001District Board of Education is now in order. Welcome everyone. All board members present except for Trustee Ramirez-Dominguez and Trustee Tamayo. We will now approve the agenda. Is there a motion? Motion to approve. Second. Motion by Trustee Tolson, seconded by Trustee Dominguez-Cervantes. Recording Secretary, please call the vote. Dominguez-Cervantes. Aye. Tolson? Aye. Ugarte? Aye. Motion carries. 3-2 absent. Please let the minutes show that Trustee Ramirez-Dominguez arrived at 4.06. We just started. Oral communication on closed session items. Oral communications for closed session items. The oral communications section provides the public with an opportunity to address the board on closed session items only. Persons wishing to be heard may attend in person and should complete a request to be heard card and submit it to the recording secretary before the start of the meeting. Speakers are requested to limit
002their remarks to three minutes and speak in a respectful and professional manner. The board shall limit the total time for public input on each topic to 20 minutes. With board consent, the president may increase or decrease the time allowed for public comments depending on the number of persons wishing to be heard. No board action can be taken. The board of trustees cannot legally take action or respond to matters not posted on the public agenda due to government code, but will refer the matter to the superintendent for review and report. There are no speakers. We will now adjourn to closed session in accordance with the following. Government Code Section 3549.1D and 54957.6, Collective Bargaining Employee Negotiations, LLP, and Adam Silva and McNally, LLP, Employee Organizations, Chula Vista Classified Employees Organization, CVCEO, Chula Vista Educators, CVE, Nonrepresented
003Employees, Administrators Association, Chula Vista AACV. Government Code Section 54957B1, Public Employee Discipline Dismissal Release. Government Code Section 54956.91, Conference with Legal Counsel. Existing litigation in the Office of Administrative Hearings, Case Number 2025110017. Government Code Section 54956.91, Conference with Legal Counsel, Existing Litigation in the Office of Administrative Hearings, Case Number 2025110243, and Education Code Section 35146, Consider Waiver of Student Expulsion Hearing and Stipulated Suspended Expulsion Agreement, Student Number 455155. We now reconvene to open session with all board members present. Have the minutes reflect that Trustee Thimaio arrived at 445. Closed session announcements will be made by Clerk Tolsten. Okay. Government Code Section 54957B1, Public Employee Discipline Dismissal Release, Employee Number 201-142-6975. On motion by Member Tolston, second by Tamayo. Ayes were four and one abstention. Trustee Dominguez-Cervantes. For government code section 54956.91, conference with legal counsel,
004existing litigation, and office of administrative hearings, case number 2025110017. On motion by member Ramirez-Dominguez, second by member Dominguez-Cervantes, the board approved the settlement agreement by the following vote. Ayes were for, absent Trustee Tamayo. Government Code Section 54956.91, Conference with Legal Counsel, Existing Litigation in Office of Administrative Hearings, Case Number 2025110243, on motion by Member Tolson, second by Member Ramirez-Dominguez. The Board approved the settlement agreement by the following vote. The A's were 4, absent was 1, Trustee Tamayo. Education code section 35146 consider waiver of student expulsion hearing and stipulated suspended expulsion agreement student number 455155 on motion by member Ramirez Dominguez second by member Dominguez Cervantes the board approved the settlement agreement by the following vote a's were for absent one trustee Tamayo Thank you the open session of the regular meeting of the Chula Vista
005elementary school district Board of Education is now in order Welcome, everyone. All board members are present. And Dr. Rosendale, if you'll lead us in the pledge. Please rise. Right hand over your heart. Ready, begin. States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. I will now entertain a motion to approve the agenda with flexibility. So moved. Second. Question? Recording secretary, please call the vote. Ramirez-Laminguez. Oh, you didn't say what? I had a question. Oh, flexibility so that we can move the student presentation before all of the oral communication. Can we move it before the children? The children, yes, the student presentation. So we're moving the student presentation to the first thing we're doing. The very first thing. Okay. special recognition awards and
006honors recognition of the 25-26 speech contest winners in grades four through eight dr reyes so board and Everyone here in the audience, this is probably one of the greatest events of the night when we get to recognize the winners of the speech contest. And today we have four. You'll get an opportunity to listen to four incredible, amazing students who competed at their local level. Then they came to the district, and then they were first place winners for fourth grade, fifth grade, sixth grade, and middle school. And so for fourth place, we have CJ Angel Fiero from Harborside Elementary, who did an amazing job, but unfortunately he could not be here today. So at a later time, we'll invite him again so you can hear him. Next, fifth grade, first place winner is Layla Amoni Reeves
007from Olympic View Elementary. What makes a strong community you have come to the right place a strong community fosters a sense of belonging? support and build resilience When members feel connected and have shared values they are more likely to have compassion for another and work through conflicts as they see their shared well-being as a priority a Strong community acts as safety net offers help during challenging times which events stress An example is during the wildfires that we had. As the fires got close to our neighborhood, some neighbors went door to door to see if any families needed assistance. One neighbor even left homemade chocolate chip cookies on our porch. Now I don't know about the adults, but these homemade chocolate chip cookies made me feel so much better about the situation. Mmm, they were delicious.
008A strong community seeks first to understand, then to be understood. This involves a shift from self-focused talking to other focused understanding. For example, the Chula Vista Police Department and other non-profit partners like the Alpha Project employ specialized outreach teams to engage unsheltered individuals in order to understand their civic needs and challenges before connecting them with services and housing options. This approach focuses on case management and building trust rather than media enforcement. It also allows conflicts to resolve more easily. Considering all sides of an issue before jumping to inclusion or solution allows more thoughtful outcomes. A strong community always has empathy for each other. A true test of community is during crisis. One way our community shows empathy is by organizing food banks for people in need of food. Also, during the COVID-19 pandemic, The city
009implemented a $1 million rental assistance program to help families avoid homelessness. Empathy binds individuals together through deep understanding. It also builds strong relationships and social resilience by providing support during challenges. A community shared empathy can help members overcome challenges and face adversity together. A strong community always synergizes with other people to get things done faster and create positive impacts. For example, the Children's Community Collaborative. They assist the organizations that work together to form a collective to provide support to families in need. They connect families with much-needed resources, such as family support, health insurance enrollment, food assistance, and much more. Another example is the amazing fundraising efforts that occurred to support school projects like the walk-through training system. This constructive collaboration comes from diverse skills. By pooling resources and working together, individuals can achieve outcomes that
010are beyond what they carry out alone. Also, when people support local businesses and take part in local initiatives, it strengthens the local economy. Bringing together diverse perspectives allows the community to find more ambient solutions to local problems. And finally, this is something that is often overlooked. Everyone, please take a long look around the room. Take notice of the many faces here. We have students, teachers, and school districts. We have sponsors, and among the parents are people who have different jobs in our community. But we all come together, working together, supporting one another for a common goal. This is an example of what it's all about. It's people like you that make a strong community. And this is what a strong community looks like. Thank you for your time, and thank you for listening. Have a
011blessed day, and thank you. And so all first place winners gets a $300 check. Also, a pretty cool trophy. And they get to go around the city to City Hall, the Rotary, different places to perform and give their speeches. So come on down for your check and your trophy. Next we have first place winner for sixth grade from Heritage Elementary, Alia Michelle Carbajas. Trust allows us to rely on our neighbors when we need help. It can be as simple as being a dog sitter or asking for a cup of sugar. Either way, as long as you have trust and safety in your community, everyone can easily be happier and get along better. In addition to trust and safety. Shared values and goals also plays a major role in a sustainable society. When everyone of different
012diversities unite, we find common goals that could benefit our community, such as cleaning the park or growing a garden. But it can also be something small, like picking up trash. As we reach a shared goal in the community, we develop cooperation and become more inclusive. Furthermore, when people have shared interests, we automatically just hit it off and generate connections with each other. Whether you like the same movie or the same sport, you still have someone you can relate to or communicate with. Overall, shared values and goals is very essential in a strong community. Two more crucial traits that are very effective in a strong community is active participation. Without participation, we're just a bunch of people that live next door to each other. But if everyone participates, and we welcome everyone of all backgrounds, then
013anyone can have a say. And they can share their ideas, too. What's more is that because we're all unique and different, we have knowledge that someone else might not know. I know that all of you in here know a fun fact or two that I don't know. At the same time, when people are inclusive and participate, it shows that they're committed to the community's well-being and success. We also must have inclusivity because by accepting each other's differences, we can make the most prodigious changes in our community. One could do so little, but together we can do so much. In a community where everyone is included, no one would ever feel lonely because there will always be someone there for you, even when you feel like you don't belong. So, as you can see, in a
014strong community, there is no individual working and no feeling left out. We are more than just a place on the map, more than just a community. We are a family whose relationships and friendships are kept alive through active participation, inclusivity, shared values and goals, and lastly, trust and safety. Being part of a community is knowing that you are part of something bigger than yours. Thank you for your time. Next we go to the first place winner for our middle schools. And it's someone that you might be familiar with because he's been here before. And from Arroyo Vista Charter School, Carter Jacob Spatzer. There are two types of people in this world. Those who rise to the occasion and those who drown in the moment. What type of person are you? Hello, my name is Carter
015Spatzer. And to be fair, we can't begin to discuss community until we know what it means. Its Latin origin can be broken down into two parts. Calm is synonymous with the word together, while munis is to serve. For me, community means together we serve. The scope of community has range, from international borders, to our respective religions and cultures, to our very own neighborhoods. Just as the houses that fill our neighborhoods, it is my intention to enlighten you on how the actions we take are the foundation. The unity we need are the walls that uphold us, and the trust we require is the roof that covers what is necessary to build a strong community. Action is the foundation of a community. When there is a problem, strong communities don't wait for someone else to fix them.
016They act. Living proof of this is when the emotional, physical, and mental realities of a pandemic motivated us to act in order to survive. At such a critical time, we used the resources we had to collectively get through it. Now, I'm not here to debate your thoughts on what was real or fake, but to get you to understand that a solid foundation matters. That pandemic taught us that even behind the mask, there was no distance too wide for communities to work together. In 1858, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed, a house divided against itself cannot stand. Unity acts as the walls that uphold a strong community. Parallel to unity, however, is respect. It's okay to agree to disagree, and there isn't a need to start a revolution over any minor disagreement. But when hardcore issues meet hardcore facts,
017we work together to protect the integrity of what makes a community work. It shouldn't matter what you look like, the language you speak, or your preferred orientation. The strongest communities care most about everyone's positive contribution because that is what matters most. This allows for a cohesive movement for the betterment of everyone involved. No more accurate words could be said in the present day. When people come together, they can build phenomenal things, but whatever they build must have a cover to protect it. When building a community from the ground up, trust is the roof that protects the process. A house isn't finished because it stands. It has to protect what's on the inside. If people lack trust in each other, then they cannot cooperate at their best. When you sit in a chair, you don't check
018to ensure that the screws are present to support you. We just trust it. We as a community need to trust. We need to trust that police officers want to get home just as badly as the person they pull over. We need to trust that teachers want to educate without condemnation. Personally, my trust in God has helped me trust that the doctors knew what they were doing to help my sister who was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer just last year. Because trust is earned and not blindly given. Easy to lose while hard to regain. Every active participant in the community must be well-intended and without complicit bias. Then and only then will trust work. Our strong community is not an impossible concept. Structurally, we have the foundation of action, the walls of unity, and the roof
019of trust, which makes for a pretty solid house. But the people inside is what makes it a home, which leads me to one more important thing that every strong community needs. And I've said it 12 times throughout this speech. The key to a strong community is we. We, the people, as a whole, are community. Regardless of what you have or have not done, now is the time to show up as your authentic self to the community that needs you. Think what role have you played in creating your strong community? How have you been the person who rises when your community calls for it? How have you utilized action, unity, or trust to better yourself and the others around you? Or, have you been the person who's drowning? If you lack a firm response, then we've
020got work to do. And we will continue to serve together to build our strong community, brick by brick. For comments. Like the superintendent mentioned, I think this is one of my highest honors to be able to recognize our students. Can you hear me? But yes, so I actually make sure that my kids were present in order for them to hear these amazing speeches. So, hi guys. They're all here and you guys are amazing. I actually was able to come to the semi and the finals, so I got to hear everybody, but you guys do a remarkable job. I learned so much. I just love the way that you guys express yourselves and the way that you guys see and recognize what builds a community and the way that you guys have put it into words
021when sometimes it's so hard. I love that we got to hear about support and belonging and resilience from Leila and we got to hear that when we're a strong community, we're like a family. And that we get to hear amazing, amazing words of what I love what Carter just said about that we have to rise to the occasion and that action is the foundation of community. These words are so beyond your years. You are so wise. And I love to see, and it's sad because I know we won't have you next year, but you leave a legacy and you leave other amazing students that look up to what you've done and how you've been able to put it into words. And it's just an honor for me to recognize all four of you. I actually
022got to hear our fourth grader, who is also an amazing. I hope we get to hear him because the Muay Thai examples were amazing. You're going to be blown away as well. So you guys, I am extremely, extremely honored to be able to recognize you. I know your future is bright and I know I'm going to get to hear and see amazing things coming. So thank you so much. Carter, we just don't hear you speak here. I've seen you on TV. Also, he's speaking, he's using his voice. And that's the wonderful thing about your presentations and your speeches is you're using your voice to share. You did your research and like Trustee Karen here is saying, you are beyond your years. I had the privilege of being one of the judges for Layla at Olympic
023View. It looked like you were looking at all of us. You did a wonderful job, your wonderful presentation. I didn't have the privilege of seeing Aliyah, but I saw you here. And you know, you showed resilience, you showed dedication, and when we have a hiccup, what do we do? We rise up to the top, and you're doing just that. Okay? You did a wonderful job, and we all have lessons that we can learn from the youth, and you are a great representation of the youth. You didn't just give a speech. You shared a vision that we should all be reaching out to. And as life would have it, we will learn from each other, and it's so cool to learn from the youth. Thank you again for sharing your vision, sharing your speeches, and giving
024us an opportunity to be better ourselves. Thank you. to echo what our trustees have said already. I want to thank all three of you and CJ, who I hope we get to see very soon. I want to thank you for reminding us how we should be as adults, because sometimes we have a little trouble remembering what a community is and how we can all rise to the occasion. Thank you for setting examples for all of us in this community. Congratulations to all of you. Likewise, I think today we received a gift. Each one of your presentations I consider a gift because I learned from all of you today. Leah, your resilience and being able to recover that way shows a wonderful skill. Something that... even I might not have. I have stumbled on speeches and
025I have not been able to recover before. So seeing you being able to recover and continue in that way, it blew me away. So congratulations on that. Lila, making everything real for us, speaking from your heart. about community and having that deep understanding about the different resources that are out there for our community. That was wonderful. Carter, what can I say about you? Have you thought about your career? He's going to be my speech writer. What do you want to be when you grow up? I can see a president in you. I can definitely see a president in you. I think that you have a bright future. You're welcome to come any day to give us one of your speeches. We would love to continue hearing from you. I know you're in eighth grade and
026you're going to go and do a lot of great things. All three of you continue to aspire high. You have the talent. And I want to recognize also your parents because they've been there for you. They've been hardworking with you. They might even have been working with you on practicing and hearing your speeches. So congratulations, parents. You have amazing kids, amazing diamonds that... They have a very bright future, so congratulations. Thank you. Well, from beginning to end, I was inspired. From the minute Layla got up here, the voice was just like, you can't not pay attention, right? And Carter, again, like our colleague said, I'm going to miss you. You've been here, and I look forward to, just like I say every year, to seeing all of you and your future endeavors because we know
027we're going to continue to see you all in public spaces and in great spaces doing wonderful things. And thank you for what you've given us this evening. and thank you to your parents. As Trustee Tamayo said, you have some incredible kids and we look forward to the things that you're going to do in the future. And I am serious, if I need some speech writing, I will be reaching out. Thank you. All right, we are going to move on to communications to the board. And I did have another item. When I said flexibility, there were a couple of other things. So I do need to ask, the staff requested to move administrative action item 13A following item 10, the oral presentations and written reports. Can I have a motion to approve that as well? Is
028that the budget, the audit report? Yes. That's going to be about how long, and we have all these people here to speak. That's after oral presentations. That's after oral presentations. May I have to approve to move? Do I have a second? Second. Recording Secretary, can you record the vote, please? Ramirez-Dominguez. Aye. Dominguez-Cervantes. Aye. Tolston. Aye. Tamayo. Aye. Ugarte. Aye. Motion carries, 5-0. Yes, and if the students would like to, you know, move so that they can not have to worry about oral communications, I'll give them a few minutes to do that. They can go out on applause. Okay. Item seven, communication to the Board of Education. Chula Vista Classified Employees Organization. Ms. Ruby Williams. Good evening. Hello. Good evening. I want to address a few urgent issues affecting our members. Involuntary cross-training and job misalignment,
029the substitute shortage, its safety impact, and the rising health care costs that are pushing our lowest-paid employees into financial crisis. Our classified staff are increasingly being cross-trained and assigned to positions far outside their job descriptions, often in entirely different departments. Yet, even while learning these new duties, they are fully accountable for the original responsibilities of the job they are hired to perform. This is not only unsustainable, but unfair and unsafe. When staff are stretched across responsibilities, the quality of student support drops, burnout rises, and district risk violating labor agreements. This situation is not the result of unwillingness by classified staff. It is the result of consistent understaffing, lack of substitutes, and the attempt to fill gaps with people who simply cannot be in two places at once. The shortage of substitutes continues to affect students
030and staff safety, special education services, general education classroom support, mental and physical health of staff. Classified staff are frequently pulled from their classrooms to cover absences, sometimes multiple times per week, leaving students without consistent trained support they rely on. A contributing factor is substitute pay that is no longer competitive. We cannot attract or retain substitutes at the current rates. This leads to the same staffing repeatedly pulled, stretched thin, and placed in situations where mistakes, injuries, and burnout become far more likely. We understand that IEPs require a team of qualified individuals, but the way these meetings are currently staffed is causing unnecessary strain. Some classified employees are being pulled to interpret IEPs or conferences even though they are not trained or compensated as interpreters, must leave behind the very students who depend on them. This practice
031is not only unfair, it's potentially another liability for the district. A couple possible approaches to help reduce classroom disruptions are allowing staff to participate only in the portions of the IEP relevant to their expertise, then return to their students and their classes. Scheduling IEPs with realistic staffing in mind, preventing classified from being continually removed from their duties to cover other SPED and Gen Ed classes. This would minimize service make-ups and reduce the need to pull classified away from their students. At the last board meeting, teachers shared powerful stories about how health care increases are impacting their families' sacrifices and impact on their finances. I want to emphasize classified employees feel this burden even more deeply because we earn significantly less. Many of our members are now delaying essential appointments, medical appointments, rationing prescriptions, taking on
032second or even third jobs, considering leaving the district altogether. No employee should ever have to choose between paying rent and getting medical care for their family. When health care becomes unaffordable for the lowest paid workers in the system, the entire district is impacted. Turnover increases, morale declines, and the quality of student support suffers. We stand with our teachers in demanding affordable health care that does not compromise coverage or the quality of service for families. Other districts already provide full family coverage at significantly lower costs, some even at no cost to the family. What's holding us back? In closing, our classified staff now show up every day with dedication, flexibility, and a commitment to supporting students, but dedication alone cannot compensate for the structural problems that demand solutions. We are requesting the board and district leadership
033to stop assigning duties outside classified employees' job descriptions, raise substitute pay to attract and retain reliable coverage, address IEP staffing practices that destabilize that disabilize classrooms and place unfair burdens on classified staff, release secondary providers after they participate in the portions of the IEP relevant to their expertise to reduce make-up sessions and disruptions to their students' schedules. Commit to making health care affordable for all employees and their families. Our students deserve schools where the adults who support them are safe, supported, and valued. Our staff deserve a workplace that recognizes their contribution, respects their roles, and protects their well-being. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Chula Vista educators, Ms. Jackie Venegas. good evening president guard trustees dr reyes and cabinet my name is jackie venegas proud vice president of chula vista educators it is always
034so impressive to hear our speech contest winners congratulations to them and to all students who participated in this event it is clear you have bright futures ahead and the contributions you are already making you are already making to our community you are already making to help making our community a better place It is fitting that this year's speech contest theme was, What Makes a Strong Community? Our speech contest winners touched on important themes that we, Chula Vista educators, also believe in and stand by. We, too, have shared values and goals to make CVESD the best place to be. We, too, believe in active participation. We are committed to the community's well-being and success, not just for educators, but for our students and families, too, and all of CVSD's families. Action is the foundation of the
035community, and that's why we are here tonight. We were hoping to be here tonight presenting our sunshine for our next round of bargaining. Instead, we stand here again expressing our concerns over the cost of increased health costs. CVE has been in communication with the district as well as VEBA in trying to find sustainable solutions to this problem. In the meantime, we are here to ask that you come to the bargaining table tomorrow ready to show your employees that they matter. You will hear more personal stories tonight of the negative impacts these increases have made on our families. Pay cuts due to the rising premium costs, inability to afford household necessities, prolonging family planning because of financial restraints, and choosing to even drop family members from family plans just to try to make ends meet. These
036are just to name a few. we are asking for your action as that is the foundation of community we ask that you take those stories with you for consideration as you guide the district's bargaining team to come with a serious proposal to the table tomorrow It is hard to believe that we are almost at the end of the third quarter. We wish all students, teachers, and parents that they have a productive conversation during conferences starting next week. We know that this work cannot happen in isolation, which is why it is so important that we work together, keeping students at the center of all that we do. We hope you all have a wonderful spring break. Thank you. Thank you. Administrators Association Chula Vista, Ms. Teresa Corona. Good evening President Ugarte, board members and Superintendent Dr.
