001Good evening. I'd like to call the meeting to order. Um, this is a meeting of the Satail Union High School District Board of Trustees. Uh, I am calling open session to order. Today is October 23rd and it is 700 p.m. Roll call. Trusty Chavez, >> present. Trusty Jacobson >> present. >> Trusty Lan >> present. >> Trusty Andradi Zuniga >> presente >> and I am present. And I see we have one student board member. Uh tonight we will have a team from Hannah interpreting as our Spanish interpreters. For those who would like to attend the meeting virtually in Spanish that option is available. Hannah interpreting would you please communicate that for us this evening? Thank you. Good evening. I will be one of your interpreters. Uh in order to provide language access. This meeting will have
002simultaneous interpretation in English and Spanish. To enable the interpretation, if you are using your laptop or desktop, please locate the icon shaped like a globe at the bottom of your screen screen. Click on language interpretation and then select English. If you are on your phone or iPad or similar device, then locate the three dot menu in the upper right corner of your screen. Click on language interpretation and select English. iPad or Spanish. Gracias. Thank you. >> If you wish to view closed captions of this meeting, please view the meeting on the SMU HSD board meeting YouTube channel. The link to the YouTube channel can be found on our website. You may view the captions in English as we live stream our meeting tonight and you may view the captions in a variety of other languages
003if you choose to watch after this meeting has ended. Viewers may request additional accommodations by calling 650-558-2201. That's 650-558-2201. For our deaf and heart of hearing community, we have a team from Hannah interpreting services and they will be interpreting our meeting this evening. We would like to ask everyone to speak at a clear and reasonable pace for our interpreters. Thank you. Okay. A pledge of allegiance. Uh will our student board representatives please lead us in the pledge of allegiance? >> I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you. Okay. Report of actions taken in close session. In close session, the board upon motion of Trustee Jacobson and seconded by Trustee
004Chavez moved to approve a special ed uh education settlement case one with a vote of five to zero. Item J, adopt the agenda. The board of trustees may may either adopt the agenda as presented or make a change to the agenda through a motion, second, and majority vote. The Brown Act prohibits any additions to the agenda without a 72-hour public notice for regularly scheduled meetings. Are there any questions or comments from the board of trustees or superintendent with respect to the agenda? Okay. Are there any questions or comments from the public? >> There are none. >> Okay. Would a trustee would a trustee care to make a motion to adopt the agenda? >> Move to approve the agenda. >> Second. >> Okay. We have a motion and a second. Is there any discussion? Okay. All
005in favor? >> I your student board reps, how do you vote? >> I >> Okay. Um we're going to move on. The miss the motion carries uh five to zero. Uh regular reports report of the superintendent. >> Thank you very much uh President Griffin. Uh just a a few announcements. Back on October 16th uh at 10:16 a.m. uh the district participated in the California Great Shakeout drill. Uh we're able to practice our drop, cover, and hold along with evacuation routes and incident command procedures and um communications. And I'm especially grateful to all of our school sites and district educators uh for organizing and facilitating uh this vital drill. Really, really important. Um, back on October 21st, this Tuesday, a few few days ago, I stood in solidarity with Claire Cunningham, the human services agency director
006for the county of Sonteo and a variety of county leaders including, uh, colleague superintendent. uh as according to the human services agency and this was reported in the Daily Journal, KPIX, KTVU uh news, uh the HR1 federal bill significantly reduces federal funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, otherwise known as SNAP. Uh it's also called Calresh in California. And as a result, 35,000 Sonteo County residents will not have CalFresh benefits loaded on their electronic benefit transfer cards beginning November 1st. Some CalFresh recipients will receive less money for food. Some will need to work to keep uh their benefits and lawfully present immigrants will no longer qualify for CalFresh. Please note that the average monthly CalFresh benefit amount per household is only $288 uh dollars, which purchases far less food these days due the high costs
007and inflation. And so we stood in solidarity to bring uh awareness and acknowledgement and to ask the community uh and all of our county leadership for support. Um I think it it's going to take a community to fill this gap. uh and I know many of our district school district families and students uh will suffer as well. And so we're also uh talking about ways that we as a school district uh can best support our community. So uh please join us in anything you can do in support of organizations like uh the Samaritan House and Second Harvest and such. Uh this week and last week, we also visited continue to visit schools. Uh uh last week, Sato High School, President Griffin and I uh walked through Sonteo High and a variety of classrooms, talked to
008educators. We had a great impromptu lunch with instructional assistants that support our multilingual learner uh students. And it was um somewhat oddly coincidental and very touching to my heart that when we were finishing up lunch, I asked the instructional assistants, you know, if if you could wave a magic wand and there was one thing we could do for our multilingual learners at Sanonteo High or across the district. You know, I anticipated them saying something around curriculum or or pedagogy, instruction, supplies, things like that. and without hesitation almost all of them said right away uh solve the food food insecurity that they have uh when they go home in the afternoon >> and I mean it was silent in the room and um >> you know it's it's something even in my own shelteredness that you
009know I haven't really put a ton of attention into or thought into around what can we do to support our students uh when they leave us in the afternoon and uh so we're going to start uh discussing more because we have the resources, we have the kitchens, uh we have the people. Um we just need some coordination and uh we're going to we're going to wave that magic wand and try to do something for our students who are in significant need around food insecurity when they go home in the afternoon because if if they're not eating dinner, they they can't do homework, they can't learn, and it it will impact our ability to educate them. Uh so I really want to just appreciate our instructional assistants for sharing that, putting that on our hearts. Uh
010President Griffin and I had more conversations about that. So also today uh through Dr. Kempky's leadership uh we did instructional rounds uh at Berlingam High School with a large team. It was fantastic to see additional classrooms. I I had a chance to uh witness uh um civics or US government, AP world history, modern world history, uh ethnic studies, and just the level of engagement we saw was really incredible. And then to be able to have our student focus group and hear from students directly their experiences at Berlingame High and then our st our educator focus groups and then the debrief afterward. Uh very very powerful and really incredible things going on at at Berlingham High School. Uh I want to acknowledge that this is National School Bus Safety Month uh in October recognized by a
011US Senate resolution. This year's National School Bus Safety Week is being observed from October 20th through the 24th with a theme driving safely into the future. It's a time for all of us to work together to highlight safe driving, reduce preventable accidents, and ensure the safety of our students as they travel to and from school. And as a part of our annual safety program, the district is required to provide training for all students who ride the bus from home uh to school. And this instruction includes safe loading and unloading procedures, review of bus rules and correct seat belt usage, identification of emergency exits and evacuation drills, and what to do if a driver becomes incapacitated. And I just want to personally say I am so proud of our transportation educators. for some of our students
