District staff told the board the California Department of Education provided a list of five approved science publishers and that the quotes the district obtained reflect seven-year access to materials and a mix of print and digital options.

Cleo (district staff) said the estimates cover current enrollment and that consumable items (soil, baking soda, other lab consumables) may be extra. She noted that if the board prioritizes science, OpenSciEd — a free resource — would likely be added to pilot materials.

"If the board prioritize science as our next curricular adoption, we would also have access and most likely include Open Sci Ed materials not listed in your report here as 1 of the programs that we would pilot," Cleo said.

Board members discussed timing and teacher workload. Staff recommended against full implementation next year because teachers are already learning a new math program; instead, they proposed recruiting volunteer teachers to pilot one science program beginning in the 2025–26 school year. Staff said eight teachers had already expressed interest in piloting.

Board discussion covered representation: trustees asked that the pilot committee include middle school science teachers, bilingual program teachers and special education representatives so the pilot reflects varied classroom needs. The district agreed to form a districtwide pilot committee at the start of the 2025–26 school year and to narrow publisher choices to two for classroom pilots, following the district’s math-adoption approach.

No formal ballot or roll-call vote was recorded for this agenda item. Staff indicated they would start the pilot-selection process and convene a pilot committee in early 2025–26 if the board wished to proceed; trustees voiced support during discussion and staff said they would follow teacher feedback to prioritize science.