PGUSD Board Meeting February 26, 2026

001We are going to call to order uh this regular meeting of the Pacific Grove Unified School District. Um it is February 26, 2026. Um and for our opening order of business, we have our call to order and Dr. Adamson next will do the roll call. >> Absolutely. Well, President uh President McNary >> here, >> clerk Shamas >> here, >> trustee Dr. Hazen >> here, >> Trusty Otmar, and Trusty Wax >> here. >> Thank you. >> I think we've got the land acknowledgement might be out of order. >> Let's >> perhaps um I'm going to take a moment for this. >> Um as we begin this meeting, it's important to pay respect to and acknowledge that we are on the traditional land of the Alone, Costaan, and Eselin people. And additionally, pay respects to elders both

002past and present. Yeah. >> Um, item D on the agenda this evening is the adoption of the agenda. Um, I'll look to you first, Dr. Adamson, for any uh updates, changes. >> There are no changes to the agenda. >> Thank you. Um, after that, we'll go out to public comment on the adoption of the agenda. Okay, seeing none. Um board, is there any discussion on the adoption of the agenda at this time? Okay, seeing no one reaching for their microphones, um is there a motion from the board? >> Also moved to adopt the agenda as presented. >> Okay. Motion made by trustee Dr. Hazen. >> I'll second >> and a second from clerk Shamos. Um all those in favor, please say I. I. Any I Oops. Any nos? Good. Motion carries. Um we will now

003move on and identify this evening's closed session topics. Um we have four items on our close session agenda this evening. Item A is negotiations collective bargaining planning and preparation with the PGTA for 2025 and 2026 school year. Item B is negotiations, collective bargaining session planning and preparation with the CEA for the 2025 2026 school year. Item C, public employee discipline, dismissal, release, leave, complaint under government code section 54957. And item D, conference with legal counsel anticipated litigation pursuant to government code section 549 56.9 subdivision D1. Um, and that's one case and the case number is listed on the agenda. Um, are there any public comments on close session topics? Okay, with that we will adjourn to close session and we will return at 6:30 for open session. Thank you. just do one. >> So, we

004are reconvening in open session. This is the Pacific Group Unified School District Board of Education regular meeting. Um, thank you to those of you who have joined us for this next portion of the meeting. Um, the next thing we do procedurally is report the action that was taken by the board in close session. Um, on our close session agenda, we have four items. So, I'll read out the report for each of those. Item A is negotiations, collective bargaining session, planning, and preparation with the PGTA for 2025 and 2026. For that item, information was received. For item B, negotiations, collective bargaining session, planning and prep with the csea for 2025 20226 information was received. For item C, public employee discipline, dismissal, release, leave, complaint under government code section 54957, subdivision B, information was received. Um, with

005regard to item D, conference with little legal counsel, um, anticipated litigation pursuant to government code section 54956.9, subdivision D11 case 08H, case number 20260180. With regard to that item, information was received by the board and direction was given. Um, we will now go to our pledge of allegiance and Dr. Adamson, would you lead us this evening? Okay, thank you. Um, after the pledge, we move on to most enjoyable part of our meeting. Um, and it's going to be our presentation from one of our school sites. And this evening, we have the Pacific Grove Adult School. Um, I will turn it over to you, Dr. Adamson, to introduce it. >> It is my pleasure to do that. I'm going to invite to the friend, Principal, Barbara Martinez, to introduce our parent champions. Thank you for being

006here tonight. >> And champions they are. Hi, Barbara Martinez, um, principal of the Pacific Grove Adult School. Tonight we are showcasing our family leadership series. We began last year that we're in our second year of our parent leadership series. Uh, last year we won our award from family leadership for our parenting class. Last year we graduated um 20 for the parenting partners class and this year we have um 16 I believe parent champions who have gone through our workshops and we're here to talk about each one of those and have our parents come up and tell you how important it is for them. Um, we know that family engagement is one of the strongest predictors of student achievement. And when parents feel confident and equipped, students thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. Um, the the family

007leadership series, we have three. The the one we're talking about this evening is the family meal challenge. Um, and I'm going to let the parents tell you how awesome that challenge is. It really does uh focus on communication. It focuses on giving parents the strategies and the tools for communication. It it focuses on technology use during meal times. Um and then we have our parenting partners and our calm and kinders. Um the parenting partners is a six-week class that where we got our parent champions from last year. uh really through um through social emotional and practical tools to support their children academically, emotionally, but really focusing on their own behaviors and modeling for their own children. The common kind program focuses on the three essential areas. The first understanding mental health and how it directly

008impacts school success and overall being. Second, helping children build self-regulation skills so they can manage um emotions in healthy, productive ways. Um through the parenting partners class, the one thing we we focused on in self-regulation when students are having meltdowns, uh we what's the one word that we that we learned was never the less, right? Nevertheless, um you always come back to A, B, and C, but nevertheless, we're going to do A, B, and C. And, um, so with that being said, um, I would like to introduce our illustrious facilitators here with us tonight. We have Ariana Mas, stand up, Rivera. She is our dual language preschool teacher. We have Katherine Bro. There we go. Bros. Adrien Gabrio. and not with us but still illustrious and awesome are Kimberly Cervantes Sanchez and Ava Esper. So

009our last slide basically I really just want to reiterate that it's meeting parents where they are meeting families where they are taking down every barrier. If if parents couldn't get to the school or our workshop we picked them up at their house and we brought them to school. We provided child care so that both parents could come to the workshop and we could take care of the kids and we pri provided dinner at night and not only dinners for mom and dad we had baby dinners you know what babies would like to eat or not babies but they're babies to me because I'm 60 but um we what children would like to eat and and so you know if for if we had the class during the day we provided a light snack light fair

010healthy and nutritious right um really wanted to provide a good solid hour and a half of interaction so that parents could you know learn right without being distracted. So with that being said we've got several parents who would like to tell their testimony and I'm going to get right to it. So come on up. All right. Um I'm just going to share what I found the most helpful about the class. um which were were the tools that we got to take home. Um so I brought one of them. My son named this the dinner spinner. Um so it's kind of like a game. It has different conversation topics. There's also a deck of cards um tabletop cards and a placemat with ice breakers. And both of my kids really like using these and it's helped

011me to um focus more on the conversation at dinner and think of new ideas beyond how was your day or what was your rose in your thorn, the stuff that I kind of would go to all the time. Um and I have to say the classes made me more intentional about prioritizing family meals. Um keeping the table cleared of clutter and making time when we can all sit together. So the education was helpful and especially these tools have been very useful. >> Good evening. Uh my name is Bo Buller. Um I am a teacher at Stevenson School but a lifelong uh went through David Avenue Elementary, Forest Grove uh or David Avenue Preschool, Forest Grove Elementary, PG Middle and PG High School, class of 2007. Um, and I'm speaking on behalf of my wife and

012myself who both got to go to the class. Um, she's a labor delivery interet chomp, so that's where she is right now. Um, my daughter Brooklyn is in my Ariana's class, uh, the dual language cohort. And we found that the family meals class was both affirming and impactful in reinforcing the importance of family meals as a cornerstone, um, of connection and community in our house. The family meals class um at the co-op provided practical, thoughtful strategies about strengthening connection at home. Um especially through intentional conversation meal times, kind of like um the dinner spinner, which we also love at our house. Um it helped us practice deep listening and presence with our kids. Um one major thing we talked about was putting away the phones, um keeping other distractions off the table when we're eating,

013having that precious time together. um like we found it accessible um for ways to improve at the quality of our family time um and to model those healthy habits for our kids. Um I have a my three-year-old Brooklyn and then a one and a half-year-old Kennedy so they're learning from us all the time. Um I hope that PGUSD um with what Barbara's doing um continue to put these programs um for all parents. I think it could benefit, you know, the 18 or 16 of us that were there, but every single parent that's a part of the co-op could see immense value um in this program um as we continue to build a strong community and the values that bring people like myself who lived here, who grew up here, who gained a lot from being

014a Pacific Grove resident and brought me back to the peninsula. So, just thank you guys so much for, you know, giving us the opportunity to do this and keeping PG the way it is, cuz it's it's the best place to be. >> Hi, my name is Kristen and I have a three-year-old in the program. And before we went through the family meals challenge, I would kind of stare at him during meal time and think, "What do I talk to you about?" And sometimes I would go do laundry or do the dishes. But this program communicated both the importance of communication with your child and things I could talk to him about. So since then, I'm sitting, we're talking, we're using the dinner spinner, and it's been really great. I'd also like to tell you how

015skilled and wonderful the presenters are. Uh my presenters were Kimberly Cervantes and Eva and they're both so good at communicating with parents. You really have an extremely strong resource that should be used in everything, any chance you've got to communicate with parents at any level. I was so impressed with their public speaking. Thank you. Hi, my name is Asena Zabat and um my daughter Alisia is in Katherine Bronz's class. She's amazing. Um sorry. Um so the family meals challenge was really helpful for our family. It served really as a great reminder of the importance of family meals. Um, as a parent of a 3 and 1 half-year-old, meal times are really, really a struggle and they're a big battle in our house. And so, hearing Creative Solutions to engage her at the table has allowed

016our family to have less of those battles and actually get to like know her a little bit more and get to know like my husband and I on a deeper level. Um, our daughter is super excited every night to use this spinner. Like, she will run and grab it and set the table and be like, "It's my turn to spin." Um, and then also as a first-time parent, I'm always worried about what to feed her and am I feeding her the right things? And so seeing the different nutrition options or like what's best for their age group was really really helpful. And it kind of took out the question of am I feeding her the right things? Am I doing the right things? Um, and also I have to say it's really invaluable to get

017to know the parents outside of the classroom setting and get to hear what are you doing, how u how are you handling dinnertime struggles or how are you dealing with like the nutrition aspects and getting recipes from them has been amazing. It was just really really helpful. Um, and overall I really think that this workshop should be implemented, especially into the program because I think especially now in this age, it's really hard to get time to like sit down with your family, but I think it's so invaluable and you can't get this time back. So, I want to thank you and thank all the teachers too. Thank you. >> Good evening. I am Jonathan Williams. I'm speaking on behalf of my wife Tatiana who attended the program. Uh unfortunately I was not able to attend.

018Our daughter Sophia is 4 years old and we are students in Mrs. Bro's class and we found the workshop to be exceptionally valuable in not only changing our approach to our family meal times with our daughter but also just with our relationship in general. Um there are a lot of strategies and approaches that we've sort of homebrew formulated on our own trying to figure out what works for our family. And this workshop gave us a lot of practical strategies and information that validated some of what we were doing. Um reaffirmed that and gave us that assurance so that we can have some more peaceful evenings, maybe not be so anxious about if we're doing the right thing or not. And it also gave us a lot more uh practical skills that we can also incorporate

019into what we were doing as well. And I would like to echo what Miss Aena just said that um there's a special community that forms in these co-op uh classrooms. A lot of the parents are friends. Our kids are playing constantly outside of the classroom. We do have these really great connections and conversations with each other. But I I feel like this workshop really helped direct some of the the discourse and opened up new topics of conversation that we don't typically have when we're just having fun outside of the class. Uh so that was all very critical and and vital to our I think success as a family moving forward. Thank you. Hi, my name is Stephanie Alexander. I have uh a four and a half-year-old in teacher Adrianne's class. Um I wrote something, so

020I'll read that. But I also just wanted to try to speak from the heart a little bit and just tell you that I can't say I've written something, but I can't say enough about how wonderful this program is. Um, I've worked as a in previous years worked as a school-based social worker and um, a lot of times we will get the kids when they're already having problems and I I just I love this program because I see it as preventative and um, yeah, so just wanted to say that piece. I just think this is wonderful and I love that this district is working hard to build community and work with families because it's so important. So, so I just said I've been lucky enough to participate in both of the parenting workshops. I did parenting

021partners and the family meals challenge. My husband and I participated together in parenting partners workshop and we're glad we did. Participation in these workshops has increased our insight um into parenting as individuals, but more importantly, it's led to more meaningful parenting discussions. The tools we learned in parenting partners have allowed us to be more conscious parents going into the process with a plan rather than being reactive. It's also allowed us to assist each other more supportively and effectively in those times that we veer off the path from our parenting plan. Uh parenting has become more of a a team effort and a family effort leading to more consistency and dependable structure in our home. Everybody's a little bit more on the same page. Um, we were both struck by how valuable and validating it is

022to have our parenting experiences normalized within the class group. It's so easy to feel as though our experiences and difficulties are unique when in reality so many of us are going through the same things and can learn from each other's experiences. We saw firsthand how much power there is in community support and education. And we're grateful for the opportunity to learn new parenting tools and practice them in a supportive, non uh judgmental environment. and it's um you know we like that it was built on uh a foundation of evidence-based research that's also embedded in the program. So it's just can't say enough. It's great. So thank you. >> If you want to come on up. >> Thank you for being here. So, and my name is Kathy Davies. Um, I have a three-year-old in teacher

023Adrianne's uh classroom and I also have a seven-year-old at Robert Downtown. Um, and um, I just want to echo everything that everyone has said about the program. So, also very wonderful. I think I initially went into it um, thinking it was um, kind of a way to um, find new foods and stuff like that of just more like meal base and that and it was so much more than that. So just sort of re like emphasizing the importance of family meals again like from the social work aspect um of just like how much that grounds kids um and then and then also um there's another whole component of um of sort of reducing technology um and and how much that like brings everybody together. And so all of that was so um important to and

024and reaffirming as well because we we tried to do all of that. But then hearing all the statistics behind it was huge. Um and and so many times within this I just kept thinking everyone needs this knowledge. Like I'm so lucky to be hearing it with such young children, but I was like everybody needs this information. and just a just such a simple thing of having like a meal um or a couple meals like throughout the the week makes such a big impact on um on child development. So I thought that was huge and I think yes that was mostly what I said there. So and so again thank you everybody so much >> I'm so grateful that everybody came tonight. Um just to let everybody in the board know um you know many at

025school districts throughout not just California but across the country are using this curriculum. Um it is evidence-based and researchbased and um and so we are providing classes. We want to jump into the elementary schools. We want to jump into the middle schools. We want really all of our parents to be parent champions in Pacific RO. So with that being said, if anybody's interested in taking these classes, if you're online and listening, just call the adult school. will get you on an interest list and um we're offering them um you know as soon as we can get five people together. Right. So, okay, with that being said, thank you so much. Well, thank you, Principal Martinez, and thank you to our parent champions. What a perfect title for you in sharing a little tonight. uh how

026exciting that this really has been sort of a pilot program and I absolutely see this uh being able to be expanded and we absolutely want to be able to offer this to you know all of our families. Uh what's exciting is even hearing from all of you having young students and the hope would be that yes your students are graduating into our elementary schools and continuing on and you get to be the ambassadors for this important program. uh but thank you for giving the time and for sharing a little about the difference that you're making uh in your own lives and sharing that with us. Uh we would like to present each of you with a certificate uh for being here this evening and then just u we going to invite you to the front

