SB Unified - Board Meeting - Tuesday, January 13, 2026

001I'd like to call to order the meeting regular board meeting of Tuesday, January 13, 20 26. Do we have any um public comment? No. Hearing none, we will adjourn to um close session at 4:37. Uh the board took no action in close session. We will return to open session at 603. >> Oh, I'm We're going to do language access. >> Thank you. We have interpretation available through Zoom. We have ASL interpretation and Spanish interpretation. Thank you. We'll now do the pledge of allegiance if we can all stand please and face the flag. >> Please stand and face the flag. Put your right hand over your heart. Ready? I pledge allegiance 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

002justice for all. All right. I already uh announced there was no action in closed session. We'll start then with the student board member report. Thank you. Good evening. All right. So, students enjoy two and a half weeks off for winter break and we had a nice transition back to school starting last Wednesday and we are now in the final stretch of the first semester with term three coming up on Monday. In other news, the Scholars Helping Scholars mentorship program with the student advisory council is advertising in school news outlets, announcements, and college and career centers across our district's high schools. Um, and we are looking to start receiving applications and selecting students for our launch this upcoming term. The uh following, we'll discuss more about this in the following uh student advisory council meeting next

003Wednesday. That is all I have for today. Thank you. And now to the superintendent report. Dr. Maldonado. >> Good afternoon everyone. Thank you for being here. Last Thursday we had a principal meeting for our monthly meeting. And in that meeting we had a short opportunity to discuss the impact of national politics on families, teachers, staff, and students as well as its local impacts here in our community. In my 36 years in education, I do not recall a time when staff had to go to work and worry about the safety of students and each other as we do today. Watching the news out of Minnesota has been both heartbreaking and scary. We continuously live in times of uncertainty and unpredictability. Our shared purpose remains the same. Keep our students and each other safe. I want everyone

004to know that we're committed to supporting everyone, especially our teachers and staff who are in the front lines facing our families and students daily. None of us knows when something might happen, but we can be prepared by communicating and supporting each other continuously. Attendance has not dropped, which confirms that students and families continue to feel safe to attend our schools. They rely on our structures, on our consistent rules, and our deep care for their safety. During our principal meeting on Friday, we discussed the importance of taking the following steps. Make sure that we're checking in with each other and our perimeters of our schools, listening closely, creating space of care for both our students, teachers, staff, and one another, and uh continuing to review and follow our safety protocols every morning. These are unpre unprecedented

005times as I said before and I just want to express my deepest gratitude to all our staff members supporting our students and families in the front lines. Now I'd like to invite our executive director of elementary Denise Alvarado to present an update on our preparation for upcoming letters training for elementary teachers and administrators. Uh board members, as you may recall, we are working on starting our cohort number two. We have finished uh the trainer of trainers in our district and now we can uh work together to provide the best and latest professional development on teaching kids how to read. Miss Alvado, >> thank you. Good evening members of the board, President Banning, Superintendent Maldonado. Um for those of you who may not know, letter stands for language essentials for teachers of reading and spelling. And

006this update is about teachers as well as the professional learning we're providing for administrators. On the left hand side, uh you will see some information about when we are beginning our our second cohort. It will start on February 11th and uh currently we have 17 teachers that are interested. We have sent out a invitation before the uh break, the winter break. And uh it was also shared by principles and principles have been asked to reach out to teachers individually to uh connect with them and invite them to participate. Um before uh we shared with principles again uh we had about eight and so it it almost doubled uh but we we're still at 17. Our capacity is 30. The letters program just as a reminder um is uh this overview is a two-year commitment for

007teachers. Uh it is taught by our SB unified staff. Our coaches and ISS's uh have um been through a training intensive training to be able to provide the professional learning inhouse rather than relying on any um anyone else outside of the district to provide this. The program is uh 20 hours per unit times eight units. So that's approximately 160 hours of reading, coursework, and professional learning uh embedded. There is a stipen provided for teachers that we were able to um agree in in uh commit to in partnership with our uh with SBTA to provide a $500 stipen per unit times eight units for a total of $4,000 for the completion of the two-year program. Uh this program, just to make sure we all know, is a structured pacing that must be followed. It can't just

008be all at once because it does require teachers to read, do some work uh individually, apply it to the classroom, get professional learning, and it continues as a cycle. Also, uh a unitby-unit application in the classroom as I mentioned is fundamental to the success of our teachers getting that training and a deep knowledge and understanding of how this works. Letters for administrators is mandatory for all principles, all elementary principles. Myself uh director of EMLs and um Dr. Sonia Wilson, our assistant superintendent of ed services will be also attending for the letters for administrators as well as um one of our instructional support specialists uh who has been supporting us um in in in other areas for elementary. Uh this is a two-year program as well. It requires 58 hours of again professional re uh professional

009learning coursework and reading that is independent and then um our training will be February and March for this year for administrators and next year we are going to um work with principles to determine which two other dates to provide that professional learning that's that's best for the team. On the right hand side, you will see a breakdown of how uh of the teachers by grade level that we have trained. As you recall, our goal is to get all K3 teachers uh to our goal is to get all K3 teachers trained on letters. Um and so this is the breakdown. We currently have you will see column number two the total number of teachers in that grade level and the total who have completed the uh letters training for cohort number one. So what this means

010this table is that currently we still have 73 more teachers that we still need to train uh on letters. We need to provide them with that opportunity. The total teachers listed here on this table does not include some of the cohort one teachers that were in upper grades four through six as well as coaches and ISS that were trained. And that concludes my report. >> Thank you, Miss Alvarado. Next, as you know, we've been working on a collaborative spirit award. All year, we will be honoring teams in the district with this award. And this week, we want to recognize Miss Gina Pierce and Mike Winger from ETSs. Through their collaborative efforts, Gina and Mike created the missing work report, a tool that gives students a clear, organized view of all their missing assignments across Canvas.

011Mike's technical development paired with Gina's hands-on work with students ensure the tool was both accurate and truly userfriendly. Their partnership has made it easier for students to stay on top of their learning, reduce stress, and take meaningful ownership of their progress. Their teamwork directly supports students success every day. And as you know, I want to recognize that schools first credit union is giving us uh gift cards to the teams that are being recognized with this award. So, they'll be receiving that next. If you see them, please thank them and uh for all their great work. Lastly, you may notice our board meetings are sounding better. Hopefully, you can tell. That's thanks to the hard work of Julio and our facilities team over the winter break. We installed the new audio system that is improving the

012presentations that we're providing here each week. We're still working on installing the system, so please bear with us if there are any problems that arise tonight. Thank you. All right, that will move us into our public comment. Um, I would like to to follow up my comments from last time about um our process with public comment. Um, I want to offer a brief clarification about public comments purpose and process. They're governed by board bylaw 9323 meeting conduct. First, let me be clear about intent. Public comment is a vital part of our meetings. It exists so members of the public can be heard directly by the board and nothing I say tonight is intended to limit participation, discourage engagement or privilege any one viewpoint over another. At the same time, the board has an obligation under

013the Brown Act and our own adopted bylaws to conduct meetings in an orderly, equitable, and consistent manner. Over time, our actual practices regarding public comment have drifted from what our bylaws describe, which has understandably created confusion for speakers, staff, and the board. Under our bylaws, public comment is structured around three minutes per individual speaker. A total limit of 20 minutes per agenda item. And clarification on that is there is a combined 20-minute limit for all non-aggenda public comment um regardless of the the particular subject. And the board has limited flexibility with consent to adjust time to equit uh equitably when warranted. So, for example, tonight we have um uh what's the number on on public comment? 12. >> Yes. >> Well, 12. We're going to we're going to lower the time from 3 to 2

014minute. That still pushes us a little bit over the 24m minute time. And and um what I want to say here is that um my goal is not to create abrupt changes in our process. Rather, it's to reset our expectations and to be transparent uh that we will be working openly and collaboratively to better align our practices with our bylaws. So, expectations are clear in advance and no one is surprised in the moment. That work may include clarifying how the bylaws are applied and if appropriate considering future refinements to either practice or pro or policy. Several good questions have arisen uh recently about speaker order when time is limited, how written or remote comments fit in, how multiple topics are addressed, how the bylaw language or on similar viewpoints is intended to work. These are

015all appropriate governance questions that deserve careful consideration and and we will work to do that. So to be clear in closing, we're not finalizing new procedures this evening. Over the next several meetings, we'll clarify these issues with board input and transparency. For tonight, we'll proceed consistent with our posted agenda and current practices with the shared understanding that clearer guidance is forthcoming. I appreciate everyone's patience as we do this work thoughtfully, and in good faith. Thank you for your engagement and for helping us keep this process respectful, accessible, and fair. So, with that in mind, we'll start our our public comment um on non-aggenda items and we'll limit the speakers to two minutes. >> Okay. So, the first three speakers will be Cat Ross, York Shingle, and Kim Tilt. Okay. Thank you, Cat. Hi, I'm concerned

016about the district's new forced dismissal policy, which is a violation of three California education codes. The first code, uh, 46201 requires a minimum of 64,800 instructional minutes per year. By forcing students to take dismissals, we've dropped below the minimum for juniors and seniors. Students with one dismissal receive less than 56,000 minutes. With two dismissals, most seniors receive less than 48,000 minutes. Any non full schedule violates the minimum instructional minutes code. The second codes 46141 and 482000 require all students school age be full-time students with a minimum school day of 240 minutes. When our students have two dismissals in their schedule, they're only in school for 180 minutes. That's not full-time. The third code 51228 prohibits assigning students to periods without educational cond content without parental consent. Districts are expressly prohibited from removing courses to cut

017costs to the point that students can't take a full schedule. The potential fines for violating uh the first one was a total of 8.3 million for this school year. My guess is the district doesn't think they need to worry about that because the usual mechanism for penalizing a district is withholding aortionment. Santa Barbara is so wealthy they use their own property taxes to fund the schools. What a system we live in where the wealthiest districts don't have to provide equitable education to all students. When poor school districts are able to have their students attend school all day with less money, why can't we? Students and parents, if you're assigned a dismissal period, but you want to be in school full-time, you should demand a class. Let your counselor know you don't want a period without

018educational content. If that doesn't work, file a uniform complaint, which is a written letter stating the district violated the law and then you want to take a full schedule of classes. You are legally entitled to a full school day and a full school year. Ask for the education you deserve. >> Thank you. York Shingle. >> Good evening. Uh my name is York Shingle, SBTA president. Uh I want to start by thanking you for starting bargaining early. Uh we had a lot of proposals to benefit students and families and it took all of those sessions to lay them all out and give the district time to figure out the costs leading up to this week's state budget release. So, thank you for that earlier start date. Uh yesterday, Ashley Cornelius and I were informed that the

019district doesn't legally have to bargain a seven-p period junior high day or the forced dismissals in high school. Uh so they're not going to. It's not that they can't, it's that uh because they don't have to, they won't. Uh so I want to be clear, SBTA and its members prioritize our students and family needs. We didn't ask for a salary increase until after we had all of our proposals that benefit students figured out with their estimated costs because we want students to have a complete and complex learning experience from prek through high school. Uh but your side of the table is saying we won't figure that out in a space where we have a voice and we have power. Instead of doing that important work in a space where we have to come to an

