Board of Education Meeting - October 8, 2024

001I am calling the October 8th 2024 meeting of the Board of Education order per government code section 54950 executor and Education Code section 35140 executor at 502 p.m. we will now be adjourning to close session for the purpose of discussing the following matters Personnel matters Public Employee appointments employment pursuant to government code 54957 conference with labor negot cators Dr Alex chernes superintendent Gary Stein assistant superintendent of administrative Services Dr Isaac Gates Deputy superintendent of Human Resources in these discussions we will be having CSEA APLE and Plum we will also be discussing student expulsions or disciplinary disciplinary matters in accordance with board bylaw 93223 case number 2501 Adam 1 and also claims general liability claim number 93 is there anyone present who would like to address any of these items seeing none we will adjourn to

002close session at 5:03 p.m. hello everyone we are reconvening to regular session at 6:00 p.m. our report out of close session is that the board met and voted to approve student expulsion case number 2501 Adam one in according with board bylaw 93 22.3 as amended we had a motion by Mrs Anderson we had a second by Mr Frasier and the motion carried 5-0 I'm now going to ask truste Anderson to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance you all can stand I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you okay and so just a little housekeeping our live streaming you guys are lucky you came our live stream is not working

003right now but however we are recording this meeting and it will be posted to the website um for viewing probably tomorrow our TVs outside are picking up and they are um able you're able to view it outside I need a roll call for our um board members showing all's president all's present Luke present Carrie here Marilyn here Sean here Todd here and I am here show all members present including our student board member I need an approval for the agenda please I'll make a motion to approve the October 8th 2024 Board of agenda as presented I second I have a motion by Mrs Anderson I have a second by Mr Young bled is there any comments all those in favor I motion carries 5- Z with an I from our student board member I need

004a motion to approve the minutes please I'll make a motion to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of September 10th 2024 as presented second I have a motion by Mr Youngwood and I have second by Mrs Buck any comments all those in favor I have vote of 5 Z and one from our student board member motion carries 5- Z and now what we've all been waiting for I'm going to turn it over to Dr chernes for the 2024 P ylusd state of the district presid thank you president blades members of the board yeah you we can clap yes um first off uh um as many of you know I've been out with some health issues and uh I wanted to just take a moment to thank everyone that's reached out to me um every

005board member reached out to me so many teachers and staff um and it's it was much appreciated I want to thank Dr gates for running the last board meeting uh um and uh my wonderful cabinet for uh keeping things moving and of course um all of our amazing administrators and principles um one of the things while I was home that kind of bummed me out was that we had a state of the district event planned um and uh we had one as you know last year and so we had to postpone this one and so um that was hard because we we accomplished so much as a district and we had so many people work so hard uh and we really wanted to honor our students and our staff for all of our amazing accomplishments

006so I remember driving to work I think it was my first day back to work and I called um Dr Young and I said I have an idea and usually when I say that to them they're like uhoh what's going on now what are we doing um because I'm more of an idea person and um I've talked about there's the dreamers and the doers and the most talented people have a qualities of both um Dr Young has uh qualities of both um I'm more on the dreamer side um I need doers to get get some of the ideas done and so one of my ideas was to create an interactive state- of the district presentation um that really encompasses um everything we have to offer um all in one document something we can push out

007to the entire Community um and so uh I actually showed this to some superintendant um I had a meeting last week and everyone was like well half of them said we want to copy this the other half said we want to steal your employee that built this um and so that employees Laura Lee so let's give her a hand here she [Applause] works um so without further Ado um this is our 20204 state of the district presentation as you can see the cover itself um says it all um for the first time in over eight years we're actually making a turnaround in enrollment and that that's good for everybody it means we're not laying off staff we're not cutting programs um we're actually getting more Revenue into our district um so we can pay more

008pay our employees more and run the amazing programs we have okay so um you've probably already seen the video this was the um the Welcome Back video that we put together so we we'll um in sort of a table of contents next slide so this is really cool um obviously we have a great award-winning schools um we have uh some of the best in the county and um our district is welln and that's why enrollment is going up because people move here for our schools well lury puts together in her Infinite Wisdom was an interactive U map of all of our schools in their feeder programs and and Jeremy if you can go ahead and and show um the community you can click on any one of these um uh logos and um everything you

009need know that the school's website pops up so it's really cool you can see where all our schools feed into and in one place you can access access any one of our schools next slide again um you can also access all of our alternative schools so we have our Virtual Academy we have Park viiew George key um El Camino um Venture and so again um you want to go ahead and show them how you can access there it is it also makes a really cool sound when you switch the page as you can tell um so the next slide is just a brief kind of overview of our demographics for the school district and what this really shows is how diverse we are um we have 40 over half of our district are um uh

010socioeconomically disadvantaged um and we have a diverse community of English Learners of um of all different ethnicities next slide I want to take a moment to thank Our Community Partners I know we have um twe here we have our PTA council president here where's TW please stand I'm going to put you on the spot yay um we have our fabulous Placentia PD here making sure everyone's safe over here by the door we have Anaheim py here Sergeant cin is here and we're going to speak about his partner ship later um we have City officials here we have um a lot of people that make up such a wonderful District of five cities so I know many people would think from the outside placenti Y blinda is two big cities but it's really five and so

011we have schools and community members in Fullerton as well in Brea as well and in Anaheim and we have an amazing school board that really wants what's best for students so um next slide at this time I'm going to turn over to um Mr Gary Stein our assistant superintendent of business to give a highlevel overview of our finances and also talk about a little bit about where our money goes and what where our priorities are thank you very much as you can see on the first slide this is an overview of the district's projected uh revenue for the current school year um as you can also see that the majority of our money comes from the local control funding formula or lcff to the tune of 70 over 76% % um the rest of the

012funding comes from other state federal and local Revenue but the vast majority comes from that funding formula these figures were uh presented as part of our budget in July uh which projected a 400 student uh decline in enrollment and as of census day last week we were projected to exceed our projections by roughly 420 students so these numbers don't reflect uh the added revenue from from those uh students that uh you'll see in December when we bring our budget back yeah it is good news very good news um what I wanted to do right now is is to thank my my fiscal team so uh Fong Tran if you're out there if you wouldn't mind standing so we can give her a hand she manages our budget thank you for all your work Stellar work

013managing it very appreciative of your wor thank you f and on the next slide what you see is so of that money what we wanted to help show is that the District invests 63.3% of the overall budget into the lcap to our local control and accountability plan which is aimed at increasing the performance for all of our students um and especially those who need a additional support So $247 million in actions are in the lcap part of this or big part of this is the 26 million in in funding allocated to the district to specifically increase services for English Learners socioeconomic lead disadvantaged students and Foster youth students and so we we have that number displayed and we're we're very very proud of that that we focus our money on delivering services to those students

014and I we have a large team that that uh actually helps with the LC cap and all of the finances associated with that so miss Evelyn Tas I just wanted to call you out and say thank you to you and for all your work you do with the lcap thank [Music] [Applause] you okay and the next Pages contain our accountability plans as mentioned by Mr Stein beginning with our District's local control accountability plan which sets our three-year vision and lcff budget for the district as well as our school plans for student achievement which set the annual vision and budget for each school and finally our school accountability report cards so all of these accountability plans are available on our district website and have links are also provided in this report Jeremy can you just show

015the um where where those links will take us thank you and closing out our general information section we have our current school year calendar which is just a valuable resource for our parents to have at their fingertips as they plan ahead for the year okay so um enrollment we're going to talk a little bit about how we got here um in DET detail around Innovation around building preschools um there's new development in the city um but I will tell you in just talking to all of our neighboring districts nobody's increasing right now um there's very few districts in Orange County that are actually increasing enrollment um we're now California we're now up to 75% of districts in California are in Decline and for the first time in over a hundred years California po population has

016gone down year every year um that was starting last year so we are bucking a trend um which is which is critically important because losing enrollment is a downward spiral you start losing kids then you have to reduce jobs you have to reduce programs and ultimately reduce schools so we don't want to go there um if you just look at our district um 2019 versus for versus this year um we were operating with about4 million more dollars a year year in 2019 with those 3,000 more students than we have now so it is critically important can't stress it enough and so many of our actions we take is to actually Buck this trend so this is this is huge news um we hope it continues and it's a pattern um and um uh what we

017hear from so many people as we move here for the schools and so they're excited about what's going on here which is great thank you so the next page displays exactly that the reason why so many families want to come to our district and that is because of our award-winning schools and our amazing Educators as you can see we have a picture of the California school dashboard which is intended to provide parents and districts with meaningful information about how districts are performing and really enhancing student learning our student achievement is measured on the smarter balance assessment as well as our lpac assessments and the dashboard also reports other indicators such as chronic absenteeism suspensions and College and Career Readiness as you can see on the screen but also at the links provided our district continues

018to perform strongly as a district and we have made significant strides in each of these areas this past year so we look forward to the release of the new B dashboard results in this coming month go ahead Jeremy I'm proud to share that through our rededication to our professional learning communities where our staff are using data to drive their instruction and intervention as well as our targeted efforts in increasing math fluency and conceptual understanding this past year we were able to increase the overall percentage of all students meeting or exceeding grade level standards in mathematics by nearly 2 and a half% most notably our socioeconomically disadvantaged students increase their performance by nearly 6 and a half% so that deserves a huge round of Applause for all of our schools we will be maintaining these efforts

019this school year in mathematics but we'll also be expanding our Focus to include English language arts as well where you can see we had smaller gains but about half a percent in English language arts but still significant gains in our socioeconomically disadvantaged students by nearly 3 and a half% at this time I'm going to acknowledge a few standout schools whose principles are here with us today beginning with Lisa Carmona principal of Ruby Drive Elementary if you could [Applause] stand Ruby Drive is our Avid showcase school and their school increased their English language arts student achievement results by 7% and math results by nearly 9% that is unbelievable Lisa shared that Ruby Drive achieved their remarkable academic gains through rigorous instruction in alignment with Avid targeted interventions focusing on both academics and wellness and a strong

020commitment to teacher collaboration to promote Student Success congratulations to the Cougars and thank you principal Carmona and your teachers we also have with us tonight Kelly frell principal of Morse Elementary Kelly attributes their success to her nurturing staff who focused on purposeful lessons continuous data review and strategic instructional groupings by empowering students with goal setting staff have helped students work diligently toward achieving their goals and increase their language arts scores by about 5% and their math scores by about 7 and a half% impressively the Morse Wildcats have now surpassed their student achievement levels from before the covid-19 pandemic way to go cougars wild C now finally for elementary we have Kristen McDonald here with us tonight principal of golden [Applause] Elementary principal McDonald shared that the golden staff continues to provide rigor with support to

021ensure that every student gets what they need to succeed at her school yielding over 90% of the golden students consistently meeting or ceeding grade level standards in language art arts and Mathematics but they're not satisfied with that consistent strong performance they had a gain of nearly 4% in mathematics this past year there are four few schools in the state who can match this level of student achievement and success impressively the golden eagles have now surpassed their student achievement levels from before the covid pandemic as well in secondary I would like to acknowledge the work of tuffrey Middle School whose current principal Sarah Barton and former principal Dave okamoto are here with us [Applause] tonight Sarah shared that the tough Rey staff took a deeper dive into assessment data than ever before and came out with

022a renewed focus on student achievement this resulted in an increase in their language arts achievement by almost 8% and math achievement by almost 9% the school is in the process of renewing their schools to watch status which recognizes middle schools that demonstrate academic Excellence strong leadership and a commitment to helping all students succeed excellent work Falcons lastly we have Paige Stills principal of your Belinda middle here tonight PA shared that her staff focused on the schoolwide alignment of instructional practices and datadriven support and intervention in order to increase their student achievement in language arts by nearly 7% and math by nearly 6% in fact they are now pursuing the designation of being named a PLC model school as well as also renewing their status as a Schools to Watch way to go [Applause] Bobcats while

023I highlighted about five schools this evening we are incredibly proud of all of our schools and thankful to our hardworking teachers and administrators who work tirelessly to deliver first best instruction to our students and meet their individual needs throughout the throughout the school year through differentiation and targeted support so again thank you to all of our staffs for all your hard work for our students now in the realm of College and Career Readiness we're proud to share that the class of 2024 had a 95.4% graduation rate and a large number of graduated seniors earned the golden state seal of seal of Merit diploma the state seal of biliteracy and the state seal of Civic engagement we are proud that over 500 more students challenged themselves with rigorous coursework and took the AP exams last year

024with an astounding District pass rate of 88.4% in fact three out of four of our high schools were named AP honor rooll schools for their outstanding work to welcome more students into AP courses we're proud to continue to offer a variety of college level courses to our high school students inclusive of AP IB and Cambridge and are not eliminating or reducing these programs but in fact expanding them we also increased our adg rate by 2.2% this past year and increased our CTE pathway completion rate by 4.2% I that's fine let's clap for it [Applause] I'd like to acknowledge Dr will gray our executive director of College and Career Readiness as well as Mike young our director of secondary [Applause] education for their continued efforts in ensuring that our students are graduating from our high schools

025ready for success for their future endeavors last year we launched our targeted Intervention Program where over 2,000 students were able to receive targeted support in mathematics either before during or after school and I'm proud to share that we are continuing to offer this program to all of our schools this year U much in part due to our partnership through elop and Dr George Lopez thank [Applause] you and we will expand to cover language arts as well as as well as mathematics I would like to acknowledge assistant director Dr Taylor Holloway for her dedication in launching this program last year as well as as well as Dr Gray again for carrying it forward this year [Applause] this past year we also invested heavily in early childhood education by opening two new fee based preschools at Wagner

026and Bryant Ranch as you can see by the end of this year we will have gone from one fee based preschool to six fee based preschools in order to serve our youngest Learners in the community I would like to acknowledge Dr George Lopez executive director of early and expanded learning [Music] Sylvia qua our early childhood education director as well as Ralph Figaroa director of Maintenance and [Applause] Facilities and all of their teams for all the hard work that they poured into opening our new preschools additionally we're proud to share that we launched an inclusion model at Wagner preschool this year and we will expand further um this year into our new preschool at this time I'm going to seed the mic to Renee gray who's going to share more about our inclusion efforts okay thank

027you very much we are excited to share important updates on our Inclusive Preschool programs that were actually established after um the board approved an inclusion resolution back in May of 2022 and the resolution that was approved at that time reflects the board's commitment to inclusive practices for all of our students in special education and um we're very happy about that so I'd like to acknowledge first before I talk about um our inclusion is um Jamie Nash who is our administrator of preschool in special education and then uh Sylvia qua again who works so closely with her our again early childhood education director these two have what I call a symbiotic relationship I have never seen such a great pairing where we have done such incredible things for our preschool students and it's really attributed to