012there, the first uh of our district they see in the morning and the last person they see before going home and the time they spend with our students is incredibly meaningful. So just big thanks to our entire transportation department. And then lastly, diia de los muertos uh day of the dead is a Mexican holiday that celebrates and honors the lives of deceased loved ones through food and music and and joyful remembrance. Rooted in indigenous Mesoamerican traditions blended with Spanish Catholic influences. This holiday is observed each year on November 1st and 2nd. Uh, November 1st, known as di inses or dihelitotos honors deceased children while November 2nd diutos honors adults. Families build offer altars or friendas adorned with photos, candles, flowers, and favorite foods of their loved ones to welcome their spirits home. And as communities
013remember those who have passed away, we say felis muertos or happy day of the dead to those who celebrate. And on that last note, I want to thank our DACA committee. Uh I was able to attend last night and just the welcome that I felt the honest vulnerable engagement around the table and I really in particularly want to thank our family engagement coordinators for facilitating and supporting uh uh our families so much. So with that, thank you very much. >> Thank you. A reporter, the district teachers association, representative Evening, President, Mr. Cabinet, and um all in the audience tonight. Um I was actually prepared to do I thought we were going to reorder the agenda, but that's okay. I can I can do it off the cuff. Um uh the last time uh we were
014I spoke at the board um I I talked a little bit about um commitment and the commitment that the district and uh uh its bargaining team and its administrators and its management team uh had has cons continued to um provide uh to the to the agreement and the relationship that we have um together. Um our negotiations were um lengthy. Um however, we found uh I think a common ground and I'm pleased that the uh tenative agreement is before you tonight for approval. Um and the commitment that I'm talking about goes both ways. um uh all of our teachers tonight that are um slated to receive uh permanent status. Um you know, this is this is an opportunity to understand not only the importance of you know, job protection and um uh support for your own
015well-being and your daily life at your job. But it's also a commitment to from by the district to serving the the community, the families, the students of this community um for basically decades to come. And the commitment the district is proving in pro providing in you is is really something special. I remember um just about 30 years ago this month um not in this room um we were in the uh Berling game high school cafeteria if I recall. Um Bob was there. Um and uh >> I was hoping they >> um and uh I can I can remember to the to the moment that um you know thinking about how how impactful that was. And after 30 years of of serving the district and about over 20 years serving u as president of the association
016um I just want to say how proud I am of all of you and how important uh this milestone is. So thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> Report of CSA CSA chapter 519 representative. Good evening. >> Good evening. Um, thank you for having me tonight. I must admit I am unprepared. I did not know I would be here tonight making a speech. So, I'm gonna uh shoot from the hip and I'm going to do the best I can. Um, first of all, good evening to everybody. Um, um, board, cabinet, superintendent, SH student board. I mean, how awesome are they? I I I just love that they are involved with this process and have a voice and voting rights and I I just >> literal my head is up. >> Um quick update, we
017have a uh we have ten reached a tenative agreement with the district um with our negotiations for the next three-year contract. Uh we got it in just under the wire or actually just after the wire about about an hour late. Um we th this was a difficult negotiations in that we had an unprecedented um increase in health care costs this year. Um and it was we didn't know what we were doing. We had to break off negotiations during the summer and wait for the numbers to come back in. And when they came back in it it was gross. It was unprecedented. And I was very fearful for the I don't know the the quality of life for some of my people if they were faced with these costs. And it was unprecedented. The way we
018combed this was an unprecedented level of cooperation with the district. I didn't feel we were negotiating against them. I felt we were negotiating with them against ridiculousness. Um uh special shout out to to Mr. Black and Mr. Hawkins. Your your teams and your support staff were there every step of the way providing every piece of information we wanted. And um it was a cooperative process and I felt we got a result that was fair to my people, fair to the district and um very creative, very creative um with the difference card option that we came up with. So I was very proud at the end of negotiations to have worked with all of you and kind of fought back against it. Uh we worked with the teachers union, ABSME, um adult school union. It unprecedented
019level of cooperation and we uh we all faced this together. We worked hard. We came up with great um options, great decisions, and I look forward to um bringing the tenative agreement to the board at our next meeting. Um thank you all. Have a great evening, and I appreciate you all. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Report of the Santale Adult School Teacher Association. >> They don't have a report this evening. >> Okay. Report of the student board representatives. Good evening. Good evening. Hello everyone. My name is Nectarios Delis and I'm a sophomore at Hillsdale High School. I'm grateful I was selected to serve as a student board member and I'm happy to be here with you all tonight. At our last student board council meeting, we did a team building exercise and discussed the
020previous board meeting and reviewed the demographic composition of our district. A little about me. I'm a second generation Greek American, a singer in chamber choir, a cross-country runner, and a player on the Hillsdale boys tennis team. I founded the student pillars of impact club that provides outreach to our local community, and I also work on a small team that makes sandwiches for a homeless shelter every week. As I mentioned, I attend Hillsdale High School. I love it. I think everyone has a place in our Hillsdale community. I value that and I'm happy to call myself a night on campus. We recently had our night for the cure pink game, our combined music ensembles fall concert, the night's joust invitational run, and the written moatino dance. We look forward to our upcoming penny wars, the drama
021department's production of Into the Woods, spirit week, and our homecoming rally game. On behalf of the SMU HSD Student Board Council, I'd now like to take a moment to recognize that the month of November has been designated as National Homeless Youth Awareness Month. In the 2022 23 school year, nearly 1.4 million students in preschool through 12th grade were identified as homeless under the Mckin Vento definition in US public schools. As defined by the McKini Vento Homeless Assistance Act, youth and children experiencing homelessness are individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, including those sharing the housing of other persons due to a loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason. Are living in motel, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to a lack of adequate alternative accommodations. are living in emergency
022or transitional shelters or are in abandoned hospitals. The McKini Vento Homeless Assistance Act further defines youth and children experiencing homelessness as those who have a primary nighttime residence that is public or private place not designed for ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings. children and youth who are living in garages, sheds, cars, parks, public places, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development point in time count is a nationwide effort to measure homelessness on a single night in January each year. The latest count from January 2024 indicated 150,000 children under 18 were experiencing homelessness on that night in the United States. The housing and urban development point in time count misses as many as 75% of children, especially those in hidden
023forms of homelessness such as couch surfing. San Monteo County conducts a one-day homeless count every two years with the most recent count in 2024 showing 2,130 people experiencing homelessness in total. According to the Sonteo Union High School District's annual census, 30 of our current students are experiencing homelessness. SMUHSD is committed to improving student equity and access to highquality education and resources, including but not limited to school supplies, food, clothing, bus passes, free admission to dances, yearbooks, and school apparel for youth experiencing homelessness and who are in foster care through our district and school site homeless student liaison. SMUHSD is further committed to the socioeotional health of students experiencing homelessness and who are in foster care through the district's mental health services. Now, I'd like to pass it on to Neil. Thank you, Nectarios. Hello everyone.
