001At 6 o'clock, I will tell everybody that we did take action in closed session, but we will wait until item number, on discussion items, item number one, and I'll report out then. Okay? Okay, on to the flag salute, and I'd like to call on our student board member, Oliver Baird. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic of which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay. First of all, I'd like to say that Ms. Carrera and Mrs. Dabbs will not be in attendance tonight, so it's just the three of us. And we will move on to employee recognition. Good evening, everyone. Happy last day before the first day of school tomorrow. I hope you, I know, let's all celebrate. We're
002super excited. We've been preparing all summer long, right? So I hope you had a very restful summer and that you are excited. The first day of school is always an exciting new beginning, so we can't wait to see you all in action at your sites tomorrow. But tonight, it is my pleasure to recognize our 2526 employees. of the year. So I am going to get started with our Classified Employee of the Year. So I would love to call up Mrs. Nina Marquez, if she can please come up. And I have a couple of words for Nina. So we are proud to recognize Nina Marquez as our Classified Employee of the Year for her exceptional service and dedication to our district. Nina began her career in EWCSD as a school office assistant at Evergreen Elementary in
0032013. She quickly made a positive impact with her professionalism, kindness, and commitment to supporting students and staff. Since 2015, she has served as a school office coordinator at Orchardale Elementary, where she is known as the heart of the campus, balancing a busy front office with grace, warmth, and efficiency. Nina's strong work... work ethic, leadership, and caring nature, make her an invaluable member of the Orchard Hill team and a shining example of what makes our classified staff so special. Let's give her a big round of applause. Good evening, everyone. I didn't prepare a speech. I just thought I'd speak from my heart. It's an honor, and I feel very humbled to be recognized as District Employee of the Year. I'm proud to work for the district. for being a wildcat. I was a former evergreen dragon,
004and I am where I'm meant to be. I am, like I said, proud. My kids went through East Whittier City School District. One of them is currently serving in the U.S. Air Force. He's not able to be here today. And I have another one in high school. Hi. Anyhow, I am meant to be here. My day-to-day interactions with not just the students, but our staff members. I have all these kids that are my kids. I feel like I'm their mamas. Not just our students, but our staff too. I have some that call me mom. And I'm proud. I'm proud because I know that they love me. I know that they respect me. And I feel that my hard work, my ethic. you know speaks for itself so thank you so much for for the recognition
005i really am humbled and and i'm honored to represent um our district thank you so much could you uh could you could you could you introduce your family and a big thank you to my family some came from far i thank you so much for being here for my work son he's here my boss thank you so much for always supporting me my family yes for always supporting me and being there with me, especially these days before school starts. It gets hectic. Sometimes, you know, past work time, but they're always there and willing to help get dinner started while mommy's still working. Do you want to introduce your family? Sure. So I have my son, Joseph. Joseph works for Whittier PD, so he's also community service. My husband, Javier. My daughter, Julie, she started her
006senior year today, first day of senior year. My sister, Leti, my niece, Kristen, and my nephew, Benjamin. And my Jacob that is currently serving overseas, he's in Germany. You'll see the video at some point. So thank you. Thank you guys very much. Thank you. And next, I am excited to call up Miss Andrea Carlson. So Ms. Andrea Carlson, we are proud to celebrate you as our Certificated Employee of the Year. Since beginning her teaching career in 1999 at Orchardale, Andrea has inspired students across multiple grade levels, teaching kindergarten, first, and second grade with compassion and skill. In 2015, she brought her talents to Murphy Ranch, where she taught fourth grade. a 3-4 combination class, and most recently served as a math intervention teacher from 2021 to 2024, making a lasting impact on student learning. This
007year, Andrea has come full circle, returning to her roots in kindergarten with the same joy, energy, and commitment that have defined her career. Known for her versatility, dedication, and unwavering passion for teaching, Andrea embodies the very best of our profession and is truly deserving of this honor. So congratulations, Andrea. Much better number two. I'd rather celebrate someone else than have someone else talk about me. Carol knows that. I just wrote a little something. I'm actually going to read it because I was worried I'd get flustered. So I'm delighted to stand here tonight as the Teacher of the Year for EWCSD. I know this, there's been a lot of focus this year on being homegrown. And while I'm not homegrown, I did grow up here. I started here when I was 24 years old. and Diane
