SMUHSD Board Meeting - June 12, 2025

001Good evening everyone. I'd like to call the meeting to order. This is a meeting of the Satail Union High School District Board of Trustees. I am calling open session to order. Today is June 12th and it's like 7:07. How's that? Roll call. Trusty Chavez present. Trusty Jacobson present. Trusty Lan is not in attendance yet. Trusty Andra Zuniga present and I am present. Uh tonight we have a team from Hannah interpreting as our Spanish interpreters for those who would like to attend a meeting virtually in Spanish. That option is available. Hannah interpreting would you please communicate that for us this evening. Thank you. Thank you. In order to provide language access, this meeting will have simultaneous bit directional interpretation into English and Spanish. If you're bilingual, you don't have to click anything. But if you're not

002bilingual and you're using your laptop, in a few seconds, you'll see an icon shaped like a globe at the bottom of your screen. Click on language interpretation and then select English. If you're using your phone or an iPad, then locate the three dot menu in one of the corners of your screen. Click on language interpretation and then select English. When you speak, do so at a moderate pace because the interpreters will be simultaneously interpreting everything you say. Spanish. Thank you. If you wish to view closed caption of this meeting, please view the meeting on SMUHSD 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

003other languages if you choose to watch after this meeting has ended. Viewers may request additional accommodations by calling 650-5582201. That's 650-5582201. 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. Pledge of Allegiance. Would everybody rise and please join me, I guess. Do it. Okay. 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. and there were no actions taken in close session. Item J, adopt the agenda. The board of trustees

004may 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 board meetings. Are there any questions or comments from the board of trustees or the superintendent with respect to the agenda? Okay. Any questions from the uh public? There are none. Okay. No Zoom no Zoom hands raised. None on Zoom. Okay. Would a trustee care to make a motion with respect to the adopting the agenda? I'll make a motion to approve the agenda. I'll second. Okay. We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Okay. All in favor? I I That passes 4. Regular reports. Report of the superintendent. Thank you very much. Uh, happy June everyone. And I

005just want to give a shout out to uh all of our educators and families and especially our graduating seniors for really the amazing graduations that uh uh occurred over the last several weeks. I I was uh so privileged to attend Aragon and Bridge Cappuccino DTEK and Middle College. Unfortunately, they overlap a lot of them, so you can't get to every single one, but the rest of my team and I know uh board all the different board trustees attended various uh graduations and they were uh absolutely lovely. So, again, congratulations to the class of 2025 and congratulations to all of our educators uh not just for getting through the year, but uh for really leading uh this school year and doing such a great job. Uh I want to talk about summer school a little bit

006because we we continue rocking here. is uh our general ed summer school is in full swing. It's over at Cappuccino High with over,00 students uh enrolled in the first session. Uh we have four sections of accelerated geometry for advancement and 30 classes of credit recovery. Uh the general ed summer school has 34 certificated uh educators, two special education teachers, four campus aids, two office assistants, three lead teachers, three wellness counselors, four food service staff members, a principal, thank you, Mr. Hulesen, and a health aid. Classes meet June 5th through July 10th with June 19th off for Junth and July 4th off for Independence Day. Uh, and summer school has four remote days per session. So, just a lot going on over at Cappuccino, let alone let alone the rest of the campus with so much

007construction. Uh, our ML summer school is also going really well. That's over at Peninsula High School. Uh, classes began on June 5th and run through July 3rd. And all classes are held in person. We have 268 uh, students. Seven different languages are represented. Spanish, Mandarin, Portuguese, Japanese, Tagalog, Turkish, and Arabic. And the educators include 16 teachers and one lead teacher, one campus safety specialist, one student success coordinator, one office assistant, one health aid, eight instructional assistants, two newcomer social workers, two food service staff, two bus drivers, one TSG support, one SDA, and one principal. Thank you, Joanna Fight. Uh a student support center is open daily with staff to support students to complete their summer work and social workers are collaborating with teachers to provide daily guidance wellness activity breaks to increase student engagement and

008wellness. So to think we've shut down for the summer, nope. Uh we keep rolling. Uh so just big thanks to all the educators who continue to support our students over the summer. Um they get like big gold star. Uh it's it's really amazing their their dedication. Like I said, tons of capital facilities work going on. I want to share a big thank you to our capital facilities team. Uh this summer there are a total of 31 projects underway across our sites. Uh there are two district-wide projects, our solar panel project and our public-f facing EV chargers. We want to thank Greystone Construction for the management of the projects as well as our very talented uh staff including our director of facilities and construction Charlie Royce and his team including several of our CSEA members and

009our ASME members who work tirelessly throughout the summer to keep these projects moving on time and on budget. Two of our most visible projects though will be completed soon. told that the beneficial occupus occupancy date or the date when a construction project is ready for its intended use minus the little punch list items uh for the Sanonteo High School gym is Monday, June 16th. It's coming up. And for the Berling game High gym, this is an estimated date, but we're hoping for Monday, August 4th. That's what we're hoping for. Uh mark your calendars because we're going to do some ribbon cutting events for these gyms. Berling Game High is going to be on Wednesday, August 27th at 3:30 and Sonteo High will be on Friday, August 29th at 3 p.m. And so just a huge

010thanks to everyone who's contributed their talents and their hard work um to the completion of these projects which are going to serve generations of students, families, and community members to come. Athletics, huge congratulation to Hillsdale High School uh softball team. They won both the CCS Division 2 softball championship in May and on Saturday they won the CIF NorCal regional division 3 softball championship. Yep. Both the CIF championship game and the semi-final game ended ended in walk-off wins for Hillsdale High School. Uh congratulate I wish the Giants could have prevented that today, but they lost in the ninth inning on a walk-off. Uh, congratulations to the coaching staff as well, head coach Aaron Butcher, and assistant coaches Nicole House, Olivia Geronimo, and Keith Stamper. The 2025 softball team is just the third team in Hillsdale athletic

011history to earn a Northern California championship, joining the 1997 boys basketball team and the 2021 girls volleyball squad. Uh, and just let me pause for a second. To think that I developed all this and I knew all this. No. So big shout out to Mor Chocolley wherever she is for doing all that research. That's a really big deal. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you. A big shout out to the Sanontto High School's Emanuel Fitzgerald with his sixth place discus finish at the CIF state track and uh field finals on May 31st. He qualified for the Nike outdoor nationals track meeting pl taking place in Eugene, Oregon June 19th through the 22nd. His discus throw of 177 feet 10 in broke the Sono High School record which was set in 1978 at 172 feet 6

012in. So really good luck to Emanuel at the Nike meet. So congratulations Samonte Highv and your whole team. Um lastly student board council update. So Joe Hulesen he helps run our student board council. He recently screened 78 applications from our various sites. So, this is a program that's really gaining some interest um uh for the 20 2025 2026 student board council and he'll be scheduling interviews for about a third of the applicants after screening this summer. The panel will include prior student board members, Miss Aino, Mr. Hudson, and there's we you'll get an email about this, but outreach to the trustees. If you want to participate in the interviews, please please please uh like I said, Mr. Huddles will share more information about dates and times and all this soon. So, just be on the

013lookout for that. I'll also put it in a weekly. So, to think that not a lot is going on in the district, sleepy summer, no way. We got a lot going uh all in the benefit of students and again, big thanks to all of our educators. So, thank you. So, are we going to get to recognize the Hillsdale teams in person or Well, that's a good question. Um, they're gone for the summer and the seniors will be gone. We'll have to figure out how to do that in the fall. That's a good idea. Say it again. Virtually. Virtually. Let me work on it. Yeah. Okay. We'll see. We'll see. Thank you. That was a lot of good news. And uh, you know, we'll the summer will be gone and we'll be back in school before

014you know it. Uh, reported district teachers association. I don't believe not tonight. Well, I'm never going to assume because you tell me about the district teachers that that you know what you're talking about, but anyway, forgive me for for that terrible humor. Uh, report of CSEA chapter 519 rep. There's no report. Not tonight. Uh, report of Satale Adult School Teachers Association. Miss Garcia, you see her? Miss Tang. Hello. Oh, there you Sorry. Just got the invite. Um, this is Lynette with the Sato Adult and Career Education Campus. Um, thank you board members and superintendent for the opportunity to speak. Uh we at the CTF Union staff and Samato adult education campus are here to share updates from our campus. Uh current events we held volunteer appreciation day uh at the end of May from July

01524th to May 25th. We had 122 volunteers who supported the Sanato Adult and Career Education Campus. Most of them are current or former ESL students along with a few community members who continue to volunteer in our citizenship classes. Recognizing their contribution not only strengthens our programs. It also fosters a more engaged and supportive community. Volunteer appreciation serves as a powerful advocacy and outreach tool. showcasing the impact of our volunteers highlights leadership opportunities for others and encourages further community support. When our volunteers are out there speaking, uh it's kind of cool because they really engage the students and they show them what they can do. This week we hosted a wellness fair spanning two evenings and one morning with nine community partners offering substantial benefits to the SMACE community. The fair provided increased access to vital

016mental health resources. By bringing together nine community partners, SMACE is creating a centralized location where our students, especially in these difficult times, can learn about a con and connect with a diverse range of mental health services. This is especially crucial for our community where access to such resources may be limited. Further updates. Uh we continue to hold monthly meetings with both administration and separately with the district superintendent. These meetings are valuable opportunities to discuss our concerns and explore potential improvements which we very much appreciate. We extend our sincere thanks to the superintendent, the district, and the school board for including our input regarding the placement of the bridge academy. We truly appreciate the collaborative spirit. While discussions may have been, as the superintendent alluded to, crunchy at times, we successfully found common ground through open

017dialogue and cooperation. Our productive monthly meetings continue with a focused agenda, strengthening communication and leadership presence through the school. In the current climate of uncertainty, particularly affecting our immigrant students, it is more vital than ever to foster collaboration and identify common ground with SMACE. the district and the school board. We are committed to this ongoing partnership, especially with an incoming assistant director to develop solutions that will best serve our school and most importantly our students. And lastly, it breaks my heart and it enriches my heart to Kira Man, our assistant director who will be with us for two and a half more weeks. We want to express our sincere gratitude for your exceptional contributions as an administrator. Your consistent presence and active engagement have been a cornerstone of support for both staff and students, and

018we particularly appreciate the effort you made to connect with everyone individually. In many ways, you've been the essential glue that has kept our school functioning smoothly and harmoniously. Your leadership style, marked by thoughtfulness and depth, has been truly impactful. You skillfully created opportunities for professional development and supported growth of every individual. We are especially grateful for your ability to make us feel heard, understood, and cared for with every interaction. Your leadership will be profoundly missed. We are confident that you will excel as the new director of the Campbell Adult and Community Education. They are fortunate to have you. With solidarity and grace, thank you so much for allowing us to report. I hope you all have a great weekend. Thank you. Governing board comments. Does anybody have a comment? Does anybody want to be first?

