001like to call the meeting to order. Tuesday, January 20th, 2026, regular meeting of the Syasis Valley Union High School District Board of Education. Roll call, please. Terry. >> Uh, please note that Miss Noble is not present at this time. >> Thank you. Stand for the flag salute. So at this time we'll move on to the approval of agenda. I do have one item uh item number six which is a draft letter of intent for joint use of the two pool SYB community aquatics complex to be tabled to uh next meeting next month. I'm going to make a motion to uh table that. >> I do. >> I'll second that. >> Roll call, please. Jerry. >> Mr. Johnson. >> I. Miss Grace Velasquez. >> I Mr. Lefamini. >> I >> that's approved. That'll move to uh
002number six. We'll move to next month. And uh now is there a motion to approve the rest of the agenda? >> I'll motion to approve the agenda. >> I'll second. >> Roll call, please. >> Mr. Johnson. >> Hi. >> Miss Grace Velasquez. >> I. >> Mr. Leamini. >> Hi. >> Okay. Agenda approved. we can move on to the superintendent reports and presentations >> and we will have our student board member go first. >> Hi everybody. Just happy new year. Happy to be back. Um so starting off the school year ASB we got right into it. Continuing to plan for winter formal which will take place February 28th at the Montro and our theme is the Great Gatsby. So I'm super excited for that. Last Friday, we had our winter sports assembly where we recognized varsity
003winter sports which are in full swing right now and they just started their season. So, I wish them all luck. And we also recognized students with good GPA and attendance. I believe they got hats and blankets. So, super cool. ASB has also helped with the incoming freshman tours. We gave them tours around the school just so they got more familiar with the school that they're going to be attending next year. Other clubs. So in FFA we're doing vine printing just started. Last weekend we competed in LOI. Special congratulations to Louis for placing first high individual and we are competing this weekend at Reedley Junior College. And I just know a lot of the other clubs are excited to get back into the school year and looking forward to what they're going to do for Valentine's
004Day. Thank you. >> Thanks. >> Great job. [clears throat] Um, so to start my statement off, I just wanted to recognize yesterday being a holiday and being Martin Luther King Jr. Day. And as we honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we want to reflect on Dr. King's legacy of service, justice, and the belief that education is a powerful force for positive change. His vision challenges us to ensure every student is valued, supported, and given the opportunity to succeed. We commit ourselves to leading with integrity and fostering respect and belonging in our schools and continuing the work of excellence for all students. So, not just a day off, but a day off with purpose. Um, want to thank the PTO for their food for finals at the end of last year. They just our community does
005such a great job of just supporting our kids and our PTO has been an invaluable asset to our school community. So, really want to thank them for that. Um, Casey mentioned the academic recognition rally that was on Friday. It was the winter sports rally. Also, I just wanted to let everybody know that 350 students received hats because they earned a 3.5 or above fall GPA. So, that's great. and 432 students received like a picnic type blanket um because they had a 95% or above attendance rate for the fall, which was really hard to do with that flu season that kicked in at the end of last semester and is kind of continuing into this semester. So, great job by all those students. Our Google transition is live. We're all making adjustments. Um students were always
006on Google, staff and students are now living all everyone in Google instead of in two different systems. Um the students were on Google and the staff was in Microsoft Word and um that email system. So now we're all on the same system. So that's nice. Um I will now move on to um we we're honoring two students here tonight. So, I'm going to call them up one at a time and they can stand up here and one at a time and we'll go over I I'll read a little something about both of you and then you can sit down. But when we're done with both of you, we'll call you up to take a picture with the board members. So, um the student of the month um program is proudly sponsored by Kelly Huner. The
007program provides an opportunity for faculty to nominate s seniors who demonstrate outstanding character, achievement, and service as both students and community citizens. Each honore receives a $100 award and the recognition in the local newspaper generously provided by Miss Huninger. It is my introd and it is my honor to introduce our January senior student of the month, Quinn Robinson. So, come on up here, Quinn. [applause] Quinn is a senior nominated and voted on by our faculty. Tonight we are proud to honor Quinn and outstanding students whose character, perseverance, and passion truly reflects the value valley values of Sanz High School. Quinn comes from a supportive and loving family that includes her mom, dad, and older sister who graduated in 2024. family has played a central role in shaping who she is today. Especially who her parents
008whom she credits for giving her both guidance and independence. They allow her the freedom to try, to fail, and to learn, helping her grow into a confident, thoughtful, and resilient young adult. Quinn also values close friendships, enjoys reading, and has shared a special bond with her dad through dance because he has to participate in the well-known dad and daughter dance. And she said he's spectacular at it. [laughter] We'll see the video someday. Okay. What Quinn enjoys most about being a student at Sanz is the relationships she's built and the classes she's been able to take. She feels deeply connected to her peers and appreciates the supportive learning environment that has allowed her to explore her interest and challenge herself academically. Quinn has excelled in one Alan Hancock concurrent enrollment class, four honors classes, and nine
009AP classes with a weighted GPA of 4.5. Academically, Quinn is driven by a genuine love of learning, especially in science. She plans to major in biology on a medical pathway with interests that include hospital lab and clinical work. Her academic ambition is clear. She applied to 23 colleges and has already been accepted to Penn State and the University of San Diego with um additional options including Northeastern and Boston University. She embraces the challenge of rigorous coursework, not because it's easy, but because she truly enjoys the content and pro the process of learning. Quinn stays motivated even during difficult moments. Like many seniors, she has started to feel the effects of senior year fatigue or senioritis as we like to call it. But she pushes forward to remind herself of her goals and her love of