008House hired me at Orcharddale Elementary. She was a force to be reckoned with. If you ever knew Diane, I loved her. At Orcharddale, I grew up. I married my husband. I had my babies. I had friends. We went to weddings. We were barely surviving those years. It was a staff of young teachers. It was Diet Cokes in the morning, a chocolate chip cookies to survive the day, and a cabinet full of makeup and snacks. Like, that's the way we ran our lives. Like, we just got to get through the day. But I learned who I was those years. I became confident in being a teacher, and I found I really loved it. During those years, my own kids started Scott Avenue, and I met some great friends. I met Sarah. She told me to come
009join PTA with her, which was like the funniest experience. I was like, I don't do PTA. And she's like, we're going to do PTA. We did PTA. It was hilarious and fun, and we ran a great fifth grade picnic. Then I made mom friends there, and I realized that I didn't have to lose myself as a parent. I could be a mom and a teacher and still have a good time while doing it all. I could be everything. I could be Andrea, Mrs. Carlson, and mom. And Craig always, or I call him Carlson. He always says, I'm grumpy. And then I walk into school and I'm like, okay, Mrs. Carlson's here. Let's do it. Then I moved over to Mufri Ranch. And that was the next stage of my life. And I was. in the
010middle of raising kids and them being a junior high and high school, and I was asking for advice for people who were just one step ahead of me. And that was the phase of life where my kids were learning to drive and going to dances, applying for college, and all those little moments in between that slipped so fast between your fingers. And I was on the other end giving probably unsolicited advice to anybody who doesn't want it. You know, telling them how I raised my kids or things that helped me get through the day. But, and I'm sure it's none of the advice that you wanted, but y'all listened. So I didn't really grow up in Whittier, but I grew up in Whittier. I've lived here for, how long have we lived here, babe? 26
011years. I was deeply connected to Whittier as I am to Fullerton. When I think of the person I am here today, I'm the reason I am who I am because of the people who sit in this row and pour into me. They poured into me my whole life. And if you know me, I have a big family. And they are phenomenal. I am so lucky. So tonight, I have my twins here, George and Jackson. Jilly's watching us. So Jillian opted to watch. My mom's here, Carlson. My Aunt Joan and my beloved Uncle Phil, who couldn't be here, and Kathy, my stepmom, my Kathy, I call her, and my sweet dad, who couldn't be here tonight. So these poor people pour into me like nobody's business. I am so grateful for them. And I am so
012lucky because the rest of my family is watching that they pour into me too. Just a couple of fun things. Carlson still tells me every day, have a great day, like when I walk out the door. And he reads to my class every school year with this amazing voice that he saves just for them and our kids. And to my own babies who taught me to be the very best teacher. They're so different. All my kids are so different, but they're so fun. And they taught me to be the best human I could be. And to my go-to girls, you know who you are. You pull me up when I need it the most. You make me laugh when I take things too seriously and I hear, Mrs. Carlson, take those glasses off. They remind
013me that things can be figured out with a bunch of laughter and a lot of dancing. And to my Orchardale family, I still love watching you grow up on Instagram and Facebook and I love when our paths cross. And to my Murphy Ranch family who accepted me at a time when that was so hard. I never thought I would move schools. But I just love where I ended up. So here's to all of us, all of us teachers, who make each other laugh when we're having a bad day, who untangle the copy machine for a million times, who say, can you watch my class so I can go to the bathroom? I need two minutes. And who can communicate a whole sentence with an eye roll or a quick look, like I need help. So
014here's to us. Let's make a great year. Thank you. Thank you. And now I am proud to introduce our Administrator of the Year, Mr. Justin Mayernich. I said those are probably going to be Becky's, but it's okay. He gets flowers too. So with 25 years of dedicated service, Mr. Mayernich has made a meaningful impact across EWCSD. Eight years as a teacher and two years as an assistant principal at Hillview Middle School. Eight years as a principal at Granada Middle School. And now proudly entering his sixth year as principal at Murphy Ranch Elementary. Justin is known for fostering a culture of collaboration, building strong relationships, and keeping students at the center of every decision. His steady leadership, commitment to equity, and dedication to creating a positive school environment have benefited every community he has served. Mr.