037Reyes. On behalf of AACV, I want to reaffirm our commitment to working in professional partnership with the district. Our principals and administrators remain deeply dedicated to supporting students, staff, and school communities all across the district. Through our consultation meetings and collaboration as well with district leadership, AACV has discussed discussed concerns related to workload, to working conditions, to staff overwhelm, and the impact these pressures have on our members. This past month, we've already made some changes with leadership and learning to looking at meetings, looking at redesigning even some things that were already scheduled. So that is appreciated. We also appreciate the opportunity to bring these issues forward. in a constructive and collaborative way as we work towards building a successful 26-27 school year site leaders are responsible for supporting the safety learning and well-being of entire
038school communities ensuring that administrators themselves are supported and able to sustain this work is essential to the health and stability of our schools and to our district Our goal in raising these concerns is not simply to identify challenges, but to work together toward thoughtful solutions for next year that sustain the important work happening in our schools and in our district and support the leaders responsible for carrying it out. AACV looks forward to continuing this dialogue in partnership with the district. Thank you. Thank you. Oral communications. The oral communications section provides the public with an opportunity to address the board on non-agenda items. Persons wishing to be heard may attend in person and should complete a request to be heard card and submit it to the recording secretary before the start of the meeting. Speakers are
039requested to limit their remarks to three minutes and speak in a respectful and professional manner. The board shall limit the total time for public input on each topic to 20 minutes. With board consent, the president may increase or decrease the time allowed for public comments depending on the number of persons wishing to be heard. The board of trustees cannot legally take action or respond to matters not posted on the public agenda due to government code, but will refer the matter to the superintendent for review and report. And I'll call three at a time so you know who is next. The first speaker. Mr. Wang then Evelyn Torres and then Wesley Garcia Mr. Wang good evening all member and superintendent and all the parents and the kids my name is Leo Wong I have two kids
040they both attend the IHP programs I want to share why this program has been such a good fit for my family. So my children are learning the same school material as all the other students and meeting the same academic standards. But the program gives them more flexibility in how they learn. That flexibility has been very important for the parents like us. It allows them to keep up the schoolwork. while also attending extracurricular activities like piano lessons, which helped them grow in discipline and also confidence. So I also want to give special thanks to the ISP teacher, Mr. Garcia and Mrs. Jackson. They have been both very supportive and very dedicated to the kids. They both make sure my children stay on track academically and truly cares about their learning and progress. So we really appreciate
041their work to keep them in check. I also appreciate that the ISP provide the opportunity for field trips and also in-person activities throughout the years with their classmates. This is very important for the parents and also our children because it gives our kids a chance to socialize, interact with other students, and build real friendships over time, and not just study at home. So throughout this program, my children are learning how to manage their time, take responsibility for their work, and stay motivated. These are the skills that will help them not only in school, but also in real life. Independent study is not just about doing less work. It's also about learning in the way that these different students need and also parents need. Education success does not come in only one form, and this program
042gives students another pathway to strive. So I respectfully ask all the board members to continue to support the IASP program so families like ours can have this option for their children. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Evelyn Torres. Good evening. My name is Evelyn Torres. Sorry if I get emotional. I'm here to discuss the decision to cut the primary grade independent study program next year due to budget reductions. This program has made a tremendous difference in my autistic son's life. Sorry. Since kindergarten, he has struggled in a transitional classroom setting and has had significant difficulty learning before joining this program. He was unable to read or write. With the support and dedication of Ms. Jackson, he has now learned both. That is something we once feared might not happen. The independent study program is
043extremely beneficial for children who struggle in a traditional classroom environment, especially those who need a slower pace or more one-on-one support. It also allows parents like me to be actively involved in my child's education in a meaningful way. For the first time, my son is happy and excited to go to school. He looks forward to seeing his teacher and classmates. The joy and confidence is so heartwarming. The program has helped him grow academically, emotionally, and socially. I respectfully ask that you reconsider the decision to eliminate the alternative learning option. Many children struggle in a traditional classroom setting and truly need options like independent study to reach their full potential. Please keep this program available so that my son and other children like him can continue to learn, grow, and succeed. Thank you for your time
044and consideration. Have a blessed night. Thank you. Wesley Garcia and then Rachel Lepowski. Good evening. My name is Wesley Garcia. I'm the upper grade facilitator of CVESD's independent study program, also known as the ISP. Why do families choose the ISP for their children? The reasons are plenty, but the diversity of our students' stories will hopefully make them unforgettable to you. Allow me to share a few with you now. These are true representations of our current students, though I won't be using their actual names. Stella is a creative light and a dedicated scholar who hasn't missed a single assignment throughout her three years in the program. She's with us because of severe sensitivity to light, and her skin is subject to extreme damage with prolonged exposure to the sun. She recently won a class engineering challenge
045by building the tallest spaghetti stick in Marshmallow Tower. She was ecstatic to receive her anime water bottle prize. Niko joined the ISP two years ago after experiencing recurring episodes of anxiety due to persistent bullying in school. After a few months, he mustered up the courage to return in person, and we bid him farewell. But recently, he returned to us as the problematic social conditions in his in-person school persisted. He would literally stand frozen at the classroom door every day, unable to step inside. I recently had lunch with his former teacher and discovered that he's a fan of Taylor Swift. the serious kind that can answer trivia questions about her earliest albums. Some of his fellow ISP classmates noticed his Taylor Swift avatar when he returned and have celebrated his fandom with him. Marco is a
046budding entrepreneur. He's proud of his personal clothing brand he started, the Rich Kid Club. But his rich isn't about money. He's quick to clarify that it stands for rich in love, health, education, family, and friends. Marco started the school year in person, but last quarter his mom got deported and he had to move to a relative's house. Though enduring a whirlwind of tumultuous, life-altering events, he has found a way to face his struggles with bravery and keep a smile on his face. Just today, during his small group meeting, he said, Mr. Garcia, even though I told you before that I don't really like reading, I think I'm starting to change my mind about that. Carla. is a piano virtuoso in the making. I watched her perform masterfully with the full ensemble of the North Coast
047Symphony Orchestra this summer as one of the featured winners of the Youth Piano Concerto competition sponsored by the City of Encinitas. Carla has performed at many other prestigious events and venues, including the fabled Carnegie Hall in New York. Being in the ISP allows her to pursue her passion for music and showcase her talent across the US and the world. There are many other boys and girls who have found their way to the ISP, each with their unique circumstances and stories. Though the ISP, or through the ISP, CVSD sees and serves them all. Tonight, we humbly request that you strongly consider keeping the ISP program in place for all grades. K-6. We believe that doing so ensures that equity and inclusion will continue to be delivered to our community, not in words alone, but in tangible
048action. Thank you very much. Thank you. Rachel Lepowski and then Laura P. Good evening, members of the Board of Education and Dr. Reyes. My name is Rachel Lepowski, and this isn't my first time, nor will it be hopefully my last time speaking before the board. I'm a second grade teacher at Rosebank Elementary School, and I want to bring your attention to this one little thing first. Last board meeting, there was... I want to bring the attention to the grievance that was filed and settled with the teachers at Wolf Canyon regarding the mainstreaming of sped kids, students bringing class sizes beyond 31. When pupil services see a class at 29, they see two openings. But if that teacher is mainstreaming two students, then the actual number is 31. There needs to be communication with pupil services
049and sped and excite to clarify how many students are in the classroom. Just today, Pupil Services called our school and said there are two openings and there aren't because they are mainstreaming two students. There are no times when there's not 21 or 29, excuse me, and when you mainstream those two, what are the other kids going to do? So I respectfully understand what Ms. Casey said last week, but I don't think it's possible unless you actually have both departments communicate. But what I really came here to talk to you about was the increasing health care costs being imposed on teachers. Quite frankly, the situation we are facing is deeply concerning. It is shameful that this board, which received significant funding... this year including COLA and is currently sitting on a substantial reserve is pleading poverty
050while the backbone employees of this district are being asked to absorb the rising cost of health care. This is my 25th year of hearing the sky is falling from the business department and that we are going to... is this chicken little all over again. Many teachers in this district are young families trying to build stable lives in San Diego County. But the reality is that many simply cannot live here comfortably on their salaries. The cost of food continues to rise. Utilities are increasing. Grass prices remain high. Housing is out of reach for many. And then to add the financial and mental stress of rising health care costs on top of those realities is simply not equitable, and it isn't fair. As educators, we teach our students the difference between equity and fairness. Fair means everyone
051gets the same. Equitable means each person gets what they need in order to be successful. What teachers in this district are experiencing right now is neither. Some teachers who normally rely on step increases each year earned through experience and dedication are now effectively facing salary cuts because the increase in health care premiums is greater than their step increase. Other teachers are stuck in what we call purgatory, the three-step freeze. Those educators are experiencing a pay cut while still trying to manage the rising cost of living. And then the teachers at the very top of the salary schedule face an even greater challenge. The only increase they might receive must be from bargaining. meaning many of them are taking an even larger financial hit. Across the district, teachers are working the same 185 contracted days, but
052doing more work than ever before. Ms. Lipowski, please wrap it up. Thank you. Many of us putting in countless unpaid hours just to meet the needs of the students in our classroom. We are educators, but we are also counselors, social workers, behavior specialists, and often... providing additional special education support. We also have an increasing number of students who require more direct instruction and intervention, which means more planning time, meeting, monitoring student progress. We are wearing many hats more than ever while effectively being paid less. That does not sound like a win for the employees of this district. And if the district truly values its students, then it must value the people who build relationships with those students every single day. Because health care is supposed to be a benefit, but it cannot truly be called
053a benefit if the people receiving it cannot afford it. Thank you very much. Thank you. You bargain tomorrow. Please, please, please, at the bargaining table, please think about... the teachers that are here and the ones that have no voice because they're too afraid to speak to the board. Thank you. Laura P. and then Nicole Ucieta. Hello, school board. My name is Laura. I live on the west side, and my concern is west side schools getting the attention that they need and the support that they need for the schools. I looked at the ratings of the schools, and on the west side, I think they're underfunded, and they're just not getting the support that they need. I've got five grandkids. Three of them still live in the area or in local schools. We put them in
054private schools because we just blew out of the public school system, but I still care about what goes on with the local schools. It's very important for the whole community that our schools... are strong and that our kids are well-educated, even on the west side. So I just pray that you would put your attention to our west side schools. Thank you. Thank you. Nicole Uzieta and then Noemi Cuba. My name is Nicole Uzieta. My daughter goes to Wattage Lincoln Elementary School. I'm here to talk on behalf of just not the teachers, but everybody there at that school and the board. Just because I believe that every school deserves a fairness, the fair across, you know, the board, every teacher, everybody. I don't understand how you guys expect these teachers' insurances to go up. They dedicate
055their lives to our kids every day. It's hard to live in this community as it is. And to have these teachers. take a hit financially and just on their insurance. And to see that these teachers have 31 kids in their class is just ridiculous to me. Have any of you sat in a class with 31 kids and see to focus with them? No. It is very hard. I live at that school day and night, volunteering my life there. I'm the PTA president. I'm the ambassador for that school. I'm on the DLAC and LAC board, so I see everything that happens at that school. And I don't agree with what Chula Vista... district is doing to these teachers it's unfair it's not right i'm going to continue to fight and say what i have to say
056for them my daughter is up in the school in this district for a couple more years and i'm going to continue to come here at every meeting and talk on their behalf because i seriously think that no one understands what these teachers go through on a daily basis it's very hard for them i think some of you need to go into in the school in the classes and understand what they go through um you guys really need to just really understand what these teachers go through emotionally i have cried with them because to see what they go through i mean it's an arm and a leg to buy groceries to do anything and for you guys to put that on their insurance is just crazy i don't i don't believe in it like i said
057i don't agree with anything the district district is doing to these teachers right now it's not fair it's unfair I truly believe that you guys need to really look into what you guys are doing to these teachers. We're losing really good teachers by what you guys are doing to them. It's not right at all. And I'll be continuing to come to them. fight for them across the board. That's just how I feel about everything. I think you guys, like I said, really need to take in consideration what they're saying tonight at every meeting. I've been there and I've seen what they've gone through and it's very hard to have anywhere from 23 to 31 kids in a class. To see 31 kids in one class, you can barely even focus with two. So it's a
058lot. So I hope you guys take in consideration what everybody has to say tonight. Thank you. Thank you Noemi Cuba and then Delia Dominguez Cervantes Noemi Good evening. My name is Noemi Cuba I am the mother of Andres Cortez an autistic first grade student at Harborside Elementary School. I am here tonight to formally request the district To look through into an incident where my son was found unconscious at school and no adult has been able to explain what happened. As a special education parent, please be sure that I understand the importance of student safety. Sorry, in the part of the safety of my son and also other students. On December 16, 2025, I received a call from the school telling me my son has been found unconscious on the hallway floor. When I arrived, the
059ambulance was already there. Andres was awake, but he was sweating, crying, and extremely frightened. Later, my son told me another student had hit him on the head, shoulder, and leg. The principal checked on him and said there was no visible bruises or redness. The ambulance told me that they wanted to take him to Randy's Children's Hospital for further to see if everything's okay with him, but my son was extremely scared because he was previously had surgery and believed he might need surgery again. Because of that fear, I took him home, and the next day I brought him to his doctor. They examined him, and they said he appeared physically fine, but instead they told me if they see the symptoms to bring him to the hospital right away. After that appointment, I returned to school
060and asked what had happened. The principal showed me. the security footage, but the cameras only captured the top portion of the hallway, not the area where the students are actually walking. I could clearly see multiple staff members in the area, but yet no adult has been able to tell me what really happened to my child. As a parent, especially as a parent as an autistic child who relies on adults at school for safety and support, the lack of answers is deeply concerning. My son has repeatedly said that that larger, older student hit him, which should not normally occur because grade levels are separated. He continues to name the same student and continues to tell me that he is afraid and does not want to be near him or to be around him or play around
061with him. Since December, I have continued to ask the school for answers. It is now March, and I still do not have a clear explanation how my child ended up uncautious in the hallway during the school day. That is unacceptable. At this time, and once again, formally requested that the district do fully investigate what really happened to my son. What really happened? This is not fair. My child was injured at school, and there must be a clear understanding of what happened, who was involved, and why not adult Kent Curley providing me the right answer. I am also asking the district to review the supervision protocols and the placement of the hallway cameras because cameras only capture in the ceilings cannot protect the students or document incidents. I want to be clear, my goal is not
062to get no one, my goal is the student safety. to be accounted what my child specially had a child with a disability is found unconscious at school parents deserve answers and the district has responded as responsibilities to ensure the incidents like this are fully checked and prevented in the future for other students and my son thank you Delia Dominguez Cervantes and then Berta Lopez good evening my name is Delia Dominguez Cervantes and I proudly serve as an elected trustee on the Chula Vista Elementary School District Board I want to briefly address a graphic circulating from the Chula Vista Educators PAC regarding my candidacy. While I did not expect their endorsement, and I shared that with them, I do believe our educators deserve accurate information. First, regarding educator experience. While I am not a classroom teacher,
063I spent decades as an administrator with the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, overseeing large public programs, budgets, compliance, and employee services. During my time there, I also served as my office's SEIU Union Steward. advocating for employees and helping resolve workplace issues. So I understand both management systems and employee perspectives. Second, the claim that I support charters. I have consistently said that every decision must prioritize students, fiscal responsibility, and the long-term stability of our district. That is governance, not promotion of any particular model. Third, the claim that I suggested educators apply for Medi-Cal is a mischaracterization. Any discussion about public programs has been about ensuring employees understand resources available during financial hardship, not as a substitute for negotiated benefits. Finally, the claim that I overstepped the trustee role. Asking questions, requesting audits,
064and seeking oversight is not overstepping. It is literally the responsibility voters entrust to trustees. I respect the work our educators do every day. I have two daughters that are teachers in this school district. So I understand and I have very many friends that are teachers. Our certificated educators, along with our classified staff, and I have a lot of family members that are classified, are the ones serving our students and our community in our classrooms every day. especially during difficult budget conversations like the ones we are facing tonight, I believe our responsibility as trustees is to do everything possible to protect classrooms and the educators who serve our students. At our time when our certificated staff are facing uncertainty, every decision we make should clearly demonstrate that classroom educators must remain our priority. My commitment remains
065the same. Protect the classrooms, ensure fiscal responsibility, maintain transparency with the public we serve. Political disagreements will always exist, but they should never become misrepresentation. Thank you. Thank you. Berta Lopez and then Kathleen Shears. Let me start by saying that a strong community makes room changes so the public can all sit down in the same room when they attend a school board meeting instead of standing outside and all these people are talking on the other side. So that is a strong community. Thank you. I'm here tonight to address trustee Jessica Tolsten in a matter of public trust. In a recent CVE Union endorsement interview, Trustee Tolson stated that she does not support charters or renewals. That is a very clear and very strong public position. However, public records do show that in February of 2025,
066while serving on this board, she voted to renew a charter school. And her own child currently attends a charter school. Did she forget this at the interview? Let me be clear. Parents have every right to choose the best educational setting for their children. That is not the issue. The issue is consistency, transparency, and honesty with the public. If charter schools are good enough for your own child, how can you publicly state that you do not support them for other families? If you believe charters should not be renewed, Why did you participate in renewing the one while serving on this board? When elected officials say one thing to secure political endorsements and do another in their official capacity or in their personal choices, it erodes the public trust. And public trust should be the foundation of
067this board. This is not about politics. This is about integrity. Families in the district deserve clarity. Do you support charter schools or not? Do you believe in parental choice or not? You cannot campaign against charters while benefiting from them personally. That is a contradiction which deserves explanation for everyone here. Leadership requires consistency. Leadership requires transparency. But most important, Leadership requires honesty with the community you serve. Parents are watching, taxpayers are listening, and trust, once broken, is very hard to rebuild. Transparency builds trust. Secrecy builds lots of suspicion. Thank you so much. Thank you. Kathleen, cheers, and then Rosemary L. points from February's meeting. Mr. Vontes, Mr. Mingus, appreciate last month's questions. We are educated when you question. Mr. Vontes, Mr. Tamayo, thank you for your concern regarding the cast results and those who continue to
