001thank you um we're calling the meeting to order at 3 30. our fellow board members are on their way but this way we can adjourn we can recuse ourselves into closed and be on a timely manner um roll call please Rosie just departo trustee matoya here trustee crane here trustee Anderson trustee or soilu trustee weigand here trustee yelsea here Dr Smith here and for members of the public that are looking at this because you have nothing else to do four is a quorum so there we are um do I hear a motion to adopt the agenda so moved second it's been moved by trustee crane up seconded by trustee weigand roll call vote Jesse Bartow Justin matoya yes trustee crane yes trustee Anderson Christian yes trustee Elsie yes all righty we seeing no one in
002our public that has a question we are going to move into closed session the items are 5A Public Employee discipline dismissal release employment number 2022 206 HR confidence conference with legal counsel on anticipated litigation and a second one with case number 402-9260-22.23 and another conference with labor negotiator and a Public Employee dismissal discipline release employment and we will return to open session at 6 pm all right so we are calling the meeting to order at 6 PM uh we have Opening Ceremonies moment of reflection Pledge of Allegiance led by our student board member to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God individual excuse me yes in closed session the Board of Education took action to approve the resolution regarding Employment Number 202206
003HR the vote was as follows six eyes one absent move to adoption of the minutes 9 13 22 may I have a motion so moved may I have a second second it's been moved by trustee Crane and seconded by trustee weigan roll call vote trustee Bartow yes Christy matoyan yes trustee crane yes trustee Anderson yes trustee ursulu yes trustee weigan yes trustee yelsea yes right now we move to student board member reports trustee matoya yes we as you will know we rotate our board members today Daniela Ramirez is our board member on the diocese so Daniella will you start us off with your report please of course just make the little pointy end point to your mouth and it'll I'll be great Day to all a big hello to my fellow um student Representatives local
004authorities and the public also the board today I am the roll caller for this meeting I would like to um jump into my response immediately to give others their time to quote um my topic for Freedom what College and Career activities and events are taking place on campus that are Helping Seniors prepare for next year I represent back pay for um any newcomers or those who just were not aware I've spoken with on the Back Bay High School principal Dr bauermeister to get the most accurate response to this question and we discussed students receiving mentors Junior College trips junior college classes and resume creation help and also career day to go into detail Back Bay High School will work to partner its pupils with mentors that correspond with the student's career choice for example if
005the student that's the hired career is to be a mechanic therefore the mentor provided would either have worked or is currently working or has the appropriate amount of experience and knowledge with mechanics the goal is for the students to enter their field with a more realistic approach students can use this opportunity to ask questions that you cannot more specifically than you could any textbook or online research to accompany this we would also do college trips this is to expose the students to the college's culture the Dynamics that happen on a day-to-day basis and it would also give students a feel of the campus and how each space is used by the students currently attending or guiding college campuses also serves for inspiration and motivation for the students at Back Bay so then they can um
006find staff members who they relate to and they can become familiar instead of going there the first day and not knowing anybody senior um seniors will also receive junior college classes they will um get applied into the school system as if they were any other student and they were they will get a student ID and they will get registered into a class of their choice that whether that be a career or just temporary help for job placement then we have career day career day is simply where a bunch of different job advisors come to Back Bay High School themselves this includes um military this includes colleges also one being Golden West College this also includes different um subjects and they give resources to the students at back pain how to apply it and get into
007these programs and how it is to actually work there and the different branches of the military and the different um ways you can use the benefits that they give you I would also like to know that having College advisors come and actually speak to the students and give them like a detailed version of what they're actually receiving gives the students a better chance uh choosing a career and a major that they will fulfill for a longer period of time instead of switching into another major within the first two years also starting January and continuing um during months into the into the return of break from the holidays we will um commence resume building which is just telling students what will and will not benefit um to getting jobs and also what to put on resumes
008and how to ask for references and also how to how to properly how to ask oh that was a little too close it would help students not be stressed by it resumes when looking for a job is already stressful enough that's right combined help back-based students um learn how to navigate the first two years after high school thank you very much already our two students that get dope because we don't have enough seats up on the dice um I see Marcelina is Isabella here I don't see her yet okay Marcelina you're up Mercy good evening superintendent Smith and members of the board I'm Marcelina Sanchez representative of Early College High School from the start of the school year in August at Early College High School there has been a representative from Girls Inc that comes
009to talk to our senior girls about opportunities they can take with their organization anywhere from volunteer opportunities and any scholarships they can apply for the school has also had senior meetings where they discuss various activities and see how the school year is going and how to apply for different jobs or anything or college especially because that can be very stressful their upcoming senior meeting will be October 13th uh lastly the seniors are preparing for Cask which is a day where seniors can apply for college and especially with the help of our counselor Miss gulini we also have College field trips for the seniors so they can see what school they may potentially want to be applying for and have College and Career nights with local organizations I'm glad to see that our seniors are taking
010a leap into new opportunities that will definitely benefit their future thank you thank you foreign just as a good job student board members just as an FYI also note that we also have our virtual College and Career night so you can tack that on to the list of opportunities that you have president Bartow thank you now we move on to the harbor Council PTA report Cynthia Strassman good evening superintendent Smith president Bartow trustee cabinet board member special guest and Community it's pleasure to be here representing Harbor Council PTA I just have a few tidbits to share with you tonight we have a couple events that will take place this month the first one being our walk to school and that's taking place there are two dates that are being offered depending on which state you
