001the chamber and those watching via live stream and call the March 3rd, 2026 regular meeting of the Board of Education to order with all trustees about to be present. Uh we'll now have our flag ceremony. The Point Loma High School Navy JROTC Color Guard will present the colors. Please stand for the presentation of colors. >> [clears throat] >> I pledge allegiance to the flag and to the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> [applause] >> Land acknowledgement is a traditional custom that dates back centuries and many native nations and communities. Our land acknowledgement was developed in partnership with local Kumeyaay leaders. Students from the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts prepared the following video to show
002our respect for the Kumeyaay people who are the original stewards of the land our school district occupies. We respectfully acknowledge that the Kumeyaay people are the original inhabitants and caretakers of these lands now known as San Diego. Despite the attempted genocide and ongoing impacts of colonization, the Kumeyaay spirit remains unbroken and their traditions continue to thrive as they carry the memories of their ancestors who bravely resisted cultural erasure and fought to protect their land and way of life. In honoring their legacy, we pledge to uphold their cultural heritage and right to safeguard their sacred connection to the land for future generations. >> With gratitude and strength, we stand with the Kumeyaay embracing the past while forging a brighter tomorrow. Thank you. Can we get our motion to adopt today's agenda? Moved by Trustee Waters, seconded
003by Trustee Patterson. Uh any discussion? Uh Trustee Wynn? Uh They can vote on the board. >> Trustees Wynn and Ordaz, please vote. Yeah. Back to the our system. Okay, all the all other Trustees, please vote. All right. Uh Ms. Stolz, can you please provide information for public speakers about today's meeting protocols? Yes, today's meeting of the Board of Education is a business meeting that is conducted in public and board members will not engage in dialogue with members of the audience. Board bylaw 1025 sets the time limit for public comment on agenda items at 10 minutes per side, pro and con, or 20 minutes total. Speakers will be able to provide testimony at the beginning of the appropriate agenda item or at the end of the meeting for non-agenda comment. Please listen for your name to
004be called. Speakers are listed and called in the order received. When your name is called, please come to the podium to speak. Speakers participating via Zoom will be asked to unmute when their name is called. If you are unable to unmute yourself, we will call the next speaker. Please follow along with the agenda so that you know when your item is coming up for discussion. When you begin speaking, the green light below my name on the dais indicates that the timer has started. When the light turns yellow, you'll have 1 minute remaining. A buzzer will indicate that your time has expired. If you have not yet done so and would like to sign up for in-person public comment, iPads are available in the back of the auditorium and in the lobby. Thank you, Ms. Stoltz.
005We will now consider items C2 and C3, resolutions recognizing March 2026 as Women's History Month and California Arts Education Month. Do we have a motion to approve both items? Moved by Trust Vice President Basso, seconded by Trustee Hazen. Uh, do we have any speakers on this item? Yes, we have one speaker on California Arts Education Month, and that is Caitlin Woodside. You have 3 minutes. Thank you very much. Good evening, Trustees, Superintendent. My name is Caitlin Woodside. I'm the Executive Director of the VAPA Foundation, and as we're here to ratify this exciting Arts Education Month, simply want to say thank you. Your steady commitment to arts education sends a very powerful message to artists students and that creativity matters and their stories matter and that their voices belong in our schools. Through our partnership together
006with the VAPA Foundation and the grant we received from the Sparks partnership, we're currently reaching over 3,600 students in about 150 classrooms across 30 schools. We're seeing meaningful impact at Riley Expressive Arts are helping students navigate real and complex challenges. At Alba Community Day School, students are partnering with ArtReach and Playwrights Project to strengthen their school culture culture through spoken word and through art projects. Um home hospital students are using art to process significant health experiences and health challenges that they're going through and Signet Theatre is helping English language learners grow in language and confidence through performance and theatre experiences. And we're very excited to continue that energy through Wilson Summer Sites and Sounds and expanding music programs at Challenger and bringing culturally relevant mariachi and arts programs to Bell middle schools. What this work
007shows us is that arts education is not extra, it's essential. It strengthens belonging, supports wellness for students and builds the creative thinking our students need for the future. So, thank you for your partnership and for creating the conditions where this work can thrive. We're honored to stand alongside and excited about building work together for arts education for Santa Ana Unified students. Thank you very much. Thank you, Kathleen. >> [applause] >> Okay, any board discussion, questions on these two items? Trustee Hazen. Thank you, President Perera. It's my honor to introduce our Women's History Month resolution tonight alongside Trustee Wynn. For me, this is really personal. I come from a family of community-minded women leaders who graduated from San Diego Unified Schools, and my daughters will be the fifth generation of women in my family to graduate
008from our schools. That legacy reminds me every day that public education is one of the most powerful engines for equity and opportune opportunity, particularly for women and girls. Women's History Month isn't only about the past, it's about the future. It's about telling the full story of our country and our communities and ensuring every girl in San Diego Unified can see herself in that story. For generations, women have led movements for justice, built institutions, strengthened our economy, and shaped our democracy, often without equal recognition or opportunity. And while we've made progress, women, especially women of color, remain underrepresented in government, executive leadership, and high-growth STEM fields. Notably, California has never had a woman governor. It's imperative that across our district we reflect women's contributions in our curriculum, in mentorship opportunities, and career pathways. I'm honored tonight
009to introduce this resolution with Trustee Wynn because you embody what's possible when we invest in girls and in women. As you prepare for a STEM major next year in college, you represent the future we're building for all girls, one where every girl knows her voice matters and that her potential is limitless. So, Women's History was first nationally recognized in 1987 and it became it began really as a local celebration in Santa Rosa. And what really started as a small effort to highlight women's contributions, it grew into a nationwide reminder that women's voices, leadership, and achievements matter. Here in our district, we see that impact every single day. We see it in the women who lead our schools and departments. We see it in the teachers who inspire students believe in themselves. We see it in
010the counselors, administrators, staff members, and community leaders who create safe and supportive environments for learning. And we see it in the students sitting in our classrooms. Young women who are ready who are already showing leadership, creativity, resilience, and so much strength. So, Women's History Month is not just about looking back at history. It's about recognizing that history is happening right here, in our classrooms, in our board meetings, in our community events, and in the lives of our families. So, by co-adopting this resolution, we are saying that we value opportunity, fairness, and representation. We are committing to ensure that every student, especially every young woman, she knows her voice. Her ideals are powerful and her future has no limit. To the women and to the girls of our district, we see you, we appreciate you, and
011we celebrate you. Not just this month, but every day. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you so much. Oh, uh Vice President Barerra, yeah. Thank you, uh President Barerra. I don't know how I would really have to follow that. That was amazing. Our student board member, I just wanted to share a few thoughts about the arts education month resolution and I thank Caitlin for being here tonight to speak to that as well. Our our VAPA program, which stands for visual and performing arts, is probably one of the best, you know, in the country and I'm very proud of the work that we've done here at San Diego Unified to to really keep that program going strong even in lean times. Um I'm the daughter of a a My dad was a music teacher and a
012music administrator his entire life. So, it was really drummed into me the importance, but beyond, you know, when it is important for our students to come to school, you know, a lot of them that's what they come to school for. Um I was just at the musical at Mira Mesa High School this weekend and just the joy and the excitement in those students' faces just from being part of that was was really special. And it's really it's actually been shown shown in data that those students that are involved with visual and performing arts programs have higher literacy scores, higher math scores. Um it helps support social and emotional development, health and well-being and just all around making for a well-rounded education and you know, well-rounded individuals. So, I want to thank San Diego Unified for
013their support and uh for they that we that we continue to prio- prioritize arts education in our schools. Thank you. And I want to I want to commend my colleagues for their support. Um Some of you may not know, but at one time whenever they said we had a short fall, the first place they went to was the arts. And um we've eliminated that because we discovered that we were eliminating students, too. We were eliminating children. It's an essential part of our uh curriculum and instruction to our students, so I commend this trustee board and all the rest of the community for supporting our children in that endeavor because it is important to them. Hear it all the time. Thank you. Um I wanted to speak on the Women's History Month resolution and thank you
014so much, Trustee Hazen and Nguyen, um for that amazing um comment. I really want to stress what Trustee Hazen was saying on for the girls in this district, for the kindergarteners, middle schoolers, freshmen, every single girl in this district has the power to be who they want to be. This district will make sure to support them in any way possible. Alina and I will make sure that you guys know that, and I know everyone else in this board will as well cuz that is our responsibility. And coming from a woman of color, and coming from a first gen, I am more than happy to be in a district where Women's History Month is acknowledged, and it's not just, you know, spoken about, it's actually respected, and it's something that we all care about. So, that's
015all I'll say. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you, President Barrera. Um I don't have any prepared remarks about um about the California Arts Education Month, but you know, I find my colleagues know I'm always about to get pulled into the mind labyrinth about things, and I have to like come back out and into the real world, and I but I think what what always um I find compelling in terms of what comes before us is when we have um items or decisions that are really at the nexus of a lot of social forces that are happening of economic forces, cultural forces, social forces. And I feel like arts education is one of those things where there's um so many so many tensions uh inherent in it and if I can just say a couple
016of them that have been heavy on my mind. One, we were just talking about AI. Um we had a beautiful mural project earlier of last month um and I saw we met a lot of students who a lot of whom I think wanted to pursue art would have would like to pursue a career in art but we're watching whole realms of our creative arts um um workforce be essentially eliminated um as a result of AI which is basically just intellectual property theft on a massive scale. Um so and and it brings me back to this tension we have where we're very we understand that our students are facing an increasing an increasingly unequal society and um and narrowing opportunities for work that is um not only remunerative but also enjoyable and fulfilling and allows their
017creativity um to be expressed and so I think as a board I think one of the things that will will be I'll be wrestling with certainly for the next 10 months I'm on the board is how do we as a board uh help to navigate that tension between an education that is helps students understand themselves, discover themselves um we've focused on social emotional wellness, contribute to their wellness and while simultaneously preparing the future. I think some of the things we've been doing around 4 by 4 where you you get a couple more classes every year so you don't have to have this um this really invidious a you have to make between career-oriented things that you perceive as career-oriented and things that you perceive as enriching. Um so, one of the things I just I
018I think this signals this California Arts Education item signals our need to really think deeply about how we bridge that tension or navigate that tension, help our students navigate it between things that they find meaningful and enriching, and things that they think they need to have for their career. Um a lot of that is beyond our power and our purview, but but I I I feel as I did my MFA in creative writing and poetry, and Lord knows there's not a lot of career opportunities for poetry out there. Um but but but if I but I think as a as a board member, I would love to help um lead that effort to to figure out how to assist our students in navigating and finding a future that is both remunerative for them, but also
019allows them to express that creativity, cuz I think it's I don't want to send students that are just desperate for work out there without emphasizing for them that their fulfillment matters. Their creativity matters. Um and uh so, anyway, um I appreciate you for for bringing this item, and I think it signals to us that we need to we have work to do on this. Thank you so much. Thank you, Trustee Pederson. So, thank you for the leadership, Trustees Wynn and Hazan for bringing the Women's History Month resolution forward, and to Vice President Boswell and Trustee Whitehurst Payne for bringing the Arts Education uh resolution forward. With that, uh Trustees Ordaz and Wynn, please vote. And all other Trustees, please vote. All right. Well, that passes unanimously. Thank you. Okay, we'll move on to Section D.