019Okay. Okay. I'll keep mine brief tonight. I'm waiting for that look from you, Mr. Griffin. Trusty Griffin. Um, well, I just want to a couple of just two things actually. I really want to acknowledge all of our graduates. I had the wonderful opportunity to attend and participate in the Peninsula High School graduation and the Mills High School graduations. And one of my favorite opportunities as a trustee is to shake our students hands, our amazing students during the graduation and and say congratulations. Whether they wanted to shake my hand or not, I don't know. I shook every single hand from both schools. And um it it's just amazing and I know a lot of work goes into that uh into each each student graduating and unfortunately there's no trustee that can attend all the graduations because

020some of them are at the same time. Um, but I just want to give a big shout out to every single one of our graduates and as well as their families and and all the staff that that supported that student throughout the years that led up to the graduation. Um, my second item and my last item is, you know, it's summer time and many of our staff members are off, but we also have many staff members working such as the summer school program that uh, Superintendent Brooker just mentioned and also staff members ensuring that we are ready for students to come rolling in for the start of the school year. there. So, we have many of our maintenance operation and just everything. We have a lot of uh staff members on every single school site

021making sure that it's safe and making sure that it's ready to have all the students come back in when we have the next school year rolling in on a August. So, I want to give a shout out to everybody. Um that's my report out. Thank you. Those are my comments. Trusty Andrad Zuniga. Yep. Yes. Thank you. Um, I want to start with the land acknowledgement that the cappuccino students wrote a few years ago. Our community acknowledges that all of our campuses lie on ancestral homeland of the Rome Shaloney. The Rome are the original inhabitants of the San Francisco Peninsula whose land was stolen from them and whose native language was lost because of Spanish colonization. As settlers on the stolen land of the peninsula, we should be along with alongside the Romeous remembering and honoring

022their ancestors and relatives. We thank the first people, the Rometo Shaloney, 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 a shalom so we can work together to protect and preserve the land for future generations. Um I also was able to attend a lot of the different graduations. Um, uh, Superintendent Booker and I attended the Bay Academy graduation, the Bridge Academy graduation, Cappuccino, San Mateo, DTEK. Um, and then earlier, um, a few a week before was Middle College. Um, it's wonderful to see our students achieve their, you know, their goals. Um, one of the things that really resonated with me was at the bridge graduation, um, seeing families live

023streaming the graduation because there were students whose families were home in Guatemala, El Sal, Mexico, um, and other places in the world. And it's just it's we have such a gift here of education and of opportunities and it just weighs so much on my heart what's happening right now with our you with families and with people that are undocumented or just immigrants or just born here and are brown. um like the land acknowledgement I read um no one is no one's illegal on stolen land and it makes me just my heart is so heavy um what continues to happen in Gaza what continues to happen in the world it's just like constant destruction of brown and black people um it's just very sad and very scary um so for families that need it. Please pick

024up a red card, send it out to folks that you need, you know, need them. They talk about what your rights are and how to protect yourself. Um, there's also other organizations like Faith and Action, Siren, the Immigrant Rights Coalition, Legal Aid Society, Pangia that are providing not only legal services but supports for families that need it. Um, it just I'm sorry my I'm just so distracted right now because of all all of this stuff. Um, it just makes me think of my own family. Um, it's it's very scary times, very uh horrible times we're living. Um, our LGBT LGBTQ families and friends are also constantly under attack. Um, please join. Uh, Saturday there's going to be a pride parade and festival downtown Sano, but there's also going to be a lot of different organizing

025all over the country. So, if you are up to it, join something, make noise. We all protest in different ways. Um, and that's okay. Um, I just I also want to say thank you to our ASL interpreters and our language interpreters for giving folks access that need to also understand and know what's going on and be informed. Um, and lastly, I just want to uh finish with this quote. Um, it's by Alexis Dasas, who used to be the editor-inchief for El newspaper. Uh, may we never stay silent in the face of injustice. May we never lose hope or excuse me, may we never lose our humanity. Thank you for your comments. I got one quick comment and I can't talk too fast, but I don't want to dwell on this because I'll put everybody to

026sleep. I really enjoyed graduations at Berling game in Hillsdale. And you know, one of the things that I reflected on, you know, I'm just as excited to do a graduation right now as I was in whenever the first one was like 96 or 97, you know, because it really it, you know, to me it's a renewal. It was a renewal for me because this has been for, you know, trustees. I I hate to say it, it's really hard being a trustee and you know a lot of meetings and we're we're getting beat down, but you go and you go to the graduation ceremony and I'm sure you guys are saying well you know administrators don't have it so easy themselves. So, I mean, nobody has it easy, but I'm sure when you get to the

027end of the school year, there's a sense of satisfaction that you feel when you see graduates walking across that stage. And that was that's still here. I mean, I guess I'm, you know, cuz I keep thinking, oh, maybe this is it, but I'm I'm looking forward to next year. So anyway, public comments. If you are joining us in person and wish to make a comment about an agenda item or during the public comment section at the beginning of the agenda, please fill out a request to address the board form and submit it to the secretary. This form should be given to the secretary before the agenda item begins. If you are joining us virtually, use the raised hand feature on Zoom to be recognized. When invited to do so, your camera must be on before

028you are called upon to make a public comment. We will call on you to begin your comment once we have promoted you into the meeting. If your camera is not operational, please email your comments to the board of trustees at boardshd.org. That's at board at smuhsd.org. Please note that comments are limited to 3 minutes. The board president may increase or decrease the time allowed for public comment depending on the topic and number of persons wishing to be heard. I will call on in-person comments first. Okay. Dr. Ron Compana. And I I have a question for you before you start. So we we're not starting on his three minutes. Did you play pickle ball with Greg and rupture or tear his Achilles tendon? Because I I Yeah, I couldn't see you play. His house is I

029play tennis right next to his house. But uh No, I had nothing to do with that any more than with Miss Chavez's uh injury, too. I had no assistance. Forgive me. Okay. I I just had to ask that cuz I saw two people carrying the guy off the court like, "Well, you had no business playing pickle ball, you know." I like pickle ball. It's a lot like tennis for me, but it's fun. Anyway, go ahead. Thank you. Uh, board president Griffin, members of the board, Superintendent Booker, and members of district leadership, thank you for allowing me to speak here tonight. Uh, I have worked in this district since 1997 with the exception of two years where I took on positions outside of the district. During my time here, I've had the opportunity to grow in

030my skills by taking on various roles. I returned to the district in 2015 to revamp Peninsula High School. During my time, you entrusted me with supporting the Peninsula community and getting students back on track for graduation, allowing Peninsula High School students to compete in the comprehensive sites and athletic competition, expanding our wellness supports, restructuring bell schedules, and revising work experience and graduation requirements. During my tenure, we successfully achieved the highest WASK accreditation a school can receive in both 2019 and 2025. We navigated challenging years including figuring out how to conduct summer school and connecting Peninsula High School students to the school during CO. I want to thank you for your trust and dedication supporting my work in Peninsula High School as evidenced by the new school and potential property expansion. I would also like to

031thank you for your support during my back injury and my family health issues that required me to step away from my duties at times. Tonight, I want to thank Superintendent Booker, district leadership, and the board for supporting my growth, and I wish them well as I embark on a new journey at the Sono County Office of Education as the coordinator of college, career, and community partnerships. Great. This position is something that I've always wanted to do and I have a passion about and have been working towards for several years and thanks to your support and allowing me to grow has now provided me that opportunity. While I don't know if I'll ever be back in Samonte Union High School District, you may occasionally see me in my new rule supporting your schools. Yes, Mr. Simmons,

032you may be stuck working with me again. Superintendent Booker, uh, I appreciate our conversations and your support of my educational leadership and goals and journey. Panissa High School is in good hands with new principal Miss Lewis and assistant principal, Mr. Wolf Graham. Thanks again for some great years and for supporting my career growth. It's been a heck of a ride. Take care. Make sure we're going to miss you. Congratulations. Okay. Are there Miss Tang, are there any raised hands on Zoom? There are. There are two. Okay. Our first comment is from Yamshid Yusupova. Say that again. There we go. Hello. San Monteo High School, United High School District is still teaching DEI and CRT even after government banned it across the nation months ago. The government ordered DEI abolished, not renamed or hidden. Everybody's either

033a victim or an oppressor. Teaching racial hate is not okay. The government leadership of DEI CRT at federal level has been fired, not reassigned. The assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction is responsible for introducing this hate and it's gone on for too long. All of you are responsible for this hatred being taught in your schools toward one group, straight white males. The school district also allows biological men to play in women's sports. We want you teaching our children, not indoctrinating them. 73% of America is dissatisfied with public school education. I watched the school board meeting about a survey commissioned for school climate and exclusivity awareness and response to hate speech. Of course, there's no such thing as hate speech. There's either free speech or there's not free speech. Progress in cultural awareness, conversations on race,

034engagement and belonging, school culture and climate, sense of belonging, equity advisory committee, student equity council. That sounds like something out of the Maong Red Guard. Attracting AfricanAmerican educators, favoring one race over another. That's the definition of racism. But not once was math, science, progress in physics, reading, literature, mentioned or surveyed. We want our children to be engineers, technicians. We don't want them to be indoctrinated LA rioters throwing bricks at police officers. You must end DEI in your schools. I'm done. Thank you. Next comments. Our next comment is from Rowan Kelly. Good evening. Hello school board members and superintendent. My name is Rowan Kelly and I am a rising senior at BHS. I'm representing a group of high school students working with the safe routes to school program in the Samonteo County Office of Education. We

035are seeking your support and establishing a district-wide committee to work with safe routes to school to improve student health and safety. I started working with Safe Routes to School because I was concerned with the lack of students using sustainable transportation methods such as biking or walking to get to school. To determine the reason for this, our group sent out a survey to the entirety of BHS asking students their thoughts and experiences with transportation around school. In total, we got around 75 responses and found that 32% of students cited safety concerns as an obstacle preventing them from biking to school and almost 60% of students believe that the district should be doing more to help students with biking and walking safely to school. Additionally, many students shared their own personal experiences feeling safe on the way

036unsafe on the way to school, often citing the large roads such as Carolyn, El Camino, and California and their response. Another issue that I'm sure you've heard a lot about is the increase in use of ebikes and the increase in accidents that have come along with that. When we asked BHS students about this issue, over 40% of BHS respondents felt unsafe about the students riding ebikes at school with many providing examples of injuries and close calls. Student access to ebikes is fantastic for sustainable transportation, but many of the current measures against ebikes are insufficient, putting both riders and pedestrians at risk. Over 50% of students stated that they want more regulations surrounding ebikes, which is one reason why we believe a safe routes committee must be established to tackle this urgent problem. Right now, the

037improvements to infrastructure, public policy, and other measures around high schools are scattered across the district without a rallying force. For the safety of high school students like us, we need this unified committee to address the issues around walking and biking. Such a committee can comprise administrators, sustainability committee members, other stakeholders in the district and students. This group would collaborate with safe routes and utilize their resources to, among other measures, develop ebike policies, improve traffic around schools, promote biking and walking to school, all while making our schools more sustainable and safer for years to come. This lack of a coordinated response surrounding student safety and transportation endangers and discourages those who are considering walking or biking to school. If the district wants to honor their commitment to the health and safety of its student, there needs

038to be accountability and action taken to solve these issues. We're hoping to meet with Superintendent Booker for further discussion. And as students, we hope that the board will take our thoughts into consideration and work to improve the lives and safety of students and those in our community. Thank you for letting me speak. Thank you. Okay. Item man, uh, communication to the board of trustees. Yes. And before I do that, I'll just I'll follow up with um Rowan because she just asked to meet with me and all that. So I'll follow up uh when we get back in the fall. Um okay. So I wanted to bring to the attention to the board that we received uh from the county office of education. Uh the Sanonteo County off Office of Education has completed its review of