028you and your wonderful team um the expanded uh Early Learning learning and special education departments have been working very closely together um to provide Inclusive Preschool programs for our students and we have co-top models at various School sites and we have our early intervention speech and language services that are available now at multiple locations allowing children with IEPs to receive their services at the same site as their preschool program rather than traveling yes that's something to yes and additionally inclusion is present across all grade levels at every elementary middle and high school our students with IEPs have increased opportunities for instruction in the general education [Applause] setting alrighty this is my favorite part I have to say so we have two programs that we are so profoundly proud of in our district and I'd like

029to First acknowledge the individuals associated with this these programs um Rebecca Allen Who Please Stand she is our principal of George key and venture Academy yay so this this has been a labor of love both of these programs um we have yes can I say a quick word before we get here um we're the largest employer in this area and when I got here I went to our Venture program which is our our 18 to 22s and and we're we're sending these kids to amazing places to work Trader Joe's um the the library Plus Cal Library all over um but the one place we weren't sending our kids is back here and so the goal of this um the plus program which Renee will talk about is actually to employ our kids because that's good

030for everybody it's good for our general ed kids it's good for our special ed kids it's good for diversity within our schools so um it's something that um we're very proud of and um we have some some special guest here today that Rene is going to speak to absolutely thank you so the three students that are part of this program if you would please stand first is Anna yelli Jimenez second is Tommy mctier and third is Bryant WN woohoo so these students are our first plus representatives and plus stands for Placentia Linda upward success and through this program we provide opportunities as Dr chernis said for our students to obtain paid paid employment and we call it our school to work program and they are um again they get to work in the print shop

031nutrition services maintenance activities and special educ education so Anna yelli is working currently as an aid at George key and Tommy mctier is starting as an aid for us as well and Bryant WN is just beginning as an assistant equipment manager at tuffrey middle school with the color guard and i' just like to acknowledge all of the staff at um George key and Venture that works so hard with our students and believe in them and have true Collective teacher efficacy if you will you believe in all your students ability to reach for the stars and they and they're proving it here tonight so thank you um our Advanced program is our diploma bound program and this program serves as a bridge to help Advance our special education students that are placed in our Venture Academy

032adult transition program who have nearly met graduation requirements but just need a little bit more to obtain their High School diploma and so I'm so proud again to introduce our students who just graduated with a high school diploma from Advanced um last year so our first one is Dennis Conant thank you and he now works with Goodwill on job placement and is learning to use OC access to get to work each day yeah and Daniel villero is not here today because he's actually in school which is great and he's now in our North Orange County continuing education program he has taking classes in Money Management social skills and intro to Tech and computers so maybe he'll come back to work with us in our tech department right Jeremy okay and then he um and then

033um he also enjoys going to noce and wants to uh complete different Pathways too he's he's very driven and then we have Thomas Cornelius who has joined us this evening as well and Thomas is checking out colleges right now an he has a job coach who is looking into different opportunities for him based on his interests okay thank you okay now in the area of Athletics I would like to begin by acknowledging Sarah Barton our Middle School athletics coordinator y she does it all folks so for her vision and dedication to creating an authentic athletic experience for our middle schoolers with practices scrimmages and culminating events as well as of course Dr Taylor Holloway for her support and supervision of all of our secondary athletic [Applause] programs through the addition of our fifth sport of

034wrestling this past year nearly 700 students were able to be exposed to the sport it is undoubtable that students will never forget the experience that they had in Middle School athletics volleyball is currently underway we had our second round of scrimmages just today and new this year we'll be adding in flag football so thank you again to Sarah Barton and your team of wonderful people who are helping you and pull off Middle School athletics now in the area of Arts I would like to acknowledge Phil mortensson our Visual and Performing Arts coordinator for his long-standing dedication and support of our Visual and Performing Arts programs across the district through all the increased funding that we received this year and his hard work in conjunction with Evelyn toas and our fiscal Department we were able to

035expand vocal music to students in all Elementary grades as well as higher Visual Arts teachers to ensure that all elementary students receive standards-based art instruction he has also supported our secondary schools and adding personnel and equipment for their Visual and Performing Arts programs so thank you once again to Phil and your amazing Visual and Performing Arts teachers across the district for providing these wonderful experiences to our students in the area of activities I would like to acknowledge Dr Liz Leon as well as our elementary principles for working hard to ensure that all students who are exiting ele Elementary School were able to participate in this culminating activity of attending over overnight camp whether through outdoor Science school or otherwise through the use of our one-time funds seven new elementary schools participated this past year and

036we were able to provide over $200,000 in scholarships for students to ensure that they were able to have this experience thank you again to our principes and communication is key to an engaged partnership and this past year we enhanced our communication efforts through our superintendent Monday messages as well as expanded Community advisory opportunities and an increased social media presence if you're not following us be sure to I would like to acknowledge our public and media relations specialist Laura Le Mesa for all her invaluable work in this important [Applause] area alrighty um actually due to the rising fentanyl crisis um we have a desire to empower students and families and really provide resources and education in this area um we actually provided 17 awareness assemblies this year uh last year and trained 329 staff districtwide and

037added 334 units of Narcan to every site and I really want to acknowledge um Michelle de Haven our administrator of uh Health Services and Amy Kleiner one of our nurses and of course um Placentia PD and right now representing placenta PD is Officer young and officer [Applause] Cleveland who works so closely with um Chief Brad buts from Placentia PD and uh together I know that you had an officer working with you as well uh Michelle um to provide those services so it was a real collaborative effort with uh Placentia PD to achieve this goal the number of students exposed to these programs in both middle and high school totaled 13,31 additionally we offered two English and one Spanish uh districtwide fentanyl awareness program in conjunction with Placentia PD and so for those of you who

038are not able to uh actually go to these or view them they're still on our uh YouTube channel and you can view them in English and Spanish is um and also we have increased Safety and Security in our district and we are very proud to have um Sergeant Bob Conlin and officer Shetty ski here with us this [Applause] evening this past year oh sorry about that this past year we actually off uh added officer Shetty ski to our already outstanding SRO team in the district so that each high school now has an SRO on campus yeah I think that deserves a hand we are so fortunate to have such a positive relationship with our law enforcement agencies to ensure safety on our campus and our goal is to make sure that we help help build

039positive relationships between our students and law enforcement so we think that that's happening and we're very thankful for it okay thank you well I will start with the top left picture there because it's it's incredible uh last night we had the opportunity to do a ribbon cutting at elado high school where we installed lights the school was established in 1966 and we've never had lights on the field and when I got here one of the things I did was I met with every principal and I went through A needs assessment and and one of the needs clearly that I heard from many parents and kids was the need for lights at Eldorado High School so they could practice there they didn't have to go to other sites for that um and so I'm happy to

040report that um it was not easy but we did it and we got it done and we did it because it's best for kids so um uh I know that many many many students will benefit from this movie for it thank you uh over the summer I'm sure that if you've been driving around the community you would have seen our Maintenance and Facilities teams at at all of our sites from one one point or another um we've been very very busy with Roofing projects air conditioning projects asphalting everything you can imagine we've been doing as well as replacing every ceiling tile throughout the district so your kids when they came back to school this year came back to nice clean ceilings which is fantastic so um so as you you know we talked about the

041lights which we're excited about we've also done some major Renovations at Valencia El Dorado and ESP branza gyms to add air conditioning so now all of our gyms at the high schools have air conditioning so our students can yeah that is good news um we've also completed the ESP bronza High School Theater which there's a picture there it's a beautiful theater with with lots of new technology so encourage you to see that uh I want to thank Mr Ralph figeroa again uh from our maintenance of facilities team and all of his team right for all the great work really made it so that our students can come back to a beautiful and safe environment uh to learn in um we also as you can see down the lower right we're moving more and more towards

042electric buses uh our transportation director Mr Richard her menz who's joining us [Applause] tonight um one of the most Innovative and creative people uh chases after every single Grant you can find to try to replace and our Fleet uh including some free electric buses that we got through a grant with the air quality management District AQMD um so that's that's some great news there along with that we need to obviously increase our capacity to charge the buses specifically fast charging stations because they take a while so we are working with that so he's been working with maintenance of facilities in Edison to bring that Str that uh facilities uh into our yard in our transportation yard so we can charge our growing electric Fleet and before you ask no you cannot charge your Tesla at

043in in the parking lot but thank you very much Richard and the [Applause] team all right so as I mentioned uh one of the things uh when I got here about a year and a half ago was um I met with all the principles and talked about kind of what what what they thought our district needed um we also had a state of the district report um presentation and and one of the things I talked about um in this presentation was uh the need to prepare students for the future and specifically to prepare students for jobs that don't exist yet and technologies that have yet to be invented and that's very hard to do but in talking with Dr Beth fiser it became very clear to me right away that she wanted this for her

044students she wanted to take a very very good school and make it great and she wanted to prepare her students for the future and not just the current world so as we talked more and more it became clear that preparing all kids in the area of computer science was missing in public education many schools including our own have outstanding computer science programs and Pathways but only a small subsect of the student body is receiving this education so Dr Fisher decided to build a school where all kids get the skills for the next half century and are prepared for jobs that have yet to be invented so with that we have the Orange County Cool School of computer science we had enrollment increased by over 200 students and we have a video prepared for you now

045[Music] good evening everybody I am Sparky I am part of the Innovation Lab at the Orange County School of Computer Sciences it is my pleasure to introduce you to some of our wonderful students and what they are doing at OCS CS what [Music] SP impr 30 [Music] he hey everyone prodction we have so much amazing equipment in The Innovation lab that students are able to use such as 3D printers laser cutters embroidery machines professional audio recording equipment and vacuum formers we can't wait to show you some of the amazing projects students will be working on throughout the year make sure to follow us on social media and keep a lookout for the upcoming YouTube channel where events and news happening in the school will be posted well everybody that's it for now thank you for

046your time and I hope you all have a wonderful night [Music] at this time I'd like everyone associated with the Orange County School of Computer Sciences to please stand including standing are our parent board members thank you all for being here and we can't wait to see what the future holds for our kids we thought about bringing Sparky here but it was a little tricky so um but the kids are programming Sparky and it's it's called animatronics and it's uh unbelievable so going back to enrollment why why we innovate that's a great this is a this is a reason why we innovate um we also are happy to um report that in less than 6 months we open uh the Universal Sports Institute also located at the OC SCS campus and I'd like uh Dr

047Taylor Holloway and Dominique pcho to please stand Park viiew and USI so this was um no small task when we opened I'd say maybe 95% of the people were hoping this worked out uh 25% probably loved the idea and hope it worked out 25% probably didn't love the idea um but hope it worked out and the rest in the middle weren't sure but they hoped it worked out and and and I think that that's something we should all remember everyone in here in this room tonight has um one thing in common and that's that we all want what's best for students we may go at it different ways but we all want what's best for students and um the idea of the Universal Sports Institute actually came from a teacher in P who's um reached

048out to myself and Leandra and talked about losing kids um to a to a local charter school where kids can compete and and do their their online work um and so in looking at our programs and looking at our amazing Park viw home school we thought well what what if we um what if we created our own homeschool program where we can have kids um compete and train um and not only serve our students but attract students from other other districts as well so so we invested 1.2 million initially using not our general fund but using our developer fees um which is about .3% of our total budget um on um on building the program and we have seen just in six months uh from zero to now we have um we have so many

049kidss engaged in this program and I'm going speak to that in a little bit um we're looking at ongoing revenues of almost $2 million of of new revenues um where Staffing costs are a little over a million dollar so um I know there's some misinformation out there about this and and we'll get into the details in a moment but I want you to know that um the board received some feedback from parents parent surveys on their experiences in this program and it's it's just unbelievable um and I've had really good conversations with so many people that um some love it some don't but they want it to work um and so and I appreciate those conversations and I think what I'm going to share with you next um Can alleviate some of the concerns some

050people may have next slide so with USI we decided to utilize all our facilities in the district um and so kids have a central hub for training and that's at the OCS site um but they use all different sites so instead of our original intent which was to put it in one facility where which is currently the PDA um we decided let's save our money and utilize facilities we already have the other thing is that we've heard well you know not sure if this is a good investment for just 100 Kids well we're budgeting hopefully we're projecting 150 kids but what's happened in just the last several months is we've expanded this to literally hundreds and hundreds of kids just yesterday we opened Speed and Agility courses for kids throughout the district and we sold

051out our classes we're going to serve over 400 kids throughout the district in before school Speed and Agility courses we had um 60 kids yesterday from throughout the district show up in the morning before school for Speed and Agility courses we're concurrently enrolling over 80 kids from our ocscs school at USI we have over 40 special needs kids that we're serving through our partner with BC adaptive Fitness and again hopefully our our full-time USI enrollment we're looking at over up upwards of 150 to 200 kids so we just started we're already serving hundreds of kids in our district and it wouldn't happen without um Dr Holloway and the staff that works day and night um to providing this Innovative program that really is the Envy of so many districts we have districts now trying to

052emulate it we have other districts asking you know Dr hallway is being asked all the time about um how we do it and what we're doing we're offering first class the highest technology you can imagine um and it's free to kids that otherwise would not be able to afford this program um so I can't speak enough about it we had um just two weeks ago the the top sports agent in the world Lee Steinberg who's he he's a agent for Pat momes for you name it shows up at USI um we've had uh two Olympians show up at USI um we've had um one of our instructors is is an Olympian um so it's just it's been a Wonder ful new program and um it's really turned into a real Jewel for our district and

053the fact that we're expanding this now to hundreds of kids throughout the district um is really a GameChanger so um with that next slide oh yeah I thought that was okay yeah go ahead Jeremy if we could go back to the video so education has changed it used to be kids come to you and you as a student you have to conform to the school you go to we flipped that model now our school conforms to our kids and what they need and what USI is is an academic and athletic Institute where we take kids and provide them with skills and technology that otherwise nobody could afford and we do it for every kid that H that wants to be part of this program I'm excited for our students of Orange County to have the

054opportunity actually to be able to be a part of an amazing program like this um as I look around it's great to see so many wonderful parents and supporters of the community that believe that we do need to take a holistic approach when educating our students we need to take an approach where academics is important but so for many of these students also Athletics is important this institute is important because it's going to provide kids the actual correct safe healthiest and best means of taking care of their body um their mind just everything and so as someone that grew up without it there's so many things that can happen or can go wrong that could be the detriment to someone's career when it didn't me to be so for these kids they're really going to

055be a reflection of how things will go right when it's done right we're really excited to be working with poeni yinda school district to see what's happening with their students in sports and academics and this work here at the Universal Sports Institute perfectly Blends those academics and athletic achievements this is a One-Stop shop for kids and sports but also to make sure that they've got a clear pathway the College and Career Readiness and success which is our key goal at the Orange County Department of Education it's our mission and so we partner with placen yinda to make sure that the students here are successful and we're so excited to support this [Applause] work something that we're incredibly proud of in our district are all the personalized learning experiences that we provide to all of our