011know it's dependent on the school selecting that date it's October 5th and the 12th great opportunity for making connections with the students and their families it's all about safety and it's also great for learning right you start off on the right kind of right frame of mind you're exercising walking to school so we're really excited that this is available again this year so that is coming up we have 13 schools within our Duke Port Mesa School District participating I'd like just to mention them briefly that is Victoria Sonora Anderson Kelly Brook Lincoln Mariners Newport Elementary palorino Pomona Ray Whittier Wilson and Newport Heights so we're also looking forward to seeing those pictures coming our way after the events our second event that's taking place this month is our school board candidate Forum which is going
012to be taking place on Monday October 10th at Back Bay Monte Vista High School this is going to be this is organized by Harbor Council but moderated by the fourth district PTA we currently have 10 candidates nine of which have responded and when has it responded is Barbara George but we are looking forward to hosting this forum and we encourage all to attend and again it's on October 10th from 6 to 9 pm at Back Bay Monte Vista High School and last but not least within our Council our membership I know that we comment on this every month but our membership is gaining we're now over 5 000 and within the fourth district PTA which is the largest District PTA in this in the nation we have 36 000 members to date and this is
013just October so for those who don't know with PTA our membership actually supports our advocacy efforts not just at the local level but also at the state level so having a strong membership truly does support advocacy efforts at the legislative level so um that is all on my report and I just wanted to thank um superintendent the school board and the school district for supporting Harbor Council PTA with all of that comes when we meet on a monthly basis with all the questions that are presented and um you know our leaders are seeking answers and Zone specific answers correct and and you're just we're just appreciative that you're there to support us and and guide us so thank you thank you [Applause] and now we have csca and nmft comments so we have cseavp Stu
014Tedford good evening folks president Bartow uh trustees Wesley and my cabinet friends um I'd need to let you know that I'm no longer the vice president I'm going to be the president's um on Friday so I wanted to let you know my name is Stu Tedford I work in the lock shop I've been with Newport Mesa about 18 years I worked for uh Ellie unified for 15 years before that I've been a union member since the day I joined La unified and been active in the union representation of my co-workers for about 34 years now I think it's important that we build relationships with everybody all of the stakeholders but a big part of it is the relationship that I have with our human resources department the superintendent's office and really everybody who serves the
015students which is why we're all here the maintenance department works really hard to make sure that everything is ready when the kids show up and I know that getting them to school is important and the food's important so I I firmly believe that all of us play a part in how the kids are educated and if we all put them at the Forefront of what we do then everyone in Newport Minnesota will be successful and I found it to be true in my experiences so far so if you ever need anything from the lock shop I'm right across the parking lot if you need anything from CSEA any questions any input on anything's going on please feel free to reach out to me everybody knows how to get a hold of me I'm generally walking
016across the parking lot and you can just stop me anytime and say hello but I just want to say thank you for giving me an opportunity to talk to you tonight and I look forward to working with each and every one of you thank you thank you and an mft representative Tamara Fairbanks good evening president Bartow superintendent Smith honor trustees and guests the beginning of the school year marks the time of excitement stress new discoveries and Innovation as an nmft executive board member and arts Advocate I am in a unique position to see the wonderful creative activities that are happening in our schools not only are certificated staff dedicated to the academic learning of our students but own but our but our staff are also dedicated to Growing our students creatively and artistically in the
017Arts the past few weeks our dance teachers have paved the way for our Performing Arts season with a performance at Costa Mesa High School followed by a collaboration through one of our Arts Partners back house dance where the students learned the art of choreography the science of sound and the methodology of moving in order to express an idea this integration of Concepts is why it's so important to support prop 28. for those who don't know prop 28 the music and arts funding initiative is on the ballot for November instead of adding taxes to support the Arts the initiative dedicates approximately one percent from the general budget to fund to have an ongoing funding for the Arts this funding will not only Aid in dedicated funding sources for Arts education but will provide equity for those
018schools who need more opportunities artistically I ask you school board for your support for prop 28 to make sure that every child every day pk-12 has access to programs that are rich in music art drama and dance as a prison came from a rich artbreaking where Elementary every Elementary School had a full-time art teacher and music teacher it would be great for a new permission to offer a similar richness in our district in our own way thank you for your continuing continuing support of our of our teachers in the Arts and your support for the Arts I hope you give this measure your deep consideration and support and thank you so much for everything and I love this microphone thank you we moved to community input on non-agendized items this is an opportunity for the
019public to address the board regarding items not on the regular meeting agenda comments on non-agenda topics are limited to three minutes per comment up to 20 minutes per topic the speaker may not relinquish his or her time to another person by order of the brown act section 549-54.2 the board will take no action nor have any discussion on non-agendized items the superintendent May provide clarification during superintendent's comments right we have several comments but it looks like we have enough for everyone to get their uh say so that is great um Alex Goodman first then Matt Armstrong then Gwen Gaylor president Bartow superintendent Smith members of the board my name is Alex Goodman I've been an English teacher at Newport Harbor High School for the past nine years and I've been I'm speaking tonight to address
020two issues the recent attacks from a group called Newport Mesa uncensored and the importance of continued support for inclusive schools for the last month the first item on the Newport Mesa uncensored Instagram account has been an album accusing me and several of my colleagues of being sexual groomers their justification for this dangerous harassment targets our school's efforts to become more inclusive especially with regards to lgbtq students I'm deeply concerned about their actions because these personal and dehumanizing attacks are going to be used to fuel bullying and discrimination and it's likely that other educators will avoid participating in inclusion efforts for fear of being targeted last week the group also published an op-ed in the daily pilot presenting themselves as concerned parents whose top priority is the district's test scores the authors cherry-picked a couple of
021Statistics from one year of one standardized test then they concluded without evidence that Newport Mesa is failing because it only cares about promoting state-backed ideological programs not only is this inaccurate and politically motivated they don't even try to address the actual challenges our students have faced over the last few years they also don't bother to explain how providing more support to students could possibly make their academic performance worse I don't know this group's specific motivations but their efforts seem focused on removing resources for lgbtq students which could force them back into the closet and threaten their safety the group has also been asking to ban books and censor vital topics of discussion the reality is when students are ostracized or stereotyped or feel like they need to hide their true selves these obstacles make it