027to do a photo uh with our board. Um and so the these are our culture of we certificates that is uh something that we have uh really implemented in the last year and ultimately uh thank you tonight and in your work in helping build our culture of we uh at Pacific Grove Unified School District and implementing and putting into action our three core values of belonging, safety, and prosperity. And that's why we'd love to be able to present those to you this evening. I'm going to ask Principal Martinez to maybe do the honors of helping me hand these out. Um we've got quite a few here. I don't think everyone's here. I'll pres I'll give certificates to those who are not uh for you to present at another time if that works. Um Jonathan Williams

028and if you wouldn't mind just taking um Mr. a spot at the front and then we'll gather everyone and and the board will join you shortly. Danny Gomez. All right. Steve Rosson, Kathy Davies. Stephanie Alexander, Bo Buller, Tatiana Williams, Emily Basham, Asena Zerati, >> Katherine Bros, Adrien Gabrio, Ariana Mias Rivera, Ava Esturi, Kimberly Cervantes Sanchez. No, no. Okay, that's McKenzie Leak, Kristen Children's, Natasha Bullah, and Zana McKenzie. Yep, there we go. and Zana Ziana Bay. Zana Bay. Oh, we're missing Rachel. We will get one done for you. Please come up to the front. Absolutely. I'm going to invite our board and assistant soup up to the front, please, so we can take a quick photo. That's right. Thank you for that excellent presentation. Um, I'm excited to see it expand. I feel like personally I

029would love to learn more about meal times and a dinner spinner and topics that might actually engage um my teens anymore. So looking forward to the expansion. Um and just what a wonderful resource at the adult school. So thank you. Um we will move on to our communications portion of the agenda next this evening. We don't have a student rep. Um I will begin with my written communications received and um board just so you're aware. I consolidated all emails regarding uh budget reductions. because there were many. Um I got a total of 13 messages with regard to budget reductions. Um some specific, some more general. Um, I received me other messages um about a shortfall funding idea, a message about varsity football coach search parent input on program priorities, an email regarding extending public comment

030time for tonight, uh, an invitation to a sober graduation fundraiser, a request for a silent auction item, um, an email about Brown Act aligned governance principles, um, a petition with about 90 signitories called don't cut the PG school library, an email about financial concerns, an email about online driver's ed at no cost to the district, uh an email um making us aware and congratulating the PG boys varsity soccer team on um an unprecedented amazing season. um an email about ed text concerns, an invitation to the Jared Cooney Horvath um book club, an email about a shout out for data meetings, and if there's anyone else who has additional, feel free to add to that list. >> Yeah, I just had one about uh volunteer drivers and district liability and then two emails regarding uh an

031absence, obviously. >> Thank you. anyone else? >> Um, yeah, there was there was a there were emails that everyone got um about kind of about the budget and I just wanted to apologize if I like um spoke about digital learning or Spanish or librarians uh as being uh less than or or anything like that. That was from a teacher and um that was not my intent. Uh and then uh the the decorum in one of those emails. Oh, never mind. That was about the same thing. Okay. >> Anything additional from other trustees? >> Just that um I got a we got I think this everybody got the um >> today from uh Karen Brown, former school librarian. >> Oh, thank you. Yes, that was under my budget reductions. Yeah, all of the budget related emails

032that we've received. Um, thank you for including that. Any additional messages? Okay. Um, with that, um, we've got a full meeting this evening. Um, and I think we'll have a lot of engagement, so I am going to defer to the agenda. If there are any other trustees who would like to make comments, please feel welcome. >> Trusty Hay. >> Yeah. And I'll apologize for taking the time, but I did want to just share because it's it's sticking with me a little bit, but after school today, my daughter came home. It's a little bit of story time with Elliot right now. Uh without us even knowing, decided to bake cookies for the family. She made them half chocolate chip and half without cuz her brother doesn't like chocolate. My son took a bite and he smiled

033and told her they were even better than the ones her mom or dad make. And for those of you um you can basically see her confidence grow in that instant. And it just struck me how something so small, a few sincere words of encouragement, which most of you probably can recognize is extremely rare among teen siblings, can really mean everything. And so in a world that often feels heavy, complicated, difficult, over technologied, these moments of gratitude and affirmation really remind us, you know, why our we're here, why our work matters. because when we do choose to build each other up even with difficult decisions, especially our children, we really do uh give them confidence and help them believe in themselves in ways that can last a lifetime. So, sorry for the story time, but I

034couldn't get out of my mind, so I wanted to share. >> Thank you for sharing. >> Any other trustees wishing to make board comment? Trusty Shamos. Yeah, I would just like to congratulate Barbara Martinez on championing this program and um you know it's so nice to see the reward of people who are you know feeling appreciative of it. So thank you. >> Um Trusty Wax. >> Yeah, to echo that um I would love a picture of the dinner spinner would be great. I mean, I'm excited to try and go to workshops, too, but you know, immediate need for the dinner spinner. Um, and I I wanted to thank uh the district office for organizing the community forum and Jen going in person. Um, I was online and uh listening and I just wanted to I

035should have uh raised my hand on the Zoom, but for some reason I didn't. Um someone was um uh disgruntled with uh you know like responsibility taking and uh um Josh did not say that these decisions are voted on by us. Um so like I just want to make clear that you know there are multiple make clear to everyone out there or in here that nothing is really working in a vacuum. Um you know the district office makes recommendations the teachers teach and we vote on the big decisions. So our board has made these decisions and as Josh pointed out the previous CBO or the previous assistant superintendent and now him have been warning about these. So um because of uh the goal of providing the highest education and paying our teachers and every very

036well and um affording so many opportunities and programs to our kids in a small district, you know, I I personally feel like um now we are at this point where we have to kind of um the pip er or you know just deal with decisions that have been made uh due to onetime funding and that sort of thing. Um so all that is to say that uh you know it wasn't Josh or Dr. Adamson making these decisions in the past by themselves. Uh it was our board and us um and our community in in some ways. Um, there was also a comment from a a parent who has been here before, and I I apologize. I don't know your name. Um, and she was like at the at the library, she was like, "I hope

037I'm not here uh next year." And I agree, I hope we're not there next year having a similar similarly themed uh forum, but um these are like thousands of people involved both as students and workers and it is messy um especially with funding, especially with precarious funding. Um, so I think I think the fact that we find ourselves here isn't I mean it's it's not ideal obviously and it's not what I wanted. Um, but it's not abnormal and really any sort of managing of a bureaucracy and especially one that is in public and has votes is going to be messy I think. Um, so I like totally feel for that parent and agree, but I just want to also like say that everything's messy. Um, and that's it. >> Thank you for those comments. Um,

038seeing no further board members reaching for their mic, we can go on to the superintendent report next. Thank you, Dr. Addison. just a few, you know, announcements and sort of celebrations over the last few weeks. Uh the we celebrated kindness week uh during February. Um and it was just been neat to see our campuses celebrating um and inspiring, you know, our students uh to really to show and demonstrate in a variety of different activities how they can show up for one another and express kindness to each other. Um I think ultimately these moments reinforce uh the culture that we are building. Uh and it's grounded in empathy, connection and compassion that extends far beyond uh just a single week, right? I know we our our staff and our you know principles are constantly inspiring and

039encouraging our students. It's not just we don't show kindness, you know, one week of the year. Uh let's see. I was really um fortunate to be able to attend a a training uh that was offered this Monday evening uh earlier this week. Uh and that was also attended by President McNeer. Uh just specific it was offered by the county office uh specific to you know budget planning but also um really good information regarding Prop 98. So you know again just that reminder of just those wonderful services that our county provides and for us to take advantage of. Lots of winter athletics highlights. I know I included some of this in my newsletter but just wanted to include a little in my um superintendence uh report to highlight. Um let's see. We um our varsity boys

040soccer uh captured the s the Santa Lucia PL league championship finishing undefeated in league play for the first time in eight years. So that was really exciting. Varsity girls soccer they finished 811 in league competition. Uh both varsity boys and girls basketball teams qualified for the CCS playoffs and in fact the boys are playing this evening. So yes, go breakers. Uh and two wrestlers advanced in the CCS regional finals. So just a lot to celebrate. Our students are amazing and our coaches just you know encouraging and putting out the best of them. So so great to see. Uh March recognitions. March is both women's history month. We have a resolution on the agenda to recognize that but also disability awareness month. Uh all of our sites will be recognizing both of these important uh observances

041through meaningful learning experiences throughout the upcoming month. I look forward to highlighting those efforts uh and activities in my future reports. And then just a few student achievement highlights. Uh we had several uh Pacific Grove High School photography students uh who are going to have their work exhibited at the Carl Cherry Center for the Arts in March. Uh multiple students were recognized in the prestigious scholarship art and writing awards. And then our academic world quest team led by teacher Ashley Nickerson represented Pacific Grove High School with distinction in a rigorous global knowledge competition that was run by the county uh two weeks ago. So again, just a lot of achievements, a lot of recognition for our students. And then really my closing comments, I just want to take a moment to acknowledge, you know, just

042uh some of the heaviness that we know we've got some, you know, tough decisions on the agenda this evening. Um, so on that topic of proposed personnel reductions, I I really would like to number one thank everyone personally, those of you who are here tonight, but those of you who have attended and shown up for our last, you know, few board meetings, who attended our community forum earlier this week on Tuesday night, um, and for ultimately expressing your views and your perspectives. what's you know comes through in all of these discussions in in hearing everyone the emails that we receive you know is that how clearly and the number of people how clear it is and the number of people uh who are passionate about our students who are passionate about this district who care

043deeply um and I'm just thankful for your participation and for that ongoing dialogue uh these are definitely challenging times up and down the state uh we're seeing districts grapple with uh finan the financial reality that is before us as we've communicated over the last few months there's no way of looking at no way around the the proposed reductions that we have. Um, and obviously we know there's a negative impact that comes as a result of that. I'm proud of the work that we have done over the last not just the last few few months but really over the last two years uh with our board with our subcommittee um and ultimately as a means of working with our community to put forward the best plan that's going to have the least impact on all of

044us. But no matter what, no matter what those proposals are, I know that the impact is is going to be felt greatly on everyone because that's the kind of district that we are, right? We care about each other deeply. We care about this work and are passionate about that and that's what make this makes this so hard. What I know is that those proposed changes while they will impact all of us, I know that we can we will get through this together in the coming weeks and months. In challenging times, there tends to be a desire to pit groups against each other. Whether that's classified versus certificated, teachers versus management, small versus large, or district office versus sightbased, one community against another. In PGUSD, I know that we believe that leadership is an action and

045not a position. And we all have the opportunity to exert our leadership on our system. What I want to commit to all of you tonight and ongoing is that you have my commitment that I will continue to lead transparently, honestly, and positively even when times become difficult. I remain committed more than ever to this incredible district that and so proud of the people we get to serve. And I'm committed and that commitment includes protecting and continuing to build our culture of we and ensuring our three core values remain at the forefront of all that we do. If you are here tonight to share those views, I we welcome you. We invite your voice. Please know that everyone here cares deeply and that every decision is made with a shared goal, putting our students first. >>

046Thank you, President. >> Thank you for your report, Dr. Adamson. Assistant Superintendent Jordan, do we have a safety report this evening? >> Yes. Uh I'll be relatively brief, but uh tonight on the agenda under consent, we have the comprehensive and thank you, President McNary. Um comprehensive site school or sorry, comprehensive school site safety plans are on the consent agenda for board approval. Just a quick summary for those online in the room that may not be aware of the process. Every school year, uh, districts in the state of California are required to review, update, and formally approve their comprehensive school site safety plans. We call them the CSSPs. I might say that a few times. I like acronyms. And we certify those plans with the county office of education, which we have to certify by March

0471st. Uh this is an important annual responsibility of this board as well as the county office of education as we certify to the state of California that we have uh these plans in place. Uh it's a it's a very important compliance document. Yes, our comprehensive school safety plan is it's a framework outlines sight specific protocols for emergency procedures, emergency preparedness, incident response, student supervision, behavioral expectations, uh assessment procedures, and the coordination with our local first responders. Uh in California public schools, uh the development and annual review of these plans is collaborative process. Each school site engages in school site council uh by reviewing this plan, providing input and ensure and ensuring it reflects the unique needs of each campus within our community. In addition, the plans are shared and reviewed by local law enforcement and

048our local fire authorities prior to the board approval. That partnership helps ensure alignment with communitywide emergency response protocols and strengthens the coordination should an incident ever occur. I want to acknowledge the time and care our site administrators, staff, uh, school site council members, and local public safety partners put into this work. School safety is the foundation to student learning and staff well-being. Bringing these plans forward tonight reflects both our compliance with state requirements and more importantly, our continued commitment to maintaining safe and supportive learning environments across all of our schools for our staff and our students. And that's >> thank you for your report. >> The next item on item on our agenda is individuals desiring to address the board. So public comment on non agenda items. Um and there will be discussion on the

049budget item later. So if you were online or present to comment for that item, um please save your comments for when we get there. Um this is going to be public comment on non-aggenda items. And I'm just going to read our little spiel that we do every time before we take public comment. Um, and that is to let everyone know that public comment on any item of interest to the public that is within the board's jurisdiction will be heard. Um, the board will also take public comment on each specific item prior to board action. Any individual wishing to comment on a specific item, as I said, are kindly asked to wait until that item is discussed. The board will allow reasonable time for public comment um on each item not to exceed three minutes per

050speaker and not more than 20 per agenda per board policy. Um just a reminder that this is a meeting uh of the board of education and it's a business meeting conducted in public um and that the Brown Act limits the board's ability to respond to public comment. Um, if there are any individuals desiring to address the board online or in person for public comment, um, feel free to go up to the podium this evening so we can see who, um, how many people want to contribute to the conversation and then looks like just one online. Um, we'll go to that commenter to online. Who's up first? Director Alaz. Okay, Brian Swanson, you have three minutes in the floor. I I hope everybody can hear me. I will not take up my three minutes. Esteemed board

051members, Dr. Adamson, assistant uh Superintendent Journ, thank you all so much for your hard work. I know these are hard times and um and I appreciate and I think the entire I know the entire community appreciates the hard work that you're doing. Um I will leave that to you guys for the rest of the evening. I wanted to jump in real quick though and also thank uh Barbara Martinez and the entire PG Adult Ed crew. Um, for the last couple of months I have been attending a German class at the adult school and so I'm a student again and I love so much that we have this in our community and and I that's kind of really all I wanted to say was that it's like most communities don't have this and but we do

052and it's worth celebrating and and we wouldn't have it if it weren't for all of you and and a community that supports it. And uh we've got a you know 12 15 people in this class every Monday doing our best to shreken zuts and we're having the greatest time. I hope it continues. But I wanted to thank the board um you know and admin uh and Barbara in particular for keeping this program going because it is just wonderful and I think it's one of the things that makes Pacific Grove so great and so I will shut up now and let you guys get on to business. Thank you so much for all you do. >> Thank you for those comments. Um we have one more commenter online. Naen Raldon, you have the floor in three

