Board of Education Regular Meeting

001chamber and those watching on ITV and Via live stream uh and call the March 11th 2025 regular meeting of the Board of Education to order with all board members present save trusty Hazen who I believe I just heard the door so I think she'll be with us momentarily um there she is uh now for our flag ceremony the Hoover High School Army JC Color Guard will present the colors please stand for the presentation of the colors left right left [Music] please join us in the Pledge of Allegiance trusty crw would you like to lead yes I would United States of America one nation under God indivisible and jce for colors right face order colors forward March thank thank you please be seated all right that brings us to A3 the land acknowledgement uh land acknowledgement

002is a traditional custom that dates back centuries in many native nations and communities our land acknowledgement was developed in partnership with the local K Kumi leaders students from the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts prepared the following video to show our respect for the Kumi people who are the original stewards of the land our school district occupies roll the tap we respectfully acknowledge that the Kumi 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 cumi 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

003and right to safeguard their sacred connection to the land for future generations with gratitude and strength we stand with the Kumi embracing the past while forging a brighter tomorrow all right thank you we will now move to Item B adoption of the agenda we have a full docket tonight including consideration of our second interim financial report which is I'm sure why everyone's here uh do I have a motion to adopt today's agenda as published trusty Hazen uh second from trusty baldis um we have a motion in a second uh do we have any discussion hearing none we will move to a vote student trustees please vote thank you remaining trustees please vote that is unanimous consent with student trustees uh concurring Miss stz uh can you please provide information for public speakers this evening about

004the 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 be 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

005follow along with the agenda so that you know when your item is coming up for disc discussion when you begin speaking the green light below my name on the dis indicates that the timer has started when the light turns yellow you will have one 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 Marty uh we will now move to the student Advisory board report uh trustees baldis and Cruz please provide your report thank you president hayen as I was as I was that was uh last year thank you president Peterson at last night's student advisory meeting we had the opportunity to

006speak extensively on topics such as student and staff relations responsible social media use and an open floor discussion where we had our members bring forth any topics or issues they see around their campus Steve vallis now the main topic that we spoke about at last night's meeting was staff and student relationships and how students can feel very reluctant to report administrative misconduct and staff who are abusing their power on students a lot of students came to us and they told us last night that they feel even if they do report staff or their teachers that nothing will really get handled by that and that they don't feel that there's an accessible way for them to report their teachers or their administrators when they do commit misconduct against them so we're happy to say that moving

007forward as a district we're committed to working on this and having a student Le Coalition who create and form some for some sort of uh reporting site where we'll be able to send reports to a third party uh Personnel at The District in relation to staff misconduct that was the main point from last night's meeting thank you all sounds like superintendent beula caught that that's concerning obviously uh thank you oh yes I just wanted to thank both of our student board members this year because I feel like for the first time I mean that you guys have done the best job of really representing the student voice from across the district and I I just see that at every meeting more and more and I I just wanted to recognize that and say thank you

008so much for you know not just being up here and talking for yourselves and you know but that of course that's important too but also making sure you're representing the needs of the our students and I just wanted to say thank you thank you trusty baso yes trusty haen I agree and also am shocked and disheartened to hear the topic of conversation last night and I hope you'll come back and continue to share with us how we're making progress to address this because every child every student should feel empowered to speak up um and I know what we want is for everyone to experiencing experience a welcoming supportive loving environment um and if that doesn't happen for one student it's a problem and to hear that a group of students were describing um issues is

009is concerning trusty W's pain uh they're familiar with our process of having Anonymous complaints and so forth right so I think that was one of the biggest issues I know we do have a method of reporting administrators but one of the biggest things was that the students weren't aware of that issue so this could be a form of spreading awareness to our already existing sites or creating something new but I think our first step would be spreading awareness okay thank you thank you trusty baldes appreciate it trusty Cruz thank you okay we will now consider item C2 adoption of resolution in the matter of recognizing March 2025 as women's history month is there a motion trusty Hazen I'm looking for a second trusty baso we have a motion in a second um do we have

010discussion on this item trusty Hazen thank you I'm honored to join trusty baso to introduce the rec resolution recognizing women's History Month in our district in the US women of every race class ethnic background and country of origin have made significant contributions to our society from securing suffrage RS to Leading social change movements but women's achievements are often overlooked this resolution acknowledges acknowledges the ongoing struggles women face including under representation in leadership roles wage gaps and barriers to reproductive Health Care while also celebrating hard one Milestones like the historic representation of women in California's state senate where women are now finally equally represented as a district it's our responsibility to ensure students learn the rich diverse history of women's contributions and ensure that girls in every school see themselves as Future Leaders so thank you

011again to trusty baso for introducing this with me thank you trusty haen would anybody else like to discuss this item oh is there anybody from the public who's called in or signed up okay would any the other trustees Mr speak okay seeing no further discussion we have a motion in a second uh student trustees please vote uh all other trustees please vote that is unanimous approval for this item with student trustees concurring all right that brings us to uh D1 uh General Council green under D1 are there any reportable actions from closed session yes thank you in close session the board voted 5 to adjust the number or the list of uh certificated administrators to be reassigned with the total remaining at 23 thank you General Council green okay we will now move to item

012D3 Dr beula please provide your information report I actually have some administrative assignments first um I would like to welcome three um new principles and congratulate them for freeze Elementary School Brian golosu gaso um principal at fton K8 Gil Gutierrez and principal for Language Academy K8 Margaret Cannon congratulations to all three candidates I can't wait to see your leadership at these schools and how well they will do um so I'm looking forward for the visits and to my superintendent's information report yes can we C and welcome them thank you I want to begin by celebrating our incredible students um just last week they proudly raised the first ever disability pride flag a truly historic moment for our district of all of the student-led flag raisings events we've had this one stands out as the most

013well attended and deeply meaningful held as part of the developmental disabilities awareness month this event brought students together from across the district to share their voices through powerful speeches heartfelt songs and inspiring dance performance it was beautiful display of inclusion pride and unity and I look forward to seeing this tradition um continue next year a special thank you to trustees boso Cru and white Hurst Payne for being there to support our students on this important day and I also want to thank uh the leadership of CAC and Scott sodi who actually brought forth the flag I really believe that this is a true marker of real partnership so thank you this past week we also kicked off read across read Across America week at Central Elementary School in partnership with the lawyers Club of San

014Diego and laasa lawyers associ iation trusty hayen and Bara thank you for joining us at this exciting launch it was inspiring to see our community come together to support literacy and the success of our students on the topic of Le language and literacy I want to take a moment to recognize Dr Cecile and I'm going to apologize if I I pronounce your name nadak a French teacher at Patrick Henry High School who was recently named Teacher of the Year by the California language Teachers Association this is an incredible honor and we're proud of her achievement Dr also moderated a panel discussion that I had the privilege of participating in alongside superintendent colleagues from across the San Diego region on the topic of global connectedness through language and culture trusty Hazen thank you for joining us

015in that meaningful discussion last night I had the pleasure of joining the PTA at their association meeting where I provided an overdraft of our student cell phone use policy that our student Advisory Board um students have also begun to construct I'm really excited to see this uh coming together as both student and parent L um so trustees baldis and Cruz thank you for your leadership and your partnership in guiding these student discussions and in um ensuring that the voices are heard from our students finally I want to express my appreciation to the San Diego Division of the California retired Teachers Association they recently announced the availability of10 $2,500 scholarships for San Diego unified seniors planning to attend fouryear colleges or universities this is an incredible opportunity for our students and I encourage anyone who knows

016a Senor to spread the word and encourage them them to apply thank you truste boso for bringing this important item to our attention thank you thank you superintendent bagula uh we will now consider items F1 updated position descriptions andou for special education bus monitors and F2 student discipline is there a motion on these items trusty wers pay with a motion do I have a second trusty Bosa with a second um Miss dos are there any public speakers on this item uh do any of the trustees have any questions or would they like to discuss this item seeing no discussion uh we will move straight to the trustees vote um this is uh strictly a trustee question given uh the board item uh trustees please vote the motion passes unanimously okay uh we will now move