022really difficult to do well in school so yes as Educators we do work as hard as we can to teach reading writing and arithmetic and at the same time we offer our students care and support and resources when they need them recently Newport Harbor students got to share their thoughts in an optional survey and I was encouraged to see comments like this one the school has been doing an exemplary job at providing for the students but then I'd see another one like this I loathe many of my classes merely because I can't have an actual learning experience due to being recorded by students laughed at when I answer a question or being plainly excluded and judged by other students for my gender identity in the end I think this student summed it up best school
023is overall pretty good the push for inclusivity is positive but there is still more that needs to be done I am grateful to be in a district that recognizes that students are not numbers they're human beings inclusion is not a distraction it is the only way we'll ever build a society that truly welcomes all of us please let's keep working together to make sure that every Newport Mesa student feels safe and respected in a place where they can learn and grow and Thrive thank you [Applause] next we have Matt Armstrong questions Bartow superintendent Smith and trustees of the board thank you for your service after the last board meeting I sat down for a long talk with the people behind Newport Mesa uncensored despite some initial tension after 45 minutes the vibe was positive we
024were making progress speaking with one another was cathartic at the end we agreed to continue the discussion but with more teachers for this meeting of the minds I assembled a dream team of Educators who could speak to their many concerns to ensure productive exchange I made two requests of Newport Mesa uncensored one that we maintain confidentiality to ensure candor a standard arrangement in any mediation and two that we stopped calling each other names they refused to agree to confidentiality offering a vague concession that would not provide protection for my colleagues Bill Dunlap suggested that he and I meet separately and for obvious reasons I passed as for putting to an end to the name calling there was no response the lesson here is clear these people are more interested in virtue signaling than in learning
025or understanding they certainly don't care about our schools for them truth is beside the point and facts are not their currency their campaign against our school our schools is pure performative politics you see they don't really consider the humans on the other end of their attacks for example they were outraged at being called extremists they felt it was so unfair and the irony was utterly lost on them I had to explain the calling teachers groomers is also unfair Grace Hobbs was upset that I had named her in an email to teachers arguing that if her child were enrolled in an nmusd school she may have been embarrassed yet Grace Hobbs is perfectly comfortable publicly labeling Newport Harbor's principal a groomer and his child actually does go to nhhs meanwhile Bill dunlap's response to being called
026an extremist was to wear a clown suit and try to crack a joke I've got news for built on lap harassing teachers is not funny for over a year our teachers administrators and trustees have been enduring attacks from this loud minority we still show up every day and serve our community compare this to Newport Mesa uncensored for one day they face pushback for one day they're called a name and they couldn't handle it their performance at this last meeting was a case study in fragility only Haley Jenkins doubled down on casting a librarian as a groomer so she earned the gold star for reckless disregard for the truth the legal standard that in any other context will get her fired or charged with a misdemeanor and fined in my daily pilot op-ed last May I
027predicted that these people would start calling us groomers such predictable Reckless people should not be guiding educational policy unfollow unsubscribe unlike thank you next we have Gwen Gaylord superintendent Smith president Bartow and members of the board thank you sincerely for allowing me to speak this evening my name is Gwen Gaylord and I teach English at Newport Harbor High School this is my seventh year at Harbor but I've been a sailor much longer than that I graduated from the school in 2010 and before that I was an Alum of Ensign intermediate Kaiser Elementary and Woodland primary schools my mother is a beloved Elementary School teacher in the district and my grandfather graduated from nhhs back in 1950. essentially my family is harbor zone born and bred and I feel lucky to be part of a long-standing
028tradition of academic integrity and excellence while employed at Newport Harbor I have held a wide array of responsibilities I've coached cross-country I've been the co-chair of the school's inclusion Council I've hosted weekly Bible studies in my classroom and I've been the advisor of clubs such as prism which is led by students within the lgbtq plus Community The Blaze It Forward club which is led by Jewish students to honor the legacy of a local teenager murdered in 2018 for being Jewish and gay and the kindness Club to name a few at the beginning of each year I tell my students that if they are conscientious inquisitive and kind they will find success in my class it is essential to be both intellectually curious and socially engaged in order to become a lifelong learner indeed as the
029commentary published in the daily pilot last Wednesday maintains quote the purpose of education has always been to instill good character convey and understanding of America's underpinnings and provide training in the Practical competencies such as Reading Writing and arithmetic unquote the skills we are helping our students develop in Reading Writing and arithmetic as well as in government the Arts foreign languages and economics are critical to their matriculation as learned adults but surely we don't measure a student's worth solely by their ability to pass a single test for what is Paramount is a student's ability to as the authors of the Newport Mesa uncensored editorial will certainly agree demonstrate good character and one cannot develop this good character ethics morality and kindness without being encouraged to recognize affirm and appreciate all aspects of their neighbor's identities be
030these racial ethnic religious or those related to gender and sexual orientation we seem to be hearing the refrain of Parental Choice repeated at every turn these days it is crucial to remember that making the choice to ignore and dehumanize the authentic identities of those around us only diminishes our shared Humanity let us not conflate introducing our students to ideologies awaiting them in the world with proselytizing and let us never shy away from protecting and celebrating the most vulnerable communities because of fear and intolerance hopefully we choose to educate ourselves so that we can spot the difference thank you greatly for your time [Applause] we have Mary Lynn Gattis then Kate Malouf then mathek Arie president Bartow superintendent Smith and the trustees of the board thank you for giving me the time this evening my name
031is Mary Lynn Gattis and my husband and I have four children each of whom graduated from Newport Harbor in these combined 16 years of high school our experience of with Newport Harbor High School was overwhelmingly positive as I followed the attacks on our neighborhood schools I've grown increasingly disheartened and I finally reached the point where I felt I had to speak out so let me say loud and clear those who attack our teachers our schools and our principals and the board do not represent me and I resent their implication that they are the only ones paying attention to what's happening in our community schools this handful of parents thinks that in a district of 17 000 students and thirty four thousand parents only they the select few had the inside scoop of what's really happening
