001So, we'll open up the meeting, call the public session to order. Uh, board president Joy Naylor is unable to join us tonight. She is somewhere in the north. I will fill in as acting board president and Jacqueline A. Gaby will fill in as acting board clerk. We do have a quorum here at the deis right now. This meeting is being webcast live recorded. The recording or webcast may capture images and sounds of those attending the meeting. Uh, we'll identify close session items. They are as follows. Recommended expulsions, recommended suspended expulsions, public employee discipline, dismissal, release and complaints, conference with labor negotiator, conference with legal counsel, existing litigation, conference with real property negotiators, and anticipated litigation. And I left that darn piece of paper on the other side. We have five cases tonight. Um, and we're
002supposed to report out on which numbers those are. And I guess I have to go get that and do that, don't I? We have a new >> there's a new step here. >> Could you run and get that? >> So 2.7 anticipated litigation. There are a total of five matters under this item. Two matters involve facts and circumstances that might result in litigation against the district but which facts and circumstances are not yet known to the potential plaintiffs. Three matters are EEOC cases number 37A 2025 02197 number 485202500411 and 485202500418. With that in place we will public comment. Uh public comment on any closed closed session item will be heard at this time. Pursuant to board policy, the board may limit individual comments to no more than three minutes and individual topics to 20 minutes.
003It is recommended you begin your comments by stating your name. Is there any public comment? Seeing none, we will adjourn to close session. Okay. We'll now convene the regular session. Thank you for your enthusiasm here tonight. >> You can hear me. Come >> on folks. Time to focus. But as well, >> thank you, Oak Grove. >> All right. So, why am I sitting here? Well, tonight, uh, board president Joy Naylor is unable to join us for a good reason. Uh, I will fill in as acting board president and Jackie Gabby to my right here will fill in as acting clerk. Let's get this together. So, we convene the regular session. Uh, I'd like to induce introduce the interpreter. Alandre Moran will serve as a Spanish interpreter for this meeting. Meeting attendees who would like to
004listen to the Spanish interpretation of the proceedings, please pick up headphones from the table located in the back of the room. This announcement will now be shared in Spanish. This meeting is being webcast live and recorded. The recording or webcast may capture images and sounds of those attending the meeting. Members of the public who would like to provide public comment on items listed on tonight's agenda, we recommend you fill out the public comment form, the green form, located on the table at the northeast entrance to the room. Please hand the completed form to acting board manager Leam Martinez. Leam Martinez, raise your hand in the back there. before the item comes up on the agenda. She's sitting in the back of the room. We recommend you complete a separate form for each agenda item on
005which you would like to comment. Members of the public providing public comment, please use the microphone on the stand located in the front of the room. You'll be here shortly. We will now proceed to the pledge of allegiance will be led by Jacqueline Gaby. for it stands nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Item 3.5, there is no uh there were no actions taken in close session, so none to report. Item 3.6, Six, revisions to enclosure items and adoption of the board meeting agenda. There are revised item enclosures 4.1, 4.2, 6.2, 6.15, 616, and 11.1. Do I have a motion to adopt the board meeting agenda? >> So moved. I'll second. >> So a motion by board member Gamoyan and a second by board member Viegas. We have a vote. Motion
006passes 6-0 with one absent. >> Thank you. Now we head into the student performance, Redwood High School Dance. I'd like to have uh recognize executive director of student services, Natalie Garza. >> Good evening, board. Um tonight, we would like to welcome to the floor Redwood High School Dance Force, the varsity team at Redwood High School. Throughout the year, you'll see this group performing at school events, competing in regional national competitions. And tonight, the juniors and seniors from Dance Force will be performing a routine they learned this summer at USA Dance Camp under the direction of Michelle Lap. We'd like to welcome the Dance Force. Who want to come? Get out. Get out of [Music] [Applause] Can you feel the power? Now is the hour. The moment I was. Can you see the vision? A new
007beginning, the time for winning. 1 2 3. Now put your hands up. You know that we don't stop. That's why we on the top. Get louder. Get louder. Get louder. [Music] Oh, [Music] [Applause] [Music] yeah. [Applause] [Music] Thank you to RHS Dance Force. Let's give them another round of applause. Okay, so moving on. Item 4.1, focus on student learning. Spotlight on good things happening in the district. Presenter is Superintendent Kirk Shrum. All right. Well, good evening board members and uh board president uh Odo and uh Clerk Gaby and uh our board members. Again, thank you to Redwood for that awesome display of their talent. Uh just again a sampling of all the many talents that our students have in our district. Uh really proud that we are continuing our tradition of having a student performance
008every uh board meeting as we're in the school year and that's always something we look forward to because it centers us on why we are here which is our students. So tonight for our spotlight on good things happening. Of course, we're several weeks now into the school year, and many of our sites had great back to school nights before school or as school has has started, and this is a chance for parents and students to come in to know more about what their child will be doing during the school year and how best to support them. And uh there have been great turnouts as we've had these events o over these past few weeks and then leading up to the start of school. So, thank you to our school sites for hosting those events. Uh
009this is about maybe our third or fourth year I believe that we've had a partnership with the National Education Equity Lab. This is an organization that helps to bring uh dual enrollment classes to communities that may not have uh as large of ability to access these classes. And uh we're really proud because within this, not only do they uh take this in many cases during a zero period or they're getting to school in addition to their normal work, but this is partnering with national well-known established universities throughout the nation, bringing that incredible talent to our local school sites. And this fall out of this, now these are already students taking dual enrollment. Several of them earned a national recognition because they were named to the honor society national equin uh equity lab placing in the
010top 20% of nearly 8,000 students in the spring semester who took these classes. Vicelia stood out as the only district in the central valley to be recognized and this is because of our board's commitment to ensuring our students have access to advanced learning opportunities. So from Golden West and Mount Whitney, our students took rigorous courses from Morehouse College and Arizona State University with several earning a spot in the top 10% nationwide. And these scholars were celebrated in late August by the National Ed Equity Lab alongside university professors, district leaders, and proud families. So a shout out to these students uh for their great academic accomplishment and Golden West and Mount Whitney for helping to support uh the implementation of these classes. Now, not only do we, you know, and are we proud of our students,