017into the board consent agenda G uh we will consider G1 and G2 approval of reappointments to the independent citizens oversight committee and the charter school facility committee uh consent items are considered to be routine and will be enacted by one motion followed by a vote there will be no separate discussion of these items unless the board member of the public or staff request specific items to be removed from the consent agenda for separate discussion and action any agenda item removed moved will be voted upon following the motion to approve the consent agenda does the board have any items they would like to have pulled uh from the board consent agenda seeing none Miss Stoltz has the public signed up for any of these items no okay thank you uh then we have uh we will

018move to a motion on the full board consent agenda do I have a motion um trusty Cruz uh do I have a second trustee Hazen we have a motion in a second uh is there any there is no discussion given that it is the consent agenda uh so we will move uh straight to a vote student trustees please vote uh all remaining board members please vote that motion passes unanimously with student members concurring all right this we're we're about to get to the main item of the evening but it's not the Transformer failure quite there yet okay um we will now move to H uh one uh which is an emergency waiver in connection with a Transformer failure failure at La Hoya High School my alma moer uh is there a motion on item H1

019trusty Barrera is there a second trusty whiteis Payne with a second on H1 uh Miss dos have any members of the public signed up to speak of this Transformer okay uh is there any disc discussion from the board seeing none uh we will move to a vote student trustees please vote all remaining board members please vote I didn't didn't C get up up sorry about that sorry I was a late late one student I mean um remaining board members please vote sorry I was a late late on the draw okay uh that is that motion passed unanimously with student uh trustees concurring all right I believe we're to our the uh solar section of this this agenda this is always a fascinating one uh agenda item H2 is a public hearing for the board to

020take any public comments and make findings relating to two solar contracts that appear later on this board agenda under consent as item I25 we are opening the hearing uh Miss stz are there any speakers on this item okay seeing none we will move to open board discussion government code section 4 217.12 authorizes a public agency to enter into Energy service contracts if its governing board determines it is in the best interest of the agency at a public hearing during a regularly scheduled board meeting attached to the agenda item is an energy analysis one for each contract prepared by outside experts showing that the cost to construct the solar panels will be less than the cost of energy consumed by the district without them for the contract with straight line General Contractors Inc regarding four sites

021Gage Johnson Marvin and Pendleton Elementary Schools the analysis show shows Savings in energy costs of 10,997 th000 through 2050 the expected life of the solar PV system for the contract with straight line General Contractors Inc for three sites Hurst Jones and Miller Elementary Schools the analysis show shows savings and energy cost of 11, 486,000 through 2050 do any trustees have questions or wish to discuss this matter further seeing no comments uh is there a motion to adopt these findings that based on these energy analyses it is the dist in the district's best interest to award the two solar contracts to achieve these cost savings motion from trusty wers Payne and a and a second from trusty um baldis all right we will move to a vote um student trustees please vote all remaining board members

022please vote that motion passes unanimously with student trustees concurring the public hearing is now closed okay we will now move to H3 uh nomination of up to six delegates to the California school boards Association region 17 delegate assembly um I uh I have a recommendation uh based on my familiarity with uh the school board Community here in San Diego and should I read my recommendation to the record okay uh my recommendation would be uh Barb Barbara aalos national uh City School District or national school district rather uh Jan Lee Smith sandigo Union Elva Lopez sea uh Sweetwater Union Reena Morocco from Vista and cyano Vargas from Vista and also she's not on the list but she actually qualified I spoke with her today to confirm that we could put her as a WR in yeah

023okay she'll be a WR in I guess her name is Michelle tagawa Ward from Carlsbad uh unified um is there a motion on this recommendation truste Barrera with a motion is there a second on the recommendation trustee Cruz thank you uh are there any speakers on it H3 no speakers on H3 uh do any of the trustees have any questions or comments in relation to this all right seeing none uh we will move to the to uh our vote from student trustees student trustees please vote all remaining board members please vote including myself uh that recommendation passes unanimously with student uh trustees concurring do you have that for the minutes Marty we good okay great thank you all right uh we will now consider item H4 approval of the resolution for position reductions and fiscal

024year second interim financial report in compliance with Education Code section 42130 and resolution in the matter of intent to declare positive certification at second interim and balanced District budgets for fiscal years 2024 2025 2025 2026 and 2026 2027 please note that there is a correction to this item on the attached sa CS report or sax report section 58a cost analysis of District labor agreement cert certificated non management employee this is a quite a mouthful this evening uh item uh 1B has been updated from no to yes staff are available to address any questions on this change um Dr bagula could you please uh introduce this item yes thank you president Patterson trustees tonight we're receiving the second interm financial report for your your review and your approval of the positive certification recommended by our team

025before drew our Deputy superintendent of operations and Amy our senior director of Finance deliver their presentation I think it's important to take a step back and reflect on how we got here the work that brings us to this moment didn't start today it began last year when our budget review team undertook a deep strategic analysis of our fiscal conditions their goal was to identify a clear and responsible path to balancing the 2526 budget and December 2024 we made significant progress identifying 64 millions in savings to to reduce the projected 176 million deficit to 112 but we didn't just cut cost we also benefited from additional Revenue increases including additional lcff revenues due to improved completion of the lcff income survey additional funding from Impact Aid Lottery Revenue interest income and home toschool transportation reimbursements and

026throughout this process we've held ourselves to the highest standards of accountability transparency and open communication through two budget workshops and a comprehensive website we have chronicled every step of this journey ensuring that our community understands the decisions we are making and why tonight we're making an important decision the approval of a positive certification on how we got to zero deficit while Drew and Amy will provide the details I want to highlight two key takeaways our plan minimizes layoffs a direct response to what we've heard from our labor Partners but also just in general I think it's best practice practice not to do that and we're also TR taking a very proactive approach to increasing our Revenue not just balancing the budget but uring long-term sustainability first I want to emphasize how significant it is that

027we have limited to no layoffs this has been a top priority and I want our labor Partners to know we hear you we've been able to accomplish this in part to our supplemental early retirement plan and I want to take a moment to recognize and thank our dedicated colleagues who have chosen to retire their service contributions to our schools have been invaluable and we deeply appreciate all of the years of your commitment second too often budget conversations Focus solely on Cuts but that has not been the case here we have actively pursued ways to increase Revenue again increased lcff completion more accurate attendance projections advocacy at the state and federal levels and philanthropic efforts to expanding funding opportunities we have prioritized minimizing disruptions to the the classroom while there will be challenges we've made tough

028but necessary decisions to ensure that students and Educators feel the least amount of impact one of these decisions and what sets this year apart from previous years is our proactive data-driven approach to financial decisionmaking we have implemented a fiscally aligned retention management a new strategy that prioritizes long-term Financial stability by making strategic decisions on which positions to maintain unlike past approaches that relied solely on reductions this allows us to retain essential positions that directly impact student learning while ensuring responsible fiscal management and long-term budget stability but this isn't just about reductions it's also about rethinking how we provide support to our schools so in the months ahead we'll be streamlining and innovating so that school sites continue to receive the strong and effective support in new and more efficient ways while tonight is an important

029Milestone our work is not done our next key decision point will come with the governor's May revise expected on or around May 10th at that time our team will carefully review the Revis budget projections and make any necessary adjust adjustments before we finalize our June budget adoption as you will hear from the team there are still unknowns such as what will be the final cost of living adjustment from the state along with their updated Revenue projections finally I want to express my deep gratitude to the budget review team for their thoughtful and thorough work their analysis has not only helped us solve this immediate challenge but it has strengthened our ability to think critically and strategically about the future if there's one thing that this process has proven is this that we can tackle big