056students where they gain an advantage in Future Ready Career Technical education Pathways andies at each high school and are leaving our schools prepared for high- wage high skill jobs through the Real World skills and the industry specific experience gained here at El Camino we offer a printing Imaging and design pathway at El Dorado we offer the digital media arts academy as well as the Ed Law Academy at esparanza we offer the Aztec engineering and Manufacturing Academy as well as the medical Sciences Academy at Valencia we offer the international Balor diploma program the Cambridge Ace diploma program as well as the Valtech diploma program at y Belinda we offer the Mustang Business Academy with Pathways in culinary arts as well as business management so I would like to take the moment to acknowledge Dr will gray

057for his support of our CTE programs in partnership with North Orange County Roop we remain committed to Innovation and are currently in the process of bringing additional Innovative new experiences and programs to our district inclusive of steam computer science and digital media arts at our elementary and middle schools we are also bringing the IB primary years program and the IB Middle years program to feed into our IB diploma program so be on the lookout for that in the coming years as we look forward we are continuing to invest in early childhood education and have received a grant for the expansion of our state preschools with three preschools opening later this fall at Glen View Morse and titin elementaries these schools will be the first in the county to utilize a blended preschool model where State

058preschool inclusion preschool and fee-based pres school programs will run together at each site I would like to once again acknowledge Dr George Lopez and Sylvia qua for their Innovation and dedication to these [Applause] programs this year we are also piloting an extended day transitional kindergarten program across 10 elementary schools in order to provide additional instruction and enrichment to our 5-year-olds across the district I would like to thank Dr Liz Leon and our Pilot School principles for their efforts in this pilot for our academic Focus this year I shared earlier we are working on improving our students writing and literacy skills as reading and writing are crucial to forming an Educational Foundation that enables students to access and process information effectively develop the critical thinking skills that they need to be successful and express their ideas

059clearly so that they can ultimately learn across all subjects so to support this joint Family School effort we're providing training to our elementary school teachers on the building block of literacy but additionally we have launched Story Time with p ylusd on our district YouTube channel and I know one of our featured principles is here and is mortified right now every other week we release reading videos of our school and our district leaders and so we hope that you can check it out at our YouTube channel and social media I would once again like to acknowledge Dr Liz Leon for leading our literacy efforts and LLY Mesa for their her their work supporting this initiative [Applause] as you can see by the data our English Learners remain our district-wide student group of focus so to continue

060to support our English Learners we will follow our English learner master plan which was board approved last year and invest significant resources toward professional development in Glad strategies otherwise known as guided language acquisition design this year we are also ensuring that all teachers and administrators receive training on the California English learner road map as well as providing scaffolds to better support the English language development of our students I would love to acknowledge Jose Cabrera assistant director of federal programs he and our El tosa Blanca Gibbons have been dedicated to providing this training to every single teacher and school across the district so truly um they are taking this completely on their shoulders to ensure that every single educator in our district knows who their English Learners are and how best to support them so thank

061you for that Jose a joint Educational Services and student Support Services initiative this year is increasing our community engagement and Pathways to parent Partnerships which are designed to equip families with the tools and knowledge they need to support their children's success at every stage we offer a variety of tailored workshops intended to not only strengthen the parenting skills but also Foster a deeper connection between home and school which create a supportive environment for students so together we're building stronger Family School Partnerships and as you can see on the screen as well as through the link on the website we are offering many different programs and classes to our families at various sites throughout the district and so I would like to again acknowledge Jose Cabrera our assistant director of federal programs in partnership with Dr

062Baldwin Pedraza director of student services for their collaboration on this initiative and now I'll turn it back over to Renee who will share more on this topic and actually Jose Cabrera and Dr Baldwin Pedraza could stay standing because I'm going to acknowledge them in this next part so um yeah they they again are working together as uh Dr Young um described our departments are collaborating on this effort and in addition to the parent work workshops that were just mentioned here we plan to survey our families to identify the topics and issues most important to them and the areas in that in our district that matter most and what are certain communities in our district need as well so from there we will plan and deliver these trainings within our own communities the goal actually is

063to H don't to not have our students come to us but have us go to them and to just piggyback off of what Dr churna said in the video about our job not being to um have our students conform to us but we conform to them that's what we're going to be doing with our parent parent and Community engagement surveys will help us with that and we'll make sure that we keep our hand on the pulse of our community and offer what is necessary and what's needed and then for our uh Wellness coordination I'm sorry the the wellness coordination um I'd like to recognize Jamie shill our assistant director of special education and then uh Tanya Gordo our administrator of student services and then Eunice castanos our coordinator of student services so this this past

064year the merging of student services and special education into one unified division student Support Services represents I think the Beauty and the power of collaboration in our district we brought these two um departments together and we've been working together to foster a holistic approach to Student Success ensuring that every Learner in despite what their needs are are getting their needs met and so I really want to acknowledge um there are two directors in that department um number one is Gwen rira who could not be here this evening but I do want to acknowledge her she she leads our team and this special education Team Works tirelessly I have to say each day to ensure that our children in special education receive what they need and they have opportunities given to them and we work so

065closely with our principles who are so inclusive many of who are here today um tonight with us and we just feel like our department and our special education department is really second to none and so I just thank this team for believing in all kids and for their commitment so in terms of um what we plan to do for the well-being of our students in the future is um we currently have a a variety of Wellness providers in our district school counselors School psychologists Wellness Specialists mental health clinicians and all of these people work in in conjunction with each other to ensure that our students social emotional and behavioral needs are being met each of these groups of individuals is crucial in creating a more effective and holistic approach to student well-being um in the

066spring of 2025 our plan is actually to host a wellness and resource Fair um under Dr Baldwin pedraza's leadership and we will be leveraging Partnerships with Community agencies to provide student and parent walk workshops and Community Resources in support of the Ever Changing social and emotional and behavioral needs of our community so we're excited about that and then our next um um area I'd like to talk about is our second FRC that we've opened I'd like to acknowledge the individuals that are here um this evening which is John Matson our teacher on special assignment Jason Pike our Council working with the F FRC and of course Karina Luna who is our program specialist working with our here we are so excited to have opened up a second uh Family Resource Center here in Placencia y

067blinda on the Melrose campus and as you know the F FRC um acts as a hub in the community and we had a hub over by the topaz area and now we have a hub over by our Melrose area that's really supporting the the Valadez and the Melrose Community we're going to ensure that our students have what they need despite their living situations and we really have a supportive staff that is working diligently to connect our families to resources such as food assistance counseling housing support amongst many other supports and we are so proud to see where this um will take us in terms of serving the needs of of our community [Applause] okay all right this concludes the state of the district presentation we thank you all for coming we're going to take a

068quick 10 to 15 minute break um we have Refreshments outside and we also have music from our edhs Hawk tet for your enjoyment um we will resume the meeting in probably 10 or 15 minutes but please enjoy the entertainment and refreshments outside the stream is back oh yeah the stream is back up all the guests you're free to stay but if I you I wanted e for e e e all right everyone let's take our seats and let's get this party started scared everybody people hit the floor can somebody get Marilyn if somebody sees Marilyn can you tell her we are starting perfect okay so moving on we have a public comment announcement public comment cards are available on the foyer cards must be completed and turned in prior to the designated time for public

069comment we provide a maximum of 3 minutes per person if Translate translation is needed an additional 3 minutes will be given please let us know ahead of time so we can make sure we are prepared and can accommodate you we do have a civility policy Education Code 220 prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability gender gender identity gender expression nationality race or ethnicity religion sexual orientation or any other characteristic that is contained in the definition of hate crimes set forth in section 42255 of the penal code including immigration status per board bylaw 9322 point2 and Ed code 7043 public comments may not be for the purpose of urging the support or defeat of any ballot measure or candidate including but not limited to any candidate for election to the governing board of the district and

070with that we'll move to 13.1 and I need a motion I'll make a motion to approve the resolution 24-4 week of the school administrator I'll second I have a motion by Mr Young Blood I have a second by Mrs Anderson any comments or actually we're gonna turn over to Dr Gates first before we vote we may need to see the presentation before we vote on it I guess all right thank you president blades this year's week of the school administrator is October 13th through 19th 20124 py P ylusd has a quadre of outstanding leaders who are committed to creating a dynamic learning community that prepares each and every student for Success now and in the future it is my pleasure to introduce Matthew Callaway the principal of Kramer middle school and 2024 manager of the

071year to the lecturn to introduce our week of the ministrator resolution please give him a round of applause thank you thank you and good evening president blades Board of Trustees superintendent Dr chernes and executive cabinet tonight it is my pleasure to bring forward a resolution in accordance with Education Code 4405 1.1 to recognize the second week of October 2024 as the week of the school administrator this resolution highlights the impactful role our leaders have in shaping a positive learning experience for our students and a supportive working environment for our employees we are proud and grateful for the leaders throughout our district who model P usd's core values of Integrity Innovation collaboration and Excellence every day the week of the school administrator resolution number 24-4 whereas leadership matters for California's public education system and the more

072than 6 million students it serves whereas school's School administrators are passionate lifelong Learners who believe in the value of quality public education and whereas the title School administrator is a broad term used to define many education leadership posts superintendents assistant superintendents principles assistant principles special education and adult education leaders curriculum and assessment leaders School business officials classified educational leaders and other School District employees are considered administrators and where whereas providing quality public service for Student Success is Paramount for the profession and whereas research shows great schools are led by great principles and great districts are led by great superintendents these site leaders are supported by extensive administrative networks throughout the state and whereas the state of California has declared the second full week of October as the week of the school administrator in Education Code

07344151 and where at as the future of California's public education system depends upon the quality of its leadership now therefore be it resolved that the placenta yinda Unified School District joins with the State Board of uh education declaring October 13th through the 19th 20124 as the week of the school administrator be it further resolved by the Placentia yinda Unified School District that all School leaders should be commended for their many outstanding contributions service and dedication to the advancement of student ACH achievement thank you for your consideration of this resolution [Applause] you thank you Matt any comments before we move to a vote pretty simple all those in favor I I I all right we have a 5 Zer vote and one uh and I from our student board member motion carries 6 to Zer I

074am now going to pass it over to Luke to give his board report um good evening president blades trustees superintendent Dr chist and executive cabinet members I'm excited to be here tonight to share recent happenings from our comprehensive high schools and alternative campuses I bu Vista Virtual Academy Parkview senior Nolan Almeida is currently touring Nationwide as Peter Pan in the Broadway musical with a tour continuing through spring 2025 the independent study program at Parkview provides students like Nolan the flexibility to pursue pursue their passions while fulfilling academic requirements I let everyone know that me and Nolan actually sang a duet freshman year so I'm basically on his level um El Camino Real High School is making strides to improve student attendance during the first marking period students with 85 to 94% attendants enjoyed an ice

075cream sunday bar while those with 95% or higher were treated to a pizza party over onethird of the student body was recognized during these events the annual week of Wellness will take place from October 2 to November 1st focusing on physical and mental well-being with themed activities including dress up days and shout outs for student and staff additionally a blood drive will be held on October 29th coordinated by Jennifer Dar Carlo El Dorado High School has been around for nearly 60 years the gates opened at the nest in 1966 this year staff and student body are hoping to set the tone with 100% participation of all students kitchen staff custodial teachers Administration coaches security and clerical staff to wear black and gold this this Friday October 11th this message this year at El Dorado is

076to set the tone academically artistically athletically and as tone of positive school school culture and everything they do a School rooftop photo will be taken and I'm sure I can get a copy of it to share with you guys at the next meeting if you're going to be on campus on Friday make sure to rep the b& okay ESP bronza High School recently concluded its homecoming week which featured a schoolwide pep rally football halftime show and a dance with around 800 students in attend students enjoyed Italian ice karaoke Casino Games photo booths and car artist caricature artists asanza is preparing their annual Elementary School football game this upcoming Thursday night Aztecs have visited their feeder elementaries and invited all the students to the game this Thursday elementary students will have the opportunity to come to

077the field at halftime to cheer dance and do some football drills it should be a fun time for everyone esparanza is hosting an out of state college fair on October 15th for all their Juniors and seniors this is a great opportunity for students to broaden their scope of college by talking with over 70 out of state out of state and international colleges Venture is proud to of is proud of its new coffee cart the Venture coffee uh coffee carts are selling coffee hot and chocolate and herbal tea on Tuesday and Thursday mornings in the George key Courtyard everyone is welcome come by and grab a cup and support Ventures work experience program Valena Athletics has adjusted well to their new conference Golden Empire the girls teams are bringing a new meeting to # tiger strong

078the flag football team is 4-0 girls golf is 5-0 girls volleyball is 6-2 and girls tennis is 2 and 0 girls cross country Finish First in their first League cluster race on September 25th the girls flag football game was chosen as the LA Rams game of the week they ended the night with a 12 to6 win against catella and a $1,000 donation to the program yinda High School Ked off homecoming week with dress up days and encourag everyone to come to the homecoming game this Friday at 7:00 p.m. the EUR yima High School band Guard and choir hosted its annual eighth grade night under the leadership of director Benson's Garcia it was great to see future Mustangs already making connections to their incredible programs and that's it thank you very much what do you wish

079everyone in the community knew about our PUSD schools yeah so I think everyone in the community should understand how fantastic our staff is all across P USD I think I can talk most about El Dorado and how amazing it is the admin Mr okamoto is new this year he's been great um uh teachers custodial staff Lunch Ladies they're all fantastic they come to work with a smile on their face ready to treat us and their uh fellow workers but every time I've also had an interaction with people from esparanza Valencia ginda their activities directors principles they've been nothing but kind to me and I'm sure it's the same for their students so all like everyone to recognize our fantastic staff we have have at P USD thank you very much and we are thoroughly enjoying

080your reports yes I'm just being honest it's great I love it I love the energy from over there um okay we're going to move into public comment public comment is an opportunity for the public to provide input to the Board of Education during the public comment period board members do not dialogue with speak or make comments regarding the information shared we have a whopping 51 51 people wishing to speak tonight so that gives us one minute each and actually too if we can Jeremy when the one minute is up if we could cut the mic that might be helpful as well after last board meeting um when you come up we're going to ask the speakers to repeat their name and then um I'm going to call the first four speakers to come forward and