011as we've talked about before, but our amazing facilities operations team constantly on the go to make sure our facilities are ready for our students to learn. This summer, our crews tackled major projects from replacing field lights, upgrading HVAC systems. This work aligns to our strategic plan theme, organizational efficiency and effectiveness. their behind-the-scenes efforts keep our schools running smoothly and create safe learning environments for our staff and students. We want to thank them for their work keeping our staff informed every step of the way. So, thank you to our uh teams for having our sites ready and continuing uh as things pop up during the school year. As we're back to school, it is that time, fall sports. Uh and so our season started the second week of August. We have football, volleyball, cross country, water
012polo, girls tennis, and golf happening as we speak. And we look forward to seeing and hearing about these students accomplishments both on and off of the field. Another thing that I'm really, really proud of, last board meeting or a couple board meetings ago, our board improved an unprecedented investment in teacher professional development. and not teacher professional development that that's one time you come to a two-hour meeting and that's it. But this is a two-year commitment to really learn about the science of reading and the strategies associated with that to be implemented in our classrooms. This is again this is a two-year commitment. I want to stress that these are teachers and staff who said you know what I want to be invested in. There is nothing more important that we do as a district than
013to make sure every student can read. That's how you make sure students have equitable opportunities as they progress through life. It's that ability to read. And so since this approval, we have now kicked off the cohorts that will be engaging in this learning. Some of this is uh will be in person uh on the weekends. Some of it will be in the evenings as they go through this cohort together for the next two years. We have over 124 K through3 teachers. It's about 40% of our K through3 teaching staff just in this first cohort alone willing to sign up say, "Hey, you know, I'm willing to to be invested in and this is brand new." So, none of us really know fully what we're going to expect, right? This this is new learning together. And
014I say that because the executive cabinet and many of our principles from our elementary sites are also going through an administrative cohort. We also kicked off our cohort. I don't know which one is ours. I think uh we were excited. I have not done my homework yet, but I am going to uh get that done in time. Um but we're really excited because it's important that not only is our teachers are learning, we're learning alongside them so that we can support the journey and also model for them how important we know this is. And so I'm excited to learn alongside our other administrators and our teachers uh as we kick off our letters science of reading professional development cohort. So congratulations, thank you to those folks and our 28 district administrators who are participating in
015this opportunity to learn and grow together. Uh, also, I believe this was this weekend actually or or recently, we've had a couple of our finance or a couple of themies, this one, our business finance academy seniors kicked off their virtual enterprise journey by stepping into panel style simulated interviews with business partners. These seniors will gain hands-on experiences running a business and preparing for statewide competitions later this year. A huge a huge thank you goes to our industry partners who mentored and interviewed students sharing their expertise and helping our seniors step into the world of business. And then a few pieces of spotlighting. Uh we spotlighted our national equity lab. Uh and then of course Labor Day and some other events as well through our social media and board. That concludes our spotlight for this board
016meeting. >> Okay. Thank you, Superintendent Shrum. Any public comment? Board member comment. Okay, thank you. Moving on to item 4.2, strategic plan, theme three, updates. Presenting tonight, Chief Business Officer Nathan Hernandez and Assistant Superintendent Human Resources and Development Ben Dylan. Well, good evening Dr. Odo, Dr. Board, Clerk O. Good evening, Dr. Odto, members of the board and superintendent from um I got three of these so I'll get it right on one of them. Um so I'm I'm excited tonight to be able to share alongside Mr. Dylan um some uh updates from our strategic plan theme three which is organizational efficiency and effectiveness. Um the last last month's meeting um Mr. Thompson um shared the the game plan for our strategic plan, how we're going to report out to the board uh and the community on
017our metrics. um and our accountability measures um and uh the work that had been done in our previous year we're calling year zero um to get us ready for our year one of our strategic plan. Um, so tonight we're going to do a little bit of a deeper dive into theme three. Um, and we're going to share we're gonna again part of our strategic plan, but we're going to share um some of the uh research and design of some specific actions that have gone through um gone through some early um research and design and are ready for implementation in this next um school year. So, I'm going to share just a little bit as a reminder of the blueprint for our strategic plan. And so, the board did a lot of work there on the
018top of our blueprint um getting us prepared with our mission and vision and building out beliefs and commitments. And our response to that was the development of the strategic plan, a five-year strategic plan uh for every student learning every day. And below that at the bottom are the are the accountability measures, how we're going to measure our progress within the strategic plan, but also most importantly that that's having an impact on our student outcomes. And so um to to orient you to the the coding that's on the left there, uh the 3A21 3A. So, we're going to talk about the public financial dashboard, our network security, which is primarily our multiffactor authentication, um, and our online per employee performance management. But the coding there on the left, the 3A21 to to remind you, we have
019themes, focus areas, initiatives, and actions. Okay. Um, and so that that coding is is is just that theme three, what we're talking about tonight, organizational efficiency and effectiveness. And then our and that's the there on our strategic plan. Um, and that theme has two focus areas. Um, I can't read that. I think it says resource uh and operational management. And then human capital is the second one. And so we're going to focus in on the the resource and operational management. And then the initiative within that is maintaining fiscal health and stability using transparent financial policies and practices. And then our action under that is to design and implement a public financial dashboard. So I'm going to jump in uh and describe that a little bit. Um we've uh we we're excited that we're going to