030problems and in San Diego unified we do it together so thank you during Amy over to you thank you superintendent bugula uh tonight Amy Miss shackford and I will present the second interim financial report and just as a reminder the second interim is a required report it provides a three-year projection within that we'll provide data on our current year um 2425 with actual uh financial data through January 31st and a projection for the rest of the year in addition to that we'll then update both uh the budget predictions for both the following two years 2526 and 2627 okay thank you as we usually do we have our budget cycle just a reminder of the process we're here in March uh with key Milestones going forward as superintendent mentioned May revision being a big one of

031those that's a revision to the governor's proposed budget from January and then both the state and our district will um be adopting our budgets come June we when we come back in June we will will be looking at a new three-year window with uh the years 25 through 28 25 26 26 27 and 2728 it'll be our first look at the 2728 year one of the requirements of the interim reporting is a certification of our financial status as you can see here there are three possible certifications positive qualified and negative as superintendent m um mentioned we are recommending the board makes a positive certification I'll now hand the presentation off to miss Shackleford to lead us or lead you through our reporting and the data behind the recommended pos positive certification so the next few

032slides are going to focus on our current year and it provides a comparison of where we are at second interim versus where we were projecting to be at first interim so I'm to first begin with the unrestricted side of the general fund so as a reminder approximately 90% of our unrestricted revenues come from the lcff funding formula it provides the most flexibility of uses and when we talk about our budget shortfall or deficit this is the funding source that we're referring to and so overall uh we are now projecting to end the year ending fund balance to improve by $19 million from where we thought we were going to going to be at first interim this is a combination of higher revenues and lower contributions and expenses uh to break down on the revenue side

033you'll see that we're improving by $12.8 million roughly 7.5 million of that is an improvement of our student daily attendance which is good news we submitted our what's called our P1 report in January and that came in higher so we do have one more report to submit in April it's called the PT and that's the report that will give us the final basis of what our funding will be for the year so we'll continue to monitor our student attendance as we go over the um the springtime and so other areas of improvement with Revenue we did see about $4 million Improvement on various interest earnings due to um cash levels in the treasury and then also receiving u a solar tax credit of about a million doar contributions and expenditures coming in less um and

034example is on the Utility side we're continuing to work through a rate case with sg& so that's coming in about $2 million less than projected you'll notice lower contributions that's an ongoing effort where we're looking to identify um sources expenses that can qualify to be um funded from restricted resources and so that's a multi-year strategy so you'll see the Improvement um on contributions as one of those Solutions um moving on to the next slide um this reflects our restricted budget of the general fund I want to start with the revenues you'll see that we are um have reduced revenues of $18 million that's not because we lost $18 million that's because we're anticipating um deferring those revenues to next year which means we're not going to spend them this year so you'll also see that

035corresponding reduction in expenditures because those revenues are now being pushed out to next year examples of that would be our electoral uh bus program there's about 122.5 million we won't be spending those federal funds this year we're anticipating spending those next year so you'll see that Revenue increase next year another example would be our DOA Construction Grants um those funds also projecting to spend in the future so we're going to defer those revenues also to a future fiscal year um title one's another example of 3 million and then we just had a slight uptick in our Aces Revenue so overall any fund balance is going to be about $9 million lower but that's primarily because of those Revenue shifts so overall our total General funds um ending fund balance um if you were to sum

036the unrestricted and the restricted ending fund balance changes so we're projecting to end with a higher ending fund balance of approximately $9 million and those funds will carry over as our beginning fund balance for 25 26 so moving on to our multi-year projection so first starting with our Revenue assumptions so what we've outlined here are the as an example enrollment so we are projecting to continue declining um the lcff funding Ada as I mentioned our Ada is higher currently in that 24 25 year roughly $888,000 or 88,000 adaa sorry not dollars and that will project forward in the three out years um Cola is another one that I want to um point point out you'll see in the 25 26 year the cola is now projected to be 2.43% that is based on the governor's

037proposed budget in January there's a series of eight factors that calculate that Federal Cola and to date we've received seven of the eight so there is one more that is remaining we'll receive that in April right now the legislative analyst office is expecting with that last Factor coming in that we could be somewhere around 2.2% but as of now for this second interim report we've included the 2.43% cola so that's roughly a loss of about $6 million but fortunately with that higher Ada coming in this year that's going to help offset the loss next year and then you'll see um with the lcff funding that we're receiving it's approximately about 14,000 per Ada that we receive and then you'll see some of the other revenues that we receive on the unrestricted and restricted side so

038moving on to the expense assumptions for the multi-year so you'll see these are the factors that we use for our pension Health and Welfare premium increases materials and supplies that's the Consumer Price Index I want to point out on the utilities you'll see in year three um that $30 million it is not a typo um we are anticipating with the completion of the diff various solar systems that we should be receiving a tax credit in that year of about $4.5 million and then also final resolution on that sg& rate case so that's an improvement in year three of um approximately $6 million so that is some good news and then um so what does all of that mean so on this chart what you'll see is the revised multi-year projection on the unrestricted side the

039good news 2526 where we were looking at $112 million budget shortfall we are showing that we are now balanced and then if you move on to 2627 the budget shortfall um has been updated so we were sitting at a 210 million deficit at first interim and so we're now looking at 113 million deficit um based on the solutions that were identified and focusing on ongoing Solutions versus one time so that ongoing solution actually benefits us each year going forward so that is good news reducing that deficit by about 46% and so what we've outlined here are the major categories of how we've got from 112 million how we get to zero an example the first line the centralized cost reduction to mandated services that reflects as an example the 20% reduction that we're seeing in

040central office that includes some of the attrition work that we've been um now that we have the results of the Sur reviewing our potential vacancies which positions can we remove from the budget next year and so um you'll see that's the the main one of $58 million reassessing the use of restricted funds that's another example as I mentioned earlier what are some of the unrestricted programs what are the opportunities on the restricted side that we can shift the funding over to the restricted to help free up or reduce the deficit on the unrestricted side revenue and fund balance Improvement is another example as I mentioned ending the year at a higher balance able to utilize some of those funds to help get us to that $112 million and so overall um we are on track

041um and again I want to um appreciate the work that the brt has done it's been a lot of hours a lot of heavy lifting a lot of tough decisions and so overall very happy that we have managed to come to solutions that are primarily ongoing to help that third year and so on moving on to the restricted side I do want to point out here the message on this slide is that you'll see in 2425 while we have an ending fund balance of $21 Million by year three we're projecting to be down to $27 million that's a result of spending down the one-time funds as they expire also um utilizing other restricted carryover balances to help with the unrestricted Solutions and so being down at that $27 million is just is a reflection that

042we're not going to have a lot of opportunities potentially um to use restricted balances as budget Solutions against the 113 million and so moving on to Federal funding um so we uh previously referenced this slide at the work at a budget Workshop in February we've updated it um to reflect second interim data so you'll notice in the lower left hand corner where we were um projecting to have about 7% of our funding coming from federal sources we're now looking at about 6% so a couple significant changes the Vegas one being the electric bus grant that I referenced that $ 12.5 million not spending it this year moving it to a future year so that drops the total dollar amount another example as I mentioned also the the DOA um previously was about 12.5 million $14

043million now showing roughly about 8 million and thirdly the title funds we were projecting to spend 50 million this year we're going to anticipate spending about 47 million so those are the significant changes that have reduced the 7% to 6% I have a few comments on this slide as well um first we have to remain actively engaged in monitoring and reviewing all federal actions that impact our district um we're not simply waiting we are prepared to pursue every legal option and Advocate relentlessly to ensure our students and families receive the resources they deserve in about two weeks Dr Cook Dr WHUR Payne trusty boso and I will be heading to Washington DC for federal advocacy and one thing is clear we cannot take any of our federal funding for granted these dollars support critical programs

044including essential services for students with disabilities resources for our military connected students students and nut nutritious School meals for all of our students so we must continue to Advocate fiercely to protect and sustain These funds and that's exactly what we intend to do as you can see on this slide federal funds make up 6% of our total budget that's nearly 167 million so losing These funds would mean reductions in staff disruptions in the classroom and cuts to vital Services impacting the very students who need it the most so Drew I'm going to turn it back to you and Amy thank you but I wanted to make sure to say say that thank you fobby um a little bit of a plug here for attendance um as you know and have heard again from Amy tonight

