001Good evening, everyone. I'd like to call the meeting to order at 6 p.m. It's nice to see everybody here. Nice and cool in here. I'd like to report out. In closed session, the Board of Education approved the settlement agreement and waiver of expulsion hearing for student 2526-1. Okay, on to the flag salute. And I want to call up Luke Williamson and Annabelle Galicia. Wait, the two of you like to come back? You can't get away yet. Just introduce yourselves and say what school you're from, if you want to introduce your parents or anything. Thank you very much. Okay, on to employee recognition. Sorry, Dr. Blackwell. All right, we'll start with this. Okay, there we go. All right. Kim Olney. It is my pleasure to introduce Kim. Kim is Leffingwell's Classified Employee of the Year, and
002Kim has a heart for students. She continually goes above and beyond to connect with the students in our learning center. Kim is super patient. She creates a calm and loving atmosphere in her small groups. She works extremely well with colleagues to create a caring and supportive environment for students. is also very involved in our PTA and has taken on a variety of roles recently. She served as our Cook's Night Out chairwoman, and she has been just an awesome support to our students, to our teachers, and to our school. And Kim, it's a joy having you at Laughing Well, and this is an honor well-deserved. So please join me in congratulating Kim Olney as our Classified Employee of the Year and EWC Employee of the Month. I can't get away either. It's a joy to work
003at Leffingwell. It's fun to be a parent and also now a staff member. Our journey with Leffingwell started in 2017 with the advantage and kindergarten. And I laugh because when I quit my job to kind of jump in as a full-time mom. Claire, my daughter, she was starting kindergarten, and she happily announced to everyone, my mom's retiring. So then in her fifth grade year, it was really special to start working at Leffingwell, first as a substitute, and then the position in the Learning Center opened, and I love it. I love coming to work. I love the people that I work with, the students, the staff. It's wonderful. All right, next I'd like to call up Jennifer Williamson. And it's a joy to recognize Mrs. Williamson as our Certificated Employee of the Year at Leffingwell. She
004is loved by her students and always finds ways to make coming to school fun and exciting. She's very invested in the success of Leffingwell and has been teaching at Leffingwell for over 25 years, around 28 or so, I think. She cares deeply about her students, and she works so hard to help them each be successful. She also has been actively involved in our PTA. She wants to make sure our students create lasting memories while they are at Leffingwell. She's always a team player. Last year she even moved down to first grade after teaching fifth grade for decades because we needed a teacher in primary. And then this year she even moved up to second grade. So she is an awesome team player, an awesome contributor on our Leffingwell staff. It's a joy to have her,
005a joy to work with her. Please join me in congratulating Mrs. Williamson. A little speech, I promise I'll be quick. So I wouldn't forget what I was going to say. I feel so lucky to be here tonight, surrounded by such a great and supportive staff and district. This is my 28th year of teaching, and throughout the years, I've had the privilege of working with amazing families and colleagues who have made this journey such a blessing. My boys both go to school in this district, at Granada and at Leffingwell. I also attended schools in the district, excuse me, Ceres and Granada, which we're doing the homegrown today. That makes it even more meaningful to me, knowing that they are growing and learning in the same community that shaped me. Leffingwall has always been my home. I've
006never taught anywhere else. Here, I've always felt supported, encouraged, and inspired. I've learned so much from my colleagues, and I'm grateful every day to be a part of a team that cares so deeply, not only about students, but about one another. Each year brings a new set of students. I love the excitement in them when they learn, and watching them grow from the beginning of the year to the end is truly amazing. This school isn't just where I work. It truly feels like family. We've laughed together, we've cried together, and through it all, we've stood by each other. That sense of connection is something I hold close to my heart. I am truly thankful, truly blessed, and so proud to be part of the Leffingwell family. Thank you. All right, and it has been a
007great start at Leffingwell. We've had a great first 10 days of school, and our Leffingwell theme this year is Let's Go, Leopards, and focusing on moving forward together as a school community with purpose, pride, and perseverance. And it is what we want is our leopards to get into the game and to just enjoy this exciting year of growth and learning. So we are charging ahead into this year with great anticipation. Let's go. Let's step up to the plate. We're going to take on challenges, support each other and grow. Let's go, leopards. Thank you, Dr. Blackwell. Okay, on to employee recognition. Dr. Vargas. Good evening, everyone, and welcome. Leffingwell, we're so excited to see all of you here. We do have quite a... A bit of recognitions today. So I did bring my amazing administrative assistant,
008Claudia Vargas. So we make sure that we give everybody their correct award. So the first thing we want to do is we want to start off with recognizing all of our amazing employees who have demonstrated their commitments through longevity with our district. I know last year we started this journey of really looking at our records and just finding out that we have so many employees who have have been with us. for their whole entire careers. And even better, you'll see a little later on, we also realized that we had a lot of employees who were homegrown, who actually attended our East Whittier City Schools and are now providing service in different capacities. And that's just so special to us because it really does just show the reason why East Whittier is such a special place
009for everyone. It really communicates that level of community and commitment. And so today we are very excited. to honor some employees with longevity pins. So we're going to go ahead and get started. And to start off, let me tell you, we have a big one tonight. So we have a total of 50 years of service. And that is going to go to our very beloved Mr. Mark Chafin. So let's give him a big round of applause. You know what? Because it's 50 years, I'm going to have to let him have the mic. I'm sorry, Dr. Patterson. There you go. A couple words. Well, this place definitely, I feel like I belong. And I think I always have. I started a long time ago. I was like 19. And I worked the first seven years at
010the school I went to for seven years, kindergarten through sixth grade back then. And I just stayed. We moved that school to Leffingwell. Leffingwell had been closed for five years, and they had rented out part of it to Calvary Chapel. But anyhow, I definitely feel I belong, and thank you for making me feel that way. So let's give him a big round of applause because he definitely has earned that 50-year mark. We are so proud. Next up, we have 35 years of service, and that is going to Miss Carly Rae Goodman. Let's give her a big round of applause. With 35 years of service, we have Miss Marianne Boland. Let's give her a big round of applause. 35? 30. Well, we're giving five-year credits, so 30 years of service. We'll change this out. You know,
011I'm always amazed because, you know, technology has come so far, and sometimes, you know, all this information was inputted by somebody. So years back, I'm sure you had a friend up in HR that gave you five extra years. But, you know, thank you for being honest. You'll get extra points for that, and we will definitely make it right. With 30 years of service, Ms. Karen Valverde. With 25 years of service, Ms. Tracy Jenham. With 25 years of service, Ms. Beth Miller. With 10 years of service, let's give it up for Ms. Annette Mesa. With also 10 years of service, let's give it up for Shailene Sanborn. Let's give them all a big round of applause. We also had a couple others that we were celebrating that could not be here today, but let's give them
012all a big round of applause. And with that being said, it's time to honor our homegrown employees who were not only offering service to our district, but were also students here. So a couple of months ago, Dr. Patterson had the... brilliant idea of sending out a little survey because every time we would do our little road trip giving longevity pins, it would be like, you know, I was also a student here. So that's how Homegrown Pins came to be. And he did ask for some fun facts. Not everybody provided them, but it was interesting and it was a lot of fun to see what people wrote. So we're actually going to see some of those today. And we have talked about people who don't provide fun facts. We will go through your QM folders to
013provide the fun facts for you. Oh, I thought you were going to say we were going to make them up. That would be fun. But I do. Today we're going to honor a couple. And, you know, we're super excited. We do have these amazing homegrown pins. It's actually a beautiful, if you want to put it back, Dr. Patterson, it's our oak. with all of our little tiny apples. And actually, if you go onto our main hallway at the district office, we have requested pictures of all of our homegrown employees. And so every apple has their little face in it. It's like so cute. So anyways, it's so amazing and it's so special. So today we're going to honor our homegrown. And our first employee that we are recognizing is Annika and Stitch. Have a come
014up. So her fun fact, it is so fun getting to work with staff who were on campus when I was a student and my very own teachers as well. And that is definitely true. I don't think that's a fun fact. But it's good. It's something to share. I think I misread the question. It's okay. Well, it's good. I think it's always fun. You know, there were your teachers and now your coworkers. That's pretty amazing. So anyways, thank you so much. Next up, Amy Cronin. attended Granada in eighth grade. Fun fact, she played percussion in the Granada band. Let's give her a big round of applause. I love the pictures. Super cute. Okay, this one just made me laugh. I saw her before. So I'm like, oh, how times have changed. So Kimberly Fisher attended Mar
015Vista for Kinder. And her fun fact, she said, my teacher's name was Mrs. Hendricks. Teaching kindergarten now. Wow, what a difference. We napped. Best sleeper was tapped with a wand. They painted, ate, and played. And a personal memory was that her dad forgot, my dad forgot me. She had nine siblings. So, of course, you know, could happen. One afternoon, I tried to walk home. I got lost and knocked on a random person's door who drove me back to school. So I was just telling her, like, how times have changed because nobody in their right mind would drive an underage person to the school. They would just call the cops now. So you got lucky, Kim. That was fun. Aw, look at this. Brittany Figgins attended Murphy Ranch in Granada, second through fourth grade. Let's give
016her a big round of applause. Did you have a fun fact? Or did you not have a fun fact on that? I looked through my report cards and apparently I was the top. in the classroom. No! But yeah, I got in trouble for talking. I feel like that fits everybody's profile in education. We were the talkers. Okay, and next up we have Bianca Granato, attended Mulberry and East Whittier Kinder through 8th grade. And let's give her a big round of applause. Fun fact, in kindergarten, I was so determined to get perfect attendance, and on picture day, I was sick and throwing up, but I still went to take my picture and got marked present. Then I went home. It was the only year I got perfect attendance. You know, it is funny, but the stories
017we hear about perfect attendance, what these kids and parents will do for that certificate is amazing, amazing. Okay, next up we have Tracy Jenham. Let's give her a big round of applause. attended Ocean View and East Winter Middle, kindred through eighth grade. Fun fact, when I was at Ocean View, it was before we had a mascot. I remember voting and anxiously awaiting to see if we were going to be Ocean View Vikings or Ocean View Dolphins. I voted for Vikings. That was so cute. Now, next up, Jennifer Williamson attended Ceres and Granada, kindred through eighth grade. Fun fact, I remember going on a walking field trip from Ceres to my fifth grade teacher's house. How times have changed. We all sat out front and watched a chimney sweeper on her roof dancing like he was
018from the movie Mary Poppins. The best field trip ever. Oh, my goodness. Well, let's give them all of our homegrown employees a big round of applause. So the next thing we want to share tonight, I know if you have been on social media, we are very excited to launch a new award this year. to go along with our Every Interaction Matters theme, and that is the Human Sunshine Award. And the whole basis for this award is we all have those people that are human sunshine. I mean, you can walk in, have had a rough night or rough morning, and just with one thing that they say or a nice smile or a little joke, they always just seem to kind of brighten up your day. And so we do know that we have a lot
019of special human sunshine in our district. So we are actually recognizing them. It's very easy. easy to nominate. We actually have 35 at this moment. So starting tomorrow, you will see the shout outs through Instagram. And the most important thing is that we have another special pin. And if you see, it basically says you are human sunshine. So anybody who is nominated gets to have a nice little shout out on Instagram. And they also get this special sunshine, human sunshine pin for their lanyard. So we are very excited. We do encourage you. It's super easy. It really just has the name of the person, their position, their school site or department, and then just a little something that you want to say about them and just a warning. I am copying and pasting it straight
020into the Instagram post. I did screen them this time, but I will tell you, everybody did a really great job. So we are super excited, and guess what? Our first one is from Laughing Well. So we do have a shout-out here. I don't know if she's here today, but... Oh, no. Well here was the first one that came by and it says Birdie DiCarlo. We're gonna put it out on social media. But we just felt like hey it's Laughing World night. Might as well unveil it here. But it says no matter the day or who you are Birdie always greets you with her beautiful smile and the biggest hug ever. So this is gonna be for her and I, we will gladly go to a staff meeting. the award. But this is what the social
021media post will look like. And everybody will have their recognition for being human sunshine. And then as an added bonus, cabinet will be doing some surprise visits to highlight just the ones that really stand out for us. So we will be going out twice a month. And so we will do surprise visits coordinated with coordinated with the principal. in their classroom or wherever their position is but we are super excited and it was just so exciting and nice to see all of the wonderful things that people wrote so check the instagram account and they will start being visible tomorrow so thank you so much thank you dr vargas okay i do have to say mr chafin 50 years i think the only other one dorothy fagan who this building is named for she was here
02250 years and then there was a The custodian at Mulberry, Mr. Jack, he was there for 50 years as well. I don't know if you remember him. But those are the only ones that I know of. We just knew him as Mr. Jack. But anyway, yeah, congratulations. That's wonderful. Okay, on to community recognition, board member key to the district, Mrs. Carrera. Sorry, I had to bring my own mic for health reasons. So, good evening everyone. Thank you for being here in attendance. Even though I know you will be leaving shortly because that's how we roll here, it's okay. Today I have the privilege of doing something truly special, honoring a person whose heart, passion, and purpose have transformed lives in our community. It's not every day you get to hand over the key to the
023district. So I really had to double-check to see if I had the right one, you know, just in case it accidentally opened Mark's office. But in all seriousness, we're here to celebrate someone who's done more than just open doors. He's created them, widened them, and made sure that every child who walks through them feels seen, supported, and safe. You see, this wasn't something he just stumbled upon. Growing up in Los Angeles, raised by a powerhouse single mother who showed him what strength and sacrifice look like, having a relatability factor of knowing what it's like to come from a home where love is abundant, even when resources are not. He knows the silent battles that immigrant and mixed-status families face every day because he has lived them himself. As with anything in life, Being young and
024rebellious always requires a lending hand. In this case, it was a teacher, Mr. Mark Stephen, who introduced and opened the door to the at-risk youth programs, now known as At Promise. I do know the difference. And that's all it took. One open door. One opportunity. One spark. A spark that would lead to the future. Since then, he has dedicated his life to helping young people find their voice, their purpose, and their potential. Through his work with the Boys and Girls Club of Whittier, he has helped turn what was once a program into a movement, what was once a partnership into a collaboration, and what was once just service into family. Because of him, our collaboration has grown stronger, deeper, and more impactful than ever before. His fundraising events are full of joy, purpose, and community.
025They are so welcoming, I must caution you. You might accidentally empty your wallet, but you will leave with a full heart, knowing you made a difference. It's what I coined the Oscar effect. In a world that often tells us to look out for ourselves, Oscar reminds us of the power of looking out for each other. He lives the values of dignity, diversity, and equality, not in theory, but in practice, every single day. And that's exactly why his work hits so deep. He doesn't seek recognition. He leads because that's who he is. He gives because he knows what it's like to need. He serves because he truly believes that every child deserves to feel seen, supported, and loved. He does all of this with humility, humor, and heart. And yes, we all know about his doppelganger,
026Oscar Valladares, and the mix-ups that come with sharing a name and a lookalike appearance. But the truth is, Oscar doesn't mind. In fact, I'm pretty sure he enjoys the mystery and fame of having a secret identity, somewhat like a community superhero, only with better hair. Oh, wait, you both don't have hair. So it is my honor, my privilege, and my heartfelt joy to present the key to the district to a leader, a bridge builder, and a true servant of the people, our very own Oscar Hernandez. I still would like a Keto Marks office though. I don't know what to say. What a beautiful introduction. Thank you so much. It really spoke profoundly of my experience growing up, and you really took the words out of my heart and what truly reflected my upbringing in L.A.
027So thank you so much for that introduction. Thank you to the school, to the school board, to Mark Patterson, superintendent, and Whittier City School District, East Whittier City School District. It's been such a pleasure. working with the district. It's an amazing collaboration that we do together to serve kids. And among all, you know, the Boys and Girls Club stands as a lighthouse for kids in our community. Our mission is to serve all young people, especially those that need us most, realize their full potential. And I think that that's what we try to do every day that we are here in our community. I know that the work that we do with Boys and Girls Club, I know I cannot do that alone. I have a remarkable team behind me as well that makes... that happen
028every day first of all start with april who's our district supervisor and represents all our kids here in east whittier city school district with jackie as well who's our quality assurance coach to work side by side with our team to bring services to the kids in the community and more importantly our board members carl schaefer our board president who's joining us here today who's also an alumni of east whittier city school district and of course, Phil, as well as one of our other board members that are here today. We have, and Sal, back there, who is our program chair, who is also responsible for all the work that we do. We have a board of 24 board members, community people that give tirelessly of their time, treasure, and expertise to make sure that every child
029in our community has a place to go, so that every child in our community has a safe. place to learn and grow. And these are one of the most incredible people that I've ever met that are truly 100% committed to the work of serving young kids. And working side by side with them is a true honor because it really aligns with who I am as a person. They really want to save kids' lives as well. So I really want to say thank you to the district, to the school, and of course to the team for everything you do every day. So this award is a recognition of everything that we do together as a team to help young kids in our community. Thank you so much. Congratulations. Okay. On to approval of the Board of
030Education minutes for June 11th. So moved. Seconded. I forgot to mention, by the way, Belinda, that Mrs. Dabbs is absent tonight. For June 11th, I was here. So while there's members present, where are the three of us? There was me, Carlos, and... Oh, yeah, so you can. So we do have... Yeah, you do have a quorum. For that, we have a quorum. Okay. So the three of us can vote. So I so move. Okay. I'll second. Okay. Any corrections? No. Okay. I will call for the question. Mr. Aparicio? Yes. I vote yes. Ms. Carrera? Yes. Okay. Passes. Abstain. Mr. Urtiaga abstains and Oliver wasn't here. Mr. Baird wasn't here. I see the difference because one's June 11th and one's August 11th. So now the August 11th. So moved. I'll second it. Okay, any corrections to
031these minutes? Anybody? No. Okay. Now I'll call for the question. Mr. Aparicio? Yes. Mrs. Carrera? I abstain. Mr. Baird? Mr. Urtiaga? Yes. And I vote yes. So that one passes as well. Okay. On to board member reports and comments. Would you like to start, Mr. Aparicio? Sure. Just want to say good evening, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. Thank you to Luke and Annabella for leading us on the pledge and for being leaders at your school. So thank you for doing that. And hopefully continue as you want to go to middle school and beyond as well, too. So just thank you for everything you do. I just want to say congrats to Miss Honey and Miss Williamson for being Employees of the Year. So thank you for everything that you do. Also, congratulations to
032all our left and right employees on your years of service and especially Mr. Chafin for the 50 years. That's amazing. So thank you. very much congratulations on that as well too. I just want to really, I want to say thank you to everybody who's putting all the new awards and recognitions out there, just hearing everything that we're doing. It's nice to recognize people, especially some people that are not. Like known to everybody else, like the Sunshine Award, like, you know, we don't know that. A lot of these people don't, you know, don't know what's going on. So it's nice to recognize people for doing nice things, right? At the end of the day, that's what, you know, we hope all our employees, all people in life are just nice humans. And it's nice to be
033recognized for just like you said, the Sunshine one for being nice. So, you know, thank you for our staff for coming up with awards like that for everybody. Like I said, I love giving awards to people. You know, I know we have a lot of people who deserve it. and it's nice to just recognize them. So thank you, Mark, and your staff for putting that together. And just lastly, I just want to say congrats to Oscar and his team for doing everything you guys do for our district, for the students, for everyone. So like I said, you know, I really truly enjoy seeing you guys at all our events, and, you know, we enjoy attending your guys' events as well, too. So it's truly great, the collaboration that we have together. So thank you for
034everything you guys do, you and your team. Thank you. Mr. Baird? But just wanted to say congratulations to all the Leffamville employees. It's kind of insane. 50 years is crazy. I'm not sure how. But just wanted to say congratulations for all the awards and the employees of the year. Thank you. Ms. Carrera? So Mrs. Debs is in here, so I'll say hi to all the YouTubers out there. Congratulations. Again, I reiterate what everybody just mentioned. Little Luke and Annabella. Keep doing great. I think you're a better speaker than I am. Thank you for leading us in the pledge. Ms. Kim and Ms. Jennifer, congratulations also on your accolades and everybody who was mentioned today. And everybody for the job well done. You know, let's call leopards. I'm a big supporter. I did attend the East
035Whittier Middle School open house, and it was nice to see the cohesiveness amongst the educators and the community as a whole. It's such a large school that I was not expecting that. So to see something that from a large school was quite admirable. Other than that, I cease my comments. But before anything, I do want to say I will see you. I will see you guys at the gala. And I will probably be with an empty wallet. Thank you for everything that you guys do. I mean, those are so much fun. So I can't wait to wear my cowboy boots and nominate some people for that sunshine award. Just like Mr. Aparicio said, I think it is great. You know, stay kind and always stay you. All right. Thank you. Mr. Taylor? I just want
036to welcome everyone back. And that's 10 days of school and only about 170 to go. So we're almost to the end there. But I want to welcome everyone back. An exciting start to another school year. And I want to welcome our leopards here from Leffingwell, our Blue Ribbon School Leffingwell. So very proud of the things that they've done. And congratulations to Ms. Only and Ms. Williamson. for your recognition and I do, Ms. Williamson, that fun fact, that chimney sweeper field trip, that's quite a field trip. We heard some of the things that are happening in the 70s and 80s and those times where it seems like some of us have grown up and, but those experiences, but it's nice to be able to reflect back and thank you for continuing not only to be a
037student here. but continue to work on here and service our students. So thank you very much for that. I do want to give a shout out to a couple of people. Mr. Chafin, 50 years, 50 years. Wow, that's 50 years. That's exciting service. I know that your colleagues that came after you, just 35 years and 30 years, you know, those baby ones, but 50 years compared to that. And the whole school has many, many employees. So celebrating from 25, 30, 35 and 50. So thank you. Yeah, it's a testament to the great things. And so thank you. Can you give him a clear clap for him? There you go. So you can do 50 more if you want. You can do that. But we thank you and have you. You seem like very young at
038heart, and I'm pretty sure the students enjoy that. So thank you very much for everything you've done, and stay as long as you feel the right, or family wants to share you with us. Thank you very much for that. And I want to congratulate Oscar for the key of the district. I know you collaborated with and do many things for the district. And thank you very much. And as you mentioned, it's a team. So I know the team behind you that supports you. So thank you very much for that and continued growth. And thank you for Ms. Carrera to recognize you on that. I know your colleague there, Carl, who is, you know, I have an extra 50 bucks. Maybe you can give some plays for my Cowboys this year. You know, go run them
039out. Yeah. He's an NFL referee. So I'm trying to get an extra 50. for, you know, getting my Cowboys to win some points, especially against the 49ers, please. But congratulations, Oscar, and continue great fortune in collaboration with the district. So I always hear great things about the Boys and Girls Club. The human sunshine, I mean, Mr. Aparicio, Ms. Carrera mentioned this, recognizing, celebrating employees. You know, there are studies out there that show that recognizing, welcoming, appreciating your staff and your students is more valuable than money, than the salary you pay. People value. being appreciated. They'll go to places where they feel welcomed and appreciated, sometimes more than how much they're getting paid. And that's a big testament. And thank you for our district for every interaction matters and recognizing we've done a great job with
040celebrating for different areas and different groups. It's not one group. We're trying to spread it out to everyone. And so being able to touch as many lives as possible, because we all do. This is an army of a lot of employees and a lot of people in our community that's recognizing that does a great. service for our community. So as many times and as many things, so thank you to the district and to our HR team and everyone else to recognize our employees. So kudos to that and continue the great recognitions of our awesome employees. And then we, last thing, back to school nights. I know we've had a few. I have my kids on back to school night coming up later this week. Today was pitcher day. So that's always interesting, pitcher day. And
041they don't want to get dressed up and comb their hair and battles with that. And every family goes through that on pitcher day. But excited to start another year and looking forward to some many great. things that we got going on thank you thank you mr. target before I say anything anybody who is recognized tonight but stay we're gonna take a break after this because we're gonna take pictures so don't leave but I do want to while I'm here I do want to recognize we have a board member from South Whittier Jan Baird she's here hello And I do want to congratulate everybody that got an award tonight. And I won't say anything else. I'll just reiterate what my colleague said, say, had to say. But I do want to say that I did attend,
042let's see here, Laurel Mulberry, Orchardale and East Witter Middle School back-to-school nights. And it's always amazing after all these years, I still go and I still learn something that I didn't know from the year before. But anyway, it's always good to see. And I have to tell you, every time I go on to any school, I'm always greeted with so many smiles and it's always, I feel so welcome. So I just want to thank everybody for that. Also want to say that I went to Wake Up Whittier, which is with the Chamber of Commerce. We want to try and keep our district engaged with everything out there. And our superintendent, Dr. Patterson, usually goes and I go and it's always a nice event. So with that, I want to say we're going to take a
043break about five minutes, probably 10. And then after that, we'll resume. Okay. I called the meeting back to order. Thank you. Okay, on to CSEA comments. Okay, my name is Ivan Pastrano. I'm the chapter president for our East Whittier Chapter 87, our CSEA classified bargaining unit here. I was just saying bye to the crazy mark over there. So we like to come to you and talk to you about what's going on with CSEA. We also stray a little bit and make other comments. So I just want to talk to Oliver and tell him how refreshing it is to have somebody that is youthful and just kind of doesn't have to be politically correct. You're like, this is what I'm thinking. I'm just going to say it. And it's funny. it's energizing to people who have
044to always kind of structure themselves and say the right thing. And even though sometimes we believe it or don't believe it, but, you know, it's the appropriate thing to say. And it's nice to see the youth on the board that just has an opinion, that has a thought, that can verbalize it, that can be like, you know what, this is what I bring to the table. I just want to say I think that you're going to do a great job going forward this year, and I think you've already started. So congratulations. Thanks for putting in the time and the effort to be on this board. We appreciate it. Okay. And then also, so with CSEA, we have started negotiations. Well, we're kind of continuing negotiations, and that's always an interesting time. when we're talking to
045the district about things. And, you know, we're talking about money every year, and then we talk about, okay, well, money is one thing, but then we're also looking at a fiscal stabilization plan. So how do we fit money into the fiscal stabilization plan? So I think it's good for us to be able to collaborate and come up with something that works for both sides. And, you know, we still want to make the district, you know, solvent. functional and how do we how do we work that out through negotiations so i think we're um we're always trying to be positive heading in the right direction and i think that you know once we get a couple meetings under our belt we're we're going to be kind of in that same place so We just want to
046let you know we have started again this year. I want to say congratulations to the awardees. Mark Chafin, he's 50 years. It's a long time. And he, I mean, we always talk to him and he's like, why would I leave this place? I love this place, you know. And we don't agree with all the things he says. He's like, they overpay us here even. We're like, yeah, no. Now we know that you're kind of, you're not, you're not, you're one of those, like, all over the city, you're crazy, dude. So, yeah, but he's actually a really fun employee and a good guy that's been here a long time, and he's got a lot of stories, too, and so it's nice to hear a lot of the history of the district and, you know, what he
047can bring to the table, and so I really enjoy hearing a lot of the history of the district. from different people who have been here over the years and stuff. So it's nice for that. And then I was debating on whether to say a fun fact because, like, going to school here, too, and so I want to touch on Lily as, you know, times have changed. They're not like they used to be. When I was going to East Whittier Middle School, actually, my mother used to work over at East Whittier Middle School, too. She knew a lot of the teachers. I knew teachers, too. We were woken up one night by some friends of mine, some three girls that were toilet papering our house that were driven to our house in the middle of the
048night by a male teacher, which wouldn't happen today, get it right? Then the next weekend, my mother took me and my friends to... toilet paper his house itself. You know, fun fact that doesn't happen anymore. But yeah, it's really nice to just have stories about the district and all lighthearted and just, you know, things that get us by, things that get us through the day. And, you know, it's really what makes the district the district. And, you know, I really have had many good times over the years. And so we want to continue that. And thank you. Thank you. But I do want to say, even when Mrs. Stakey retired from East Whittier Middle School, that's what she said. She goes, you know, I've been here 50 years and I never felt like I was
049going to work because she just loved it. But yeah, it's good to hear that. I mean, he feels he's overpaid. It's like, no. Okay, on to EWEA comments. Good evening, everybody. I'm Brent Vogelman, EWI president. So just want to start by saying congratulations to Luke, Annabella, Kim, Jennifer, also Mark Schaaf in 50 years. He's got me by two years, but I've only been alive for 48 of them. So it's a long time, but that's awesome. And Oscar, we're getting the key to the city. I know he's not here, but he has beautiful hair, everybody. I think it's great. Wendy, good to see you back again. So it's the beginning of the year. We just had back-to-school night at East Whittier. I know some other schools have had back-to-school night. It feels really early, but it's
050nice to get out of the way. And it started, and it didn't seem like there was a lot of people. And then all of a sudden, everybody came. And it was a nice, packed, good turnout for back-to-school night. So it went really well. And so far, the beginning of the year has gone great. One thing different from last year that we were hearing a lot about as a union was that the tech is having a lot of problems. And so far, so good. Haven't heard much about tech and tech's going well. I know we did a lot of stuff over the summer and that's going well so far. We have bargaining on Friday. We should be wrapping up the old CBA. So we're hoping we can get that done. So we're looking forward to getting
051that contract done, signed and out to everybody or out to everybody. One other thing I wanted to bring up, Leffingwell was the school that was here tonight. They have not, the kindergarten, first grade, and second grade classes have not received Envision Math. It is not a new curriculum. So what I've, to my knowledge, what I've heard is sort of like a game of telephone. The district says it's been delivered. They say they don't have it, and it hasn't been figured out. So that's 10 total classes that are being effective. So the teachers right now, they're having to make photocopies of workbooks and other materials. And the beginning of the year is hectic already, so we really want to take the burden off of the teachers so they don't have to make those copies. So if
052we can get the Envision math thing figured out, that would be awesome. Thanks for having me tonight. Thank you. Okay, on to Superintendent comments. Dr. Patterson. I just wanted to reiterate what the board said. It's really empowering and inspiring when, you know, the team that you work with comes up with these great ideas in order to just continue to think of things in a new way. Under the Oak was one of those to be able to kick off the year in the way that we did with that level of energy. And, you know. Dr. Vargas is a spark plug, so she came up with the idea of the Sunshine Award. So that's just another one of those things where, you know, our team is constantly looking, you know, our teaching staff, our classified staff, our
053administrative staff are always constantly looking for ways that we can just continue to improve. So I just love the idea that we really all try to multiply all the great things that go on and find ways to have that growth mindset of, okay. What got us here won't get us there. So how are we going to continue to improve on everything that we do in every aspect of the organization on behalf of our 7,400 kids? Okay, thank you. On to citizen communication. We do have one. Jillian Ramirez, could you please come to the podium? And you will have three minutes to address the board. Good evening, members of the board. My name is Jillian Ramirez, and I work with the Gateway Cities Council of Governments in Paramount. And I'm also working with the Southern California
054Regional Energy Network, also known as SOCA-REN. And I'd like to take this time to present on two energy efficiency programs that we'd like to bring to your district. So our first one is Kids for Kids, and this is a no-cost program which provides these super cute free item boxes to third or fourth grade classrooms. And I'll just open it up a little bit. So in this kit, there's items like LED bulbs, smart bulbs, faucet aerators, and shower timers. You can see it all. packed in here. And this kit will be refreshed next year, so the items might slightly change, but the focus is still to get these kids to install in their homes. And with this program, there's going to be a little half-sheet paper in here. And classrooms who enroll are eligible to receive
055a $1,000 grant if the class has 65% or more of the students return this card. And it only asks a few questions. It doesn't even ask their name. So, you know, it's really important to have that privacy and keep the identity of the students in time. like these especially so so it's pretty easy they just return it to their teacher and the class gets a thousand dollars we provide short webinars to the teachers we give them lesson plans we try to make it easy and possible to implement and we're looking to implement this program in particular for spring 2026 and with that thousand dollar grant that's per classroom and teachers can use it however they please like classroom needs ideally towards science projects but really whatever the teacher finds best for the class. And then
056the second program is a strategic energy management program, and this provides energy coaching to streamline operations. And we also provide cash incentives up to $10,000 for your district. This program goes beyond equipment upgrades, and it helps provide your district with the tools and strategies to deliver long-term sustained energy savings. And on average, it can help your school reduce costs by 2% annually, which can be put elsewhere. And both these programs are first-come, first-served. And the only eligibility is that you're serviced by SoCal Wren, which is all your district is. So if you guys are interested in either of these programs, I have flyers on both of them, and I also have my business card attached here, so I'd love to give it to anyone. And we really hope we can work with you guys to
057bring these super cute kids to your third or fourth graders. Thank you. So, Ms. Ramirez, could you give that information to Dr. Gonzalez on the end over there so she can evaluate the possible fit? For sure. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, on to, is that it, Dr. Patterson? Okay. On to discussion items. I move the recommendation that the Board of Education approve the consolidated application for spring 2026. I second. Okay, any discussion on this? This is just the annual item that we bring that gives us the opportunity to apply for these funds. Any discussion, board? Okay, I'm going to call for the question. Mr. Aparicio? Yes. Mr. Urtiaga? Yes. Mr. Baird? Yes. Ms. Carrera? Yes. And I vote yes. I did want to say thank you for sharing the updated numbers
058on here. It's helpful. I didn't realize some of our schools' ADA has really turned it around from even five years ago. Okay, on to item two. I move the recommendation of the Board of Education, job resolution number 4-25-26, proclaiming the month of September 2025 as Attendance Awareness Month. I'll second. Okay, any discussion? And just a reminder, you know, this is always one of those tricky ones, right? Because we want to be able to promote positive attendance, but also not send students to school sick. So this is one of those things that Dr. Gonzalez and especially Ms. Torres in her new role will be working to be able to promote healthy decisions about coming to school and the importance of regular attendance. Do we have an update for the first two weeks of school with our
059attendance? I mean, we're right around 7,400. No, I'm talking about... ADA? Yeah, I don't... We have an information in the memo, though. High 90s? 98%? We always roughly right around 93, 94, 95. Is it? Okay. Thank you. I found it really interesting that I was reading the proclamation where it says chronic absent missing 10% or more of school. And then it tells you what that is, you know, just two days or three days a month. So I found that really good, but I didn't want to mention my grandkids go to school up North and they have, as you go into the school, there's a big, huge. board there and it gives attendance rates so it's like 97 or 94 whatever it is and it's always really nice to see because the parents can see that
060as they're bringing their kids in anyway anything else on this one no okay okay i'll call for the question miss carrera yes mr baird yes um mr aparicio yes mr ortiaga yes and i vote yes that passes as well um okay On to item three. I move the recommendation that the Board of Education approve the budget revision. I'll second. Okay, any discussion on this? Just have a little explanation on what this is, Dr. Patterson? You could just tell us. Dr. Aceves, would you enlighten us? So after the governor's revise and the budget was officially adopted in June, there was an additional TK add-on that was not reported as part of our budget presentation when we presented you the budget, The budget and 2526 budget in June at that time, we did not know that TK
061add-on would be part of it. So this budget revision reflects the additional TK money that we get per ADA for all of our TK students. Oh, good. Thank you, Dr. Simmons. So this is an add-on, additional funding. It's additional revenue. Thank you. It's good to know. It's not. We're happy about that. Yes. Okay. Anybody else have any questions? Okay. I'll call for the question. Mr. Baird? Yes. Mr. Aparicio? Yes. Mr. Tiaga? Yes. Ms. Carrera? Yes. And I vote yes. Passes as well. Okay. On to consent items. Does anybody want to remove anything from the consent agenda? Okay. Okay. On to approval. I move the recommendation of the superintendent. I move that the recommendation of the superintendent of the Board of Education approve the consent agenda items K-3 through K-13. I'll second. Okay. Anybody have any
062questions? I only, I have a question on the U.S. Postal Service. Neopost, is that the company we use? Yeah, that's okay. Okay. Any... Anything else? I just want to say it's good to see the staff development requests that we're able to send people to these conferences, which I think will really help. Okay, anything else, anybody? You know what I actually did? It was the bond one. I've got my cheat notes here. And I see the letter that we created regarding the bond. Can you get an explanation on that one? I'm sorry, it is the bond and developer fees. It's a little five. Number five, approval. Oh, yeah, the bond and do it. This will be a new report that we provide to you as as we submit POS that are using developer fees or bond
063bond dollars. Those dollars are highly scrutinized by Laco. So they really ask for backup every time that no matter how small or large the P.O. is, that it has gone forward for board approval. So anything that has come before you. that prior for over the 10,000 mark, we didn't necessarily bring that back. But we brought back some previous POs that were under that amount just so that we can make sure that we can provide that documentation to LACO that those purchases were made and that they were approved by our board. And then I guess the other one is the withdrawal of the bid and request for damages, the asphalt replacement project. Yes. Can you give me a little... Quick summary on that one. Absolutely. So we brought forward the bid for you in June for
064that asphalt replacement project. That contractor came back and said he would no longer be able to perform the work at the cost or the bid that he originally provided for us. At that point, we have to reject his bid to move forward with the project. At this time, we feel it's in the best interest of the district to re-bid the whole project because of the timing of the project. So right now, for example, if we went to the next contractor to the next highest bid, they would want to start the work right now, and it was never our intention, and it's not really feasible for us to replace the asphalt here during the school year as we have buses and our M&O trucks and our nutrition services truck that really need to access the parking
065lot at all times. All right. Thank you. I just have a question on, it always, it always gets me when you have to read that we got, we had to take the lowest bid. It kind of scares me. I mean, there's, is there, it just seems that it should be a better word, you know, like, I know, but it just seems like going to the lowest bidder for something that's so important, but it just, yeah. Yeah. Like maybe the best bid or something. Lowest bid is like, okay. It's just kind of scary, but that's just me. Anybody have anything else? I'll call for the question. Mr. Baird? Yes. Mr. Ortega? Yes. Mr. Aparicio? Yes. Ms. Carrera? Yes. And I vote yes. Okay. I so move to adjourn this meeting. I second. Well, that was a
066quick one, huh? Okay. Anybody have any comments, final comments before we go? No, Oliver's got some two, a couple of good ones that went by pretty quick. So bring in the luck. Any comments, Ms. Carrera? No, just thank you, everybody, for being here today. Just touch on, hopefully we're having a great start of the year and it's nice to be able to see everyone again. Yes, and good luck to everybody. Have a great year. And I just, you know, I always say, save your water. I didn't ride my bike today because I want to live. It was too hot. I didn't want to ride your bike. And, again, I was reading stuff, and Mrs. Dabb's referenced it a couple months ago about how there's so many clothes. You know, there's nothing wrong with shopping at
067the Goodwill, and it is a fabulous, you'll find some fabulous buys there, believe me. You don't have to buy something new, and it saves you money, too. Go on senior discount day like me on Tuesday. Anyway, I'll call for the question. Mr. Baird? Yes. Ms. Carrera? Yes. Mr. Tiaga? Yes. Mr. Aparicio? Yes. And I vote yes. We are adjourned at 7-12.