020agreement, you're shifting it to a space where you can listen to us but don't have to agree with us. That doesn't respect our members or our organization. Uh but you have the power. So we'll wait and see how you want to try to solve the problems affecting our students by a sixth period day in junior high and forced dismissals in high school. We'll wait to see what solutions you'll come up with even though you haven't until this point. Um, and I hope you'll understand my reluctance with waiting for your action when over a year ago you made a commitment to our transgender students that you have yet to do anything about. Uh, or the commitment you made when we adopted an elementary curriculum and said we would make it more culturally and linguistically relevant and

021we did that work for two years and then are now just turning it into a website. Those will be our next steps is a refrain this community has heard time and time again without action. So, it's hard for us to believe it. Thank you. >> Thank you, Kim Tilton. And after Kim Tilton, it'll be Caroline Abate and Deborah Reed, followed by Charles Cloud. >> Awesome. Good evening. Uh I am here tonight to talk about uh this disturbing news that I got from the last bargaining update about the concept that we're just not going to bargain things if they're not mandatory. I think about the hard work that my union leadership and teachers do every day to put kids first and the work that we've put in with looking at the 7th day schedule, talking about

022what does it mean to change course takes, what do dismissals do for kids? We're putting in the work for kids and we want to do that in a codified way where we're working as a team with our district leaders. And it upsets me that the route that is appearing to be taken is one where we don't want to bring it to the table unless we legally have to. That shows a complete lack of understanding of how critical our feedback is to any policy, any idea that's being discussed. How can you be at a budget meeting and discuss decreasing course takes without the people who know what that means? Counselors, teachers, master schedulers. To bring it to the negotiation table when it's not mandatory is to say that we know that getting feedback in an organized

023way that represents the whole is mandatory for good policy and any policy you implement once it hits the ground boots running the people who you need to give you feedback about it are us. So, I understand that not all things are mandatory, but what I hope is that district leadership knows that good policy mandates that it gets negotiated with the people who are trying to solve these problems and the people who are going to implement them and the people who are closest to kids. So, thank you. >> Thank you, >> Carolina Bate. Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you about the importance of freedom of speech and public comment. Freedom of speech means there is no fear of a negative consequence because of your ideas. For example, we all know there

024are many very valid, legitimate, common sense arguments in opposition to the current teaching of abortion and LGBTQ ideology in public schools. There are also rational and logical arguments in support of bringing biblical values and prayer back into our public schools, among other topics. For example, teaching students the benefits of a merit-based free market economic system and the misery and failures of socialism. There must be a space for these ideas to be publicly heard. People can then use their intellect and free will to make a completely informed choice about what they would like to believe and what students should learn in school. Freedom of speech means that you are free to believe that your ideas will be judged based on their truth and their merit. And in no place is our precious constitutionally guaranteed right to

025freedom of speech on more full and beautiful display than ordinary citizens speaking during public comment. Please make public comment a priority. A healthy democracy has abundant and frequent communication between voters and members of the elected office for whom they voted. Perhaps agenda items like recognition awards and student performances could be saved for a separate and special occasion. Thank you. Well, time is up. Thank you. Thank you, >> Deborah Reed. Sorry, I didn't have time to print anything. Happy New Year. California Education Code has established minimum annual instructional minutes for public schools. For high school students, that requirement is six hours a day. Assigning students to excusal periods places our district in violation of ed code and renders us complicit in creating an environment of inequity to educational access. Recent reports from Santa Barbara Unifi's 2025

026website indicate a high graduation rate of approximately 92 to 95%. What this figure fails to mention is that many of these students are meeting graduation requirements with a D in core content classes. As my students often note to me, D is for diploma. At many post-secondary institutions, the D may earn course credit. However, a C or better is required for prerequisite courses or major requirements. Following this practice, the D becomes functionally insufficient for progression. With this in mind, are we SB Unified legitimately preparing all of our students to meet the academic rigor demanded by colleges or vocational training programs? How does assigning excusal periods within the school day help to remediate below average skills? Assigning high school students non-instructional excusal periods removes opportunities for them to experience elective classes which are essential to the development

027of interpersonal relationships, growth mindset, creative expression, and vocational exploration for individuals with the financial means, access to transportation, and freedom of time. Many of these programs are available through private lessons and community- based organizations. For students who may need to work to contribute to their family income, provide child care for younger siblings, or commute home to the outlying more affordable communities where they and their families reside, accessing enrichment classes during the school day is the only means of incorporating these opportunities into their schedules. Instead of assigning excusal periods which reduce academic and enrichment opportunities for our students, perpetuate inequity to access instruction, and bypass opportunities for skill remediation, please provide the legally required mandated six hours of instruction for our students. >> Thank you. After Charles Clow, there'll be Joe Block, then Kate Lambert, then

028Shannon Jaffy. And before we get started, we do have a time certain at 6:45. So as we get closer to that, we may have to um push through to the um to time after that to complete close session. >> Charles CL, >> am I audible? >> Righteous. Okay. Good evening everyone. My name is Charles Clow. I'm the political awareness director of the Santa Barbara Teachers Association and I've been a teacher in the district for nine years. I spoke to you all a few months ago in gratitude for opening negotiations with us earlier than you had to. Doing so was not only prudent for solving problems, but was also a powerful gesture that spoke to your willingness to bargain in good faith. Recent news has cast a shadow over my earlier optimism. It's come to my

029attention that district negotiators are unwilling to bargain with teachers on anything having to do with bell schedules. That means the junior high seventh period uh seventh period day issue and the high school forced dismissal issue. This is concerning and confusing. I'm concerned because we as a union have put forth proposals targeted at both of these critical needs in ways that benefit students first. I'm a history teacher and I'm unfamiliar with any labor negotiation anywhere at any time that involve workers attempting to work more in ways that align with management's purported goals and being told no. And it's confusing because I'm just not sure you all have thought it through. Why? I'm not sure why you would try to offer to this community an inferior education than one its students might otherwise receive and one that

030its teachers are willing to offer. Who benefits from this? Certainly not families. Certainly not students. Certainly not those of you who are running for reelection this November. I are h how will you campaign on this? We we didn't have to, so we didn't. I I'm not sure the community will be receptive to that. Just because you don't have to do something doesn't mean you shouldn't. Please step up and partner with us to constructively address these issues in ways that put students and family first as our proposals do. Thank you. >> Thank you, Kate Lambert. >> Joel, did I Joel Thank you. I won't take it personally. >> Good evening. Over the past couple of years, members of SBTA have been speaking to the school board and the district about the loss of trust between us.

031We, the teachers made it clear that we felt underappreciated, cut out of important decisions and that we have not had our concerns taken seriously. One express manifestation of that has been decisions by the board and district affecting teachers without much if any attempt to consult with teachers. I'm glad to say that I see this changing slowly at the schoolboard level and that relationship there seem to be improving. Unfortunately, that attitude and desire to change does not seem to have filtered down to district staff. Throughout the year, the board has heard many complaints about no seventh period high school release periods and open enrollment from teachers and the community. These were also brought up in negotiations this year between SBTA and the district. However, rather than be willing to discuss these issues, the district has made

032it clear that they were not required to discuss it with teachers or the community. And while they were working to solve these issues for students, the district would decide on its own. It essentially it would say that would announce policy and then wait for reaction and input which seems to be the worst way to implement policy successfully. It was made clear to teachers that even if the district asked what we think it will only be done as a courtesy that this is exactly the kind of thinking and response that led the SBTA last year to ultimately authorize a strike vote. Unless the board wants to undo all the progress it has made in trying to restore trust with the teachers and the community, I suggest it rethink its position and direct the district to involve

033all parties in negotiation and developing solutions to these issues. Thank you. >> Thank you, Kate Lambert. >> Hello everyone. Um I wanted to first start off by talking about the force dismissal. Um, it's a safety issue. It's a safety issue for so many families, and I specifically work in the special ed department. It's a safety issue for families who need to have their students um, sort of guided in community activities given boundaries. Those cannot be enforced when I'm behind doors working with other students and they are out in the community. Okay? So, if you don't have child care, if you can't go home, are we going back to latch key kids? It worries me. And we're not doing it just to seniors. If it was seniors and they had jobs or a sport or something

034that was specifically meant for that time slot, I could see how everyone in the community would feel safe with it, including the business owners near our schools. Okay. But when we force it, that is just saying we don't think you need more education. It's re it's rude. I also would like to point out that if we're trying to build relationships and then we backtrack like I know that at one of our staff meetings our superintendent did come share that we could talk about changing the bell schedule for us to then now hear no or to hear we're not going to allow that to be negotiated. It just puts us in a relationship that we don't enjoy and it makes it very hard to want to come share over and over again and not move our

035relationship forward. That was my hope was to move us forward. Please consider that forced dismissal also means that I have a student who takes soccer, work ed, English, one academic class. work ed meets once a week on Wednesdays. That's that. Thank you guys very much. >> Thank you, Shannon Jaffy. And after Shannon Jaffy will be Magda Barnes and Mark Nicholas, followed by a virtual comment. Shannon Jaffy. >> Good evening, members of the board. My name is Shannon Jaffy and I've been a credentialed visual art teacher for the district for 19 years. I'm here to speak on behalf of elementary visual art, music, PE, and steam teachers, often called specials, but in every professional sense, regular teachers. We are fully credentialed educators. We teach statemandated standards. We assess grade student learning. We attend staff meetings, professional

036development, and fulfill adjunct duties. We are evaluated as teachers and held accountable as teachers because we are teachers. Historically, this district has recogniz recognized that fact. We have always been included under the same contract language as our general education colleagues. The proposal to change that now creates a two-tier system. One group labeled as full teachers and another implicitly treated as something less. That distinction is not only unfair, it is damaging. It undermines morale, weakens collaboration, and sends a troubling message to students and families about whose work is valued. It also places the district on a path toward costly and time-consuming arbitration that benefits no one. Arts, music, PE, and steam are not extras. They are statemand mandated subjects essential to student engagement, equity, and whole child education. When you diminish the educators who provide those

037subjects, you diminish education itself. Before I conclude, I'd like to respectfully address the district administrators participating in this process. John Beckio, Sonia Wilson, Conrad Tadeshki, Denise Alvarado, and Kenya Edison. I ask you to consider not just these arguments being prepared, but the moral and ethical responsibility before you. You have the authority to stop arbitration by acknowledging what has long been true in this district, that elementary specials are regular teachers, and we deserve the same contract language. I urge you to make the decision that reflects fairness, professional respect and responsibility, and a shared commitment to students. Choose collaboration over conflict, equity over division, and choose to affirm the educators who serve every child every day. Thank you for your time and consideration. >> Thank you, Mark Nicholas. >> Oh, sorry. I keep doing this. This I'm