015Maranick leads with heart, purpose, and a deep commitment to students, families, and staff. We are proud to recognize his leadership and celebrate his contributions as our Administrator of the Year. So I have a post-it on my monitor that says gratitude. And it really is, for me, just that constant reminder, no matter what comes in the door. Be grateful for it. And so thinking about gratitude, first, I'm grateful for my family who are joining me. And when you asked Nina to introduce her family, I could feel my daughters go, oh, God, we have to do that. But I'm joined by my wife and my three amazing daughters, Ella, Lila, and Miranda. So thank you for coming. And I'm grateful for all of you. Being a school principal is a lot of hours. And so then, you
016know, just like being a sock and being a teacher, this job requires a lot of hours. And so it's required a lot of... sacrifice from them that not having their dad there as much as they should have but I'm blessed that I was able to be all three of their principals at different times so that that's not that's something not everyone gets to do they may not have been as happy about it as I was but it's just I remember the first time when Ella was on my campus and I heard I was walking through Granada and I heard the laugh anyway I recognized that laugh so anyways that was a very that was a blessing for me so I am grateful that for my Hillview family, some of them are here. My Granada family,
017some of them are here. My Murphy Ranch family, and I'm using the word, I'm sorry, I told you I wouldn't use that word, but sorry. Everywhere I went, I was blessed with an amazing staff. I am nothing without the people that were the staffs at those three schools. Everywhere I went, they... accepted me with open arms. You know, it's not my leadership. It is their ability to be amazing, amazing teachers. And I've been blessed at all three school sites with people that are just dedicated to kids and love kids. And that's all I ask of them. And that's what their expectation is of me too. I appreciate that, and I am grateful to this district, to the board for allowing me to continue to work here. It has been the joy of my life, so
018thank you so much. Oh, and grateful for all of my administrator friends. I knew I was going to forget people. Grateful for all of my administrator friends for their willingness to answer the phone still when I call, which I appreciate. And most importantly... The ladies that I spend more time with than my wife. I'd like to thank Shawnee right now. Yo, who may be listening somewhere. Allison, Sandra. My socks, who just, they are the backbones. They basically run the school. And then finally, too, every good idea I've ever had as a school administrator, everything I ever brought to a school was probably Becky's idea first. And then I go and sell it as my own. So thank you, Becky, specifically for that. So let's give all of our employees of the year a big round
019of applause. Tonight, we are also celebrating our District Office Employee of the Year. We are super excited. We just started doing this as well. All the school sites get to nominate their Employee of the Year. And here at the District Office, we are a site. So we are very happy to have our Employee of the Year, Ms. Sylvia Murillo. And I'm looking around to see if she's here. Sylvia, are you here? So she's a little shy. I saw her doing her run up at the district office, so she did not make it over. I'm going to look for her because we will have to recognize her. But I do. Can we hold off a little bit and see if she comes in and do it again? Okay, so I'm just going to wait for her.
020I'm going to locate her. And then I do have a couple of nice words to say about her. But thank you so much, and I wish you all a wonderful first day tomorrow. Thank you. And everybody that got some special recognition, don't forget we come over here after our break, during our break, and we take pictures, so don't leave. Okay. We'll come back to that. On to approval of the minutes for June 9th. I move the recommendation that the Board of Education approve the June 9, 2025 Board of Education meeting minutes. Second. Any corrections to those minutes? Okay, I will call for the question. Mr. Urtiaga? Yes. Mr. Baird? Mr. Aparicio? Yes. And I vote yes. Can I ask? Sorry, Mr. Baird. Before you do this next one, I want to make sure, because the
02111th one, I wasn't here either, so should we wait until the next meeting? We'll only do the 9th. Okay. And before we go on to board member reports and comments, I want you all to hear a really fascinating story because it's a different crowd. And if Ms. Stample, could you just come to the podium and just, I want her to tell you, you have to listen to this story. It starts off sad, but it ends up really, really nice. So I just wanted to tell her story. You're going to make me come to the podium. Okay. So my name is Jennifer Stample. I'm a music teacher at Hillview Middle School. So 23 years ago, my father went climbing Mount Huascaran in Peru. It's one of the deadliest mountains in the world due to its avalanches
022and snow and ice. It's even deadlier than Mount Everest, actually. So he and a team of two other guys went climbing. He was a civil engineer, so he spent a great deal of time planning and prepping. He went in June because it was the coldest time of the year, less chance of avalanche, more snow was tightly packed. Unfortunately, they were involved in an avalanche and they were killed. to one, they immediately did a search right afterwards and one of their team was found, but my dad and another guy were buried. So fast forward 22 years later, we never received my dad back, of course, and we just... figured he would be there forever. He would be part of the mountain. 22 years ago, last year in June, almost 22 years ago to the date, a