024I'm Neil Ambarge, a sophomore at Conte High School. I'm very humbled to introduce myself. I volunteer with Hip Housing and the Foster City Library where I enjoy contributing to my community. I currently serve as a vice president of the Foster City Roots Leo's Club and I'm also a proud star scout in the Boy Scouts of America. Um, now I'll be presenting a summary about the National Native American Heritage Month Proclamation. National Native American Heritage Month celebrated in November recognizes the lives and accomplishments of the indigenous peoples of what is now known as the United States. In celebrating National Native American Heritage Month, the US Department of the Interior reminds us that it's a time to celebrate the traditions, languages, and stories of the Native American. It also ensures that the rich histories and contributions continue
025to thrive with each passing generation. The 58th annual Native American Day was celebrated at the California Capital on September 26th, 2025. This year's theme was walking in their footsteps. Carrying the forward carrying forward the legacy of strength and sovereignty. San Monteo Union High School District recognizes that our campuses are located on the unseated ancestral homeland of the Ramayush Aloney people, the original inhabitants and stewards of the San Francisco Peninsula whose land was taken through Spanish colonialization. And we acknowledge their deep understanding of the interconnectedness of all things. honor their enduring commitment to mother earth and call on our school community to remember and honor the Ramayush ancestors while working to protect the land and to understand the history of this area. The district encourages the cultivation of a relationship with the Ramayush Aloney to develop
026ways that we can teach our students and our community about the lives and accomplishments of local indigenous peoples. Thank you. >> Thank you for your reports. Uh and we have Boy, boy, both of you were impressive because they normally don't clap for student board reporters. >> I'm ser I'm serious too. >> So, >> very impressive. >> Thank you. Uh, now we'll have the governing board comments and we'll try to be brief. Uh, starting with Trusty Chavez. That's my talent brief brevity. Just kidding. Hey, um I just say say a couple of things. Welcome to our our amazing student board reps. Um that's why you got a lot of claps. You guys are amazing. Um okay, I just want to mention a couple of things. This is near and dear to my heart. Um October is
027National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. There are currently 4 million breast cancer survivors in the United States and I'm one of those. In 2026, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and now I'm cancer free. I've been cancer free for the last 10 years. >> Thank you. >> I just want to say um getting screened helps to identify breast cancer in the early stages. I want to encourage all of our women to get your recommended mammograms on your due date. Don't just toss that reminder away. And those around our female friends here, just remind them not to toss that away. Thank you for letting me share that. And I just have one more thing. Um on Saturday, I'm unable I'm sorry I'm unable to
028attend Cappuccino's 75th anniversary. Um it is in San Bruno at Cappuccino High School from 11:00 a.m. to 2 pm. My daughters both graduate from Cappuccino. Um, and I would have been there. But my one of my daughters is running in a in the Pack West cross cross country championship and it's in Hawaii. So, I just had to go. So, I'll be going there on Saturday. I'll be there for that. But she I mean, she really learned how to run um cross country at Cappuccino. So, we have amazing sports. If students are interested in sports, they're here for you. Um, that's all I wanted to share. Thanks. Thank you. >> Thank you, Rusty Jacobson. Hi. Um, I don't have anything to report, but I do have something I want to announce. And I was touched and
029moved by Nectario's um service to the homeless community and and the statistics that he read out about homelessness in our community. Um, this Sunday, October 26th, at 5:00 PM, there's going to be a benefit concert for the organization Life Moves that helps a lot of um, homeless families in our community. Um, I've helped organize this concert. I will be singing in it. It's at St. Katherine of Sienna um, Catholic Church in Berlingame at 5:00 pm this Sunday. and all of the proceeds will be going towards Life Moves to help homeless families. So, hope you can come. Thanks. >> Thank you, Rusty Land. I'll try to be brief. Um, so one, I am I'm usually very brief. >> Me, too. >> Um, just a couple things. One, I just want to acknowledge uh Superintendent uh Booker's
030comments about um Claire Cunningham and what what she has done to really try to recruit extra resources for our communities and it really touches upon what our our student trustees were talking about as well. It's something that I think is near and dear and I'm I'm so glad you brought it up. So, I'm in complete support of that. Um, second, I uh during my my week, I wore pink and I wore orange. I wore pink in honor of what what uh Trusty Chavez was talking about, and I'm very honored that you you made your speech about breast cancer awareness, and I think it's very important to do so. Um, my other t-shirt that I wore was orange. Um, on October 22nd was Unity Day. Really talks about bullying and what happens and trying to bring
031us together. And my school, we had lots and lots of kids wearing orange just to kind of reflect on the fact that we need to be together. We need to be united. We don't need to be teasing and hurting each other. That we need to be one. And I think as adults, I think we need to learn that lesson as well. And hopefully, you know, adults will wear orange as much as the kids were orange today on the 22nd, I'm sorry. Um, also I'm going to be honoring uh Trusty Chavez because I will be at the uh 75th uh 75th celebration of Cappuccino High School and I actually have a speech I have to practice. So it's going to be awesome. So hopefully you guys can join us. Um, last but not least, one of
032my favorite days is the permanent status of tenure and really honoring our teachers who are part of our family. And um, the one thing that I, you know, I I think Craig alluded to this is we are a family. We've been here, you know, a lot of us teach a lot of the teachers have been here a long long long time and even some trustees have been here a long long long time. Um, so no pun intended, Bob. Um but it is really one of my favorite times. Um last week I was honoring at the Berling game elementary school district the the teachers who are being tenured in at my school in Berling game and it was just such a great experience to just say hey you're now part of this long tradition and long
033standard uh of of quality and excellence. So I'm really looking forward to today and and hearing your names being being brought up. So thank you very much. Thank you, Trusty Andradi Zuniga. >> Yes. Um, so I usually do a land acknowledgement, but since our students already somewhat have won, I appreciate that. >> But I did want to add just a couple things. Um, >> I wanted to add we thank the first people that were made to Shalon for taking care of the land we use now for education and activities. Our responsibility of caring for the earth is unique and personal to each of us but should be rooted in allyship with army aloney so we can work together to protect and preserve the land for future generations. So thank you for doing that. I appreciate
034it. Um I attended the equity advisory committee a couple of weeks ago and we continue to look at data um that repres represents our students and there are some things that um we've noticed um that are you know that just are not as representative as we'd like. So we are making recommendations for that. Um, but one of the one of the points that was touched upon was unhoused youth and how they're being reported. And so there are many many students in our district that are not reported as unhoused youth. Um, and it's for different reasons, but I think mostly because of the stigma. um people are afraid of saying of disclosing because of the possible ramifications or because they might feel like people might find out and they don't feel as comfortable being honest. And
035so um you know we we have so many so many families in our school district that struggle with um financial insecurity, food insecurity. So, I appreciate everyone that, you know, supports the organizations that are supporting our students, but also like ETA and um expanding that program and just um getting our students to also volunteer is really really important. Um yesterday I attended DAC with Superintendent Booker and I just want to say thank you for um attending that those meetings uh Superintendent Booker. It's important for our leadership to be represented or and to you know be in community with our families um and like in physical community because sometimes you know it's it's hard to do that and one thing is listening to stories but one thing is actually being present with with people. Um, but
036some of the families that I was talking I was talking with some of the family engagement coordinators which are amazing and I was telling super superintendent Booker today about how unique each one of them is and how how important their presence are in our different schools. Um, and one of the stories that one of the coordinators had told me about was about a student's family that is basically renting a couch to sleep on. Um, another story was of a family literally renting a mattress to sleep on. Um, all of those things bring a lot of difficulty to our students when they're learning. Um, our students cannot learn if they don't have enough to eat, if they don't have enough somewhere stable to live, if they're in fear. Um, you know, and it's it's great to
037volunteer once in a while, but it's every single day people are hungry, people are unhoused every single day. So, you know, keeping that in mind, um, making sure that we aren't just, you know, volunteering on Christmas, you know, it's like every day, maybe there's something we can do. um to that point. Um we are having a many situations right now with um immigration and um ICE raids and um just our our communities being in jeopardy of being deported. Um all of this also affects our students. Um, some of the stories I also heard yesterday were students not wanting to come to school. Um, families not wanting to leave the house, not wanting to go to doctor's appointments. Um, it's a really difficult time for our community. Um, so I I just my heart is heavy
038today uh for a lot of things that are happening in in this area and just in the country. Um, I so so appreciate our educators that are supporting our students every single day. Um, and just being there for them. Um, it's so important because we are a sanctuary for many people. So, thank you so much for supporting our kids. Um, there are red cards out there that explain your rights. Um there are um organizations like Faith and Action that provide financial assistance for folks who have the primary bread banner of being deported and don't have the security financially to know what to do and these are some of the families that we're serving here in our district. Um, so I I just appreciate that and a lot of the things that are occurring, this is
039why ethnic studies is so important and we cannot let it disappear because like Native American history, like the history that we are experiencing, the the things that have happened in our history that are like what we are experiencing now is a repeat. And so we need to know what the history of these places are. Um so just um thank you and yes Muertos is also celebrated in not just Mexico and other countries as well. Um but our students put on a really great event. So please support them go and visit you know and uh just participate with them. So that's it. Thank you. >> Thank you. I'm gonna You know, I'm gonna talk fast and hope that anybody everybody claps when I get through talking. You know, I um I have a couple of things.