038new to this. Magda Magda Barnes. >> All right. Thanks all. I have taught elementary through college. I'm currently at San Marcus High School. I was excited to get into the block system and I found that I really like it, but was incredibly surprised to see groups of students wandering the halls and was informed this is dismissals. Uh that means a student does not have a class. Why? Because we can't afford it. We can't afford enough teachers and uh classrooms for students to have four classes a semester, eight classes a year. I was also wildly surprised to see the top-down decision then that you made to make all the high schools with a block schedule when you can't even afford it at 1. So what does that actually look like and what is a dismissal? Students

039are not in a class for one minute. where they are, it's up to them. A principal in the past actually told them to get off campus during that period. At best, a third of students have a fourth period, also known as last period of the day dismissal, because of a sport. That leaves about twothirds of the students wandering. Great students will use this time to catch up on classwork. Mediocre students will use that average of an 80 minutes to play on their phone. Then we have a whole another group of students who are in trouble and that is a safety concern as it was stated before. Um let's find a solution. We are here to teach. They are here to learn. Why are they outside of class not learning? It was suggested that they should

040use this time for community service which is just not appropriate. How are freshman, sophomores, and juniors who do not have a car supposed to leave for 80 minutes? find that transportation, volunteer at most for an hour, and get back to class on time. That's just not going to happen. I ask that you put this in bargaining. If not bargaining, just make it a huge interest and a solution. Let's change this issue before it becomes a crisis. Not let's not have a four-way intersection that we have to wait until a huge accident happens before we put a stop sign in. Thank you, Mark Nicholas. Good evening. Credential teachers are given 45 minutes a week to plan their lessons. From a specialist perspective, it could be ordering materials and setting up the right amount for each student.

041For others, it's arranging music and rehearsals for multiple all school performances. From TTA to 6, that's roughly 5 minutes and 37 seconds a week for each grade level. I currently teach uh I currently come from a school site where our time is honored more than some of my colleagues. I can only imagine teaching multiple sites taking on a dozen classes at one and 60 at another every week. Now if five minutes and 37 seconds per grade level a week for preparing a lesson is high with high quality execution is unreasonable. Imagine no prep time with the exception uh with the expectation of delivering the same standards and high quality teaching for their students. Again, I'm here asking you to take into consideration the passion, dedication, and sacrifices specialist teachers make for the students. Despite the

042circumstances they are put under, specialists are required to be or in the process of being credentialed in our fields. We should be treated like regular teachers and our time should be treated like theirs. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. We have a virtual comment from Ryan McCulla. Is that person online? Yes. >> Okay. Ryan McCullum. >> Can you hear me? >> Hello. Can you hear me? >> Yes, we can hear you. Maybe a little bit louder. >> Okay. >> Hello. My name is Ryan McCullum. I am the steam teacher at Santa Barbara Community Academy in Cleveland Elementary School. I am speaking tonight to advocate that the district provides elementary PE, art, music, and steam teachers with the proper amount of prep and PLC time based on our contract. This school year, my workload

043has more than doubled as I was split amongst two schools. A workload that was met last year by two full-time employees. While I am proud to serve so many students, I now have less prep and collaboration time than ever before. Time that was vital to building interdisciplinary curriculum and supporting equitable learning with my colleagues. Steam, PE, art, and music teachers develop their own curriculum, manage budgets, and prepare materials for 200 to 500 students, and provide experiences that truly reach the hands of every student on campus. We're also trusted adults who are who nurture their whole child and get to build relationships with students and be a safe space over the course of multiple years. Reduction in our prep and collaboration time make it harder to deliver the programs our students need. I respectfully ask the

044board to help preserve these vital elementary programs and the mental health of our elementary specialist teachers by supporting equitable planning and collaboration time as outlined in our contract. We are classroom teachers, too, and our students benefit when we have the time and resources to create meaningful experiences no matter which campus they attend. Thank you for your ongoing commitment to our students and teachers. >> Thank you. That was our final comment. >> I I I want to make a comment around the the comments on the the dismissals. Um, we did receive board members received emails on that um this week and um I just want to ask our general counsel, is this something you're looking into some of these concerns about ED code? >> Yes. >> Okay. Thank you. That will bring us to board member

045reports. We've got um just a couple of minutes before the time certain. Um anyone want to do their report real quick? Gabe, are you Yeah. >> All right, I'll try and be quick. Um, yesterday we had a cab meeting and I want to thank uh Mr. Vince, Dr. Becky, Dr. Wilson, Miss Edison, Miss Fernandez for being there. It was a really productive meeting. Uh, we are blessed to have Dr. Pedigrew as the chair of the Kaba group and she spent her time in December meeting with each of those uh those folks to talk about each of their respective areas um student and family services, HR and uh education services. And these meetings were quite a while from what I heard over an hour or so really in-depth conversations and we got to hear kind of

046um about the discussion. So we got to read the notes beforehand but it was also uh aligning the work, what is happening now, what are the opportunities in the future and what are we working towards and we got to ask questions and it was a really productive conversation. So when we talk about uh we heard today in public comment about the efforts put towards um making sure that we have culturally responsive materials in our curriculum and the elementary space that actually came up in conversation last night and it's something that CABA in particular but the district as a whole has not lost sight of and I know this website has become um a topic of conversation but it's one that we're also having in the CA cab space. Um, we talked about uh counselors, we

047talked about uh recruitment and retention and uh I just want to thank that group for all the hard work and the critical feedback that they gave. Um, Dr. Mo, thank you for reiterating that we do have protocols that we are conscientious of the fact that we have ice on in our community and particularly on the east side close to many of our schools and many of our families and it is something that is top of mind for people. It's conversations that I know that we've been in constant contact over the last week uh since school started and I just I would encourage you to continue to reach out to our partners and talk about the fact that we do have systems in place and that we are um a resource for our families and our

048staff and the larger community. Um letters training. Thank you to Miss Alvarado for your presentation. I would make a request to President Banning and Dr. Maldonado that you discuss maybe an appropriate time to come back to us for a discussion on letters. Uh we have a promising program, but I'm a little concerned and I feel like my colleagues might share this concern that not enough of our K through three teachers are taking advantage of the opportunity. And I'd like a discussion to to talk about how do we make this a requirement rather than an optin um type of program. The uh next piece just something I heard in in public comment and I know that there was no harm meant by it but I do want to cautious us on our language about how we

049talk about our students mediocre students is not something that I think we the way that we should be describing our students. I don't think that was the intention, but um really understanding that it's us as adults and how we shape the environment on our our school campuses that um from the way that students perceive themselves. And I think when they hear us talk in that way, it could contribute to a negative self-perception. And I also want to say I'm not losing that in the discussion of what you brought up in public comment. I'm hearing you about the dismissal periods and um the block schedule. So, uh, last piece, I want to end on a positive note and just say congratulations to Carlos. He got accepted into Yale, his top school, and I just want to

050say congratulations. Welld deserved. >> All right, we're um we're um going to move on to the time certain um public hearing. Um before that I just want to note that Rose trustee Rose Munoz is not able to be in attendance here. So any of our votes on action items 40 will be unanimous vote. >> Okay. Good evening board president Banning, Superintendent Maldonado, board trustees. Uh we are here this evening to discuss the renaming of San Marcos High School's Health Careers Academy in honor of Cottage Hospital's generous donation of $1.5 million and an agreement to provide um ongoing support. Because this involves naming our board priorities or our board policies require us to structure this item as a public hearing. So this is the public hearing this evening. I'm going to call Principal Dear Holddron up

051in a moment to present. Um then there will be a time for public comment. Um in the public hearing, then board discussion. Because this is a public hearing, the board won't actually take a vote now. Instead, the contract itself will be brought up for approval on the consent agenda, and that's when the vote will happen. With that logistical explanation um out of the way, I'd now like to call up Principal Dar Holddron um to speak in more detail about these exciting opportunities. All right. Thank you, Dr. Wilson. Thanks for having me, y'all. It's good to uh see you. Uh I'm excited to be here to talk about this uh fantastic project that we've been working on for some time. Uh is there a clicker around the slides? We did this little bit before you right

052now. >> Okay, we can go to the next one then. >> Um before I get started too, I want to well, I'll introduce her in just a second. So, um what we want to do is make sure that you have and the community has some context besides how we got here, right? Cuz this has been a long project. Um in fact, when I walked in the door as the principal at San Marcus four years ago, there was a committee that had already been formed. Um, and it was really born out of the the COVID years and the previous administration had talked about and thought about how do we help our kids? How do we help our community moving forward? And at the time it was actually named the building wellness project. And to their credit

053and to your credit and to your predecessor's credit, they had already created a structure where there was a partnership whereby the district would uh hold $5.5 million in bond funds and San Marcus High School and and the committee would raise $5.5 million more uh in order to build um this building community wellness project. Now the project involves the reimagining of the wellness center um with a full rebuild and and a re um you know reimagining of of it as the hub of mental social uh health on campus physical health on campus. The other part of that was to build a mini campus for the health careers academy an academy that's been going on for 20 years at San Marcus High School that traditionally has largely been focused on nursing. So that uh it was an

054informal agreement and uh eventually we brought forth anou that you approved and we we started to think more deeply about it. So we formed a committee um and then Dr. Maldonado who has been incredibly helpful in this process uh organized some listening sessions with the community to think about what careers we might want to expand into for our healthcare academy. Uh I was I formed a programmatic committee to think about what is the what do the programs look like so that we're not just building a building. And I do want to call out the folks that were on that committee. That was Ron Worst, Carol Williams, John Clark, Ginger Salazar, Steve Fellows, Avette Giller, and Alan Price, as well as our staff from our school who were also incredibly helpful. Just uh people in the

055community that really were stepping up for us and have continued to step up. In fact, the next step, and it's number uh five on there, we hired a coordinator with the help of $30,000 each year for three years from the Bower Foundation and the same amount from Cottage. We are now in our second year and the person that was hired is here with me tonight, Emily Stokes, who uh is amazing and has done fantastic work. I also want to make sure I I call out that Ron Worst and John Clark have been uh absolutely fantastic mentors to myself and really helped with this process and they continue to help although Ron has taking his vacations now that he's retired. Um one of the big things we did and uh and Emily will speak to this

056is we identified a new curriculum that she'll tell you more about. Uh it's called Project Lead the Way and we'll be implementing it next year. Um, we also got a lead donation of 1.5 million from the uh, Mthuan Foundation and tonight we're here to uh, hopefully approve and celebrate the Cottage Health naming agreement um, whereby Cottage Health is going to provide us $1.5 million and more importantly um, partner with us with their expertise and we are hoping to rename the Health Careers Academy the Cottage Health Careers Academy at San Marcus High School. Thank you. Um, right now the building plans for all of this have been submitted to DSA and um, we hope to and plan to break ground uh, in June. So, without further ado, I'm going to bring up Emily to talk more