020be launching this over the next few months during during this year. Um and we're utilizing open finance. Open finance is a platform that's already available to us through Tyler Munus. And so we looked at different uh dashboards that were out there. This is something that we already had access to within Tyler Munus. And so we looked at school districts and other municipalities municipalities throughout the country who use this product and and the level of detail that they're that they're um that they're sharing in their communities. We identified uh the financial categories that uh we plan to expand upon. Um and then we uh worked with Tyler to do a draft mockup of what this would look like and the uh the uploads that will happen on a on an automatic basis so that we make
021sure that the site is continuously updated and providing accurate information. And we go back to uh back to superintendent search to times when we've done surveys of the community and and really they're looking for us to be transparent in how we provide them with access to our financial information. And we do reports like we are going to do tonight with our unodited actuals and our budget, but that's very high level. This gives the ability for someone to dive a little bit deeper into into the district's uh financial activity. So, where we're at now is working on our our communication plans um and how we're we're going to roll out uh the first phase of this uh this dashboard um as well as how we plan to track feedback from from community from things that we're
022generating from the site as well as um analytics of how how often it's being used so that we can uh monitor and um and improve on what we're sharing. So, a couple of uh pictures. This this is a uh the site is live. It's not uh posted yet, but we're still working through what that will look like. But you can see there just it looks like a dashboard. It's uh got charts and things. And as you click into the chart, you can drill down deeper into um in this case what we're showing is our fund. Um our or click down into services and into a specific resource. In this case, I think it is our maintenance department, which we highlighted in our spotlight. um and then all the way down into see how they're uh
023or what they're spending for um consulting and and specialized services. Um and so that's what will be available with our public financial dashboard. Also want to highlight within um this focus area enhancing techno technological resources and systems and going down even deeper into the action is to implement policies and practices for improved network security, emergency preparedness and system redundancy. We actually had a scenario a couple of weeks ago. We've been working on this for probably the last five or six years. Um, and just about a week and a half ago, we had uh an issue with AT&T. The internet went down and it went down 2:00 in the morning and it was down for most of the day. Well, we didn't notice it because we have a redundant internet system and it stepped right in
024and uh wasn't until I think the next evening when I found out that it had happened. So, it was nice that we had that in place. Um but we're what we're constantly looking at improving in our on our technology and in this case we're looking at multifactor authentication. So um employees have a two-step process to log in to to their credentials. Um the the team uh analyzed and did um a review of seven different uh programs. They tested those programs, worked with our consultants uh from cyber security um as well as um uh had our internal staff uh put this on and have have them pilot it through u through the first phase of implementation and just had it implemented with our management group or anyone with access to uh sensitive financial or student data.
025Um and the plan is to roll this out to the rest of the district um this year. our staff. So, just a picture of one of the ways that folks can you have to try to guess, but there's lots of different options um over probably hundreds uh at this point um where folks they'll use their password and then pictures to be able to log in. So, it's accessible, it's scalable, and it's uh pretty pretty easy for our for our staff to focus on and use. And with that, I'm going to turn it over to Mr. Dylan. >> All right. So like uh chief business officer Hernandez just stated, this is the overall theme three. Um and then as you go down into that focus area around human capital and then drill down fir further into
026the ensuring efficient, effective and equitable human capital management system initiative, the specific action that we wanted to kind of take a deep dive into this evening is implementing an online employee performance management system. So, uh, Nathan and I actually selected this together because it was really a joint venture, um, in terms of launching and a lot of the initial research and design work between our two divisions. Um, so just to kind of give you a little bit idea of what that looks like and and I also want to just give us pull up just for a minute, what you're looking at here is we're trying to get sort of a structure of how we would bring forward these theme reports to you. And so on the left hand side you're seeing a description of research
027indicators that would be sort of common indicators or examples general examples of indicators that action owners would be conducting as a part of that research phase of the of the overall implementation process. The practical applied examples that I'm sharing about are what you're seeing on the right hand side. And so we'll replicate that as we go through slides. The left hand side is sort of general indicators and then what we did specific to this action is what will be reflected on the right hand side of the screen. So those specific things that we did during the research phase of implementation really started with getting an an idea of our current state analysis. Uh specifically as we talk about this type of uh initiative um we it was it was probably not what you would not
028expect. Um we have had a paper pencil evaluation process. I know all of our managers in the room have greatly appreciated that paper and pencil process. Uh but we found it was important to work on that um streamline that not only for evaluators but for those being evaluated um to try to improve that. As we did that what we obviously identified is it is paper to pencil completion and evaluation completen completion rates are not what we wanted them to be. Um and also there is no way that our district has had to pull data from that in recent history. Um and so those were some specific things we called out as we move through that. Then what we started doing is really begin researching around platform selection um and availability. What platforms are out there?
029So we looked at five different kind of broad platforms. Um some of them power school perform leapsum uh trackar. I won't bore you with all that but but a number of kind of leading platforms uh in this industry. Um and that included like live demonstrations uh thought partnership sharing with with individuals, platform walkthroughs, stakeholder feedback. As we moved through that um we ended up identifying really the one that we found would be most uh beneficial for our district. That also included considering the other systems that we already have and making sure that there's alignment and the opportunity for integration uh to work efficiently within our specific organization. And so then as we move forward with that and got a better idea of okay, what platforms are we looking at? What existing systems do we have?
