001and our first order of business will be our organizational meeting with election of officers. The Education Code Sections 35143, 7-2000-2A, B, and C require the governing board to hold an annual organizational meeting to elect officers and to set the date, time, and place for all regular board meetings in 2026. So we'll begin with the election of president, and I will take a motion. I move to nominate Andy Schaefer for president. Thank you. Do you need a second? I will second. Okay, thank you. Any other nominations? Okay, all those in favor? Aye. Any nays? Any abstentions? Thank you very much. Congratulations, Andy. Thank you. You are now president, and I will pass the gavel to you. All right. Thank you, everybody. So we'll move on to election of the vice president clerk. And I would like
002to nominate Eric Bridgeford as clerk. I'll second. Any comment? Any other motions? All in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. All right. Thank you, Eric. Congratulations, Eric. Thank you. Okay. And so we'll move on to item two, establishment of our regular board meetings. That'll be typically held at 530 on the second Tuesdays of each calendar month at the Carpinteria City Council Chambers at 5775 Carpinteria Avenue or the district administrative office or school site if needed. And the proposed dates are January 13th, February 10th, March 10th, April 14th, May 12th, June 9th, June 16th, August 11th. September 9th, October 13th, November 10th, and December 15th. Any discussion on those? Can I get a motion to approve those dates? I'll move to approve. Is there any discussion? Any conflict? We all good? All right. All in favor? Second. Oh,
003second. Can I get a second? Second. All right. All in favor? Aye. Alrighty, we'll move on to the various committees that we will participate in. The first one is the County Committee on School District Organization. And currently, Sally Green was on that, as was Aaron Smith. And Eric was an alternate. Does anybody want to be on that committee? You want to keep doing it? Sure, I'll continue. Okay. You want to do it, Eric? Yeah, I'll go as well. Okay. And Eric, and then you want to be alternate? I can be alternate. Jeanette can be an alternate. Okay. All right. So we'll move on to the Joint City Council meeting, or Board of Trustees Committee. Currently it's myself and Eric. with Jamie's alternate. We good with that or we want to change it up? I'm fine
004with it. You want to be on there? Yeah, I mean you're good with being on it. I can be alternate. Yeah, I can be alternate. Okay, all right. Jeanette can be alternate. All right, keep it handy in here. Okay, and then the legislative network committee, you want to still be on that, Jamie? Yeah, I'll stay on that. All right. Okay, so we have the county committee. I'll make a motion that Aaron, Eric, and Jeanette as alternate. The Joint City Council would be myself, Eric, and Jeanette as an alternate, and the legislative network, Jamie. Can I get a second? Second. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Okay. Thank you, we'll move on to the flight salute and I apologize, but I'm gonna Okay Hope you feel better Okay We're gonna report out on our closed session
005and the boat the board voted 5 to 0 to reject the notice of claims on claim number 2026057574 and the board voted 5-0 to deny the application to file a late claim, claim number 2026057574. Okay. We will move on to public comment not on this agenda. So if anyone has a comment, just line up at the podium here, and you can speak for your three minutes. Just the green light's on. It's been a while. It's been many years. Nice to see you all. My name is Sharon Velarde, and I'm here as a supporter of youth tennis. I wanted to thank you and the city of Carpinteria for your quick response in identifying and posting the hours of youth tennis for the use at the Carpinteria Middle School courts during public hours. I and we are
006here to gain your support for future decisions regarding the public use of the tennis courts at the middle school. Tennis has a long history in Carpinteria. The first courts were located at the original Aliso School in the early 1900s, which is now the Veterans Memorial Building, and then moved to the high school to the west of the middle school gym and in its current location after several years. changes made there. In public courts around the United States, instructors are present. And I may not know a lot about tennis, I am learning, but I know a lot about teachers. And Ron is a master teacher. We are lucky in Carpentry to have him work with our youth. Students that work with Ron may start playing at the middle school court and move on and up to
007become a Warrior tennis player. I wanted to congratulate the girls tennis team too for their accomplishments this season. Tennis builds good citizenship, fair play, athletic ability, mental acuity and toughness, and is a lifetime sport. These players are scholar athletes, and many are multi-talented in music and the arts. They play in USTA tournaments, UTR tournaments, traveling teams locally and across Southern California, and high school tennis. Many plan to spend their college years playing tennis or go professional. and those kids started here at our tennis court during public hours. We know that the high school courts are available during summer and holiday, but that's not consistent. These players need consistency. They would play 24-7 if they could. Many practice three, four, five days a week, and not all players have access to other tennis courts other than
008public. We want to know moving forward that the school district puts youth first and foremost and our goal today is that the board support and put forth a resolution that prioritizes the use of at least one tennis court for our youth players before anyone else now and in the future. Thank you Thank You Sharon Alrighty, so happy holiday season. Of course, there is much to do before anyone takes a break. This evening, we will use the limited time available to cover two topics you will not hear our district officials address. First, in successive grade level and department chair meetings through the month of November, CMS faculty, among others, have been reporting concerns pertaining to student achievement. These reports have been summarily dismissed by Principal Persoon, SPED Director Haynes, and Ms. Rigby. CMS faculty have been
009trying to clarify the devastating impact of Ms. Rigby's new push-in model at the secondary level. General ed classes are now routinely composed of over 50% at-risk non-English speaking 504 and or special education students. As faculty emphasize the need for increased physical support in gen ed classrooms, teachers are told to differentiate. But no level of instructional differentiation can make up for the wide range of abilities and needs that currently exist in a single gen ed classroom. While site and district administration share rhetoric with the community about mastering standards and increased rigor, the faculty continue their attempts to clarify how Ms. Rigby's push and model is undermining both. The decision to reduce COSD's instructional costs by concentrating our most at-risk and difficult students in general education classes is a tragic outcome of the district's reckless misappropriation of
010tax dollars to defend unlawful behavior over the last several years. It is directly impacting the majority of students, so many of whom already arrived below grade level. And while the district spends the data to paint an absurdly inaccurate description of what is happening in classrooms across the district, the majority of our students, especially our at most at risk students, are falling further behind. The second topic pertains to outstanding legal action associated with CUSD's labor violations. CUSD, by comparison, a very small district, can add two new labor arbitrations to the list of 17 distinct labor violations now working through the courts. In fact, just yesterday, as more money was thrown by CUSD at defending its unlawful behavior, the Santa Barbara Superior Court compelled CUSD to arbitrate three more grievances district officials have evaded for the last
011year and a half. Board officials, when will you learn? You can run and you can crawl and at great cost to you, you can hide behind your lawyers, but you will not escape the slow grinding gears of justice. And you will account for the violations and unlawful behavior district officials and senior administrators have subjected district employees and families to endure. Unfortunately, the accountability of our district officials that our district officials have earned will be funded by the taxpayers and borne by the students who rely on us to place them at the center of our decision making. Thank you. And why? Because these solutions have been put aside by the director of the high school, Jamie Persoon. As well as they have been put aside by the special education director and by the superintendent, Rigby. Los
012profesores han tratado de clarificar el impacto devastador académico del nuevo modelo de la superintendente Rigby en la secundaria. Mientras que la administración comparte la retórica de mejorar los estándares, el modelo está disminuyendo el aprendizaje estudiantil. Además, la decisión de disminuir Los costos concentrando a los estudiantes más vulnerables con los demás estudiantes de educación en general es el resultado de un verdadero estado vergonzoso económicamente porque pone el dinero de la educación sobre los estudiantes. Thank you. Yesterday, the Supreme Court of Santa Barbara confirmed that it will be in charge of three other labor disputes that have been avoided over the past year and a half. When will they learn? They can hide, they can hide behind their lawyers, but they will not escape justice. Unfortunately, those who will pay all these legal costs are the contributors.
013Thank you. Thank you. My name is Ron Maceras. Some of you may know me already. Others perhaps not. For those who don't, I'm the guy that's guilty as charged for inciting a lot of local kids to play tennis. Several of them flanking me behind me. And for those who aren't here tonight, I'd like to... Just like to give a little background. First lesson I ever gave was at San Marcos High School in 1971. The most recent tennis lesson I gave was about 45 minutes ago at the CMS tennis court. I'd like to say that the kids over the 54-year period that I've been teaching tennis, kids here in Carpinteria represent a pretty unusual group, a group that has shown themselves to be far more committed to their craft and developing their self not just as
014tennis players but as human beings than just about any other group that I've worked with in 54 years. All this is thanks to your indulgence of me teaching on that court. I've gotten to know these kids really well. They've gotten to know me somewhat as well. My purpose here tonight is really just mostly to thank all of you for allowing us to use that court for that purpose. I know it's not easy. There's some contentiousness going on, as I think we all know, about the use of those courts. It's bound to happen. Bottom line, these kids are growing up fast. Some of them are presently here tonight are on the local high school tennis team. Kids that I work with on that court play on tennis teams from Dos Pueblos to Santa Barbara, San Marcos,
015Carp High, Thatcher. Oxnard as well. A lot of different kids all coming from this court that you've allowed me to use and work with these kids on. Other kids are in college, have gone on to college, and are playing on tennis teams in college now. Some will graduate. Some of them are right here in this room behind me right now, will graduate this year and go on to college, hopefully be playing on college tennis teams there. Couldn't have happened without the use of your court, so I'm just here to thank you all for allowing me to do that. Great. Thank you, Ron. Thank you. This is my own public comment. Rogelio Delgado, Carpentry resident. I'm always saying Carpentry resident because I want the community to know that I live here. So I'm aware of what's
016happening. education was happening on city council because I attend there every time. So that's why Carpentry resident. This is some of my goals for 2026 and these are fair goals. Number one, better academic achievement by the most vulnerable students, special ed students. Hispanic students. It's harder for them to compete at the level of the general student population. Number two, a better interaction by all five board members. There's five of you and that's why you were elected. That's why you were appointed to be there to represent. Your district so I haven't heard much from two or three of you I have only heard from Mr. Schaefer and Jamie diamond and that's it That's that's why the other three need to be more involved meaning communicate and Like not agree 100% We are over there too. I
017mean occasionally disagree occasionally Say nay, I don't agree Nothing will happen. It won't change the outcome of any action taken. Yes You just have to have an open mind and prove that you have it. Not I did it right there for years. I always participated. I said it back then a few times I agree 70% with you But the other percent I don't because I had an open mind and I still have it Another goal it's a better communication with a community a better was I mean Right. Thank you. Thank you Okay, we'll move on I'm Bob George. I just want to make a comment on kind of what Ron and the other speakers talked about regarding the tennis court usage Carp Unified School District tennis courts. They're not city courts It's a if I
018understand it right it's Unified School District courts managed by the city. So it's some sort of collaborative relationship between The board and the city as far as usage You guys having the power to determine how they're used I just want to say that I think it's really important that it's continued at least one court for tennis. I mean, pickleball is the fastest growing game in America. I'm not willing to call it a sport, but it is a fun recreational game where tennis is a sport that requires a lot more practice. We could cancel the board meeting right now, hit the pickle court, and all have a good game and have a lot of fun. Tennis doesn't work that way. being able to use those courts during the hours defined is serving a really good service
019to all our children. I know you guys, your mandate is for the kids of the school district. And last I knew, there weren't many kids other than at PE or school hours using the pickleball court. That's a bunch of 60-year-olds reliving their youth and having a good time. It's a great game. But I just want to ensure that... the board like they are allowing now that we just continue having tenants at least on one of the courts. Thanks. Thank you. Hi there, my name is Stephanie Washburn. I'll also be short. It's the familiar topic now, but I just cannot express what a beautiful program Ron runs. And the students that I've met through that program are extraordinary, and the level of dedication they have to their sport and practice. It's a very challenging game, and
020it seems so natural to support these. incredibly talented student athletes on school property and I appreciate your support. I really hope it continues and these students have that pipeline, the accessibility, the equity that Ron's program provides as that gateway to future careers in tennis. So thank you and I hope it continues. Thank you. Okay, seeing that there's no more public comment on that, we'll move on to the approval of the minutes. Any public comment on the approval of the minutes? Okay, so elected employee representatives asked that the minutes show that at the November 12th board meeting, union leadership provided an accounting of the significant reduction of public speaking time at school board meetings such as these. Let the minutes show that after the arrival of Ms. Diamond and Mr. Smith now over four years ago,
021the board ended the historic practice of allowing members of the public to cede speaking minutes to another public speaker. This reduced the possibility of speaking on a single item. from up to nine minutes for a community member speaking on behalf of others to just three minutes per speaker period. The board pursued this 66% reduction in available public speaker minutes regardless of the importance, the scope, or the impact of the agenda item and its impact on district students and families. Let the minutes show in conflict with 25 years of historic practice the school board then further reduced public comment by prohibiting a member of the public to speak on each individual agenda item Now public speakers only receive three minutes per broad agenda category versus three minutes per each agenda item, equating to an approximate 60%
022further reduction in speaking opportunity minutes on top of the previous 66% reduction after the board prohibited the seating of speaker minutes. Unfortunately, the minutes must also show that three months ago the Board reduced community input even further when they cut the number of monthly Board meetings in half from two meetings a month to just a single meeting a month. If you follow the math, the Board's arbitrary changes to public speaking opportunities has reduced public speaking time to just 9.5% of the total speaking minutes available to a member of the public when compared to just three years ago. percent reduced to 66, leaves 33 percent, which was reduced by another 60 percent, leaving 19.5 percent, which was then reduced to a single meeting each month, half of 19.5, approximately 9.75 percent. Again, just 9.75 percent of
023the total speaking minutes available to a member of the public when compared to just three years ago. Meanwhile, the board has reduced public speaking time over while the board has reduced public speaking time over 90 in the last few years the district does this in conflict with its own board policies under board bylaw 9323 meeting conduct the board's own policy expressly states quote in general Individual speakers will be allowed three minutes to address the board on each agenda or non-agenda item, and the board will limit the total time for public input on each item to 20 minutes. How are you reconciling that? Thank you. Thank you. All right. Move on to approval of the minutes. Oh, sorry. Mr. Delgado will try. Oh. Rogelio Delgado, Carpinteria Residence. Number one, que los minutos muestren que desde la
024llegada de Miss Diamond y de Mr. Smith, se acabó el ceder tiempo a otra persona, como se hacía por muchos años. Número dos, ahora las personas tienen solamente tres minutos para hablar de una agenda extensa en lugar de tres minutos por cada asunto de la agenda. Número tres, ahora que... that the minutes show that the meetings are every month instead of every two weeks. This means denying time to the community for educational issues. This goes against its own laws. Under law 9323, Isidro says the following. Las personas tendrán tres minutos para cada asunto de la agenda, fuera o dentro de ella, de la agenda. Y los directivos otorgarán el tiempo total para el público en cada asunto a 20 minutos. Se cierra la cita a su propia ley. Por eso la gente... Okay, can I
025get a motion to approve the minutes of November 12th? I will motion to approve the minutes for November 12th. I'll second. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Can I get a motion to approve the minutes for November 18th? I'll move to approve. I'll second. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. All right. Move on to the approval of the agenda and content agenda. Any public comment? All right, so with three minutes we'll only have time to address one item in the consent agenda item number six Union leadership again asked why the regular December payroll of 2025 does not discriminate between a the cost of classified site level support staff working directly with kids and Be the cost of senior district administrators Why doesn't see usd separate the costs of bus drivers food service workers instructional aides