020Uh and do we have any uh reportable actions from closed session? No. Thank you, Andra. Uh and any management appointments, Superintendent? No. And uh Are we I'm sorry. Uh student advisory board. Yes, yeah. I'm sorry. Uh so, we'll move to uh trustees win and or Dodds. During our student advisory board meeting yesterday, we did an overview and update on recent board actions. So, students were given information regarding current district matters and had the opportunity to ask a lot of clarifying questions. The group then participated um in a structured brainstorming session centered on school safety and trust. Students were asked to reflect on three guiding questions. What makes a school safe? Do you trust your teacher during a dangerous situation? And do you trust any adult on your campus? Responses reflected a range of perspectives. Common
021themes that we noticed included the importance of clear communication, visible safety procedures, consistency in adult responses, and the value of having trusted adults available on campus. The discussion remained focused on identifying factors that contribute to both physical and emotional safety in schools. District updates were also shared including information about the budgeting process and the district budget wheel. Students received an overview of how the annual budget is developed, reviewed, and adopted. The discussion included general information about how programs are evaluated within the financial framework. The STARS program and TRACE program were also discussed. Information was provided regarding their purpose, the students that they serve, and how they operate within the district structure. Following a short break, the group revisited topics from February 2nd um and engaged in open conversation based on submissions from the community forum
022that we had posted during our student advisory report. Students were given the opportunity to expand on previous concerns and raise additional topics for considerations. That concludes the student advisory report for today. Thank you. Thank you, trustees Wynn and Ardas. Okay, and so now we will move to Superintendent Bagula's report. Thank you, President Barrera. Um, I'm going to start off with a Read Across America launch yesterday. I know I was at Porter Elementary School along with Dr. Whitehurst Payne. I know that a lot of us are getting invitations to read for with students and I hope that you're taking them up on it cuz that's actually really fun to go see and talk to kids about favorite books. Um, so I want to make sure to say that. Um, but I'm also pleased to share with
023you that we're expanding our transitional kindergarten offerings for the 26-27 school year. Um, and enrollment is now being done online. Um, that is a big deal. We need to actually get um, to be easier to enroll. Um, we're still working through that, but I want to say thank you to the team that's developed that app. Um, we're adding nine new TK classrooms and creating 180 additional enrollment seats. Um, we currently have about 5,200 seats available for the upcoming school year. Um, this is going to of course, in my opinion, uh, we need to make sure we advertise. I know that when I see a child and even in a stroller, I say, "Are they coming to our school?" Uh, so because we need to make sure that we recruit. Um, so families are highly encouraged
024between now and March 22nd for the best chance of securing a seat in their neighborhood school. But if a school fills, placement will be offered at a nearby school with an available space. Um, while some highly impacted sites may be maintain a wait list. So again, um, we have a website, sandiegounified.org/tk, to enroll your child. Um, and also know that we've been working to provide a full day of learning. Um, serving between the bridge between preschool and kindergarten. Um, TK does follow the elementary school calendar and bell schedule while offering a developmentally appropriate experience. Each TK classroom is staffed by two teachers creating a supportive and nurturing environment where learning happens through play, exploration, and hands-on experiences. The curriculum is based on the California preschool transitional kindergarten learning foundations building a strong academic, social, emotional
025foundation for future learning. So, again, make sure that all of those kiddos that qualified make it to our schools um, and then let's celebrate their growth. That concludes my superintendent's report. Thank you, Superintendent. Yes, Trustee Hazan. Appreciate the update on TK and just want to add that not only are we providing an exceptional early learning experience. As I talked to families and as a working parent, I know that we are also putting money back into families' pockets. So many of whom are paying for >> [snorts] >> private preschool are no longer having to do that. Um, and we're not just offering care during sort of the traditional school day, but after school as well and also providing free breakfast and lunch, uh, which I think is really, really valuable. So, appreciate the work that everybody's
026doing in the classroom to provide meals, after school programs to support all of our youngest kids. Thank you. Can we get a motion on item G1? Uh, moved by Trustee Whitehurst Payne, seconded by Trustee Wynn. Uh, any discussion? If not, uh, Trustees Ordaz and Wynn, please vote. And all other Trustees, please vote. Okay. Yeah. Okay. All right, great. Okay, let's move to item H1 and this is uh, approval of reduction of positions in accordance with California education codes relevant sections. Superintendent, please introduce this item. Yes. So March is very often one of the most difficult times in the school year for a school district as it is when we must as required by California education code begin the process of position eliminations. These classified position eliminations are the result of refinement of staffing needs at
027central office, changes resulting from some sites transitioning from TK to TK5, targeted classification changes intended to reflect the current needs of an ever-evolving school district, as well as staffing and budgeting decisions made by site administrators. The position eliminations come on the heels of last year's supplemental early retirement program or serp, which helped us to avoid laying off classified staff for the 25-26 school year. The position eliminations are made after careful review of current operational needs and after the application of the district's attrition model throughout the year. These changes allow us to maintain our investments in positions that provide direct services to students, including maintaining five days of health office coverage at comprehensive school sites, and maintaining our myriad compliance obligations. However, I want to acknowledge that a recent shift in state requirements has made it
028additionally challenging to be as precise as possible with our classified eliminations. Our historical Our historical practice analyzed classified employee reductions and notified classified employees of a potential layoff in June. However, effective January 2022, the state changed that notification timeline for classified employees to mirror that of certificated and moved that requirement from June to March. A much earlier deadline when so much is still uncertain pending the governor's May budget revise, potential retirements, resignations, and vacancies. This is less than ideal timing and does force us to make assumptions based on the data we have right now. Have a slide here uh for you. As you can see on the slide, a total of 221 classified positions are slated for elimination. Of these, 133 positions have an incumbent employee and 88 are vacant with no incumbent currently working
029on that role. And what you can also see on the right side of the slide, the second table shows that school sites departments have also added 86 classified positions for the 2026-27 year. After analyzing position data for the 2026-27 school year and implementing the collectively bargained bump process for classified staff, we're predicting that we will be able to reassign roughly half of the employees working in positions slated for elimination to other positions in their current or former classification. As a result of this bump and reassignment we anticipate approximately 70 employees will receive preliminary layoff notices. Although we do anticipate that the number of employees who receive a final layoff notice will shrink between now and May. Um I wanted to just hold that. It's going to shrink. We must still prepare for the March 15th
030deadline. Um with these added positions, there's real opportunity here not only for growth and meaningful transition, but sometimes even promotional growth. We don't make these decisions lightly and we will do everything that we can to support our affected employees and colleagues and minimize the impact of this action the best that we can. And in fact, yesterday I had the opportunity to meet with all three CSEA presidents. I see many of you here today. Um this was our second meeting with all of you coming together to discuss how we may move forward in this climate. I appreciate the space with you because there's a lot of work that must happen to unify our collective efforts. Together, there's a lot that we can do and I'm confident that we can. I reference this meeting because you posed
031some very critical questions, some good questions. And so, I want you to know that we will be doing additional analysis with your questions in mind while partnering with our classified employee unions to look at creative ways we can leverage budgeted positions to retain as many as of our employees as possible. And then, we're committed to be this transparent and this communicative with board members as we work through this together. I do want to say that our senior executive director of human resources is also here in case we have any questions. Um, but wanted to offer you all of this information. Thank you. Okay, thank you, Superintendent. And do we have a motion on item H1 to approve item H1? Thank you, Trustee Patterson, and seconded by Trustee Hazan. Okay, I know we have a number
032of speakers. Do Do we have a a total number of speakers? Yes, we have We have about 30 speakers. Okay. Um, can I ask uh >> [applause] >> Can I Can I ask for a consensus among our board to extend the time for this item for speakers to 30 minutes? Okay. Okay, great. Okay, Ms. Stults, please call the the speakers. Okay, I'll call up groups uh of three or four to come. If you would please line up and you would each have 1 minute so we can hear from everyone. Phi Tran Jose Sanchez Flor Limas Medina and Diane Wilkinson. Good evening. I'm a taxpayer and a voter of District A. And I fix our students' broken Chromebook screens and keyboards for a living next door in La Mesa Spring Valley. As someone who was once
033a shop steward for my union and represented and served night custodians, paraeducators, and office staff who knows their work that no one ever seems to appreciate, I ask, why? You are advertising almost $19 million in savings to get rid of the people who help feed, educate, and love our students. And I hope we all agree there's no price tag for them. And now you're asking essential school staff to find a new job somewhere else in this economy? Are you kidding? All while we're still advertising we need paras. Tonight you're telling some of our hardest working people who make some of the lowest wages in our city and their students, "Sorry, can't afford you anymore." I know this board believes in equity, not continuing mismanagement of my taxpayer money. So, please reconsider these reductions. Thank you.