039Sonteo Union High School District's second interim report for the 2425 fiscal year pursuant to ED code 42130. On the basis of our review and analysis, the second interim report approved by the board on March 12th, 2025 appears to reflect adequately the financial and budgetary status of the district and is consistent with the state's criteria and standards. The information and assumptions incorporated in the budget appear reasonable. The district has submitted a positive certification, which means the district has certified it will meet its financial obligations for the current fiscal year and subsequent two fiscal years. Based on information known at the time of this report, the county superintendent concurs with the district's positive certification. So, congratulations again to Mr. Hawkins and his whole uh fiscal team. Really appreciate everyone's work on that. So, I just wanted to

040make the board aware. Thank you. You know, it says on the agenda that it's the um the report on DTEK, but it is in fact the report on the district's finances. Yeah, that's that's incorrect. That's a typo district. Thank you. It's the district's finances. Point of order. Do we have to do anything like with our approving the agenda or anything like that? Like go back and change our vote or anything? No, because you this is an information item only. uh you're not asked to take action on the information provided. Uh it's just a communications uh to the board. Um and I think correcting it in open session just like this suffices. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Item O. Are there any recognitions? None. Okay. Item P, consent agenda. Uh we're uh do any of the trustees

041wish to pull an item from consent for discussion? Yeah, I'd like to pull um item seven and item 20. I just have a quick comment on both. No, no questions, but a a quick comment for both item seven and item 20. And if there are no other items to be pulled, I'll I'll make a motion to approve the rest of the other items. But I'll pick it. Okay, we have a motion and a second to adopt the consent agenda less item seven and item 20. All in favor? I I Okay, item seven, appointment to member to the Yeah, thank you. I just want to make a quick comment. I I usually attend all the meetings for the committee, oversight committee for measure O and L and I just want to say that this is a

042wonderful group. They're very dedicated and I just wanted to welcome it looks like we're approving a new person. So, Miss Tara Pratt, I wanted to welcome her to the committee and and welcome to the committee and just acknowledge her because it is a lot of work. Thank you for joining the committee. Okay, we want to act on this item. I'd like to motion to make a motion to approve it. I'll second. Sorry. We we have a motion and a second. Uh any discussion? Can I can I just make a comment real quick? Thank you, Trusty Chavez, for your dedication to that committee. I always can tell how much you enjoy it. So, thank you because of the great people there, our our community. I'm sorry. Forgive me. Emotional. Okay, we got a motion and a

043second there. No comments online. There's no comments in person. Okay. All in favor? I I Item passes 40 O. Item 20. Go ahead. Go ahead. Item 20 is the approval of Shmushe with Kora. I just wanted to remind everybody that Kora is as you can see from the agenda um the community overcoming relationship abuse is a domestic violence prevention and organization in the se county of Sonteo. Um and it is also for our youth. Uh, and that's why we have anou because it's also for our students and it's available to all sites um, all of our school sites. And I just want to make sure that everybody knows that's available. Uh, they they have educational workshops on topics such as consent, healthy relationships, setting boundaries uh, to to equip our youth in Santo County. So,

044I just wanted everybody to know that that's available. Doesn't matter what school site you're at, that's available and I'm pretty sure it's confidential. But just wanted to make sure everybody's aware of that because I know we often approve the consent items and tonight we have 25 items and and I do agree that most of the items don't need to be pulled. I just wanted to pull to make this comment and um I'm just grateful that our district is partnering with CO and that we have thisou. Thank you. Thank you. That was good comment. Okay. You going to make a motion? There's no other comments to make. Okay. Okay, I'll make a motion to approve item 20. Second. Okay, we have a motion and a second on item 20. Uh, any comments? Any online comment? There

045are none. Okay. All in favor? I I passes 4 and uh special reports and appearances. Thank you. So, uh, tonight we have an amazing team with us, uh, to present on a new initiative that we are proposing entitled Empower Sonteo. I am I'm not going to steal any of the thunder. I'm going to let them explain it all, but I just want to let you know how proud I am of this team, how proud I am of the efforts so many of you have made to bring this fruition. and not just over the last several months, but over the last several years as a natural progression from uh an empowerment through action program at Hillsdale High School. To me, you know, this is my I'm completing my third year as superintendent. Um, this is a

046massive capstone for me, this initiative, and I am so grateful for all of your work how this initiative is really trying to address our most vulnerable students and families. I couldn't be more proud. Uh, and when the district hired me, uh, specifically, you talked to me and you continue to talk to me about moving the needle on our most marginalized students, the ones that are struggling the most. This is the program. The data shows it. Uh, I I'm putting my plug in now. I hope you approve it. Um, and I'm really excited for the presentation. So, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to everyone else who worked on it. Thank you. Uh really really amazing and Brett is a bulldog on this. I really appreciate it and I know Jeff is

047uh we're bringing him on board. I think uh Jeff Gilbert he couldn't be in town so he is on. Thanks. He's on board. Okay Brett, it's all yours, man. Thank you. Superintendent Booker, district leadership, board of trustees. Thank you. Uh I do want to acknowledge uh to Superintendent Booker's uh point, we have an amazing team here. Ivon Shu, uh, Samia Shman, Ed Cand, Jesse Boyce, and I didn't realize it until they were sitting here that we all were walking the halls of Hillsdale around 20078, uh, working together. So, it's awesome to be back. Uh, good evening again. My name is Brett Stevenson. I'm the dean of students and co-executive director of a program at Hillsdale High School called Empowerment Through Action. We are here tonight to present a five-year initiative called Empower Samato. Our principal

048Jeff Gilbert and our colleague Rachel Lauderdale could not be here tonight. Both are on muchdeserved vacations. If Jeff was here tonight, um, hi Jeff. He would inevitably talk about the moral imperative of taking a moonshot for our students, especially our students who are furthest from opportunity. Everyone in this room tonight knows that every student at every high school in our district possesses inherent strengths or what our student success coordinator, Dawn Mitchell, calls our superpowers. We also know that it's not from a lack of ability that holds a student back, but rather a lack of opportunity or coordinated support. Seven years ago, the board approved a $30,000 innovation grant so Hillsdale could launch a tier 2 pilot program called Empowerment Through action for 60 students living on the margins in our community. 7 years ago, we

049identified an implementation team of 12 adults made up of administrators, certificated and classified staff, a member of IBW, and our youth service officer at the time, Lupe Mahia. Today, ETA consists of over 200 students, 30 adult mentors, trainer restorative practices, and trauma literacy. This year we had close to 200 volunteers. Some are here tonight. Um who walk through our doors to support families experiencing food insecurity by volunteering at our peace pantry, community garden, community closet or supported with fundraising efforts and who help place students in summer internships and jobs. In the last seven years, ETA and Hillsdale's raised close to $2 million to support students and families who struggle with the weight of the high cost of living in our community. I tell you this not to boast. but to share with you that the

050collective compassion, generosity, and power of the people living and working in our Satan and Foster City communities is strong beyond words. Steve Kerr, the great coach of the Golden State Warriors, I'm a longtime high school basketball coach, always talks about strength and numbers. Empower Sanonteo allows community members and educators from Hillsdale, Aragon, Bridge, Sonteo, and Abbott Middle School under the leadership of Paul Bzer to work and collaborate together to ensure that every student has the opportunity and support to fully realize their strengths and superpowers. Empower Sanonteo hopes to become in the next five years a grassroots and community-based movement that invi invites in all of our Sanato foster city feeder schools while trying to connect the public and private sectors to work together to harness the power and resources needed to ensure that all students

051and families have the opportunities and support needed to thrive in Sonteo and Foster City. This is definitely a moonshot, folks. Next slide. See if they'll help us in the back. There we go. Fantastic. Thank you. Thanks, guys. I already kind of spoke um about the opportunity gap. That's what we were focused on seven years ago when we launched this pilot program. But I do want to say it's really important uh for all of us to recognize the incredible cost of living for our families here in Sonteo County. Uh the poverty line for a family of four in Sanonteo County is $148,000. And so I think with that comes an opportunity gap and we have to think about that as our north star uh moving forward and how do we close that opportunity gap for for

052all students uh in in Sono and Foster City. I'd like to have my colleague and uh former boss Ivon Shu come on up. Um you're up next. So, it is a privilege to be invited um to join um Hillsdale, my former stomping grounds um on this um endeavor. Um I think we have long complained how difficult it is to collaborate with our feeder schools as we um do not have the advantages of a unified school district. Um however, Hillsdale High School has seen the benefits of this collaboration in service of our rising students. We all yearn for something more, something that is bigger than us. And there are universal values that re resonate with us. They include community, meaning, purpose, identity, and contributions. These values are aligned with the five key pillars that have been

053identified that improve the outcomes for our atrisisk youth. By starting the outreach in our middle schools, we gain three more years of mentoring and support for these students. Empower Sanonteo has the capacity to unleash students potential, meeting them where they are now, and helping them realize their dreams and goals. This partnership has been something that we have all been waiting for, and Samonteo High School is looking forward to starting this partnership through the collaborative work. Thank you. Next slide, please. So, before we talk to you a little bit about what empowerment site is as a proposal and what ETA has been at Hillsdale High School, um I want to just acknowledge uh Mr. Simmons during his LCAP presentation talked a lot about the tier one and tier 2 interventions that exist um within our district.

054What I have found uh at the school site level is that tier one work is growing in our school district. Um there are more opportunities to retake assessments. The flex period is wonderful for students. Advisory at Hillsdale is um very very supportive. But while those are necessary parts of our educational system, they are not sufficient. And so we need robust tier 2 and tier three interventions such as empowerment site to support our students. I am also an ETA group leader at Hillsdale High School and I have been for the last three years. I sit with a group of nine young men weekly with my co-leader Mr. Zach Wood and uh it is one of the greatest kind of portions of my day. within that we we meet weekly and then on the outside you'll hear

055about all the wonderful enrichment uh opportunities that exist within the empowerment through action um uh container. I would ask that as you listen to the components of the proposal to think about this tier 2 and tier three intervention through the lens of academics, social emotional learning and behavior because at Hillsdale as Mr. Cand is going to share. We've seen very positive results in all three domains for all participants. And now I'd like to invite up Mr. Canada. Thank you. Um Ivonne referred to the five key pillars and so these are five things and but each one of them is very complex which causes um a series of people to work with our students. One of them is after school tutoring. It could be also academic support coordinating uh personalized learning plans for each of the

056students looking what they're uh failing or they need help in how are they going to do that are they going to office hours so that's part of the bigger academic support uh weekly mentoring uh we referred to the 30 stu 30 uh trained leaders in restorative and trauma informed and so they go to PDS uh once a month and they work with our students and we refer to uh potentially in the future sixth grade, but imagine in sixth grade breaking down those walls, connecting with students and walking them through what they need to navigate all those years. You build that trust and then even more so um you develop that trust where you can help them with what they need um moment to moment. So that's the weekly mentoring enrichment activities which will we could

