5/8/25 Regular Meeting of the Governing Board

001I would like to call this meeting to order. Today's date is Thursday, May 8th, 2025. This is the regular meeting of the governing board of San Marcos Unified School District. Please let let the record reflect that all board members are present with the exception of member Carlson. The San Marcos Unified School District Board of Education meeting is a business meeting of the board held in public. While we welcome and encourage public participation, the expected behavior is that this meeting will be conducted in an orderly fashion. Only the person recognizes recognized by the board vice president board pres board president may speak. While the member of the public is speaking, members of the audience must not yell or speak out regardless of whether you agree or disagree. While public comment is in progress, if you speak

002out, you are out of order and will be asked to leave the meeting. As adults participating in a public meeting, we need to model civility to our children and students. On behalf of the board of education, we thank you in advance for helping us conduct this meeting respectfully. The San Marcos Unified School District is an innovative and collaborative community providing an unparalleled educational experience through an engaging and supportive environment. All of of environment environment of all of our students are challenged, inspired, and poised to excel. Please rise for the pledge of allegiance. Ready? Again, I the United States of America. Do I have a motion to approve the agenda and second? Okay. Moved by member Miam and seconded by member Heric to approve the agenda as presented. All those in favor say I. I. Any

003opposed? Motion carries. Report of action taken in close close session. The board met in close session and approved a partial settlement in San Marcos Unified School District versus Lousardi Construction. San Diego Superior Court case number 37-2023-0000005486 regarding a pending litigation. Aaron Garcia in her capacity as assistant superintendent of business services was authorized to sign and execute the settlement agreement on behalf of the board of board and district passed with a motion by Martin and seconded by Ahmad. Final approval of settlement is subject to court order. Government code section 54956.9D1. Government code section 54957.1A3B. Roll call vote as follows. Trustee Ahmad voted I. Trustee Martin voted I. Trustee Meriam voted I. Trusty Heric voted I. Next, the board discussed matters pertaining to public employee employment, transfer, appointment, discipline, dismissal, release, evaluation, reassignment, government code 54957. No

004action was taken. Last, the board discussed student expulsion case numbers 606-24.25. No action was taken. Before our student board reps uh make their presentations, this is the last opportunity to fill out a speaker card if you wish to speak during public comment. Please [clears throat] complete a request form located in the al cove to the left of the double doors as you enter the boardroom. Please complete a white speaker form if the item you wish to speak about is on the agenda and a blue speaker form if the item you wish to speak about is not on the agenda. Please ensure that the speaker form is placed in the designated bin in the al cove. Reports by our student board reps. Hi there. My name is Sydney Cork. I am the San Marcos board rep.

005So, let's get started with some sports. Okay. So, I'm just going to pack them all into one slide or three slides actually. But, um, our stunt cheer team won 17 to3 against El Capiton. Our softball team has a record of 14 wins and 11 losses, and they are ranked fifth in league. Our baseball team has a record of 18 wins, five ties, and one loss. and they are currently ranked first in Avocado League. Our volleyball and golf teams. So, our boys volleyball team has a record of 20 wins and 11 losses and were ranked third in San Diego County. Our boys golf team just won the Palomar League with a 9 to1 record and now ranks sixth in San Diego County. Swimming, lacrosse, and track. So, the swim and dive team has been working overtime.

006I wanted to have a highlight for a new diver, Julia Son, and she placed fourth in league. Our lacrosse team has a 16-2 record and ranked and they're ranked second in league. And our track team just had their senior night and everybody and they played really really well at the senior night. Next, I'm going to move on to some events. Um, so we just had every 15 minutes. Um, so juniors and seniors got to watch a simulated DUI crash. We had police officers, firefighters, and and a DUI crash survivor speak at this two-day event, sharing their trauma and how choices can ruin lives. This experience occurs every two years. It's very impactful on students as it shows what could h what what could happen with specific actions taken. Next, um we've got empty bowl and

007our ceramic students have been working all year to create bowls. Um, and we raised the money for the San Diego Food Bank this year and in in ex and and in exchange for the empty bowl, ceramic bowl, um, we gave out Rubio's to the students. Um, next we have the inclusivity track meet and nights ball. So, our inclusive ASB class recently planned both inclusiv both an inclusivity track meet and the nights ball. The track meet partnered with Lacosta Canyon High School and all of the special needs students loved and enjoyed that event. The track meet partnered with Lacosta [snorts] Canyon High School and last Friday we had the nights ball which is a specialized dance for our uh special needs students. We had a Disney theme lots of dancing and Chick-fil-A senior sunset. So, we

008just hosted this yesterday um and it was called Senior Sunset. The class of 2025 got to show off their college gear, eat jersey mics, take photos, and celebrate our upcoming graduation. Next, we have some programs. So, I just wanted to highlight yearbook. Um, they got to vi visit the national scholastic journalism conference in Seattle. They competed against 800 others in the Scholastic Journalism Media Contests. Daniela Presiato won the superior award for the for yearbook caption caption writing and Briana Bueno won honorable mention for yearbook and caption writing. Now we have Model UN. They just visited the Raven MUN invitational. We earned seven individual awards and took home best delegation overall. This was covered at the last meeting, but I just wanted to say it again because I'm really proud of this of our woodworking and

009construction CTE um course. and they just created two tidy homes for homeless veterans. The green one right there is an example of one of them. Now we have the FFA state conference. So over spring break the FFA program um attended the 97th annual California state FFA leadership conference. Students got to experience what it's like to be an FFA, attend leadership workshops, and see different career paths or majors for agriculture. Studio jazz and percussion. Our studio jazz and percussion students got to visit Hawaii over spring break for a clinic at the University of Hawaii. I'm regretting my uh elective choices in my high school. Okay, now I'm going to celebrate some students and some teachers. So, our emerging bilingual program, uh we just congratulated over 20 students for reclassifying and becoming bilingual in both English and

010their native language. We also had a signing day for all of our student athletes for signing offers to continue their sports in college. Uh we also have Yadira Dominguez. She won a full ride scholarship for U for the USD anchor STEM scholar. She is pursuing a biology degree and we hope in hopes of becoming a dentist. I have Tiffany Gaelic and Bonnie Baggery. So they were both awarded the excellence in special education award. Bonnie won the which is Miss Boggery. She won the general education teacher category and Tiffany won the high school student category. Now I wanted to highlight some alumni. So this is Lenny Menddees and he is the first hired police officer for the Escandido Police Department for our criminal justice program. And then I also have Jordan Buggy and he is a

011San Marcos alumni and he participated in the music program and he just produced and released his first song. It's on Spotify and it's called Dust Settles by the Imposters and I highly recommend listening to it. Um, we also have a new student board representative in the house. Um, if you want to stand up, Anara, I'm passing the torch. Alrighty. I just wanted to say thank you for letting me represent the school this year and I really had a lot of fun just making my presentations and hanging out and being on the board. So, thank you so much, Sydney. Thank you for taking the time and coming out and sharing with us and getting involved, being involved. All right. Hello everybody. Um, so I thought that since it was fitting that this is the last meeting,

012I would do a little bit of a recap of some of the really cool um, things that have gone on over at Mission, some highlights of our sports, our students, and just programs. So, the first thing that I wanted to start off by highlighting was some of our sports that have done really good this year. Um, first up we have our girls lacrosse team. And I had brought them up at our last meeting um, when I was talking about spring sports, but I just wanted to bring them up again because they've been doing something so amazing and they achieved something really cool recently. So, they were recently named the Valley League Undefeated champions, which is so so amazing to see because I just I always see how hard these girls work on and off the

013field as students and as athletes, and seeing them put in the work and then just watching them get rewarded for it is always so so amazing. Um, they'll also be getting a banner in our gym, which they've been long overdue for, which I'm really excited about. Just add another one. Um, they're also currently in RCAF Division 2 finals, and they won their game yesterday with a score of 11 to 8. Um, I think they have a really good chance of winning this year, and I hope they do because we got super duper close last year. We got to semi-finals, and then it was it was tough, but I think they have a really good chance of winning this year, and I really hope that they do. Another team that I wanted to highlight is our

014girls basketball team. Um, they don't always get a lot of recognition, but I think they should because they truly are an amazing team full of amazing people. Um, back in March, they became the Open League Division Champions for the second year in a row, which I think is so incredible because they all work so hard and they put so much time into this sport and I just think that they should be more recognized for it and for all the work that they put into it. The next thing that I wanted to recap is some of the VAPA programs we have over at Mission Hills. So, first up, we have our ceramics department, which um just like over at San Marcos High School, we had our empty bowls fundraiser. I know I saw some of you

015guys there. That was fun. Um so, we ended up selling every single last bowl that was made by our students. And I just think it's such a truly amazing fundraiser because I always love seeing students supporting other students, whether it's buying the work that they make or the food that they make, and then also seeing it go to something that will benefit other people in the long run. We haven't counted up all the donation money yet, but I have a feeling it'll definitely benefit a lot of people in an amazing way. Next group that I wanted to highlight was our drama department. So, they recently did two different shows. The first being Peter and the Star Catcher, which was back in the fall. Um, and the most recent one being Hades Town. And I've heard

016amazing things from everybody that attended. And I know that I always see the shows they put on, and I always enjoy seeing the hard work they put into it, whether they're like creating the props, creating the costumes, creating the script, everything like that. And then seeing everybody that gets to go and watch it and then watching them get the recognition that they deserve, I think is always so so cool. The next program that I wanted to highlight is our color guard, specifically our winter guard program. So this past Saturday, some of our members went to the West Coast Wintergard solo and ensemble competition. Everybody that participated placed top three in their divisions. Um, Gracia and Alicia were two seniors that placed third in the solo ensemble division and Simon Petardo placed first in his division.

017Um, our color guard program and Cardinal Alliance as a whole dedicate so much time and effort into what that they do and I think it's always cool to see them win and like do well in the competitions because I always see them practicing whether it's during lunch or after school or before school. I mean, I I definitely don't have the coordination to do what they do. So, I really applaud them for that. The last FAPA program that I wanted to highlight is our dance to arts club who recently had their spring show called Garden of Dreams. So, as always, they did amazing. Um, something I find really cool about this program is that it's all done by the students. So, it's all choreographed by the students that are in the program, all the costumes that

018are picked out, all the props that are picked out is all done by the students. Um, and I think that's just really cool because they're they have such like an art artistic eye when it comes to the dances that they do and they have such a good message that when it goes and is performed for the other people and the other students, I just think it has such like an amazing feeling that's like brought about with the entire school. And then the last thing that I wanted to recap was some of our amazing student recognitions that have happened so far this year. So, first up, I want to talk about Adriel, who was recognized earlier this year for the Rising Star Award. Um, I've talked about him before, but I just wanted to recognize him

019once again because he has done so much amazing work and has had so many achievements. Yeah, that is you in the photo, Mr. Johnson. Um, he's done so many amazing things over at Mission Hills. So, not only is he a member of the AVID program, but he also helps lead the ceramics department and after school mudcave club that they have. He leads and participates in so many other groups on campus that I can't even keep track anymore. Um, he's committed so much time inside and outside of school to serving our community, accumulating hundreds of hours in community service. And as I've brought up before, he earned a full ride scholarship to Stanford this year, which I think is something so amazing. Um, it's hard to comprehend. I mean, he was picked out of under 2,000

020students. So, I just really think that everything he's done on our campus, he's such a key leader and I thought it was only fair to mention him in this recap. The next student that I wanted to mention is Delila Garcia who was awarded the youth of the year award by the Boys and Girls Club. So just like Adriel, Delila is an amazing leader who has done so much for her fellow peers. She's an advocate for firstgen students on our campus, a career pathways program member and an ambassador for Project Next. I was fortunate enough to be able to play field hockey with her over the past few years. And not only is she an amazing teammate, but in an outside like an outstanding words are hard, guys. She's an outstanding student and amazing person overall.