081sit in the first row so you'll be ready for your public comment all right our first four Ed gun Don Miller Paul White and Holly Peach good evening Ed gun 46 7-year resident I asked myself the other day are unions responsible for collective bargaining for pay benefits and working conditions I'm pretty sure that's right so where is it written that they should use their Collective money and the people to take over and run our school boards when a candidate is financed by a union where does their loyalty really lie with the students with the parents I.E the collect the captive taxpayer or basically the employer who pays the Bills or the employees is there loyalty to pay back the Union by scraping the money out of the classroom materials children's Sports Building Maintenance and academic

082programs to increase pay benefits and working conditions sounds icky but that's exactly what some people in our community and In This Very Room want to do and go back to when the school board is rep represents parents and students and the union represents the teachers there is a capitalistic merit-based Synergy of negotiation we not everyone is getting what they dream of or desire but they get a good result listen I don't need people to yell to cut the mic he's very much aware of what he's supposed to be doing thank you very much also can we please let everybody speak and not call out while they're speaking thank you good evening my name is Don Miller I've been a resident for 30 years a parent of three children who graduated from this district and a

083grandmother of three in this district and I speak to you today as a retired assistant superintendent of one of the largest school districts in Orange County I have never seen a superintendent who speaks to some of the board members as subordinates criticizing certain members publicly and even publicly endorsing and financially supporting certain board members for re-elections not un it's unprofessional and it's unethical and when a welle don't have campaign well run District proposes plans to add a program such as a $ 33.6 million plus Universal Sports Institute or Pro proposes to convert current schools into Charter Schools they need to get input from the community this did not happen no transparency and I will say right now some employees in this District have been expressing fear of retaliation and why would they feel this firstly

084we just got done hearing about how wonderful this district is and that doesn't happen without very strong School leaders over 20 plus administrators and cabet members have been dismissed [Applause] my name is Paul White I'm 84 years old and have lived in yinda for 51 years I'm married I have three adult children who also went through the district they're married and they've given me eight grandchildren of the eight grandchildren five have either been in this District or currently in the district and uh when the older ones went to school here um Reading Writing and math were the basics with no woke distraction they did great um one graduated Magnum Lai from UC Santa Cruz and the second is at Dartmouth um in um New Hampshire majoring in uh cyber security um schools should be teaching

085and not [Music] indoctrinating thank thank you very much good evening my name is Holly Peach and I'm a teacher and parent in this District I have four children and they have benefited and flourished under the guidance of many amazing teachers recently I left the teachers union not because I don't love my fellow teachers and want what's best for all of us but because I learned that a significant amount of my dues do not go to my district but instead go to supporting CTA Nea and many of the government policies I do not support many of those policies or organizations so why would I want my money to go to support those Endeavors when Union leadership showed up at my high school and told us all to vote for a particular person I began to realize

086just how political the union had become imagine if the union came in and told any of you who to vote for even after hearing this over eight years ago I still did not leave the union because I needed the Safety and Security that I C thought that came with being a member I was told I could request my money to be refunded or not funneled to political Endeavors needless to say I was angry of spending all my money to support those causes I wish the union was not Poli iCal but it is our next four speakers is Kathy Ballinger Erica Perez Sarah Phillips and Linda Manion uh my name is Cathy Ballinger AP poloo and I'm here this evening to bring to the uh to bring the board's attention to the District's dual Language Academy

087I have two children in the D one in e8th grade one in sixth up until the middle of last year the D had by all accounts been a program severely neglected at the district level thankfully it appears that may be changing with the addition of a TK class and a major program revamp for the elementary program but I'm here to ask what will what is being done for the upper classes of the D again it would appear that they are to be neglected my family has been involved with the DA for almost nine years and after losing the original two founders I can tell you that we have felt like an unwanted exotic pet that no one knew what to do with with all due respect to the amazing presentation we just saw you'll notied

088there was no mention of this almost decade old program thankfully Beth fiser saw the value of our students she worked tirelessly to create a program for us at middle school and continues to do all she can to make the program the best it can be however we continue to lack resources necessary to make this program thank you Erica hello everyone my name is Erica Perez and just like Kathy I have two children in the Dual language program my daughter is in eighth grade and my son is in fourth grade still at Glen viw I would like to continue what Cathy has been saying we have no tosa to oversee our specialized program this work falls on to the admins and teacher who already have their hands full speaking of the teachers did you know that

089they are using their own unpaid time to search for resources and translate their English C curriculum this is unacceptable furthermore those with us with those of us with students in 8th grade still are completely in the dark with what is happening in in high school Beth Fischer spent years preparing for our arrival at Bernardo as we pl as we know planning isn't hasn't even begun for the high school model which would hypothetically need to be ready to accept our students next year the students the parents of the eighth grade students were presented with a model last spring the general consensus amongst this parents was that it hastily thrown together and just something to shut us up thank you good evening my name is Sarah Phillips and I'm the the teacher librarian at y blinda High

090School my Year's off to a great start I haven't come to speak in over a year but I want to let everyone know the library is still well used and students would love to be there I'm in week two of my freshman Library orientations where they learn the rules of the library where everything is in the library how to use the catalog how to find books on the shelves how to do research using books encyclopedias websites and databases all of this is part of being an an information and media literate citizen it's a jam-packed week and I'm thankful the language arts teachers let me have this week with their classes every year the California state legislator passed a law regarding the importance of media literacy across the curriculum so I'm excited to collaborate with teachers

091and all subjects to incorporate media lit Y into their classrooms it is such an important skill to be able to evaluate any source of information for currency reliability Authority and purpose Here's to Us all being informed literate citizens have thank you and good night thanks Sarah Linda Manion as we settle into the 2425 school year I've been reflecting on past school years and the past culture at PUSD that made our school district so unique a school culture is not about an instit institution rather it is about a collection of people with a passion and desire to create an environment that values relationships at Apple we have is saying that an injury to one is an injury to all and to that end I would like to reflect and remember past administrators that help shape our

092past cultur these include Dr Rick Lopez Dr Linda Adamson Richard melind and Tom Craig Dave jodano rungi Joey Davis Jeff GES Missy Samson Scott Missouri Richard Dan Jose Miranda Melanie Carmona Paul Kim Jamie j Jeff Smith Eva Martinez Jane R Julie P they're gone from our district man not from our hearts okay our next speaker will be Gloria Johnson Billy Smith Kristen Howard and Priscilla pus good evening Gloria Johnson sixth grade teacher at Golden how wonderful to hear of the Innovation and revenue and funding available Family Resource Center follows the model of community schools that has become the Hallmark of CTA so that is awesome uh I'm here to speak about what I how I wish uh money would trickle down in P um I wish huge sums of money were not used for a

093select few rather than doing the most good for the most students I wish money went to finishing the Valencia High School kitchen I wish it would cover $100 bus fees and $350 team fees for athletes I wish it would cover contributions from football players of upwards of $800 a person I wish it would give back the counselors removed from non-title one schools because all students deserve support I wish it would go to increasing classroom Supply budgets I get $10 per student $240 for an entire school year for my classroom some only get $5 a year I wish the PE budgets at secondary would go up from1 or2 each I wish imagine what we would do look at the achievement every student every day Smith I'm Billy Smith good evening I'm here tonight because what should

094be a place of civil discussion has become a circus of partisan politics president blades you allow people who agree with your extreme views H to hijack this meeting shouting political slogans during the Pledge of Allegiance displaying ridiculous partisan signs and even speaking long past their time limit meanwhile people who disagree with you are shut down and sorted out teachers dedicated Professionals in this District are bullied slandered right here at this place of work you've even use your official board reports to continue the same attacks you spread on social media you've let your personal politics take priority over the well-being of students staff in this community this Behavior has no place on a school board we deserve leadership that puts education fairness respect first please return this meeting to the professionalism and integrity it once had

095thank you hi my name is Kirsten Howard and I'm a mother of two pyl graduates as a member of this community I am concerned with the overall behavior of this board not only in regards to transparency concerning decisions and its making but also Alo in terms of the actions of the board members during meetings specifically the lack of respect shown to some speakers as a representative to this District I feel it is important that members of The Board model the kind of behavior we wish our students to show including eye contact when someone is addressing them and refraining from conversations or comments with others while an individual is at the podium addressing the board regardless if you agree or not I did it I I find it unfair that certain speakers both on board board

096and in the audience are silenced or removed when their comments are not supported by the board majority and others are allowed to remain in attendance and continue their comments when the board majority supports our comments I ask that the board please be kind the be the kind of model that we want our children to be proud of in closing I would like to commend Marilyn Anderson for her perseverance with this board to provide transparency and to support our teachers Priscilla palasio a few weeks ago I attended a meeting for the Dual language parents in a cluttered and disheveled room at Bernardo that used to be a beautiful Library the library relegated to three separate buildings on campus in which bookshelves now randomly line in the hallways no Library experience for our students no Prov space

097for students to read and interact with literature this is not Innovation the concerns were many and palpable and overwhelmingly surrounded the two new dual language teachers drawn in by the charter school concerns range from one new dual language teacher not having the command of the Spanish language to the degree that his own students have the other new dual language teacher has an adversarial relationship with his students to the point that as a that as one parent expressed their child quote feel going to class this teacher is also while trying to get credentialed having to translate his own curriculum into Spanish on his own time why are our DU language students being taught by ill equipped and ill-prepared Educators thank you this is not putting students first thank you our next four speakers Sarah cabalero Matt

098Wilkerson Diane Hansen and roel flesner okay I'm gonna try to do this fast my name is Sarah cabalero I want to congratulate the board on being able to put the lights in Eldorado High School that being said Mrs Anderson I sat in this very room almost one year to the day October 10th 2023 and spoke publicly with the board allowing the lights to move forward when it came to the vote by the board to move forward you took it upon yourself to make it clear that you would be voting for reasons and I quote I am not voting because I want to ensure that the neighbors are going to be good neighbors it is saddened me at the time that you would choose to put others above the children in our district but you chose

099that and whether I disagreed or not so imagine my surprise when yesterday at the ribbon cutting you were there sitting smiling with a big face and in some way looking responsible for what had been done in many of your actions I have seen you putting you have not seen you putting Children First and yesterday your actions were completely clear you made your decision to vote against the lights being installed and yet you chose to sit there and speak and pray and praise seek the praise and celebratory photo opportunity and took advantage of a situation actions speak volumes and many times more than words yesterday your action solidified my impressions of you as a person who is truly only for yourself and for your own satisfaction inad of those the children good evening Matt Wilkerson parent

100of two kids in the district there is a Turkish proverb that states when a clown moves into a palace he doesn't become a sultan the palace becomes a circus P LD has become a circus under the leadership of superintendent chist and board president blades many of the accomplishments mentioned earlier tonight are simply not true the district grew mainly this year because of State mandated prek the Universal Sports Institute is not making money it's actually costing the district somewhere between 8 and $116,000 per student the numbers are there they're Todd even mentioned that the enrollment of the USI is actually under 90 students not the 150 stated publicly by Miss blades this Administration appears obsessed with shiny distractions and has forgotten what the teachers and administrators who are now heading for the exits they forgotten their

101their contribution that made this District what it was the students and stakeholders of this District simply deserve better good evening Diane Hansen my husband and I have lived in y Belinda for almost 40 years and though we have no children we have spent our entire careers in public education I was taught in this District a million years ago and I spent 30 years in Administration in other districts the purpose of public education is to Bri provide a safe and welcoming environment for all K12 children to promote a sense of longing this board policies and behaviors as I have observed them um in board meetings Etc are not allowing that to happen I have two major concerns the first is that uh Cal State ferton will no longer send student teachers to this District the teachers

102here are incredible and I can't say any more about it they're just phenomenal the impact will be irreputable and then the mass Exodus of 20 to 30 administrators since the spring not because they wanted to leave but the greatest impact has been on our children they're missing out needlessly and being deprive hi I'm Raquel flesner a mom of three in the district and an educator on March 24th of 2023 Leandra blades made a YouTube video attacking my character and daating that I was quote paid for by the teachers union a simple Google search would have shown her that my years as a teacher were spent at a charter school and I have never been a member of any teachers union let alone paid by one I'm just a mom with kids in our schools who's

103concerned about the large number of Administrators and teachers who have left our district among other things Miss blades's tenure on our school board is like a scene from Mean Girls too many of us in this community have been personally victimized on a public platform by Leandra blades our community will come together in November to say PUSD is a place where we respect everyone even when we disagree thank you okay Kimmy Kimmy Ark Kimmy Ark Sue Sawyer Steve sofka and Heather Brown somebody came from the back good evening I'm happy to hear that El Dorado finally got their football lights after 30 years of asking I'm happy to hear about the Family Resource Center at Melrose Elementary School great things are continuing to happen in our school district and I thank the board majority for putting

104our kids first and their decision making your leadership and standing up for parents rights are pivotal in our community you are always transparent with us answering our questions and being open and caring to our concerns to be fiscally responsible without beholden to special interest bureaucrats or the corrupt unions that will do anything for politics selfish agendas and control over the people we will not allow the unions to take over our wonderful district and in dark our children we will not allow the union to strip our children of their innocence and we will not allow the union to take away our parental rights to those children thank you to the board majority for putting our kids first it is your duty as a board member to set aside your personal politics or opinions and remember to

105represent the people that voted to put you there don't disappoint them thank you sue a minute my name is Sue Sawyer I now teach at Valadez Middle School Academy I was involuntarily transferred without a single conversation explanation or phone call along with several other staff members all three esparanza administrators were released early last year and sent home before their contracts were up this wasn't a move for the betterment of our schools this was retaliation plain and simple I have heard SE I have several critical questions how can we expect any positive educational leadership when decision decisions lack transparency or even the basic respect of clear and timely communication we are prioritizing internal politics over the needs of our students why is equipment that could be used to benefit valad students sitting idle at esparanza when

106our students deserve access to it now our students need resources now not months or possibly years down the road why are we spending money to purchase the same equipment we already have Sitting unused how does this align with the values our district claims to uphold where is the professional Integrity where is the ethical leadership these are questions I urge you to consider for all stakeholders every student and every teacher affected by these decisions I'll leave you with this a good leader doesn't create fear and division thank you is Steve sofka here Steve sofka all right Heather Brown I've heard a a lot of negative talk about USI and ocscs as a parent of a student who only this year finally returned to PUSD because of these opportunities I want to thank Dr chernes and the

107board members who voted to bring to make those a reality my son is engaged and he's thriving and whenever anyone asks him how he's enjoying his school year so far he gushes praise for the program he's in we were resigned to never returning to the district before these fresh and Innovative opportunities became reality in PUSD so once again thank you very much you are seen and appreciated thank you thank you the next four lesie Alexander Nelly Raphael Kim Flint and margarite Bennett I'll just go ahead I'm lesie Alexander Mrs buck and Mrs Anderson I understand teachers showed overwhelming support for both of you at the preservance event at the pack their applause was sustained and exuberant in stark contrast the unpopularity of Dr chernis was on full display he received a very chilly response from