032here in our schools please spare us ear Petty grievances in trumped up outrage you did not speak for the Newport Beach that I know I have served as a as a member of the junior Mentor program since its Inception over two decades ago during this time I've worked closely with the number of delightful talented Newport Harbor students as a parent I and my husband were involved in many programs including football field hockey track drama and in addition we had very strong Partnerships with our IEP teams Meanwhile my husband Alan Newport Harbor class of 1980 has served on the board of the Newport Harbor Alumni Association as president from 2018 to 2022 and currently as the chair of Engagement and president Emeritus from 2011 to 2016 he helped establish the long Gray Line the Newport Harbor
033football Alumni Association just Friday night many alumni were shocked at what has been said recently in the public domain regarding their alma mater when do you think about the folks that waging more on our schools and teachers you must ask yourself what have these people ever actually built you have to ask yourself what kind of person posts the names of our local teachers our principals on a list of pedophiles this is just not acceptable I for one stand with the teachers and the leaders of Newport Harbor and Newport Mesa Unified School District against those who Target our schools and I can say with confidence that I speak for far more of the community than anyone affiliated with the Social Media Group Newport Mesa uncensored when I first heard about this group I thought honestly it
034was an exaggeration until I signed up and read it myself I urge you to dismiss the words dismiss the words that comes out of their mouths and what they publish publicly it's unfair and it's Un-American thank you very much foreign good evening my name is Kate Malouf and I am a Conservative Christian mother of three children that have excuse me attended this school district since kindergarten and our family thanks you thank you to the board the superintendent and the administration at our school Newport Harbor High School lately lately I've read misrepresentations made about you the district and the staff at my children's high school I stand here tonight as a very involved parent at Newport Harbor who rejects the misrepresentation of our school I don't accept the condemnation of our school built on false narratives
035spewed at our community my children and their peers have been very well educated through an unprecedented time in our world's history and we are grateful for it can we strive to do better and evaluate how we do things absolutely but each of you knows and knows this and strives for this because you stepped up and you put yourself out there to be elected to do better for the 18 000 plush children in this school district and I am grateful all three of my children persevered through the pandemic due to the outstanding education and support they received from their teachers at Newport Harbor our oldest daughter graduated last June with honors and she would be the first to tell you that Newport Harbor thus far has been the best experience of her life academically athletically and
036socially our son is a senior this year and he will graduate from Harvard in June despite his difficulty of enduring math behind a screen during the pandemic a teacher his math teacher made all the difference in finding creative ways to help him increase his time in the classroom she cared enough to reach out and find Solutions our youngest is a sophomore this year and she spent most of her Middle School Edinson behind a screen but somehow came prepared to Newport Harbor and last year finished with Straight A's and 1B we choose to send our children to a public school to the public schools because of their Stellar reputation and they have served our children well Newport Harbor has the best school spirit frankly I've ever seen coming out of the pandemic we have achieved achieved
037nine CIF titles and watched these kids and their teachers celebrate each other they have been able to do this because of your leadership and because of our beloved leadership of doctor principals Dr Sean Bolton to those who want to tear us all down go cast your sons somewhere else our kids know the truth they walk the Halls they play on the courts they sing and dance in the theaters and they have a front row seat to the sensationalized desire to destroy our school district we need more kindness and love and less bitterness and Hate I'm betting on kindness for the Long Haul thank you yeah mafik Ari and then Justin Shay sweet thank you uh hello everyone um thank you for just being here you guys are amazing I'm a student at Newport Harbor High
038School I've been a student for four years I'm a senior now and I'm one of the founders of prism and I just want to say that my experience at Harbor has been absolutely amazing and I'm so happy with all this inclusion that's going on it's great honestly for uh all the lgbtq students and just everyone and there's been a lot of word recently from these just not cool people that were harming the school and I just want to say that's not true all this inclusion is simply helping everyone you know it doesn't hurt anyone it doesn't exclude anyone it's just to make everyone feel loved and I'm just super stoked with uh Bolton for helping this Mr Goodman Miss uh Gaylord everyone everyone's fantastic and and um thank you guys so much for all this
039uh I hope that uh all this inclusion just keeps getting pushed forward and we can do more to help our trans students to help our queer students just all the students you know any student um thank you guys so much I just only had that to say I hope you guys have a lovely night thank you thank you we have Justin Shay then Haley Jenkins and then Alicia B good evening everyone uh my name is Justin Shay I'd like to talk about the meeting uh me and some other parents out of Mr halt at Estancia about the changing of the homecoming king and queen to the Royals um he made this decision on his own immediately was very confident in it and was just very um unacceptable of another opinion um and these new rules
040will affect with all the women up here women negatively um I just had a baby girl and I hope one day she can become homecoming queen but um she won't be able to do that in this District um and I think this these new rule changes by Mr Hall without letting parents know or a different opinion opens up a big Pandora's Box because if we're talking about these rule changes what happens with different ages or different races when a kid feels something different that day you know um and talking to my son there's not much bullying at the school there's not much fighting which is great I don't think anybody's calling for that I just think when rule changes are made for a small percentage of people um with these students I don't think it's
041setting up them up right for real life you know I think all this coddling and Rule changes that doesn't happen in real life and I don't think it's setting them up right for the real world where um you know something's not going on right with their job they can change the title change whatever they want to make it happy for them and I think you would if they put to a vote for the total school I think most of the kids vote for the traditional way um and I just think we're kind of get into a scary place when there's no discourse or way for another person to expect their opinion to a principal that can just make changes like that and I'd like to see something in writing where he can put his name
042on it to where I can make rule changes like this this this to whatever tradition I want to whatever bathroom I want to whatever sport I want you know and I think all these rule changes are really going to be harmful to women in the end um so I just like you guys make aware of that that one of your principals is making decisions on its own without differences opinion without parent input or without student input you know really the way he did the vote was they walked into the ASB and kind of forced these kids to vote on it without them knowing before and him standing right right in front of him and I don't think that's fair I don't think that's right so I just like to bring that to your uh opinion