021Um, she's worked so hard throughout the high school and I thought it was only appropriate that she get the recognition that she deserves. The last two students that I wanted to highlight were Monica Morazz and Destiny Mendes. So, these two girls are recently recognized by the mayor of San Marcos, Rebecca Jones for their outstanding efforts in substance abuse prevention. I know that whenever there are different club events during lunch, I always see the two of them working a booth and handing out whether it's wristbands orformational packets about just how dangerous substance abuse is. They dedicate so much of their time and effort into helping educate and uplift their fellow peers. So, I think they are both very deserving of this recognition. And then lastly, I just want to thank you all for making this past

022year so memorable for me as a board representative. Always taking the time to listen to my presentations and my ideas, some of them being super crazy and just everything that I say. I know that I've thoroughly enjoyed my time and I've been so grateful to be able to represent Mission Hills as our board representative. And just like Sydney's board representative, I have our upcoming Mission Hills board representative, Maddie, if you'd like to stand up. So, she will be taking my spot next year and I'm so excited to see everything that she does. And once again, thank you all for listening and as always, go Grizzlies. Trinity, thank you. Thank you as well, Trinity. Ladies, thank you. I mean, you've given us such wonderful insight to each of your school sites along with um Twin Oaks,

023you know, their representative, but thank you. Thank you. We look forward to having you replace us eventually. Yeah, the future is bright for sure. Uh report by superintendent. Yes. Thank you. So, I wanted to start with uh my thank yous to our student board representatives. Um you guys know that the these uh ladies have been here every month uh on the rotation sharing their thoughts. It's really important as a district to have that student voice and we have two students, these two in particular, who um are not shy about uh sharing their voices, especially when it comes to things like cell phones, other things, which is great, which is what we need. So, thank you to for um your service to our our schoolboard. And we have a little something for you. Yeah. Yeah. This

024is for Trinity. So, a little little plaque for Trinity. A couple of highlights I wanted. So, so last week we were we had our um annual year and review meeting which is all the phenomenal things that are happening in our district. There are a few others I just want to highlight real quick. A couple weeks ago right here in this in this room we had our um uh our CTE industry partners advisory meeting. whole room was filled with teacher, CTE teachers, students and industry partners all day long talking about um just a um a wealth of ideas and how we uh strengthen our partnerships, strengthen our CTE programs. It was really um inspiring. It was it was a phenomenal day. Dr. Campbell was there kind of leading the charge along with her team. Um and

025it was it's really really great to get the actual industry partners in the room with us here talking about what kinds of uh classroom experiences and school experiences we can be giving to our students to to get them future ready. So that was very exciting. Uh also had the opportunity we have an annual meeting superintendent have an annual meeting with uh Dr. Newfeld, uh, president of CSUSM, and we go there each, uh, each year. It's a breakfast meeting. Um, and it's always hard for me to stay quiet in those meetings only because she's there. She's very, she's a great partner for us. And many of the things that she is trying to encourage the K12 school districts to do to strengthen the K16 partnership, we have been leading the way there. These are things that

026we have been doing. So, uh, she in terms of like dual dual enrollment, um, other kind of pathway courses that we've got, guaranteed admission, those kinds of pieces. Um, we we've got we've got them all in spades and Dr. Campbell and her team have done a phenomenal job in building those partnerships. So, it's always it's always a fun day for me, but I have to stay I have to stay quiet because my colleagues are all trying to catch up to us. It's all right. Thank you. Please do let Brian out. Yeah. So, so I will also say this. There are 42 superintendents in the county and you can see how many are in this photo, how many of us went. So, I'm just going to say that. Okay. Uh, also couple weeks ago, Sims put

027on an inclusion basketball tournament. I thought it was amazing. Uh, this was the vision of Trisha Story. Um, questions from the board come at the end if there are questions and comments. Okay. So, uh, Trisha Story, who had, uh, at one point in earlier in her career been a special educ special education teacher in the San Diego, um, school district, invited friends from Oakrest Middle School to come over to SEMS and they did an inclusion basketball tournament and it was amazing. It was really, really cool. Parents were there. uh the kid the the ASB kids were down on the court with uh with the special needs students making sure that however many tries it took every shot went in one you know at one point or another uh and they were they had little medals

028afterwards and you can see that there um it was just a smiles all the way around. It was really really great. So um this was like kind of like the pilot that Trisha wanted to try and so they're going to do it at San Marcos Middle. I think they're planning San Marcos Middle and Woodland next year. Um so it was a really really neat event also at San Marcos Middle. So, you know, we've been working on our um uh middle school design or future ready middle school design. So, these students put on a innovations trade show a few weeks ago where these kids in uh sixth grade, these are sixth graders who have been putting together uh businesses and not only just kind of on paper or whatever on a a slide deck, but they

029actually have gone out and you can see this one, what was this? Clucking chicken. Um and they have their marketing materials. As you can see, they had to have a a budget plan, a staffing plan. Um, you know, where their location was going to be, all the kinds of things. They actually made t-shirts, many of them. Some there was a there was a group that was going to sell sweatshirts and they had made the sample sweatshirts. I will say the longest lines were the ones for the Mexican restaurants where there was actual chip and salsa and those kinds of things. So, uh, but it was really, really cool. It was really neat to see like these are the kinds of things that we do in our high schools, right? But it's coming down to the

030to the middle school. So, um, that was very exciting to see. And I was going to well you guys always steal my thunder here but uh welcome to our two board new board representatives. I did have the uh pleasure of introducing Inara to our board president this evening before the meeting. I think they already know each other. I do want to say it's important for Inara to hear and for everybody to hear that uh our board president was not involved in the selection in any way of the student board representatives. Uh this was all done per our standard procedures and policies and you you won this one fair and square. So congratulations and we look forward to working with you next year. And we also don't want to miss the opportunity to say happy school

031communicators day to Amy. It is uh it is that time. All the amazing things that Amy does to get the good word out there about all the all the cool things that we're doing for kids here in our district. So, happy school communicators day to Amy. Couple of highlights on tonight's agenda. We have the dual language program update from our staff. We have uh our Twin Oaks, right? I I sil just gave me this look like that's next week or something. I don't know. That was You're giving me a little heart palpitation here. Okay. Uh Twin Oaks Elementary School is here. I see we have some students and families. That's really great. We are going to have our cell phone update. We promised you an update in the in late spring about how it's going.

032Uh these guys, I think, have input as well. And then very very excited that on tonight's agenda is a sale of our first series of Measure JJ bonds. So, it's $150 million uh in bond funds for our first series so we can get shovels in the ground here in the summer and get this work started. So, it's very exciting. Uh, anything I can answer for board members? Any questions? No. Okay. Teacher appreciation week. Yes. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Hey, Dale. It's teacher appreciation week. He's with everything else been going right now that that that all all the appreciations went right over my head. We uh also had a a really great um uh celebration last night for our retirees and for our teachers of the year. So, yes, it is employee appreciation week.

033Uh and so, thank you to all of our amazing employees. Thank you, Andy. Thank you. All right, so we're on to presentations. Uh, first up, the dual language program update with Sylvia Ventura Jacobson, director of multicultural programs. Welcome, Sylvia. All right. Good evening, President Ahmad, uh, board trustees, executive cabinet members, and Dr. Johnson. It is truly my honor to present tonight on behalf of the work that our educational services department is doing in leading multicultural multilingual education. Something that is very very near and dear to my heart. My focus this evening is how as a district we're empowering future ready students through biiteracy. In alignment with our district's strategic promise, we're committed to fostering deeper learning by implementing curriculum that is reflective, respectful, and relevant to our diverse student population. Our goal is to provide

034instruction that honors diversity, recognizing that language and culture are powerful assets and that language is not a barrier, but rather a bridge. This directly supports our future ready student objectives. 1.3 ensuring students regularly build on their strengths and interest and 1.4 connecting learning to community and work-based experiences. Our district has made bold investments to expand opportunities for biiteracy as we recognize that biiteracy is not just an outcome of our innovative programs, but it's a pathway to incredible opportunities for our students. From our dual language program at Twin Oaks Elementary, a a place I'm very very proud of. Um, you'll hear more from them later tonight to its expansion at Woodland Park Middle School to thriving world language courses and our innovative interpreting and translating CTE pathway. We're creating multiple access points for students. These programs

035culminate in celebrations such as world fairs and I was part of um the Santa Leo World Fair this weekend and it was such an honor to be a part of that and see students interested about language and other cultures by literacy pathway ceremonies such as the one we attended yesterday at San Marcos Elementary School and ultimately our seniors earning the very prestigious California state seal of biitery. which is reflected on their diplomas. We know that preparing future ready students requires future ready teachers and educators who are equipped with researchbased strategies. Last month, you heard from the administrative team at Coreo Elementary about their work with Project Glad this past year. And I am absolutely thrilled to be able to provide more details about what we do as a district with Project Glad. Glad project GLAD

036uh stands for guided language acquisition design and it has been pivotal in providing our teachers with tools to foster academic vocabulary and discourse in each of our classrooms. The strategies our teachers learn and then go back to their classrooms and implement meet the cognitive, linguistic, and literacy needs of all of our students, especially our multilingual learners. Our vision is clear in Project Glad, which is to collaborate with educators so every multilingual student develops the language and the literacy skills necessary to succeed. This aligns with objective 3.2 of our strategic promise, building staff capacity through differentiated aligned professional learning to foster continuous growth and meet the needs of each and every student. Our glad professional development model is comprehensive, targeted, and intentional. It includes for our teachers two days of the research and the foundation that

037supports each and every one of the strategies followed by four days of a classroom demonstration where teachers who attend see the strategies in action with students in real time. And then we also provide after the six days of training coaching and follow-up ongoing support for our teachers. This is a layered approach that builds both confidence and competence amongst our staff. We are incredibly fortunate in our district that we have four certified project GLAD trainers, three of which are here tonight. Myself, Malia Tata from Twin Oaks Elementary School and Laura Johnston from San Marcos Elementary. We are just missing our fourth team member, John Paul Nava from Jolianne Elementary School and we have two more teachers currently pursuing their certification to be project glad trainers. The process of becoming a trainer, I don't want to say

038it's grueling, but it is. It is incredibly rigorous and a very lengthy a very lengthy process that requires lots and lots of hours of work and preparation. Having this many trainers is unique to a district. Um it is a commitment that we also make as a district. It's significant in that we no longer have to outsource or contract for project training which can become which is very expensive. Um we are we can build capacity from within bolstering our alignment with objective three of our strategic promise. Over the past four years we have expanded glad training from San Marcos Elementary and Laada to Twin Oaks Elementary Jolan Leech Tag. We have also expanded our training to four of our secondary schools. and three teachers from Lacosta Meadows called me one day and said we'd like to

039receive the training and we made that happen for them. So we know that in our district there is very much a want for project glad training. These are just a few photos uh featuring some of the strategies that we teach our teachers. Each strategy is purposefully integrated to support our portrait of a graduate. The strategies foster adaptability. You can see that here in our T graph for social skills, communication, critical thinking, empathy, and leadership skills we aim to instill in every one of our students. In a GLAD classroom, you will typically see students working in collaborative cooperative groups, working on working and completing academic team tasks. Both of these strategies aimed at fostering positive interdependence. This coming year, we're proud to expand dual language to Woodland Park Middle School. This is um an incredible achievement

040and milestone which ensures continuity of dual language, strengthening students pathways to earning that prestigious California state seal of biiteracy and beyond. And finally, we're proud that our district's work is being recognized outside of San Marcos Unified. Just last week, Twin Oaks Elementary was honored and recognized by the San Diego County Office of Education as a leader in biiteracy across the region. This recognition belongs to their students, two of which are here tonight, to the families who believe in the program and to the educators who work unbelievably hard to make biiteracy a reality for our students each and every day. Thank you for your ongoing support and your commitment to multilingual education. As an innovative district, we are truly preparing future ready students through the powerful lens of bilingualism and biiteracy. Thank you. I just want

041to thank you. Uh I went I had the opportunity to be last night at San Marks Elementary School with their their uh bilingual pathway uh presentations of fifth graders. It was it was very u enlightening and very joyful to see uh students from different cultures present their history, their roots and their stories and their jur educational journeys within our school district and testimonial proof of portrait of a graduate. So thank you. Just one other comment. And I thought it was really great that you mentioned that several teachers had kind of raised their hands to say that they wanted to be certified or go through the program. Um, and that's just a testament to our teachers. You know, they want to continue to learn and develop new skills and give back to our kids. So, I