053minutes. And if you are on mute, you can unmute. We cannot hear you in the room. >> Yeah, sorry. I just unmuted. No worries. >> Um I I am tech I am legally blind. So I just ask that if my three minutes goes 30 seconds after, please allow me as it takes time for my eyes to adjust to what I wrote. Thank you. Good evening. I'm speaking tonight about consistency, accountability, and whether the culture being promoted is truly being practiced. We consistently hear about the culture of we, belonging, safety, prosperity. But culture is not defined by a message. It is defined by action. Earlier this school year, as you all are aware well aware well aware of my countless emails, a student reported an online threat. Families expected urgency. Instead, they experienced silence and the

054school chose to quote, "Sit on it." Meanwhile, tensions escalated during the shoe game far beyond normal rivalry. Players were spat on, sexually explicit remarks were made, and my own son was literally punched in his privates multiple times with countless video. The response was a sportsmanship video produced months later framed visually one school against another rather than unifying. And yet the same season, the same team or varsity football received the LG Basio sportsmanship award selected by county coaches. Our students are modeling leadership and character and a level recognized by others. So the question becomes, is this administration at the PG high school modeling that same leadership standard? Just this week, that question became even harder to ignore. A high achieving student top of their class, a student athlete was questioned alone, threatened with jail, and repeatedly

055accused by an administrator of vaping. No parent was present. The basis of this all a detector alert from weeks earlier and a blurry image that did not clearly identify any misconduct. What verification process exists before a student is threatened and accused in that way? Safety matters, accountability matters, but fairness matters, too. Students deserve timely investigations grounded in clear evidence, transparent communication, and basic due process. These safeguards protect students and the district by ensuring decisions are fair and defendable. Taken together, these incidents reflect an imbalance. And these are only two examples of several serious concerns. When students report threats, families expect urgency and protection. When students are accused, families expect fairness and transparency. Culture is not defined by what is said. It is defined by decisions made when students are vulnerable. Our students have already shown

056us who they are. The question is whether the adults leading this school are willing to do the same. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. Seeing no additional um community member public comments on non agenda items, we will now go to PGSD staff comments on non-aggenda items. Are there any staff members wishing to address the board for public comment? Okay, looks like there are no hands up and no one approaching for public comment on that item. The next item on our agenda is the consent agenda. Items on the consent consent agenda are considered routine and or may have been discussed at a previous meeting. There is no discussion of these items from the board prior to a vote unless a board member specifically requests the item be um pulled and removed for discussion. Each

057item on the consent agenda approved by the board of trustees shall be deemed to have considered been considered in full and adopted as recommended. Um for the board this evening we have consent agenda items A through J. Um I will first go out to see if there is any public comment on the consent agenda as it's presented. Okay, seeing no one, um, board, any discussion with regard to the consent agenda? >> Any trustees wishing to pull or >> quick question. You said Jay, I only see I on mine, so I just want to make sure I'm not missing an item. >> Oo, am I looking at an outdated agenda potentially? Wait, can you tell me what you >> through? I A through I. >> The last one is the approval of CSBA board policy updates

058November 25 and January 26. >> I have not. >> Okay, let us >> So we should go through what maybe what is your item, Jay? We can decide if we can see or maybe not. Okay. >> I don't is Jay on who? >> But I may have an outdated agenda. So, I'm wondering if the one I'm working from is one I was taking notes on and then I didn't >> Oh, good. >> Uh, move forward. Thank you for the catch. >> Yep. >> Okay. Agenda with notes. Agenda. That is accurate. Got it. >> Um, >> I'd like to pull D out of county overnight activities. I just had a couple questions. >> Okay. So, Trusty Otmar is pulling item D. So we can add that. Are we okay with adding an action item before the

059info discussion so we can be is that good with the board procedurally? Okay. So we'll put that there. Action item A which is consent D the out ofount overnight activities. Um anything else on consent? Okay. Um, seeing nothing, I nothing further. I will look to the board for um a motion on consent. >> I'll move that we approve the consent agenda minus the one bold item D. >> I'll second. >> Okay. Motion made by clerk Shamos and seconded by Trustee Hazen. All those in favor, please say I. I. >> Any nos? Motion carries. Um we will now move on to uh action item AA which was consent D and that's the outofcount overnight activities which is page 14 in our packet and um I'll turn it over to you trusty. Um, so specifically I have

060a question about page 19,29 and 30. There page 19. Um, just a question. It says that there's 12 students going. There's two cars and it's an overnight um with two adults shop running. 12 students. Um, I'm wondering if there are any other adults attending and kind of what that hotel situation looks like with 12 students and two adults. This is the culinary overnight program. I believe it's Sunday through Tuesday. Um so um when I saw this I saw that the 12 the two adults and 12 students two cars that's six per adult um which is within the guidelines associated with transportation. I'm going to ask principal Omera if he has any additional commentary on that but um as far as I'm aware that's it's the the uh culinary coach and assistant coach that are going

061and no other adults. We our understanding is that we are meeting the responsibility uh threshold for supervision and and in terms of the hotel um situation I I guess I would just ask for more clarification on your on your question. >> Um so we have I suppose my question is I'm assuming that six people can fit in each of their cars with six seat belts in each car. And then my second question about the hotel would be um it looks like they're staying at the embassy suites and it's from the 1st through the 4th. So that's multiple nights overnight. Um I'm wondering how many hotel rooms and are students staying in the same rooms together and because they're going on a a school supervised trip as far as liability goes and students staying in the

062same rooms together. I'm questioning what the chapron situation looks like. The sleeping arrangements for 12. >> Yeah. Um I guess I I guess I don't know exactly the sleeping arrangements, but the the vans are they're vans. So the the the first question is >> it says auto. So I'm assuming >> Yeah. Yeah. They're they're vans. >> Are they district vans? >> They rented vans. >> Okay. >> Yeah. I I would suppose I just want to make sure that of course there's enough seat belts, but I'm I'm just wondering about the um the hotel situation with 12 of our students. If somebody could clarify that, >> Joe, is anything else submitted? I don't mean to put my assistant uh on the spot here, but >> okay, >> we're looking it up. >> Looks like Jeff Ericson,

063who is one of the uh proposed shops, is online. He may be able to add a bit more. Thanks for being here. >> Yeah, thank you. Um, can we unmute Jeff Ericson? >> Thank you. >> Hi guys. Can you hear me? All right. >> The reception is a bit spotty, but we'll try. >> All right. Thank you. I'm actually in the culinary classroom. Wife's a little sketchy on my personal phone. So, we have, I believe, um, we have two vans, eight seats with eight seat belts in each van. Um so uh we have two drivers. The room situation is uh uh we have five rooms uh rented for the 12 kids total. Um one of his children is actually our own son and he'll be in one of the rooms with us. Um there will

064be shared rooms. Um I believe it's going to be three kids per room with a double two uh queensiz beds. It's uh how we've done this every year for the past three years now. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Um and then as far as um >> the the hotel, the rooms are all on the same the rooms are all on the same floor uh with the chaperones. Um, we do spot checks um every every few hours up until about midnight or so to make sure everybody and then doors are closed and no one's allowed out of their rooms at that point. >> Okay, thank you for that. And then um so moving on page 19 um oh sorry 29 and 30 just the question was it says April 3rd and or 4th. So

065it doesn't specify if that's going to be an overnight and I wasn't sure what the andor means. Does it mean it's April 3rd or 4th or does it mean it's April 3rd and 4th? I've just >> thankfully our assistant athletic director Joan and Beyond used to be a track parent so she understands exactly how this works. Um, as the season goes on, it's about personal bests and then they group athletes based on where they're scoring against other athletes. So, they don't know if certain athletes are going to be Friday or Saturday. I see. Maybe Friday and Saturday if they qualify for that, but it is not an overnight. >> Okay, cool. Thanks for that. That's perfect. Appreciate that. One one more question about about uh page 19 is um there are consent forms signed by

066all the parents releasing the district for liability correct about the overnight >> like in the event kids decide they're going to go >> rage after midnight you shouldn't have told the time that the checks ended >> but you know it releases district of liability. >> Yeah that that is correct. >> Okay. Yeah. >> Okay. If parents are comfortable, then so >> thank you, Principal Omira, >> and thank you, Mr. Ericson. Um, >> are we supposed to do public comment on a pulled consent item? >> So, um, I will, um, I think I just wanted to figure out what we the what we were going to talk about so we knew what the consent item um, conversation was going to look like. Um, thank you for mentioning it. Is there any public comment on the outofcount

067overnight activities item? Um, which was consent D. There is. Okay. Uh, Casey Aliote, you have the >> Thank you. I had raised my hand because I didn't realize that Jeff was online as well, but I just wanted to just I was going to try and clarify just my own daughter's prior experience on that field trip last year. um that it was she she had an amazing experience from what I understood and was told directly by her as a a physical in-person participant that um that all of those things exactly transpired as he said they were really long days. They got in really late and then got up very early in the morning. But she did verify to me that you know they were checked on, escorted to their rooms, woken up in the morning, had

068breakfast together, went from the venue back and forth. I just wanted I didn't know he was online, but I just wanted to at least try and help alleviate and answer questions if I could. So, thank you. >> Thank you for their comments. >> And I just would like to add um to the Ericson's um just thank you for everything that they do for this district. And by no means did my pulling that item hopefully did not make um anybody feel uncomfortable at all. It's just simply district liability. wanted to make sure that all of our bases were covered for that. So, thank you Jeff and Emojan both. >> Thank you, Trusty Otmar. Um, with that, would you like to make the motion? >> Sure. I move uh to approve all items pulled on um consent

069double A out of county overnight. >> I'll second that motion. Um and we'll go out to the board. All those in favor? I >> I >> any nos? Okay. >> I don't know why I turned that on. >> That passes um unanimously. Um next going in order of the items on our agenda is information discussion and presentation. Item A is requested district staffing information. Dr. Adamson, um I believe this is your presentation to start with. Okay. Okay. I'll turn it over to you. Thank you. myself and Chief Rogamman, but I am starting us out tonight. So, all right. Well, this uh is really anformational presentation. It is information that we are bringing forward uh as requested by the board at our last meeting. Uh there are three components of the presentation. Uh the first is

070really offering a comparative study uh looking at our district office staffing. Uh and really, you know, there was a request for just a deeper dive into uh the positions and the number of staff we have and hold and um you know, how how those positions are are staffed at the district office. A second would be um we'll be providing an overview of new positions added. We've are looking at the past 10 years. Again, that was a request that came from our last meeting. And then there was discussion uh at that last meeting about uh the fiscal crisis and management assistance assistance team otherwise known as of FICMAT. Um so I'll be pro providing a little bit of follow-up information on that as well. Um before we start just moving on to the the first slide.

071Thank you Mr. Elgazi. Um I think just you know what we're hoping um to really communicate through this between myself and Chief Rogman um is that you know when we're looking at decisions and staffing that has occurred over the last 10 years and even when we're looking at our district office that really you know uh what we're trying to wanting to convey is that students remain at the center of every one of our budget decisions and every one of our staffing decisions. um when we're looking at the district office, I think definitely a theme that you'll see coming through is operational stability is critical because that's ultimately how we are able to support our school sites, support our classrooms, our staff and our students. Um and then really when you look at the district office

072growth in particular uh over the last 10 years, you'll see that you know over you know in new positions that have been added that definitely there's a prepoundonderance of and a higher percentage of those positions having actually occurring at the school site. So that's really what we're hoping to convey to you. All right, moving on to the next slide. I really think that, you know, to get a the full picture when we're looking at the district office, I'd like to just take us back to really when I began and came on board as superintendent uh back in November 2023. And I, you know, began by doing uh listen and learn sessions. You know, I really wanted to take the time to meet with staff, to meet with our community members, our parents, our students, and

073really get a strong idea of, you know, what what Pacific Grove Unified School District is all about. And that was wonderful because there was a lot of celebrations but also gave me an idea of where you know areas were needed for focus. Um I started with our district office staff that was you know and our our management team and I think as I you know engaged in those conversations what really became clear was there was a strong sense of uh just burnout amongst amongst the staff that were present. We had new people in many of those positions a new cabinet leadership. Uh there was had been a lot of high turnover. What I was hearing, a theme that came out of the conversations I was having with staff was really the sense of that they

074were so stretched, you know, in the roles that they were playing um that they were carrying. Um and really the sense of low morale, but also, you know, just the sense of, you know, not being able to maintain, you know, that that level of work. Um a lot of overtime needed, a lot of, you know, additional support being having to be brought in to support the roles. Um and clearly what came out for me was that there was a a needed uh priority on stabilization at the district office. We move on to the next slide. I think really um going back to April of that same year, what I learned as well, you know, coming into my position was that the board in April of 2023 had actually requested for an audit of our uh

075human resources department. And uh the district had go had gone ahead and contracted with school services of California to actually do that audit and you know those results were available. We presented on those uh you know early on in the year of 2024. Uh but what that audit you know actually um identified was through their their observations and through you know their looking at you know all of the various departments obviously focusing specifically on HR was you know their ultimate recommendations was that you human resources was was understaffed with at that time it was a 3.4 for you know FTE equivalency. Um what came out of that in looking at the report was you know definitely they identified that same thing that risk of burnout and compliance gaps and their recommendations were to expand to

076a 4.0 FTE in that particular department as a means of also helping support all of the other departments and how everyone worked together to cover all of the you know increasing you know workload and roles at the district office. Um it wasn't until the 2425 school year that we were actually able to realize some of those recommendations and one of them as you will recall is you we were really able to uh uh reclassify that director of human resources to the chief uh human resources officer um and there were additional um reclassifications that occurred and one of them was expanding what we had at that time as a.5 personnel technician to a 1.0 of FTE and a reclassification of of one of the personnel specialists to administrative assist. Again, those were all recommendations from you

077know the audit that we were actually you know able to realize at that time. Um in the year of 2425 there were additional you know opportunities for us to look at operational systems and really look at additional gaps um in the area in in the business department. uh we you know were uh had two payroll specialists uh were in place uh to replace you know just really you know a lot of the overtime that was taking place. We had a vacancy in in in that one of those positions for a period of time and we're having to bring in additional support to cover you know the workload that uh that that particular you know role um entails. Payroll is also responsible for all of the benefits and you know documentation and recording. Um you know

078just overall at the same time we also had a communications audit done again that was something requested by the board and you know one of the rare recommendations was that we needed a director of communications right we did not you know realized that at the time we realized there there's no ways you know that we could bring you know on an additional position at that time and you know there were adjustments made where we really took on you know all of those uh responsibilities internally uh and that is something that's really handled by myself my office and members of our cabinet Um uh you know at the during that year there was also sort of a recommendation uh to expand some of our um assistance in our student services uh HR and ed services departments.