057explain more in the next slide but those enrichment activities are a lot of them that are hard to access for our students um because of funding or because of their qualifications and so sports um or just hands-on activities. Um we're thinking about bringing lash tech. These um are things that students are interested in and then they find that they actually can do them, learn skills and then become more of an asset in our in the workforce. Uh bridge support into Hillsdale and then bridge support out. So in the middle schools, we're out there connecting with these students and already doing groups. And on the other side is the seniors helping them transition to whatever career plan they end up developing and following through with that career plan. And as a counselor, we see how difficult

058that is. We have summer melt following up with students, walking them through whatever obstacle. So, um, it's essential. And this is our first year where we're actually going to have our bridge coordinator at Hillsdale meet up with the students who are at CSM to make sure that they followed through and then help out with whatever um, remaining items they have left on their task to do. And then you see the result. So, you see the numbers. 94% of our ETA participants at Hillsdale in 2024 graduated and in comparison to the 79% with a similar background. Um you see that 75% they are they feel more confident and 78% have learned positive ways to respond to stress and that's because of everyone in our um in ETA being trauma informed and working on restorative. And then

059you see the 1.5% which is uh is we're it's never we're never totally proud until it's 0% where students can complete um their high school diploma at Hillsdale. Um but we've seen it go down and we really feel is because of that relational trust that we have built over time. Next slide. So this slide here and we want to point out in the middle we have our students and our students are what drives it. Um at the top you see the mentor. So they develop relationship with a trusted mentor at least three times a month where they are going to talk about themes that are across um similar across and at different times of the year that just particularly happens when it's Thanksgiving and we're talking about gratitude or um develop you know your community

060supporting your community. And then around it you see the different um the different things that they may need. Not all students need all of it. and um tutoring. It could be um getting them connected to a job. I've been working on internships and it's just so hard. You see one barrier and then they're done. You call them. You need to follow up with them. So, um but when they do follow through and you see them thrive because they realize they have these skills that they always had um but they couldn't see it in themselves. And then that opens up all these doors. Um we also you know Sam Sammy is here and as the ML counselor at Hillsdale with seniors sometimes they don't complete at Hillsdale but because of their need to work and their

061need or whatever in their home life and sometimes we connect them with Samia and I've seen her take our students on um and do even more tailored tailored um structure for them. And so I'm gonna let her talk about what they do at Bridge. Talk about what we do at Bridge, but kind of more holistically. I think when you look and think about wraparound services, it should have not taken a pandemic, but I think it did take the pandemic for us to realize how much our students and families rely on us uh for more than just delivering an education. I think many families need us for all the services it takes to get to school and be able to focus and take advantage of that education, whether that's food from the peace pantry or clothes

062from the community um closet or just a person to connect with. And it really wasn't until I had come here and taken on the district of the district role of manager of EL programs for a few years that I finally really deeply understood like why I personally didn't grow up doing all the activities I wanted to be part of Girl Scouts and sports. It wasn't cuz my parents didn't want me to. They just didn't know how to access those things. our families need support accessing um these types of activities. Even if they did know about those kinds of things, sometimes it's hard to sign up or you know all of the things that our kids get to do. If I left it to my husband, my kids probably would not do much of anything because

063like my parents, he didn't grow up here and doesn't know all the systems. And so I think when you look at all of the potential pieces of Empower San Monteo, not every kid needs everything. Some kids need all of it and some kids need one or two. But I think the access and opportunity our district under really your leadership has been able to provide to students has really been transformative. And we see that at Bridge, which with the enrichment activities, with having a newcomer transition counselor who has every single one of our kids is enrolled at CSM or Skyline. We had our first kid win a scholarship this year because we have a person that helps them through that process. And then personally as a member of this community who lives here and is served

064by this district, as a community member and parent, I'm thrilled about the opportunity uh to be part of this. I'm glad our district is partnering partnering with the middle schools to make more of a connection. I think it's going to help students and their families thrive. And I think you all know our particular school is anchored in the ideas of love, hope, and justice. I believe all of our schools believe in those ideas and I think offering this program and all of these services is what those ideas actually look like in real life. Next slide please. So, we wanted to share with you I mean there's a there's a a resource ask and your support behind a pretty significant initiative here and we wanted to make sure that we shared with you that this was

065not something you know that we thought of in March. Um, empowerment through action has been in existence at Hillsdale High School since 2018. We've been partnering uh with Abbott Middle School for roughly the last three years. In its infancy, in the 2018 pilot, it really it surfaced out of needs. Students needing the opportunity to process trauma, the opportunity to have an adult on campus demonstrate care and monitor their academic progress. And then the second step there, what you see today, which you know, circa 2021 or 22, empowerment through action at Hillsdale became a very aligned set of structures. The curriculum became consistent across all of our groups. We started holding parent nights. We had systems for attendance. We were outreaching with our eighth graders in their uh second semester. Holding largecale um assemblies where they

066learned about the opportunities. And that alignment now leads us to the future which we hope to have the opportunity to broaden for a thousand plus at promise students potentially one of the most important I don't want to be naive but I am optimistic. Most people know that about me. Youth initiatives in the city of Sanonteo in decades. And if we're able to grow the number of students we're serving, we will also be able to deepen the work that we're doing. We're going to learn from our middle school partners. We're going to learn from each other as high school um sites. And I think there's also the opportunity to gather uh greater uh community partnerships because of the number of youth that we're serving in a more continuous fashion. The last thing I'd like to share

067before I uh pass the next slide is while there is a resource request within this proposal and it is a significant one. We allocate a lot of resources to support students and close opportunity gaps already. It has been my observation at Hillsdale High School that our student success coordinator is better situated to have a more positive impact because of ETA. our ML specialist has more access to understanding the interventions that students are experiencing. And so I think that not only will we allocate resources if proposed, I think we will better uh see the impact of those uh resources. Thank you. Next slide. Okay, I want to take you through some of the specific details. uh as stewards of this program uh we we really have spent a lot of time thinking about how do we

068roll this out over five years. Um as Jesse Boyce mentioned this is seven years uh of work and so we we will go slow and steady. Um kind of that top tier will really focus on how do we train together? How are we in professional development together? How do we um establish uh community agreements and and really develop this team amongst each other in the high schools uh and middle schools to to really work together to support students. And then if you think about the the kind of arc of work that we'll do with students over the course of the year, it's really uh we'll start in August and we'll start with a a PD August 7th and 8th. We'll identify a space on each campus that becomes uh that space, that safe space, that

069brave space for students to meet. And then we'll really work to identify uh the students um that will be in this program for four years. Group leaders make a four-year commitment in working with students. In January, we'll officially kick off groups and we'll be operating at every high school uh in San Monteo uh Foster City. and we'll make sure that um by May we'll really have a first co cohort of students who are coming from eighth grade into ninth grade at our schools. And then we'll do a bridge camp right around May's day on our high school campuses. We'll do two full days with students who will be incoming ninth graders to make them feel like VIPs on our campus. And then we will add a grade level each year for the next five years.

070Um, in years three, four, and five, I think we really have to think about how do we start to add the wraparound support around addressing food insecurity, adding community closets, um, those other essential elements. Next slide, please. I think this is what we've learned. Um, to Samia's point about postcoid is of really how strong the Sono foster city community is and how we stand together. I think there's so many entities and people and organizations that will work together and that should be our goal. It should be the board's goal, superintendent's goal, our goal of really how do we bring in all these folks, all these providers in our community to really support students and families and I think the potential is great and we've already established a number of partnerships um that that are serving

071our students and families. Next slide, please. So funding uh really we're we're going to think about uh a grant that um we're proposing tonight. It'll be on the next slide. I'll identify the grant and then also financial support from uh our ETA nonprofit. So 25 26 school years will really be two years to build the foundation for this program. And I I think the foundational pieces will build success for years 3, four, and five. And I and I think as we proceed over a 5-year period, we have to picture that day around 2030, we have to take the long view on this that we potentially will have a thousand students in San Mo and Foster City in in this initiative, Empower Sonteo. Uh, next slide, please. And so, uh, Randall, if you want to speak

072to the grant, um, I can speak to the ETA nonprofit. So, as part of the uh governor's proposed budget, we're seeing a student support and professional development discretionary block grant uh come through, and we're proposing to use a good portion of that grant over the next two years to help seed this program um along partnership with uh the ETA nonprofit existing funds and then using these two years and the development of this program uh to then do a significant ificant outreach to private and public partnerships to um get us at least as from the district because this is this professional uh discretionary block grant is one-time funds to get us weaned off of that grant and hooked on to uh professional and private partnerships. But I was going to hand it over to Yansy a

073little bit. Any other additional details about that block grant that's coming through? Uh no, just uh just to note that uh based on the legislaturator's proposal and the governor's proposal, which are a little bit different, uh it would use a majority if not all of the legislaturator's uh funding. Um or the governor's it would use about half of that funding. So we'll know uh in uh July. uh but this $935,000 investment should be covered by either of the proposals that are out there right now. Right? So, in other words, not general fund um as a way to pilot and seed this initiative. And I I do want to add that um Sammy Ivonne uh Mike Jones at Aragon have done an excellent job of identifying um key members of their staff uh that will serve

074on the implementation teams. teams. And I think what's been most heartening in this work at Hillsdale, it's really brought together administrators, certificated, classified to share this work. We work together. Uh we've even had Julia Kempkkey uh serve as a group leader in ETA. So it's it's it's really a community effort, which has been nice. Um next slide, please. And it's for the kids that we're doing this for these particular kids. And I too connect myself. The impact on me. I was born in Satale Mills Hospital downtown. They don't they're not born there anymore, but I was born there. I went to Parkside, Parkside, East Side San. I went to Bayside. After that, my mom had a transfer. I remember she had to take the bus. Back then it was called the 43N. And she didn't

075know how to do it, but she had to figure out how to get over here and then do the transfer paperwork because you did that all on paper and in person. And so I know the challenges. I'm also uh ML too. My parents spoke a different language in home. And so I just knew what it was like to see and to access these enrichment programs. And so for us to pay attention to these students in a very intentional way and now we're going to back it up with money and we're doing starting in Samontale and hopefully we're doing it in San Bruno Milbury Berling game all there's students everywhere needing this but these are the kids that fall through the cracks because of that because we don't we don't collaborate we don't coordinate we don't

076make them a priority and and Julia you know you had the group you know you have to remind them to come then when they come you have you have to get through whatever those walls are and that's just the kid and sometimes you have to break that in order to get to the parent and then they have to follow through. So we have to be resilient as the adults so that they can be resilient and then they can thrive. And so yes, we're trying to affect a thousand students, a thousand students across um San Monteo at all the different levels and start that work very intentional and it develop that trust over that period of time. um it's going to result. We know it is because we're talking to them. They're going to tell us

077what is in the way of not graduating um and why they're acting up or whatever is causing the suspension. So, we're going to reduce those suspensions, increase graduation. Um we're going to make sure students have that p now that they know them. They they the the walls down. We find out who they really are in our groups. We find the right people to connect them and then now start doing stuff in the world, learn about it, reflect again, and then grow from it. What we do with our own children, we're doing it with these students, and now they have a clearer u and identified path and plan for what they do. I do this. I see it every day. I have my kids who have college counselors and I'm helping them and I want to

078support them, too. But these other ones, you have to start from the very beginning and then remind them again and remind them again because the intervention just handing it to them. It's the followup over a long period of time. And then um and this one you may not see in a result in a a stat, but them being more self-confident and knowing how to manage their stress and knowing that they're going to get through it and overcoming those fears and knowing that they have trusted people that they can count on. I think that's what makes a difference. Um, next slide. Before we go to the video, um, these are seniors now who have gone through four years of this potentially. We're we're thinking now starting in sixth grade. So maybe they can u be even

