
BUT IF WE TRY TO STANDARDIZE AND HAVE TWO BRANDS OF PENCILS, ONE THAT'S GOOD AND ONE THAT'S EXCELLENT, THEN THAT HELPS TO STREAMLINE IT.
WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF STANDARDIZATION, SO THERE'S A LOT OF DISPARITY IN THE WAY THAT THE DATA'S CAPTURED WHEN WE START TO BREAK IT DOWN BY THE TYPE OF ITEM AND MAYBE WITH THE VARIATION IS OUTSIDE OF THAT, THAT'S GONNA HELP US TO GET A BETTER PICTURE QUICKER.
SO IT'S, IT'S SETTING THE ORDERING INSTRUCTIONS UP ON THE FRONT END SO THAT WHEN THE INVOICE COMES IN, IT'S INVOICED IN A WAY THAT WE CAN EXTRAPOLATE THAT DATA AND THEN NORMALIZE IT WHEN WE GO OUT TO MARKET THE NEXT TIME.
SO OUR SYSTEM, WE CAN'T REALLY CAPTURE THE ONE ITEM AS FAR AS THE GENERAL HISTORY, BUT AS MATT SAID, CAN'T WE SIMPLY GO BACK TO THAT VENDOR AND SAY, HEY, WHAT HAVE WE BOUGHT FROM YOU FOR THE LAST COUPLE YEARS? THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO PROVIDE US.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO BOTH, TO BE HONEST, WE'LL HAVE TO DO BOTH.
WHY? BECAUSE WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO CREATE, UH, A HISTORY OF OUR BUYING PATTERNS, WHEN WE BUY IT, WHAT WE BUY, HOW MUCH WE BUY, SO THAT WHEN WE GO TO MARKET THE NEXT TIME, WE CAN PATTERN THE PRICE MODEL BASED ON OUR, THE WAY THAT WE INTEND ON BUYING IT.
SO WHAT WE DON'T HAVE CURRENTLY IS ORDERING INSTRUCTIONS AND SPECIFICATIONS ABOUT THE DETAILS.
UM, CAN I OFFER YOU ANOTHER EXAMPLE? SURE.
UM, WE WERE EVALUATING OUR APPROACH TO GETTING LINES PAINTED ON FIELDS AND BASKETBALL COURTS AND PARKING LOTS.
AND I BELIEVE THERE'S REALLY ONLY A FEW DIFFERENT TYPES OF CONFIGURATIONS THAT ARE ALLOWABLE BY OUR STANDARDS.
BUT INSTEAD OF KNOWING HOW MANY BASKETBALL COURTS DID WE HAVE PAINTED AND WHAT WERE THE NUMBERS OF UNIQUE MASCOTS THAT WE REQUESTED AND HOW MUCH WERE THOSE UNIQUE MASCOTS VERSUS JUST THE STANDARD LINES AND HOW MUCH PAINT WAS USED.
THERE WAS A IDEA OF JUST ASKING FOR A MARKUP ON THE MATERIALS AND AN HOURLY RATE ON THE, THE PEOPLE WHO WERE GONNA PERFORM THE SERVICE.
SO WE WERE LOOKING AT GOING TO MARKET IN A MODEL THAT DIDN'T MATCH HOW THE SUPPLIER PACKAGES THEIR SERVICES.
HAVING AN UNDERSTANDING, WE HIGHLIGHTED WHAT WE SAID.
THE PARETO PRINCIPLE IS IF WE KNOW WE USE FOR PAINTING SERVICES, MORE BASKETBALL LINES THAN WE DO PARKING LOTS, THEN MAYBE WE WEIGH THE COST OF OUR BASKETBALL COURT CONFIGURATIONS HIGHER SO THAT WHEN WE EVALUATE THE COST, IT'S JUST NOT CONSIDERED LIKE ONE EACH ONE BASKETBALL COURT, ONE PAINTED LINE.
'CAUSE WE WANNA KNOW WE WE'RE BUYING 500 OF THIS, 200 OF THAT SO THAT IT GETS EVALUATED BASED ON OUR HISTORY OR YOU KNOW, WITH SOME LEVEL OF PREDICTABILITY.
SO I CAN UNDERSTAND POSSIBLY THE, WITH THE LOGOS AND WHATNOT FOR THE DIFFERENT SCHOOLS.
I GET THAT THAT'S GONNA BE SEPARATE.
BUT PAINTING THE LINES AT A SCHOOL IS PAINTING THE LINES AT A SCHOOL.
ALL OF OUR WHAT, 800, 900 PLUS SCHOOLS? YES.
THERE SHOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM THERE.
WE SHOULD HAVE THAT INFO IN ON HAND.
'CAUSE THAT'S BEEN GOING ON SINCE BEFORE I STARTED WORKING FOR THE DISTRICT.
WE SHOULD HAVE THAT DATA READILY AVAILABLE.
THERE SHOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM IN REGARDS TO THOSE TWO PENCILS WE WERE TALKING ABOUT AS AN EXAMPLE.
WHY DON'T WE ALREADY HAVE THAT INFORMATION IF WE'VE BEEN BUYING IT, WE DIDN'T JUST START GETTING THOSE, THEY'RE NOT BRAND NEW ITEMS. WE SHOULD HAVE THAT DATA THERE BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN BUYING IT FOR A FEW DECADES AT LEAST, IF NOT MORE.
THE DISTRICT HAS A HABIT OF BUYING TOWARDS ITS TASTE AND PREFERENCES AND BUDGET AVAILABILITY.
[00:55:01]
ITEMS THAT ARE LIMITED TO GOOD, BETTER, BEST, OR WE ALLOW A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE CHOICES ON TASTE AND PREFERENCE.AND FOR THAT REASON, THERE'S A LOT OF DISPARATE DATA EVEN WITH THAT, WHICH IS FINE.
NORMALIZING IT INTO A LEVEL OF CATEGORY, MAYBE AT A TOP LEVEL OF OFFICE SUPPLY OR MAINTENANCE EQUIPMENT OR SOMETHING THAT GIVES YOU AT LEAST A BASELINE AND THEN YOU START TO BREAK IT DOWN WITH DIFFERENT LEVEL OF DETAIL.
WE MAY NOT NEED EVERY SINGLE DETAIL, BUT WE NEED TO HAVE A BETTER PICTURE.
BUT YOU'RE SAYING WE'RE BUYING THINGS THAT ALMOST LIKE AN, AN OPPORTUNITY WHEN THE WHOLE IDEA OF PROCUREMENT SERVICES TO IS TO DO JUST WHAT YOU SAID, WHICH IS TO GET US THAT BEST VALUE.
SO ARE WE DOING THAT OR NOT? WE'RE GETTING BETTER AT IT.
THAT, SO WE'RE NOT DOING IT OR WE ARE DOING IT OR THAT'S MY QUESTION.
ARE WE DOING THAT OR NOT? ARE WE GETTING THE BEST VALUE FOR THE DISTRICT'S DOLLARS? THAT'S, THAT'S MY QUESTION WITH THE APPROACH THAT WE'RE TAKING.
IS THERE A DIFFERENT APPROACH THAT WE COULD TAKE TO DO BETTER? YES.
MS. ORLAND, WHICH I THINK MAKES SENSE 'CAUSE WE'RE AN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION, WE'RE CONSTANTLY LEARNING AND GETTING BETTER AND I APPRECIATE THAT AND THE CHANGES THAT HAVE BEEN MADE.
SO FIRST OF ALL, HOW MANY EMPLOYEES DO WE HAVE IN PROCUREMENT? I CAN'T SEE.
WE HAVE ROUGHLY A HUNDRED IN PROCUREMENT.
UM, SO THAT, THAT INCLUDES FACILITIES PROCUREMENT AND PROCUREMENT.
THERE'S ANOTHER 200 AND SOME ODD THAT INVOLVE DISTRICT WAREHOUSE TRUCK OPERATIONS, UH, OUR MAIL UNIT, ALL OF THE KIND OF ANCILLARY SERVICES THAT WE OFFER PCARD TRAVEL, ALL THE ABOVE.
I'M PARTICULARLY CURIOUS, UM, ON SLIDE SIX, YOU MENTIONED THE MARKETABLE SCOPE OF WORK AND I CAN IMAGINE THE A HUNDRED OR SO FOLKS THAT ARE WORKING ON THIS MIGHT HAVE SOME EXPERTISE BUT MIGHT ALSO JUST BE GENERALISTS IN SOME AREAS.
AND THIS CAME UP RECENTLY, THE BOARD WROTE A RESOLUTION THAT ASKED FOR AN RFP AND THEN THERE WAS SOME FEEDBACK ON THE COMMUNITY-BASED SAFETY RFP.
SO HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT DEVELOPING A SCOPE OF WORK GIVEN THE EXPERTISE IN PROCUREMENT AND OR LIKE WHERE ELSE WE MIGHT NEED TO GET IT TO BE ABLE TO CRAFT IT IN A WAY THAT IT'S MARKETABLE? I'LL HAVE TO, UM, SHARE A COUPLE OF SCENARIOS, BUT WITH THE COMMUNITY BASED SAFETY, UM, WE TALKED ABOUT WHETHER THIS IS BOUGHT SOMEWHERE OUTSIDE OF L-A-U-S-D.
THAT PARTICULAR SCOPE OF WORK WAS VERY TAILORED TOWARDS L-A-U-S-D SPECIFIC.
HOWEVER, IN MOST SITUATIONS, TUTORING, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, EVEN IT SOLUTIONS THAT'S TYPICALLY BEEN PURCHASED BY ANOTHER SCHOOL DISTRICT, WHETHER IT'S A SMALLER DISTRICT OR ANOTHER MUNICIPALITY.
AND THAT INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE THROUGH, UH, JUST PUBLIC RECORDS.
IT'S OPEN ON THE MARKET AND WE CAN READ THROUGH WHAT THE OTHER SCOPES OF WORK LOOK LIKE, WHAT THE OTHER PROPOSALS LOOK LIKE TO JUST TRY TO MAKE SURE WE'RE MIMICKING AND MIRRORING IN A SENSE THE SAME TYPES OF LANGUAGE THAT THE SUPPLIER COMMUNITY HAS BEEN USED TO WHEN THEY WERE COURTED BY OTHER ENTITIES.