043and thank you guys all for the time thank you next we have uh Haley b or Haley Jenkins and Alicia B um hello superintendent Smith president Bartow and members of the board I'm here tonight to request that you add an a discussion action item to your next board meeting agenda I'm requesting that you create a process in which the board reviews and approves all newer addition and updated versions of textbooks currently the board approves a brand new book the updated versions of that same book never go through the same process the board doesn't always look at them and there's never a review period for parents and the public to review or make comments to you instead these books just get signed off by teachers or principals that want them and nobody knows what's in them
044this is both dangerous and foolish this is how the Comprehensive Health skills for high school's 2023 Edition can into our district the health teacher from Costa Mesa High School wanted it the prior version was previously approved back in 2018 so the school was able to sign up for 150 copies and a six-year online access subscription totaling fifteen thousand eight hundred and nineteen dollars and it got okay despite being the approval form asking the question does this publication include materials that are generally recognized as controversial it was marked no none of you saw this book or approved it parents never saw this book I found this months ago at the district office in my weekly textbook review and was appalled now you say we don't use this book and you call my parent group Liars but
045it's weird that there is an approval an order form from Costa Mesa High School with the money and the book is sitting in the office with the others so maybe you weren't aware just like parents and taxpayers weren't aware of the new approved Edition teaching kids about being gynoromantic or scoliosexual or how to be a gender fluid pansexual which in my opinion doesn't really relate to health and shouldn't be taught at a public school that's definitely not controversial right this is not the only concerning textbook with an updated version I highly encourage you all and anyone here in this room with children in the district to come on down to the Sanborn Offices here and browse through some of these books given to Children some of them are awesome however after coming week after week
046looking through many of these there's a noticeable Trend starting somewhere around 2018 when factual textbooks take a nosedive and the newer versions start peppering in controversial ideologies and parents and the board are none the wiser so please add this item to your next agenda it's a simple change that will allow for transparency and help trust with the large portion of frustrated parents and taxpayers thank you thank you Alicia B and then Angeli good evening president Bartow superintendent Smith and board members I stand before you as a mother and educator and tax paying citizen it is imperative to clearly convey our message of our duty to preserve and protect our schools and ultimately our children call that an extreme agenda if you will but I have dedicated over a decade servicing students with passion and care
047to ensure that schools meet their every need to prove that I would love no more than to see our community thrive unfortunately the communicative and actionable steps taken to advocate for our schools children and staff have failed due to your lack of partnership with community members since Contracting with Capital Advisors Group LLC in April of this year I have met with trustees emailed and stood at this very Podium with a simple request in alignment with board policy 9322 my request for public knowledge was to adopt positions to solicit Community input during public comment and to establish a coordinated plan to carry out an advocacy agenda specific to SB 866 SB 1302 SB 1479 and ab1940 so fortunately three of these four bills were vetoed by the governor unfortunately SB 1479 covid-19 testing in schools was
048signed into law by the governor on September 29th this is the very bill that President Bardo stated privately had no infrastructure support and claimed to be personally opposed to and prematurely celebrated that teachers were no longer required to test in this District so I imagine I am now in disbelief that there has been public deception for your fight related to covid-19 and advocacy of students um you have done absolutely nothing to with our taxpayer funds to attempt true influence um that create copen19 testing plans or to adopt a state's framework this bill has ongoing costs of potentially one billion that's billion with a B annually until January 1st 2026 in order to continue the testing program offer testing for teachers students staff and surrounding community and this is beyond the current expiration of federal funding
049even the association of California's School administrators opposed this bill and stated that this bill would divert staff attention and limited funds away from students AXA believes Health directives need to be shifted back to Public Public Health agencies so that schools can focus on student education so I'm here asking you board and superintendent why didn't you take the same stance as AXA you had an opportunity and you didn't thank you now we have Anthony hi good evening my name is Angelina Vallarta and thank you so much for the time today um I am a PTA parent at a College Park Elementary my daughter is I joined first when she joined Kinder and now in first grade I'm learning more and more about the great work this team the rpta is doing and I just wanted some
050support and some clarity um as I'm looking at the itinerary of all the things that we want to find because we worked really really hard on a very successful drag-a-thon fundraiser on what is and is not covered as far as enrichment and supplemental curriculum activities for the kids so for example um some of the things that we're looking to fund this year are things like a steam night a single steam night an old school read um a literacy night um recess art for all grade levels to really provide kids some exposure all of this switch looks like very educational um so I would really appreciate the opportunity to have some clarity on what is and what's not uh funded so that the PTA can focus on more community outreach and connecting with families and kind
051of you know establishing a really healthy culture on our campus so thank you so much thank you [Applause] all right now we move to superintendent's comments yeah with regard to uh the parent and Estancia follow-up about the accusation that it was made unilaterally and that um the opinion of others wasn't respected because we certainly want to respect the opinion of all on all of our campuses so I'll follow up on that one I wasn't there so I can't clarify or comment on what happened during that meeting um SB and axis support AXA uh or actually their opposition they pulled their opposition as did the Ed Coalition when all that was left after adding the bill was the requirement to have a plan which we already have not to implement the plan not to hire staff
052Deputy plan which it initially had which would have cost lots and lots of money the testing protocols Etc what was left as we understand it and we can look into this again I can bring back more information was just the requirement to have a plan which we already have and then the the PTA funding question was a great question in fact we're at Harbor Council PTA today and brought this up that we want to have Jeff and some of our team come and share what is the district funds as a Baseline and then what are those things the PTA and Foundations and btos and others can can help support we even had a trustee mention that we probably got to focus too on our Title 1 ptas and those schools because in particular they're struggling