010education. That determination is especially meaningful given the significant challenges she faced during her junior year when she had chronic migraines that severely affected her and made learning extremely difficult. Despite those obstacles, Quinn persevered, continuing to perform academically while managing um pain and really uncertainty, an experience that revealed her strength, discipline, and resilience. Outside the classroom, Quinn has been actively involved in cheer where she found a strong sense of community and a creative way to support her school. Participating in cheer allowed her to connect with people she may not have otherwise melt met and gave her a meaningful way to show school spirit. Being part of the homecoming court was another defining moment for Quinn, an experience that pushed her outside her comfort zone and helped her grow in confidence. At her core, stren Quinn strives
011to be a good friend and a good person. She is thoughtful about how her actions affect others and believes strongly in kindness and empathy. Her goal is to make sure that people around her feel supported and respected. When asked what advice she would give her younger self, Quinn shared this message. Keep having fun, stay silly, outgoing, and don't worry about what others think. Most importantly, stay a good person. A fun fact about Quinn is that she previously participated in robotics and played the flute. Interests that highlight her curiosity and willness willingness to explore new skills. She loves true crime podcasts, enjoys traveling to unfamiliar places, and a dreams of going away to college to experience new cultures, new environments, and personal growth beyond her comfort zone. Her favorite book is The Invisible Life of Addie
012Laroo reflects which reflects her love for stories that explore identity, time, and meaning. If she could meet one historical figure, she would choose Marie Antuinette, not for the myths, but to ask the questions that history never answered. In every way, Quinn Robinson exemplifies the spirit of San of a Sanz pirate. She is curious, resilient, compassionate, and driven, not only by achievement, but by character. We are incredibly proud of the way she has navigated challenges, embraced growth, and prepared herself for the future. Congratulations, Quinn. We are honored to recognize you as the student of the month. [applause] And we'll call you back up to take a picture with everybody in a minute. And we would also like to recognize Natalie Bailey. So, come on up, Natalie. [applause] Tonight, we celebrate our Elks Club sponsored student of
013the month program, which honors students who excel academically and serve their communities. The San Ne Valley Elks Club uplifts youth by fostering a commitment to community service, a core value of Elks Scholars. We are proud to support the Elks mission knowing today's scholars can be tomorrow's leaders in our community. It is my privilege to introduce our January Elks Club student of the month chosen by our staff and administration, Natalie Bailey, a senior at Sanz High School whose leadership, perseverance, and commitment to excellence truly reflects the spirit of Sanz High School. Natalie was born in Santa Barbara and has lived in the Sanz Valley for the past 11 years. She brings energy, discipline, and heart to everything she does. Athletics has been a central part of Natalie's life. She has played soccer for as long as
014she can remember, but is also deeply involved in both indoor and beach volleyball. This year, she served as team captain and was named most valuable players. Honors that speak not only to her athletic ability, but also to her leadership and character. Outside of sports, Natalie enjoys baking, hiking, spending times out outdoors, and running activities that reflect her out active and balanced approach to life. While Natalie enjoy what Natalie enjoys most about being a student at Sanz High School is the strong sense of community within athletics. She has grown significantly in her athletic ability and takes pride in mentoring younger students, especially f freshmen, often stepping into a coaching coaching role to encourage and support them. Having been homeschooled prior to high school, Natalie values the opportunity San Nez has given her to challenge herself academically
015through AP and honors classes, where she has field where she feels she has gained her sest academic foundation. Natalie credits her family as her greatest source of influence and support. Her mom played a key role in her education through homeschooling and has been a constant source of encouragement and guidance. Her dad has been equally supportive of her goals and her grandparents on both sides of her family provide a strong and loving support system. Surrounded by people who believe in her, Natalie has learned the importance of perseverance, humility, and gratitude. Academically, Natalie's favorite subject is math. She describes her brain as being wired to think logically and analytically. At the same time, she enjoys engaging in the creative side through art and English, appre appreciating the balance those subjects provide. One academic accomplish she is especially
016proud of is her AP art portfolio, which focused on creating functional kitchen pottery. This project reflects both her creativity and her attention to detail, qualities that define her work in and out of the classroom. Natalie has taken three Alen Hancock current enrollment classes, five honors classes, and five AP classes, and she has a 4.3 weighted GPA. Natalie motivates herself academically through strong self-expectations and a clear sense of direction. Growing up in a homeschool environment helped her develop independence and a deep understanding where she wants to go in life. She plans to pursue a career in nursing and is prepared to attend Colorado Christian University to continue her education. Natalie is also actively involved beyond academics and athletics. She participates in FCA, NHS, and um I I wrote the acronym down wrong here, but the um
017National Honor Society and the CSP. She holds leadership roles within her church youth group. In that role, she plan she helps plan activities, leads worships, and teaches Sunday school classes. experience that has helped her develop patience, confidence, and leadership skills outside of the classroom. The values the values Natalie strives to live by are rooted in her Christian faith, respect, kindness, positivity, and treating others well, no matter who they are. She contributes to the school community by leading through example, whether on the field, in the classroom, or through her interactions with others. One of Natalie's biggest challenges has been managing to has been managing the pressure she puts on herself to ex excel in every area to be a top student, a top athlete, and a leader. Through experiences like preparing for AP exams, balancing work
018as a barista at good seed, and managing her commitments, she has learned the importance of balance, grace, and trusting the process. When asked what advice she would give to her younger students, Natalie shared this thought. Take life. Be present each day. Don't dwell on the past or worry too much about the future. A fun fact about Natalie is she lives next door to her cousins. And she loves classic stories and mysteries from Nancy Drew and the Hunger Games to Percy Jackson and Jane Austin. If she could meet any f famous figure, she would choose Bethany Hamilton, who she admires for her strength, resilience, and wisdom. As a woman who never gave up in the face of adversity in every way, Natal Natalie Bailey exemplifies what it means to be a Sanz pirate. She is disciplined,