026secretarial staff and custodians? From the cost of the superintendent assistant superintendent or human resource coordinator whose salaries are five to six times those of the classified employees who work directly with students we asked that question at the last several board meetings not only did district officials fail to answer our question all but miss rigby alleged they did not even know what the expenditures were included in the data guiding their decisions Last year around this time superintendent Rigby scoffed at our question and told us that admin costs were included in the classified payroll costs yet two board meetings back after assuring the public otherwise Ms. Rigby stated that administrative salary and benefits costs are not included in the classified totals under the consent agenda. Which one is it today Ms. Rigby? We've been asking this question
027for over a year. Can someone please confirm our administrative salary and benefits costs included in the consent agenda? And if not, why aren't they? And if so, why does the district conflate these significantly different expenditures? Mr. Kaff stated that he did not believe that admin were included. This was two meetings back, but he said he would check. Mr. Kaff, two full months have passed. We asked you at the last meeting, and we ask again, have you checked? You have misunderstood what the comments were, and I will clarify for you. So listen carefully. Just to make sure I'm going to get the time back. But, yes, please, thank you. Listen carefully. Thank you, and I'm listening. What I said is I said classified administrators are in the classified category. I said certificated administrators are in the
028certificated number here. What you asked is if certificated were. included and classified, that's when I said no. You did not listen carefully. That's actually not what you said. And a year ago, you told us exactly the opposite. No, that's not what I said. I'd like to reclaim my time now. That's not what I said. I'm not going to allow you to spend this on my time. Don't argue with me. Thank you. I'm not going to allow you to spend this on our time. May I have the minutes back, please? Okay, thank you. So, Mr. Caff, have you checked? It's now been two months since you said you would. Once again, you're staring at your paper, unable apparently to look up, maybe directed not to look up. Ms. Rigby, if so, could you please share what
029you found out once this public comment is over? For those wondering why it matters, elected employee leadership again shares several concerns. By conflating admin costs with classified unit costs, or as you're now a third approach, with certificated and classified unit costs, the public cannot compare the cost of administrators with the cost of those who work directly with the students. By conflating these costs, the USD can misrepresent the number of dollars it spends on classified staff working directly with students and apparently now certificated staff that work directly with students. It's also easier to hide the unpleasant fact that over the last five years, the USD has spent less of its operating budget on all classified unit staff than it has spent on legal services and related operating expenditures associated with the administrative misconduct, mismanagement, and unlawful
030behavior. Thank you. uh costos de la superintendente, de su asistente, y de recursos humanos cuyos salarios son cinco o seis veces más que los empleados clasificados que trabajan directamente con los estudiantes. ¿Por qué? Yeah, let most out. But in total in the contestant theory or this respond year on can see Kiera Savian K gossels estaban include those in LA data. I. Yeah, and those decisions are on exception to the superintendent. Thank you. Hey, move on. I get a motion to approve the agenda agenda. Move to approve the agenda and consent agenda. I'll second. Any discussion? All right. This is a roll call. Andy? Aye. Jeanette? Aye. Aaron? Aye. And I am aye. All right. Thank you. Oh, I didn't forget about you, Lacey. I keep looking at your parents back there. Hi, my name is
031Lacey Zimmerman, and my report states that next week marks the final week of the fall semester, and finals will take place next Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. And please note that all three days will be minimum days, with dismissal at 1255. The winter sports are in full swing, and we encourage our community to come out and support our student-athletes. Our current teams for this winter sports semester is... Girls basketball, boys basketball, girls soccer, boys soccer, and girls water polo. Our upcoming games and events are boys soccer and girls basketball will be hosting their home openers this week. Girls soccer will face the Nordhoff Rangers on Wednesday. The crosstown rivalry, the battle on the 192, continues Friday, and Carpinteria High's warrior girls soccer team visits Kate School on the Rams home field. Girls water polo will compete.
032against Santa Paula, Buena, and Santa Barbara, and boys basketball will participate in the Ojai Valley Classic Tournament hosted by Thatcher. Due to the weather in November, the annual Friendsgiving event has been rescheduled for January. We look forward to celebrating together then. Students of the class of 2026 have successfully submitted their college applications. Attention now turns to completing financial aid and scholarship applications, an important task for many seniors during the winter break. On behalf of Carpenter High School, we want to wish everyone happy holidays, and don't forget, we come back from winter break on Thursday, January 8th. Great. Thanks, Lacey. I neglected to offer public comment on item F, so any public comment on item F at this time? Thank you. So this is a great example of the over 90% reduction in available public comment
033time mentioned during the approval of minutes. In regard to the interest reports and presentations, a member of the public will have just three minutes this month to provide comment on all these items, three of which include multiple presentations in each agenda item, each item critically important to both the operations of the CUSD and the outcomes of district students and families that can be achieved. Those items being the 2025 California dashboard presentation the 2025 26 single plan for student achievement Presentations for three different school sites and the 2526 parent involvement plan for three different school sites Aliso cantalino and Carpinter middle school in total two reports 11 unique presentations and 17 attachments yet with the board's changes to public speaking minutes public speakers will receive an average of just 13.8 seconds a record this time to
034comment on each agenda item under item f 13.8 seconds So members of the public we leave it to you to decide does this sound like district officials really want to hear from the public or are you just going through the legal requirement in a way that is in conflict with your own board policies or Would you prefer to silence those who bring the insights observations and questions forward which might slow things down a little bit But also might better inform your decisions In our remaining minute, elected leadership will address some of the inconsistencies contained in the reports and presentations you will receive this evening. We'll start with the middle school and try to bullet them for the sake of speed. The good news is that CUSD has finally followed the recommendations that employees and their
035elected union representatives have been demanding for years. And as a result, the behavioral atmosphere has improved. Although faculty appreciate the overall improvement, the academic atmosphere at CMS is eroding quickly. The push-in model is failing our most at-risk students and slowing the achievement of many of our general ed students as well. But if faculty clarify that it is not resulting in increased mastery and rigor, they are dismissed and labeled as negative. Meanwhile, even though most gen ed classes are composed of over 50% at-risk students, CUSD has decided to remove instructional aids from gen ed classes altogether. Kids are left to flounder in classes with extraordinarily wide ranges of ability and work ethic the differentiation alone cannot resolve. In the name of equity, the district has removed access to student laptops and iPads at home. There is
036no expectation that students can resolve electronic work anywhere but on site. Also, in the name of equity, Homework is now discouraged. Teachers who remain committed to assigning extensions and reinforcement work are pressured by site administration and undermined in conversations with parents and kids. Boy, we could go on, but we only had 13.8 seconds per item. Thank you. Used efficiently, too. Thank you. Okay, we'll move on to the superintendent's report. Oh, all right. Once again, I thank our... student rep for her public service. Thank you. Once again, this is my best hope for 2026, 2027, 2028 for every student to improve on every academic subject, meaning math, reading, English, history, any subject. That's a good sign of teachers. That's a good sign of the school board. That's a good sign of our superintendent. And that's really
037what I'm hoping for, for many years to come, a better... GPA for every student a better I mean the goal is that they can after high school graduation that they could go to a top University City College, I mean with a premise that it's It's a probably a must Then you can transfer to a college of your choice. That's what I did back then and that's what students are doing right now Thank you. Thank you Move on to the superintendent's report. Thank you. Tonight I'd like to begin with appreciation. I'd like to recognize the classroom and special education instructional assistants who support our students and teachers in our schools. My next item is congratulations to Mandy DeWitt, our CHS science teacher. Mandy has been named one of the five recipients of the prestigious 2025 Carlsson
038Outstanding Teachers of America Award. Presented by the nonprofit organization Above and Beyond Teaching. The award recognizes exceptional public high school teachers who serve in California's most challenging school environments. She will receive a $10,000 cash award along with a $2,000 grant awarded to Carpentria High School. Above and beyond teaching, the award recipients are nominated exclusively by former students who are either enrolled in or have graduated from four-year colleges and universities. Former students nominating Mrs. Ms. DeWitt described her as a transformational educator whose high expectations, innovative teaching strategies, and unwavering encouragement ignited their passion for learning. Many shared how her influence extended far beyond the classroom, instilling confidence and a belief in their own potential. The selection process is highly competitive and comprehensive. It includes interviews with up to 10 former students, the nominee school principal, teaching
039colleagues, and the teacher themselves. Finalists are observed in their classrooms by Above and Beyond Teaching's Executive Director, Dr. Young, to assess teaching style, engagement, and impact. Congratulations to Mandy. My next item is related to our California dashboard, the State Accountability System. California reports how district schools and student groups perform on state measures, including the CAASPP. Using comparable statewide data, the performance is represented by one of five colors on the California dashboard, running from very high, which is blue, and high, green. Medium is yellow, low and very low. orange and red. Performance levels are not included when there are fewer than 30 students. The seven student groups for CUSD include homeless, long-term English learners, English learners, students with disabilities, Hispanic, white, and socioeconomically disadvantaged. And the dashboard will be presented tonight, later in our meeting. And
040it can be found at www.californiaschooldashboard.org. The next item is our Single Plan for Student Achievement, which we call the CIPSA. The California Ed Code 6401 and the Every Student Succeeds Act require schools that receive federal funds through the CONAP to consolidate all school planning requirements into the CIPSA. This CIPSA is aligned with a board-adopted LCAP, and it represents a school cycle of continuous improvement of student achievement. The annual process of developing, reviewing, and updating the SIPSA includes a comprehensive review of data and the development of actions necessary to achieve school goals. CUSD principals are presenting their SIPSA to the Board tonight for Board approval. My next item is the CHS Muses. They made a wonderful performance of two one-act plays last week. The first play was The Lonely Lighthouse by B.D. Samuels. The second play
041was Worth Keeping by Alan and Dirt Hanel. My next item is related to parent involvement at the middle school. Several dedicated parents and family members volunteer during lunchtime to supervise, facilitate, and build positive relationships with sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students at CMS. Both male and female caregivers support a wide range of structured activities, including gaga ball, basketball, soccer, volleyball, pickleball, football catch, and occasionally flag football, creating a safe, energetic, and inclusive environment for all students. Their presence provides reliable refereeing, coaching, and supervision, which not only enhances student engagement, but also significantly supports positive behavior and a stronger sense of belonging on campus. All parent and family volunteers are fully vetted through our live scan process, ensuring a safe environment for our students. We are incredibly grateful for the commitment of these families, and we
042continue to welcome additional parent or caregiver participation because increasing our parent presence during lunch has further strengthened our school community and reinforces a culture of connection, safety, and shared responsibility at CMS. Next, our CUSD is partnering with United Way to provide a free winter break program for TK-5 students December 22nd, 23rd, the 29th and 30th, and then January 5th through 7th. This extended learning break program will offer daily literacy practice, STEAM activities, social-emotional learning, outdoor play, and community exploration during the week. And then my last item is related to Measure U. The Measure U team is now working with McGillivray Construction to develop the guaranteed maximum price, the GMP, for the Aliso TK project. And they do that by collecting and reviewing all the bids from all the trades. Following this review and value engineering
043process, the GMP will be submitted to the board for approval, hopefully in January, and then construction will begin in the new year. Thank you. Thank you. Questions for Diana's report? Okay. We will move on now to the presentation of the California School Dashboard for 2025. Thank you. So as I indicated before, good night, Lacey. Thank you so much. Great job. The state... accountability system is reflected and reported in our school dashboard and this reports on how district schools and our different student groups of which we have seven how they perform on the CAASPP and ELAC. That's okay. There you go. I'll take the second slide. Thanks. It uses comparable statewide data. As I indicated, there are five performance levels ranging from very high blue to green, yellow, orange, and very low red. So our goal
044is to have all of our schools and our district and our student groups perform in yellow and above, blue, green, and yellow. It identifies the strengths, challenges, and areas in need of improvement, and we have eight categories that we'll be looking at. And as I reported earlier, the seven student groups are homeless, long-term English learners, English learners, students with disabilities, Hispanic, white, and socioeconomically disadvantaged. Thank you. The next slide reflects the district's demographic. from 24-25 and that's all the data reporting is last year. So last year we had a thousand nine hundred and twenty four students and we had sixty seven point eight percent socioeconomically disadvantaged. I'll remind you that is similar to the average in Santa Barbara County, but it is more more poor students than statewide average. And then our English learners last
045year were 15.9 percent of which about 7 percent of the long-term English learners and again we have less English learners than the countywide average and then the state and then foster youth is 0.4 percent. So this represents our groups and we have data for English learners, long-term English learners, homeless, and again for California homeless is counted for families that live doubled up in their homes. So if you have more than one family in a residence they're considered homeless. Socio-economically disadvantaged and students with disabilities, Hispanic and white. The next slide is our 2025 CAS scores, which you've already seen. And the reason why I share this again is to remind you that our scores for all our grade levels are better than the countywide average and pretty close to the state, with the exception of eighth
046grade. And I'll remind you that last year at the middle school, we only had one eighth grade math teacher and one eighth grade English language arts teacher, and they both were out for long term. So we had long term subs. And again, our subgroups perform higher, also in English, language arts, and math. And this is the dashboard. Remember, you want your... District in these eight different subject areas. Do you want them to be in blue green or yellow and we had five out of the eight areas We are highlighted. We did well in our English learner project progress was high our English language arts for a district was high and Our graduation rate is very high our science and college and career readiness. So we're proud about those areas. The areas that we need to
047work on are chronic absenteeism, suspension rate, and mathematics. And that's what you're going to hear about tonight from the individual school plans for achievement. They're going to talk about, share their individual school data for individual student groups and their actions to help students make more progress closer to achieving the standard. But you can see that our data is very similar to the other high schools, Lompoc Unified, Santa Barbara Unified, Santa Maria Joint, and Santa Ynez. So we're comparable. Again, you'll recall that we do a little bit better than the county-wide average, and we're pretty close to the state. And these are overall performance levels in these eight indicators. Then if we look at the specific indicator, let's start with the graduation rate indicator. So, of course, that's only going to be the high school where
048we collect data. chart, what you have on the y-axis is the performance level. So we want to be at medium to very high on the y-axis. And then on the horizontal axis is the progress that we've made from this year compared to last year. So you can see that the high school maintained their high rate and then for the overall district we increased performance and we're still at a higher rate and the difference there is that we have some high school students that are in out of district placements so why that that's why there's two different groups represented and when you look when we look at our subgroups it's really that we've had more Hispanics and more socio-economically disadvantaged students have higher performance this year than last year A next indicator in which we've done
049very well is the college career indicator. And you'll see that we're very high in performance and we've also increased significantly. And we attribute that to the CTE pathways that we're offering as well as the increased dual enrollment classes. Our next indicator is chronic absenteeism. While we're proud for Aliso, in which they've declined in their absenteeism, you see that the district and most of our schools are in orange, meaning that we have a high rate and we haven't shown much improvement. And then the biggest concern, of course, is that the middle school, in which they have a very high rate of absenteeism last year, and they increased their absenteeism last year. to the previous year, from the previous year. Where's the high school in there? Right here under... Oh, in there. Oh, no, it's because absenteeism