053to to find those resources and so I couldn't agree more and we're planning that for the very next Harbor council meeting and then other Outreach to ptas and then just because he um he only stays as long as he has folks here to support I made a comment last week and he was gone so I'm going to make that now but Javier zamorano who's at the back of the room translating this year was recognized as a 2022 multilingual Award of Distinction for the entire County so I wanted to recognize in law repair foreign [Applause] thank you Now we move to community input on agenda's items 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
054to 20 minutes per topic a speaker may not relinquish 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 the speaker prefers okay we have one comment Alicia B would you prefer to go now or would you prefer to go with the consent that's fine okay so this is in regards to Newport Harbor High School aquatic updates on July 14th the district sent out an email stating that the upgrades may include a remodel um of locker rooms restroom showers and coaches office the current language and the board agenda States rehabilitating [Music] um I know that there's been some transactions via public record that we have obtained that um covers language and changes language as to not
055sound the alarm within the community and so I'm here seeking clarification as to the intentions of the district is it a re Rehabilitation is it a remodel I know we've spoken president Bartow um I I'm wondering what these plans entail perhaps that's coming after my comments but in review of public records we we know that the district has been in contact with the state and has worked with the state on gender neutral multi-user restrooms and has considered gender neutral locker rooms um so I also wanted to inform the public that regardless of the plan approval for those who might may not be aware the district has adopted a gender support plan so this permits any student to use any restroom or locker room single or multi-user based on their identity and I've received numerous parent
056contacts student contacts teacher contacts that have informed us at both Newport Harbor and ensign do a firm children who identify as furries I know that the district has denied this we have photographs of this on campus so members of the opposite sex who are using the facilities surrender their right to privacy with sexual orientation and gender identity identity we're not asking for the district not to be inclusive but to consider how this violates government transparency laws principles of good governance and most importantly the public trust that parents have placed in public schools school policy affects all of our students and the families should not be in the dark about the policies and practices that you you adopt I know that this our parent group has shared this with the community and they have not been
057informed so I continue to Advocate that you work with parents and with full disclosure and transparency so I look forward to hearing the Aquatic updates and again um with the topic of gender dysphoria please engage your parents in these discussions thank you [Applause] we will get to 17 a when we get to 17. we are currently on 16 informational items update to board policy numbers yeah this is routine in that csba often changes the numbers so we have for you is this a list of those changed numbers they didn't require any review by our committee because it was just csba changing numbers okay did anyone have any questions thank you all right with that we moved to 17 consent calendar I know that there were some questions and shared by some trustees as well so
058um I guess I'll ask for a motion and a second and then discussion okay so so moved thank you second thank you all right um so items that uh trustees submitted do you have any comments on those at least we shared all those in our update so yeah both of them for Jeff though so trustees had questions that remain this evening you want to ask Jeff he's prepared to address it so I did submit it and I probably didn't get to my email in time but I didn't see the answer for 17a2 as well regarding the concept and I it is my understanding that that concept has not yet been brought forth is that correct or can you clarify that's correct once we get approval from the board to proceed then we will come to
059you with a picture visualization of what that concept will be like trustee Midway mine's a second thank you okay I just want to thank staff because because of our change in when we were having our meeting we usually submit our questions over the weekend and that meant you guys had to scramble like crazy to answer our questions in hours rather than having the the luxury of an entire day thank you so very much I appreciate the efforts that you do yes thank you very much I know I got my questions in a little bit later thank you all right uh go ahead any other questions that we sent um my question was on 17 A1 and it was to follow up with previous times that I've asked the question um about the order of things
060getting funded by foundations rather than the district um and what that process looks like similar to it sounds like the Harvard Council conversation um and so I think just ongoing clarity as to the timing of things I know four of the five schools in my area have asked for shade structures for quite a long time um so just that we have some discussion as to when things get approved I know Mariners also needs one but some of our other schools do too thanks thank you all right with that I've seen no further questions I'll go to real call vote trustee Bartow yes trustee Montoya yes trustee crane yes trustee Anderson yes trustee your story yes trustee weigen yes trustee yelsea yes so that we moved to public hearing 18a compliance with requirements of Education Code
061section 60119 and 60422b sufficiency of textbooks or instructional materials that are consistent with the content and cycles of the curriculum framework for 2022-2023 Williams settlement legislation the hearing is now open at 6 55 pm foreign are there any public comments right seeing none the hearing is now closed at 6 56 pm we actually had a minute go by this time the clock switch I think maybe 30 seconds probably yeah um [Music] all right so moving to 19a approved credential waiver for a certificated employee Miss Olson thank you very much so this item of approving a credential waiver for one of our certificated employees is the standard item this is to approve a waiver for one of our teachers to teach drivers education uh this is an interesting situation in the fact that we do offer
062it the state wants us to offer it however there is no programs currently so we continue to look for a program so that they can become fully credentialed but an absence of that we ask the board to approve the waiver thank you any questions may have a motion so moved second it's been moved by trustee crane seconded by trustee matoya roll call vote student board member Daniela Ramirez Jesse Bartow yes trustee matoya yes Christy crane yes trustee Anderson yes trustee your story yes trustee wagon yes trustee yelsea yes Now we move to 20 and 20a adopt resolution number zero eight one zero two two in compliance with requirements of Education Code sections 60119 and 60422b sufficiency of textbooks and instructional materials Dr Torres hi good evening um this item goes along with the public hearing
063that we had just a moment ago this is the resolution just stating that the district will provide instructional materials in the four core subject areas in every space where there is learning that's English math social studies and science thank you may I have a motion so moved second it's been moved by trustee weigandt seconded by trustee matoya trusty bar two oh I was going to ask any questions any discussion thank you yes trustee Montoya yes Cersei crane yes trustee Anderson yes trustee your soil yes trustee weigen yes trustee yelsea yes okay now we move to 20b adopt resolution number zero seven one zero two two withdrawal membership in schools excess liability fund joint Powers Authority Mr Trader the district carries excess insurance and that has been provided for years by uh self that would be