108teachers he has earned his unpopularity from the chaos he brings to our schools the following is an example of chaos I experienced as a teacher last school year he eliminated the use of suspension for students with dangerous behaviors the no suspension directive left students with dangerous behaviors on campus including those who had made threats against other students Dr chernis risked the safety of my student students and he risked the safety of my colleagues and myself to make himself look better Dr chernes if the teachers were to take a vote of no confidence how low would that confidence have to be in order for you to finally admit that you are not a good fit for this school district Nelly the teachers union apple is spreading misinformation about our board majority and the budget for USI

109and District charter school they are misleading retired teachers in the community about administrators being fired and claiming teachers have been let go all to create unrest in the community they blame the current board majority even though decisions are made collectively by all five members I would like to emphasize that no teachers have been fired or let go in our district this past school year data shows this past year having a lower turnover and a growing waiting list for our District indicating stability and success you can find this information as I did by contacting the district directly despite claiming to be nonpartisan and supportive of all teachers Apple appears to only support left leaning individuals for leadership positions to sit at the dis I have heard from sources that they create a hostile work environment for

110teachers who do not share the same political views and who do not support these chosen individuals apple is pushing their preferred individuals to control the district disregarding the needs of parents and students who can teachers go to from protection American Association Educators before we continue please allow the speaker to speak without laughing at them and jering at them everybody has a right to speak everybody and and do not be rude and call out let everybody speak whether you agree or not you don't need to clap for them you can clap for who you want but while they're speaking let them speak my name is Kim Flynn I came to talk about thanking I wanted to come and thank the board majority for the lights at El Dorado but that's already been talked about a lot

111of time so I'm totally saying this off the top of my head um I remember back on October 10th of 2023 when Marilyn did vote no against the lights and then to see her to see pictures of her that night was really disgusting I thought it was really distasteful and really disingenuous that she used that as a photo op to try to be one of the good guys stop trying to be one of the good guys and on their shirt CS that's it my name is margarit Benet and I am a 50-year member of your Belinda my husband and I live next to the Orange County School of computer science and Universal Sports Institute we have lived in this house for 36 years and have been good neighbors to the school we are used to

112students being dropped off 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after school since the school open there is more staff at the school this was verified by Mrs given the school vice principal when I personally met with her on September 30th we have never had an issue with parking until this year cars are parked in front of our house all across the street up and down the street several houses and up and down Futura these cars belong to the staff as they are here all day long these are public streets but I want to know where the people that service our homes therapists gardeners housekeepers Etc and our family and friends are supposed to park I have spoke to the mayor of Y Belinda Mr Tony Wang in charge of traffic I sent an email to

113miss blades and to rich thank you please solve this problem thank you the next four speakers Julie kenberg Andy manino Sam Movic and Mark Fury Julie clink BG first shout out to all our amazing teachers and coaches who continue to work and serve our community during an uneasy time you are our heroes and we are so thankful for you secondly I want to thank trustees Mrs Anderson and Mrs Buck you are the are the only trustworthy ones on the dis the two of you remain calm confident and classy you continue to take your board position seriously you read the agenda you do your homework you research items you come prepared with critical questions thank you for trying to keep my hard-earned taxpayer contributions in a budget that supports all students not just an elite few

114you are intelligent informed and you are inquisitive when things around here just don't seem right you demonstrate how to hold someone accountable by being assertive that's firm yet respectful you are a shining example of what public education officials should be champions for students staff and families working together peacefully cooperatively and transparently all while demonst ating Grace Under Pressure you make me proud to be an American and an active citizen in her community I look forward to more future success good afternoon or evening I guess uh my name is Ando maneno I have uh two special needs students in our wonderful District uh and it's unfortunate that it seems the board has been distracted by the newest shiny thing which seems to come in the form of us I and I don't really understand why we're

115spending all this money on this one particular program when it sounds like there's so many other things that need help I also keep hearing from people supporters of the board majority that teachers aren't leaving but we have different teachers every year I had a really talented teacher who was wonderful to my my non-verbal autistic son and she's not here this year she is in a completely different place there was no indication that she was not going to be here this year but lo and behold oh like a week before the uh school year started got a firste teacher no offense to her she's a wonderful person but that's doesn't driive at all with the idea that somehow people aren't leaving um that's about it I just very disappointed and also sixer tyrannis my name is

116Sam movich it is impossible to believe when at the September session board president blades claimed to be unaware that the County Board had used The Proposition 39 loophole to impose the Magnolia charter school in our district without either the consent or even the notification of our board the County Board had made it a public matter and all five members of the County Board are Associates of President blades they know that she will ultimately further the interest of those who stand to benefit from the expansion of the Magnolia charter school the California republic Leadership Academy and the Orange County classical Academy what these Charter Schools will do is drain average daily attendance money from our district into the pockets of the administrators of these three Charter School schemes the County Board is currently using our taxpayer

117money to recruit students into schools over which we will have no say on curriculum hiring materials and maintenance we will still be paying the bills we will just not have a voice in what bills get paid and to whom they will get paid the same people who support these charter schools and home school schemes have endorsed the candidates uh in our district as well thank you my name my name is Mark Fury and I've spoken many times one of the last times was two years ago on behalf of my mom who taught here in this district for 25 years and trying to explain to her the role of a union today versus the role of the Union when she was in the union and that is benefits pay Etc how did they get involved in

118the curriculum I could not explain to my mom how so much is involved in the curriculum I'm actually very disappointed that the campaign out there is save our schools and the people who voted for the majority of this board we save the schools did you see all the results if you guys are teachers here and you believe in your kids you should be up there Standing Ovation amen so you don't need to be a part of the Union cannot speak to the public thank you our next four Sam calvitti David Peterson Andy Falco and Shanny Murray all right my name is Sam kelita my wife Monica and I have put nine children through this District since 199 93 all of whom have advanced degrees from universities across the country and we have been very pleased

119with the district with regard to the programs here at the USI there's a lot of dissension disagreement out there but one thing we can all rally around and that is the well-being of our children childhood obesity teen suicide drug use and depression are all times highs these programs that the board has brought forth lets us single in on these children their needs and to be able to enable them to have a means and a way to creatively or effectively do what needs to be done to facilitate a recovery in this so I say you know what if it's good for the kids then it's good for all of us thank you thank you David David uh Dave Pon and I think 42 years in your Belinda um two points today first one is for Marilyn

120Marilyn I learned a lot this year as the last couple months I've been at the board meetings um I thought that board members had access to all the information they needed and at P they don't you had to put public requests in to get information that should have been readily available and you were patient and you're perseverant and I thank you the second item is tonight's agenda uh um the state of the district was scheduled for September and obviously that had to be redone but all of a sudden put into a board meeting well we were blessed by finding all things that have happened but the community missed out uh really this should have been done like in four Town councils based on the four High School feeder areas that way people could interact from

121the community in the high schools um consider it for next year thank you hello I've had about six kids in this District over the last 20 years and um I have one son who just could not seem to get the hang of school he was was sad before he'd go to school he was sad when he came home but this year is at the Orange County School of Computer Sciences and I have never seen such a big smile on his face he wakes up early he waits for me at the door so he can be there uh and he stays late for the first time he stays after school to do after school programs it is an amazing School Dr fiser Dr chis Leander blades Todd and Sean and Dr Gates and everybody else that's

122done a amazing job with ocscs uh I just I just cannot thank you enough you've changed his life um and he looks forward I asked him how his day was instead of getting the normal it's okay like I did with the other kids he tells me how his day was and what things he's doing he's they're making um animatronics a whale and was able to tell me all about it today and so he's very excited about what's happening so I just really appreciate it he was the one son that I kind of was worried about I don't think have to worry about him anymore he's come out of his shell he has more friends than he's ever had before and I just love uh the man that you thank you thank you hi Shanny Murray

123I want to thank the association of Placentia Linda Educators Apple the majority of our wonderful p teachers are Apple members so you say teachers are good you're saying our Union is good thank you Apple for working to create the best possible learning environment for our students I also want to thank Marilyn for supporting our students and pushing for greater transparency it's disappointing to hear that you have to file a public records request to get budget information that should be readily available to you thank you for being such a diligent and dedicated board member finally this is my last year as a p parent but I would still love to see us return to having semesters that are the same length I appreciate the move to end the first semester at winter break but doing so

124without moving up the school year makes no sense please return to the original P plan of moving the school year up thank you the next four D Lawrence rler Carol Tucker Amy Sanchez and Doug Thompson D Lawrence RAR this community deserves better despite numerous requests from two sitting board members a large contingent of the public multiple formal public records requests the current leadership of the PUSD has refused to be transparent or fiscally responsible we have made available today a series of emails that the district has failed to provide members of the board the public that evidence several Lies We have been and are continuing to be told on an almost daily basis when they stalled defl and deflected and gave us everchanging excuses apparently they failed to realize that each of their Communications had two

125sides thank you for the Department of State architects who who promptly providing us the information that this District apparently did not want us to see tonight you will hear a series of comments describing just one example of how this board majority and the superintendent intentionally misled the public and fellow board members the statements were Not Mere Spin and Bluster they were outright falsehoods intended to advance a personal Carol Tucker we have heard so many excuses is dating back to the first discussion about USI regarding its extent ex exempt status our superintendent certain members of this body and a select few members of the public have been insisting that this project was exempt from review by the DSA in fact they repeatedly went so far as to claim that they possessed a letter a letter confirming

126this Project's exempt status guess what there was no such letter it never existed we can now document what the superintendent knew and when he knew it for those that don't know the DSA acts as the equivalent of your local city building inspector accordingly they stand as our only protection against unsafe unlawful building practices thank you two factors establish the know knowing falsity of their claims first trustee Marilyn Anderson filed a formal public records request asking for a copy of this alleged exemption letter after being repeatedly denied access to this critical piece of information necessary for her to make an in an informed decision about the USI why a sitting board member had to make a formal public records request for something that should be read as L accessible to all sitting members of this body

127remains a disturbing mystery but I digress in response to said request the district only provided Marilyn Mrs Anderson with a copy of a publication entitled DSA IR a22 this document is nothing more than a genetic generic advisory publication it certainly does not amount to a letter stating that a particular project was exempt from DSA review the second factor is May 17th email from the DSA that is included in the packet the email lists 10 separate reasons why the USI project was unequivocally not exempt from review by the DSA the superintendent knew about this letter yet he failed to disclose this critical information to either the public or to at least two sitting board members instead he and the board majority have spent the last few months trying to deflect and shift blame to a prior

128board after the DSA effectively shut down the caloma site pending compliance the May 17th email explicitly notes that the fire sprinklers were merely part of one of 10 separate in issues cited by the DSA as reasons this project was not exempt from review and even the issue had been grossly mischaracterized as recently as I the next four speakers Carrie Brunell Alysa Hamilton Lindsay Glennon and Anita [Music] Lee the fire sprinkler issue is far more nuanced than represented by the superintendent and board majority this is the real issue the caloma site has been miscategorized as a business building rather than an educational building for quite some time this error was not discovered until the DSA began to investigate the site following inquiries from the public this error did not result in the DSA believing there were

129sprinklers previously installed as claimed by trustee blades rather it meant that the DSA did not believe fire sprinklers were required at the site state law requires that design professional re review and sign off on all district projects just so happens the same design professional signed off on both Buena Vista Virtual Academy and USI if the superintendent is determined to assign blame for this particular issue he should redirect his rage in this direction the failure of our design professional to properly disclose that both of these project involved the presence of involve the presence of our students is not something we would want any of our board members [Applause] to regardless of the apparent casaloma zoning error the superintendent and the board majority appear to have entirely missed the point as to why the DSA gets involved

130in the first place one reason is to catch the oversights of this nature had the USI project gone forward without review as clearly intended by the superintendent and board majority the USI would currently be operating at a site without at the very least proper fire safety equipment we have to believe that every member of the board would find this situation unacceptable yet the majority supported the Hast the Hasty approval of the USI when there was information available to say pump the brakes on this project either blades Frasier and young BL were complicit in this apparent coverup or they too were kept in the dark but if that was the case they each failed to engage in at least a modum of due diligence included but not limited to reviewing the documents we have made available

131tonight or reaching out directly to the DSA for clarification before rubber stamping a project of this nature either way this conduct was a breach of trust thank you trustees blades and Fraser seemed to have intentionally attempted to mislead us all at one point stating that they had seen this non-exec non-existent exemption letter at best their conduct amounted to willful ignorance more likely it appears to represent complicity this particular conduct does not represent concern about the students or the rights of parents to the contrary aside from the potentially disastrous fiscal concerns this group appears to have been willing to sacrifice the safety of our students teachers and staff in order to hastily approve a vanity project regardless of our political or philosophical differences this entire Community should be unified in our outrage Over The Reckless manner

132in which the superintendent and board majority appear to have chosen personal vanity over the safety of our students teachers and staff thank you looking deeper into the packet you'll receive you'll see an email from Dr chernis to the state Architects dated April 14th 2024 this one's outrageous first the superintendent specifically called out baselessly by name a Community member who actually had no direct or indirect contact with the state Architects recall this is the very same superintendent who intimated falsely that trusty Anderson had outrageously contacted the DSA in an email that he distributed inappropriately and unprofessionally to select members of the public with a vindictive call for them to take action against her his subsequent defense was that he was only asking a question that's wholly inconsistent with his call for Action even today knowing truste

133Anderson had no contact with the DSA after all has he apologized or issued a retraction of course not that would require humility and honesty our next speakers are Fran Hanley Jeffrey suard Julie sard and Linda huh Fran Hanley the superintendent's tactic of hurling basis claims against his perceived opponents with no accountability seems to be a pattern once again in the April 14th email he made a call for Action this time he asked the state official not to respond to a member of the public under what Authority does he believe that it would be a roate to ask a state official to breach his duty to the public finally in response to the dsa's inquiry about the USI project kis stated that the scope of this project did not exceed $119,000 really the scope of this

134multi-million dollar project multiphased project did not exceed $119,000 was he intentionally trying to mislead the DSA on behalf of the placent yor Lindon School District was he actively committing an unlawful project sub division in order to avoid DSA review was he really unaware that the installation of a turf field is subject to review regardless of cost due to accessibility issues whatever his motivation this conduct could have resulted in serious danger subjected the district exposing each and every board member the final part of the packet relates to the Orange County School of computer science this project was almost certainly subject to DSA review yet the project was not submitted for review despite voice concerns nor did the district request an exemption concurrence letter a simple process costing only $400 if the superintendent and board majority believed