023team of climbers were summiting Mount Huascaran and unfortunately it was too dangerous for them to actually summit. So they had to be turned around and they were coming down the backside of the mountain where no one had been in a while. And off in the distance they saw something that looked... different. It wasn't normally part of the white glacier that they normally saw and as they got closer that shape took form and it was a body which once they got there, it was my dad. He still had his fanny pack on. They were able to unzip it and find his driver's license. They saw that he was from California. This team happened to be from Las Vegas. in Peru and they knew that they had to contact us and find us so as soon as
024they got down the mountain they contacted they did some research got a hold of us through social media and found us and we were able to bring my dad home thank you thank you Christine for that of course that was a really heartwarming story I'm so glad that you got your dad back Okay, on to board member reports and comments. Mr. Barrett, would you like to go first? The meeting with Brooke and Ms. Torres was nice, and I got to figure out some stuff that I wanted to know about the board and how to be a student board member correctly without screwing up often. And Ms. Hernandez was very nice and helpful, and she gave me a lot of tips. Thank you. Mr. Aparicio? Good evening, everyone, and just welcome back. And I just want
025to say hopefully everybody had a great and restful summer. I know we're back to work tomorrow again for everybody. I know some of you guys, most of you guys all came back last week as well, too. I was able to attend the Under the Oak, which was a great event, very lively and loud and energetic. So hopefully everybody had a great time with that. And, of course, I just want to thank everybody that was involved with it, Mr. Patterson and the rest of the board over there. So just thank you very much. I think it was a really, really great event. Like I said, just walking into that, I think everybody was just full of energy. So from the staff to the people doing the DJ to everybody, and then the principals dancing up there
026and playing their games. I just want to say, you know, it was a great event. So I really, truly, truly enjoyed it. It was a great way to kick off the year. So thank you to everybody that was involved with that. Congrats to Ms. Marquez, Ms. Carlson, and Mr. Maronick on being Employees of the Year. So just thank you for your service and everything you guys do. So congratulations. Just want to say welcome back everyone again and just, you know, have a great, great year. Mr. Tiaz. I just want to welcome Oliver. Officially, the first board meeting, right? Okay, good. Because I know I missed one of them. So I want to welcome you and it'll be a great year and a lot of things to learn and bring that student voice to us and
027being able to take that back and be a representative for our district. So congratulations again on being a part of the team. I know we have our first board member here to welcome you in and join you and to let you know how... how great and honorable it is to be a part of a student board member panel like this, and we look forward to so many great things for you. Let's see. Employees of the Year, it's always nice to be able to recognize those employees that do great things. And what Mr. Aparicio mentioned about the Under the Oaks, it really embodies the motto that we're going with this year, that every interaction matters. And you could tell by the comments and by what was being said about our Employees of the Year, their interactions
028with people and how they believe that their success is brought on because of the people they work with. You know, it's given those people that acknowledgement, which goes a long way in why our leaders are successful, why our teachers are successful, because we know it's not, it takes more than just one person to get something done and be able to acknowledge that. And those interactions you have with your families, with the students, with your colleagues are important. So I'm glad and excited to share that that's what we're going to be using and what our... you know, our emphasis that we want, because it is true. Every interaction matters, no matter who you are, no matter where you're at in the district. We are all East Whittier. We are all Whittier. We are all who represent
029a bigger piece than we are, and it's important. At the end of the day, we're here for the students or our children, and those interactions matter for them, and it's nice to be able to have that as we focus here on the board and our... goals for the year and to provide a safe environment for our students and to provide the high standards academic standards for our students here in the district. So that's nice. Under the Oaks, I mean, boy, it was nice to be able to be in an event like that. It's like a college rally. I take me back to the high school days, that rally. We had the DJ, the music, and it really brought a different tone. And those are the things that need to come back and be able to
030come back to a school year and you're excited because most people, you know, they see that with That calendar day, I got to go back to work. I got to go back to work. Kids are doing it. Today is that last day. Tomorrow is school. I got to go back. But being able to welcome back your staff that way, I think it was awesome. I was very proud. It was very nice to see that. And congratulations, kudos to Dr. Patterson and your team that put that together. I'm hoping that we can continue that or some version of that. I know there's a lot of work that goes behind that, but that's the way we should be welcoming back our staff. And hopefully that. is going to be trickled down to our school sites and how
031we welcome back our students to the schools tomorrow. And so being able to welcome everyone back. I'll be at Hillview tomorrow. I have my three boys starting. I got all three of them in middle school now, and so time is flying by. But I know I'll be able to get to some of the elementary schools and be able to visit and see the great things that they got going on over there today. And just want to wish students tomorrow, you know, I see some faces and some, you know, if they're prepared for tomorrow. Don't forget, your parents are ready for you to go tomorrow. They're ready. So we're looking for a great year, and I want to welcome everyone back from summer break. That's it. Thank you. And I will just say congratulations again to
032all the employees of the year. You guys are the, you are all the best. It's so, it was really nice. But anyway, I want to tell everybody that, yeah, I did also attend Under the Oak and it was, I had to leave a little early, but I got there early and I have never had so much fun. I mean, I just thought it was so much fun. And then to see Mr. Maniac up there with the, you know, knees, shoulders, whatever, it was so much fun. I mean, it really was. So much fun. I love the video put together by the district office. I thought that was just hilarious. I thought it was so right on. And I think if you can see it, it's on the website if you get a chance. You really
033have got to see it. It's really cute. But anyway, before I say any more, Jacob, stand up. This is our first board member. So here you go. Jacob, say hello. Look, what a fine young man. It was our first board member, student board member. I know, where has the time gone? But anyway, with that, I just want to welcome everybody back to school. I hope you all have a good and successful year. And with that, we're going to take a break. And everybody that got an award, we're going to take pictures, okay? And we'll take a little break. Okay, I'm going to call the meeting back to order. Okay, next on the agenda, CSEA comments. Okay, good evening. My name is Ivan Pastrano. I'm the chapter president here for our classified bargaining unit, CSEA East
034Whittier, Chapter 87. So we... Like we do for our public comments or for our CSEA comments, we like to keep the board informed of what's happening in CSEA, what's going on in the district, that we classify it. And so today, we just want to welcome the board back from their summer, welcome the employees back and the students back, getting ready for tomorrow. It's always been... like the summer seemed to be getting shorter and shorter and shorter. So, you know, we always plan a lot of stuff that's supposed to take place in the summer and then a lot of times it just doesn't. So we want to welcome you back. We also would like to recognize the Under the Oaks because it was something totally different, totally not the norm, and it was really, I thought
035that it was a great event, and so I think that there was a lot of time and effort and energy that went in. into it and it showed and I think that there was a lot of excitement. It was really a great kickoff to the to the start of the school year. So I thought that it was a fabulous event and you know hopefully going forward we we continue to do more stuff like that. It's really engaging when you get to interact with with you know members of the school district that normally you don't get to interact with and so you know. those interactions matter, right? And so we want to be able to continue that going forward. And it's really an exciting time. And I think that every year is different. And we're just
036looking forward to seeing what's going to happen in this year. So with that, that concludes CSEA comments. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, on to EWEA comments. Good evening, everyone. Welcome back. Congratulations to our new cabinet. I know we had some changes, and welcome. I also want to congratulate Nina, Andrea, Sylvia, and Justin on their recognition as Employees of the Year. Also welcome, Oliver, brand new to the board. I am Mr. Vogelman. I'm the UWE president. I teach over at East Witter Middle School. You're at Hillview, correct? And I'm good friends with Ms. Stample over there. So do you have her? Well, you're going to learn a lot. This is my first year as president, and I'm learning a lot. I was at a conference a couple weeks ago and just swimming in things that they
037gave me. So I think you go to a conference at one point, so you're just going to learn a lot. And as a younger person, you learn a lot quicker than us older people do. So soak it all in. It's going to make you a better person as the year progresses. So we're looking forward to tomorrow. There's something about the first day of school. Last year, I just sort of laughed at... The school is completely clean as you walk through it the days before, and it's wonderful. And then the kids arrive, and it's a whole lot different because there's a lot of energy and whatnot, and then that cleanliness goes away because they're middle schoolers. But it's a really good time getting to meet new kids and just really looking forward to the year. So
038I look at our relationship as the union and the district as a symbiosis where we benefit you guys and you benefit us, where there are things that happen that the union takes care of before you or ever do know it and things that happen on your end that we don't have to hear about because you guys take care of it before it gets to us. So I look at our relationship as a symbiosis, and if it's working together, good things happen. Under the Oak was planned very well. Video, seeing the school sites, everything that happened before it. No question that you guys put a lot of time and energy into that. What we're concerned about was the setting where it occurred. It occurred at a church, and people have differing beliefs than that church does.