SO THERE SHOULD BE A LEVEL OF MARKET RESEARCH WHEN I SHARED THAT WHEN THERE'S MORE TIME YOU CAN GO TO, UH, CERTIFYING BODIES AND UNDERSTAND WHAT ARE SOME OF THE NUANCES AROUND WHAT THEY'RE TEACHING THE PROFESSIONALS AND HOW TO PACKAGE THEIR SERVICES BACK TO OTHER ENTITIES.
SO IN SHORT MARKET RESEARCH, BUT WHEN IT'S UNIQUE TO L-A-U-S-D, UM, WE HAVE TO RELY ON INTERNAL SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE.
THAT'S ALSO WHAT I WAS WONDERING.
SO HOW MUCH PROCUREMENT KIND OF CONNECTS WITH OTHER DIVISIONS IN, IN THE DISTRICT? YEAH, I THINK WE'RE HEAVILY RELIANT ON SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS SPECIFIC TO WHAT ARE THE SPONSORING DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE ACTUALLY BRINGING WHATEVER THEY WANNA BUY.
AND SO TYPICALLY THAT SCOPE OF WORK OR SPECIFICATIONS ARE DRAFTED ON THAT END AND BROUGHT TO US.
DO YOU WANNA ADD ON? YEAH, I MEAN THIS IS MY BIGGEST QUESTION THAT I THINK THIS ADDRESSES A LITTLE BIT AND MS. ORTIZ FRANKLIN'S GETTING AT, BUT IS THAT HOW DO WE MAKE SURE WE ARE NOT, UM, UNINTENTIONALLY OR INTENTIONALLY NARROWING THE SCOPE IN R OF AN RFP, SO THAT WE ARE EXCLUDING QUALIFIED BIDDERS.
YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES FOR INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES, WE'LL SAY IN THE RFP, LIKE YOU HAVE TO HAVE SERVED A SCHOOL DISTRICT OF OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND STUDENTS.
AND THEN BY THE TIME YOU GET TO THE BOARD, OH, IT WAS AN OPEN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT PROCESS.
WE DID SIMILARLY, THERE WAS SOME PROCUREMENT FOR, UM, LIKE FAMILY ENGAGEMENT SERVICES AND THE RFP REQUIRED TEACHING EXPERIENCE.
NOW, THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN A LEGITIMATE REASON FOR THAT, BUT SOME OF THE BIDDERS WERE LIKE, WELL, IF WE'RE DOING FAMILY ENGAGEMENT, WHY IS TEACHING? AND SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT THE BOARD NEVER HAS INSIGHT IN.
I'VE REALLY BEEN ENCOURAGING THE TEAM AND I APPRECIATE WHEN THEY'VE BEEN DOING IT, SENDING US THE RFPS.
BUT LIKE, HOW DO WE, WHEN MS AND
[01:00:01]
MS. ORTIZ, FRANKLIN'S EXAMPLE, LIKE COMMUNITY BASED SAFETY PROVIDERS, SOMEBODY IN IN THIS BUILDING IS SAYING, WELL, LIKE THEN EVERY PERSON THERE HAS TO HAVE 10 YEARS OF SCHOOL EXPERIENCE.THE COMMITTEE NEVER DISCUSSED THAT.
THE RFP GOES OUT, WE GET 20 BIDDERS, WE SELECT TWO, AND WE'RE TOLD IT WAS A FAIR OPEN PROCESS, BUT THAT FUNNEL WAS TOO LIMITING.
SO WHAT ARE WE DOING TO BROADEN IT AND HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S NOT HAPPENING? THE MARKETS WILL BE LIMITED.
UM, THE MARKETS JUST, JUST DEPENDING ON THE INDUSTRY MAY NOT HAVE A LOT OF PLAYERS THAT CAN MEET THE NEEDS OF THE DISTRICT.
AND OTHER SCENARIOS, THERE SHOULD BE, UM, MULTIPLE SUPPLIERS.
AND WE WANNA, SORRY, MS. GREG, I JUST MEAN WE'RE NOT ABOUT, ONCE WE PUT, LIKE BEFORE WE GO OUT TO MARKET, HOW DO WE MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT, THE REQUIREMENTS ARE NOT OVERLY RESTRICTIVE, THAT WE ARE LIMITING THE POOL BECAUSE WE SHOULD UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE LOOKS LIKE BEFORE WE GO OUT TO MARKET.
WE SHOULD UNDERSTAND IF THERE ARE FIVE SUPPLIERS OR IF THERE ARE 25 SUPPLIERS, AND WE WANNA INVITE THEM AND ALLOW TIME FOR THEM TO RECEIVE THE PROPOSAL ANNOUNCEMENT TO GET REGISTERED IN ARIBA.
SO THAT SHOULD BE PART OF OUR CREATING THE FOUNDATION.
SORRY, JUST IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, IT'S NOT, IT'S REALLY ABOUT LIKE COMMUNITY-BASED SAFETY.
SOMEONE IN THIS BUILDING IS MAKING THE REQUIREMENT THAT YOU HAVE TO HAVE WORKED WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST SCHOOL DISTRICTS OF OVER 20,000 KIDS BEFORE YOU CAN EVEN QUALIFY.
THAT'S DECISION IS NOT IN BOARD RESOLUTION.
THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT THE BOARD DECIDES SOMEBODY IN THIS BUILDING IS DECIDING.
LIKE, AND IT GOES TO YOUR EARLY SLIDE ABOUT THE SOURCING, LIKE, WHAT DO WE NEED TO BUY? AND SO I GUESS IT, IT'S, WITH PENCILS THAT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT, BUT WITH THOSE CONTRACTS, WHETHER IT'S LIKE, HOW ARE WE ENSURING THAT WE'RE NOT LIKE, YOU KNOW, LIKE WHY AREN'T WE BEING AS INCLUSIVE AS POSSIBLE? I, I CERTAINLY THINK THERE'S OPPORTUNITY THERE.
RIGHT? UM, THE, THE DISTRICT HAS HAD A, A LEGACY PROCESS OF MM-HMM
UM, BUILDING NARROW SCOPE IN SOME INSTANCES.
AND, UM, I THINK OVER THE LAST YEAR THERE'S A LOT OF EFFORT TOWARDS REVIEWING THAT SCOPE AND TRYING TO PEEL OUT A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT MAY CAUSE LIMITATIONS.
UM, I THINK THE, THE EVIDENCE IS IN THE NUMBER OF BIDDERS AND PROPOSALS THAT WE'RE STARTING TO SEE, UM, WHICH KIND OF PROVES THE POINT THAT WE'RE, WE'RE MAKING PROGRESS IN THAT LANE.
UM, THERE'S AN EXAMPLE I HAVE, UH, WHERE WE WENT OUT FOR A SOLICITATION THAT REQUIRED SOMEBODY TO DO WORK IN THE BUILDING USING OUR SYSTEMS, UM, AND, AND BASICALLY SUPPLYING A WORK PRODUCT, UM, THAT WAS SOLELY DONE WITHIN THIS FACILITY.
UM, AND AS A RESULT OF THAT, WE, WE'VE ADDED NOT ONLY COST TO THE, TO THE PROPOSAL, UM, WE'VE LIMITED THE COMPETITION TO PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY CAN SHOW UP AT OUR BUILDING PARK HERE AND ACTUALLY DO THE WORK.
UM, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAUGHT REDRAFTED, THE SCOPE WENT BACK OUT AND, AND AS A RESULT THERE'S A TON OF SAVINGS AND WE HAD A TON OF COMPETITION.
UM, CLEARLY THERE'S OTHER OPPORTUNITIES THAT THAT'LL COME ALONG AND WE WANNA BE ABLE TO CATCH THAT.
AND I THINK THE INTENT FOR US, ESPECIALLY IN PROCUREMENT, IS TO CREATE AND DRAFT, UM, SOLICITATIONS THAT ALLOW FOR COMPETITION, THE BEST OPPORTUNITY FOR THE WIDEST RANGE OF FOLKS TO THEN BE ABLE TO DECIDE WITHIN THE DISTRICT WHO'S BEST BASED ON COST QUALITY, ALL THE ABOVE.
UM, AND THAT'S, THAT'S A WORK IN PROGRESS.
UM, BUT I, I, I DO WANT TO ADVOCATE THAT, THAT CLEARLY THE AMOUNT OF COMPETITION THAT WE'VE SEEN OVER THE LAST 12 MONTHS HAS BEEN A LOT BETTER THAN WHAT WE'VE SEEN PREVIOUS TO THAT.
SO, UM, PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE.
UM, TWO OTHER QUICK QUESTIONS FROM ME.
ON SLIDE NINE, THAT'S NOT THE ENTIRE LIST OF BENCH CONTRACTS WE HAVE.
IS THAT JUST A SAMPLING OF CONTRACTS? BEST CON BENCH CONTRACTS? WE HAVE, YES.
I THINK THERE'S ANOTHER GROUP OF BENCH CONTRACTS, BUT YES, THAT'S A SUBSET.
UM, AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION, UH, AND I KNOW WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS A A LITTLE BIT IN THIS COMMITTEE, BUT I'D LOVE TO SEE THE PROCESS FROM THE VENDOR PERSPECTIVE AS WELL.
UM, AND I KNOW YOU'RE DOING THESE WORKSHOPS, SO YOU WANNA WORK WITH LA UNIFIED.
HOW DO YOU DO THAT? BUT YOU WERE MENTIONING WHETHER YOU GO OUT TO FIVE OR 25 VENDORS, UM, LIKE WOULD THEY, SOMEBODY WHO WANTS TO WORK WITH THE DISTRICT, WOULD THEY EVEN KNOW ABOUT ANY OF THESE RFPS HAD THEY NOT ALREADY REGISTERED TO BE A VENDOR? UM, SO SORT OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE FOR THOSE FOLKS, THEIR, THEIR PROCESS THROUGH ALL OF THIS? YES, THERE ARE SOME TRADITIONAL ADVERTISING METHODS.