050is K-8. Oh, okay. That's why. The data's only collected for K-8. English language arts. We're very proud for everyone who is in yellow. So the district, Aliso, Carpentry and Middle, Canolino, they increased significantly. What we're not happy about is the performance still is not where it needs to be. but we increased significantly, especially our English learners and our socioeconomically disadvantaged students. There was no progress for the high school students, and Carpenter family had high performance, but they decreased from the previous year. And Summerlin is not represented because we don't have 30 students, grades three through five, taking that gas. So you'll expect to hear actions in the SIPSA about how at each school site we are implementing strategies to improve the performance in English language arts. The next indicator is math. And we're proud about
051the high school, excuse me, the Cantolino Elementary, in which they performed medium and above, and they made significant progress. They increased their progress. Both the district, at least so in the middle school, their level is still a little bit lower, and they didn't make enough progress. And the high school did increase, but their performance level is still low. Again, you want to be in yellow, green, or blue, no oranges. And when we look at our seven subgroups, every subgroup struggled except for the subgroup of white students in math. The next indicator is science, and we're proud that Cantalino and the high school, their progress was average and above average, and they increased from the previous year. The district as a whole had average performance and increased or maintained, but again, we're concerned about the Carpinteria
052Middle School and the students that really struggled were English learners and long-term English learners. The next indicator is English learner progress, and we're particularly proud of Catalino because their performance for English learners is very high and they increase significantly. And then as well as Carpinteria Middle and Carpinteria District and Aliso, high performance, medium and above, and increasing. So that's what you want to see in every indicator, that we're performance is either medium and above, and we are increasing or increasing significantly. The concern is, of course, at the high school, and those are our long-term English learners. I'm a little confused on that then. Because these other indicators, science and math, we're saying our English learners and long-term English learners are part of the cause for the low placement. But then... For the cast test in
053yeah, but then we're but then well also the l-pack also on Math yeah, this is the l-pack. Oh, this is just just the l-pack also has nothing to do with those other No, this is the l-pack. This is very confusing. Yeah, we're not doing subgroups. I'm doing yeah, that is confusing That's very I will clarify. It's not clear. I'll make it very clear. I'll make it just l-pack This is l-pack and this is progress in learning English English learner progress Which is just language. Yes. Which should be indicated on the English language arts, right? No, because this is purely communication, English speaking skills. There's too many metrics, in my opinion. I mean, I've said this forever, but in this... Honestly, I personally I don't like all the colors I think it'd be much easier and
054save a lot of money on ink if we just would do numbers and and have it have a Real matrix like we used I mean, I don't know. I don't like this presentation. Okay That's just me personally, but I think it's it's Too glossy? I mean, it glosses over too much? Well, this is the 50,000 viewpoint with the district. Here's what's going to be more important. Who is it for, though? It's for you to have kind of a framework when the SIPSAs are presented, and they're going to talk about specific percentages from the standard for each subgroup in the indicated areas. Yeah. I just... Personally, having been up here for as long as I have, I think there's every year or two it seems like we have a different format. And I'm sure the way
055it's presented to the students is slightly different. So there's never any, the continuity is, I think, almost more important than, so that, you know, you have to get used to a system. And it just, I don't know, something doesn't seem, seems a little, it seems very confusing to me. Okay, so how can I help you with the confusion? What would you like to know? What, what? Well, no, I mean, you clarified what this is for, but I just, but go ahead and continue, because I'm sure I will have, I know I have questions when the SPSAs get presented, so, and I think we can address them there. Okay. All right. Could you clarify Summerlin again? Summerlin, yes. In order for it to be part of the dashboard, you have to have 30 or more students
056have tested on the CASP. And we don't have 30 or more. Last year, we did not have 30 or more third, fourth, and fifth graders taking the CASP. These are the CASP results, except for the last slide is on the ELPAC results. And this is what the state reports on their dashboard. So what I'm... helping you with is the state report. This is the state report. I want to make sure that you're aware of the state report at the district level. Yeah, this is a state driven. Yes, this is state. Yes, this is what the state has published on the website. Is this their format? This is the format. This is their format. This is their format. Why do they change it all the time? We ask that every year. Can we stick with a
057format? And present it to ourselves a certain way every year or do we have to do this? No, we can absolutely stick to a format. I think that would be much clearer. I think what is really clear is the first slide that I showed you. And that is the actual cast results. Yeah, so that... That has numbers. For me, that seems like a much more... It seems like a much better way to present information. Back one more slide. Thank you. Yeah. Is the CAS scores comparison? Yes. Yeah. That's the data. Yeah. I don't think the colors help us. It categorizes the progress and the performance compared to the previous year. And the performance is compared to everybody else. But we could see that with one more column here. You can. Yes. You can. I'll remember
058that next year much easier for you to do too well I'm happy to share the dashboard I don't want there to be any and we'd save a lot of money on ink yeah okay well here's what's going to be more clear okay that's the district's 50,000 viewpoint now you're going to see specifically at the school sites okay you all heard that right yeah okay great sorry for no that's no that makes complete okay all right so we're any questions there do we want to move on Okay, yeah, all right, okay, so move on to our single plan for student achievements And we will guess drew straws. I take it. No no no we assigned him. I get to go first. Yeah We can just click on the mouse you can just use the mouse for
059now all right can you Just go back one I guess Yeah. All right, good evening. So I'm here tonight to present the school plan for student achievement for Aliso. So I always love coming and sharing what we're doing to support our students and our families. So since I've become principal, one thing that is new this year is that we're actually looking at current data. So I think that's why we moved the SPSS from November to December, because the dashboard information came out. In the previous years, we were looking at like two years out and comparing it to even further. So we're looking at old data to kind of come up with new goals. So I think it's nice that this year we have current data to look at. So in the next slide is kind
060of our student population from last year. So our enrollment was 315. This year, our current enrollment is 286. And when you look at our subgroups, our English learners, 33.7. Socioeconomically disadvantaged, 78.7. So those are big groups. And then for our Hispanic population, 86%. And then our white population, 11.1. And over the years our English learners have been declining. So in 23 we had 41.2, 24, 35.7, and then 33.7. Part of that is that we've had less English learners coming in each year, and then we've also been reclassifying our students. So the first thing we want to look at is the chronic absenteeism. And to me, this is the important piece because if kids aren't at school, they're not learning. And we have declined at Aliso over the last few years. So in 23, we decreased
0616.1%. In 24, we decreased 6.5%, and then we decreased another 1% this year. So we're still working on that and making sure that we can get kids to school. And some of the things that we're doing to do that is we send monthly attendance letters. Once those go out, they go out over ParentSquare and email, and then I contact parents and either meet with them or talk to them on the phone. We schedule SST meetings, which is our Student Success Team meetings. And included in those meetings are the principal, the school counselor, the teacher, the parents, and then a lot of times we'll have the district nurse and the school psychologist also available to figure out how we can support the students and the families to get the kids to school. Our school counselor provides
062support for our students and for our families. We offer referrals to outside agencies and community resources. At Alisa, we have an FSA social worker who works with families and students. We collaborate with the Sheriff's Department to do wellness and safety checkups for our students. And then we send out Parent Square messages throughout the year highlighting kind of the impact that tardies and absences have on our students and their learning. So when we start off with our English learner progress, so Aliso, we've been doing a really great job making progress this year. So in 23-24, we had declined, and we had 35.2% of our students making progress, and we made a huge jump to 48.1% making progress. and increased. So we kind of attribute that to we do ELD, so we have consistent designated ELD instruction.
063We have our after school program that supports our students with homework. We do integrated ELD practices across all subjects throughout the day. We do small group instruction. We look at our data to drive our instruction. And then we also have an intervention teacher that supports our EL students and all of our students. So these, I feel like, Andy, these kind of meters look a little bit easier to kind of see. You can kind of see the colors and kind of where we're at. So we want to be at the yellow, green, or blue. So in English language arts, we are increasing. So in 23-24, we actually made a huge jump. We jumped, increased 20.9%. Points and then another ten point five points this year Even though it didn't move us up on the needle. We
064still made a lot of progress and then one thing that was interesting when I was presenting this to our school site Council and to our teachers when you dive into the dashboard you can look at the student groups and our white population does not have anything on the So when you break it down by student groups, our white subgroup does not receive a performance color on the dashboard because the group does not meet the minimum number of students required for performance levels to be generated. It's kind of the same thing with Summerlin. So we didn't have enough white students to actually generate a subgroup on that. So on this, just looking at any, I guess any of these, when you say that we increase... It's all students. All students. Yeah, but then you can also
065break it down and look at the subgroups and how they're doing, but we can't see how our white subgroup is doing because – Because it's too small of a category. Correct. Yeah. Okay. All right. But this is not – so overall the school is 9.9 points below standard. Yeah, that includes those students, the white students. It does. Yeah. Okay. And if you – okay. And then I guess they break it out with just English learner or not. So as far as like so for language arts, so like if you click on it, you can look at how our students. This is all on the dashboard. It's all on the dashboard. It's available on the state site. Yeah. You can really break it down and differentiate. Correct. And if you look, all of our subgroups are
066also in the yellow. And then the white doesn't show up as a subgroup. Next up are math castors. So we declined, and this is kind of our area that we need to work on. In 23-24, we actually increased 25 points, and then we declined six points this next year. Also, when you look at our goals, when we get to that, we were looking at trying to meet or exceed the state and the county goals, and we did that in all areas in math except for fifth grade. So that's kind of our area of need. When I looked further into the math data, it was kind of interesting that our current... English learners declined so they declined 24.9 points and then those students who have been reclassified actually increased 20.2 so I kind of did some
067research and looking one of our big Data points is our star data and when you look at our star data our students are doing well on the star test so our English learners at Aliso consistently perform higher on our STAR Math than compared to the CAS Math assessment due to the significantly different language demands of the two tests. So the STAR Math measures math skills directly with minimal reading, simple vocabulary, and no written explanations, allowing EL students to demonstrate their true mathematical understanding. In contrast, the CAS Math requires students to navigate complex multi-step word problems, high academic vocabulary. They have to do written responses. So it often assesses their English proficiency as much as the math content. So as a result, our EL performance on the math in CAS tends to be lower than our
068STAR test. So that kind of explains that. And then that's kind of one of... our goals that are area for math that we're working on. So like an ELD, we're working on more of like the math academic vocabulary and those things to kind of prepare the kids for the CASP. And I'm assuming that you can correlate the, the, um, the different, these different categories, the different academic categories with, with like your chronic absenteeism and, and see if there's a relation between that and the performance in, in these subcategories. Yeah, you can. And you see that. You do. Yeah. We present that to the parents and let them know that their chronic absenteeism is affecting their student's progress. Yes, and we've been sending out a lot of papers that kind of just show. And a lot
069of parents, we send out the absenteeism form even if they've just missed a few days or even if they're excused. So a lot of the parents will call and be like, but my absent was excused. And I'm like, it's still important for you to see how much. your kid has missed. And I think parents even don't realize that, you know, two days here and two days here, and then over the month now they've missed an entire week or two weeks of school and the impact that that actually has on their students. It's really hard for students to come in and catch up. And even tardies is really difficult with talking to teachers. When the kids come in late, first of all, They don't know what's going on. They're a little not feeling comfortable coming in
070late. And then they're missing content. Usually in the morning is we're doing our kind of hard hitting academics. And so a lot of the kids are coming in anywhere from half hour to two hours tardy. And it's making a huge difference. So looking at goal one and we align it with the LCAP so for the SPSA where our goal is that 60% of kindergarten through fifth grade students will score at grade level on the star reading and star math assessments and so we've been doing a really good job with that our kids are doing a good job on the star and Then third through fifth grade students will meet or exceed the statewide and county average for proficiency For ELA and math and we were able to do that except for fifth grade in math
071and language arts fifth grade was our low area was there a specific reason that you think correlates to that was it a missing teacher or the you know anything related to that group it's it's hard to say that has been a lower performing group across the board we also have had a lot of turnover in our fourth and fifth grade and so this year we have for the first time in a while the same fifth grade teacher but we also have a new fifth grade teacher so we've had a lot of turnover in fifth grade so hopefully kind of getting that consistency we hired a new fifth grade teacher who will then take over dli next year so so we'll have one english only in one dli next year for fifth grade Yeah. So looking
072at what we're doing, and I broke it down into ELA and to math. So we'll first look at what we're doing to support our students with ELA. So we have our designated ELD and SLD times that we do across the board for 30 minutes every day across the grade levels. We have a reading intervention teacher that's targeted Tier 3 support, and we look at our DIBELS data to kind of figure out which kids need the most support. This year, the state is now requiring us to do a universal screener. We had a few screeners to choose from. We looked really hard as a district, and Carolyn Haynes, our special ed director, has done a lot of work to kind of... get this into place. And we were already doing dibbles, but not all of the
073components of it and not across the grade levels. So we put in that. So now we have dibbles across from K all the way up to fifth with all the pieces of dibbles. And then amplify is the. Program that the data is housed in so now for the first time in a while We have a data management program that will track our students from k5 so that we can look at their growth That's kind of been a missing piece and then this year kind of based on Our need we also entered Started Hagerty, which is a phonemic awareness of program and we're doing that TK through second to strengthen our foundational literacy And then we also added a new program called UFLY Foundations. And it's Explicit Systematic Phonics Instruction. And we're doing that TK through
074second. And it's aligned with the science of reading. And then we're also using the UFLY for small group and upper grade intervention. We also have Lexia an online program that does targeted skill support and after-school tutoring so we have the tutoring through United Way and they do Orton Gillingham and Then both Luis and I have written some grants and we have funding this year so that we can do teacher led Tutoring and we're going to focus our tutoring this year on math So a lot of people have asked, why are we doing Hagerty and UFLY, and what was the reason behind that? So I kind of wanted to explain that real quick. So over the past few years, our literacy data has made it clear that, particularly for our English learners, our core Wonders curriculum
075was not providing the level of explicit foundational skills and instruction needed for early reading success. So the science of reading tells us that children, especially students learning English, require systematic, explicit instruction and phonemic awareness and phonics to build accurate decoding skills. And we saw gaps in these areas, and those gaps were impacting our students' ability to progress in reading. So again, Carolyn Haynes, who's the director of special ed, she worked with Luis and I in kind of getting these things put into place. So to address this, we adopted Hegarty and UFLY. There are two highly regarded research-based programs that directly align with the science of reading Hagerty strengthens daily Phonemic awareness practice while you fly provides a clear structured sequence for explicit phonics instruction These teachers these programs give our teachers strong tools and predictable
076routines that support all learners, especially our EL students who need the repeated consistent exposure to English sounds, patterns, and decoding skills and strategies. So with so many of our students identified as English learners or emerging bilinguals, implementing instructions aligned to the science of reading was not really optional. We needed to do it. So Hagerty and UFI filled the gaps that Wonders could not address on its own, ensuring that our Tier 1 instruction was meeting the needs of every student. So that kind of is the background for that. So is that almost a direct response to the DLI students, the Spanish-only DLI students not having that phonemic awareness? Yes, and so we are doing those two in our ELD groups with those students, our English-only students, so that they can get that in the lower grades.