034>> [applause and cheering] >> UH THANK YOU, BOARD, FOR UH FOR ALLOWING US TO SPEAK. Um you know, I'm looking at your screen and it says, "We prepare every student for what's next." You know what's next? If you decide to come work for San Diego Unified, eventually you're going to say you're essential, right? But then, you're expendable. What's going on? We're having to fight the federal government to defend education, and now we have to fight at home as well? During the pandemic, our classified workers were called essential. They cleaned classrooms to disinfect, to prepare the classrooms for our students to return. They drove buses with food to feed our community. We fed hungry students. We fed hungry families, and and supported children with special needs. Today, the same workers are being told they are expendable.
035More than a 120 130 classified employees are facing layoffs while administrators supervisors seeing minimal cuts chop at the top. Right, the district claims it has no choice, but we all have choices. Right, we all have choices to make. Well, let's ask you, right? >> And so and so at the end of the day, make sure that you taking this into consideration, keep the backbone of the district strong. No layoffs to classified staff. All of us belong. Thank you. >> [applause and cheering] [applause] >> Good afternoon, board members. My name is Flor Lemus Medina. I come to you today with much concern, respect, and a heavy heart. I have been a bus driver for over 5 years and being a parent myself of four wonderful school-age children who have benefit from the following. It is heartbreaking
036to hear that the district is even considering the reduction to the classified units throughout the district. The district's decision to reduce classified classified staffing levels and is also a decision to underfund our children. Every child deserves a safe ride to school via transportation department, the proper support in the in an impact impacted classroom through the pair educators, office technical business services units, and someone who cares when challenges arise personally as the children come of age and deal with harsh realities at home. Understaffing school sites by cutting classified unit members position harms our children future setting them up for failure when it comes to an adequate learning in the classroom. This is why we are here today. We will not stand idle anymore and we watch and watch you contribute to the dismantling of education. We
037are here to defend the education, defend the education. It is not optional. Like us, classified employees, we are essential. >> [cheering] [applause] >> Good evening, board members and district administrators. I stand here united with all classified staff in opposition to this resolution. Classified staff are not expendable line items on the spreadsheet. They are the backbone of our schools. They are the first faces that students see in the morning, the steady hand that keeps campuses safe, and the support system that allows teachers to teach and students to learn. We have already heard too many times that you had no choice but to move forward with these reductions. That is absolute nonsense. You decided to demand that those with the least sacrifice everything in order to balance your budget. It is absolutely disgraceful that there is no
038shared sacrifice here. The burden is being placed squarely on the shoulders of the very people who keep this district running every single day. When you cut these positions, you are not trimming excess. You are cutting into the core of student support. You are widening the gaps for our most vulnerable students. You are sending a message that the people who serve quietly and tirelessly behind the scenes are the easiest to discard. We reject that message, and you still have a choice. You can choose to protect the people who serve our schools, and you can choose to share responsibility over targeted harm, and choose students over spreadsheets. >> [cheering and applause] [applause and cheering] >> Megan Glenn Dawn Basques Ian Ulloa and Miguel Arellano. >> [cheering] [applause] >> Hi everybody. I'm Dawn Basquez, the OTBS president. And
039I just want to remind you that we are the backbone. CSEA is the backbone of this district and running it without us would be impossible for all of you. So, stop doing the budget on our backs. There has to be other solutions. We've got from the slide 221 positions being eliminated. The work is still there. 69 people are lowest paid people that will not have any bumping rights are out the door. How do we manage that when these people have families? They're already struggling in this economy in our city and you're just going to let them go. This is not fair. Especially when you have zero certificated permanent certificated people. You promised them no layoffs. So, we get knocked off the door. And how is that fair? How is that doing the right thing for
040our communities and our students, period? It is not. Those student students need us. This district needs us. So, please reconsider and do the right thing. >> [cheering] >> Good evening. My name is Megan Glenn. I am first vice president of OTBS. I'm an administrative aid for special education. I'm the parent of a child who will be graduating from Patrick Henry with a moderate to severe disability. Every single bargaining unit in this district is important. But the district's financial hardship to permanent employees is not being shared and felt equally. It's falling on one group, classified. Why is CSEA carrying the weight of the district's financial struggles? Eliminating classified employees does not eliminate the work. It just piles more on those of us who remain. People are at their breaking points. In my department in 2015, we
041had seven OTBS members. We have two now. It is the same amount of work on two people and you're going to vote to eliminate one of those tonight. From seven to one in under 10 years. Do not celebrate Women's History Month by cutting disproportionately women who are the lowest paid employees of this district. >> [cheering] >> Hello board members. My name is Miguel Arellano and I am a paraeducator independence facilitator. And I am also the president of CSEA San Diego paraeducator 759. I am here to speak against the proposed layoffs. Why is it always that the um that those of us that earn the least are the first to go? Um It's obvious that the people impacted are going that um it's obvious that the people impacted are going to suffer without money, food, possibly
042without shelter. Worse than that, our students um they're going to uh feel the impact as as we are already stretched thin and we won't will we will have difficulty meeting their hours. Um Those of you um making this these decisions are not on the ground with us. You don't see what we feel. We won't you don't see what we see. You don't feel what we feel. Um to you, we are just numbers, FTE or full-time equivalent. This mindset needs to change. >> [cheering and applause] >> Hi, my name is Ian Yuloa. I'm a CSEA labor rep. Um tonight we're here because the board is voting to eliminate 221 positions. 133 of those are filled positions of classified employees. Nearly more than half of those, 69 of them, don't have positions to bump in onto when
043they get cut. These people have families, they have kids, they have people they need to take care of. These employees have no bumping rights. It's important to acknowledge that this is happening within the same district that less than 3 weeks ago uh approved for a 5% raise for another unit as well as zero layoffs entirely. This was a conscious decision, not an accident. The district owes its classified employees an explanation on how this decision was reached. You still have time. You could still vote no. >> [cheering] [screaming] >> Kansa Sunshine Johnson, Kyle Weinberg, Kiki Ochoa, and Issy Martinez. Good evening. My name is Sunshine Johnson. I Today is my 50th birthday and I decided to come here and speak upon and make sure uh that I have a job. Um I am a third generation
044San Diego Unified employee. My grandmother, my mother, and I have all been working here at the Unified School District. I work with special uh I'm a special ed braille assistant. That means I work with children that have visual impairments and um every day when I come to school, the teachers, the administration, and anybody that sees my child is very excited to see me, a parent educator on campus, because they don't know how to read braille. I know how to read braille. The people that are working in my position ask me every day, "How do I help this student?" The teachers, the the administration, "Who's going to cover my job when it gets cut?" >> [applause] >> All right. Uh hello board. Thank you for the opportunity. My name is Kiki Ochoa. I'm a teacher at
045Lincoln High School. Um I just want to I just want to say uh Sherida, Doug, um and so many other classified employees at Lincoln High have been there since 2007. And um when something is needed, they're there. So, I have to be here in solidarity with all our CSAs uh CSA employees, all our classified, nur- everybody that's here. I've heard narratives that you know, uh that are false. You know, outside, you know, whether it be on social media, even amongst our own members. But, the fact is as a member of this of the STA bargaining team, I have witnessed on numerous occasions the district being divisive and not caring about all its bargaining units. I want to ask you all, board, I'll finish with this. Please respect the people that work face-to-face with our students
046on a daily basis and don't listen to the advice that admin is giving you to cut our employees. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Kyle Weinberg, president of SDA. I'm here as a special education teacher who's worked closely with classified staff at Bell Middle School with Perez in my applied reading and math classes. I couldn't have worked without them for our highest need students with disabilities. To our custodians and food service workers from the OSS unit who kept our classrooms clean and our students fed and ready to learn with healthy meals. To the office staff and therapists from the OTBS unit who helped check in on students who were having rough days and helped get to the root of challenging student behaviors that impacted their education. And as certificated educators, we were here in January standing
