001All right, I'm going to call the meeting to order at 4:01. Uh, roll call. Sam. Trusty Wagan >> here. >> Trusty Soilu. Trusty Murphy. >> Yes. >> Trusty Pearson >> here. >> Trusty Anderson >> here. >> Trusty Maroy >> here. >> Trusty Crane >> here. >> Dr. Smith >> here. >> All right. Do I have a motion to adopt the agenda? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Uh moved by Trusty Crane, seconded by Trusty Pearson. Roll call vote. >> Trusty Wagan. >> Yes. >> Trusty Soilu. >> Trusty Murphy. >> Yes. >> Trusty Pearson. >> Yes. >> Trusty Anderson. >> Yes. >> Trusty Mroy. >> Yes. >> Trusty Crane. >> Yes. Yeah. And before I continue, I'm going to mention that uh Trustee Ursulu is not here because we are going to close session in which
002she has to recuse herself because she has a conflict of interest. So that's why she is not here right now. Um and we're going to move on to number three, which is community input on close session items only. No, we don't have any public comments. Seeing none, we will move into close session. The items will be a conference with a real property negotiator. B um conference with labor negotiator and C public employee discipline dismissal release. We will return to open session at 6 pm. >> We call the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m. Um, opening ceremonies, a moment of reflection and pledge of allegiance led by McKenzie Bova. >> Place your right hand over your heart. Ready, begin. >> I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for
003which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. >> Um item 9A, recognition of the 2025 board president. Um we'd like to take a moment to thank um Trustee Wigan for her year of service. um she is the diplomat I aspire to be in my life. Um she did such a phenomenal job and we're so lucky um that we that we had her at the helm for the past year. So we really appreciate what you've done. Um, so can we award her this [applause] [clears throat] very [laughter] >> twins? Twins. Old press, new press. [laughter] Yeah, >> I will say thank you everyone. Um, probably I'll speak at my when it's time to speak, but just thank you. This is it was a great honor serving. Um, and I'm only
004as good as the ensemble as I've heard about a uh musical recently. uh it's only as good as the ensemble and so you guys are great and I really appreciate working with you all and continue to do the the good work. So and uh more more accolades later but thank you. >> All right. Um so with that we'll move on to item 10 um superintendent acknowledgement of the 2026 board. >> Yeah. so that folks uh at home or in the audience aren't confused. Um recently the board revised bylaw 9100 to establish a yearly rotation for leadership roles to ensure that all NMUSD zones are represented in board leadership in a timely manner. Um as such the board no longer votes on the leadership roles that's taken care of by order of the bylaw itself. So
005no decisions were made in close session or out in the parking lot. uh it's established in policy the organization of the board and their leadership roles. >> Great. And with that, we'll move on to the annual organization meeting. [laughter] >> I think I think we will. Um so item 11 A is to approve the appointment of the secretary for 2026. Um [clears throat] which is would be Dr. Smith. Do I get a um >> someone to make a motion? >> Trusty Crane and second. >> Second. >> I second. >> Great. And a roll call vote. Sam. >> Trusty Soilu. >> Uh yes. Trusty Murphy. >> Yes. >> Trusty Pearson. >> Yes. >> Trusty Mroy, >> yes. >> Trusty Anderson, >> yes. >> Trusty Crane, >> yes. >> Trusty Wagan, >> yes. >> Great. That was
006unanimous. Now we'll go to 11B. >> Yes. >> Um, we have a public comment from Miss Ruth Sanchez Kobayashi. Would you like to do it now or during the comment period? >> Comment section's fine. Thank you. >> Come. Um 11B is approve the appointment of the assistant secretaries. There are a lot. Um assistant superintendent for elementary ed, deputy superintendent, secondary ed, assistant superintendent achievement, innovation and continuous improvement. We know who that one is. Very long name. Assistant Superintendent, Chief Human Resource Officer, Assistant Superintendent, Special Service, and Assistant Superintendent, Chief Business Official. Do I have a motion? >> So moved. >> Second. >> And Crane and Sam, do we have a roll call vote? >> Trustee, >> uh, yes. >> Trusty Murphy, >> yes. >> Trusty Pearson, >> yes. >> Trusty Mroy, >> yes. >> Trusty
007Anderson, >> yes. >> Trusty Crane, >> yes. Trusty Wider. Yes. >> Okay. It is 70. Moving to 11 uh C. Approve recommendation for the chief negotiator. Um Tracy Nib. Do I have a motion? So moved. >> Second. >> And roll call vote. >> Trusty? >> Yes. Trusty Murphy? >> Yes. >> Trusty Pearson? >> Yes. >> Trusty Mroy? >> Yes. >> Trusty Anderson? >> Yes. Trusty Crane. >> Yes. >> Trusty Wagan. >> Yes. >> Great. And now we go to 11D. Approve the designation of management personnel as presented on this um handout which is I believe in the back and everyone should have and it has a laundry list that I'm not going to read the whole laundry list. So um for that one as presented. Do we have a motion to approve? >> So moved.
008>> Anderson. >> Second. >> And Peterson. >> Great. Uh, roll call vote, sir. >> Trusty, >> yes. >> Trusty Murphy, >> yes. >> Trusty Pearson, >> yes. >> Trusty Mroy, >> yes. >> Trusty Anderson, >> yes. >> Trusty Crane, >> yes. >> Trusty Wagan, >> yes. Great. And now we will move to a very long one. Um, item 11. E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, >> M, N, O, P, Q, R, no S, T, U, V, W, X. Uh, motion to approve all of them except the policy committee is the one that's missing, folks. >> Motion to approve. >> That was Trusty Anderson. >> Second. Murphy. Um, roll call vote. Sam. >> Trusty. >> Yes. >> Trusty Murphy. >> Yes. >> Trusty Pearson. >> Yes. >> Trusty Mroy. >> Yes. >> Trusty Anderson.
009>> Yes. >> Trusty Crane. >> Yes. >> Trusty Wagan. >> Yes. >> Okay. So that was 70. And now we go to 11s which is approve the election of the policy edit team 2026 and there were six trustees that self- selected and it is limited to three. So do I have um a nomination for um >> sure I I move to nominate um Andrea Maroy Crystal Wan and Carol Crane. Second. >> Second. >> So that was Peterson and then second was >> wag. >> Great. Do we um do we have any comments or discussion? >> Sure. Um I just wanted to send whoever is going to be in the um upcoming um committee uh some of the project some a project that we're working on with the with the current group that has been meeting
010because there's some things to clean up in our um policies. And I also just wanted to state and again this is not about any specific person but I feel strongly that for um the policy committee it should be somebody who has served for a full year. Again it's not a personal thing. Um I was told to wait for over two years when I first was on the board. Um and so I think it's something that's really important to see a full cycle and what um that typically looks like. Thank you. >> Great. Any other comments, discussion before we go to a roll call vote? No. Sam, can you do a roll call vote? >> Trusty Soilu. >> No. >> Trusty Murphy, >> no. >> Trusty Pearson, >> yes. >> Trusty Mroy, >> yes. >> Trusty
011Anderson, >> no. >> Trusty Crane, >> yes. >> Trusty Wagan, >> yes. >> Great. Um, four to three. That passes. And now we can move to item 12, which is adoption of the minutes from the 11:1125 meeting. Um any motion? >> So moved >> second and crank. >> And roll call vote. Sam. >> Trusty Soilu. >> Yes. >> Trusty Murphy. >> Yes. >> Trusty Pearson. >> Yes. >> Trusty Mor. >> Yes. >> Trusty Anderson? >> Yes. >> Trusty Crane? >> Yes. Trusty Wagan? >> Yes. >> Great. The vote was unanimous. Now we move on to um Trusty Murphy. Can you introduce the student board member reports item 13? >> Yes. Um good evening. McKenzie is here on the dis with us from CDM. Um and uh I think our we have a couple more student
012board members here. Thank you for coming joining us this December. I know it's busy time for all of you. Um, so with that in mind, the topic tonight is now that we're heading towards the end of the year and the holidays, what would be on your wish list for your fellow students and your school campus? Be creative. But I think, as I said, within reason. So, um, so anyways, I think we have who's coming up first, Charlie or Kenley? >> McKenzie, you're gonna go first. Okay, never mind. that way. >> Good evening, esteemed board members in the Newport Mesa community. U my name is Mackenzie Van and I want to thank you for allowing me to speak on behalf of Kron Delmar High School. Um upon receiving this agenda question, I asked my peers what
013they would wish for on our campus during this holiday season. The most mentioned wish list item was an improvement in our bathrooms. Our bathrooms feel a little outdated as there are leaks in the pipes and some toilets can't flush. Adding hand sanitizer stations around campus and in the bathrooms as well as fixing the appliances would improve the overall cleanliness and sanitation of our school bathrooms. Additionally, I would wish for phone chargers in classes. CDM offers a phone charging state station in the student resource center, but is it is difficult to drop off your phone on the way to class as it can be out of the way and inconvenient. Phone chargers in each classroom would make it easier for students to charge their phone rather than walk all the way to the SRC to charge
014them. It would also keep students off their phone in class since they would be charging. Another item I would wish [laughter] for is tutors on campus for AP classes. The majority of students at CDM take at least one AP class. And with finals coming up, many students are looking for extra help. Having tutors on site would allow our students to perform at their best and improve scores on final exams. And my final wish for the holidays and final season is to let my peers know that everything will be okay and that they are more capable than they know. Right now, I see students getting frustrated and stressed as the first semester is coming to to a close quickly. Many feel that the work is piling up with no way to handle it. I want my
015peers to know that there are multiple resources on campus such as finals fiesta, which happens every Sunday night and is an extra review for students. In addition, I'd like students to know that we have great school counselors and school psychologist for added support and that they can talk to any admin about their troubles. Thank you. That was great. [applause] >> I I am expecting someone to say chocolate fountain. Somebody somebody. Um Charlie from Monista. Good evening, Superintendent Smith, Board President Ersylu, board members, and members of the Newport Mesa Unified Community. My name is Charlie Leverett. I am the student board representative for Monav Vista. And the topic I was asked to address tonight, now that we're heading towards the end of the year and the holidays, what would be on your wish list for fellow
016students in your school campus? The first few things that come to mind for me are an additional student workspace or larger student lab. Last year, we had over 600 students take one or more classes at Monav Vista. We are on track to meet that number once again. Students only have to be on campus one day a week, but have the option of working more days if wanted. Between our two student lab spaces, we only have 36 desks. Since we are growing each year, students could use a larger space to work in. Monavista would also like to would love to have a wellness space. We would like a dedicated space for students to relax, unwind, and un and de-stress. Lastly, we would like a student store to promote positive behavior and recognize student effort. Our store
017could include gift cards, snacks, treats, and other incentives to get us through the day. Our school vision is to have a marquee where we can display our student store for all students to participate in. Thank you for allowing me to share at tonight's board meeting. >> Thank you. [applause] >> Guess I'll just have to be on my wish, the chocolate fountain. Um, Henley from Costa Mesa. [clears throat] Good evening, Superintendent Smith, President Ursulu, and STEA board members. My name is Ken Lopez, and I'm speaking on behalf of Costa Mesa High School. When I read today's topic, the first thing that popped into my head was excitement since I knew that I was going to have the opportunity to walk around campus asking students, "What do you most wish for your classmate and your school this