079more articulate. But we feel like these students are able to articulate what their experience have been like and what is now the result of having those experiences. and now they've found new things about them that were there the whole time. So, if we could play the video. The most memorable part of ETA is being able to inspire incoming 9th graders about their transition to high school. I remember how afraid I was of entering high school. All I could have asked for was a friend to give me hope for my future. It's so gratifying to be able to be that friend for these incoming 9th graders. ETA helped me learn that I can be a leader. And before ETA, I thought I reached my full potential as a student. But ETA showed me that I had

080a lot to learn. And as a culture keeper, I learned how to teach the importance of education to youth and how to be a thoughtful listener. ET also showed me that as a leader, it's showed me that a leader is someone who wants to inspire by setting a good example. A piece of advice I'd give my younger self is to never dim your own light to match others shine. Embrace your full potential and be unafraid of who you are. My name is Nora and I'm empowered. Eay helped me learn more about myself by loving me like only a mother could. They taught me how to support my community by being everything they taught us from being a leader and making sacrifices and being the best version of myself. They helped me achieve these things. And

081if I could give my younger self advice, I'd say time is short but precious. Don't waste it and don't take advantage of those who love you most. My name is Naki and I'm empowered. And we have several each year where they have these stories and we're lucky enough to be part of it. Um and we hope that we continue to do that and grow it. Um this is something that uh we do anyway. We're doing at our sites without the money. So if it isn't approved, we're going to figure it out because we care about these kids. Um but for us to actually it's called slow playing. Um this is uh but it's something we do and the people who are behind it and that we that that it starts at these other sites I

082think it's going to draw them to it because they see the heartwork, they see the connections. So um with that we're opening up to questions. I just want to thank the group so much. Thank you for all your effort, your faith, your work on this. Uh I I really appreciate it. Two two things I want to say. One, this fits right in line with my district-wide goal of, you know, student all students thriving. But I would say just as important what I mean, the data convinced me, don't get me wrong, that the data convinced me that this is a program worth pursuing. But I think more importantly where this hit home for me and and I appreciate Samia how you talked about access. Listen, I'm a super privileged dude. Super privileged. But growing up, uh,

083being a young parent of two special needs kids, me and my wife at the time, we had no idea what we were doing. And we had little to no access to to anything because we didn't know how to support a 2-year-old or a three-year-old with a helmet. Um, we didn't know how to talk to CPS when they came to our house because the neighbors thought our kids were in danger cuz they were flopping themselves on the ground. And those are the kind of special needs we had to work with. And I wish we had help. We didn't have any help. And it wasn't until we found a community to help us like this that my kids started to thrive. And so when I kind of layer my own experience, and it's not apples to apples,

084I get it. But when I layer my own experience to to the kinds of needs we had and my kids had back then to what we're seeing our families and our students needing, I was sold. Absolutely sold. So, um, we're welcoming all kinds of questions. Um, but we are really excited about this and like I said, this is an absolute capstone for the last three years worth of work. So, okay, come on, Brett. No, I was going to say before we get to questions, um, and superintendent hijacked the whole deal, but that's good. I mean, I think this is one of those items that's that's supported by I think pretty much anybody who ever saw it. Um, but you know, the board has a tendency to pile on and draw this thing out. I, you

085know, we love good news. We love great proposals. I want to see if we can be crisp on this and uh, you know, get you and uh, Mr. Kinatada, the closer. I'm not sure he's the closer yet. He needs to he needs to work on that close there. Anyway, um who wants to start? I'll start, please. Sure. Um yeah, I'm on the same wavelength as Superintendent Booker. Um community is important and that's how I think who it's who shows up for the kids. Um it reminds me I went to this event this week um talking about like who showed up for them as kids. Um and it was a gentleman that had now become a professor and it was just really interesting some of the things he was saying because of the parallels. Um, Superintendent

086Ooa was there and he talked about how when he was young, uh, moving around a lot because of different, you know, parental incarceration and stuff like that, but it was who showed up for him and, you know, and look where they are now, right? um each and every one of you. I think knowing all of you, you always show up and that is super important and that is what makes this program so valuable is your leadership. Um and the collaboration with other organizations. Um I have some questions. Um so which CBOS do you all work with? Um, aside from um I think Second Harvest, right? Um, what other CBOS do you work with? Uh, we've worked with Satale Police Activities League, Each each Green Corner, Second Harvest Food Bank, um, IBW, um, is one of

087our primary supporters, not a nonprofit, but um, very supportive of the work that we're doing. Great. No, that and I asked that because of their resource development. And so you're talking about, you know, aside from getting the, you know, a grant or getting um like one-time money, like what is what is your um your plan to sustain and then also to continue to bring in money into the program um to sustain it for years to come? It's a great question. We've uh been hustling for seven years and it hasn't been easy and uh that type of uh sustainability is not always linear. And I think the plan is to really um think about the potential partnerships that exist. Think about the companies that are just right here in San Monteo, Foster City. How do we

088work with the city? How do we work with the county? How do we work with highwealth individuals that want to support programs and students and families that are in empowerment through action? What are where are the grants? where do those exist? How do we work with Silicon Valley Community Foundation? Um, how do we partner with Sama? So, I think it's really about coalition building. And again, I I can't emphasize this enough. This is going to be on all of us. I mean, I just I I have to be clear that this is a strength and numbers game. And uh I think together with the folks in Sonteo High School and in their community, um Aragon's community, Foster City, Bridge Community, we're all connected to people. We just have to bring all those folks together to

089fund this program and to provide the resources and support our students and families deserve. Yeah. No, that's excellent. Lastly, can you just explain how people can get more involved? And like I I like your um like the monthly giving without even feeling it because it gets you know directly deposited. So like things like that. How do people get vulnerable? So we have a no shame in the game mantra. Um you can volunteer um any time that you have. Uh Trustee Jacobson's one of our dedicated volunteers at our peace pantry Friday mornings. Um our community garden, our closet. We need tutors. We need folks working on our donor fund. I think people with expertise, they don't always have to give dollars. We appreciate the dollars, but they might have a skill that they bring to our

090students, families, or to our team. So really, um, I think we continue to promote and it feels amazing now to spread this to Sonteo Foster City and start to lean into the wisdom that exists in those school communities as well. Great. Being nonprofit leadership, I have some ideas for you. Yeah. There's a particular uh group that I think will be good for you all. Thank you. Trusty Chavez. I didn't even raise my hand, but I guess uh you can pass. No, I won't pass. I want to say thank you to everybody who spoke. Everybody, you guys were all uh you guys could all be excellent closers and and also what is it called? Beginning beginners. Openers. Openers. There you go. See, I'm I'm bad at sports. Um, but no, thank you for the presentation and

091I've been to the Peace Pantry a couple of times and I and I want to get to know learn more about the other programs. Um, I just think everything listed here, tutoring, mentoring, enrichment activities. I I just think the entire program is wonderful and and that's an understatement. Wonderful. But and I'm really excited to see the the public and private partnerships because I know you like you just said, you've worked seven years about that time, right? And getting this up and running and and working to get the uh financial backing and and I just think that's amazing. I think I mean I'll just share a little bit. I know we want to be crisp. Um some of you guys know that I I came home from kindergarten. I was you know a young lad. No,

092I'm just kidding. A young lad. I'm just kidding. Lass. Is that a young lass? Whatever. Whatever. I mean, there was no internet. Obviously, there was nothing like that because I'm almost as old as Mr. Trusty Griffin, but not quite. Almost. So, there was no internet, but my but when I came home, um my family said we were going to live in our car for I don't know how long it was. You know, my sister was 10 and I was five, but I think it was for four months. And then we landed uh at a convolescent uh home in Modesto and we shared a room in the back. So, I don't know how legal that was. So, don't turn us in. So, but I really like the big kitchen. I remember that because there was food.

093I just think my parents didn't know what opportunities were out there for support. Um, and I just feel like I'm very grateful to be here today and um and I have a a place that I can call home. That's not that's not a vehicle, but we have a lot of folks in our community. I know I get emotional. We have a lot of folks in our community and a lot of folks with children in our community that are living out of their uh cars vehicles and we have families that are just one paycheck away from living on the streets, you know, and so um this is really important, very near and dear to my heart. I'm I'm sorry um for getting a little emotional, but thank you for all the work you you you guys

094all collectively do and it means a lot to me from a personal level and also as a trustee. Thanks. Sorry, try to be crisp. Don't apologize. Don't apologize for being emotional. Trusty Jacobson. Well, I think you guys already know that I'm a fan. Um, I want to thank Brett, especially you invited us out. Well, I think I was the only one that came to uh experience the program at Hillsdale to meet with the students and and the mentors and see the space. And you know, I've been out to the peace pantry um lots of times and I just think that the collaboration with the community and leveraging all of these helping hands who who you know we have people in our community who who want to help and you know take advantage of that, leverage

095that and um you know students are part of that task force as well. Um, I like that. Uh, I like the data. Like Superintendent Booker said, you have data to back up what you're what you're doing and the positive results. Um, I'm trying to think what else. I like the five pillars and how it's, you know, we're addressing all aspects of the needs through um academics and social emotional and you know temporal needs through the community closet and peace pantry all of it. Um, I hope that we can get secure the funding to to carry it forward and expand. Um, but I'm happy to support the grant, you know, at this time. Thank you. Hey, I got a couple of quick questions and you know and I I have been out there and I've seen

096it and it was, you know, it was really, you know, it was a a really compelling story, you know, like seeing seeing it, seeing the students and stuff. It's it's compelling, you know, the things and I've got a couple points and one question on the um is is empowerment through action legally a nonprofit? We're a 501c3 as of uh August of 2024. Oh, good. Okay. Yeah, because it hadn't been I was just curious because we we were under the fiscal sponsorship of the Hillsdale Foundation. Uh and then in August we became our own 501c3. So, yeah, you can go out there and raise all kind of funds now hopefully. So, that's the um with this program, what are you going to do about demand? because there's probably going to be a demand that may outstrip

097your capacity. How do you I mean, how do you gauge a thousand because I think I said a thousand plus. Well, everything north of a thousand is a lot of numbers. So, what's your thoughts on, you know, um managing it or how do you keep control? Because sometimes you get too many students and it's hard to, you know, your plan doesn't doesn't work. So, yep, good question. I I think when you think of um MTSS, multiple tiered systems of support, kind of at that tier 2 level, which is where uh empower Sanonteo will sit, I think 10 to 15% of your enrollment is the sweet spot. Uh and I I think supporting that population of students um that total number uh I think is the is the right number. And then we just have to

098trust that we have tier one that exists in all of our schools. and we've really worked hard on MTSS in our district to make sure that we're supporting the other 90 to 85% of our students. I I think on our end, obviously, we're making a commitment uh in working with all of the schools on the implementation side. When I say we, that's that's our implementation team that started seven years ago at Hillsdale. Uh, and the folks behind me, uh, I'm telling you, if I were to bet on anyone, it'd be the leaders at these other schools because, um, they're the ones that can inspire the folks and continue to inspire the folks, um, to to carry this work. So, um, I I think we've got a great team, um, to to really build capacity in