019cana compassionate, and grounded, and driven by purpose. We are incredibly proud of the example she sets for others in the future she is preparing to build. Congratulations, Natalie. >> [applause] >> So, as always, that is the best part of my day, month, and that closes out my superintendent report. >> Thank you, Kim. That's always the best part of the meeting as well. Uh, so now we can move on to the board comments correspondence. Is there anything you guys would like to speak to? Okay, then [snorts] it's too early in the area. [laughter] Here we go. Happy New Year, everybody, by the way. Um, so we can move on to public comment time. We've got two cards uh tonight. The first one will be Brian Robinson. Who? There he is. Okay. Great. Hi. Um, thanks Brian
020Robinson with the PTO. Always a hard act to follow, especially tonight. A little teeyed there. Um, hey, I just wanted to thank you all for the support you give us in the school and all the support that um, staff gives us when we put on these food for finals things. It's really critical. We had a ton of support from the community as Dr. Shan said and um we had more volunteers than we needed and it was just great and I'm just thankful for you guys your support and we'll continue to do it every year and we'll stick around. So thanks. >> Thank you. Thank you Brian. [snorts] [clears throat] And next we have Kyle Abello. Hi Kyle. >> Hello Mr. President, honorable board members and staff and audience. Uh, thank you all for continuing to
021serve in this important position. Um, I'm here uh with the Sanz Valley Community Aquatics Foundation. Um, I know we don't have the draft letter of intent on today's board meeting, but uh we'll be back in February again to speak in support of this letter of intent. This really is the first step in the in the progress towards a detailed joint use agreement between all of the entities involved in the pool process. um the two cities, SVang and Bolton, the high school district and the aquatics foundation. Um I really strongly believe I've been involved with this project since I was on the board here and so I've seen it seen it come forward. Lisa Palmer, our president, has been doing an amazing job of rallying and we are now crossing our fingers, knocking on wood on
022the kind of the home stretch uh with our fundraising and I know this is going to be a a wonderful project serving both our high school students and the larger community. So just encourage you if you again if you have any questions, please reach out to the foundation to we happy to answer those at any time. But again, we'll we'll be back in February again to um address this and hope that you support the draft letter of intent. Thank you. >> Thank you, Kyle. [clears throat] >> Uh so now we can move on to consent. Um is there a motion to approve the consent agenda? >> Yeah, I'll make a motion to approve the consent agenda >> and I'll second it. >> Okay. No further discussion from me. So is roll call please. >> Mr.
023Johnson >> I. >> Miss Grace Velasquez >> I. >> Mr. Levini >> I. >> Consent is approved. Uh now we can move on to board matters. Uh is there any have you guys looked at any dates? Are we any concerns or you really that's the only matters that we have to worry about at this point? >> I'm good so far. So, as far as the dates are concerned, I haven't had any changes, >> More dates. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Great. We'll close that. And uh Oh, shoot. Did I skip a page? I did. >> I think you did. >> I did. Hold on. We got a whole bunch of stuff. >> I was Well, that's a short meeting. No. Uh, sorry guys. Uh, we got rid of that one. I apologize for putting that in front.
024We got action to do. Uh there is uh number one is the vacancy on the board of trustees and possible action to pursue a provisional appointment or to call for a special election. Would you guys like to discuss any of that? Or Todd, I know you weren't involved in your appointment prior to your appointment. >> I would just say that how I was drawn in I think would probably be the best decision. It seemed to work. >> Yeah. If you if you looked at the numbers, the uh special election could cost $75 to $100,000. Considering that we have election coming up in November, it makes zero sense, especially for it would be uh wasting district money. So, I think we should go ahead with an appointment at this time. >> And the seat would come
025up for uh >> it comes up anyway in November as well. >> In November as well. Yes. So in November there'll be four four seats >> and that doesn't change. >> That will not Well, no. So you had a you had a interim, >> right? >> And this new appointee will have an interim as well. Those two seats were um yours was that [clears throat] that seat that you're on was a was a new election, >> so it still had three years. So the next time around that'll go to the general election again. >> So it'll only be a two-year term after >> after. >> Yes. >> Okay. >> So it doesn't turn into a four-year term. >> That's how they reset the the >> reset it. >> So you if you get reelected, >>
026hopefully you run again. >> Yeah. >> Uh then you would have a two-year term and you would come up in 2028 >> with you [clears throat] again. >> With me? >> Yeah. >> So any questions on that? Yeah. So, the three seats were already up in 2026. Okay. Okay. Is there a motion to approve the uh uh action to pursue a provisional appointment? >> I'll make a motion to pursue provisional. >> I'll second that. >> Thank you. Roll call, please. D. >> Mr. Johnson. >> I. >> Miss Grace Velasquez. >> I. >> Mr. Lamini. >> I. Motion to pursue a provisional appointment is approved. And now we'll look uh move on to Lincoln's birthday observance resolution 2025 2026-4. And you guys you do you remember that what this is about? This is about changing the
027date to work. It's not actual birthday the birthday, but this works for our schedule as a district. Is there a motion to approve? Yeah, I'll make a motion to approve the We're just moving the observant state. >> Yes. >> Yeah. >> To follow Washington. >> Yes. >> Second. >> I'll second that. >> Roll call, please. Terry. >> Mr. Johnson. >> I. >> Miss Grace Velasquez. >> I. >> Mr. Lamini. >> I. >> Motion approved. Now we can move on to number three, the special education service provider salary schedule. Okay. So, as part of our ongoing transition to bring special education inhouse from the Sanz Valley Special Education Consortium, we are bringing in-house positions that we currently do not have and therefore do not have a salary schedule for. Um, the transition is slightly more complicated
028than just bringing on new positions and creating a salary schedule that is comparable in the county. we have to by law as a result of the transition in the process meet at least meet or exceed the base salary of all of our providers as they currently um are paid through the consortium. So with that in mind, we had to create our salary schedules to meet or exceed that and we used the current salary schedule and matched it with our our negotiation increases and and such. So as a result you see a separate salary schedule for service providers. So this will include the nurse psychologist and our speech and language pathologists. Currently there is a chance that down the road you know as as special education program progresses that we may need to add occupational therapy