045the largest driver in our state revenue is the lcff Translating to 88 average daily attendance which the basic building block and component of that is attendance um So within our presentation this evening numbers calculate to us having an attendance rate if you will this year of 93.4 5% right now um but really this slide is about promoting the work our team has been doing the district team and the work we need to continue to do um if you were to look at our trending year-over-year we've somewhat recovered from covid time uh about a percent a year Improvement in that attendance rate but we also know there's probably still some room to grow and to to drive that number up so we just just wanted to point that out um and you can see some of

046the ideas here and some of the work that's underway uh Ada recruitment the uh Ian Network um with improving chronic absenteeism uh next week we kick off the Padre's attendance Challen uh attendance incentive challenge which was very well received last year and even more schools doing it this uh this year and then the Power School attendance module which we will be piloting next month and just what that what that brings and all of it just again just a reminder of the focus around attendance and the great work that we all are doing and can do to help our uh our Revenue finally we wanted to make sure we're clear on what's in this budget presentation and what's not and so you can see some of the bullets here that just kind of are reminding us

047of what's behind the build we've already touched on Cola for example uh first center was at 2.93 this report is at 2.43 and we think in the end we're going to be at about 2.2 we'll wait and see and then that second bullet in the middle touched on a lot of things that were discussed in the governor's budget presented in January but they're still a little fuzzy as it's being worked through the state legislature so there are other opportunities still to come I'll hand over a to Amy to talk through any more or the other parts of this one if you want to um so as Drew referenced uh still a lot of discussion at the state level one of the um uh major ones is the utk um there's the legislative analyst office recently

048published a report um countering the $750 million that the governor had included in January their analysis is showing that that funding should be at a lower rate depending on if you had two adults or three adults in the CL classroom so their analysis ranged anywhere from um reducing that funding from two2 200 million or $400 million so right now we haven't included any additional revenues for the utk until we get that final number in June um learning recovery block grant as a reminder that's the remaining piece that was uh reduced in 2223 that's looking approximately about $5 million a year over three years that final restoration of those dollars the onetime discretion block grant um that for us could be potentially depending on how they look at funding it whether it's enrollment or Ada I

049think just recently today they were looking at using an lcff for uh funding formula to do that that could be anywhere around $28 million and then with the elop program that could be potentially $35 million of additional revenues but obviously with additional revenues comes additional services that we have to provide um and that would be providing before and after school programming to all of our elementary families and so looking um forward at the state budget perspect um level I think everyone uh saw the stock market yesterday as an example what happened unfortunately California's got um a fun or a revenue model can be a little bit of a roller coaster where 60% of prop 98 comes from capital gains capital gains equals stock markets so that's something that we're definitely going to be watching and

050also impact of the LA wildfires and tex Revenue collection um from that County that's now been postponed until June uh California is still seeing a higher unemployment rate than the national average also we're seeing um slowdown in some our construction building permits um and then lastly as far as cash receipts go January did come in about a percent and a half less overall year-to date we are still above what the governor included in his January proposed budget so that's something that we'll continue to monitor February is always a low uh cash um month as far as tax um revenues and then obviously April May June is when we'll see those higher receipts come in there you have it we're here for questions please thank you so much uh Drew na that was awesome sounds like

051there's a lot of winning going on in Washington right now um do I have a motion on item H4 I have question I no I imagine you do let's get a motion on the floor for discussion here uh which trustee W pay with a motion and to be clear this motion is not just accepting the report it is making a positive determination is that okay we have a motion W pain in a second from trusty boso thank you um we are now let me just check on the public Miss Sals is there we do have one speaker on this item okay uh virtual speaker Christopher msas you have two minutes Mr msas go ahead please hello can you hear me yes go ahead you have two minutes fantastic thank you so much um I first

052want to start off by thanking you for the hard work I imagine budgeting the a school year is quite difficult uh especially in these fiscally uncertain times uh I appreciate the increase in revenues um I just wanted to bring to the board's attention some uh concerns uh some of other parents like myself may have uh in particular with the um potential uh Cuts being made um maybe not this year but potentially down the line and I know uh with regards to the uh multilingual program the there's a couple of line items that were identified that were a bit troubling and I just want to reiterate their importance uh I have a child who attends the Barnard Mandarin um school he is a first grader there and we travel all the way from San Marcos uh

053and I think in the past couple years we've we've driven over a 100,000 miles just commuting back and forth for his school and uh so we see the value in um that program and the the two items I wanted to bring to attention and just you know uh have the board you know consider in uh looking elsewhere for these um additional funds to prevent uh um these kind of shortfalls is uh the the first item is the Mandarin resource teacher my understanding is this uh position was considered at some point for one of these cuts and I just wanted to remind the board that this position uh is responsible creating the curriculum uh schoolwide and this is an elementary school so it feeds into PB middle um the other your time is up oh thank

054you thank you Christopher is that it okay well with that we will return to the board for comment and questions uh trusty why is pay well first of all I would like to thank the team for all of your hard work and I don't think any of us are panicking and jumping off the bridge or anything like we were earlier in the year you brought us through to a safe landing and uh I think you've done a wonderful job and I want to commend you and the team for all your hard work and I was anxious to speak because I would love to challenge my colleagues I won I won Paradise Hills won the Padres Challenge and that's coming up so I'd like to challenge my colleagues and schools my schools district you hear me

055challenging them so let's get busy but let's see who's going to win this year Richard I know you were in second place I believe no like who was in second okay Gina was okay anyway it's on we're throwing down schools I hope you're listening Let's Get Busy let's get ready we're going to take this challenge up because bless you the um Padre's do a wonderful job I got to meet Manny machada machada I say it right yes and um he signed the Jersey from um what's it ta I didn't know the difference somebody signed it and he was there so he signed it for me so I'm challenging all of you guys to get busy with your schools and we're going to see who wins this year it brings in Revenue so hopefully that can

056go up even been higher through this attendance challenge okay who's taking me up on it you Richard okay you're in it oh yeah okay we'll see good little gamification there FYI Richard is a Dodgers fan but um uh do we have any additional com okay U trusty Barrera and then trusty bald yeah not not only do I take up your challenge but I just want to I just wish somebody had gotten a picture of Manny Machado at the moment that he's Sharon's asking him to sign the jersey for Fernando tatis he he looked about his pleased as I was to be at a padre event uh no they did a great job and and and uh and I'm excited about uh this year's this year's challenge um so I just want to reiterate um and

057you know we've talked about this uh in close session as well if you look at this Auditorium and we're at second interim when we started the year with a $154 million problem to solve I don't think any of us could have expected that um the auditorium would be close to empty um and we never want the auditorium close to empty we've got important issues uh to talk about but that is because Dr bagula and your team you took on the burden of working through an enormous Financial Challenge and kept that um burden away from the school sites in a way that has allowed our Educators our students our uh our families to to focus on uh making the school year a great year and that's a tremend this burden on people in this building and

058people in the central office that most people in the community will never see and and that's your intent um but it doesn't mean that the that the burden isn't real and um we appreciate the sacrifice and the hard work um that people at the central office have taken on uh to get us to this point along with the incredible uh work and analysis of our finance team our HR team um and and everybody uh focused on how do we do this in a way that um uh protects the the programs and strategies that we know are most important to our students so incredible work we always talk about it sort it's like a cliche to say as soon as we solve for you know one period in time we start the work going forward but

059you already have and the fact fact that we look at the um you know the 2627 problem and that's been cut in half because of the ongoing solutions that you've identified for 2526 demonstrate how this is a continued uh process and you know we talk about this a lot the living year to year uh in a large Public School District in California is unfortunately a reality um in the time that I've been on this board the only years that that wasn't AA the case was during covid where we got a lot of federal money uh that came in and that Federal money is now gone and so the fact that every year despite where the economy is despite where the state's budget picture is um it doesn't matter school districts still have to go through