068struggle. Ms. Tolston, you referenced being kind, respectfully. I am not unkind. I am matter of fact. I champion for those who come after, students. Politics is tough business and as my grandmother used to say, If you can't stand the heat, it's time to leave the kitchen. 2022 Superintendent Reyes was hired. Base salary, $235,501. 2024's base salary, $331,591.98. Shy of a 41% increase in two years. Why? Teachers, what were your increases then? Was the new censure policy... A foundation for the 2026 campaign. Strategy against a sitting trustee. President Ugarte, you spoke of saving and protecting teachers, failing to even mention students. I have witnessed you fight for teachers as a union president. You are formidable. But this, Ms. Ugarte, is about students and fiscal responsibility. Trustees administering a fiscal responsible manner benefits teachers. I reached out
069to someone a previous champion for CV. Teachers asking, why are you invisible? Their answer, the teachers union now own the dais. They then asked, how is that working for the teachers? Their strategically placed union-backed trustees watch as teachers call for better wages, lesser benefit increases, and do nothing but say we have no money. Back when Chula Vista was run strategically, we turned out in mass fighting for teachers standing arm in arm. No more. Look around. Fewer and fewer parents. Here is a question. New non-tenured teachers, those of you facing layoffs, who's fighting for you? Retirement benefits being whittled down, subs versus new credentialed educators, all while Adias votes. for questionable payouts to someone who resigned. A trustee campaigning their intent to stop new and existing charters, all the while their child attends a charter. Talk
070about hypocrisy. Will we see change? Time will tell. Now students and teachers struggle. New teachers are laid off. Talk about dysfunction. We are in the midst of it. In closing, Chula Vista is in desperate need of term limits. Which new candidate will support that move? Thank you for your time. Thank you Rosemary L and then Rosie loose T menace. Can you hear me from this? Good evening My name is Rosemary and I'm the parent of two students with IPS in this district. I'm here tonight for a few reasons First, I want to congratulate Rose Tagnesi on her retirement. Under Rose's leadership and her collaboration with special education parents, we saw growth in transparency and meaningful engagement. Our district has become a leader in special education in this region, often serving as a model for neighboring
071districts. The expansion of the TOSA program has strengthened teacher support and classroom practices, and both of her department's parent engagement events are now being replicated by nearby districts. As we move forward with filling this vacant position, once it's vacated, I respectfully ask that members of the community be included on the interview panel. For families, this role sets the tone for how special education relationships and strategies are shaped. Many parents, myself included, want to continue an open, honest, and collaborative relationship with incoming leadership. We see ourselves as your partners, and we hope that partnership continues. While CBSD's special education program is the leader in our region, that success exists because of the hard work of staff, parents, and district leadership, along with a culture that values and accepts students with disabilities. However, with district reserves declining
072over the past few years and ongoing deficit spending in the millions, I am concerned about how this may affect special education paraprofessional staffing and the services and resources available to our students. Students who are ready face tremendous challenges. I want to share a personal story. My daughter is a second grader who only began reading this school year. This is not due to a lack of effort from her teachers or school staff. Her teachers, support staff, and school leadership have worked tirelessly to make sure she receives equitable services and support, and I'm deeply grateful for them. Her challenges come from a complex medical history combined with early educational trauma. It took multiple evaluations, numerous IEP revisions, a rewritten behavior intervention plan, and thousands of hours of work by both staff and our family just to get
073her to a basic reading level. I am fortunate to now be a stay-at-home parent in a caregiver role. I left a corporate career to support her needs. Many families do not have that option. Many do not have the time, knowledge, or resources to research conditions, advocate effectively, or pay for additional supports at home. It is heartbreaking to watch your child recognize their own differences. It is heartbreaking to see your youngest child surpass your oldest one academically. I had the ability to pursue every possible resource for my child, but I worry that with current fiscal trends, students, especially those on the west side of Chula Vista, may struggle to access or receive approval for the supports they truly need. The special education process is difficult even for parents with resources. It becomes even harder when families
074face language barriers or financial hardship. That is why parents connect and support one another. We learn from those who came before us. And just as we partner with one another, we are also your partners. When the district succeeds, our children succeed. I ask that fiscal and cultural decisions remain aligned with preserving your role currently as a leader in special education and a model for how districts can collaborate with families. Last, I want to express my heartfelt appreciation that Autism Acceptance Month is on tonight's agenda. I'm not speaking towards that item itself, but to my experience as a parent of a neurodivergent child. To be seen is to be loved. Thank you for seeing my child. Thank you. Rosie Luce Jimenez and then Layla Kostman. Hello, good afternoon. My name is Rosy Luz Jimenez. I am
075a teacher at Rosebank Elementary, and I'm here to speak on behalf of our teachers and what's going on with our health care. I am here because I am not only a teacher, but also a parent in this district. I am the health provider for my family. I have a husband and three kids, and as many educators in this district, I work hard to support both my family and my students. As the increased health care has gone up, we had to make the hard decision of move our insurance plan to SIMSA, which is a Mexico-based insurance coverage. And I'm here to talk about some of, like, the things that are happening with that. I am happy that we at least have SIMSA in our life, but it is hard to see all the differences, not only,
076like, with language and travel and commute, but... You know, our decision was not made lightly as a family. It came with a heavy emotional and financial cost. The toll on my family goes beyond the numbers on my paycheck. As a parent, I do worry, like, what if? What if an emergency happens? What if I need to take care of them? Again, because that coverage is in Mexico, we would have to drive the border in case of an emergency. We could not have access to health care here in the United States. So that is very hard on us. Also, something as simple as vaccinations. The vaccines in Mexico are in a different combo than here in the United States. So when I had to enroll my child in school this year for TK. I could not
077do that because he did not have the vaccinations he needed due to those concerns. I had to go to a different facility, find the vaccines, and thankfully, again, I'm a teacher, and I'm able to research and problem-solve things, but it shouldn't be that way. It should be the way that we have access to health care, okay? It is, you know, it is hard and challenging as it is. Making appointments, I have to take the whole day to take my child to the doctors because, again, the commute is longer. The care for myself is longer. Everything takes way longer, and, again, we want something equitable for our families. These additional health costs, time, financial pressure, mental stress for our families are really, you know. creating a burden and for our families our students and everybody around
078us so i respectfully ask the district and our board to consider The mental toll, the real impact that all of our teachers are going through and their families when teachers are forced to worry about how their families will receive health care. It becomes harder for us to focus fully on our students and caring to us that we serve every day. As we meet tomorrow for bargaining, I respectfully petition that you honor our request to address these health care increases and provide some kind of solution or work for a sustainable rate for employees. Thank you. Thank you. Layla Cosman and then Claudia Perez Chica. Good evening. I'm here on behalf of transportation. We have a letter that I'm going to read. Dear Dr. Reyes, we are writing to formally express serious concern regarding the current state
079of transportation department under the management of McDahlia, Monroe, and David Ocampo. There have been multiple complaints submitted to HR. Employees have reported ongoing mismanagement or micromanagement, bullying behavior, and conduct that many experience as harassment. Despite raising these concerns through internal channels, staff feels the issues have remained unresolved and in some cases intensified. Sorry, this is very... I'm putting a big target on myself right now reading this. Thank you. The impact on morale, retention, and daily operations have been significant. Transportation employees are responsible for the safety of students and the liability of district operations and the current work environment is making it increasingly difficult to perform our duties effectively and professionally. The severity and persistence of these concerns have led many employees to conclude that the department cannot move forward in a healthy or productive way
080under the current leadership structure. A change in leadership is necessary to rebuild trust and ensure operational stability. Transportation employees will be in attendance at the March Board meeting to speak publicly publicly about ongoing concerns within the department. We hope this letter results in constructive and immediate steps towards resolution Sincerely transportation employees and I have a letter signed by 27 employees. May Also, I might add that we are very disappointed that we didn't get the chance to vote on the classified employee of the year. I had mentioned it to David last week about how he seemed to know nothing about it, and it was brought up again at in-service, and again, nothing has happened. So that's why we were unable to vote for classified employee of the year. I think I was next, yeah? Okay, great.
081Superintendent, board members, and district leadership, classified employees keep this district running every single day. But the way many of our employees are being treated raises concerns. And these are serious concerns about liability, compliance, and respect for the bargaining process. Transportation. Transportation employees are raising repeated concerns about flagrant contract violations, staff retention, and workplace climate. When departments operate under pressure without clear safeguards, that becomes a liability to this district and to the students we serve. At the same time, we are seeing principals unilaterally changing employee workday hours without bargaining with this union. We are seeing unpaid lunches extended or stretched. So aides can cover longer work days without additional compensation. And these aren't minor issues. These are changes to hours and our working conditions. Under the government code 3543.2, hours, wages, and working conditions are mandatory
082subjects of bargaining. You would not do this to teachers. When those changes happen, without negotiation, the law is very clear about what that means. Instructional aides are also being treated like gap fillers, moved wherever coverage is needed rather than being allowed to focus on the students they were hired to support these families, this community. That approach undermines student stability and staff morale. And another point that needs to be made extremely clear. Student attendance and instructional aides are not the translators for parent conferences. That responsibility cannot simply be shifted onto any bilingual classified staff. You need to think of it like electrical work in a building. Just because a teacher might know how to wire an outlet, the district still calls a licensed electrician. Translation in education works the same way when accuracy and legal rights
083are involved. Noon duties who work only 10 hours per week are being assigned split shifts now. They may work 30 minutes in the morning, be forced to leave campus, and then return hours later to work an hour and a half during lunch. These employees are being required to break up their entire day for a job that barely provides them enough to survive. These employees with the least amount of hours are the ones being taken advantage of the most. That is not just poor management practice, it sends a message that this district does not value the people who take care of its students every day. And despite all of this, we are still expected to believe that this district will approach our negotiations in good faith. Last month, Trustee Ugarte stated publicly that her alliance is
084with CTA and the teachers. She did not mention the plight and the loss of classified employees once when we were talking about our layoffs. The members of CVCEO heard that message clearly. Classified staff matter, bus drivers matter, instructional aides matter, student attendants matter, noon duties matter. Our members are documenting contract violations, they are documenting schedule changes, they are documenting working condition issues, and they are done with this nonsense. Samara and then Laura Montoya. Good evening board members, educators, families, and community members. My name is Xiomara Santos-Pieve and I'm a proud parent of a student at Juarez Lincoln Elementary. Leadership in public education doesn't happen in a vacuum. It happens within systems, laws, budgets, and competing needs. And progress often looks slower from the outside than it feels on the inside. Rather than tearing down leadership,
085I believe our energy is better spent strengthening partnership. If parents are frustrated, and many of them are, There is a place for our voices. There's several. You have DAC-DLAC, SSC, Budget Advisory Committee, Independent Citizens Oversight Committee, 7-11 Advisory Committee, and these are not symbolic committees. They influence change and eliminate the gap between parents, teachers, staffs, and the board. If we want change, there are rooms that the change can start. It means showing up, asking questions, learning how decisions are made, helping shape solutions instead of assuming the worst. We cannot ask one superintendent to fix everything while parents stay disengaged from the very systems designed for our input. At the end of the day, this is not about adults. It's about our children. Constant conflict at the top creates distraction and our students deserve better. So
086tonight I ask us to choose participation over polarization. Our DAC DLAC meeting did not make quorum and it's only the third quarter. We have things to vote on and we cannot if parents, principals, and anybody does not show up so that we can make a vote. support leadership while holding it accountable, join DAC-DLAC, run for SSC, be part of the work. Dr. Reyes may not be perfect, but he is trying to lead in a complex system, and leadership works best when the community walks alongside it. Thank you. Thank you. Laura Montoya and then Diana Guerrero. Good evening, members of the school board. My name is Laura Montoya, and I'm a student attendant in this district. I came here tonight to talk about respect, or rather, the luck of it. The classified staff are the ones
087in the front lines every day, yet we're consistently made to feel like we're the least important people in the room. We do the work that no one sees and no one else wants to do. While a teacher is delivering a lesson to the rest of the class, we are in the back of the room trying to de-escalate a student who is screaming. We are changing diapers with one hand while using the other to block a punch. We are trying to give one-on-one instruction to a child while simultaneously sprinting after a runner heading for the door. We do toileting. We clean up messes. We get bitten, scratched, and hit. And then we are expected to wipe away the tears, theirs and sometimes ours, and immediately switch gears to become an educator again. And what do we
088get in return? We get looked down. We are treated as if our role is simple, as if anyone could do it. We deal with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. We are the first in line of defense in a crisis, and yet we are made to feel invisible. We don't need a plaque on the wall. We don't need a parade. But we need you to see us. We need you to understand that we are spread thin. Chasing three kids at once, it's not just stressful for us. It's dangerous for our students. We deserve to feel valued, but being valued isn't enough on its own. We deserve the pay that reflects the physical and emotional toll of this work. And we deserve stability, the kind that allows us to show up for the
089students without worrying about how we're going to meet. Because right now, the message we are receiving is that our safety, our sanity, and our dedication do not matter. That has to change. We are asking for your support and we are asking for your respect. Thank you. Thank you. Diana Guerrero and then John Acosta. Good evening. My name is Diana Guerrero and I have been part of this community for 57 years. As a student, daughter of an employee, mother, and 24 years as an employee, I'm speaking on behalf of the classified employees of this district. As we enter a new chapter regarding employee salaries and benefits, it is imperative that I speak up. In January, our health care premiums increased between $173 and $252 per month depending on family size and provider, while the district's contribution
090remained the same. This may not seem like a lot to upper management, but for those of us who did not receive a substantial pay increase, this truly puts a financial strain on some, if not most, of your employees. In 2024, upper management received pay increases for a combined total of $1,913,683, despite knowing that deficits were imminent. That calculates to about 40% pay increase. We wonder if being behind closed doors, you've forgotten who's doing the work on the front lines. It may be time for you to get the full experience of a classified employee. Therefore... I challenge you to work in a school kitchen during lunch where you will be responsible for feeding hundreds of students in two to three hours. I challenge you to work as a school custodian where you will clean toilets, school
091grounds, vomit, blood, and even sometimes human waste. I challenge you to work as an IA or SA where daily you are being kicked, pushed, scratched, chasing students who elope from the classroom. and to not know from one moment to the next what you will be asked to do outside of your job description. I challenge you to be a noon duty supervisor where you're responsible for the safety of hundreds of students at a time to ensure that everyone is getting along and following school rules. I challenge you to sit in the chair of an attendance health specialist and experience a parent who becomes angry and disrespectful all because you have the nerve to ask why their child is either tardy or absent for the 50th time this year. I challenge you to sit in the front
092office and help five people all at once giving accurate information or know who to call if you don't have the answer to provide excellent customer service. In addition, due to staff shortages at the district and their departments, take on additional responsibilities since it's easier for schools to handle it individually rather than one person for the entire district. I challenge you to see the hard work that classified employees are doing at the district offices to get a better understanding of what their needs are in order to get through their very heavy workloads. Finally, my biggest challenge to you is to take all of these things into consideration and come to the bargaining table with a fresh perspective and respect for the amazing effort us classified employees put forth every single day. Thank you for your time.
093Thank you. After John Acosta, Dr. Hezekiah Herrera. I'm going to give you one more challenge. I'm going to give you a challenge to stop. My students are going to the classrooms. I have seen pictures of you all, including Dr. Reyes, going to the classrooms and taking pictures of the students and posting them on his website. So you're supposed to prevent and protect the students. Unless you all got written permission from the parents to publish the students' faces. in suicide doing it. And that's picture of you, Dr. Reyes. Maybe he's using his influence and his friends to go into the classrooms to take pictures of the students. That's unethical. And there's a rules against that. So I would recommend you stop it. You know, in stopping now and protect the students you're supposed to protect. One
094of the things I asked Michael yesterday, if he would try to block you, Trustee Tamayo, from getting a job at Chula Vista. If he conducted the city manager from getting- to block you from getting a job. Now that you're applying to become a mayor, you're applying for a mayor, my question is, is he going to block you again? Or is he going to try to pretend to be your friend and you become his puppet? One of the things, you know, is responsibility. You should have respect for yourself. Don't go where the titles are. Don't go into a political position because he pays and he looks good. You know, right now, like I mentioned to Instusa yesterday, he tries to run the whole council members. And if he's trying to endorse you after he tried to
095block you from getting a job in Chula Vista, that's not true friendship. So one more time, you know, like I said, I still have one more minute. So one of the things that I'm going back to the responsibility you have to protect the students. Do not let students go into a classroom and take pictures. You could go to a website if you need some. I could send you some from the media that he posted, including you, Dr. Reyes, feeding the kids pizzas. So therefore, you know, it is unethical. He has no license. He's not an educator. He has a California license to be a teacher, but it was only from 2001 to 2006. So he's not an educator. He claims to be a lifetime member, a lifetime educator. So next time you talk to him
096and he claims himself to be a lifetime educator. Tell him to show you his employment history because there's none. There's none. If you want to know a little bit of Michael Insouza, maybe, for example, you might want to check on the public comments I posted regarding Michael Insouza on Monday. He got suspended. He got put in place on leave. And then his contract was never renewed simply because of a racial incident. He had a little black kid. So make sure that you keep up. Now you can who your friends are. Thank you. Dr. Hezekiah Herrera and then Rachel Tien. Good evening, members of the board and superintendent. My name is Dr. Herrera. I'm a special education teacher at Sonia Sotomayor Elementary School, a single father of two and a proud member of this community. Every
097day I walk into my classroom where I'm not just an educator. And like many of the people spoke today, we wear many hats and take on many roles. As a first responder to complex emotional and physical needs of students with support needs, that is my primary responsibility. In our line of work, injuries aren't just a responsibility. They are a frequent reality. We deal with strikes, bites, and constant hypervigilance that comes with managing very high-intensity behaviors. This is more than just physical strain. It is a cycle of secondary trauma. And it impacts our mental health and our ability to be able to show up for our students with the peace of mind they deserve. Yet as we shoulder these risks, we are being crushed by the very health care costs that are meant to sustain us.