057about the programmatic updates so that you're aware of all that's going on. >> Thank you, Dare. Hi, everyone. Nice to be here with you tonight. Um, so could we advance to the next slide, please? Thank you. So, we're building a new building, but what's going to happen within those walls? I'll start with the programmatic changes. Um, we're going to shift from focusing on one healthcare career, historically nursing, to focusing on multiple healthcare careers. And we're going to do that by shifting turning the health careers academy into a dual CTE pathway. This means we're adopting that project lead project lead the way biomedical science curriculum implementing their four courses with honors level projectbased learning to orient students to over 200 healthcare careers and um equipping them with relevant skills and knowledge they need to succeed in

058their preferred healthcare careers and their future education. The other side of that dual CTE pathway focuses on mental and behavioral health. So, mental and behavioral health courses will be added to the required course pathway for all Health Academy students. And we're doing this because we want to address the prevalent mental health needs of our students. But we also want to prepare students with the skills and knowledge they need to take care of themselves as I plan to take care of others in a field that is demanding, intense, and is burning current healthcare workers out. So, we're hoping to be proactive in offering that to them. In addition to programmatic changes, um, operations of the academy are changing. As of today, actually, we've already initially succeeded in expanding the Health Careers Academy and the entirety of

059its existence. It's only ever been available to students 10 through 12 grades. Um, but in October, we implemented an application. Um, we reached out to the current eighth graders across the district and we now have a really incredible pool of candidates to pull from for the first ever freshman class of the Health Careers Academy beginning in fall of 2026. Um, we're hoping that this expansion into 9th grade will allow us to grow from our current number of about 160 students in total to about 400 by 2030. And then uh beyond that, we're continuing to partner strategically with our community partners, our local or uh local universities and vendors to support students in getting internships and industry standard certifications. And so we're already developing those relationships. We're piloting those programs. We're going to have 10 students

060at organizations like YouthWell, uh Ferris Wong Endodontics, Cottage Health, Coroner, um with internships in the spring. 12 getting their patient care tech or medical assistant certifications as well. And then overall, we just want to offer students more opportunities to engage, get to know one one another, bond and celebrate their hard work. And we're going to pilot an initiative uh with direct relief in their space in June so that students can present about their internships, certifications, invite their family, friends, community members. So, we'll share that in info once we have the details so you can attend too if you're interested. I'm gonna pass it back over to Dar >> and I know Emily's a little hesitant to talk about it, but next year every kid uh who is a senior is going to have an internship

061and it's going to continue on every year throughout the healthc care academy. Um it's obviously a lot of work, but that's what we're doing. So every kid will have identified really at that point they're not kids, right? young adult will have identified the specific health career they want to get into and will get an internship in that area and they'll be as ready as they can be uh for a career which will help with a lot of different things. Um and before I get to that last part, you got to update your software over there. I want to make sure I share some of the partners that have donated money because tonight we're here to talk about cottage but uh I and I mentioned the Mthune Foundation uh which is the John C. Mthune Foundation

062cuz there's a couple of them, but they were very generous with their lead donation. We also have gotten a million dollars from the Elings family, $200,000 from Bower, 125 from Moer. I'm not going to read them all to you, but I I think they should be shouted out. Uh Tim and Louise Casey for 100,000. Santa Barbara City College Foundation, Gan and Millie Simpson 100,000. Paul and Karen Mensel 50,000. The Decline Foundation 25. The Santa Barbara Foundation 25. Kina who many of you know 201,5 from Tobes. I'm going to stop there and just uh you know thank all of these folks for really believing in what we're doing. In fact, you saw today on social media yesterday, Westmont College is of such the belief in what we're doing that they're offering guaranteed admission to any student

063who graduates from the Health Careers Academy with a 3.3 or above and $15,000 minimum sightbased financial aid. So, uh, I'm just so proud of the work that we've been able to do with this public private partnership and I think it it can serve as a real model for us going forward. As you can see, we're at 10.36 raised out of 11 million being our goal. Um, I have other people ready to fill that need and and I have no doubt that we're going to be making just a few more announcements here before groundbreaking, meaning we'll have all the money ready to go uh for before we start the project. So, uh you know, as in regards to the project itself, obviously the financial investment, the building, the buildings, it has to happen in in order

064for us to do this incredible project. It's a workforce pipeline. As far as uh you know, we need to provide and this is a a huge goal I know of our district. We need to provide career opportunities for our students so they can live and work in Santa Barbara like myself and Emily who went to Santa Barbara High have been able to do. And these health careers, these are well-paying uh solid careers that these kids, these young adults are going to pursue and and make a career and a family in Santa Barbara. And so I'm I'm incredibly proud of that. We're also going to get to look under the hood at Cottage so that we know what what do they want for particular positions and how do they train them. And in fact, we'll bring

065their trainers to us and we'll bring their instructors to us and vice versa. And it's going to create a powerful partnership. I really want to thank the CEO of Cottage, Scott Westerester, who has been an amazing partner in all of this and is very excited for this work. uh and he has really helped deliver this for us and uh Carol Williams the head of HR has also been a very key part for this uh as well as their entire staff. Student opportunity as I already talked about community impact we need healthcare workers right Santa Barbara is kind of a bubble and we need folks in all different types of positions and we're going to help produce them. uh next steps, just so you know, we're working on strategic uh partnership mapping. And what that means

066really is we're working to get these internships for all these students. And so, uh now that we have this program, people are are getting on board. You heard from Emily, some of the people we're partnering with already this spring. And then we're going to celebrate those students and those and those partners at Direct Relief, and they're donating that space to us. You know, people are people are getting on board, and it's exciting. Um, and we're going to we need to enhance that partnership network. So, anybody who knows anybody who wants to to help us place students who wants to help build the future of Santa Barbara Healthcare, uh, San Marcus High School and the and the Cottage Health Careers Academy is going to be the place to go. Uh, so we begin construction in June.

067Uh we launch Project Lead the Way next year, the mental health curriculum and uh and we're rolling and uh it's I think I've said enough and I've taken enough of your time. I appreciate y'all uh being here and I know you can't ask questions now, but of course you can always reach out to me at any time for anything. So, thank you for your time tonight. I appreciate you and I appreciate our community and our partners for their support. We have no public comment on this matter. >> Do you want to open the hearing and close the hearing? >> Okay. So, um we will open the public hearing on the gift and naming agreement with the cottage hospital. And are there any speakers? We will close the public hearing. Oh, we need a time on

068those, right? >> It's okay. >> Okay. We opened at 7:01 and closed at 7:02. How's that? You can do that too if you really wanted to. >> How's that? Boy, this is fun. This job is more fun than I ever realized. >> Did you want to ask questions or make comments before? >> Are Yeah. Are there any questions or comments from the board? >> Okay. And we'll follow the protocols that we we started out last week and just kind of go go down the line. >> So, I have a question and comment. I'll start with the question. And >> one second, we'll grab back. >> Yes. It's just I was like, "What happened to Principal Holden?" >> I was just getting snacks. >> Okay. My question is simple. It's just I'm so excited about this.

069Um uh I understand you're opening it to nth graders. Um I know a lot of times that science is really in high schools where students get very excited about science are exposed to a broader a broader choice. And so I I guess I'm I'm asking and hoping that that it isn't just closed. It just isn't just open to 9th graders in the future that we always have some positions where 10th graders and 11th graders can join. >> Yeah. How it's going to work is um they're going to take there's a it's a four course sequence or project lead the way. So you take one class 9th grade, one 10th, 11th, 112th. And we actually took a team out to Pacific High School in San Bernardino to see it in action. Um, and in fact, when

070I was at Solving, I brought it in for my superintendent and I, uh, for K through 8. It's a very hands-on, experiential curriculum. Um, and it's and it's super exciting. What we need to do is we need to get our teachers trained. So, we're getting two teachers trained this year and then we we're going to purchase the materials. So, uh, what we're going to do is basically anybody 11th grade, 12th grade or above, they're going to finish out the program they started already, the pathway. All 9th and all 10th grade students in our academy will take project lead the way next year, the first sequence. So, the 10th graders will eventually get through three of them because the plan is to add one each year as the students move up. We also want to get

071um and we we obviously there's some other things to think about as far as our costs and our personnel because uh that program's not free. Um but we feel very confident that we'll be a able to eventually offer it to even potentially kids outside of the academy. Um, and it won't replace any of the sciences, although it could potentially. Um, and that's something that we'll sort through, but it it is honors level for A throughG and locally, uh, which is exciting, and we we want to offer that to as many students as possible. >> Thank you. >> Okay. >> No questions. No other questions there. Okay. Well, we'll go back to comments. you you've kind of gone on Celeste. Let's go ahead with your comment. >> I just want to say thank you so much.

072What an incredible opportunity for our students at San Marcos and thank you for your leadership through this whole project. Thank you Dr. Maldonado for your support and I I just think I love hearing this type of partnership um with so many community members and how many people you've gotten involved. I mean, I can't wait to tour it. Uh, and it's hugely exciting and I'm so happy that I come at the last second of this project and get to approve it. So, thank you very much for all of your work. >> Thank you. >> No, Mr. No. Well, um, Carlos, >> just really quick, thank you for the for the presentation. Um, and you know, I have peers in the program and they they love it. Um, and especially I wanted to mention the the two

073specific things that I was really excited about with the mental health classes. I think that's that's amazing and super important, especially for now. And then the also this this guidance with internships. I know, you know, a lot of my friends and myself struggled with that kind of stuff and having people there to truly guide you is so so important. So, I think that's great. Thank you. I'll finish up just with a a repeat of the kudos and the congratulations on the excellent leadership and how exciting to see that slide pop up with all of those folks on there and and what what a really um really great thing for us to be celebrating and and uh can't wait to see how this rolls out. Thank you so much for the leadership. >> I'll make my

074comment. So, as you may know, I'm actually on staff at Cottage and as a physician with them for 20 plus years. Lost track a little bit. Um, Cottage is very involved with the community. I'm very supportive of this naming opportunity and the fact that Cottage will continue to support this program moving forward. And healthcare workers work with communities. And as you know, they're your little league coaches. They work in classrooms and they serve on school boards. And so I think that this is a great partnership and it just strengthens our community. So I do appreciate this opportunity and I appreciate all these other donors who also contributed so much to this project. >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you everybody. >> All right. Our next item is a public hearing on the renewal of

075the Santa Barbara Charter School Petition. Mr. Vens, are you going to introduce this for us? Thank you. Good evening, board superintendent. Uh before we open up the public hearing, we'll be hearing from the director uh Laura Donner about the school. Uh just a reminder, uh after this evening's hearing, we'll be doing a thorough review and analysis of the uh the charter school with all the departments. And then the next step is uh we have to actually post a report on our recommendation as of February 9th and then we'll bring the renewal to the last board meeting in February and that's actually on the 24th. So um it is my pleasure to introduce to you Laura Donna. >> Thank you. Good evening. Um, my name is Laura Donner and I'm the director of education at Santa

076Barbara Charter School. I first came to Santa Barbara Charter School in 1993 to open and run the afterchool program and I've been here since as a teacher and now as a director and I love working with children and their families in a school setting. We're grateful to you, the members of the school board as well as the district leadership of Dr. Maldonado and Mr. events in supporting all students in our Santa Barbara community. We thank you for your continued partnership and ongoing leadership. Since our inception, we've been an indirect funded charter school, which means that our funding flows through Santa Barbara Unified. Starting in June of 2026, however, we will become a direct funded charter. We're working with the organization called Charter Impact and the county and district financial teams to ensure a seamless transition.