OF COURSE, THE DAILY JOURNAL IS SOMETHING THAT'S REQUIRED, BUT WE ALSO USE, UH, LACD RAMP AND THEY HAVE A BIG FOLLOWING.
AND THROUGH THE DISCOVERY PLATFORM, IT DOES OPEN IT UP TO OTHER SUPPLIERS THAT ARE PART OF THE ARIBA NETWORK THAT WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE OUR SOLICITATIONS.
BUT WE WOULD LOVE TO COME BACK AND MAYBE MAP IT OUT FROM A SUPPLIER'S PERSPECTIVE.
[01:05:01]
STRATEGY, UM, ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF AGO WAS TO GET OURSELVES OUT AS MANY TYPES OF MEDIA AS WE COULD.UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK MARTHA'S LEFT THE BUILDING, BUT, UM, ONE OF THE ADVOCACY POINTS THAT WE'VE ACTUALLY ASKED FOR IS TO REMOVE THE, UH, PRINT MEDIA COMPONENT OF THE REQUIREMENT IN CODE.
UM, JUST BECAUSE WE, WE DOUBT THAT ANYBODY'S ACTUALLY READING THE DAILY JOURNAL, UH, BUT, YOU KNOW, SOCIAL MEDIA, UM, THE REBA PLATFORM, UM, THE, THE DROP-IN SESSIONS THAT WE HAVE, AS WELL AS A NUMBER OF EVENTS THAT WE'RE HOSTING THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, UH, THE INTENT IS BASICALLY TO GET THE WORD OUT AND GET EXPOSURE WHEREVER AND HOWEVER WE CAN.
I WAS JUST TRYING TO THINK, I SAW THE, UH, L-A-U-S-D PROCUREMENT WEBSITE AT SOME POINT, OR INSTAGRAM.
UM, YOU HAVE 111 POSTS AND 467 FOLLOWERS GROWN A LOT GROWING EVERY DAY.
AND JUST TO TOOT A HOR THAT'S WITHIN THE LAST 12 MONTHS, SO, SO THE, THE PROGRESS IS THERE.
I, UM, LET'S JUST SEE IF THERE ARE OTHERS AND THEN WE'LL GET BACK TO YOU MR. RODRIGUEZ.
MS. CUNNINGHAM OR MS. CUNNINGHAM AND THEN MISS
I DO, I'M A PARENT AND SO I'M NOW 13 YEARS WITH THE DISTRICT, AND I WAS JUST LOOKING AT YOUR LIST ON NINE.
UH, AND UH, I COUNTED NINE OF THOSE CATEGORIES THAT AS A PARENT VOLUNTEER WHO FOCUSED ON FUNDRAISING THAT I ACTIVELY TRIED AND WORKED HARD TO GET AROUND THE REQUIREMENTS THAT CAME FROM THE DISTRICT.
I SAY THAT NOT BECAUSE WHAT YOU'RE DOING IS, OR NOT YOU, BUT COLLECTIVELY THE IDEA THAT WE'RE CREATING EQUITABILITY, THAT, THAT WE'RE GIVING LIKE A, A BOILERPLATE, HEY, YOU WANT THIS PENCIL? HERE YOU GO.
BUT I THINK SO OFTEN IN OUR ATTEMPT TO MAKE EVERYTHING EQUAL, WE HAVE FORGOTTEN THE INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL SITES.
AND MY STOMACH, I WOULD MAYBE STEER AWAY FROM TALKING ABOUT UNIQUE LOGOS AND MASCOTS BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT HELPS TO CREATE THAT COMMUNITY WHERE YOU FEEL COMMITTED, WHERE YOU WANNA STAY KINDERGARTEN THROUGH FIFTH GRADE.
AND IN MY AREA, YOU'RE NOT LIKE, YOU KNOW WHAT, IT'S THIRD GRADE AND I'M GONNA HEAD OVER TO EL SEGUNDO IF I CAN GET IN.
IT'S THOSE TYPES OF EMOTIONAL FEELINGS THAT ARE NOT ABOUT MONEY.
AND IT'S ABOUT THE PRINCIPAL AND THE, THE FAMILIES AND THE TEACHERS ALL COMING TOGETHER TO SAY, HERE'S WHAT OUR SCHOOL IS.
UM, SO THAT I JUST, I JUST WANT, IT'S MORE OF A STATEMENT.
I JUST, THE, THE ONE VOICE ON HERE THAT'S LIKE, MAYBE TRY TO NOT MAKE US WHERE WE ALL HAVE TO USE THIS.
AND I COULD GO DOWN THE LIST OF, OF THINGS, YOU KNOW, RAISING 400 TO 500,000 A YEAR ON WHERE WE SPENT OUR MONEY, BUT DEFINITELY GOING AROUND, UM, AND CHALLENGES THAT PEOPLE HAD TO BE ABLE TO BECOME A, A VENDOR.
ANYWAYS, THAT'S, NO, I APPRECIATE THAT.
UM, CAN I JUST SAY FOR THE LOGO, WE WANNA BE ABLE TO GET IT, GET THE LOGOS UNIQUELY CREATED AT A FAIR PRICE THAT'S NEGOTIATED ON THE FRONT END.
THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT MAYBE WE COULD SACRIFICE A LITTLE PERSONALIZATION, MY FAVORITE PENCIL, BUT YOU KNOW, IN MOST RESPECTS WE WANT TO PROVIDE WHAT THE SCHOOLS NEED IN ORDER TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
THERE WAS ANOTHER EXAMPLE THAT I REMEMBER TOO THAT WAS WEBSITES WHEN WE WERE TRYING TO CENTRALIZE SOME OF THE COSTS AND EVERYONE, EVERYONE WAS LIKE, HERE'S YOUR WEBSITE.
AND YET SCHOOLS HAD BEEN, AND PARENT VOLUNTEERS AND TEACHERS HAD BEEN DOING THE BACKEND FOR A WHILE.
AND WE HEARD FROM A LOT OF MY SCHOOLS AROUND LIKE, WAIT, THIS IS OUR, SO THAT'S WHY I LIKE, MAYBE WELL-INTENTIONED, BUT DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE REALITY ON THE GROUND.
NOW A SINGLE ONE OF MY CHILDREN'S SCHOOL'S WEBSITE IS BETTER AND I, I MEAN THIS WITH LOVE IS BETTER AFTER THEY WENT TO THE MANDATED ONE FROM WHAT IT WAS BEFORE.
IT MIGHT BE CHEAPER, BUT IT'S NOT BETTER.
YOU CAN'T FIND THE INFORMATION.
SO THAT IS, IT WAS IN MY HEAD AND THANK YOU.
NO, THANK YOU TOO, MISS ANY NOEL.
I THINK SOME WAS TOUCHED ON, UM, JUST SOME OF THE EFFORTS TO MAYBE UNBUNDLE SOME OF THE CONTRACTS, UM, TO MAKE IT A LITTLE EASIER FOR OUR SMALL BUSINESSES.
I KNOW THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, AND I KNOW AS WE'RE HERE, IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S ALL DEFINITELY WORK IN PROGRESS HERE.
UM, AND, AND WE ARE GOING INTO THE FOURTH QUARTER.
SO THOSE EFFORTS AND THEN WHEN ADVERTISING ARE WE ABLE TO ADVERTISE IN SOME OF THE ETHNIC PRESS TO BE ABLE TO CAPTURE SOME OF THOSE SMALL BUSINESSES THAT MAY NOT BE, AS YOU SAID IN THE DAILY JOURNAL AS MENTIONED.
I'M NOT SURE IF THAT'S AN EFFORT THERE.
WE LOOKED AT DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES AND PART OF OUR RESEARCH WAS AROUND THE READERSHIP AND WHERE PEOPLE ARE GONNA FIND US.
WE THINK THAT THE SOCIAL MEDIA IS REALLY THE MOST WIDE WAY TO GET THE INFORMATION OUT AND JUST SHARING THROUGH OUR FOLLOWERS AND ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO KNOW WHERE TO FIND US.
I THINK WE WILL GET TO THE POINT ABOUT SHARING OPPORTUNITIES IN THE COMMUNITY.
NEWSPAPER PRINT IS JUST PROBABLY NOT THE PATHWAY IN GENERAL, UM, LONG TERM.
[01:10:01]
COURSE WE'RE TRYING TO BALANCE OUT THE, THE CONTACT WITH THE COST.UM, SO SOCIAL MEDIA IS LIKELY GONNA BE BEST AS WELL AS ONCE A SUPPLIER'S REGISTERED IN ARIBA, THERE IS SOME LEVEL OF, UM, NOTIFICATION THAT THEY'LL RECEIVE.
AND WHEN I SAY ETHNIC GREEN, NOT NECESSARILY THAT IT HAS TO BE PRINT, BUT THERE'S DIFFERENT PRESS THAT THEY DO HAVE ONLINE SERVICES AS WELL.
'CAUSE NOW FOLKS ARE READING THEIR PAPER ONLINE.
UM, YOU KNOW, SOME PEOPLE DO GET THEIR MAIL.
UM, BUT
UM, THE OTHER QUESTION I HAD IS THE BASELINE.
SO AS WE TALK ABOUT THE CHANGES THAT ARE HAPPENING, HAVE WE ALREADY DEVELOPED THE BASELINE THAT WE'RE LOOKING BACK AND SAYING, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT ARE DIFFERENT.
WE'RE SEEING THE IMPROVEMENT HERE AND WE'RE ABLE TO THE POINT THAT WAS MENTIONED HERE, COLLECT THAT DATA.
WE'RE ABLE TO SEE, YOU KNOW, FROM QUARTER ONE TO QUARTER TWO, QUARTER THREE, THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT HAVE CHANGED AND THESE ARE THE GUIDELINES THAT WE'RE USING NOW THAT, YOU KNOW, BEFORE WE DIDN'T HAVE A GUIDELINE.
SOUNDS LIKE THERE WAS A LOT OF NOT HAVING GUIDELINES 'CAUSE THERE'S LIKE A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING, THE BUYING PATTERNS WERE NOT THERE.