018Christmas?" After reading a lot of their answers, the most popular one was to organize events to connect with each other since some of students feel that school has become a place where each each class is divided where only certain groups get the most fun events throughout the year. Also, the students mentioned that they love to see more opportunities around campus such as assistance within with dual enrollment curses and tutoring programs because these opportunities can be limited sometimes due to uh external school factors that they cannot control. A student a student wish for a strong support for mental health, a more balanced education and authority system, especially for those who take the bus every morning to get to school on time and are enrolled in rigorous courses such as AP and honors. When it comes to
019our school campus, a student wish for greener spaces, decoration for holidays and festivities, cleaner bathrooms, and most importantly, recondition to celebrate their uniqueness such as athlete of the week or student of the quarter. Last but not least, the student wish for a Christmas tree on campus to start seeing each other as a community instead of a stranger. Thanks for listening to my school community. Merry Christmas and happy new year. >> Thank you. That was beautiful. We appreciate all of your comments. >> And maybe we will get the chocolate fountain here. Um, next up is Harbor Council PTA report number 14. Good evening, President Osoru, Vice President Murphy, Clerk Pearson, Trustees, Dr. Smith, Cabinet, and members of our community. My name is Martha Flur, and I serve [clears throat] as the president of the Harbor Council
020PTAs. Yesterday, Harbor Council held our annual lunchon for our unit presidents, principles, and district personnel. The wonderful Costa Mesa Madreals entertained our guests under the direction of Ashley. I'm gonna probably ruin her first last name. Riopa >> Riopka. >> Um I am thrilled that John's Linfor's legacy of focusing on developing vocal e site reading and remaining well known as a performance group is just continues and it just thrills me that um Ashley is doing that. As we wrap up the first half of the uh 2526 school year, we remain dedicated to strengthening connections and among parents, teachers, and administrators. Uh we want to thank you um Dr. Smith and the board for including several of our PTA members and units to the strategic planning and visioning session. Our district now includes over 4,800 PTA members
021and we encourage again we encourage everyone to consider joining one of our NMUSD PTAs. Nine of our schools California Corona Delmare Newport uh Costa Mesa Enen Hillybrook Lincoln Newport L Newport Heights and Sonora have all exceeded their numbers over last year. We are getting ready for Sacramento Safari on Jan uh February 23rd and 24th. It's our opportunity to hear from experts and meet with our local legislators in small groups. We encourage board members to attend as they have in the past and we would like to also encourage our title one schools to send a representative to give a face to our very diverse communities. Finally, I want to end with this. It's part of NMUSD's legacy, the Starfish story. In fact, we used to have a starfish award that was honored and given to uh
022members of that were nominated and members of our faculty and staff and it was also the in unofficial logo on our business cards. It all started when and it's written by uh Lauren Eley and was a part of a 26 page essay. >> So I'm only I'm not reading 26 pages. You should be really thankful, right? [laughter] It all started when a young girl and ad whether whether it's a boy whether you want to add whatever name you want to put to that person was walking along a beach upon upon which thousands of starfish had been washed up by a terrible storm. When she came to each starfish, she would pick it up and throw it back into the ocean. People watched her with amusement. She had been doing this for some time when a
023young when a man approached her and said, "Little girl, why are you doing this? Look at this beach. You can't save all the starfish. You can't begin to make a difference. The girl seemed crushed, suddenly deflated. But after a moment, she bent down, picked up another starfish, and hurled it as far as she could into the ocean. Then she looked up at the man and replied, "Well, I made a difference for that one." The old man at the looked at the girl inquisitively and thought about what she had done and said and you know and and was inspired and joined the little girl in throwing starfish back into the sea. Soon others joined and all the starfish were saved. Remember, each act, word, and deed emphasizes all human actions, both spoken and done, are significantly
024interconnected and are subject to judgment and accountability, often rooted in faith, integrity, and the alignment of inner motives and outward behaviors. So during this holiday season, please be safe, joyouish this holiday season, surrounded by friends and families. You all make a difference. As our vision says, a world-class education for every child every day. Thank you. [applause] >> Great. Next is item 15, CSEA and NMFT president's comments. Amy Ch. >> Hi. Good evening everybody. Good evening, President Nuruel, trustees, Superintendent Smith, Cabinet, and guests. Um, it's a busy time of year for everybody, so I'm gonna make it brief. Um, I also had notes about the strategic planning, and I wanted to thank everybody, um, and Dr. Smith for making sure that classified had a seat at the table. Um, I know that, you know, it's important
025to represent everybody and, um, having a voice makes a difference. So, thank you all for that. Um, I'm also happy to report that we reached an agreement with the district to adjust the Kalpers reporting for monthly classified employees uh to the required divisor. Um, this change will correctly report service credit for for retirement for more than 60% of classified employees. So, I want to thank you for your support and working with Tracy and Jeff um through that has been um a great Christmas present for people to know that their retirement is being secured. Um, so that's it. I I want to wish you all tears of laughter and hearts filled with joy. Merry Christmas and happy new year. Thank you. Next round to read. Some people have mentioned that they're having trouble hearing tonight and
026that's not good for me because I don't have a very strong loud voice. So, I'll try to hold this a little closer. So, good evening, President Ursulu, trustees, Dr. Smith, cabinet, and guests here tonight. So, last night we um celebrated our NMFT site representatives with great food, thoughtful gifts, and really good conversations. We thank these educators, our site reps for all that they do for the union and the support that they give their colleagues at their work sites. With the situation that we're in, they've had more meetings this at this time than what is normal in a whole year. [snorts] So, the atmosphere was lively. Everyone was happy to enjoy the festivities and holiday cheer. What was not holidayike was the district how the district has been um treating the educators your employees checks and
027deducting additional money right before the holidays sends a message that they're not valued and this is a time where most employers are showing their appreciation. So trustees, I would like to ask you, respectfully ask you this question that is being asked of me by the community and our educators. Do you approve of this? So today I was I attended and was asked to speak at the retired um union and MFTt's lunchon. Dr. Smith attended as well. We learned a lot about your mom today. Just so you know, we heard stories also of you as a child and teenager. You have some explaining to do. That part's not true. So, I loved how Dr. Smith shared with them that for three years, Newport Mesa um test scores have been steadily improving. He said last year was
028was the best year yet. So, I'm just wondering if there's a connection because last year was one of the biggest raises our members got and if there's a connection um between being showed that you're valued and higher performance because it is the educator's hard work that has brought up these test scores and the raise last year brought Newport Mea average salary teacher. I don't know if I said that right, but um up out of fifth place and um Newport Mesa's um first year teachers out of seventh place. So Dr. Smith, they loved him by the way. They he took questions at the end and um in answering one of the questions he was talking about how um families are moving out of the area because of the cost of living and he mentioned you know
029what could be done about this. I kind of have an idea maybe employees employers can pay employees a living wage or at least the cost of living. So um you know as we close this semester it's a time when usually people h are um having joy and celebration but our members are worried they're deflated and they feel defeated and devalued. So trustees I respectfully want to again raise this question clearly. Why don't you intervene? Thank you. [applause] Thank you. Next, we have item 16, community input on nonagendized items. Clerk Pearson, this is an opportunity for the public to address the board regarding items not on the regular meeting agenda. Comments on non-aggenda topics are limited to three minutes per comment, up to 20 minutes per topic. A speaker may not relinquish his or her time
030to another person by order of the Brown Act section 54954.2. [clears throat] The board will take no action nor have any discussion on non-aggendaized items. The superintendent may provide clarification during superintendent comments. >> Great. First up in Linda Brusseller. >> Good evening Dr. Smith board members and fellow Newport Mesa staff. My name is Linda Brler. I teach fifth grade at Kaiser Elementary. My family and I don't live extravagantly. Our home is 55 years old and needs some work. We don't wear designer brands, nor do we drive fancy cars. July of this year, my husband lost his job after 45 years of loyal service. His unemployment check is onethird of his former salary. As a result, I had to tell my family, "This year is going to be a rough Christmas. Mom and dad are going
031to have to cut back." As difficult as this was, I never expected for it to get worse. I never thought I'd have my employer deduct funds from my paycheck, especially right before the holidays. My immediate concern is a joyful Christmas for my family. My ongoing concern is when will I be able to retire and how can I afford to retire. Please show you value your certificated employees and come back to the negotiating table. We give our students everything and deserve a wage that is fair and appropriate. Thank you. [applause] Next up, Bob Kelly. Good evening, Madame President. Pleased to have you there. All the rest of the board members. So happy to see all of you. Dr. Smith, thank you so much for your talk this afternoon. We appreciated that. I am Bob Kelly. I
032am the chairperson of the NMFT retired chapter and we had our meeting this afternoon or our general meetings this afternoon. And uh I am here and I and I apologize ahead of time uh because I'm in mourning uh Notre Dame was not selected for the uh playoffs and I am a huge Notre Dame supporter as my dad was alumni of them and and I'm [snorts] I'm still wiping the tears away. Uh but I am here to talk in support of the teachers. I am a 41 year teacher at this district. Uh all three of my children and my and uh two of my grandchildren all uh went through the schools in this district. I have nothing but the highest admiration for the teachers in this district. And I can remember when it was a goal
033of the board, not necessarily all of you because many of you maybe were not on the board at the time, but it was a goal of the board to have our teachers in the second rank of pay for this county. And I I I'm flabbergasted that we're down to fifth and seventh place in and depending upon the area. That just should not be. We we have premium teachers. We are a premium district, not only uh for our county, but for our state. And uh our teachers deserve better. It's not even imaginable that they that the best that they would deserve is is the cost of living raise. But that's all I understand that they're really asking for is at least the cost of living raise. Maybe slightly more, but they deserve a lot a lot