077In the charter renewal documents, you'll see a three-year projection of our income and expenses in appendix D. And we're confident in our financial position moving forward, including substantial reserves. Santa Barbara Charter School was started a startup charter school, meaning that a group of parents and teachers developed a school out of an idea. In 1992, community members worked tirelessly to bring the idea of Santa Barbara Charter School to life. Out of more than 1,300 state charter schools, Santa Barbara Charter is one of the longest tenur in California. Since 1993, we've served ch served children in a classroombased setting as well as families who want credentialed support to effectively homeschool their children. Our mission is to nurture the interests and build the skills of both students and their families in the arts, academics, and relationships. Social justice

078is a critical component for all schools. Our classroom teachers further develop and regularly teach curriculum in alignment with the social justice standards from the organization Learning for Justice. We have a robust multi-tered system of support for students with academic, social, and behavioral needs and have hired and trained wellness coaches this year. Certified wellness coaches provide a range of preventative, nonclinical services that support the mental health and well-being of children. Our students continue to do well on both standard and non-standard assessments. Our school is small by design. Our enrollment is approximately 285 students with about 60 students in our TK through 8th grade homebased partnership independent study program and about 225 students in our kindergarten through sixth grade classroombased setting. Enrollment is a lotterybased with priority for students who live in the Santa Barbara Unified Elementary

079District attendance area and we have a diverse student population. We have 12 different home languages spoken by our students as well. Our school was founded by parents and teachers in partnership and we continue to be a caregiver participation school. Homeschooling parents have always found excellence and effective educational support through our homebased partnership and student voice has a formal structure at Santa Barbara Charter School with our representative student alliance group. We also staff and run our own before and after school program with guaranteed spots for all Santa Barbara Charter School students. In the past five years, we've fortified our commitment to inclusion, equity, access, and diversity by working with national consultant Sarah Wick, who helps all staff identify their personal growth trajectory in these areas. Our schoolwide conflict resolution program for TK through 8th graders set

080students up for success throughout their lives with communication and listening skills, and our students learn to stand up for others. We're proud of our commitment and ability to support all students intentionally and holistically. Every classroom has an instructional aid for 25 hours a week who works collaboratively with the teachers in support of the students. Many aids are bilingual in Spanish and several have advanced degrees. We support our emergent multilingual learners with targeted instruction in English. And we have a full-time MTSS teacher as well as special education teachers and specialists who serve the needs of our students with learning difficulties. We excel at providing individualized attention for our students. Smarter balanced test scores are one data point that demonstrate how well our students perform. We meet the criteria for a high performing charter school as set

081by the state of California. In addition to formal testing and screening tools, our teachers use multiple measures to assess student progress and inform caregivers about next steps, including observations, interviews, work samples, and teacher responses. Our students continue to make progress annually. We monitor and address growth and can make adjustments quickly. For example, in the 24-25 school year, our teachers spent time developing smaller math groupings for fourth and fifth grades to ensure more individualized instruction. And this year, we increase staffing in upper ma grade math classes to better meet those individual needs. Due to our small school size and even smaller numbers of students in the various subgroups, we can sometimes see a wide variability in scores when comparing them year-over-year. We are grateful to have an experienced and dedicated science specialist who supports the teachers

082with curriculum mapping and instruction. In order to support students in multi-age classrooms, our science curriculum is taught on a three-year loop. Teaching next generation science standards with a focus on phenomena. Each teacher in conjunction with our science specialist ensures that the lessons are effective, engaging, and accessible to all. This fosters collaboration among our teaching teams and builds deeper content mastery for our students. The child's role as a student is to be an active, curious, and engaged learner who takes ownership of their learning, participates in a respectful and inclusive community, and explores their interests through creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking. As progressive educators, we believe every child deserves to realize their potential, whether or not their needs and accomplishments can be measured and met in a conventional manner. We're grateful to have educated children in the

083community for the past 33 years and look forward to serving children and their families for many years to come. Thank you. We have com we do have public comment on this. Um so we have how many? We will um we'll allow two minutes per um per comment on this and then um once that's complete we'll open the public hearing. >> Actually the comments are the public >> Oh sorry. So we're opening the public hearing at 7:15. >> Okay. There are the first three um commenters will be I believe this is is it Lea Tolantina um Donna Romani and Caressa Stevenson so I apologize Lea Tolantina >> Lea Lea Greetings I hope you had a nice start to the year I'm Dr. Lea Tolantino, the proud mother of two Santa Barbara Charter School students, Marcio, age

084nine and currently in fourth grade, and Alma, age five, who began kindergarten this year. Having recently transitioned from another institution, I am delighted to share that my children are thriving at SBCS, particularly due to the school's commitment to the arts as a discipline in its own right. Psychologists and educators have long recognized the visual and performing arts as essential conduits for authentic self-expression, an increasingly vital capacity in a world where young people face mounting social pressure to conform. More recent findings reveal processes through which artistic engagement supports mental health and overall well-being. Each time a young mind paints, constructs, plays music, dances in synchrony, or engages in dramatic play, it gains an opportunity to connect more deeply with itself, with others, and with the natural world. Arts education is not merely curricular enrichment. It is

085a powerful vehicle for authentic expression, social connection, and even spiritual elevation. The SBCS curriculum emphasizes materials-based learning while integrating multicultural artistic traditions and science education. For example, last year Marcio's third grade class learned about soap making and tommo canoe building by the Chumash, weaving together social studies, chemistry, botany, sculpting, and painting through the lens of the region's indigenous peoples. As a multicultural family composed of several racial and ethnic backgrounds, we value a holistic and inclusive education that prepares our children to become culturally competent global citizens. In some as a charter school, SBCS has effectively leveraged its autonomy and expertise to offer meaningful opportunities for students, teachers, and families. Thank you for your time and attention. >> Thank you. Donna Romani. >> Good evening. Thank you for your time tonight. Santa Barbara Charter School has been

086a foundational part of my family's life for many years, and I've seen firsthand the lasting impact of its mission to cultivate learning through arts, academics, and relationships. Both of my sons began their educational journeys at Chana Barbara Charter. My older son is now in 8th grade at Galita Valley. He's thriving in middle school middle school. Straight A's, strong relationships, outstanding citizenship marks. That's what I'm most proud of. He's thoughtful, engaged young person who approaches challenges with confidence. Qualities that are a direct result of the strong academic, social, and emotional foundation he received at Charter. And my younger son is in fifth grade, where he continues to grow through opportunities that intentionally push him to raise his own expectations for himself. As a fourth grader, he was encouraged to participate in the county spelling bee. And

087let me tell you, that is well outside of his comfort zone, but one that he ultimately embraced and he's extremely proud of. And now, as a fifth grader, he's participating in math Super Bowl and genuinely enjoys being challenged and engaged through learning opportunities that are thoughtfully tailored to his individual needs. In addition to being a parent, I've had the privilege of serving the school community in leadership roles, including two years as president of parent alliance and four years in circle of trustees, three of which I served as president. Through this service, I've worked closely with the school's leadership and faculty and cons have consistently seen their deep commitment to students, families, and the integrity of the school's vision. San Barbara Charter School offers an educational program with both breadth and depth, honoring different learning styles

088and multiple types of intelligence while fostering curiosity, creativity, and strong relationships. As both a parent and a school leader, I'm a strong advocate for charter school because I've witnessed its long-term impact. Children who leave the school not only academically prepared, but socially confident, emotionally grounded, and ready to engage with the world. I'm deeply grateful for the role that charter school has had in my family's life and I continue to support it in its future success. Thank you. >> Thank you Caressa Stevenson who will be followed by Adriana Rodriguez, Justina Weinbender, and Margaret Quan. Caressa Stevenson. >> Good evening and thank you to the board for your time and consideration for the Santa Barbara Charter School. My name is Caressa Stevenson and I'm a mother of a fifth grade student. Um, I'd also like to express

089my gratitude to the director of education, Laura Donner, for her leadership, um, along with all the teachers and staff for their dedication and for their work in preparing this charter renewal um, that you guys are reviewing for them tonight. Santa Barbara Charter School has surpassed all our expectations for what a school can offer. Stepping onto the campus, you can immediately sense the love and pride poured into the environment. From handpainted murals and sensory gardens to the tree walk and other campus treasures, it is evident that a well that it's a well cared for community designed for children to thrive. This is made possible through a cooperative approach that involves parents and staff in the community. Parents are encouraged to participate in volunteer opportunities and leadership roles through the parent alliance and circle of trustees school

090board which also serves as a model for children to understand the importance of education and community service. The teachers at Santa Barbara Charter School are some of the most passionate and dedicated educators. They genuinely care about the students and are willing to go the extra mile to ensure that each child is taught and cared for in the most approp appropriate developmental way. The teachers have proactively identified my child's needs and have provided the necessary support to ensure they are advancing. The school and staff have gone above and beyond in providing the resources and assistance to help my child succeed. The school's conflict resolution philosophy has empowered my child to communicate and articulate their wants, needs, and concerns effectively. This has allowed me to reflect on how I can better approach situations. I'm proud to know

091that my child is learning boundaries, respecting themselves, and developing the skills to advocate non-confrontationally while recognizing the dignity of others. The social and emotional skills my child has gained while attending SPS are unparalleled and our family has found Santa Barbara Charter School to be a truly special place. We feel fortunate to be a part of and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to any prospective families. Thank you so much for your consideration and time tonight. Thank you. >> Thank you, Adriana Rodriguez. Is it all right that she speaks in Spanish? >> Wonderful. Thank you. >> Okay. >> Yes. Do you mind here? Good evening. My name is Santa Barbara Charter School. >> Good evening. My name is Adriana and I have a child at Santa Barbara Charter School. I just wanted to share that that school

092has always made me feel welcome and like part of the family. And right now I want to speak specifically about the afterchool program. my child there. As a single mother, I feel like I can finish my workday and allow my son to stay there. and also the principal. She's always made me feel welcome and she helps me in Spanish. >> And my son always has really positive things to say about the school and the people that help him in the program. >> So, I just wanted to say thank you for that and I hope to continue to be at that school. That'll be all. Thank you. >> Thank you, >> Justina Winebender. Hello. I've been a teacher at Galita Valley Junior High School for the past 29 years. We share our campus with Charter School.