040Um, number one, uh, I was actually invited to speak at Cappuccino and I thought it was a great honor to give it to Terry because her connection to the to the Cap community, she turns it down to go to Hawaii with her daughter and and then gives it to Greg, who I didn't want to give anything to, and now Greg gets to gets to speak. >> Okay, here you go. I I didn't give it to Greg. You maybe you can afterwards and get >> Craig ended up with the uh the delegate the delegated duty. That was not the intent when I made that award. Now actually down to some more serious things. you know, the superintendent's comments were really on point about that visit to Samale and I had, >> you know, I had been
041over my head in tax work and I really wanted to make that day and really when when the the aids said what the most important thing was really caught me off guard because, you know, we'd had a lunch pizza and, you know, in the break room and you're kind of yucking it up and talking about stuff, you know, and and for that comment was just so yeah it was a powerful comment and I hope that we're able to really look at providing resources and maybe not just okay what can we do here and you know and make some things available but that I think that underscores um that we can do more things to connect them to resources you know not just okay because we can do something here and do it on our own.
042But that I think signifies that the that the uh the newcomers, you know, or the English learners are not getting completely connected. And I think you know what happened and I think we all remember COVID whether we want to or not and what a trying period that was and how so many things changed and you know we were kind of looking at health and staying healthy and staying away from people but it was a real fundamental change and it created a lot of hardship. Well we got through COVID but now we're living in a whole new hardship for a variety of reasons. So, I hope we're able to provide the support, the wellness, you know, the things that they need to succeed here. So, um the rest of that trip was actually eight classes and
043we toured AP classes, CP classes. Um we got government, we got cooking and pasta, you know, sauce from scratch. Um, we actually there was an interesting class and I want to say it was English learner remember they were doing the scenario about how to respond to authorities and so they were p and it was really interesting class that they were sort of playing out dramas. I don't know, maybe it's not a drama so much as is a a role play on how to respond. What's the right response? What are the circumstances? And I was just like really curious because that's something I don't know that I know or I'm qualified to give, you know, to give instruction on. But they had small student groups that were actually developing, you know, these roleplaying um models. We
044got chemistry. We had a real interesting discussion in AP Calc, um, physics, you know, we we really covered it and it was good, you know, energized me to, you know, that I need to be out there and not in in in house doing taxes. Anyway, that's my report. >> That's my report and we're going to move on to uh public comments. We got any blue cards? >> There are none. Any virtual hands raised? Okay. >> No, there was Yeah. Yeah, there wasn't any clapping, which is fine. Which is fine. I I didn't ex No, that Thank you, Terry. Thank you, Trusty Chavez. Okay, I'll skip through the uh the public comment the public comment read and we'll move on to uh communications to the board of trustees. Yeah, we received uh two communications. One, the
045202425 unodudited actuals uh financial reports from DTEK Design Tech High School. It's actually through the county. Um that was a positive report. Uh and then the board and myself received a letter from uh with gratitude letter from Bridge Academy students and staff. And it was so touching. Last week, a number of Bridge Academy students came to my office to deliver the letter. It was the absolute highlight of my month. Uh, I didn't want them to leave. I think they wanted to leave, but I didn't want them to leave and hang out and talk. And if you'll allow me, I'd love to read this letter out loud. It's so touching, and I think it speaks so well to the spirit of Bridge Academy, our staff there, and our students. and it reads, "Dear Superintendent Booker and
046members of the board of trustees, the Bridge Academy staff would like to take a moment to thank you for supporting our newcomer students and our school over the years. Your visits and complimentary words at board meetings about us have not gone unnoticed. Your commitment to building us our own school has further validated our work with our marginalized student population. Has given us great pride in our work and hope for our students bright futures despite the difficult times we find ourselves in. We are grateful for your continued investment in our alternative school, your firm stance on protecting our immigrant students, and we look forward to our continued partnership in years to come. Below you will find a letter that all our Bridge students collaboratively wrote and that our school equity council representatives delivered to Superintendent Booker
047yesterday. Sincerely, Bridge Academy staff. And the students letter reads, "On behalf of the students of Bridge Academy, we would like to give our heartfelt thanks for the many ways you have supported us. Your commitment to our school has made a meaningful difference in our daily lives, our learning, and our future. The wellness center has become a special place for us. It is a calm and welcoming space where we can relax when we are stressed, talk with our teachers, Miss Tede or with Miss Elizabeth, and take time to clear our minds. We enjoy the cozy atmosphere with friends, appreciate the quiet space to study or rest, and we are grateful for the comfort and support it provides. Having a place where we can get water, clothing, or just a moment of peace has made us feel
048cared for and supported. We are also grateful for the musical instruments you have provided. They give us the chance to practice, learn new skills, and discover our talents. Many of us are excited to play the guitar, piano, and other instruments. Music gives us an opportunity to connect with each other, focus our minds, and grow as people. These instruments not only help us learn music, but also encourage creativity and teamwork. And finally, we are especially thankful for your decision to build a new school for Bridge Academy. This gift means so much to us. A new school will provide us with a safe, comfortable, and secure environment where teachers can give us more attention, and we can focus on learning. With more space and dedicated classrooms, we will have the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive. Your
049commitment to building us our own school shows us that you value our education and want us to succeed. In all these ways, you have made us feel seen, supported, and hopeful. And we are grateful for your time, your care, and your belief in us. Thank you for everything you've done and continue to do for the students of Bridge Academy with gratitude. Uh the students of Bridge Academy. So, I thought that was just lovely. >> Beautiful. >> Yeah. Yeah. So, thank you. >> Yeah, it's beautiful. Okay. Um, recognitions item in. Uh, are there any recognitions tonight? >> Oh, we've got a whole bunch of recognitions to do tonight. It's the heart and soul of our meeting. And if you would allow me, I'm going to go to the podium to do this part of the meeting.