030We very strategically then reached out to other districts who had experience with similar systems, the similar types of systems we were considering also utilizing for example Tyler Munis which is our district's business information system and getting an idea from them about what they've experienced with that. What's the the utilization been like? What is just user sort of experience been? Um and that information helped really drive us forward in getting closer to where we ultimately landed in design. Just to give you an idea, there were three different districts in California that had kind of a similar makeup and one in Texas that were really instrumental in helping advise us on that. So, as we move forward with that, then shifting into design indicators, um those specific steps and I'm kind of bucket here, but that ideal
031state development was a big part of this. So, looking at what was our current state and then really envisioning what is ideal state, thinking 2030, right? Because this is a five-year plan. What does ideal state look like in 2030? what would be an automated evaluation process for all employee groups. We would look to have 100% evaluation completion rates. Uh having alignment between employee performance data and student outcomes to really understand what are the things that we're seeing as it relates to employee performance that are correlated with student outcomes to better help drive how we're supporting coaching and guidance in in both those areas. And then also too recognizing that that performance data as a result then informs professional learning opportunities. And that's that's where we see ourselves and where we see this district in service
032of our staff and our students five years from now. So as a part of that, this past year we engaged in a pilot launch. We started off this time last year uh with 50, excuse me, with 21 evaluators, many of whom are in the room. Um and so thank you to all of you who are part of that and kind of that early adopter group. you were instrumental in to this work and and truly truly grateful for your participation in this. Uh by the end of the year we were at 52 evaluators who had completed over 275 evaluations using the platform. We learned a ton from this group. Um and that feedback really was helpful in informing how we move forward. And so going into this school year, we are now moving forward with the
033platform launching all evaluations for over 1600 employees this year who are due for evaluation in Power School perform uh which is what we identified. Part of that process was also not just selecting the platform but a big part of the design component of that which we are still in is the training and support initiatives. And so really recognizing what does training need to look like? what are those uh resources and tools that people need access to? Um increasing that transparency. The utilization of our district's uh hub that internet for employees has where where we've housed a lot of this. So the opportunity to utilize that has also been really helpful as we've moved forward. So just to give you a little bit idea, this is uh a bit of kind of what the dashboard looks
034like if and this is mine. So, as an evaluator, I can look at to see where are my tasks at as they relate to the evaluation process and what's due, what's already been completed. What am I behind on? Showed you this cuz it's early in the year and I'm not behind on anything yet. And so, it was a good example. Uh, but what is very different. Everything's in one place. And so, that's been a big shift. And just as an example, these are a couple quotes. I know they're kind of small on the screen. Um, but just to give you a little bit of insight from some of our folks who've been using this past year, a lot of kind of the themes what you hear people share about is having a one-stop shop where
035everything is. Um, the system prompts you and lets you know what's coming up and what's due. Uh the other thing too that a number of folks mention is the the synthesizing of the technical work that has to be done and really like the efficiency that's found with the procedural part has led to much more robust purposeful engagement in evaluations leading to more time more energy opportunity for rich dialogue and coaching conversations and opportunity to engage in in really constructive effective feedback. um as a result of com you know finding forms, scanning forms, emailing them over all of that process. And so where are we now? We are in an initial part of implementation for this year. We are not fully implementing this year and we're not even scheduled to be fully implemented this year. Um
036so just to give you an idea, there's a lot still that is is left to come. But as an example, right now, like I mentioned, we're fully launching across the district. uh we really are excited and some of those quotes kind of point to this for the enhanced enduser experience both as the as the employee being evaluated and as the uh manager who's doing the evaluation. If I could point to kind of like three specific things as it relates to user experience, it would really be the efficiency of having a single system a system, excuse me. The transparency via a live dashboard uh live communication goes back and forth and is accessible from both parties and then also really just that improved recordkeeping um and communication as a result of that. Then we're excited to
037see the promise of what a datadriven uh system will provide us. Being able to extract data from the system uh that informs on a site level what are common performance areas that we can focus on right as a school as a department and even districtwide looking at are there certain standards that we as a district need to better support our staff with in service of our students. So that concludes our presentation for this evening, but uh we happily be available to answer any questions you may have. >> Hey, thank you. Any public comment on this item? >> Board member questions. >> Well, moving on, gentlemen. Thank you very much. Okay, we move to item five, general public comment. General public comment on any topic not on the agenda may be heard at this time. If
038you have public comment on an item listed on tonight's agenda, there will be an opportunity for you to share your comments at the time the item comes up for discussion by the board. Pursuant to board policy, the board will limit individual comments for public general public comment to no more than 3 minutes and individual topics to 20 minutes. To comply with the Brown Act, California's open public meeting law, board discussion is limited to items on the agenda. Therefore, when receiving public comment for items not on the agenda, the board's role is limited to receiving such comments, and the board may not engage in dialogue with the public. The board thanks the public for its participation in public comment and understands an understanding of the board's responsibilities. It is recommended you begin your comments by stating
039your name. I have one request right now to speak. That is Diana Torres. Good evening board members. My name is Diana Torres and this is my husband Frankie Alvarado. We are the parents of our Redwood High School senior. Our daughter Haley has been a proud member of the cheer program for three years. But this year, her senior year, she was cut. Over the past 5 months, I have been given shifting explanations, behavior, attendance, and scoring. Every single one has been disproved. Behavior concerns were found non-existent. Attendance did not justify removal. And when we questioned scoring, I was told the team was made smaller. Yet, the program actually grew while varsity shrank. None of the none of the reasons hold up. What is most concerning is that scores are withheld from parents and team size is
040left entirely to the coach's discretion. I believe my daughter was not cut for her ability, but because of my advocacy. That is retaliation. Haley is not just a cheerleader. She's a four-year AVID student currently taking AP literature, AP psychology, and AP statistics. She is active in FFA, raising a pig, and serves as president for opening and closing ceremonies. She is exactly the kind of student this district says it wants to support, high achieving, committed, and a leader. As a so-called resolution, superintendent designate Natalie Garza proposed that Haley try out for a cheer at Mount Whitney. She did make the team, but only if she transferred schools. That is not resolution. That is punishment. It asks a senior to sacrifice her academics, her friendships, and stability for something that she has already committed three years to.