099this. And the other question it has to do with the the funding we got we have details for 25 26 and 26 27 we run the program out for like five years. Um do we have money for 5 years or we only have money for two years? We have money for two years. Okay. To get this program started. Why I asked them to develop uh a program out to five years is we need something to show private and public investors uh how this could roll out. Yeah. Uh to be very specific with the funds that are needed at the time. Now, two years from now, who knows what California school budget will look like, what other grants might be available, but at the very least, we have two years guaranteed if approved uh to seed

100the program, support the program, and to be able to go out into the community, uh asking for support. And a lot of times these private foundations, they want to see first us, then them. Yes. Right. Show us that it's working. Uh it gives us time to build some data. Um, so we're going to remain hopeful. Well, you know, and I'm I'm, you know, I I just ask questions like that because I think it it needs to be on the table, but I think while we're looking forward to this program, boy, we got to hit the decks. We just got to start running. I mean, you know, the And I think that's why the timeline that they presented is so aggressive. Yeah. Uh, and this is why I'm grateful for our partners here and online because

101they jumped on quick. Yeah, I mean doing anything in education quick is rough. And I'm really appreciative of our principles and our team, they jumped on quick. I mean, you know, the we've got to get out there and get to all the Rotary and Lions Clubs and everything out there, all the service clubs, you know, the foundations. I was on a foundation at Sanonteo School Boards Association, you know, all those groups. Well, you know, and the unfortunate part is governments are really not in very good shape these days. Not that they would throw a nickel or you know, whatever. And but uh you know, so there's a sense of urgency and I'm sure you guys are going to start twisting arms just as as soon as you can. So um you know the other question

102just had to do with the professional development and how do you envision professional development over junior high or elementary and high school? What kind of development are you kind of you know is it grade appropriate? Is it sort of tracked to different types of services and supports or what is how does that work? Yeah it's a great question. So, I think we made the decision that um we're going to be rooted in restorative practices and trauma literacy. And so, all of our PD is is centered around that work. Um and then we design circles uh for students that are age appropriate. So, there's often a monthly theme. And then if you're in ninth grade, uh the circle is meeting the development age of that student. Same thing with seniors. Same thing with eighth graders. And

103so I think then there's just the facilitation of groups, right? And one of the things that we've found with empowerment through action, uh, especially through the trauma literacy work is that as adults, we have to take care of ourselves in this work. And so it's that concept of, um, having our adults make sure they're putting on their oxygen mask first before they can help other people. And so it it also tends to the adults doing this work, which I think is makes this sustainable. Um, and so it's this really holistic approach to professional development. Okay. Well, I u those are my questions. I I I have to ask the harder ones because of the uh I mean, you know, you have to deal with the realities to make it successful. I mean, it's a it's

104a great story. Now, we got to underpin it with financial support. And I would hope that if we can approve this that we'll we will hear annual you know we got at least an annual report or a Friday report. Oh yeah. Um or we'll be out there volunteering or something. So any more questions? Just have a quick comment. Um so I know it's summertime right now. Now, we might not have a large group watching this meeting like we normally do, but I but I'm I'm really um not impressed is in the right word, but I'm really grateful that you worked really hard to get the 501c3 status because there's some like my employer will match when I donate to a 501c3. So, I think if if we just get that message out to our community

105who wants to maybe some folks have donated but they're not aware that it's a 501c3 right now because it was just it's been just been a little under a year and then you know like I'm I'm looking forward to donating so that my employer could match it, right? So, I think just getting that word out. Um it'll be maybe easy to put that word out. I'm not sure but I know I mean folks listening to the meeting, but I mean I'm sure you're going to put it you probably already have it in a bulletin. I just probably missed it. That's so important for your resource development. That's like you don't you know that way you don't collect the just the not that the small dollars don't matter too but the larger uh that's going to

106sustain you. Yeah. I do want to say Rachel Lauderdale deserves a ton of credit. I mean the hours and hours she spent um for sure building out our nonprofit. Yes. It's not easy to become a 51c. That's she deserves a lot of credit. That's a huge lift and I'm really grateful for that because you're going to get more more um partner partnerships, more uh corporate sponsors or corporate donations, but also even a small donation um can be doubled if your if your employer matches it. Yeah, they typically match 501c3 donations. That's why I'm really excited. Thank you. Are there any there's no blue cards that I see. Are there any online raised hands? There are none. Okay. I think we we uh we're looking for a motion. I move to approve the grant for the

107program. I second. We have a motion and a second. All in favor? I The item passes 4 Z. And that was a great presentation. Excellent. A great close. Okay guys, good luck. looking back on my script. Okay. Uh any items? Oh. Oh, yeah. El Supreo. Currently there's no construction. We'll move on to uh item S. Uh the consent agenda vision of human resources. Right. We have the personnel actions and a revision to the department head job description. Department chair job description. Any questions or comments? If there are none, I move to approve the HR consent agenda. I'll second that. Okay, we have a motion and a second. Um, are there any comments um online? There are none. Okay. All in uh all in favor? I I the item passes 4. We'll move on to the

108division of human resources. The the first item is the personnel action addendum. There's no special recommendations or recognitions. We recommend approval. Any comments or any discussion? I'll move to approve. Okay. A second. We have a motion and a second. No blue cards or any online comments? There are none. Okay. Um, all in favor? I. I. Okay. Then T2. Yes. The second item is a TOSSA teacher on special assignment position at the adult school and it's intended to provide professional development, coaching and instructional leadership to the staff at the adult school. Uh they'll model researchbased teaching uh and how to integrate curriculum and provide um objectives for teachers and analyze student data to inform instructional strategies and it will be paid out of the adult school funds. Are there any questions or comments? I'll move to

109approve the position. I'll second that. Okay, we have a motion and a second. Are there any online comments? There are none. Okay. All in favor? I I the motion passes 40. Um approval of lead coordinator for student equity council. Yes. Description. Okay. So this position is a uh stipen position and it will coordinate three major events throughout the school year um such as and you know there'll be a beginning and a midyear and an ending event and it will assist schools with their site goals. A couple examples are the humanizing Aragon campaign to combat hate speech. the alumni project at at Berling game and the work to create wellness activities at Cappuccino are examples that this uh position would help um facilitate and it's uh the position is intended to assist with enhancing a sustainable

110model of student engagement and leadership. I have a question. Do we have a current person doing this? No, this is a new role. Previously, we had an outside consultant doing the trainings for students. So now our coordinators feel this is now the fourth year that we're going to be running the student equity groups and our site coordinators are feeling confident enough that they'll be able to collaborate around it. We just need a lead person to kind of coordinate the events and support the um actual training that the students will go go through. So in the past it's been an outside contract, right? Um, right. So, okay. We're just internalizing it and making it sustainable in that way. Great. I move to approve the job description. I second. So, we have a motion, a second. I

111have a question. How do we determine that that stipen of 8,000? We take a look about how much time we think will go into coordinating the three different events. um we have a fairly good idea for different um similar coordinators on how much time they're going to put into it and try to make the stipen kind of comparable you know amongst the different coordinators and it'll be the first year that we have someone in this position. So we'll reassess from there but based on what we expect the individual to do this is in line with other stipended positions of about this amount. Okay. Okay. I believe we have a motion to second. Are there any comments online? There are none. Okay. Um, all in favor? I I Division of Student Services. Um, no. The Division

112of Instructional Services V1. All right. um before you at the last meeting, you know, you held a public hearing for the um recommended textbooks for biology and physics. So um before you tonight is the approval for these two textbooks. Um I'll take any additional questions if there are any. you know, I did some research on this and now I think I understand um and I don't ask me um it was you know it was there was a clear differentiation and remember I used the term rigor and that you know there's you know if you look at the the research or the comments I could find apparently there is a you know there's there you know there's there's rigor and this class maybe is not there because they are talking about you may need to supplement

113the you know the actual textbook to really build up PE you know people that may want to you know aspire to AP exams and and other things that they're you know I could see based on the descriptions uh you know the learning and you know it's not a bad text you know it's not not a bad textbook. Uh but it it it was really talking about to make it more comprehensive or make it a a more viable book that you may want to supplement it with some other other materials. So and I would say you know based on what you heard from the teacher in you know recommending the book that teachers use the book more as the supplement to what they already are providing to students in terms of their instruction. So yeah, um

114and it's a reference for students. So if they do have questions um textbooks are a lot more impressive, you know, with the interactive nature of the online component and it does work with Canvas, which um is really helpful to teachers as well. But you're right, I think high school teachers always will go above and beyond what a book can provide to students because they are content experts. All of them have at least majored in the subject that they're teaching. Um, and many of them teaching for many years in that subject will go well beyond what a book could provide in terms of their their instruction. Okay. Any other comments? Um, yeah, with the physics book, I know that we have uh teachers and other educators who are a fan of the old one, the Huitt

115book. um and that I understand it has some really good problem sets. Will they still retain any of those uh you know to use going forward? I don't think there was plan to um you know recycle them yet or anything like that. So they would definitely still have access to the book and um oftentimes teachers will use many different resources in tandem. So if a teacher found a lot of those problem sets to be good, I there would be no reason that they wouldn't have access to them. Okay. Okay. We actually if we don't have any more comments, we have a public comment by uh I think it's Dr. David Kristofferson. You have three minutes and do your keep this really brief tonight. I just want to first of all thank Superintendent Booker for meeting

116with me. I really appreciate the time you spent. It's also sort of uh fortuitous that this empower Samonteo item was on the agenda tonight. I think I might like to talk to you further about promoting that. I noticed nobody mentioned Samaritan House by the way. They are I assume working with them. Yeah. Okay. I also I'd like to thank Dr. Kempy for taking the time. I know that was probably not a fun assignment, but I really really do appreciate it. The main thing I talked to Dr. or Superintendent Booker about I was the citizens oversight committee. Whether you do that or not, I would still, if it doesn't go through, I would still just greatly appreciate learning about these things much further in advance than what normally happens. That's my only request. Thank you very

117much. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. There any more any online comments? There are none. Do we have a motion? I move to approve the new textbook. Okay. Is there a second? I'll second that. Okay. We have a motion and a second. All in favor? I. I. Okay. Okay, we have a B2 approval of newcomer English course proposal. So, this course um was created um had a short pilot this spring. It's um in direct response to a really pressing and kind of growing need for um some of our students who are in the 9th to 12th grade specifically um ones that have limited or interrupted formal education, what we refer to as life um multilingual learners who are reading um significantly below grade level. So these are students who are reading below third grade level. Um

118we are working with an organization to support the development of this course. You can see the course outline here. Our teachers right now we have one um we know that we're going to run the course at Bridge Academy and we're hopeful that we'll also provide a section at Cappuccino. Um so that's what's um before you for approval is the um pilot of this course. Any questions from the board? Are there any comments online? There are none. Okay. Um, I'll entertain a motion. I move to approve the newcomer English course. Thank you. I'll second that. We have a motion and a second. All in favor? I I passes 40. Okay. public hearing on the local the LCAP 2526 and local indicators local indicator report public hearing. We do have a presentation a short presentation to go

119along with us. Do you want us to share that before the public hearing? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We're gonna keep it short. Well, you are. No, Brian can talk really fast. So, Brian, be careful though. We've got interpreters. That's right. Oh, it's the other presentation. This is That's Yansies. They're getting there. They look similar. I will just start talking then we can move through the slides. Okay. Um, this is for the local control and accountability plan. Um it's actually a accumulation of presentations throughout the year. Unlike maybe other districts, we do try to present you the ongoing data on um how we're progressing based on our local control and accountability plan. So tonight we'll I'm just going to briefly overview what the LCAP's purpose is. We'll talk about our LCAPS overview. Um what our engagement um

120outreach looked like and our local indicator report which is a part of the required um piece that you'll be approving and then we'll take any questions and feedback and move into the public hearing. Um so as you know the local control and accountability plan actually holds the whole budget. It it includes the three goals that have been part of our LCAP for the last few years. Um, so one of the points of the LCAP is that we're getting money specifically to support, you know, some of the students actually that you just heard about, the ones that would be served through empowerment through um, Sonteo. Um, so what we make sure happens with the LCAP is that it's a local decisions. So we're making our decisions using the money in a way that supports our students

121specifically and then we align that with the budget and student outcomes. Um we have three goals. Safe and connected communities, humanizing education, empowering staff. Um we're going to briefly overview those goals right now with the data that should be review. So all of this data we've previewed throughout the year. I'm going to pass it over to Mr. Simmons to go through this part. Um thanks Dr. Kempy. Uh good evening board members. Um so as as Dr. Kempkkey said, the first goal really is around creating a safe and connected community. You can read the actual goal there itself, but basically we're dedicated to fostering a culture that's welcoming and culturally responsive for our students and families. Um, and we measure that our progress through metrics like suspension and expulsion rates, student survey results and chronic absenteeism.

