Newark Unified board approves emergency procurement for abatement and repair, 5-1

At its Nov. 4 meeting the Newark Unified School District board approved old business item 11.1, a resolution described in the meeting as "2025.26.09," declaring an emergency that requires procurement of construction services for abatement and repair. Member Block made the motion to approve; Member Thomas seconded; the chair recorded a 5-1 vote in favor.

During discussion Member 9 (said on the record) argued the contracting did not appear to meet emergency standards, saying the work had been underway for weeks and that pushing out delivery dates undercuts the emergency justification: "I really don't think it's an emergency." Member Thomas raised concerns that unit counts might be incorrect and said she would share information she received about unit numbers so staff could verify whether the scope changed.

District staff responded that a date change contained in prior materials was a typo and clarified timelines presented at an earlier meeting: controller replacements are expected to be completed by March 31, and the CalShaped portion of work was scheduled for completion by Aug. 3. Staff said walk-throughs and coordination with the contractor Verity will begin around Thanksgiving and continue into December to finalize site-specific schedules.

The board did not record individual board members' roll-call votes in the public transcript; the chair stated the motion passed with five votes in favor and one no. A board member had asked that related consent items be pulled for separate consideration because they were connected to the emergency resolution.