034more. Uh especially as our previous speaker said, living in this area, the costs keep going up and up and up as you all know. And uh if we want quality people and we want to bring quality people in, we need to have quality quality pay for them all. Um I I think that's all I want to say to you tonight on on behalf of the teachers. They they really need your support. And board members, I'm talking about your support. Uh you need to give better direction to your uh negotiators and tell them, "Okay, it's time to hit the road now. Let's get this Let's get this over with and let's give them what they deserve. Okay. Thank you so much for listening. Appreciate it. [applause] >> Thank you. Next is Tamara Fairbanks. >> Good evening,
035President Soilu, Dr. Smith, trustees, and honored guests. As a proud representative for my fellow certificate employees, I'm saddened that there isn't more discussion regarding over the $200 that was placed on our um as a cost for employees because the district decided to no longer discuss with us at the table. It saddens me because many of us are not just employees of the district. We are long-term residents with students in our schools. We are asking you board to look outside of the immediate cacophony of issues and to value your employees. Your employees are wondering why you, our school board, would would approve a cost over $200 on our benefits during the holiday season. As our certificated staff work hard to bring the holiday joy and compassion to students, we're asking you to bring the holiday joy
036and compassion to our employees and listen to our concerns. Our staff is not only taxed by the increase of meetings and responsibilities. They are taxed by the lack of printer access for elementary music teachers, the lack of communication about district choices and the terrors that we are experiencing in our personal and now our work lives. School board, you have the power to change the direction. Be the positive change we have been asking for. Thank you. >> Thank you. Next is Kirby Piaza. Thank you uh board and Dr. Smith. Uh I think you've heard enough from me in the past uh but I've wondered what the board might say to Dr. Smith right now at this moment if it could. And so luckily through the public access to your websites and the magic of AI and
037chat GBT, it has happened right now. So without further ado, we took office. We pledged to deliver a highquality public education built on rigorous academics, innovation, and hands-on learning. That promise can only be upheld every day by capable, inspired, and wellsupported teachers. We also committed to fiscal responsibility, but being responsible doesn't mean underinvesting in the people who make our schools work. As Miss McElroy said, our top priority must be supporting students and their classroom teachers. It's the foundation of academic excellence. Miss Murphy agrees as she ran on a trusted voice for parents, teachers, and families, advocating for fair and effective resource allocation. Miss Anderson adv uh emphasized technology infused learning, something that only succeeds when teachers are continually learning new skills and adapting to new tools. We highlighted student well-being and we know that depends
038on stable, supported teachers. As Miss Pearson underscored the need to support both academic and social emotional growth, Miss Ursulu also noted that educators must constantly retrain and adapt to evolving safety policies and to protect students. We also pledged transparency and responsiveness to what teachers and families tell us they need, a commitment Miss Wagan has [snorts] modeled. We also vowed to expand career and technical education. Miss Crane championed this. And such programs depend on skilled, motivated teachers, many of whom pursue extra credentials like CTE credentials, not for extra pay because there isn't any, but because we asked them as a board to expand opportunities for students. So, we must ask, does the 2% raise reflect the values we ran on? Does it show real respect for educators who deliver on our promises? Does it acknowledge their
039long hours, emotional labor, and rising cost of living? If we are serious about academic excellence, wholes child support, equity, and opportunity for every student, then we must invest where it matters most, in our teachers. A meaningful raise is essential, one that shows respect and helps us retain experienced educators instead of losing them to burnout or financial pressure. A substantial raise isn't a giveaway. It's a long-term investment in stability, quality, and the future of our district. And it fulfills the promises we made to our community. We stand by those promises. Now, let's ensure our pay practice reflect our values and show our teachers that supporting highquality educators is fundamental. Good job. I appreciate it. Thank you very much. [applause] >> Thank you. Next is Rachel Jimenez. >> Hello. Hi, I'm a special education teacher at CDM.
040I would love to tell you about how how hardworking the teachers, counselors, school psychologists, speech and language pathologists, and nurses are at our school. And this hard work is not just at CDM, but throughout the entire district. I often see many teachers working through their lunches, coming in early, and staying really late to help students beyond and it's just and it's beyond academics. I have students come tell me about something that they're excited about like an art project or they just want to share or even I've had many students that are just having really hard days um family situations and we are and there's so many teachers that have open doors to listen to help them emotionally so it goes beyond academics and it's so inspiring to see how dedicated Newport employees are to ensure
041that students are getting the best education and care possible right now as the semester is about to And we are even giving more of ourselves to ensure that our students are successful during finals. We do this because this is not just a job. This is our passion to help students. And with all the extra time put in without anyone asking us to do this, it is so it was so disheartening to know that the board approved the deduction of $200 from our paycheck right before the holidays in a time that we are giving so much of ourselves. $200 less for Christmas, $200 less for bills, $200 less for our family. I urge you to reconsider and intervene on behalf of those who consistently give so much to the students. Even though my heart is heavy
042due to this, I would still like to wish you all a happy holidays. Thank you. [applause] >> Thank you. And last um on this topic is Cynthia Blackwell. Good evening everyone. And I I had trouble hearing back there so that's why Rhonda said that. Um I do want to talk about the teacher contract situation. When I first started teaching within my first three years I had two children and a new teacher salary was not very much back then in the um early 90s. I know it's a lot better now but the cost of child care is so much more now. It was very expensive for us then. And if I would have taken a hit at any time during that time teaching when I was trying to pay for daycare, I don't know what we
043would have done. My husband works so much overtime during that time. It's a hard struggle, especially when you're a young teacher. You're spending a lot of money on your classroom to make it just like the perfect uh home away from home. So on that end, it's very hard. And on the other end, when you're trying to be get ready for retirement, when you go to to talk to someone at Calsters, they talk to you about your salary and what you're making and how it's going to impact your um retirement for the rest of your life. So, this $200 that you've now taken off, that is going to impact everyone, not just for the next month or two or three, it's going to have an impact on their overall when they go to retire. So, you're
044hitting people at both ends of the spectrum. Um, I actually had three things, but I wasn't sure if this was just public comments for everything. >> I can stop. I should stop >> this topic. >> Oh, on this topic. Okay. I have to be quiet now. You're going to call me back later then. >> Sure. >> Yeah. >> Sorry. I had three things. So, come back. >> You can keep talking on the non-aggendaized, right? >> Yeah. >> Okay. Well, give me like 15 seconds while we decide about that. Okay. So anyway, so over that I also heard today and I'm happy to hear that you guys are working on the ebike situation because you know that's a passion of mine. Um it literally drives me crazy and our grandson is literally thinking we're going to
045get him an ebike for Christmas. He's in such a delusional state of mind that is never happening. So um and that's his parents can fight that battle and they live in Woodland Hills. So that's their fight there. The last I'm going to bring up is there's been a lot of talk on the news about the um about the MAGA movement, the Christian nationalist movement, and how they're trying to like infiltrate school boards and city councils and everything. And I just want to remind everyone a school board position is a nonpartisan position. It should never matter if you have a R, a D, an I, a P, a Q, or a T, whatever you have next to your name. That has no bearing. And so when decisions are being made, you have to remember this is
046completely nonpartisan. I can't take in the outside noise before I make my position, before I make my decisions. So anyway, you guys are doing a great job and I thank you very much. [applause] [cough] Um, [clears throat] next up is Charlene Matoy. Good evening, President Soilu board, Dr. Smith, cabinet and guests. I'm Charlene Matoy. Today's name tag is Newport Mesa Schools Foundation. And it's rather timely, but just coincidental. The grant season is here. From December 1st through January 23rd, the Newport Mesa School Foundation is here to give money away to certificated teachers who apply online. My great thanks to Mike Shaka and Gabe Deal who helped me with my link. So teachers, I apologize for the bad link. That was me, not them. And they fixed it because they're smarter than me in that. And
047so you have a good link. We are looking for innovative and creative ideas that we can fund and celebrate our great teachers. So that's really terrific. And yes, it's some of the board members. You're the ones we can't hear back there. So if you've got good things to say, say them loudly. So thank you so much. You know, I'm here for any questions that anyone has about the foundation. I want to thank you all for contributing that you do. Dr. Smith, thank you for your memorial grant. Thank you the board to the board members that contribute. Every bit helps us celebrate and help our teachers so that they don't have to spend all their money to do the great things that we all have had to do in the past. Thanks so much. Did it
048again. Those that know me, the fact that I can do this in under three minutes is amazing. Thanks everybody. [laughter] [applause] [cheering] >> Great. And next up is Deborah Wonderechick. Hi, thank you so much. Um, my name is Deborah Wonderecheek, founder of the Arts and Learning Conservatory and Arts Commissioner for the city of Costa Mesa. [gasps] Tonight I'm here because of the safety of our children. Every child in this district needs more protection and support, and I'll explain why. Um, I'll even share this quick story if you can picture this. A warm east side Costa Mesa evening. A young girl just getting cookies from Crumbo Cookies uh right before it closed with her girlfriend, tossing a volleyball in a parking lot having fun. A moment that should have been ordinary, peaceful, and fun. Then, in
049a heartbeat, that joy was completely shattered. 11 boys, 11 teen boys on ebikes drove past them. One looked back and announced, "Hey, she's black." The group stopped, no more than 15 away from this child, and began shouting the n-word, not once, not twice, but 15 times. A targeted, intentional act of racial harassment against a child standing in shock, frozen, completely unprotected. Trustees, superintendent, and guest, that child was my daughter. I share this not to elicit sympathy but to demand action. You all have children in this district. You understand how deeply it would shake you to know that your own child has been surrounded and targeted because of the color of their skin. That fear stays with the family and that violation stays with a child. This is not an isolated concern. Ebike gangs and mobs