042think that's really great. Uh I wanted to share in in part of this program and especially in bi literacy I I love the way that we reference speaking another language as a superpower and I see that a lot in our English learners you know that they know that it's a superpower but I was I recently had an opportunity to attend a biiteracy event at um Sanlejo Middle and in that we had our English learners be able presenting their journey in English but also in that presentation we had English learners present presenting in their, you know, language that and there was I know there was a few children in there that actually spent the time learning the language of their parents to give that presentation. So, it's going both ways, you guys. And you guys are

043doing an amazing amazing job. So, thank you. Thank you. All right. Next up, Twin Oaks Elementary School. Angel Angelica Baragan. Nope, you're good. Good evening, SMUSD soul board, Dr. Johnson and Executive Cabinet. I'm Anelica Vagansu, the principal of Twin Oaks Elementary. Thank you for the opportunity to be here today. We are honored to share the incredible work happening at our school. We appreciate your support and are excited to highlight how our students are thriving and living the Coyote way each and every day. Our school vision statement reads, "The staff at Twin Oaks Elementary School believes that all students can learn. Our mission is to maintain a positive, safe and orderly learning environment where academic excellence is the standard, diversity is valued, and all children reach their full potential as students and as people through the

044three pillars of dual immersion, bilingualism and biiteracy, academic achievement, and socioultural competence. The staff at Twin Oaks Elementary School in partnership with parents and community is committed to developing responsible, resourceful, lifelong learners in an atmosphere of mutual respect, pride, and cooperation. In accomplishing this mission, all students will acquire knowledge, skills, and attitudes to be successful in school in a and in a global society. We are guided by the three pillars of dual language education as the goals of our program and school. The three pillars of dual language education. The three pillars of dual language education are the first pillar bilingualism and biliteracy, the second pillar high academic achievement and the third pillar socioultural competence. The first pillar, bilingualism and biiteracy, aims to help students become fluent in both English and Spanish. Bilingualism means speaking and

045understanding two languages, while biiteracy adds the ability to read and write in both. Our program uses a 50/50 model with clear language goals. Students spend half their day learning in English and the other half in Spanish. This balanced approach supports growth in both languages and helps students succeed academically. In our dual language program, bridging is a key instructional strategy. It is the moment when teachers bring English and Spanish together, helping students connect what they've learned in one language to the other. For example, after students complete an opinion writing unit in Spanish, the English teacher revisits the same writing organizer. Together, they discuss English vocabulary and sentence structures, allowing students to see similarities and differences between the two languages. This approach not only reinforces academic content, but also enhances students understanding of how both languages work,

046supporting their growth in bilingualism and biiteracy. I'd now like to introduce Miss Malia Tata, our English language development teacher on special assignment, who will share how Project Glad School supports our program. Good evening. This year, my glad trainer team and I have had the absolute joy of training every single teacher on our campus from traditional kindergarten all the way through fifth grade, including our education specialists in the guided language acquisition design model. I'm very proud to say that you can see evidence of these strategies in every single classroom every single day in both languages. Our teachers are skillfully gladifying our district adopted curriculum to ensure that students have access to grade level content through meaningful connections. Here in this slide, you'll see students engaging in inquiry through visuals and in input charts that are delivered

047by teachers through direct instruction. These serve as the anchor for students listening, speaking, reading, and writing to participate in the unit of study. The yellow taggraph for social skills is what shows the key behaviors, what they look like and sound like, and help students work collaboratively to share ideas and build skills that align with our portrait of a graduate. Glad classrooms are active, joyful spaces that use repetition or what I like to call academic brainwashing to reinforce learning. Repetition is our one of our best teaching tools and you can see here students engaged in small group getting repeated visits to um content that was delivered in the whole group setting. The these multiple exposures to content are especially essential in supporting our emergent bilingual and readers. GLAD is a culturally and linguistically responsive um program.

048It builds pride in our students identities while promoting respect for others. It's a bridge to all three pillars of our dual language program. Bilingualism and biiteracy, high academic achievement and socioultural competence. The second pillar of dual language education is high academic achievement. We hold all students to high expectations through instruction in both languages. Students are challenged to meet or exceed grade level academic standards in all content areas. At Twin Oaks, our dual language students use the same district adopted curriculum as all other SMUSD students. In literacy, they learn from benchmark advance in English or benchmark adilante in Spanish. In math, they use ready mathematics or ready mathematicas depending on the language of instruction. To ensure instruction is aligned, we use the sideby-side standards from the San Diego County Office of Education, which place English and

049Spanish standards next to each other in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. This ensures our students meet grade level standards and expectations in both languages with the same academic rigor. I'd now like to introduce Mrs. Christy Husong, our assistant principal, who will share how our school supports The third pillar has served as the common thread um connecting all of our grade levels since our the launch of our dual immersion program six years ago. Our program provides students with opportunities to build confidence, show respect to others, and develop a strong sense of their own and others cultural, ethnic, and linguistic identities in ways that celebrate diversity. And we would just like to highlight a couple of events from this school year. This year we refined our PBIS framework to make deeper connections to our social justice standards

050which you see here on the slide as well as our portrait of the gra graduate competencies. Each day, our morning announcements are made and delivered in both English and Spanish. And they highlight a weekly SEAL theme such as fairness or problem solving. And students have the opportunity to share about schoolwide events such as last week's mental health awareness week or they contri contribute creative content such as student written original songs. And today's feature song focused on lunchroom expectations. It was really fun to hear because our all of our fifth grade classrooms had the opportunity to write their own song. And we thank our phenomenal music teacher for supporting our students in that endeavor. Our daily messages are essential component to setting a positive tone to start each school day. And if we happen to miss

051a day or leave something out, you bet our students are going to let us know about it. Our family Fridays are a favorite event at our school. They're held every two months and are highly attended by our families. They promote family engagement, bilingual literacy, and cultural appreciation. These events feature reading activities using bilingual English Spanish books that reflect the diverse backgrounds of our school community. And our families blend together to read and explore language and culture in a joyful inclusive setting that strengthens cross-cultural understanding. Organized by our fabtastic special education team, ability awareness week helps students develop empathy and understanding of different abilities. The highlight of the week was an inspiring assembly um performed or given by a visually impaired Olympian Amy Dixon who shared her powerful journey of perseverance and success in sports. And

052her stories and demonstrations offer students a deeper understanding of the strengths and challenges faced by individuals with disabilities, leaving an imp lasting impression in determination and respect and inclusion. And thanks to our wonderful PTO, we had the opportunities for our our coyotes to experience the energetic and engaging assembly by Uno Dos Trace Andreas. They are a Latin Grammy-winning musical duo uh known for their bilingual educational music and videos and their songs and videos are used across all classrooms to help support language development through academic content. Andreas and Christina really great a great performance. They inspired all of our students in all grade levels to sing and dance while learning social studies content and celebrating cultural diversity in a way that was both educational and fun. And our kids loved it. Did you like it? Yeah.

053[laughter] And uh this year we had a partnership with our PTO and our ELOC teams to organize two cultural celebrations, Dia de los Muertos and Dia Delino. During Dia de los Muertos, families worked together to help students create bu colorful altars to honor their loved ones and celebrate family traditions. And in last week's Dia del Nino celebrations, we had a Wednesday spirit rally that featured a student play, music performances, and the day's activities just celebrated the joy and importance of our children in our community, which is what Dia Delino is all about. Our families were also invited to come back to school to have lunch with their coyote and join in recess games, making it a super fun and memorable event for all of our families. These events and initiatives are all driven by our

054third pillar and reflect our school's deep commitment to nurturing the whole child academically, socially, and emotionally. And while honoring the rich cultural and linguistic diversity of our communities and by working together as educators, families, and students, we strive to create a supportive and inclusive environment where every coyote seems value is seen, valued, and empowered to thrive. And now I'd like to introduce two of the most important voices you'll hear tonight at tonight's meeting. Our amazing student speakers, Audrey Black and Ailen Garcia Martinez. um diploma in Woodland Park. Hello members of the school board. My name is Audrey Black and I'm in fifth grade at Twin Oaks Elementary School. I am one of the first students to start with the dual immersion program and I'm excited to share a little bit about my experience as a

055bilingual and biiterate student who entered the program speaking only English at home. I started the 50/50 dual immersion program as a kindergartner just a few weeks before my fifth birthday. At first, I was a little nervous because I didn't know anyone and I was confused when Mronava, yes, my teacher was speaking because I didn't understand what he was saying. But after a few weeks, I made a lot of new friends and started to slowly understand more and more Spanish. Being bilingual is great because it allows me to communicate with new people and to help translate for others. Helping people is very important to me and it's great that being bilingual and biliterate will allow me to help a lot more people. It's also great because I'll be able to earn high school credits in while

056in middle school and will also have the opportunity to get a biiteracy seal on my diploma. In the future, being bilingual and biliterate will open up new possibilities for me, such as being able to travel to new places and communicate with people that I not I would have not been able to communicate with if I was not in the program. I hope many more kids will get to the opportunity to learn in two languages at our school because all kids deserve to have the new possibilities open to them like I do. Thank you for supporting our school's mission for bilingualism and biiteracy for all. I'm excited to continue at Woodland Park for our dual immersion program. Hello members of of the school board. My name is Elen Garcia Martinez and I am in fifth grade

057at Twin Oaks Elementary. I am a proud member of the pioneer class of the dual language program. I would like to share a little bit about my experience as a biliterate and bilingual student who speaks both Spanish and English at home. I started school in a TK class where everything was in English. The dual language program had not started yet at Twin Oaks. But when but when I went to kindergarten, I was in the dual language program where my day was in English and in Spanish. When I started the 50/50 dual immersion program, that meant I learned half of my day in English and and half in Spanish. I got to grow up in both languages, reading, writing, speaking, and listening. I a very pr I am very proud of my school for having this

058program. I enjoy that my day is is half in English and half in Spanish. I am able to learn everything in both languages. When I am in Spanish class, I enjoy that everything is in Spanish and I can practice the Spanish that I know. Something else that I love about my school is that everyone in our school is learning in both languages. It makes me proud that even students who did not know Spanish from home are learning it at school. One of the things I'm looking forward to is getting my co literacy on my high school diploma. This is one of my goals I have for high school. When I grow up, I want to be a photographer. When I'm a photographer, I might need to go to places like Mexico or other Spanish-sp speakaking

059countries. Being bilingual and biliterate will allow me to speak to other people who may not know how to speak in English. photograph. Thank you for allowing me to share my journey with you. Yeah, biiteracy doesn't translate very easily into Spanish. Thank you again for your continued support and for giving us the chance to share a few things that make Twin Oaks a great place for students to learn and grow. We'll close with this photo, our pioneer class that Audrey and Ailen were a part of. I know they were having fun trying to find themselves in the kindergarten um picture. Um they were here as kindergarteners and they're now fifth graders off to middle school. We are proud of how far they've come and excited for what's ahead. Thank you. I just wanted to thank you

060guys so much for coming to present. Um I remember six years ago when they kind of kicked off the dual immersion and everyone was a little bit nervous. Um we had friends that were starting there and now he's in fifth grade and moving on to Woodland Park and now um I have two uh boys at Woodland Park now and they've started to kind of roll out what the dual immersion program is going to be there and it's all a buzz. So like my he's going into eighth grade is like everyone's taking Spanish like he's very excited about it so it's rolling in. Um and that's that's just fantastic. So um thank you for presenting it was awesome. Um, also just the family Fridays. I love hearing that because engaging families um in our education community

061matters so much for not only your school but moving forward and just kind of making lifelong learners. So um good job be a natural. Uh, I actually was thinking like, what words do I use because I'm just wow, you know? Um, I'm just so proud of you guys. I I literally had tears in my eyes because I was just I was just had all the tingles. Audrey and I'm sorry I didn't catch your name, sweetheart. Ailen, nice. You guys, I mean, are amazing and you guys are future leaders and I know you will be helping people make this world a better place with your dual language skills. Um, thank you so much for presenting. Um, it was a it was a great presentation. Thank you. And it's wonderful. We have parents like yours who see