047up for fully staffed special education and fully staffed special education means educators and classified staff. >> [applause] >> We shouldn't be facing bare-bones staffing in the programs that support our students and these proposed layoffs will take us even further away from the staffing that we need as educators to provide the best possible instruction in our classrooms. As SDA president, I'm committing to fight alongside our CSEA colleagues to stop these classified layoffs that impact all of our students in classrooms. Together, we are stronger. >> [applause] >> Isabel Martinez, uh, CSEA 759's past president. Um, I'm also a paraeducator independence facilitator, early childhood special education. Um, you will hear several different, um, stories today. I'm going to share today. I work in a school readiness preschool class. I serve students that are either just about to turn
048three, so two to four-year-olds. Um today is a heavy day. With my my fellow siblings here fighting for layoffs, I have two colleagues that are on that list. Right next to me. And all I could do is cry. So I used that as a teaching moment today. Miss Izzy, why are you crying? I'm sad. My friends are going through a difficult decision right now. And all I could do is cry. You know what, Miss Izzy? We're going to give you a hug. Hopefully that makes it better. My children are carrying something so hard that they don't even know. And that hurts me so much for them to see me cry. Thank you. >> [applause] [applause] >> Stacey Williams, Ramon Gomez, Rita Jeffries, and Dave Beller. Good evening, board members. I'm asking you not to cut
049classified staff because behind many of those positions is a student who depends on them. In special education programs, classified employees directly support IEP implementation, behavior intervention plan supervision, and health and safety needs. Reducing these positions increases caseloads, reduce service minutes, and raises the likelihood of non-compliance. Non-compliance leads to due process filings, compens- compensatory education, settlements, and staff burnout, all of which cost significantly more than preserving these positions. Classified staff also ensure safe campuses, functional offices, and clean facilities. When those roles are cut, responsibilities shift to already stretched teachers and administrators, increasing attrition and instability. If our priority priority is student safety, fiscal responsibility, and legal compliance, then maintaining classified staff is not an option, it is essential. I urge you to explore alternatives before cutting direct support student support positions. And I have to say
050that I will be voting no on that TA agreement. You can have the raise. I want my support staff back. >> [cheering] [applause] >> Good evening, board members. My name's Ramon Gomez. I'm the senior labor relations rep with CSEA. I'm here tonight to call out the inconsistency between the district's rhetoric and its actions. Last week I was on the EdSource webinar where one of the board members mentioned that the labor partners and collaboration that exists here is paramount. Really? With all labor partners, I hope. The proposed cut of 120 classified staff members is a direct hit to the invisible foundation of our schools. The district is proposing to remove the very people who ensure our children are safe, fed, and emotionally supported before they ever step into a classroom. When you cut a clerk, a
051food service worker, a driver, a paraeducator, you're not just right-sizing, you're shifting an impossible administrative burden on remaining staff who are already at a breaking point. We've heard a lot about the FARM, fiscally aligned retention management model, but let's be honest about these cuts, where they'll be felt most. It'll be felt most in southeastern San Diego and Clairemont hardest. If you cut the staff based on these numbers, you're essentially punishing the students who have the least for living in the zip codes that they that they're struggling to to exist in. Equity isn't a buzzword in a slide deck. It's a decision that you keep. I'll end with a Frederick Douglass quote. Where justice is denied, where ignorance prevails, or where any one class is made to feel that society is in an organized conspiracy to
052oppress, rob, or degrade them, neither person nor property will be safe. You're creating an unsafe environment with these cuts. Please restore our staff. >> [cheering] [applause] >> Hi, I'm Rita Jeffries and I'm a school psychologist at Trace School. I'm speaking tonight in support of our paraprofessionals and to describe the impact the reduction will have in my school. The staff ratios in our moderate to severe classrooms have changed from 3:1 to 4:1. I need to be very clear. This is a safety issue. Our moderate to severe program is entirely community-based. Instruction occurs on city streets, at intersections, on public transportation, and at job sites. Students are crossing streets, boarding buses, navigating crowded public spaces, and interacting with the general public. A reduction in adult supervision in these settings significantly significantly increases risk. We have students who
053may have limited awareness of traffic, impulsivity, mobility challenges, or difficulty responding to verbal directions. And keep in mind, all of these students are full-grown adults, so they're the sizes of all of us in this room. Oh, well, thank you. >> [applause] >> Hey, uh my name's Dave Beller. I'm the cyber security guy. Um I don't know, man. They They They show up in a blue shirt, so I did. They said sign up to talk, so I did. Uh Uh I I think a lot of people are upset here cuz they this wasn't really handled with like the kind of empathy and compassion that I would come to expect from this school board. You guys dropped this list of of positions on Friday afternoon like that are being eliminated. And you know, it didn't say which
054ones were filled, which ones weren't. People were panicking. People were panicking today. There was a typo on One of my colleagues thought he was getting fired because there was a typo that listed two positions instead of one. Uh it was not handled the way that we have come to expect. And then also they weren't included in the conversations that the the union leaders and stuff about what was going to go down, so they feel left out. And everybody's Our first duty, all of us, our first duty is to the kids, and we're all on the same team. But now, you know, in this room, we're not on the same team. It didn't have to be that way. Thanks. >> [applause and cheering] >> Serena Enrique Nathan Pagador Holly Hellerstedt and Danielle Boston. >> [applause] >>
055Hello. Oh, sorry. Hello, good evening. Um one it did it the news raised more questions than answers. I'm glad that we got a lot of answers right here. Um however, when we break down to the number of 70, it still doesn't reflect what the absence of the jobs that you're speaking of cutting that effect it would be. Um it really shows a lack of knowledge of the scope of work that classified does. The people that still like in online enrollment, that task itself is going to be on the backs of classified. It shows a lack of knowledge of the amount of free labor received by the donation of dedicated generous classified staff, other known as trusted adults. If we review the data from the students, classified staff will be beat out certificated staff as far
056as being counted as a trusted adults almost every single time. Um so, it's out of touch with the reality of the classified staff and their role and responsibilities and everyday dedication to our staff, to our students, and to our district. We're a business of people. That means we need people for people. >> [applause and cheering] >> Good evening, board, superintendent. My name is Nathan Pagador. I'm the vice president of distribution for C A C A chapter 724 O S S. So, previous speakers have talked about the cuts that will affect school sites and their students. I will focus on the cuts that will affect the people that I work with in distribution. The majority of the cuts that are being made to O S S are affecting distribution. And by cutting those positions, that will
057affect our ability to keep school sites supplied, whether they're paper, custodial supplies, specifically toilet paper, paper towels, soap, forms, and and also other things that come in from Lakeshore, from School Specialty. Basically, everything that kids need at school. Also, in general, without classified staff, the district will run will grind to a halt. So, please consider or reconsider eliminating all of these classified positions. Thank you. >> [applause and cheering] >> Good evening. My name is Danielle Boston and I'm a mod severe mod severe para. I'm here cuz I wanted to speak about the heart of paras and a lot of classified staff. We care deeply for our students that we work with. We advocate for our students that we work with, and we work really, really hard. We know our students incredibly well. And it's already
058a position in which if somebody's out sick, there are no subs. We do our best to fill in. We do our best every day for the children we work for. And we, the people I work with, the other paras I work with, this isn't a livable wage. A lot of people work second and third jobs. And to get the news this weekend that some of my coworkers may be cut cuz they're new at what they do and incredibly passionate with they do, that hurts. So, I just wanted to share the optics and timing of this is very, very poor. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Good evening. My name is Holly. I am a teacher in the district, and I'm not only a current teacher, but I'm actually a former paraprofessional. So, I want to just
059say I know from both sides how much it means to be working day in and day out with every single student in that class, and specifically those students with disabilities who come to treat you like a member of their family. And my school would not exist without its classified staff. Every single day from the BSS to the front office clerk to my paraprofessionals, they're the ones that bring smiles to kids' faces every single day, make them feel safe, and make them be able to achieve success. That is what we are about. And as people have mentioned, this opportunity for you, you have a budget, we understand, but it only takes a few to say, "Let's look back at our budget and figure out where are other ways that we can make this work because our
060members are worth it, our students are worth it." And without those people present, everything comes apart. So, I really hope you will reconsider. I really hope you will listen from someone from both sides with a mother who was a clerk, a school clerk. It makes every difference in every household. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Luca Barton Monique Barrett and Rebecca Bryson. Hello. I am Luca. I'm speaking on behalf of the San Diego and Imperial County's Labor Council, well over 100 unions and 200,000 union workers and union families across the region. We fight for the freedoms of all workers and thus a more just and democratic world with abundant opportunity for all and public schools and public education is critical in those goals. When you are looking at layoffs of classifieds that support students and the