077So it's for our DLI students also. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Are we seeing positive results this year so far? So far, it's been, I mean, you know, we kind of just got it going. The teachers from the... Teachers at this point, it's going well. Yeah, I think the kids are responding. The kids are enjoying it, I think. Carolyn did a training for the teachers, so kind of we got everything in place. And again, you know, it takes a while to get things into place. We're trying to align it with Wonders to make it work. So that's a little bit of a challenge. But besides that, I think it's going well. So it's in conjunction. It's basically a supplement to Wonders. Correct. Yeah. And then we've looked at other districts, too, and they've kind of done the
078same thing. Other districts that have Wonders have kind of put other programs into place, too, because they weren't having the results with Wonders. Now looking at our math supports. So one of our big thing we do our PLC collaboration so weekly our sites meet together and then monthly our grade level teams meet together to look at data and then this year we're working on implementing math tests which we'll talk about in a minute. We'll have after-school tutoring so we've provided some money through grants that we can have the after-school tutoring for small group for math. instructional rounds so this is something that we're doing in this as an admin team to go through visit classrooms and see what's working So this year we're working again, and last year we also worked with Christy for Math
079PD. So she is working on training our staff on productive struggle and using curricular and non-curricular math tests. And Christy has been a math TOSA. She's worked for the county as a math coach, and she's also part of the UCSB math project. And again, hopefully, you know. with the kids working on this and being able to talk about it and use the vocabulary, this will help our scores. We have our Bridges Curriculum and Number Corner. And then again, kind of where we were kind of missing some pieces over the last couple years, we've put in Number Talks and FactsWise to kind of support our Bridges Curriculum. And then we have DreamBox, which is a program that is aligned to math and kind of adapts to the kids' learning. Just a quick question. Yeah. How many
080kids right now participate in these after-school tutorings? You have one. So we're starting the math tutoring in January. Okay. So. Do you have, like, a sign-up list so far, or how are you? Yeah, so what we're doing is we're looking at those kids. Well, first we're seeing which teachers are available for tutoring, and then we're doing it by grade level. So we're looking, taking the grade level, and, like, looking at those kids that are the most need, and then seeing if we can get those kids in, talking to the parents. Okay. The goal too is that Aliso will increase parent participation through our parents groups and school-wide events, expand our student leadership opportunities through student council and our fifth grade ambassador programs, and then strengthen our social emotional learning, our SEL supports to promote a
081positive inclusive school culture. So some of the things that we're doing, we have our student council and they've been here to share things with you. We have monthly meetings. We're doing spirit weeks, fundraising. They contribute to our assemblies. And then I do a weekly, monthly newscast. And so they participate in that and they're able to kind of share. Kind of go through what's going on at school share expectations and one thing that I like about the newscast of the all the students get the same message and expectations We started our fifth grade ambassadors last year. So those are our fifth grade students. We just We knew student council was great, but we could only have so many students. So we wanted to be able to provide more for our students to give them the opportunity
082to kind of be involved. So they do academic support for the lower grades. They help in the library, lead playground games, and then help the students in the cafeteria. Our classroom SEL lessons. So as a district, we have second step curriculum. And at Aliso, our school counselor, Becca Carlisle, actually does all of the second step lessons. So she goes in every other week to the grade level. So she's in every single classroom every other week. And for me, it was important because she's building those relationships with our students. All of the students have her support and know, and then she's also in there seeing where we can support students and how we can help them. And then we have monthly themes that go along with that, and we provide those on the newscast. We also
083do lots of cultural celebrations and community building. Tomorrow night, you guys are invited. We have our first holiday festival, so we've been planning that a little tired, but hopefully we got it going. There's a lot going on. But we do things like Dia de los Muertos, our Hispanic Heritage Month, Cultural Night, and we've had really great family participation for that. We do our family picnics. We're doing those bimonthly. And then we're working also doing some family dinner nights this month towards the end of the year. And then I do the coffee and the tea with the principal to kind of just keep parents involved and informed. As far as parent engagement and communication, I do a weekly update on ParentSquare, and that goes out in English and Spanish. All of our information, whether it goes
084out on ParentSquare or paper, is all translated in English and Spanish. We collaborate with our parent group. We've done things like trunk or treat our book fair We've got our student holiday store going on right now. So that's lots of fun and then cross school collaboration So we've worked with Luis and I started last year we wanted those students the fifth graders to kind of collaborate together and become you know, a team before they went to the middle school. So we did our first one this year. They came and they did a lot of team building like activities that they're going to do at CME this year. Our third goal is that we will cultivate a college going camp culture on campus and that we will monitor students to ensure that they're meeting the district
085assessment benchmarks measured by the district star assessments. So some of the things that we're doing that students are learning about college and career pathways through classroom discussions, teacher interactions, and then the teachers are also doing virtual tours and field trips online for the students to look at different colleges. Our fifth graders visit UCSB for a campus tour, and they also do the hands-on science lessons. Our PFA is working with us to host a college and career day at the end of the year. Our teachers are setting student goals and academic goals for each of our students. We're looking at the START and CAST data to monitor our progress and inform instruction. And then Gerardo, the principal at the high school, wrote a grant. And this last year, the students were able to go to CHS,
086see those students, talk to them, walk around the high school, and do STEAM and engineering activities. And it was amazing. The kids loved it. Our fourth goal is that ELISA will ensure a safe, well-maintained, and updated environment that supports effective teaching and learning for all of our students and staff. So we have a custodial staff that keeps our campus clean, but we also do a lot of student and family involvement. So our student council and our fifth grade ambassadors do clean up. We do clean up days with the students. We do family clean up days to kind of support our school and our school pride. Measure U construction. So hopefully soon we'll get the TK and classroom construction going. We've got everybody kind of on one side of the campus, which has been. nice and
087a challenge at the same time, but it's kind of fun having the TK and K kids right next to the office and to my office. It's been fun. We have a safety team, so we meet monthly to review protocols, coordinate drills, and just talk about any safety concerns that we have. I do monthly walkthroughs with Jim Pettit, our facilitator. What is Jim's job? facilities. And then we do, we've adopted the SRP training. And so we do monthly drills for that. And then we've always got to include some pictures. So on the left is the students doing STEAM activities at the high school. And then last year, the students that were graduating from the high school, the kids that went to Aliso came to Aliso, kids that went to Cantalino went there. It was amazing. A
088lot of crying. It was pretty exciting seeing them. And teachers had pictures from when they were at our school. The students that are there now loved it, got them excited. Yeah, it's amazing. And then just a picture of our student council member. So this year we took a picture with all of them with our lion, and we have them up in the hallways. And then this is the fifth grade collaboration. So they're doing the team building activities. It was great. It was just for fifth graders just doing those team building activities, but then doing it together with the sites is nice. And it was also nice for the teachers and the staff to be together. And then just kind of a few things, our trunk or treat, some of our assemblies, our Dia de los
089Muertos altar, and the construction. So they did this this summer, tore it down. It was kind of fun to watch and pretty exciting to see them. And so I took a lot of videos, showed them on the newscast for the kids to watch it. And my signature way that I always sign off, whether it's like assembly or the newscast is go Lions. And so one thing that I always talk to our staff about is that relationships are kind of everything, you know, our relationships with our family, our students and between ourselves. And so one morning I went to Starbucks and I got to school and I was walking around and one of the kids is like, Mr. Weiberg, your cup says go Lions. I was like, what? So, you know, just making those connections and
090having that is pretty important. So it's pretty fun. So I don't know if you want to ask more questions or you want Luis to go and then if you have questions we can answer together. Yeah, let's have Luis go and then we can attack you both at the same time. Thank you, Brad. Thank you. Hi, everyone. Thank you for having me here tonight. Before I get started, you will notice that Elisa's presentation will be similar to Catalina's as Mr. Weiberg and I collaborate on a weekly basis. So we aim and strive to provide a high quality education experience for all of our students no matter what site you're on, whether it's Catalina or Aliso. Again, I know we have our teachers collaborate from across the district, so Mr. Weiberg and I started doing that as
091well. So here, oh, go back one. So here you have the Catalina Elementary School Plan for Student Achievement. Believe it or not, these are our students, our whale and our tree, along with our staff members. So we were able to get an aerial picture of this a couple years ago. So here's Catalina's demographics. So broken down, we have... From last year's data, we have 297 Hispanic students, 63% of the school population, 158 students are white, 33%, and 16 students are other. Then the enrollment was 471. I will point out that our current enrollment has the same percentage. So even though our numbers are lower, right now we are at 415 students, 63% of the students are Hispanic, 33% white, and 3% other. So next is our chronic absenteeism. At our school, at Catalina, we decreased
092by 1.1%. last year with the 471 students. So what are we doing? We are sending them monthly attendance letters. On top of that, we are also making phone calls and contacting parents. When we do send out the letters, I do have a lot of parents that reach out, whether it's parents square or they call my office and I will sit with them, talk with them or over the phone and let them know the importance of it. As Mr. Weiber explained earlier, even though they may say, but. these absences were excused there with the doctors or the dentist. We still point out that the importance of being here at school every day. We do have SST meetings with the families, with myself, our counselors, our teachers to show that it is one big team. And again,
093how important it is. Our counselors work with families as well, and we collaborate very well with CCP. We do wellness checks if necessary, referring families to resources. And what we also do, and I've done this many, many times, is we show charts to our parents of if your student misses a certain amount of days a month or a week, how they add up at the end of the year. So it could be days, weeks, months. But I also show them a visual graphic of if they are tardy, let's say 10 minutes every single day. or 15, how it adds up and those minutes turn into days and eventually weeks for those chronically tardy students. We firmly believe that the students need to be here on time every single day. Here we're to start off with
094our ELA CASP data so the English language arts state test for the 23-24 year we declined by 4.7 points but last year's assessment we increased by 17 points so we went from orange to yellow and in mathematics the year 23-24 we increased by 3.8 points and last year for the 24-25 year we also increased another three points so we maintained in the green and our English language performance and as it was stated earlier this one is separate from the big state tests that we take in May this one is the ELPAC that students take during February and March and this has to do with reading, speaking, writing, and English. We were in the red and we declined by 28.6%, but we increased by 29.4%, so going from red to blue. And I can attest this.