062the vision, right? I mean, there's there's always a trade-off. And to make that investment and to to buy into this incredible program, I mean, the evidence spoke for itself tonight, literally. [laughter] Next up, uh, mobile device policy implementation update by Dr. Tiffany Campbell, deputy superintendent. How's it going, you guys? [laughter] Oh, before we go, can we get the picture, ladies? Can we can we get picture you guys real quick? Sorry, Tiffany. No, so much more. Please open. That was great. Thank you everyone for indulging me, Tiffany. Oh, okay. I don't think you're going to want my picture after this presentation, but that's okay. Okay. So, um here's our update um on our mobile communication devices um board policy. If you recall um back in um December, we presented um a recommendation for updating our board

063policy. In January, we were off to the races on our new cell phone policy. So, as a reminder, um that policy was an elementary and middle school away for the day policy, meaning that cell phones, smartwatches, headphones, and earbuds were to be turned off and kept out of sight during the school day, both in and out of the classroom. And at high school, it was a distraction-free learning environment, meaning all of those same devices need to need to be turned off and kept out of sight during instructional time. um instructional time being defined as bellto bell. So it's been a few months. How are things going? Um we've been doing some outreach actually since January and through the months uh to see how things have been going and then we did a little survey of

064our administrators just to see how things have been going. Um and we did that in at the end of April. So administrators in our elementary school rate the implementation as very successful. Um, students, how are students responding? I just pulled some of their quotes. They're fine about it. They've adjusted quickly. Not much has changed for us as our students knew that cell phones were not allowed. Um, this is pretty much what we expected because at elementary school already, um, they pretty much had a solid uh, cell phone policy. Uh, staff responding, they appreciate it, especially the upper grades. Um, there were some, uh, things that came up about smart watches. Unclear about procedures for smart watches. Not all staff was in agreement about whether or not smart watches should be allowed or what is the

065what setting the smartwatch needs to be um during school time. Um and from families, three parents not okay at one school site, only three parents not okay with it doing uh due to wanting to have access to their child in case of an emergency. Um they want their students to wear smart watches. Um what has bubbled up from elementary and things that we will need to um address is the smart is the smartwatch um and really having some specific uh some specific direction on smartwatches but generally overall very successful smooth roll out um for uh the implementation at elementary school middle school. So we've gone from very successful administrators rate implementation is mostly successful. Um, how are students responding? This is typical. It's middle schoolers. Um, most don't like the policy. However, they understand the

066purpose of the policy. Some have admitted that not having a cell phone, probably begrudgingly, has helped them focus more in class. Some students have expressed interest in using their cell phones during lunch. Others have appreciated the break from devices, noting that it encourages more face-to-face socialization um, and has been reducing the drama. General grumbling, but mostly fine. Um, for the staff, we have exuberance. Uh, they love it. Uh, they've expressed appreciation for the policy, fewer distractions in class, less social drama during non-instructional time. Um, and we are getting the note, however, that some want to overinforce and some under enforce. So, the biggest challenge is having consistency amongst the staff. And this is one of the things we knew when this policy came about that the devil is in the details. It has to be

067enforced consistently. Um, also what feedback have you received from families? Parents are supportive. Families have been very supportive when called about consequences. Um, one of our schools, I would say we've had less than 10 parents concerned that they can't access their child during the day. We provide them with information on how we can support communication if it is needed. This was one question that we had um in January when we rolled out of how this was going to feel um at our middle schools and at our elementary schools in particular on students who on parents who really need to get in contact with uh with their student. Um and we're hearing from our administrators it's not really a thing. Um they did say we had one test of the system during the earthquake. Um because

068there was a lot of phone calls to the front office when the earthquake happened. Um but we made it through an emergency. So it was pretty good. It's pretty good. Just a question. Do we have the same concern for smart watches at the middle school level? Is that there was some discussion about smart watches but less so at the middle school than it was at the uh at the elementary level. Okay. And now we get to high school um administrators Ricky implementation as mostly successful and somewhat unsuccessful. Um how are students responding? So I'm going to read these quotes and then I'm going to have our lovely stu student board members um also give some input at this time as well. So um how are students responding from the administrator perspective? They hate it but

069they understand it. Uh students generally want to have access to their phones at all times. They feel like we don't trust them when we require them to be put away and or off during instructional time. Students are having trouble with the policy due to inconsistent enforcement by teachers across campus. Some implement the policy to the full effect, some partial, and some not at all. Ladies, the floor is yours. Um, so I'd say that most of these quotes are pretty, you know, like linear with what I've heard from, you know, my friends and just across the school. And, you know, as it affects me, too. I'd say that personally, I I understand where the policyy's coming from. Um, however, I do feel as though it isn't as much of lessening the distraction as much as it's

070making it some like go somewhere else. I'd say it's kind of like redirecting the distraction somewhere else. So like I might not have my phone during class time, but now it's just kind of making me and other students seek out that like when we're bored like that stimulation. We have to find it somewhere else. And I think that kind of like this also kind of lies in a problem that I think is deeper rooted in just the engaging and how engaging like a certain class is because I think without cell phones with cell phones no matter what if a student is bored they're going to be distracted because they aren't engaged in what's going on. Um, so while I feel that like I understand the policy completely and I feel that, you know, a lot

071of other students like understand the policy, I'd say I'm also sort of lean into this somewhat unsuccessful side because I haven't heard many students say that it's helping them become less distracted in class and it's more of moving it somewhere else. I think Trinity made some really good points there. I would like to agree with all of them. Um, I do like all of my friends and everybody at school has been saying that they don't like the policy and that they wanted it to go back to how it was and we can't do that to the extent. But, um, I think adding on to the point about students finding another way like they're going to go on their computers and do something, they're going to be distracted if they don't want to engage in a

072learning environment. And in the advisory council, we really talked about how students in like are not going to be on their phones if they're in an engaged environment. And if they're like bored in class, they're going to jump to something else. So, I think that we what we really need to be doing is focusing on like how can we engage students so that they don't find different like find ways to be find other ways. I don't know how to explain it. Yeah. To be disengaged. But I think that we're on the right track. I just think that we need to tweak it a little bit. So, what I'm hearing from you guys, it's not that cell phones were a distraction. It's more the classes weren't engaging. Okay. Okay. Thank you, ladies. Thank you. Um, how's

073staff responding? Generally, positive feedback. Um, they do want more messaging out to students via student square uh PA announcements and email. Um, interestingly, however, whereas there was exuberance at the middle school from staff, not the same reaction uh at the high school level. Most staff agree with the policy, some are having a hard time enforcing the policy when there are several teachers who don't enforce it in their classes. So, there is this consistency piece um that there is some struggle with. Um, and then I I pulled this quote in particular because I think it was um it speaks to some things that are uh that are difficult about enforcement from a teacher's perspective. Teachers who avoid implementing the policy are concerned about power struggles and ruining a relationship with a student over a cell phone.

074I think it is a real thing that we have to um that we have to think about um with our teachers. Um, feedback from families generally positive, appreciative of the policy. Parents are happy with the policy. Only two complaints I received are when a teacher is forcing a student to place their phone in a pocket caddy because that is not actually part of the policy itself. It's the it it has to be away. Um, and then questions about when parents get notified about a phone being taken to the office. There were a couple of questions about that, but not much. So as we compile where we have been um just based on anecdotal Dota data um key points from staff and guardians with elementary policy is working well. We definitely need clarification on the management

075of the smartphones and there are some concerns about overall technology usage throughout the day in general at elementary school um and really across the board. Um so our recommendation as far as the policy is concerned for the away for the day is no changes to elementary. Um our next action steps with elementary um our student student services department as well as our administrators need to develop some clear language for what constitutes a way for smart watches and we need to include that at the beginning of the year communication for staff and families. Um and then to our lady's point, um instructional focus area for next year. Um it has continued to be one this year, but we will lean further into it. Um the instructional focus area to increase student collaboration and meaningful discourse. Um

076what types of things are happening away from the teacher that don't involve a computer for middle school? Key points. Students have adjusted to the policy. staff appreciates is exuberant about the district-wide policy. Um there is a need for staff commitment to consistent enforcement. There are some concerns again about overall technology usage throughout the day and we begin to think about managing student ingenuity. Students can still still chat with each other using Google Docs during class time. So as was mentioned, it moves somewhere else. The distraction moves somewhere else. Um also there is a little discussion about students with their own devices having the ability to use the smartphone features um if they are bringing their own device. So notifications particularly if you have a Mac you can still do everything on your Mac um that's

077on your cell phone. So we need to think about that. So our recommendations for middle school again no changes to the middle school away for the day policy but there are some things in practice that we uh need to need to do. So again the clear language for the smartwatches um working with staff administrators working with their staff to really ensure schoolwide commitment um and agreements on enforcement of policy. Everybody's got to be on the same page and they have to commit to each other. um that instructional focus area to increase student collaboration and meaningful discourse. And at the middle school, um bring your own device came about kind of accidentally at the middle school uh a couple a few years ago. So, we're going to discontinue that practice at the middle school level. Every

078student has a Chromebook. There is really no need for a student to bring their own device at the middle school. there aren't any programs that students are using that can't be accessed on um on the Chromebook uh that so because of that we're going to just discontinue that and we don't have a lot of students uh doing the bring your own device anyway so we don't think it's going to be a big um it will be a big issue to discontinue high school so um key points while staff generally appreciates the district-wide policy there is wide variance in classroom enforcement. Students and staff both actually are asking for more teacher discretion. Um some feel it's too restrictive for some courses. Some teachers have said they want more say in their own classrooms. Students are noting

079engagement finishing their work early breaks during the block day. Um they want to have access to their phones. Um there are staff concerns with support for the enforcement of consequences and then managing student ingenuity again. Um students with their own devices. Many more at the high school level have their own devices and have the ability to use smartphone features and um getting around the use of phone pockets is a thing at our high schools. Phone case with no phone for example. So recommendations 426, we are recommending an administrative regulation update that includes the following exception language which doesn't give our high schoolers exactly what they want but does offer a little um gives a little bit of wiggle room. Um so our principles I want to give a caveat that our high school principles we

080met many times with our high school principles and they very much feel that the policy needs to be consistent across the board. They have no interest in a teacher discretion at the high school. They have no interest in that. However, practically um from a practical standpoint, there are some classes that students need and use the cell phone and so they have had conversations with their staff about what is something that can be a give. So, this is the update um that they would like to see included. Pending annual review by principal's council. Students enrolled in leadership in visual arts courses may be permitted to use personal mobile devices and/or earbuds when such use directly enhances the learning environment. This allowance is granted at the discretion of the classroom teacher and is intended to support creative,

081collaborative and instructional activities aligned with course objectives. So um they acknowledge that there are courses where the devices are necessary andor preferred. The example that has often been given is you're in a ceramics class, you want your earbuds in, you're working independently with your music. Um, there is a creative element. Our visual arts teachers, particularly at the high schools, have said that music oftentimes help with helps with their um help students with their creativity and not everyone likes the same type of music. So, this is why they want the earbuds happening. Um, in our ASB courses, in our leadership courses, students are often using their phones for various things. I think ladies, you can probably attest to that. Um, so there was um a big ask from both campuses um from our leadership teachers. um

082they want a consistent approval process that has to go through the principal and then come to the district office during their come to the district during their principal council meetings and they will agree upon the courses at the time. Um they want placement in the syllabus upon approval and they want a yearly review of allowed courses. Again they have a strong desire to have that consistent away for the day away for the class period policy for the majority of classrooms. Um, and they have no interest in general teacher discretion. Make sense? That's weird. So, our recommendations for high school administrators work with staff to ensure schoolwide commitment and agreement on enforcement of policy. We had a long discussion, several long discussions with our principles about leaning in to their leadership teams as well as to

083their staffs on common commitments because it is very difficult when you are the teacher who is enforcing the policy and your next door neighbor is not. So really leaning into collective commitments as a staff. Um we will work with our high school principles on the approval guidelines and application for leadership and visual arts classes. Again the instructional f focus area to increase collaboration meaningful discourse among our students and we are going to monitor the bring your own device in 2526 and have continued discussion. Um our students had a lot to say about the need for their devices because of different applications. um different ways that they are using their device that they actually cannot um access with a Chromebook. For example, our filters do not allow um outside organizations to email um their to email