039They are related. or an affiliate of a greater organization called Converge, and they have some very divergent views that are very exclusive. Quote, we believe that a homosexual orientation is a result of the fall of humanity into a sinful condition. If every interaction matters, we are excluding people right from the start. I appreciate the district giving us a separate setting, but it took a lot of work to get that separate setting, and we should have had it from the get-go, and it should have been offered to everybody. Because there were a number of people that came to me and said they were very uncomfortable with it being at that location. I think in the future, we would like to be approached as a union so we can get the pulse of our members before we
040make unilateral decisions so we can have the best environment for everybody and be inclusive of everybody and not exclusive of anybody. We would be able to get the pulse of our members and let you guys know. how they feel, and maybe think of something alternate that can make everybody feel included. I appreciate your time. Thank you. Okay, on to superintendent comments. So I just want to share in the excitement of the opening. Dr. Gonzalez and Ms. Songer were kind of like Mr. Arteaga meant. You know, you have good people, let them run with an idea, and it turns out even better than what you could have possibly imagined. There are always going to be situations and hiccups along the way, and Mr. Wogelman, we hear you, and we appreciate you working with Dr. Vargas. figure
041out ways to be able to be mindful of differing opinions. We do have a lot of wonderful relationships with many of our faith-based organizations. Dream City Church has a great relationship with Evergreen. We have a great relationship with WAC and many of our schools. So we will continue to look at the responses of our 1,200 employees from our Under the Oak CTD and TTD. We'll share that with... both CSEA and EWI, so you can see what your members have said in a survey that we actually asked everybody to fill out. So we can see what that pulse does look like with that survey. But we are so excited to be able to recognize Mr. Maranek, you know, Ms. Marquez and Ms. Carlson. They do an amazing job, but that's just emblematic of the 1,200 employees
042that we have here in our district. We're super excited to have started off the year so well. We might be branding EWCSD earplugs for those people who didn't put in the survey that the music was a little loud. So we'll be able to have that accommodation when we have Under the Oak next year. But just another example of just the spirit and the pride and really making our district focus on every one of those interactions. So, and welcome officially, Oliver. On to citizen communication. Do we have any cards? Yes. Okay. Yes, we have one card. Ms. Sanchez, could you please come to the podium? You will have three minutes to address the board. Yes, thank you. Joanna Sanchez, Murphy Ranch, going on year 29. I also want to take just a second, I know they're
043not still here, but to congratulate Mr. Maronick and Ms. Carlson. I've had the pleasure of working with them both, have grown as an educator under Mr. Maronick's leadership, and been inspired by Ms. Carlson so many times. So just really... want to come with that congratulations, but I also want to come with I'm so glad that our EUE president spoke to it. I was one of those people with concerns with the venue. I voiced those concerns in an email July 31st to Dr. Vargas and was told absolutely not. There would be no alternate venue that it would negate the purpose if I did not show up. I have issues with the church not only for the reasons outlined. I did my research. They are a part of Converge. They do have ideological beliefs that... do not
044align with mine. They also do have belief systems being based in the Baptist church that women should not be in senior leadership positions. This, for me, is a super difficult thing. My mom was a senior pastor for 41 years. So again, it is not an anti-religious thing. I grew up religious. I am religious, but not in the same way that this church is. What message are we sending to kids when we... When we endorse, when we use that facility, we obviously, we haven't gotten an answer on what kind of funds we spent on that. Did we get our three bids? Did we do our due process? All these things. They were questions that remained unanswered. But yes, my sister's also a lead pastor and my aunt. So I feel like I'd been told, okay, none
045of that is important. I don't disagree with everyone's comments that it was amazing, the dancing, the energy, the concepts, the speaker. I was in this alternative setting enjoying him immensely. Every interaction matters. Knowing everyone's story like he was talking about, all amazing things. None of that is what I have any difficulty with. The location is. August 1st, after my response was denied initially and the union fought, Less than 24 hours ahead of time, I get a note, okay, you can come. Okay, it's been approved. Not an explanation, but go ahead and come to the alternative venue, which I did in a small group. That venue was not offered to more than a few people that had spoken up because we felt we could. There was a lot of people not showing up. Did they have
046similar concerns? We won't know because we didn't offer them an alternative venue. We don't know how many of those call-outs were based on people's feelings of being uncomfortable in a church. Thank you. Okay. On to discussion items. I will now report out from closed session and read the following. On agenda item one, oral recommendation regarding salary and or fringe benefits for government code 54953. Prior to taking action to ratify an amendment to the superintendent's contract, government code 54953C3 requires an oral summary of the salary and fringe benefits provided to the superintendent pursuant to the contract amendment. During closed session, the board, by unanimous action, agreed to amend the superintendent's existing employment agreement. It is recommended that the board now act to ratify the amendment it agreed to during closed session. The recommended superintendent's contract amendment