041This goes against the core beliefs of the USD, that all students can achieve at high levels, that family engagement is key to success, and that learning environment should be safe and supportive. It also contradicts Redwood's mission to prepare students for the future through learning, achievement, and character. What character lesson is being taught when retaliation is rewarded and commitment is disregarded? We are respectfully requesting two things. If Haley is not reinstated at Redwood Cheer, that she be allowed to cheer at Mount Whitney without transferring schools. If she is reinstated, that protections be put in place so retaliation does not continue. If it does, then the coach's ability to lead fairly should be reviewed. All of the reasons for cutting Haley have been disproved. What remains is retaliation and inconsistency. I urge this board to reject Superintendent
042Garza's proposal as unfair and instead adopt a resolution that truly protect truly protects students so no senior is ever forced to choose between their academics and their passion. Finally, we have provided each of you with a printout that includes a timeline of retaliation, records of resolution, conversations, and letters from Haley's teachers, many of whom strongly oppose of a transfer. We ask that you review these documents carefully as you consider your decision. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. Any other public comment? >> Okay, seeing none, we'll move along on the agenda then. Thank you. >> Okay. Consent agenda item six. Would any board member like to pull an item from the consent agenda? >> Okay. Seeing none, we'll move along. Um, may I have a motion to approve the consent agenda? >> I'll motion. >>
043Seconded by I'll second it. >> So, on a motion by board member D. Young and seconded by board member Belt, let's go ahead and vote. Student board representative votes yes and motion passes 6 with one absent. >> Thank you. >> Okay, >> there we go. >> Item seven, uh, student representative report. Uh, Mr. Kevin Rubio, Sequoia High School. Welcome. >> Good evening board members. My name is Cameron Rubio and I am a senior at Sequoa High School and a member of the U the USA, our district-wide student leadership team. At our first USA meeting of the year, we launched a new structure that will guide our work moving forward. As part of the VUSD strategic plan, one of the 65 action items is to enhance and expand student voice across the district. USAV is excited
044to play a big role in reaching this goal. How USAV will work this year? Each month, USAV student leaders will focus on one topic connected to the student experience. After each meeting, students will one collect input from a diverse group of peers using surveys, interviews, or other creative methods. Discuss discuss the findings with their ASB class to generate new ideas and possible solutions. Share insights with site administration to connect student feedback to school goals. report back at the next USA meeting and school board meeting to share their sides findings with the district with the district team. This process creates a feedback loop that makes sure students perspectives are heard at the classroom, school, and district level. Monthly topics include September relationship and belonging. October, activities and engagement. November, teaching and learning. December, safety and environment.
045February, school culture and pride. March, wellness and support. April, recognition and acknowledgement. May future readiness, college, career, and life skills. We are grateful for the support of ASB directors and site administrators who will help us bring this process to life on our campuses. Together we are creating consistent opportunities for student to share their voice strength school culture and help shape meaningful change across VUSD. And now for a few highlights from our from our sites. Redwood hosted a club day last week which featured 75 clubs and drew hundreds of students to the event where they signed up to get involved. FBLA stole the show. Handing out over 400 free snow cones in the 100° heat with robotics, esports, and bake club were some of the many clubs that drew students interest with hands on demos and
046baked treats. On August 29th, LD broke tradition with a more creative approach to their icebreaker dance. They held their dance in the stadium at Golden West following the LD football game and was the most attended icebreaker in years, following over 350 students. Raising Canes helped make the night memorialable by sponsoring the event and serving 800 pieces of chicken. On August 22, Golden Wear started the year strong with an outstanding club, Rush, where dozens of clubs showcased their programs and students eagerly signed up to get involved. Despite the warm weather, the energy and excitement on campus set a positive tone for the year ahead. During the first week of school, Mount Winnie hosted their welcome week with activities and dress up days. Average 275 students dressed up each day. Approximately 230 students also attended their f
047their first football game that week. Seoia held a success a successful back to school night. The theme for the year be a potato good with everything better with resources could be seen in the department's potato themed decorations. The theme made it all the way to a full-blown baked potato bar that was much appreciated and well received by all. BCIS is engaging in meaningful activities to promote suicide awareness as September is suicide awareness month. The student support team and student activities class are putting together events to promote mental health awareness during September. World Suicide Prevention Day is tomorrow, September 10th, and BCIS will promote this by hosting their wellness Wednesday lunchtime activity where students enjoy a free pizza lunch, games, and music and celebrate and value one another. On the 29th of August, VTEC held its
048annual icebreaker dance with a theme of welcome to the circus where all students were inv were invited to build a culture of inclusivity on campus. There were games, music, and overall a good time for students to enjoy. I also want to shout out my my mom Adriana Odina and my dad Victor um Victor Rubio for being there when I most needed it and my siblings for always being there too. I also want to shout out uh to my girlfriend Michelle Sevia Ramirez cuz over over this year she also helped me um during school when I mostly need it. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you Kevin. appreciate the insight into the student world in Vice Unified and also for the lengthy piece there on the advisory. All good information. Okay, moving on to board
049member reports starting off in our traditional way. Board member Belt, you're up first. Thank you. Uh interim temporary standin. President Dr. Odo, we um across the our district are probably having lots of back to school nights. I sadly missed the potato night, but um was able to attend Ivanho back to school night, which all of our schools were trying to foster a community. And of course, you know, they have the Goan and Ivanho have a unique opportunity because they are the community. And it was an amazing evening with not only a packed house in their little multi-purpose building, but also so many families uh with lots of different kids. And I won't forget the one little kindergarter who was very shy and was speaking to her mother and principal Razner and then finally made her