050are a real threat. They travel in packs. They're emboldened. They target. They act without boundaries. And it's because they have not had any boundaries drawn for them yet. President Kennedy once said, "The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened. When one child's dignity is attacked, the entire district's moral fabric is weakened. First, we need to implement a mandatory ebike certification. No student should receive that decal without completing the training with their parent. And that if there is an offense with anti with a harassment, hate speech, the consequences should be that these bikes are evoked, a minimum of a 100 hours of community service is done with a parent and that child, that bike should be taken away. Students should be taught how to respond even to when they
051witness or bully see bullying and hate. We need to support each other and um kids must understand the consequences. So now is your moment to lead school board. We're counting on you to clarify and outlow how you are going to take action to ensure this attack on my daughter does not fall on deaf ears. We need your leadership to protect our children. Not later, not eventually, but now. Thank you so much. [applause] >> Thank you. Next up is Katherine Westerman. [clears throat] I didn't expect to come up so fast. Um, I'm here in support of Trustee Anderson. I was appalled by what I saw happen um last meeting on the YouTube and promoted by um the head of the Republican party for Orange County. Um I the school board as someone had said earlier it
052should be a nonpartisan thing and when you see it it's this is not about being Republican or Democrat. We need to be looking at our members and what they're doing the best for our children and our community and the reading. Look at the reading and all the improvements and and the background of the people who got on and the elected thing. This is not to see a character assassination based on political views. Um it's appalling to me and has no place here. So, I hope that I mean even seeing that the school district themselves, the trustees are not employees and this that was outside of their jurisdiction. To be bringing up everything that that was going on like that was just really wrong in my opinion. And I hope that um you know you all
053stand in support of Trustee Anderson and make sure that she stays on the board for the rest of her term. Thank you. [applause] >> Thank you. Next is Alisa Choa. Okay. Hi, my name is Lisa Choa. I'm a Newport Mesa parent with a fifth grader at Kaiser Elementary. Thank you. Um, a shout out to our principal, Mr. B. Um, our wonderful counselor, Miss Rosa, who's present. Um, our wonderful teachers, staff, and of course, our PFO. Um, I'm here tonight for two reasons. first to express my support for this board and secondly to celebrate the exciting new era that has begun um at Estansia High School's new theater. [snorts] Uh recently I have been troubled by the negative comments directed at Trusty Anderson both on at last board meeting and online. Uh to me this feels
054like a personal attack that detracts from the vital issues that we should be discussing. Um some of them mentioned by our previous presenters. Um, as a community member, I've seen firsthand the dedication Trustee Anderson brings to her role. She is committed to serving students and families on the west side with genuine curiosity, compassion, and a commitment to enhance access and opportunity. All of those are qualities I want in someone making decisions that affect our children's learning. On another note, I recently attended the one of the soldout performances at uh Estencia High Frozen, and let me tell you, it was the hottest ticket in town. Um it was nothing short of spectacular. Um I know Sigerstrom sometimes has trouble filling those seats. Estansia does not. Um the talent on stage was outstanding and the production quality
055was topnotch. And for those of you who put your heart and soul into creating um this project, I know many of you have been on the board for a number of years shephering this through um know that you've created a beautiful jewel in the city of the arts, a source of pride for all of our community members. So, bravo to you and um let's continue the good work together to benefit all our students as well as our teachers. Um, I think they deserve a raise and I want to wish every one of you happy holidays and wonderful new year. Thank you. [clears throat] >> And next up we have um Sarah Mooney. >> Hi. Uh, thanks so much for letting me speak today. I'm going to make it really short and sweet. I was here
056last month and I was so glad to hear that the board had considered um the allegations against Ashley and determined that those are outside the purview of the board. I don't think they have any bearing on her representation here. She is so fantastic and I'm so grateful for all that you do on the board and I hope that you stay for a very long time. Thank you. [applause] Now item 17, superintendent comments. want to clarify that at the wonderful retiree meeting today when people were talking about Jeff's mom, uh Rhonda mentioned me right before saying that. I don't know your mom. Uh [laughter] I didn't say a word about your mom. So just to period and then people talked about your mom. Um [laughter] I I did not um you know again we with with
057this first topic we we said some of this last week um and I I don't want to reiterate too much what we said. Um and certainly the district agrees that there's no better investment than in its talent. I said that last week. I'll say it again. Um Bob, that's why when you mentioned uh fifth and seventh, I'll I'll remind the audience that that's where we were uh four years ago. Um where we are now and and this is substantiated um by our partners uh at the federation. We're now second. So where we aspired to be then, we are now. And we're committed to doing even better. Right? So we agree. Um I I think where we where we struggle as a community sometimes is in language that's qualitative in nature. Um words like meaningful and
058fair. Um well-intentioned folks have maybe differ opinions of what that means. Um I think quantitative words like competitive are verifiable. Uh and I believe that's what we're working on here. um we want to compete with and outperform other districts and that does as you said require uh an investment. I think there's also some confusion when um we talk about cost of living versus cost of living adjustment. It's a it's a concept versus a thing. Um and I've got to be careful where they invite me to speak and who's speaking before me because I got to think about what I'm saying. Um, I did talk about folks moving out of the community because the cost of living in California is is quite a bit and in the areas we serve, it's getting more and more. Um,
059um, absolutely. Uh, the cost of living adjustment though we can't confuse with that cost of living one is not the same as the other. The cost of living in Newport Beach, for example, is much more than a cost of living adjustment. Um the cost of living adjustment is really the ongoing cost of those things you need to survive including salary. Absolutely. What keeps being left out of the conversation um unfortunately is health care is an amazing part of the cost of living. When I talk to employees, citizens alike, they keep talking about how expensive it is to afford healthcare. This is a cost of living. So when we talk about cola um again this is all published this is all information this has all been discussed the cost of living adjustment that was proposed by
060the district was 3.65 65. The cost of living adjustment for California is 2.3. Right? Um those are the facts. When folks mention coming back to the table, I mentioned this last week. I I again I don't want to be redundant, but I'll say we the district can verify the date and what time the call was made um to offer up a suggestion for coming back to the table. That's true. That happened. confusion around taking money out of paychecks uh and doing it right before the holidays. The function of um when these things happen is based on our enrollment periods and the cycle of our healthc care benefits. They go up when they go up and if we don't have a collective bargaining agreement then the costs go up with an agreement to pay those. Um
061so the district didn't decide anything. The plan is the plan. It increases when it increases. And I think that brings up another point that is important for folks not in the room that don't understand how this worked. The district isn't taking money out. The cost went up without an agreement to cover that. That's the delta that we're talking about for for people that may not understand it. I I also keep hearing about meetings and we certainly want to talk about the impact of meetings on folks and and for the folks out there listening, I I just want to be clear that we're talking about I think we're talking about two different things uh in the same conversation. On the one hand, we have meetings in the district that are outside of the workday. So before
062school and after school these are additional uh conversations, meetings, time spent at work. Uh and a year ago we reduced that. We had four meetings, four hours, reduce it to three >> and and again this is public knowledge. Uh we're willing to reduce that even further. I think people are also talking about professional learning time as a meeting and sometimes there are conversations had. Most of the time though uh it's for teachers to talk about how do we get better with the data that we have uh so that we are the best performing district in the state of California period. What's important to notice there is those are held during the day. So like during the workday not after or before this is during the bell uh when folks are scheduled to be at work
063anyway and we schedule it in a way where we can take care of that. So just to be clear for the community, um it is important to figure out how much time we're spending in meetings and could we spend that meeting in other ways. And I I said that last month. Just want to be clear about those two differences. Um Miss Wanderecheck came up and and I just want to say that uh you know I and she let me know that she was going to be coming and and and sharing and um gut-wrenching story um that she shared with me. Uh we had a great conversation. It was for me very very meaningful. As it relates to ebikes, we'll be talking about that in general tomorrow. So come back. Same room. Uh different time but
064same room. And I think there will be lots of conversations there. I I I do want to say and this is something where we continue to work with law enforcement. Uh, I promised that we would notify them and we have that that this is going on out there. And if you see a group of students riding around with face masks on and beanies, you should probably stop them, right? I don't know how many well-intended people ride around with face masks and beanies, right? But I also want to just make sure um that I clarify and I don't think she was suggesting this but that we don't know who those students were, right? We don't know if there are students other students their age and we talked about the difficulty because of the face masks and
065all of that. Um but what's important for the district is whether they are or they aren't. Miss Wonderecheek brought up and she alluded to it in her message as well. There's no place for bullying in our society and in our schools. there there's certainly no place for bullying based on race and so we have to do more and so we talked about some of the programs we have to address that in our schools and I even asked her then hey if you know of some because she's a community partner does a lot of work in the space around art and stuff like that if you know of really good programs let us know because I would say we can never do enough to end bullying and we can never do enough to end the horrific