047provides for an extension of the superintendent's current contract term to June 30, 2029, in order to afford the superintendent with a four-year contract term. The amendment also provides for the superintendent's salary to continue to be set based on the district superintendent's salary schedule with the superintendent to continue to be required to render service for 224 workdays per year during each annual period covered by the contract. To determine the superintendent's current daily rate, the superintendent's annual base salary shall be divided by his 224 workdays. The recommended amendment to the superintendent's contract provides that the superintendent may choose to work 10 additional days each year above his required 224 work days under his contract, and the amendment provides for the superintendent to be paid at his current daily rate for each of the 10 additional days he
048may render service to the district. The superintendent shall receive a car allowance of $1,000 per month to compensate him for actual and necessary use of his automobile for school business. All costs of vehicle operation, maintenance, and insurance shall be paid by the superintendent. The other provisions of the contract, including any previous amendments, shall remain in full force and effect until terminated pursuant to the terms of the contract or this amendment. regarding agenda item two, the ratification. During tonight's closed session, under closed session agenda item 1.0, the board unanimously agreed to amend the superintendent's contract. It is now recommended that the board act to ratify the agreed upon amendment to the superintendent's contract as approved during closed session. So I just made the motion, so now I need a second. Okay, any questions or discussions? I
049will call for the vote. Mr. Aparicio? Yes. Mr. Utiaga? Yes. And I vote yes. And Mr. Baird. So it passes unanimously. Okay, on to item three. So that was one? Yes, that's one, two, correct. The Williams quarterly report. We luckily have no findings or reports. Does... All of them are like, we've met and gone through all of them. Okay, all right, good. Item four, standards and course of study. So once again, this is an item that we bring every year. It's just an information item to reiterate that we follow the content standards in the California frameworks for our instructional program. All right, thank you. Item five, approve the resolution. I move the recommendation that the Board of Education drop Resolution 3-25-26 regarding teaching authorizations for the 25-26 school year. On this, so... The way I
050read this is that they don't, they- They did not major and have a single subject credential, but they have enough units and meet one of those two requirements listed above. Okay. And they have to agree to this as well, right? Yes. Okay. Yes. Okay. Any other discussion? Okay. I'll call for the question. Mr. Baird? Mr. Tiago? Yes. Mr. Aparicio? Yes. And I vote yes. That passes. Okay, on to item six. I move the recommendation that the Board of Education approve resolution number 1-25-26 authorizing naming of district representatives for state allocation board programs. Second. Okay, any discussion? So previously this was Ms. Sorrell, so we are just adding Dr. Aceves and replacing Ms. Sorrell. Any questions? Okay, I'll call for the question. Mr. Tiaga? Yes. Mr. Baird? Mr. Aparicio? Yes. And I vote yes. So that
051passes unanimously. On to item seven. I move the recommendation of the Board of Education to adopt resolution number 2-25-26, approving assignment of delinquent receivables to the California Statewide Delinquent Tax Finance Authority for fiscal years ending in June 30th in each of the years 25, 26, and 27, and authorizing execution and delivery of related documents and actions. Second. Okay, any discussion? What is the quick... She has been waiting all day for you to ask that question. I was going to ask, too. Can you give the 30 minute, 30 minute, 30 second? She was ESS. She can. She can, oh yeah. Yes. It's synopsis for Oliver because I don't know if he knows. Absolutely, Oliver. This gives us the ability to collect delinquent taxes. We go with a third party, so this allows us the opportunity to
052collect our potential delinquent taxes for three years in advance so that we have the opportunity to get that in advance. We don't have to wait for potential delinquent taxes, and we don't go through a third party for this. It's something we do every three years. Is there a cost to it for us? There is a small cost. It isn't significant. It's a percentage of whatever taxes we collect. And I don't know the exact, we won't know that exact figure until we actually collect those taxes. Thank you. Okay, anything else? Okay, I'll call for the question. Mr. Aparicio? Yes. Mr. Baird? Yes. Mr. Urchaga? Yes. And I vote yes. That message passes unanimously. On to item eight. I move the recommendation that the Board of Education ratify the 2526 Memorandum of Understanding between East Winter City
053School District and California School Employees Association, number 87, regarding the reclassification of bargaining unit positions into the newly created job descriptions of transitional kindergarten instructional assistant. Second. Okay. Any discussion? Dr. Vargas, can you just give us a synopsis of this one, please? Yeah. So we were excited to work collaboratively with CSCA on this new job description. It really is in response to the expansion of our Tiki program and just all of the feedback from our staff members as they shared just, you know, needs that we have as we are starting to expand. One of the biggest needs was the fact that our little kiddos are coming into us with developmental needs that we're not used to, you know, more in align with... three and four year old behavior and one of those was the ability
054to be able to support them with their toileting and self hygiene. So what we did is we did create a couple of opportunities for staff members working in TK to come and let us know what they saw as the biggest need. We worked together with CSEA to develop this job description where they felt comfortable with the services being rendered. We did discuss the need for additional behavior training. And we were able to agree on a compensation that we felt was fair for those services. And because of that, we were able to get everybody together just, I think, a week and a half ago to provide additional training. And it seems like everybody's feeling really excited and ready for welcoming our little kiddos tomorrow. So thank you, CSEA. Okay, anything else, anybody? Okay, I'll call for