135these projects were exempt from DSA review ask yourself why in the face of expressed public concern they would not have availed themselves of this process the only rational answer is that they knew these projects were not exempt and they did not want to formally expose themselves to inconvenience scrutiny as the packet documents the DSA has had no contact with the Bernardo yoris site for about two years both the OC Cs and the hastily relocated USI do not even appear on their radar as we also know the DSA was not the only one kept in the dark about the midnight relocation of the USI neither the public nor at least two board members were notified of the superintendent's intent to relocate the USA project during the summer Hiatus without board approval Julie suard wasn't really too

136much to ask that a special board meeting be called to discuss a major change to a project that was hastily approved in a separate special board meeting and they have the nerve to claim they are the most transparent Administration in the history of this District apparently no lessons were learned from the Casal Lomo debacle all this controversy could have been avoided by simply complying with the state law as with any bureaucracy such compliance would likely have resulted in a short delay however avoiding a potentially inconvenient delay does not justify ignoring state law and jeopardizing the safety of our students teacher and staff this was just the latest example of how the superintendent and board majority are unwilling to follow the rules when they conflict with their personal agendas this has nothing to do with parents

137rights or school choice these phrases have been weaponized in order to order the district and divide the public for personal gain as we said in the opening this community deserves better woo when it dies down you can [Applause] start Linda con I didn't quite understand those last 10 speakers Somebody explain afterwards maybe but uh uh here we have increased enrollment we've got incredible incre stop the time please who's calling out that me can you please stop and let the woman speak let's start our time again please where was I increased enrollment increased test scores that hasn't even been mentioned we've got UCI that's making us I think a million dollars we've got parent reports that kids are delighted with these Innovative programs we have a 12% raise over the last three years for our teachers

138and yet the union is very unhappy with you guys at least most of you not all um my question to the union is Let's Be transparent Union uh members of the Union have stated that their desire is to take back this board and their first action is going to be to buy out Mr cheses or Dr ch's contract at the sum of 3 thou $375,000 I guess they may buy out everyone up there uh to get rid of him um and they're going to bring back the uh uh the calate Fullerton student teachers so that they can teach CRT and [Music] gender gender ideology our next speakers are Karen Mark Holt Maria leita stubs and Tiffany Dale I've been in support of Leandra blades since the very beginning and my support of her has only

139grown stronger despite the harassment I get for doing so from lots of these people back here she not only did exactly what she promised she would do she's done even more than I ever expected despite having to deal with the never-ending onslaught of disgusting and vitriolic attacks against her and her family even her kids thanks to her along with Dr chernes and the current board majority our students now have additional learning options to help them excel in their academics yet the union continues to try to sabotage these successes and spreads horrendous lies about Leandra and Dr chernis and what's happening in the district they scare teachers and parents with lies like the district is getting rid of AP classes in an effort to create the very chaos they claim only they can fix they want

140to go back to the way things used to be well we don't we love the direction the district is going and it's now students first with parent involvement growing enrollment and Rising test scores the community needs to get one thing perfectly clear the have thank you I'm pleasantly surprised Facebook said a lot of you had f and Claws and things like that but uh so my name is Mark Hy I've been a resident of Y Belinda for over 25 years my wife and I have raised our kids here three of four still are attending schools here as well tonight I want to acknowledge the tremendous progress of our school board has made with many challenges and difficulties you have stayed strong even in the face of opposition personal attacks and agendas that put selfish desires

141and resentments before learning Independence and success of our kids and also trying to take choices away from parents and raising their own kids so I commend you your teams and your great work and your perseverance and steadfast persistence to fight through the noise to do what is best for our kids in our schools and our community you've made significant strides from expanding academic programs and increasing Mental Health Resources improving facilities all to create a safe nurturing and inspiring environment for every student equally this progress is a testament of your commitment and teamwork always ensuring that the decisions are made with the best interest of the students in mind thank you that's it good evening everyone Maria lups um as an area 2 constituent I have a clear perspective on the board's positive work um for

142pigd students and families because I've attended these meetings over the past four years regularly and so what I want to say is that if I only relied on information from my area to that truste Marilyn Anderson here um gives to her constituents then the perspective that I would have on this board would be very negative and let me explain trusty Anderson has been telling her constituents that this board is grossly overspending on programs and Facilities by three times the actual amount I know this because I speak to those constituents so if trusty Anderson continues to negatively and dishonorably Miss representative board and superintendent I believe it would be best for her to step down Asa misleading constituents is both disrespectful and unproductive even if you might think it'll get you relected it just want thank

143you you Tiffany hi I'm Tiffany I have uh two children that gone through the district and I just want to express my gratitude to the current board majority for their unwavering commitment to our parental rights it's disheartening to see us labeled as extremists simply for advocating to protect our children a former principal and un candidates have dismissed our concerns as a non-issue suggesting that it's merely a sensationalized topic meant to draw attention to our so-called extremist viewpoints however these are not extremist viewpoints just one example in our state is Chico Unified School District their model adopts the uh prohibiting School Personnel from disclosing a CH a child's gender ident identity 11-year-old experien gender dysphoria was socially transitioned using an affirmation model until the mother was able to step in and get health support mental health

144support for her daughter who since has now decided not to identify as a boy I commend our board majority for standing firm in the fight for parental rights and for recognizing the urgent need to protect our children our last three speakers Joselyn owski Crystal Noble and Joey Davis Jocelyn your first I've been here over 20 years I've seen several superintendant come and go I can attest that Dr chernes is revolutionary he is the best fit for our district Dr chernis asked the staff to dream big and that's happened he and our board majority have made Big Dreams happen before them I heard a lot of talk with very limited action we are now not only dreamers but doers Leandra blades is a woman of action when she sees or hears of an issue she gets

145answers um and she hears a good idea she sees it it gets done light said Aldo that's action the things that's closest to my heart is a charter at ocscs this is um a parents dream a school focused on meeting Learners where they are and helping them to become leaders um I typically champion champion marginalized students and students with identified disabilities this inclusion program has been amazing thank you Leandra and the board majority for making these dreams happen and making um dreams come true thank you for saving the schools hello Crystal Noble I have three children in the district um I just wanted to thank the board I don't have anything prepared tonight but I thought I'd come I thought it was really important for me to speak um thank you Dr chernes Dr Gates

146Dr Yang all the board members here Dr blade or Mrs blades U Mr Fraser Mr Young Gun even Marilyn Anderson and Gary Buck I thank you for for your time I know this takes a lot out of your personal time and family so I really appreciate it I know the community members on both sides appreciate all of your time and dedication to our students in our school district um I definitely want to thank the board majority and Dr ches and Dr gates for the focus on students and parental rights that is definitely something that's very very important to me and to a lot of people here um I also want to congratulate you on a lot of success you're having even though you're we're hearing a lot of misinformation from behind us um I am

147speaking to a lot of people in the community am getting a lot of teachers who actually former teachers who wanted me to speak tonight and say that they're getting a lot ofure from the union thank you my name is Joey Davis I'm here as a 50-year resident of Placentia and I spent the last 18 years as an administrator in PUSD the last eight as principal of El Dorado High School last spring we started to hear rumors about administ ators being let go or pushed out I can tell you that those weren't just rumors administrators in P were often harassed and District leadership created a toxic environment we were called into HR for minor incidents put on leave without cause several were given an hour to clean out their office and then escorted to their car

148like a common criminal in January I was told I wouldn't be back at El Dorado and I was offered a job at the district office there was one condition I would have to lie and tell everyone that I wanted to leave Eldorado High School I declined that opportunity in February I was given a letter that indicated I would be released or reassigned and I would be notified of the details by June 30th the letter contained a lie it indicated that the board had approved the letter I received but according to public statements made by board members my fate was not discussed in closed session thank you let's go to consent all right let's move on to consent calendar actions proposed for the consent calendar items are consistent with approved practice is a district and our

149deem ntin in nature the trustees receive board agenda backup information advance of scheduled meetings does anybody else want to interrupt our meeting if you do just please leave [Music] who's we're not going to let them interrupt our meeting let's just continue on whoever is going to disrupt our meeting move get out of the get out of the [Music] room Luke I understand you need to leave that would be great thank you so much you're welcome have a good night Luke all right good job Luke you should get a medal sitting I can I come with you Luke yeah if you help me with my econ assignment yeah okay once again we're going to the consent calendar actions proposed for the consent calendar items are consistent with approved practices of the district and are deemed routine

150in nature the trustees receive agenda backup information Advance the schedule meetings and are prepared to vote with knowledge on the Block vote items are there any items that need to be pulled tonight yes I'd like to pull 18.2 19.22 1922 1922 Y and 213 okay so that's 18.2 19.22 and 21.3 okay all right then I need a move I need a motion to approve the following items except the ones that were pulled I'll make a motion to approve the consent calendar as amended second I have a motion by Mr Frasier I have a second by Mrs Buck all those in favor I I I I motion carries 5 Z point of order there's no 19.22 oh okay thank you 12 21 21's the last one you are correct it's 1921 1921 okay so we'll amend

151the pulled item to 1921 all right so we had a uh a vote 5 that's approved so 18.2 Maryland please okay I would like to make a motion to approve the warrant listing and the following amounts check number 266 952 through 26784 2 current year expenditures from September 1st 2024 through September 28th 2024 for 15 million and payroll registration um registers for three plus million I second okay I have a motion from Mrs Anderson I have a second by Mr Young Blood okay um I pulled this item because I had some questions about some of the things that were listed and I I kind of wanted to discuss them so first um and and we got an excellent explanation of about this but because I've been questioned about it I wanted to bring it up

152um Warren 8200 26 7284 for the crla Y Belinda for $35,790 one 8 8200 26 7284 284 and crla okay you want to know what it is yeah you can you explain to the public why we giving a 135,000 to um yes so California Republic Leadership Academy absolutely so the the crla charter was approved by the Orange County Board of Education and they are located within our School District boundaries and as such as the the District of residents or since they're in our boundaries we are obligated to provide a pass through of our property tax money uh to that Charter and um we do that every we're going to be doing that every month and uh what happens is the state actually we plug this into our lcff calculator and the state backfills us for

153all of that money that we pass through to this Charter because they're a they're a county proof Charter so because of that passes through we get re the money refunded to us if you will through our own lcff calculator from the state so it it isn't a uh it's got a a net neutral effect on the district um but it does cause you know basically cash flow going out and then we have to wait for the state to back fill us how long does it take for the backf um well we receive our our funding every every month um from the state but we get it in uh what's called the 995 which is we get 9% for the first two months and then 5% for the rest of the years rest of the months

154throughout the year so it just depends on how much where it falls so it it averages out management it averages out over the year okay so to be clear that money is not reducing our budget or taking money away from any of our students because we're getting backfilled from the state to pass that through yes correct um it's just if students are attending then we would lose Ada from that sure if the students leave for the charter understood yes are are the students that are attending the charter residents in our district so that they weren't going to that Charter and they were attending public school they would be attending our schools so according to the starter um um they have about 90 students and I believe they said 60 were were uh from the district

155okay thank you thanks for explaining that okay the other question I have is there's several expenses here for um construction out of the are for USI out of the um developer fees and they add up to like um Easter Day construction for 19,000 um univers the trading center for 10,000 out of the oh never mind that one I skipped sorry um Deluxe painting income ink for 31,000 Easter Day construction another one for what's your question about it well let me just I I'll get to the question let me just explain what I'm talking about first um 28,000 signat flooring for 33,000 uh SEO electric lighting for 2,000 Easter Day construction for 31,000 um fence from J M Justice fence company for 25,000 um Sierra School equipment for 7,000 Studio architect Plus for 9,000 and then

156um SEO electric lighting for 32,000 so my question all of these are um related to the construction of USI is that correct they're related to that that uh project yes yes and so that comes out at about um $245,000 so this these are additional construction cost for USI I should have clarified it it's both for OCS s and USI so for the campus it did for the campus um but there but it it does include for both yes okay do we know what the difference is between the two I I I don't at this moment okay I mean but we can get more detail on that so and and we didn't get uh DSA approval correct not not for these items so so these so if you go through them and I think when when

157we provided the explanation um most of them are they're paint they're they're putting up signage they're doing things that are wouldn't fall under DSA uh requirements yeah the the flooring is is not um it's um removable which is which is one of the conditions for DSA yeah so did we did we get the exemption letter for these no okay so these items when you add them up they're over what the exemption but it has to be for the cost Associated to the things that are DSA approval requirements it's the type of work being done so so it depends on on not only the cost but also the type of work do we get DSA approval for anything done on any campus over 118,000 we do a lot of work at different campuses so we do

158when you add this up to what we spent at training lab right and all of those are cost but you can't subdivide and that was for equipment that was for equipment what I I can't question question why is it why is it that you seem bent on finding a problem no I'm protecting the district and I'm protecting myself you're you're protect the district the district is doing things like you're pulling up warrants about very basic expenditures that happen all over the district all the time at one location you're not doing the same thing at every site which is very shange to me because if you look through the warrants there's those kind of expenses at every side across the district so if you're going to do this why aren't you it's the complexity and that

159is what you didn't pull you didn't pull you didn't ask for DSA about the Melrose the Family Resource Center and they sent a lot of questions about DSA approval in this and they were all you're not questioning that we just spent a bunch of money on the floor and you're not questioning that those I asked on those completed projects if we got DSA approval and I and it was shown that we did so I think that's an unfair question I think I I think your line of questioning is unfair to the micromanaging of staff that we have in place is doing a phenomenal job if there was something that you found like oh this is a problem yes absolutely but you're I think there is a problem especially when you go through this email chain

160with the district that we got on our desk I haven't read the whole thing but it talks about how you can't subdivide I'd like I'd ask that and I want to look more into this Miss Anderson the packet of emails you have are attorney client privileged emails the fact that DSA decided to wave privilege and produce this is of legal consequence to them please do not disclose these emails even though the public has it everyone of these emails has our attorney on it and reading these emails right now is subject the district subject to liability we do not wave privilege the board never voted to wave privilege and disclose this information this this information and this is exactly why when we get p with our with Communications between the district and Council we do not

161produce it so the fact that this Community member came in and sent us a packet of emails with our attorneys on it attorney client privilege materials and cast dispersions on us not delivering these to them in a p is absolutely unacceptable and wrong they're actually public documents so these are attorney client privilege the board never voted to discl to wave privilege on these documents the DSA gave them out because they are required to by law that's not true no emails with is not this is attorney client privileged product of the district and we do not disclose this on PR and I and you're right I'll have to look into the legality of um an alternate party disclosing privileged materials but if this were to come up in the court of law none of this would

162be applicable this is all our property it's attorney client privilege we do not ever prod I never saw it even though I asked things not ever produce so at what point do board members get information we do not ever well I will go back and see when we can discuss that in close session but we do not we do not produce attorney client privilege and you you all know that I've been looking for this information for months and I did a PR I would I would advise that we agendize it for closed session this is attorney client privileged information back to the warrant yeah we really got way off base did you have a another question no that was it I'm just um protecting myself and the district because of the you keep talking about