029or something else to this provider salary schedule. But as of now these are the positions that we are hiring for and transitioning over. So, they are the only ones that we need a salary schedule for. If that changes, it wouldn't likely be this year, but if that does change, we would bring this schedule back to you with the addition of the um new positions that we might need to add. >> Um AP is on the teacher salary schedule, so we're good on that. >> And like like occupational therapist and those oneoffs, do we have to hire someone or can we um go through like third party? Um, uh, >> that's what we're currently analyzing right now with speech and occupational therapy. Um, there's a couple options. We can contract out or we can hire and
030we can contract out those services to other districts. >> So, we are looking at the cost benefit analysis of both ways, both for speech and [clears throat] occupational therapy. and and the reason you have them on the salary schedule now is in case it's more cost prohibitive or or you still want to go back to it. I mean, >> um speech, we we need a significant amount of speech on our campus. So, we anticipate that speech is is is a likelihood. Occupational therapy, there's [clears throat] a very small need for occupational therapy on our campus. So, that is the reason why we haven't visited that salary schedule yet. And do you ever double dip? [laughter] [gasps] >> Yeah. No, >> I know. Would that be great? Um, but we did we do have PE and
031adaptive PE, but um adaptive PE were we are uh looking at sharing that with some of our other community funded districts. So, >> do we not have already a school nurse and psychologist or this is addition? >> They were all funded through the consortium and so the school psychologists were consortium employees. The nurse was a 4 day a week consortium employee and only a one day a week Sanz employee. >> Okay. >> Well, then would we hire just a part-time in those positions or would it have to be a full time? >> We have the nurse here currently five days a week. We pay the consortium all five days of that. >> When she says that she's only here for sun one day a week, it's based on like the coding and how the budget
032breaks out in that four of her days are special education related days and the other day is general education services. But we are paying all of those service fees to the consortium because she is technically hired as a consortium employee. And as a result of the transition, the hiring agency needs to transfer from Buen Union School District to the Senz High School. So that's why we are transitioning in that way. >> Good thing it's not too convoluted. This is >> easy transition. >> And that's it's a very similar situation to the psychologist positions and how we're hiring those positions. Is there a motion to approve the special education service provider salary schedule? >> Yeah, I'll make a motion to approve the special ed salary schedule. >> I'll second that. >> Thank you. Roll call, please.
033>> Mr. Johnson, >> I. >> Miss Grace Velasquez. >> I. >> Mr. Levi. >> I. >> Motion approved. We will move on to the tenative negotiations agreement [snorts] certificated. >> Don't forget you either have to hold the mic or >> Why is it talk real close to you mean? >> Okay. All right. I'll talk real close. >> Holding it seems uh intimidating. So you have before you items number four and items number five. I've broken them up um between classified and certificated, but really when we talk about it as a district, we talk about negotiations as a whole. So, I'm not going to give separate presentations for the units. I'm going to give one presentation and it's going to cover the next two items on the agenda. So, if you recall, um we have technically
034only two official bargaining units. we have what's called our faculty association and then um our educational professionals unit. So the faculty association really represents all of our certificated employees that are able to be represented by a union. So our certificated management, our admin, our principles, our vice principles, those types of individuals cannot be a part of a union based on their contracts and their duties. So they are unrepresented but they fall within certificated bargaining units. And then we have our educational professionals. That is all of our classified or our individuals who work to support the school who do not need to be certificated by the state who do not hold a certification. And then there are also three represent three unrepresented individuals in our classified management that also are not technically part of the classified
035union based on being management. They're not allowed to be. So they are considered management and confidential employees and they are considered unrepresented on the classified side. So if you recall back many moons ago um classified tends to uh settle their negotiations early. They like to know going into summer what it's going to be for the next year and then they rely on um contingency language saying you know if these things come in at this rate or that rate we'll come back to the table. where certificated says why waste everybody's time we'll just come back when we actually know the numbers and then we'll settle our agreements. So that's kind of the differences between our two official bargaining units but really when we're looking at it you know internally we look at it as four bargaining
036units even though there are only two official units. So our certificated bargaining unit was the unit that was still unsettled because they were waiting for our property tax numbers that don't come to us until November. Once those property tax numbers came in, we were able to sit down at the table and come up with uh a calculation that still allowed the district to meet its deficit reduction plan by putting 3% towards the district um unrestricted general fund ending balance, but then left the remainder of the increase in property taxes to be allocated proportionally to each of the bargaining units. And by each I mean all four. That's how we do it internally. So to each of the bargaining units, they all have their proportional percentage. And then we sit at the table and we say,
037"Here's your $100. How do you want to split it up? Do you want to see it in salary? Do you want to see it in benefits? What is it that you're looking for?" So when we sat down with certificated, we looked at really four different things. The first one was salary. Um they had they we settled on a 6% increase to our base salary. And within the certificated base salary and the um the underlying contract or the agreement, the co-curricular and coaching share schedules are directly tied to the certificatedbased salary schedule. So what that means is when we pay our coaches and when we pay our teachers for some of those co-curricular activities like running robotics like uh going to fair staying at fair feeding the livestock animals a number um I don't know you
038name it there's a bunch of things that they do and they are paid based on a share schedule and the share is like a hundred it is currently with this tenative agreement $160 per share and there's this whole factor where it says like if you did it for this many if you you know all these things and that is how we get to our salary so to speak for doing those things. They're tied to the share that share number that $160 is tied to the base salary schedule for the certificated salary schedule. So if the certificated salary schedule goes up by 1% the share goes up by 1% and so on. So with their 6% increase, they had a 6% increase to their base salary schedule, which which positively affects not just their net and