066things um based on race that she heard or her daughter rather heard and experienced And so we continue to have that conversation. We remain committed to making sure that our schools are safe for all students, seen, heard, supported, and safe. Uh that's our commitment and we'll stick to it. That's all I have. >> Thank you. Next is um item 18, community input on agendaized items. And clerk Peterson, >> this is an opportunity for the public to address the board regarding items on the regular meeting agenda. Comments on agenda items are limited to three minutes per comment up to 20 minutes per topic. A speaker may not relinquish his or her time to another person. Speaker cards for items on the discussion action calendar may be held until that item is considered by the board if
067the speaker prefers. Um, Miss Sanchez Kovashi Good evening. I'm Ruth Sanchez Kobayashi, a longtime supporter, parent, and volunteer at our school district. In 2024, the policy committee changed the long-standing practice of electing board officers publicly to now taking turns approach rotation of the officers. This does two things. First, it removes the process from the view of the public, which compromises open meeting standards and erodess public trust. Second, it removes any semblance of a process that rewards merit with appointments to leadership positions. Sound policies are essential to good governance. I encourage the new policy committee to return to accepted open meeting standards for the board officer appointments and to stop this ridiculous taking turn rotation process that went into effect last year. Any high functioning organization appoints people to officer positions based on performance and leadership
068qualities. It should be no different here. In addition, trustee attendance, renumeration, and the board code of conduct all need to be addressed through a fresh look at board policies. Sadly, this evening, through a predetermined rotation, a pattern of borish behavior and lack of professionalism is being rewarded. We're better than this. Thank you. >> Um, number 19, achievement. Um, we will hear from Dr. Torres. um secondary math professional development report. >> Yes. Good evening. Uh good evening, President Erso and uh board members um Dr. Smith. Uh this evening we have for you um our team of secondary professionals, Dr. Mike Shaka, Keith Carmona, and our wonderful secondary math tossa, Katie Holtz, who are here this evening to share with you some of our best practices in math instruction. Uh, one of the things we know is
069that in order to uh, achieve some of those uh, amazing test scores that have continued to increase, we needed to be able to provide our teachers opportunities to continue to refine the strategies that they use in the classroom. There we go. Um, and so tonight you have a brief presentation to highlight one of the particular practices that they'll go into detail uh, called building thinking classrooms. Dr. Shaka. >> Thank you, Dr. Torres, President Osu, members of the board, Dr. Smith, executive cabinet, and everyone who's here with us today. I'm back in front of you presenting, and that can only mean one thing that there's more amazing things happening in Newport Mesa. And sure enough, we're going to talk today about math. Um, tonight's agenda really includes just a few points. One is what does the
070data say about math? Um, if you remember October board meeting, we shared some data with you. So, we're briefly going to go over some of that data. We're going to talk about the TK12 math alignment. You're going to hear the word alignment over and over and over throughout this year because this TK uh 12 uh continuum is just absolutely critical to the work that we're doing. Uh building thinking classrooms, we're excited to have uh Katie Holtz and Keith Carmona share some details about that. Um what it is and how does it help students and then what's on the horizon. What does our future look like in terms of math? As promised, we shared in the October board meeting some of our math data. And just very quickly, this is some of the data that we
071shared and the overall story here is that we're seeing positive results. We're headed in a positive direction and we think that what we're doing has the potential to continue to be built upon and see bigger and bigger results for our students. So, without any delay, I'm going to hand it over to Keith Carmon. Across the district, we now have a fully aligned TK12 math curriculum using illustrative mathematics. Uh this alignment ensures that students experience coherent instruction from elementary school all the way through algebra 2. It also supports consistent highquality teaching practices and helps build student confidence and achievement as they move through our system. As we look at the progress that we're making in math, um, one of the most important shifts we've made is in how we're viewing math instruction, our goal is to
072not simply prepare students for tests, but to develop true mathematical thinkers, students who can reason, collaborate, and problem solve in ways that extend far beyond a single assessment or multiple assessments. This shift is transforming the way math feels in our classrooms. And so tonight, um, I'm going to allow our wonderful math tossa, Kitty Holtz, to talk a little bit about our focus on what is building thinking classrooms in mathematics. >> Hi. Oh, I'm going to skip one slide and come back to it. Um, so what is building thinking classrooms? Um, it was a researchbased framework designed to deepen student engagement and improve problem solving. So rather than relying on passive learning where the student sits there and copies notes or waits for the teacher to demonstrate something and then they try it. Um BTC structures
073lessons so that students are actively reasoning, discussing and exploring ideas. CASP not only tests students on math standards but also on math practices and math practices are explaining and going deep into the this the topic. So um building thinking classrooms some of the core practices are visibly random groupings to ensure equitable participation and collaboration vertical non-permanent surfaces like whiteboards around the room like you can see in this image where students stand and work together. Um and the teacher facilitation supports inquiry rather than giving away the solution. Why is it important? Um, it increases student engagement. Um, when students stand, move, talk, and collaborate, they become fully engaged in learning. Um, the classrooms shift from the student trying to hide to they can't really hide when they're standing up um, you know, putting work on a
074board. Um, increased uh, equity and access. Random groups break down academic and social hierarchies. Students who might rarely contribute in traditional settings now have an active role. Everyone is responsible. Even if the student in that group doesn't know, give them the marker, then they listen and they're still actively participating with their group. Um, I've put groups together just randomly and the three kids in the group are, you know, some of my students who may be, you know, most challenged at math, they don't love it and somebody comes out and just blossoms. It it happens every single time. Um, it develops critical problem uh solving and thinking skills. It's immediate insight for teachers when that student is just sitting there working on a computer or looking down at their paper. We can't see them all, but
075we can see all of the whiteboards and know exactly who needs help um or who can go farther. Um and it's just positive collaborative classroom culture. It promotes persistence, resilience, and a willingness to take intellectual risks. um things that you would hear over here in class, it transitions from like kids asking the teacher and the teacher being the main source of learning. Um is this right? Is this the answer? Is it okay? To students asking each other, do you think it works? What if we try? I've been in some classrooms where the kids are like the teacher's not going to come tell us. So, we need to keep working on it. Like, which is wonderful to see, especially in our accelerated math classes, you know, they're not giving up. They're like, we're not going to
076get it from them. We have to keep going. which is that problem solving we want our kids to have. Um so that was my little bit. >> We'd like to show you a brief clip from a stonesia high school classroom. Um this video captures building thinking classroom in real time. Students collaborating, discussing, and engaging deeply in mathematical thinking. Let's [snorts] >> It's going to work. >> Yeah. just >> a change that I've seen that the whiteboards have helped me, especially since I have a first period. It kind of wakes you up in the morning. Also, since you're up and you're actually doing the whiteboard work, if you get like, you know, if you're confused on a problem or if you get something wrong, you have a teammate with you to help you out and walk
077you through it. And then also, I just memorize. I like memorizes um the problems easier or more, especially since I actually did the work standing up. And then he actually encourages us not to sit down and in a way that kind of like keeps my body like moving and just up. square or yeah we have to square root it. So then it takes out the square root here and then the square root of 81. So then we'll add the negative later. >> I think uh building classrooms has done a great job at getting the students to collaborate with each other, talk the math, get used to struggling a bit before having to come to me. And even even when I go to them, I try my best to ask guiding questions, not give them the
078answer, try to redirect them to other groups to ensure that uh they're using each other as resources. Uh and ultimately, even though mistakes I think will will happen by doing this because I can't be everywhere at once, I think uh the process of struggling and collaborating all these things uh all together are great skills that they're building. uh and we regroup at the end to be able to fine-tune some of those mistakes which are important to make and uh we were able to fine tune them at the end of class. >> Apologies about that sound. >> Um over the last few years we've gradually built momentum with building thinking classrooms starting with a small group of teachers who were curious about the approach and continued last year with formal introductory training. Um, this year is
079where we've really scaled the work. We have now trained every math 7, excuse me, through algebra 2 teacher and we're supporting them with tools they need such as additional whiteboards and with coaching to help the practices really take hold in the classroom. We've also begun aligning our curriculum um to the BTC model um so that students experience a consistent highquality thinking routines across classrooms. And so this year is about full imple implementation and building a strong unified system uh for BTC. As we look ahead, um we'll continue to deepen uh teacher training and strengthening malignment between the illustria and and the thinking classrooms approach. Um we're going to begin introducing the model at the elementary level. And of course, we will continue to monitor the data uh as we continue to make meaningful gains. So
080thank you very much and we're open to any questions. Great. Thank you so much. Any questions? >> Trusty Wagan. Um just want to say that I've been in the classrooms recently and um watching this actually take shape especially when they were doing um well this is actually I know this is secondary but talking about um long division in elementary and being up there and having the kids do it themselves and on whiteboard and it's not like they're not learning their math facts or anything like that but it just it like you said it takes those kids that might be really quiet that are not going to raise their hand and gives them that opportunity to really um enhance uh their knowledge of of the subject. So I I think it's really great. Um now is
081this happening in say all of our classes from you know the AP statistics down to you know our our regular math seven for instance. >> So our focus will be on training all secondary math teachers. The implementation the first roll out was really focused on when we last year it was by invitation. So teachers that were interested could come and get trained. And we did have actually quite a few um of our upper upper level math class uh upper level math teachers come. Um the beginning of the implementation this year has been math 7 through algebra 2. That's the core of the kids. Um but all uh teachers are going to receive training um on it. So the short answer to that is yes. >> So full implementation next year, next school year you think?