079Many all three of them only work 9 and a half months but we chose to not move forward with that. Um and really what we're seeing is our executive assistance in three of our departments you know help support those needs uh when those uh assistants are not present during the year for those additional you know two and a half months. So really I think the the the message here being that we are here you know two and a half years in you know at a point with our district office we are actually being able to experience of a year and a half of you know fully functioning district office uh being able to fully provide support um you know when we were when I first started with this there were really a lot of information

080from our sites of that concern of you know a delay in the ability for district office to respond to the many needs. Um and we've really been able to see, you know, a lot of improvement in all of those areas. What I'm going to ask, you know, Chief Rogman to present next is really just uh um a comparative uh study. We've had you know, members of our HR department who've been able to look into how we compare to other bless you um other districts as with a total of 23 staff of the district office. I know that can sound like that's a lot, but in comparison to what and so it's my pleasure to ask Chief Odman to um share some of that research that we've been able to find. >> Dr. Adamson, thank you

081so much. It's my pleasure to stand here and uh talk a little bit about district office staffing and hopefully uh through this conversation that we have um have the ability to um shed a little bit of light on how the district office is staffed um so that uh the trustees as well as the public can better understand the approach that the district is taking towards staffing the district office. The uh charge that we received from the board was to look at the um districts that uh were similar in size to our own and do a comparative study with how the district offices are staffed. So the process that we went through was we looked at districts that had be between 1,200 and 20 2500 student in in enrollments. And then also we wanted to find

082districts uh that were structured in a similar manner to us, meaning that they had similar departments to what uh our district has. And so we chose a combination of districts um that we uh use in our collective bargaining agreements for comp studies. And then also we chose districts that aren't part of those comp comp studies just so we could get a little bit of broader view state statewide of um how our district offices staff in com come comparison to those um in other districts. And so what you see here is um a total of 10 districts, one of which is ours and then we have nine that we did a comparison with. Just for a little bit of reference, when we're doing comps in our CCBA agreements, we have about um six districts in one

083that we do comp comp studies with and seven in others. So, what we wanted to do for the public tonight was give a slightly expanded view of um the com the comparisons. So, the first chart that you see is just the total number of people that are working in district office staff. And I want to commend our own HR staff because these because this information isn't readily available um to like like in any kind of chart or data that you can just down down download. So our team went to the specific sites. They counted up the number of people that were uh on the district roster as far as the district office goes. And then they also went to each one of the sites that were listed among the schools or the different sites in

084the district and counted the staff members there. That's how we got the initial number of the total uh number of people that are working at the district as well as the total number of people that are working in the district as a whole. So, um, after that leg work was done, then there was follow-up calls made by our department to verify the numbers just to make sure that we were sharing with the public the most accurate information that we could. We had um six of the nine districts that were able to re respond to us and verify the numbers that we we had uh done. And so that's kind of the vetting that this information has gone gone through. You're going to see on the first uh slide just the total number of people that

085are working at the district offices and they range basically most of the districts fall in a range between 21 to 27 staff at the district offices with a couple of outliers up in the 30s. Next slide please. Okay. And so then what we did was we took a look at uh the number of people that were working in the district office and then divided that by the number of people that worked in the district as a whole. So we could see what percentage of district employees were district office staff um throughout the districts that were in this comp comp study. What we found is that most districts fell kind of be between that area of six and six six% and nine. Um and uh PP PG was one of those districts too that that fell

086within kind of that uh range where most of the districts that we studied uh fell into. Next slide please. Um this is a list of the districts that we uh studied with the enrollment of the district, the total staff that work at the district, the district office staff, and then a percentage. So, it's similar data to what you just saw on the previous south slide, only what we wanted to give you were the actual numbers. I think that what you'll see is that as far as the number of employees in the district, Pacific Grove is fairly high. Uh you have Carmel that has about employees in their district and then uh we are next with three 390 total. And then King King uh city, well, sorry, it looks like uh Laguna Beach at 385, which

087tends to make sense. Those are three basic districts, and they would have the capacity to hire more more uh staff to serve their students. Next slide. This is the district office staffing breakdown by department. And so you can look at the different departments across the top top columns and just go straight down those columns and kind of see where we rank. Um you'll see that the HR department as well as um the business department um have the most employees at our district and that's uh reflected at most of the other districts as well. Um I think that when you look at this chart also what you'll notice is that in terms of student services and ed services PPG tends to be uh lower than the other districts there. One of the things that accounts for

088that is that our student services department also includes our special ed department. So where you see student services up on that chart, we included the special education department staffing in those numbers as well. Um and so that's uh yeah, so that's kind of a breakdown by uh the department of our district office staffing. Um, okay. So, I I I think that maybe the takeaway from that from that data is that we're staffed in a sim similar fashion to other districts, you know, around the state that are our our size and that um are structured in, you know, in um a similar fashion. Okay. So, then one of the other things that uh the board members asked was they wanted to know what were some of the new positions that had been added over the past

089past 10 years. So um uh our ed administrative assistant to the chief human resources officer is in charge of position can control for the district. And so she ran a study for us over the past 10 10 years and we have some slides that represent that data as well. Um when you're looking at uh first that data from 216 from 2016 to 2017 I think the thing that stands out on this slide is that there was a transitional period from where we had gone from uh using an outside service to staff the pair of professionals in our dis district to bringing those parah professionals on our our own staff. So that's the reason why you see an increase from 2016 in the present from 3.5 pair professionals to uh over 32 FTE. I think one

090thing that's important is that we're listing these in terms of FTE but um almost all of the assistant type of assignments that you see are fractional in nature. Okay. So when you look at the instructional assistance going from 8.1 FTE to 11 my eyes aren't that good. Uh 99587 FTE that represents numerous people. It's not just an increase of three people. It's going to be an increase that's uh probably going to represent something more like 8 to 10. We can get those exact figures for you as far as the number of people go, but I think that's important when you look at this data. Also on this slide is represented the increase in counseling service that went from 4.0 to 6.0. Slide please. Okay. The next slide we're starting to look at um 2018 to

0912021. And this is going to be kind of that transition period where we went from before the pandemic to coming out of the the pandemic. What you'll see in 2021 is really going to be the information coming out of the pan pandemic when we were using some of the learning recovery money to uh staff some of our positions in our schools. that was also reflected on the previous slide when you were looking at things like the instructional aids. One of the things you'll also see on this this slide is that we made some great growth and great additions uh over at the adult school um as and uh some of the positions that they have there um are uh represented by our classified union. Some of them aren't and um those positions are represented pretty

092well on these slides. You'll also see some of the district additions here. We uh added the director of tech services um there. In 2019 um as well as uh as well as the account clerk 3 expansion and um some of the other district office positions that uh that were added at that time. slide from uh really in 2022 and 2023 is where you felt the momentum of some of the learning recovery money coming to the district. And so uh there was some expansion throughout the district using uh not only that that funding but um the funding that was freed up um because that was able to absorb some of the costs that normally would be um uh funded through the general fund. And so, um, here you see some of the expansions, uh, at the

093site such as the mental health of therapists. That's where the elementary Spanish teacher was, uh, brought on board. Um, and then you'll also see, uh, some of the expansion that was, um, occurring at the district office too, uh, and especially in the area of maintenance with our grounds and maintenance 2 positions coming on board at that time. You'll also see that the personnel tech technician was added at that time. It was a 0.5 PO position to help us make sure that we had a receptionist, someone that could function as a district office receptionist for u everyone who came in through throughout the entire day. Um the next slide please. And then from 24 to 25 that are basically the positions that have been added since the fall of 2024. And you'll see that we had

094the ability to add some teaching positions at the uh site due to some um uh targeted funding. Um and then we also uh had well we also added a transportation specialist um as our bus driver uh crew filled out to come to comeion that we had gone a long time um years without having a fully staffed uh transportation department. when that transportation got fully funded, we brought back the transportation specialist um so that they would be able to coordinate the needs of the district. And what we've been able to do is um uh satisfy the transportation needs for field trips and for sports on a much more complete basis than we had been before we had those those uh drivers present. Um the rest of the positions um I don't need to sit down and

095read the slide for you but you can see kind of uh where where they were made. So when you look at the P if you look at the positions that have been added at the sites as well at the district office um slide please. um you're going to see um a consistent focus on sites and students first um and then uh the district office uh at a much smaller uh extent. Um it's interesting in that the district office staffing um in com comparison to our staffing districtwide uh came out in almost the exact same percentage that it was 5 I think like 89 per percent and here the FTE that's been added in the past 10 years comes out to 6.8 percent. So it's in that same kind of staffing range or ratio that we

096saw with the other numbers as well. Um, and then one more look at that data. Okay. Um, and then you can just kind of uh look at look at this table and it's going to show you um kind of a yearby-year edition of uh FTE and where that FTE was located whether it was at the site or at the district office. Um, I hope that uh pro provided some of the information that the board had requested at our previous meeting. Um, and I hope that uh that will serve your purposes. >> Thank you, Chief Rogman. I think there's just one more slide and you know the last the ending part of thisformational piece is just a little bit of background information on FIGMAT. That's our fis the fiscal crisis and management assistance team. Uh this

097came up as you know part of a discussion at our last board meeting. um in followup to provide more information for you as the board. I I was able to, you know, follow up with MCOE to, you know, just get a little bit more information from them. They, you know, work obviously they're a key component uh in anytime, you know, Figma gets involved with any school district. They they you know, work collaboratively closely with uh the county office of education. Um I think, you know, they both felt it was Dr. Denine Gus, our superintendent, and uh the um CBO there, Dr. and Colleen Stanley uh you know both see FICMAT as definitely uh you know credible and impartial but we're very you know clear on the fact that yes you know it would really be

098up to us you you as a board to determine what scope of work you would want them to be looking at uh you know whether it's staffing expenditures organizational structure they would definitely come in to look at things across the district um there is a fee involved and that would really be determined based on you know the level of scope that was requested um also have been you forewarned that there's probably quite a wait time for that as well. They are, you know, a busy organization right now, unfortunately. Um, and you know, one of the first steps they would take, and I've just sort of listed that out, there would be once we'd reach out, you know, they would connect with MCE to gather more information. Uh, they, you know, the requested, um, data would

099be submitted to Figmat for them to go ahead and, you know, begin that audit process. uh and in the end much like school services of California you know they would uh present us with a report with recommendations and would present those findings to the board. Um you know I think just you know one thing in through my discussions and learning a little bit more that ultimately you know when they're looking at our budget they're going to the first thing they are going to identify and this is through my conversations with MCE looking at our expenditures you know that big chunk of that right they're going to be looking at the personnel you know components with 85 86% you're going towards that that would be their recommendations I'm sure um you know it's not it wouldn't

100be their role to determine exactly where those reductions would be made that would be you know very likely left to us as a district. Um but you know they are one they are a resource absolutely that you know we can seek out much like school services of California um you know that you know MCE recommends. Um so I just wanted to give that information to the board as far as you allowing for that informed you know um decision- making if that is something we wanted to consider in moving forward. Really that you know ends our our presentation for this. I'm hoping this provides, you know, the information that you as the board were seeking. Um, and I'm going to just turn it back over to you and Trusty McNary. President McNary. >> Thank you, Dr.

101Adams, and thank you, Chief Rogamin, as well. Um, next, um, procedurally, we will go out to public comment on this agenda item. I don't see anyone approaching the podium. And I'm getting the sign that there are no hands online. Um, we'll bring it back to the board. Um, I'll just go down the line. Clamas, are you up for commenting first? Okay. >> Um, Chief Rogamin. >> Yes. Um you know what came to my mind on the last page here 91 um were just the net FTE added but um we you know we did reduce also so that's kind of not shown in here like like for instance last year the SRO so that was a takeaway from 2025 20 yeah so just you know there's there's that part of it too that we are really

102not um you know recognizing that I mean I I realize what we're doing here but uh we've also been very cognizant of reducing when we yeah >> right you know another thing that would show up on that is um where you saw the teachers on special assignment there was one at the high school and one at the m middle school those have both uh been reduced there was also alo an intervention teacher that was um serving at an ele school at the same time for those couple of years and that also does not show up on this document as well. >> Trusty Dr. Haz, >> no comments at this time for me. Thank you for the >> Stemmore. >> Um thank you. I'm sure this took some time to put together. Um that was one

103of my thoughts that I had as well. Trusty Shamas brought up is that this represents additions but not subtractions from general staff. Um some of the things that I am noticing is um as far as staffing goes in the district office compared to other districts, we're heavy in HR and business. Um, I think that needs to be looked at. I think administrative assistance should be looked at as well. I know I'm calling positions out, but I think it's important that we have somebody sitting at the district office welcoming whoever might come in, but we're also discussing taking services away from students. Um, in a culture of we setting, um, putting ourselves out there first is something that I think that we should really be talking about. Um, and I don't hear that that's part of

104the discussion. So, while I appreciate this very much, the time that went into it, I think that what I'm looking at is um I don't know that it would change the conversation because I don't think that that's why this was presented. So, what I look at is we still are heavy in some areas in the district office, but I don't know that that would be addressed um is going to be addressed at this time. That's all I have. >> Thank you, Trusty Wax. Um I don't think you were I know you were in the district but I don't think you were at the district office at this time but why the change in par profofessional stat or do you know why the change in par profofessional stat >> I do and in a public comment

105setting um I'm going to choose my words carefully um there was a reason why the company that we had been working with was no longer able to um pro provide those pair per professionals for the district and rather than the district trying to go and find another company. At that time, the district decided it was best for us to bring those employees in in inhouse. And I have to say it's probably one of the best decisions that the district has made because the quality of the pair of professionals that we've been able to hire um has has really been an impressive feat. Um and as you could see, um it looks like massive growth from three and a half to 35 over the time that we did. But what we did was we phased in

106the hiring based on the student needs and um that's a pretty common approach to what we do. >> Uh thank you. And then obviously you don't have to do this right now off the top of your head, but I guess it would be good um or at least for my own education to to see or denote which positions were funded with onetime funding. Um, like if we could just get an update sometime. >> I think we could do we could do do that. We could even just add another column to that to that chart. Yeah. And we'd be able to do that. >> And then I know that uh I'm going to mess up the acronym the the command is that okay risky especially for school. Um uh is there any range on the fee

107costs that you know of like is it >> I you know I asked that of Dr. Grass and and Dr. Stany they they really had no way of being able to know they they just kept on going back to it's going to depend on the scope. So you know that I I don't honestly don't know that at this point. >> Okay. Sorry. >> Okay. One thing and again this sorry if I may. Were you done? >> Yeah. just that brings up a point I did stir from my recollection on at some point figuring out what districts in MPC have had that involved and in what reasons like what have the rationale's been because I um so again doesn't have to be tonight but maybe just like something to come back at because I my my

108understanding is that's usually for pretty dire circumstances when you're approaching that 3% reserve which I know we're close to but >> Exactly. Yeah. And I I think that was definitely some of the advice that both Dr. Gus and Dr. Stanley gave was you know I think you you really want to you know really think about that are you there right where you feel there's that dire need to you know have them you know come in um you know just thinking about along the lines what they're going to do and help us that we can't you know do ourselves but we can we can bring back some of that information >> especially if there have been then you could see what they've done and chosen to see what kind of priorities they found in other districts.