084our students. So, if you are doing college applications and you are you are expecting something from a college, you are not going to be able to access that um on your Chromebook. Ladies, do you want do you have anything else to say about that? But I know there was some lively discussion about bring your own device. Lively discussion in the advisory council. We brought it up briefly. Um a a lot of the students brought up the money aspect of it. Like paying for a MacBook is not cheap and for you to not be able to access it for the majority of your like for your whole school day doesn't really seem like realistic. And it kind of could bring some backlash I guess in a way. And yeah, people are students are going to get

085around some of the filters. Like I don't think that like stopping students from using their mo bringing their own device from school is going to stop the filters, I guess, if that that's what I'm trying to bring up. Personally, I don't like the personal computers. I just don't like learn well on them. I don't [laughter] I just don't like them. I think they're too small. I think they're I don't know. I just prefer my own Chromebook. I feel more comfortable on it. And I'm sure a lot of students agree with that. Um, I'll pass it off to Trinity if she has anything to add. I think Sydney kind of summarized it pretty well about everything that we addressed in the advisory council just with the concerns about, you know, what she said, the money aspect

086of it if you're paying like thousands of dollars, however much your Chromebook is, and then not being able to use it for the majority of your school day, which kind of take into account how many days a year we're in school and how many hours we're in school. just kind of like if you're buying a Chromebook for the sole purpose of being able to use it, not being able to use it in school. Um, and then again with the filters, I know that it's very touchy like with our school, like with everything that you can look up. I mean, I've come across some problems sometimes with the filters, like I'll look up some pictures and then I'll like try and go back and then just like the page is completely down and there's like no

087no pictures are like allowed up and it's just it's harder when it comes to like adding when I'm doing slideshows and things like that. Um, when it comes to just like the bringing your own devices, I really think that I think it should be monitored because I think there are some students who aren't using it in like a correct way, but I don't think it should be eliminated completely. Oh, wait. Oh, um, also for like college board, you can download um this application called Blue Book and it creates that like what's it's just like a lockdown browser. So you can kind of just for AP courses wise, you can minimize the closed browser with that application on the MacBook and on personal computers if that's a thing to talk about. I have a question about

088this especially um as a mom going through something with like a junior and senior. Um a lot of students are applying engaging for internships, jobs, applications and whatnot. And you're right, their their school emails cannot be used for that. And so I know I know my own daughter herself has brought in her own laptop so she can have that communication during the day during working working hours um with those organizations. That being said, my daughter has a laptop, you know what I mean? And I'm I'm wondering if there's students that don't have their own laptops, like, you know, where do they have access? Could they go into our future centers? Yeah. Okay. Yes, that's it. All right. Okay. What questions do we have? So, first with the roll out. So, um, I visited some of

089the different schools and was super excited to see the middle school lunchtime because the first semester it was a lot of, you know, kids not wanting to socialize because they had their crutch. Um, and when I went on campus this time, like they're playing games and they're engaging. Um, it was good to see because that middle school time like social development super important. So, um, that I think is very positive. There was some, um, supervisors that brought up technology free lunch because there are some kids in the middle school that are still like they're playing little the slider game or whatever on their um, Chromebooks. So, I don't know if that's something that we want to talk about. I actually that is something that we talked about with our principles. Um I consider that something

090that we will monitor like we monitor bring your own device at high school. Um because there were some of our uh administrators who have said not all kids want to engage with each other. There are some social emotional things that we have to think about as well. So we want to see who are the kids who are on their devices. Why are they on their devices? and is there another route that we can take with them? But it's definitely something that we've actually talked about um and we'll continue to monitor and see where we go for next year. Sorry, one more thing. And then for the high school, um I'm actually curious if one of the reasons why it's harder is because we didn't just rip the band-aid off and say no cell phones at

091all. Because if you have it with you, you haven't broken the addiction, right? [clears throat] So, we're all addicted to our phones. Like, I feel like we're aware of that. Um, adults, kids, everything. So, in middle school, no phones at all. You don't think about it. You know, you can't. But in high school, you're changing. You know, you're walking between your class periods and you're like, "Oop, who texted me or who am I?" You know, and you send that text and it's just really hard to break from that if it's still there sometimes. So, that's just my point there. Um, I know a lot of schools, LA Unified went K through 12. Um, I think New York State just went K through 12. So, that's just my two cents. I was just going to add

092that. Um, yeah, a lot of school districts will be looking at what we're doing and the leadership and innovation that we're putting into place. So, thank you for doing that. I know it was a popular discussion in DC when Sarah and I were with other her board members from other school districts. Uh I just want to say thank you for that update. Um I agree on the things that we need do need to monitor. I appreciate our students and their feedback. Um and um I look forward to seeing our next updates. Thank you. All right. I was actually No, it's all good. It's all good. Sydney and probably don't want to hear what I have to say actually, so it's probably better. [laughter] No, I was um I think Sydney, you made a comment about

093the kind of the lack of engagement. The students are more prone to want to pull their phones out when they feel like the class isn't engaging. And I don't know the answer to my following question, but how much um just just for all of us to think about like the dopamine hits that we get from being on our phones, have we looked at the teacher sitting in the front of the class is not going to give us that same dopamine hit that we're going to get when we get that ping on our phone. It's just it's it's impossible to get that same kind of charge. And so maybe through just looking at it from that lens, like biologically, chemically speaking, how our bodies react. Um, and then how can we kind of all get on

094the same page about that, educating the teachers, the students, the families, so that we can move towards something that ultimately works for for everyone. That wasn't bad. Okay, good. Okay. Thank you everyone. So basically still a lot to consider um for many different aspects but I'm glad we're on this path and I'm glad we're you know we're we're going forward. I you know I appreciate we're not rolling back but you know we're we're going moving forward. Thank you ladies. Thank you Tiffany. All right moving on to communication session. [laughter] Um, per education code 35145.1 and government code 54954.3, members of the public have the opportunity to provide public comment on any agenda item as well as any non-aggenda item that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the board. Per board bylaw 9323, individual speakers

095will be allowed up to three minutes to address the board on each agenda or non-aggenda item except for our union representatives who have five minutes. In accordance with the board bylaw 9323, public comments will be limited to 20 minutes per topic. Per the Brown Act, members of the board are very limited in their ability to respond to statements or questions made during public comment. Unless an item has been placed on the published agenda, there shall be no deliberation or action taken, the board may one, acknowledge your seat of the information report and comment. Two, refer to the staff for further study, or three, refer the matter to the next agenda. A recording is made of all open sessions of the governing board. Again, on behalf of the board of education, we thank you in advance

096for helping us conduct this meeting respectfully. Susie, do we have any speakers? Yes. Um, first is Bria Cassidy. That's okay. Hello. So, my name is Brian Cassidy. Uh, I'm here to speak about um the individual education that they're taking away. Not taken away, but limiting in in high school. and across the board. Uh, and uh, I have three adult kids and one uh, sixth grader. And I was always about having your child mainstream. I was 100% against anything. 100% against it because my other three were locked on. They were fire and forget, do very good. And then my youngest one now, special ed. and uh when uh without the individual uh one-on- ones with the teachers, especially in San Michael School District, uh he would be lost. And I see how much he needs it.

097And it really changed my point of view on it. And uh with my job and everything being in six different districts across California and two other side of the the country, I see how it is. And I am very appreciative of San Marcos by far is the best school district that I've been part of. And uh from the 101 that my child is getting at uh Double Peak, unbelievable. Like people don't understand unless you worked special ed or you're a parent that you see how much it means to your your student and your child and um how much those little lowhanging fruits accomplishments that he makes really affects him and he wouldn't be able to do it without the one-on-one and you know without politics or anything. I really hope that when it does come

098a time to think about cutting it that there could be more of a discussion with uh how it can affect uh people and maybe there's an avenue that uh you can go down to not cut it because 100% I'm 100% for it now but five years ago I really didn't care why because it didn't affect me but as it affects me and my child and uh I see how much it really uh needs of how it really helps him. And uh I really just hope that uh the district makes a decision and whatever the decision is, we're going to move forward and we're still going to be fine. But I just want you to know that we do appreciate the one-on-one that uh my child is getting and we hope as we continue in the

099district that uh it doesn't go away. And like I said before, St. Marcus School District, not just because I'm talking to you guys, it's the best school district I've been involved with and uh I appreciate it. Thank you. January Freeman. Hi, I'm uh Jan Fman. I'm an education specialist in the district. I'm here tonight to voice some serious concerns about the ongoing elimination of small groupoup specialized academic instruction, the SIA classes on some secondary campuses and the pressure from the co-eing collaboration to expand to all sites and to what this means to our students with IEPs. First and foremost, the shift directly contradicts the foundational principles of IDEIDA, specifically the individualized part of each student's IEP. decisions are being made without evidence, without stakeholder input, without consultation with the very professionals, the education specialists who

100work with these students. That lack of transparency or empirical data and collaboration is deeply concerning. Why is this support being removed? Why is the survey given to students in support of this proposal leading and created without ED specialists? Uh the co-taught model as it's currently implemented already struggles with inflated class sizes, lack of instructional aids, and high ratios of students with IEPs to students without IEPs. Best practice suggests 15% but no co-taught classes ever come close to this ratio. In fact, many are 50% or more. Additionally, the dismantled co-taught science classes at the middle school has introduced significant strain on high school course creation by masking the need for the services and it has created this further gap in the um academic achievement. Removing small group instruction doesn't fix these problems. It exacerbates them. Misplaced

101students consume much more time in a cot setting providing support for those appropriately placed. Co-taught classes simply cannot meet the needs of learners that require intensive academic support. Forcing co-taught only services will decrease student participation. It will increase anxiety and it will erode the sense of safety they need to learn. SAI classes provide the structure, pacing and individualized support that allow students to build confidence, gain still skills, and ultimately transition into the larger classroom settings. This decision feels predetermined which as we know in special education predetermination is a no no. It raises legal concerns under idea and FAPE and it risks real harm, increased academic failure, emotional distress, sense of defeat in the students who are trying really hard. And speaking of legal concerns, ED specialists have received directives to change services from SAI setting

102without meeting parents or having a parent discussion. And let's be clear, eliminating SAI classes is not about equity or inclusion. It's about cutting corners at the expense of our most vulnerable students. To quote SMUSD strategic promise, the portrait of a graduate is a promise made to every SMUSD student and we are committed to providing an unparalleled educational experience that prepares every graduate to be future ready from most able to the most vulnerable students. And are we keeping that promise by eliminating the service? Thank you. Okay. Melvin and Sally Hill. Hello everyone. Thank you so much for allowing us to be here. Um Melvin and I have kids at Double Peak and we also have kids at San Marcos High School. Um, and since Isaiah was in the seventh grade, he's in the ninth grade now,

103um, I went through his phone and found some inappropriate racial remarks from a group chat, um, from his B I'm going to try not to cry, but from his basketball group and, um, me being the mom that I am, looking through his phone, um, found remarks like um, they don't just they can pick the they can eat the cotton like it was it was a con candy machine and then was a bunch of black kids and then it was like oh they they don't have to just pick it they can eat it. That was one and there was other ones where there was like videos of like get these out of here. Sorry for my language but this is something that's reality for us at home. I took it to the school. my son had

104erased it just because he cared enough about his friends and um they were you know the basketball team and he didn't want him to get in trouble and so on. He's a really good kid um but just didn't understand the you know the these are people that you were associating with. But anyway, long story short, I took it to the school. I didn't have the evidence, meaning the recording cuz they all plotted and deleted all of it. But I did bring it up to the school. the school did call the parents and that was that I'm I was okay with that because that was the first incident that we've really dealt with that was to that extreme. And then later on um that year I buy a $50 yearbook for my son graduating 8th grade

105double peak. This is the book that I'd like for you guys to take a look at as a mother. He comes home and there are picture there is to the monkey. Um you um you look more like the moon since you're the color of this marker. There is on there. There is um just disgusting stuff that I had to take to the school to show them evidence of this is the kind of language and this is the kind of um environment that these kids are in. He's a really good school uh student. He brought I mean he played basketball, got the championship for them this year, goes to San Marcos, dealing with the same situation, but this time it's impacting his grade. He's the only black kid in his English honors class. Um, some of