039gross pay, but also their retirement in perpetuity. So when there is a raise on schedule rather than off, on schedule means permanent fixed forever and that it affects their retirement. Whereas off schedule would mean that it was just for that year and it doesn't go towards their retirement calculations. So, we did a 6% increase that was retroactive to July 1st and that include both that includes the base salary payments as well as co-curricular and coaching stipens. And then looking at stipens, we have several stipens for a number of different things, you know, throughout the year that teachers do as extra duty that are very hard to assign like an hourly or even a daily rate to. And one of those things is um those teachers who teach dual andor concurrent enrollment classes under our thank
040you see I also CCAP the CCAP program where they're teaching college courses to our students. So there are a number of different colleges that we work with and some colleges have stipens and some don't and it was leading to inequities amongst the teaching staff with what they were getting for teaching these classes and these teachers are asked to use the college's grading system. the college's learning platform and do all of these different trainings and such for the college in addition to the work that they do here on our campus. >> Just No, you could finish. I >> Okay. So, as a result, we uh worked with our union to make sure that there is uniformity with regard to stipens that teachers get for teaching these classes, these dual and concurrent enrollment classes. So, for each
041class they teach, they will get $500. So, let's say they're teaching history 108. So, for teaching history 108, they will get $500. If they teach two periods of history 108, they're going to get the $500 plus $100 for the extra period. If they are teaching, let's say, history 108 and polyai 101, they are going to get 500 for each class because they are different classes. Make sense? >> And the reason for this is so that our students can get the dual enrollment credit that goes onto their transcripts. >> Correct. Correct. Yes. and so that our teachers are compensated for the additional work outside of our district that allows us to offer these programs to students. >> And correct me if I'm wrong because you're the genius in this area. Alan Hancock actually pays for this.
042>> Correct. Correct. Well, >> yes. >> They pay us >> Yeah. >> a certain amount of money per course and we >> we get to designate where that money goes. >> This is now uniform. um across the county for Hancock classes. >> So, it's not an additional dollar amount that Hancock's going to be giving us. It is us allocating the funds that Hancock gives to us for this purpose when generally they were just put into our our ending fund balance and they were used for salaries or materials and supplies in general. They are now earmarked specifically to take this first before the other expenses come off. We are working towards I believe both colleges actually paying more to cover these but that's something that Kim is negotiating currently but is not yet done. And then
043looking I'm sure and then looking at benefits the certificated salary I mean the certificated negotiating bargaining unit decided that their benefit current cap of 17,879 was fine as it was because they would like to focus on salary. So they did not have any increase or any change. Excuse me. Trying to breathe and speak or not working out tonight. They did not have any change to their current annual cap to their health and welfare benefits. So what that means is that they consciously chose to have an increase in salary instead of having any of the increase go towards mitigating the increases in their health and welfare benefits. Um so I anticipate, you know, in future years you kind of flip-flop. So that's probably what they'll look at. And then this is kind of one of the
044bigger ones and I think this was Kim's really uh really hard fight big win. I would say that we as it stood before tenative agreements, we were only allowed to offer new employees up to eight years of prior service credit to come in. So, what that means is if we had a 15-year veteran teacher who applied and was great and we hired them and they're sitting in another district making, you know, step 15 or 16 in their district, they would come and have to fall back to a cap or a a beginning salary of no more than nine because they would only get their previous eight years of experience and they would start at step nine. So what that did was it really prohibited us from being um competitive with other districts, especially other local
045districts, other high school local districts that give either all years of experience or 20 years of experience. So we were unable to compete with those districts based on years of experience. Teachers wouldn't want to come and lose eight years on a salary schedule of 10 years, whatever it was. >> And that goes towards the retirement too because then their salary would their >> Yeah. because technically generally their salary would be less and they'd have to work their way back up. So yeah, it would affect their retirement. In some cases we may still be higher. That'd probably be very slim to none and it it when we were going through recruitment it was none. I don't want to say none none because I'm sure there's a district out there we could beat but you know it
046wasn't working well for us. So we negotiated an increase from 8 years uh cap to 18 years with the caveat that we place our all of our staff retroactively giving them their 18 years. So what this means is we did not pay everybody's retroactive pay for however many extra years that would have been hundreds of thousands of dollars. What we did was we said okay if you were started with a max cap of eight years but you really should have had 10 years that means that instead of being at step let's say 22 now you would be at step 24. So for this year we will rightsize the ship for you and we will put you from step 22 to step 24 and your retro pay is only for this year because it is under
047our collective bargaining agreement for this year. So, we had a total of eight employees moved and I can tell you that the impact I mean it's great to give new employees more money. Like nobody's complaining that but the impact of being able to look at your current staff who have been here for 5 10 15 20 years and say hey look we're able to do this for you and you know you don't have to do anything extra. We are able to do this. It's really impactful. I mean there were tears. Terry was it was a really nice feeling to be able to do that for our staff and not just new staff. >> And I think too it didn't feel right to only do this for new employees and not to do this for employees
048that have been loyal to us in the valley. >> Um and the union was on board and and and understood that as well. And so we came to an agreement about the 18 years. I would feel horrible if we hired a new teacher next year on year step 18 and a teacher who has been here is still on step 10. >> It just doesn't feel right. And I don't think morally and ethically that's how we want to operate in our district. And so I think everybody's on board with this and everybody was happy. Yeah. So >> and that's wonderful because mo a lot of districts do not do that. Yeah. So, it's definitely the budget side of me is twitching a little bit, but it's definitely for the right reasons. So, you kind of have