050way up to me to ask a very important question. She said, "Well, will will Mrs. Belt be my friend? Mrs. Belt is her music teacher. And for the first few days, she didn't feel like that she had successfully asked her teacher if she could be her friend. And so I was the proxy to take home. I said, "Absolutely. I will make sure to extend your invitation for Mrs. Belt to be your friend." And so tomorrow or Monday when you see her again in music, you'll know that that's been assured. what goes on in the minds of our little ones is unfathomable at times, but it was amazing to actually watch families so excited about back to school, being back to school. And then I I have to actually highlight um where's she? Principal Rasner, they
051now have a cheer at Ivano. I'm not going to try to do it. But uh the kids led the staff and the families in Ivanho cheer. But also what's really unique is uh Principal Razner has decided to take her office to the hallways and she now has a cart that she is rolling around the school grounds with her laptop and uh I hear lots of other items that are some not easily identified, others that obviously obviously she needs throughout the day to do her tasks. But what I'm excited about is that again a principal taking to heart being visible, being accessible, being uh with students and staff uh as much as possible. So thank you Janna for making that incredible idea. I know it's real popular. If you follow Tik Tok, there's a principal that's
052anyway also making that very famous. But again, thank you to all of our principles who are here tonight. a thankless job that seems to never end, but we're glad you're there. >> Okay, board member D. Young. >> Thank you, Acting President Odo. Um, time is uh really flying by and um I haven't been as active as I normally would, but things are starting to pick back up. Um, I'm really looking forward to the more school sites, visiting them as that that picks up as well. Um, it's great to see the school sites as they progress. Um, you know, two of which I should mention, uh, Conor and Crowley, which are great little schools. Uh, they have a lot of character and history, and I, for one, I'm looking forward to having more visits with them
053in the future. Um, one more thing on a personal note. I now have a child who is a middle schooler. So, if you want to add me to your prayers, uh, I would appreciate it. Um, this is kind of another new experience for our family, uh, our young family. And, uh, I'm I'm looking forward myself to be more involved in as kind of as a middle school parent and to learn as much as I can since, you know, I have two more kiddos that are that are eventually going to make it there, too. Um, but you know, you might ask, you know, like why is this type of involvement important? Um, and uh, well, you know, I had a few parents and staff reach out to me recently about concerns they've had with BEL Unified,
054which, you know, many constituents do. Um, and I'm glad for it. Uh, I'm also happy, you know, to listen anyone's concerns. That's that's an issue. But I want to reiterate that uh we don't need to wait to bring something up if we feel it's an issue. And I got to thinking, you know, a great outlet for this for so many people would be your local school PTA. Now, I'm not talking about, you know, going there with all your problems and uh you know, blasting it like that. That's that's not the point. But if you get more involved in ways you can um and talk to other parents, you might be surprised. And so our PTAs are always looking for more help. I can't stress that enough. Um and that help will directly affect our schools
055and will directly affect our kids. And there's uh not a whole lot more meaningful ways to do that. And you know, as a parent, I'm very grateful for the work that our PTAs do for our schools. Uh they they are on it. And you know, that's part of our core beliefs and commitments about family and community engagement is key to student success. And uh you know, if you can't help PTA uh physically, they'll always take your donations. So that's always an option. But um usually too some of them bring up is that school principles typically attend these meetings because principles do love their PTAs and PTAs make a huge difference in the community and with their schools and that is a great opportunity for parents, grandparents, whoever uh to give positive feedback and to also
056talk to the principles and see how your school is doing. And so lastly, I'd just like to uh give another thank you to our PTAs and of course our principles who hopefully don't get swarmed with a bunch of parents even though that wouldn't be a bad thing. Um also to staff admin uh especially uh administration cabinet uh for meeting with me recently answering a lot of questions I always seem to have. Uh it is appreciated. I know at times uh your days are busy and uh every bit of information I get really does help me make good decisions for the district and I would hope that as well for our parents. So go check out your school, check out your local PTA. And with that concludes my report, acting president Odo. >> Thank you. Uh
057next up, Mr. Board uh Trustee Viegas. Sorry. Thank you, Dr. Oto. Uh just wanted to give a brief shout out to all of our students, all of our teachers, and all of our parents uh who are gearing up for the fair uh and through FFA. uh recognizing all of the hard hours not just in the classroom but outside the classroom it takes to you know raise animals, show animals and uh if you've ever seen one of these competitions firsthand or if you haven't, I encourage you to go uh because it's such a phenomenal experience to see you know so many students their leadership not to mention those working towards their state degrees and so many other honors through the FFA program. And so if you have a chance, you know, to swing by the fair
058this week or next, um, please applaud our students, our teachers and parents and so many folks, uh, who put in so many hours to make sure, you know, this experience runs smoothly. So, just wanted to give a quick shout out, um, to all of who are actively involved in FFA and so many other programs. Uh, not to mention, I'm sure we'll probably have some student performances um, and other folks involved in the fair and other capacities. So, really excited to, you know, go see what our students have been working on. Uh, that concludes my report. Thank you. Thank you, board member Gamoyan. >> Um I appreciated um Kevin's report with all the club days, Redwood having 75 clubs. Um every high school and middle school, they have tons of clubs. It's really important that students
059are connected to the school and that's a really good way to connect to the school. I think there's something for everyone. So, parents, encourage your kids to get involved that way. Um, I am on the uh California School Board Association Legislative Committee and we're coming to the close of the legislative session. And so, we're meeting on Friday. Um most of the bills that are sponsored by CSBA are very kid um oriented, student oriented and most of those are going forward. There are a few controversial um legislations that are still um up in the air. So if any school board member or staff or parent wants me to advocate for something, just let me know. And that concludes my report. Thank you, board member Gabby. >> All right. Um well, yes, definitely want to start out
060with thank you for um Superstrum for always bringing in to enhance student voice. Um I don't think we, you know, definitely don't do that enough. And I love that they are also going out and getting additional voices and um you know, bringing as many students into that as possible. So, very cool. And um yes, definitely a shout out to um all of the work that goes into fair animals. I don't know, you mentioned student performance. Maybe we could get them to like show their pigs in here. Goats are always welcome. Um and then um aside from that, like I'm going to kind of be blatantly biased about my kids started LD this year and it has been just an amazing start. And so I know every one of you is doing that at your campuses.