109Thank you. Yeah. One one quick like uh if you can reach out to Tik Tok and um uh try and get some sort of uh estimate uh maybe you know come up with a few different proposals and then also like the terms of payment if it's all all due up front or spread out across years. I'm not sure how long it cost. We'll see what I can find out if that's you know the direction of the board if you want us to look into that. From my understanding is that it's really you know once you start that process you you know you're you start that communication you know with FCMAT but I think you know we'll see what we can find out without having to you know begin the process itself and I can absolutely

110present that to all of you and bring that back. >> I'd be appreciative if we move in that direction >> perhaps a future agenda item with more info. I'm comfortable with asking you to bring that back if the board is amendable to that, but I think there's nothing wrong with looking into it. Um, and I think that it's evident based off of what our reserve looks like that it's possibly not something we are able to do ourselves at this point. Um, I think having somebody come in from the outside and give a realistic look at where we could cut, um, that we may not be able to look at internally and get a a clear view of. I think that that would be helpful for our district. So, um, I'd like to know more about

111that and what that would financially look like, even if they came in just to look at administrative positions to sort of get an idea if we are a topheavy um, district. I'll what I'll bring back then is yeah just what their various scopes are because I think they're very specific on what you know you have to select from it but I think let's let's look at that'll be the next discussion and we can go from there. How does that sound? >> Good to me but I'm I'm I'm one so the board has to be all in agreement of that >> board in agreement on bringing that back as a future agenda item. >> I don't have any comments on this item. I wasn't saying future agenda item. I'm saying to bring back with information, >>

112right? Which would be on a future agenda. So I I think >> I understand that. I just don't want it to get stuck at the end of a future agenda item because we're not at that point. >> No, this would be um >> as if as we as we discussed them um bringing a presentation and that came forward. Sure. So within a a reasonable amount of time so that it doesn't get tagged to the end and we see it you know three November from now or something that wouldn't be useful at all. Um okay so giving direction and um understanding the timing of it. Um okay next on our agenda is our action um portion action discussion portion. Um, item A is resolution numbers 1178 to 1182, certificated personnel reduction and force, also known as

113RIFF. Um, Dr. Adamson, um, this is your item. I will turn it over to you. >> Thank you so much. Again, I'll be presenting alongside uh, Chief Rogman and Assistant Superintendent Journ. Uh, we do have some slides for this, so I'll just wait for those to come on up. And Wonderful. Thank you. Um if we could move to the next slide, director Algazi, that would be wonderful. So really I think just you know there three components for uh this item tonight on action. Uh you know we're going to just take a moment. We've done a lot of information and shared a lot with all of you you know the last few board meetings. Uh so we've identified just maybe two highlights to you know really uh serve as the foundation to review you know the

114fiscal context we're making these decisions. uh we'd like to take a moment to just review the collaborative process that you know the process and the work that we did to get here and then of course as you see on the action item there are you know five personnel reductions for um for consideration moving on to the next slide I think this is just important you know we're looking at at the fiscal reality why you know that reminder of why these reductions are required you know we've we've talked a lot about this already with 85% of our expenditures being uh going towards salaries and benefits you know that's the reason for you know actual personnel reductions. Um the structural deficit requires ongoing solutions right we we know that I know there's agreement there. Um but ultimately

115I think in in the last item you know what we've talked a lot about is that the incremental reductions that we've put into place up until now you know are are no longer sufficient and that's really why we are you know having to make some of these difficult decisions tonight. Just as a reminder, I think you know just looking back at last year um you know some of those um you know incremental reductions that we made in lie of going ahead with some of the significant uh personnel reductions that we initially brought forward. Um you know we made decisions to you know really uh implement uh significant uh department reductions of 5% which you know uh totaled about $175,000. um professional development, uh travel and conference, uh we cut that by 50% across across the

116district. Uh you know, which really, you know, what we had projected at that point about a total of $150,000 savings. Um the you know, we we froze the the unrestricted general fund transfer to fund 40, which was a $200,000 savings. uh as you you all will remember is that across the board last year we agreed you know all staff that's classified certificated confidential and management to not take raises so these were all some of the when I'm saying incremental reductions you know that we took you know significant measures uh to really reduce that deficit uh but you know as we shared it's it we're here again you know as we're developing our budget for next year and uh even you know our commitment to ongoing with many of those measures it is not enough for

117us to see that reduction. So um that is why we are here. >> Right. And then when u thank you Dr. Abson when looking at our multi-year projections just as a reminder to everyone you know um it's a requirement that the board adopt a budget and then provide two subsequent years of multi-year projections and those mys do shift and change as uh revenues realized or expenditures increase. Um so you know there has been a shift over the course of the past few years with that those projected mys especially in the outyear getting significantly closer and closer to that 3% reserve that we've been discussing. Uh that does give us the time right to make some decisions and um now is the time and that's why we're bringing this item forward tonight. U tonight we have

118the five personnel reductions and uh the discussed impact has been uh covered many times and again we'll discuss that again this evening. you know, the reserve implications. I can't stress this enough. Um, yes, we did start out at a um, you know, around a 10 11% reserve about four years ago, but just remember that reserve percentage is based on expenditures, right? So, as our expenditures increase, that percentage can dramatically shift. Um, at one point along the way, we discussed um, the district carrying a 14.7% reserve. Well, that was based on $38 million worth of expenditures. That's a big difference between $51 million in expenditures. You can see how quickly that percentage uh tends to tends to go down based on uh uh increases in expenditures perom. Um you can see the personnel reductions uh again

119at the top uh that will be discussed more in detail uh later this evening. But I do want to show as Dr. Adamson mentioned we we have some change in funding assignments which uh which was which was proposed by the subcommittee uh and uh recommended through the budget study session and by this board uh as approved. Um I know that that's part of not part of the discussion tonight, but one of which is of course the change of funding associated with uh the expiring resource associated with our mental health therapist shifting over to the medical billing uh process that we have and then of course the operational reductions um that you can see there that Dr. Adamson already already covered. So quite a bit uh was was you know delved into by our budget advisory

120subcommittee uh to bring forward these recommendations uh to the board this evening. slide and again you'll see here the multi-year updated multi-year projection for fund 01 and again um the lefth hand column there in um uh the first lefth hand column there 2627 current uh this is all based on first interim so where we looked at uh 2627 at first interim uh you'll see there the reserve level projected to drop to 5.6% 6% and then if you go over two columns you'll see at first interim the projected reserve levels to fall to 4 4.6%. And if you look just above that I think that the you know really the in the green there the the biggest takeaway um from my perspective is an ending fund balance is just dramatically low when we're talking about our

121monthly liabilities in our district which is our payroll and uh accounts payable uh in the neighborhood of anywhere between 3.8 and 4.2 million. Uh that's that's just a really low number of 2.4 before in the outyear with current projections. And I and I'll remind everyone as I've said this many times, that doesn't even include uh any u potential negotiated settlements. It only includes step and column. And then if you look at the updated uh projections, you'll see that's column 2 and column 4. Those updated projections reflect the recommendations that are being brought forward this evening. And you'll see the shift not only in reserve levels, but but more importantly in the ending fund balance there. So from a 5.6% reserve to an 8% reserve, from a 4.6 6% reserve to a 9.1% reserve. And you

122will see there that the outy year, the 2627 projection does indicate that we will still be deficit spending next year. Right? There still is an anticipated deficit uh even if all uh reductions brought forward tonight are um approved by the board. But in the outyear, it is promising. It's one of the first times we've seen black, which is a surplus. And there's a lot that can be done associated with a surplus in this district. That's the reevalu reevaluation of programs. um kind of giving the control back to uh instead of us being in a defensive mode, reactive mode associated with our expenses, now we're seeing that there that we are shifting the tides into a potential surplus. Next slide. And then we've talked about this quite a bit. Why is it important to maximize ongoing

123savings and why now? Um there is budget uncertainty that's occurring um on the federal side. I can give you a slew of different information associated with title funds that may be held back from our district to support some of our most vulnerable student populations uh that our district right now supports and we utilize those funds and there is anticipated reductions. We already experienced on the federal side substantial uh reductions over the course of the last few years. Some of which were the expiration of COVID funds and some of which were just the reduction overall of our aortionments enrollment changes. Yes, we are a basic aid school district and 87% of our revenue comes from uh property taxes, but there are programs that we receive revenue on. Um I'll use the example I've been talking about

124quite a bit, our early learning opportunities program that's based on enrollment, right? So, as we as our enrollment shifts downward, there's a potential for loss of funding there. And again, the ELO program, it's minimal in funding, but it all it all really counts. It all adds to that total revenue source tied to our expenditures. Special education service demands. Um this is something that es and flows for this district every single year. Um our uh general fund does support special education to the tune of almost $8 million. Um and that is something that has been uh um increasing over the course of the years and that's associated with our IEPs and our 504s uh within our district and and the number of services that are provided to our student population. I talk about this all the

125time and I I think it's important to mention again at this point how um incredibly valuable our special education uh folks are in this district. I came from a county office and this district's special education services are the talk of the county and that's why we're seeing probably an increase in enrollment in that area, but we have the best in the county. So, uh but again, it's you know there's an unforeseen component to that for us. funding volatility I talked I talked a little bit about and then the onetime assessments we um I I sat up here last year and we talked about the mixig assessment that the district and every district in the mix uh joint powers authority uh had to pay. We also have an assessment from prior um SMA claims from the

1261980s that we had to pay for this year when we were it was pre Kenan associates our risk managers. We still carry policies for those those um those those potential claims from the 70s 80s and 90s and this year we had a $97,000 assessment next year and it is built into the my $270,000 assessment that we're going to get hit with. This was something that was unplanned, something we did not know was going to exist. uh just dependent upon uh uh claims from from prior years and and these are from the 1980s for example. Um the one-time assessments are something that um we can start looking at and building into our multi-year projection and that's what we're doing uh as a budget subcommittee. We talked heavily about this, but it's just imperative that we really

127act conservatively uh now moving forward, especially with the multi-year projections I shared on the prior slide. >> Right. Thank you, assistant s John. I think just this slide, you know, just identifies, you know, that reminder that, you know, this the work and the proposals tonight, you know, were not something that were, you know, was a month or two months work. I mean, this work really began last year, uh, through the budget development, you know, process for this school year. Um, we gathered a lot of input, uh, a lot of, um, through through both, you know, the budget budget input sessions, but also through our LCAP process. Um, and as a result of that, the idea of a subcommittee was born. And so, you know, the ability for us to, you know, bring that into place

128and and have that in, you know, as part of the process for this year, uh, you know, has has been incredibly, you know, positive and and productive. Um, and I just want to take that opportunity to thank the members of our, you know, subcommittee. I two members of our board, you President McNery and Trusty Wax, uh, presidents of both CSEA and PGTA. Um and just the fact that yes, you know, not only was it collaborative, it was aligned, but for us to be able to come to, you know, consensus on what those proposed uh reductions are that we ultimately are bringing forward for the board's consideration this year. And then really the last slide before we go into, you know, each of those positions, you know, that reminder of, you know, what we are preserving.

129And as we made these decisions, you know, that focus was absolutely on protecting uh student services core instruction um and really identifying areas where you know um staffing could be aligned to uh enrollment uh in in each of those you know areas. So that's you know just that reminder for us as we you know go forward into those exact five positions which Chief Rogman's going to revise review for us. >> When Dr. Adamson talks about uh alignment of enrollment to uh support core instruction. I think that's one of the guiding principles for um some of the recommendations that have been made and that's trying to make sure that we can maintain um you know the uh class size level to the contractual goals and not the maximums. Um slide please. So uh the following are

130going to be the following five personnel reductions that are being recommended this this evening. The first is um adjusting the elementary staffing by 1.0 FTE. This uh is an adjustment that would still allow the class size levels at the elementary schools to be in alignment with the contractual goals. Um and so this is uh a recommendation that we're making that um can keep that principle intact. Slide the digital learning uh teacher. This is another rate reduction that uh we're looking to make that will not have an impact on the class size. What will change is that um when our classes go to the flex labs, uh those lessons won't necessarily be led by a certificated teacher. That um more of the instruction is going to be skill-based uh at that uh flex flex lab time.

131Um, and what we're hoping that we're going to be able to do is embed more of the technology co cohesively into core instruction while trying to strike that balance between using tech for learning and um sticking to the fundamentals of learning at the same time. Slide please. Elementary Spanish is uh currently um provided on a push-in basis and what that means is that the Spanish teacher comes to uh the classrooms in second through fifth grade and gives about a 45minute lesson once a week. The reduction of the elementary Spanish teacher means that uh Spanish instruction would be more of an enrichment basis for for our students occurring outside of the instructional day. This reduction also would not impact the class size ratios. A high school liar model change is going from having a uh from

132a district certificated librarian to a 75 library media tech. Um this uh reduction would align with the model that we're currently using at both of our elementary schools and our middle school. the library access would re remain can can assistant for the students that are at the high school in including break and lunch and their open periods. Um and uh this again is a reduction that's being recommended that will not have an impact on class class size. The co co community high school staffing reduction of 1.0 is being recommended. The current uh studentto staff ratio is 2.4 four to nine students. Four of those students are in 12th grade and are going to graduate this this year. So with this reduction, the staffing model at CHS would be 1.4 to five students. The um CDE

133model can attenuation school recommendation is that you staff a Coug community high school program at a ratio of 1 to 20. This will keep us well under that ratio. And those are the recommendations that we're making this this this evening for uh the board to vote on. >> Thanks. That's my closing statement to the board that these recommendations I hope that you you know that reminder and that you see that that they you know are brought before you tonight as a result of careful analysis uh meaningful collaboration and a clear understanding of you know what our fiscal reality is. And I I know you all know that um you know that reminder that difficult decisions we know are are often the necessary ones. Uh but that reminder that these decisions are grounded in data values

134and our responsibility as stewards of public resources and respectfully ask for your consideration for them tonight. With that I return it to you. >> Thank you for the presentation. Um, we will now go out to public comment on this proposed action item. Is there anybody in the room or online who wishes to address the board? If so, and could you please uh form a line at the podium or raise your hand digitally? Principal Brownfield. >> Actually, this is not from me. This is a child who left a note in my box that wanted me to give this to the board. >> Thank you. Thank you. Um, are there any other individuals wishing to address the board on this item? Okay, seeing none, um, we'll bring it back to the board for discussion. And the way

135we're going to go about this is we have one action item with five resolutions. So, we'll discuss it as a whole and then we'll vote individually on each resolution. Um, >> I have a quick uh question. So this is public comment from a student. So this should probably be read aloud so that the community can hear. Go for it. Um so this um note from the student from Robert Down says keep Spanish and computer classes with two exclamation points. They are important underlined important for our learning with one two three four five six seven eight nine exclamation points. So I don't know if anyone can everyone can see that but and thank you for participating in public comment to whoever that student is your opinion it's very important >> on the I don't know should