SO ARE THERE QUARTERLY REPORTS NOW FOR US TO BE ABLE TO SEE THE TRANSITIONS OR THIS IS NEW LANGUAGE THAT WE'RE PUTTING IN OUR TEMPLATES GOING FORWARD TO START TO REQUEST FOR SALES DATA.
AND WE WERE SEEING A LITTLE BIT OF SUCCESS WITH CONSOLIDATING, UM, AGREEMENTS.
I TALKED ABOUT THE ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE.
WHAT WE'RE STILL CHALLENGED WITH IS THE FACT THAT THE WAY THAT THE FUNDING OCCURS, WE CAN REALLY ONLY HAVE ONE SPONSOR AND ONE SPONSOR.
UM, USUALLY WON'T WANT TO TAKE ON THE COMMITMENT OF GETTING ALL OF THE FUNDING LINES AND BUDGET APPROVALS FOR OTHER TEAMS. SO I THINK THAT'S AN AREA THAT STILL REQUIRES MORE, UM, COORDINATION IN ORDER TO MAKE IT MORE IMPACTFUL.
BUT IT IS STILL, UM, THINGS THAT WE'RE PROGRESSING AND IMPROVING UPON SLOWLY.
SO NOT YET BY THE TIME WE COME BACK NEXT YEAR, WE'LL HAVE SOME GOOD INFORMATION.
UM, AND THEN WITH, I MEAN I APPRECIATE YOU GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY WITH THE MASTER AGREEMENTS HERE ON THE BENCH.
AND THEN WITH THE INFORMATION THAT WAS GIVEN HERE AND THE NUMBERS THAT WERE GIVEN HERE, ARE WE ABLE TO PROJECT SOMETHING FROM THIS? 'CAUSE WE'RE LOOKING AT SOME THAT HAD NONE ON THAT BENCH AND THEN THERE'S SOME THAT UM, YOU KNOW, THREE HAD 30 MILLION BUT LESS THAN A HUNDRED MILLION.
AND WHAT ARE WE SEEING? IS IT THE QUALITY BETTER? ARE WE ABLE TO, TO TAKE INFORMATION FROM THIS SUBSET MM-HMM
UM, I THINK WE COULD MAKE SOME ASSUMPTIONS BASED ON WHAT WE SAW UTILIZED ON THE TUTORING BENCH.
SOME OF THEM MAY NOT BE AS CLEAR.
I WANNA SUGGEST THAT WE CAN BREAK OUT THAT INFORMATION BY REGION AND ALSO WHAT WAS UTILIZED INCLUDING TECHNOLOGY VERSUS THE INTERPERSONAL SERVICES.
SO WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO PROVIDE SOME INFORMATION RELATED TO THAT.
I CAN'T SUGGEST THAT ALL OF THEM WOULD BE ABLE TO BE AS CLEAR TO DISTINGUISH WHAT THE DIFFERENCES ARE TO THE POINT THAT WE WERE SHARING WITH DAVID BECAUSE OF THE WAY THE DATA'S CAPTURED.
IT MAY NOT HAVE THAT LEVEL OF DETAIL THAT GIVES US A BIG PICTURE, BUT WE'RE IMPROVING ON UNDERSTANDING WHAT WE'RE BUYING.
AND THEN WITH OUR PURCHASES, DO WE HAVE GUIDELINES AND REQUIREMENTS THAT WE ONLY PURCHASE WITHIN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA? WE DON'T GO OUTSIDE.
DO WE HAVE THOSE BUYING POWERS? 'CAUSE I KNOW WITH THE COUNTY THEY'RE LIKE, NO, STAY HERE.
SPEND YOUR MONEY WITHIN CALIFORNIA.
YOU'RE NOT BUYING SOMETHING IN TEXAS.
SO DO WE HAVE THAT HERE? ARE THOSE GUIDELINES SPECIFIC? THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE ARE HAVING IS WHEN WE WERE PLANNING TO GO OUT AS A LEAD AGENCY, IT WOULD BE A CALIFORNIA BASED, UH, CONSORTIA.
AND WITH THAT THOUGHT IN MIND, SO IN SOME CASES, YES, WE ALSO ALSO WANNA BALANCE THAT WITH GETTING THE BEST, UM, OPPORTUNITY FOR PRICING AND AVAILABILITY OF PRODUCTS.
SO NOT NECESSARILY, I'M NOT SURE HOW NARROW THAT WOULD LIMIT US ON SOME THINGS, BUT WHERE IT'S POSSIBLE.
IS IT POSSIBLE FOR US TO LOOK AT THE COUNTY IN THAT WAY? I MEAN, I KNOW THEY PROVIDE DIFFERENT SERVICES.
THEY DO HAVE SOME SCHOOLS, BUT TO BE ABLE TO SEE WHERE WE CAN KIND OF KEEP THE DOLLAR HERE AND VERSUS FROM A SUPPLIER THAT'S YES.
UM, I JUST WOULD WANNA ASK ONE AND SOME,
[01:15:01]
UH, SOLICITATIONS, IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO TRY TO EVALUATE BASED ON IT BEING A CALIFORNIA ENTITY, UNLESS WE HAD SOME SUPPORT TO DO THAT.UH, LEGALLY THERE MAY BE SOME CHALLENGES THAT WAY.
WE DON'T WANT TO LIMIT COMPETITION, BUT TO YOUR POINT ABOUT SMALL BUSINESS AND THINGS OF THAT SORT, THERE ARE POINTS ASSOCIATED WITH SCORING WHEN IT'S A SMALL BUSINESS, MAYBE THERE'S A WAY TO IMPACT PROXIMITY WITH SHIPPING AND THINGS OF THAT SORT THAT LEAN MORE TO A LOCAL ENTITY THAT DOESN'T REQUIRE THEM TO BE DOMICILE IN CALIFORNIA.
BECAUSE JUST HAVING AN ADDRESS HERE WHEN THE PRODUCTS COMING FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE DOESN'T REALLY GET TO THE OUTCOME THAT I THINK WE WOULD BE INTENDING.
AND, UH, ON SLIDE NUMBER SEVEN, HOW CAN WE GET THE BEST PRICE, IN PARTICULAR THE CONFIGURE NOT CUSTOMIZED MM-HMM
NOW I'M GONNA USE THIS AS AN EXAMPLE OF THAT.
UH, THE SHADE STRUCTURES, THEY WERE LIKE SO EXPENSIVE BECAUSE SOME OF THEM WERE RIGHT.
THEY WERE LIKE, THIS IS WHAT THE SCHOOL WANTED.
THEY SAID INSTEAD OF, WHY DIDN'T YOU GUYS GET US THE BEST PRICE? WE HAVE A BUNCH OF THEM.
WE'LL PUT 'EM OUT AND ARE WE GONNA GET A, ARE WE GOING TO, IS THAT PROJECT NOT COMPLETED RIGHT? IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT.
AND THERE'S, WE HAD IT ON THE AGENDA AND UPDATE ON THE SHADE STRUCTURE THAT WE MIGHT PUNT UNTIL OUR NEXT MEETING.
BECAUSE WE HAVE ONE MORE PRESENTATION.
BUT YES, IT IS LIKE, AS MS. TOES CAN ALLUDE TO, EVERY TIME WE MEET ABOUT THIS, WE SAY, WHAT ARE THE PROG THE PROGRESS, WELL SHADE STRUCTURES, BUT ALSO, AREN'T WE JUST BUYING ONE? THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.
UM, AS OPPOSED TO EVERY SINGLE ONE.
GETTING IN THAT CASE THEN I GUESS I WANNA OFFER IT AS A CONSIDERATION.
I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD EVER GET TO THE POINT WHERE WE'RE NOT CONSIDERING ALL OPTIONS, BUT IN OUR CONSIDERATION OF OPTIONS, WHAT IS THE BENEFIT OF HAVING THE CUSTOMIZATION? WHAT IS THE COST OF HAVING THE CUSTOMIZATION? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR COMPETITIVENESS? I THINK IT JUST SHOULD JUST BE PART OF THE ACQUISITION PLAN AND NOT SO FIXED AND FIRM THAT WE PAINT OURSELVES IN A BOX.
UM, BECAUSE I'M JUST SAYING, I'M STILL GOT THOSE NUMBERS STUCK IN MY HEAD ABOUT THE OKAY.
AND IT WAS, YOU KNOW, OH, WE, WE DO TOO, DAVID.
UM, BUT I MEAN, IF I CAN SEE HOW THAT WOULD, SOMETHING LIKE THAT COULD BE A A ONE SIZE FITS ALL.
I, I THINK BECAUSE MOST, MOST PLAYGROUND STRUCTURES ARE GONNA BE PRETTY MUCH A, A SET NUMBER OF SQUARE FOOTAGE OR WHATEVER IT IS, AND THOSE SAME THING, THE SHADES GONNA BE PROVIDING THE SAME AMOUNT OF, RATHER THAN, YOU KNOW, ALMOST A HALF A MILLION DOLLARS.
THANK YOU FOR PREVIEWING WHAT WILL BE A PRESENTATION MAYBE IN MAY ON THAT.
UM, I, I KNOW WHAT MS. TOES WOULD SAY TOO IS THAT MOST OF THAT IS IN THE INSTALLATION AND, UM, LIQUIFACTION AND ALL THESE THINGS,
UM, MA JUST JUST TO REITERATE, THANK YOU FOR THIS.
SO I DO THINK EXPANDING THE, I MEAN, THE INCREASED NUMBER OF BIDDERS I THINK IS PROOF OF THE, UH, MORE INCLUSIVE SCOPE.
AND SO I'M GLAD WE'RE TRACKING THAT.
I KNOW WE ARE WITH FACILITIES, SOME OF MY BIG MODERNIZATION PROJECTS, WE HAD TWO BIDDERS, UM, REALLY NOT COMPETITION THERE.
I KNOW WE'RE WORKING TO INCREASE THAT.
WE'LL TALK MORE ABOUT FACILITIES PROCUREMENT IN MAY, BUT THAT SEEMS TO BE SOMETHING WE'RE TRACKING NOW.
