001five four nine five zero execuador and Education Code section three five one four zero executor at six eighteen hundred six pm at this time let's uh have our trustee Anderson lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance everyone join me 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 right thank you okay roll call uh let's see let the record show that all board members are present excluding our student board member okay I need to have a motion I'll make a motion to approve the April 18th 2023 Board of agendas reckoned by the superintendent oh second any comments all right uh all in favor aye aye okay folks uh welcome this afternoon uh this
002brings us to our public comments public comment cards are available in the foyer cards are to be completed and turned in prior to the designated time for public comment we provide a maximum of three minutes per person if translation is needed an additional three minutes will be given please let us know ahead of time so we can ensure that we are prepared we also have a civility policy Education Code prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability gender gender identity gender expression nationality race ethnicity religion sexual orientation or any other characteristics that is contained in the definition of hate crimes set forth by section 422.55 of the penal code including immigration status all right folks let's go ahead and take a make a motion please for the gender approval minutes I'm sorry make a motion for
003the minutes please yes sir I'll make a motion to approve the minute this is written kind of strange it is a recommendation of the superintendent of schools that the Board of Education approve the minutes of the special meeting of April 8 2023. second two seconds I did okay okay at this point I have we need to take a vote let's take a vote just a second yes ma'am I have a correction I brought my agenda from the the meeting and I have that the adjournment was buck and then Anderson seconded for the last for the minutes that we're approving okay I don't have my minutes on me remember that's fine okay so we'll make that correction thank you Miss Anderson appreciate that and so that will bring us into all right now public comments in
004public comment I have three cards here is there any more Miss Newton anybody no okay all right so um first up Miss Lisa Altman Miss Brook Harper and Miss Jenny Murray and three minutes hi everybody my name is Lisa Altman I'm a Yorba Linda resident impaired of children attending school in this District first I wanted to thank the board for standing up for parents rights that's what we elected you to do and so far that's what's happening and I'm happy with the positive changes I am seeing since the last election in particular thanks for adding board approval as a step for new books being piloted with our kids a second set of eyes on this book vetting process should be welcomed and I believe it will offer a fresh perspective by those who have been
005elected to represent the interests of the parents more collaboration is needed when I observe Educators and union members pushing back on transparency and collaboration that's only a big red flag to me as a parent in a prior meeting I had heard several public commenters question the credentials and qualifications of the board to be involved in this vetting process as an approver for those individuals I would ask that they take a step back for a minute check their ego at the door just because you have a particular degree certificate or credential it doesn't mean you have the unchecked and unquestionable authority to teach whatever you want to our children while they're being held as a captive audience in the schools that's not how the real world works either there are checks and balances in every job
006teachers and government employees are not exempt from being checked the second issue that I wanted to raise here is if we can please consider possibly adding cameras to all campuses in all classrooms inside and outside the classroom outside so we can collect evidence and deter active shooter incidents that are happening across our nation and inside so there's full transparency on what's going on in our classrooms there's been so much debate going back and forth on certain topics like CRT gender identity studies drag queen Story Hour topics among others if we can just install the cameras we would have a source of Truth to refer back to when there's debates that come up cameras don't lie there's no twisting of the facts when you're looking at the record when the public had trust issues with the
007police they responded by wearing body cams and it's been very effective in recording in real time what actually happened here the public is having similar trust issues in a different environment in the school environment on a nationwide basis so it seems for the same issue in a different environment we could potentially try the same solution and see how that works cameras could eliminate false stories and gaslighting that's occurring cameras would benefit everyone from both sides here there should be nothing to hide by installing these cameras thank you [Applause] good evening I came here today to welcome our new superintendent to the district welcome um the email that announced your employment mentioned that when State and County policy did not allow a line with the views of his school Community Dr Turner's advocated fervently our school
008community in pylusd is over 30 000 students spread out over 45 square miles it is my hope that you will listen to and represent the entire Community throughout the tender your tenure with the district that when you are seeking input from the community you do it in an ethical and Equitable way I will remind everyone in this room that the affluent members of our community are far more likely to have the time and resources to express their concerns to the leaders both hired and elected to take care of our school district leaving many parents with no voice I would I also like to point out that between our five trustees only one of them won their elected positioned by a majority of the vote and even then admittedly it was only by four percent it