061most marginalized students in and outside the classroom, you make it harder to attain a world that is for the entire working class. Um with layoffs, you're hurting the most marginalized, the lowest wage earners, low-income students, special education students, marginalized, underserved youth. And instead of voting for layoffs, you should hire more classifieds because our students and our community deserve nothing less. Good evening. I rise today in opposition of these layoffs at this scale impact because students and families are impacted in very real ways. Classified staff are often the first people students and families encounter on a campus. They build trust. They create stability. They support instruction and help implement IEPs. They are part of the ecosystem that makes schools function. When these positions are reduced, the impact does not disappear. It shifts into classrooms. It affects
062working conditions for educators. It affects student safety. It affects family access. As a veteran special educator and vice president of SDEA, I believe strong schools require strong staffing across every role. Educators do not work in isolation and students thrive when adults are supported, not stretched thin. I urge the board to reconsider the long-term impact on students, families, and campus stability before moving forward. Thank you. >> [applause and cheering] >> We will now move to our virtual speakers. If I call your name, please unmute yourself. You'll have 1 minute. Elena Rambo. Elena Rambo. Leacy Vogel. Anna Hernandez. Are Are folks unmuting who are virtual? Yes. >> So, we're looking for Elena Rambo. Lissie Vogel Anna Hernandez Yessica Nava Christine Cantu Zarati Hi, I'm Christine Cantu Zarati. Go ahead, please. >> I am You have 1 minute.
063I'm a classified employee and a parent in University Heights, and our community truly reflects the diversity of our district. There's a wide range of incomes. As an OT specialist, I work along paraeducators every day. They're they're the backbone of special education, especially in the extensive needs classrooms. My daughter's attended Bernie's in second grade, is now in fifth. She's had the same primetime staff every year. That consistency has meant everything. It's given her a safe and stable space after school, a place where she feels known and cared for. Kelly Tatwater has been serving this community longer than I've been alive, and I'm an old mom. She and her team provide high-quality after-school care that supports working families and nurtures our kids. They're not just a line item in the budget. They're trusted adults and it supports
064an essential parts of our school community. Please can we consider cutting primetime at Bernie, as well as the paraeducators that serve this district. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Rebecca Bryson Um Hello, I'm Rebecca Bryson. I have been working at the district for 5 years. I know my position is important. I have students who come up to me and talk to me and tell me anything that's going on with them and I know they feel safe speaking with me. Cutting jobs like mine will not only negatively affect staffing, but also students. Thank you. >> [applause] >> We'll do a last check for Elena Rambo. Leasy Vogel Anna Hernandez or Yessica Nava I don't think they're going to answer. Okay. Um we'll move to uh board discussion questions. Uh any board members have comments or questions? No
065board question. Oh yeah, trustee Whitehurst Payne. Could you explain the half staff to really explain the true process now for classifieds the district. I'm going to ask that our senior executive director of human resources come up. And and I want to just clarify the question cuz I barely heard you state. We're getting these questions Mhm. I can't. Getting questions here. So it would be helpful to really explain the process now for classifieds. Used to be a certificated process, but explain what will really happen. What this is about. Do you mean in terms of the March 15th notices and the process we went through? Yes, of course. So um as um Dr. Bagula explained, there were some recent changes to California education code um, that now require certificated employees to receive March 15th notices if their
066position is not going to continue into the next year. That aligns with the same requirement and the same timeline and deadline as has been in effect for our certificated staff for some years now. So, as a result of that, um, when we are doing our budgets and that very complicated process, once we know kind of centrally which positions are slated for elimination, the human resources team, uh, in partnership with our finance department and position control, we'll get the list of positions and then we will embark upon what we call the bump process. Um, that's our terminology, um, that, um, we look to displacement rights, which is something that is often times found in collective bargaining agreements and in fact our displacement or our bump process is a collectively bargained process with all of our classified
067unions. And what that does, and and then we we enforce the provisions of the language, we enact it, um, we will first, when we are faced with a positional elimination, the first thing we do is eliminate vacancies. So, that's that's something that our managers, our supervisors, and our budget team are looking at first. If we can avoid impacting a human being, we will do that first. When we are dealing with, um, a situation where we can't uh, avoid eliminating a filled position, we then will look to see if there's another position for that employee, that incumbent employee, in their same classification, maybe in a different school site or in a different department. So, in effect, I'm going to just make this up. Let's say that I am an administrative assistant here at the central office.
068My position has been eliminated. If there's a vacant administrative assistant position on the books for next year, they're going to move me into that position first. If then we can't do that, we will look to that individual's next last served classification. And that's the bump. So, if I can move into a vacancy, I'll then move into a prior health classification. Same thing, we always look for vacancies first. Now, because of those negotiated bumping rights, if there is not a vacancy for me to bump into based on seniority, then we may need to bump another less senior person out of their position. So, seniority is a very driving factor in the work that we do in that painstaking analysis that we do, um and we literally go impacted employee by impacted employee, and we follow each
069individual's employment history with our district until we end what we call the bump chain, and there's no other bumps. And in some circumstances, and unfortunately, we have approximately 70 of our colleagues this year, there is not a vacancy for them to bump into, and or they're one of the least senior in their given classification without prior employment history with us. So, in turn, they will get a layoff notice, a preliminary layoff notice this March. Did that answer your question, Dr. Whitehurst-Payne? Yes, and one other question, where do where do these um where do the cuts originate from? Where do the cuts originate from? I'm not certain I understand that, but what we're do what we do with our budgets every year is we look at um you know, the revenue, the allocation that we have,
070and managers are tasked with making the best decisions they can to optimize the the team, the work they do, centering students in all that we do, including those of us in central office who don't work in school sites, we're centering the work that we do in support of students to make sure that we're prioritizing and optimizing to the very best of our ability our necessary work to do that. That's centrally, but also some of them may occur where? At the sites? Yes. Yes, ma'am. Yes. Some school sites may also make uh budgetary decisions or organizational alignment decisions that they need. >> [clears throat] >> Is that helpful? I I do want to add that that's why it was important to have that other part. I know that you walked through the first um half of
071the document that we were showing, and it was also important for us to show the other part because there's still what I'm still hoping or what I'm still working towards because we still are in negotiations is that we're able to actually come to a win-win um where there's positions and availability and maybe even promotions for folks um that are impacted. And so that's what we're going to continue to do um because even one person I know it hurts. Um we have been in a budget deficit when you asked about where the budgets have come where the cuts have come. We have tried our best to only I mean I'm to not touch the school or the classroom. Um and we've done that but now it's at the point where we're we're uh it's getting a
072little bit harder, but we're also trying to find a win-win. That's why it was important to show you both and we're still in the middle of negotiations with our CSCA partners. Thank you. Yeah, yeah, Vice President Plaza. Think I as long as you're still up here, Christine, I want to a- ask you to um with regard to positions, first of all, when looking at all of these, of course, you know, we never want to send one layoff notice, but is there input from the principals are are speaking are are part of this decision and also I'm I'm I'm asking, you know if if there's input from the schools. Um and also of that 70, I know you can't really say but the idea I think Dr. Bagwell is getting to is that we don't at
073the end of this we don't want we're hoping that it's not going to be 70 that we'll have that number down much lower. Is that correct? >> Yes, that that is correct. So the notices that are going to be going out in March are the what we call preliminary layoff notices. >> Okay. There's a lot that can happen between now and May 15th, which is the deadline for us to issue the the final kind of displacement notices or assignment notices. And in fact, a lot of stuff happens. So when we are sending out those notices, so for those employees who do have the ability to bump into a different position, they may, if they choose, elect to be laid off instead of take the bump. So each of the individuals who's going to be getting