049to balance that. Um, I will say there are some caveats with the years of service and all of that. Like the caveats already existed in our collective bargaining agreement. Like you had to have a valid teaching credential in order to get those years of service. So, if you taught somewhere that was a private institution or something like that and it didn't require a teaching credential, you don't get service for those years. But that none of that language changed. That language has already been in there. So, we're just following that same language. Also, if you don't have enough credits to move to the next column and you're maxed out, because some of our columns max out at say 10, 11, 12 years. If you're at the maxed out, there's nothing we can do. So, you're you're
050stuck at the maxed out. So, there are some caveats with with regard to the the language and limitations, but overall, it was a great move for staff and great for us, you know, future stuff. The last thing I'll talk about is no current employees were affected by this update, but every single year I've been here, I've looked at our certificated salary schedule and I have looked at um column one on the left, step one being 58,156 and step two being 58,158. So you work a whole year and you get two extra dollars the next year. And I am certain that at some point that was a typo that just stuck and it's just been carried forward every year. But it drove me crazy and if I were stuck on, you know, starting at column one,
051that would make me crazy. So we changed that just as a a matter of housekeeping and we just made the columns corrected to try to have more of, you know, variation between the steps. No employees are affected. No employees are on the step and column. it would only affect future employees and in general most of our employees come in well above these columns anyway based on how they're graduating college with what degrees now but at least now we can look at it and say it is more correct than it was and it doesn't drive us all crazy now you're welcome um so as part of our negotiations we sit down at the table with our official certificated bargaining unit and our official classified bargaining unit we do not sit down with our unrepresented employees, they
052get what is called a meto. And our unrepresented employees in our administrative salary schedule represent one principal, two assistant principles, a chief business official, me, and a superintendent. So any increase that happens to the certificated side of the house and and not just increase, any change to the salary schedule, any change to the benefits, any change to the work year, those types of things, they they just get tacked on as a meto. So Kim's me too or the superintendent's me too is also enumerated in her contract language. So it's just a matter of contract language it happens. Whatever certificated gets she gets. So this goound that 6% increase on the base salary schedule also was applied to the admin salary schedule with the caveat that the CBO already had a separate raise given to rightsize
053with duties. So, the CBO was not included and that pay is not being affected by this tenative agreement. Um, it's important to note that we've had some some great superintendents here and and the vision for salary increases and how you look at salary and how admin gets paid have all been very different theologies, right? But when you have years of admin who are trying to do right by the district and think they're doing the right thing and don't increase an admin salary schedule while the certificated salary schedule increases, it's great for those, you know, couple of years, but what you see happen is the increase between the average or the highest teacher and the lowest or the starting out admin, the gap gets smaller and smaller and smaller and smaller And that's okay for a
054time, but it comes to a point where we will not have admin work for an additional 3,000 or 5,000 with all the added responsibilities and duties and evening hours and, you know, supervision, all of that required plus the the admin credential itself if they aren't keeping up with not just our local admin salary schedules at other district but also within our district. Because if you can make a h 100,000 as a teacher and 105,000 as a VP, why would you do that? So that is very important to just keep in mind that there were many years about 7 to 10 years ago where the schedule the the onset increases for certificated were not applied to admin and we are getting to the point where our admin beginning and our teacher max out is is dangerously
055close. So, >> and hopes is to um what would be the word um hope that admin comes from within and they know the culture of the school so that like we had started as a teacher moving in through admin. So, yes, if you're a teacher, why move to the headache position if you're not getting paid for it? >> Exactly. Exactly. And there's additional days and all of that kind of stuff. So it's just we need to make sure that we are balancing fiscal responsibility with you know responsibility to people and positions as well. So >> and I think other districts do the me too. Isn't that pretty standard? >> Very standard. Yeah. Because you don't really I mean the only other alternative would be to sit down with every single unrepresented employee which in our
056size district okay that could probably work. It'd be timeconuming, but it just makes more sense and it's more uniform to >> Well, and it never feels good to give different people different percentages. >> Oh, yeah. It's not. >> So, what if one group What if the principal and assistant principles negotiated a 5% but then teachers only got a 2 and a half%. That never feels good and it's not right in my in my opinion. >> Yeah. Especially I don't like doing that to classified folks either. >> Yeah. >> So am I understanding that there was not a meto agreement? >> There was >> in previous >> So there has always been a meto understanding but um >> so it wasn't a written >> it's not really written in any contract with the exception of the
057superintendent >> and it may have been written into previous iterations of principles or assistant principles. I don't I haven't read all of them um from the past, but I do know that there were several years where admin were given off schedule instead of on schedule when other people got on schedule or they were given a reduced amount which >> So I I have a question there was and I don't remember when it was but that years ago there was a an 11 or a 12% raise. >> Correct. >> And admin did not get that raise. >> Correct. there. And it got it's getting closer and closer and closer. So there there are >> I I'll just put it out there because it's public. Our assistant principles are so close to a teacher salary where they