050>> Please. >> This is all right. So tonight is one of those truly special moments in education when we pause to celebrate a group of people whose work defines who we are as a district. We are here to recognize our educators who have earned tenure and permanency. A milestone that represents years of growth, reflection, and unwavering commitment to our students. Earning tenure is not about reaching the end of a journey. It's about affirming that an educator has become an essential invaluable part of our learning community. It means this educator has shown skill and compassion and a steadfast belief in the potential of every student who walks through their door. When I asked our principles what qualif qualities define an educator ready for tenure or permanency in uh Sonteo Union High School District, the responses were
051immediate and heartfelt. They described educators who are positive, collaborative, and deeply caring. Educators who are enthusiastic, who respond to feedback, and who are intentional about their craft. They spoke about educators who take initiative, who seek growth, and who build strong, trusting relationships, not just with students, but with families, colleagues, and the broader community. These individuals create classrooms and school sites where students feel heard and valued and included, and they hold high expectations while leading with empathy. They model what it means to have a growth mindset, showing students that learning, reflection, and resilience are lifelong practices. They are creative, equity-minded, and courageous enough to examine their own practice through a professional and inclusive lens. They are leaders, not always by title, but by their heart and the quiet consistency of their example. They bring calm to
052the chaos, humor to the hard days, and joy to the learning process. Earning permanency is not just a recognition of what these educators have done. It's a celebration of who they are. People who care deeply about every student. People who listen and who adapt, who lift others up. People who remind us every day why education, teaching, and service to others are the most profoundly human acts there are. To our newly tenured or permanent educators, I just offer you congratulations. You have earned this moment through your dedication, your reflection, and your courage and heart. Our students are better because of you. Our schools are stronger because of you, and our future is brighter because of the way you choose every single day to show up for our students. So on behalf of the board of trustees,
053myself, our entire school community, thank you for your service, your passion, and your unwavering belief in the power of education. Congratulations on this well uh deserved achievement. Really, thank you. >> So this evening, this is how it's going to work. It's kind of like the blocking here. Um I'm going to read, we have a lot of names. I'm going to read every person's name because we've got some people who couldn't make it here tonight and they're watching over on Zoom or maybe their mom is watching from home. I don't know. Uh my mom watches these. So, um I tell her not to, but she does. Uh so, I'm going to read the names. If you're here, just pop up. Come on over. I'm going to I'm going to shake your hand and give you a
054certificate. I would love our union reps to come up, please, and come around here. So, you'll shake my hand and shake their hands. You'll give a high, you know, like a peace sign or a wave to the board and cabinet and then you'll come back to your seats. When we're done with everybody, I want to thank Char and Ley. We've got cupcakes out there. We'll take a break from the board meeting. Yes, we'll come back, but we'll take a break from the board meeting. Uh, enjoy one another's company for a few minutes. Take a big group photo and then off you go and enjoy your lives and we'll come back in here and continue on with the board meeting and enjoy our lives, too. Okay. So, we're g This is just alphabetical order. This is
055all combined with certificated and classified and and and management. So, uh I'm just going to read names and if I mess up your name, I am so sorry. Let's have grace for one another. I'm going to do my best. Uh so, first is Abigail Terraquz. Is Abigail here? No. Adrien Cahuana, Adriana Aldaz, Adriana Hernandez, Africa Foster, Aenezi Hafoka, Alejandro Trevino, Aaliyah Herd, Anna Lu, Luna Chang, Andrea Torres. Yes. Angela Reinhardt Mullins. Yeah. >> Yes. >> Anna Monette an anal. Yeah. Anna. Yay. These are uh permanent markers for permanent teachers. >> Annaiseto Anthony Toreé. Oh, there we go. Arcadia Corus Ayala Asha Colonia. Yeah. Baniah Wilburforce, Brian Clack, Briana Bits, Carlos Rodriguez, Celeste Thomas. Yeah. Ching Khali Chong. >> Yeah, >> that's great. >> You got to wait. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Cristiana Casio. Yeah. >>
056Clinton Amber. Oh my >> Courtney Gomez, Christina Gutierrez. Yeah. Um, [Music] >> Crystal Beltron. >> Yeah. Dana Bers Bersadski, sorry. Danielle Valenuela, Daniel Fernandez, Daryl Cotton, Don Kawamura. Yeah, Donna Krauss, Edward Perez, Elena Ambra Ambrachi, Eric Simmons, Gabe Guzman, Gail Quan, Jillian Rogers, Halah Muang, Israel Hakeim, Jquelin Garcia, Haime Gonzalez, Jade Tiro, Jennifer Tanti, Jerel Reyes, Jiren Oka, Ji Jung, Joanna Gigante, Johnny Walton V 6th. Go. Yeah. Jonathan Lee. >> Jonathan. >> Yeah. >> Looks like millions. >> They're cool. Jordan Harris, Jose Kabata, Joseph Nusa, Joshua Peterson, Justin Matsu, Kayla King. Yeah, >> Elvin Coggins, Kimberly Moffett, Suie, Kristen Gorgau, Lily Gomez, Mlayia Victoria Gabriel, Maria Gutierrez, Marissa Castillo. Yeah. >> Marlene Fardo Areola. >> Mary O'Reilly. Nester Cardinas. Yeah. Let me see that. Nicholas Hayes, Nicole Chan, Octavio Leon, Oscar Galindo, Patricia Rosas Morales,
057Rachel Zaw Zawilski, Rhea Rose Hordea, Rebecca Velasco, Samantha Passner, Samantha Sandival, Stephanie Oh, there we go. Go. Samantha Sam, >> Stephanie Waznjak, Steven Beam, Susanna Alquiser, Thomas Ortiz, Tim Natan, Tina Martinez, Ting Cow, Walter Salazar, Wendy Rivera, and William Sandoval. Did I miss anyone by just some random chance? And if I did, like raise your hand now. I love it. Hey, on behalf of the district, really congratulations. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. So, President Griffin, I'm going to leave it to you to to have us take a break and then we'll go out and have some cupcakes. >> We will recess the meeting for a few minutes so we can all enjoy some goodies. How's that? All right. >> Okay. I'm going to call the meeting back to order, back
058in session. Um, we are moving on to a consent agenda item O. Uh, do any of the trustees wish to pull an item from the consent for discussion? If not, is there a motion? I'll make a motion. >> Well, second. >> Okay, we have a motion in a second. Are there any questions or comments from the uh public? >> There are none. >> Okay. Are there any raised hands? >> There are none. >> Okay. Um call for a vote. All in favor? >> I. Student board reps. How do you vote? >> I. >> Thank you. Passes. >> I >> unanimously. Okay. Uh, special reports and appearances. Superintendent Booker, are there any special reports and appearances this evening? >> No. Thank you. >> Uh, construction. >> No, not this evening. >> Okay. Division of human resources
059personnel consent agenda. The uh the consent agenda has the personnel actions and anou uh between the adult school and the San Bruno Park district to continue uh the adult school using the the facilities at San Bruno Park. >> Okay. Any question or comments from the board with respect to the consent? >> Trustee Chavez. >> Thanks. I live in San Bruno and we have a lot of residents that benefit from bringing our our classes, our adult school classes to San Bruno. So, I just want to say thank you to everybody involved who's involved with withU. Thank you. >> Okay. Are there any uh and I will I will say years ago that there were there there were classes in in San Bruno just like there were classes in Foster City. So, we just need to reach
060out, continue to reach out. Are there any um questions or comments from the public? Any blue cards? >> There are none. >> Any raised hands? >> There are none. >> Okay. Is there a motion? >> And move to approve >> that. Yep. >> I second that. >> Okay. We have a motion and a second on the consent agenda. Um any further discussion? If not, uh call for the vote. How do you vote? >> I >> Okay, passes 50. No student board vote. Uh, Division of Human Resources, Dr. Black. >> Yeah. First item is the personal action addendum. We recommend approval. >> I'll move to approve the personal addendum. >> Okay. We got a motion and a second. Uh, any discussion? Uh, any public comment? >> There are none. >> No raised hands? >> None. >>
061Okay. Um, all in favor? >> I I >> Okay, then we're going to go on to a public hearing. AB1200. >> Sure. The AB1200 is a uh process uh for our county office of education to provide the public with asurances that the district can meet its fiscal obligations under new or expected tenative agreements and individual employment contracts. And in this AB1200, the county has approved um that or has assured us that we will be able to meet our obligations under this year's tenative agreements and commitments to non-represented staff. >> Okay. I'm going to open up the public hearings. Are there any comments? >> There are none. >> Okay. No. No. Online? >> None. >> Okay. I'll close the public hearing and go to item three. >> Okay. Item three is um recommendation recommended approval of