082>> This year. Okay. >> Great. the student board meeting. >> Hi, I was just wondering if this would go to any other classes such as like English or [laughter] >> this seems like a really good like learning strategy. So, I was just wondering if it was going to extend to other subjects. >> That's a great question. Thank you for that. Um the answer would be yes. We there's definitely application to take this approach um to have kids up and talking and interacting and thinking. um one of our high schools um has started to really kind of explore this and um they amongst their staff want to they some of the teachers have gone in and have looked at okay what does it look like in other content areas and how we might be able to
083do that. So um the book was originally written about mathematics um but there is most certainly application in lots of other content areas. what we've heard from students and you you heard I'm apologize for the uh the sound on the video but students are saying like gosh my ability to to be up and active and and connecting with other students is like reinforcing learning so yes >> sorry which high school is exploring that >> high school has has really started looking at it um they've been a leader in this so we saw it um but I think that there's interest in all sorts of departments all over the district. >> Great. Um, Trusty Crane, >> and if I could comment as well, just in case there's any curiosity, we do have building thinking classrooms at
084every site. So, if you went to CDM, for example, we have a teacher who's exploring it and using it. If you go to T-winkle, we have somebody, you know, so while the rollout is going and we're training and Katie's working with everyone, you can find one of these classrooms at every one of our secondary schools. >> Thank you. Um, all right. I have two questions. One is facility based. Um are we making sure that every classroom is going to have enough whiteboards for like let's say a 34 student classroom? >> Yes. So part of the contract right is everybody likes a shiny new toy which you cannot have it until you've been trained. >> And so um as soon as a teacher has gone through the training we have directed them to be able to
085put in their order for whiteboards. And Lance uh and his team in maintenance have been really supportive of being able to roll those out. Um, right now we have some actually laying in right across from my office that are waiting to [laughter] be delivered to a classroom. So, but the requirement is the training. It doesn't help you to have the whiteboard if you don't know how to engage the students in the whiteboard. So, that's really something that we um we make sure happens before we purchase them. >> Okay. And the second question is uh does the teacher then um in those clusters does the teacher differentiate abilities so that there's coach and or peer tutoring going on or can you tell I'm a teacher by by career? >> Yeah. So with with the random groupings
086um it's it's just amazing how kids will come together to do that and and they coach each other. If we notice that there are groups that are struggling, um part of building thinking classrooms is to look around the room before you ask the teacher and oh, okay, I see what that group is doing and then come back and be able to continue their work. Um if they're still stuck with that, it's asking a group who might, you know, have gotten to a couple more problems because you're not you're you dole out mild, medium, and spicy problems. So, if a group gets through the mile, then they're on the medium. And you can either do it on slips of paper, writing it on their board, depending on the type of problem, or putting it up. Um,
087and so if there's a group that's like way over here, hey, can you guys go be some tutors to this group and listen that way? Yeah. >> Thank you. >> Any other comments, questions? >> Well, thank you so much for that presentation. um in a land far away about 30 x years ago um I went to a boarding school called Philips Exit Academy and that's exactly how they taught us math. We would just walk in and stand at the chalk had chalkboards back then [laughter] and that is the only way we learned math and science actually. So this might be something to look at given our relatively low science scores in the district compared to other comparable districts. maybe exploring this particularly for the sciences next um as that's been a very proven track record
088on that. Um so thank you so much for doing this um and it really does it does work. [laughter] Thank you. So next we have um item 20 the consent calendar. Um motion so moved. I second. >> Crane and Peterson and Sam Ro. >> Trusty. >> A yes. >> Trusty Murphy. >> Yes. >> Trusty Pearson. >> Yes. >> Trusty Mroy. >> Yes. >> Trusty Anderson. >> Yes. >> Trusty Crane. >> Yes. >> Trusty Wagon. >> Yes. >> Great. Now we move to item 21. Uh discussion action calendar. We have 21A is approved the 2526 first interim report of the district's financial status. Mr. Dixon, >> thank you. And while I get this started, I just want to thank our student board reps. The last thing I thought you'd bring up would be your restrooms. So,
089I hear you loud and clear, and I really appreciate that because clean, good restrooms are always good. Is it only PDF? >> Okay. Well, good evening. Um, tonight I'm going to present to you a brief presentation on our first interim budget adjustment report. Um, I can start with the end to let out any surprises. Now, um it is going to be a positive certification that staff is recommending, which means that we are able to meet all of our current and subsequent two-year financial obligations. So, I'll begin the presentation. I'll provide a brief overview of our budget timeline and what it entails um and an explanation of what the various certifications are. Then, we'll get into the revenue adjustments and expenditure adjustments for the adopted budget versus first interim. We'll look at our ending fund balances
090because I think that's really important both in current year as well as in our multi-year projection. And that's where we're going to look dive into our reserve levels which I know is an important uh fiscal measure for our board. And then that'll bring us to our financial activator slide and then our final staff recommendation that I kind of give away. So as we look at our financial timeline, you can see that the first interim report is very based on a very finite first few months of school. And so we still have a lot of data that we're tracking before we get to our second interim with including in that is a key component of our board study session, budget study session which will happen in February and that really helps drive a lot of the
091assumptions that go into second interim which then become the basis for the budget adoption on the prior year. But this at least gives us a picture as to where we're trending currently based on our first few months of school and um whether or not we're going to be able to meet the financial obligations with probably one of the more conservative estimates because at this point we have to assume we're making all the expenses that we've planned and that all incumbrances would be part of those expenditures. I put the third interim report up there. We'll never have to do that. um that is only if you have a qualified or negative budget and we never want to be in that position but it is it would be a requirement if you are one of those districts
092that have a qualified or negative budget and what I mean by that is a positive certification means you can meet all of your current and uh multi-year financial obligations when you're qualified that's questionable so you may not be able to meet either your current year or any of the next two years fiscal obligations for the district so it means you're going to have to have a budget stabilization plan in in order to do that. So you're going to have to identify cuts or reductions. A negative means you are absolutely unable based on your budget documents unable to meet your financial obligations in current year or next year. That third year doesn't matter because if you can't meet your financial obligations this year or next year, you're negative. So when we look at our revenue adjustments,
093uh we did receive our first property tax revised estimate from the county which was slightly higher than we had what we had assumed at adopted budget. So that went up by about uh 7% growth year-over-year where we had assumed 5%. The result of that is a little over $5 million in the LC LCFF revenue line item. Then you see there's some very minor adjustments in the other categories. Uh but the net result was a $3.2 million upward revision for revenue at first interum from adopted budget. So again very positive. Our expenditure adjustments reflect the staffing and trend data that we saw within the first couple months of um our budget cycle this year. You can see that the salaries and benefits were adjusted by about $10 million upwards with the bulk of that being in
094the benefits, the 7.5 million of that being in benefits. Um our books and supplies of the slight reduction again just basing on the expenditure trends that we've seen through October. and then services and operating uh these that would be the second largest category for upwards adjustment um based off what we've been seeing so far. Now again this is still based off encumbrance encumbered funds and not all expenditures and so I do expect that this will be adjusted um certainly by the time we get the second interim. So when you look at the total change in our expenditure assumptions, it went up by a little over $15 million with again the benefits and the services and operating costs being the primary driver of that. That's about $14 million of that. So as we look at our
095components of the ending fund balance, when we adopted the budget in July or for July 1, we had total reserve levels of 15.66%. And we knew that was coming, right? We knew we ended last year with a little over 21% in total reserves adopted the budget knowing that we're spending that down based on our expenditures over revenues. Based on the first interim adjustment, it would drop down to 13.65%. Again, I like just reiterate this is a small snapshot in time and it is a conservative estimate for the total budget year for the the um our 2526. when you apply these assumptions um which essentially assume no changes in the outy years as far as making any program uh investments or cuts uh you can see the the positive light here is that our uh total
096reserve level and ending fund balance is relatively stable. So it goes up to a little over 14% and it stays there in that third year out. So that tells me is we have some opportunity to make some investment decisions and that's where I'm really excited to get to that budget study study workshop. um with the board. We look at our financial activators for the year at first interim. This is going to look very similar in terms it's identical in terms of colors to the adopted budget where you see that the only red we have right now is the change in the unrestricted general fund balance. Um and then we have probably some more blues in this than we want and we want to increase the number of greens. So, we're still at our property tax
097revenue change and that's a that's a in a favorable for us, including routine restricted maintenance, which I will say has been lowered slightly from adopted budget. That's one of the areas that we've been trying to get more efficiencies and save some costs because it's a significant investment that we make. Um, but it's one of the few that we can control, especially this early in the year. And this is a direct comparison between adopted budget and first interim. Like I said, the color pattern is identical, but where we're probably going to want to have some more discussion about our um our financial um strength is in the reserves where you see we're dropping. We're still in the acceptable range at the 13.65%. But if that were to fall below 13%, that becomes one of those that
098we need to start evaluating. So, but you saw in the multi-year that wasn't the case, but it's just something that we can think about as we prioritize your investments. So given all the changes at first interim, we'd recommend the board certify it as a positive certification. Um meaning we're able to meet our current and two subsequent years of financial obligations. and we're excited to bring back additional more detailed information um almost like a menu of options that we can discuss at the budget study workshop that we're shooting for in February which will help drive our second interim u assumptions and adjustments which inevitably like I said lead to the proposed budget adoption for next year. So, and I would just like to close before I ask any questions. I really want to thank and recognize