136I reveal the first name but okay yes >> yeah from Mrs. Johnson's class. Good good job in participation. >> Thank you. >> There any additional public comments on this item. >> Okay. Um I will then bring it back to the board for discussion. Uh clerk Shamos, do you mind if we start with you? >> Not at all. >> Okay. Um um on January 22nd when we first got informed of uh these recommendations, we asked for two different options. one option being uh to keep the um digital instructor and the librarian, the library teacher. And so it did come back to us as two different um variations of how much it would save. And basically um you know I was wanting to save both of those um positions and they were within they were like 1%

137difference at the you know in terms of um a savings at the end of um for the reserve. So that that was um I thought helpful and u important to know. So since then um I have come to uh look at all these positions that are on the chopping block and looked at the reasonings for all of them. and I understand all of them except for the library position. Um I feel that's so different than the rest of those positions. And one of the biggest things is that it's a fundamental change in the role of the library because you're going from a spec specific place featuring literature of the past to the up and cominging grades to a place to go to look things up and hang out maybe. Um I you know the role

138of the librarian is to facilitate maintain and grow an environment of knowledge. Um this requires expertise and this expertise requires more than a high school diploma. So what we're being presented with is to take out a college educated position and replace it with a high school diploma required position because that is the library media technician three that's all that's required of that position to me that makes a big difference and and then one of the um arguments for it is well we've done it the elementary schools and we we did it at the middle school and that's true. I would say to the detriment of those schools and I would wonder if we ever really even did an evaluation of what the difference was between having a certificated librarian especially at the middle school but

139even at the elementary schools. I remember when I was on the board before we had the librarian at the middle school. So, um, we're a college prep high school. So, I do think it makes a difference what we pres what we present at the high school versus the middle and the elementary schools. Um, and we're proposing to trade a college degree for a high school diploma in an area that's the most identifiable with college doesn't make sense to me. It It's a loss. It's a loss that the district says it can make up for with a little help from the principal, teachers, and the director of curriculum. I don't think that is going to work. Um the district is going to see an imposition on already um overworked princ principles. I know the director of

140curriculum has way too much to do. Um and teachers. So, I am not I'm not okay with that. Um, and I would like to know I would like to think that the high school does indeed require a college educated position to teach students who are a step away from adulthood. Because having that librarian there, the teacher librarian, if you are going to say, well, he doesn't or I'm not going to personalize it. Sorry. The position right now isn't really teaching a class. But guess what? Every time a student comes in there, that teacher is teaching. And that requires expertise. That is not a classified high school diploma position. And I'm not putting down our classified. They do great work. I'm just comparing the position. What is the responsibility of that position? Um I just feel

141that this particular reduction um was not fully thought through and should be revisited. And so for that reason tonight I will be voting no on that position. >> Thank you for your comments, Clerk Shamas. Uh Trustee Dr. Hayen. >> Thank you. And I know I've said similar matters before, but I'll repeat because again I think this is in the air of transparency that these difficult situations require difficult decisions. I'll throw praise again to everyone who has attended these meetings, who has commented, emailed, reached out with thoughts and advice. Having informed community members only helps our district with transparency given how we as a management team, governance team as a district arrived at this budget situation and what we are looking ahead towards likely fiscally. I do believe this is the responsible course of action for

142our students and for our district district. If I felt there were another viable solution to perform my role as a board member, my fidu my fiduciary duties, I would fully support pursuing it. These last losses create a big hole that will undeniably be extremely hard to fill. It's a challenge that the district teachers, staff, and students as well will have to address across the board. Clerk Shamas spoke very eloquently on the librarian position. I'll speak quickly to one just elementary Spanish. Please do what you can to increase exposure and learning opportunities at the elementary school. I've seen what that can do for our kids. After school enrichment, Spanish club, music instruction, these things have to be a start and they have to be an area we can look forward to for growth when times hopefully

143get better. I do want to read two of our board norms, not to belabor the port point, but to highlight again why we as a group of five are so powerful as a whole. We first number two is we agree to disagree. Differences and opinions are respected. Once a majority decision is made, all members agree to support or refrain from undermining it. Modeling respectful dialogue and unity. We agree to express disagreement in ways that are constructive and respectful. Avoiding language that places blame or makes others feel they are wrong. Recognizing that how we disagree is just as important about what we disagree about. And then board norm number four, which I think really hits to this as well, is the criteria for evaluating programs. Our programs are evaluated using objective student centered criteria that emphasizes

144educational impact and fiscal responsibility. If I could divorce those last two, I would happily do so and focus entirely on educational impact because that is ultimately why we're here. But we have to take those two together. Thank you for the time. >> Thank you for your comments, Trusty Otmar. So before I say anything, um I would like to I think it's important to take responsibility because as a board we sit up here and we approve a lot of what comes in front of us. And I think had we done a little bit better job of um maybe digging in, questioning, looking a little bit, taking a better look at what was in the reserve before saying yes to so many things. Um we might not be in this position. I think we could have as

145a board done a better job. Um but I can only take responsibility for myself as a board member. Um, one of the things I I do want to discuss is um related to elementary Spanish. I was looking at our LCAP today, which we'll hear more about later. Um, and goal four of our LCAP, I'll just read, is all district and school policies and practices will be equitable and inclusive for all students and families, creating a culture of belonging where students of every economic circumstance, culture, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, learning ability, or language feel a strong sense of connection. and we specifically talk about diverse curriculum, but we're trying to remove Spanish from our youngest learners. Our numbers in the LCAP for belonging of our Hispanic and Latino students is lower than any other group

146that was surveyed. And still, we're talking about removing Spanish from the curriculum of our youngest learners. And this goes directly against our mission of creating a culture of belonging. So I sit here questioning that decision that has come before us and was that discussed in the closed meetings of the budget subcommittee? I don't know. Um what I would ask of this board is that I know our goal is to support the LCAP and having Spanish in the lives of our students. at a young age is extremely important. We can see that from the the co-op or from the the dual language preschool. My kids benefited from that. They can still well and they also um are getting the benefit of Spanish at the elementary school. So I think to take that away from our students

147speaks volumes about our culture of we that we keep perpetuating but we are not backing up when it comes to our students. It's one thing if it's lip service, but we're not we're taking things away from these kids that represent our entire culture of we. And so I hope that everyone's thinking about that before they vote tonight. I'll be voting no about removing Spanish. I'll be voting no on a lot of um positions, staff positions being removed because I don't support that. I think we could have looked harder. I know that I wasn't on the budget subcommittee, but my time is extremely limited and um I give what I can and um that's all I have, but I I just wanted to say that and also just take responsibility for my role in this situation.

148>> Thank you for your comments, Trusty Wax. Um yeah. Um, very horrible handwriting, but um, there was something that I forgot to mention about the community forum last night and that there is, you know, over these past two months or whatever, a frustration with uh, the transparency or why didn't we cut this budget from here and why this and all that sort of thing. And um something that is um annoying about a bureaucracy and this sort of thing is things happen all throughout the year. Um and if if you're speaking up, you know, a a meeting or two before we're not that the decisions have been made, but the timeline is short, so we can't adjust. um to some of your ideas about funding things in different ways. So, all that is to say um

149when I became a board member, Dr. Adamson sent a very helpful schedule of the year about like how it corresponds to budget things. And um if anyone emails me, I will send a copy, but I'm sure Dr. Adamson has it more handy because honestly, it's on my desk somewhere. Um, but if you could pay attention, if you're interested in this sort of thing and um want to be more involved with our fiscal decisions, I think it's important to pay attention to it throughout the year and come in, leave a comment throughout the year and um hopefully not when we're at these precarious uh really difficult times. Um I will um these are all losses. I mean um taking away these positions is uh going to be to the detriment of our students. Um and uh

150that's uh terrible. Uh just I don't I don't want to necessarily refute what Trusty Shamas was saying, but um the librarian tech position in the job description needs a high school diploma, but I don't know if that person who's currently there has only a high school diploma. You know, it's it's sort of a difference. Um, and I I don't want to like dox anyone or or something, but I think it's just important to keep in mind that while that might be the requirement now and maybe we could we should adjust that, it's not necessarily uh the actuality of of what's happening at the library uh at the high school. Um, and then I also would just want to say that these figures by um, Assistant Superintendent Jordan um, they are not going to be accurate

151like because of first in first out rules, we're not going to probably realize all these savings. um it will be less and that is why like this is that is why I personally feel like this is the bare minimum that we could and should do right now. Um because I think we are going to keep into keep running into these problems. Um, especially since uh I don't think I'm a maybe I am a pessimist, but I'm not totally sure that each year we'll get the 5% raise in property values. Earlier this afternoon, Block uh the company that runs like Square and was founded by the guy from Twitter laid off 4,000 people and they're profitable. He he specifically mentioned that they were profitable, but they were realigning everything. And I know we're not a private

152enterprise, but I'm just saying those 4,000 people and the economy at large is going to affect everything. And so I am really unross um the short-term future um financially, not just for the district, but maybe for a lot of people. And um I'm worried about that. Um one of those reasons is um AI, which I feel could definitely be useful. Um but I think it's this is not really related to budget but I I still think it's very important to to use AI um with oversight in on page 104 of the presentation. Pacific Grove all of a sudden had a new logo for the school district. I I just want to make sure that we're really methodical both in our schools and as it at our district about how we are implementing this technology and

153to be careful. And I'm only mentioning this because I was a designer and I'm a jerk. But >> nevertheless, I do think we have to um be excited about these technologies and then exercise caution because everything is a test right now. Um, and then I want to um voice my appreciation for everyone's um impact in this district uh and your contributions, both those in the audience and then those at home. Um uh I I really value whether you've had a direct impact on my kids or the district. Um I really appreciate you and I'm sorry that we're in this situation. Thank you, Trusty Wax. Um, I think many of the points that I had planned to make have been covered by um, our board and your very thoughtful um, comments. Um, I agree with so

154many things that were said. um being this position um is difficult and I remember when I was a parent and would sit in the audience and listen to these discussions and it would be confusing and it would be just so hard to understand how they were saying make this decision but it felt like there was so much information like we just didn't have and didn't know and I think that's the nature of school finance. I think when we when it gets tricky, it's not necessarily that the evidence isn't there or we're not making an informed decision. I think sometimes it's really really hard to communicate that. Um, and these are really I mean they are complex decisions and um so I can hear from some of the feedback that we've received that there's a desire

155to understand more greatly why decisions are being made um and um what their impacts are going to be and I think as we move forward with our LCAP community input and um community input in general moving forward um it's going to be important to be intentional um and to be very mindful of who we're bringing in and who may or may not be in the room um as well. So just that comment um with regard to this plan um I mean we've been through a a very thoughtful um process. I'm confident that this is a reasonable and a workable plan. Um, we are required to plan for fiscal uncertainty. Um, and we are not sure what that's going to look like when it comes to expenses or um, new operating costs that we didn't yet

156know were coming down. Um, I think what staff has can come up with align with um, an effective and efficient staffing model. Um and that doesn't reduce at all the the human cost of um just reducing positions. Um I am really grateful to the community for being a part of this process and for the comments and the feedback and the stories and personal experiences because they really do demonstrate how um impactful um some of these services have been. Um I think those are my comments for this evening. Um I will now move forward with um the resolutions. There is no additional comment from the board. Okay. Um we will begin with shall I read these or shall we is this more of a chief rogamin I'm not just procedurally >> I think chief rogman will

157we we don't need to read the whole resolution out right it would just be the the position itself right okay all right >> thank you I can handle that okay thank you for the clarification >> um this is resolution number 118 of intention to terminate a certificated employee due to reduction of particular kinds of services. Um this particular resolution is with regard to the K to5 elementary school multi-ubject teacher. Um passing this resolution will terminate this position. Um is there a motion from the board? >> Also move to pass resolution 1178. >> Thanks and thank you for clarifying the resolution too. Um, okay. We have a motion from Trusty Hazen. Second. >> A second. >> And a second from Trusty Wax. All those in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Any nos? >> Absolutely

158not. >> Okay, we have that passes with four affirmative and one no. Thank you everyone. Resolution number 1179 of intention to terminate a certificate employee due to reduction of particular kinds of services. This resolution is with regard to the digital learning teacher. Do I have a motion from the board? >> I move to accept uh resolution number 119. >> Motion made by Trusty Wax. Do we have a second? I'll second the motion. Um motion made by Trusty Wax, seconded by myself. Um all those in favor, please say I. >> I. Any nos? >> Absolutely not. >> Okay, that passes four um eyes and one nay. >> The next resolution is resolution number 1180 of intention to ter terminate a certificated employee due to a reduction of particular services. This resolution is with regard to um

159the elementary Spanish teacher. Is there a motion from the board? >> I'll move to accept resolution number 1180. >> Okay. Thank you. Your motion made by um Trusty Wax. Is there a second? >> A second. >> Second from um Dr. Hazen. All those in favor, please say I. >> I. I. >> And those opposed? >> Absolutely not. Okay, that will pass with four in the affirmative and one no. Thank you. The next resolution is resolution number of intent to terminate a certificated employee due to reduction of services. This resolution is regarding the certificated librarian position. Is there a motion with regard to this resolution? I'll make a motion. M motion to accept resolution number 1181. >> Motion made by Trusty Wax. I'll second this motion. Um we have a motion and a second. All those

160in favor, please say I. >> I. And those opposed? >> No. >> Absolutely not. >> Okay. So, just noting for the record that passes three to two with two dissenting votes. Thank you. Okay. The next resolution is resolution number 1182 of intent to terminate a certificated employee due to reduction of particular kinds of services. This position is the community high school teacher. Is there a motion from the board? >> I move to pass resolution number 1182. >> Okay. We have a motion on the floor. Is there a second? Okay, I will make the second for um this particular resolution. We have a motion on the floor and the second. Um all those in favor, please say I. >> I. And all those opposed? >> Absolutely not. >> That resolution passes 4 to one. Um at

161this time, I'm going to take a quick bio break. Um I'm going to take a short recess, five to seven minutes for the room. Thank you. Thank you for the break. We are now returning um to our action item agenda. The next item on our agenda is um item B, resolution number 1183, determination of certificated tiebreaking criteria. >> Thank you, President Mcer. Um uh in any kind of a layoff situation um there may be a circumstance where two employees would be sharing the same date of hire when that occurs the district needs to have some tie tiebreing criteria in place and what this resolution is going to do is set that tiebreaking criteria for the district. If you look to the resolution itself you're going to see that it's going to be based on um

162the credentiing of the teachers. also if they're authorized um to uh teach e uh to teach English language learners and also if they have any supplementary authorizations and then any earned degrees be beyond the BA or BS level. Um this is a necessary resolution for us so the district has the ability to break ties should any occur um when we begin to execute the reduction in force. Thank you, Chief Rogamin. Um, we will now go out to public comment on this resolution. Doesn't look like there is any one commenting, wishing to comment on this item. Um, I'll bring it back to the board for any discussion on this resolution. Feel free to hit your mic if you're Go ahead, Trusty Omore. I have a question about um what we have used in the past. Do