074a March 15th notice, whether that's a kind of a bump notice or whether it's a preliminary layoff notice, um the those folks with the bump, they're going to have a choice. If they opt to be laid off, that may then, not in every case cuz we have to look at the very unique job history, again like I mentioned before we go painstaking through it, that may very well then mean that somebody else, when we um kind of follow that chain, may not end up receiving a layoff notice. The other thing that we look at is natural attrition. So a lot happens between now and May. So um people are promoted um into opportunities that exist now. Some folks may leave the district. And so after we receive those option letters, we also take a lay
075a look at the lay of the land for 26-27 as it relates not only to those newly added positions, but also any new vacancies that come up through natural attrition. I would like to add that we did have meetings with principals. I mean, this is not No one wants this task. >> Sure. So but there were discussions around what makes sense in elementary and middle school and high school. Um we want to be able to make informed decisions and they know best because they're at the school sites. So There was a lot of engagement with our site leaders as well this year as well along with our central office leaders. So as awful as this is there was a lot of work, a lot of consultation and a lot of feedback and input solicited to
076get us here today. We also say may but folks have a right of return and Absolutely. >> vacancies, departures, life happens to folks and people are returned. Yes, every employee who is impacted either by a position elimination and is laid off or is bumped into a former classification or a classification with a lower full-time equivalency, so lower number of hours, they go on what we call the recall list. And those employees either get 39 months or 63 months depending on the specifics. I won't get into all the detail ad nauseam on that one. But they stay on that recall list for the classification from which they were displaced. And then when vacancies open we actually call them first. So folks on the recall list, they have primary rights to the return to our district if
077they were laid off status or if they're with us currently working in a former class. They have the right to choose to return to their position that they're going to be losing this year. Yeah, trustee Pederson. All right. Thank you, Christine. And Thank you to the whole team, Christine, Nicole Jessica and Ryan as well. Thank you for the work you've done. Are these is our speaker system not working? Okay. Typically our speaker system projects our voice but we I will still get real close to this thing and we'll have a little intimate moment here. Um so um so let me say first of all, thank you for coming today. Um uh obviously self-advocacy is the core of the labor movement and uh I appreciate hearing from you and hearing from your representatives. Um you know,
078it's these are these are the most difficult parts of being a board member, obviously. Um we are given a task from the state of California and the federal government to um impose austerity on our districts and that's what we do as a board. Now, I will say this board in general uh this district runs a 2% statutory minimum uh on in terms of our reserves. So, we give every dime we can to our staff. Um I think we're roughly around 90% right now of all our funds go to our staff, which is uh well above the state average. Um and so I think in general in relation to our labor partners, um we give our labor partners everything we can. Now, I will however say um and if we could, we would give more and
079I think you see efforts, for example, with our education workforce housing where we are attempting to give more um to our staff than the state or the federal Welcome. So, the teacher is not classified. The teacher is not classified. No, that's not true, actually. Our our education workforce housing, the current education workforce housing, 53 units at Livia is all CSEA and our other housing will be 50/50, um although much of it is 80% below. At least three are using low-income housing tax credits. That will be overwhelmingly CSEA, so our classified employees will have a substantial benefit once those are constructed. But that's a side conversation. Um But but what I will say is this is why I say it's the hardest These are the hardest questions because ultimately it's not hard for me as a
080board member to give everything we can to our workers. What is hard is allocational questions between our labor between our various labor partners. And so Look, I'll be totally honest and I said it in public. I say it all the time. In in in private and closed session and open session. With regard to the This is a This is an oversimplification, but in large part this year's deficit is last year's raise. And so I think this is an important conversation to be had, frankly. Eventually you run out of other people's positions to fund raises. And so I'm actually have I'm We've respected you in terms of listening and I'm trying to get to a point in which I think I'm saying something that's relevant to you and and your jobs and I'm not I have
081definitely been an advocate for anybody that knows me for CSEA and for our classified employees. And I would say you on a board you you're asked to make a decision often times about whether you have more staff that are paid less or less or fewer staff that are paid more. And we have in my time here given substantial raises. We're probably the only agency in all of the San Diego region that's actually kept up with with CPI, with inflation. Which is truly remarkable, but it also means we've exceeded stat statutory cola. And when you exceed the statutory cola, it means you're going to lose positions. And so I've wrestled with that reality um because I do think as many have pointed out tonight that when we at a certain point when you're making that decision
082about whether to be about whether to have fewer employees that are paid more or more employees that are paid relatively less you have to keep giving raises or else your wage does not keep up with inflation and your workers can't afford to live. They already can't afford to live particularly our classified employees. Um so I will will say um I am look we've agreed to what we've agreed to um and it has imposed we already take substantial risk with this budget um in terms of the future. I think we are still we we we we will definitely balance budgets moving forward um but I I mean you can hear me I'm I'm I'm I'm really have wrestled with this a lot. I think you many of the few people who spoke tonight at a certain
083point when you give wages even though we have a me too clause um it is true that our by and large our certificated staff whether or not we've made an agreement not to let off any they're ratioed in the contract. So um to the extent that we're going to have to let staff go to pay ultimately for raises it is primarily going to be non-certificated staff. That's the reality. um I'm I'm I'm actually one of the few that I'm going to be honest with you tonight about what's happening. You're you're not wrong. And so what I will say is what? And and I encourage my this is the thing. I encourage my colleagues to disagree with me and and to be contrary to what I said what I what I'm saying in terms of my
084characterization of how you put a budget together. Um and the trade-offs Um I've voted for this budget. I I hope that in the long run uh with a trip with attrition um we can get this down to 20 25. That's my hope. Um it pains me immensely to lose any staff particularly and I will say this I was interrupted when I was saying it. There is an equity component when you consistently choose substantial raises over positions because the raises you lose disproportionately are I'll be honest black and brown. We didn't ask for the Is that substantial? We didn't ask for the raise. 81 cents a day is substantial? I did the math. It is not. I'm going to wrap up here and let my colleagues speak. I'm telling you >> balance of 86 million extra.
085That's a great question uh and we will have that discussion in the second interim uh next week. I encourage folks to come back for that but I will say um I will be voting for this but it is um not without a lot of conflict and not without uh heavy heart and and concern. So, thank you. Trustee Hazen. Thank you President Barrera and thank you to Trustee Patterson for speaking so candidly about the difficult decisions we're forced to make uh in balancing our budget. I know these are difficult things to hear. They are difficult conversations for us to have and I know that nobody up here wants to do this. This is not a position anybody wants to be in and I can tell you that as I hear everybody's story in this room and
086as both a school board member and a mom with two children in our schools, I know how valuable the work is that all of our classified employees do every single day and it really is with a very heavy heart that I will be voting to support this. Um but I am hopeful as Superintendent Beguhl shared that at the end of the day we won't have 69 people whose lives are impacted by layoffs and that we can do work over the next few months to limit that number. Thank you. Did you have another Well, uh I guess I'm in a unique position on this board because I was a part of the very first certificated layoff in this district back a number of years ago. So, I know what it feels to get that March 15th
087notice and to have come all the way across country and then get that notice and going through that process that you're going through right now. The The only thing I would say to my colleagues is this. There are some things that we as an institution, we as educators, all entities need to really look at whether or not we're being truthful in our position. If you have one school that's out of out of balance, somebody's working with x number of children in this classroom and someone over here is working with half of that half that number, then we have an obligation. You talk about equity, let's do equity all the way across the board. So, um there are a lot of nuances that um are involved that that's why I'm so optimistic because although they laid
088us off the first time by um the beginning of the school year. Can remember in fact being in Durham, North Carolina at Duke working on my master's degree when I got my notice saying return um we've canceled all the notices. But it was a trip all the way back and forth cross across country. So, I'm not I I believe that we will bring back most of the people who are getting notices. And I'm looking forward to the opportunity to give people an opportunity to do something different. If you notice that chart that was up there, there are 80 projected 86 new positions on that chart, which means that we can put people in positions that will help more children, more folks. Uh just study the chart. Maybe this is the first time you've seen it.