060this process of focusing on where to cut uh as opposed uh to focusing on where we can invest is the challenge that we all have uh in this community and and across the state it's it we can never lose sight of the fact that in National comparisons of the percentage of wealth in our state that is invested in public education California continues to rank at the near bottom we're one of the worst uh states in the country at actually investing our wealth into our public education which is what created the wealth in the first place and so the ongoing you know advocacy and sometimes it it can be we can lose it uh lose sight of it when we're in a situation where um we're actually solving our problem in a quiet way but it

061doesn't mean that our students have the resources that they need in our classrooms it doesn't mean that we have the counselors it doesn't mean that we have the uh Mental Health social emotional support the class sizes the uh support you know for students with IEPs I mean we could just keep going down the list we don't have close to that um despite the fact that we're you know getting uh through this this budget crisis so um congratulations thank you to Dr boua and the leader ship team and the challenge you know that Dr wherst Payne is throwing on all of us um in terms of the attendance that's also a challenge for the people of this state to get to a point that um we're not having this conversation uh every year but today in

062a extremely quiet board meeting um we're moving forward with a positive certification and that's uh due to the hard work of Dr buul and our team you truste bazo thank you president Pon and I'd like to Echo my colleagues in saying all the hard work that's gone into this um it's been incredible and you know as usual I feel like with our district uh a fantastic team effort um this past year was rather tumultuous for various reasons and so the fact that we can be here um is is um pretty amazing and uh I know it wasn't easy getting to this point but um but yes uh it's overall you know it's been bumpy but it looks like we're getting to uh a good place and um also just wanted to ask about with regard

063to um so as I'm looking at this the budget and I like as uh trusty bar is talking about the the years that we were fat you know that was when I came in so I was like I don't know what you guys are talking about like we have money you know and so now I'm kind of seeing that for the first time the last couple years as that's you know and of course I knew that that was the reality but it was kind of nice to start at a place where we did have uh more funding but um so seeing that that Wayne has been kind of a um learning curve for me um and also just in what's going on federally and at the state level realizing that there's like this Domino effect

064too because you know in listening to what's happening with cuts um things like medical and other programs when they're cutting you think oh well that's not really affecting us but actually it is so um even though the cuts might be taking place in other areas th you know we those can overlap into education so that was one of the questions I wanted to ask was about um medical cuts and just hearing and reading about what's coming up if those go into into place if there you know there's concern about cuts to Medical will that impact our special education programs because as I understand that the medical a lot of that or uh percentage of that funding comes to the students special education students and um is that something we should be concerned about and then

065I also just wanted to ask with regard to the um chronics absenteeism I mean that's amazing that we've got that our you know numbers are so much better I was just wondering if you could compare like it says 93.4% how does it compare to um like from like 2425 I'm sorry 23 24 to 2425 like in terms of um it just has the 93.4 five and I know we've talked about it but I just wanted to kind of clarify that so we're sharing exactly what that Trend looks like more clearly thank you so specifically to that last point if you look at um the end of 2223 and well again if if I step back you know during Co we dipped down into the 80s for an attendance rate um I think you know 85

066is but 22 23 I I just had the last two years was 90 we finished the year at 92.1 14% attendance rate in 2324 we were at 93.1 6 so a full percent change and then as you saw our number now 93.4 and that it's a little bit of um you know depending on where you look and how you count but we will be on the order of a half a percent higher uh seems like we're tracking that way for this year compared to last year and again still some room to to grow our our typical preco was right about that 95% attendance rate and I think that's kind of the rule of thumb so that's kind of where we are but we've been slowly working working our way back up into more of a

067a normal pre preo uh amount and then as far as the percentage utilized in the multi-year it currently does not reflect an improved or increased percentage um one of the The Guiding factors is that we can't assume that we're going to get better we can use historical information um so that's why it is a conservative approach right now because we're not um currently including any any growth in our attendance Factor um once we realize it then that benefit over the calculating the three year we couldn't we could reflect that but as of now guidance from the county is until you actually realize that Improvement you can't count on it medical oh I think we probably should get back to you on that one would be would be my best thing I don't want to pull

068a number out thank you see that I'm an enforcer on your medical question um trusty baldes yeah I want to jump in on our uh attendance rate I'm very glad to see that it's improved and I'm really appreciative that we have positive ways of reinforcing attendance but I really want to make all the trustees aware of the negative ways that high schools do enforce average daily attendance because I can speak on behalf of the student Advisory board at my site as well as many other High schools in the district if you miss just one day of school and don't get it called out you can't go to prom you can't go to homecoming you can't even walk at graduation so this is something I'm really passionate about changing in our district and I think it

069really is important that we all are aware of this because at what point in our district do we say that average daily attendance trumps their students well-being I've seen in multiple cases if you miss a day of school and then you have to spend your Saturdays recovering these absences it can really affect students in many negative ways I've seen this personally and myself and I really think that we should look into this thank you trusty BS uh trusty uh yes um uh superintendent bua could you trusty W's pain is suggesting that we should look into that yeah thank you you notice yeah she notice Sor um trusty Hazen I believe I saw a finger there subtly yes okay you guys trusty and I was waiting for the Hazen but we got there we got there

070um so also appreciate all of the work um by so many people the entire team to get us to this point um and I'm still looking at you know 26 27 and we have a lot of work to do so while it's important that we pause and we celebrate uh we've got you know cuts that we'll need to continue making next year and it'll continue to be challenging and do want to Echo uh what vice president barer said um that yes we've balanced the budget but we are not providing all of the things we wish we could be for our students um because of some funding limitations and that's challenging um given the ways our schools are funded um and how dependent funding is on on the stock market um and on attendance instead of

071on enrollment uh so appreciate all of our ongoing advocacy um at the state level um to hopefully shift some of those things um I'm wondering um and this is a bit in the weeds but as you you were describing utility costs and great that we see this tax credit and and the settlement um in 26 27 this you know decreased from 36 million to 30 but I'm curious why we aren't continuing to see ongoing de so that's a one-time decrease but we're constructing solar we're doing all of these things that I had hoped would you drive utility cost down why aren't we seeing that consistently over time I think there's as we all experience I think there's a lot of tension between um the conservation efforts and the rate increases so if you would only

072if you could imagine where we we'd be without the solar and the work that our Capital program has done that number would be skyrocketing and and then within our utilities um it's not just electricity but it's always again that fight against those rates but our water and sewer rates have gone up dramatically every every piece of our utility program we have a very uh small But Mighty team that is continually working to control those costs and keep us on track getting us into the right rate program the right processes the right contracts but it it's it's a it's a continual challenge so there's just we go here and we get push back here so that's what I would offer and and again we'd gladly provide you a lot more detail if you'd like on just

073all the work behind that and and all the things that play into it got it no I think I mean I think it's helpful um tojust I guess my own expectations and it sounds like being able to sort of maintain the current amount we're paying over time is is an indication of success right I was going to say you know relatively that's that's a win okay uh that's helpful and I think you know I appreciated uh trusty baso asking about attendance and good to see what it is today but what was it before and how are we moving the needle um we are I think you CH with me yesterday below the state average um we always want to be better than the state average uh and hearing that really we want to be working

074to get to that 95% uh so appreciate you know how we've identified the strategies we're going to implement and I think we want to make sure we're doing that as quickly as possible um for me most importantly to achieve our student outcome goals when kids aren't at school um they're not learning and also in this context to to boost Revenue um so want to think about how do we make sure that we don't have punitive measures in place um when students don't come but how do we encourage incentivize and support kids and families so that they can show up and we can get to that 95% um I know you shared some numbers in terms of what could be coming um in the May Revis what's and I know we have no idea but in

075terms of well we don't know if it's going to come for sure or not at the TK learning recovery block gr Grant and the discretionary block grant about what would that total be an additional Revenue so as far as the discretionary block grant just looking at it from an ada calculation it's roughly $28 million they if they decide to um utilize an lcff um formula that would take into account um up or undate pupil percentage we would in theory probably receive a little bit more more um so that's where we are with the um discretionary block grant the utk um don't even want to Fathom a number right now I mean there's so many numbers thrown out from the different lobbyists and organizations um you know that 750 million going down you know either $400