062the tenative agreement between the district and the teachers district uh district's teachers association and their salary schedule. Some highlights of the agreement include a $2.5% increase of salary, a $1,000 one-time pay payment to assist with medical plan deductible. We created a new uh salary schedule for program specialists because they work 197 workday. So, they need their own uh schedule because of that that work year. 197 day work days. Um for the leaves, we added wording for partial leaves that will uh rectify issues with substitutes and how teachers um reserve substitutes for partial leaves. And then in terms of substitute information, both sides agree that all teachers when they're absent will leave the same the minimal information for substitutes to include lesson plans, seating charts, and any information regarding accommodations or other informations as of student
063needs. We committed to two committees. one will be how to incorporate the revised uh professionals responsibilities standard of the California standards for the teaching profession that were just passed in 2024 and standard six is a pretty lengthy one and so we're going to have a committee agree to how to incorporate into our current evaluation process and then we have another committee that's going to look at our instruction coaching program and make any recommendations that they see fit for uh improvements we extended theou for ML class sizes. So for teachers who have ML courses, they will have the smaller class sizes that we've had uh in existence since 23 24. There are other things but those are the highlights of the agreement. >> Okay. Thank you. Are there any questions or comments? Any discussion? Are there
064any uh comments from the public? >> There are none. >> No. No raised hands on Zoom. >> None. >> Okay. Okay. Would a trust would trustee Cara make a motion to adopt the uh contract? >> I move to adopt the contract. >> Is there a second? >> I second. >> Okay. We have a motion and a second. All in favor? >> I >> Okay, we'll move on to item four. Item four, approval of the tenative agreement. is yes recommended approval of the tenative agreement between the district and the adult adult school federation of teachers. Um this wasn't as this didn't contain as many updates as the uh district teachers association. It has a salary increase of 3% but no one-time payment. We did update their health and welfare contributions. added a reproductive loss sleeve and
065we agreed that teacher evaluations will occur at least once every other year for permanent teachers and once every year for probationary teachers and we recommend approval. >> Okay. Any questions or comments from the board? Any public comments? >> There's none. >> Okay. And no raised hands? >> No. >> Okay. Is there a motion? >> I move to approve the agreement. >> Second. >> We have a motion and a second. Uh any further discussion? If not, all in favor? >> I >> passes unanimously. 50-0. Item five. >> Go ahead. >> Yeah. The next is the approval of the 2025 2026 administrator manager salary schedule and non-representative non-represented administrators and classified managements individual contracts for the 2025 2026 school year. Uh I'll start off and then hand it off to Dr. black. Um, the following are the
066compensation terms for the district's non-represented administrator and classified manager positions. Each administrator manager will receive health and welfare benefits up to 45,916 and.70, transportation and cell phone reimbursements of 2.75 per month, various subscriptions and memberships, and reimbursements for approved district expenses. Assistant Superintendent Julia Kempky. Uh, curriculum and instruction salary 266815 with 221 work days. Associate Superintendent Yansancy Hawkins, Chief Business Officer, 293002 and 221 work days. Deputy Superintendent Kirk Black, human resources and student services 32037 with 220 work days. Okay, I'll continue with assistant principles. Jesse Boy, assistant principal of Hillsdale High School, $220,358 for 214 work days. Jenny Gibson, assistant principal, Berlinger Game High School, $29,739, 214 work days. Mikailus Gordon, assistant principal, Cappuccino High School, 204,635 at 214 work days. Dango Harris, assistant principles at Mills and Cappuccino high schools, 194,765 214 work days.
067Andrew Hardig, assistant principal, Aragon High School, 199,634, 214 work days. Michael Holtz, assistant principal of Sonteo High School, $220,359, 214 work days. Gary Hong, assistant principal, Sonteo High School, 204, $635, 214 work days. Jordan Loey, assistant principal, Berlingame High School, $190,13, 214 work days. Amy Malcolm, assistant principal, Berlingame High School, 209,739, 214 work days. Clarice Mesa, assistant principal, Aragon, 194,764, 214 work days. Ashley Milton, assistant principal, Hillsdale High School, 220,358 and 214 work days. David Moore, assistant principal, Aragon High School, 204,635 at 214 work days. James Ortega, assistant principal, Mills High School, $190,13 to 14 work days. Lauren Ponti, assistant principal, Samo High School, 199,633, 214 work days. Sarah Prinsky Pomerance, assistant principal, Hillsdale High School, $218,584 200 214 work days. Mauricio Rodriguez, assistant principal, Cappuccino High School, 199,634, 214 work days. Jonathan White, assistant
068principal, Mills High School, 199,634, 214 work days. Alfred Wolf Graham, assistant principal. Principal uh Peninsula High School, $215,683, 214 work days. The next group is directors. First up is Simon Bettis, director of technology, $231,784. 221 work days. Shalia Bernett, director of student services, 224,533, 221 work days. Linda Carlton, director of maintenance, operations and facility use 231,784, 221 work days. Laura Chocolley, Director of Public Relations, Communications, and Publications, 220, 358, 214 work days. Relle Hooks, director of special education, 224,534. 221 work days. Charlie Royce, director of facilities and construction, $24,790, 221 work days. Whel Salet, Director of Budget and Fiscal Services, 211,579 at 221 work days. Brian Simmons, director of curriculum and assessment, $254,39 221 work days. I'm gonna switch. Okay. Angela Taylor, director of adult and career education, $231,784, 221 work days. April Torres, director
069of mental health programs, $220,358, 214 work days. Dennis Barissus, Director of Student Services, $27,589, 221 work days. Assistant Director Scott Rearen, Assistant Director of Special Education, 194,236 221 work days. Karen Holder J Jackson, executive director of ACCELS, salary 188,276, 221 work days. Jim Hyde, general manager of operations, $188,000. Unknown, sorry. $188,276, 221 work days. Kevin Sanchez, general manager of facilities, $162,350, 221 work days. managers. Vanessa Castano, manager of accounting, $223,551, 221 work days. Joanna Feight, manager of multilingual learners, $22,883, 214 work days. Sabi Hopkins, manager of teacher induction and professional learning, $217,395, $214 work days. Joanne Michaels, associate manager of mental health programs. $24,035 214 work days. Pamela Dazinski principal Mills High School $254,38 221 work days. Jennifer Vong, principal Berlingame High School, 254,38, 221 work days. Jeff Gilbert, principal, Hillsdale High School, $254,38, 221
070work days. Jose Gomez, principal, Cappuccino High School, 254,38 221 work days. Michael Jones, principal, Aragon High School, $230,146, 221 work days. Janora Lewis, principal, Peninsula High School Middle College and Middle College, $219,57, $221 work days. Ivon Shu, principal, San Mateo High School, $254,38, 221 work days. Sammy Showman, principal of Bridge Academy and manager of academic support programs, $226,462 at 218 work days and that's all of the indep individual employment contracts. >> So that's item five in its entirety. Yes. >> Okay. Are there any questions or comments from the board with respect to the uh the salary schedule or the individual contracts? >> There any public comment? >> There's none. >> And no raised hands. >> No raised hands. >> Okay. Um is there a motion? >> So moved. >> We got a motion and and
071a second. >> All in favor? >> I >> thank you and thank you for that reading. That was my >> pleasure. Your pleasure. Yeah, >> pleasure. I don't know. >> Item six, approval of corrected confidential salary schedule. >> These uh we recommend a corrected confidential salary schedules for the uh previous three years. Uh and this this correction comes to uh because we needed to align with the Kalpers's um parameters. We uh the confidentials work eight hours a day. the salary schedule was based on 7.5 hours a day and therefore um their service credit was they weren't given full service credit. Therefore, we need to go back and adjust these salary schedules for the eight hour workday. The salaries remain the same. It's just the way that they spread out because of the eight hours. >>
072Okay. Any questions or comments from the board? >> What's what's is there a fiscal impact on that? >> There is no fiscal impact. Uh it's just adjust the rates. >> Okay. Okay. >> So moved. None. >> Okay. We have a motion. Second. >> Any further discussion? Any public comments? >> There's none. >> No raised hands. >> No. >> Um all in favor? >> I passes 50. And we'll move on to item seven, approval of the 2526 confidential salary schedule. So we also had to um bring over the the change in the salary schedule framework to the 2526 confidential salary schedule. Uh this 2526 salary schedule contains the 2.5% uh salary increase that was extended to all the units and the non-represented employees. Uh, but this schedule, the 2526, also has a $2,000 insert insertion into