098I currently pay over $1,000 a month for my family's medical coverage. For many of my colleagues, these crushing premiums are forcing a choice between their own health and their ability to pay rent. When we fail to fully invest in our health care, it feels like a cycle of abuse. We are being asked to absorb the trauma of the job while being priced out of the care required to heal from it. Teacher working conditions are student learning conditions. If we want to solve the special education crisis and retain the paraprofessionals and the teachers who do this heavy lifting, we have to invest in our well-being. We show up every day to support our students through the hardest moments and we ask this board in this district to show up for ours. Thank you so much. Thank
099you. Rachel Tien and then Frida Vergara. Good evening members of the board and district leadership. My name is Rachel Tien. I am a teacher at Wolf Canyon Elementary School. Tonight I'm wearing black because I am a proud CBE union member, but I'm also wearing red because I have the honor and privilege to work with some of the best classified staff at Wolf Canyon and I echo some of the speeches that were just shared about our classified staff. On the district website it says that every child is an individual of great worth. I believe that wholeheartedly. That belief is why so many of us chose this profession. But I would also argue that the adults, classified and certificated, serving those children are individuals of great worth as well. Right now, many in our district are struggling
100to make ends meet. The cost of living continues to rise every single year. Housing, groceries, gas, everything is going up, and unfortunately, so are health care costs. For many of us, health care is no longer a small deduction. It is a significant monthly expense that forces difficult financial decisions for our families. I recently spoke with a colleague whose husband is an exemplary special ed teacher. He was genuinely interested in transferring to our district. But the factor keeping him from applying is not the students, the staff, or the community. It's the cost of health care. When talented staff are choosing other districts because they simply cannot afford health care here, we have to ask ourselves an important question. Are we truly positioning our district to attract and retain the best staff? If we want strong schools,
101we need strong staff. And if we value our staff, we need to ensure that the benefits meant to support them are actually affordable. I urge the board to seriously consider the impact that rising health care costs are having on recruitment, retention, and the well-being of the staff who serve our students every day. Because just like our students, our staff are individuals of great worth too. And before I wrap this up, about an hour ago on the CVESD Facebook social media account, it said, and I quote, we are celebrating National School Social Work Week. You can support their work in our schools by completing the student insurance and consent collection form here. And then there was a link. I 100% agree that they need to be celebrated. But for them, this feels like a slap in
102the face. At least provide some transparency. How about, quote, you can support their work in our schools until the end of this year when their positions will be cut. And as we say at Wolf Canyon, make it a great day or not, the choice is yours. Thank you. Thank you. Frida Vergara and then Azul Bay. These are the electrification. Frida Vergara. Azul Bay. They left and then they asked to be put back on. Okay, I guess they left. Are they outside? Frida Vergara. Azul Bay. Maria Echevarria de Leon. Sofia Medina. Diego Sandoval. They're saying no. They're saying no. Okay. Or they left. Yeah, they asked to be taken off and then they were brought back on. We're going to take an eight-minute break before we get to the budget, and then we will come back.
103presentation and written reports. District safety and health update, Dr. Rosendale? We have no updates for this evening. Thank you. I'm sorry. This is an agenda item, right, so I get to speak? I know last month I was denied the opportunity to speak. If we don't have a report, there's nothing to comment on. Well, I just want to make sure that we understand that. I wanted to keep, and I had asked before that they give us an update periodically on media safety, which continues to be a nation and statewide concern. Dr. Reyes? Are you talking about the blurring? Not just the blurring, but essentially the audio, the blurring. And just media and informing our parents on a continuum about the dangers of using social media and that sort of thing. We've seen some, actually, some very
104sad situations where youth have... done the unthinkable and have lost their lives and which you don't know I just want to make sure that we've done everything we could to inform our parents and our families on a continuous basis during conferences and I thought we had agreed on that during an open house during the beginning of the school year and a couple of the schools that I spoke with They didn't have that in place, and so I'm just wondering where we're at with that. Yeah, so I can have the team do an update. I'd like to know what schools are doing about that, which would kind of zero in on what we need to do to support that. Thank you. 10B, CBSD School Highlight, Dr. Reyes. So, Board, so today we have, we're going to
105give you a highlight of schools. We have a lot of great things happening at, we have a lot of great things happening at all our schools. And it is, unfortunately, we can't. share everything at the same time. So what we're going to be doing is we're going to be sharing little clips. We're going to have the principal and his or her staff share every board meeting some highlights of the school. In this particular case, we have Mr. Swallow presenting on camera right now. Hi there, Jason Swallow, principal at Camarena and my associate principal Denise Fimbriz. Good evening and board members, Dr. Reyes and guests. Thanks for the opportunity for us to share the learning that is taking place at Camarena. Over the last several years, our school has been deeply committed to strengthening the way
106students think, communicate and collaborate. We began by focusing on collaborative conversations across all academic areas. As a staff, we've spent two years reading Creating Cultures of Thinking, part of Project Zero, and this work challenged us to look beyond traditional measures of achievement and cultivate classrooms where thinking is visible and valued. Over the past year, we brought it into the area of mathematics. Our focus has been to help students become mathematical thinkers. Because of this collective effort of our teachers, students, and families at Camarena, we were one of the 31 schools recognized by the National Blue Ribbon from the state of California. This honor reflects... Thank you. This honor reflects not only our academic success, but the strength of our school culture. We are proud of this accomplishment and more excited about the direction our school
107is going. We remain committed to fostering a community of thinkers. So you get to see a sample of our students in action. Thank you. At Camarena Elementary, mathematics instruction is intentionally designed to move beyond only finding the correct answer to developing reasoning, discussions, and conceptual understanding. Through the cultures of thinking, students are making their thinking visible, explaining their strategies, listening to peers, and using tools to represent their ideas. In the primary grades, students build strong number sense by articulating how they solved a problem and learning from multiple approaches. In the upper grades, that foundation expands as students justify their solutions, analyze different strategies, and engage in structured academic discussions. I've seen student confidence grow in all students. It's no longer just seeing your students that feel comfortable and know the answer willing to participate and
108share out. You really see that all students are willing to participate and share out because they're more confident in their responses. When you do a thinking routine like see, think, wonder, it's not about finding the answer. They're just looking for things that they notice in the problem, and that gives them the confidence to be able to participate. Explaining my reasoning in math is important because it can help others understand what I'm talking about and it can also back up and reason what I am talking about and explain why I think this and I believe it. Discussion helps me assess student understanding in real time in a very meaningful way because I'm able to hear their process. They're able to explain what they did first or why they chose a certain strategy over another, which gives
109me a really in-depth view of the type of learner they are. I explain my math thinking by when somebody's having trouble with math and are stuck in there, I could show them how I did it and then they could follow what I did. Through visible thinking routines and purposeful discussion, Camarena Elementary School ensures that every student has access to rigorous mathematics. Teachers facilitate the thinking, students drive the learning, and classrooms reflect a shared commitment to high expectations. So that's a little bit of our vision. We don't want students just to come up with the right answer, but we want them to be thinkers and evaluators and consumers of great information and how they take that information and apply it in the real world. So you're more than welcome to stop by and see what's going
110on. I'm thankful for the leadership and our instructional team that supports us in everything we do. It definitely impacts our school and our community. Thank you. Thank you. There are no speakers for this item board questions or comments Yes, I would just like to congratulate Camarena For the great work that they're doing I'm looking at the fact that they increase 75% of their students improved their scores from the private private prior year in math So those are amazing and also you guys have 14.9 points above the standard in mathematics. So you guys are doing a great job and I love the fact that we get to highlight. Again, we always want to praise what it's praised and always work towards, you know, improvement and working together. So thank you for your highlights. Thank you for
111your hard work because I'm sure this is not just a plan. It's a lot of work for a lot of teachers and administrators. your hard work is paying off. So thank you so much. I'm equally as excited and very happy to see that the kids are... able to shine and just show us what they're able to do. But like Trustee Karen is saying, it didn't happen by itself, though. It took the teachers to bring it out. And so we really appreciate that. Thank you. I have a daughter that loves math there, sitting there. They discuss math over dinner, you know, questions. I'd send them questions. So I can appreciate the hard work that it takes and your ability. to be able to draw that out from the kids. Thank you very much. Please thank the
112rest of your staff for us. Thank you. Also, congratulations and thank you for everything that you're doing. You can tell that the kids are engaged and like you said, you're making free thinkers and users of their own voice. You're making leaders. Math makes leaders, right? That's how they start. So congratulations and like I always say hopefully cross collaboration with the rest of the schools and the teachers because you know everybody shares what they like to do what works for them that might work for others so thank you again. Likewise congratulations on the great achievement with your students Please share the thanks for the hard work that your teachers, your classified staff are doing there to support the students Obviously seeing a little bit of the snippet of what occurs every single day That is a
113good highlight for us to be able to see that We hope that we can take some pointers from your school and apply it to other schools. While not every single student is the same, I think that some of the practices that we see from your school we can apply in other schools. So thank you and looking forward to paying a visit. It's always hard being the last one so I don't repeat, but I think that it was nice to see. It was like a mini classroom visit seeing the video, and the thing that struck me the most that startled me was they're writing on the table. But I understand, right? So thank you again for that snippet and that view into the classroom, and again, thank you to all of the staff involved with the
114students and the work that you do at Camarena every day. Thank you very much for that highlight, and I look forward to more highlights. in future board meetings. Item 10C, the Charter School Oversight, Renewal, and Accountability. Dr. Reyes? Board, so the board requested a presentation on the charters, and so today we're going to have an overview on what are the charters, what's the overview, the renewal process, and what's the accountability part from the districts. Do we have the presentation? I know that. I didn't get a packet or anything of this presentation. Did we get anything? No, it's going to be. Okay. Because it would have been nicer to have it in advance so we get a chance to review and prepare some questions. But you're going to have all the answers, Mr. Mora, right? Absolutely.
115So good evening, Dr. Reyes, President Ugarte, trustees, and my esteemed colleagues. Tonight we will be responding to your request for information related to responsibilities in the oversight, renewal, and accountability of our charter schools. Technically, California Ed Code does not distinguish between dependent and independent charter schools since they are all considered charters. However, for the purposes of today's presentation, the important distinction is that our dependent charter schools buy back services from CVSD. such as human resources and child nutrition services. In addition, dependent charter schools receive their funding through the district. Independent charter schools receive their funding directly from the state. Authorizing agencies like CVESD oversee charter schools to ensure academic, financial, and legal compliance through performance monitoring, renewal decisions, and corrective actions. Effective oversight balances school autonomy with accountability to protect students, communities, and public resources.
116Excuse me, Dr. Reyes. I'm sorry to interrupt, but could I get a copy of that? You know how I've shared that I'm ADHD and I need to be able to write notes and it goes so quickly and I can't write notes. It's hard to follow. I'm not going to remember what you said in the previous page. Do you have a second copy that we can make a copy? You have your notes, but I don't want to take your notes. I don't want to take your notes. Well, yeah, I'll need my notes to do that. It's in the file that we gave you. Do you want to take a break or continue? Do you want to move to the budget and come back? Okay. Mr. Mora, if it's okay, we can move to the budget and
117we'll come back. Sorry. I apologize for that. Are you ready, Mr. Pong? We should have a copy. The audit report? Are we ready for that? Okay. We move to 13A. Thank you, Mr. Mora, for your flexibility. So we'll move to the audit report. We do have a copy of that. Item 13A. Let me read the item. Accept the Chula Vista Elementary School District 2425 Annual Audit Report. Mr. Pong. Thank you president Ugarte and members of the board and superintendent Dr. Reyes tonight we have Ms. Aubrey Mann here from Wilkinson Hadley King she's one of the partners of the audit firm so every year our district is subject to a annual financial single audit which covers all of our state local and federal funds so Ms. Mann is here to present on our audit tonight Thank
118you. Thank you for having me tonight. I'm happy to be here to present the results of the audit for the fiscal year ended June 30th, 2025. Is this a report that we can pull up on the screen so the audience can see as well? You don't believe you have that? Okay. I will do my very best to describe it to you all. I am going to start towards the end of the audit. On the bottom of the page, it's page 118. I'll give you a moment to get there. This is a summary of our auditor's results. And I like to start here, and then we can go into any detail that we want. Before and while you're looking at it, I'd like to give just a little bit of context of what it takes to
119get the audit done. We begin our audit process on March 1st each year. So we're a year after when we started this audit. It involves every department. and a number of your school sites. We sample your school sites, and we visit at least 10 school sites every year to audit their different programs. We touch all areas of the financial statements. including long-term areas such as general obligation bonds, long-term debt, pension liability, etc. And in addition, there are 40 total areas of compliance that we audit in the process. So as we go through the results, it's important to know just how big the scope is of what we've covered. For the financial statements, we issued an unmodified opinion, which means the financial statements as presented are a fair representation of the financial position of the district
120as of June 30, 2025. We did identify one significant deficiency in internal controls, which we'll talk about in a moment. For federal awards, we audited the special education cluster Title I and Title IV. identifying no areas of noncompliance and we did not identify any areas of significant deficiency or material weakness in federal programs. For state awards... Sorry to interrupt. You're saying that you did audit Title I and Title IV? Yes. Special education, Title I and Title IV were the federal programs we audited. For state awards, there are 37 areas of compliance that the state asks us to look at, and it's a variety of programs, including attendance, transportation, et cetera. I won't list them all out for you. But we did have some noncompliance, which we identified in state programs. So turning to page 120,
121let's talk about what we did identify in the audit. In review of your HR and payroll documentation process, we sampled 60 employees and we identified in our initial sample 43 where their I-9s had been prematurely either disposed of or lost. The district, over three months, was able to get those 43 employees to come in and do new I-9 forms, but we wanted to make sure that the district did a full audit of all employees to make sure that that documentation was on file since it had been identified. We will follow up to make sure that that happened in the 25-26 audit year. On the following page, 121... In the ELOP program, there's a requirement if you hire a third-party contractor to operate the program that there be some provisions in that contract to ensure the
122safety of the students and that everything is being met for the program. We reviewed the contract with the third-party provider that Discovery Charter School had entered into, and we found that those provisions were missing from the contract. So our recommendation was that the contract be updated to include those provisions. I want to note that that's not an indication that there were unsafe environments for the students. It's a contract issue. Is there a recommended time window to have that brought back? We'll review it in the 25-26 audit, but my understanding was that that contract got amended as soon as we identified it. Okay. And it doesn't come to this board because the charter has their own board? Or is it coming back? Okay. On the following page, 123, Transitional Kindergarten Program, came with two requirements if
123you had early education enrollment students. Those are your four-year-olds in the TK program. And it had a requirement that the class size be no more than 20 students and that there be one adult for every 10 students. At Chula Vista Learning Academy, we identified three classes that had early enrollment students. two of which were out of compliance for the class size and the ratio requirements. That, for the charter school, results in a penalty of $92,000 for the school. I'm sorry, I'm unaware of what the Chula Vista Learning Academy is. Oh, so shouldn't we actually write the correct name of the school in this report? It is listed Chula Vista Learning Academy Charter School. That is the full name of the school. No, it's Chula Vista Learning Community Charter School. Okay, we can make that correction.
124Yeah, it's listed correctly on here. Chula Vista Learning Community Charter School. And the report that I have, it says Chula Vista Learning Academy Charter School. Mine also says Academy. We'll correct that page and send it back to you. Thank you. Absolutely. Page 125. In your short-term independent study program, we identified two conditions, one of which is that the agreement that the students and parents and teachers all signed to participate in independent study was missing some of the required elements as identified in Ed Code. Sorry, I have asthma and the weather's been getting to me. No, I'm okay. Thank you. The other had to do with a new requirement, and that was documenting the hours or fraction of hours of each assignment and how that connects to your attendance records. For context, the requirement for documentation
125of hours and fraction of hours was passed into law in September of 2024 and became immediately effective. And it was put in the audit guide in the March 1st, 2025 update. So that didn't give a whole lot of turnaround time for school districts to implement a big change in how they document it. So we weren't the only ones that had this? No. Okay. No. That results in a potential fiscal impact. which is pretty significant, of about $2.3 million across the district. The potential fiscal impact is $2.3 million, and I list that as potential because this is an appealable finding, and I want to make sure that that's noted. Our recommendation is to apply for summary review and potentially appeal. on the grounds that you substantially complied with the law and based on the fact that
126it was new. Is that like a waiver, like an ADA waiver? Yeah, so that... you would submit that to the Education Audit Appeals Panel. Most are handled in summary review. So once the state controller accepts and certifies the audit, then you have 30 days to submit for summary review. And then a team at the Education Audit Appeals Panel reviews your case, and they can make a determination to waive any or all of the penalty. So we've seen waivers of penalties related to independent study on several occasions. May I interject and ask another question? Yes. Are you able to identify exactly where the error was, or is that something we're still going to have to go back and try and figure out? We have identified the error, and we've worked with the district on making sure
127that the contracts... that you're currently using meet the requirements. And we've also gone through and talked about that documentation of the time value. So we've reviewed all of the documents the district is currently using. It took us a few months, didn't it, Mark? Yeah, because there's a lot of voices that need to be part of it, the teachers, the administrators, and then us making sure that it meets those requirements in there. Thank you. And that concludes the audit findings out of 40 compliance areas. So happy to answer any questions you have about any parts of the audit report. I do have a question, not necessarily for you, but for the superintendent. The finding to correct the short-term independent study program and to submit the waiver, is that being done now? Correct. The issue that caused
128the finding has been corrected. We went back and corrected what needed to be corrected. And, yes, we are going to be submitting for a – it's not going to be a waiver, but it's going to be a – Summary review. Summary, yeah. Yeah. Okay. So we will be submitting that. And who's going to be responsible for that? Mr. Pong. I was going to say Mr. Pong. That process starts as soon as the state certifies the report so we'll be sure to be in communication with Mark as soon as we know that that window is open because we don't want you to miss that window. I have a question. I see that you also listed the other charters. If the charters are using the district's paperwork and if the district's paperwork was faulty, let's say, or
129wasn't completed, each of these schools is getting penalized for something this district provided yes they're each responsible for compliance independent of the district but yes if they relied on something the district provided and it didn't meet the requirements they could face the same penalties the district does and for the fig scene is this district You know sharing but right answers with the charter school because the charter schools are included in the district's audit report It would be one summary review for all of them combined. So the fix will fix everybody everybody's. Thank you And we did share the new form that we're using with all of them also Thank You mr. Pong any other questions I had a question from sorry. I had a question from the beginning when sorry page I don't want to
130interrupt, but then I realize I should have interrupted earlier. Oh my lord, I have it. It is, yeah, page 120. I just want to make sure I understand. So with this list of the five digit code and the AB 3637 funding type, so. All of these, is this something you find like issues with or are you just listing? We're just listing what the quotes mean. Okay, yeah, just wanted to make sure. Thank you. I have a quick question. Can you repeat how long does a district when you do these audits have to make the corrections? I know they've been corrected already, but just as a standard. It depends on what the issue is. Anything apportionment significant we would want to be fixed as urgently as possible. Some things can carry over into a second year
131just because of the timing of audits versus when the events occurred. But we would hope that by the end of the next school year everything would be resolved. Thank you. Any other board comments or questions? Thank you. Thank you for your time. Okay, I am now opening the public hearing There are no public speakers on this item. I'm now closing the public hearing This is an action item to approve Second move by vice president. Amaya seconded by trustee Dominguez Cervantes recording secretary. Please call the vote. I'm it is Dominguez. Hi Dominguez Cervantes. I told Stan. Hi, Tamayo. Who got it? I motion carries 5-0 Did we get the copy of the moving back to item 10 C the charter school oversight Mr. Mora thank you for your patience Appreciate it. Mr. Mora Take two. We'll
132go ahead and jump right in. I'll start with that first slide again So technically California Ed code does not distinguish between dependent and independent charter schools since they are all considered charter schools However, for the purposes of today's presentation, the important distinction is that our dependent charter schools buy back services from CVESD, such as human resources and child nutrition services. In addition, dependent charter schools receive their funding through the district. Independent charter schools receive their funding directly from the state. When you say technically, what's not technical about it? They're just charter schools. So there is no distinction between dependent and independent charter schools. We refer to them as dependent and independent, but in reality, they are all charter schools. I might, after, I'll. Sorry, can I, just so we don't come back. When you say
133the buyback services, does that mean that these charter schools give money to this district, the dependent charter schools? They purchase services from us. And it's only the food and what else you mentioned? There's a number of things. Oh. Probably. Yeah, so a lot of times they refer to it as back office services. So we provide their assistance with hiring. We provide their payroll services, and we submit that to the county. We do their – they utilize the finance system through us. So all the purchase orders, the budget system, accounts payable, payments to vendors, those are all processed through the district. Okay. So we could say that the dependent charter schools make this district money, right? It's a pro rata share. Well, compared to the independent. So I think we need to distinguish. So no, we're
134not profiting from charter schools. The buyback is a very small percentage. And if you look at it from a bigger or wider lens, because we're not getting the ADA for the students. And the ADA would be. a huge percentage greater than the buyback. Okay. See, Tamayo? Yes. I believe the last time when you identified her for me, Ms. Raquel Madden, she was speaking about something about some cash that comes here. I don't know if you could elaborate to ask the question. That's why if we could have these kinds of things in advance, we maybe would go quicker through these. Yeah, it's Ms. Madden, the representative for the... California Charters Association identified that the district receives funding for charters, in this case dependent charters, comes to the district and then we allocate it to the charter.