095Also to our very strong DLI program that we've had now for many, many years. And our teachers have been very consistent. We haven't had a big turnover rate in our DLI program with our teachers. So over the years, they've been getting those skills to really focus on the students. And also our ELD wheels, our SLD wheels have been getting stronger every year and our teachers have been collaborating. on a weekly basis looking at student data and how to support and we have also trained our IAs. I myself have trained them on certain strategies that I've learned in the classroom as well. So our first goal. is that 60% of aligned with the LCAP, 60% of students K through five will be at and above on STAR and STAR reading and STAR math. But also I
096want to point out that our goal for third through fifth grade is also to meet and exceed the state and county average for English language arts and math. So what are we doing? So the first one will focus on mathematics. So we have professional learning communities. So PLCs every Wednesdays when we have early release. So the teachers will, Get together as a grade level they will monitor student progress. So look at the goals So they use the star data dibbles data, which is the fluency comprehension Reading they look at student checkpoints student work. They look at assessments and what's really powerful here we do this for mathematics and English language arts is We're all different teachers. We have different styles on how we teach but one teacher may be Better at teaching a specific state
097a specific standard. So let's look at math, right? So I may have one teacher that most of their students are at grade level for multiplication while the other ones are not. So this is a place where the rest of the teachers get to pick the brain of the teachers whose students are meeting and exceeding, and this is where the teacher gets to show them a lesson or how they would instruct in the classroom. Again, it's about using each other as a resource to better our students. We also have math professional development with Christy Guerrero every month. where she trains the district site leaders and then our teachers. We have number talks and math texts both are supported and encouraged by the California mathematics framework which encourages students in problem solving and reasoning using discourse to
098support their understanding and connecting learning to real-world contexts and student thinking. Action five is instructional rounds which is in-house professional development. through classroom observations. We also help out our newer teachers. So when we hire new teachers, we have them observe other classrooms from effective teachers, such as Christy Guerrero would be an example. What we started doing this year when we hired new DLI teachers, we had them observe teachers who were very effective at Cannellino and Aliso because we both had new teachers. Not only that, we also made it possible for them to go to other schools in Santa Barbara who have a DLA program. And this is where I collaborate with Dr. Aguila and with her connections at other schools as well. We have our Bridges Curriculum and Number Corner. And we have tutoring, which
099is teacher-led for mathematics, which will start in January. Next slide. So these are the actions for English language arts. So we have intervention reading support. Tier 3, and on here I have small groups, Tier 2. So we'll start it off at a Tier 2 level. Tier 2 level is what a teacher does in the classroom. You have small groups. You group your students based on their needs or where they are academically. And after, let's say, six weeks of really focusing and targeting the students at their level, if they do not progress, then you go to a Tier 3 level, which is where we have the intervention reading support. We're also very fortunate that on Wednesdays we have Ms. Gonzalez. Because we end early, she will also go out of her way and take students to
100just give extra intervention with reading and mathematics. We have our ELD and SLD wheels that... All the teachers and our aides have been trained in to do. We have the Hegarty Phonemic Awareness Program to supplement wonders and strengthen early literacy skills. UFLY, which is Explicit Systematic Phonics Instruction Aligned with Science of Reading. And we've implemented DIBL's Universal Screener. And the screener is used to identify at-risk readers and provide intervention, again, at the Tier 2 and Tier 3 level. What we like about DIBL's is that we have used it in the classroom. I even used it in the classroom when... I was in fifth grade for fluency and a lot of the teachers are familiar with it so making this for adding this for the universal screener was a smoother transition than if it was picking
101a newer one out which we did pilot other programs but they were they had so many flaws that Dibbles was the smoothest ones and the students were also very familiar with how it's conducted. And we have Amplify now, which is a system to track student performance, fluency, comprehension, and early reading skills. And the thing that teachers really like about this is that when they have a new student, let's say a year later, they can see the students' progress throughout the year. So this Amplify system holds onto the data as a student progresses up the years. And again, tutoring for English language arts will be with United Way for teachers or staff who have Orton-Gillingham training, and then teacher-led tutoring. I just had a quick question. In terms of like reading intervention and support, are we
102still looking at kids measured at like words per minute or like what's kind of the main measurement you're using right now? And maybe what's also like the biggest red flag for targeting them to get additional support? Yeah. So the DIBELS program does everything from fluency, words per minute, breaking word sounds apart, creating, they call it. nonsense words, can they read nonsense words where you have different parts together. And the system itself will grade the student and then it gives us a score of where they're at and then we use that data along with the teacher observations on how the students are doing to create these intervention groups. So on here we have some pictures of our students because our students are our highlight of our schools. Here we have different groups of math instruction from
103second grade, first grade, fifth grade. And one thing that Math Tasks does is it focuses on constructive struggle, where a student must struggle slightly, but where the goal is attainable, and that's where the learning happens. So if you have one of our friends up here in their group, they're scratching their heads, they're trying to figure out this real-world problem that eventually they solve, and the students love it. They always ask for math tasks and they enjoy it. Our next slide is our ELA SLD wheels. Here we have teachers running their small group rotations and we even have our instructional assistants running small groups and ELD and SLD. So SLD is the Spanish language development for students as well in our DLI program. Goal two. Our goal two that aligns with the LCAP is to increase
104student leadership and student voice opportunities. So we have our student council that's ran by our counselors. We have play leaders. And play leaders is the program that we have where fourth graders and fifth graders will run activities and games for our first, second grade students out at recess and lunch recess. We have club kind and environmental ambassadors, big old little buddies. where we have older grades partner up with younger grades and they have activities, whether it's art or science experiments. I was fortunate enough to see an interaction with a second grade class and a fifth grade class. And what the teachers did is they took the standards that they're learning in fifth grade for mixtures and solutions and did a fun activity, foamy thing outside of with the second graders. And the second graders loved
105it. And the fifth graders were explaining what was happening within the chemical reactions. We have a celebration of cultural diversity. We have parent engagement. So from holiday trolleys, which we just had, and it was a huge success. We sold out of tamales by 7 p.m. I alone was in charge of a little under 300 of them. While our families were in charge of about 200. And then we did pozole. It was a wonderful event. We have jog-a-thon, family picnics, coffee and tea with the principals, math night. We just started our first second annual outdoor movie theater night. So we have the blow-up screen where we play a video and it's just one big outdoor movie night and the students love it and they rave about it. We have a Lisa and Catalina field day with
106team community team building exercises that again, Mr. Weiberg and I started a couple years ago and On top of this, what I started doing last year, towards the end of last year, is I have raffles twice a month. So I will go out to Yummy Yogurt and purchase gift cards for students who go above and beyond and are not just recognized by the classroom teachers, but by our instructional assistants as well. So it's for students who are respectful, are safe, are problem solvers, and make good decisions, but again, go above and beyond this. So we have seen students who... don't normally hang out with others or they will see another student who's having a hard time and they will go out of their way and be kind to them, invite them to play with them
107or play a sport or just spend time with them. And the students, I get asked, is it raffle day? Is it raffle day? Every single day. So here we have pictures of student engagement from, we have chess, right? During recess. We have our math night. Our student council is at the bottom, different activities at recess, our heritage days. And if you look up top, those are all our fourth and fifth graders who ran for vice president and president. So all those students gave speeches in front of our fourth and fifth grade student body. And the bottom corner is for our after school program. We collaborated with MOVE. So we taught students about bike safety. So they had a two-week. program on campus learning how to ride and how to be safe and as their final
108they were taken guided by the MOVE admin teachers, parents and our after-school director and our counselor around town on how to be safe. So here we have our Aliso and Cannellino field day that Mr. Weiberg shared earlier. I have some different pictures here of the students with their team building activities. And what's interesting is not only did they have team building activities, but we made them competitive. So a way for our students to really have a big buy-in, you know, doing these tasks with students they may have never met before, is you're competing against that group. So we really were able to get them to buy in. It was just full of laughter and fun and students really enjoyed it. So goal three, cultivate a college going culture on campus. So the UCSB chemistry lab
109is something that I tend to be in charge of and I put together for the district for all of our fifth grade students. It's students that have the opportunity to go to UCSB, tour campus, and have a chemistry lesson that builds off of their science curriculum for mixtures and solutions. So I work closely with Petra Van Koppen, who is in charge of the chemistry department. And this year, for the first time, this is a surprise that how amazing our fifth grade team is across the district. They were able to get the touch tanks in the marine biology labs open for the students. So when the students went to UCSB, they had an extra special class, which also aligns with the life science portion of our fifth grade science curriculum. For college and career day, counselors
110organize college and career day to expose our students to multiple careers and pathways they can take. It's also very common for our teachers to promote and talk about college in different ways for students at a young age because we want this conversation about you're going to college to be a norm. We don't want it to be this thing that you hear about in middle school or high school. It's something that happens from the very beginning. We also started this last year where we worked with Mr. Cornejo at the Carpentier High School STEM lessons where students receive hands-on STEM and engineering lessons and activities led by the students themselves and facilitated by CH. as teachers, which I noticed when I was there, some of the older siblings were the ones leading the activities and some of
111my former students. So I think that was just Mr. Cornejo working with his teachers and being very clever on trying to create this just activity that had a little extra more to it. And I did an add-on here. It's fine. Leave it there. That we did invite our high school graduates and seniors to come back to Cannellino in their caps and gowns and walk the halls. They got to meet their teachers and show the students. What I thought was the most important part of this is they're out at recess with the students. And the students got to see someone who looks like them and see, wow, that is going to be me. I will be able to graduate. and whether it's a sibling, a relative, or just someone in the community that the students can
112identify, they can see that that is their future, they will be graduating from CHS. So now on this slide, there are pictures from the UCSB chemistry lab and career day. So there's the touch tanks. They in a controlled environment they were able to set balloons filled with gas on fire with a candle they worked with dry ice to look at how the properties change and Many things the big popular one is turning a copper penny gold Which it wears off down the road, but it's really cool. We got to see that the high school, right? Next slide so goal for school facilities will be updated and improved for cleanliness and safety regulations monitored So our new outdoor learning area the outdoor learning area provides students with a change in environment that increases focus and boosts
113engagement and has safety We take safety very seriously we practice and review SRPs at staff meetings and once a month school-wide so with the safety response protocols Sorry What we do is we don't just practice them Once a month with our teachers and staff and the students for example an earthquake drill a fire drill But what I also do at my IA meetings and at my teacher staff meetings is I create scenarios and They look at the scenario within detail and they have to come up with a reason What's it what call would they make if they were the one? to make the call and why so we can have a really deep understanding of this. And it goes everything from a gas leak in the cafeteria to, which has happened, a paraglider landing on
114campus. I try to make it very relevant and practical for our team. And our planet protectors, which they promote environmental awareness and protection, and it's led by one of our counselors, Patricia Humbles. She helps them with leadership opportunity for kindergarten and first grade students and they help clean the campus twice a week during their snack recess and it's a very popular program to be part of. They always ask, is it my turn? Is it my turn? Can I be part of this? I even have older students asking if they could be part of Planet Protectors. I think it's the best, but again, it's a good way for student leadership and ownership of their campus as well. So here we see how did all this begin well it wasn't having the new Learning Center our library,
115which is amazing and our students love it So the far picture that was a demolition that happened this past summer Which now is this amazing outdoor? Learning area where we have had students now use it for small groups and I mean who wouldn't want to be in an outdoor classroom with that I mean it mounts in the background great weather I mean, we're really lucky. And then here are our planet protectors. These are our kinder and first grade students. We'll go around and help keep our campus clean. Great. Thank you. Thank you, Luis. You guys have some questions? Just real quick I was thinking way with Louise was talking one thing that we did this year that we haven't done in the past when we Introduced the you fly and the Higgity we trained all
116the staff so all of the IAS and teachers so I think that was a huge thing because now when we do ELD wheels and Small groups those teachers and IAS have been trained to support the students Great. Thanks for sharing that. Um, I I think the one thing that stands out to me in all of the data is that is the chronic absenteeism is it's not just your sites it's across the district and I'm I'm wondering if there's something that we could do as a board to you know create modify policy or I don't know if it's even allowed in that code but if you could if you could create some sort of higher level of accountability for parents when, you know, when they sign their, you know, their, you know, their... Like the beginning
117of the year package? Beginning of the year, when you sign your beginning of the year packet, if there was some sort of, you know, if the parents had some sort of direct accountability, kind of like we do with... with suspended students where they you know have to come to school and and I'm not the same thing but but where they have to come and sit in class with with their student or or if they have to go to you know have a session of counseling and to understand what the chronic absenteeism is is how it's affecting there's not only their student but it's the disruptive disruptiveness that comes when they're coming in chronically late to a school how that disrupts everyone else I'm just wondering if there's something we can do as a board to
118to help you I think that definitely having something signed at the beginning of the year so that it's in their mind fresh when they start the school year. I feel like for elementary school, you know, a lot of our families and kids are still struggling coming out of COVID. You know, our families. We still have a lot of anxiety in the mornings and stuff, so trying to support our family a lot. A lot of anxiety in the morning with the kids and leaving their parents and worried about things that are going on in our world. And I think at the elementary level, for me, like the SST process is kind of one of the most important. And it's been the most helpful for us is that we're meeting together as a team so that our
119parents know that we're a team and we're supporting them together. And it kind of has that accountability where, you know, we're meeting, we're going to meet again to make sure, you know, we've put these things into place and that the parents are sticking to it. Okay. So, I mean, you obviously have got a strategy here. I'm just wondering if there's anything more we could do to help that. So it's just I'm not expecting an answer. Just something maybe to think about. And if there is something we could do to put a little more, you know. Teeth on that I think the board would certainly be willing to consider it Yeah, and I think it's been difficult because there's not a lot of like SARB is not a great resource anymore It's you know, so as
120a matter of fact the county went the other way and so did the Ed code Yeah, they changed the Ed code this year and said there will be no penalty for parents or chronic absentee. Yes so that's Yeah, that's challenging that we don't have that support. Now, of course, we'd rather provide. counseling support rather than having a penalty. That's what I mean. You have to have both. Well, you do. Because it's adults and it's accountability. And as I've reported in the last two years, our increase of chronic absenteeism is at the elementary level, not at the middle school and high school level. Although this past school year, our special ed students at the middle school level had more absenteeism. That's why. The middle school was in the red. But it's really elementary, and it's really
121about parents making decisions around kids struggling and not wanting to go to school and parents letting kids to stay home. So what I really appreciate is both Luis and Brett have been very clear in their communication with parents that those minutes accumulate and you're missing content. And if you miss enough content, you will not meet your standards. And if you don't meet your standards, you will not be promoted to the next grade. And we've actually had that situation. Well, have we? Yes. Because, I mean, that's the exception nowadays. I mean, it used to be a lot more students seemed to be held back than they are now. So you're saying we are holding students back. Well, if you don't come to school, if you only come to school 30% of the year, you're not going