009was um trusty Youngblood one with 44 of the vote by less than a thousand votes trustee Anderson won by 38 of the vote trusty blades won with 38 percent of the vote by less than a thousand votes our district is divided wouldn't you agree it is my expectation as a homeowner taxpayer and a mother that you will seek input from stakeholders in this community from across all spectrums identity groups and yes political affiliations workable reasonable solutions that can be employed by anyone who is willing to make choices for their individual wants and needs while living up to the State education laws and policies put forth by California Department of Education and our lawmakers and upholding the values of inclusion and relevant teaching methods that will prepare our kids for the jobs of tomorrow this is
010the only way to serve our divided community in a fair and Equitable way in a way that includes and does not exclude the best interest of all stakeholders I wish you luck because a rich diverse rigorous education that accepts our kids for who they are and acknowledges how the world sees them and will see them in the future is what our students deserve thank you [Applause] my name is Shanny Murray and I have a 2021 pyl graduate and a current sophomore in the district I want to welcome you Dr sureness um I was struck by the quote in the announcement stressing your dedication to amplifying student voices pyl needs this countless students spoke out against the CRT ban and shared stories of racism and discrimination and their voices were ignored board members want the ability
011to cut student perspectives from the book piloting process even though it was the student's High rating of persepolis that helped lead to a 5-0 vote of approval the discussion of creating a safe and respectful environment was put on hold until you could come on board so I sincerely hope moving forward you listen to all students and prioritize their perspective you also said that you look forward to working with all the teachers principals and support staff I hope you value the wealth of knowledge and expertise they bring to the table they spend countless hours supporting and caring for our students so through bold leadership and transparency I hope you find ways to Showcase to the community the amazing work and value of pyl Educators thank you [Applause] okay thank you that closes our public comment our
012next portion has to do with human resources I'll need a motion for number one oral recommendation regarding salary and fringe benefits I'll make a motion for the oral recommendation regarding salary and or fringe benefits a second comments all is well for me that's right I like to recommend a five percent increase over what our current superintendent makes um that is kind of in line with what we have done with our assistant soups and we could round it up to make it the number easy to 365 000. uh five percent would be 364 908.60 but we could round it up to 365. I feel comfortable with that and we're speaking about whom again are we speaking about our assistance oops or no we're start our superintendent I said it's inconsistence with what we did with our
013assistant superintendents I see okay I'm good with the 375 that's what was put down all of the uh what's the word all the Flyers and all the documentation that put out I'm good with that um just a correction the ad was done for 350 to 375. there was a range and so 375 is at the top of the range and it comes out to a 7.6 increase I'm good with 375. so I'd um I also think that 365 would be what I would support um we don't want to be a metoo district we just gave our employees all seven percent we intentionally did not give our assistant superintendents seven percent we went to the five percent so I think it would be applicable that we would do the same for the superintendent the current assistant
014this the current setting where um where Dr Matthews is and increasing by five percent inline as well that was on the high end of the spectrum we didn't get a chance to discuss what that would look like we didn't get to weigh in on that negotiation piece of the the dollar amount at all so um you know that's this is my opinion I understand um I did ask for the comps and there's only a handful I think I believe three okay or maybe maybe I can explain it a little bit okay I just wanted to say Saddleback is 337. okay um and they have a Ada of 22 000 Fullerton um Anaheim Union's 25 Ada and they're at 331. so I think you know the 365 is as a good salary okay um well let
015me let me read what I had um that was presented to uh Dr chernus uh along with hya and uh through our attorney as far as the employment of Dr chernus as superintendent and this is based upon the following terms uh Dr Karen Cell receive an annual salary of 375 375 000. Dr Sharon shall be entitled to 12 days of leave of absence for illness or injury with full pay he may accrue and accumulate sick pay as Allowed by the Education Code he should also be entitled to 24 working days of annual vacation with pay in addition to holidays as defined in section 37220 of the Education Code he'll also be entitled to a cure a cruise excuse me vacation up to a maximum of two years vacation 48 days at which point cruel shall
016be deemed cap uh accrued but not or unused vacation again up to the maximum of 48 days shall be paid out upon conclusion of employment but may not be cashed out prior to the conclusion of employment he shall also receive a monthly car allowance of 500 to cover the cost of Transportation expenses incurred in the connection with District business he shall not receive any other car or mileage allowance other than reimbursement for driving in lieu of flying to District approved workshops or conferences however this reimbursement obligation shall not exceed 700 miles for a single Workshop or conference uh the district shall reimburse Dr chernus of all actual and necessary expenses incurred by him with in the scope of his employment in accordance with applicable District policy the district shall pay Dr Terrence annual membership in