122This is sort of the school climate, right? Um, sort of element of our of our goals. Um, so we've sort of taken the big kind of high level goals and put them on a slide with sort of all the sort of highle outcomes. Um, again, I'm not going to read them all to you, but broadly speaking, I think, you know, and again, we've reviewed all these in specific detail over the course of the year. There was a fall presentation on on a lot of this stuff around um discipline and um absenteeism. Um but in general, you know, you'll see some of the the sort of traditional unfortunately predictable uh differentials and outcomes, but in general, you know, we see we see uh and I think the big highlight for this year was our was the

123improvements in in um in in students seeing adults addressing hate speech on our campuses, specifically the n-word. Um and we've talked pretty extensively over the course of the year about that particular topic. Um the second goal um is uh really around ensuring that our students participate in learning experiences that are honestly joyful, right? Uplifting and and empowering and that really also validate their identities um and that they learn a lot. Um and so the metrics associated with this particular one really are are kind of the traditional metrics I guess that we have as a district around grad rate which is the most important one right for the our superintendent's you know prime goal is that everyone graduates. um being on track for graduation is the sort of upstream version of that college career readiness etc.

124Um so these are the these are the high level metrics related associated with this particular um goal. Um I would say you know from a highlight perspective um you know we've we've seen uh some real uh some some some small improvements in our in our uh graduation rate which was key. Obviously that is our prime directive as a district. Um we're see and our in our 10th graders on track uh actually was a little bit of an improve improvement from the previous year. Um we we see we definitely need have some work to do with regard to uh the CASP the the math and and language arts assessment and um I do think that our new assessment regime around the map will be helping us with some of that work um on I will say

125that this is also these are all these except for 10th graders on track all of these are required of the state. So the state requires us to publicly document how we're doing on these particular outcomes. Um the third and final goal uh is is the one that's focused really on our staff. Um and this goal really is is is intended to make sure that we're ensuring that our staff have have and use the tools, resources, and training needed to promote a culture of well-being and learning for students. Um and that we've got a lot of kind of key strategies around professional learning and support that we uh and and and increasing the diversity of our staff that are that are rooted in this one. So we have three sort of specific metrics that we call

126out here. There's a couple more in the actual um LCAP, but we pull these three out around teacher profession satisfaction with professional learning. Um recruiting and retaining teachers of color. That 57% is actually the percentage of BIPO educators that were hired teachers that were that were hired um among all of our all of our new staff hire our 58 teachers hired last year. Um and then ultimately these are the two um the two um sense of uh the favorability of of sense of of the positive work climate among our classified and our certificated staff in last year's um panorama survey back in back in the fall and it's similar to the previous year. So the last part of this presentation is uh is required um so I appreciate everybody just bearing with me on this

127quickly. um a a piece of the LCAP uh metrics are that you have local measures that you're paying attention to. So there's this there's the sort of traditional academic and and um and uh disciplinary um metrics, but there's also this need to um address some specific local measures that which really are more like how are you doing at implementing this the state standards and things like that. So the first one is basic services. So the state um as part of the the kind of core requirements of a school district are that you have high-quality facilities uh that you provide every student with the appropriate instructional materials and that you have teachers who are appropriately credentialed. Right? And so for us those that's the data from our 20 our 24 uh the fall of 2024 uh

12825 um Williams report which basically said that we have good or excellent in all of our school sites uh fit reports which is the facilities inspection tool. Um, and you'll be hearing more about that in the fall when one of our schools is going through a Williams visit. Um, which you'll be learning more about in the board report that's coming tomorrow. Um, and so in general, this is a this is this is basically that we're providing a basic kind of core set of instructional resources and people um, for our students. The second uh, priority area too is around implementation of the state standards and we use a survey a kind of uh, a survey of our own to sort of understand how our teachers are implementing the standards. Um and so doing this analysis, we've

129determined that we do uh teachers are implementing the standards in general. Um there's always an opportunity for us to grow and kind of deepen the the practice, but in general, we we think our teachers are imple implementing the standards. The third area is around parent and family engagement. We've spent a fair amount of time in this group also in this at the board level talking about family engagement whether that's through the DAC report or through our panorama uh the reporting of our panorama survey results. But in general, we we um we find that, you know, um families find that our students are are treated with respect and that in general um students and families are working well together. Um the one thing we continue to work on, right, as a high school district is getting

130our parents to participate in things at a higher percentage because their participation is relatively low compared to their elementary and middle school part counterparts and somewhat by design, right? Um the the fourth area which we really pay attention to using the Panorama survey um is issues of school climate and culture, right? And so as you know we've talked quite a few times about the Panorama survey and the results of that survey and sort of you know I've I've highlighted a like three of the specific points um that have come out but clearly we have a survey that's we do two surveys to find out how students are doing and we really are paying attention to that data on a regular basis. Um and then the last um area is around course access. And so what

131this one is intended to be is that we've got students who have legitimate authentic access to a rigorous set of courses. Um you know and our default you know program for our for the average student in our district is sort of the A to G pathway, right? Students take uh and our graduation requirements get them nearly there um assuming that they get uh C's or better on their classes. But in general we you know we still have some some discrepancies. And so like our dual enrollment work is an is an effort to try to actually diversify our rigorous course offerings for example so that we're not just offering AP classes but we have alternatives that are just as rigorous but delivered with a different sort of uh focus. So those and that objective we think

132we we've met as well. Uh but we always have some work to do to make sure that we have that we have our historically underserved students getting access to to the most rigorous program possible and it get really prepares them for college and career uh post-secary life. With that, I will pause. Hopefully, I wasn't too fast for the poor interpreters. I'm sorry, interpreters. Um, that's it. Any We get ready to hold a public hearing. Anybody have a burning question? Okay. I'm going to open the public hearing. Anybody wish to speak or anybody? Not online. Okay. Any in the room? I'm going to close the public hearing. Okay, we're going to move on to the next item. What happens to the now that we just went through the LCAP here? Does it get rolled into next

133the update for the next year? It's at our next meeting, it will be for your approval. Okay. So we hold the public, it's part of the law that you hold the public hearing and then at the next meeting the full L cap and all will be here for your approval. Okay. Similar with the budget they hold the public hearing. Say thank you to Brian for his presentation. Thank you Brian. Brian. Mr. Simmons. Thank you. Okay. Division of Business Services W. All right. We're pulling up the presentation right now. Um I would just like to start um unfortunately this actually will be the first time that she is not here while I give a presentation. Uh but uh in July Valerie Miller will be retiring after 18 years of service to the Sanonteo Union High School

134District. And I just wanted to say thank you uh to her and all of her uh service to the district. Um, and when I don't uh seem as eloquent uh next year, I think you'll know the biggest reason why. Uh, with that, I'd also like to thank Valerie, Vanessa Castano, and Christina Tang um for all their work on the presentation. I note it every time, but they do 99% of this work. I just have the pleasure of giving uh the presentation. So, where are we in the process in terms of the 2526 budget? In January, we approved the budget uh development calendar uh as well as discussed the governor's proposed budget for 2526. In February, the board uh reviewed and approved the enrollment projections uh and capacities for our schools. In March, we looked at

135and approved the second interim uh including uh the first strong look at the 2526 budget. Uh on May 1st, the board reviewed and approved the major budget assumptions for this meeting. I will note the changes to those budget assumptions that have happened since the May 1 meeting. Um some of those included the FTE uh overall uh enrollment um and other major assumptions. In May, we also went over the governor's May revision to his uh January budget proposal. Uh and that leads us to where we are today. Uh this is a public hearing for the uh annual budget. Um and uh at the Jan at the June 26th meeting uh I will ask the board uh for approval formally of the budget. Um just a couple of other dates outside of our process. Um we expect

136by the end of the month to have the final uh state budget and I although we don't usually talk about it uh it has significantly more impact than in prior years. Uh the uh the expectation is that we will uh have more information on the federal budget and potentially a past federal budget um in July uh based on uh the information that we've been receiving uh in terms of what the current plan is at least to work through the federal budget reconciliation pro process. All right, tonight we're going to go over our budget guidelines uh to take a quick look at the May revise. um do a federal funding outlook, which is something we don't usually do. Um we'll look over the 2526 budget assumptions, enrollment projections and staffing projections that have been approved uh

137earlier. Uh talk briefly about the Sters and PERS retirement rates. Um uh talk about the changes that we've uh made to the budget based on new information since the May 1st budget assumptions. Uh we'll look at uh the estimated actuals and budget uh public hearing budget uh and then go over onetime funding, the step down of one-time funding and our next steps. I just read a couple of these uh but here are some of the major budget guidelines. Uh the uh the rest of them are in uh the narrative, but uh the budget development set consistent parameters and goals to develop the budget that aligns with district goals and priorities. In terms of budget monitoring, carrying clarity and transparency. Uh noting any initiative that uses one-time money, we'll need to indicate how the program will

138wind down or what funds will be used to continue the program. These programs can be vulnerable to cuts. We were talking about that in the empowerment uh presentation around fundraising. In terms of budget guidelines, uh one-time sources of funding shall be not used to facilitate ongoing expenditures. All right. In terms of the governor's may revise, just a couple of highlights that we talked about. Uh the May revision uh reduce the Prop 98 minimum guarantee across uh the three fiscal years in which it uh oversees. Um there was a proposal um of $1.7 million for the student support and professional development discretionary block grant which we discussed uh the uses of earlier tonight. Um and uh the also the governor proposed no changes to his proposal to restore $378 million in learning recovery emergency block grant.