055the question. Mr. Tiaga? Yes. I vote yes. Mr. Baird? Yes. Mr. Aparicio? Yes. Okay, passes unanimously. On to item nine. I move the recommendation that the Board of Education approve the new salary schedule for speed pathologists and classification effective July 1st of 2025. Second. Okay, any discussion? So I'm taking it we still have a high need of SLPs, right? We do. The one thing we're actually excited that we have been able to hire SLPs. That is definitely a difficult position to fill. The reason why we did this is it was outdated. A lot of the programs that we currently are seeing, they are coming out with their master's degrees. And so the way that it was scheduled before, it was really outdated. Nobody was being placed in a couple of columns. So doing it this
056way, we are able to. entice people to come to us. And we also have negotiated them to have the same stipend as our special education teachers. And we have increased that amount as well. Okay. Any other questions? Anybody? Okay, I will call for that question. Mr. Baird? Yes. Mr. Tiaga? Yes. Mr. Aparicio? Yes. And I vote yes. So that passes unanimously. On to item 10. I move the recommendation that the Board of Education approve the BYR 24-17 installation of six modular buildings at Ceres Elementary Project at Ceres Elementary School as complete and authorized staff to file the notice of completion for the Nazarian Group. Second. Okay, any discussion? I haven't been there and seen this for a while. So they're almost done. This is saying they're done. This is saying they're done. They're completely done
057and we can record that. Okay. Any other questions? Discussion? Okay. I'll call for the question. Mr. Aparicio? Yes. Mr. Baird? Yes. Mr. Urtiaga? Yes. And I vote yes. So it passes unanimously. On to consent items. Is there anybody who wants to remove anything from the consent agenda? Okay, I need a motion. I move the recommendation of the superintendent, the Board of Education, approve the consent agenda items J3 through J15. Second. Okay. Let's see here. Any discussion? I do have some questions. I just have to find where they are. Yeah. Well, I had just a couple of comments, actually. At the beginning of the year, of course, we see these big numbers because a lot of them are just the beginning of the year stuff. But I'm glad that we're continuing to work with our Boys
058and Girls Club. I know that's a big need. And our families do rely on the services they provide after hours, after school hours. So it's nice to be able to continue to work with them. And, you know, you can't really sometimes put a price on being, you know, I know how parents sometimes you just can't be there at the end of school and you know you have a place for your children to go to. So it's nice to be able to have that for our families. Okay. Anything else, anybody? I do on the SDRs, I just want everybody, because I like, you know, to be transparent for myself. Let's see here, where is it? A0147 for the CSBA Annual Education Conference for $3,461. That would be, I think that one's me, right? I have to
059look at the number of days. I think it's me. Yeah, because it's from November 30th till December 5th. So I just want everybody to know that that is for me. So, and then I had a question on the, no, I'll never find it. It's the one where the... you're letting them work until they can get their credential, but I don't know where it is. Authorization. Yes. Okay. My concern on that was that you're going to let them work here and get paid for everything, and then what's to stop them from going somewhere else and getting a job? You know, we've actually had conversations about that because, you know, we do pay for induction and things like that. But we're just grateful to have the position filled. Okay. Okay. Excellent. Gosh, I'm going to go through
060all that, and then they're going to leave. Okay, and that's actually the only other thing I had. Anything else, anybody? Okay, I'll call for the question. Mr. Aparicio? Yes. Mr. Baird? Yes. Mr. Tiago? Yes. And I vote yes. That passes unanimously. Okay, on to adjournment. Yeah, that's a quick one. All right, so I'll move to adjourn this meeting. Second. Okay, so before we vote, I wonder if anybody's... Well, the next board meeting will be August 25th. Mr. Baird, do you have any closing comments you'd like to say? Okay. Anybody else? I mean, I just want to welcome all. I see a lot of new names coming to the districts, and I'm glad they're bringing them on and starting a new year and looking forward to some great things that we continue to do here in
061the district. And good luck tomorrow, teachers and everyone else, classified staff. Yeah, good luck and have a fun day. And I always like to close. You know me. We need to save our water. Ride your bike when it's not 100 degrees. And I don't know if you all do this, but I have a clothesline, and I had my. pest control guy come out and he said, what is that? And I go, it's a clothesline. I mean, geez. So anyway, it, I have really barely used. my dryer all summer long because you with this heat it's it's dry in 10 minutes and I know if you work it's kind of hard to get it but you know if you cut on a Saturday if you do your laundry let it let the towels everything out there
062and it just saves you so much money so much on your gas bill if you have a gas dryer or electricity if you have an electric dryer so try doing that and you know I I know it's hard for people to grow things too, but I haven't had to buy tomatoes all summer long because I had them all over my house. But it's really good to try and do that stuff. Just save as much as you can. Don't waste. I don't like to waste anything. So come to my house and I'll show you. But anyway, with that, I hope you all have a great first day of school. And I'll call for the question. Okay, Mr. Aparicio. Yes. Mr. Tiaga. I vote yes. Mr. Baird. Yes. Okay, and we are adjourned. 7 0 4.