122to meet your standards. I understand the logic behind it, but I just, in practice, I think, at least in the recent past, it's just been kind of a promotional thing where, you know, irregardless of their... absenteeism or their performance they just get moved on to the next grade and that's why we've I think that's part of the reason we've seen these these successive this continuation of below grade level reading scores because we're passing the students who were below level in the third grade onto the fourth grade and they still now they're behind and they were behind the third now of course they're going to be behind in the fourth so if we're holding them i mean i think that's a positive that in itself seems like it'd be enough of a of a deterrent deterrent
123to to uh yeah we're trying to like kind of Do that like at the first conferences, like talk to parents about that. And then at Aliso, we've created this form for parents to sign like that saying, you know, like the kid is missing so much school, like you kind of on watch now so that you know, so that they're kind of. Put the onus on the parent. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. All right. Thank you. But again, it also emphasized how important it is to have counselors and the FSA mental health workers, social workers at the school sites because they really work with each individual family around what are the barriers for you as parents to make sure your student is at school. And that's really been so critical at the school sites. That's why we've made
124that investment. Yep, I concur with that. You guys all good? Yeah, thank you for all this data. It's a lot to ponder and think about. Yeah, it's good stuff. Thank you. Thanks, guys. Great job. Thank you so much. I appreciate you. collaborating so that the reports are you know comparable I mean as far as the way that the presentation that was really that was very good of you thank you no colored squares All right, we'll move on to the middle school. Yes. Well, I just wanted to say that I've been working with Brett for 26 years together. And so it's really fun. I kind of made him be the principal at the Aliso. And he's doing such a great job. And Luis, just outstanding. I hired him when he was very new. And he's just
125doing such a great job. So I'm really excited about that. So we're going to talk about the middle school. Could I interrupt just for a second to get some clarification? So the SPED students are not included in these numbers? Yes, they are. Absolutely. This is total student population, all schools. Correct. Yes. So the first goal that we have is increased student learning with high-quality standards-based instruction that is differentiated for every student. And yes, we really do differentiate, or I want everybody to differentiate instruction. So our school is implementing a comprehensive set of strategies to ensure all students receive high quality standards-based instruction tailored to their individual needs. Students' reading progress will be assessed three times per year using the STAR assessments, and teachers will use CAASPP interim assessment blocks to provide timely feedback and better
126prepare students for state testing. And also last year a lot of students opted out of that of the CASP which really helped took the scores really down. And it's also imperative that students have their teachers instruction for 180 days in the school year. So to support our English learners teachers will monitor and guide the ELD classes at three levels. To meet diverse academic needs, we offer two levels of math and ELA instruction, regular and plus classes, with math plus available in grades 6 to 8 and ELA plus in grades 7 and 8. In addition, our free after-school program provides academic tutoring, dedicated reading time, social-emotional support, and enrichment opportunities for students. Finally, teachers and students will integrate artificial intelligence tools to support individualized, differentiated instruction following the staff training on October 13 for all of
127the middle school and high school teachers. Yes, there we go. Mr. Johnson has an elective for multimedia class in second period. I don't know if the board has seen those. They're fabulous. Electives change every semester. Students gain many skills in this class, and now they can produce the video independently. So these slides are from the egg drop for physics in Mr. Mastrovito and Ms. Poulin's classes. And then we also have some seventh graders doing microscopes. The sixth grade ancient civilizations, they were doing the cave painting, and then some of the girls decided to become under the desk, and so they were looking like they were doing the cave, so it was very fun. And then we have AVID seventh and eighth grade with Miss Desiree Rodriguez, and we also have two other AVID six electives
128as well. So the next thing is increase student engagement and participation in a positive school culture in partnership with parents. So my whole career here, I really want to have parent engagement in all of our schools. And that hadn't been doing a lot of parents in middle school, but now we do. So it's really great. So to promote strong literacy habits and academic focus, all students participate in 20 minutes of SSR during fourth period each day. And also they do 10 minutes of reading in every ELA class. Staff and administrators maintain consistent behavioral expectations using a system of clear rewards and consequences to ensure a positive and safe learning environment. So Mr. Anderson and I and a lot of the teachers, we all did a lot of stuff to make sure that they are not,
129that the behavior is a whole lot better this year and it's much more calm and everybody is pretty happy. This is our after school programming. Wait, I'm sorry. Can you go back? So after school programming continues to grow, offering a wide range of enrichment opportunities such as the Push Project, Surf Club. Food bank cooking classes, fishing club, ASB on Tuesdays during lunch, academic support club, and environmental club. Family engagement remains a top priority. The principal and the assistant principal actively encourage parent involvement through lunch supervision, school events, coffee with the principal, concerts with Mr. Pavia, back to school night, ELAC, school site council, and the PFCMS parent organization. To reinforce positive student behavior and celebrate success, administrators deliver monthly positive office referrals directly to students. Okay, now we can go to the swimming. So PE
130has been providing many sports to try. We have four staff in the PE department with Mr. Ortega as the department chair. We got a grant for all sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students in PE to do swimming lessons and learning water polo, which was for four weeks. And we're hoping that... goes up to the high school when they get and they are very excited to know what those that is about and so these are lifelong skills and we hope that CMS students might be interested in aquatics up at the high school. So the this is the the lunchtime so you can see some of the things that are happening at lunchtime. Gaga ball is Gaga ball and pickleball have the most kids doing it and then we have basketball and hula hoops and soccer basketball
131and then we have some students that don't really care to be out there at lunch and so they go into the library so that's the D&D club up in the right or the left of on the top the Dungeons and Dragons and they're really into it and then they have chess and all kinds of other things so there's lots of opportunities to do things during lunch. So the next goal is to create and maintain a college and career lens in the middle school. So CMS is actively strengthening college and career readiness through its AVID and CTE pathway programs. AVID focuses on teaching students the organizational, academic, and leadership skills needed for long-term success. Its goals include helping students develop strong studies habits, engage in rigorous coursework, build confidence, and understand the steps required to pursue
132college and career opportunities. As part of this program, AVID students participate in field trips to regional colleges, giving them the firsthand exposure to campus environments. and expanding their understanding of post-secondary options. In addition, 26 eighth graders are enrolled in first period classes at Carpinteria High School in engineering, robotics, and agriculture. This early access to CTE pathways allows students to explore their interests, learn about future career fields, and begin developing the skills that will prepare them for high school, college, and in-demand career opportunities. Yes, custodial staff will keep the campus clean and all staff will notify the administration of any safety concerns. CMS is committed to maintaining a safe, clean, and well-maintained campus for all students and staff. Administrators are reinforcing expectations for... campus cleanliness by providing teachers with short videos and discussion prompts and advisory,
133encouraging students to take responsibility for the keeping of the school environment trust free. In addition, students deserve a safe and comfortable environment in every teacher's classroom, including professionalism. To strengthen campus safety, the administrative team hosts a monthly safety team meeting on the first Tuesday of every month, open to all staff. This is with Mr. Anderson. The school office coordinator promptly submit work orders for any safety-related concerns. with approval from the site administrators. Additionally, the vice principal oversees all the standard response protocol drills, ensuring that the emergency procedures are consistently practiced and implemented effectively across the school. Okay, the next goal is increase in achievement in math for students with disabilities. To ensure equitable access to rigorous math instruction, students with disabilities are receiving high-quality specialized academic instruction in mathematics through our new special education teacher.
134This is his second year, and he has specialized in math for special education. These students are integrated into the general education math classes where they are supported by a credentialed special education teacher with expertise in math to help them access grade level standards in a small group setting to strengthen their understanding of the specific math standards being taught in grades 6th, 7th, and 8th. This is an integrated model aligns with our single plan for student achievement goals by ensuring all students receive targeted support and access to the core instruction alongside their peers. In our first year at CMS, yes, last year, CMS administrators and special ed staff were highly concerned that at least half of the students with IEPs had three special ed classes, which was alarming as that is 50% of their schedule. That
135is a mod severe number there. So we're not going to do that anymore. We were also, they were also not getting it. Excuse me, Jamie. So back to that last statement. So you're saying that just mild, mod students were spending more than 50% of their time in sped-only classes? We're not talking about the mod severe students. It was about three classes for special ed, and then these were mild mod students, and that is not correct. So they didn't have a history class a lot of the time and the science class. And when you go to the high school, even if you have an IEP, you have to finish history and science. So that was really... detriment to the students to not be there for for three didn't in just in science and history. They weren't
136integrated into the curriculum that's expected of them once they get to the high school level. Yes, so students must pass science and history for a high school diploma. And it also surprises us that credentialed public teachers would not want to all students to have access to the general education classes. We are also highly concerned when uninformed staff don't understand about the diploma track at the high school. It's not wanting ELs in your classroom and students with IEPs in your classroom is shameful. Okay, so the last goal, CMS is committed to accelerating academic growth for English learners. So CMS is, yeah, so. through high quality English language development, instruction, and continuous progress monitoring. Our primary goal is that 75% of English learners enrolled in ELD will demonstrate at least one level of growth on the ELPAC
137by the end of the school year, reflecting increased English proficiency and readiness for academic success. We are also focused on ensuring substantial achievement in core content areas. To this end, 60% of English learners are expected to maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher in their non-ELD classes, including math, science, social studies, and English language arts. Additionally, the school aims to increase the percentage of English learners who are reclassified as fluent English proficient by 10% compared to the 2024 and 2025 school year. These goals reflect our commitment for providing... providing English learners with language skills, academic support, and access to grade-level curriculum needed to thrive. So we're really working on the newcomers that are coming in and also students who have been at ELD. And we just had, last week, we had our staff meeting all
138around this. English learners and how we help them and our expectation is they're going to be doing differentiating instruction I know Louise and Brett know all about differentiating instruction and it surprises me that some of the teachers Aren't doing differentiating because we have to do that for our students And I just wanted to do a couple things about, yes, we have a terrible chronic absenteeism situation at the middle school. So it was red for all students at 23%, red for students for disabilities at 36%, absenteeism for English learners. It had increased at 2.1 points and read for Hispanic students at 23.8. So, yes, we have a terrible chronic absenteeism. We do the same thing. We call in the parents and have meetings with them, and it's pretty difficult. So what are you being told by
139the parents as the reason for their students being late? Well, we've had a lot of fear at the moment with some students coming to, or even the parents coming into the school. They don't even want to come into the school because they're afraid of the... the ice and all that kind of thing. So it's been really pretty fraught. And then a lot of these numbers are also a small group of students. But, I mean, I could see that with Hispanic or English learner students, but with your SPED students, I don't understand that, or your disabled students. And, I mean, it's across the board, really. If you're 23% across the whole school and the Hispanic students are 23.8 and your SPED students are, you know, 33. Yeah, we agree. It's very challenging. I mean, so take
140the. Take the Hispanic or English learner students out of it. What are other families telling you is the reason for not being there? Oh, they're sick, or they didn't want to go to school, or they have anxiety, things like that. And we've gone to their houses, and a lot of the times there's no parents there. It's just the student there because the parents are working. And, again, I guess same question that we had for Brett and Elise. Is there anything, is there any more teeth that you need to, you know, to give it some more? bite from our level or from our standpoint? I think Brett or one of you said it's about relationships with your families. And so we do a lot of that. And we have fantastic counselors and therapists at the middle
141school. But it seems like it's increasing. I mean, you can only hold their hand for so long. And this is not like Santa Barbara. Everybody has... chronic absenteeism. It's unfortunately happening in lots of places. Yeah, no, I know. Nobody seems to be able to solve it. I mean, the strategies that we're using now don't seem to be effective. Well, I think what you were talking about earlier, the state of California is not helping us because they're basically letting people just not coming to school, which is not helping anybody. I read a study which was a correlation between like post-COVID work from home environment and then chronic absenteeism. Because if you as a parent work from home and I have a meeting at 830 or 9 a.m., it's very easy for me to let my kids
142stay home because then I don't have to take them to school. So there's a major correlation between that. I think that environment where you're home already, it doesn't seem that hard to leave them home. Right. As opposed to you dropping them off on your way to the office. That seems to be I mean, the work from home remote work seems to kind of be declining now, at least to a certain extent. Yeah. I don't think as much as we think. No. A lot of parents that go to work really early and then like struggle to get their kids ready before and figure out a way to get them to school, too. Yeah, but I mean that's been the case parents have always gone to work early. I just you know, I I mean I've always
143gone to work early And I know a lot of other parents who go to work early, but their students are able to get to school on time I think I think We really need to focus on Working differently in helping parents understand the value for their child to be in school every day. How often? That really is. If you value that your child being in school every day, you are going to make students go to school when they don't want to. You're going to... drive him at 830 or 9 or you're going to make sure they go to school. It's really about the value because the parents who do value that, there are many parents that we have in our system where their students go to school every single day, no matter what, they're in
144school. So we have to take why do those parents, how are those parents different than the parents of our students who are struggling with absenteeism? Yeah, I mean, Yeah, I mean, I think we probably, that's not a difficult thing to figure out, I wouldn't think. It's the value system, value in education versus not really thinking it's that important. So we have to do a better job of communicating that. That's what I'm, I mean, that's something that myself and the principals need to take a look at, at how we can better communicate that to our parents. How, how, um. How often do we hold students back at the middle school level? Never. Oh, not at middle school. Yeah. Well, okay. I mean, there's your carrot and stick right there. I mean, I know that's the difficult
145pill to swallow because, you know, adolescence and everything. But if the expectation is it doesn't matter if I'm here, I'm moving on anyhow, what's the incentive other than, you know, wanting to be academically proficient? if you don't have that value and you know you're going to move on to the high school to hang out with your friends, I mean, I've always thought that was a big part of the problem at the middle school is that all you have to do is kind of be there and you move on. And I don't know what the solution is because I know we don't want a bunch of 15-year-olds at the high school, but, I mean, at the middle school. But, I mean. We've really cracked down on students who say, I don't feel good and I don't,
146we have to have a fever or a throw up or something like that. Because a lot of times when we started last year, they would go through to like fourth period and then they're like, want to go home. My stomach hurts. And so we started putting that in like, you need to, we'll call your mom, but also you're going to stay here until the end of the day. So how about the other approach with the carrot, providing some incentives? Yeah, so I've been talking with Ms. Newman, so she's doing the store and all that kind of stuff, so she's working with me and Mr. Anderson about that, and so we're going to do some incentives. She said the key is they have to tell her what they want, not what we're going to order for
147them. Yeah, and then I'd add to that, too, the idea of cohort groups. If you start using peer pressure, you know, as a group you have to show up for 180 days, and then you get a, you know, maybe there's some ideas like that out there we can facilitate. Okay, all right. Do you guys have any more questions? I just had one other question. You had mentioned that a lot of parents opted out of the testing. I know my daughter's year that was up. Well, the students basically do and tell their parents they want not. So the 25% on the eighth grade math, the majority of the plus class did not take it. Right. So maybe we can create some kind of incentive. So we're doing that for this. Yeah, yeah, we're definitely doing that.