UM, I, I STILL HAVE QUESTIONS AND MAYBE AS FOLLOW UPS, WE CAN TALK ABOUT HOW THINGS GO FROM LIKE BOARD LEVEL DISCUSSION OF WHAT IT NEEDS TO BE PROCURED TO HOW IT GETS PROCURED.
I THINK AN EXAMPLE I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT CHICKEN, UM, CONTRACTS BECAUSE WHEN WE'VE BEEN HEARING FOR MONTHS ABOUT LIKE, OH, WE HAVE TO SPEND SO MUCH ON CONTRACTS AND OUR BIGGEST CONTRACTS ARE FACILITIES, CONSTRUCTION, AND THEN THINGS LIKE CHICKEN.
BUT WITH CHICKEN, YOU KNOW, THE, THE BOARD MIGHT SAY THINGS LIKE ANTIBIOTIC FREE, BUT LIKE THEN SOMEBODY IN FOOD SERVICES IS DECIDING IT'S FREE RANGE OR NOT FREE RANGE.
AND IF WE SAY FREE RANGE, WE'RE LIMITING THE POOL.
UM, AND THERE, BUT THAT MIGHT BE WHAT THE BOARD WANTS.
AND THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO DO THINGS LIKE, UM, AWARD MORE POINTS.
I MEAN, SO I, I JUST AGAIN, LIKE FIGURING OUT HOW WHEN WE'RE UP HERE AND WE SAY PROCURE CHICKEN, UM, AND THEN DOWN THERE WE FIND OUT THAT LIKE, OH, WE ONLY HAD TWO BIDDERS BECAUSE WE SAID IT MUST BE FREE RANGE ONLY MADE IN INGLEWOOD WHATEVER, WHATEVER.
UM, THE OTHER THING THAT I'LL MENTION IS THAT, UM, THE, THE OTHER CHALLENGE WITH THE BENCHES THAT WE'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT I REFER TO AS THE MATCHMAKING BETWEEN VENDOR AND SCHOOL AND YOU GET ON A BENCH, AND THIS HAPPENED WITH TUTORING.
AND THEN THE, THE COMPANIES DON'T NECESSARILY KNOW THAT THEY CAN REACH OUT TO THE SCHOOLS.
THE SCHOOLS THAT KNOW THAT THEY CAN REACH OUT TO THE COMPANIES.
MANY TIMES WHEN FOLKS REACH OUT TO BOARD OFFICES, WE ARE THEN TOLD USUALLY BY PROCUREMENT OR THE OFFICE OF GENERAL COUNSEL, LIKE, YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO TALK TO THEM, THEY CAN'T CONTACT SCHOOLS.
AND THEN IT'S NOT A SURPRISE THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE ON THIS BENCH.
SO, UM, MAYBE YOU COULD JUST BRIEFLY ADDRESS THAT, BUT LIKE, ONCE YOU'RE ON THE, LET'S JUST SAY TUTORING BENCH, HOW DOES, UM, YOU KNOW, VENICE HIGH SCHOOL, UH, NOW KNOW, GREAT, THESE ARE THE 50 PROVIDERS THAT WE HAVE.
UM, AND HOW DOES THE PRO, HOW DO THE PROVIDERS
[01:20:01]
KNOW? LIKE VENICE HIGH SCHOOL IS A SCHOOL THAT NOW HAS TUTORING MONEY, LIKE HOW DO YOU GET THERE? SO HOW DO WE MAKE THOSE MATCHES? UM, TUTORING'S PROBABLY INTERESTING JUST BECAUSE IT, IT'S MANAGED VIA OUR DIVISION OF INSTRUCTION, ESPECIALLY AROUND THE ELOP FUNDING.AND SO ESSENTIALLY THAT'S A COMPONENT OF THE EQUATION WHERE SCHOOLS ARE ACTUALLY, UH, WORKING ALONGSIDE DOI TO, UH, ISSUE PURCHASE ORDERS AGAINST TUTORING.
UM, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WANT TO ADDRESS SPECIFICALLY AROUND THE RF QS IS THAT AS LONG AS YOU QUALIFY ACROSS A SET CRITERIA, UH, QUALIFICATIONS, UM, THAT CAN BE ACROSS THE DISTRICT.
SO A, UM, A SUPPLIER OR A BUSINESS THAT'S LOCATED IN THE WEST THAT MAY BE SERVICING ONE OR TWO SCHOOLS THAT QUALIFIES ON THIS, UM, THIS RFQ HAS THE ABILITY TO, TO GET WORK OR A CONTRACT ACROSS SET CRITERIA THAT THAT'S PERFORMED.
UH, AND WHEN IT COMES TO BOARD, UH, FOR THE BOARD'S APPROVAL, THEY'RE ACTUALLY SEEING THE WORK SPECIFIC TO WHATEVER THAT CONTRACT IS ASSOCIATED WITH.
UM, SO IT'S, I THINK IT'S A HYBRID OF WHAT OUR CURRENT BENCH PROCESS IS, BUT THERE'S MORE VISIBILITY AND IT'S SPECIFICALLY AROUND THE PROJECT OR THE WORK THAT THAT'S ACTUALLY COMING FORWARD WITH A CONTRACT TO ALLOW FOR THE BOARD'S VISIBILITY INTO WHAT THE WORK IS.
BUT I GUESS, I MEAN, WELL, TO STICK WITH TUTORING, IF YOU'RE A TUTORING PROVIDER THAT'S ON THE BENCH, ARE YOU ALLOWED TO MARKET YOURSELF TO SCHOOLS AND NOW REACH OUT JUST COLD EMAIL PRINCIPALS AND SAY, WE'RE ON THE TUTORING BENCH, LIKE SELECT US? DOES DOI SAY LIKE, BASED ON GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION, LIKE HERE ARE THE FOUR.
LIKE HOW DOES THAT MATCH DO WORK? WELL, CAN I JUST SPEAK TO THE FACT THAT ON OUR WEBSITE WE PROVIDE WHAT WE CALL THIS GUIDE THAT'S EASY TO USE.
WHAT SUPPLIERS WOULD LIKE TO DO IS TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO MORE LIKE A MATCHMAKING SESSION, REVERSE TRADE SHOW TYPE THING WHERE THEY'RE AVAILABLE TO SHOW WHAT THEY HAVE TO THE PRINCIPALS COORDINATING.
THAT IS SOMETHING THAT'S STILL BEING ENVISIONED.
UM, BUT, AND WHEN, WHEN THEY REACH OUT, APOLOGIZE, IT'S, WE DON'T CONSIDER THAT TO BE THE MOST EFFECTIVE APPROACH BECAUSE GETTING A PRINCIPAL'S ATTENTION OR THE PERSON WHO'S THE DECISION MAKER, THEIR ATTENTION IS DILUTED WITH ALL OF THEIR OTHER COMMITMENTS.
SO WE DON'T ENCOURAGE IT, BUT WE DON'T SAY THAT IT'S NOT ALLOWED.
BUT I GUESS LIKE TAKING THE TUTORING EXAMPLE, WE HAVE ZERO, WE HAVE SIX PROVIDERS WHO HAD NO WORK.
SO IS THAT BECAUSE SOMEONE IN THIS BUILDING DIDN'T MATCH THEM TO A SCHOOL? IS THAT BECAUSE A PRINCIPAL KNEW THAT THEY COULD SELECT THEM BUT DIDN'T CHOOSE THEM? I DON'T BELIEVE SO.
THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THAT PARTICULAR BENCH SUGGEST THAT THE COORDINATION IS BETWEEN THE, THE SCHOOL AND THE COMPANY.
UM, IT COULD BE THAT THEY WERE ADDED TO A BENCH, BUT MAYBE FOR SUMMER.
AND, YOU KNOW, SO I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE SPECIFICS WERE THAT DIDN'T COORDINATE WITH WHAT THE NEED IS, BECAUSE I THINK THAT YOU'RE, WHAT YOU, THE CONCERN ABOUT PRINCIPLES BEING OVERWHELMED IS ALSO WHAT WE HEAR FROM SOME OF THE VENDORS, WHICH IS LIKE, NO ONE'S GETTING BACK TO US, BUT THEY DON'T KNOW WHERE, AND THEN THEY'RE TOLD, OH, YOU CAN'T, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE YOU'RE, THERE'S A CONE OF SILENCE OR THEN YOU HAVE TO GET ON THE BENCH AND THEN THEY GET ON THE BENCH.
SO I STILL, YOU KNOW, I WANNA BE COGNIZANT OF TIME, BUT I'M STILL UNCLEAR EVEN AFTER THIS BACK AND FORTH AROUND LIKE HOW, YOU KNOW, FOR ALL THESE BENCHES, LIKE ARTS FOR EXAMPLE, HOW ONCE YOU'RE ON THE BENCH, YOU'RE AWARE OF WHERE YOU CAN GET WORK AND WHERE SCHOOL AND HOW SCHOOLS KNOW HOW TO SELECT YOU.
OUR THOUGHTS ARE FOR THE SUPPLIERS TO BE SO EAGER IS BECAUSE WE'VE PUT THEM THROUGH A LOT OF, NOT SCRUTINY, BUT PROCESSES, GET FINGERPRINTED, GET YOUR CERTIFICATE OF INSURANCE AND HAVE YOUR WEBSITE UP AND BE IN ARIBA.
AND YOU KNOW, SO WE'VE ASKED THEM TO DO A LOT TO NOT HAVE A COMMITMENT, UM, WITHOUT HAVING THE COMMITMENT.
THEN THE REQUIREMENTS IN ADVANCE ARE LESS, AND IT IS AN OPPORTUNITY ONCE IT GETS SELECTED, NOW THEY'RE MAKING THE INVESTMENT.
I THINK THE EAGERNESS, IF I CAN JUST REPEAT THAT, IS BECAUSE WE'VE HAD THEM COMMIT TO US AND WE HAVEN'T COMMITTED TO THEM.
AND I'M NOT SUGGESTING THAT EAGERNESS IS A BAD THING.
I'M JUST ASKING LIKE WHEN THEY WENT THROUGH THAT PROCESS, THEY'RE OFTEN ON AN ISLAND WHERE THEY'RE LIKE, OKAY, NOW WHAT? AND THEY WAIT.