058work 11 and a half months or 11 months and weekends and nights and board meetings and and teachers work 10 and a half. So So that's something we're going to be looking at in the future. I was just going to say this is something we need to visit. >> Yes, it is. It definitely is. I don't necessarily think now is quite >> that. I understand that, but but it's it's definitely something that needs needs to be discussed. >> But the me too has been implemented across the board or that's something we Okay. >> Yes. Okay. So then on the flip side of that same coin, we have our classified employees. and our classified employees originally settled for a 3% on schedule raise when they were doing their negotiations. And there were a number of reasons
059for that. One, I was projecting slightly lower than the than the property taxes came in. So they they were told they had less money to spend, so to speak. The other thing is they really focused their last negotiations, and I'm sure you'll remember, on right sizing their salary schedule. It wasn't so much about the uniformity of the raise. It was how do we move people and redo ranges. So with that, they underspent when taxes came in what they had. And part of their contingency language was like, hey, if we underspend, we revisit. So as a result of going back to revisit with them, we it so happens that the 2% getting them to 5% was what spent their money. So their me too is not oh certificated got 6%. Their me too is certificated got
060to spend their allocation based on this increase in property taxes. We too want to spend our full allocation based on the increase in property taxes. So the reason that their additional 2% only gets them to five and not six is because the me too is I get to spend my allocation how I can not we get the same exact dollar amount because that's not what the formula does. So um their classified union is 27 employees. It's basically everybody but a teacher. It's all the grounds, all the custodial, all the maintenance, all the people. Um, and again, they're they're it's less of a meto with but there's not a better terminology, but it's me too to spend their allocation if that makes sense. So, they'll be up to a total of 5% for this year rather
061than the 3% that they originally settled on. And as part of that, the actual me too is the classified management and confidential. And this is three employees. It's our maintenance and operations manager, our food services manager, and our assistant to the superintendent who is not a manager but is titled confidential, which is important for the designation. That's why she can't be part of the union as well. Um, so they get the me too with regard to the classified union and they get the additional 2% for a total of 5% on schedule increase this year. Okay. So the fiscal impact of this is it is all funded through our increased property taxes. So we have come up with a formula that takes that 3% gives it to the district bottom line. Anything over the 3% is
062allocated between the units. Our certificated unit is 340,446 with admin being 63,479. Classified total is 45,650. Classified management 10,641. The total cost or the total impact is an ongoing 460,216. Well, yes, it is a current it's a current for the year impact because it's like retro and stuff, but it's considered ongoing because the raises are permanent raises, but yes, it is for this year. >> Can you just um slow down a moment to this the 3% and the 3%. So the 3% is a guarantee because of property taxes as at a certain point and we don't want to go too far high. >> Are you talking about our deficit reduction plan? >> Right. Just so kind of clear out there. Yeah. Just >> clear. So for for community information the district Oh, two years maybe
063three years ago at this point. I maybe two okay almost three years ago um we were looking at just a ballooning uh structural deficit. As a result of that, we met we had outside uh consult consultants come in and help us draft a deficit reduction plan. And rather than, you know, slashing positions and slashing programs and really impacting our student experience and our staff's livelihoods, we opted for the slower deficit reduction plan, which basically said if you freeze everything and you do nothing, your property tax increases should outpace your deficit in x number of years. Then they said, "Okay, but that's unrealistic. That would mean no raises for I think they said something like seven years, six years. No raises, no increases, freeze buying, freeze everything to current levels. So you can only do what
064you are currently spending for the next six or seven years. We could have done that. It it would have had a very similar effect, but doing that drastic of a deficit reduction really doesn't build relationships. It strains relationships. So the board opted for a more of a middle ground approach and said okay so if we give the district 3% of our property taxes and guarantee that 3% regardless of whether it's 10% or you know 4% if 3% of our increase each year goes to the district operating expenses to the general fund anything over that we allocate to staff based on the proportional you know amount for each unit then we can still address our deficit reduction in a timely manner, but also in a manner that still takes care of people, doesn't decimate programs, and
065doesn't negatively impact the student experience. So, when I say gives the district 3%, I mean in adherence with our deficit reduction plan, the district set aside 3% and then the remainder went to the allocation of what is able to be spent during negotiations. You're welcome. Okay. So, the financial outlook, we spent slightly more on negotiations to settle than we wanted, but so when I when I came to the table, the property taxes were enough that I said, "Oh, okay. So, the district can have 3.2% and then we can use like 3.5% and allocate it between all of them and we're doing a little bit better for our deficit reduction plan. Yay, that'll feel great." And then we'll go to the table. when we got to the table, there were some needs and you know, we
066really wanted to iron it out because we don't know what next year is going to look like. I can't tell you the heart palpitations I am having trying to get the consortium budget in and figure it out. So, we wanted to make sure that we did right this year so that we move forward knowing that we did everything we could to get to this point and until we get everything integrated, until all the dust settles and we know where we are, we did right right now. So, as a result of that, we said, "Okay, fine. We'll go down to 3% for the district and then everything else that gives us the little bit more than we had wanted, but still covers the increases that we tentatively bargained for or agreed to. Um, again, we are
067prioritizing negotiations this year and making sure that we ironed out as many of the bigger issues like the salary and the stipens as we possibly could because we know special ed and that transition and all of that is going to be a huge impact to our budget and it's just going to look different. It's going to feel different and it's going to cost different. So, we are going from a bargaining unit of 47 to 49 members. we are adding 10 more members. Like we are going from a classified bargaining unit of 27 probably adding like 10 12 more members. So when you're looking at cost the cost of 1% this year versus the cost of 1% next year, it's going to be completely different. So everything's going to feel different. >> The the difference I