135What Mr. Mortar said also is that independent charters, and there's only two in the district, their money goes directly to them. It doesn't pass by us. So we still pass it, and we use, basically they use the district office services, but all the money goes directly to them, and we just take about, what is it, a 3%? 2%. A 2% cut of that to pay for all the services that they get for using our district office services. Yeah, I appreciate all the experts. All night long. All right. So authoring agencies like CVESD oversee charter schools to ensure academic, financial, and legal compliance through performance monitoring, renewal decisions, and corrective actions. Effective oversight balances school autonomy with accountability to protect students, communities, and public resources. Oversight supports student learning by ensuring safe, supportive, and goal-aligned educational
136environments while promoting financial accountability through careful review of fiscal practices. And transparent oversight builds public trust and encourages continued improvement so charter schools can better respond to community needs. Authoring agencies like CVESD are responsible for approving charter petitions, conducting ongoing oversight through compliance monitoring and site visits, and evaluating academic, fiscal, and governance performance for renewal decisions. But they are not responsible for addressing personnel issues at the charter school. When serious issues arise related to the petition, they may issue corrective notices or take disciplinary action, including charter revocation, to ensure accountability. Excuse me on that note, but we appoint or hire or take action with the principals. Sure. So there is one, generally one employee of the district, which would be in many cases the executive director or at least in Arroyo Vista's case, they have
137a principal. But the other personnel are charter members for the most part. There are some district employees. There are special ed department provide services. And so those individuals are district employees as well as CNS. But for the most part, the teachers and other classified staff are charter employees. Well initially well not what schools are what it's all charter schools will have charter employees except for the again the executive director the independent charter schools those executive directors are not employees of the district but the dependent charter schools what we're terming dependent charter schools those executive directors would be the one employee of the district So ongoing charter oversight includes assigning a dedicated liaison, that would be me, conducting annual site visits and closely monitoring financial health through budgets, audits and reports. Timely submission of required academic
138and fiscal documents is essential to identify risks early and maintain accountability. Next, I'll cover the process of renewing the charter petitions. Charter oversight ensures strong student outcomes, fiscal responsibility, and legal compliance by using performance data, renewal decisions, and corrective actions to protect public trust while preserving the school autonomy. Performance tiers based on the California school dashboard results play a crucial role in charter renewal decisions. High performance schools demonstrating strong academic outcomes and positive subgroup performance trends generally qualify for longer renewal terms and face fewer risks of denial. Middle tier schools may receive standard five-year renewals, though additional scrutiny may be applied if performance trends show areas needing improvement. Low performing schools are subject to heightened review under education code 47607.2 which may require submission of verified data demonstrating meaningful academic progress of strong postsecondary outcomes.
139Authorizers must weigh academic indicators more heavily than nonacademic factors ensuring that student learning remains central to the renewal determination. Fiscal health and governance effectiveness also influence renewal outcomes, particularly when concerns suggest the school may be unable to successfully implement its educational programs. In such cases, authorizers may deny renewal based on substantial fiscal or governance issues or if the school is not serving all students who wish to attend. By utilizing performance tiers, authorizers apply consistent and equitable criteria to assess renewal suitability. Charter renewal decisions are driven primarily by academic performance tiers, but fiscal health and governance quality can override academic results. Serious financial or governance problems can lead to increased scrutiny or denial of renewal, regardless of the performance level. and it's important to note that none of our charter schools are considered low performing at
140this time and all appear to be fiscally healthy I have a question oh I would just a recommendation it would be helpful again to have that like listed it's only five six schools are sorry have what listed to see how they're performing you mentioned there's not low performing but We don't know which ones are high performing and middle tier. And you said they have a longer renewal terms if they're high performing. How much longer? Seven years. Seven years. So as part of our renewal decisions, fiscal health and governance are critical indicators of a charter school's long term viability. Chronic deficits, weak accounting practices, or financial mismanagement raise serious concerns and can jeopardize renewal regardless of the academic outcomes. Governance stability is equally important. Board instability, leadership turnover, or failure to comply with legal requirements undermine
141a school's operational capacity and accountability. Before any renewal denial, authorizers are required to provide written notice and a reasonable opportunity for the school to correct identified issues. This ensures due process and transparency. And ultimately, renewal decisions balance student performance with the school's demonstrated ability to manage finances and governance responsibly. And the next piece will relate to the corrective actions and revocation. Notices of concern serve as early warnings to help charter schools address compliance or financial issues before they escalate, while notices of violation are a formal statutory action that requires corrective measures within a defined remedy period. Together, these processes emphasize accountability while giving schools a fair opportunity to resolve problems before revocation is considered. Charter revocation may occur for serious issues such as material legal violations, poor student outcomes, or fiscal management, and must follow
142due process including notice, an opportunity to remedy, and a public hearing. A final decision must be supported by substantial evidence with immediate revocation permitted only when there is an imminent threat to student health or safety. So in summary, CVESD's school board has the authority to ensure the charter petition is being followed, ensure the school is financially solvent, renew the charter if student performance is sufficient according to state and local testing measures, take corrective action should the charter school be in violation of the law or compliance issues. However, as described in previous slides, the CVESD school board does not have the authority to respond to personnel issues, unless, of course, it's from a CVESD employee. Personnel issues are handled by the charter school administrator and or the charter board. I'll close by saying how appreciative I
143am of our charter schools and their leaders and the service and support they provide for the community I have had the pleasure of speaking and visiting them regularly and I can confidently share that these are very good schools serving the community that cares deeply for them thank you for this opportunity to share tonight and at this time I'd be happy to receive any other questions you may have And I do want to acknowledge Mr. Caballero. He's our executive director at CVLCC, and he's in the audience as well. We have one speaker, Bertha Lopez. I have five minutes for if it's a – Three. They're all three. Okay. Tonight, the district is addressing charter school oversight, renewal, and accountability under oral and written reports. Yet, no presentation materials, oversight reports, performance data, or renewal analysis have
144been provided to the public in advance. Charter oversight is not a routine housekeeping. It involves public funds, student academic outcomes, and this board's legal duty. to ensure accountability. Under the Ralph Brown Act, Government Code 549-542 requires that agenda descriptions be clear enough to inform the public about the business to be transacted. Transparency is not satisfied by a title alone. Meaningful participation requires meaningful access to information. Further, under California Code Section 47607, charter renewals must be based on documented academic performance criteria and be verified data. Education Code 47604.32 requires authorizers to actively monitor fiscal condition and governance compliance. These are not optional updates. They are oversight obligations. If this board is discussing renewal standards, accountability findings, or oversight outcomes, the public should have access to academic performance metrics used for renewal, fiscal oversight reports, compliance findings,
145notices of violation, or corrective action plans, the criteria being applied for renewal decisions. Without those documents posted publicly in advance, the community cannot provide informed comment. That limits participation and weakens public trust. Parents deserve to know how charter schools are being evaluated. Taxpayers deserve to know how public funds are being safeguarded. And this board has a duty to conduct oversight in the open. If we expect transparency from our school, we must demand transparency from ourselves. Sunlight is not the enemy of good governance. It is the foundation. Post the reports and show the data. If there's nothing to hide, then there should be nothing withheld. I respectfully ask that this board commit to providing complete background documentation with every agenda moving forward. Thank you so much. And I do have to say that I am a
146proud mother of a student that went to CVLCC and is doing wonderful. But I am disclosing that I do believe that... charter schools should be held accountable thank you so much thank you any board comments or questions I know we asked throughout but if you have any others right I well I've already stated before I feel like I'm at a disadvantage that I didn't have this in material before so I could do my own research and ask some better prepared questions and not have caught mr. Mora you know you know without being in advance having known what I was going to ask so he could get some research if we had so Mr. Mora sorry but you're on the spot you're in the hot spot there but I for future though I think it's important
147that we get this material, and I know that sometimes this material is being developed up until the day of. I get that part. But then if we already know this is going to be on the agenda, maybe we just need to back into it so that gives enough time for us to take a look at this. It went so quickly. I still have to go through and go through everything and ask more questions. So what do you recommend? Just send the questions to you and you'll forward over. Is that how you want it done? Okay. And then somehow we let the public know. And maybe we could consider some periodic updates on how the charters are doing instead of just that renewal time. Thank you. Question. Since charter schools are well, basically why aren't charter
148schools involved in our dashboard test scores if especially the dependent ones I guess that we could consider That do belong to the district a little more. I guess I'm sorry. Can you ask that one more time? So why aren't the charter schools included in all of our test results like last month's like Like a dashboard testing, et cetera. Generally speaking, my understanding is they're an independent school. They're a charter school, so they're not part of the district results when it comes to the testing. So when you get information from our district schools, the charter schools will be separate from that. I guess I would want to know why. That's the I know we need more information. One more question. When you say personnel issues are handled by the charter school administrator, which I would assume
149is the administrator or the charter board, what is the charter board? Most of our charter schools have a school board. Those individuals are the ones that handle the personnel issues should the executive director not be the one to handle it. So it would be like the local their local board inside the school inside the school right like their own lea yep and Again like I mentioned before I think that if we can't incorporate it in our data that is provided in our district it would be really beneficial to just have those reports you know so we can see because I'm doing the work right now of looking up CVLCC and Arroyo and I can see their numbers and they're they're worthy of praise They're having really good numbers. So I think that if we had
150those, we could also see the great work that these charters are doing, like you mentioned. But also, I like to see numbers, you know, and numbers don't lie. So, yeah, thank you. One more question. So, for example, can you explain a little more, or you, Dr. Reyes? how teachers are or not part of the district for example I know Arroyo I guess all the teachers are district employees versus the others that are not so how do they choose to be district employees is it they all organized or can you explain that please Arroyo Vista is somewhat of an anomaly in that their teachers decided to become part of CVE so they are unionized and I believe their classified staff became part of CVE CEO whereas the other schools and the other charter schools specifically referring
151to the again dependent charter schools those teachers are not part of any of our union groups or any of our bargaining groups So it's just kind of they can choose if they all organized as a I guess as a community as a school community Well, I'm not an expert on how they unionize but my understanding is of a teacher group wants to unionize they can and then I believe they became part of CVE and at least Arroyo Vista did I believe Discovery also has a union but their own entity but not part of CVE Okay, thank you Thank you for the presentation, Mr. Mora. Consent calendar. The following items listed under the consent calendar are considered by the board in one action. There will be no discussion on these items prior to the time the
152board votes on the motion unless members of the board, staff, or public request specific items to be discussed and or removed from the consent calendar. The staff has withdrawn 11C? Correct. Subsection K. So item 11C, subsection K, has been withdrawn, which is the Music Star consultant. So that 11CK has been withdrawn, and then we've also pulled item K. It's in K? It's in K. It's specifically Music Star. Music Star. So just that consultant? Yes, just that consultant. Not the whole thing? Not the whole section of C, but K within C. So that has been withdrawn. And then I will tell you what the public has pulled so you can keep track. The public has pulled 11C-A, 11D as in David, 11L. and 11 M and then I will go M as in Mary and 11
153K staff has pulled 11 K is that is staff so let me repeat that the public has pulled 11 CA 11 D 11 L and 11 M and staff has pulled 11 K okay and then now 11 K because 11 C K is just withdrawn On the music star. Yeah, the music star. I know. I know. Welcome to my world. Okay, and this is why I get confused. Okay, Trustee Ramirez-Dominguez, do you have any polls? Yes. 11C, subsection B as in boy, C, and I. Then I have 11D as in David, 11H, 11L. and M and 11 R. Trustee Dominguez- Cervantes. 11 B, 11 C subsection, 11 CB and 11 CC and then 11 D, 11 E, some of these are really quick, 11 G, 11 H, 11 L combined with M, the comment will
154be the same, 11 P. Okay, I have 11 C, Section C, job descriptions, and 11 D. You've got to keep track with me here. I'm just trying to figure out what's left. That's your job to keep me in track. I'm not pulling anything. Okay. All right. Not telling you not to. No, that's fine. I got my questions answered during the one-on-one. I know, and I did mine too. Okay, so, sorry, what? He got his questions answered, he said. Okay, so 11CC, 11D for Tolston, am I right? And then, Trustee Dominguez-Servantes, let me just run through your list to make sure I've got them all so we don't make a mistake. 11B, 11CB, 11CC, 11D. 11E, 11G, 11H, 11L, 11M, and 11P. Okay. 11CB, 11CI, 11D, 11H. 11 L. Sorry. 11 M. Sorry, sorry. It was
15511 CB and 11 CC and then 11 CI. Okay, so I missed one. Okay, gotcha. Okay, so 11 CB, CC, and CI. Yes. Okay, and then D, H, L, M, R. Yes. D, H, L, M, and R. Yes. Okay. And you? No? Okay. Do I have a motion to accept the consent calendar minus... Those pulled items so moved Second move by vice president of Iowa seconded by trustee Tolson recording secretary, please call the vote I mean as I mean yes, I don't mean I got my own. I got it. I Motion carries 5-0. I'm trying to go in alphabetical order 11 B, I believe, is first. Yes. And it may have been clarified, but you could get some clarification here. On page 87, it was agenda item 9A on adopt minutes. 87? Yes. So, again,
156district safety health update. So, I believe that because it was agendized. that I should be able to speak to it. But I wasn't allowed to speak to it last month. So what is the policy for that if I could get clarification? Because I believe that it should record that I wasn't allowed to speak, even though I requested. I'll get clarification. I mean, we can't change it in the minutes right now, but we'll get clarification for next month. If there's no report next month, we'll get clarification. I think we agreed before we moved that it would be a standing item. So it's always going to be on the process. I'll get clarification on the speaking if there's no report. Okay. And that is item 11B. Yes. Do we have a motion? So moved. I'll second. Moved
157by Trustee Tamayo, seconded by Trustee Tolsten. Recording secretary, please call the vote. Dominguez. Aye. Dominguez-Cervantes. Aye. Tolsten. Aye. Tamayo. Aye. Ugarte. Aye. Motion carries 5-0. Okay, let me try this. All right, 11-CA. We have one speaker, Bertha Lopez, CA. I'm deeply concerned about the action this board is taking regarding classified employees. At the last meeting, we saw at least 40 classified employees displaced or have their hours reduced. These are the very people who support our students every single day. Instructional aides, bus attendants, noon supervisors, and other classified staff. They are the backbone of our schools. And tonight, under new employment, the district is hiring 30 new classified employees. How can these two actions be justified? How do you reduce hours for existing employees, many of whom depend on these hours to support their families, while
158simultaneously approving dozens of new hires to the public? This does not look as strategic. It looks inconsistent. It looks chaotic, and it looks unfair. If this is about budget constraints, then explain the fiscal logic. If this is about restructuring, then explain the plan. If this is about compliance, then provide transparency. But what we cannot accept is silence. Displacing employees affects morale, school instability, and ultimately student services. These are not just lines, items on a spreadsheet. These are people. These are family. These are members of this community. Taxpayers deserve to know what is a long-term staffing plan, why were current employees not prioritized, what analysis was done before reducing hours and approving new hires. Leadership requires clarity. Leadership requires consistency. And leadership requires accountability. Right now, the community sees contradiction. not coordination. We are asking for
159transparency. We are asking for justification, but most importantly, we are asking you to treat classified employees and the public with dignity and respect. Thank you. Thank you. Trustee Ramirez-Dominguez, 11CB. Okay. My question regards the releases of 68 certified... certificated employees I want to know if these include the 41 layoffs we're voting on later on tonight so no it does not these are temporary teachers that were hired on temporary contracts so at the end of the year their contracts end but they knew yes this was a contract and then they ended okay that's correct thank you The 68 temp certificated, how many of the temps were here for the whole school year, 25, 26? I would have to provide that in my weekly. I wouldn't be able to tell you right now in this moment, but
160I can provide that information to you. Do you have an idea as far as most of them, half of them, two of them? Do you have an idea? I won't hold you to the number. Yeah, I mean, I would say the majority of them, but again, I can't. And on that note, how many of them were here longer than that school year? I just want to clarify so you might get an idea. Their contracts start the day they begin and have an end date, right? So when they sign a contract, they have an end date of June 30th? So when they sign, they know that that's the end date? Correct. The reason I'm asking is to set the foundation for my question is that some of these teachers, from what I understand, and you correct
161me, they'll be like in a first-grade classroom for the whole year, and then the next year they're sent to maybe a second-grade classroom, and then the next year to yet another one. And I believe Ms. Rosie Martinez and I have had this discussion before, and I know I spoke with her. She wasn't going to be here today, but I meet with her almost every month. And she called that out as a concern on how that was. disingenuous on our part essentially that they were devoting all this time and they're bouncing around but because they're not in the same grade or in the same classroom they never get to that probationary period so that just doesn't set right with me how can we can we get some clarification on that So that is a possibility. To
162answer your question, yes, a teacher can be hired for a specific grade level for this year, and then if they are hired back the following year, they could be in a different classroom, different grade level. That's correct. Is that just part of their contract, the way it works? I mean, they don't even have a contract. The temps don't. Well, they do have a contract, a temporary contract, which is from whenever they start. It could be July. 21st, or it could be September 15th, all the way to the end of the school year. Sometimes it could be before the end of the school year, but most of them is still the end of the school year. Now, based on enrollment projections and teacher projections, we might or might not need additional 10 teachers. And then things
163happen throughout the year that requires to... have a temporary teacher. For example, we could have someone going on leave, for example, in September telling us I need to go on leave for the rest of the year. So then we would hire a temporary teacher for that period of time. Now, the following year, it could be that they do get hired as a probe one, but again, depending if we have the openings and we have the... So a temporary teacher replaces... or covers someone who is on leave. It could be any kind of leave. So it's not because we have an opening on field position, but they're covering someone. And my concern was more related to that, just this instability that can happen. Thank you. 11CC, Trustee Dominguez-Cervantes, and then Trustee Tolston. Oh, yes, I'm sorry.
164I wrote it in little letters. Sorry. So, Cece, I have a lot of questions. I don't know. So, I need, please, clarification. Why are we making these changes, and what is the benefit to the students? Any particular? We have three positions here. The three. I also have specific questions for each, but my first question was, why the changes? Okay, so Director of Special Education, we're making changes to, you know, the Director of Special Education is retiring. So as we're looking forward, we're looking at reposting the position. We want to review the position, make sure that it meets the needs, the current needs, not just the specific. description of the job description of the position but also the requirements for the position. The instructional service coordinator, Ms. Jessica Morales, would you like to share what we're
165doing in your department and how this is going to be able to expand the professional development and support that we provide to the states? Yes, thank you. For the instructional services coordinator position, you can see that we've updated that job description to more accurately reflect the really excellent work that our coordinators do. We, in past practice, have had coordinators assigned to certain subject areas. But now, our instructional services coordinators with this job description and what they actually do now is they support multiple subject areas based upon the needs of our students and our teachers. And so we've revised this job description to more accurately reflect what they do on a day-to-day basis. And that work might change year to year depending upon the needs and the data that we receive from our students. We also
166are updating it because we have an opportunity to hire and replace a coordinator position that is open right now on our team. And so we wanted to make sure that we updated this job description because we had one coordinator take a position in another department. For the director positions, well, I would first like to also name the fact that we have a retirement listed on our agenda. So the amazing Mrs. Perez is leaving us, which we will celebrate her in June. And so, as you can imagine, this is a very big loss to our team and to our district. And so it gave us an opportunity to really look at her position. And Mrs. Perez, she works really hard and she oversees all of our language development and all of our state and federal programs
167right now. It's a very large position. And so what we've looked at as a team is to take that executive director position and change it to two director positions. One who would oversee not only the state and federal programs, but all of our accountability systems. And those are our testing systems. And then the other director would oversee instructional services and language development. Because if you look at language development and instructional services, we are one team. We work together to be able to support all of our students, whether it's dual immersion students, English learners. So we felt like these job descriptions would allow us to divide the work more accurately and then also strengthen our team by adding some extra support. Okay so going back to the instructional service coordinator I see that we are removing
168the curriculum portion is does this mean that this in this position what this changes the person will not be either reviewing curriculum or writing curriculum So the line I think that you're referring to says provide leadership and professional learning in curriculum, instruction, and assessment including innovative practices, staff development, and alignment with California state frameworks, ELA, ELD, math, NGSS, history, social science. Let me tell you what I'm. Page 14. Yes. So on the second bullet, it says functions as a curriculum and instruction specialist. So the person, it would not be the curriculum specialist or it's just a change of wording. They're still going to work on curriculum, right? Oh, yes, they do still work. Yeah, I was concerned. I'm like, well, now who's going to do that? Yeah. Are we going to have another coordinator or
169somebody else that has to do it? That was one of my questions. And then the other one, why did we remove the personal qualities? So we had a discussion about the personal qualities paragraph, and that's not something that, it's not on all of our job description. It was something that was carried over from an old job description, and we felt it was important to have alignment with all of those job descriptions. And also a lot of those qualities are included in other parts of the job description, so it felt a little redundant. So we still look for these qualities, it's just not in a paragraph? Yes. Okay, yeah. because these are really good qualities i was like why are we doing that okay okay um for that one um i have questions for a director
170and state and federal programs so you mentioned so there's no one in this position currently this position is overseen by mrs prez okay so she's technically holding two positions and we're splitting them Yes, she decides to take a fun and and also a lot of our accountability work She is supported by obviously business services human resources. And so it is some of the responsibilities are shared with multiple departments So when you say there's no fiscal or it is written here that there's no fiscal Impact does that mean that whatever miss Perez is getting paid right now is being split into exact two people and that's how it's there's no fiscal impact or how does that work? So that's part of it. So the position it currently is executive director so it's director senior director executive
171director so it's one down two steps but in addition to that we already lowered also the executive director of HR we lowered it to again to direct your position which is posted right now so we lowered that and we've lowered another one um so so with the different moves that we made across the districts and the fact that that position a state and federal position can be paid in part or or a great part by um uh federal funds then it would not have an impact on the general fund Okay. Well, that makes more sense than just saying there's no fiscal impact because if you're creating two new positions, we're creating more expense. We're paying another person, obviously, with benefits and all the other stuff that comes with another person. So I just want to
172make sure, again, that we have clear and open information, not only for the board members but for the public. So that was that one. And then for the Director of Instructional Services. And my question was why are we removing the curriculum? So I'm thinking, or if I follow you, your explanation, that means that the person as a director of state and federal programs will also work on that, whatever is not being held by Ms. Perez, who has done an amazing job with both programs. It's going to be all divided into two people. so all the responsibilities she has are divided into two people basically correct with the support of our coordinator team okay so hold it there's one more thing there was let me just double check i remember reading about um a position that
173will also like be communicating with parents and i found that um very interesting because we already have a parent liaison with miss Giovanna, so I found why are we gonna do the same work twice? What position are you talking about? Yes, let me give you the exact page number. Okay. So this is the Director of Special Education and Pupil Services. Is it? Yes, page 12 is exactly where it says. Sources of Special Education Department Resource. So current research and trends for special education and response to staff, parents, and community and media questions. So I think these are responsibilities that, if I'm not mistaken, are Ms. Giovanna's. So again, it is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. It starts with serves as a special education department resource. So again. I want to know. Yes,
174so they're very different situations. So in this particular case, it's referring about providing resources and communication with our special education parents. not for example Giovanna is talking about parent engagement and the communication to the public etc here is for example with IEPs with services with resources etc so it's very specific to the special education work okay and I found the other one that I was meant page nine page 18 out of 20 and it is the other position is director of accountability and state and federal programs Essential functions bullet point one, two, three. It says response to issues involving staff, conflict and policies and regulations, community concerns, parental requests. So again, we have a lot of different people talking to parents. I understand the special needs because I know it's very specific. But I want
175to make sure that we don't have two or three people doing the same thing. Because we're paying two or three people for the same work. So again, this work is specific to the position. I'll give you an example. This person will oversee. and support principals in the work that they do with school side councils. And school side councils are composed of certificated, classified parents and staff and administrators. So in this particular case, there was a question, an issue with the parents, also DAC, DLAC, like different issues that would require in regards to state and federal. dealing with resources and supports for parents within that capacity. Within the capacity of federal programs? Correct. Okay. State and federal. State and federal. Okay. I think those are all my questions. Trustee Karen touched on a lot of what
176I was also making notes of, but this last one, well, who's doing it now? My understanding is that... All of our cabinet members and their staff focus on accountability and state and federal requirements, right? Correct. So, Ms. Perez, could you share? I know it would take two hours to share what you do, but in a short time, could you share in regards to the state and federal work that you do? How does that look like and how does that support other departments and how do you work with other departments? I think my question is more like each one of our cabinet here keeps in mind federal and state requirements. So if they're already doing that component. Yes, absolutely. You're absolutely right. We all collaborate. However, there is one person that has to organize all of
177that collaboration. So, for example, the LCAP. I lead and oversee the LCAP. I don't. write the LCAP by myself. I collaborate with all the different department heads. And so we have team meetings. We talk about each of the goals. I make sure that we are monitoring our goals, monitoring our data. And so someone has to organize all of that. And that point person also attends the LCAP trainings at the San Diego County Office of Ed, serves as that representative, and brings that information back to the team. And so that's an example of what this director would do, but it is in collaboration with all of the departments. But there does have to be a point person who leads that charge. For the LCAP. The LCAP is one example. The other part is, for example, somebody
178writes, let's say from a site, somebody does a PO to purchase an item that is going to be paid out of Title I. So Ms. Perez would go through Ms. Perez's office and they would check. So the principal is already saying, oh, yeah, this should be Title I. It's eligible to be paid out of Title I. But her office will double check to ensure that, in fact, it is part of the Title I funding. And that way that funds are being used correctly and that we're not paying for something that may not qualify for Title I. So it sounds like it's more about overseeing certain programs. Correct, all the state and federal. And in fact, today we heard from the auditor that our Title I fundings, we had zero findings for a school district this
179big. That's huge. And I'll be honest with you, I don't think we could have that if we didn't have someone that is double-checking, triple-checking, everything that's coming in from all the different sites and departments. Well, the Title I money is a different issue because I know when I brought that up, it was more about money staying on the table, and I believe Trustee Cesar Fernandez also had a concern with that before he left when I called it out as far as it being on the table and not getting to the site. Not that it wasn't. within the boundaries of what can be done or not, but that's a different issue. But in regards to these items here, the director positions, it said they were being revised to meet the current staffing. I think this one
180particular director position is new, though, so that isn't being revised. It's a new position. Well, so... Correct? It's a new position because right now it's combined into two. And because we don't have and we're lowering it. We're making two people out of Lonnie. Because we're lowering it, we have to create one. Right. So I think I have some reservations about some of the concerns also that Trustee Karen brought up. Because now. If we're cutting so much out there and now we're adding another person, the person comes with benefits also, so it's going to be a lot more. So that's my reservation about that. I'll share that. And in addition, let's see what I had as far as notes go. Instructional service coordinator, who's in that right now? So currently for our district of 43 schools,
181we have four instructional services coordinators. We have two coordinators who are in our language development department. So by doing a restructuring, we can combine all of our coordinators to be instructional services coordinators serving all different subject areas, language development, etc. That will still only put us at six. So we're adding two more? No, we actually have reduced the amount of instructional services coordinators. We used to have eight in instructional services alone. Okay. I misunderstood you because I thought you started out with that we had four and then you said six. Four and then two for language development because they will be instructional services coordinators, so that will give us six total. Thank you. Let's see. I think that's it. And, Trustee Dominguez-Cervantes, I understand your reservation regarding the, it may appear that we're adding, but
182like I said, these two positions, we may sure take into consideration that we do have a... budget situation that we need to address that there is zero impact to the general fund which is how we see when we look at the budget and we do budget reductions we look at the general fund for three percent so it has no impact on that it's just in the interest of the current times it just and the fiscal constraints it just doesn't come across as having the priority being the classroom Trustee Tolson you had questions? Yes I have a well first off since we've been putting Ms. Perez on the spot right now I just want to and we got that notice here congratulations however I'm happy for you but not very happy for us so you're gonna
183be missed for sure But now in speaking of those two positions now, I just had a suggestion slash request. I was looking at the qualifications and job requirements for both, and I think we should specify that the person that comes on should have at least maybe three years elementary school experience teaching, like maybe K-6, because of the nature of these positions and what they do. I agree. So to add, three years experience, TK or K-6, for both Director of Instruction Services. Yes, I should be specific. And State and Federal Programs. And State and Federal. Okay. Is that a yes we're going to add that? Yeah. Wonderful. Yes, because we've had other positions that didn't have elementary school experience and that was a problem. Well, especially curriculum. Yeah. Correct. Okay. Then the last item under C
184is 11CI, and I believe that was just Trustee Ramirez-Dominguez? 11CI. I scrolled all the way down and here I am. So I see there's two change of assignments. Janet Eliezer, who was the coordinator of athletes program, now is going to move to special day class, which is great because we need special day teachers. But now I see that Melissa Lopez is moving from math coordinator to coordinator of athletic program. So my question here is, who's going to be the math coordinator? Are we right now without a math coordinator? Ms. Morales. Yes. Yes, and that would be the position that we would post to round out our coordinator team. How many math coordinators do we have? For instructional services currently, we only have four coordinators. Okay, so we will... And those will serve all subject areas.
185And so currently we have been working with three in place for a majority of this year. Okay. So we're excited about the restructure and opportunity to bring everyone together. And then the position that we will post will just be instructional services coordinator. It will not be designated math to allow us to be able to meet the needs. With the student data that we get, we need sometimes to focus more on English learners or reading and math. And a lot of our instructional services coordinators, they have these expertise already. They were teachers. and so we want to make sure that job description reflects their work okay so when you open up the position it would not be a math coordinator like you said it will be an instructional services yes okay that's it thank you this
18611c is an action item do i have a motion so move to approve 11c do i have to say with my requests with my changes have a second Moved by Trustee Tolston, seconded by Trustee Tamayo. Recording Secretary, please call the vote. Ramirez-Dominguez. Aye. Making sure that it doesn't cost us any more money than we can afford. Dominguez-Cervantes. Aye. Tolston. Aye. Tamayo. Aye. Ugarte. Aye. Motion carries 5-0. 11-D, Dr. Reyes, and we do have speakers as well. Dr. Reyes, the item, the resolution. Yes, I have a number. I think everybody. Yeah. So as you know, March is Women's History Month. March 8th is International Women's Day. And so Children's Elementary School District wants to make sure that we recognize all the accomplishments and all the contributions that women have provided to not just our country but
187throughout the world and throughout history. And we have one speaker, Mary Davis. Hi. Yes, good evening. Mary Davis, and some of you may not know, but I am also a commissioner on the San Diego County Commission for the Status of Women and Girls, but I do want to make it very clear that I am here tonight speaking as a private citizen. First of all, thank you for bringing this forward and for honoring women who are half the population for Women's History Month. We have many contributions that have historically gone unrecognized, so thank you for that. And I am here to... proclaim publicly and boldly the progress that we've made. But sadly, I also need to reclaim the trajectory that has derailed that progress. Many may not know that what we take for granted today was
188a hard fought for and won struggle. Just 54 years ago in 1972, Title IX leveled the playing field, literally, for girls and women's sports. But that victory is in peril. This is in the way of scholarships, lost opportunities, podiums, and placements. The UN report said a year ago 890 at that time medals and opportunities had been denied to women. And a community college in Canada actually has a team that has five males. that are taking the place of women and so knowing that then we that begets the argument for injuries increasing we had a very horrific tbi one athlete suffered a traumatic brain injury and as recently as a month ago within the past month a claim alleged claim of a sexual assault during a meet so denying biological reality and affirming something that can
189never be true isn't kindness It is collusion camouflaged as compassion. And it comes at a cost, one that is increasingly paid for by minors who are thrust on a medicalization pathway and that can do permanent damage to their future selves. I advocate for protecting the vulnerable, gay, autistic, and neurodivergent youth who actually deserve time and space to find out who they really are. I may not be a Supreme Court justice, but I do know what a woman is. XX chromosomes, adult human female, and we are not birthing people. We are not uterus havers. We are not a costume or a feeling. Sex is the basis on which safeguarding works, on which data is collected, on which cancer screening programs are run, on which fair sport and single-sex spaces depend. It is written in law to
190protect and safeguard women. Again, we are not a costume. We are not birthing people. We are women. Hear us roar. Thank you. Thank you. Trustee Ramirez-Dominguez? She's a trustee. Sorry. Yes. I also share the sentiment that women have contributed amazing things to all the aspects of our world, education and a lot of other things. I just want to, because this is the first of... big break of this district adopting resolutions to support great causes. Again, I'm a woman. I am happy to be celebrated and recognized. I just want to know what changed in between the board deciding we weren't going to do resolutions to now coming back. And I applaud that we come up with this one, but I just want to know. One of the things that we decided is in this particular case,
191and we are going to be bringing back some of the resolutions. For example, tonight we have two. We have autism, which is incredibly important, women, which I believe is also very important. And so we are going to be recognizing the different groups of people. Yeah. I'm just... My concern is, again, we need to be consistent. And last year we missed the opportunity of Hispanic History Month. It wasn't something that this board decided to do. And I remember asking specifically about it and being told that, you know, maybe the board was not going to move on to resolutions anymore regarding this great causes. So I just want to make sure we're consistent. And, again, if we're going to celebrate it. We shall start with women. But yeah, just making sure. And so I'm glad you brought
192this up because I think it's a good time to have that conversation with the board that if we're going to be bringing up resolutions, that we bring resolutions across the board. If that's the direction of the board, then we can bring, because instead of saying this one yes, this one no, that we bring all resolutions across the board. I think the initial question she asked wasn't answered. What changed? This is great. I'm a woman. I love it, right? But what changed that we started bringing in resolutions? Something brought this and others. So what changed? Well... Just to believe, you know, we talked to an executive cabinet, and we're looking at the board meeting, and we're going over the agenda. And it was brought up, you know, the March 8th is going to be International Women's
193Day. We should bring the board agenda, I mean the board resolution. And then we did get a... an email from a parent asking about the autism awareness and which absolutely is something that we should do and so that's why it was brought forward as well and so moving forward if that's the board's direction we'll continue bringing forward resolutions for the different areas. Do you guys and this is an honest question will you guys accept the board to bring maybe great causes that we would like to have resolutions for That's a no we got to get two of these guys to put it on here so I think that the intent right is to honor great causes that are meant to bring joy and celebration to the district and to the students to the staff I
194believe that as long as resolutions follow that guideline you should not have any problems bringing that resolution forward Do we need to do like a policy update? We'll make a policy update Thank you, I know. Thank you so much Thank you Trustee Tamayo. The resolution came, the bylaw came now I got work now I think we wanted to read it acknowledge it since it was brought up and it looks identical to the one that was last year Women's History Month is celebrated every March as a celebration of women's contributions to history, culture, and society. And whereas Women's History Month is promoted by a yearly theme, which for 2026 is Leading the Change, Women Shaping a Sustainable Future to honor women who have dedicated their lives to leadership, education, and mentorship. Whereas women of every race
195and ethnic background have contributed and continue to contribute to our country's triumphs and accomplishments in countless ways. And whereas women of diverse backgrounds have served. as leaders in the forefront of forward-thinking social change, not only to secure their own right of suffrage and equal opportunity, but also to abolish slavery, promote fairness, equality, and safety in the workplace, and advance the modern civil rights movement in the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention. on the political rights of women which went into force 1954, enshrining the equal rights of women to vote, hold office, and access public services as set out by national laws. And whereas women have played and continue to play critical roles in the economic, cultural, and social spheres of our nation's life by constituting a significant portion of the labor force, working in
196and outside of the home, And whereas the role of women in history has been overlooked and undervalued in the past, though its significance is now emerging and assuming its rightful place as an important part of the body of American and world history. And Whereas the Chula Vista Elementary School District has strong women leaders in classrooms and in administrative positions. The most recent data indicates that nearly 84.26% of teachers are women and be it resolved that the board of education declares the month of march 2026 as women's history month in the chula vista elementary school district and this is an action item motion to approve second move by trustee dominguez cervantes seconded by trustee ramirez dominguez recording secretary please call the vote ramirez dominguez hi dominguez cervantes aye and i want to acknowledge that it was
197trustee karen ramirez dominguez that gave us the gut of the majors major information there i want to thank you for that last year polston aye tamayo aye motion carries 5-0 item 11 e trustee dominez cervantes i have d well we did that and then g but i had you as e do you have e as well let me make sure i don't think so but let me see The resolution regarding the release of administrative employees? Yes. Yes, you're right. I have 11D, not E. I'm sorry. Okay, so we just need a motion to approve it. Motion to approve 11E. Moved by Trustee Tolson, seconded by Trustee Dominguez-Hervantes. Recording Secretary, please call the vote. Sorry, is this the one I abstained from last time? Oh, well, that's right. I'll take that as second. Trustee Tamayo will
198be the second. And recording secretary, please call the vote. Ramirez-Dominguez. Aye. Tolson. Aye. Tamayo. Aye. Ugarte. Aye. Motion carries, 4-1 abstention. Okay, 11G comes before H. Trustee Dominguez-Servantes, 11G. Excuse me. Approve agreement with Benchmark Education Company. It refers to the agreement, but I did not get the agreement to review it. When did we purchase the materials? It also makes mention that we purchased it. I'm thinking it's what I'm thinking, but I need to make sure that I've got it correctly. Ms. Morales, can I share? The agreement was the addition of the DI materials for Benchmark Adelante. This additional cost is for the consumable portion of it for next year because the kits already have all of the previous materials. And my question is... I didn't see the agreement, so I wanted to look at it.
199And when did we purchase the materials? Do you have the date? I can check on the date. Thank you. And I can send that to you in a board update. There was an agreement that they approved, correct? Yes. This was the agreement that you approved on benchmark. Right, but it was retro because we – it was – We had the meeting on the 11th or 17th of December, and it was already purchased. So because it's referring to the agreement, then that's why I'm asking about some of it. We can put it on the board update. Yeah, I can put it on the board update, the original kit agreement that we purchased that the board voted on, and then the addition of these consumables with the dates. This is an action item. Second. Moved by Trustee
200Dominguez-Cervantes, seconded by Vice President Tamayo. Recording Secretary, please call the vote. Ramirez-Dominguez. Aye. Dominguez-Cervantes. Aye. Tolson. Aye. Tamayo. Aye. Ugarte. Aye. Motion carries 5-0. 11-H, Trustee Ramirez-Dominguez. i want to say that i am in full support of this and honored that we are as a district get to highlight this great cause as national autism and acceptance month this is a cause that is dear to my heart and my family so i'll be honored to support it thank you trustee dominguez-ervantes myself also I really appreciate that we're recognizing the National Autism Acceptance Month because it encourages us to recognize the value of neurodiversity in our schools and communities. Every student learns different. and our responsibility is to create environments where these differences are understood, supported, and respected, where we embrace the inclusion and understanding all students'
201benefit. I also want to acknowledge our special education teachers, specialists, paraprofessionals, and support staff who work with dedication and compassion every day to help our students succeed. Their work truly makes a difference in the lives of our students and families. as earlier one of our parents spoke to that to appreciate the work that our staff do for her students thank you i also support this resolution thank you this is an action item move to approve 11-h Move by Trustee Tolsten, seconded by Trustee Dominguez-Cervantes. Recording Secretary, please call the vote. Amiros Dominguez. Aye. Dominguez-Cervantes. Aye. Tolsten. Aye. Tamayo. Aye. Ugarte. Aye. Motion carries, 5-0. 11-L, Mr. Pong. Oh, I'm sorry, staff pulled 11-K. I'm sorry, we have to go back one. Correct. Mr. Pong, also. So this was to correct a typo in the agenda title
202it was supposed to be fifth grade and not fourth grade Move to approve 11k I think this one's great Second Move by Trustee Tolson seconded by Vice President Tamayo recording secretary please call the vote Ramirez Dominguez Aye Dominguez-Sarantes Aye Tolson Aye Tamayo Aye Bugarte Aye motion carries 5-0 item 11l Mr. Pong So this one is approval of a resolution to be able to piggyback off of the Antelope Valley School Transportation Agency for some electric bus purchases. We have one speaker, Kathleen Cheers. We really need to raise those chairs for us old people. I have a question. This agenda item references the three electric buses you're planning to purchase. Based on the info provided, this piggyback bid will save the district over $102,000. Congratulations, Bravo. Now, I understand the electric bus situation is coming from the
203state. My question, do you have the charging stations at an approximate cost of $20,000 to $100,000? Do you have the batteries approximate cost $450,000 to $150,000 per battery, which lasts 8 to 12 years? Is your current maintenance crew currently EVITP certified, or will we be hiring certified EVITP electricians? Which will add a very expensive layer of employees since EVITP certification is mandatory. Next question. When will these three new buses be placed in operation? Is the one bus previously purchased up and running? With a financial dilemma, CVSD now finds itself in. Did you consider a waiver from the state, as other districts are doing? Respectfully, Ms. Ugarte, I did pull item 14E. You didn't mention that one. Thank you very much. We're not there yet, ma'am. Thank you. We're on 11 still, ma'am. We haven't got
204to 14, but I got you. We're on 11 right now, so I haven't read 14 yet. I only read items 11. No, I know what you mean. Okay, Mr. Pong, do you want to talk about our electric buses before the trustees ask you questions? Because I'm pretty sure some of the same ones. Sure, and I'll ask for some support from our Director of Transportation, David Ocampo, also to help in responding to some of these. But we are looking at our infrastructure. You can come up, David. So we are working on replacing our electric vehicle, our buses. By 2035, all of our new vehicles that we purchase have to be electric. By applying for these grants, we're able to purchase these vehicle replacements for older vehicles that are dying or, you know, no longer being utilized.
205for a minimal cost. So if we did not have the grant, we would have to spend almost a million dollars. This grant is giving us almost $900,000. So we're able to buy these three vehicles for just over $100,000. So taking advantage of these grants as they come up is really beneficial to the district. In terms of the infrastructure, we do have infrastructure in place because we do have current vehicles that require charging, but we will have to start looking at additional infrastructure as we continue to move forward. And then I can let David talk more about the training for the mechanics and those kind of items. Good evening, everyone. So, yes, we started getting electric buses back in 2021. We do have... chargers to charge the electric buses. We have a total of 17 electric
206buses and we're interested in getting more. As more grants come along, we are going to get more EV charging infrastructure along with school buses. Training, electric bus training has been taking place for the last three years and every now and then we are still searching for future training for mechanics. Some of the training involves sending the mechanics to a facility and I'm trying to coordinate with other districts to have that training done here at our facility and allowing other districts to also bring their mechanics to us. The item, Trustee Ramirez-Dominguez, you also had questions? So I go back to her fiscal situation. These buses are more costly than we can afford and I understand that we have some money that was provided to us by the same state that is you know pushing us to
207buy these buses and not giving us an option of buying a different kind of bus. But since we're trying to avoid a fiscal crisis especially with these buses and one of the great things we just heard is that the batteries are costly. mechanics are costly. So we are not incurring just the amount that it costs us to get the bus, but we're also incurring the cost of malfunctions, the cost of mechanics, the cost of anything other than, and you just said that we might need more infrastructure. So that's another cost that we haven't even considered. So I do go back to that question and I had it myself, but are we... I see that we need to buy three by December 2026. Can we do buy two right now, pay fully, and then see if
208we get some money, see if we can do things, or that great example, just apply for a waiver so we don't have to spend more money. We don't have money. We don't have the money to spend in buying buses when we want to make sure that we have teachers for our classrooms. we need to make sure that we're putting our focus into what is most important because we might find other options for us to to get these buses maybe in the future so mr pongdom if you could you share with the board regarding our commitments and also how we need to be able to have running buses and how and why we're choosing to buy those three to replace that one So we have a context of why the decision was made. Right. So we
209do, which we'll see later in our presentation, that we do have a commitment set aside for these replacement vehicles for electric school buses set aside in the reserve for this purpose. And I'll also clarify that for the infrastructure, we are also applying for grants as they come up for the infrastructure. So we're really closely looking at. those infrastructure grants. So that way they come at a very minimal cost also to the district. And then finally, we do have buses that are breaking down, you know, getting stuck on routes. We're having to send out rescue buses, backup buses. So these replacement buses help us have a more reliable fleet also to provide transportation for students to come to school. So how many buses are breaking down? Amen. We have multiple buses breaking down on a monthly
210basis. The three buses that are slated to be replaced by the electric buses are one of the, well, three of the oldest buses that we have. They're about 20-plus years old, and they're really undesirable. So we want to take advantage of this grant opportunity to get rid of three old, unreliable buses with the new electric buses, and our auto cost is going to be very minimal. And it's basically a fraction of a cost if we were to be able to purchase a non-electric brand new bus. It is actually cheap for us to buy the electric buses. And talking about the future electrification, the EV charging, there is a future grant that we are actually in the wait list to be awarded electric chargers per awarded electric bus in the future. I have... If I understand
211and I know I'm right, but grants are are not 100 percent. You already have the money. Right. We are in election year. So what if the next administration doesn't find that funding this buses is going to be a good idea? So now we're stuck again with all these materials, with all these buses, with all the batteries, with all the people. So we're incurring a cost that we don't know we're going to get the money for. So, or we're not incurring it yet, but the plan is to incur a cost that we really don't know we have funding for the future. This is election year, so everything is promised right now. We're going to see when the new, when the new governor comes in. So, again, this is what I believe, and we need to focus
212back into our classrooms. But, yes, thank you. The attention, my attention to this item is, and I want to give credit to what credit's due, is a parent brought it to my attention. Initially, this parent's concern was about the suggestion that some of these batteries collect data. So I went and started doing some research. And it's not about the electric buses themselves, per se. But we don't want to enter into a long-term contract without fully understanding operational, financial, and security implications. Let me read something that I downloaded so I could share it verbatim. I appreciate the work you're doing, Mr. Pong and Mr. David, but supporting our fleet, I support it, but not necessarily with this item right now. When we're more in a more fiscally stable position, it might be a better time. But
213however, there's recent national reporting, including Bloomberg coverage, that indicates that Congress, one of their subcommittees, specifically Homeland Security, has requested documents from the BYD's U.S. electric bus operation and its affiliated entity, the Ride Mobility, which is what we're looking at here, Ride. It's related to some corporate structure and data security practices. The inquiry doesn't involve our district. I'm not suggesting wrongdoing. My only point is that when new federal scrutiny emerges involving a transportation vendor operating in the U.S. infrastructure, it's just more prudent for us to confirm that. and that we do our due diligence before moving forward. If BYD or Ride Mobility, they're the one and the same, is under consideration, I would simply like confirmation that ownership disclosures, cybersecurity safeguards, long-term parts, supplies, warranty protections, and any potential federal compliance risks have been fully
214evaluated. This is about updated oversight. And Trustee Kedden brings up a good point. These grants may now be at a risk with the changing of the new legislation or governor. So I have reservations about that. I would only ask that we confirm some of these things and maybe table it for further research. Any other questions on the item? Dr. Reyes, when are we actually planning to buy these buses? So these would be for delivery in December. Okay. And the grant that you are on the wait list, do you know when we might have some decision? I get updates every other month or so, and there's a long wait list. It's by school district, and each school district has a certain amount of buses. I would hope that I have a good update in two months
215from today. Can we table this? Can we motion table this? We could. Does the district have an urgency to send the PO now so we can get him delivered? So Mr. Ponca, can you share about the grants? Because I know there's windows to use the grants. So can you... sure the Window and the specifics of the grant and then in regards to the timeline I know that right now when you were to order them now, it's the end of the year We'll get them at the end of the year and I know we still need to transport kids So we need to pick them up So so can you share where we are with that? Right. So we are actually already awarded the grant. Is that correct, David? This was just updating the amount because
216we're ready to purchase these three new vehicles and the cost changed slightly. So we had to update that cost with the grant agency. But we are awarded the grant. So there is a lead time to procure those buses because we have to manufacture them and everything. So let me ask you a different question. You mentioned that we're having about three buses that are breaking often, or several buses that are old. Have we calculated what is the cost to send another bus and the extra time? We have not, but I could put something together and present it. That would be great to have so we have context because we're incurring an extra cost right now. to be able to maintain these old buses and to send another bus whenever these buses are breaking down. Trustee Tamayo,
217could I interject that please? Sure. And that if that's the route that's going to be done, that we first... Do the research on this and clarify that there's not an issue because then if we're buying or you know even with the Grants there's contracts. There's ownership disclosure cybersecurity safeguards parts warranty, so let's do this What if we approve this with the condition that we go and verify that the cybersecurity components of barriers or anything on the electrical vehicle are verified? How about we do the reverse? How about we get them to do it? If there's no urgent, if we can do this in one month, in one month, we're coming back. Right. I'm worried about the window. Does the window close before the next board meeting? Is there an issue if we delay this to
218the next board meeting? Also, I mean, how many electric buses do we have? We already have 17 buses. So I think it would be really important that we check security because we already have 17 buses. So if there's a security issue, we already are going through that issue. So let's make sure that they are safe. There's a security issue. If you receive these three buses, you have charging stations right now. We do. You have the needs. You have what you need to maintain these three additional buses without incurring future costs? Correct, at this time. My issue is not about that, though. He said that there's no issue of waiting one month. So if there's no issue in waiting one month, we already have the money, and they're still going to be delivered in December, I
219don't see why we shouldn't wait. Can I propose that we do that? Hold on a second. We're not sure if there's an issue or not, no issue. And if we delay it, it's not going to be in December. So if we wait until next month, could we have them delivered by December, which is the same date that we have it? We would have to check with the vendor. Can we check with the vendor? Did I misunderstand you, Mr. David, that you said there wasn't an issue with us waiting one month? Is that what you said? Once we check with the vendor. Because the vendor wanted to peel. Right. The timeline of the delivery of the bus has to depend on the purchase order because they have multiple vendors. It's different than the buses that we
220already have. APCD may wait, but the vendor, if we are delaying it by a month, then the delivery may be extended by a month as well. Are these buses that we're considering to purchase right now different than what we have right now? They are. They are offender. And that's the only consideration I wanted for the board to do, our due diligence. Just get a confirmation, ownership disclosures, cybersecurity safeguards, long-term parts supply, warranty protections, and any potential federal compliance risks that have been evaluated. There's risks. If it's going to Congress and they're doing this, it's elevated to where there's some kind of concern. There's a real concern. Motion to table until next month. I have one more comment. So Mr. Pong just said that, obviously you guys are both saying that you have to check with
221the vendor. So what if the vendor says, I guess I have two parts. If the vendor says, no, you have to order it now, and we have tabled it, we can't order these buses until before December, which is the deadline, right? Right? Or, and, if we pass this now, can we cancel if we see that the costs that we're going to incur in everything, just to be sure, can we cancel it? So we don't have to send a purchase order. This is just to authorize us to use the piggyback. to be able to purchase. We don't have to send it. So we can have this reserved now. You're not going to go spend this money tomorrow. It's just allowing us to use the piggyback to be able to go and purchase it. So we can
222do the research and if we find something. That is in conflict. So it's just to agree to the piggyback. We're not going to buy it right now. You're not going to go make a phone call tomorrow and order the bus. No, we have to issue the purchase order. But I believe our students deserve just getting confirmation. Safety issues are important. I think safety issues are important, but I also believe that we're having an issue with 20-plus-year-old buses, and that is the quandary, right? So one month we've been having these issues for two years three years four years One month trustee Tamayo just one month to get confirmation. I will move to approve Trustee excuse me recording secretary. It's been moved by vice president tomorrow seconded by trustee Tolston. Please call the vote motion carries 3-0
22311 m uh mr pong this is this one's related to execute the grant um update this one's uh update the grant based on the costs of those vehicles move to approve 11 m second recording secretary please call the vote Sorry. Oh, we have a speaker. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Mrs. Chairs, you pulled the item. Thank you. Thank you. So, sorry. I have a question. So, in this, we're approving, we're accepting the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District funds. So, you mentioned we already have the funds. So, are these different funds? Are they the same funds that we already have? How does it work? We had to make a funding update, so this is just a formality to update that funding amount. When you said update, does that mean that the funding increased
224or the buses are more expensive? What is it? What's the update? Do you have that, David? Yes. This was APCD funding that was agreed upon over a year ago. We were slated to get five buses. We got one electric bus from International, the piggyback bid, I think it was HMET, and then we were on hold to receive funding for four short buses. And instead of getting short four buses, we are only asking for three short buses. So since then, it's been over a year, we are no longer seeking... to replace four electric buses, only three, and the quote that was issued over a year ago, it did increase because over time the cost of materials go up, but the grant itself, that's still the same per bus that's going to be awarded. Okay. And it's
225the same BYD ride buses? Correct. The ones that were slated to get right now are the same three electric BYD. There's a motion and a second. Please call the vote. Ramirez-Dominguez? I'm sorry. Yes, yes. You got it. And Dominguez-Cervantes? Oh, sorry. I said yes, too. That's my name. I agree to this. So nay. Nay. Okay. Dominguez-Cervantes? Aye. Tamayo? Aye. Ugarte? Aye. Motion carries 3-0. Item 11P, Trustee Dominguez-Cervantes. Adopt resolution authorizing utilization of source well contract for the procurement of playground equipment to play, what is it, popware. Do I correctly understand that this company will be solely providing playground services construction? Does this mean the board approval process will be unnecessary if it's approved tonight? And is there a cap? So this resolution is to authorize us. We use this vendor to be able to order
226replacement parts. So we have to stick with the same maker for the playground parts as the original maker. And so this is... just be able to purchase like if a slide breaks or cracks replacement or sometimes the bridges have issues those kind of things so it's for replacement parts if we were to replace an entire structure that would be a separate process that would be brought to the board This is an action item Move to approve Who wants a second I just have one question regarding the CVESD technology agreements. What is boom learning? It says from student services. It's a data storage package. So what does that mean? Jacob? Yes. Boom. Yes. Boom. Yes. Boom. Jessica, are you familiar with boom learning? It says data storage. It says student services. That's why. I am unfamiliar
227with boomerang It's an interactive online platform that uses digital task cards called boom cards to make learning engaging self-paced and trackable for students while providing teachers instant feedback and detailed reports I'm assuming that this was for speech pathologists and things like that to use but this didn't come through me so I can't speak to it So this sounds like an academic software so that would be Student Services? This didn't come across my desk so I can't speak to it. Let's pull it. You can pull it. Let's pull it. Let's pull it. Okay. Thank you. Nobody can tell me what it is. Thank you Mr. Tamayo and the internet. Okay so do I have a motion to approve item 11 R minus the boom learning? Yes motion to do that. Moved by Trustee Ramirez-Dominguez, seconded by
228Trustee Dominguez-Cervantes. Recording secretary please call the vote. Ramirez-Dominguez. Aye. Dominguez-Cervantes. Aye. Tolsten. Aye. Tamayo. Aye. Ugarte. Aye. Motion carries 5-0. We need a motion to extend the meeting before we get to item 12. After a five minute break to yeah, we'll take a break. I just need a motion to extend How long are we gonna extend from I would say we still need to get We at least need to get through the public I Understand and when we listen to everyone is there Critical items left. Yes, which one so 12 12 and 13. 12 and 13. 14 we can bring next time, but 12 and 13 we have to do. How much time do you think that you need to do 12 and 13? Well, it depends on the questions. Give me an estimate. 30
229minutes? 15? I want to be able to say my comments. Move to extend to 11. Okay. I'll second. Okay. Recording secretary, please call the vote to extend the meeting to 11. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Motion carries 5-0. Five-minute break until 10.30. Provides the public with an opportunity to address the board on specific items. Persons wishing to be heard, address the board on any... Public hearing items must complete a request to be heard card and submit it to the recording secretary before the start of the meeting. Speakers are requested to limit their remarks to three minutes and speak in a respectful and professional manner. The board shall limit the total time for input on each public hearing item to 20 minutes. With board consent, the president may increase or decrease the time allowed for public comments
230on each public hearing item depending on the topic and the number of persons wishing to be heard. Item B1, conduct a public hearing on discontinuance of particular kinds of certificated services and adopt the resolution on discontinuance of particular kinds of certificated services for the 26-27 school year. Dr. Rosendale. Thank you. So this evening, the district is recommending the certificated layoffs of 41 classroom K-6 positions. and also one social worker counselor position. These reduction recommendations are based on current budget realities and enrollment trends. We do recognize the significant impact these hard decisions have on our employees and school communities. Last month, we postponed, or you voted to postpone the line item of the certificated teachers. At this time, we do have a positive impact. We have that number last month was 43 certificated positions, and now
231it's 41. But specifically, this is a fluid process. We had the 14 early tells that I spoke of last month, but we also continue to receive resignations. In fact, we did receive a resignation today, teacher resignation. So while this item shows 42 certificated positions, the actual impact to layoff is 33, but with today's resignation, actually 32. So 32 impacted people and 41 positions, is that correct? 41 FTE, yes. And then the actual impact to individuals is 32. So 32 as of today? But we do expect that number to decrease significantly as we head towards June. So this is a fluid process. As we receive additional resignations, retirements, that will eliminate people from the layoff list. Extended leaves. And today's is because of the March 15th deadline that we discussed. So we are requesting for the
232board's layoff approval so that we can be aligned. with our mandated timelines for march 15th board questions or comments so just to fully be transparent here 32 people are going to get the layoff notice As soon as we have a resignation or a leave, we're going to pull back that layoff for the most senior one in that position. Absolutely. When we learn of a resignation or a retirement, we will notify people on the layoff list. We will rescind. We do not want to lose our teachers to other districts. We understand that that can happen. So as soon as we learn that someone's position is safe, we will rescind. With that, I move to approve. Do a public hearing. Okay. No other board questions or comments? All right. So impacted 32 teachers, classroom teachers. So what
233happens to those students? How many children do we have enrolled now? Because that would probably give us the bigger picture. I know we have sixth graders that are leaving. And what's our current enrollment now? Just for a matter of information, not that it's significant, but my point being is I'd like to know that. But those teachers leaving, it's going to leave those classrooms impacted. That means teachers have to do combos. That means that's concerning. Have you thought of the implications? Could you share what your evaluation is as far as the implications are? Correct. So the reductions are based not necessarily on increasing combos, but the reductions are based on the enrollment, the projected enrollment. And so as enrollment decreases, then there's less of a need to have as many teachers. So that's what it is.