093I've seen charter I'm an English teacher there. I've seen charter kids come to junior high with a stronger likelihood to be kind and curious, actually interested in the learning. My daughter, no surprise, we sent there, too. She was there from kindergarten through sixth grade. I came into each of her classrooms every week because that's one of the charter school things. And I got to see the teachers. I got to see the students. Um, I got to see the dedication and the expertise of her teachers and they're all so unique and talented and I got to see the way the kids interacted with each other and with their teachers. My classroom actually butts up against the playground of charter. And so every day I see the kids uh walk by my room um play in the

094playground and do their PE stuff, do their different activities. And I see the camaraderie that the staff has amongst each other, their care for the kids and for each other. My daughter is now in college. And I still get asked every week, "Hey, how is Gracie?" They care. Thank you. Next is Margaret Quan, followed by Joel Block and a virtual speaker, Tanya Jacob. Margaret Quan. >> Um, good evening everyone and thank you for your time here. I'm the mother of two children, uh, fourth and second grader who are thriving at Santa Barbara Charter School. Um, there are many kids who, like mine, fall into sort of an educational gray area, children who need supports and accommodations but don't meet the criteria for an IEP. And Santa Barbara Charter School's dedication to holistic education um and

095social emotional education in addition to academics provides this unique environment where kids like mine can thrive when they otherwise might fall through the cracks. Um the school and the teachers make it a point to know every student individually not just by name but by their interests and uh to know each child so that they can encourage their unique needs. um encourage their strengths and provide nurturing for areas where they need more growth. And this individual attention allows them to identify and implement strategies really quickly that adapt the learning space to each different child and meet them where they're at. Signs of this philosophy can be seen in the classroom classrooms themselves where kids who are feeling flooded can retreat to quiet corners, calm spaces where they can feel safe and comfortable without leaving the learning

096environment and sensory tools and different seating options for kids who need to move or fidget in order to stay focused without impacting the learning of the students around them. Being able to contribute to the classroom and observe my children in the classroom. And also the open communication I have with the teachers makes me feel like I'm a member of their educational team rather than an adversary fighting to get them support. And they don't just support my children directly, they support me, helping me learn more about what my children need, be a better supportive, more supportive parent. Um, Santa Barbara charter schools focus on they focus on help developing good people, not just good students. And this environment that has taught my children to love learning and to feel confident and accepted and secure is evidence

097of the importance of Santa Barbara Charter School's ongoing presence in our community. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you, Joel Block. Hello again. So, I rise tonight to express my support for the renewal of the charter of Santa Barbara Charter School. You've already been presented with and heard the data and statistics as to why SPCs overwhelmingly qualifies for renewal, but I want to speak of those intangibles that cannot be so easily quantified and placed into statistical categories. Santa Barbara Charter School is a place of growth for students, parents, and teachers. I taught at SPCS for 13 years and it is that experience that has shaped who I am as a teacher, a community member and a person. Now, one way that has been used to judge the quality and reputation of a school, particularly

098one of choice, is by those who choose to send their children there for an education. When I taught at SPCS, one measure of a school by the state was the education level of the parents. At the time, SPCS was placed in the highest possible category in this regard. One of my one of the parents of one of my students was a Nobel Prize laurate. I must tell you that as a teacher, a one-on-one parent teacher conference with a Nobel Prize laurate is a unique and challenging experience. But it was not just the effect the school had on me that I most appreciate. My son early in his school life had some difficulties with socialization. He then attended charter school where he was completely accepted, made great friends, learned how to succeed, and matured quite rapidly.

099Today, he is a senior assistant district attorney in the state of Washington. At the charter school, student students learn how to think for themselves and to be an active, caring member of the community. All school districts need a place for students who need a place different than the standard public school. While all SU schools should adhere to the requirements of the school district, some students require a place outside the main school that provides for them and their parents a self safe, welcoming, non-standardized community. SPCS fills that need and its charter should be unilaterally renewed. Thank you. >> Thank you. Do we have our virtual commenter Tanya Jacob online? Tanya Jacob. >> Good evening everyone. My name is Tanya Jacob and I am a Santa Barbara Charter School parent and mom of three children, two of

100whom are currently in fourth grade at the charter school and my oldest is now in 8th grade at Galita Valley. All three of my children have been part of the charter school community and our family has been part of the school for nearly a decade. And we chose the school intentionally for our oldest child and continued enrolling our younger children because the school's care and emphasis on relationships, community, the arts, and the whole child has been felt consistently over time. Over the years, I've seen the school work closely with parents and staff to shape a shared vision around inclusion and belonging and then brings that vision to life in thoughtful age appropriate ways. I was also involved in some of the DEI planning work and what stayed with me was how intentional, collaborative and educational

101the approach has been. The focus has been on learning and growth over time for students and adults alike rather than reacting in the moment. That work shows up in very real places today. It's in the curriculum, the classroom libraries, in ongoing staff learning, and in how students are taught from the earliest grades through sixth grade. Younger students begin with kindness and belonging, while older students learn how to be allies and advocates. My oldest child was academically strong throughout his elementary years at charter school and continues to be a straight A student in middle school, but just as importantly, he is confident, thoughtful, and socially aware. I'm seeing that same confidence and awareness grow in my younger children as well. As a long-standing parent, the consistency between the school's dedication to its students, its core values,

102and what I see reflected in my children is exactly why we chose Santa Barbara Charter School and why we continue to believe in its direction and vision. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. And that closes comments on this public hearing. So, we'll close the um public hearing at 7:34 and um give the board an opportunity for any clarifying questions or comments. Any Okay, seeing none. >> Oh, >> I just have a comment. I mean, I appreciate hearing the comments from the people who spoke tonight. That gave us a fuller idea of all the things that are outside of the statistics. So, thank you for your comments. And uh I' I'd just like to clarify our our next steps here. We have uh we'll be returning on February 9th with a report um from

103our our staff on it and the um potential um uh board meeting approval on February 24th. Is that correct? Okay. Thank you for u for the members of the the um Santa Barbara charter that came and spoke tonight. We appreciate your involvement. >> You already closed it. Yeah. >> Yes. >> Well, we can we can do that now. >> The agenda done. Did you get 39? the first part you got through sorry >> no what she's saying is that we didn't we didn't finish the board member comments >> oh got >> so should we do that now go back to that and then >> I'm just clarifying that we got through the the other one >> E2 E2 right >> okay so we're just doing a little agenda management here we we finished through E2

104and we're going to move back to the board member reports. Um you'll recall we heard from Trustee Escobedo and that'll give the other um board members an opportunity to do their reports. So either of you ready? Okay, Dr. Real. >> Um I actually um don't have anything specific to report, but I did want to um make a comment. Um, we had a lot of speakers on non-aggenda items and one of the things I noticed that was stated is um a dissatisfaction with um placing items in the contract um as they are non-negotiable. Um at the same time people were talking about policy and I feel that a point of clarification is negotiations is about a labor contract and then there is school policy. So I want to be clear as board members we are very

105supportive of our priorities and we are supportive of having discussions to move those priorities forward. Some items do not belong in a labor contract. We can put them into policy. We can have outcome groups and we can all work towards the same thing. It does not mean that the board is not supportive of some of the things that were mentioned. That is not what we are trying to say. And so I would like the discussion to be about how we are all working together. You've heard about our attempts at governance. We did form these priorities and it takes time to start this change and I would like to see that as a community we begin to trust the work that each side is doing. I am actually a union employee at Santa Barbara um at

106UC Santa Barbara and there are things that I never want to see in my contract. it doesn't belong in the contract. And so, just to be clear about the difference between contracts and how this district chooses to conduct itself in terms of our goals for our students and our educational outcomes, we are as a board very committed to our students and their educational outcomes and that they have a good experience in this district. Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you, Trusty Caffrey. >> Hello. I just want to say happy new year everyone. Um, and I'm looking forward to a collaborative year working together on behalf of our students. I just celebrated my oneyear anniversary on the board and it's the new year. So, as we do um I have been reflecting on the past year and

107also making resolutions for the coming one. I am lucky to have um a former superintendent who's worked with many highly effective boards as a mentor and he recently told me something I wanted to share um that the board is really responsible for setting the weather for the district the tone and that that matters a lot. I think President Banning he has also said very similar things. So, I'm looking forward to clear Santa Barbara weather, you know, when it's always 70. Um, but yes, good weather in the coming year, working together a and common steady leadership by the board in the coming years uh in the coming year and years, but um that we continue to improve our governance practices and our efficacy on behalf of students. And so I look forward to a productive 2026.

108Uh, and for everyone who's here, not many people are left here, but for anyone who's still watching, I wish you all health and joy in the new year, and um, I look forward to working together. >> Thank you. I just have a couple of comments. Um I wanted to acknowledge that um yesterday we held um an extra an additional meeting of the finance committee. Um and uh it was a really productive it was a productive meeting. All members were in attendance. Um and and that's always a good thing. Um I wanted to provide kudos to um uh Mr. Tedeski for an excellent in-depth presentation in regard to uh first interim budget that um clarified a lot of things for members of the committee and um also community member Todd Voit who um had spent some

109um individual time preparing some data in regard to um general and administrative expenses that helped shed some light for the committee. Um, also wanted to um acknowledge that all members were invited to attend a work workshop that's going to be presented by the capital advisors group um on the governor's January state budget which has just been released. Um that's happening at the county office of education um next Friday and I know there'll be a couple of members of the of the committee. I will be there and I'm I'm sure Mr. Tedeski will as well. Um so it was a really productive meeting and uh we're going to meet again a week from today. Um it's a busy time in the budget cycle in finance and it's a brand new committee trying to uh really make

110the best use of their time and and I felt like our meeting uh yesterday was a really um a really good one for us moving forward. Um other than that um that those will be my comments. Um, we also then moving on from uh comments in the agenda, we skipped down to the public hearing, but we also had the next item on the um the appointment of board representatives and alternatives to committee. So, I' I'd like to take that on and and perhaps then we can do a break before we return or we'll see where we are at that point. Yeah. >> So, um uh after Yeah, we'll we'll we'll do this. Um um we heard from some committee members and so I'm just going to kind of walk through if you have that that

111that document and we'll have to um uh anyone is invited if they're interested in continuing. So, the we'll just go down the the the list the audit committee. Um Trusty Caffrey and I u make up that committee with uh with um Mr. Tedeski. Um we're um proposing to keep that the same for 2026. There is some question about whether it might be integrated in with the finance committee in the future. Um the special education advisory committee currently uh Dr. Beal is the representative on that committee. Um and um she has expressed an interest in um moving off that committee if someone else wants to do it. Um Celeste, you had mentioned it. Um Trusty Caffrey. Um, I'm not I I I don't see that we had a backup, but maybe what how can we work

112on that? >> I feel that um I'm I'm not trying to move off of the committee. I know that uh Celeste Caffrey has a great interest in special education. She's a very strong advocate. So, I'm very happy to be her backup and to be involved in any activities of the special education committee. >> I want Oh, I want Hello. Hello. I don't know why this >> Can you hear me? Okay. I I can't hear myself. What's going on? But um I'm wondering, can we both serve on the committee because it's not a quorum if Trusty Bill is interested or is that not an option? >> I don't think there's a problem with that. I think in terms of the the assignment, we can label a primary and a a backup, but I don't see any