163we not have anything in policy currently? >> Um we uh passed a similar resolution last year when we were facing a reduction in force. You will notice that um this is good for one one year. The pre previous one was also good for one one year. And the reason why we only do it a year at a time is because the pri pri the p priorities of the board may change and there might be some other criteria that the board would have needed to add based on staff recommendation. However, the recommendation of staff is that this criteria is going to be sufficient to break ties. In the event that a tie can't be broken by this, then um it would be a random draw. Uh and as far as I don't have the resolution that

164uh we approved last year. So as far as any differences last year, it's identical. Okay. Thank you. >> Any other discussion from the board? Okay. Seeing no one reaching for their microphones, I will look to the board for a motion on this item. Make a motion to approve resolution 1183 termination of tb rating criteria. Okay. >> A motion from Dr. Hazen. I'll >> second >> and a second from clerk Shamas. Thank you both. Um all those in favor please say I. >> I. Any nos? >> No. >> Okay, that passes four to one with one no. One dissenting vote. The next item on our agenda is resolution number 1177 proclaiming March 2026 as women's history month. Um Dr. Adamson, this is yours. >> Right. Well, we're bringing forward uh this evening for the board's approval

165uh resolution 1177 proclaiming March 2026 as Women's History Month. Uh this recognition definitely reflects our commitment to ensuring that the stories we teach reflect the full depth of uh the American experience. Uh helping our students see themselves reflected in history, fostering respectful dialogue and inspiring leadership and achievement. Throughout March, I'm proud to say that our schools will be engaging in meaningful age appropriate learning experiences that honor the contribution of women's past and of women past and present. Um and it's my pleasure to turn it over to President McNeri. Um, yes, an example of a woman in leadership who will be reading the resolution for us this evening. >> You, Dr. Adamson. Um, Pacific Grove Unified School District resolution number 1177 proclaiming March 2026 as Women's History Month. Whereas Women's History Month is an annual celebration

166that highlights the contribution of women to events in history and contemporary society. And whereas the origins of Women's History Month date back to 1981 when Congress passed public law 97-33, which authorized and requested the president to procla proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as Women's History Week. And since 1987, after being petitioned by the National Women's History Project, Congress passed additional resolutions designating the month of March as Women's History Month. And whereas every US president has issued annual proclamations since 1995 to honor the extraordinary achievements of women and the significant role they have played in shaping the nation through courage and innovation. And whereas the Pacific Grove Unified School District remains dedicated to the inclusion of diverse historical narratives that reflect the depth of the American experience. And whereas the governing board recognizes the

167importance of ensuring all students see their heritage and the contributions of women reflected and honored within our academic community. And whereas the governing board recognizes that integrating these essential historical truths into our educational program requirements and district goals is vital to fostering an inclusive environment for our community. And whereas our schools will implement activities that highlight the resilience and contributions of women to the fields of science, art, and civil leadership. And whereas district staff will utilize professional research and analysis to provide accurate information to our students and the general public regarding these contributions. And whereas all related programs are designed to align with state educational codes and board policies to ensure highquality service to the community. And whereas the Pacific Grove Unified School District and its schools are committed to continuing the promotion of Women's

168History Month and educating students about the significance of the month, not only in March, but year-long, as well as the accomplishments of women or excuse me. Now therefore, be it resolved that the governing board of Pacific Grove Unified School District hereby proclaims March 2026 as Women's History Month and encourages all students and staff to participate in educational activities that honor this heritage. Be it further resolved that the Pacific Grove Unified School District Board of Education urges all community members to join us in recognizing and honoring the central role women have played in history. That is the resolution before us this evening. As with every item, um we'll see if there's anyone wishing to make public comment on it before we bring it back to the board. Not seeing anyone in the room and director Algaz

169nothing online. Thank you for the confirmation. Um I will bring it back to the board for any further discussion um with regard to this resolution. Shamas. >> Well, there is a saying in Arabic that when it gets quiet in a room, there must have been a baby girl must have been born. So, um, we're still trying to make in, you know, inroads. Anyway, this is a pretty cool book I picked up at the store on uh so, you know, it's kind of neat to just see like a thumbnail sketch of different women through history. Um, >> Trusty Hay. Yeah, I'll just go ahead and say, you know, it was nice to hear, important to hear how well not just our men's sports have been doing, but our women's sports here in the district. And it's

170something I feel like we do a good job highlighting. And I think there's a lot of people around us that could learn from similar experiences that sports that are less funded, less resources, and less support publicly to achieve is often climbing a greater hill than those from men's sports. So I'll just stop there and again thanks for the resolution. >> Thank you. Okay. Um, and I will, um, thank you for those comments, Trusty Hazen. Um, and I will note our own piece of Pacific Grove Unified School District history and our first woman superintendent and Dr. Adamson. So, important part of our history here in the district. Um, with that, I will go out to the board and see if there is a motion. I'll move that we approve resolution number 1177 proclaiming March as women's

171history month. >> Motion made by I got you. Motion made by um clerk Shamas and seconded by trustee Altmar. All those in favor please say I. >> I. Any nos? Okay, that passes unanimously. Thank you. Um, the next item on our board agenda is proposed board meeting calendar and this is something we see every meeting. Um, I'll give it to you Dr. Adamson for any updates. >> There are no changes at this time other than looking ahead to March. We have two regular meetings and then our special board meeting for governance on the 26th, but no changes at this time. >> Okay. Um, we'll go out to public comment as we do every time. Thank you, director. >> Um, and back to the board. Is there any um any discussion? >> Just um one note

172on the Thursday, March 26th meeting on the board governance, we also wanted to add that we are doing our ethics training on that day, too. >> Oh, we Yes, that needs to be updated on there. Absolutely. We'll add that to it. Thank you for catching that. Y just so you know, that's happening, too. I >> think we may have just received information about an um a online ethics training option. So >> um we may be able to fill that requirement differently and get some of the um board meeting time back for governance and other business. >> Okay, TBD, we will I I um I just got that information today, so I think there will be more to come. Um, okay. With no changes, we don't need a motion or any action on this item. Thank

173you, Dr. Adamson. Um, our I don't know. It's such a bummer that we have to wait till the end of the night to hear about this item, Dr. Hagquist, but I do appreciate that we're getting to um this is an information discussion item. It's our LCAP midyear update. Um, and I'll turn it over to you, Dr. Hagquiz. Thank you. Thank you, trustees. Uh, Larry Hagquist, executive director of educational services, here to present the midyear update for the local control accountability plan, also known as the LCAP, for 2025 2026. Start with a little bit of a background uh about the uh LCAP. It is a three-year plan that uh goes over the goals, actions, services, and expenditures of our district uh that support positive student outcomes and our local priorities. These are local priorities that we

174develop with input from the community. This is something that you referenced a little bit earlier in the meeting. We do have some upcoming LCAP community input meetings on the calendar for March and April. Uh we have uh Tuesday, March 24th uh 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at Pacific Grove High School and then Wednesday, April 8th um at the multi-purpose room at Forest Grove Elementary School. So our local priorities are developed with uh input. I'm currently conducting student advisory committee meetings. We'll have parent advisory committee meetings. uh we'll be putting out uh LCAP surveys. Some of the survey data from last year's LCAP survey uh surveys are in this presentation tonight. Um and what the LCAP allows us to do is really tell the story of our district um and uh how we meet the goals that

175we set for ourselves. Um the local priorities that we set are in place to support the eight state priorities of California that I've uh depicted right here on this slide uh in three categories. Conditions of learning, student outcomes, and uh engagement. A little bit about the midyear update. What is the purpose? It's really to update, adjust, and inform. by update. We want to take some of our current outcomes and share them with the community um and to share a little bit about the progress in our implementation. uh we look at this data and we want to make adjustments to our LCAP and to some of the services and actions that we are providing um so that we can uh make improvements um and you'll see some of that in the presentation tonight as well uh

176and then to inform our processes moving forward as I mentioned this is a three-year plan and we will uh in the spring of next year being in the third year. We're in the second year of uh the current LCAP cycle and next year will be the third year and we in the spring we will be developing the new local control accountability plan for the 2728 school year. Um why are we presenting tonight? Uh there is a fee February 28th requirement to present the midyear update uh that includes outcome data from the California state dashboard. Um this is data that I report some of the data that I reported on in November when I did a state testing uh presentation for the board uh as well as expenditures and implementation data. A little bit about the

177goals of our LCAP. Um for those who aren't familiar with the local control accountability plan of our district, we have four goals. The first goal is uh deals with academics. The second goal is social emotional learning. The third goal is around interventions and supports. And the fourth goal uh addresses cultural proficiency. I'm not going to read through the language of all the goals, but you will know when you look at um the goals that are written up here on these slides that a lot of the languages overlap and the lot a lot of the language in these goals overlap and they support our um core values of belonging, safety, and prosperity. So you'll see things like culture of wei, families working together as partners, families feeling welcome, um safe nurturing environments, creating a culture of

178belonging. So we believe that um academic success is not just about test taking, but it's about wrapping around the students, providing them as much support as possible so that they can um be the best students that they can be. Each of the goals comes with metrics. The metrics are um outlined in depth in the report that is provided in the board packet. So I'm just highlighting a few of those metrics here. Uh and uh for goal one, the metrics are graduation rate, A throughG and CTE completion rates, and AP pass rates. You'll see um by the green arrow um that that's this year's metric for graduation. and then you'll see steady progress over the last 3 years toward our three-year goal. Um we are currently at a 96.4 for graduation rates. Uh with regard to

179A throughG completion, we uh remained steady. Um this year uh again at 57% meeting A through G. Um but just a reminder that in 2023 that metric was at uh 37.2. So, um, remained steady over the last 2 years, but growth since 2023. Um, you see, uh, a little bit of a drop off, and that's where I have the red indicator right there in the CTE completion rates. uh we don't see growth everywhere, but when we see red uh like we did last year, if you recall uh in our math scores, we try to address those things so that we can turn things around. Um with our CTE com completion rate, we are already uh looking at ways to turn that around. We um lost one CTE class um due to a teacher with a

180CTE credential leaving um and um you know we we're trying to get that class um we will there's plans in place to get that PLA class back on the schedule for next year. AP pass rate um you see a gold star there. That's a big positive. um 91% again. We were kind of shocked by that growth last year. Um and in a very good way, uh we far surpassed our three-year goal of 80%. And um something else to note about the uh AP pass rate. We had 32 more students take the AP test this year. A total of 172 students took AP tests and we still had a 91% pass rate. So, uh quite impressive. Uh this these are some of the key key expenditures. Again, um page 162 in the board packet is where

181this report can be found. Um and I'm just highlighting a few of the key expenditure areas uh pertaining to each one of the goals. For goal one, highly qualified staff, instructional materials and resources, technology infrastructure. These are some of the expenditures that speak to goal one. Goal two, as I mentioned, is our social emotional learning goal. You'll see some of the same type of language in this goal. Uh learning environments that are emotionally safe, positive relationships amongst students and staff. Uh students feeling connected, right? Uh that speaks to that culture of belongingness that we're trying to pro promote, especially with our SEAL goals. Metrics. Uh here I reported these same metrics last year. Um, and so to be consistent, uh, the metrics relating to goal two are chronic absenteeism, caring adult questions, and active partner

182questions. Um, we believe that students that are in a healthy place socially and emotionally are more likely to be present at school. That's why the chronic absenteeism metric is included here. and we improved in that area to 15.5%. Uh you see another gold star on this slide. Um and that is uh with regard to the caring adult question in the California healthy kids survey. Um, the question to students was, "Do the teachers and grown-ups care about you?" And we had 91% say yes most or all of the time, and that exceeds our three-year goal already. Um, and then active partnership. Parents were asked, "The school encourages me to be an active partner." Um, and that remained relatively steady at 88% with a goal of 90% over three years. So, we're close, but we can do

183better in that area. And I was already reminded of the work that uh Barbara Martinez and her adult school shared with you earlier today about uh bringing families in to uh make them feel more connected. Um some of the key expenditures relating to goal 2 things like counseling services, mental health therapists, uh vector training for students and safety and wellness. And then goal three, this is our intervention uh and academic support goal. Um, and the goal here is to make sure that it's not just those uh 91% AP passers that are um excelling in our schools, but we are providing the best possible support for academic success for all of our students um including uh our EEL students and uh our traditionally marginalized um students. Some of the metrics that speak to goal three are

184our English language arts CASP results which I reported and the math CASP results which I reported on in November. Um and you might recall that uh we dipped just ever so slightly in the English language arts scores. We went from 72.78 meeting and exceeding down to 71.78 a drop of a percent. Um but that drop when you look at the distance above standard uh really just mirrors a drop that happened across the state of California. Um we actually improved in the metric u of distance above uh standard. So um growth right there. Uh and then we had um considerable growth in our math results this year. Something we were very proud of and which was a growth area that we um looked at last year. Um we went from 57.93 meeting or exceeding to 60.22

185meeting or exceeding and a big jump from 16.3 to 20.5 in the distance above standard EL progress progress rate. This is something else that I talked about in my presentation in November. Uh we had a an extremely high um reclassification rate. So we had a lot of students move out of our EEL program to become reclassified as fluent English proficient. A rpt is um and um so we had a small number of students remaining that were still taking um the LPAC test and those scores are what determine this drop right here. That's why you see the red number um from 70.4 to 56.4. Uh remember that this is likely to go up and down considerably because of the really small uh n value, really small sample size. Students can get the exact same score on

186the alpac um and because they increased a grade level um you know be count it can count negatively uh in this area. But um what this doesn't show is our um uh the RFP rate that that we are quite proud of and some key expenditures here. English language arts intervention, AVID math intervention. Goal four, cultural proficiency. Um we are continuing to do good work in this area. Again, some of the same language. Culture of we. Families working together as partners. Families and students feeling welcome. Culture of belonging. Strong sense of connection. This is what cultural proficiency is all about. Um here are some metrics that speak to goal four. Um bullying. Uh these are students who answered never or once or twice to racial bullying. Um you do see a star here. um because we

187had significant growth of 17.6% uh across all categories and um the African-American category uh was grew 49.5% to 87.5. The next two slides I do a sidebyside comparison to make it easier for people um to see what 23 24 and 24 25 comparison looks like. uh diverse curriculum. These are uh people who answered disagree or strongly disagree to this school provides instructional materials that reflect my child's culture, ethnicity, and identity. And this is on the California Healthy Kids Survey just this year. uh we like to see this number go down and you see us steadily it's steadily going down from 15 to 14 to 13 um and moving um toward that three-year goal of 5%. And then another star over here uh the culture of belonging um agree and strongly agree to I belong at

188my school. Um we have uh already surpassed the three-year goal um of belonging here um with this metric um with all students uh 82.4 uh agree or strongly agree and 16.6% uh that growth right there and it once again a significant growth in the African-American population. But I do want to point out that um just like with our EEL scores, uh even though we're seeing really significant growth in terms of percentages, we're talking about just a small handful of students, a small sample size, that can really um affect the way that those percentages appear. So, um yes, we are proud of it, but we're always cautiously proud of of this growth. And we also look at areas where uh we are declining as trustee Otmar um pointed out earlier in tonight's meeting um because there's