076million or $200 million would be significant so um it's not really something that I would have a good indication so that's why I hesitate to give a number in the event that it comes in significantly different got it okay um and then the other like two other things one is looking at our reserves and sort of hearkening back to previous um budget workshops and hearing that compared to other districts um our reserves are extremely low um at the required level but I continue to watch this and um I'm hoping that you know over the coming years we can think about how we can work to grow reserves um to a bit healthier level um because particularly as we look at 26 27 and as I think about 2728 um having so few reserves can be

077challenging um and then lastly and I know we're going to talk about this I think uh on the 25th when we talk about um housing and real estate um but my hope is that we can start to generate additional sources of sustainable Revenue um as we start um building Workforce housing and really thinking about how we can maximize uh those projects not just to provide housing uh for our staff um but also to provide some ongoing Revenue uh to help us through some of these bumpy years okay trusty where pain uh thank you trusty H about mentioning utilities I attended a workshop on on Saturday and there was someone there from the city water department they're spending over a billion dollars on water trying to get us up to I don't call it tallet to

078tap anymore but um clean water pure water as they call it but I'm telling you this because you know that we had the problem at Lincoln with the water in the field uh a apparently the city knows that we have some ground table water um all over the city but it's not enough for us to tap into so we're still buying water until we can get 50% of our water from um doing the pure water system so Lee I really need to touch bases with you on that so that we can see if there's something we did consider whether we needed a a water station I think that's what you call them right there outside of uh Lincoln and Porter so at least we could use it for groundwater but it can't be integrated into

079the regular um water system because they don't have the infrastructures in place for that so touch base with you about it thank you all right um I just briefly um you know I appreciate the comment from comments from my colleagues about you know you get on a board and then you realize was oh we're here to implement austerity that's imposed on us by our state legislature and uh so it is frustrating a certain point you you you it becomes irritating and morally compromising to realize that you're you're you're now the person that has to to impose the underinvestment on our kids and families and staff and that's I mean I think while we're all committed to balancing our budgets it's frustrating frankly and um and at a certain point you have to say like the

080legislature is going to have to actually make some pretty profound changes or the or our state as the proposition level in terms of funding because otherwise we're caring thoughtful people who have been given the task of imposing budgets on our sites that we know are inadequate to provide the services so um I think that that kind of is reflected in some of the comments you've seen on the board tonight is just it's you look out and we're tightening our tightening our belts um as far as the hor as far as the Horizon goes you know and then we have these um longstanding basically price scissors but you know we have these statutory colas that do not reflect inflation in San Diego and definitely do not reflect inflation and the cost of housing in San Diego

081and um and then you're tasked by the legislature uh with with imposing that price scissors on your on your staff which is like totally unacceptable and and and I think we're all eager to figure out how we as individuals and as a district can support alternatives to that that that that Paradigm um and but I will say one of the things I think you'll see this on March 25th with our literacy um literacy on March 25th I think the literacy report coming um and we saw it with math you know the commitment of our staff and our area superintendents and our leadership team and our principles and teachers to continue to try to improve instruction and improve outcomes for our students in spite of declining Reven it's just like um it's it can sometimes be

082frustrating to see how how good faith the efforts are at all the levels in in relation to the lack of adequate funding from the state is very frustrating to me so um I um well I have a question in relation you know this is us imposing austerity in business as usual but maybe just some brief thoughts on what it looks like to be hit by a recession because it well well I'm hesitant to say the our word as a district we have to think think that through and be responsible and clearly some of the moves that are happening are really quite reckless in terms of driving us toward recession and we are as you pointed out very dependent on the stock market for our progressive taxation in California so that's my first question is like

083talk about what that would look like for us to have to adapt to that sort of a thing um and then also I think ultimately um I I am concerned that next year although I'm I'm very thankful that these are ongoing the solutions you provided are ongoing Solutions at the same time we have we will have much fewer tools at our disposal next year because we've implemented a lot of the things we the serp in a certain sense has captured retirement for next year and capture retire I mean you know and so we won't have some of those attrition um opportunities we we'll have done some front office stuff central office stuff so we will have although we we have reduced a lot of that we will have less tools available next year so um

084kind of thoughts about that but then I want to say in relation to the positive positive certification ultimately a positive certification is a commitment on behalf of the board that one way or another we are going to balance this budget under know and we have the tools to do it and we will make the hard decisions you get districts having having negative or or qualified certification because they're not as a board willing to make the hard decisions necessary to balance the budget so I I um just in relation to that I don't I don't have any problem with the positives certification because I think this board has indicated whatever it takes we'll do it we're not happy about imposing austerity on our staff and students and families but we are always going to do that

085and we're committed and we see that staff has a path to do that if if if and when necessary so but just to tack back to the question what happens in a situation um of a of a recession sorry um as far as the recession goes um it's uh it depends um my first year in K2 Finance I walked into this District the very first year of the Great Recession and um having to learn K12 Finance at the same time I think the first year budget deficit was 50 to 60 million quickly grew to over $100 million um part of it depends on what the uh legislature implements and so they have different options obviously they have the rainy day funds that's going to help stem that's the short term they can do things like

086deferrals um so if they were to what a deferral is is they hold back the cash payments so that means you still have the budget available you just don't have the cash to pay your bills and so what that um drives for school districts is you then have to borrow cash and so for us that's called the trans and with the Trans that comes with a higher cost you know you're paying interest and the cost of processing um you know dramatic things to implement would be things like spending freezes hiring freezes um looking at our multi-year commitments what are things that we can do without um I think in some of the worst years we looked at some of our maintenance contracts can we do without maintenance on some of our systems sorry Toren um

087you know can we do without support for a year or two on some of our systems especially like the newer systems versus older systems so there's there's different options it just it depends on how Conan that recession is whether it's going to be cash budget and then um hiring and things like that that we that we looked at previously that we would look at again but I think some of the lessons learned from then was like the establishment of the rainy day fund to have a little bit of a shock absorber in there the other thing again when you look at the LA wild fires and all that happened there I believe I saw 25% of the st's economy goes through LA County you know and so if nothing else does that bring about some

088or you know just even delaying tax reporting and all that that brings about some uncertainty at the state level where they can't count the money because they're not exactly sure so there's the potential for some of that to play out as well um you know so I think it's just uh I think we're kind of as we always are in this state of flux and just being flexible and adaptable and and being ready and and that's what we'll do just having that forward um forward-looking systems to be able to project and analyze data real time so that we can quickly recover or shift um is also critical so making sure that we have those REM of Finance perspective having those tools monitoring cash on a regular basis keeping you know the lens on the state

089and federal level so that we know proactively when there's a potential change and then I always say um option b a option b option C always having m plan so depending on what happens we can quickly shift but presumably that's you're talking basically about and forgive my ignorance you're talking basically about 25 26 since after March 15th there's limited things we can do in relation to Staffing for example which is the biggest light item we have right there are some emergency Clauses that give you more flexibility but it it really has to be very dire to implement those things it just like we said we we have to walk and roll like you're on a ship you're in the boat and as you move around you're rocking and moving whichever way you go some people

090get dizzy and can't handle it and others and they won't get on the ship and others you just go with whichever way it's it's going um and there's a wrinkle like you said about La I mean who would have thought that that would have happened there are things out there that we will not know until they do happen so we have to always be flexible and I do appreciate what you're saying one of the things that will happen is the cost hopefully will go down because we'll have younger people in the system so our salary our payroll will go down some because the people at the upper end are out of the system so the general cost for salaries will go down I mean that's my expectation which will then help to improve and maybe

091you guys have already calculated and considered that but but it's one of the factors that you have to always be looking at the data it's a 12month job for you all it's not just you know now you're doing it for us you're constantly looking at what there is and who knows we can always be optimistic and believe that the the feds will get their act together and monies will flow they'll give us some monies right we can always be optimistic and I'm giving you guys that tonight it's good vibe pack your drama mean um is there any further uh comment from the board seeing none thank you so much Drew and Amy really appreciate it all right with that we are going to move to a vote um see no further discussion uh student trustees

092please vote we gets oh oh okay sorry yeah sure yeah we'll do the we'll do the point LMA pause here we lost the student trustee I think we'll just move forward it uh yeah I mean that is what it is what it is we'll come again I believe it's just uh well my remarks it's one positive certification well it's just approval of the resolution there's two um it's both H4 but it has two two items to it and I believe the motion covers both we clarified for the positive determination okay we're going to move forward the vote student trustee please vote all remaining board members please vote uh that motion passes unanimously uh with uh trusty Cruz uh concurring and trusty balis uh momentarily absent okay um we will now move to um our superintend

093superintendent's consent agenda items I 1 through I29 uh consent items are considered to be routine and will be enacted by one motion followed by a vote there will be no separate discussion of these items unless the board member of the public or staff requests specific items be removed from the consent agenda for separate discussion and action any agenda item removed will be voted upon following the motion to approve the consent agenda does the board have any items they would like to have pulled from the consent agenda for discussion see none has anyone in the public pulled an item for discussion no all right then we will be uh voting on the entirety of the superintendent's consent agenda Dr bagula would you like to provide any comments nothing highlight nothing highlight okay um is there a

094motion on the superintendent's consented the trustee WHUR pay and trusty baldis with a second we have a motion and a second student trustees please vote all remaining board members please vote that motion passes unanimously with student members concurring sorry can I just ask U Marty is there a way for trusty baldis to register his vote on the previous item sure would you like to vote on H4 yes I would all right thank you Richard it's very all right um we are nearing the end of this evening uh we will now receive public testimony on non-agenda items Miss stults uh have we received any requests for for non-agenda comment yes we have 11 uh in-person speakers and I believe four virtual speakers so we'll start with our inperson um you will each have two minutes if

095you could please come to the podium Melanie is our first Speaker followed by Isabelle Newton hi um good evening members of the board uh thank you for the opportunity to speak and for everything that you do in preparation for talking with you all tonight I took the opportunity to uh learn a little bit more about you and I was just floored by how fortunate our students are to have you um at the helm uh okay um so my name is Melanie I a clinical psychologist by training and um I direct an initiative at a prominent organization Focus on advancing equity in early childhood but today I'm here as the parent of a young child who attends an sdusd school to speak about a topic that is near to my heart which is ensuring that our

096schools continue to be safe and inclusive environments for all children including those who are transgender I got this children who are trans need support of adults who affirm their gender identity access to facilities that align with that identity they need safe spaces like lgbtq support groups and an opportunity to engage in extracurricular activities they need protection from bullying and harassment these factors are protected as I'm sure you know by the California school Success and Opportunity Act and sadly they're threatened by the Trump administration's executive order 14190 erroneously titled ending racial indoctrination in K12 schooling I started off by saying that this issue is deeply personal to me and I realize that it is not for everyone not all of us have had the pleasure of knowing a child who is trans can I finish I'll

097be brief so if you could just indulge me in a very short thought experiment and I invite everybody to join along I'd like to ask you to picture the face of a child you know and love picture their face and their voice and everything that makes them special and dear to you now imagine that a recent executive order of the Pres president of the United States of America jeopardizes their right to a safe and inclusive School their right to be called by their name their right to use the bathroom that they feel comfortable in to be included to be protected from bullying and now imagine that hundreds of thousands of kids just like them are also at risk of losing those same essential rights and protections I hope that this little thought experiment will give

098you a sense of the urgency of the situation and how critical it is for you as board members to continue to please do everything in your power to ensure our schools remain safe and inclusive for every child Isabelle Newton Valerie Trina hi it's Valerie trena again from District e representing defense of democracy I almost attended the Grossmont school board meeting tonight because I learned they'd fired all of their teacher Librarians I was stunned that stewards of educational Excellence would remove such critical iCal employees from their schools these teacher Librarians are lynchpin to the success of the schools as a whole and to individual students who have forged strong bonds with them with these adults who care deeply about them this is especially true of our minority students I implore the trustees here at SD unified

099that if the feds or the State withhold funding for any of the teaching staff you will call a meeting of all stakeholders so we can find or create alternative sources of income for our precious teachers thank you for all your efforts on behalf of students teachers and Librarians in our school district Dane cth may I request one additional minute okay good evening my name is Dane colth and I am a student at San Diego High School I want to begin by acknowledging the genuine care and dedication of our District's leadership and staff who work so hard in our everchanging educational landscape I stand before you today not only as one individual in our community facing an unjust decision regarding my candidacy for ASV president but also as a representative of every student who believes in

100the promise of Liberty and equity for all I was recently told that my pursuit of doing what I love serving my community would be unachievable due to honestly vague and misleading policy references in addition I feel like this is a failure to see the real potential in students with diverse challenges this decision made by my school's admin not only affects me it sends a dangerous message that our voices particularly those of students facing unique hurles can be dismissed I understand that these policies can be complex yet we cannot risk losing sight of the very values guiding them I have seen firsthand how policies like board policy 6145 with their exemptions meant to protect and Empower on an individual level can be misapplied undermining the very spirit in of inclusivity and opportunity that our district aims

101to Foster in this community we are raising the Next Generation and intern shaping the Future Leaders who will make a real difference we cannot allow practices that silence the voices of those who need represent a the most and the Very people willing to fight the hardest for them I graciously ask for you all to reflect on one important question additionally building off what a previous speaker has said and applying to more than just students how can we ensure that our policies promote more problem solving over blind compliance thank you all for your time I look forward to the opportunity of working together to empower our next Generation thank you Elizabeth Tate good evening Bor thanks for a great meeting um my name is Elizabeth Tate and I am here to express my disappointment and to

102request a meeting with the school board's Representatives regarding the manner in which the school rental department collaborates with Community nonprofit youth programs we are the stakeholders in our community that support our youth activities that feed directly into our local high schools the lack of representation and poor communication is a downfall for building a working relationship that Fosters and strengthens our city as a whole I felt like I had been attacked by Mobsters when um they demanded money saying that if I did not pay I would not be welcome to use the facility um um they announced that the custodians need more pay according to their Union and if they worked over that the union will penalize them now therefore um they must therefore they must charge outside groups um which is inconsistent with the process

103they are practicing um their rationale is inconsistent and that my organization is compared to private schools using the same facility for the same purpose the fact that the school board policy for rentals is not consistent within the district for all is a major concern I have been using Hoover High School track facility for the past 30 plus years um we do not charge our youth athletes and their families money to join our program these enormous amounts of fees imposed by the school are creating hardships within the community and to our families and it's a disservice to what we intend to do and continue to do as our Legacy and um when these things happen it'll be great if the board and the school and the rentals invited the community groups to sit down prior to

104this happening I'm always available thank you [Applause] Scarlet Scarlet hi my name is Scarlet and I'm a student from Roseville International middle school and I'm here to represent Roseville and I want to I want the district to continue supporting the eii uh at our district Dei pro programs have allowed me to feel connected to my culture and allowed me to connect with others Dei clubs at school allow me for safe and comfortable environments for these on campus thank you Arlene newarth good evening I would like to bring attention to the board public a concerning issue inequity in education in education opportunities between the wealthy and the majority of the families that receive education services within our school district overall wealthy families tend to prioritize Hands-On creative play based education opportunities and approaches because these education

105philosophies build leadership skills emotional skills Innovation and Independence and oppositely wrote learning rigid compliance and excessive testing ultimately stifle creativity and motivation so they avoid it at all costs research confirms these benefits as a matter of discussion Germany abandoned play-based learning in the 1970s for a more structured approach but reversed course after study showed children in play based settings had better math reading social skills and higher creativity and intelligence overall the California Department of Education explicitly states that play is critical for cognitive social and emotional growth and that it's removal harms Child Development UNICEF calls play a fundamental right of children and warns against neglecting it in favor of rigid academic structures Na and Harvard research confirm that play-based learning improves problem solving skills literacy and emotional regulation additionally California State Standards themselves back play