061Um, but everything from back to school night, um, they happen to be at an academy. The teachers were like visibly excited about making connections and what was going on in the program. Um, and I know, you know, shout out to Mr. Taylor is bringing back the green sea. There was more kids out than I've ever seen at events. Um, and I heard all about the Canes. I don't even know that they knew there was a football game happening, but they knew that there was going to be canes there. Um, so thank you. Um, you know, that's that's one school, but I know it's happening at all of them. And thank you to principles. Um, but I'm going to disagree that it's thankless. I think it's the best job out there, so enjoy it. Um, and
062that concludes my report. >> Yeah. And I'll second that. Principal is the best job in the world. Um, so I don't have any report except to say, you know, time flies really fast. We've heard a lot of things going on in the district that are good board member reports that reflect good things that we've witnessed as board members. a report on theme three for the strategic plan. And those are all long lever kinds of things that'll allow us to be better at our work and more accountable for our work. But we're a month in already. You know, we think it's still the start of school. Yeah, it's the start of school, but we're we're moving fast. So, um, thanks to everyone for their hard work and looking forward to great results this year, just like
063we've all been looking forward. So, thank you, uh, board super or superintendent report. >> Thank you, Mr. President. I uh also want to echo appreciation for all the work our uh leaders and school sites and teachers are doing uh as we are now well into uh several weeks into the school year. Uh thank you to uh Trusty D. Young. You know, when we talk about PTA, we've made that a key piece. One of the actions within our strategic plan on uh theme two, which is family, community involvement, engagement, is that every school have an active PTA and PTO. Uh and so we're well on our way. We've increased. I don't off the top of my head have the number, but that'll be part of what we report back uh when we do our quarterly strategic
064plan reports, but uh it's great to see that continue to grow uh into sites that have not had uh that opportunity as well. So, um pleased to see that and thank you for highlighting that. Uh and also for the fair uh we will most of us will be visiting uh this week as well. So, I think tomorrow or Thursday is when I go and so looking forward to seeing our students uh definitely put in a lot of work uh and our staff as well uh to help get the kids ready for this. And it is every year it's a great event to go to uh because you see the students living out what they're passionate about. Uh so very excited about that. Um I've had the opportunity in the first few weeks of school uh
065still going. Have about another week or two to go uh for my initial site visit at every site. My goal is always to get to every site in the first few weeks of school uh to see how things are going, talk to our principles, check in with some teachers. Uh I'm very proud of what I see happening uh as we really make a concerted effort to make sure we're using highly effective classroom practices in every classroom that students are being exposed to instruction that's at the level uh of of the grade level and then scaffolding and providing that support using our district aligned resources. uh and that's how we're going to continue to see our students achieve. So, thank you to our teachers and our staffs uh for being focused and intentional about that work.
066And that concludes my report. >> Thank you. Moving on to 10.1, recommended suspended expulsions. May I have a motion to approve the recommended suspension suspended expulsions? >> A motion. >> Second. >> So, on a motion by board member Viegas, seconded by board member Goyan. Call for the vote. Student board representative abstains and motion passes 6 with one absent. >> Moving on to item 10.2, recommended expulsions. May I have a motion to approve the recommended expulsions? >> So moved. I'll second. >> So a motion by board member Goyan and a second by board member D. Young. Call for the vote. Student board member abstains and motion passes 6 with one absent. >> Okay. General agenda. Uh 11.1 fiscal year 202425 unudited actuals report. The most important report of the year. >> You forgot the woohoo. >>
067Woohoo. >> Good evening Dr. Odto, members of the board and superintendent. Tonight, um I am going to be sharing with you the culmination of all of our financial activity through June 30th of uh 2025. Um and so I'm going to begin just to as a reminder that you know the the budget the and this actuals report is is how we resource to make the board's mission and vision our commitment to student learning come come true. and it's how the board sets the conditions for everything else to happen within our schools. And that starts with our budget. And this is again that culminating report. Uh so we're going to talk about the internet actuals, what it means, um where we ended the year, uh in our general fund, and we'll look at our other funds and
068talk about what's next because as we mentioned, we're already planning for the 26 27th school year. Um, so again, this is our our the the last report that you'll get from staff on the unodudited on our on our actuals for 2425. Our next report in January will be from our um external audit firm. Um, and they'll be here in the next couple of months to to complete our audit. Um, it is required by EDC code. So, it is a compliance document. And so, as you look at the 250 pages within the report, lots of numbers, lots of compliance pieces within that. and uh how we completed the the last fiscal year. And that goes to our county office um be prior to September 15th. That's why we're here tonight. And then it goes on to
069CDE. Um and then it's used by our external auditors to complete our our final audit report for the year. Um so the three things that we um that we pull from this report is are we living within our means? You know, are we deficit spending? Do we have surplus? uh were we able to meet our required reserve which is set at 3% and then are each of our our district's funds solvent meaning are they also do they have positive ending balances revenues uh over their expenditures and so I'll go through um each of those with as we get there um this is where we're at in our in our accounting cycle and like I mentioned this is the the end of this year's reporting but we've already started preparing um and we'll be starting with