106the discussions we have had with the teacher were remarks like, "I'm not sure what his reading ability is. What do you mean? He's in your English honors class and we're we're going to have a meeting at this point. But what brought me here to you guys, cuz I could handle everything else, I'd like to do it one-on-one was that when my son, who's now in the sixth grade, I know my time is up. I'm sorry. But it wasn't until mass who's in the sixth grade a few days a few a week ago said, "Mom, this girl called this girl said, "That's why you're a black slave cotton picking." And everybody heard it. Teachers heard it. Um, you know, um, PE teachers heard it. And so they took I didn't know until he came home. When

107he told me, I said, "Okay, like we do with everything else. We'll deal with it. It's fine. Um, [clears throat] and then the next day I went and I dealt with it at school. We talked about it. They said the girl got suspended. Um, I measured. They just kept her away from a different class. But mom, what about an apology? Something. Nothing at all. And then that kind of like I was like mental check, right? Then my son who a month from we're about to end school his grade drops to a B. This is a struggle. There's emails, there's paper trail of these two parents who are huge advocate on academics who grill our kids to get good grades because we that is who we are in our home comes to me frustrated and says,

108"Mom, every time she grades a paper that has to do with her opinion, it's a 60 out of 100. But every time it's an exam or it's a fill in the blank, I get 100%. It's about to be a month until the semester ends and my grade drops to a B because and I'm she doesn't hold the discuss discussions with him and everything else. There's trails of us wanting to communicate with her but from his perspective he was like maybe it's a biased thing. I don't know. And then two days prior to that, the my son comes home called the black slave in cotton picking and it's a blonde girl and his teacher and I connected the dots and I just broke that day. I went after I dropped all the kids off and dealt

109with that. I thought to myself, am I doing the right thing with my kids? I have a yearbook to show. I have my kids coming. I went to the school and the school thinks that just by maybe possibly suspending the student is good enough and it isn't. Dad, I know I didn't let you speak, but this is really I can't 2025. Just cuz you're a black person doesn't mean you're a slave. That little girl is going to grow up and she could possibly be his English honors teacher. And if we don't bring awareness to that, my kids are this color. There isn't too many of them. If you look at the the teachers in this book, they don't look anything like my kids. And my kids are very aware of that. And that's the role

110model. There's only one black man, and that's teaches history, and that's the only role model they have. I know we're in a different community than the community him and I grew up in, but that is our right. What are you gonna do to pour back into my child whom now knows that when a blonde girl looks at him, she sees a slave, black slave cotton picking? How are we changing that? What are we doing? We talked a lot of great things. This community is an amazing community, but there are families like us who are dealing with something else that's different. I would love for you guys to please look at this yearbook and see what we deal with at home. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for coming and sharing. Um, Dr. Johnson, can I direct

111this to you to engage with the parents? I definitely will. Yeah. So, so I'll just say very, very sorry for what I'm hearing. You heard the statement about from our strategic promise, which is not just words on a paper. This is very serious to us. So, I'll make sure to have staff follow up with you right away. Thank you. Do we have your contact information? I Yeah. And also, we have an appointment with the school principal at San Marcos, the school principal at Double Peak, and then Yeah, I'll follow up with him. Yeah, for sure. Thank you so much. And thank you everyone. Thank you. Any other speakers? Susie, there are no more speakers. Hey. Um, reports by board members. Does anyone have anything they would like to report? Um, sorry, I wasn't prepared. Um,

112it's been a great few weeks. You know, uh, last week was my first year in review, which I think was our fourth year in review event. Um, Amy, you did an amazing job putting that on. And, um, it was a great turnout. It was awesome to see all the principles and APs come out. Um, I don't know what was my favorite, the artwork or the culinary um, presentation from Mission Hills. They were both fantastic. And then just hearing the incredible student stories. Um we had some really powerful um uh student spotlights. So that was that was great. Um and then the um retirement and teacher of the year award ceremony last night was also fantastic. And Lena and I were chatting about it just on the way out. You know, we're we're new to all

113of this. And so it's this surreal experience of of seeing Oh, Tiffany's not here anymore. He's going to point to Tiffany. Um just seeing you can feel this connection and these deep relationships that have spanned so many years and just the the emotion and the gratitude. Um it was just it made me really proud as an outsider in some ways but also an insider. It was like having like an out-of- body experience like I'm outside but I'm inside and I'm happy to be here and I'm really it made me feel really proud to be a part of San Marcos Unified. Um, and I was just just the legacy that all of those retiring teachers were leaving and thinking about just this cycle, you know, the new teachers coming up and filling those filling those holes.

114So, anyways, I'm getting a little bit sappy, but um, it was great. Yeah. So, Andy mentioned like this is the time of year when it's like rapid fire for events and everything, but it's been wonderful getting to be on campus more and the celebrations. since the one last week was awesome and the one last night was awesome. Um, empty bowls for at both mission and San Marcos was great events. Um, the fact that they bring the students together to donate the I mean they their time they make the the ceramic bowls. Um, but also like at mission they the culinary students make the food and then they put these together and raise money to give to the community like or to an organization the community. that is a great thing to instill in our youth.

115Um just that giving back matters. So um the other thing I just wanted to mention a little shout out um we did board tours at Mission Hills and um Nathan shared the compass thing with the portrait and it ties together the portrait of graduate and it really ties it into um the Grizzlies. I love this. It's fantastic. Um, and I'm I'm really proud of what the leadership team there has done. Um, and the the stats that we've seen from even uh uh discipline and things like that. So, good job. Uh, so that's that's that. Thank you. Um um yeah, same thing last night's event with our employee recognition. I think it was over a thousand years of collective experience. that that's just incredible. Uh both our retirees and our uh teacher classified uh folks of

116the year uh among others. Um also uh as I mentioned before the fifth graders at St. Marcus Elementary, that was fantastic uh seeing witnessing their their pro their presentations. Um and I don't know if you want to share this next one with our trip. Yeah. So just um just to Sarah and I were on the hill last Wednesday night advocating on behalf of uh students, not just for California students, but students across the United States in different areas. And I think um just to to speak to the special ed, that was one of our points of um of communication to our congressional folks uh about supporting special education, our rural communities with our sister uh schools across the nation as well as uh privacy and uh act uh and AI protection for our children in

117cyber security. So that was very key and unique. Um, did you want to address anything else beyond what I said? No, I think you guys uh capt I mean I think all three of you captured everything that I wanted to say. So that makes what I want to say a little bit shorter. Um, first of all, happy teachers appreciation week to all of our teachers. Um, you guys are so valuable. I was going through and I think of the teachers we work with now. Um, and the wonders that they work with uh with our children and our community. Um, and I was also thinking back to my own teachers. I mean it's it's you know um truly impactful. Um like I said my fellow board members have already shared a lot of that what we've

118done. Um one of the things I was um incredibly happy about yesterday we also attended uh Lena and I attended a little uh performance at Jolianne their big concert and we were only able to stay for a little bit. Um, so I was able to catch the TK, K, and first grader performance. I wish I could have stayed for the whole thing, but the I love the idea in this district that we have of introducing kids to so many things as early as possible. So, for example, at Jolianne, every child is going to learn how to play a violin to some degree. Um, and you saw the little TKer standing on stage with a little cardboard violin tucked under their chin and kind of like it was the absolute darn cutest thing. And then we

119had the first graders came up come up and I swear they were older because they were just phenomenal. Um, and just the skills that they're um that they were get, you know, coming up to speed and we've learned um today from the biiteracy program. We see so many of our CTE pathways. we saw the the presentation from the middle schoolers and Andy's uh presentation and all in all I'm just so amazed uh by the opportunities and um engagements that we are providing our students and the exposure that we're providing them and to Heidi you know I've been on this seat it's going on to five years and I still have an outer body experience because we're we're here we're setting the vision and you guys are executing it so wonderfully so thank you so much.

120Um it's just amazing to see. Um so thank you. And with that, we'll move on to our action agenda. Um agenda item 9.1, approval of form of school facilities funding agreement between San Marcos Unified School District and Paloma Town Homes LLC and authorize the school district officers to execute a the final agreement tonight. This is the first of three steps to form another CFD. This one is CFD number 20. This project is be being built by California Pacific Homes located in the city of San Marcos at the corner of Grand Avenue and Linda Vista Drive within the boundaries of La Marada Academy Academy and San Marcos High School. It includes 102 town homes ranging from,00 to $1,800 square ft and priced from 720 to $855,000. Similar to other recently formed CFDs, CFD number 20 is

121structured to finance a mitigation payment of 132% of the district's level one developer fees and is estimated to generate approximately $998,000 for our school facilities. Tonight is the first of three board meetings to consider the resolution of intention for this new CFD formation. Thank you, Erin. Um, do I have a motion to approve the proposed funding agreement? I move to approve the form of school facilities funding agreement between San Marcos Unified School District and Paloma Town Homes LLC and authorized school district officers to execute the final agreement and I'll second it. Moved by member Martine, seconded by member Ahmad to approve the form of school facilities funding agreement and authorization to allow SMUSD officers to execute the final agreement. All those in favor say I. I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Agenda item 9.2 initial

122actions for formation of proposed community facilities district number 20 of the San Marcos Unified School District. Based on the fun funding agreement just approved by the board, the owner of the property within the territory of the proposed CFD number 20 has submitted a petition requesting the board to take actions of the formation of that CFD, the authorization of special taxes, actions to incur bonded indebtedness and related matters. Resolutions number 45, 46, 47, and 48 are presented to the board this evening for action to proceed proceed with CFD number 20 consistent with that request. District staff and consultants recommend that the board take action to adopt the initial actions for the formation of CFD number 20. Right. Thank you, Aaron. Do I have a motion to for the adoption of the initial actions for formation of

123proposed CFD 20? I move to adopt the initial actions for formation of proposed CFD number 20. Any second? Moved by member Martin, seconded by member Miam to adopt the initial actions of formation of proposed CFD number 20. All those in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. I. Item number 9.3, resolution number 49-2425, resolution of the governing board of the San Marcos Unified School District authorizing the issuance and sale of the San Marcos Unified School District general obligation bonds 2024 election series A in the principal amount of not to exceed the $150 million prescribing the terms of the bonds and their sale. Approving form of such bonds. Authorizing execution and delivering of a bond purchase agreement. Authorizing the execution and delivery of a preliminary official statement and an official statement for the bonds. Authorizing

124execution of certain documents and agreements in connection with the issuance, sale and delivery of the bonds. Making certain findings and determinations and taking related actions. Aaron, so this is super exciting. Um, this is the first issuance of Measure JJ approved by the voters last November. The series A bonds of Measure JJ are estimated to generate over $149 million for projects that are planned to go towards the modernization of three schools, Knobill Elementary, Paloma Elementary, Woodland Park Middle School, athletic improvements at both Mission Hills and San Marcos High, as well as technology upgrades and safety and security improvements. Good faith e estimates of the financing and issuance costs are included in the resolution. It is expected that series A will be issued under all the parameters estimated at the time of the measure JJ election. Um

125Rachel, our financial adviser from Fieldman is here and she will present more of the financial data related to the bond sale and she can also answer any questions that the board has. Um, but before she begins, I also want to provide a brief introduction to the next agenda item because it is related to the GEO bond issuance and Rachel will also be discussing it. So, agenda item number 9.4 is a resolution authorizing the issuance of 2025 general obligation refunding bonds not to exceed $135 million. The district has historically been very proactive in taking advantage of refinancing opportunities to deliver taxpayer savings. We now have another opportunity to refinance or refund prior bonds and plan to evaluate all of our Prop Ko bonds that are currently outstanding for the right refunding candidates. Since these bonds are

126not eligible to be called on a current refunding basis, a tender refinancing is involved. In other words, the district will offer the B to purchase bonds back from investors at a price and issue new refunding bonds at a lower overall cost to the taxpayers. Combining the refunding with the measure JJ series A on the same timeline provides for significant cost and time efficiencies. Good faith estimates of the refunding and issuance costs are also included in the resolution. Um, the refinancing results will vary based on market conditions and the staff and financing team will continue to monitor the municipal bond market and would only proceed with the refunding bond issuance if we can generate tax savings for our community without extending the final term of these bonds. Um, now Rachel's going to present a few slides