163protecting as board no but we're we're in the line of doing our duty as the board and and as we do our duty there are duties that are done by those that run the district and you keep saying that we're going to be liable for things that are listed in here and that may be true for some things but there are several things that you brought up that AR that is not true you're I think you're placing this in a in a very strange priority when you're talking about these things because it's only about USI and ocscs so if I could just interject a minute we've asked over number of times about more information on USI and the ocscs budget it's not something that is unheard of as board members we should be able to

164do that it's not hard to do everything is coded so pulling all of that information to send to us shouldn't be that difficult that's our job so if we're not getting that information and then we should be able to request it and without getting it how are we going to make decisions so the DSA and things that have to do with facilities and getting approval is the one thing that we can be held financially liable of as a board member the district can't protect us they if we have any damage anything that happens to any students over there they can come after us individually so protecting our own selves is totally appropriate no it's I believe I so she can ask questions she can ask questions and then if she doesn't feel if she doesn't

165feel like she's getting the answers then she should be able to ask again you say it's not consistent because these are two new projects two new projects that shecs all thee all the preschools on there have DSA but since 2013 there were students at that PDA facility yep and you were all on the board then for the last I wasn't and so now that we have more questions about it and we ask more about what DSA is what is happening with it they come out and give us a report where apparently there are 10 different violations that go beyond what we were actually told ini asking that this discussion is so we should have been privileged to all of the never privilege of this of this information it shouldn't be in the public domain right

166now it should be in the board privilege like I said I think we're H we're happy to discuss this in close session have our attorney in but but you know very well the district does not disclose this information to the public and the fact the DSA that you know very well that the district does not disclose information with Council on it this is our property and the fact that DSA disclosed this information I don't believe was the correct position but I'm not attorney but we will look into that cuz I don't think this is disclosable I also think too that everyone knows about ocscs and then you know in USI and it's been up and running for so why do we continue to pull this and talk about DSA stuff we're not using that building

167obviously that's why the project was diverted to ocscs but you continue to hammer every single expenditure and then talk about DSA over and over and over again when it's up been running people have been in the thing it's it's obviously moving and that building is having the fire sprinklers put in it's having all these things put in so I just don't understand is it every single board meeting is it going to be what do you want from this I want Pro done correctly close I prove that it's done correctly R and I want an exemption letter I want to be able to not appr bring this up every month can't get an exemption letter for something that doesn't fall under DSA approval yes you can for for the yes you can for the for painting

168a well we're going to get we're going to go get DSA approval for everything that we do it's not painting a wall it's building u u ocscs and USI it is building there was nothing built we brought equipment equipment in okay that's not what DSA said it's not DSA says we should talk bu they said that we don't cost are required what building are they talking the other building they haven't even been out to OCS because there was nothing built so you're talking about another building that is not even being used right nows is a school facility the issue with the PDA is it was um it was categorized as a non-school commercial the kid should never have been in there period and that's what they came out and said ocscs is a school it's

169already a school use facility all we did is bring equipment in there there's no DSA letter required for painting walls if we want to get into that then I believe you know treat every program in the district equally right require this from everything and let's hire a bunch of more people and and and check everything and audit everything we do to single this out is it's ridiculous especially a program that's successful in helping kids do you want it to fail is that what you want I want to be able to give it a stamp of approval car you've told me you want it to be successful you just have concerns yes and those concerns have never been addressed we provided you a budget not a full budget you've consistently asked for enrollment we provided you

170enrollment I get an approximate you've said you you said you want it to reach more kids we've now reached 100 hundreds of kids so again we can agendize this in the future but we are providing the information that is necessary but I do question these emails being in the public domain I think you should look at number six from the DSA because it clearly States including demolition please do not disclose this document but you see you're talking about the caloma address you're not talking about the have you been to USI no I have asked and I haven't been there yet okay so you haven't been okay so you haven't been to USI yet so you don't even know what facility you're talking about they're talking about the castala address was the one that needs DSA

171that is stopped as been said tonight it has been stopped and every the sprinklers are going in there's nobody allowed in the building because there shouldn't have been anybody in that building since 20 2013 so that's the building they're talking about about DSA they are not talking about ocscs and USI because nothing was torn down there was equipment moved in and things were painted that's it it was already there I mean basically they we received any letters from the DSA about you ocscs or about any projects over there in the last year any communication no we don't have anything official from them um what about the roofing projects I did districtwide the roofing projects since they were repair don't require DSA approval for that which are million dooll projects by the way and which I

172asked at the last meeting and and they don't require DSA but here we are talking about painting a wall and you want a DSA exemption letter yeah because equipment is included in the cost equipment of what equipment why don't we read the emails and then have a me me about it yeah let's all read these emails get some more information and have a meeting about it but I'm going to vote no against this just because I feel like I am as well missing information all right then let's move for a vote all those in favor I I I all those opposed no no all right motion carries three to two 19 19. 21 need a motion please I'm turning Pages I'll make a I'll make a motion to accept the gifts as listed as such

173action as being in compliance with Ed code 41032 and direct the superintendent send letters of appreciation I'll second I have a motion from Mrs Anderson I was second by Mr Fraser okay I pulled this item because as I was reading through the gifts there's many many gifts um from school ptas for outdoor science camp and according to our budget that we approved last September on the um Arts M and constructional block grant we set aside 400,000 for last year this year and next year to be spent on outdoor science camp and we have spent now last year as was in the display about $27,000 for it so that means we have a surplus of200 plus we have the 400 from this year to spend on outdoor science camp and I just want to make sure

174that this money is getting spent on the kids this is what this money was spent for I know that we cannot um continue to supplement outdoor science camp indefinitely we just don't have those kind of funds but we have this block of money for through next year and I just want to make sure it's being spent and that we have 600,000 and I think Mrs Young what did you say you you estimated the cost to send everyone to science camp I was it like Mr Stein estimated about 700,000 yeah so we're only about 100 for one year right and then we have the next year we have the 400,000 set aside through the end of next school year yes yeah so we had like I said we had 400 for last year 400 for this

175year and 400 for next year and then the the grant money runs out we can't spend it so I want to make sure we're spending it on the kids and that all kids are getting supplemented I think every family in this District would appreciate a little break on that and even if they know that it's not you know Perpetual that this is kind of like a one-time gift that we we should make sure that this money is spent accurately and how it was intended and that's why I pulled this item how are we handling that sure the way that we're handling it now is that schools are fundraising and any schools who are short or any students are families who are short are being completely scholar shipped so we're Distributing the money in an equitable

176Manner and that students who need it are getting it so not a set amount per student but however much each student needs to go is there reason that it was only 200,000 last year was just because of that's all that was requested all that was requested mhm I'm just thinking as a mom I remember one year when my kids went to Ruby Drive that somehow our principal wrote a grant and we all got subsidized like $100 and it was very nice and appreciate it sure and I know that we have kids that need 100% but I think every kid could use a little break and especially since we didn't use it all last year the chances of us using it all this year and that money is still there in the bank for this purpose

177so is there a question well I just want to make sure that somehow we're going to you know somehow we need to get together spend it as intended do we anticipate we won't be able to spend the entire amount is that a possibility uh we don't know this year we might you know families may need 600,000 so by the end of this school year then we'll know exactly what's less of the the 12 12 right yeah so then okay so then next year we would have a conversation about hey we have X amount left yeah I think the last year is probably a good way to if we have extra money then then we subsid utilize it to subsidize yeah more families yeah because this could be a tough year there could be a lot

178more families that need it very true very true all right let's move for a vote all those in favor I I I all right motion carries 5 Z 21.3 please I'd like to make a motion to approve the certificated human resource report second I have a motion by Mrs Anderson I second by Mr Young Blood okay I pulled this one um because there was a lot of um coaches for Park View and we got a really good explanation but I had been asked this by um some community members so I just wanted um that information to go out to the public sure they're listed under park viiew because Dr Taylor Holloway is the assistant director of Athletics and so all noes that are submitted under athletic are submitted under her location code and because she

179is physically located at USI it is under the Park View location so it is four Middle School volleyball coaches for each of our middle schools but you will notice that uh it will be listed under park viiew for many athletic things because Dr Holloway will be the one approving the noes okay it's six coaches yes one for each Middle School okay is is there a reason why we don't assign it to each middle school or Bill it toward school so that it shows exactly what is being spent for those schools so they are actually build all out of am imbg the Middle School athletics program and so because she is the approver we don't want to put that one work on the middle schools to have to submit the noes but also she coordinates the

180program you know with Sarah Barton's assistance so we can look at I'm sure we've not it in the Noe under the description which schools each of these coaches is supporting but that wouldn't NE necessarily show on this certificated Personnel report does it artificially inflate Park View as a result you mean their cost it's just a different resource so it it's not part of the general fund uh it's part of the restricted part of the general fund so not really okay is there a reason why some coaches are paid more than others some of the coaches are on have half stiens some of are on full stiens depending on the ratio of students that they have okay so it depends on how many kids are in the program at the middle school is what they get

181paid correct correct okay thank you all right call for one other question um also listed um is for $40,000 a stip in for sterley Jones um for a consultant for Park viw so he's our USI coach as we explained to you earlier so he does the before school speed agility for all district kids we're serving 120 kids each quarter and then in addition to what he does during the day which so it's 10 hours before school 10 hours during the day so 20 hours a week so wouldn't we typically split a salary or do something like that or how does why would why were we doing a stipend instead of doing it a salary just that's hours it's total hours it's an estimated amount so just an hourly rate it's an hourly rate yeah okay

182okay CU it looks like in the HR report it's a stien yeah no it's not it's it's his hourly rate of I think $50 okay and that's the estimate for the whole year in hours thank you for that thank you for that explanation all right call for a vote all those in favor I I I and I'm an i motion carries is 5 Z we'll now go to the communication and board reports go ahead Carrie thanks I have been gone for the last couple of weeks so I haven't been out doing a lot but um I did have the chance to go to the Family Resource um centeri ribbon cutting um it's nice to see that opening and um all the work that's being done there um I um also doing some prep work for

183cba's conference I'll be presenting with North Orange County Roop uh superintendent there for one of the um presentations and I had an opportunity to meet with a a Community member recently about school safety and he came up with a lot of great suggestions that I wanted to pass along um including and I'll just list the five that really stood out for me um completing a comprehensive security assessment and I know we've done it before but it's been a while um and and we have a lot of new key staff members in position so it might be a well it definitely is a good thing to to look at um also suggested an ad hoc group to review and update the district safety plan and the work group would include a comprehensive list of Representatives so

184we went through and talked about 18 different um job categories or people that would be um that we should include in something like that from um all of our First Responders to our admin on site even to nutrition services because in in the case of an earthquake we need to make sure that our kids are being fed and and any emergency um like that um additionally um safety training at each School site because teachers don't really get a whole lot of training on it so something um build a plan of safety training and quarterly update meetings or quarterly meetings with P key staff and our First Responders on a regular basis to just continue to discuss that continuous communication um with improvements and then and last was a quarterly District safety committee would which would

185include PTA members and parents and teachers and um and staff from all around the district to just continue that two-way communication it was a great conversation I have a lot of um notes that I can share um just you know lots of questions came up for me as a result of just that conversation so I appreciated that Community member um lastly on so I work with Cal Optima often um with family homelessness and provide a lot of Naran and nck Zone to our shelters and they are doing a drive to revive campaign uh to not only distribute in the lock Zone but also raise awareness awareness and provide education um and its use in preventing opioid overdo does so on Friday they are doing a mass distribution for anyone in the county um agencies and

186organizations and so I've asked if they would set aside some for us so they are I'll be picking up 2400 doses of Noone for our school district and I'll communicate with um Michelle de Haven and make sure that she gets that so that um to help with distribution but they they also have um a an online training that takes about 10 or 15 minutes they will also provide those flyers so that they can um that can be provided with an ack zone so that everybody can do that quick little um little training and be ready to go in case of an emergency and I'm just thankful to Cal Optima for having that in our community and being able to provide that so thank you to them and thank you for [Applause] that okay um I

187really would like that stady session next or um enclosed session to discuss these emails I think that is very important that we discuss it and um and get to the bottom of all of this um last month I spoke out that I had not been invited to attend several events put on by the district while other board members had received invitations and I'd really like to thank Dr turnis and the executive cabinet um for rectifying this issue and making sure that I was invited and welcome to attend everything um I attended the Family Resource opening at Melrose and it was a this was a great first step for the students there in La Hoya that of 10 Melrose and um badz and I was so happy um to see the resources there that are roughly

188going to serve 613 homeless students that attend these schools and 965 socially economic disadvantaged students and these closets were supplied with food and um clothing bedding and it's really going to help these families tremendously so I'm just so grateful um to everybody that put in the hard work to make this happen and um and really look forward to seeing it benefit the students and um talking to Family Health matters there it looks like their van is going to be able to come help with the medical issues in this area starting in the first of the year so I think that's great and I'm very excited about that um I attended the Y binda First Responders breakfast and I'm really grateful to our First Responders we have a few in the room so thank you guys

189so much um I attended the state of the city of Pena and it was really great to hear from our city of placenta mayor Yamaguchi and the path that um the city is taking to improve everyone's lives here I attended the back to school night at George key and I learned more about the new um curriculum and ropia that they have now there and um I got to see um some of the students with their reading book not the students but their reading books of Treasure Island and I was so impressed by these books and that the teacher had put a lot of extra work into these books putting key things and prompts into it to specialize it for each one of their students and it's just such a was just such an obvious show

190of the love and the care that our teachers put into their students I attended the grand opening of the coffee cart at George key and um it was just really fun to see the students and see them engaging and um I had a lovely pumpkin hot chocolate there and um they had it set up by the garden with tables and it was just so inviting and relaxing and I loved every minute of it um I attended the Eldorado lights last night that's been well documented tonight uh and I appreciate the invitation and it was really fun to see the football players practicing under the lights and actually those lights are quite impressive because there's very little spillage and um I was happily surprised about that and I really hope the district can reach out to

191our neighbors and mitigate any other light spillage that might be going into these homes and um I do believe in us being good neighbors um this month is um Breast Cancer Awareness Month as many of you know I went through breast cancer last year and I want to do a shout out to my fellow survivors and my friends who are current Warriors I have a friend um who's having her last radiation treatment tomorrow and I am so excited for her um to be on the other side of breast cancer and her her story is similar to mine and it wasn't too severe due to early um detection so here is your annual friendly reminder to get your mammograms or other breast cancer prevention checkups annually and are sooner if a doctor recommends early detection is