070our LCAP here in the next few weeks preparing for the 2627 uh budget process. Um so high level general fund uh over $520 million uh in revenues as we ended last fiscal year that was down from the 23 24 year primarily because we finished the expenditures of our ESSER funds our federal funds that came to us as uh as one-time funds um through those through those ESR one two and three uh actions that happened there. Um we did have some additional state funding um from uh primarily CTE type programs but also teacher residency as well as our expanded learning opportunities program. And so we had an increase year-over-year from other state revenues. Um and then our local revenues primarily that increase was from interest earnings. We've seen better returns in stock market and so as
071the district has cash that is that is set aside we also h earn interest on those funds. So 520 million in total revenues. Um and you can see the breakdown there um by different by different source. Most of it comes from the state. Um both the blue and the green are portions of state funding. But you see there the federal re revenues about 4% of our overall budget. Um that's higher when we had the ESSER funds, but it's now that's that's a more normalized uh federal revenue picture for us. On the expenditure side, we mentioned 24 or 25. We had $520 million in revenue and $540 million in expenditures. And so that first question, are we living within our means? Um, so we are deficit spending that was planned. We're spending down balances from prior
072fiscal years. So we had revenue in prior fiscal year that we're spending down. And so as we spend down those uh those revenues from prior years, it shows as an expense in the current year and shows as a deficit, but we still have those positive fund fund balances. We are also meeting our required reserve amount of 3%. And so we check all of those boxes along whether we have a a positive certification that would be the case in our budget report. But in here it shows that we are we are living uh within our means and we do have positive ending fund balances. Um other outgoing capital a lot of that was uh er expenditures. We did a lot of um capital projects um with er funds. We also had uh some construction in 2425
073that was for uh the Vicelia charter independent study building and so uh we'll see that number probably drop in 2526 when we come back and and provide this report. My favorite Excel sheet ever. It's uh it's it is an Excel sheet, but it shows when we spend a dollar, this is where those funds go. And majority of those funds, almost 80% go to uh salaries and benefits. We're a people business. And that's um that's where our expenditures go. When we talk about programs and services, we do that through people. Um and so 80% salaries and benefits. And then you can see the amounts there for books and supplies and services and other expenditures. the components of ending fund balance. This is this is essentially where we have our reserve funds. Um focusing in on the
074unrestricted side of our budget. So this is just um this is not include those restricted funds. Um you can see that revenues, expenditures and transfers about a $9 million deficit. Most of that was completion of some of those capital projects that uh I just mentioned BCIS as one. And so our ending fund balance at the end of the year 51 million and the amount that we have set aside in our reserve is at 8.2%. So as we closed out last year um you know above our 3% u required minimum and then you can see some other balances that we have there and and then again a pension reserve that we have set aside for our other district funds. All of our other district funds have positive ending fund balances. So again, uh answering that last
075question about the solveny of our other district funds, uh all of them again with positive ending fund balances over $432 million between our general fund and all of our other funds. So next steps, this uh will go to our county office uh for review and then on to uh Department of Ed. Our external auditors will take this report and they'll come in and do some additional audits and then we'll close out the year with the audit report by December 15th and then we'll come back to the board in January with that report from our external audit team. Um want to thank the team and I know I saw Mr. Leis come in um who uh spent considerable time u putting these reports together along under uh Kyla Johnson's leadership. So with that we'll answer any
076questions. Okay. Any public comment? Any board member comment or discussion? Okay. This is an action item. So, uh, may I have a motion to approve the fiscal year 2425 unudited actuals report. >> I move. I'll second. So, a motion by board member Belt, seconded by board member Viegas. Call for the vote. Student representative votes yes and motion passes 6 with one absent. >> Moving on to item 11.2 exemption from required expenditures classroom teacher salaries. Presenter here is again Mr. Hernandez. >> Yes, back. And uh this is a a required um waiver or exemption that the district seeks um under ED code 41372. We're required to spend at least 55% of our funds on classroom salaries and benefits. Um this is a this is a requirement that's been in place for many years. Um and many
077districts are in the same position required to request a waiver. Um because over time as um as LCAP funds have expanded, we have more services being performed with classified service. We also have our expanded learning opportunities program afterchool programs. A lot of these programs are not performed by our classroom uh teachers and so many districts have to request this waiver. We're at about 50.8% so we are below um we have done this now this is the third year that we've requested the waiver. Um and we anticipate that this will be uh required for us going forward as well. >> Okay. Public comment on this item board member questions or comment on this item. Okay. Action item. So, may I have a motion to approve the exemption from required expenditures classroom teacher salaries? Okay. And I'll
078second. So, on a motion by board member Gamoy, seconded by board member Odo. Call for the vote. >> Student board representative votes GS and motion passes 6 with one absent. >> Yeah. Item 11.3 warrant list August 1st, 2025. of August 29th, 2025. Coming back around, may I have a motion to approve the warrant list from August 1st, 2025 through August 29th, 2025. >> Motion. >> So, on a board on a motion by board member Gabby, second by board member GOYN, call for the vote. >> Motion passes with student board representative voting yes and motion passes 6 with one absent. And >> on that happy note, we're going to adjourn the meeting. Thank you.