127and provide some more te detail on both bond issuances. Great. Thank you so much. Good to see everyone here. So, we have a few slides here, but Erin really hit the highlights there. But first of all, I want to congratulate you on the passage of measure JJ. It took a lot of efforts to get here. So, uh we're happy to be here and be able to deliver project proceeds because as Erin and I have been planning uh the financings, taking all the steps through um and we are constantly reminding ourselves, it's your facilities program driving these. you didn't pass a bond just so that we can test the financial market. But we're here because we're delivering these needed projects to support your students and staff. And with that, on the first slide here, we have

128the overview. I'll start with measure JJ. You know, the authorization amount, $324 million in total, supported by the community back in November 24. This is a list of those um important projects that Erin introduced earlier. And speaking of the structure, as Erin mentioned, um we refresh all the numbers with updated information, which I'll dive into a little more detail on the later slide, but we have all uh full intention that we'll be able to meet those parameters set out and estimated at the time of election. So to go down the list, the tax rate will remain at a maximum of $40 per h 100,000 of assessed valuation. That's where the properties are assessed, not the resale value or market value of the homes. 30-year bond term, current interest bonds only. And since these bonds will

129be repaid by property taxes, how the tax base will grow is a important component. So we're projecting a 4% annual growth to be a part of the uh issuance assumptions again consistent with election time scenario and modeling and uh for your information this is very conservative when you compare it to historical growth within the district's boundaries. So historically no matter how you slice and dice the data we have experienced u 5 to 7% annual growth. So this is almost half of that. Hopefully provides us that conservatism and of course uh allow us to continue to implement measure JJ down the road. On the refunding side, Erin already hit a lot of these uh highlights. Perhaps I'll take a step back. So bond refundings I know on this slide a lot of industry jargon calling the

130bonds and those type of things but end of the day refinancing bonds are very similar to refinancing home mortgage you're uh taking advantage of lower interest rate and but unlike refinancing home mortgages legally bond refinancings cannot extend out the final maturity of the existing bonds. So, we are going to look at all of the PropK bonds that are currently outstanding. Uh, we've been doing analyses and we'll be starting the tender process shall the board approves the resolutions tonight. And we're looking at uh all of these bonds roughly, if you're looking at the table here, half of them, 155 million appear to be good candidates. But end of the day, it's going to be uh dependent on investors willing to participate in the tender, tendering the bonds to us in exchange of new bonds. So, we'll

131continue to monitor that process. Um, but based on some of these current market conditions and some assumptions on, for example, roughly 20% of the bond holders willing to participate, we're looking at tens of millions of gross savings to the community. And if you look at the on a net present value savings, it's over 10% when the GFOA industry best practices recommend you move forward with do three to 5% net present value savings. So I know a lot of numbers there, but um end of the day, we're only going to execute it if it's beneficial to the taxpayers. Moving on to here, just showing you how we structure the tax rate and the debt service repayment for the series A bonds. Uh, and it's going to go hand in hand as the next slide here for

132the measure JJ implementation. You can see that we're living under that $40 per $100,000 tax rate line. Legally, you can go up to 60, but we're not. We're um certainly having uh the tax rate estimated at the time of election in mind as we um proceed with the series 8 issuance. And the the chart below is another snapshot in time based on market interest rates of what the debt service would look like. And that space you see between the lines and the bars represent those capacity taxing capacities that we're reserving for future issuances. Every time we do a new issuance, it's a uh opportunity for us to recalibrate assumptions. But then the same time um we believe it's very important that you not only look at the individual issuances but look at based on all

133these updated assumptions can we continue to expect that we will implement measure JJ within all the parameters. I'm happy to report the answer is a resounding yes as you can see here. Um, so this is of course another snapshot in time. We'll continue to refine them. We'll continue to check in with you on your facilities project needs, but the plan is to issue uh in 2028 and 2031 or roughly equal amounts uh until you will access all 324 million. And as you can see, uh, because of a lot of conservatism that we have built into the program, we're expecting to hopefully stay a little bit below $40. Hopefully that continues the trend. And I can share with you uh for example at the time of election we were projecting this year's tax b tax base

134growth and we use the 4% conservative assumption and the actual camement uh and the actual AV growth was uh well above 6%. So that allows the cushion therefore creating some of these capacity you're looking at on this slide here. Not to say that it will always be that case, but we're doing everything we can to build in these reasonable conservatisms when we can. Lastly, I will go over um the financing timeline. It's preliminary. Um I'm sure everyone is reading the news headlines. We're seeing a lot of volatilities in the financial market. So the consideration or approval of the resolutions tonight do not obligate you to enter the market per this timeline but this is a timeline that we have developed together to make sure that we can execute a financing in a manner that it

135supports your project and of course we'll make sure that um we continue to monitor the market closely and only enter when it's advantageous. Nevertheless, to kind of walk through these different dates, we started this process officially back in March 10th. I know a lot of groundwork were happening leading up to it. So, uh when I prepared this presentation, we had just presented to Moody's. But one of the important component is to obtain a credit rating for our bonds and we present it to Moody's. And I'm happy to report that we uh received our double A3 rating and those are were affirmed. So um that's certainly um a a not a easy task understanding a lot of the uncertainties surrounding K14 education in today's environment. Nevertheless, um hats off to the board and the administration for

136your strong financial management and a lot of great things that you're doing at the district and of course um to to Aaron for leading that presentations being able to tell all those stories. I'll share all those positive highlights. It's going to uh similar to a person's credit uh credit score. The better your credit rating, the lower the interest rate. So it's going to position our series A and refunding bonds very well as we proceed. So here we are considering the refinancing shall the board approves it. Next week, we're going to start the pre-arketing process of the bonds and we'll have a opportunity towards the end of the month, two weeks thereafter to re-evaluate the refinancing as alongside with the measure JJ financings and then uh to the extent market cooperates, we'll enter the market on

137June 2nd and lock in interest rates on June 3 and we'll be able to close the financing two weeks thereafter. currently targeting for June 18th to deliver you the project proceeds. Those are all the slides that I have and happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you. So item number 9.4 resolution number 50-2425. Wait, sorry. Do I have a motion to adopt resolution number 49-2425 and a second? I'll second it. Okay. Moved by member Heric, seconded by member Ahmad to adopt the resolution number 49-2425 as presented. Student board representatives, please say your vote. Oh, they're gone. That's right. That's right. They do. All right. All those Good luck on the AP exams. All those in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Okay. Um, item number 9.4, Four, resolution number 50-2425, resolution

138of the governing board of the San Marcos Unified School District authorizing and providing for the issuance of not to exceed $135 million of San Marcos Unified School District 2025 general obligation refunding bonds. prescribing the terms of the sale for such bonds. Authorizing execution and delivery of a preliminary official statement and of an official statement for such bonds, approving a bond purchase agreement, approving certain related documents and agreements, making findings and determinations and taking related actions. Aaron, do you want to So this is this is the re action for the refunding bonds. Okay, that we already covered that. Do I have a motion to adopt resolution number 50-2425? So moved. Any second? Moved by member Miam, seconded by member Heric. That's right. Yeah. To adopt resolution number 50-2425 as presented. Um all those in favor say

139I. I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Right. Yeah. 9.5 appoint citizens bond oversight committee member uh committee member Aaron at the April 10th 2025 board meeting um the governing board appointed seven community members to serve on the measure JJ bond oversight committee however one of those members sub subsequently declined the appointment um leaving one vacancy tonight staff is bringing forward three eligible candidates Jason Dicki Kyle Shields and Mike Banks from the original applicant pool for the board's consideration to fill this vacancy All three of these individuals are parents of a student currently enrolled in our schools. They're qualified to serve on the committee and I have personally called all of them last week and they are all still willing to serve on this committee. Um and just as a reminder, the first meeting of the

140Measure JJ oversight committee will take place next Tuesday, May 13th at 3:30 p.m. Do we have any discussions? You guys have a Do we have the names again? It's Jason Dicki, Kyle Shields, and Mike Banks. Uh, I got it during agenda. Yeah, they all Yeah, they're all all three look excellent. I was about to say the same thing. I I when when I reviewed them, I'm I'm okay with any any three any one of them. So, um if you guys have a preference, I like the fact that management um was that Jason Yeah, Jason has construction too at the Jason. Oh, thank you. Yeah, thank you. Sure. They I thought they all looked fantastic, Erin. I mean really they their bios are like wow really impressive. I read the first one I thought oh you

141know for sure how could we top it and then they just so they were all great and it's it's tough. Um, I thought, uh, the first one, Jason, seemed to kind of triangulate around the main with the MBA, with the construction background, and the CPA was like this trifecta of amazingness. He was first that popped up in my mind, too. Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, so he he would probably be be my vote. I don't know him, but I've heard um he's great, and I'm sure the other two are fantastic, too. But that was my So be alternates as well, correct? Yeah. Yeah, they could be alternate, I guess. But um so what I'm hearing is that we all Jason popped up for all of us. So do I have a motion to appoint Jason

142Dick as a representative for the citizen committee? So move. All right. So moved by Mium and seconded by her. So um as to appoint Jason Dicki as a representative of the citizens bond oversight committee. Um, all those in favor say I. I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. All right. 9.6. Thank you, Randy. Certified and classified personnel changes include hiring, resignations, leads of absence, promotions, retirements, and reassignments. Joel. Yes. Uh, good evening board members. As part of tonight's personnel agenda, I wanted to highlight the recommended promotion of Mr. Edward Hagbar from program coordinator of school culture and climate to assistant principal. Mr. Hagbar has worked at Mission Hills High School for a total of 20 years, 19 years as a social science teacher and this current school year as a program coordinator. With this recommended personnel

143action, the Mission Hills High School administrative team is getting stronger as the site has seen some positive results with a decreased suspension and absenteeism as a result of Eddie's leadership. Eddie is here this evening accompanied by his family and his two very patient little girls as this meeting going a little bit long. Um, but we really appreciate them being here tonight. This is a recommendation, I'm sorry, this is an action item with a recommendation to approve the personnel agenda as presented. All right. Thank you. Um, do I have a wait, sorry, do I have a motion to approve the certified and classified personnel changes including hiring, resignation, leaves of absence and promotions, retirements, and reassignments. So moved. I'll second. Moved by member Heric, seconded by member Aba to approve the personnel changes as presented. Uh,

144all those in favor say I. I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Congratulations, Eddie. And um Nina mentioned it. We visited Mission Hills. Nathan shared some amazing numbers and and we saw some amazing things on campus and I know it's doing a large part to all of your efforts. So, thank you. Yeah. Thank you. I'm gonna have to start calling you Edward now. I heard someone call you Edward. Edward. [laughter] And I'll tell you, so to to the family, thank you. Yes. Uh, and the girls, I saw I saw some applause there when your name was called. So, that's great. The board is aware of the um the unique second interview experience that you had upstairs when uh the the right we were kind of in the middle of the interview and uh we had that

145earthquake. So, that didn't deter some of us on the panel from continuing the continuing the interview all the way out to evacuation. Thanks for being a good sport. Thank you, Eden. Congratulations. Um All right. Um item number 97 um resolution number 52-2425 final action to dismiss certified employees particular kinds of services. Joel yes board members due to projected budget constraints uh in part related to declining enrollment staff is recommending the adoption of the resolution uh to reduce certificated staff in particular kinds of service. Uh this is due um in alignment with the education code uh due to lack of work or lack of funds. and in one instance due to with a credentiing issue of a certificated employee. If the board will recall in February the board adopted a resolution to reduce 18.0 uh full-time

146equivalency or FTEES. Uh since that time we've had some employee attrition either through resignations or retirements. We also looked at any opportunities for uh transferring of employees who have multiple credentials. for example, having a secondary credential and a multiple subject credential if that would result in the avoidance of a layoff for another certificated employee. We also had a hearing with the office of administrative um office administering hearings. Um the judge's decision uh to uphold the district's uh recommendation um was received last week and that is also included as a part of this resolution. This is an action item with a recommendation to adopt the resolution as presented. Um, do I have a motion to adopt resolution number 52-2425? I'll make that motion. I'll second. Right. Moved by member Martine, seconded by member Miam to adopt

147resolution number 52-2425 as presented. All those in favor say I. Any oppo? I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Item number 9.8, Eight, resolution number 53-2425, final action to dismiss classified employees particular kinds of services. Joel, yes. Again, due to budget challenges um and in some cases due to department restructuring, uh staff is recommending to reduce or discontinue certain classified positions um as spelled out in the attached resolution. It is important to note that through again attrition working closely with CSEA identifying some other assignments uh for the majority of the classified staff uh will not be experiencing layoffs. Additionally, we have an employee uh who received a preliminary notice who was contemplating uh retirement. Um and that leaves uh two employees who um when they were employed uh knew that they were applying for grant funded uh