089But although we're talking about eliminating 69, we're talking about 86, I believe, uh additional positions coming in because the children have needs that are in different areas. So, as we develop programs and work to place folks in different assignments, I would say as I said to the children at Porter School on yesterday and last week, um let's just open our minds and look at ways that we can work together to meet the needs of the students even more so because we can do that. Everybody's not doing that well in schools. We can do some things as an organization that will help children even more. So, I'm voting for this because I believe that we can work together to bring folk already in the system into some of these 86 positions that are uh on the
090board. Thank you. Yeah. And I I'll just Oh, I'm sorry. Vice President Barrera. Thank you to all my fellow board members. I appreciate you all being with your transparency and honesty. I think um this is a extremely difficult situation. My Both my daughters went to school in San Diego Unified and you're right. You the classified staff are the frameworker or the backbone of our schools and um we understand that. So, it it the Again, this is probably one of the worst jobs we have to have as board members as Trustee Patterson mentioned. um It makes a real impact no matter if even if it's one cut. But, I think what Dr. Whitehurst Payne is saying as well is even though Yeah, the numbers are showing one thing, but what we're hoping for in the next
091couple months is to get that down, you know, close to zero. Hopefully, that would be my goal. And actually providing some new opportunities for um some of our some of our classified employees. And also, I just wanted to mention that mention like California, we're we are facing structural budget deficits due to declining enrollment across the state and the expiration of our federal COVID monies. Um and our amount, if you compare us to other large urban districts, again, never good to to cut one position, but there are there's a lot more cuts going on at at uh schools that are school districts that are much smaller than we are. Um and I think as Trustee Patterson mentioned about trying to keep the reserve down, really trying to use that money today. Um many school districts have
092much higher reserves than we do. You know, we we do that as a way to show we're supporting our our our staff um you know, today rather than rainy day funds. Um so, I will also be voting for this, but during the time in the next few months and and also just beyond, I think as a board member, you know, I'll be continuing continuing to ask we need to make sure that we protect um the most student-facing positions and that's a lot of you here. Um and what are we doing? I know that we're working at the administrative level. Um we've cut a lot of our central office staff and continuing to look at that. I mean, that's not going away. We'll be continuing to examine that. Again, using our reserves um responsibly and uh
093you know, other ways to be efficient, but still to maintain these positions. So, um thank you. Yeah, and I'll just uh agree with uh my colleagues. Um this is a point in time, but there's work to be done over the next uh few months. I'm confident as uh Trustee Whitehurst Payne has said that we don't have to choose between our employees keeping up with the cost of living and our employees having jobs and and working with our students. Um we're better than that as a district to think that that's our uh our choice. We're going to be able to move forward, create positions, um support people to promote into higher paying positions, um and we'll go through the process of negotiations, the process of attrition, budgeting, um but we'll get there and people will be
094actually in better positions than than they are now. Uh so with that, I'm going to have to ask Yeah, I'm going to have to ask uh our student trustees cannot vote on this item. So, uh all other uh adult trustees, please vote. Okay, that motion passed unanimously. Okay, we will move to item H2. This is nominations for the 2026 California School Boards Association Region 17 Delegate Assembly Election. Vice President Bozzo, please introduce the item. >> [screaming] >> Okay, thank you, President Barrera. Um so each year we need to elect um or vote for um our delegate assembly um del- delegates from across the county. Um so, this board will vote tonight. There will be nine recommendations for that board in addition to Doctors Whitehurst Payne and Hazen and myself who are also on the CSBA
095del- board representing San Diego Unified. And we have before us the list of There's five that are on this list. So, Eddie Jones with Fallbrook Union High School, Melissa Crow Warner USD, which also covers Julian area, I think. Giwa Mock from Ramona. I think he's in Del Mar, actually. Yeah, I don't know why that says Ramona, but that's incorrect. Uh Don Perfect is Ramona, and then Rhea Stewart, she's at the Cardiff um school district. So, there was a glitch this year with regard to getting people's names in. I guess they submitted names and then they didn't get on the ballot and so at our last CSBA meeting last week we talked about that and these are the additional people that I would like to recommend for the ballot and that's Marie Betancourt Castaneda. She's in
096the National City School Board. Marty Emerald from Sweetwater. Marla Strich who's from the Encinitas School Board and Rudy Lopez also from Sweetwater. So that would give us nine. Nine people for the board. Okay, so that's a motion from Vice President seconded by Trustee Hazen. Any speakers no any board questions or comments? Okay, if not Trustees Wynn and Ordaz please vote. All other board members please vote. I think you have Shana. Okay, you have all those for the minutes okay. I know I went through the names kind of quickly. You have them okay. Okay, great. Okay, that passes. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Vice President for that. You're welcome. And we'll now move to the Superintendent's consent agenda. Do any board members wish wish to pull any items? If not can we get a motion
097for the consent agenda? Motion by Trustee Wynn do we have a second by Trustee Ordaz? No. Public speakers okay. Student Trustees please vote. All other board members please vote. Okay, let's do it again. Trustees Ordaz and Wynn please vote. And adult trustees, please vote. Okay. That motion passes. Okay, we will now move to non-agenda uh public comments. Uh Ms. Stolz, please. Yes, we have six in-person speakers and I believe two virtual speakers. Yes. So, each speaker would have 3 minutes. I will call your names to come up. Eric Zabel. Eric Zabel. Should we wait for one of the board members to come back? No. You can, but Oh, wait, there he is. Okay. And is there a timer so I can be mindful of Yes, so you have 3 minutes. When this When the yellow
098light comes on, you have 1 minute left. Okay, got it. All right. Thank you so much for having me here. This is my first time at a board meeting. Um I am a product of San Diego Unified. K-12, Tierrasanta Elementary, DePortola Middle, Serra, now Canyon Hills. Two younger brothers, both also products of the school district. So, I have a lot of experience with the school district. Very thankful for the school district. Got me to UC Berkeley, got my middle brother to USC, and my youngest brother is a sophomore at Canyon Hills, and we're hoping he goes to a great university as well, and and yeah, we're very thankful. I had a great experience at Tierrasanta Elementary, I had a great experience at DePortola, but all of us, we feel like when we got to Serra
099or now Canyon Hills, the quality of education changed and well, lowered and it's kind of become clear why that's the case now and I think it's because of leadership and administration. I think there's a very mixed bag. I think there's some great administrators, but I also think there's some on the other side of the spectrum. Recently, I start I think I have a minute left. I don't know if it's minute is enough time, but recently, I am helped my brother do a grade dispute process cuz he showed me one of his projects that he thought should have been at least a B and he got a C on for graphic design class. Looked at the rubric and I thought, okay, actually it makes sense like what you're telling me. So, I helped him exercise his
100right to do a grade dispute. And my process with this from start to finish has been just lack of professionalism, procedural non-compliance, and I The reason why I came here today was was to talk about that. I don't think 3 minutes is going to be enough time. I can follow up with email sharing these experiences because I think that these details are the exact reason what's holding this school back from being better. I think there's no reason why Canyon Hills cannot be an above average school and why it cannot help like even more kids at that school go on to great universities, have great careers. So, um I don't know how much time I have left. You have 35 seconds. I have 5 seconds. So, um just had enough time to introduce myself and the
101problem. Um I'd love to get in the details. I don't know if uh what would be the best way to to do so, but Just send us an email. Email? Okay. >> [email protected] Okay. So just to make sure that you heard. So if you email [email protected], then then we'll follow up and I'm your school board member and happy to schedule time to learn more. >> Okay, thank you so much. >> thank you for your advocacy. Thank you. All right, have a great night. Arlene Newbarth When we talk about trauma-informed leadership, one of the core principles is psychological safety, the ability for people to speak up, ask for help, report problems, and function without fear of retaliation. That's not abstract. That's something organizations can measure, but you know this. In [clears throat] the 2018-2019 California school
102staff survey, thousands of SDUSD staff responded about school climate and safety. 42% of staff district-wide strongly agreed that their school is a supportive and inviting place to work. 36% strongly agreed that their school their school promotes trust and collegiality among staff. Those are not minor issues. If leadership is the primary driver of employee experience, then leadership practices must be continuously evaluated against safety indicators. So I am asking, how does this board monitor leadership climate trends? What specific leadership behaviors or management practices have been identified as creating unnecessary stress? What expectations have been set for leaders to reduce it? What accountability exists when leadership practices are shown to be harming employee well-being? Do you monitor patterns in complaints, grievances, or investigations that suggest fear or silence? And if that information exists, how is it used? How
103often does the board review it? What trends trigger action? Are engagement scores tied to leadership review? Are retention patterns analyzed by management site? And if those metrics are not reviewed regularly, then what oversight function is being exercised? Leadership culture does not self-correct. If managers drive 70% of engagement outcomes, then leadership account ability cannot be optional. It must be defined. It must be reviewed. And it must have consequences. Otherwise, we are ignoring the single strongest variable influencing organizational health. If psychological safety is not being managed, it is being left to chance. And when safety is left to chance inside power structures, harm is not an accident. It is predictable. Janelle Chew? Good evening. Uh my name is Janelle Chew. I'm a supervisor with the mental health related services program. I work in the mental health resource