068think we'll see is that we are paying the cost of those salaries. We're just paying it to Buin. >> Correct. Correct. Now, what we'll be able to see is what we're actually paying and where it's actually going. So, that'll be the difference. So, when she says she's having heart palpitations, it's because there are so many unknown factors >> on the on the on the consortium side fiscally currently >> that we are making guesstimates and predictions. But next year at this time, I think we'll have more of a solid hold on what it will actually cost us. And then we can start analyzing where to go from there. >> And like you said, we're already paying. It's not like if you suddenly have to come up with 20 positions and those those salaries, they're already >>
069correct. We are paying for all the people she mentioned. We are currently paying their salaries. we're just being charged for them and we're sending our money somewhere else, >> right? >> It's like hiring, >> right? And then we're just being sent a bill for negotiations rather than having a voice at the table. Those types of things. So I all all in it's going to be much better situation. I think both financially as well as programmatically and people-wise. It's just having that many unknowns when it's that big of numbers is just it's scary. The difficulty at the table in negotiations too is just that um we always had to factor in the fact that we have direct costs for employees that are housed here that we have to pay to someone else, but those are still
070employee costs. And when it comes out of a separate pot, it's very difficult to negotiate one for people that you're not directly paying for from Santinez, but two, [snorts] we like she said, we have no control in the cost and health and welfare benefits, the cost in raises, anything. So it creates this this imbalance between employees. So now everyone that works here will be on the same playing field. And when we come to the negotiating table now we're not with a dangling number out here of well here are our direct costs we're paying for people over here. They're all together. >> It's much more transparent because right now we're going to the table saying okay our our documents when we look at the state documents say you're paying $2 million in salaries. But really, when
071you take into con consideration the consortium, we're paying three. But when you're sitting at the table and you're looking at those lines, sorry, it only says two in this line because that's not where it's being paid for. So, it helps shed light on yes, these really are salaries. Now, they are reflecting in the salary budget codes instead of services. And it allows the transparency in negotiations to be better. It also, you know, it's very confusing to people who don't live in budget all day to say, well, sorry, but this really is a salary even though it's not in the salary line. And I know I told you all salaries will be in the salary line, but they are, but not our salary line. Buton salary line. Sorry. So, that won't happen anymore. So when this
072question really started circulating which was our first year the confusion was the number that we had to look at like okay where's this money going >> exactly >> and what is it going to and once those questions started getting asked nobody had an answer. So, at least at this point, this board and future boards will know exactly where it's at. And that's huge for the district. >> Yeah. >> Whether we have to spend an extra little bit of money or we make a little bit of money on it, >> right? >> It's it's the way it should be. >> I agree. You'll have more control and more transparency regardless of the outcome. >> We're fortunate we have you to take care of this. >> Thank you. [laughter] >> Thank you. >> Absolutely. >> We shall
073see. Um so after our our tenative agreements, the district can meet its financial obligations for the current and the next two fiscal years. That's we have to deal in all three. Um the full financial effect of the negotiated agreement will be reflected in our second interim. And then at second interim, we should also have the multi-year projections that show what we tenatively think consortion is going to cost in different places. So, it's going to be a bit of a shocker, but it I think it'll start the road towards transparency. >> Well, I think that bullet's the most important that you we can that third one down that we meet our financial >> Yeah. And we're still meeting our deficit reduction plan. So, we are balancing doing right by people and doing right by the the
074books. So, I think that's important, too. So, our next steps, um, the retro pay for all of the salary and all of the movement and all of that will be paid out on the January salary schedule, provided everything's approved this evening. Um, the onboarding of our special education department employees is in process right now. I would say it's half done, maybe a little bit more. Um, we are calculating new baselines for our next negotiating year. Again, we'll have to come up with what does 1% equal? what is everyone being hired at? What does that look like? Um, we also are making a list of new items that will need to be addressed in our next um, negotiations. There are stipens in the special ed world that just don't exist in our stipen salary schedule. So,
075we'll have to bring those. There are just some things like that like our teachers don't ever have to worry about psych evaluations for a special education student. So, that's something new that our psyches will have to look at. And how are we going to address that? What does that look like? What kind of a stipen and where is that enumerated in our CBA? So, we'll have a lot more language cleanup and additions as we integrate our new department. I will present the second interim budget to you guys in March. And then we anticipate no negotiations for 2627 to begin anytime after February of this year. And again, classified tend to settle early and then, you know, rely on contingency language because they like to know ahead of time and certificated tend to wait. Given that
076we have so much language and and stipens and other stuff to add, we may start negotiating with certificated earlier for everything but salaries just so that we can get all of these things in place before these new uh new employees start like the stipens and all of that and then work towards salary agreements when you know budget numbers come in and property taxes come in. But I think it'll be a much busier and earlier negotiating year just because of the transition and getting everything in. Are there any other questions? >> Okay, thank you. >> Thank you, Elisia. That was awesome. [clears throat] So, we'll move on. Is there a motion for approval of the tenative negotiations agreement certificated and classified? Four and five. Uh a motion to um agreement for the tenative negotiations for um
077classified agreement for classified and certificated employees. >> I'll second. >> Roll call, please. >> Mr. Johnson, >> I >> Miss Grace Velasquez. >> I >> Mr. Leamini. >> Hi. >> Ten of negotiations for classified and certificated. >> Approved. Okay. You bet. Thank you. That's amazing. Um, so and we moved number six to next month and earlier we went to discussion and there was no discussion unless we have something that's come up. [laughter] >> Okay, fair enough. Uh, board matters I think we're good on as well. And now we can move to close session at I think it's uh 6:38. If you'd like to take a little break, we'll meet in there in five minutes.