148Yeah. Yeah, I know. I mean, sadly, my daughter's year in eighth grade, most of the plus kids did opt out, which was a complete disadvantage to the test. Of course. In terms of the group. It's very disres... Although this is the second year that Mr. Anderson and I are here, I think by next year, a lot of things are going to change even more. Okay, great. Thanks. Thank you. Thanks guys All right, so we are being asked to vote on the single plan for student achievement So can I get a motion to approve the plans as presented? I'll move to approve the plans as presented. I'll second that Any further discussion all in favor? Okay, and we'll move on to the 25-26 parent involvement plan for Aliso-Canolino and the middle school. And that was in
149here, right? Yes. Yeah, so can I get a motion? I'll motion to approve the 25-26 parent involvement plan for Aliso-Canolino and Carpentry Middle School. I'll second. All right, any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Okay, we'll move on to business operations and facilities. Any public comment on business operations on facilities? Rogelio Delgado, Carpentria. Basically two points on the warrants. Number one, I saw too many legal fees. I hope that the legal fees decrease. That's for the benefit of students, teachers, and the community. and avoid the grievances, legal fees, because at the end, it's taxpayers who pick up the bill. You pay nothing, nada. And that's unfair to hardworking property owners. Think about families with children in the school district losing possible student programs, benefits. Think about teachers. Think about students seeing their teachers fighting for their
150salaries and seeing their teachers leave the district. Think about that, the consequences. Number two, constantly I see Little Scissors bills that are there today. Did you know that Little Scissors is ranked number nine as the most junk food? Right behind McDonald's. Remember one time asking in 2018, Maureen Fitzgerald, about the school lunch. I asked her, well, why Domino's? She replied, because it's cheaper. That's money over nutrition. That never should be a fact. At that time, I requested a nutritional presentation. And we got it. And that was excellent information. Now I'm requesting one for the benefit of the nutrition of our students. Because they deserve the best nutrition, the best one. And make sure that Little Caesar's Pizza has the best ingredients. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, so district employees and their representatives thank Paul Cordero
151for his donation to the Carpenter middle school ASP program We truly appreciate those who provide grants and gifts without unethical or unprofessional strings attached regarding warrants We noticed that 3f mr. Igby's anti-labor law firm a turned earned approximately 25,000 more dollars for defending the district's unlawful dismissal and labor violations Has the board asked either Ms. Rigby or 3F to explain why the courts rejected the district's one and a half year effort to evade the three arbitrations that have been compelled by the court just two days ago? How long will you pay for this absolutely self-serving and pitiful legal representation? That is $25,000 more added to the already $800,000 spent this year to defend CUSD's now clearly unlawful actions as determined by multiple state courts. As the board asked Ms. Rigby's firm to explain why the
152courts recently compelled the district to repay over half a million dollars, half a million, in legal fees directly to the union, you trusted and followed Ms. Rigby and her firm into a train wreck of unlawful disciplinary action, and now the CUSD will lose another half a million dollars that could have been directed and invested in student achievement. Several of you on the board. stood by, watched, and even supported that. Regarding the number or the first interim budget, did any of our board members notice on page seven of the first interim budget that while CUSD's investments in certificated and classified employees has decreased by about a half million dollars, same amount you'll be paying to the union for its legal fees, Ms. Rigby and CUSD will pay approximately that exact amount to cover those fees? Do
153you think that is a coincidence? Is that what you think? Coincidence? It isn't. Similarly, did you notice that CUSD has, as of the first interim budget, spent $6,679,000 plus more than it adopted in the 25-26 budget? $550,000 of that attributed directly to legal costs, not paying the union. This is on top of paying back the union for legal fees, $550,000. legal costs. That's double what the district had accounted for in its adopted budget for the year, which is not even half over. Did you notice on page 8 of the second interim budget that even after the district told the community the fiscal sky is falling during the contract bargaining impasse in spring of 2025 that CUSD is still managed to double its unappropriated fund balance to 1 million 800 plus thousand dollars and increase the
154district's general fund reserve balance to 6.8 to thank you check it out. It's right there in front of you. All right, we'll move on to warrants for the period of November 7th through December 4th in the amount of $1,051,663.60. Can I get a motion? I'll move to approve the warrants. I'll second. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Okay, move on to gifts, grants, and donations. and being asked to accept a donation from Paul Cordero to the CMS ASP for swim passes to the Carpenter Pool. We're being asked to approve the request from CMS Principal Persoon to approve the donation of $200 from Paul Cordero. Can I get a motion to approve? I'll move to approve. I'll second. All right. I'd like to thank Paul. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Okay, we'll move on to
155item three, a purchase from Global Industrial of lunch tables for Canolino Kindergarten. The existing tables are between 15 and 20 years old and are getting worn out. And we had three proposals, one from Global, one from Game Time, one from School Outfitters, and Global Industrial came in. almost half of the other two at $12,693. And we're being asked to approve that amount, and it will be paid for with routine restricted maintenance. Can I get a motion to approve? I'll move. You go, go ahead. I'll move to approve. I'll second. Any discussion, questions? All in favor? Aye. Okay, move on to item four, a presentation of our first interim report by Jason Kath. Okay, well, good evening. Tonight we'll be going over the district's 25-26 first interim report. And also I would just like to highlight
156that this interim report includes the actual revenues and expenditures from 7-1, so from July 1st through October 31st, 2015. So on page 2, here we have the different... financial reporting requirements that all California school districts have to go through. Tonight we are right in the middle. We are doing the first interim. It's required that the first interim go to the board for approval and that after approval it's submitted to the county office of education for review and so that's why we are here this evening. On the next slide, you'll see the AB 1200 certification criteria. So on this slide here, it lists the different certifications. And for tonight's presentation, for first interim, we are looking at a positive certification. And so what that means is that the district is able to meet its financial obligations
157for the current year and for the two subsequent years. So it's able to meet it for 25-26, 26-27, and 27-28. The next slide, we have the different reserve criteria. And in California, school districts are required to keep reserves, but those reserves depend on that school district's ADA. So for us, we land right in the middle of that page. Because our ADA is between 1,001 and 30,000, we are required to keep at least a 3% minimum reserve. So once again, that is a minimum reserve that we have to keep by no means. Would probably most CBOs consider that sufficient and once again, I would just like to remind the board that several months ago we had a presentation where the average unified school district has a fund balance percentage or reserve of around 24% On the
158next slide here We have the multi-year projection for our districts property tax assumptions as you can see we go back to 2019-20 and we go through 27-28 But from 19-20 through 21-22, you will see the average increase from one year to the next, you know, is approximately 5%. Then you'll notice there in 22-23. 23, 24, there were some aberrations for whatever reason, and we received increases of about 7.5 and 7.79%. However, what we're seeing in 25, 26 is that the average increases are coming in around 5%, which is what we were seeing in the several years prior. So for the 25-26 property tax projection, we are using the actual projection that we received from Santa Barbara County Office of Education. So we're using that projection for 25-26, but we're using that as a baseline, and
159so we're increasing that projection by 5% for 26-27 and 27-28. And so that's why you're seeing the last three years. For 2025-26, you're seeing a 4.83% increase in property taxes. But for the following two years, we are projecting 5% property tax increases. Now, will it come in exactly at 5%? Highly unlikely, but that's a reasonable percentage that we're using based on what we've seen historically. On this next slide here, what we're looking at is the total, excuse me, the change in total general fund revenues. So this is the entire general fund. And we're looking at two different columns. You'll notice that the first column is entitled adopted. So this is the budget that the board approved almost six months ago back in June of 2025. You know, now we're in December. So that first column
160is what the board approved back in June. And first interim is what we have before us tonight. I'm just going down through the different revenue categories. You'll notice as far as state aid, we saw a slight reduction in state aid. And in the orange box below there, I kind of have the breakout of what those different variances are attributable to. So regarding state aid, you can see that the majority of that difference is attributable to property taxes coming in slightly below what we had projected. For this year, 25-26, we had projected 5%. Unfortunately, our property taxes came in a little bit less, so we're making that adjustment here in our budget so it can be as realistic as possible. And then you'll see there there's a couple other minor adjustments for charter school and EPA.
161Next is federal revenue. Here in this category we saw an increase of about $73,000. This increase is due to an increased Title I allocation, so that's good. The next revenue category is titled other state revenues, and here you'll notice a significant difference between budget adoption in June and where we're at at first interim, and that is about $1.1 million. And you'll notice that that $1.1 million is basically attributable to ELOP. ELOP is an after-school program that we have, and the main reason we're seeing such a big increase is, first of all, that they changed the funding allocation for ELOP, so we're getting significantly more dollars this year than we did last year due to the fact that the state changed the funding allocation for ELOP. secondarily what's represented in that 1.1 million is the student
162support and professional development block grant this is a one-time grant that California school districts are getting and so we got it this year so I'm incorporating it into the first interim so when we add those two together we're looking at about 1.1 million and that's what mainly composes that that variance with regards to other state revenues Below that you'll see a variance of about $307,000. And at the very bottom of that orange box you'll see the reasons for the most part. For the most part they're pretty minor, but you'll notice that the biggest reason for that variance is strictly attributable to donations. As the board is aware, when we get donations, they come to the board and then they're accepted. After they're accepted, then we deposit the money and we book them as, you know.
163revenue and expenditures and so that's what the board is seeing there tonight at first interim. And so altogether when we sum all those variances up the variance was about 1.3 million dollars for the entire general fund at first interim. The next slide is once again it's the total general fund so it's both parts the unrestricted and restricted combined but here we're looking at the expenditure side for the most part. Once again, the first column is the adopted budget. So this is the budget that the board approved in June, so six months ago, and then now we're at first interim. You'll notice that regarding the first expense category, certificated salaries, we didn't need as much as we had budgeted, so we're bringing that budget down slightly, about $145,000. We also reduced the classified salary budget line
164as well, about $398,000. And then correspondingly, since we reduced the certificated and classified, there are always benefits tied to those positions. So we're also reducing the benefits category as well. So in total, just those three lines total about $849,000. Below that, you'll see materials and supplies, and we see an increase of about $132,000. That's mainly attributable to donations, just site budget transfers, and posting a kitchen infrastructure and training grant funds to that specific line. Below that, you'll see another category entitled... services and other operating. And here in this line here you'll see a significant difference between what was adopted in June and what we had before us tonight at first interim. You notice there that the variance is about $6.6 million. And so I also have that broken out in the yellow box, excuse me,
165in the orange box below. So in that $6.6 million is several things. First, we've increased the legal budget $550,000. We also budgeted for ELOP carryover. That's carryover that ELOP did not use in 24-25, so we're bringing that forward to spend it in 25-26, so that's part of that. And the fact that ELOP had an increased allocation, so since we got more revenue through ELOP, we also correspondingly needed to book that additional revenue as an expense. And so that's what we're seeing here on that line. The next line below that is entitled contracted services. You'll notice a significant increase there. That's about $4.2 million. Inside that $4.2 million are the AB 218 claims. So inside there are the three claims that the board has authorized to be paid to the tune of about $4 million. And
166so that's what makes up the majority of that one item that you're seeing there on that line. Below that, you'll see that we've budgeted some for student support and professional development. Once again, that's a one-time grant that we're just budgeting expenses for in case we need it. Below there you'll see there's a tax revenue anticipation note. After the board approved the budget and we got our TRAN, the interest on the TRAN is going to be more than we had budgeted. So here what I'm doing is I'm budgeting for what the TRAN interest costs are actually going to be for the 25-26 year. And so that's why you're seeing that $120,000 increase there. And then there's other just miscellaneous program budget transfers and donations of about $190,000. So in total, all those different categories come to
167about $6.6 million. Now, I do want to point out that... specifically with regards to the AB 218 claims and the legal costs, hopefully those are just one-time costs that we'll see this year, but we will not see them reflected in other years. And when we get to the NYP, you'll see the differences to how come 25-26 is high compared to what we would see in 26-27. So I just wanted to highlight that. So here on this slide here, we're looking at basically the... past couple slides, but just on one slide together so we can see them from a 50,000-foot view. Once again, the first column was adopted, what the board approved back in June, six months ago essentially, and first interim where we're at tonight. And we have the budget variances that we just reviewed.