139Um, we may use some of those monies uh to fund uh the empowerment San Monteo uh program, but those would have to be done after a needs assessment uh next year. So, uh more to come on that. in terms of a federal funding uh look uh within uh the governor's budget proposal. Um just a couple of items that I think are important as we look. Uh the the federal outlook uh and the proposal from the administration proposed no um cuts to IDA and title one. So that's our special education and our funding for socioeconomically disadvantaged pupils. uh as well as no proposed uh reductions to our reduced uh and free and reduced lunch reimbursement program. Um it did though include the proposed elimination of title three um which impacts our multilingual learners um the with

140a potential impacted funding uh decrease of $200,000 to the school district. Uh the budget also includes proposed cuts to the federal adult school funding. Um although we are waiting to hear more details on exactly which programs in our adult schools that may impact. Uh in terms of the budget assumptions, most of these you saw at the May 1st meeting. Two changes that I would like to note. Uh the assessed valuation uh increase of 3.89% was increased uh from the earlier 3.5. Um that was based on uh our uh the AV tracker a couple of weeks ago. I would like to note uh positive information there. As of this morning, uh the AV tracker uh listed 4.7%. So uh that that will be helpful. Uh also this uh budget includes a salary increase uh of 2.5%.

141I do want to note that we are currently still negotiating with our labor partners. Uh so that number will obviously change uh with whatever the final uh settlement is uh around salary and then uh as we look at health and welfare this year uh very closely the total enrollment projection is 8,700 uh these come from the approved capacities uh from the board in February. In terms of staffing, uh, our public hearing FTE um are aligning with the projections from our May 1st presentation. Stirs and pers uh we've seen after uh huge increases from 2013 uh through 2022 23 uh we have finally uh hopefully hit a plateau of the stirs rate at 19.1%. Um but we do still see increases in our PERS. Uh although the current projections from uh the PERS board uh are

142relatively flat. I think it's important to note those are very uh um uh they can vary greatly based on the stock market uh as huge portions of the PERS retirey payouts are based on gains in the stock market. So we'll have to keep on monitoring the stock market a lot on these. Sorry, quick question. Yes. What is the total statutory how That's a great question. So we we've broken out the PERS rate is a portion of the total statutory um rates. And when I say total statutory rates, I mean the total percentage that we pay above and beyond an employes salary for all benefits other than health and welfare. So PERS is the vast majority of that. So for the 25 26 year uh 26.8% of the overall 36.1% statutory rates is PERS. The other

143really large portion of that is social security at 6.2%. Uh and then you have a couple of other things like Medicare uh 1.45%. Um and then uh two other things that are included are the uh workers compensation rate which is roughly 1.4 um between 1.4 4 and 1.5% um and then unemployment which is really small but is uh 0.05%. So okay and those rates are all determined by the government and we can't uh yes we do not um have the authority to change any of those rates. The closest one that we have is our uh workers compensations rate are uh set by SMIGSIG the San uh Sanonteo County Schools Insurance Group. Um and so uh which we have a vote on the board of uh but they are set based on actuarial assumptions and the

144usage of a workers comp and that's only one less than one and a half% of the 36% overall statutory rate. Okay. Thank you. Yeah. In terms of changes uh since our May budget assumptions meeting uh we noted the two big ones uh secured property taxes uh moving from that 3.5 to 3.89% of 808,000 uh and then the 2.5% salary increase uh represents a vast majority of that $5.2 $2 million uh expense increase in terms of the 202526 public hearing budget and our estimated actuals. Uh I am happy to note uh that we have seen uh some improvement uh in how we project that we will close the 2425 year. Uh our hope is that we will uh at least come on the unrestricted side as break even or maybe a little bit better. Um and

145then as we look uh to uh on the unrestricted side uh we have uh about a $500,000 uh excess of expenditures uh over uh revenue uh on the unrestricted side. Uh and then the restricted side shows the continued uh spend down of the COVID and other one-time uh revenues. The next three slides are are coming from our second interim uh presentation, but noting the one-time funding. Uh so here are the the large one-time funding items. As you can see, we have updated the cash balances as of ma uh May 31st. Um and uh those uh even though we had million overall in that one-time funding, we're down to about $4 million as of May 31st uh of this year. Uh also uh this is uh coming straight from our second interim uh but we have

146uh 10.2 FTE uh that we currently are looking at uh suns setting as of June 30th 2026. So in terms of how we're looking at that um we have our process and our timeline uh of our looking at those step down of one-time expenditures. We're still here in the spring of 2025 moving into the summer. Um but monitoring the budget and uh continuing to explore other funding opportunities. Um and we'll move forward in the fall uh with next steps on that. And uh lastly uh so the next steps at the next meeting uh I will ask the board to approve uh the uh or to adopt the 2526 budget. Uh we're going to continue to monitor daily the assessed value tracker. Um we're going to continue to manage one-time funds, look to finalize negotiations uh

147with our uh labor partners uh in the early fall. Um we'll monitor uh our final enrollment in staffing to ensure that our uh our projections are matching up with what we're seeing in the fall. Um, this year we're going to have a special uh or especially uh strong look at the federal uh budget to see how that shakes out. Um, and then we're going to analyze how long-term management plans align with the district's goals and LCAPS as uh Dr. Kempkkey noted earlier. Uh, with that, I'm happy to open it up to any questions. Board have any questions before? Yes. Yes. Thank you. uh Mr. Hawkins for your presentation and to thanks goes to your entire the thank you also goes to your entire staff as you know. Um I just have a quick question. I

148also wanted to mention slide six uh the budget assump assumptions. This is more of a comment not a not a question but um I've seen a lot of um presentations from different uh CBOS of different school districts. Nobody has a page like this where it's a nice crisp clear summary, you know, even including the FTE for certificate and classified. I mean, you have it going right here. So, we never want to see you leave. This is amazing that how concise and organized. I have a question on page 12. Um the second column is 2025 to 2026 budget assumptions and then the fourth column is 2025 to 2026 public hearing. So I know there's a small difference between those between column 2 and column 4. Maybe I missed. I was just wondering what why it's different.

149Yeah. So those are primarily uh the changes that we've had uh since the May 1st uh including the AV growth um including the uh the 2 and a half% salary increase that we've put as a placeholder uh right now. Thank you. Yeah, thanks a lot. Excellent presentation. Thank you to you and your staff. Any other questions? So I got a question on the federal funding status. Um, and the staff, if we were to either have our federal funding delayed in its entirety or not receive it, what would we do as a district? And I think it's like what, three 3.5 million thereabouts? Yeah, I mean depending on how you look at it, if you look at adult ed and if you look at um that, but yeah, it's in the it's in the three to5

150million range total across all of our uh programs. This is one of the reasons and it's it's great. Uh you you threw me a softball in a way in terms of our next about our reserve percentage. Um, you know, the board has passed a 12% uh minimum reserve policy, and this is exactly the kind of things that it's for. Um, you know, a lot of districts are, you know, right there on a razor's edge in terms of their uh their budgets. And so, what are they going to have to do in in, you know, the potential of federal cuts? Well, they're going to have to make cuts immediately. They're not going to get to wait to see, you know, where that um shakes out. So um we do have both from a cash flow standpoint

151um across our different funds um from a cash flow standpoint we will be okay um and then from a fund balance standpoint uh we are in a strong financial position uh to weather um a a one-time impact. Now that doesn't mean we're not going to have to make changes uh if they do uh make major cuts to federal programs. Um, but we don't have to, you know, jump immediately just because there is the threat of a cut to that program. We can make it one year um with a cut to those federal programs um and give us time to make the right decisions um to make thoughtful decisions around the reductions of that funding and what that means uh for our decision- making uh around uh how to move forward. is the second comment is

152more of a comment. The second uh it has to do with our assessed valuation growth seems to be about a half half a percent behind the county overall and it's been that way although it seemed like in past years we were closer to the county's overall ch their their rate. Um is that true? Did I Yeah. No, you're you're you're locked in this year. We're we're definitely trending a little bit lower. Um although that you know that changes year to year um based on you know primarily what's been sold um you know in in our district and in the county. Uh obviously I'd rather be on the other side of that line. Um uh but we are trending in line with that. But yeah, you're right. It's about half a percent lower than the countywide

153average. Um so we'd love to see that tick up uh in the next couple of weeks on the AV tracker. As of right now, we're going to assume that we'll end up about a half a percent below the countywide average. Well, you know, the the uh it's you know what people that supposedly know are saying it's going to be a a buyer market. It's on its way from a sellers market to a buyer market here. I don't know how many years it'll take, but we're seeing um because, you know, I we've got inventory out there. there's always somebody willing to buy somebody's house, but you know, it's just a softening or weakening of that of the price demand when the when houses are changing. But that's your next item, I'm sure, too. I'm sure it

154is. So, any other questions or comments? Okay, I'm going to open a public hearing there. Any qu any comments from the public on the budget? There are none. Okay, that answers my question before I could even get it out. We're going to close a public hearing. Thank you for your presentation and we'll look forward to wrestling with updates to the budget our next session. So, okay, item W2. Hold on one sec. Let me pull up. Okay. Oh, you know, while you're doing that, you used to have belt and suspenders. You lost either your belt or your suspenders. So, I don't know which one you're going without. Um, all right. So, the next item is a uh a public hearing. Uh speaking of the district's belt and suspenders, uh our reserve um uh the district's reserve

155uh so a little over I think 10 years ago now um they included uh in the last minute uh in a in a budget negotiation um some new requirements around uh reserve percentages. The most wellknown is the reserve cap um at the state level which I'm sure you hear a lot about. Uh but actually one of the I think better things that was included in there was some transparency rules around uh a district on why we keep um our reserve level at the level we do. Uh and so the attachment to that includes uh all the reasons um that we do that. uh one of them being uh the uncertainty of certain funding potentially including uh federal funding uh as well as you know the risk to the real estate market which is our primary

156driver of revenue growth. Um but we have any number of you know for cash flow reasons uh you know to keep our uh our credit rating high um you know all across the uh all across the board. So, uh, with that, I'm happy to answer any questions about, uh, our reserve percentage. Um, uh, and I think we have a public hearing as well. Okay. Any questions? Okay, we're going to go right to the public hearing. I'll open the public hearing now. Are there any questions, comments, statements on uh, our reserve requirement? There are none. Okay. And we're close the public hearing and move on to um item X, board operations. We got a policy. Yansancy, do you want to roll on that one? The green schools operations policy. Yes. Uh thank you. Uh so uh

157uh in May uh we brought forth uh that uh we would be bringing a policy uh to restrict the uh the purchase and sale of plastic water bottles throughout the district. Uh the board approved that um at that time, but one of the action items was to bring forth the actual uh uh board policy language. Um, so we've included uh the updates to the board policy and I'm happy to answer any questions. There any questions? If there's no discussion, I'll move to approve. I think we move it to the consent agenda. Consent. I'm sorry, Trusty Chavez. I know. So, this is to ban the sale by the district, but what about sports teams that are selling um concessions? Is that does that apply to that as well? It it includes any district operations. Um, but

158if there's someone who rents our facilities or other things, we don't control what they can and can't sell. Okay. So, and I'm sure if our sports operations had problems, the district would help them to find ways to comply with our policy. Yeah, absolutely. I've already met with the ads uh regarding this as well as the activities directors um the assistant principles and the principles on this. Thank you for that. Okay. So, we'll move that on to the consent for the next meeting. Okay. Any future board items that people want to pack on our long lengthy list of undone items? Would this be for like our one meeting left or Yeah. No. Okay. Going once, going twice, meeting a journ.