UM, AND, AND SCHOOLS AREN'T AWARE.
SO WE WILL GET SOME FOLLOW UP.
SO I WAS GONNA ASK, IS THERE LIKE A CATALOG OR SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN GO TO AND SAY, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW, THEY HAVE A RATING.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT, WHAT, IS THERE AVAILABLE OR CAN WE CREATE FOR THEM ONCE THEY'RE ON THE BENCH SO FOLKS CAN SEE, YOU KNOW, THEY CAN LOOK AT A SYNOPSIS OF WHAT THEY DO, AND SO IS THAT AVAILABLE OR NOT? SO NOTHING IS AVAILABLE FOR THE SCHOOL SITES TO REVIEW.
[01:25:01]
IT IS AVAILABLE, IT'S ON OUR WEBSITE.IT'S A GUIDE THAT'S 75 PAGES LONG.
IT COULD BE EASIER, BUT WE KNOW EASIER.
THERE IS, THERE IS A TOOL, BUT IT COULD BE EASIER.
AND I THINK THAT'S THE GOAL THAT WE'RE TRYING TO FIND THINGS THAT ARE, I MEAN, THE LAST SLIDE YOU JUST PUT UP, I THINK, WHAT WAS THE LAST SLIDE?
EASY UHHUH,
I MEAN, THE DISTRICT HAS BEEN, AND WE'RE TRYING TO CHANGE THIS NARRATIVE OF HARD TO WORK WITH.
I MEAN, AND IT'S QUITE EMBARRASSING WHEN YOU GO INTO THE PUBLIC AND YOU'RE LIKE, OH,
AND THEY'RE LIKE, OH, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE LIKE, WOW.
AND YOU TAKE THAT OFTEN BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE DO.
WE'RE OUT THERE AND FOLKS ARE LIKE, YEAH, I WANNA WORK WITH Y'ALL.
I JUST WANT, YOU KNOW, AND IT'S NOT A GOOD FEELING.
AND I KNOW THIS IS A PROCESS AND THAT'S WHY I'M ASKING, WHAT ARE WE DOING PHASE ONE, QUARTER ONE, QUARTER TWO, QUARTER THREE NOW FOURTH QUARTER TO BE ABLE TO GET TO THAT PAGE, RIGHT? TO BE ABLE WHERE IT'S EASY.
I'M NOT SAYING THAT WE LOWER OUR STANDARDS, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, IF WE'RE GONNA BE A PARTNER IN THIS AND WE'RE WORKING TOGETHER TO PROVIDE FOR OUR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES THAT WE'RE DOING OUR BEST TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN.
AND AS YOU MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, IT COULD BE EASIER THAN, I MEAN, WHAT, WHAT ARE WE DOING TO MAKE IT EASIER? SO THAT'S PROBABLY THE NEXT STEP, RIGHT? YES.
IT'S THE COLLABORATION, IT'S THE COORDINATION AND IT'S THE CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE HAVING WITH THE SUPPLIERS AND WITH YOU, AND WE'RE TAKING IT BACK AND WE'RE APPLYING OUR LESSONS LEARNED.
UH, GOING BACK TO SLIDE NINE, THE, UH, MASTER AGREEMENTS.
IS THAT THE TOTAL LIST OF, UH, IT'S LARGER.
THERE WERE PARTNERS FOR STUDENT SUCCESS AND THEY HAD A LIST.
BUT, UM, JUST FOR TIME AND TO REFLECT ON THE VARIATION, UM, I JUST CHOSE THAT SUBSET.
SO WE HAVE PHOTOGRAPHERS AND THEN WE HAD YEARBOOKS AND YOU KNOW, THERE'S SOME OVERLAP AND THERE'S SOME THAT ARE PROBABLY TOO BROAD AND SOME THAT ARE TOO SPECIFIC.
SO IT WAS JUST MORE FOR ILLUSTRATION.
WOULD, WOULD ANY OF THIS, UH, BE CONSIDERED LOCAL 99 WORK? AND IF SO, WILL THAT BE PART OF THE TASK FORCE WOULD BE INVOLVED IN THAT? I WANNA SUGGEST THAT GOING FORWARD THAT HAS TO BE CONSIDERED.
AND, UH, MR. FRIEDMAN, IT'S, UH, MORE, MORE TO COME.
I THINK WE HAVE SOME FOLLOW UP, PARTICULARLY HELPFUL QUESTIONS AROUND THE BENCHES TOO, AND MAKING IT EASIER FOR SCHOOLS.
[II.2. Discussion of Proposed Facilities Procurement Delegation of Authority]
WANT TO QUICKLY JUST CONNECT, UH, OR, UM, DISCUSS THE DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY, GIVEN THAT THE BOARD KIND OF REFERRED IT TO THE COMMITTEE.UM, WE ARE GONNA PUNT ON THE SHADE, UM, CONVERSATION UNTIL MAY.
UM, AND WE HAVE PUBLIC SPEAKERS, BUT, UH, THERE'S NOT A PRESENTATION FOR THIS, UM, ITEM, BUT I'M GOING TO AND SAY A MINUTE OR TWO OF, UH, INTRODUCING INTRODUCTION AND THEN TURN OVER TO MR. FRIEDMAN AND THEN REALLY JUST GET THE BOARD'S OR THE COMMITTEE'S FEEDBACK.
UM, BUT THE BOARD DELEGATES AUTHORITY TO THE SUPERINTENDENT IN VARIOUS WAYS AND FOR VARIOUS REASONS.
UM, AND PERIODICALLY THE BOARD UPDATES OR CHANGES THAT DELEGATION.
UM, AND I THINK THERE ARE A COUPLE DOZEN, UH, SUCH FORMAL DELEGATIONS OF AUTHORITY, AND MANY OF THEM HAVE TO DO WITH PROCUREMENT PROCESSES SUCH THAT THE WORK OF THE DISTRICT CAN HAPPEN WITHOUT BOARD APPROVAL AND EVERYTHING.
UM, I, I THINK IN GENERAL, THE DELEGATIONS ARE RIPE FOR GLOBAL REVIEW, AND I THINK WE SHOULD BE DOING MORE OF THAT.
UM, BUT WHEN I LEARNED THAT FACILITIES WAS LOOKING FOR SOME UPDATED DELEGATION, I WANTED THIS COMMITTEE TO REVIEW IT, UM, PER OUR CHARGE TO MAKE SURE IT SERVES THE NEEDS OF, OF KIDS IN THE DISTRICT.
UH, AND SO I'M GONNA ASK MATT TO EXPLAIN THE REQUEST WITH ANY CLARIFICATION NEEDED FROM MS. TOS.
AND THEN JUST GIVE FOLKS ON THE COMMITTEE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ASK QUESTIONS OR SHARE THOUGHTS, UM, BEFORE WE CONCLUDE IN A FEW MINUTES.
SO MR. FRIEDMAN, THANK YOU, YOU, SO THE, THE REQUEST IS ESSENTIALLY TO INCREASE THE, THE DELEGATED AUTHORITY FROM 85 MILLION TO 145 MILLION ACROSS FACILITIES, CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.
UM, AND SO IF YOU GO BACK TO 2015, I BELIEVE WAS THE LAST TIME THAT THIS NUMBER WAS LOOKED AT, UM, THE, THE BOARD GAVE THAT DELEGATION TO, UH, PROCUREMENT TO ACTUALLY EXECUTE AGREEMENTS.
UM, SO IF YOU LOOK AT COST ESCALATION FROM 2015 TO TODAY, 10 YEARS, UM, THAT ESSENTIALLY EQUATES TO WHAT THE ASK IS.
UM, THE, THE REASON THAT WE'RE BRINGING IT FORWARD IS ESSENTIALLY, UM, A NUMBER OF AREAS THAT, THAT WE CAN CONTROL.
UM, AND ONE OF THAT, THOSE AS, UM, MS. TOS HAS, UH, PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED IS THE SAUSAGE MAKING ON THE BACK END.
UM, SO AFTER A CONTRACT'S ACTUALLY AWARDED, UM, THERE'S A ROUGHLY 45 TO 60 DAY TIME PERIOD WHERE THE AWARD GOES THROUGH KIND OF A, A VETTING PROCESS INTERNALLY WITHIN THE DISTRICT TO THEN COME ACTUALLY ONTO A BOARD REPORT.
AND SO BY DOING THIS, OR ALLOWING,
[01:30:01]
UM, US TO INCREASE IT TO 145 MILLION, THAT ALLOWS US TO MOVE FASTER ON PROJECTS GOING UP TO THAT, THAT THRESHOLD ESSENTIALLY.AND I'LL NOTE THE COMMITTEE HAS THE BOARD REPORT AND THE LANGUAGE IN, IN FRONT OF YOU.
SO CURIOUS IF FOLKS HAVE YEAH, MS. ORTIZ FRANKLIN.
WHEN THIS WAS ON OUR BOARD MATERIALS, I HAD SOME CONCERNS DURING BRIEFING THAT MS. HOS, UM, YOU KNOW, CALMED MY NERVES ABOUT, WHICH IS THAT THE BOARD WOULD SEE THESE PROJECTS ON THE FRONT END AT LEAST ONCE, IT SOUNDED LIKE MAYBE EVEN TWICE WE SEE THE PROJECTS.
UM, SO IT'S NOT LIKE THE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE COMMUNITY'S GOING OUT FOR $140 MILLION WORTH OF PROJECTS THAT HAVEN'T BEEN SUNSHINE BEFORE THE PUBLIC.
UM, SO THAT, YOU KNOW, WAS COMFORTING THAT THE BOARD IS SEEING THIS TWICE AND IT'S REALLY JUST SHORTENING, UM, THE MOVEMENT ON THESE PROJECTS BY A COUPLE OF MONTHS.
UM, AND ALSO THAT IT'S ACTUALLY NOT THAT MANY PROJECTS.
I THINK WE HAD HEARD IT WAS MAYBE 14 PROJECTS OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS JUST BECAUSE OF THE LARGE SCALE.
