PRHS ASB President Malia Gaviola was also appointed as the Board’s student trustee

PASO ROBLES — Frank Triggs was provisionally appointed as Trustee to the Governing Board of the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District (PRJUSD) at the regular school board meeting on Dec. 14. His term of the provisional appointment expires in November 2022.

Triggs is a replacement trustee for Jim Reed, who recently resigned to move out of state.

Paso Robles High School ASB President Malia Gaviola was also appointed as the new Student Trustee. During a special meeting on Nov. 29. It has been about 15 years since the Board had a student representative. PRHS Senior, Cameron LeClair with the help of students and teachers, collected over 500 signatures to present his request to have a student representative on the Board of Trustees.

Chris Arend was again nominated and approved to continue his position as Board President through the 2022 year. Chris Bausch was also nominated and approved to continue his position as Board Clerk for the 2022 year.

The District accepted 14 donations made to various programs at PRJUSD schools totaling over $7,000.

Later the Board received a First Interim Financial Report for the 2021-2022 school year. The report covered the period from Jul. 1 through Oct. 31. The interim reports must include a certification of whether or not the LEA is able to meet its financial obligations. The certifications are classified as positive, qualified, or negative:

A positive certification is assigned when the District will meet its financial obligations for the current and two subsequent fiscal years.
A qualified certification is assigned when the District may not meet its financial obligations for the current or two subsequent fiscal years.
A negative certification is assigned when a district will be unable to meet its financial obligations for the remainder of the current year or for the subsequent fiscal year.

The Board approved the report with a positive certification. The full report can be on the agenda here agendaonline.net/public/Meeting.aspx?AgencyID=221&MeetingID=85501&AgencyTypeID=1&IsArchived=False

A fourth change order was required for Glen Speck Elementary School, which includes various items that are agency requirements, design corrections, and material escalation. Change orders are any modifications made to a construction contract. The change order requires an additional $714,436.33 in Measure M funds:

Agency: $44,255.00 – Water meter vault requirements and concrete curb at the corner of Chestnut and 17th Streets. This concrete scope of work was not included in the original scope of work.
Design Corrections: 4-01, 4-02, 4-03, 4-07, 4-08, 4-12 – $588,465.90 – Majority are Civil Engineering design corrections for site retaining walls, grading, and paving.
Escalation: 4-05, 4-06, 4-10 – $24,964.00 – Construction delays placed construction into the COVID affect time frame.
Owner: 4-04 – $19,798.00 – Sound isolating insulation added between corridor and classroom.

Ultimately, a motion was made to approve the change order, although the Board has many concerns and made it clear they were unhappy with having to approve yet another modification to the contract. The motion was approved with a 4-3 vote (Bausch, Triggs, and Baker voting no).

A lunch structure was approved for Pat Butler and Winifred Pifer Elementary Schools. The total cost is $84,777.80 for each school ($168,555.60) from Measure M funds and does not include installation costs. However, the Board directed staff to look for other funds to use for the structures. The structure is expected to be finished in time for hot, sunny weather.

Finally, the Board approved the implementation of the final increase of the California minimum wage increases to $15.00 an hour for District employees. The total cost is approximately $120,000 to the District. The increase impacts the lowest-wage employees who directly serve the students: All Paraeducators, After School Care, Food Service, Campus Safety, Library Media Tech 1, Maintenance I, Playground Supervisors, K-5 Clerk, and PreSchool Assist.

Due to the meeting running out of allotted time, the Board tabled the following items for the next school board meeting: