Additionally, families were recently informed that students would need to provide portions of their own performance attire due to delays in costume readiness the night before dress rehearsals were to take place. Still, with only a short period till students first competition, many do not still have their costumes yet. While families are always willing to support the program, short notice has created some logistical challenges. From a booster board perspective, we also believe there is room to strengthen communicating and collaborating regarding financial planning. The AUSD booster operating manual outlines the importance of coordination between the program directors and the booster leadership when allocating funds. We welcome clear process moving forward to ensure transparency, alignment with budgets and shared decision-making in support of the students while staying within budget and not going well over budget without any notice and communications with the boosters. Our goal is not to criticize but to advocate for the stability, the clear communication and the adequate preparedness that the students feel confident and are supported.
Perfect harmony has a strong history and deeply invested community. We want to ensure this program continues to thrive and that students are positioned for success both artistically and emotionally. We respectfully ask for the district's guidance and oversight needed to help strengthen the systems of communication in planning and support with the program. Thank you for your time and consideration. >> Thank you. >> Good evening all. My name is Dean. I am a father of identical twin freshman girls at Kennedy High School. Both my daughters are Kennedy Choir ambassador members. One of the twins was a member of the Kennedy Choir last year through the Walker Legacy program. These two little girls have been both diagnosed with special needs and both are very high functioning. My wife is also a parent volunteer with the choir both last year and this year. She is volunteering right now at the school or else she would be present.
I am here tonight because of my concern of the changes that I have seen, heard, and witnessed within the Kennedy Choir program. These changes have had a negative impact on my daughters. Last year, one of my daughters was involved in the choir while part of the Walker Legacy program, and she really enjoyed the learning, the practices, preparation, and excitement before each performance. It helped her become more confident and gave her a sense of pride and accomplishment. She needed this program and it truly helped her. Her sister saw this and she joined. She decided to join this year. Since the change of directors this year, that joy and love for the choir is no longer with these two. They both have come home in tears because they are now feeling anxiety and pressure from choir. It has turned from something that should be fun into something that they dread going to.
Hearing my daughters describe how the choir members are spoken to in class and the behavior of the new director seems to have made this program somewhat toxic. My wife attended the first choir booster meeting in October of 2025 because she wanted to see for herself what the new director was like. There was questions being asked by parents about scheduling, fundraising, performance, and the new director seemed to have his own agenda. The director had a meltdown at the end of this meeting in in front of all the audience and including the kids. This was not the best first impression for parents, but it validated our children's descriptions of him. Security has also been concerns. Safety and security has also been a concern with the kids getting injured during rehearsals and no protocol as to how to attend to them. In fact, an incident occurred yesterday where my daughter fell down the risers during a rehearsal.
Her sister immediately went to her to see if she was okay. Practice was not stopped. The director didn't check to see about her well-being, but he gave a speech saying how she they were supposed to be more professional and wait till the performance was over before uh asking if their member was okay. Uh I understand the professionalism. I do, but this is child's children we're talking about. Um, currently right now I do not believe that this leader uh that we have in front of the choir is the right person to deal with kids. My daughter came home frustrated the other day or during the first performance that they were pre uh rehearsing for because there was it was so chaotic during that first meeting. It was his very first meeting. He had to leave and to go outside because he had his own performance that he had to get ready for and to practice for.
Um yesterday he changed the entire process in terms of how they get ready for dress rehearsal. He moved the girls dressing room because he needed to get into the office because he himself needed to prepare for the rehearsal practice. Uh he needed to get dressed. He needed to be ready. Our old director wasn't part of they weren't on stage, but this person chose that he needed to be on stage and he moved the girls somewhere else. Um in closing, there needs to be some type of realignment within the leadership of the choir because this is not working for students or parents. If we don't address a resolution or have a resolution soon, you know, this once highly touted program could come to a halt next year. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. >> All right. Good evening, board. I see a couple familiar faces, Mr.
O'Neal, Mr. Hosshi. Uh I'm going to speak u on my personal experience with uh Mr. Christopher Brush. Uh my name's Robert Elie III. I'm a I'm a parent of a student at Kennedy High School in the choir program. I'm here tonight because I'm deeply concerned about the contact uh conduct of Mr. Brush and the message his actions send to the students and families. My daughter was introduced uh or was instructed to uh miss an academic class in order to attend a choir rehearsal. Let me be clear. No student should be placed in a position where they're expected to sacrifice a scheduled core academic instruction for an unplanned elective rehearsal. If there's a policy that allows this, parents deserve to know it. If there is not, then this should never have happened. When I contacted Mr. Brush to address this concern, I expected a professional discussion.