106based developmentally appropriate practices for Early Elementary research overall shows play improves academic outcomes emotional regulation and problem solving the disparity in access to play-based learning between economic groups contributes to broader educational inequities schools in affluent areas are more likely to offer enriched learning experiences or the parents can afford extracurricular opportunities opportunities to offer the same including structural play based curricula while under funded schools serving low-income communities often lack in this area Lynn Hogs um good evening everyone I hope everyone's having a great night and just overall my name is Lynn and I am a San Diego High freshman and I am a part of the shist this club I would like to take a moment for everyone to just look around people in the audience people here I just want everyone to notice how different

107we are but also how alike we are we what's special about our differences and what's alike is that we're all unique and that's what makes us us um sorry this is the same in schools with having uniqueness and kindness it is so important to have diversity and inclusion in all our schools for this exact reason you learn so many new things from people being around people who are different from you you learn to have Saunder empathy and Equity you learn new skills new culture and new viewpoints that you would never learn in a world that was full of just people just like you this is why I think that we should keep Dei programs in our schools because it challenges us to focus on things that aren't just surrounding us thank you Samuel Paro improta

108good evening everyone uh my name is Samuel par Anda uh nice to see you all again um I'm a freshman at San Diego high school and I'm also chav Vista and as you all may very well know de programs have recently been under attack from the federal government attacks being fought by you guys um we Ur we urge you and encourage you to continue fighting for Dei programs are of great importance to students as an immigrant who has lived in many different places Rio London Scotland eventually here I've learned to Value the importance of diversity and diversity something that allows us to overcome problems that seem unbeatable to lose our di programs is to lose the power of diversity and the community that has been fostered in our schools Dei programs bring us together and

109create a powerful community in our schools losing them would have a major impact on our community driving barriers between peers I thank you all for your time and I implore you to continue fighting for Dei programs thank you Stefano Stefano uh Ariana gagos made it hi good um evening my name is Aros and I'm here representing the Cesar Travis service Club as a club adviser and I'm also a parent of one of the students uh who attends um the San Diego school district and I am here listening to all of your the entire meeting and the budget cuts and you know but I am just here really to support not only my students but also my kid um for the Dei programs um in school it's you know it creates a an environment where all

110students can Thrive and um academically also socially and emotionally prepares them to succeed in a diverse world and I think it's important to be here and voice out you know what my kid wants um she's like I can't do it right now we just got here but Victoria I'm here speaking for you um we need to continue to fight to have this programs in schools and I thank you for advocating for this um here in California and San Diego um it's much needed thank [Applause] you and our virtual speakers Natalie Clark if you are available please go ahead [Music] I see your hand raised go ahead and unmute Natalie if you are unable to unmute we'll come back to you Janette Woodward are you available Janette hello go ahead can you hear me oh now

111we have two of you oh oh this sorry yeah sorry this was Natalie I was unmuted I don't know why it wasn't working okay go ahead Natalie you have two minutes okay thank you hi everyone I'm Natalie Clark I'm a parent of a kindergartener at br Elementary School in District D um I'm here to raise an issue that's affecting several families in our district which is the lack of adequate after school care several of our neighbors who initially enrolled their kids at Grant opted out of the public school system altogether and enrolled in private schools instead they cited the reason was that they have guaranteed after school care and that was the top reason for their decision as a room parent I have spoken with many families who are struggling due to the lack of

112after school care one third of our kindergarten class didn't secure a spot in the after school programs and the current um enrichment that they offer only lasts one hour which is way it's it's very insufficient to meet the needs for Working Families um so some parents including myself an electrical engineer who's been working for 20 years had to I I had to leave the workforce just to incommode this and just hope that I get into a program next year and I can get back to work but others are scrambling daily to line up after school activities starting at 3 at at 2:30 or 12:30 on those minimum days just so they can hang on to their jobs and afford to stay living here in San Diego so the reason I was here tonight is just

113to urge the board to maybe help the situation as much as you can to expand on campus after school care by increasing the on-site capacity um of both the prime time program as well as private programs just so we can accept more students it would be such a huge relief for parents and they would gladly pay for any kind of um program any extra enrollment and it would not affect the needs based funding allocation also would like to request that those enrichment classes after school would be extended from one hour to at least two hours that would help a lot especially on minimum days so effectively I was just asking for um more space on campus so they can serve more students um thank you so much for your time and consideration Janette Woodward hi

114first of all I want to thank you all for all of your efforts and dedication to trying to balance this budget while um you know while considering the needs of our students I it's very clear to me that you all care and it's um it's much appreciated to that end though I do ask um again for the board and the school district to please invest and continue to invest in Barnard mandrin um mandrin elementary school program we started at Barnard during the pandemic via zoom and my daughter went from not being able to read to Now Reading Writing and speaking in two languages at or above grade level this is a testament to the quality of Barnard's program and the staff cutting the Mandarin resource teacher is undermining the program uh the foundation of the

115program The Mandarin resource teacher researches and makes recommendations on curriculum and supplemental resources works with our principal to implement the curriculum and supports our classroom teachers as well as the students who need extra assistance in addition the Mandarin resource teacher also provides Mandarin lessons and resources for our families to support our students learning at home as many of you may know our student population is extremely diverse we actually have probably at least 30 to 50% um without a mandarin speaker at home so the mandin resource teacher is a tremendous resource for those families um Barnard's attendance and test scores have improved under principal sha who's done a great job of improving the over all educational experience for our students and drawing families out of their school districts into ours as Chris spoke earlier his family

116drives from San Marcos to Pacific Beach every day twice a day um we have families coming from East Lake CH La Vista um we have families who bought their house to be near Barnard so I ask you to please continue to believe in the program by completely funding um the foundation of the program and our Mandarin resource teacher as the PTA and as parents we are doing our part as much as we can to actively fundraise seek grants external donors and sponsors um and we will be more than happy to Advocate at the state and federal level and I would actually recommend that the district send out perhaps some um tips on how to do that because we would certainly love to mobilize and support your efforts as well thank you thank you Janette jayen

117[Music] Woodward is jayen Barnard Mand Magnet Elementary hello my name is Jaylen Woodward I'm 9 years old and and in fourth grade at Bernard Mandarin Magnet Elementary School I'm here today to ask you to please save our Mandarin resource teacher I have been learning Chinese since kindergarten on zoom in two years I'll be in middle school and I'm worried that if we lose our Mander and resource teacher I will not be prepared my friends and I like learning two languages please keep our mandering resource teacher so we can be successful later what the [Music] [Applause] Julia Bowers um yes can you hear me yes go ahead Ahad you have two minutes yes my name is Julia boeris and I'm a parent um who chose to send my two children one fourth grade and one in

118second grade to Barnard manderin Magnet Elementary School and um I'm here to advocate for the resource teachers position to be maintained because it is a unique and critical role uh it the teacher has a unique and critical role at barard the resource teacher is able to offer much needed Mandarin support to students who do not have a Mandarin speaker at home um we do not have a mandarin speaker in my house but um I chose to send my children to Barnard because I thought it was an amazing opportunity for them to learn a language um I'm lucky enough to live in PB where Barnard is and I can tell you that the community at Barnard the teachers the staff um have worked extremely hard to make Barnard a school that attracts people who do come

119from all over the the county um please consider the manderin resource teacher as a critical component of the success of our school and please um um maintain funding for this position thank you very much well thank you to all of our speakers tonight for taking the time to provide your comments to the board and superintendent uh we appreciate your input and please know that your perspectives help us to better serve our students parents and our community this meeting however is now adjourned a special joint meeting with the trustees of the San Diego Community College District will be held on March 18th 2025 which is next week as I figure and the next regular meeting will be held on March 25th 2025 this is a this is a tough month here but we're going to get

120through it and with that for e e e