064the school's excess liability fund that's such APA joint Powers Authority and we've looked at the cost of that and have decided that it'd be more cost effective to move to safer which is a uh another uh organization that provides excess liability insurance and we figure we can save about 140 000 a year on that and so we recommend approval of this motion to exit self may have a motion so moved second it's been moved by trustee weigand seconded by trustee Anderson roll call vote trustee Bartow yes trustee Montoya yes trustee crane yes trustee Anderson yes trustee your soilu yes trustee weigen yes trustee yelsea yes did that improve too informal reports so yeah great week last week meeting with our advisory councils we have parents certificated classified and management and at each of them the
065number one conversation was an update on the school safety task force so of course we'll be bringing that work back to you so we can do that here publicly but a couple of the highlights that they were excited to hear that the group has aligned all schools on the same protocol so we have one protocol that is age-appropriate for the grade levels at each of our 33 sites 32 physical sites that they're looking at training and identifying that day in November probably when they can do training for all staff because it's one thing to have it something to know how to use it so that's exciting they've made some inroads on securing front offices like many districts around the state have a buzz in video concept because we'll have our our gates and our fin
066fences securing campuses but the offices are often open so they've identified that as one of those first areas that they can make great Improvement this school year the deployment or first round deployment of cameras using cameras around the district to provide greater security and then an emergency device a strategic device that isn't Wi-Fi bound that allows anyone on campus to notify folks that something is happening there's an emergency it could be any emergency anaphylactic shock whatever we all read the report of Vivaldi I'm sure and there was that employee out in the field that saw the person climbing the fence had to go find a phone called it in it took them three minutes to respond we know what happened if if these are successful any employee on campus even someone visiting the campus from
067like the district warehouse Transportation Etc would hit that button and notify everyone on campus that something is awry based on how many times they do it so we're excited about their efforts there and that committee will be bringing that back to you later SRO welcome this week it was awesome um end of last week because it's Monday it was a great seeing our sros and hearing more about them we we lost one of our Costa Mesa sros I like to say he he was demoted because he got some other assignment there's no better assignment than working with our folks in public education our amazing students many of whom are here tonight representing but we'll get another one because that's a priority of this board and their support of local law enforcement and then Saturday had
068a chance to do some volunteer work with the Newport Chamber of Commerce I helped build a sand castle at Newport State Beach actually I just shoveled but my wife who showed up was more of an artist they let her actually sculpt oh uh a VW bus which was awesome and then went over to the Newport L classic car show it was just cool to be out there with our community members and a member of the community there the one to remain anonymous said they would double whatever was brought in that day because they enjoyed the event so much anyway those are my reports thank you no we never start in the middle so trustee or solely would you like to go first I will give people their life back and and move to the next
069person [Music] go to trusty Anderson thank you very much for the cameras I know several of us have I'm eagerly awaited having cameras on some of our campuses as a first step of safety particularly for the offices so thank you for doing that um I am looking forward to walk to school day on the 5th I am similarly to back to school and I'm going to try and go to two different sites so that I'm that is all I have to report thank you me next okay I'm um I'm really happy to hear that there will be some articulation and common purpose when it comes to enrichment classes so I love the collaboration of Harbor Council PTA with the district that's a great first step moving in the right direction and offering um all of
070our campuses enrichment some opportunities so I loved hearing that let's keep that going I also love looking to the audience and seeing a lot of students sounds like Mesa is in the house yeah okay um and um we are going I I'm attending soy is having an open house on October 5th and I know that several trustees and superintendents are going to visit soy which is a great non-profit partner with us um walk to school day yes for sure we love walk to school day and uh believe President Bartow and I are going to Rey and pomonas uh walk to school so we look forward to that and of course the cdm's Jubilee on October 22nd which is a is going to be an amazing day full of celebration of CDM and dedication of a
071track and an English Beat concert can't wait go 80s whoa and uh and just overall thank you for all our hard-working staff and teachers and those who are brave to come up and speak uh you know what this is our this is a free country a First Amendment right is is so important so I we welcome all all um all expression of speech so thank you all for coming up to the podium and sharing your your opinions thank you walk to school day is fun it's wonderful I'm hoping to do one on one day and one on the other in our zone so that'll be great um on September 23rd I was joined by trustee Anderson trustee weigand and trustee Crane and superintendent Smith at the city of Costa Mesa state of the city luncheon
072which is both cities do a wonderful job celebrating their cities which is great however we received a a certificate of recognition for we actually had over 50 years of service on behalf of the city of Costa Mesa it is an honor to extend our sincere congratulations for more than 50 years of service in Costa Mesa we commend you for your enduring commitment to our city and tremendous value added to the greater Costa Mesa Community we wish you continued success we got a nice little stand-up award that gets to join all the other accolades that we have but it's it's very heartwarming to have to be recognized by the city of all the good work we do because we know all the good work we do and so did most of the people here tonight have
073noticed all the good work we do so thank you very much I'm gonna go let's see definitely would if you don't look at the teacher they don't call on you the thing is to look down at you don't make eye contact well I just want to say um you know over the past couple weeks I was able to speak at um Kaiser Woodland PFO meeting and the Mariners PTA meeting and it was great to meet parents and talk to them a little bit about what the district's doing a little bit about some of our initiatives and hearing their concerns and answering questions that they have a lot of their concerns revolved around Safety and Security and we actually had one parent at the Kaiser Woodland PFO that is on our security task force and she
074did a remarkable job standing up and and seeing the benefits of that task force and I you know said thank you so much for her support and she said I'm just really proud of what the district is doing and how much effort we're putting into these task force so um that was great um and you know we were able to talk have a have a lively discussion about things that that do happen at our board meetings and explain you know a little bit about what's going on there in the community and um and and answer any questions anyone has about things that come up on the agenda another thing I was able to do is I think one one speaker talked about the Newport Harbor alumni tailgate this past Friday and that was a great