017the association of California school administrators and any other organization approved by the board he shall receive all employment benefits granted to the district cabinet employees including a laptop and cell phone if the district elects to terminate the employment of Dr chernus without cause it shall pay him a lump sum payment within 45-day calendar days following of notice of termination an equal amount to one-year salary or the salary for the remainder of the agreement whichever is less so that was the the and the full scope of the contract will be put out for the public to view as well uh and it I'm pretty sure I'm okay with the 375. can you tell me who negotiated the contract so that was negotiated with our um our agency the agency that that hired and our attorney as
018well were the negotiating groups so that's really not within hya's realm that and that wasn't with in their scope of work the board is supposed to be negotiating that number one um two we usually have time as we're working through the process of a superintendent's search to have closed session time to work through these conversations unfortunately it's Dr chernus it's nothing against you at all we just didn't get a chance to have this conversation in closed session to to ask these specific questions with our attorney I contacted um David today to ask him the questions that I had he told me that this contract was just provided to him or you know what the what the amount was and he didn't he didn't negotiate that um and and so I have concerns about that um
019this is on the high end of the spectrum this should have been a discussion that the board had and we didn't have this at any point the only thing that was discussed early on was what the window is going to look like but the actual term of what the dollar amount was never was never discussed did we not talk about any closed sessions we were never able to win that we actually gave the window I think that's that's the point that I'm coming to is we were okay with the range from 350 to 375. I think now we can talk about whether you want to adjust that or not I think based on the expectations that we have in the community has and the process that we went through to bring Dr chernus in I
020feel very comfortable with 375 000. um so I I don't have a problem with it but I think it's valid that we have our concerns aired when we talk about that so I'm fine with it I hear what you're saying though I'm fine with it as well it's it's the the five percent that I think it would be appropriate just because it's in line with the assistant superintendents we're actually going we're actually going over um the seven percent that that other people and but it's not an increase it's a new contract within a new hire but it is an increase in the amount that we currently pay our superintendents well there's an increase to that point is there an increase between um between El Sasser there was not okay so there was no increase and
021there was not between um Doug domini to Dr pluck code to Dr El saster well and there was no increase to employees as either during that time well that was a whole different Oprah altogether so we're not behind we've we've paid um the salary increases for the last 10 years and they're all in line we are we have been a metoo district and everybody has gotten the the raises that's theoretical we've theoretically been a Metro District that's not a it's not nothing in policy and nothing in contract but when you look at the history of it that's what it is but that's what it is and um the superintendent received in 2021 2022 the exact same increase as assistant soups um and Plum Apple CSEA in 2023 so right now our superintendent has there's been
022a zero increase and so this is what it would be okay so we're not behind we're right everybody's been getting raises and and our system soups just got it but last Tuesday night you just got your raise and then the the month before Plum CSEA and I will also say the board the board as well those races were also retroactive so if you want to take that and then add it to what they're getting the rest I mean theoretically we could talk back and forth about numbers I feel okay with 375. I'm getting 375. yeah I'm good with 365. okay all right so the motion is on the table right now we have a motion of regarding salary for eign but there's not a dollar amount associated with it but it's the well it is
023yeah so do we want to I want to keep it at 3 7. so if we vote then we're voting on keeping the terms as it is yeah correct so just uh just to be clear I don't think that ten thousand dollars is going to make or break um and I and I am going to vote for the contract but the ten thousand dollars really is to me because it's a fiscally responsible thing to do and it aligns with what we pay our assistant superintendent so when we go above and beyond that it it just reflects on on our choices um I am happy to have Dr chernus here um his his resume and educational experience and I'm incredibly um looking forward to to working with Dr chernus I am glad you fight for kids
024I love to fight for kids as well um I am I I look forward to to what the next few years is going to bring um that has nothing to do with it it's just the fiscal responsibility of aligning it with the same so um in my opinion on fiscal responsibility and expectations I mean we're taking us we're taking the leap to say we we we have big expectations for Dr chernus and I think he's going to do very well and I think that this is as as his employer making decisions on his uh contract I think this is uh easily in line with what we're wanting yeah and I think the 365 when you look at comparable comps in Orange county is also reflective of that um okay so noted so we have a
025motion on the table let's go ahead and vote on this all in favor we should probably do this one at a time okay roll call all right Miss Buck aye Miss Anderson nay aye and I vote carries 4-1 all right moving on to our second portion this is uh the consideration and possible Improvement I'm sorry consideration and possible approval of the superintendent's employment agreement uh government code section 54953 I need a motion I'll make a motion for the consideration and possible approval of the superintendent's employment agreement government code section 54953 I'll second okay I'm gonna Blaze Marilyn Anderson comments um my only comment is I just would like to make this conditional upon the completion of the background check it has not been fully done and um yeah yeah and if you if you read