099the fiscal services team. Um they've been amazing. It's really easy for me to come up here and show you how much things have increased and decreased, but the amount of technical accounting coding that occurs in the background to make that happen. I mean, there's thousands of account lines, um, they really do all the hard work. So, I just get to present it on their behalf. So, thank you. >> Great. Um, thank you so much. Does anyone have any questions, comments? >> Trusty Wagon. >> Yeah, just one general. Um so if I'm looking at this Ray just like a summary of the reason that say we're in the Reddit and are unrestricted unrestricted um it's mostly because of the um you would say our expenditures that we had over the summer um or their construction things
100like Yeah, I it was definitely you could tell it was definitely planned and there were a lot of service cost over the summer, but in addition to that, that's why I mentioned at the beginning the benefits cost as we saw where everyone kind of finalized where they landed this year, at least within the first three months. Um, we had more positions filled than maybe were anticipated. So, that drove up some salary costs, but more importantly, our benefit costs have increased since then as well. >> Okay. >> Yeah, >> got it. Thank you, >> Trusty Anderson. >> Thank you. Um relatedly on the expenditure adjustments page um under the services and operating section I notice that um the operated the the adopted amount um versus the first interim is about 7,000 or 7 million higher um
101and it looks like that's under professional consulting services including things like utility costs um outsourcing transportation software fees etc. Um, but I was just wondering, it looked like we've only used eight million of that. So, do we anticipate like is that a big hit in the spring or is that what why is that number higher when it's so much lower just after? >> Yeah, I think we're we're [laughter] just analyzing based on the trend at that point. And I think if you want to look back at like the Sachs documents, it's important to look at the unrestricted and restricted combined. If you were just to look at the unrestricted for services for example, they look very similar, almost identical. Um, but going forward, we can only base it off we have such a limited window
102especially with utility cost and and we know with transportation right now there's been a lot of athletics. So that's driven a real increase at least in the immediate term of these costs that we just have to forecast forward. So a lot of that will change with that's one thing we know for certain is this will not be the same information that you see at second interim. Um we're just hoping to give you kind of a trend analysis of what you may be able to expect. >> Thank you. Um I was wondering too, I noticed um a change in format to the a different version because you know you're newer to our district. Um and I was wondering particularly for this section. Um the previous version also didn't really include what is kind of the breakdown
103within that services and operating um section. And I was just wondering if there's a way perhaps for the budget study session if that can be broken down more just so we can see as a board, you know, that's not 80% consulting fees. It's it it is utility costs. It are things that we're using for operating rather than special services. >> You have read my mind. Yes, you will definitely see that in the study session. >> Awesome. Thank you. Um, and then I was wondering about um the if you could explain about the um cash flow um requirements on the multi-year projection page where this year we have 27 million and then 2728 it's 45. Um what is what is the significant increase kind of reflecting or why is that number so much higher? >> Yeah,
104and I really appreciate that question and thank you for asking it. um that line item in your ending fund balance can be called many number of things. In some places it's called your assigned and even though it's called assigned, it really just would be assigned for board goals and priorities or um at the in the past we had assigned it for COVID response fund. Um but essentially it is funding in your ending fund balance that has not yet been assigned to any specific expenditure. So it stays in your fund balance. So for us it was really important and I got some history on it because I've seen it called different things in different places but we do especially as a community funded district have to really pay attention to our cash flow and this time
105of year was very important to us because we don't get our first big property tax revenue until December sometimes beginning of January and so it becomes tough and you know there's a lot of people we pay a lot of people on payroll and you do not want to miss a payroll that's the biggest issue you can have you can ask probably San Francisco unified about that so um >> thank you so much I'm really looking forward to our budget study session. >> Great. Trustee Crane. >> Yeah. Um Jeeoff, thank you for this report. It's very uh it's always fun to kind of look at the financials. Do we still have ESSER funds that we haven't spent yet to your knowledge? >> No, all of those funds are are gone now. We have received some of
106new um grants. The one grant that we haven't fully spent out, but we are planning on for this year is the arts music discretionary block grant. that was from a couple years ago. Um but there's plans in place for that. And then there's a new discretionary grant we're working on right now. >> Okay. And then um what what is the overall macro look at state the state financial um projections as we look into this budget including the discretionary block grants that you mentioned? >> Yeah, the state outlook is is not great right now. We've entered some tough years with the tougher years expected to be next year and the following. Um, but that said, the state's made significant investments to a lot of programs that are really tough to pull back on. I think the
107bigger concern right now for us is the uncertainty still with the federal government funding um, and the uncertainty in that. We know that this year those title funds have been allocated and are safe, but next year they're still in compromise right now. So, um, that's what we're paying a lot of attention to. Now, for us, it doesn't equate to a lot of money, but, um, it's still significant enough we need to be tracking. And so, that'll be part of our budget discussion as well. >> Yeah. Um, I'm glad you mentioned the federal government because at delegate assembly, they were talking about a 14% reduction. Um, that's what they were saying. It doesn't mean it's going to happen, but that's kind of the buzz in DC. >> Yeah. There was even a proposal for 26% reduction
108in Title One. So >> where they compromise, we'll see. But um >> hopefully, you know, there's there's we've been looking at multiple scenarios of worst case scenario, >> moderate scenario, which is more like most likely, and then best case scenario. >> Thank you. >> Any other questions, comments? Um do we have a motion? >> So move. >> Second Peterson, seconded by Trusty Anderson. Roll call vote. Student board member McKenzie Van. >> Yes. >> Trusty. >> Yes. >> Trusty Murphy. >> Yes. >> Trusty Pearson. >> Yes. >> Trusty Mroy. >> Yes. >> Trusty Anderson. >> Yes. >> Trusty Crane. >> Yes. >> Trusty Wagon. >> Yes. >> Great. Thank you. Now we move to 22. Good job. [laughter] >> Item 22, the resolution adoption calendar. 22A. Adopt resolution 321225, authorization of signatures for the Newport Mesa
109Unified School District Workers Comp account for Farmers and Merchants Bank. Again, Mr. Dixon, sorry, you just sat down. >> It's okay. Thank you. This is an easy one. This is just updating my name onto the list of authorized signers for administering our workers comp payments through Farmers and Merchants Bank added with Dr. Smith replacing the former Jeff. >> That sounds shockingly simple. Um, do we have a motion to approve or any questions? >> I will approve that simple motion. >> Oh, questions. >> Question. >> I just wanted to make a comment. Um, I just while I'm excited that we're adding you, I also wanted to say thank you um to you um and to our risk risk management team for um going through all of our past workers compensation claims that had been sitting for
110a very long time. Um particularly for some of our staff who have been waiting for some of those payments. I just I really appreciate um the dedication and bringing forward a lot of those and resolving them. So, thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> Do we have a motion to approve? >> So, first >> I can second [laughter] it. >> Trusty Anderson and Crane. Second and roll call vote. >> Trusty Soil. >> Uh yes. >> Trusty Murphy. >> Yes. >> Trusty Pearson. >> Yes. Trusty Mroy, >> yes. >> Trusty Anderson, >> yes. >> Trusty Crane, >> yes. Trusty Wagon, >> yes. >> Great. And with that, we move to item 23, informal reports. Superintendent, >> last week I had the great fortune of attending the California School Boards Association conference with seven of my
111closest friends. Um, I I feel bad for uh for Trusty Mroy because she had to sit with me an extra day. Uh, we spent Tuesday in the new trustee orientation. I'm sure it was riveting. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Um and I wanted to call out from that um one of the sessions we were asked by the school board association to present on the work that our special education department has been doing um to really evaluate how best uh to serve our students. And um and the honest approach that we took therein and um I I want to mention this because some years ago it was coming up from from staff and parents that they would like for us to look at this. And so the board committed us to do this work and and we've
112done that since that day uh through a task force and then this partnership with the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence. Um Dr. Jacam, Trusty Pearson were on the panel. It was at the end of the day. Now for you in the audience, you're saying, "Wow, no big deal. What's what's that? What's the problem with that?" Well, because we were the only thing in between uh all the attendees and happy hour. uh at the end of the day packed room and someone stood up and said this is the one session I've been to that's worth staying for and people round of applause. I got a bunch of messages from superintendents in the room I didn't know were even there complimenting our team for their courage and for the example that they set in this regard. So
113on the one hand, great job in your presentation. Um on the other hand, great job uh in the department and and really because it's a partnership with with Janet as well, good job to the team in taking this on. We're not there yet and we we never will be because we always want to be better, but we're doing well. And uh you did great on that panel, both of you. I I told uh President I was going to do this so I'm not going off script like some people like to do. Um I I just want to compliment Crystal Wan. Um we recognized her tonight. Each year that I've had the great pleasure of serving with the trustee. I do this so it's yeah again not breaking rules. [laughter] I've just been so inspired by
114her um this year and I think trust said it very very well. very diplomatic, very professional. She's led us um in challenging times for anyone paying attention. It's been uncommon times. Uh and she sat here with courage, with respect, I think did a marvelous job. But I think the thing that's really stood out to me and touched me as an educator, I've asked her to come to like our leadership huddle and some of you were in the room and asked her to start our meeting, start our year with her why. and she told the story about her students and how being a mom of those two students made her want to be on this school board and that her why is linked to our students, right? Hers and others in the audience and all the
115others who aren't here. That brought tears to the eyes of folks in the room. And it inspired leadership to get the job done. So, I just want to thank you again for your diplomacy, your courage, your respect, and the way you inspired us with your why. Thank you. [applause] Thank you. >> I had it ready for you. [laughter] >> We'll have a good public. [gasps] >> Thank you. >> All right, we move to board member reports. Um and yes, Superintendent did not break any rules yet. Um we're trying to keep these as we always have been actually under under President Wigan's um leadership kept it to two events or about a minute. So, if everyone can kind of try to keep on that tradition, it would be great. Um, I've already um given my time
116tonight. I've passed it to Trustee Crane because she apparently has a lengthy progress report from CSBA, which was a great time. Um, but I am um giving her my her minute. Um, so if we can start with Trustee Crane, and then keep moving. >> Okay. Thank you for releasing your time to me. Uh so I as a state delegate assembly representative for region 15 um I attended uh the assembly two days early before everyone else came up and uh one of the most uh significant issue that was addressed at the delegate assembly which is 300 uh elected board members versus the thousands that are around the state. So they're just represent their areas and regions. Uh was on the achievement gap and it is CSBA's major drive moving forward in pressuring a comprehensive and state