234That's why the position is closed, not a classroom without a teacher. I understand. But my question is, have you evaluated what the fallout is? I mean, I want to hear what your and your staff's perspective is. What is the implication to the classrooms? So, and that's what I'm sharing. So there's no implication to the classrooms. We have, I'll put it in simple terms, we have 50 students, two teachers, now we have 25 teachers, well, we only need one teacher. So there's no... Does that make sense? So as enrollment decreases, there's less of a need for teachers, for positions. But unfortunately, the way our population lives and where they live, you know, we're going to have a concentration of more families in a certain area like we shared before, like Wolf Canyon, and some of these
235other areas that have a high concentration of... And I'm very concerned about the combos, the increases in combos, because you've shared before you can't have seven kids in one classroom. You have to put them somewhere else. But that's a burden for our staff. So I'd like to hear what you have evaluated as far as the fallout. Yeah, so we do follow contract language. And we have to follow contract language in regards to the staffing of classes. So we can't go, you know, we have to follow contract language. So I'm not really sure what, because I'm sharing what the evaluation that we've done yields. And basically is that we have less students, we need less teachers. So there's, I'm not really sure I understand your question. I have a question, sorry, and it might be a
236little bit more to what Trustee Dominguez-Cervantes is talking. I want to know, like, how do you close a classroom? So if the classroom, like, what's the minimum amount of students in a classroom that would allow for it to be a teacher specifically for that classroom? What's them I know 31 is the top but what's the minimum that would allow one teacher for a group of students so Miss Casey can you share with the board what the process that we follow to look at the enrollment and the teacher counts? Absolutely, so we we look at this regularly and with a very strategic eye because we don't want to lose teachers and so what we do is that we meet as a cabinet team and we go through line by line any adjustments in the class sizes
237that happen so say for example we're noticing that the projected for first grade classroom is 15 students well 15 students we would leave a teacher there but if we have a projection of nine students then we're going to have to adjust either closing a class making a combo or looking at that more strategically so that we're not being financially unsound with these classrooms so but we don't do this like once a year and then come back here we are doing this on a regular basis we start we've already had two projection meetings we did another one at your request after the last board meeting to see if we could strategically open more classrooms we're going to do another one right after spring break so our numbers are fluid and they will change based on enrollment
238because our enrollment period did open so we are seeing some more students enroll but we also look at the data of students that are leaving our district and the grade levels in which they leave so i'm happy to provide that information to you if you'd like in the board update i know i shared with you last week about how we do our projections but if you want a clearer idea of like the numbers and the students leaving in each grade level and where they're leaving on on our campuses i'm happy to share that with you what is the current enrollment i'm sorry i didn't get that response so i don't have exact number but it's around uh non-charter versus charter did you have a misspon so last sorry last friday we had district students 21,871
239and with our charter schools we were at 27,678 correct 27,678 with charters so we'll just do the math 21,678 so there's about 5,800 charter school students I have the name independent no no no the independent the students that are still in the district but are independent yes that includes them and that includes the high school kids too because they have high school yes charters they're part of the charters that's what it was called yeah we're kind of all of those right yes and the assurance you're giving us is that the numbers will reduce dramatically yes as we again as we receive resignations as enrollment changes as soon as we have information that we are able to secure another position and a teacher's job is safe then we will rescind their layoff I'm now opening the
240public hearing we have two speakers first is Brandy Jarkin I'm back. I'm Brandy. It's Harkin. I'm a resource teacher and academic coach at Harborside Elementary. At your last meeting here, I spoke about the years of instability at Harborside, what we've endured, and the work that we've done to rebuild from the ground up. We were restructured two years ago. We let go of 11 teachers, hired nine brand-new teachers, and now eight of those teachers are on the layoff list. Six of them were tenured and one is probe two and one is temporary So we would lose about more than half of our stuff Your decision to pause the vote last time showed that you understood the gravity of the moment, and we appreciated that. It gave us some hope. Our staff was able to breathe a
241little bit, and it showed that you heard us. But tonight, I need to be direct. Harborside is showing real, measurable, undeniable progress, and any plan that destabilizes our staff will undo that progress immediately. Here are the facts. Harborside just earned its first ever fourth grade district speech contest champion. Unfortunately, he's pretty ill right now and wasn't able to be here. But that's excellent, and that's not decline. And if I did my research correctly, our ZJ Fierro, who was our contest winner, is the only student to win in any grade level this year from a non-charter school here on the west side. And a fun fact, actually, I'm sorry, it's a sad fact, both his teacher from this year, Mrs. Gonzalez, and his teacher from last year, Mrs. Patrick, are on the list to be laid
242off. Another fact, we have 46, and I'm going to say that again, 46 newly reclassified students as English proficient. With a few more in sixth grade, we have a few more that we're hoping for sixth grade in May. This is academic growth, not stagnation. Our multilingual learners, some who arrived as newcomers with little to no English, are making remarkable progress. 46. Our attendance is up over last year, and that is trust, not disengagement. Our students want to be here. These outcomes are the direct result of committed teachers, stable leadership, and a staff that has worked in conditions few other schools have had to endure. These are not small wins. These are signs that a school is working, a school that is finally stable enough for students to grow and for teachers to have a place
243to stay. And let me be clear, removing teachers from Harborside right now is not a neutral action. It is not a simple budgetary adjustment. It is a setback, and it's a preventable one that will directly harm student learning, family trust, and the fragile stability that we've built. Harbor site is not a school you fix today then wave off and revisit later It is a school that requires sustained support and continuity Especially after years of turnover and that no other site in the district has ever experienced You've seen our progress. You've heard our story. You have the evidence in front of you Now we are asking for you to make a decision that protects what we have fought so hard to rebuild harborside deserves protection Harborsite is improving and your decision will determine whether that momentum
244continues or it stopped in its tracks. Thank you very much Thank you Kathleen Cheers While I'm cognizant of the in-depth discussion of this topic during the February meeting, I'm troubled with the exorbitant numbers of teachers whose positions will be eliminated. Additionally, what was not included is best I could find, the numbers of classrooms which will be combined, for example, K and 1st. Provisioning teachers, don't you tire of having to wait on pins and needles to find out if your name is on a list of a position to be eliminated? Wouldn't a more prudent strategic move by the majority of this board to be not to simply spend, spend, spend, including payouts to a district office leader, but rather plan? Freeze hiring until unless there are long-term funds to pay for new positions Including some of
245the positions that you all are getting ready to hire for right now. I Understand seniority, but I also champion for fiscal responsibility Something this district is no longer heralded for I fear the time will come in the near future when current old guard teachers No disrespect intended Quite to the contrary retire and most districts find there are few and fewer certificated teachers to hire Simply because these young teachers said no more. I'm tired of a career which no longer values all I have to give I'm tired of the lack of security this profession offers Inhibiting my family and I from entering into a long-term commitment for such a thing as purchasing a home Our teachers are indeed the angels who walk amongst us Is it not a shame we treat our young inspirational educators as
246disposable recyclables? In closing, I'd like to apologize to Ms. Ugarte. While I could cite you chapter and verse everything on your sister district's decorum, I'm new to Chula Vista Elementary. I will do my best to learn better. Thank you very much. Thank you. I'm now closing the public hearing. Action item. I will still move, but. I will acknowledge Harborside. Yes, you have done great things transforming Harborside. Unfortunately, our hands are tied on the impact because it's by Senorita's negotiated language. being you the newer ones you unfortunately get impacted it is not a reflection on the performance you have given or how talented all of you are it's unfortunately the our bargaining contract and we have to honor it so I hope that we do get numbers of students back so we can bring back as
247many teachers as we can and I hope that the governor will honor what he's signaling that he's going to send more money during the May revise so regrettably I move to approve I agree with what Mr. Tamayo has said I know this is never easy decision at all and I would hope to ask the superintendent and everybody else that we take care of these schools and we make sure that they keep moving forward so I'm gonna go ahead and second Conduct a public hearing on the discontinuance of certain classified services and adopt the resolution on the discontinuance of certain classified services for the 26-27 school year. Dr. Rosendale. So again, a very hard decision, but for this item, it is one behavioral support assistant position that wasn't captured in last month's reduction. Any questions by
248the board or comments? Am I looking at the right 12C? Mm-hmm. Okay, but I see one, two, three, four, five positions, but it's one. It's five positions, but one employee. It's 12C, right? That's what I'm staring at. So you said one? One. One BSA position, behavioral support assistant. It's one position. Okay. So I don't know why the... The attachments have five position numbers on here. No, it's just one. Okay. All right. That's okay. So here's my question. So we hired 30, and we're getting rid of one. You just said it was the one they missed last month. Right, but why issue it then at all? Why pink slip them? Why did we hire 30? We're hiring 30 on item, what is it, 11C? consent calendar it doesn't make sense the map doesn't make sense so
249this is a different position it's not a behavior aid this is a behavior support assistant so what you're saying is that this is a different job description a whole different thing right okay I'm now I'm sorry no I'm now opening the public hearing We have one speaker, Kathleen Cheers. Well, I'm not a teacher educator. You don't have to be one to understand the environment in which they work. We are constantly inundated with reports, news segments, Facebook postings on issues of student behavior, student shootings, uncontrolled student behavior, and on and on. And who do we, the public, depend on to assist our students, our teachers, and those who support our teachers? Manage the behaviors. Behavior support assistance. When one takes into account the large number of teachers you will be firing, a logical mind would question
250this position's elimination. Even with the declining enrollment, wouldn't a better solution be to make this a roving position? Such a roving position could be seen as a support of our valuable overworked teachers. This is yet another example of the result of just how poorly the majority of this dais has managed the tasks at hand. and the previous board. Educating our community's elementary students and doing so in fiscally. responsible manner is extremely important in my open communication I felt due to time to also mention other pay not the benefits package superintendent Reyes is being paid in 2022 was 14,000 375 in 2024 it was 8,000 274 offset by the $96,000 plus paid base pay increase some theorize car allotment With the base he is receiving, why is he receiving any other pay? The other pay needs
251to be identified. Question. Does the superintendent or any of you trustees on the dais have a credit card? If so, is there a line item on the budget analysis that identifies personal credit cards and an accounting of the expenditures? Thank you. Thank you. I'm now closing the public hearing. This is an action item. Just as we stated at the previous one, this is a painful one, but I will have to move to approve 12C. According to Secretary, please call the vote for 12C. Ramirez-Lominguez? Nay. Lominguez-Cervantes? Nay. Polstin? Aye. Pamayo? Aye. Ugarte? Aye. Motion carries 3-0. Item 13B. Approve the revisions to the fiscal year 25-26 budget. Approve the second interim financial report at January 31, 2026. And certify the district's financial status for the fiscal year 25-26. Mr. Pong. Thank you President Ugarte, members of
252the governing board, Superintendent Dr. Reyes. Tonight we have for your review and approval our second interim budget which reflects our expenditures through January 31st. So when we look at our general fund, this is our combined general fund, so the unrestricted and restricted. First interim, we were looking at revenues of $432 million. We had budget adjustments, an increase of $6.1 million, bringing us to $438 million. On the expenditure side, we had $466 million, budget adjustments of $832,000 decrease, bringing us to a total expenditure of $465 million. When we looked at first interim, we had a decrease to our combined, again, unrestricted and restricted fund balance of $33.6 million. We had budget adjustments mainly on the restricted side. You can see that the change in the restricted is increasing. So that's where we received money in the
253first year, and specifically we'll see on the next slide. This was for our community schools. So we have five years to spend that money on our community schools program. That brings us to a combined deficit of $26.7 million. When we look at the health of the district, we want to look at the unrestricted separately from the restricted. So when we look here, we can see that we're looking at a deficit of $20.7 million at our second interim. And I'll remind the board again that about $8 million of this is from our intentional replacement of our student and staff devices, computer devices. And then the restricted, again, usually has a deficit because we receive money up front to spend over multiple years. So we see that decrease of $6 million. And we're looking at an ending
254fund balance unrestricted of about 5% right now. So when you look at the changes the major changes federal revenue we're looking at one of our federal community schools grant that we budgeted for we also have a larger change in the state revenue and that's from the community schools that I had mentioned adding that revenue as we had five schools added to that community school cohort for and then finally that local revenue that's where we're budgeting we had initially budgeted for that bus grant in the current year but we are moving that to the next school year as those deliveries are expected to be in december so that's where the increase of the 6.1 million is coming from When we look at our expenditures, we do see a large change between salary and benefits and books
255and supplies. But this is really just budget reallocation to accommodate our lead after-school program under the ELOP program. A majority of our extra funds budgeted under books and supplies, but based on the analysis of salaries, based on our clubs that we're offering, we're reallocating from books and supplies up to salaries and benefits. And then again, all other expenditures from our bus move to next year. Our district commitments, again, this is where I had mentioned we have for the bus, and then that budget stabilization, $22.3 million. We will see that that's how we're balancing our deficit and the multi-year. And the multi-year, we're looking at cost of living adjustments, as listed here, and our ADA, as listed here. We can see here that we're looking at an overall 3% in the third year out, and based
256on the reductions that were approved at the last meeting, we're looking at 1.2% in our fourth year out. Finally looking ahead we're looking at the May revision as Mr. Tamaya had mentioned that'll give us additional information for next year's budget continuing to monitor our attendance recovery programs and then we are planning for our 26-27 budget which will bring up preliminary in May and with that I will open it up to any questions Board questions and comments, and I just want to let you know that because we've started item 13, we finished A and we are in B, we can finish this section with our time constraints, meaning through 13C. So if you have questions on the budget for Mr. Pong, feel free to ask him. Like I previously said, I needed to make a statement
257and share two things under board comments. We're not going to be able to get to that. Do we have to get a vote? No, we can't. We had a vote to extend to 11, and the only thing that we're allowed to do under that is finish item 13 because we started it. I have a question, and I just want to reiterate what was mentioned when we talked about the attendance recovery program and, you know, that fixing. I don't know what the term was specifically. That is not fixed. Does that mean that? All that amount of money that we were going to be penalized is going to be against our budget again? So that's independent study, and then attendance recovery is through our after-school program, which is where we can use those restricted funds to help
258generate attendance recovery, so additional ADA. No, no, what I meant was the, I'm sorry. The audit? The potential penalty. Those potential penalties. Is that something we're already including in this budget? No, we did not. We plan on going through that appeal process to avoid that penalty. Do we have a timeline of how long it's going to take? When will we know if we're going to be penalized or not? It does take some time, so we have to wait for the state to process the audit. last year we did have a small fiscal penalty that they did approve our appeal and it took almost about a year so it takes some time please keep us updated because that changes our numbers as well thank you any other questions about the budget okay this is an action
259item to accept the positive Certification of the second interim. Move to approve 13B. Second. Recording secretary, please record the vote. Ramirez-Dominguez. Aye. Dominguez-Cervantes. Aye. Tolstoy. Aye. Tamayo. Aye. Ugarte. Aye. Motion carries 5-0. And 13C, to finish out the item, adopt the resolution authorizing the Chula Vista Elementary School District to submit form J13A to request for the allowance of attendance because of the emergency conditions and adopt the resolution authorizing the Chula Vista Elementary School District to seek waivers or alternative measures for the extended learning opportunity program due to the emergency conditions. Mr. Pong. Thank You president Ugarte so on February 18th we had we experienced a power outage on the south side of the district which affected Finney Elementary and Silverwing so this is a waiver process that would allow us to apply to the state
260credit that day because we have a minimum day requirement and also for the expanded learning opportunities program there's a requirement also with the day requirement so this would waive that requirement does then that mean that the children didn't get their entitled instruction time that would be correct because school was closed that day Kind of like a snow day, right? Right. So this waiver allows us to appeal that amount, yes. So we don't lose the ADA, but the children lose their instruction time. How do we make that up to the kids? So if it's a situation where I know many years ago we had to close several days. The districts had to close several days because of the fires and the air quality was very poor. And so what districts did, because it was almost four
261or five days, they actually extended the year by that many days. When it's one day, when it's that one day, then teachers try to make it up during the class, but we don't extend the calendar day for that school. So we don't make it up. They don't get their entire- The additional date, no. How does it work with special needs students? Since they have a certain amount of hours due to the IEP and that cannot be, I don't know if that, in our waiver, does that include them too? It does include them, but the minutes on the IEP are documented as weekly or monthly. So those minutes will be made up for those students. Correct. this is an action item i motion to approve that but i would just like that other piece being addressed
262on how we make that instructional time for the kids look at some solution for those types of situations second moved um and seconded recording secretary please call the vote The next regular meeting of the Board of Education of the Chula Vista Elementary School District will be held on April 8th, 2026 at 4 p.m. for closed session and 6 p.m. for the open session. Do we have a motion? Motion to adjourn. Second. According to Secretary. Ramirez-Dominguez. Aye. Dominguez-Cervantes. Aye. Tolson. Aye. Tamayo. Aye. Ugarte. Aye.