073each range to compensate for a reduction in the overtime rate due to the extra hours. So, the overtime rates based on the hours for eight hours, it's less of an hourly than the 7 and 1/2 hours day. So, um, we did a, uh, calculation and $2,000 will cover the, uh, difference in overtime rate, the expected overtime hours that the confidential would do, and this would cover that rate for, um, this year and then going forward because it'll be in the salary schedule. >> So, we recommend approval. >> Okay. Any questions from the board? >> So, moved. >> Okay. We got a motion in a second. Any public comments? There's none. >> And no raised hands. >> No raised hands. >> Okay. All in favor? >> I I >> passes unanimously. Approval of the 2526 athletic
074manual. >> Okay. Every every year that we uh every year we have revisions to the athletic manual. We bring it back to the board uh for approval. This year uh we seek approval for several re revisions, but they're uh limited in scope. They're mostly clarifications and they're listed on the board memo. Um there's really no changes to it. Uh we we reflected there was one change to salary salary schedule in the athletic manual that was reflected in um uh stipen that the boosters pay and it increased from 1,00 to 1,500. The all the rest are pretty much wordings and updates. Okay. >> Rewardings and updates. >> Okay. Okay. Any questions or comments from the board? Okay. Is there a motion? >> I move to approve the athletic manual. >> Second. >> Have a motion and
075a second or any public comments, discussion? >> Okay. Um on this item, it's under personnel. Is this a item that the student board reps can vote on? >> Okay. Yeah. Um all in favor? I >> I student board reps, how do you vote in the manual? >> I thank you. Division of student services. Any items? >> No, not this evening. >> Instructional services. >> No. >> Okay. Business services. There better be something. >> We got something good for you guys tonight. Um, while our our good friend Tony Shay is jumping on the line here, uh, I'll give a quick update, um, the the voters have approved four bonds over the last 25 years um, in this district. We're incredibly fortunate to have such wonderful support uh, by the voters. Um uh but given that you
076know with the great power comes great responsibility and so we are responsible uh fiscally to ensure that we pay the least amount of interest on those bonds. Um and so uh with that in mind I'm going to turn it over uh to our longtime um FA Kegent and Tony Shay. >> Uh good evening. Thank you for having me back. Um, thank you for the introduction, Yansancy. Um, I just have a very short presentation for you to go over a potential bond refinancing. Um, you know, as you know, because you've done this many times, this is savings for your taxpayers. And, um, I'll just go through this quickly and if you have any questions or if you have um, any questions actually in the middle of the presentation, please feel free to stop me. Some of
077it could get just a little bit technical, so please feel free to stop me if you do have anything that you want to ask about. Um, next slide, please. Okay, to start off, as Yansy said, um, we've had a lot of bonds issued in the past. So, the ones that we are looking at for a potential refinancing right now are these five listed in the first five diamond bullet points here. So these are all refinancings actually that the district had transacted on back in 2016. So you did a lot of refinancings that year um because it was a low interest rate year. So you had 16 refunding bonds and then B series B C D and E all done that year. Um those were sold with a earliest prepayment date of September 1st, 2026. So
078um please keep that date in mind as I um continue along this presentation. Um so right now in the current interest rate environment um we could refinance these bonds on a forward basis and that would provide 4.2 million in savings to your taxpayers and that metric is after all financing costs are paid from proceeds of the bond refinancing. Um, as I said before, all the savings is passed back to your taxpayers and it's just swapping out higher interest rate debt for lower interest rate debt which is available in the current market right now. Um, and as you also know the the savings will fluctuate because market rates are continuing to fluctuate. We think that um on our current timeline, we could sell these bonds to investors and lock the rate in in December of this
079year. So, the rates will continue to fluctuate between now and the time we sell the bonds to investors. Um all financing costs are contingent upon the successful uh the the successful completion of this financing. The only one that is not contingent is the credit rating with Moody's. So, we will be very careful to time the rating with Moody's. And if it looks like the refinancing is moving away from us, meaning interest rates are starting to get too high and it doesn't make any sense anymore, then we will tell Moody's to hold off on the rating and not give that to us because we don't want to incur that bill if we're not going to complete this financing. Um and the last line here on this page um it says here that we could sell these
080bonds on a current or forward delivery basis. So just want to explain that very quickly. So as I said before um the earliest prepayment date on these 2016 refunding bonds is September 1st, 2026. So that means if we want to take advantage of the interest rates available available to us today, we need to lock these rates in on a forward basis. Um we cannot complete this financing until closer to the September 1st, 2026 date. And that's just because of IRS rules. So, what we're asking investors to do is to accept an interest rate when we sell the bonds to them in December, but they won't get their bond investments um you know, meaning the districts were funding bonds, they won't get that in their hands until June of next year. So, in order for them
081to be willing to lock the rate in in December and not receive their bonds until June, they will require a um basically an interest rate premium. That premium is about 0.05% per month right now. So, let's call it about.3% in total because it's about six months. Um, the alternative is the district could say, "No, we don't want to pay that premium. Let's just wait until May of next year and sell the bonds and we'll close in June and we can avoid that interest rate premium." And that's an option to you as well. Um, it's just that you would have to see what happens with interest rates between now and May. Um, so right now the 4.2 2 million that you see in the middle of this page is based on the forward uh delivery which
082is locking in rates in December and then not closing until June. Um any questions on that before I move to the next slide? Okay, next slide please. Um just a you've seen this chart before but this is basically that bond buyer geo bond index. Um, and this is just a one-year snapshot of it. I think last time I was um in front of the board, we also had long-term interest rate history of this particular metric. Um, you probably recall um but generally um we are in low interest rate times. If you go back 60 years, we're in pretty low interest rate times, but if you focus in on the last 12 months, um we can see that interest rates for geo bonds have increased. um most notably in April after the tariffs were announced. Um
083what we're looking forward um to is there it looks it sounds like there are one to two rate cuts expected from the Fed and that would be the overnight borrowing rate um which doesn't necessarily have any bearing on medium to long-term interest rates which is what we're most focused on for our bonds but I think the two things that we're most um paying attention to as far as where interest rates are going to go is what's inflation going to and how is the economy going to fare? Normally, if the economy is bad, then interest rates will go lower to try to stimulate the economy. But on the other side of that, if inflation is looking like it's getting out of control, then the Fed is going to want to raise interest rates. So, two opposing
084forces, and unfortunately, right now, we're trying we're trying to handle both. So we'll have to see which force is going to drive the uh the interest rates more. Um, but I think, you know, that's one reason why we want to consider carefully whether we want to go with the current refin uh current refinancing where we wait until May to sell bonds or we go with the forward delivery where we can lock rates as soon as possible and then not have to worry about rates fluctuating between December to May. Um, any questions on that? Okay, next slide please. And here's a savings summary for you. So this is also just based on the forward delivery. So you can see here on the left hand side that is the debt service savings schedule and the total of
085it is 4.2 million from a present value savings metric. Um, our present value savings percentage is 4.1% right now and that is well above the industry benchmark of 3% that we typically look at for public agencies. Um, interest rate wise, the prior bonds currently have a rate of 4% and in the current market we could reduce that to 3.04%. Um and the bottom right hand side of that table with the uh escrow yield and that that um portion what happens is um when we close the bonds in June presuming that we do a forward delivery um when we close the bonds in June we still don't pay off the old bonds until September 1st. So that threemonth period is a reinvestment opportunity where we can reinvest the proceeds of the refunding bonds and earn extra
086interest income which would increase the savings to the taxpayer. Um if we were able to reinvest those monies right now, that 3-month period would provide an additional $820,000 in savings on top of the 4.2 million. So, we would get above 5 million in savings to the taxpayers. Um, sadly, we cannot lock that rate in now. We have to lock that rate in after um the bond financing closes in June. Um, so I'm not providing that as a savings number to you now. um because I can't confidently tell you what that is going to be, but I just wanted to share with you that right now it would be as high as 820,000. So, we'll have to see where reinvestment rates go between now and June. And come the bond closing and with the reinvestment being