117level supportive plan that clearly defines what state agencies are going to do differently to help LEAs close the achievement gap and it's pretty ambitious but a necessary step in the right direction. The good news is that state scores and data is showing that we are recuperating uh and narrowing the gap from the pandemic era losses. So at least we're going in the right direction in narrowing that gap. Um I sent all of you my colleagues um and also Dr. Smith and Dr. Torres the PowerPoint presentation and I know Dr. Smith you've already sent it to the appropriate staff so thank you. Uh there's some good data there. Um, on the legislative front, highlighting from CSBA spons some CSBA sponsored bills that were signed into law this past fall, typically Octoberish. Um, many bills were focused
118on workforce housing. An example is AB 1021, Wix and Meritsuchi, which allows SQUA exemptions for school districts involved in using their surplus properties to develop workforce housing. And as you know, we are in the process of looking into that. So that's applicable to us possibly. Uh AB1390 Solatch modernizes the 40 pay attention to this one. 40-year-old compensation stipens for school district and county of education board members. So in order that their stipens can align with the impacts of inflation 40 years. Um, another is AB715 by Addis and Zabur on anti-semitism. It creates part of it is what it does. It creates an oversight um um office establishing the office of civil rights and an anti-semitism coordinator within um and then within the office of civil rights. Then there was a trailer Senate bill, Senate Bill
11948, which also passed adds coordinators that would also investigate racial, religious, gender, and ethnically motivated actions as well. Um, and then lastly, AB28, which extends the statute of limitations for filing claims of childhood sexual assault to 40 years of age or up to five years after discovery, whichever is later. And this is something that's been sitting on a lot of uh school districts minds because it could be very expensive and um uh it keeps getting upheld in the courts. AB218 state budget currently exceeding projections $9.7 billion ahead of projections. However, there's always a however. The Independent Nonpartisan Legislative Analyst Office, which we famously is known as the LAO, is still projecting a deficit for the year of $20 billion. Um, delegate assembly region elections will be coming around in a new year. Legislation, legislative action
120week is March 17th to the 19th. This is when board members have the opportunity to meet with their uh legislators um assembly and senate, California senate and assembly. And then the next session for us delegates is in May and I look forward to representing Newport Mesa um uh at that um assembly. And I did want to give a shout out to CDM girls tennis and flag football flag football girls CIF division 2 champions and Kenzie Voban who is here. Her sister actually was a founder of the club at CDM for flag football. So you're representing her today in in her spirit. And then that tennis uh won the division one championship and the regional championship and went on to state and came in second in the state. So, I'm hoping that we I'm sure that
121we'll be recognizing him soon. So, go seekings. Thank you. And um congratulations Dr. Isol on your appointment. >> Thank you. So, that was that was a good five minutes. All right. Next. [laughter] >> Next up is Trusty Anderson because I want to go this way so that we can end with um Trusty Wan and her her comments. >> Um thank you. I was able to attend uh Frozen at Estansia which was really delightful. Um my high school best friend that I went to Aansia with was visiting from Idaho. So I got to go with um her and a friend who has a a young daughter who is participates at arts and learning conservatory. So it was a wonderful wonderful time with a nod to Sweden. Loved that part. Um there was um there have been
122safe routes to school um meetings that have been happening in partnership with the city of Costa Mesa and the next one is January 15th at 6 p.m. at Kaiser Elementary. Um and so I just wanted to highlight that since that happens before our next board meeting. Um there's a lot of work that's been happening with the city and building out infrastructure. So, particularly for students, if students want to attend and give feedback, that's really important. Um, but it's really huge for us. I think Kaiser is one of the schools that has the highest amount of um bikes um ridden by school students to school. So, it's really important that that training is happening there. Um, and then I wanted to highlight Ray Elementary um was honored at the statewide conference for PBIS, which is about
123behavior and um positive reinforcement. They were featured out of 2500 schools and they received the um 2025 platinum distinction for the highest level and I'm so proud of them. They um represented not only Orange County but San Diego and Imperial County. It's an amazing award. Um and they're just doing great work with the the parent engagement and um thankful for Dr. Hogard that is there. Um I also too just wanted to thank um Vanessa Gayley for the LCAP um addendum particularly. I was reading through the parent family and community engagement portion around title three about programs and activities um and it's just a great place for people who want to learn more about what we're already offering for families um to get a taste of what's being offered and then also how we measure that.
124I think it's really important um because while we do rely on some title three and other federal funds, a lot of that we also take care of ourselves. Uh was there Oh, and I wanted to thank um former trustee Matoy for the personnel commission report and inviting us to go. So, I'm really thankful now that we have those dates and are able to participate and see what the updates are. I think it's really important for us to be included and involved. Thank you. >> Great. and Trusty Maro. >> Um, first want to say uh thank you to Christa for all your hard work this year. I know it wasn't easy. I know that could be part of my problem. Um, and uh, you did it with grace and professionalism and um, I want to thank
125you for your guidance. Um, I wanted to say um, welcome Leah to your new position and I look forward to working together. Um the uh I wanted to talk about the convention because you know I wasn't super excited to go. Um but when I went I loved it and um I learned a lot and it was really fun spending the day with Wes and Carrie and um I got some great ideas. We got to meet wonderful people. Um, but the one thing that I really learned there that they really talked about in all the different sessions is that it's important that we understand that we're doing this for our students and that we set examples for them by the way we conduct ourselves. And even though we might not all have the same beliefs, we
126have to be professionals and we have to do what's best for them. And so that's probably what I got out of it most. and it was talked about in every single session that I was in. So that's what I want to say tonight and happy holidays to everybody. >> Great. Trusty Peterson. >> Um yes, thank you Christa for your incredible leadership. Um I so appreciate you and welcome Leah um as president. I look forward to working with you this year. Um the holiday season is here. I went to my first holiday performance um at Newport Coast Elementary School. Like Christa, I also get teeyed in public. And I just sat there and was tearyeyed watching our students sing um like they've never sung before. Their smiles, I mean, every student, I mean, there might have
127been one out of the entire um population that didn't have a smile on their face. They all had smiles on their faces. They were all confident. Um, and they all had friends standing next to them that they were giggling with. Um, and to me, I guess the giggling with the friends was probably one of my favorites to see how I that's really the heart of what we do to be able to watch them during those performances. So, I can't get through any of them with with dry eyes. Um, the other event I went to, this was a great month. The other event I went to that I will highlight was um Early College High School's is it future ready? Is that what you call it? A future ready. I'm looking at Jeremy because I got
128to watch him. They celebrate their seniors. They all get together and they push their first application to colleges. They push the button to their first application to colleges. And again, I don't think there's anything better. Um that again, that's another reason why we're here. And that's our end goal. Jeremy and you just I think your mom was one of the only ones in the audience. I think I would have been there too. So I enjoyed meeting her and um again um great job and trustee Murphy. >> Uh well yes congratulations uh Dr. Soilu. Um so there was not that many events actually with Thanksgiving but um but I did want to uh congratulate uh Dr. Dr. Yakam and her team, we talked about this a little bit um about the uh community advisory committee um
129for special ed and uh their recent convening last week, which I was sad to miss because I was up in Sacramento, but um it's their parent education series and uh we I was really excited to hear um that there was more attendees this last week, which was very exciting. And um and mostly what we had been talking I just want to recognize your team. We'd been talking about making the invitation to this event um sounding not sounding but um having [clears throat] all of our parents realize that these uh educational series can benefit all of us. Um I think I think I talked about this last time. Um the one a couple months ago was on uh was on behavior and discipline. And I remember sitting there thinking this doesn't just apply to the parents
130of special needs kids. Uh this applies to all of us with children. So um it was so great to hear that uh that the group attending is expanding. So I'm hoping that we can continue that work and um so thank you for that and I will just continue to plug away at uh recording the session and um being able to send that out andor Zoom recording Zoom. I know nobody likes that, but it's very helpful for all of us who can't be there at the actual meeting. So, thank you again. >> Great. Trusty W again. >> Thank you. Um, yes. Well, thank you guys for all those kind accolades. Um, it was it has been a great year. Um, I'm definitely not the uh I I feel not the most natural leader. I like to
131uh just sit back and have fun with you with you ladies. Um, but it was it was definitely the the right time in my life to to lead um to lead you all and to go through some tough times. I mean, there's always going to be tough times on the school board. Um, but you know, I just kept, you know, focused on on my why. Um, which I, you know, thank you, Dr. Smith, for letting me explain that to everyone. Um, and I do love a public cry, but I'm gonna try not to today. Um, but I also want to say thank you to Dr. Smith. I mean, as when you're the president, you have spent a lot of time with the superintendent and I learned so much about leadership from you. Um, and I
132learned so much about just being a good human. So, thank you. Um, okay. Uh and when I talked about um leading with uh you know with I tried to lead with fairness and try to model the behaviors that that I would expect but more importantly I also wanted to be a leader that I would want to I would want to work for um and have led uh led uh and be led by I should say. Um and I I think I talked a little bit about ensemble but I think I want to talk about the cabinet here. You guys did such you've done such an amazing job and you continue to do such an amazing job for our students. So when we're up there making decisions, um we know that they've been vetted and um
133you know your recommendations are are definitely something that we take to heart. So I want to say thank you so much for all your hard work. Um our district is is really special at CSBA. kept going into different um meetings and talking about, you know, they were talking about e about CTE um AI um um equity work. And I would sit there and I go, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Check, check, check, check, check." Realize that we're doing that work. Um and we've been doing that work and and we really excel at at that work. Um and it's it's from, you know, from the cabinet on down. Um our teachers are phenomenal. our families are are great and you know I can't wait to see what this next generation of students that we're leading um turn
134out to be. So with that I just want to say thank you all for letting me lead and it's going to be great. Leah, you're going to be great. It it it's going to be another great year. So thank you all and happy holidays. Great. [applause] >> And with that we adjourn at 7:59. Thank you.