113reason that two people can't attend a meeting. >> That would be my preference. >> Okay. If that's not good for you, I >> I think just we would do a primary and secondary so that the members of the committee would know whom they could go to first or who the consistent person would be. >> Um, next committee is sustainability currently. Uh, trustee Escobedo and Munoz. >> It works for me. Um, but I've been on the committee for many year or for at least a couple years and have never attended a meeting. So I don't know if it's an actual committee and if it's not an actual committee maybe was we disband it. >> So that is true that we have not had any and we did use this committee a long time ago with the

114solar panels and all that work. So I would agree that we really don't need it. If issues of sustainability were to come up we can always reconvene a group and bring that back to the board. So I would agree with you. >> Okay. So we'll put that committee on hold and um if there is a meeting Mr. for us to understand you'd be happy to be part of it. >> Correct. >> Okay. All right. Um the uh next one is the DEMLAC district emergent multilingual lingual learner advisory committee. Currently um trustee Munoz is on that committee. Um Dr. Beal, you have identified yourself as a second on that committee and and uh indicated that there was a question about more than one attending to that. >> I I think it's the same confusion. I if

115I remember correctly I was appointed as the backup although it's not listed there. I I would actually like to attend the DEMAC meeting. So if if it could be the same sort of uh uh method in which Celeste and I are supporting each other at CK I'm happy to also participate in DELAC. >> Why don't we uh formalize your backup position and say that there's no reason that both of you can attend. >> Thank you. >> Okay. All right. Um, the Santa Barbara County Committee on School District Organization, uh, Trusty Councing. >> Oh, I'm sorry. The housing committee. Um, Trusty Escobedo and Munoz interested in staying on. >> Yes, please. >> Haven't heard anything from Rose. We'll assume. Was she set to be a backup or was both of you on that committee? >> We're

116supposed to both be on it. She's been absent for um the last few. So, I don't know if we have another board member that's interested in that committee, but I do know Miss Munoz has an interest. Maybe we can >> Well, let's get her back and and see what um what we want to do. I'll leave it as it is currently, but if there's some changes, we can look at it at another time. >> Um the Santa Barbara County Committee on School District Organization, uh this is um uh Trusty Caffrey is assigned to this role. it it never meets, but we have to have somebody on it that I shouldn't say it never meets. It is a committee of citizens that represent the different counties throughout Santa Barbara and they only meet in relation to

117changes in school district boundaries for example or changes in trustee areas and um so the the committee has members that meet even recently has only met once a year because they have to for an organizational meeting. Uh the only reason that that a board member from Santa Barbara would meet is if it was something that affected us either a boundary change um uh abuing us or a trustee change within it. So it's not a likely um meeting. We just have to have the name put on on. So uh are you interested in keeping on that really busy committee? Okay. >> As long as no one else wants it. >> All right. Um next is the Santa Barbara School Boards Association meeting uh committee. That's uh five meetings per per year and I think we've missed

118the first one already. That's uh Rose is assigned there and I have been her backup. I have not attended as a backup. It's one that I would have interest on. So I think I'm going to suggest we just keep it that way and maybe we can do the same thing. Um the Santa Barbara Education Foundation meeting um I have been on as um for for a year as the primary representative and Sanita as the backup. Um, we've had several occasions where we're both there. Um, I'm I'm interested in continuing on that committee and let's just leave it the way it is. Okay. Uh, next is the South Coast Tax Youth Committee Partnership Policy. That's is that another one of those where we have people assigned but they're don't not meeting or >> Oh, can I

119get an invite to those? I I've >> so I'm gonna ask uh Miss Edison just to be clear there's a policy at arm and then there's a strategic plan the arm to this committee. Am I saying that correctly? >> There's there's three. There's the policy team, there is the community engagement and then there's the strategy team. >> Which team am I on? Well, it says the policy partnership part policy committee here >> and I just presented there last week. You were not there. Board members, >> can I get an invite to the next one? >> Okay. >> I just need I see the dates here. I just need to know where >> Oscar Gutierrez is the chair for it and he's responsible for facilitating the meeting, but I can follow up and make sure you

120guys are on it. >> Okay. Thank you. >> All right. And I've been listed as the backup. That's fine with me continuing. Adalante Charter School. Um, and Santa Barbara Charter School. Uh, Senita is currently serving Adilante Charter and Rose at Santa Barbara Charter on the backup to um to Dr. Beal. But one of the things that we we're asking about this is that um we've been going to their board meetings and sitting and listening and it seems like not of much use. And what we've kind of discerned is that this may have been set up as a board member liaison to the school that was never really intended to be somebody to sit on the board meetings. So what I'd like to propose is um um for for those to um to assign people that

121are there and the liaison probably should just be based on go and meet with the principal or visit and you know have a just have them know that you're somebody they can reach out to. So with that in mind, um I I'll also say that I don't see um uh a similar position for Peabody Charter. So what I'd like to do is ask for for us to clarify this and bring it back and and make sure that we know who's going to be on there, but to understand that it's not the intent to sit as board members or even to observe the board meetings. >> Um the counselor's axa committee, this was um this was something that Dr. Beal was on. um at uh >> it it was actually um there was an intent to

122have a board member on the committee, but it really it it it didn't quite work. Um so I have not been attending meetings and we will disband my position from that committee. >> And and was that one, if I I'm not mistaken, that was added to our list last year? >> It was added because it was kind of in an informal arrangement that was with another board member. We tried to formalize it but then there wasn't really a space for it to be a formal relationship. So both sides we chose we just felt that it was better for the uh the to to not continue in that. >> So we say that we'll remove that from our list. Is that okay? >> That's what it sounds like. >> Okay. Correct. >> Did you skip legislative

123affairs? >> I did. I did. Um legislative affairs that's Dr. Beal and I on on these and again is we have have we had meetings. It's kind of an ad hoc committee. If we we want to promote something, we should. And so I'm happy to continue. >> I think for this one, we can also think about this one as a committee that we maybe try to say every like twice a year to just look at current policy or new policy and go through a list. I mean, we get updates all the time of new policies, but it might be something or proposed bills. It's really more proposed. It's really about bills as opposed to policy. Well, bills that become policy, right? >> Correct. And I I feel that um uh if there are things that

124um are proposed that we would like to support as a district that, you know, we we act as the the people who try to promote that and be ambassadors for trying to get support for that in the community. >> So, it sounds like we will call it as needed, as appropriate. We we'll call it our meeting. >> Okay. Um, and then the last one is the Committee Advancing Black Achievement, Wellness, and Excellence. Uh, that's Gabe and Rose. You interested in staying on that, Gabe? >> Yes, please. >> Okay. I think that uh absent confirmation of Rose's positions and some of those things on the uh charter school. So, we've got that taken care of. Thank you for the uh the board members that reached out with those preferences. That made this an easier um walk

125through. Thank you. And that that brings us to a readiness I think for report discussion items. Are we missing anything else? Do we want to take a break? >> Yeah. So what should we how five minutes? Eight minutes. >> You want to do selfcare and keep going? >> Whatever you prefer. >> I I have no preference. >> How about five minutes? >> Five minutes. Let's do five. We're going to move into um our report discussion agenda. That's item F. And um Dr. Maldonado will introduce item F1. >> Thank you board members. This item these next two items are being presented as first readings of the proposed bylaw 9250 renumeration reimbursement and other benefits as well as the second item bylaw 9150 student board members. Uh the purpose of these first readings is to introduce the

126policy, provide context and rationale and allow allow board members clarifying questions and offer initial feedback. No action is requested at this time. The proposed policies align with updated law. Staff is seeking board input to ensure the policy reflects the board's intent and values before returning for consideration of approval. Following tonight's discussion, staff will incorporate any board feedback and questions, conduct any additional review or stakeholder consultation, and return the policy for a second reading and possible action at a future meeting. >> So, with that introduction, I'd like to start with any questions and then we'll have public comment on this item. >> Yes, I'm sorry. There is no public comment and so any questions from board members or comments in regard to this first item. Okay. Comment. I think it's a very good idea because um

127I think it makes serving on the board more achievable for more people. Um I think this is a very time consuming and important obviously important position position where you can make a huge impact but I think because the compensation has been so low it is you know people have been excluded from service. So I think that it I I definitely support this change to policy. >> Mr. I'll echo those same thoughts. I think um that was also the spirit behind it and I appreciate Miss Caffrey's thoughts on that. A question I do have is this is guidance from state law. I wonder if rather than could we make a decision to tie it to state law in perpetuity so that as state law changes, it's not an action by the board. It's kind of separate

128from us. We will research that and get back to you. I'm not sure if we have the answer to that quite yet. >> I think one of the one of the questions I'd ask relative to that is the the portion of it that allows um annual increases >> um up to a certain percentage and so that language is very much about allows. So um but I think let's get >> Yeah, I was just the the board policy in front of you. It's about it says may receive the maximum monthly compensation as provided in the ED code. And so it is tying it to state law. But then in the next paragraph it does say what it is currently at the time of right now adoption which is two grand. So I guess conceivably we could

129take out the two grand language and then that would kind of make it an evergreen policy that would always be adjusting in accordance with ED code. If that is that what you mean? >> Yeah, that that's more of what I meant. >> Yeah, I think so. >> Okay. I I have interest in that and then it takes it out of our arena and kind of leaves it to the state. >> Are there other comments or questions from the board? >> Let's move on to the second one which is the um uh the student board um uh board member policy. >> There are no public comments on this item. >> No, no comments. Do you want to do the introduction on this as well? >> Yeah, the the basically it's the same introduction and um I

130I know that we have had previous student board members. I know that Carlos is in the middle of his u term. Um my recommendation when we bring this back to the board is that we consider doing retroactive to July. I know that Carlos and I have talked about elevating the importance of being a student board member in the school district, including how we elevate bringing more students to our student advisory council. So, this could also similarly bring uh other students who may feel like they don't have the time to do something like this and bring up the importance of why it's it's a good idea to join this >> comments from the board. Again, I would highly support this. I think student voice is um crucial and our student board members have brought so much

131and they should be compensated for their time and that as superintendent Maldonado said um allowing any student to join um broadening uh the students who can participate is really important. >> Mr. address. >> I'll echo those same sentiments and then also uh I support retroactive to July. >> Dr. Beal, >> I also support um this policy. I um there was in the policy a description of the voting and how the student board member votes and um I maybe our student board member would have an opinion. Currently, it states that the student student board member will cast a vote before the other board members, which may or may not be something that's um preferred by the student board member. Currently, they vote alongside us. Um >> so that I I think the language there refers to

132that as an advisory bo uh vote, and because the vote doesn't count, if he makes it at the same time we do, we're not really being advised. So, I think that's the purpose behind voting first. Would you be comfortable um using that protocol? >> Yes, my I I would I would be comfortable. I think that's kind of the purpose behind the preferential vote. Um >> and I think >> really um the only at times when I feel I think when there's uh an item that maybe I don't have the the right expertise or knowledge to to speak to or to vote on um then I'll recuse myself. But uh otherwise, I'll vote on on what I what I feel is um appropriate. >> Good. >> Yeah, you have the option to abstain. So, I think