Instead, I experienced behavior that I found unacceptable. Mr. brush became visibly angry, red in the face and shaking and uh told me that my daughter needed to speak to him directly and there was nothing further as us as parents to discuss. Okay. Uh I was later informed that the administration at Kennedy High School had already spoken with Brush that morning and their issue was resolved. Okay. But when I talked to him that evening, he decided to escalate it and get angry at me for some reason. That response is alarming. Parents are not optional participants in their children's education. We are legal guardians and primary advocates. To suggest that there is nothing further to discuss with us is dismissive and inappropriate. More concerning is the idea that the child should be left to navigate conflict with an adult authority figure without parental involvement. This is not about choir.
This is about professionalism, boundaries, and respect. No student should be feel pressured to miss academic instruction. No parent should be shut out of a conversation about their own child. No educator should be responsible for reason should respond to reasonable questions with visible anger and hostility. Apology I'm going to go over just a little bit. I'm asking this board to do three things. First, clarify and publicly communicate the policy regarding students being pulled from academic classes for rehearsals or elective activities. Second, reaffirm that parents have the right to be included in discussions regarding their child's academic decisions. Third, review expectations for professional conduct and parent communication to asssure that no other family experiences this type of interaction. Our district often speaks of partnership, transparency, and student centered decisions. I am asking that those words be reflected in action. And uh you might want to take a moment to go over the AUHSD code of ethics for all employees.
Just a quick reminder, the Anaheim Union High School District expects its employees to maintain the highest e ethical standards, behave professionally, follow district policies and regulations, abide by state and federal laws, and exercise good judgment when interacting with students and members of the school community. Employee conduct should enhance the integrity of this district and the goals of the educational program. Each employee is expected to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to fulfill his or her responsibilities and to contribute to the learning and achievement of district students. After that, I'LL thank you. I appreciate you all uh being here tonight and sharing your concerns. Um if we could have staff follow up on so thank you. Um I want to call up our next speaker uh Masla meaning yes in the tangotoastic na linguistic family of our ancestors the mishikas or Mexican Indians. I want to start a song and pray for our people are being attacked by ICE and our students that protested by walking out and all over Anaheim and all over across the US and for our families for our family that's in the corner in Laskina for that suicide that happened and for the brothers that just spoke right now.
We're living in hard times and the best thing we can do is offer a song of the Yahi people here in uh state a federally recognized tribe. Yah he ya heo yo yah he yo chinichi chinich creator that is your name here on this land before the settler colonist came and stole the land and took the kids and put them in boarding schools and and in In this time right now, ICE is acting just like the colonist. And I hope that when that time comes to voting out that name that you hear, some of the students wanted to come, but they're scared of the parents. So, they're asking that we hopefully get heard that we do change that name of the school to colonist. ICE is acting just like the colonist. If you've never taken a Native American history class or even an ethnic studies class or a choicana study class, I encourage you to take one.
And those that are watching, there is a petition and there's many signatures about 12,000 and videos of many people of tribes, federally state recognized, including the Taga or the Aachiman, the state uh recognized tribes in Orange County that are fighting for federal recognition that we not just get rid of the mascot, but that when I saw the paper of the color, we got to get rid of that. And on a good note, thank you guys for doing what you're doing. I like the Black History Parade. It was good seeing you and Tjo, Dr. Paulo Mala, Jessica Guerrero. It shows the black and brown unity and solidarity. And also the last thing is I saw a mural, a beautiful mural right in front of Anaheim High School. It's a um she played softball. I mean, yeah, softball for Anaheim High School. The only thing we don't like is the term colonist on her shirt, but I know it takes time to educate the lady that owns that um it was the mother that uh owns that tax place.
And the other thing was um let's keep doing the the right thing for our people and and yes the presentation we were part of that and yes culture was the first thing that came to my mind that's what what that was that's very important so let's keep working and slowly we can understand our pain thank you gracias >> thank you next speaker is Roberto Garcia Evening board members and superintendent. My name is Roberto Garcia and I am an AUHSD alum. There is a serious gap between this district's financial priorities and the actual safety of our students. We hear a lot about the AUHSD way and the district's commitment to social emotional learning and this whole child approach. But for many families, the reality on campus is very different from the mission statements we see in the budget reports. According to the district's own financial records, over $120 million was spent on school climate and services for high need students.