UM, SO I, UH, I DIDN'T ACTUALLY KNOW THAT THIS WAS COMING TO COMMITTEE, UM, UNTIL I SAW THIS ON THE AGENDA, UM, BECAUSE I WAS SUPPORTIVE AND I DIDN'T KNOW IF THERE WERE OTHER CONCERNS AS TO, YOU KNOW, WHY THE FULL BOARD WASN'T SUPPORTIVE AT THE TIME.
UM, BUT I CAN JUST SAY THAT MY CONCERNS WERE ADDRESSED THROUGH BRIEFING AND I WAS READY TO SUPPORT IT.
MS. ORTIZ, FRANKLIN, OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? I, I GUESS AS FOLKS ARE LOOKING AT IT, ONE QUESTION.
SO GIVEN THAT THE BOARD MEETS MONTHLY, UM, THE EXPLAIN, SO WHAT MS. ORTIZ FRANKLIN WAS SAYING IS THAT THE BOARD HAS TO INITIALLY AUTHORIZE THE ALLY OF, OF LIKE A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS FOR THIS PROJECT, UM, OR $150 MILLION FOR THE PROJECT BEFORE YOU START DOING THIS WORK.
THAT WOULD BE UNDER THE DELEGATED AUTHORITY, BUT IF THIS WERE NOT TO BE GRANTED, HELP EXPLAIN THE DELAY.
IS IT, YOU WERE MENTIONING MR. FREEMAN FROM KIND OF THE AWARD OF THE CONTRACT TO THE VETTING BEFORE THE BOARD, BUT LIKE, AM I WRONG IN ASSUMING THAT IT'S JUST A 30 DAY DELAY GIVEN THAT THE BOARD MEETS EVERY MONTH, TWO TO FOUR MONTHS? YEAH, SO THERE'S, THERE'S, UM, DOCUMENT CUTOFFS INTERNALLY WHERE REVIEWS GO THROUGH.
UM, SO IF YOU DON'T HIT THAT CUTOFF TIME OR AWARD OR CONTRACT, UM, AND ACTUALLY MAKE IT TO THE, THE DOCUMENT PREPARATION POINT, IT'S GONNA, UM, MOVE OVER TO THE NEXT BOARD MEETING.
SO THERE'S THAT LIKE 45 TO 60 DAY TIMEFRAME.
UM, AND IT'S REALLY INTERNAL KIND OF REVIEW ACROSS A NUMBER OF THINGS GOING ON WITHIN BOARD DOCUMENTS.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, IF I LOOKED AT IT HOLISTICALLY, THESE ARE THINGS THAT WE CAN CONTROL AS A DISTRICT TO MOVE THINGS FASTER AND AS A RESULT, UM, THE REASON WE'RE BRINGING IT FORWARD.
CAN YOU EXPLAIN, I MEAN, SO THESE ARE INTERNAL PROCESSES AND MAYBE IT'S FROM MS TOES, BUT I GUESS THE, UM, THE IDEA IS THAT YOU ARE IN THOSE, I I GUESS THE IDEA IS THAT IN THOSE 45 TO 60 DAYS, YOU ARE DOING INTERNAL VETTING TO MAKE SURE THAT IT IS A, LIKE THAT THE, LIKE, I GUESS WHAT I'M TRYING TO ARTICULATE IS LIKE, IF WE GRANT THIS AUTHORITY AND THEN YOU DO THAT VETTING AND THEN IT COMES BACK AND THERE WAS A MISTAKE, LIKE WHAT'S, WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THAT 45 TO 60 DAYS? LIKE WHAT MAKES THIS MATERIAL AS A DELAY? MAYBE THE, THE WORD VETTING IS PROBABLY NOT THE RIGHT WORD TO USE.
UM, THE, THE PROCESS BY WHICH, UH, THE AWARDS GO THROUGH A, UH, DOCUMENT REVIEW PROCESS WITHIN THE DISTRICT, UM, NOT NECESSARILY VETTING OF THE CONTRACT THAT'S DONE PRIOR TO ACTUALLY AWARDING.
SO THE, THE, THE WORD VETTING IS, IS PROBABLY NOT THE RIGHT WORD, BUT IT'S, IT'S MORE ABOUT THE, I DON'T WANNA SAY BECAUSE I USE BUREAUCRACY PEJORATIVELY USUALLY, USUALLY, BUT LIKE THE BUREAUCRATIC PROCESS THAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO GET BEFORE THE BOARD, THERE'S NOT ANYTHING SUBSTANTIVE REALLY THAT HAPPENS THERE, BUT YOU HAVE TO DO IT.
AND IF WE DELAY ON THE DELEGATION, THEN IT JUST SLOWS DOWN THE PROJECTS.
I THINK IT'S, IT'S INFORMING THE, THE ENTIRETY OF THE DISTRICT TO BE ABLE TO BE PREPARED TO HAVE THOSE CON CONVERSATIONS AT A BOARD MEETING.
UM, AND COMING, YOU KNOW, COMING FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR, I WOULD PROBABLY USE THAT WORD AS WELL, UH, AROUND
UH, BUT, BUT I THINK IT'S ALSO A, A FAIR CONVERSATION AS FAR AS BEING ABLE TO HAVE EVERYBODY AWARE OF WHAT'S GOING ON.
DID YOU WANNA CHIME IN? YEAH, I, I'LL JUST ADD IT'S, UM, IT'S NOT IN THE VETTING OF THE CONTENT OF THE, UM, PROPOSAL THAT IS ALL DONE.
UM, AT THE TIME OF SELECTION, IT'S REALLY ALL THE REVIEWS IN GETTING A BOARD DOCUMENT TO THE BOARD.
SO THERE'S A NUMBER OF SIGN-OFFS THAT OCCUR, AND EVERY BOARD REPORT YOU SEE AT LEAST SEVEN SIGNATURES, EACH OF THOSE DEPARTMENTS HAVE TO HAVE TIME TO REVIEW, UM, TO SIGN IT.
SO IT IS A BUREAUCRATIC PROCESS.
I KNOW YOU'VE COMPARED US TO, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR PRIVATE SCHOOL COMPETITORS WHO ARE WORKING ON THE PALISADES.
THEY DO NOT HAVE TO GO THROUGH A PROCESS OF GETTING A BOARD REPORT, YOU KNOW, SIGNED, REVIEWED BY SEVEN DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, ENTITIES TO THEN GET IT INTO REGISTRAR TO THEN GET IT TO THE SUPERINTENDENT TO THEN GET IT TO A BOARD BRIEFING.
SO I JUST WANTED TO ASSURE YOU, IT'S NOT THE, UM, QUALITY OF THE CONTENT THAT'S BEING DEBATED, IT'S JUST THE SAUSAGE MAKING OF BRINGING AN ITEM TO THE BOARD.
AND THERE ARE VARIOUS DEADLINES YOU
[01:35:01]
HAVE TO MEET IN ORDER FOR THOSE, UM, TO AGENDA SOMETHING TO GO TO THE BOARD, MS AND NOEL AND THEN MR. RODRIGUEZ.AND SO THE INCREASED AUTHORITY MAKES THIS FASTER.
YEAH, SO WHAT WE'RE SIMPLY DOING IS WE'RE SAYING THAT APPROXIMATELY 10 YEARS AGO, UM, THERE WAS A DELEGATION THAT WAS GIVEN TO, UM, CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER THAT BASICALLY SAID FOR ALL PROJECTS THAT WERE UNDER 85 MILLION AND UNDER, UM, THAT WE COULD MOVE FORWARD WITH NT PING THE CONTRACT AND THAT THE CONTRACT WOULD BE BROUGHT TO THE BOARD FOR RATIFICATION.
SO THE BOARD STILL SEES IT, THEY STILL HAVE TO RATIFY IT, BUT IT WAS A WAY TO EXPEDITE PROJECTS SO THAT YOU WEREN'T CAUGHT IN THE MINUTIA OF EVERY SINGLE CONTRACT BEING BROUGHT TO THE BOARD.
UNFORTUNATELY, $85 MILLION 10 YEARS AGO IS NOW $145 MILLION TODAY.
THAT'S JUST THE CONSTRUCTION COST ESCALATION OVER 10 YEARS.
THAT IS DETERMINED BY THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, UM, OVER AN INDEX THAT THEY PUT TOGETHER.
SO WE'RE JUST ASKING TO BE KIND OF BROUGHT UP TO, TO TODAY'S VALUE OF $85 MILLION IS 145.
SO WE'RE KEEPING THE SAME SPIRIT OF 10 YEARS AGO.
WE'RE JUST REFLECTING TODAY'S COSTS.
AND SO IF WE HAD TO GIVE AN EXAMPLE TO SAY OUTTA 20 PROJECTS, RIGHT? 20 OF THOSE PROJECTS THAT ARE NOW AT THE TODAY'S PRICES MM-HMM
WOULD HAVE TO WAIT, IS THAT WHAT IT IS? BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE TODAY'S PRICES AS THE AUTHORIZATION.
SO WE'VE HAD, AND IT'S NOT A LOT, UM, BUT THERE IS A SWEETS POINT.
SO ANY PROJECT THAT IS BETWEEN THE ESSENTIALLY 85 AND 145, OF WHICH THERE WERE 14 OR 10, I HAVE 14.
SO 14 IN THE LAST 10 YEARS, NOT A LOT.
UM, ESSENTIALLY WE PROBABLY LOST UP TO 60 DAYS BECAUSE WE BROUGHT THOSE TO THE BOARD FOR APPROVAL AND THAT RATHER THAN RATIFICATION.
SO ALL WE'RE DOING NOW IS WE'RE JUST SAYING, LET US UPDATE THAT NUMBER TO 1 45.
WE'LL STILL BRING IT FOR RATIFICATION, WE'LL BE ABLE TO SAVE 60 DAYS.
AND THOSE 60 DAYS DOESN'T SOUND A LOT WHEN WE WERE SEEING, YOU KNOW, ESCALATION OF 39%
UM, AND NOT JUST ON COST, BUT YOU KNOW, WHEN OUR COMMUNITIES ARE ALWAYS DEMANDING THAT PROJECTS, UM, GET DONE QUICKER, IT'S MUCH HARDER TO ASK A CONTRACTOR TO SHAVE IF YOU HAVE A 12 MONTH SCHEDULE TO SHAVE TWO MONTHS OFF YOUR CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE THAN SHAVING TWO MONTHS OFF OF, YOU KNOW, GETTING PAPERWORK KIND OF ROUTED, IS THE IDEA.