133um moving forward, we should we should follow that process. >> You know, it's it's funny. I appreciate that. When I first got on the board, I read that and and and didn't even see that the board member was voting and and it hadn't made any connection to me that that advisory um or preferential vote has no meaning unless you tell it, you say it before we vote. >> All right. Good. Any other comments or questions regarding this policy? All right, we will >> finish with that. We'll bring those back uh at the next meeting. And that leads us to item uh that was those were item Fs. This is item G. Um this is the item G is a board action on student discipline. Um do I have a motion on this? >> Yes. I

134move to approve board action on student discipline education code 58918 case number 202526-11 >> and a second >> I I second. >> Any discussion? All in favor? I >> I >> unanimous approval. Um and then the next is a petition on readmission of an expelled student. I move to approve the petition for readmission of an expelled student, education code 48918, case number 202425-11. >> Is there a second? >> I second. >> Discussion, questions. All in favor? >> I >> unanimous. Um, thank you. That will lead us to G3, the approval of a retirement incentive for eligible classified certificated management and confidential employees. >> Dr. Thank you. Good evening, board president Banning, board members, Superintendent Maldonado. I'm bringing this item forward to you. Just have a couple um points to make as background. Um, currently the

135district and and um in years past has offered a $1,500 um early announcement incentive for certificated staff to announce their retirement. This had a lot to do with us being able to more accurately staff um our schools for the for the coming school year. um this idea to incre And by the way that $1,500 incentive amount will remain in effect for employees that are not eligible for this particular um proposal. This idea for the increase to 15,000 proposal um really came out of um information feedback that that was received from multiple staff members about the need to the the desire to retire they 63 62 64 but the need to re retain health benefits until 65. And so um that the design of this was around really helping our 63 64 year old um uh

136staff members be able to retire and help bridge them to the 65 age 65. Um but we did include in the proposal um eligible staff members that are um 60 as of August last year. Um, so it was an attempt to do that, but it also was an attempt to to it it does actually have an an an impact on this district's budget. It will be um a cost savings to the district um as individuals are either um not a need to replace them or we do replace them and they're um newer employees. Um I do want to recognize that that um whenever a district brings forward an incentive like this um we know that it um one of the downsides is that it does um it does we do see the effect that that

137employees who have a great deal of experience, expertise and knowledge, we know we're going to lose them maybe a year or two earlier than we might have. So, I wanted to recognize that that's a that's a consequence of of these. And so, we're going to be watching that and really trying to figure out how do we um do our best to replace employees who who are going to be leaving us with all that knowledge, skills, and expertise. Um, I also want to thank um, SBTA President York Shingle and and CSEA President Ken Rivas um, for their work in back and forth with me and helping really design the agreement and the and the contract and getting approval on that. I do want to also um before you consider this for approval, I want to announce

138that um we would uh upon board approval put out messaging as early as tomorrow. that will go to certificated staff. And the reason we are going to hold off on communication with CSEA staff because um board approval is one step, but we do have to wait for CSEA 610 approval process and for their membership ratification and they are moving quickly to do that. And once they do that, we will immediately send out messaging to classified staff. And with that, I will turn it over to the board for any questions uh or comments that you might have about this item. >> Are there any questions? >> Are any questions from the board? >> There is no public comment on this item. >> Thank any questions from the board or comments? >> Trusty Caffrey. >> Thank you.

139My one question is you mentioned that some of our most experienced teachers would be potentially taking this retirement incentive and that we would want to make sure we retain their knowledge and wisdom. And I'm curious just how how we would approach that. >> Well, I want to first remind you that this these are two agreements. one's for classified staff um and it also includes management and confidential and teaching staff. So with I will admit that with teaching staff it is um I am not sure how we're going to retain their expertise and experience. So that's probably not going to be something we're going to be able to do. um we're going to get a a new set of eyes and a fresh set of perspective around lesson planning and things like that from from new

140employees and that that is beneficial to the organization. In the classified side though, we are I I have a list of all the employees, all the positions of eligible people. So, we're going to be watching who takes that and um Dr. Maldonado and I have been talking about a plan for um making sure that there's either training that could happen. We could pay outgoing employees to help um onboard the new employees or have um training manuals that are designed to help when that new employee takes over. We also may see um current employees that have experience in lower level positions move into those classified positions. So um again replacing a teacher experience and expertise. I don't really have an answer for that though. Yeah. >> Any other questions or comments? >> Dr. real. >> This

141is kind of an off-the- cuff question because I don't quite understand contracts and all that other stuff. Um, in a similar way, um, I know that sometimes for retirement, people just want to work less. And, um, and I know that we have that option within our contract system that if people want to work less, but they can't work just a little bit. I wonder if, you know, we have room for our experienced teachers who don't want to work all the time to be part of our substitute teacher pool. I think that could be something that could be beneficial to the district and I don't know if we try to do that or not. >> Uh we do they do have a time period where they cannot work for the districts. I believe it's 6 months.

142>> Yeah. 180 days. >> Yeah. And that that's um that's a a a stirs regulation that comes out of some abuses that happened a decade or so ago with people figuring out how to retire and keep working at the same time. So um there have been times when it has been waved because of emergency need and such. But uh anything else? I'm going to move to approve the retirement incentive for eligible classified certif certificated management and confidential employees. >> Do I have a second? >> I second the motion. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Motion carries unanimously. >> Well, we haven't changed the policy yet. >> How was that for dodging a bullet? We should have you practice on the next one. a non-binding non-binding vote. How's that? >> All right, that brings us

143to item H, acceptance of donations for January 13th. >> I'll move to approve uh to accept donations for January 13, 2026 with gratitude. >> Any questions? Or did you have things to remove? >> Not for this one. >> No. Okay. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm I'm ahead of myself. Donations. Yep. And did we have a second? >> I second. >> Okay. All in favor? I >> I >> passes unanimously without removing any of those donations. All right. Now we get to the consent agenda. >> We have one public comment. >> Okay. Do you want to do your >> Just to be clear, I'm going to be asked that we move item specific >> to number two. >> So the second item in I2 and also I12. >> All right. So we have a public comment. >>

144Yes, we have a public comment on I6 and it is by um Regina and I think this is maybe Sabins. Regina Sabins. >> Hi, my name is Regina Savens and I am an art teacher at McKenley School and Cleveland Elementary School. I just want to say um I'm here to say thank you for this consent and for us allowing us this opportunity to go to this conference. It's a national arts educator. >> I don't know. >> Press the button. >> Can you hear me? >> All right. Um the approval was for National Art Educators Association conference. Um I just want to say thank you because this is important for us as educators to learn to network to grow our expertise in art and to become advocates and and to increase our cultural relevance and our

145national relevance. um NAEA has created has been a big part a major role for the national arts standards and we in the state of California play NAEA plays a big role in creating the California arts standards as well. So this is a really great opportunity for us. The committee itself represents 50 um teachers from all 50 states that come together and and and um network through this time. So, thank you again for that and just for this time. I really appreciate and hope that um we can continue to to go to these um PDs each year. Thanks. >> Thank you. >> All right. Do I have a motion to accept the consent agenda as amended or other comments? >> Oh, I had one I'd like to pull for a question. >> Okay. But I always

146do this and I apologize. I didn't write down the >> I think your question is about the item I already pulled which is the perfect pulled it. >> Oh, beautiful. >> Is that item two? >> Item two. I two item number two under I2. >> Oh, okay. >> I will move to approve the consent agenda with the exception of I2, item two, and I12. >> Is there a second? I I second the motion. >> All in favor? >> I consent agenda passes as amended >> unanimously. And that's a wrap. >> So my question is basically I thought that what we did is that we could ask questions on the item that Oh. Oh, no. We can't. >> They have to be pulled. >> I see. So, they're pulled and then brought back. Is that >>

147So, we pulled it because we know we need to add more information to those items. So, if we decide to bring it forward, we'll bring it another meeting. So, you did not approve it tonight. >> Uh, okay. So, there's a a difference in what we're talking about, pulling it out so that we talk about it versus removing it from the agenda, which is what the superintendent did. >> Okay. >> And future agenda items. I know that. Um, can I add? >> Yes. Future agenda items. >> Uh, Gabe had mentioned this in his comments. Having a discussion about the letters curriculum and um having a board discussion about how to encourage our staff to complete this curriculum because it is very important to our literacy priority. >> Is that something that we want? Um, okay. So

148now now I'm I'm trying to remember if we want to say yes and vote on this as a board we can put that on automatically or we can leave it to discussion of agenda planning. Help me make the right choice. >> So my understanding is if the board is wanting to make it a mandatory or wants to have that discussion I can meet with some of you if you want to draft some language to bring to the next meeting if you want to do it that way or we can have a discussion then create the language and then vote on it. Yeah, I think that that's right. And in terms of how to get it on the next agenda, the first step is to ask Bill uh uh President Banning and Superintendent Maldonado if they

149are aligned because they make the first call and if they don't want to put it on the agenda, then you would bring it during this section of the meeting for a vote >> for the ne at the next meeting. Okay. So, there there's a request for this to be added to a future agenda. >> Can we ask are you aligned? >> Yes. >> All right. So, just to be clear, um I need direction from the board if your interest is to have us draft language to bring to discuss or have a discussion and then from that discussion we create language to bring to approve. So, that would be one meeting versus two additional meetings. >> May I just ask a question? um about the presentation which clarifies whether I need one or two meetings. Um

150did they say that um 70 teachers were interested like oh no 17 oh okay got it thank you. My inclination is that we draft language and that should be some people meeting with our intent and then um we then we discuss it and we refine it. I feel that if we start with a discussion that could be very wide ranging and um it should be focused >> and so I would like to know which one of you or two would like to meet with me to help you well with me and Joanna to do that. I would be happy to do so. >> I'm happy to do so as well. >> Okay. So, the the direction has been to meet with the superintendent and council to draft language to bring forward to a subsequent board

151meeting presumably our next one. >> Yes. >> Is there time to do it before then? Yeah, >> we will make time. We'll work out as >> All right. And well, I was just going to say if it turns out that we need more time, we can I think push it till the following meeting. I can't imagine these changes happen this school year, right? >> Yes. And um I believe that with the money we've set aside and the fact that it's starting in February, we might be able to send a message that we were interested in having that done. depending on what the draft of the language looks like, we might be able to get more people started sooner and into this uh first cohort because it's really all our schedule design. And then we've also

152looked at dates with the August professional learning day. So that might get us into a second cohort. So, the sooner we do it, we believe if the board decides to go that direction, I'm going to stay neutral and then the faster we can get moving on those two cohorts. >> Okay. >> Thank you. >> Any other items? >> I'm call the meeting at 8:27. >> And then there's the party for >> the party for Kenya. Yeah.