189always opportunity to get better and we need to um not just celebrate all of the wins but also um look where we can make improvements. Um and goal four key metrics. This was this is just the side byside comparison that I was alluding to uh when I was showing the last slide. you have a comparison of the 23 24 results to the 2425 results. This is on the LCAP survey, not on the California Healthy Kids Survey. That's why it says 2425. Uh, anything there that says 2526 is this year's um California Healthy Kids survey that has already been completed and we've already looked at those results. The LCAP surveys will go out in March and I'll be reporting on those. um in May at at the uh LCAP presentation. And this again is a sideby-side

190comparison of those same uh metrics that I showed uh two slides prior. And finally, we have key expenditures in this area. Professional development, diversifying the curriculum, community outreach, and this is overall midyear budget. You'll see that our expenditures right now are $19,387,47382. Um, this is a little bit more than half of the uh adopted budget. Um, but that makes sense. Um, it doesn't mean that we're overspending it. Most of the expenses in our department come at the beginning of the year. Um and so uh we're right on target in our spending uh on in our department revising uh or the next steps uh we're going to be revising the LCAP um for year three of our implementation. We will be holding advisory committee meetings uh community forums and uh we'll be sending out student and

191family surveys. Um before I uh read the closing thought, I do want to um express my gratitude uh to um some people that help me. Um Carly Adams uh helps helps me every day with with the budget and she's just uh such a valuable resource. Uh putting this together, putting this uh midyear LCAP together. It's not just me. It's it's a community of people. It is that culture of we. Um, Matthew Binder, uh, thank you for your support during during this process, helping me gather some of the data that I'm presenting for you tonight. And, um, my closing thought is, uh, when you get to a place where you understand that love and belonging and your worthiness is a birthright and not something you have to earn, anything is possible. I think that kind of

192um captures the culture of we that this LCAP reflects. Um I know tonight is a hard night and I just want to be in that space with you. Uh, but I also want you all to uh just know that the LCAP is our story and we look forward to creating some positive stories as we move forward together. >> Thank you, Dr. Aglas. Yeah, thank you for holding space for us for a moment, too. Um, okay. Um, I appreciated the presentation. Um, we will first go out to public comment on this item. Okay. Seeing no one in the room and no one online, I will bring it back to the board for any questions on the presentation or discussion. >> Brook Shamas. >> Yes. Um, >> you know, um, the part about reaching out to families.

193Um, Tuesday I walked up to the library to go to the forum and there was this woman standing in the parking lot by herself and I just had this feeling like hm something's not okay for her. So I asked her something and turns out she was a parent and she was couldn't get a hold of her daughter. daughter was on the track team and she says, "Oh, you know, something wrong with her phone, something wrong with my phone, whatever." So, she just started talking to me about her concerns about her daughter and um her daughter's a senior and she's going to be, you know, she just had all these concerns and I thought and I was encouraging her to contact the school counselor, you know, that um or the the therapist. Um, but it it

194just shows me that like we really need to do more outreach to these parents, you know. Um it it's like a phone call, you know, come in, let's talk, you know, we don't have that many kids, you know, and um I'm sure our counselors know some, you know, the family backgrounds for a lot of them, but it it's so important, you know, that uh that somebody make that it's simple, you know, it doesn't have to be complicated. She I felt like she just needed a little more of a connection even though I mean it wasn't like she was complaining. She wasn't she was just worried and um it was just an interesting you know connection with her. So, um there's that and and I think I bring that up a lot with um especially, you

195know, the elementary level, they're good at, you know, reaching out to the families. They're really good at it. And the middle school's pretty good, too. But I think when it gets to the high school, it's the high school, you know, there's just a feeling they're more adult like. And there's a drop. >> There's a lot going on. Yeah, >> there's a drop. Yeah, there's a lot going on. We were I was at a u the principal's advisory committee with Mr. Omira that he hosts with uh a group of students on his campus this week uh and my assistant and that actually came up just an awareness building an awareness um of some of the supports that we do have in place. Um so that was just it's echoing what something that we heard from the

196students as well and it and it's something that we will um definitely look into. >> Yeah. So just that home connection for especially at the high school level. >> Thank you >> Dr. Hay. >> I'll just start with a good thank you again. It looks like we're on the up and up in many of these categories which is about all we can hope for in many cases but obviously there's always more we can do. So it's I know that you have that growth mindset Dr. Hayquist which is exciting. Um, you know, just following up on that, I I do agree, Clerk Schmas, the it's a big drop off. You know, you have parent teacher conferences in elementary school and then middle school it's only if needed. Then high school, it's kind of open house and

197that's it. And, you know, I I know I've said this before, too, but it it is so often it's those kids that don't reach out are the ones that need the help. Those that are answering the that don't feel the the belonging. And that's a I know it's we would say I feel like a wicked problem. It's not an easy one to solve, but I do encourage and am encouraged by the things the high school is trying to do to you know improve on that. >> Trusty, >> thank you for that. I know that took a lot of work and time and collaboration and that was a wonderful presentation. Uh, one of the things that I did notice while the numbers were up and I wish I had my computer open, but uh, the slide

198that talked about um, an adult cares for me. There's an adult that cares about me. Um, and although those the numbers were good and there's a star next to 91%, I know previously we were at 95% and this kind of goes back back to what you were saying is that we may be seeing a decline that's starting. >> And if there's a trend beginning there, this is probably the time to catch it. >> Yeah. you know, before it slips more because a 95 to a 91 when you're talking about the breadth of students is a big chunk of kids. So, um that's just something that I noticed as I was as I was looking through, but it's it's good to know that so many kids feel cared about, but just sort of a >> it's

199a good observation, >> just a thought that it might be something we need to get on sooner rather than later. >> Thank you. anything from you trusty wax and no pressure. >> Yeah. Um this is sort of to echo everyone's sentiments and that is a big drop off 95 to 91 but also the encouraging part is that our community is small and so like to make a dent in it. It's not too many phone calls or or outreach um or um relationships that an adult can have. So, it's it's it's not intractable, which is uh of course good. And again, great presentation and uh glad to see that we're on the upswing and lots of things, but to kind of go back to Trusty Shimos's point about um connection and everything, I did want to

200I don't think it's like betraying anything. we got that email about the search for the varsity football coach and um I was like really heartened by like the parents coming together to kind of craft that message together but also like that's what they seek in their in the future coach. they want to highlight that and I know it's not our decision but um that they're so um in favor of those qualities in a leader and and a educator um is just important to highlight I think and I mean that's obviously what we want to hire for but um it's just good to keep in mind but thank you >> absolutely >> thank you trusty wax um I had a question about student advisory committee. At what sites or levels is that? Um >> so I

201do uh student advisory committees at all of the sites. Um and uh for the elementaryaries uh I focus on the fifth grade. Um and uh we do the leadership classes and um parent principal advisory committees. So, um I'm I've got a quite a full schedule of uh student advisory committees for um in March. >> Um my other question I think for tonight is about our absenteeism number. Um 23 24 we're at 15.8 and um 2425 we're at 15.5. So kind of stagnant. Um I'm curious if it's sight specific or kind of overall. Do you have any more like information? >> Oh, we do. So all the sites have uh the data as well. Um but I basically report on the overall the overall data. So >> so as a district, we're still in the same

202place. And I think that probably ties into the community engagement and relationship building because that's an opportunity for connecting and finding out what's going on with the family. >> Yeah. Okay. Um I don't think we have any direction other than um thank you for the information we received and reviewed it and we'll look forward to your uh next update. >> Thank you for reading closely. >> Thank you Dr. Hwood. Um, last item on our agenda is our um, future agenda items. Um, there is a page in the packet where those are being tracked on the last page of the packet. Um, I'll just go out to public comment on the current list and then I'll bring it back to the board for any additional discussion. Casey Murray Aliote, you have um public comment three minutes

203and the floor. >> I just wanted to I had my hand up earlier, but I think it was missed. Um so I apologize if this is an inopportune time, but I just wanted to thank everybody um with immense gratitude for tonight. It was a heavy night. It was very in-depth. I currently am on five district board committees. I'm also on the high school PTA executive board. I'm the chair of soberd. I'm on the bond citizens bond oversight committee on the high school LCAP committee on the safety committee. I spend a lot of time trying to uh make sure that I have an in-depth understanding on a lot of the current events in the district as a whole. I I personally went to Forest Grove. I have a graduate from PG High. I have a current

204senior of PG High. I'm invested in this community. My husband and I are local business owners. Um, it's very empowering to hear people show up when there's a problem, but it's also very detrimental to hear people that want to weigh in when they don't have an in-depth understanding of the problem as a whole. So, I commend the people that took the time and did their due diligence to really get an in-depth understanding of the ramifications of what a vote either way would mean. I have personal relationships and in-depth relationships and um gratitude for the people that were in discussion tonight. They're all amazing individuals. However, the district financial overview as a whole needed to have like a serious reflection. So, I I just wanted to express like my heartfelt immense appreciation for what needed to

205be done tonight. Um, we struggle as a high school PTA to get parent involvement because at that level, the students kind of like do their own thing and the parents kind of feel disconnected. I have tried to do advocacy over the years and get parent involvement and get feedback and I'd really like to get back to that. And I know with the four school site, mix and mingles, butterfly bazaar, sober grad, openhouse, prince, coffee with the principal, like we've tried so many different things. So, I just wanted to just put on the record that if anyone has any insight, recommendations, um, ideas of any way to like open up the doors of communication in a way that's like maybe a step away from the administration or the district, just how parents can get more involved

206in some of the committees that are out there. I know there's so many acronyms and for the average parent that's really busy and super like fractured between like practices and the different school sites and the calendars and the schedules, everybody's really busy. But I do think that there is a way to like find a place for people to come together and just like at a glance see what's available and what they want to entertain themselves to educate themselves on. So feel free to reach out. feel free to come to a PG high school PTA meeting if you're interested. >> Thank you for your comments. Any other public comments and um future agenda items? >> Seeing no additional public comments on future agenda items, I'll bring it back to the board. Um we have the current

207list. Um there was the Fickmat direction to bring it back prioritizing it >> and then that first one you know the five-year plan that we are putting on the March 5th March 5 right meeting next Thursday. So that'll be an agenda to kind of start right identifying the order that we would like to you know look at some of those elements on. >> I was just going to ask does district staff feel like the FCMAT was clear enough as terms of the direction because I feel like we kind of bounced around a bit. Well, let's what what I took away from that was to come back with some, you know, approximate costs and maybe some information about other districts who have reached out to them and, you know, what the results of those were. Um,

208am I missing anything? Scope scope. >> Yeah. I mean, I I don't know how it works if like there's an application or something, but if there's any documentation about the actual process that districts have to undergo, I think that would be good to pass along. I will bring back what we have >> to add more work on this. But I really think that's one of the solutions potentially. I mean there's probably other companies that would be worth looking at if we really wanted to go that route. But I do think we took a pretty big turn away from that tonight. But I again I would say you know if we're going to look at it it be good to know history. I don't I just don't I want to make sure we're not getting involved

209with anybody without knowing all the options. >> Sure. >> Thank you for that research. But I think what I'm hearing just information to bring back so you can make an informed decision about how you would like to proceed. Um if there are other resources as well absolutely we can include that. >> One question I do have for the board is you know the discussion regarding outdoor use of classrooms and I think Dr. Hazen that was one of your requests. Can you maybe add a little bit more? I know we added it to the list but what was your thinking with that particular item? Can you remind us on that one? I know it came out I think as a result of the facilities master plan and >> yeah I mean I think it was just

210figuring out like what what would that look like in terms of capacity like you know would it fully cover all classes would only some classes be able to be taught there like would there be limitations to what could be taught there based on in the past I know there have been limitations on outdoor classrooms based on like roofs and wall roof right um and power right like things like that so the question is just like it would be good to know what those what would we get for the costs going forward with that but I'm happy to that to be part of the facilities m >> that's what I was going to asking when we bring those forward as part of the planning piece we would include some of that information >> I just wanted

211some of that specificity yeah >> does that work >> that would work yeah I think a really good time to address that is when we get into the programming and design of like current projects that already have budgets at the facilities committee level that will be like a high point of discussion I mean what are we doing with our outdoor spaces and do we want them to to function both um as a classroom space and a gathering space? Because if that is the case, then we are talking about things like making sure there's Wi-Fi coverage, making sure we have power potentially for lighting, things like that. So, but perfect. The facilities committee would be a great start. Then the updated board policy, I know we, you know, we'll be bringing that to our next policy

212committee meeting to be sure that everything is updated in accordance to we've made some, you know, specific adjustments at the high school. So, we want to be sure that that's all reflected. it. I think this is happening later with the facilities plan, but there was al I forget if this was in a subcommittee meeting, but if there was like um more of a presentation of like just general cool things that schools have done. I I think that's later, but I I do want to keep it somewhat top of mind or like something that we could all look at as a board for the possibilities beyond just budget. Um >> a visioning board kind of. >> Yeah. >> Vision board. >> Okay. >> I don't know how to phrase that. >> Or facilities specifically. Is that

213what you think? Or just >> Well, yeah. I mean I mean I'd love a vision board in all respects, I guess. But uh yeah, I think related to the the bond >> and everything. Um yeah, >> that'll be I mean maybe bringing that forward, right, as part of planning. >> Yeah, go ahead. >> Okay. Sorry. I would I would I think I know where you're going with this. I then correct me if I'm wrong, but um so as a component to our design services with our architect, we want to put together a visual associated with not only work that's been completed associated with measure D, which we we've kind of done up until this point, but uh a visual associated with the bigger plan associated with measure B. And that's something I actually have been

214working with our architect on. Um we can't flush that out until we get through programming of budget. And I don't know if that's what you're asking, but certainly that's something we're looking at um as a form of communicating what the district's plans are associated with the bond, which would include, you know, sketches and and renderings and things such as that. Is that what you're asking for? Yeah, it it's like personally um a hard thing for me to reconcile in my mind because it's like if a school like put an aquarium outside or something, we'd be like, "Ooh, that's cool." But then we're only but but we decide the budget before the aquarium, the hypothetical aquarium. Um, so you know, I'd like to know like interesting, neat things that have been done at schools, but I

215also know that we have to like approve just the projects too. So again, I I don't know how to phrase what I want. Ambiguous as usual. I'm sorry. Yeah. All right. Well, we we'll see where we go with this, right? It's what I'm going to say at this point, I think. Let's see. But, you know, you are on the the facilities committee, right? And so, I think you that can definitely be a part of, you know, you'll be a part of that that visioning and as things come to mind, we can, you know, gather that and collect it from you. So, thank you. Y >> looking forward to your vision board, Trusty Wax. Um if there is nothing further from the board um no direction to give um we can adjourn. Our next board meeting

216regular board meetings will be March 5th and March 19th. Thank you everyone for your time.