SO MY QUESTION IS, I'M GONNA GENERALIZE THIS REALLY BIG TIME.
WE'RE GONNA, YOU'RE BASICALLY TRYING TO STREAMLINE, SO WE COULD POSSIBLY MORE THAN LIKELY SAVE SOME MONEY.
YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT, THAT'S A GREAT SUMMARY.
THE BOARD WILL BE TAKING THIS UP AGAIN AT THE NEXT MEETING FOR, UH, FOR RATIFICATION OR APPROVAL OF THAT DELEGATION.
APPRECIATE EVERYONE'S FLEXIBILITY AS THE BOARD WAS DELAYED TODAY.
UM, WE WILL PUNT, LIKE I SAID ON SHADE.
UM, I WILL HAVE OUR CLOSING, UM, WELL, I'LL SAY MAYBE BEFORE PUBLIC COMMENT, WELL, WE'LL DO OUR ONE PUBLIC SPEAKER.
[III. Public Comment]
I THINK WE STILL MAYBE HAVE ONE, AND THEN WE WILL TALK ABOUT OUR FINAL MEETING AND THEN LET EVERYONE GET ON THEIR WAY.SO MR. MCLEAN TO YOU FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, WE, WE DO HAVE THREE, BUT I THINK WE'LL GO, UH, QUICKLY.
UH, MR. DAVID TOSKI, ARE YOU IN THE AUDIENCE, SIR? THERE YOU ARE.
YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN.
UH, IT'S, IT'S NOT ABOUT SAVING MONEY BECAUSE IN FACT, WHEN YOU DON'T SEE THINGS, YOU DON'T KNOW THAT THINGS ARE ESCALATING, YOU'RE NOT BRINGING THINGS FORWARD.
FOR EXAMPLE, A BAKERY AT DORSEY HIGH THAT COMES FORWARD, IT'S NOW ALMOST TWO YEARS SINCE THE BOARD VOTED ON THAT.
THAT'S NOT BECAUSE OF THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS.
THAT'S SOMETHING ELSE GOING ON.
THE, UM, BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE HAS TO SEE THESE THINGS TOO.
EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE BOND.
SO WHEN YOU DO A $300 MILLION PROJECT AT BELL SHELTER FOR A A KITCHEN, SOMEBODY HAS TO GO THROUGH IT AND FIND OUT THAT THE LAND DOESN'T EVEN BELONG TO THE DISTRICT BEFORE YOU DO IT.
SO LET ME JUST SAY VERY QUICKLY, UH, MS. FRANK, DR. FRANKLIN, SORRY, UM, GOOD QUESTION ON THE ISSUE OF THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE, BUT IT ALSO SHOULD BE A TIME THING FROM THE OH SEVEN, HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE WORKING IN THAT AND HOW MANY TO GET CUT DOWN.
MELVIN, YOU COULD GET THE ORG CHART IN THIS WAY.
LET'S FIND OUT THE ORG CHART SO YOU FINALLY KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE IN EVERY DIVISION.
THERE'S A BUNCH OF PROBLEMS WITH DELEGATION.
YOU DON'T HEAR THINGS, OR I SHOULD SAY PROCUREMENT.
WHEN A CONTRACT CHANGES FROM K TO 12 AND SUDDENLY BECOMES K EIGHT, DOES THAT RAISE SUSPICION? DOES THE DEPARTMENT
[01:40:01]
OF INSTRUCTION CHANGING IT? DOES IT RAISE A QUESTION? $250,000 CONTRACTS, THE NUMBER OF $250,000, WHICH IS UNDERNEATH THE, THE LEVEL OF, OF OVERSIGHT HAS INCREASED FAIRLY DRAMATICALLY.THE TUTORING QUESTION, GREAT QUESTION.
BRING THE QUE THE TUTORING COMPANIES IN HERE.
THEY CAN'T EVEN TELL YOU WHAT, HOW GOOD THEY'RE DOING OR HOW, HOW THEY'D LIKE TO IMPROVE THINGS.
YOU CAN'T MAKE GOOD POLICY THAT WAY.
LICENSES, YOU ISSUE LICENSES TO ALL THESE, UH, SOFTWARE COMPANIES AND YOU DON'T EVEN CHECK HOW MANY PEOPLE ACTUALLY USE THE LICENSES AND WHETHER OR NOT TWO COMPANIES ARE THE SAME COMPANY AND MAKE THE PROPER, UH, UH, SALES AND SAVING MONEY.
AND LET ME JUST SAY THAT BUNDLING, WE DID THE PRIMARY CENTERS IN THIS DISTRICT WHEN I WAS A SCHOOL BOARD MENTOR, AND WE DID IT BY BUNDLING.
MAYOR REARDON DID IT BY BUNDLING SIX PRIMARY CENTERS, AND TURNER CONSTRUCTION DID THE WORK.
NOW YOU'RE TELLING ME IF YOU DON'T BUNDLE THINGS, YOU DON'T GET A TURNER CONSTRUCTION.
AND ANN AND KIRK DOUGLAS SIR MADE, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
OVER 400 PRIMARY, UH, FACILITIES, PLAYGROUND FACILITIES.
I BET THEY WEREN'T SPENDING $450,000 BECAUSE NO FOUNDATION WOULD HAVE THAT KIND OF MONEY.
NEXT SPEAKER IS LAFAYETTE LOVE.
ARE YOU IN THE ROOM? YOU'RE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK REMOTELY, BUT I DO NOT HAVE YOU SIGNED IN.
ALL RIGHT, HOW ABOUT AKUR? I SEE YOU ARE ON THE LINE REMOTELY.
PLEASE PRESS STAR SIX TO UNMUTE YOURSELF.
AND YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN.
UM, GOOD EVENING, UH, BOARD MEMBERS, NEW BILL, MALVO FRANKLIN, AND ALL ELSE IN THE ROOM.
I'M NOT HERE TODAY TO SPEAK ON VIRTUAL ACADEMY ISSUES.
I'M HERE TO SPEAK ON SOMETHING ELSE.
I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO DR. DEBORAH BRYANT AND BOARD MEMBER FRANKLIN AND MISS, UM, ALVAREZ FROM YOUR OFFICE FOR FACILITATING CONVERSATIONS ON GRADUATION.
AND WE'LL BE HAVING OUR OWN GRADUATION FOR THE LEADERSHIP VIRTUAL ACADEMY ON JUNE 12TH AT GARFIELD HIGH SCHOOL.
UM, BOARD MEMBER FRANKLIN, IF YOU HAPPEN, YOU KNOW, TO BE FREE, YOU KNOW, OUT OF YOUR BUSY SCHEDULE ON JUNE 12TH, 3:00 PM I'D LOVE, YOU KNOW, FOR YOU TO SEE THE PRODUCT OF, YOU KNOW, THE CONVERSATIONS YOU FACILITATED.
AND, UH, I WOULD LOVE TO HONOR YOU AND MY SPEECH AS SALUTATORIAN.
BUT, UM, ANYWAY, I'M HERE TODAY TO SPEAK ABOUT, UM, AS A STUDENT AND AS A MEMBER OF THE SUPERINTENDENT STUDENT ADVISORY COUNCIL ON THE ISSUE OF SCHOOL POLICE, WHICH IS OF COURSE, A CONTENTIOUS ONE.
BUT I'D JUST LIKE TO SHARE MY INSIGHTS.
UM, WITHIN THE SSAC AND OTHER STUDENT ADVISORY COUNCILS, STUDENTS HAVE TALKED ABOUT AND ARE AWARE OF, UM, THE GROWING CONCERNS AROUND SAFETY.
UM, FOR EXAMPLE, FIGHTING, BULLYING THESE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES UP 200% IN MANY CASES, WHICH IS OUTRAGEOUS.
AND I'VE TALKED TO MANY STUDENTS FROM ALL DIFFERENT DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS AND MANY, UM, MEMBERS OF FACULTY, INCLUDING HERE WITHIN BERE, AND EVERYONE I'VE SPOKEN TO EXCEPT ONE PERSON WHO THEMSELVES WAS 50 50 HAS SAID, STATED THAT THEY SUPPORT SCHOOL POLICE AND THOUGHT IT WAS BENEFICIAL TO SCHOOL CLIMATE.
AND, UH, WAY BACK WHEN BEFORE I WAS A VIRTUAL ACADEMY STUDENT, I USED TO GO TO, UM, UH, WESTERN AVENUE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, AND EACH WEEK I WOULD LOOK FORWARD TO STORY TIME WITH THE LOCAL COPS AT THE LOCAL LIBRARY.
THEY WERE ROLE MODELS TO ME, AND THAT WAS VERY HELPFUL.
UM, AND VERY LAST POINT, UM, A FEW MONTHS AGO AS, UH, I WAS WATCHING A PRESENTATION ON SCHOOL, POLICE AND BOARD PRESIDENT CHARLESTON MENTIONED THAT THE BOARD SHOULD CONSIDER DOING A SURVEY TO ASK WHAT SCHOOL COMMUNITIES, PARENTS, STUDENTS, TEACHERS, THINK OF SCHOOL POLICE.
AS FAR AS I KNOW, THAT HASN'T BEEN DONE YET, UNLESS I'M WRONG.
UM, BUT I ASK THAT THE BOARD PLEASE CONSIDER DOING THAT TO SEE WHAT, YOU KNOW, THESE SCHOOL COMMUNITIES WOULD LIKE TO, YOU KNOW, WOULD LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN WITH THIS ISSUE.
UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT.
APOLOGIES AGAIN FOR THE DELAY.
UM, OUR LAST MEETING WILL BE ON MAY 19TH, AND SO WE'LL HAVE SOME SHADE FOLLOW UPS, UH, AND, UH, A FEW MORE PRESENTATIONS AND WE'LL SPEND SOME TIME DISCUSSING THE COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE YEAR.
SO THANK YOU ALL AND, UH, GET HOME SAFELY.