192crucial for survival and for the best outcomes and so I'd like to thank um Mr Young Blood he wore his pink ribbon tonight and um I hope that you join me in wearing pink to support breast cancer awareness and get those checkups and um those currently fighting breast cancer to celebrate help those that are currently fighting breast cancer and just celebrate with breast cancer survivors everywhere thank you [Applause] all right good evening everyone um board report starts as uh being very excited about all the new happenings in our district um that includes the uh uh ocscs uh that also includes which I was very pleased to hear about math and reading achievements uh that's probably one of the biggest things for me at least that was one of the reasons in which uh um you

193know the work in which we do as a board uh if we can improve kids in in those areas then we're we're doing good things because uh if we just our little area can you know make it bigger difference in other areas maybe the whole state can come up uh as far as they're reading and math scores so that's that's the hope that's the wish um also excited about the increase in enrollment I love the fact that we're uh we're doing some pretty amazing things Innovative and that is uh drawing more more kids more families back into our district uh I would love to continue that love to see see that continue to happen so uh also the El Dorado lights yay so only took 30 years but I I have to Comm in this

194board worked hard on getting these lights uh approved uh and that that includes everyone on the board guys so not just uh just a few um the board as a whole we worked on getting this together so um so I do appreciate that uh Carrie I think um we probably spoke with the same guy regarding the safety deal cuz that you stole my thunder Alto together uh but that guy was uh amazing amazing info and you know one of the things that uh realize especially um month of October is also uh fire safety month so you'll see a lot of our schools they're they'll be receiving uh uh information talking about uh fire safety and all the stop drop and roll and all the all the good things that go with replacing batteries and and

195and fire uh and fire detectors uh smoke detectors so um one of the things we have a tendency forget is that um the the elementaries and the the preschools and so forth they are also uh soft targets they are also places in which bad things can happen and I don't necessarily mean uh just like active shooters or whatnot but any any type of Crisis whether whether it's a you know uh fire medical emergencies uh earthquake type of things and um I agree with the the uh Community member and Miss buck when uh I say that we have to get our staff involved um communication is the number one failure when we come go into these drills and so forth and I know most of you guys uh probably when you were growing up we used

196to have the the earthquake drills and we' duck underneath the desk or we'd have the fire drills and they would direct us out to one particular area where we're all supposed to meet and so forth well this Community member made it clear that you know what we need to also make sure that staff knows those uh Alternatives uh we'd like to say that everything goes according to plan but it doesn't there's always you know some sort of you know Fouch up that will cause us to you know have to change those plans so Implement these types of of things uh you know if it's a certain direction that that we normally go and uh filing the the students out well then that's make that access you know unaccessible that we have to reroute you know

197go a different way we have to think according to what that emergency might entail so I I'm hoping more staff um uh development and training on that I think it would be a great thing so yes definitely safety safety is number one so um let's let's keep looking at those things um also um uh Miss Anderson mentioned you know this is a month for breast can cancer awareness uh and you know unfortunately or fortunately however you want to look at it um breast cancer uh can hit anyone uh including men as well so um guys don't don't uh don't think that you're untouchable because we're not uh so breast cancer awareness huge uh a lot of departments are are uh are backing these types of uh of programs and this month is the the time

198to go get your checkups so uh last but not least I um want to uh put out to your guys thoughts and prayers for um things that are happening on the East Coast uh hurricane Helen Helen has uh decimated six of our states there we've got uh over 200 dead um with thousands that's still unaccounted for um no that we have teams that are even heading from Southern California heading that direction to help out um uh hurricane Helen was a category 4 storm that's that's a powerful storm that's uh the the same as Katrina was but building up right now is uh hurricane Milton that's in our Gulf Coast that is uh got itself in line uh for Florida and those coastal towns Mississippi and such and it is a Category 5 hurricane so please

199um keep that keep that in mind tonight as we're we're snuggling safe in our bed watching TV that there are families that are in dire need um and um you know just keep them in our prayer so uh that is the end of my report thank [Applause] you well I just have to say that when you sit here and you watch the state of the district presentation which was phenomenally created by the way thank you very much for that um it's like there's two different school districts when you listen to some of the public comment and you look online it's very strange it really is uh and I just want to say I I don't know how you can look at the things that are happening in this district and yes there's disagreements yes there's

200things that others would do differently and maybe have a different program here a different program there but the results that we're getting in this District increase enrollment you can argue about whether you think that's good enrollment increase or not either way it's enrollment increase um there's so many programs that are helping our students um the things that are happening in this District are envied by several other districts across the state and I don't know whether it's National or not but I think it's potentially that so I just like to always back up when you get involved with the emotional part of what either somebody affected you or something that you're really irritated about that you had an experience with if you back up and think well let's look at the the whole picture things are

201really really great here they really are um I just wanted to start with that and then this this last uh month I was able to attend a few different things several of them were mentioned up here already I was at the Y blinda First Responders breakfast thank you so much for those in emergency services and uh again with people on the Gulf Coast and the things that are happening there um we I don't know where we would be without people like you and you and you um that are that are there to keep us safe in times of need um I think it's it's interesting when you see the things happening that are over there we don't have to deal with that like Sean said we we're going to be we're going to be fine

202tonight when we get home but there are people that way I have family that have had to flee the part of Florida that's about to be hit it's it put things in it put things in perspective um and when we see the things like that happen we really need to to take a look at ourselves and how we can actually make a true difference and impact people around us and across the country and any way that you can be involved in that please get involved whether you can give uh money or if you can give supplies or however you can get involved please do something to get involved um I was able to attend the uh secondary Community advisory Comm on Zoom um with Dr chernes and several community members and there was lots of

203presentations I got a preview of these numbers you guys when when you look at what the purpose is of Education it's to increase scores right that's where it's math uh reading all all of the stuff that we really need to focus on as opposed to all the things that are that are being talked about we've increased scores we have evidence that things are moving in the right direction um it's just phenomenal to hear these other these these site leaders talk and and even just the camaraderie about between Kramer and turey they were talking back and forth about their their school rivalries and it's just they're they're friends and they're having fun but there is a really a feeling of family that that you get at a district specifically like this that I've experienced that you

204I'm assuming you probably don't get a lot of places um and then in in addition to that I was at the Eldorado field lighting which Maryland said it it those lights are impressive and you flick a button and they go on I don't know if any you were at the esparanza football game two weeks ago where the Lights Went Out in the fourth quarter it took 20 minutes for them to come back on yeah that was crazy the lights the other night they just flipped the switch and they're on full bread it's they're phenomenal and they're LED they're pointed they're everything that we could possibly do to not affect the neighbors the way that we could and still serve our students um I think we did a phenomenal job of getting that done um and

205then finally I don't know if you've ever been to a basketball or volleyball game at Valencia but there's there's the new gym and then there's what I call the classic gym some people call it the old gym I call it the classic gym it's like hooers you got an elevated stands on on one side anyways um I only bring that up because I had to go to a basketball game there and typically that's the place when it's hot outside you don't want to go because it's not ventilated it's there's just one big fan in the corner and you hope that you're sitting in front of it well now there's air conditioning and I have never been more comfortable in the valentia classic gym as I was last night watching the basketball game I almost stayed

206for two I didn't but because we were the last game anyways the things that are happening are making a difference for our students they're making a difference for our Educators and they're making difference for our community so I am just really proud of the things that are happening and regardless of whether you agree or disagree I had a conversation with a gentleman that we don't agree on a lot of things but we both agree that there are things that are happening that we do agree on that are making a different for our students and our community and I just really appreciate everything going out the [Applause] district all right I also attended the or blinda first responder breakfast um Joy attending that attended up with sea and Marilyn and Dr chis we had a good

207time um like I've been I was there for the Blackout um at Esperanza and it was quite something um and get the lights back on it was it took 20 minutes and so last night when El Dorado turned on their lights and like they just went off and on like you were flipping a switch um that was pretty incredible um so obviously I there at the El Dorado lights ceremony last night um went to the Y blinda water polo games I'm sure everybody's shocked but I did also attend the Valencia and your Belinda water polo game when I was at Valencia's pool deck I did notice that they their scoreboard does not work like you can't tell what quarter you're in you can't you know you can't tell a lot you're kind of guessing like

208what is this the quarter like is that the score and so I would say that Valencia desperately needs a new scoreboard for their pool deck um and I know that they've said that that's been an ask for you know years but it seems like people just don't want to ask the question like can we get a new scoreboard can we get a new this they're like oh well I just asked for this and I said well just ask for it all I mean the worst that can happen is no or maybe next year but they really desperately do need a scoreboard um a friend of mine um before the board meeting she texted me and she said that um a name we're all familiar with a Dana Brown um she's at Fullerton school district and

209they are trying to replicate now USI as well and so um I thought it was kind of strange online we have people you know doing these weird interviews that are talking about um you know that USI is a poorly thought out project um and they're saying that our $1.2 million project is actually $3.8 million but nobody can find where any of that was approved we haven't spent $3.8 million we spent the 1.2 um they're saying as you said last night AP or AP classes are being removed and as we heard tonight our AP scores are up and we're actually expanding on our AP classes so I think whatever is going on and whatever misinformation that people are giving out to the community it's just wrong I mean like you know you're at soccer games or

210you're at um what was that it a football game and somebody said why are you guys getting rid of AP classes and I said what are you even been talking about and they said oh such and such said we're getting rid of AP classes so just know if you hear something um AP classes are not being removed they're actually um expanding um a couple other things that was happening um people seem to be very interested in my police shooting and they seem to want to be talking about it online and saying false things a lot of liel going on um and so if you guys want to talk about it then you know we can we can talk about it um obviously I was clear by the District Attorney's office and was I fired from

211my job now and so anybody who wants to go online and talk about it just know that you come off as not supporting or backing the blue and you don't support our officers then because when we're out there protecting people and things happen and the line of duty and we have to make split decisions and we make the right decision and then we have our little social media Warriors going online talking about the shooting and then trying to say people have been fired for the incident when there's clearly a district attorney's letter right there that says we were cleared and so just know that there's a lot of you know your talk online you know while you're trying to hit me I know the truth all you have to do is pull up the district

212attorney letter that shows the truth and so I don't really know it's kind of disrespectful to law enforcement in general and you know everybody's out there protecting but then you know how does that make officers feel when they go home at night or have to pull the trigger or have to do something you know and to know that that there's people on social media who are just completely disrespectful as everyone sleeping at home at night we're out patrolling and we're all having to make the hard decisions and yet you have somebody 12 years later going online and trying to just throw shade my way so I stand by my actions obviously attorney stood by my actions I'm sure my kids are very happy that I'm still here today so if anybody would like to talk

213about my shooting why don't you come and we'll sit down for coffee face to face and you can stop trying to throw shade on social media where my kids and my family and all these people can see it why don't we actually have a [Applause] conversation I also too there was some other stuff that I just want to go through with real quick cuz it's just more information and we know the we know the site we don't even need to to give the site any credibility or even say their name but um real quick it's confirmed that in 20 200 2009 Middle School sports was not was removed for budget cuts and we brought it back in 2021 that's confirmed I mean I just need correct correct yeah it was it was in 2009 that

214that it was mentioned and so what people are saying is that there's been Middle School sports this entire time the one Middle School sport we had was we had the reach Foundation track meet and so in 2021 we did bring back the Middle School sports and we've been expanding on the Middle School sports ever since um somebody had said the Nixon library has been providing curriculum to our middle schools since their kids who are now in their 30s were attending Travis Ranch and so they're saying that we are not doing a Nixon um Library so would you just expand on that so people actually know that there's been no Nixon Library curriculum in our schools and that what we're doing if you could just explain what we're doing yeah so we're developing the honor cfic

215course with the Nixon Library um it's a new course and it's going to be amazing and our kids will go there next year um from your binda high school um and then we'll expand it to all our schools and it's a brand new course and um it's in partnership with the library and they're building in a whole education wing and we're going to bring Civics education back to uh to our kids and we also have the five high school interns internships and we had five high school interns uh for the first time ever at the library last summer and then Renee um can you not right now please Renee we have a um we created that state of California the alternative diploma pathway for a special education students did we create that I understand the

216state of California may have something like that but we created our own pathway for diplomas correct yes we have created our own and made it tailored and personalized but the the state had encouraged the uh districts to to to have an alternative diploma but we actually grew ours more okay thank you that was something else that they were saying that we were lying about and that it was the state californ we were using and it wasn't tailored to our own school district and that we'd always had it um the other school the other thing was um I guess I guess more of this was just more trash talk than anything yeah that was declining enrollment can we talk about the preschools and enrollment preschool has expanded three months this year just like everywhere else where

217districts are declining so to say we're increasing because of the state expanded we've they've expanded 3 months of enrollment for the each of the last four years this year's no no different the last three years we declined they expanded TK enrollment for 3 months starting in 21 we declined 400 kids 22 we declined 400 kids 23 we declined 400 kids 24 we increased so absolutely ridiculous assertion and like I said every other District around they're declining okay okay and so another thing too and I think we just need to um to talk about it is there's some parents who are obviously very um upset about some of the things that you know the talk about the libraries um you know and the book bands and stuff and so right now s sp1 1435 has been

218brought forward by oo ABA and it's requiring the governing board of a school district to exclude from schools and school libraries serving peoples in preschool through grade eight all books publication or papers that contain obscene matter the CTA is opposing this bill so they're opposing that they want um K through I guess they want it in the libraries or what and so people are asking me these questions I'm not the person to ask about the CTA or the union or why they're opposing this bill so I suggest that you email the APLE president and ask for clarification as to why they are opposing this bill I also too there's another bill talking about school safety I I I didn't meet this person in in person but they were asking why are we not putting armed

219security guards on all of our campuses well there is a bill that is up in Sacramento and our teachers union CTA is opposing that bill as well so that's another question to ask about where can we meet in the middle to start to do school security and to be able to have armed people on our campuses and so those are questions that you're asking us but I can't give you that answer because I think having armed sec Security on all of our campuses is a phenomenal idea but I don't know why the teachers union the CTA is opposing this idea for the safety of our kids and uh I'm glad we were able to talk about the outdoor science camp I'm glad you brought that up because people were asking about the outdoor science camp

220stuff um and I think that that was the only that was the only thing that um the main things that people were asking me questions about as far as like you know what the union was opposing or what they were promoting or um whatever so um one question there was also something that was said yesterday in an interview that we don't do audits we do audits every single year and so to come in and say that all of a sudden we're going to start doing audits every year is ridiculous because we do audits every year yes we're required to by law right okay all right well I think that that was it that was uh the three or four main questions and um we will see everybody back here on November four November 19th for

221our next board meeting 19th 19th all right um I need a uh I'll make a motion to Jour I'll second all right I have a motion from Mr Frasier I have a second from Mrs Anderson all those in favor I