168They're in the right-hand column. But something that I wanted to bring the board's attention to was in the transfers in section, which is about halfway down the page, you'll see in adopted, There's nothing there. It's completely dashes or blanks. But in the first interim, you'll notice a transfer in of $4.2 million. So that $4.2 million is coming from Fund 21 through what the board passed a few months ago via resolution to move $4.2 million from Fund 21 into the general fund so we could pay the 218 claims. So for the most part, that $4.2 million comes in. We use that $4.2 million, or in this case $4 million so far, to pay the AB 218 claims, which we just saw on the prior slide. So that's where the revenue, or excuse me, that's where the
169money's coming from to pay those 218 claims. And then just at the very tail end of that column entitled First Centrum, we are looking at a reserve of... about 6.82%. And while that is better than I think what we were looking at last year for 24-25, you know, this is an improvement. But once again, I do want to just mention to the board that the average unified school district has a fund reserve of about 24%. So even though we're making improvements, you know, we're at 6.82, the average has about 24. So on this next slide, what we have here is the entire general fund, but here it's broken out into its two distinct components. So on the far left-hand side, you'll see the different revenue categories and expense categories. And in the first column, it's
170entitled unrestricted. And so this part of the general fund is called unrestricted because for the most part, revenues that you receive on this side of the general fund, you can use for basically any allowable school purpose. Now, right next to it is a column entitled restricted. Now, the reason it's called restricted is because the monies that we receive in this side of the general fund basically have certain requirements that... the school district has to follow to spend those monies appropriately. So for example, an example of restricted revenues would be Title I, or Title II, or Title III, or Prop 28. Each of those specific revenue streams, while we get them, we have to spend them in a certain way so they're not available for anything. And because they're restricted on the way they can be
171spent, we account for them on the restricted side of the general fund. And on the far right-hand side, you'll just see Total General Fund, which is those two added together. So just quickly going down the unrestricted side so for 2526 The unrestricted side is projected to receive about thirty five point four million dollars Expenditures looking at at about thirty one point one I'm right below that you'll see in the other sources uses a Transfer in a four point two million dollars. That's the four two That's the four point two million dollars that we transferred in from fund 21 to take care of The AB 218 claims, that's why you're seeing it there. And below that you're seeing contributions to restricted programs. This is that $7.3 million is a contribution from the unrestricted side to the
172restricted side. And it's going further down for the ending fund balance. So for that first interim, we're projecting the ending fund balance to come in at around $3.2 million. And in that, in that 3.2 is our 3% reserve. And for us right now, our 3% reserve is approximately $1.4 million. Just jumping over to the restricted, you'll notice that our total revenues we're projecting to be about $8.1 million. For restricted revenues, but the expenditures were projecting about 16 million dollars So you notice there's a big difference there between the revenues we receive in the expenditures that were projected to spend so that difference Is basically made up that difference is covered essentially by a contribution from the unrestricted side To the restricted site. So the unrestricted site is basically giving money per se to the restricted
173side to cover that difference That's primarily Yes, it's primarily SPED and there's another significant component to maintenance or RMA. Routinistic maintenance. Correct. But the bulk of that is a SPED contribution from the general fund. Yes, that's correct. So that's why we're seeing the contribution to the restricted. That's $7.3 million. That's coming from the other side of the general fund. Then if we just go down to ending balance, we're projecting to have the restricted side come in at about $2.3 million at June 30, 2026. And then just in total, I won't go through all the totals, but on the far right-hand side, it totals both unrestricted and restricted. And you'll notice at the very far bottom of the corner of the page there that, once again, we're projecting our reserve to be about 6.82%. On this
174slide here, as I mentioned before, the first interim includes actuals. So it includes actual revenue and expenditures from July 1st through October 31st. So even though we're in December, it's not the system, the way the system works, it doesn't pick up actual revenues and expenditures through December. It only picks them up through October 31st. So it's a couple months behind, but that's the system that we work with. So the first column is the adopted budget. Once again, that happened in June. And the next column there says actuals through 10-31-25. And in total, you'll notice that through October 31st, the general fund received approximately $4.7 million in revenues. And if we go down in the expenditure column, you'll notice that during that same time period, we spent about $14.2 million. Now, the reason there's such a
175disparity there, once again, is mainly due to the fact that $4 million that's already reflected in here is due to the AB218 claims. So once again, that's a one-time thing that we're seeing happen here, but we shouldn't see in the other years. But nonetheless, it is reflected here. And that's part of the reason you're seeing such a big disparity between the revenues we collected and what we spent so far. And if we go down a little bit further, you'll see the transfer in of $4.2 million, which is what we spoke about before. And once again, I have a footnote that that $4.2 million was transferred in pursuant to Board Resolution 25-938. So I just wanted to cover that. That's a good example of why, withstanding the AB 218 settlements, you still have a deficiency there.
176Yes. And that's a good example of why you need the tran. Yes, thank you, and I was just going to kind of touch on that But thank you for the segue and so what I wanted to highlight was what just was What he just basically mentioned is that this is one of the main reasons well probably the main reason that we need a tran LCFF school districts essentially get paid every month so basically that they get a paycheck every month to fund their ongoing expenses However due to the fact that we're basic aid we don't get a paycheck every month ours are kind of sporadic so for example We got a little bit of money from property taxes in October. We got a bigger piece in November. But based on history, we'll get a significant
177piece in December and a big chunk in April. So because of that cash flow reason. in that we don't get paid every month like other LCFF districts, and our cash flow comes in in bigger chunks with, you know, sometimes there's gaps in months between them. We have to deal with that, and so we deal with that by issuing a trans so we can basically smooth out the cash flow and continue to operate on a month-to-month basis without any problems. And in the last slide here, this is the general fund multi-year projection. And so the first column we have 2526, and the other two columns you'll notice are 2627 and 2728. And I just wanted to bring the board, you know, just mention the fact that for revenues, I've increased the property taxes based on our
178projections at 5%, so that's reflected in here. In the expense categories, I've also factored in the step-up column, so that's factored in here as well. However, I do want to point out one thing. You'll notice that in 25-26, we're projecting expenditures of about $47.2 million. Then if you go right beside it for the next column, for 26-27, we're projecting expenditures of about $42.7. So that's, you know, you see a significant reduction in expenditures from 25-26 to 26-27. And the reason you're seeing that, that's mainly attributable to the one-time expenses due to the 218 claims, which we're seeing in 2526, but we're not seeing those in 2627. And so that's the reason you're seeing such a big difference between the two expenditure numbers. And then just going down the different columns, once again in 2526, we're
179projecting a reserve balance of about 6.82 for 2627, 12.49. And 27-28, about 18.36. However, once again, I want to highlight that I'm assuming 5% property tax growth in each of the out years. But I also want to mention that for 26-27 and 27-28, since we haven't settled those years because that hasn't come to pass just yet, those numbers will change. And so those two years do not include any increases for salary and benefits. So with that, I'd like to open it up to the board. See if you have any questions. How I read it, I wasn't here for the adoption, obviously, but how I read it, if we look at the page seven of expenses, the adopted versus the first interim, there's obviously the variance of expenses, 5.9 million. But if I take it out,
180if I take out the 4.2, we're still over by 1.7, right? So that's a pretty large overage in terms of... adopted to actual. Right. So is that, I mean, when we're looking at the anticipated expenses for the next two years, are we assuming we're going to be off? I mean. No, I mean, so getting back to your 1.7, I think that's probably captured due to the fact that 1.1 of that. 1.2 of it. Yeah, 1.2 is attributable to ELOP being increased and the carryover. Okay. And then also we budget an additional $550,000 for legal. Okay. He's not booking it as revenue. He's already booked his revenue in the prior year. Got it. He's not going to book it twice as revenue, but he's got to book it as an expense now. Thank you. Okay. And
181we don't have control of when that increases it. Got it. Okay. And that was the hardest thing for me to get used to with school accounting or, you know, this multi-year budgeting is you may see the revenue in a prior year. So you've already claimed as revenue. And when you carry it forward, it becomes a debt. Right. And so it makes it look. But then the subsequent year, that debt doesn't carry over. And so it. you have these big swings that are so comps are a little bit hard yeah they're they're they're challenging you have that's why you have to drill down into the into the item and the care what the carryovers are and that's what the variant actually helps with if you look at them comparing uh multi-years okay thank you explain When
182we see the reserve balance jump quite a bit in the out years. Yeah. It's because of that ELOP. It's because of the ELOP and the AB 218 settlement. Yeah. That's the big jump there. It's still a jump, but it's because we've expensed it without – because the revenue for that $4.2 million revenue was booked. five years ago or four years, whenever, or two years ago, whenever we took that Baylor money in, but then we're expensing it, but that's not carrying forward into 26, 27. And so that's what you get that big jump in, in, um, in, uh, a re a big reduction in, in expenses. Does that, does that make sense? Yes. Yeah. One time expenses. Well, and that the ELOP issue is, is always ongoing. Yeah, um way to say I mean we will
183always be faced with that yeah, so some programs Allow carryover and ELOP is one of our bigger ones that we do have carryover in and so yes I'm the board will probably see this year after year so for example if we have ELOP funding this year and We don't spend it all You'll see it again next year because we're supposed to spend it this year, but the state says if you don't spend it this year, we'll give you one additional year to use it. So whatever we don't use this year, you'll see me book it again next year. Great. Thank you. Any other questions? Okay. All right. So we are being asked to vote. So can I get a motion to approve the first interim report as presented? I'll motion to approve the first interim
184report as presented. I'll second. Any discussion? Further discussion? All in favor? Aye. Thanks, Jason. Thank you. All right. We'll move on to item five, resolution 25943. authorizing superintendent Rigby and assistant superintendent calf to make cash and budget transfers between the and within district funds is necessary for payment of obligations of the district for 2026 this is part of the annual organizational board meeting documents sent to the Santa Barbara County Office of Ed can I get a motion to approve resolution two five nine four three I'll move to approve resolution two five nine four I'll second that any discussion roll call Andy aye Annette aye Aaron aye and I am aye as well all right thank you okay move on to item H personnel any public comment on personnel Alrighty, so this evening's personnel report confirms
185the retirement of both Rishon Solis-Herman and Laura Manriquez, who's with us here this evening. Both have brought extraordinary value to their school sites and students for many years. Laura for over 25 years and Rishon for over 11 years. I'm honored to call both of these ladies my colleagues. They're both union members and they are both personal friends. They have extended their talents and love to thousands of students and families, including Crystal and my own daughters, who remember them fondly. As a union president, I'm also compelled to mention that in the course of their service, both have endured well beyond what any professional should have to endure to maintain their position to do the good work of serving the community. Both were compelled to participate as witnesses during historic legal actions required to hold CUSD officials
186accountable. and put an end to the district's contractual violations which negatively impacted students, employees, and their families. And as a result of their willingness to participate in collective labor actions, one was even required to endure sustained retaliation for her bravery and unwavering commitment to do the ethical and right thing in the face of then-Canolino principal who thought that she could be intimidated otherwise. She was not. We are still impressed by her spine. As Laura and Richaune retire, the union's proud that the result of our diligence and oversight, as a result of our diligence and oversight, the district fully understands the obligation to open these vacant positions up for in-house intra-district transfers. And then... if there are none, offer the outstanding open positions to those who have been laid off in the last 39 months who
187are entitled to first right of refusal for the open positions. Although it will take some time for new employees to bring the kind of value that retiring employees with more than 25 and 11 years of experience have provided, we're certain that these two educators leave a strong example of professionalism behind them. If CUSD is smart, they will explore rehiring these ladies to provide the much-needed instructional aid training that CUSD too often fails to provide. We are all too familiar with how CUSD brings back previous district administrators who want to maximize their personal retirement income. Let's see if we can invest some of those dollars towards actually improving teaching and learning outcomes and bring back these two right retirees, if they will. I hope they will, to improve our ability to support our students and our
188newest support staff. Thank you. And thank you again, Laura. Good evening. I just got here from my evening shift, so I didn't have a chance to sign up. I hope it's all right if I take three minutes. Okay, wonderful. Thank you. Over the last, again, my name is Laura Menrakes. Thank you to Mr. Hosner for my introduction. Over the last 25 years, I have served every level in this district from TK to high school. I have grown as an educator and as a human being. I have experienced much personal reward in this, my chosen work. I have dedicated a third of my life to this endeavor, but it is not by any means the end of my involvement with the education of our community youth. I will continue my position as lead art instructor for
189children's programs at the Carpinteria Arts Center, as well as art instructor for many adult workshops. And I know I'll find new ways to continue and serve my community through academic and cultural enrichment and engagement. Over the last 25 years, I have experienced much personal growth. As with anyone, I have also been met with many challenges over the years. Some of those challenges have unfortunately come in the form of threats to my position of employment in this district. It has been during those times that I have fortunately had the support of my union, and that has made all the difference. Under the leadership of Mr. Jay Hotchner, I have been able to weather the storms of employee layoffs, the struggle for much-needed and well-deserved employee pay raises, being placed on administrative leave without explanation, and having
190unfair accusations leveled against me, all of which later were proved to be false. During all of these challenges, my saving grace has been the integrity and support I have received from the elected officials of my union. So thanks to cause and thank you, Mr. Hotchner. I want to thank my past principal, Mr. Brett Weybrook, for his kind and sincere support during my years at Aliso School. I also want to thank my current principal, Mr. Luis Quintero, for bringing a healthy and productive environment to Canolino School, supporting both students and staff as a team to move our students forward in their academic development. Always caring and approachable, he welcomes and encourages each member of our team and truly listens to all input and concerns. I would like to publicly appreciate and express my gratitude for those
191coworkers and individuals who continue to work tirelessly for the advancement of the education and enrichment of the youth in our community. It has been my honor and privilege to work alongside them. And finally, I want to express my gratitude and love for the families and students I have served over the last 25 years. They will remain in my memory and occupy a special place in my heart for many years to come. With my respect and gratitude. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Best of luck in your next opportunity. Okay. We're being asked to approve the personnel summary, two retirements, and one coaching extension for four personnel. Can I get a motion to approve? I'll move to approve. I'll second. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Okay. Item I, future agenda items. Any public comment on
192future agenda items? Usually you commend and celebrate our retirees. That didn't happen tonight. Certificated. Only certificated. Thank you. Future agenda items. Elected employee leadership asked the board to look closer at the variety of consistent payroll errors impacting many of the least financially stable employees in the district. The union shared these with district officials last week. Do not take for gospel the artfully misleading response the USD... was compelled to publish over the Thanksgiving holiday. That response was clearly an attempt to spin a long list of payroll errors that have left employees frustrated and even more economically unstable, including but not limited to underpaying employees in some cases for several years and then refusing to pay them the lost wages when they figured it out. miscoding employee paychecks in some cases for several years, and now clawing
193back several thousands of dollars, in a recent case, approximately $8,000 from employees caught off guard by CUSD's errors. Failing to sign employees up for health care plans they earned and are eligible to receive and then refusing to resolve the financial impact on employees. Failing to properly record and recognize employee union membership to then, illegally, refuse to honor the rights active union members are entitled. Failing to include vacation pay and sick leave pay on paychecks until employees catch the air and then requiring them to go through all kinds of hoops to get that money. refusing to place district employees on the correct salary schedule even after employees have verified their eligibility, requiring employees to seek legal action to defend their rights to the compensation and benefits they've earned, which ensures that CUSD will pay more in
194legal fees than it would if the district just owned the heirs and fixed the payroll violations. If any Of our board members doubt the legitimacy of the errors and mistakes reported, union leadership can verify this report with documentation at your request. Meanwhile, please know that your inaction and unwillingness to examine this issue further, if that be, ensures that the payroll errors will not be resolved until impacted employees are compelled to seek legal relief with the assistance of the union for the district's violations. If and when that occurs, Please don't blame employees and their union representatives for demanding the rights, compensation, and benefits they've earned several times over. Thank you. Okay. We have for future items the budget development for 26-27, special ed report, and annual audit report. Anything else you guys want to add? No.
195Okay. Anything for the board calendar, Monica? No. Any board announcements? I'd just like to say that I really enjoyed the visits to the sites last week, and it kind of brings home all the things that we're up here trying to help with and to see how each and every site was operating. tranquilly engaged it was it was fantastic to see and makes everything we're doing worthwhile so with that I think we're adjourned thanks all you done thank you