087done, I can share with you the final savings number, which hopefully is of course this or more. Um, any questions on that? >> I had a question on the arbitrage. You're calling a ne negative arbitrage. Uh, we're paying, we're not receiving or because you said we're investing. >> Yes, that's a good question, Bob. Um, this is assuming zero reinvestment yield right now, but we know the current market actually in the current market you can actually earn 820,000, but we're calling it zero right now to give you the most conservative number. >> Okay. Well, then you you do have to remit some of that interest if you should make it to the IRS, right? Um actually on a current refunding um or basically if the escro period is is 3 months or shorter which is what
088what we fall into you do not have to give them any of the arbitrage. If you were longer than 3 months you would have to give them uh you would have to pay back to them anything over that 621,000 that you see there. sort of like a longer term than pull in money. Never never mind. That's, you know, we're we're all I'm I went to the rabbit hole. Sorry. Okay. I'm not in the rabbit hole, but for me, I'm trying to say so the refunding bond, the refunding rate you're we're looking for is 3.04 from our 4%. And that would that is the rate that if we were selling bonds today that would the rate that would be the rate that we would lock in >> that investors the new investors would get if they
089bought the Samonteo refunding bonds. >> Okay. And is that the trigger that you're looking for? Is that the the the the special number that we're I'm trying to figure out what the what the the right time and right number is. >> Oh, I see. Yeah. I think what we're asking you for today is approval to move forward with the refinancing. And yeah, you you guys um if you want to, you can set a minimum threshold. Um I think probably 4% PV would be a reasonable uh metric to set. Anything below that we might want to hold off on. >> Okay. Um, and then I think all this discussion that I went into, the rabbit hole that you, you know, if you will, that Bob discussed, um, the 820,000, that's kind of gravy on top, which
090I can't give you the final number on that now, but I can report back to you on that come June when the bond financing closes and we have the reinvestment locked in. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Sure. >> Any other questions? Um I did have a last slide just to show you the timing if there are no questions on this this slide. >> Um >> okay next >> next slide please. Thank you. >> Next slide. Thank you. >> Um so yeah as I mentioned before we can lock rate um as early as December 2025. Um obviously we're at the board meeting today October 23rd. um we will update Moody's um and get an updated rating from them. We're targeting early November as long as rates are cooperating. And then November 21st is when the offering
091document is finalized and we we send it to investors so that they can do their own credit review. And then we're targeting a December 2nd bond sale. and that is when the rate will be locked in and the debt service savings um portion of the equation would be locked in. Um we'd have a soft closing in January of 2026 and that is just to make sure we have all the documents lined up and then the actual closing would be June 4th of 2026. And then at that point, we would also do the reinvestment and I can then report to you the total final savings. So the one thing I would change on this slide is under December 2nd, we said refinancing results may be shared with the community. I would probably push that back to
092after June 4th when we lock in the escrow investment. And that's all I had. I'm happy to answer any questions that you might have. board have any questions? You know, there's a lot of stuff going on and there are a lot of opportunities for volatility. >> I mean, you know, just the fact that it stretches out uh in today's financial markets, you know, somebody says something about a tariff and everything, you know, goes in the tank. Uh there are some significant like the holidays, you know, the stock market goes into the doldrums. People are waiting for the interest rate cuts. After the first of the year, everybody's looking for a stock market rally. I mean, there, you know, there is just, I guess there are opportunities abound for us to to make some to save
093some money. But, you know, there's a lot of things that could kind of go sideways, too. But I trust you, Tony. >> Or maybe I trust Yansancy, too. Thank you. I mean, it's a good presentation. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> We're going to trust Tony. Is that what we're saying? >> Okay. >> Any any other questions? >> Are we making a motion for a resolution? >> Okay. I'll move uh for adoption of resolution 252607. >> I'll second that. >> Okay. We have a motion and a second. Any public comment? >> There's none. >> Okay. No raised hands? >> None. >> Okay. All in favor? I >> I I the board the student board gets to vote on this too. Student boards members >> It passes unanimously and we'll move on to board operations. >>
094Thanks Tony. >> Thank you. >> See you later. >> Bye-bye. >> No. >> Uh review and discuss the specific board policies and admin rags. This is June 2025 updates part two. No action tonight though. This is moved to consent. Yeah, no action tonight. Um looking for direction if we want to move it to consent at the next meeting. But happy to answer any questions. >> Yeah, move it to consent. >> Does board have any questions, comments? Well, you know, I made the comment that all that stuff, you know, you know, all the court decisions and all the stuff that goes on, every time something goes on, we've got this whole series and I had to read it sever several several several times and I talked to the superintendent >> that this stuff just keeps moving
095and I imagine that our, you know, our board policies, you know, every time there's a court decision or something now, we're going to a whole, you know, the linkage and all the policies that need to be modified. So, I don't know how you I guess CSBA stays on top of that. >> Yeah. Yes, they do. And then we had a difference when in a couple meetings ago, but we had to this is June, so we're way behind. And that the reason was we needed to look through these and make sure that we weren't >> uh going to recommend something different than what we the board approved a few weeks ago. And I don't think I mean we looked at it twice and had I guess other people looked at it too and we're I'm pretty
096confident it doesn't but >> it is complex and intertwined. >> Okay. >> I was just going to say um I was happy to see the the updates in the technology plan and that the new focus on AI and staying on top of AI. And I I talked to Superintendent Booker about that and he's going to keep us apprised of the the task force work on that. >> Okay. So, these these will move to uh consent at our next meeting. >> Okay. Any future board items? The only one we have on the books so far is uh special education and I'll be pulling the board around dates that that best work for you all. >> Thank you. >> I think at some point in time the one thing I would like is what direction we're going
097into at the sites with AI because I think that's something that we really need to like stay ahead of and I think regulations are great but practice and uh PD and professional development are also components that we need to know know about. That's a that would be an ever evolving. Yes, you >> in a moment in time. >> You write it in pencil and you have a big eraser. >> I would totally agree with that. >> So, uh any other items? >> If not, I have a question. Sorry. So, are you uh Trusty uh Lend are you requesting a um study session on that? >> Something like that. Yes. Would you be able to include our student board reps for that? >> Yeah, of course. >> And for the special education, >> would that be
098possible? >> I think I mean, anything's possible. I think what I'll need is maybe maybe you and I sitting down and having a conversation so I can hear a little bit more of the subtopics you'd like to explore for special education. student board members could definitely be a segment of that, but I think a lot because special education is so tied up with education code and federal law. >> Um, that it tends to be heavy on that side, especially if you have questions about funding or where it's going to land. If department of if it moves away from the department of education, that will be probably much more adult- centered. But if you have specific questions about our student experiences here, then yeah, for sure. >> Yeah. Well, then can I request that? I mean,
099I'm sure that you all already have a schedule for all the um different dates that the student board reps meet, >> but could you incorporate some of that learning into what they're doing in their lesson? Just I'm just saying because it it is important and it's not really understood. Um, so I'd like them to understand it as they understand all of the other uh parts of our public education. >> Right. >> Thank you. >> Can I just add with the special education? I'd love to know how we're dealing with some of the shifts of LRE. Yeah. >> And inclusion. >> Yeah. >> Because those are some things that are happening in California that I'd like to know how we're addressing it. >> Yeah. Okay. >> Okay. That's it. Meeting adjourned. >> Thank you.