075event I gotta I gotta go and um meet all of those great Sailors that have been part of this school and this community since the 50s since you know Inception really of the school and um it was really humbling to see how many people love this community want to come back and give back towards the community and and it was great one uh two one teacher got up and played the guitar with the alumni all-star band of Harbor and uh the kid that a student that introduced him was he said and this is my uh science teacher Oster Constance and so it was great to see a student get up and talk about his teacher that is also an alumni and play in the alumni band so it's such a great Community around and it
076was just a wonderful night uh the game was was hard um but you know the tailgate was great um yes and then another thing we do have the community Forum on bike safety tomorrow at Ensign um so that'll be a big one come come on come all it's a very important topic right now thank you for saying something about the football game Mesa won Homecoming this year yay Mustangs okay let's see most things are in the house thank you Mr sister um thank you I just wanted to mention a few fun things and then I have a request of superintendent Smith um two just unique things that happened last week I was at harborview's flag deck for their celebration of their redefine now I know all the schools have readathons but these kids read 91
077000 minutes that's how they gauge what they do and they raise 64 000 for their readathon and so they celebrated uh not only the readathon but it was a principal's birthday um on Friday and they had a uh they could slime the principles so they use slime all over uh principal Del real the kids had an awesome time parents everybody in the community was there just to celebrate what they've been doing in the fall the other thing was CDM had their fall music concert Friday night and it is my favorite concert of the year because they have all 13 of their vocal instrumental and band performers in the gym and it's kind of run like a three-ring circus so they have all 13 of those groups perform in an hour and 20 minutes and it
078was pretty amazing and the support they got um from just the other people who were not performing was like being at a football event or even more so they were so excited about each group presenting so it was really nice good way to start the weekend amen and then I'd like to request Dr Smith to look into something for us um I know we have a lot of board policies we have board policies for everything but there's something that we don't have a board policy that I feel that I'd like you to look into to see the feasibility of doing this um I don't want to micromanage our schools but parents expect responsible oversight from all of us and some things happen that we cannot weigh in on and oversight is as an essential part
079of a responsible board so as elected representatives of the community I think we should have a say on issues that reflect on the school community so I'm re I'm requesting a discussion um along those lines that and this is just my words but I'd like some both legal other involvement that you may know about talking to csba or other areas any site decision made at an individual school by Administration ASB clubs or other bodies shall upon the sole discretion of the Newport Mesa board be reviewable and by simple majority vote shall be subject to Amendment revision or revocation and I say that because we quite often hear things and we say well we have no control over that and as a board we should have ultimate say over what happens in our district I don't
080think it would be used very much I think it would be probably minimal but I think we should have that option so I'd like a discussion among at a at a future board meeting have a discussion if it's feasible if we could possibly do this understood thank you all right so um this week I was um really pleased to be um asked to speak at the Assistance League of Newport Mesa and they do so much good work for a community um and so many of the students are great leaders and student leaders and they help their fellow students it's a wonderful and amazing partnership that we have and it was honored that they asked me to speak the topic was positive leadership among students on campus and it was really inspiring for me to see
081how a lot of our students have a really um good understanding of how to bring that positive environment I don't know that I taught them anything at the end but I really did appreciate hearing from them and hearing how they are trying to create a positive environment on all of their campuses in partnership with with Newport Mesa and with the community on that note I attended the Newport Harbor High football game I was lucky enough to attend the Newport Harbor High back to school night as a parent not in my board clothes and a few very few people recognize me so it was nice just to be able to go as a mom and listen to all the things that were happening from a parent perspective I really appreciated that but the thing that I
082found most wonderful in all of that is everywhere you want people said the back to school the back to school nights all the things um the joy that they have seen and the school spirit definitely Newport Harbor has amazing school spirit but at all of our school sites the amount of Joy coming from the teachers from the parent volunteers who are on campus from the students from the staff there's a lot of joy and a lot of really positive things going on in our community and I think that that um that Joy is contagious so I I was honored to walk and experience all of that um and then finally on the note of safety I wanted to talk about uh trustee Crane and I uh along with trustee matoy sometimes have started a group
083called Community Alliance for bike safety we've had about three or four meetings to this point we've been working on it for about a year to address some of the issues that we see with it started out with e-bikes but it's really with bikes and traffic in general getting to school routes to school um we it's really wonderful to see how some of the school sites have taken that and run with it Ensign for example has implemented a Spike safety training is part of their PE class and so every seventh and 8th grader was given a bike safety training by the Newport Beach Police Department after which they were given a test and if they passed that test with the 80 or above they were given a sticker that showed that they were a safe commuter
084to school so there's been a lot of wonderful things that have kind of come organically from that our group serves more as a connector and so through that we've been able to see a lot of good work that different groups in the community have done I met with a bunch of parents at the corner of um Irvine but it was great because it's important to talk through what those issues are did you have a helmet on I was standing but it but it's good because I think that the more we have to these discussions because they are ultimately Community Partnerships they're agreements that we make with the community as drivers and as new drivers around Newport Harbor there's a lot of um collaboration that's going to go into making areas of our community safe and
085there's a few especially around the where you have an elementary school and a high school in close proximity where you have a lot of those issues as we have more people than ever I think on the road and getting kids getting themselves to school particularly with with e-bikes and then finally I just wanted to say thank you so much to all of the teachers and staff and parents and community and the people who truly love our Newport basis schools I think that so many of us have recognized how important they've been to members of our family uh generationally grandparents parents what it's been what it's meant for us as a community even those who I know um in my own life who maybe are sending their kids to other schools for various reasons they love
086our Newport Mesa schools and they're pleased to support them because of the impact that it has on the community at large so that's been really wonderful to experience as well thank you and with that I am going to adjourn the meeting at 7 17.