104center here at the district. I'm here tonight to advocate for the counselor positions and the licensed mental health clinician positions um in our district. Our STARS counselors currently support programs at Mission Bay High School, Canyon Hills High School, Farb Middle, CPMA, Sequoia, Wang fourth, and Choyce Meed, as well as the licensed mental health clinician, which serves students with IEPs. The proposal to eliminate counselors um and mental health clinicians is not just a staffing change. It's a removal of critical specialized personnel who enable our students to access their education. It is important to remember for that these students, these counseling services are embedded into their mandated IEPs. STARS counselors and mental health clinicians are essential. They provide daily specialized intervention for our neurodivergent students, including those with autism, ADHD, sensory or cognitive differences. There's three critical
105areas that these providers support: crisis de-escalation, skill building and safety. The impact of elimination of these positions are are huge. Um the specialized workload, the excuse me, if these positions are cut, this specialized workload will shift to general counselors who are already managing caseloads of hundreds of students. Furthermore, our neurodivergent students are exceptionally sensitive to changes in their support systems. This transition will likely result in increased behavioral incidents, a rise in disciplinary actions, and most importantly, significant missed instruction time. Without the continued support provided through the specialized STARS program and services provided by mental health clinicians, our tier three resources are are are already operating beyond capacity and will face even greater strain. Specifically, the mental health related services program which I oversee is is operating over capacity. In closing, I just really want to
106emphasize that our STARS counselors and our mental health related services clinicians are critical for student stability. I ask you to please maintain these positions to ensure that our our vulnerable students remain safe, remain supported, and capable of succeeding in our schools. The maintenance of these positions would be in alignment the district's declaration to prioritize mental health and well-being of all of our students and staff. Thank you so much. >> [applause] >> Adria Bogart Good evening. I'm Adria Bogart. I'm a STARS counselor. I'm not sure when you're going to make the decision about eliminating the STARS counseling positions, but I did just want to remind you that the district's own definition of STARS is to have an embedded counselor in every program. Embedded doesn't mean itinerant like an intervention counselor and it also doesn't mean a
107site school counselor who has 200 plus kids. I was speaking with my site counselors today about what I do and both of them said, "We will not be Pro-Act trained. We will not We don't know trauma focused CBT. We don't know evidence-based interventions for students on the spectrum level one." So, there's a lot of support that my students won't get with the elimination of the counseling positions. Dr. Martin Luther King said that a budget is a moral document and it will be interesting to see of this leadership what is protected and preserved when in times of growth and what is preserved and protected in times of constraint. So, thank you for listening. Thank you for your careful decision-making and thank you for your communication, which is key because just an email and just a meeting
108with my principal saying that my position's been eliminated is not enough. There needs to be better communication from everyone. Thank you. Jorge Garcia >> Good evening. Y'all seem like you've been in a hard and rough place here, but I'm going to change it up a little bit. All right? My name is George Garcia. I go Yes, it's Jorge, but I go by George Garcia. My son goes to Bell Middle School, also an IP student. All right? So, I'm going to speak from the heart. All right? I wanted to pretty much touch on Mr. Barada. Am I saying it right? All right. Your story about the public schools really changed your life, all right? And it really impacts. Knowing that we're getting a budget cuts and everybody here is really facing a lot of a lot
109of changes. As a parent, I was brought into this because Audubon Fulton schools are also closing down and a potential increase at Bell Middle School, but there is no touch on the budget for Bell. And now we have layoffs. So, I'm kind of asking you for more transparency. On your end, those schools have been notified for the parents. Have they been informed that the other schools are not going to increase in any budget staff? All of you already seen this. I'm from Florida. I've been in the schools with 45 students to one teacher. You've seen this fail a thousand times. What are we actually teaching our next generation? All right? Transparency is key. Don't give me spreadsheets. Give me the day-to-day plan and how we're going to get success for our children. That is what
110I leave on to your table right now. So, thank you for your time. >> [applause] >> Rocio Leon. >> Hi, I'm Priscilla Leon. I'm reading on behalf of Evelyn and Dale Clark who are waiting online but had to go. We are parents of a student who attends Bell Middle School and want to formally share our family's experience and concerns regarding the district's ability to meet students' needs during this period of transition. As a military family, stability, structure, and appropriate educational supports are essential to our children's well-being. Currently, Bell Middle School is facing reduced funding following the transition of over 200 Audubon and Fulton students due to the closure of their 6th to 8th grade programs. Over the past year, our family experienced persistent and unresolved failures in the implementation of our son's IEP at Bell
111within the San Diego Unified School District. The district was unable to consistently meet his needs. It is deeply concerning to consider how current and incoming students will be supported next year under even more constrained conditions and staffing shortages. Bell students deserve equitable resources and the opportunity to succeed. I leave you with this question. What is the district's concrete plan and timeline to address staffing shortages, budget allocation, and IEP compliance at Bell Middle School during this transition? And how will families be informed and included in that process? Sincerely, Dale and Evelyn Clark, and they are also not supportive of the layoffs. Okay, we'll go to our virtual speakers. Genevieve Z. Good evening. Can you hear me? Yes, go ahead. You have 3 minutes. >> Thank you. While I was packing my child's lunch the morning of
112September 5th, 2024, I received two severe weather alerts on my phone because we were having an unusually humid heat wave, a wet bulb alert. It warned against strenuous exercise and heat-related illness and even death, but I wasn't worried about it because my kid was going to school with AC in the classroom that day at Golden Hill K-3. At pickup, my child was sick. She had been crying for some time and was running at me yelling, "Miss Anne, will you let me drink water?" Miss Anne said no, she wouldn't let me. Her face looked like she'd gotten into my makeup and rubbed lipstick all over her cheeks, neck, forehead, and arms. Her hair was stringy, damp. Her whole body was sweaty. She was crying and shaking. I tried to get her to go back into the
113school to drink more water at the water fountain or the office, and she freaked out, terrified, yelling, "No, no, no, no, no." repeatedly while looking behind her. We quickly e-biked through the sweltering heat back home where I made her drink liquids in front of a fan where I put freezer ice packs around her body. She cried for some time complaining that her whole body hurt, that she was too tired to move, mumbling and tripping over her words while telling me that she tried to stop running to drink water, but the teacher said she would have to run more laps if she stopped running to drink water. She said her best friend Layla fell down while running, and the teacher yelled at them to keep running. She told me she tried to rest in the shade,
114but the teacher yelled at them and made them sit in the sun on the hot asphalt as a class. I was speechless. My child had never made claims like this about people. This had never happened to us before. I called the school, horrified. With a shaky voice, I left two messages with the school office informing them that my child was suffering heat-related illness and asking the questions, was my child really forced to run that day? Did the teacher threaten my child with extra laps for stopping to drink water? Why then was she floppy, burning up, and crying of leg pain? Why wasn't she sent to the nurse? To this day, nobody ever answered me. Nobody at the school reported this child neglect incident either. The police later told me I should have just called them
115from school, but I didn't know that. AP 4032 hot weather operations requires common sense safety procedures for teachers to follow. And what if I endangered my child's health, my child's life by breaking very clear safety procedures several times during the school year with absolutely no resources for us to escape to safety and zero accountability from the district. I slept horribly that night treating the illness Miss Anne caused, waking up to crying dosing pain relievers for muscle cramps, taking brief naps at the foot of the bed in the kids' room, massaging their tiny legs' knotted muscles, waking up to desperate crying requests for more leg massages for the painful cramps. I later informed the ICA, and they didn't ask me any questions about it. They just thanked me for the info and silently stared at me.
116What kind of unprofessional investigation has no questions? Force PC 11166 compliance by any means possible to protect students from injury and protect school funding. Thank you. Leticia Rincon Thank you. I did not sign up to speak. Go ahead. You have 3 minutes. As I stated, I did not sign up to speak. Oh, okay. Uh Maya L I signed up to speak about a previous um about the agenda comments. But I don't believe I was called on that time. For the district operations item H1. Go ahead. You have 3 minutes. I just wanted to state that, you know, I find it really disingenuous as a member of SDEA that um you know, you averted a strike with negotiating with our union in the name of supporting special education staffing and making sure students have stable schools
117and stable staffing. And this just completely undercuts that and reads as disingenuous that there is not a care about student supports, that our students will not be supported, and that um a budget as is a moral document as stated before. And yes, you can feel bad about it, but womp womp, this is what you signed up for as members of the school board. And so, um you know, I would just say shame on the continued budget cuts for special educators, uh those that work with our special education students. Thank you, Ms. Soltes. That concludes uh non-agenda public item uh testimony. Thank you everybody for contributing. This meeting is now adjourned and the next regular meeting will be next Tuesday, March 10th.