This is a massive investment of public money. However, despite these millions of dollars, bullying, harassment, and self harm remain a constant threat to our children. We see beautiful sports field being built, new HVAC systems being installed, but we have to ask where where is the investment in human infrastructure of safety? Why is that? With so much money being important to wellness, students are still falling through the cracks. Spending money on a problem is not the same thing as solving it. We are calling for more than just a list of dollars spent. We are calling for an honest evaluation of these programs. If the district is spending millions more than budgeted on school climate, why are students still reporting that they don't feel safe? Why are red flags still being missed? It is not enough to say that the money was allocated. We need to know if it was actually working at the school site level.
A program that receives millions in funding but fails to stop lifealtering bullying is not a success. It is a system that needs to be completely re-evaluated. Our children cannot wait for another five-year plan, another bond measure. They need to be safe now. I am asking this board to look past the spreadsheets. Look at the students. We need a system that prioritizes real-time protection over press releases and budget lines. Our community deserves to know that when we invest in safety, our children actually come home safe. Thank you. >> Thank you. Our next speaker is Doce Satello and I believe she has left. Um, okay. Seeing no other speakers, we will move on. Thank you everyone for coming tonight for public comments. Uh, 11.1 we already did. I will move. Thank you, Carl. Moving on to item number 10, superintendent and staff report. Dr. Freak. >> Thank you, Madam President.
Just a couple quick updates. Um, as you may recall, next uh Tuesday, the 17th of February, will be our meet and greet with Madame President Guerrero and myself uh as the new superintendent. We're also going to have members of cabinet there to talk about the district office, how we how we support the work happening at the sites within each educational division. starts at six o'clock pm in the La Palmer room. So again, love to have the public there, families, communities, uh be a part of that that event. Also want to note that February 21st is going to be a very busy day for our district. Um we have an esports tournament on the 21st of February at Catella High School from 10 in the morning till about 4 p.m. It is our I think our first big sports tournament at the Catella facility. So we're really excited to be a part of that.
Also on the 21st, we have a pow-wow um at Magnolia High School. It actually goes from 10 a.m. to 5:00 pm, but it says grand entry at 12:00 p.m. But we're going to do this in partnership with one of our partners that we brought in, the Sacred Path of Orange County community. So, we're excited to partner with them and do this work at Magnolia High School. And lastly, on the 21st, we also have the Tet Parade, which is a celebration of our Vietnamese culture. Um, so I know a number of our board members have participated in that in the past. Uh, we will have a presence there as well. So, just want to make sure you're aware of the Tet Parade taking place on that Saturday as well. So, if people are looking for things to do on Saturday, we have some options for you.
Uh and then the last thing I want to share is just a a best of luck to our athletes. As you heard from Dr. Cai's uh presentation today, u we have a number of our athletes getting ready to head into CIF competition across our district both in boys and girls wrestling. We have in boys and girls soccer along with uh boys and girls basketball and then our girls water polo. So we're really excited about our athletics program. We will be bringing a presentation to the board in August um to start next week with Jeff Russell uh where we're talking more about our collective athletic program as a whole. We have things kind of mapped out, but I just want to highlight our athletes because they're getting ready to go into competition and of course it's also the beginning of our spring season. It's hard to believe.
Uh so baseball, girls softball, things like that are about ready to kick off. So just wanted to say that. I know Amy has as an update with a few additional um opportunities for you to attend as well. >> Miss Quan, >> so I do have a couple of highlights. While there's a lot of things going on in ed division, um I'll share a couple. We heard tonight a little bit about the Korean dual language immersion program that uh it'll be the first year articulating up from the Anaheim Elementary School District into AUHSD. uh director Diana Fujioto, executive director Carlos Hernandez and I will be at Jefferson um elementary school on February 19th to engage with um the the community at Jefferson so that we can um talk about our commitment in sustainability and maintaining a high quality program in KDLI. Um you we got to talk a lot about LCAP tonight, but I also want to give a special recognition to Eric Greenwood and his team for the outstanding work with the data visualization.
Um data's uh there's lots of ways that we can consume it and um Eric and his team has been so flexible and thinking about thoughtful ways that we can make it really accessible um for us and inform decisions in how we um serve our students. Uh Dr. Hernandez over at student services is um in the thick of overseeing our transfer process right now um to support equitable access to our families. Um spring season is also our openhouse season. So I want to recognize our school teams who are opening up their campuses right now and invite the community to come celebrate our students um at all of our schools. I also want to recognize Lauren Klatsker and Amanda Bean whose leadership in master scheduling um and expanding supports with students with disabilities was recognized at the California State Board of Education meeting in January. And that recognition also reflects the dedication of our site teams who whose daily work ensures that our students with disabilities are served um through our master schedule work.