026it there's a section that's missing what's that section it's the um DMV and I'm assume that Dr chernus and has a valid driver's license but I'm fine to vote for it I just would want it on condition they know on that one we didn't even have with when Mike Matthews was hired he was hired the same day we've received no background check whatsoever so this but our district policy Dr Lopez can you explain what our district policy is on what we learn was this what the little meeting was in the back yeah I wanted to make sure that I was not off base so what is our district policy on background checks for employees it's done on condition is that correct if you're referring to like the fingerprinting or doj that's after the approval has
027been made and that's just part of the onboarding process and it's done on as long as there's nothing that that's fine correct if something were found you know then obviously that's shared with the board so then that's standard practice standard practice so that's why I say I'm fine approving it it's just you know on condition of the okay excuse me excuse me guys folks folks keep it down please did you make a substitute motion for that then well are you are you asking for new uh procedure or just what the standard procedure is the standard procedure is I'm not just following standard procedure that we are going to approve the contract tonight which I'm very happy to do it's just on completion of um so that was asking that he gets treated as any other
028employee yeah which would be standard yeah which would be totally standard okay I'm not asking for anything special or different so we don't need a different motion it's the same motion it's the same motion but just confirming confirming what our um standards are perfect awesome all right sounds good okay uh with that let's go ahead and take a vote uh do we need a roll call on this one as well all right roll call in this Buck aye aye Ms Anderson aye okay aye aye all right and I five oh excellent okay Dr chernus welcome aboard foreign if you would like to say a few things go ahead and come on up to the podium thank you very much Board of Education uh it's an honor to be here uh this is um I've spent
029several weeks now and months looking looking at this District talking to people it's a wonderful District made up of people that really care about kids and um and that's what I'm all about um and I think that uh I can make it better and that's what I'd be dedicated to doing is working with all of you um making sure that our parents have a voice making sure that our kids have a voice um and what I'm learning is people in this community have strong opinions about everything and that's okay there is a unifying voice here and that is that everybody wants what's best for the students in this community and so my role will be to make sure that all of these different of opinions on how to get there we stay focused on what's
030best for kids and so and that is about amplifying student voice it's about bringing parents to the table it's about bringing the community to the table and that's what my focus will be on I think as I mentioned while this is a wonderful District there's a lot of students in this District that are not achieving a grade level and I think we could do a better job at that and so that'll be one of my primary focuses is to get more kids to meet and exceed grade level standards particularly in math and English and so that'll be my focus and I can't wait to get started so thank you [Applause] all right welcome aboard Dr chernus I uh I look forward to seeing what you have planned for the district I'm sure everything's going to
031be uh awesome comments well I just I after meeting you as we did a couple of weeks ago I went back and I looked at um at your district and did a little um more research and looking at your English language arts and your math your meet or exceeded grade grade levels in the areas of our greatest need which is our English language Learners and our students with disabilities your test scores and your your s back results are wonderful and I'm looking forward to seeing how what your leadership has done can impact what we're doing here so that was my biggest takeaway after learning a little bit more about you those are two areas of great interest of and passion for me as well so welcome aboard I'm looking forward to working with you on
032these things I'm just really excited to have you on in our district and to watch your leadership and really to help our English language Learners get to that meet or exceed and help some of our long-term English language Learners get them reclassified and so that they are able in high school to take all the classes that they need so thank you for taking us on and look forward to working with you yeah I'm excited as all of us are I mean obviously we're excited that you're going to be here I'm I'm uh really excited to see with your financial experience and your background how you can impact us fiscally as well as with the students that always it's gonna it's gonna end up um benefiting the students uh in enormous ways so I'm I think
033there's and I want to thank hya and everybody involved in the process it was a great uh I think actually it was handled probably better than it than it would have been had it been anybody else um so thank you very much for everybody and welcome born I am thrilled I can't wait for you to start I think you have great plans for our district and I know the English Learners in our special ed Department um you know especially with our new English learner director position um being filled by youth shortly but on not only that I think all of our students all of our district we have a lot of kids that are not at grade level and I'm very confident that you will get us to where we need to be I'm just
034really thrilled I'm excited and I can't wait to see what the next year holds um all right folks um with that said that brings us to our I'll make a motion to adjourn I'll second all those in favor aye can you pose nope all right we are adjourned at 1832.