148positions as part of our wellness teams. Uh it's important to note that the uh employees who are listed in the resolution really it's more about the positions they hold currently not about them being impacted by by those resolutions but it's about um reducing the positions that are currently that they're currently holding. Again this is an action item with the recommendation to adopt the resolution as presented. Thank you Joel. Do I have a motion to adopt resolution number 53-2425? So moved. I'll second. Moved by member PM. Seconded by member Ahmad to adopt the resolution number 53-2425 as presented. All those in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Item number 9.9 resolution number 54-2425 final notice of release from administrative or supervisory position and reassignment particular kinds of services. Joel. Yes. Uh this is the

149uh final resolution similar to the previous ones. Um, as uh, President Ammont said, this is for a classified management position. Um, the employee has bumping rights to previously held classification. She was previously a classified employee uh with our district, meaning that she will not be laid off as a result of the adoption of this resolution. Again, this is an action item with a recommendation to adopt a resolution as presented. Uh, thank you, Joel. Do I have a motion to adopt resolution number 54-2425? I'll make that motion. I'll second. Moved by member Martine, seconded by member Heric to adopt resolution number 54-2425 as presented. Student board representatives, please say your Oops, sorry, I'm just going off. I'm getting tired. Okay. All those in favor say I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Okay. 9.10. New job description. Extended

150school services coordinator Joel. Yes. Board members, staff is recommending the approval of this job description for the position of extended school services coordinator. Uh this position is funded by the ELOP, which stands for the extended learning opportunities program. Um and it's a grant um that we receive from the state. Uh the responsibilities of the incumbent uh will be to monitor and supervise um before and after school programs as well as summer programs that take place within the district. They'll also be responsible for helping uh design the program um and uh recruit, train, and supervise staff. This is an action item with a recommendation to approve the job description as presented. Do I have a motion to approve the new job description extended school services ESS coordinator? So moved. Second. Moved by member Heric, seconded by

151member Amma to approve the new job description as presented. All those in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Oh, you have a question. I'm sorry. Yeah. So, this is grant this is grant funded, correct? And um for in order for any families or students to participate in the ELO, do they have to pay funds for that or is that completely they do champions? Right. Right. Uh they do not have to pay any services for ELOP. And how long will this particular funding re source be? Um ELOP is through the state. So, um, at this point, we don't have an ending date for it. Um, we continue to get funds each year. So, cost the district nothing, correct? Because it's part of the the F. It's all being funded through the grant. All right. I'm just

152going to repeat it. So, moved by member Heric, seconded by member Ahmad to approve the new job description as presented. All those in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Okay. Item 9.11, resolution number 55-2425, resolution of the governing board of the San Marcos Unified School District, giving notice of intent to grant utility easement to San Diego Gas and Electric Company for the purposes of providing electrical and communication facilities at the K8 Double Peak School. Erin, so SCG& requires an easement and rightway to provide electrical and communication facilities located at Double Peak School. The district has the authority to grant easements to a public utility pursuant to education code section 17556. However, before granting an easement under this process, the board must first adopt a resolution of intent, declaring its intent to grant the

153easement and setting a public hearing at least 10 days after the adoption of the resolution so that the public may comment on the proposed conveyance of the easement. After conducting the notice public hearing, the board may consider a resolution to actually grant the easement. The resolution of intent currently before the board will set a public hearing date of June 12th, 2025, after which the board may consider a resolution to grant the easement. Thank you, Erin. Uh, do I have a motion to adopt resolution number 55-2425? So moved. Okay. Moved by member and I'll second. Uh moved by member Miam, seconded by member Ahmad to adopt resolution number 55-2425 as presented. All those in favor say I. Any opposed? Motion carries. 9.12 student expulsion case number 6-24.25. Tiffany. The specifics of student expulsion case 06-24.25 25

154were given to the board in close session. Um the recommendation is to move forward with the expulsion. Right. Do I have a motion to approve student expulsion case number 6-2425? Is there any? I'll make the motion. Make the motion. Moved by No. No. Moved by member Martine. Any second? Second. And seconded by member Heric to approve the student expulsion case number 6-2425. All those in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Consent agenda. Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda for discussion purposes? I'll move it. Any second? Second. Okay. Moved by member Ahmad, seconded by member Martin to approve the consent agenda for discussion purposes. Is there any discussion? Nope. Okay. Um moved by member Ahmad, seconded by member Martin. All those in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries.

155All right. Information agenda. Um 11.1 quarterly report of financial disclosures for the period ending March 31st, 2025. Strategic promise goal 4.2. Aaron. The government code requires school districts to disclose its investments quarterly to the governing board. Tonight's report is for the quarter ending March 31st, 2025 when our district had a total of $220 million of funds invested in various accounts. $1 million was invested in various FDICins insured bank accounts. We also had $19 million invested in accounts related to our various CFD and financing authority accounts to be used for facility and construction purposes only. The majority of our funds on deposit, almost 199 million, are invested with the San Diego County Treasures Schools Investment Pool as required. The investment pool earned interest of 3.66% for the quarter. And this report also includes a statement by

156the San Diego County Treasurer that they have sufficient funds to meet the obligation needs of the investment pool for at least the next six months. Thank you, Erin. Any questions? Okay, moving on to 11.2, revisions of to existing governing board policy BP 3312 contracts. Erin, we are bringing revisions to the contracts board policy number 3312 tonight as information only to be brought back for approval at the June 12th board meeting. Um, this policy language is being updated for clarification purposes and for a new law which requires that if the district uses a private labor compliance entity, which we do, um, the entity must submit a signed declaration verifying that does it does not have a conflict of interest and the policy also defines what uh, private private labor compliance entity and conflict of interest are.

157Thank you, Erin. All right. Um, any discussion? All right. 11.3 textbook recommendations for the school year 2025. Tiffany. Okay. Save the best for last. Um, this is uh our textbook recommendations for the 2025 2026 school year. um I don't think anyone on the board has been um a part of the was on the board when we have brought brought forth curriculum. So um with that I did want to give a bit of an overview of the process of the uh of the adoption process that is from our board policy in our regs. So there's basically four steps to the adoption process. The first is developing a committee um that's made up of content area teachers to look at um what the criteria will be um for the textbooks. Uh they look at district vision, subject

158content area vision as well as the needs assessment to see what are the needs um for the new curriculum that will be coming. Step two is exploration. So that same committee explores possible text to pilot. Um, in the world of textbooks, there are plenty. There are plenty. Um, so they narrow all possible books to a manageable size and then based on that manageable size, they look at recommendations from professional organizations, surrounding districts, SDCE, etc. Um, and then they will choose a an evaluation tool. Typically, you will have from 60 books goes down to 25 books. Um and then they use their evaluation tool between um 10 five to 10 books where they will do a deep dive. Um those five to 10 books they actually work with an evaluation tool for the content. Um they

159paper screen all of these books. Um and then they decide on possible pilot text. Pilot text tends to be from two to three texts that they will pilot. That's the exploration phase. Um the third phase is the actual pilot phase. Pilot teachers will implement a pilot of each text. Um that pilot can be as little as one unit depending on um the nature of what they are piloting up to a full semester. Um the adoption committee will then meet and collaborate uh collaborate calibrate um and score each text. They take feedback from pilot teachers, from students, from team members on the appropriateness of the text. And then lastly, the adoption process itself. The adoption committee will recommend a text to the board based on overall scoring. The text is presented to the board as an

160information agenda item. Thus tonight, um the text is made available for public view and it is officially then adopted by the governing board. Um I am bringing forth three texts for you tonight to consider. Uh the first is our AP government recommendation. Um it is the published by Abernathy and or written by Abernathy and Waples. So the committee came up with a content vision. An AP government course directly supports SMUSD priorities by fostering civic engagement, enhancing social emotional learning and preparing students for graduation, college, and subsequent subsequently their career. The current text that they are using was published in 2010. So, it's time or yeah, it's time for something new. It predates the College Board's current uh CED or course and exam description. Um, and it is just not kept pace with the evolving landscape

161of American government. Uh, they looked at three texts that were piloted. Um, all the teachers were trained in January on the texts. They implemented the pilot from January to April. They got feedback from students, from teachers. Um they did a full measurement um and based on those all of those pieces um the score for Abernathy and Waples was 112 out of 115. Um, our five teachers on the committee were two, three from San Marcos High and two from Mission Hills situation since they it is an AP uh class or an AP are does the college board have any are these recommended by the college board organization? This is the gold standard um for college board. Um it pretty much is the one that every AP government course uses. Thank you. The next is Spanish for

162Spanish speakers. Um we are recommending um one-way education. So the content vision for Spanish for Spanish speakers empowering language learners by strengthening their Spanish literacy skills, fostering pride in their linguistic and cultural heritage and cultivating biiteracy biiteracy's academic and professional benefits. If you thought the last one was old, the current text for this one uh is 2006. Um it is outdated and literally out of print. It lacks updated technology features in an online platform and it does not offer sufficient alignment with the 2019 California world language standards. So for this text, all teachers were trained in February on their specific text. the adopted uh the adoption committee members piloted their text from March to April. They got feedback from students and teachers um and they also did various measurements with world language standards um assessments

163etc. Um and their choice was oneway education receiving a score of 63.15 out of 65. Um this committee um was language teachers from LMA, San Marcos Middle, Woodland Park, Mission Hills, San Marcos High School. This is particularly unique because when we adopted this text the first time, we only had Spanish for Spanish speakers at the high schools. Um, we have since brought Spanish for Spanish speakers to our middle schools and we tried to buy them textbooks and we could not because they were out of print. Thus, we need some new ones. So, my question is you did put there that the old ones lack updated technology. Do these have any type of AI integrated formats? uh in terms of verbally, it is it is all online. Students have the ability to interact with and listen

164to language. Um it's so far advanced um than what our old ones were. The old one had CDs that we couldn't play in Chromebooks. It just it was laughable if you didn't want to cry about it. Okay. And our last one is a secondary science recommendation. Um it is the carnegay foundation's open sight ed um content vision for secondary science is that dynamic inclusive and student centric experience that develops scientifically literate students who confidently engage with real world phenomena think critically and collaborate to solve complex problems. Um so the current texts you can see are also quite old. Um this is a caveat while the current text um are around we have been piloting open sad for several years now. Um so that's really what the teachers have been using for a while with the

165pilot. Um science teachers from all of our secondary schools have been involved in this piloting process. Um initially the pilot process was over eight sessions. The adoption committee teachers evaluated and scored two primarily two um options open sed and scale uh from Stamford University. Um since 2021 our middle school teachers have trained and implemented a single unit each year. Um and then the high school team was invited to field test open sighted before it was published as well. So we had an additional pilot with our high school teachers. Um, OSC is the highest rated of all science curriculum on ED reports. It directly uh connects with our NGSS standards. Um, and it is the right there. I had to Google what it what the and yeah answer. Okay. Um, and it is by far the

166gold standard. um and for a largecale secondary core content um core content curriculum. This is the first time our district is using an open it's an open uh OED open educational resource. So there are not print textbooks. Um everything is available for free online. So the texts that are related to it really are related to um all of the uh all of the all of the items needed for uh any types of experiments that the kids are doing. Um it has been a long process to get us on board with um science curriculum and instruction that directly aligns with NGSS. Um and I think if you go into our classrooms you will see a very different experience that students are having and a lot of that is because of um open sed. So with that

167um we are recommending the adoption of these three texts. All of the texts are currently available for preview on the curriculum and instruction page of our district website. And next month the text will be brought to the board for adoption. Questions? Right. Sorry, I just had one point question. Yeah, the score, sorry. Um, the score under the pilot that's that's scored by our like pilot team, right? Yes. Okay, cool. Thank you. All right, so with that, thank you, Tiffany. Uh the next regular board meeting will take place on Thursday, June 12th, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. in the media center of the North County Regional Educational Center, 255 Pico Avenue, San Marcos, California 92069. And with that, this meeting is now adjourned. Thank you everyone. and have a great